Story: Aya Brea's deviant life (chapter 2)

2. Nightmares

Monday, September 4th 2000, 4.30 a.m.
Aya Brea's apartment, Los Angeles

Aya Brea woke up gasping for air, cold sweat covering her body. Aya had, once again, seen a nightmare about her twin sister, Maya, who had died years ago. Aya wiped away the sweat from her forehead and looked around; she didn't see everything clearly, but still much better than an average person could, thanks to her neo-mitochondria. It took a moment before she was able to shake off the nightmare's grip.

Aya sat for a moment on her bed before she got up; she was sure that she couldn't get more sleep in that night because of the nightmare. Aya stood up and shivered a bit as her bare feet touched the cold flagstone floor. She walked across the floor ignoring the uncomfortable sensation and put the lights on. She looked in the mirror, her chin long, blonde hair was a bit messy and her blue eyes looked a bit tired but it didn't matter, she didn't need as much rest as others and she could sleep properly after work. Her Asian facial features were easily seen on her sleepy face.

Aya's apartment wasn't huge. On the contrary it had only two rooms and a kitchen. It was located in the suburb area of Los Angeles. Her apartment wasn't like she had hoped for all her life; she would like to have her own house someday, however, a little bit further from the city. But for now her job demanded her to stay near the center of the city. Someday, when she would hopefully have girlfriend or wife she would retire her dangerous job, re-educate and buy the house of her dreams.

The apartment Aya had now was the best possible for the moment. She had decorated it in Japanese style. There were, beside the basic equipments (like sofa, bed, televison, stereo, household appliances etc.), things that Aya found fascinating like paintings and Japanese ornaments, for remindement of her mother and sister. Aya's father, however, was an American journalist who she hadn't seen since she was a small child. After the car accident that had cost her mother and sisters lives when Aya was fourteen, she had grown up in a foster home in her home city, Boston. It all had taught her will and skill to survive but it also left some scarves. However, Aya had managed to recover from the trauma and after high school she started to study criminology at the University of Massachuttes, ending up as a police officer in New York.

Aya stepped into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of ice-cold water. The kitchen had just been renowed and everything was shining new. Being an FBI agent gave you quite a nice salary added with the hunter bonus after every killed NMC. Even if she had to buy her own equipments, she still earned nicely and had managed to organise herself a rather nice new life. Still at times her past life came to haunt her, like it had in this night.

Aya noticed that the glass in her hand was shaking slightly. Quickly she drank it all and forced herself to calm down a bit. Her work was really stressing and even in her home she couldn't entirely forget her job and she was always vigilant. Her lonely home just reinforced those feelings. She rarely saw any nightmares, but these were definitely the worst kinds of. Her thoughts drifted once again in the past against her will. This time she thought about New York Blockade Incident that had taken place in 1997. The public thought it was just a normal, tragic incident, but Aya knew better because she had been there. It was the first time NMCs had appeared. It was the first time Aya's own neo-mitochondria had awoken. It was the first time the Mitochondria-Eve had been born to give birth to the Ultimate Being, which Aya had killed in the end. The thought still made herl shiver. It had been so close that those things had took over every person on this planet.

Back then Aya had just been a rookie police officer, but after the NY incident she had resigned. Due many different events, Aya ended up working in the FBI's MIST (Mitochondrian Investigation and Suppression Team) unit. She moved from New York to Los Angeles, as well as the creatures spread slowly to the west though their numbers were decreasing. That job certainly suited for Aya because of her mitochondria powers; she was able to fight the creatures even without guns, though she usually kept them with her for a backup and because there was a limitation how much she could use her powers without drying up. But her powers also had their downsides, they isolated her even more from normal people. Her social life was a joke and her only friends were also working in the MIST.
Most ironic in the whole thing was the fact that both, Aya and Mitochondria-Eve, had gotten their neo-mitochondria from Aya's twin sister Maya. It had been transferred into Aya during her corneal transplant after the tragic car accident. Mitochondria-Eve (who had been, before the transformation, a singer called Melissa Pearce) had attained it in liver transplant in the same time. However it couldn't take over Aya's body, like it had Melissa's, due Aya's evolved cell nuclei. It had formed a symbiotic relationship with Aya, granting her mitochondria powers and ever youth. She was twenty-seven but looked like she was in her early twenties.

Aya put the glass on the sink and opened the fridge door. She observed its contents and found them slim. She decided to grab something on the way to work, she wasn't that hungry yet. Aya rarely remembered to visit shop after her day was over. Her thoughts still lingering at work and when she didn't need to feed anyone else than herself, it was fairly easy to forget. Sometimes the loneliness bothered Aya, but at this point in her life it seemed almost impossible to meet anyone who she could tell her secret or reveal her job without endangering them in some way or freaking them out. Actually she had to keep MIST and NMCs secret from the public so she couldn't tell even if she wanted to and she didn't want to start a relationship knowing she had to hide huge things like those.

Aya sighed and started to get ready for the day's run. It was still dark but it didn't bother Aya. No other human could represent any threat to her because of her powers. Still she took her gun with her, in the case NMCs would attack. She couldn't use her powers if there were people watching. Aya wanted to jog early in the morning, the less people witnessing her incredible speed and durability the better. Aya tied up her sneaker's strings and was ready to take off. Even though she had woken earlier than usual, it didn't mean she had any time to waste; after jogging she would have to take shower, change clothes and grab a bite before the new working day. Aya turned off the lights of her apartment and locked the door before leaving for her run.

A/N: If there is something you don't understand or if you're not familiar with the game, feel free to ask and I'll try my best to answer.

Story: Aya Brea's deviant life (chapter 2)

Chapter 2