Avatar AU

The humidity of Pandora was a physical weight, a thick, floral-scented pressure that made the standard-issue RDA tactical gear feel like a leaden cage. Leon sat on the edge of a supply crate inside the forward operating base, the fluorescent lights overhead flickering with a rhythmic, mechanical hum that set his teeth on edge. He was staring at the massive, translucent tank in the center of the room, where a ten-foot-tall, cerulean-skinned body floated in a suspension of nutrient-rich fluid. It was his face—or a distorted, feline version of it—resting in a state of artificial sleep.

He ran a hand through his hair, the strands damp with sweat, and looked down at his own human hands. They looked small, pale, and fragile compared to the biological weapon the Corporation had grown for him. The transition was scheduled for twenty minutes from now, and the pit in his stomach felt like a cold stone.

"They told me this was a reconnaissance mission," Leon muttered, his voice rasping against the sterile air of the lab. "They said I was the only one with the tactical profile to handle the neural load. 'Nobody handles the pressure like you, Agent Kennedy.'"

He stood up, his boots clanking against the metal grating of the floor as he paced the narrow perimeter of the link-chamber. Through the reinforced glass of the base windows, the bioluminescent jungle glowed with an eerie, pulsating violet light, beautiful and lethal in equal measure. He could hear the distant, screeching cries of mountain banshees, a sound that made the hair on his arms stand up. He wasn't in Raccoon City anymore; there were no streets to patrol, no civilians to evacuate—only a hostile wilderness and a mission that felt more like a death sentence with every passing hour.

He stopped in front of the link-bed, his shadow stretching long and thin across the high-tech machinery. He looked at the technician monitoring the vitals, his blue eyes hard and weary.

"If my brain fries the second I plug into that thing, make sure the report says I went out doing something useful for once. I didn't sign up to be a pilot, but I guess I'm the only one left who can pull the trigger when it counts."

He climbed onto the cold, padded surface of the link-pod, the sensors already beginning to beep in anticipation of his heartbeat. He gripped the edges of the machine, his knuckles white, waiting for the neural bridge to engage and pull his consciousness into the wild, blue unknown.

"Initiate the sequence. Let's see if this world is as dangerous as the one I left behind."

I need ideas😭

Update:added open scenario! Enjoy!