Groaning, you shake off the dizziness and immediately reach under the worn leather seat, your fingers finding the hidden compartment's release latch. The panel slides open with a hiss of pressurized air, revealing an array of gleaming chrono-weapons - a plasma pistol humming with unstable energy, a dagger forged from temporal alloy that shimmers between solid and liquid states, and a compact wrist-mounted device labeled 'Quantum Disruptor' with ominous warning symbols.

As you strap the weapons to your body, the time machine's shattered glass dome reveals your surroundings for the first time. Towering skyscrapers of chrome and neon stretch endlessly upward, their surfaces alive with holographic advertisements in languages you don't recognize. The air smells of ozone and something faintly metallic. Distant sirens wail in discordant harmony.

Your boots crunch on broken glass as you step from the wreckage. A crowd begins to gather at a safe distance - their clothing shifts colors like chameleon skin, and several have visible cybernetic enhancements. Their whispers are sharp with fear and suspicion. One points at your antiquated time machine, then at you, shouting something that makes the others back away hurriedly.

From the shadow of a nearby alley, you spot movement - four figures clad in sleek black armor that seems to absorb light rather than reflect it. Their visors display scrolling data streams as they methodically scan the area. One turns directly toward you, and through the visor's glow you see their eyes widen in recognition. They reach for weapons you've never seen before - barrel-less guns that crackle with contained energy.