The Chief wiped her brow, breathing heavily under the hot summer sun. For the past hour, she and her team had worked diligently in response to a natural disaster. A large rock had made it past the Earth’s atmosphere, careening into the valley outside the northern city limits. She was thankful no one was injured, and she could think of worse calls to receive and respond to, but they were treading new waters. She looked at the space rock again, frowning. The City’s geologist team had yet to arrive, and she had given strict instructions to set a wide perimeter and stay clear of the rock. It was only about twice her height, where she would have expected it to be ten or more times her height, and only about two meters wide and long, making it look more like a jagged rectangle sticking up out of the ground. It was strange, too clean and almost symmetrically shaped. It made her wary.
She turned to the geologists a few minutes later as they pulled up in a large truck. They asked if anyone had tried to move it, and she admitted no. Their coordinator asked if her officers could assist in moving the meteor into the back of their truck for transport to their offsite facilities, and she agreed provided they could move it. Signaling to a nearly a dozen officers, all positioned themselves around the rock. ❝After me, wait for my signal!❞ She called, casting all doubt from her voice. Lin alone moved a little closer, now less than a meter from the rock. It was a dull slate color, with no apparent areas of increased heat, and at her new distance, she could not feel any emanation of heat. Biting her lower lip, she reached out one hand and planted her feet before invoking her metal bending, reaching out with every sense, seeking out elements within the rock they could bend.
She was forced suddenly to take a step back, as the rock seemed to radiate energy as if it were alive. Her shock spiked her adrenaline exponentially, and before she could blink, the rock extended itself, encasing her hand within it. ❝Get BACK!❞ She ordered, just before the rock seemingly melted before them, a piece still gripping her tightly, and then leaped toward her, swallowing her and covering her in darkness.
Lin woke up gasping, as if from a bad dream, in a plain, dimly lit room. She scrambled to her feet, groaning when her armor did not move as she did. Bending her armor lose, several shards littered her feet, and she stepped back when she realized they reminded her of the space... thing. She immediately snapped her armor back into position and took in her surroundings, but was interrupted by voices outside the door. Moving behind a pile of boxes, she waited in case they came inside. (closed thread for @cloneofthecavalry)
