Stormflash deftly moved with the equipment after her acceptance.

  The injection device containing the Neural Bio-Implant was designed for seamless integration with the user.

  I have been through worse, well, or my game avatars have when they had their Neural Interface implanted, so this should be a breeze?

  Despite trying to convince herself, she still felt nervous when Stormflash brought the device to the back of her neck.

  “Now relax. The device is designed to work on those even stronger than you.” Stormflash said calmly.

  Stormflash mentioned that as her flesh was denser and stronger than that of a typical human, an ordinary injector would not work, yet this was not ordinary.

  The injection process was quick and efficient, replacing open-skull surgery. It was a specialised, high-tech biomedical device that inserts electrode threads, which are even thinner than human hair, into the nerves leading to the brain, offering a seamless connection to the neural cortex.

  Bringing the injection device to the back of her neck, near the base of her skull, Stormflash pulled the trigger in one smooth motion.

  Ayna instantly felt a burning, yet energising, sensation in her nerves as the neural technologies awakened.

  The liquid injected into the nerves was an advanced, biocompatible polymer that filled the brain microvessels, adapting and hardening into a mesh network capable of supporting the neural technologies.

  It had the additional effect of improving the brain's efficiency and was enhancable, whilst benefiting from her Metahuman energies.

  Ayna felt the Bio-Implant's integration instantly, and a screen with text filled her vision.

  Integration with M.A.S.K - Neuro Shade in process…

  23%

  44%

  67%

  77%

  89%

  100%

  Integration successful. You can access features.

  Connecting to local networks…

  Ayna found herself delighted; many prompts lit up, she had a contact list, and felt an HUD-like game display that operated with different functions in her Interface.

  Regarding her Interface, she was waiting for it to integrate with the Neural Implant, as in the game.

  Ayna felt fairly nervous that it would not do so, as it would make it impossible to interfere with it if it worked like in the game.

  Fortunately, it did so.

  Detected the presence of Neural Bio-Implant. You have unlocked the cybernetic implant features. Connecting the Interface to M.A.S.K - Neuro Shade. Connection successful.

  You can seamlessly access implant features through the Interface.

  You can freely deposit currencies into a generated account.

  You have received the Trait: Cybernetic Enhancement

  Ayna found the in-game prompts were similar, including the Trait.

  The Trait was an evolvable one that provided bonuses, listing the effects of active implants. It would change depending on whether implants are added or removed.

  Implants may also lose effectiveness depending on the individual's grade. Since the implant was C+, it would be considered top of the line for her grade until she earns a B.

  Additionally, some implants had additional restrictions, whereas Neutral Interface compatibility was more straightforward than that of certain implants that augment the user significantly. However, they came with heavy restrictions on level and grade.

  Ayna checked the current description through her Interface.

  Traits:

  Cybernetic Enhancements: You have one or more cybernetic enhancements activated.

  The integration of technologies directly into your physical body has augmented your physical or cognitive stats.

  Current active implants: M.A.S.K - Neuro Shade

  Stat bonuses: +10 INT, +5 WP. You have a 10% increase in learning speed for general skills.

  Ayna felt pleased with the enhancement it gave her; the stat bonuses were rather high for a Neural Implant of such grade. The trait didn't list everything the Implant gave her, either, since a Neural Interface offered more than simple stat increases.

  Ayna awoke from her stupor as Stormflash, with a hint of concern, said, “Are you good? The implant worked as expected?”

  Ayna suddenly realised she must have been concerned, since she had not spoken after the integration and had been busily reading through the prompts.

  “I am fine. It worked exactly as you have promised.” Ayna said with a bright smile.

  Stormflash seemed trustworthy when he gave the Implant; after all, there were no prompts of malware or the like, which the Interface would have notified about if it were faulty. It meant he was honest about that, though the questionable motives behind how he acquired such advanced technologies and why he would provide them to her, an acquaintance at best, remained a mystery.

  Stormflash undoubtedly held a secret and a backer of some sort; even a C-grade such as himself would be hard-pressed to find such technologies, never mind give them away as a gift as he had.

  “Good. Now we can utilise the second; I will do so too. Both of us need to hide our identities. I intend to get us inside Genecies by the end of the day. There, I have contacts that can be of assistance.” Stormflash said.

  Contacts? Now that was interesting. Ayna knew she had been following Stormflash around, yet she had no real choice at the moment, though perhaps she may have opportunities in the near future.

  At least, Stormflash likely didn’t follow Dr Xavier; he had been far too much of a thorn for the man for him to be under him.

  The facial projection technologies, the Morphing-Veil, were a far similar process.

  It was easily removable and was more of a piece of equipment than an implant.

  Placing the mask on her face, she felt it mould to her features. It began to shift until, as Stormflash instructed, she resembled a young woman who was far less eye-catching than before, though still fairly attractive, with her lithe, voluptuous form, that the mask could not alter; she had a basic, pretty face, with brown eyes and hair.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  All in all, it was the appearance they devised, neither too plain nor too attractive, being overly so on either can be eye-catching in a Megacity where there were means to alter appearance.

  Stormflash similarly used another identical version of the mask she had utilised; he now resembled a harmless, easygoing youth with dark hair and eyes. She found it hard to get used to visually, with her eyes used to his striking blue hair.

  Looking themselves over, they were satisfied with the changes and, after a moment of contemplation, decided to change their outfits.

  It was partly Ayna's fault for that; she could not explain where she retrieved the armour from and had blamed Dr Xavier, so now, after finding a suitable area in the plains to change hurriedly, she sported a tan-brown functional outfit made up of synthetic materials. It was a practical, durable, smart-casual dress that looked nice on her figure.

  Stormflash seemed remarkably prepared; she couldn’t help but tease him for acquiring such a well-fitting outfit for her.

  “You seem to know my sizes rather well, don’t you?” Ayna said cheekily.

  Stormflash blushed a deep crimson at that as he replied, “It was listed from the clothes they were providing you…”

  Ayna couldn’t help but laugh at his blustering. He was usually such a stoic, measured man; it was hilarious to watch him flummoxed like that.

  He seemed to realise her teasing and swiftly shook his head; it appeared he was not used to it despite his experience. It made her wonder if Dr Xavier's comments about him with Ember were true.

  Either way, they left shortly after changing outfits, and on their journey, the awkward atmosphere quickly returned to normal as she observed a large walled settlement in the distance.

  “Mackburm. A frontier settlement, also referred to as the minor Towns of Tanus. We won’t stop here; these places are filled with opportunists, thugs and raiders. They do not have many resources here; it would be a waste of time to stop.” Stormflash said solemnly.

  Ayna nodded, taking his word for it as they passed by, and found the settlement composed of repurposed technologies and scrap metal, with buildings a mesh of chaos, lacking symmetry.

  The area was filled with decay and pollution, and smog rose from it.

  Ayna agreed that going there seemed to be looking for trouble, given the appearance of the place; the outside of the Megacities in Tanus seemed rather lawless. Settlements like this held no law enforcement.

  Focusing on the way ahead, Ayna found they travelled for hours on the grassy plains. She kept mostly silent, speaking only occasionally, yet felt mentally tired from the ordeal; despite her body feeling strong, she eased into the journey's rhythm and relaxed.

  Eventually, as the sky grew dark and then dawn emerged, the grassy plains began to end.

  The sun of Tanus was remarkably beautiful. It was a crimson-sanguine colour that made the landscape, composed of fiery-orange vegetation, look surreal.

  As the sun began to rise in the sky, Ayna witnessed its bright intensity emerge, a searing, high heat that felt welcoming to her powers, making her feel at home.

  “Whoa, now that is stunning.” Ayna expressed her feelings.

  Stormflash chuckled as he replied, “Tanus is rather pretty, yet there are many more vivid sights in the Universe, many planets to explore and be in awe of. And trust me, you will never get enough of it, no matter the sights you see.”

  Hearing his earnest words, Ayna felt the longing in them and sensed a story there.

  Yet, she pushed down her words as she saw the outline of Genecies in the distance.

  Genecies was remarkable; it was a state-of-the-art City of ginormous scale, spanning miles, with a multitude of large bio-domes, interconnected as they spanned sections of the City.

  These domes housed the most valued wildlife of Tanus, whilst a well-integrated city surrounded them; tall buildings of unreal proportions rose high in the air as it buzzed with activity.

  Hovering vehicles and railway lines that spanned the City, which blurred at high speeds as magnetic levitation technologies enabled swift, easy transport.

  A giant, gleaming metal wall surrounded the Megacity, with a bright shielding barrier covering the entire city.

  There was a port inside Genecies where offworld transport was available, yet it did not appear in use. Despite the Megacity being full of life, the only shuttles in the sky were Corp militants, protectively hovering overhead.

  “That is big,” Ayna said. She grew anxious at the scale of it; the technologies needed to build such a City seemed outlandish, and her implant meant to hide her identity suddenly felt insufficient, though she knew a City like this was not impressive on the grand scale of the Universe; it felt far more vivid than when she was in the game.

  Stormflash gave a comforting smile as he saw his reaction. He said, “We must continue. It is far more difficult to leave Tanus than enter; the only way we can do anything is to enter that City.”

  Ayna took a deep breath and nodded, ‘It was time to put their disguises to the test!’

  Stormflash and her kept going, the bike pushed to the limits as its remaining fuel grew low. Stormflash bought an additional tank from the Merchant, yet they had been travelling for a long time by this point, and as they neared the City, she saw a road where vehicles were entering.

  Not all entered the City by shuttle or hover vehicle. Ayna knew that frequent travellers still utilised road vehicles, since operators, contractors, and those employed by corps often used the road to hunt for useful beast components to sell.

  Though the more valuable beasts were bred and controlled by the Corps, many wildlife were left to grow naturally in the vast landscape of Tanus, like the Ghadape, and the Corps still bought raw materials from them, since they made far greater profit when they converted them into Gene Solutions.

  Ayna and Stormflash drove up behind the line of vehicles as weary travellers regarded them.

  Though they dressed down, they had an air of capability that came naturally to Supers.

  A grizzled-looking contractor, or better known as a Mercenary, decked in a sturdy-looking armour, nodded at them good-naturedly as he said, “New around? I have not seen you two before, and I am usually good with faces, first time in Genecies?”

  Ayna stayed silent as Stormflash, with ease, intervened and swiftly replied, “That is right. We come from far away, from the Megacity, Floracen. Many remarked that Genecies is good for work and offers many opportunities. Have I got that right? “

  The grizzled contractor had a deep, bellowed laugh as he replied, “That sure is right. You will earn good credit here, boy, if you are capable. I have a good eye for people. I could tell right away the difference between those who will sink or swim here. Genecies is great for men like us, yet it often swallows those who believe they are more capable than they are. The Corps are always in need of those who are truly capable. You will have a good time, and that fine woman of yours will love you for it!”

  Stormflash's confident and casual demeanour cracked at the contractor's last comments, yet before he could respond, the man slapped him firmly on the back and said, “Haha, I’m just jesting, no need to look at me with such fright.”

  Ayna couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that, breaking the ice as Stormflash recovered his composure quickly.

  “You're too old for this nonsense,” Stormflash mumbled sulkingly as they waited in line, as the contractors cracked jokes around them.

  Ayna felt the contractors' easygoing nature helped ease her mind as they approached the imposing City, which held so many well-armed guards and giant mounted guns on its sleek walls, and she felt the deep pressure of the implants' protective measures.

  Eventually, the only one left in front of them was the grizzled contractor who said, “May see each other again, the contractors' hall is rather simple to locate in this place, and we are always looking for capable individuals to group up with. Want to exchange contact information?”

  At this time, a bright idea filled Ayna as she hurriedly prompted him to share with her Stormflash's puzzled look.

  She decided this as she kept thinking about ways to progress, and contractors in the game were also famously known for being Bounty Hunters, wouldn’t it be perfect for locating useful powers for her arsenal, whilst simultaneously dealing with the malicious individuals of society?

  The grizzled contractor sniggered as he replied, “This one has more bite than I expected. I love it! Anyway, my name is Malcolm. Here is my contact, if you decide to do any contractor work, let me know, I can show you around a bit even!”

  Ayna received a prompt from her interface.

  Would you like to register Malcolm as a contact?

  She accepted the prompt and found the contractor's friendly nod in response. It was easy to send a contact request to another interface, and it was instinctive once you connected to one.

  Malcolm left after that, and he quickly turned as the two of them approached the guard in front of a large blue energy shielded barrier; beyond it, it led into the City.

  Unlike the others in Tanus so far, the guards' gear was high-tech, with advanced sky-blue ceramic-polymer defensive plating, whilst he bore a glossy helm with blue-lit eyes; bright LED lights lit it up in sections, with energy cores showing it held some form of energy shielding or weapon systems.

  The guard's voice was monotone, clearly modulated as he sounded synthetic as he said, “Halt! We will run scans and verify your identities before you enter. This is impermissible.”

  Stormflash nodded in no surprise; she tried to copy the unfazed attitude, yet could not hide the slight feeling of nerves.

  Yet, it seemed her worries were for nothing, as her Neural Interface, which was automated to send false information, blocked overrides from the Tanus systems and generated a fake I.D that looked perfect to its systems.

  It made it appear, as planned, that they had registered in Tanus, as everyone had when they came of age and applied for a Neural Interface. The Corps are unable to monitor a planet as large as this one so extensively; an implant that could flawlessly create a falsified I.D. like this was virtually impossible to detect as wrong, as it would slot in seamlessly as a perfect I.D. with no trace, not disturbing the Tanus systems at all.

  She knew such a falsified I.D may not bear the scrutiny of key worlds of the strongest powers of the Universe, but for Tanus, it was acceptable.

  The guard quickly nodded and said, “Welcome to Genecies. You may pass; everything seems to be in order.”

  Without pause, she followed Stormflash as he walked past the guard, the energy shield lowered, and both of them entered.

  The first step has been completed perfectly, now for the next.