Deeply apart from the worlds we once knew, long after the days of Earth and her sister planets were consumed by their star, there existed a new source of light and life several, several lightyears away.

While humanity managed to survive its galaxy's inevitable end, they weren't the only species to seek refuge in other parts of the universe.

Luminasia, the mecca of peace and evolution. The planet of fluorescent lights and less than favorable air quality, ever-evolving and expanding her influence's reach, housing beings from all over, living as one in a melting pot of sorts.

"Papers! Get ya Newspapers here!!" a digitized fellow yelled repeatedly from his corner on the sidewalk. His form was fragmented, pixellating in and out of focus as he and his solid booth of merchandise swayed in the breeze.

A drizzle of rain patterned over the concrete, coating the air in a whimsical steam while pedestrians passed the floating newsstand, some too busy on their phones or in their conversations to notice. Or care. With a population well into the billions, it wasn't hard to be drowned out by the early evening buzz on the streets of the neon city, buzzing with its usual pass of traffic, foot and motor alike.

Yet the hologram continued its mantra, tossing out other lines involving hot coffee and e-cigarettes at half of the price in most stores.

A tall pale gentleman with stark white shoulder-length hair, suited in a forest green tailored suit approaches the stand. Rain pebbles over his translucent hands-free umbrella that hovered over his head to keep him dry as he and the hologram make eye contact.

"Evening sir! Can I interest you in today's paper?" the AI grins and the gentleman nods.

"Yes. One please.." the customer croons. A peculiar undertone of clicks and coos in his voice. When he blinks, two sets of eyelids flutter horizontally then vertically one bright green irises with his response.

"Oh and one coffee, " he adds, offering his wrist to the salesman for him to scan the glowing symbols etched into his skin as currency.

"Caf or decaf?" the AI perks a pixellated brow.

"Decaf, please."

Once the payment is processed and seemingly out of nowhere, a plain paper cup of coffee appears from under the salesman's left hand. In his right, a single blue capsule wrapped in plastic that fits in the nest of his palm is presented to the green-eyed customer.

He takes the pill, immediately tearing into the package and placing it on his tongue.

In an instant 10,000 words and images rush the gentleman's brain, flashes of images and speedy clips of video footage downloading in seconds as the tablet dissolves. Weather. Traffic. Celebrity gossip. Politics. All are compacted in one consumable capsule.

He blinks, shifting the colorfully distant look in his eyes as more present and the salesman gazes at him blankly with a steaming cup of coffee waiting to be taken by the customer.

Charteues eyes drop to the drink then back up to the AI's manufactured smile, nodding with gratitude before taking it. He lifted it to his lips for a sip, grimacing at the chalky bitterness coating his tongue as he swallowed. He doesn't seem overly offended by the coffee's offputting flavor however since he merely takes it with him.

"Enjoy." the robotic vendor bids the suited male adieu, promptly going back to yelling his pitch to hail in more customers.

That was life in the year 4471. Instant gratification, artificial intelligence. The coffee still sucked but much like most things carried over from the old worlds, very little was the same.

On a night like any other, the glowing streets of the neon city were alight with motion. Vehicles hovered in streams overhead while others remained traveling on the slick roads underfoot.

That was Megan's preferred method of travel, something about the feeling of the pavement beneath her tires kept her grounded. Long cotton candy blue tresses flow in the wind as the engine of her Venomx22GT growled against the damp concrete. Music blasts from her speakers, the bass vibrating through her down to the slope of her seat. Strips of black leather coiled around her luscious brown skin in some semblance of an outfit that covered only the parts of her that were necessary. Summers in Luminasia were sweltering, even after a drizzle, so why else cover up if not just for public decency purposes?

Her curves mimicked the way she leaned to swerve through traffic, unphased by the offensive swears and honks hurled her way for her careless maneuvers. She snickers at their antics, caring only about the path laid out in front of her.

*bling bling bling*

Interrupting her night-riding playlist, a call notification twitters in her ear. If it weren't for the personalized ringtone telling her who it was, she would have ignored it.

Being a professional jack of all trades Megan's line was constantly ringing. Whether it be a noblewoman in need of exclusive details regarding her husband's whereabouts on a particular night, stealing family jewels from museums and returning them to the rightful owners, or organizing entertainment for events dedicated to impoverished Lumin youth of all colors.

Not to mention her side hustle of procuring the very rare and very expensive, from places most people weren't brave enough to go...

Needless to say, our girl was a busy woman.
So calls from her partner in crime meant a few things; money on the way, or news of money to be made.

"Phor..talk to me." she takes the call, tapping her temple and unleashing a hologram strip an inch in front of her right eye. She still has a decent view of her surroundings as she weaves through traffic while her pixelated view of her four-legged, bull-dog confidante with heightened human-like intelligence, transitioned to a high-definition shot of him seated at his wall of projected screens and keyboards.

Phor pauses his constant type to push his tinted glasses up, allowing his color-blind eyes to appreciate his monitor adequately.

"Hey. I've got good news and bad news, Mama. Which first?"

Megan makes of face of careful contemplation with pouted lips.

"Mmmmmm..Gimme the good," she smirks, easing her bike to a stop at the red light.

She looks over, spotting a bright orange muscle car with its windows down blasting music beside her. The driver glances over at her, flashing a wide gold-plated grin before lowering his shades to reveal two sets of glimmering blue eyes. Both of the left two wink at her suggestively while a long yellow serpentine tongue lashes out of his mouth in a hiss.

Megan grimaces before twisting the handlebars of her bike, revving it in preparation to get as far away from the hungry-eyed creature as soon as the light changes.

Tapping away with his paws, Phor narrows his dark gaze at one of the maps on a screen to his right.

"Well...Looks like you were right about the location of one of the synstones hidden in the city. I tracked its sonic signatures to the southside of Mamba District."

Megan smiles at the news.

"I told you my dreams are never wrong." she shimmies her shoulders triumphantly while maintaining her balance on the bike.

But then the mention of the cold blooded's territory dawns on her, and Megan seethes in deepened disgust.

"Ugh! Mamba District? I said good news, Phor!" she exclaims and he chuckles, his long tongue rolling from his mouth as he panted softly.

"That IS good news. Means it's close to where you already are. I'd say 4-6 minutes if you hustle. And I'm pretty sure it's in an abandoned warehouse near the border. So it should be easy to find." he shrugs. The holo-light goes green overhead and Megan doesn't hesitate to lurch forward at a speed she was sure would leave that Lizard-faced onlooker in her dust.

Squinting against the high-speed winds in her face, Megan kisses her teeth.

"Ok, but who would hide a synstone in some raggedy-ass warehouse? Aint that just asking for someone to come take it?" she asks. Phor's consistent typing fills the line as she alters her course in pursuit of Mamba District.

"Who knows? Maybe keeping it under heavy guard would be too obvious.."

For all who have no clue what a synstone is, think of an infinity stone but less threatening. With only 6 existing in the entire universe, synstones were a hot commodity, each of them very different from the others and granting whoever possesses it extremely unique abilities.
While little is known about their true origins, knowledge of their existence has had scavengers and thieves scrambling all over the galaxy to acquire one. Whether it's for their gain or to sell to the highest bidder.

Megan's motivations leaned towards the latter.

"True, true. Alright. So what's the bad news?"

There's a thick pause after her question and Megan would have figured the call dropped if she weren't already looking through Phor's hologram and his apprehensive puppy-eyed expression.

His teeth were bared in a hesitant grimace, making Megan's worry intensify.

"What Phor?" she snaps at him and he exhales loudly.

"Ok. I tracked another signature near the stone as well. A very...familiar one."

Meg's hard scowl softens gradually when the tone of Phor's voice tells her everything he seems afraid to say.

Not afraid for her, more so for her reaction once she faced the very familiar presence they both knew would want the stone just as badly as she did.

"Fucking fabulous. Send me the coordinates." she glowers, but that doesn't stop her from hitting max speed through the glowing night streets and deeper into the neon jungle.