Avery Knight lived for speed.
It wasn't just a thrill—it was her identity. Twenty-five years old, tattooed with engine grease and scars, she was already a legend in her underground racing circuit. Her name echoed through the back alleys of Baltimore, whispered in awe and fear. They called her "Knightmare" not just for her ability to win—but for her refusal to quit, no matter how hard the crash.
Her garage was small, messy, and brilliant. Tools hung like weapons on the walls. Blueprints were scattered across the floor. But in the center sat her masterpiece: a sleek, black-and-silver motorcycle with glowing lines running down its frame. This was no ordinary machine—it pulsed with a soft blue light from its core, something Avery had spent years creating.
The prototype was powered by a quantum energy cell. Avery had worked with stolen schematics, fragments of lost tech, and a gut feeling that speed could be pushed beyond physics. Not just faster—but outside time. She didn't know if the core could do what she thought it could. No one had dared to test such a thing.
Until now.
Thunder rolled outside as rain began to pelt the cracked sidewalk. Avery zipped up her jacket, slid on her reinforced gloves, and straddled the bike. She took a deep breath.
"Alright, girl," she muttered, patting the tank. "Let's see what you're made of."
The engine roared to life with an unfamiliar hum—like electricity and gravity whispering secrets to each other. The HUD inside her helmet flickered with diagnostics. Everything was green.
She took to the streets, weaving through the abandoned industrial park until she hit the straightaway she'd cleared. One mile. That was all she needed.
She punched the throttle.
The bike screamed, wind blasting past her in a howling torrent. The HUD began to distort. Symbols she didn't recognize filled her screen. Her hands gripped the bars tighter. Her heart raced to match the engine's rhythm.
Then came the jump.
She'd built a ramp from scrap, designed to launch her skyward above the power lines. It was madness.
She hit it at full speed.
Lightning cracked across the sky the moment her tires left the ground. Her vision filled with white. A pulse from the core surged through her chest like her ribs had become an antenna. For a brief, impossible moment, she saw everything—a thousand roads through time.
And then… darkness.
When she awoke, she was no longer on a road. The smell of ozone clung to her lungs. Her body ached, helmet cracked. Her bike lay nearby—battered, smoking, the core flickering faintly.
She sat up and blinked. Above her, massive towers stretched into the clouds, their surfaces glowing with neon glyphs. Hovercars zipped past. The skyline pulsed like a living heartbeat. Strange sounds filled the air—languages, alerts, music without instruments.
A massive digital billboard blinked overhead.
Neo-Tokara Central District — Cycle 17, Year 3025
Her mouth fell open.
"Holy shit," she whispered.
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