Mother Nature, huh? What a load of crap.

Nick was on his fire escape, looking out at the city. It was never quiet, never dark, not even in the middle of the night, and Nick knew it better than any other. He had all his life. 

[i]Metal... Metal... Metal...[/i]

That was it, wasn't it? Metal. Everything he saw was metal. Metal buildings, metal tools, metal world. The city was the work of humans - people like him, who'd carved a place for themselves in the chaos of the world. They rejected the world of 'Mother Nature', built a new one made of metal. And now they were enslaved, and 'Mother Nature' wanted to help them? Not a chance.

As the voice faded out, Nick was well prepared to disregard it all together. His powers were one thing, but the idea that some sort of voice was sending him a vision to help him free his people? That was more than he could believe. It was a trap, probably. Maybe his two-bit campaign anarchy against Vygorn control had garnered him some attention, and now they were trying to off him.

But... what if he wasn't the only one being called? What if there were others like him, who'd been empowered? Who wanted to break the system, set people free? He had to chance it, he realized with a sinking feeling. If there were even a possibility that he could find allies, it'd be better to risk a trap then continue struggling alone, in vain, night after night.

Nick walked back into his apartment and grabbed his hoodie off his bed. He took a moment to tape the sleeves closed, locate the length of chain he carried, and wrap it around his hand. Then, with a deep breath, strode back out into the night. Cloud 9 was maybe ten minutes away. He could get there in five.

Up the fire escape, onto the roof. Sprint across, onto another, then a third. A brief burst of power, another fire escape swinging into place, a jump, up again. He continued like this for six minutes before he landed and rolled just outside Cloud 9, somewhat disappointed at his time.

He pushed the door open warily, unwinding his chain and letting it drag on the ground behind him. There was a staircase, so he took it, only to come face to face with two young women. It appeared his hunch was correct.

"You guys get called too? Hell, and here I was feeling all special."