Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Really, David had no clue where he was going. He had left his house as aimless as he felt, intent on just wandering the streets as he tried to collect himself. Wasn’t like he had to go to school anymore. He scoffed at the thought. Like he’d even want to go back to that shithole if he could. At least he’d given that gonk Katsuo a nice goodbye present.

Still, without a school schedule to worry about, he was adrift. His mom wasn’t there anymore to dispense wisdom, help him find his way. Mom… He found a spot between a junkie and some guy in the midst of a BD, sat down and pulled his knees up to his face. He didn’t cry, but damn did he feel like he should be. The grief was like a weight in his stomach as he pictured her.

Fuck, he was such a gonk. Sitting here moping around like a kicked dog? He had bills to pay, now, and he couldn’t afford to sit around feeling bad about himself. Besides… that wasn’t what she would’ve wanted. He gave himself a moment, collected himself, and stood back up. He needed to find something to do. What, he didn’t know, but he knew he wasn’t going to do it in Santo. Maybe he’d take the metro somewhere-

Gunfire. His ears perked up and he glanced in the direction of the shots. Usually, he might’ve brushed it off; this was Night City, after all. But then he heard the screaming. “-fucking gonks’re gonna be EezyBeef when I’m through with you!” shouted a raspy voice, followed up by another flurry of gunfire.

Stupid as it was, he chose to walk towards the sound. Why, he had no clue. Wasn’t exactly a smart policy to walk towards gunshots. Fuck, maybe he had a deathwish. By the time he was second-guessing, however, he already had a view of the action. The woman stood out to him- she was small, with mint colored hair and pale gray skin. She was wearing a black hoodie and, as far as he could tell, nothing else underneath it. Her eyes were wide and manic, and he could see the hints of pink tattoos on her neck and thigh. In a city of weirdos, she still seemed incredibly unique. She had a pair of pistols in her hands, but she was ducked behind a dumpster as a few thugs shot at her.

His eyes widened. One of the thugs had grabbed a grenade from his belt, was winding up to throw it. She didn’t notice? David looked back at the girl, who hadn’t moved from her cover, still spewing insults at the guys shooting at her.

She wouldn’t get out of the way in time. She’d die. The guy with the grenade was winding up, but from her place behind the dumpster, she wouldn’t notice until too late. Even if he shouted out to her, there wasn’t anywhere for her to hide.

So what? People die every day in Night City. Getting involved would just add him to the list. He knew that, he wasn’t dumb. Even still, as he watched the grenade leave the thug’s hand, saw her glance over the dumpster and realize what was happening a second too late, he couldn’t just watch. Couldn’t keep walking.

The Sandevistan on his back kicked in, and suddenly time was moving at a snail’s pace. He ran forward, heart racing, and did the first thing he could think of. David scooped the girl up in his arms and ran like hell, turned a corner down another alley and got behind a trash can for good measure. Time returned to normal, and then came the deafening roar of the grenade, exploding.

The girl, probably still acting on adrenaline and instinct, brought her gun up under his chin. He froze, muscles going tense, feeling the still hot steel pressed up against him. Was he about to get his brains blown out for saving this chick? What a lame way to die…

Luckily for him, she had the restraint not to pull the trigger. Instead, she said, “Ho-lee shit, what in the fuck was that? Did you just… Was that a fuckin Sandevistan?” She took a shuddering breath, the reality of the situation hitting her like a brick. The gun lowered, and he let out a sigh of relief, glancing down at her with a nervous smile.

“Uh… I think I saved your life,” He said, gingerly setting her down and not answering her second question. She brushed herself off, looking up at him with an indecipherable mix of emotions. Then, she gave him a smirk, and even in the current circumstances it made him blush a bit. She was obviously confident, even after having been saved from near-death, and it showed in her smile.

“Yeah, noticed,” She says with a snort, “Thanks for that one, choom. Can’t have this pretty face shredded by shrapnel, can we?” She groans, hearing the thugs from before rounding the corner, obviously having recovered from the shock of some random third party saving their target and now ready to finish the pair.

“Can’t let your work go to waste!” She says, a near maniacal grin spreading across her face. “Stay low, Sandy. I’ll take it from here!” Pistols in hand, she pops up over the dumpster he’d deposited them behind. David watches, stunned, as she puts a hole in the forehead of the first two thugs simultaneously.

“You gonks short-circing? I’ve got a fuckin’ Sandy for backup! Just delta already!” Her sentence was punctuated by another few shots, and then she ducked back down to avoid the spray of bullets that retaliated. She gave him a glance, shooting him a thumbs up before popping up once more. This time, after her salvo, there’s no retaliating fire. She sighs, glancing down at him. “We’re clear, choom!”

Despite the multiple warm bodies she’d left in her wake, her grin hadn’t faltered in the slightest. Honestly, it was sorta mesmerizing. Was he staring? Shit, he felt like he was. “That was crazy!” He finally said, standing up to survey the scene, “Are you alright?” The girl rolled her eyes at his questions, reaching out and shoving him playfully.

“‘Course I am,” she says cockily, “I’ve done this shit before, choom. You, on the other hand, look like a fish outta water. You good?” She was right- his heart was pounding in his chest. Kicking the shit out of Katsuo had been one thing, but actually being in the line of fire? Yeah, it was fuckin’ scary.

Still, for some reason, he didn’t want to admit that to her. Instead, he shrugged. “I’m fine,” He said, “Not like I got shot, right?” Her grin only widened at that, which made him more than a little bit nervous. 

“Got some pretty preem chrome for a no-name kid,” She said, tucking her guns away as she talked. “How’d you end up chipping in a fuckin’ Sandy? More importantly, where’d you even find one?”

He frowned at the question as his thoughts went back to his mom. He didn’t know why she’d had the Sandevistan, but he knew it probably wasn’t for innocent reasons. Whatever it was, he knew she’d been doing it for him, and that just made it hurt more. “Got it from someone close to me,” He said softly, “Why do you care?”

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. “No reason,” She said, “Just a chrome jock I know has been bitching about not getting a Sandy he ordered. I was kinda hoping you had a hookup so I could get that gonk his stupid Sandy and get him to stop complaining.” He blinked. His mom had a Sandevistan inexplicably when she died, and now this solo’s friend was complaining about not getting one? Could’ve been a coincidence, but it was definitely a weird one. He did his best not to show what he was thinking on his face- if it was a Sandevistan intended for one of her friends, he didn’t want her to know that.

He was jarred from his thoughts as she started talking again. “Well,” She said, “I definitely owe ya one, choom. Can’t stick around though, I’ve still got a job to do. Didn’t just start a shootout for fun!” He nodded, though he could definitely see this girl starting a shootout for fun. “I’ll give you my deets, though. You can gimme a call when ya wanna cash it in!”

Then, he thought of something. “Nah, no need. I already know what I want.” The girl cocked an eyebrow at him, so he continued. “Let me work this job with you.” She blinked, obviously surprised by his request. “If I do good,” He added, “You let me keep working with you. If I’m dead weight, it’s whatever.”

She cocked her head to the side, seeming to study him for a second. Then, she asked, “But why? Like, if you’re after eddies you can just ask. It’d be easier than zeroing motherfuckers with me.”

He shook his head. “No point,” He said, “I only get one favor, right? No matter how many eddies I ask you for, they’ll run out, and then I’m fucked. ‘Sides, I think I’d rather flatline than find some boring ass job serving corpos to try and pay rent. I’d rather be like you.” For a moment, she just stared. It made him uncomfortable, the way her red eyes seemed to bore right into him.

“What?” He asked, “Why are ya lookin’ at me like that?” Then, suddenly, she started laughing. It seemed to bubble up from within her, at first just a giggle, then a full on laughing fit. She doubled over, clutching her stomach as she laughed. He scoffed, reaching out and shoving her shoulder. “The fuck is so funny about that?”

He crossed his arms, glaring at her as she finally stopped laughing, sighing happily and giving him a grin. “Nothing!” She says, “Just never had somebody say they want to be like me before! I’m not turnin’ down some gonk with a Sandy offering to help me out, that’s for sure.” She reaches out her hand to him, and he takes it, shaking her hand. “Now that we’re partners,” She says with a grin, “We oughta know each other’s names, right? I’m Rebecca.”

He nodded. For a moment, he considered using a fake name, but it kinda seemed pointless. She didn’t seem like the type to dig up info or anything. “David,” He said, stepping back and crossing his arms. “So, what’s the job?”

Rebecca hums thoughtfully, a bit of sarcasm in her voice as she replies, “Baby punk’s suddenly all business, huh? Cute name, by the way.” He breaks eye contact with a scoff. She still seemed to not be taking him seriously at all. At least she doesn’t push him any further after that. “It’s pretty simple,” She says, “Especially now that I’ve got you, actually.”

“Oh yeah?” He replied, “How’s that?”

“Well,” She starts, “The job’s for me to get back a package. That chrome jock friend of mine ordered a new piece, but the delivery guy got jumped and lost it. I’m gettin’ paid to get it back.”

He nodded thoughtfully. It was a pretty simple job, at least. He had to wonder how she’d managed to go from that into an all out firefight, though he wouldn’t ask out loud. No point being antagonistic. “I was planning on just busting into their place,” She continued, saying it so casually she might as well have been talking about walking a dog, “But now I’ve got you, choom! With that Sandy of yours, you can get in and out with the shit before they even notice. We get our eddies, and we don’t have to zero any more gonks.” He liked the ‘we’, he thought. He hadn’t asked for a cut, but she had seemingly decided he’d be getting one.

“Nova,” David said, “Sounds like a cake walk.” Honestly, at least part of that was him trying to convince himself. Sandevistan or not, he’d be willingly walking into the midst of a bunch of presumably armed people, with the intent of stealing something from them.

Despite his bravado, she seemed to pick up on what he was actually feeling. She patted him on the shoulder- it took a bit of reaching, given her height- and gave him a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, choom, it’s no big if things go south. I’ll bust in after you and we can go plan B if you get caught!” With a wink, she added, “The B stands for badass. Or Becca. Really, kinda interchangable!”

Suddenly, he didn’t feel so nervous about the whole thing. He actually chuckled at her little joke, nodding. Voice a bit less tense, he said, “Right, of course. With you watching my back I’ve got nothing to worry about. Still, I am a little bit worried about one thing…”

Rebecca gives him a curious look. “Yeah?” She asks, “What’s that?”

“Oh, just… well, you can watch my back, sure, but I don’t think you can really see over it, can you?” The short joke earned him a punch to the shoulder from the small woman. He couldn’t help but chuckle happily. If he had to get caught up in a shootout with anybody, at least it had been somebody fun, right?

“You good to go, choom?” David nodded, before realizing she couldn’t see him.

“All good,” He transmitted back, not actually saying anything out loud. He was currently crouched in front of a broken window, peering over it into the abandoned warehouse that a small group of thugs had made their home. According to Becca, they weren’t official members of any actual gang. Unfortunately for them, they’d robbed the wrong delivery guy.

Was it weird that he was already thinking of her with that nickname? They’d literally just met, and yet he was thinking of her as ‘Becca.’ Maybe it was because she just seemed like the type of person who defied seriousness, so a nickname just seemed more fitting. “Any time-time, just let me know when you’re going in.”

Right. He couldn’t get distracted. He took a deep breath, studying the situation. He’d been told the package was small, hidden inside a pizza box. Had the delivery guy been robbed for food rather than the chrome, maybe? It struck him as a stupid way to hide someting, but he wasn’t a cyberware dealer. 

Focus up, David. Another deep breath. Then, he transmitted, “Going in.” As soon as he said it, the Sandevistan kicked in, and he vaulted through the broken window. As time dilated around him, he felt this sense of… omnipotence, maybe? Untouchability? He was running through the warehouse with the knowledge that the people he was running towards had no clue he was there. Even if they did, they couldn’t have done anything. It was almost funny; in fact, it was hilarious!  His breathing was slow, steady, as he moved through the warehouse, eyes darting around to find the package.

There. A pizza box sitting open, something wrapped up in brown paper that sure wasn’t pizza sitting inside. Score. He could feel the Sandevistan purring on his back, power thrumming through his nerves. David wasn’t experienced enough using it yet to know how long he had left, but he didn’t waste time. He went right through the group, grabbed what was in the box, and deltaed back out. 

That was when the Sandevistan gave out. He knew it’d happen a moment before it did- the purr became a vibration, his nerves went hot. He ducked behind a pile of pallets right before his perception went back to normal.

“Shit,” He transmitted, “Out of time. Got the thing, using Sandy again to get out-out.”

“You sure?” Becca said back, “Can’t delta without it?”

That one confused him. “Why do you care?” He asked wordlessly, intrigued enough to keep his position behind the pallets for a second. The gonks hadn’t even noticed the package having disappeared from the box yet. Most of them were probably high off some shit, anyways, so he had time.

“It’s a Sandy,” She said back, like it should’ve been obvious, “You’ll poach your brain, gonk.”

“Not me,” He sent back, voice suddenly slightly defensive, “If it was gonna happen, already woulda. I’ll be fine.”

There was a second’s pause before Becca just said, “Yeah, whatever. Let’s go, get back out here.” He kicked the Sandevistan back into effect, and everything crawled to a halt once again. Clutching the package, he made his way back to the window, vaulting back out successfully. Once again, the effect of the Sandevistan faded.

He could hear shouting inside. “The gonks finally realized their score’s gone,” He said, crouching down so he wouldn’t be seen, “They’ll be looking for us now.”

“Nova,” She said back, “Let’s regroup and delta, quick. Unless you wanna get into your second shootout of the day?” As far as he could tell, she didn’t seem against the prospect of another shootout. Go figure. Still, he’d like to avoid that outcome if possible.

Becca wasn’t far- he could see her mint-green hair from here, in fact- but getting to her would require him leaving his spot crouched under the window, and in turn might get him seen by the now alert people inside. On the other hand, if he waited too long, they might start checking around the perimeter…

Fuck it. One more time wouldn’t hurt. His Sandevistan went into effect once again, and he dashed away, trying to curve out of the line of sight of the window on his way. Even if they couldn’t hit him, they’d notice the blur of his form and be able to figure out where they were hiding, if any of them were looking out the window. He cut it off once he was next to Becca again, his sudden appearance making her jolt. “Let’s get out of here,” He said, showing her the package clutched under his arm, “Before they start looking too hard.”

She grinned, shoving his shoulder playfully. “Good fuckin’ job, choom! I sure ain’t complaining about not wasting my time zeroing more of those gonks.” Her energy was infectious, and he grinned right back. The praise felt nice, no doubt. “Let’s go grab a drink before we drop it off, yeah? My treat. Celebrate your first job!” She turned and started moving without waiting for him to agree, but he would’ve said yes anyways. He followed her, and the pair quickly got away from the warehouse before they thought to start checking outside. 

He quickly recognized the path- she was heading in the direction of the metro station. “Oh, uh, where exactly are we going?” He asked. She glanced over her shoulder at him, and then turned to face him, now walking backwards but keeping up pretty much the same pace.

“Watson,” She said, “I live over there. We’ll stop at Afterlife first, then I’ll ping my buddy, have him meet me at my place.” 

“Afterlife?” He replied, slightly surprised by the choice, “Sounds nova!” She snorted at his response, turning back around to face where she was walking.

“You’re fuckin’ adorable, David. All starstruck and shit. It’s great!” He flushed, against himself. He'd been doing that too much around her, he thought.

Then again, he didn't hate the feeling.

Chapter Text

Why’d he have to go and be so cute? It just wasn’t fair, she thought. How was she supposed to react when he looked away all shy every time she complimented him? Wannabe punk with chrome he shouldn’t have even been able to handle, going from badass one second to sheepish the next, who wouldn’t love that?

She glanced over at him thoughtfully. He was staring down at the wrapped package in his lap. She nudged his shoulder and he looked up at her. “So,” She started, “Why do you wanna be like me, choom? Life as a cyberpunk ain’t fuckin’ easy, I’ll tell you that.” 

She’d been wondering that ever since he’d saved her from that grenade, in fact. Most people in this fuckin’ city would’ve been happy to let her end up a stain on the pavement. Wasn’t like she could blame them, honestly. “Told you,” He said, “I need the eddies. Need to be able to make it on my own. I got bills to pay.”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on,” She said, “Get real. There are easier ways to get by. Hell, you’re probably cute enough to be a joytoy for a bit, hang out at Lizzie’s so you won’t have to pay any bills.” She knew that one from experience. That had been how she’d survived in Night City for a while, the tattoos on her body proved it to anybody who cared to look.

“Yeah, right,” He said, and she was surprised by the amount of spite he carried in her voice, “So my options are to scrape by serving corpo shitheads at some terrible fuckin’ job or sell my dignity? No fuckin’ thanks. This is a preem gig compared to that.” 

“Watch it,” She hissed back, feeling a need to defend herself even though she’d been separate from the Mox for years, “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with being a joytoy.” The glance he shot her seemed surprised by his reaction, but he sighed and nodded.

“You’re right,” He replied, “Sorry.” She patted his shoulder. It wasn’t like Rebecca was pissed at him, but he was obviously naive. He was a baby punk, no reason to get all bent outta shape about it.

“No worries,” She says, “But I’m not lettin’ you get off that easy. You gotta have some real motivation to do shit like this. Just getting by ain’t gonna keep you alive, choom. Gotta work for somethin’.” He nodded thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with one hand as he tried to come up with an answer. Suddenly, she was back to that first thought- what the fuck right did he have to be so cute? She looked away before he could notice her staring. Usually, she was the one getting stared at, but she really didn’t mind the change of pace.

“My mom always wanted me to make it. Climb the ladder, top of Arasaka Tower. I guess that’s my dream.” She furrowed her brow. Then, she reached out and shoved his shoulder.

“No,” She said sternly, “It’s gotta be for you. It can’t be for somebody else, you gonk! I don’t care who the fuck it is, your mom or anybody else. You gotta do it for you.”

“Ain’t like there’s anything wrong with it,” He said back, clearly defensive, “What’s wrong with following somebody else’s dream?” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Too fuckin’ sweet. That was really his problem, as far as she could tell.

“Listen,” She said, “Other people’s dreams can be good motivation to get shit done, for sure. But if it ain’t your dream, that makes you disposable. Gotta be your own, or you’ll end up dying for some stupid shit.” She’d seen enough people die to make that claim. Her tone was deathly serious as she turned to look him in the eye. “I’m gonna ask you again, what’s your motivation? If I don’t like the answer, that’ll be it for us, choom.”

He seemed stunned by her sudden change in attitude, eyes wide as saucers. Still, he needed to hear it. If he was gonna be all altruistic and shit, it was best that he get the fuck out now. She didn’t wanna see someone like him die. After a moment’s hesitation, he said softly, “You’re right. Didn’t think about it like that, I guess.”

She nodded, crossing her arms. “Damn right I am! You’ll get used to me always being right eventually. Now spit it out!”

“I wanna live my life on my terms. Get all the shit my mom wanted for me, my own way. Rub it in all those corpo shithead’s faces on my way to the top, y’know?” Becca grinned, clapping her hands.

“Now that? That’s a good-ass dream, David!” She punched him on the shoulder playfully. Suddenly, she was feeling good again. She was honestly surprised she’d managed to get through to him, but she wasn’t gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. Some part of her figured he was just saying it to get her off his back- even if that was the case, she’d force him to stick to it. If they were gonna be working together, that was her job.

“Remember that shit, choom.” She was already on her feet as the metro came to a stop, shooting him a thumbs up and a wink. “Let’s go get fuckin’ smashed, yeah?”

God, he was so damn cute. If she wasn’t worried it’d scare him off, Becca would’ve just asked him to go home with her then and there. The easy smile that spread across his face had her heart racing. “Hell yeah, sounds nova.”

Yeah, she liked that smile, she figured. He looked even better when he was smiling. She’d have to make him do that more.

“You fuckin’ kidding me, asshole? I’ve come through here a hundred fuckin’ times!” She shoved the bouncer, hard, but he barely even moved. In fact, he fuckin’ laughed at her! Now the bastard really had her fuming. She’d come through here a million times, and now she was getting shit for being short?

“Go ask Rogue you gonk!” She yelled, “She’ll kick your ass for not lettin’ me in!”

The bouncer scoffed. “Listen,” He said, sounding condescending as all hell, “Just fuck off, will ya? Don’t wanna kick the shit out of some little girl, that’d kill my whole night.”

She gritted her teeth so hard David was probably hearing it. This fuckin’ asshole. She reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out her pink pistol, shoving it into his face. “Yeah? How ‘bout I zero you, then? Think that’d kill your night, dickhead?”

She heard a few other guys pulling guns on her, surrounding her. Not like she cared. David stepped in, saying, “Becca, calm down, alright? No point getting into a fuckin’ fight over this joint, we can get a drink somewhere else. Let’s just delta.”

She shook her head. “No fuckin’ way I’ll let these motherfuckers just humiliate me and get away with it. Bring Rogue out, now!”

Then, weirdly, David just sighed. “Fine, fine,” He said, and before she even had a chance to process, she was inside, being cradled in his arms for the second time that day. She blinked, just staring up at him for a second, heart pounding in her ears. Usually, she hated being reminded of her stature, but this was a different story. For once, she was pretty damn happy she was small.

Still, she had a reputation to keep up. “Wh-What, you got a thing for pickin’ me up or something? Just ask me out already then!” His cheeks went pink and he hastily set her back down. That was more like it. Being on the other side of that dynamic was weird, so she was glad to get things back to normal. “Still, should ya really be using your Sandy for somethin’ like that?”

“I’m fine,” He said, still not making eye contact with her, “Couldn’t let you get humiliated like that, could I?”

She scoffed, shooting back, “Right, because getting carried around isn’t.” She started making her way over to the bar, him a few steps behind her.

“Fine,” David said dismissively, “I won’t pick you up anymore. Sorry.” She stopped in her tracks and shot him a look over her shoulder. Didn’t he understand the concept of playful banter?

“Didn’t say that,” She said, finally sidling up to the bar and ordering two Johnny Silverhands, passing one over to him. He was studying the drink like it was a venomous snake, shooting her a weird look. “It’s not poisoned, jeez! Just fuckin’ drink it! We’re celebrating here, aren’t we? What, you don’t drink?”

He shook his head, seeming almost defensive, like his cred would take a hit if he didn’t. Sure, she would’ve razzed him about it, but it was just in fun! “Nah, it’s not that, just… is this carbonated? I don’t know what’s in it.”

She took a sip from her drink, studying him for a second. What was he asking? “I mean, not like there’s soda in it, if that’s what you’re asking?” That did seem to be what he was looking for, as he quickly brought the glass up to his lips and took a swig. He winced as it went down, which did put a smirk on her face, but she was too hung up on this carbonation thing.

“You telling me you don’t drink soda or nothin’?” He shook his head, and she just stared disbelievingly for a second.

“Woah, hold the fuck on, you’re saying you’ll save some random gonk from a grenade, but soda’s where you draw the line? Why?” Again, he had that stupidly cute little blush going on, and she just wanted to pounce on him right there. But she couldn’t. He wasn’t that type of guy, she could already tell. He’d be weirded out, or just flat out refuse her, and that’d be that.

Good things come to those who wait, Becca. No need to rush it. He’s just a baby punk, after all! “Dunno,” He said with a shrug, “Just never liked it, I guess. Don’t like smoking either.” He took another sip from his cocktail.

She started giggling. She couldn’t help it! He was so fuckin’ weird! One minute he was a badass, the next he was worried about there being soda in his drink! “Hey, if you laughing at me is gonna be a regular thing, this partnership shit won’t work out!”

His self-seriousness didn’t help her stop laughing. In fact, she only laughed harder, until she was leaning on the bar for support. “David, my man,” She said, wiping a tear from her eye as she finally managed to calm down, “You gotta know how funny that is, right? The maniac that chipped in a Sandy is afraid of bubbles in his drink.” She sighs happily as he snorts, turning his attention back to his drink.

“You’re right,” He said, another chuckle bubbling out of him, “It’s pretty damn funny, isn’t it?” She nodded, finishing her cocktail and slamming the glass down onto the bar. She turned to face him, wordlessly gesturing for the bartender to get her another drink. 

“So,” She says, “We should figure out business shit before we get too drunk. My friend’s gonna want his package tonight. I figured I’d tell him to meet me at mine later tonight to pick it up. That cool with you?” Of course, would it hurt if she told Maine to come later than they’d need? She didn’t see anything wrong with that. What was wrong with wanting to keep having fun with a cool guy? 

“Nova,” He said, “Works for me. Not like I’ve got anywhere to be tonight.” Was that melancholy she detected in his voice? She decided to probe him on it a bit. 

“Y’know, that’s kinda really sad, choom. No parties goin’ on? Hot date? Not even a strict parent at home waiting to chew you out for staying home too late?” He winced. Shit. Too far? No, he’d been fine with the jokes so far… Oh, shit. “Sorry, didn’t mean to strike a nerve, or anything. Seriously. I wouldn’t have said it if I knew, y’know.”

David gave her a grimace that might have been intended to make her feel better, but only made her feel worse. “It’s fine, honestly,” He said, “You didn’t know. My uh… my mom. She died, pretty recently.” Nice one, Becca. Good fuckin’ job. She didn’t show it on her face, but she was honestly kicking herself. Of course, she’d accidentally joke about a guy’s recently deceased mom. Only her!

“Jeez, sorry to hear that… I guess it makes a bit more sense now. Being all worried about her dreams, wanting to make it on your own…” She let out a sigh, grabbing the second drink the bartender had gotten her and taking a pensive sip. “It’s rough, choom.”

He nodded, finally finishing his own drink. There was a moment of silence, which Becca usually hated with a burning passion, but this one felt amicable. She let it be, waiting for him to break it when he was ready. Then, finally, it happened. “I just… it still doesn’t feel real, that she’s just gone. Going home to my apartment and it being so empty and quiet.”

She just listened, quietly, again a change of pace for her. She hadn’t expected things to get so somber, so soon. All because of a shitty joke- who knew? “She was good, y’know? She did everything she could to make things work out for me. Wanted me to have a good life. That type of shit just doesn’t last in this fuckin’ city.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip. She agreed with that sentiment, but that was the sad part. As far as she could tell, he was the same type of good that Night City just didn’t allow for. “Shit, I get it, choom,” She said, pushing that thought aside for the moment, “I mean, not like I ever had fuckin’ loving parents, but I get the feeling.”

“Orphan?” He asked, to which she could only shrug.

“Maybe not officially,” She said, “But if my parents are alive out there, they sure as hell do not want me to find them. Not that I’m looking, anymore.” She sighed. She’d spent a while alone, Pilar mostly an abstract figure in her life. She didn’t blame him, really. Guy wanted to make it, he couldn’t be straddled with his six year old sister, and he sent her enough money to keep her alive. “Far as I know, it’s just me and my gonk-ass older brother.”

She huffed. Now they were both in a bad mood, huh? “Sorry, didn’t mean to kill the whole vibe,” She said, “This was supposed to be a celebration! C’mon, it’s your first job, choom, let’s get into a celebratory mood!”

He nodded, giving her one of those cute little grins, and suddenly everything felt like it was alright again. “How do you usually celebrate?” He asked, “Just get drinks?”

“I mean, usually I like to do some dancing, too…” She trailed off, a smirk spreading across her face. “Hey, choom, you got a dance chip?” She knew the answer before he even said it, only making her even more excited.

“Nah, never saw the need…” He said sheepishly.

“Nova!” She said, “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, choom. Means I get to teach ya.” She grabbed his hand, pulling him up before he could resist. This was a perfect opportunity! Show off her moves, dance with a cute guy, and watch him be clumsy and awkward? What wasn’t to love?

“Becca, I don’t-” She rolled her eyes, glancing over her shoulder as she started dragging him over to the dance floor.

“C’mon, choom,” She said, “It ain’t the end of the world to dance with a pretty girl, is it?” Evidently, he couldn’t argue with that, as he stopped putting up resistance and just walked with her out to the dance floor. “It really isn’t that hard. Honestly, it’s better to just learn than chip it in, more fun that way too!”

Admittedly, the music they played in Afterlife wasn’t her favorite, but it’d do. It was good enough to move her body to, at least, and that was really all club music needed to be. “Alright, first of all,” She said, having to raise her voice a bit to be heard over the music, “Just show me what you think you should be doing.”

She had to bring her hand up to cover her mouth so he wouldn’t see her snickering. He was so stiff! He’d fallen into some awkward little two step, and he was even a bit behind the beat. His hands were shoved in his jacket pockets and he was staring at the floor, looking exactly as out of place as he probably felt. She let him go for a second before stopping him. “Okay, um… good start, choom!”

He rolled his eyes, obviously picking up on her tone. “I never said I was a dancer.” 

“No, seriously! The little step thing, that’s good, you’re just… way too stiff. You look nervous, choomba. Chill out!” She reached out, grabbing his wrists and yanking them out of his jacket pockets. “Listen, just dance with me, alright? Follow me, but mostly focus on the beat, y’know? Keep your hands moving, and look like you wanna be here.”

She scooted closer to him, beginning to move with the music. It was honestly kinda second nature to her, so she could mainly focus on David’s movements. As she swayed her hips, she noticed him staring- she was sure he was just trying to make sure he was on the same rhythm as her, but it was just too easy a target to pass up.

“Likin’ what you see, choom?” She scooted in a bit more, getting close enough that their chests were practically touching. He looked away, though he still kept up with her rhythm.

“You’re just… really good at this!” She knew this was a good idea. He was obviously enraptured by her! She reached out, once again grabbing his wrists. This time, she guided them down to her hips. He was obviously very tense, clearly worried he’d do something wrong and offend her.

“When you’re dancing with someone,” She said, “It’s cool to touch them. I mean, don’t get too handsy, but I don’t think you’re that type of guy, are ya?” He shook his head wordlessly, just staring down at his hands for a second, like he was shocked to be in this situation.

Then, right as she was really starting to have fun, she got a call from Maine. She was good at multi-tasking, so she just accepted it and kept dancing. David gave her a curious look, though, obviously noticing her optics changing to indicate the call. 

>Becca: the fuck do you want?

>Maine: ain’t it obvious? don’t got all night-night, Becca, let’s get this meeting over and done with.

>Becca: what’s the rush, choom?

>Becca: chrome’s still gonna be here in an hour

>Becca: fiending for a new implant that hard?

>Maine: watch it

>Maine: didn’t think you were the type for delayed gratification

>Maine: don’t you want your eddies?

>Becca: not the point

>Becca: in the middle of something

David leaned down a bit so he wouldn’t have to yell over the music. “Who are you talking to?” He asked.

“Our client,” She said, “He’s getting impatient.” David frowned, glancing around the club. He’d removed his hands from her hips- why did he do that?

“Shouldn’t we delta, then?” She blinked. Was there a good reason not to? One that she could give him without seeming weird? There really wasn’t. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded, though she really would’ve preferred to tell Maine to fuck off and keep on dancing.

>Becca: be at mine in 15

>Maine: got it.

She ended the call, turning her attention back to him. “Let’s go. My place isn’t far, we can get our eddies and then I can give you the tour!” It was alright. After all, ideally, this would just be the first of many nights they could hang out together! Rebecca paid their tab and led them out of Afterlife.

The night air was brisk, but Becca didn’t mind it. She put her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, glancing over her shoulder at David as he followed her. She wondered, absently, if it was a good idea to introduce David to the crew. He was still a total newb, but he had a hunger, she could tell. He wanted to make it. She really had no doubt in her mind that, one way or another, introducing him to Maine would lead to him wanting to join up. Maybe it’d be short term, maybe it would take a while, but she just had an intuition that’s what he’d do.

Did she want that? Maine was a total chrome jock, but he was still damn reliable when he needed to be. But still, the kid that chipped in a Sandy without any other visible chrome and lived to tell the tale… them two together might be dangerous.

Shit, the Sandy! She’d almost forgotten. Maine’s had gone missing, and now this new kid had one. She wasn’t going to accuse him of anything, but she didn’t know if she could chalk it up to coincidence. “Hey,” David called, speeding up a bit so he’d actually be next to her rather than a step or two behind, “Anything I need to know about this guy? Don’t wanna fuck anything up, here.”

Becca giggled, shaking her head. “Don’t worry about that, choom. It’s not like he’s some corpo asshole. I mean, he’s technically the boss of my crew, but I kinda roll solo too. Chrome jock named Maine.”

David nodded thoughtfully, replying, “Didn’t think you were the crew type.”

“David, I know it’s called being a solo, but nobody makes it solo for long. Even if it means putting up with a buncha gonks, still better than dying alone. More fun, too!” She spun around, effortlessly continuing her walk backwards. “I mean,” She continued, “I took a little baby punk like you under my wing, didn’t I? Why wouldn’t I be the crew type?”

Evidently, he couldn’t argue with that. He just chuckled, which she took as her cue to turn back around and get back to walking. “Here,” She said, gesturing to her building. She lead him inside and up the stairs, throwing her door open. “Welcome to my-”

She was cut off by what she saw inside. Maine was sitting on her couch, mid-conversation with Pilar. Kiwi was leaning on a nearby wall, not paying attention to their conversation. Why the fuck was she here? “Uh, David, come on in,” She said, stepping aside and gesturing for him to come inside. 

“Hey, Becca,” said Maine, “Me and Kiwi were already in the area for business, figured I’d just drop by early.” Despite the fact that he was talking to her, it was clear that all eyes in the room were on David. She glanced over at him, trying to assess his reaction- he was clearly nervous, but she saw more than a little bit of awe in his eyes as he studied the three people in front of him. Real punks, not wannabes. She just wished he had a better poker face, so it wouldn’t be so obvious what he was thinking. “Who’s the kid?”

“Yeah, Becca,” said Pilar with a nasty grin, “Tell me ya ain’t robbin’ the cradle, baby sis.” She shot him a withering glare, but those never worked on him anyways.

“He’s David. Helped me out of a pinch today, then he worked with me on the job.” She turned and nudged David, gesturing for him to pass over the package. He did so, setting the paper wrapped package on the table in front of Maine.

“That so?” Maine asked, turning his attention fully to David. “Thanks for the help, kid,” He said, “But you’ll have to take whatever Becca gives you as far as pay. I’m sure you get it.” He picked up the package, pulling the paper away enough to see what was inside, and grinned. 

“I get it,” said David, “Fine with that. But, uh… you ever need an extra set of hands on a job, I’d appreciate the work.”

Pilar snorted. “Yeah fuckin’ right,” he said, “What the fuck could a kid like you help us with, anyways?” She was silently willing David to laugh it off. This was a fuckin’ pickle. She didn’t want to get too defensive, risk them wondering why she cared so much, but she was worried that David might give them reason to check his chrome if she didn’t step in. Kiwi being here made this situation way fuckin’ harder than it needed to be.

“Lay off, Pilar,” She said, flipping him the bird, “I just told your gonk ass he helped me out, and I’m ten times more competent than you anyways.”

“That’s why I’m fuckin’ asking,” Pilar said back, “How the fuck did a little poser like him help you out? The kid looks like a toothpick! You even got any chrome, kid?”

She glanced over at David, and saw him glaring right back at Pilar. Shit. Before she could even say anything, David replied, “Not any of your fuckin’ business, but yeah. Got some pretty preem shit.” She saw, out of the corner of her eye, that Kiwi was suddenly taking some marginal interest in the conversation. Even if it was just for the purposes of making fun of some newbie punk that was talking back to people way out of his league, Becca knew that was bad. 

“Oh yeah? What kinda preem shit does a little brat like you have going on? You look like you’d go fuckin’ psycho with a Mr. Studd, let alone anything useful.”

“Fuck you,” said David, sounding heated. Still, thankfully, he had the good sense not to say anything more. Maine huffed, grabbing his still wrapped package and tucking it in his jacket. Becca was glad to see it. If he left, it’d give her more time to handle the whole Sandevistan issue. Surreptitiously figure out if it actually was the one meant for Maine, all that.

Maine stood up, patting David on the shoulder. “Listen, kid. I appreciate the offer, but I don’t work with just anybody. No offense, but I only pay people who can pull their weight. What would you even bring to the team if I did let you tag along on a job?”

“I’m fast,” said David, “Just ask Becca, she’ll vouch.” Becca really didn’t like where this was going. Maine turned to look at her. Her eyes darted to Kiwi for a split second- she didn’t figure Maine or Pilar would have any suspicions, but she saw something in Kiwi’s eyes that she didn’t like. She was thinking. Stupid fucking netrunners.

“He sure is,” Becca said with a nervous chuckle, “I’ll have to tell ya all about it sometime, choom. You said you guys were out here for business, right? Don't wanna keep you!”

Ignoring her, he turned back to David, seeming genuinely intrigued now. “Y’know,” He said, “That would actually be useful, choom. Got a job comin’ up we could use some speed for. How fast we talkin’, here? What, you got SynLungs? Leg strengtheners?”

She couldn’t hide her wince as David gave him a cocky grin. That want to prove himself was about to bite him in the ass, she could just feel it. Her eyes went to Kiwi again. She wasn’t sure the secret would’ve kept much longer anyways with a netrunner on the case. All it’d take would be to scan his chrome- could she do that from the distance she was at?

“Hell of a lot better than that,” He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Pilar, ever the impatient sort, said, “Just spit it the fuck out, choom! Ain’t no reason to act fuckin’ mysterious!”

David opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but before he could, Kiwi stepped forward. “You’re right, kid,” She said, “That is some preem chrome. Becca, did he actually use that thing?”

Shit. Shit shit shit! The fuckin’ gonk just had to go and start shit, didn’t he? There was no use pretending now. “Yeah,” Becca said, “Five fuckin’ times by my count.”

“Mind bringing us in the loop?” said Maine, “I agree with Pilar, quit it with the mystery bullshit and spit it out.”

Becca glanced at David. She could see it dawning on him that he’d probably said too much. Wasn’t even his fault, really. He was a total newb, had no clue. Kiwi looked over at Maine and said, matter-of-fact, “Kid’s got a Sandy. I think you might recognize it.”

There was a pause, and then Maine shouted, “He what?” Kiwi had confirmed her suspicions. Now, she’d have to stop Maine from ripping it out of the kid’s back. David opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get it out, Maine’s metal fist slammed into his cheek, sending him flying. He was unconscious before he touched the ground.

She really hoped that didn’t fuck up his smile. She’d give Maine a new port if it had, boss or not.

Chapter Text

“-uninstall ain’t gonna be cheap, I’ll tell you that!” Voices. David heard voices. Sure as hell hoped he wasn’t goin’ psycho.

“What if we flatline ‘im? Five finger scav discount, would that work?” Nah, he recognized that one. The big guy, the chrome jock. Maine, right? Maine.

Then, a snicker. That one was… Pilar. “It’d only help a little, still gonna cost us. Shit’s integrated with his spine, you don’t just take that out cheap. If you want it to still be usable, that is.”

“But we might break even?” Wait, they were… they were talking about him. Fuck, this sucked. He felt like he might be sick. They wanted his Sandevistan, he remembered that.

“Yeah, I guess.” Why were his senses taking so long to come back? God, he should’ve splurged on better optics, maybe this wouldn’t be happening.

“Hear that? I oughta just rip the shit out myself, get this mess over with! Maybe losin’ your fuckin’ spine would teach you not to klep shit that ain’t yours!” Fuck, Maine had shaken him. The jolt made his stomach churn, and it took everything he had to keep his drinks down. Becca’d paid good money for them, after all.  

“If you lay one of your slimy fingers on him I’ll give you a new fuckin’ chip port, gonk!” He knew that one. She was sticking up for him, at least. David had been unconscious before, once or twice, but this was certainly his most unpleasant experience coming back to consciousness. His cheek was throbbing with pain, his head felt like somebody had shoved a knife up his nose, and he was hanging upside down by his ankle.

“The fuck is your problem, Becca?” The voice was raspy, annoyingly loud- he could hear the family resemblance, though Pilar’s voice couldn’t hope to be as endearing as his sister’s. “You really vouchin’ for this little punk? The fuck do you care, anyways?” He surveyed his surroundings, vision still blurry. He was being held up by Maine- up close, it was clear just how much chrome the guy had going on. Every inch of his dark skin seemed to have some seam. The older man was staring down at him, sunglasses not doing much to hide the anger in his face.

“Sleepin’ beauty’s comin’ to,” said Maine, “Looks like he’ll get to speak for himself.” Maine looked down at him again, holding him up with ease. “Consider yourself lucky,” He continued, “I wanted to pull my Sandy outta your back while you were still out. Not out of the question, but Becca bought you some time, at least.”

David did consider himself lucky. He considered himself really fuckin’ lucky. With those massive arms of his, David was pretty sure he actually could’ve pulled the Sandevistan out with his bare hands. Would’ve broken it, probably, but it wasn’t out of the question. Maine held him out over the couch and unceremoniously dropped him. He grunted as he hit the couch, finally able to properly look around.

Becca was shooting him an apologetic look. Apparently, she’d stuck up for him- her actions only got stranger, it seemed. Maybe she was saving his life, since he’d saved hers? Who could say. Wasn’t the time to be thinking about this. Shit, focus up, David! “Get talkin’, kid,” said Maine, massive arms crossed over his chest, “Fuck you doin’, doing jobs with my fuckin’ chrome?”

David forced himself not to look nervous. He sat up, watched as Kiwi and Pilar moved to either side of Maine, shooting him intimidating looks. Becca was standing off the the side, between him and them, hands shoved in her pockets. “I didn’t know it was yours,” he said, “Fuck, I wouldn’t have chipped it in if I did, choom.”

Pilar snickered, leaning in with a nasty smirk, “Right, right, we’ve all been there! Military grade Sandy just happens to fall into our laps, right? You think we’re fuckin’ gonks?”

David wanted to say ‘yes’ to that question, desperately. At the very least, he sure thought Pilar was. At the very least, the other two seemed to be considering what he had to say. “So where’d you fuckin’ get it, then? This whole mess looks fishy as fuck from where I’m sittin’, choom. My supplier takes my money and ghosts after years of good work, and then my Sandy ends up on some random punk.”

“Why you don’t pay up front,” Kiwi said, which got Maine’s glare off of him for a second. He was thankful for the reprieve- the guy was damn intimidating, even if he didn’t have his crew with him.

“Shut it! She’s good people,” said Maine, “Family. Wouldn’t ever fuck with us, and she needed the edds quick. Never gave me any reason to think she’d take the money and run.” Family. How had he never known this side of his mom? That she’d resorted to peddling cyberware to punks to put his gonk ass through the Academy?

David knew what he was implying. “Your supplier?” He asked, already pretty damn sure who it was. Maine didn’t know it, but he was suspecting David of robbing his own mom. What a fuckin’ joke. 

“Gloria Martinez,” Maine said, “Ring any bells?” David nodded.

“Yeah, it does.” He said, tone somber, “She was my mom.”

That gave everyone in the room pause. Even Becca seemed surprised for a second, shooting him a look before turning her attention back to the other three. “You’re Gloria’s brat?” Maine said, anger fading for a second, “Shit, you fuckin’ look like her, too… What’s she doin’ giving my chrome to her brat?”

David sighed, looking down and crossing his arms. He couldn’t help the way his knee was bouncing- nervous tic. “She’s dead. Didn’t give it to me, I just… I found it. She had it hidden and I found it. Didn’t have any clue she did shit like this, so I didn’t even think she had a buyer.”

Again, there was a moment of silence, but this one seemed heavier. Had they really known her that well? Maine seemed genuinely sad- even Pilar had dropped that sleazy grin of his. “Shit, dead? She get caught up in some bullshit? We’ll fuck up whoever did it.” David shook his head.

“Car accident,” He said, “Fuckin’ gonk-ass gangoons chasing some suit, we got caught in the crossfire. Pretty much just happened.”

“Shit, man.” Maine sighed, rubbing his face for a second. “Listen, kid,” He said, “I hate to hear that shit, but it don’t change a thing. I paid good eddies for that, and dead mom or not, you owe me.”

“I said I didn’t fuckin’ know,” said David, though he knew it was a losing argument, “You really can’t give me a break?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Maine scoffed, “A fuckin’ break. Your break is that I’m lettin’ you keep breathing, punk! If you don’t watch your tone, I might just change my mind.” David sighed. Figured that was how that was gonna go. These were real fuckin’ cyberpunks sitting in front of him. You didn’t make it as a punk by forgiving debts and extending charity, he knew that much.

“Listen,” David said, doing his best to keep his tone calm, “I’ll pay it back. Let me keep the thing, and I’ll work for you. Whatever you paid, I’ll earn it back, choom.” It was a reasonable deal, he thought.

“Ain’t how it works,” Maine replied, tone unchanged. Pilar and Kiwi were both staring him down, though they were letting Maine handle the talking. Pilar had lit up a cigarette, and Kiwi was drumming her fingers on the arm of the couch. Both of them looked damn ready to zero him as soon as Maine gave the word. “Listen, kid, that ain’t just any Sandy. It’s military grade, can’t just get another one off the shelf.”

David nodded, saying, “I get that, man, but I’d be useful. I mean, fuck, obviously you thought the Sandy’d be useful, right?” His knee was bouncing, and though he was doing his best not to show it, he was anxious. If he couldn’t talk Maine down, he didn’t have a doubt in his mind he’d end up in an urn, Becca’s support or not. “Let me use it,” He continued, “I’ll work for you until you feel like the debt’s settled, no problem.”

Pilar scoffed. “No way a kid like you’s booting that thing up,” He said derisively. David grit his teeth. Hadn’t Becca told them? He glanced over at her, and she looked pretty damn pissed too. Having someone on his side was good, he thought.

Becca, obviously fed up with the negotiation, stepped closer to the couches. Hands still shoved in her pockets, she said, “I already told you gonks he can do it. Five times today! Your fuckin’ ears don’t work, now?”

Maine huffed. “We ain’t just gonna take your word for it, Becca,” He said, “Considering you obviously got some weird fuckin’ bias for the kid. ‘Sides, ain’t you the one that always insists you’re still runnin’ solo? Keep your nose out of team biz for a sec, then!”

“Fine, you want proof?” David stood up from the couch, brushing himself off. As soon as he did, all three of the punks had drawn pistols and pointed them at him. Shit, they were fast. He held his hands up. “Sit your ass back down, punk,” said Maine, in a deadly serious tone.

Heart racing, David replied, “Relax. Just gonna klep his cig.” Before Maine could respond, David activated the Sandevistan. It was strange- it didn’t feel like he was tapping into something outside of himself. The Sandevistan was there, waiting, and he turned it on just as naturally as he’d move his hand or flex a muscle. That feeling of untouchability was intoxicating, he had to admit.

He didn’t even have to run. He casually walked over to Pilar, grabbing the lit cigarette from between his fingers and returning to the couch. He turned off the Sandevistan long enough to take a puff from it, and then used it again. For the seventh time that day, he casually made his way forward through drastically compressed time, putting the cigarette back where he’d gotten it. 

He sat back down in his spot and let the Sandevistan’s effects fade. Immediately, he started coughing. Shit, he hated smoking. Still, it looked cool, at least. “See?” He said, doing his best to minimize the coughing, “Seventh time today, gonk. No fuckin’ sizzle. Give me a chance, and I’ll prove what I’m worth.” He felt something warm dripping down his face. Was his nose bleeding? Shit, that couldn’t be a good sign. He reached up and brushed it away, doing his best to ignore it. His head was killing him, even worse than it had been when he’d woken up.

For a moment, everyone except Becca was just staring at him. Then, Maine just huffed. “Fine, kid. You want a chance? You get one. You ain’t proved you’ll be useful, but you’ve obviously got a pair, I’ll give you that.” 

“Another stray?” asked Kiwi derisively, Pilar seeming similarly put out by it.

“Can’t just kill the kid without letting him try, owe that much to Gloria.” He glanced over at Kiwi for a second, adding, “Maybe the apple don’t fall far from the tree, yeah?” She scoffed. Still, she apparently understood some unspoken order, as she started walking over to him.

“You won’t regret it,” He said, preparing to say more before Kiwi grabbed him by the shoulder. “Hey, back the fuck off!” He said, half expecting her to attack him. Instead, she just yanked him to the side, slotting a chip into one of his slots before stepping back. “The fuck?”

“Chill, kid,” said Maine, “Just a tracer. Ain’t gonna let you go AWOL with my chrome on your back, am I?” David scoffed.

“Not like I’d run anyways.” That earned him a chuckle from Maine.

“Heard that one before,” He said, standing up from the couch. The guy was fuckin’ huge, that was for sure. Towered over David, at least. “I’ll get in touch tomorrow. Pilar, Kiwi, let’s go. Still got shit to do.” With that, him and the pair made their way to the door, leaving him and Becca alone in the apartment.

He glanced over at her, gesturing to the door. “So, that’s your crew, huh?” Becca nodded. Then, her eyes widened.

“David, your nose!” She said, obviously worried by the sudden development. Shit, it was bleeding again- a lot more. He could feel the blood dripping down his chin, much more now. He opened his mouth to say something, but it came out a strangled groan. He was woozy- fuck, what was going on?

He felt his knees buckle. Then, he fell- it felt like he was watching it all happen from outside his body as he thudded to the ground, blood pouring from his nose. “David! David!” Rebecca rushed over, getting down onto her knees next to him. She’d grabbed some piece of cloth- couldn’t tell what it was- and was pressing it to his nose.

“David, fuck! Where are your suppressants?” David groaned. His head hurt like hell. Suppressants?

“Get me… to… doc. Ripperdoc.” His vision was fading. He didn’t want this unconsciousness thing to be a habit, but it seemed like he didn’t really have a say in the matter. The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness entirely was Rebecca looking down at him, her usually playful red and yellow eyes filled with worry as she tried to stop the bleeding from his nose.

When he came to, he found himself laying on something soft. Funnily enough, the eyes that had been the last thing he saw were once again the first things he saw as he woke up. Becca was staring down at him, obviously more than a little bit worried about his condition. “David, you good? You awake?”

He nodded groggily, trying to look around a bit and figure out what the situation was, exactly. They were still in Becca’s place, but he’d been moved from the floor onto the couch. “You’re lucky, choom,” She said, holding up something he was still too groggy to make out, “Pilar had a Bounce Back. Was worried you’d fuckin’ bleed out for a second there. Never seen that much blood come out of someone’s face.”

He chuckled tiredly, but she didn’t seem to think it was that funny. He was surprised, honestly, by how worried she was about him. “I’ll be fine,” He said, finally sitting up properly, “Don’t know what fuckin’ happened. Nose just popped for some reason. I think Maine punching me probably did it.”

Becca blinked. Then, sounding almost in disbelief, she said, “You think it was the punch, not using the Sandy seven times in a day? Am I getting that right?” Why didn’t anyone seem to get it? He shook his head.

“Wasn’t givin’ me any problems all day, was it?” He shrugged. Why would it just suddenly start doing that now? In his opinion, it was much more likely getting punched by a seven foot tall chrome jock had shaken something loose in his head. After all, everyone had told him he wouldn’t be able to boot the Sandy at all- he was obviously just special, in that regard.

She sighed, shaking her head. “Whatever you say, choom. Still, you should take some immunosuppressants. I couldn’t find yours on you, don’t know where you keep ‘em.” Immunosuppressants?

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about,” He said, “Don’t have any of those. Why?” Again, she just blinked at him, like her brain was taking a second to process. Then, she busted out laughing. He frowned, not sure what was so funny.

“Wait, holy shit, you’re tellin’ me you didn’t get any suppressants from your doc?” He shook his head, sending her into another fit of laughter. “Christ, how cheap is your doc? You need suppressants for an implant like that or your body’ll reject it, eventually. That’s basic shit, choom.” Of course. He wasn’t in the least bit surprised that Doc hadn’t prescribed any.

“Well, Doc put it in for free,” He said, which made her eyes go wide, “On the condition that he’d get it if I came back askin’ him to take it out.” She stared for another moment- he was starting to get uncomfortable with all this staring.

Then, she clapped her hands and stood, abruptly. “Right, can you walk? Get up, let’s go.” He could stand up, and so he did as he was told, though he was sure his confusion was clear in his facial expression. “We need to go see a ripperdoc, like, now.”

“Mine’s back in Santo,” He said. She shot him a glare suddenly, and if looks could kill he’d have been worried for his life. “What?”

“We are not going to your fuckin’ doc,” She said back, “And you’d better not go back there either. The fuck are you thinking? The gonk literally said he was after your chrome and wanted you to go crazy, and you still let him chip it in for you?”

“Wasn’t like I had any other options,” He said, “Don’t have the money for a proper fuckin’ doc, do I?” He didn’t really get what the big deal was. Sure, his ripperdoc was a scumbag, but it had ended up fine. He had the Sandy, it was working, and until now it hadn’t caused any problems despite repeated usage. Why was she getting all bent out of shape?

She shook her head. “Can’t cheap out on that shit, choom. You’re letting the motherfucker cut your body up, after all.” In fairness, he knew she was probably right. Wasn’t in the mood to argue about it anyways. “Oh, right!” She said, perking back up, “Almost forgot. Your cut of the eddies, choom.” Her eyes flashed blue for a second, and suddenly he was five thousand eddies richer. His eyes went wide- shit, that much for an afternoon of work?

“Woah, for real?” He asked, glancing over at her, “Shit, hell of a lot better than getting a real job, huh?” She snickered, and he couldn’t help but laugh along. She had a nice laugh; it was so carefree and natural, it just made you want to join in too.

“Obviously,” She said, still chuckling occasionally, “I agree with you. I know I’d prefer zeroing gonks to fuckin’ serving coffee!” 

He was about to respond, but then he felt a shooting pain through his head that killed whatever he was going to say in his throat. He brought his hand up to his forehead with a groan, massaging his temples in an attempt to minimize the headache he was getting. Becca, seemingly shaken out of her mirth by his sudden pain, said, “Alright, let’s delta. Gotta get you to a ripperdoc before your brain fuckin’ pops, yeah?”

As much as he wanted to keep thinking it wasn’t that serious, he couldn’t argue with her. He nodded, following her over to the door. “Have somebody in mind?” He asked, glancing down at Becca. She shot him a grin, though he could tell she was still nervous about his state.

“I know a guy down in Kabuki,” She said, “Best in the fuckin’ biz! I mean, I let him work on this magnificent bod, so he’d better be!” He snorted, though in all honesty that was a comforting thought. He couldn’t tell what she had going on under the surface, obviously, but her biosculpt work looked pretty damn good to him.

Maybe that was more her than her doc, though. “So what,” He said playfully, “He doesn’t do leg lengthening?”

She punched him in the shoulder playfully. “You’re lucky you’re hurt,” She said, though the smirk on her face betrayed her as not actually being mad. “C’mon, let’s go make sure you aren’t gonna drop dead!”

The first thing David noticed about the clinic was how clean it was. Sure, it wasn’t some sterile white hospital room, but it was clean. There were no dried smears of blood, no stench of sweat and iron. It was a bit odd, hearing the faint thrumming of the club next door, but he could forgive that for sure, considering just how much better it was compared to his usual doc.

As they had been walking, Becca had told him about the ripperdoc. Apparently, he was on the older side, ex-Trauma Team who had been working with the Mox mainly for a while. Ordinarily, she had told him, he wouldn’t just see some random kid off the street, but since he was with her he’d be fine.

As soon as they entered the clinic, Becca had called out, “Hey! H-Man!” For a moment, there was no response. Then, the ripperdoc peeked out from the back of the clinic. Immediately, a grin spread across his face.

“Becca! Shit, long time no see!” David was, in all honesty, more than a little bit intimidated as the guy came fully into view. He was absolutely huge, a solid foot taller than himself, with prominent muscles to match. His arms were gun-metal gray chrome from the elbows down, and he had a visor where his eyes should be, glowing red and gently pulsing. What skin David could see had a number of scars, and the look was completed by a tattoo peeking over the collar of the man’s shirt- a skull with a pair of axes crossed behind it. That type of ink was usually associated with joytoys, but he doubted anybody would say a word about it to this guy. “Who’s the kid?” He asked, glancing over at David, “He your input?”

“Partner,” She said, “Though he doesn’t fuckin’ look it. I need you to take a look at him for me.”

The ripperdoc looked over at him, seeming to appraise him. “Why?” He asked, rubbing his chin, “Wanna get some chrome on him? He’s kinda scrawny for anything high grade, isn’t he?” David wanted to say something about that, but he really didn’t want to risk pissing off Becca’s doc, both because he didn’t want to fuck things up for her and because the guy seemed fully capable of kicking the shit out of him.

For her part, Becca snickered at the statement, giving the man a smug grin. “I thought so too, choom!” She reaches over, patting David on the shoulder, and continues, “But this fuckin’ psycho’s got a Sandevistan. Used it seven god damn times today!” 

As the doctor shot him a surprised look, David couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. Proud of himself. Why wouldn’t he? “That for real, kid?” He asked, “No offense, but even when Becca’s the one sayin’ it I have a hard time believing it.”

David crossed his arms over his chest. “Believe it,” He replied, “No offense taken, really. Damn near everyone who’s heard about it has said the same thing.”

“Doesn’t surprise me,” he replied, “But… seven times? Any side effects?”

David nodded. “I passed out. Had a pretty bad nosebleed, too. I was feelin’ nova one second, the next my nose just… popped a cork. To be fair, I did get punched in the face pretty damn hard beforehand, too.”

The doctor nodded thoughtfully. “Pretty textbook,” He said, “Anything connected to your brain like that has that risk. What’s your name, kid?”

“David Martinez,” He said back, “You?”

“I go by Hephaestus,” He said, getting a snort from Becca. “Cheesy, I know.” He held out his hand, and David took it, giving him a firm handshake. “Nice to meet ‘ya,” said Hephaestus, “But we should probably finish with the formalities. You used the thing since you passed out?”

He shook his head. Hadn’t had any reason to, anyways. “Good. What suppressants you on, David?”

That one got another scoff out of Becca. “He ain’t on any suppressants, choom!” She said, “Told you, kid’s a fuckin’ psycho!” David had to resist the urge to laugh at Hephaestus’ expression. He looked like he’d just found out Santa wasn’t real, staring at David with his mouth slightly agape. It would’ve been much funnier if it wasn’t related to his personal health, though.

“What fucking doctor put the thing in and didn’t give you suppressants?” He asked, sounding absolutely appalled.

“Uh… well, he probably figured he’d be taking it out,” David replied, “He put it in for free, after all. Just wanted me to give it to him if I came back asking for him to take it out. Probably didn’t even think I’d be able to use it.”

If David thought he was appalled before, his expression now was ten times worse. “You… knew that going into it? And you still did it?” David sighed. Neither of them really seemed to get that he didn’t exactly have a choice in his doctor. On the other hand, there was no way he was gonna defend that asshole, so he just shrugged. 

“Shit, alright…” The ripperdoc pinched the bridge of his nose, “You mind if I get in there and check it out? Make sure everything’s connected right, all that? Might take a bit longer, and I’ll have to put you under, but there’s no way I’d fuck with one of Becca’s chooms.”

“Like I’d let you anyways,” she said, and he just chuckled. Though it was obviously a joke, he still felt reassured by hearing that, somehow. “You cool with that, David?”

For a second, he wondered if he really was. Then again, he remembered that the last guy he’d let cut him open had been openly masturbating mere seconds before he did it, and decided this was a well-needed upgrade. “Yeah,” he said, “If it’ll keep this shit from happenin’ again, it’s nova.”

Hephaestus sighed, shooting Becca an exasperated glance. “Listen, kid,” he said, “No fuckin’ way I’m gonna promise you you’ll be able to use a Sandevistan seven times and get off scot free. In fact, I’m going to tell you not to do that.”

He paused for a moment, like he wanted to make sure that was sinking in. Of course, David had already heard essentially the same thing from half a dozen people, so he didn’t need to hear it again. After a moment, the ripperdoc continued, “But… well, I’ll at least make sure everything’s connected properly. Up to you what you do after that. Now, before I get you on the chair, let’s talk payment.”

Before David could say anything, Becca cut in. “Hey, H,” She said, in a tone that sounded playful but weirdly intimidating, “Remember Little China?” Hephaestus’ face paled slightly as she brought up… whatever she was bringing up. David would have to ask for the whole story later, but obviously it had some meaning to the ripperdoc. “You can do a little check-up for my partner no problem, right choom? You owe me, yeah?”

After a second of hesitation, he nodded. “...Right. Yeah, no worries, Rebecca.” David noted the sudden change to her full name. Honestly, he had not expected the sudden change in vibe. Hephaestus turned to David, and then jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

“Let’s get you on the chair,” he said, “Sooner the better, don’t want you having a fuckin’ stroke.” David nodded, shooting Becca a glance. She gave him a playful, perfectly innocent grin in return.

He was glad she seemed to like him, for whatever reason. He didn’t wanna imagine what Becca could do to someone she didn’t like, since she was able to intimidate her friend so easily. David followed his new doc down the stairs into the proper clinic area. There was a number of tools around, and right in the center of the clinic was a padded chair. It had a few screens around it, which Hephaestus fiddled with a bit, making the chair move from an upright position to flat. Then, he grabbed the headrest, pulling it off and switching it with one that had a hole in it.

“Alright, shirt and jacket off and lie face down,” He said, gesturing to the chair. David pulled off his mom’s jacket, holding it in his hands for a second. Then, rather than setting it down on the table next to the chair, he turned to Becca.

“Mind holding this for me?” He asked, “Don’t wanna risk it getting dirty or anything. I mean, I could wash it, but…”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Don’t need to justify yourself to me, choom,” she said, holding out her hand. “Give it.” He did so, watching her take a seat on a nearby stool. He pulled off his undershirt, somehow feeling a lot more comfortable now, and set that down on the table, along with his necklaces. 

Hephaestus couldn’t hide his interest as David’s back was now bared. Becca couldn’t, either, and he wasn’t sure why she was looking at his back so intently- she didn’t strike him as the techy type, but what other reason was there to stare at his back, besides the Sandevistan? Doing his best not to be embarrassed by the eyes on him, he wordlessly laid down on the bed, putting his face in the proper hole.

He couldn’t see what Hephaestus was doing from his angle, but he heard him moving about the clinic. Metal tools being set down, the sink running, and then finally he came to a stop next to the bed. “Right,” he said, “Let’s get started.”

David frowned. He looked around for a second. Then, more than a little worried, he asked, “Uh, hold it, where’s the bar?”

There was a worryingly long pause. He couldn’t see it, but an outside observer would be able to see the gears turning in Hephaestus’ head. Confusion apparent in his tone, the doc said, “Uh… there’s one next door, I guess? I’m sure Becca could tell you about every bar around here…”

“No,” David said, “I mean, like, the bar I bite?” Another one of those stupid pauses. Why did everyone do that so much around him? It was starting to really, really piss him off, being left out of the loop like that.

“...There’s no bar,” He said, “I’m going to put you under. No fuckin’ way I operate on your spine with you awake. Even ignoring the… moral issues with that, if you move at the wrong time, or you’re too tense, or… any number of other things, I might slip and cut something important.”

Suddenly, he felt very stupid. Right. Of course, a doc like this would take anaesthesia as a given. He heard Becca muttering some of the most creative murder threats he’d ever heard- was it really possible to stab someone with their own spine?- and even Hephaestus seemed to be bristling at his old doc, hissing something about malpractice.

Still, he was a professional, and he spared David from another one of those terrible pauses. “You ready?” David nodded into the padded headrest. “Gonna feel a pinch,” He said, “Do your best not to tense, or it’ll be sore.” David nodded once more.

Then, he felt something cold pressing against his shoulder. He did as he was told, taking deep breaths and trying to stay loose. There was a pinch, and Hephaestus said, “Count back from 10 in your head.”

David didn’t even make it to 5. His last thought, before unconsciousness claimed him for the third time that night, was that he really didn’t like this whole unconsciousness thing. He hoped it wouldn’t become a habit of his, going forward.

David woke up to Rebecca looking down at him. That, he thought, wouldn’t be a bad habit to get into. She really did have very pretty eyes. He must have been turned over, because he was face up now. “He’s up, H!” She shouted, returning her attention to him after she said it. Obviously noticing his dazed staring, she said, “You good, choom? I’m not an angel, in case you were confused!”

He looked away, cheeks pink. “Nah, uh… just comin’ back to my senses, is all.” He said, “Still a bit zoned out, I guess.” For some reason, she looked a little bit frustrated with that response, but the expression quickly faded. He turned his head as he heard Hephaestus’ heavy steps coming closer. 

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” He said, “How d’ya feel? Any soreness?”

David took stock, for a second. There wasn’t any soreness. In fact, some soreness that he hadn’t even noticed before was gone. “Honestly? I feel like a million eddies.” Hephaestus grinned, obviously proud of his work.

“That’s what ya get with a competent doc,” He said, “You should be good to walk out of here right now, but I need to talk to ya first.” He pulled up a stool next to the side of the chair, and his expression became serious.

“Gonna be honest, kid,” He started, “The fact that you weren’t psycho or dead after the first time you fired that thing up is a miracle. First of all, the thing’s gotta be a gen ahead of any other Sandy I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe you could handle it, even with a proper install. More importantly, though, the thing was basically just shoved into your fuckin’ back. Nerves unconnected, bio-calibration was all wrong. Hell, you literally had a fuckin’ screw loose.”

David was wide-eyed as he heard the description. Shit, he knew it hadn’t been the best work around, but… for some reason, he’d thought Doc wouldn’t fuck him over like that. Hephaestus gave him a grim nod. “That’s the right reaction,” He said, letting David process for a second. “I fixed you up,” He said, “All the cords are nice and neat, everything’s plugged in right.”

He sighed. “I need you to take what I’m about to tell you the right way. You’re a fuckin’ special breed.” David wanted to grin at that. He’d assumed as much after everyone around him told him he shouldn’t be able to handle it. It just felt natural to him! He decided not to get excited yet, though, because Hephaestus wasn’t done.

“I hate to say that to you,” He said, “Because I know you’re gonna take it as a fuckin’ excuse to go borg out, use that Sandy as much as ya want. I considered not saying anything, but I figured you’d get there on your own.” That much was true. He pretty much already had, before he’d even came. 

“Special ain’t immune, though. If you abuse that thing, you will go psycho. No maybe, no probably. Even without any other chrome, that thing just will fry your fuckin’ nerves if you use it too much without letting it adapt.” He gave David a stern look- David found it pretty interesting, just how well the emotion came across on his face without any eyes.

“You’ve got real fuckin’ potential, kid. If you do it right, give it time, you could be a work of fuckin’ art. You go too fast, abuse the chrome, rush into things, you’ll just be another psycho rampaging through this shitty town.” Hephaestus sighed, rubbing his face. “I dunno if you’ll listen to any of this shit. Can’t stop you from goin’ to another doc who’ll chip in whatever you want. Just keep it in mind.”

Hephaestus stood up again. “That’s it for me.” He pointed out a couple bags sitting on the side table. “Two weeks immunosuppressants,” He said, “Take one every morning, even if you feel totally fine. Body’ll fuck up the nerve connections if you don’t.”

With that, he headed off to the other side of the clinic. David sighed, mood suddenly soured. It was a lot to take in so suddenly. He’d have to think about it harder later, because right now he was just doing his best not to jump for fuckin’ joy at the fact that he was so special. He glanced over at Becca, who was studying his face curiously.

“Wanna delta?” She asked, “We can go check out that bar, now, or we could go home.” She bit her bottom lip, breaking eye contact with him and adding, “You could stay at my place for the night.”

He blinked. Was that… did she mean? “Your place?” He asked, probably sounding a bit more freaked out than he meant to.

“Yeah, I mean… I’ve got a couch you can sleep on, choom.” She crossed her arms defensively, “Just figured you wouldn’t wanna ride the metro back to yours so late, that’s all.” She was right. He really didn’t want to. Didn’t want to go back to his empty apartment alone after what had been a pretty damn good day, all things considered.

Shit, thinking about that just sent a pang of sadness through him again. Yeah, there was no way he’d go back home tonight. He didn’t want to deal with the loneliness. “Sounds preem,” He said, “I’m good on drinks tonight. Let’s delta.”

She nodded, before seeming to remember something. She tossed him his high-vis jacket. “Not that I have much room to talk,” She said, “But ya might want to get dressed before we head out, choom.”

He blushed, suddenly remembering he was shirtless. “Right. Good call.” The loneliness faded again. Shit was bad, but it was looking up, he figured. He was 5000 eddies richer, had a gig tomorrow to make even more, and he was, apparently, special. Different.

Yeah, all in all, it had been a pretty damn good day.

Chapter Text

This time, when David woke up, it was actually morning. That was a plus, compared with his multiple experiences with unconsciousness the night prior. Becca wasn’t staring down at him this time, though. For some reason, he felt like that was a downside.

He stretched his arms above his head with a yawn, feeling his back muscles contracting around the Sandevistan. He felt great, honestly- it was like he had been ignoring an ache, and now the ache was gone. David sat up on the couch, rubbing his eyes.

He knew Becca would be asleep in her room down the hall. He assumed Pilar had come in at some point during the night, though he couldn’t exactly say. As far as he could tell, he’d woken up before both of them. He wasn’t exactly surprised. Him and Becca had stayed up for a while after they’d gotten home, and Pilar hadn’t even been home yet when he went to sleep.

His stomach growled. Some part of him wondered if they’d even have any food here. He couldn’t imagine Pilar or Becca being the type to go grocery shopping. He sighed, pushing himself to his feet and deciding to go check the cupboards. 

In the midst of his raid on their cabinets, Becca padded out of her room. He glanced over his shoulder as he heard her yawn, and then immediately averted his gaze. She was just in her underwear, and even that barely covered much. “Mornin’, choom.” She said with a yawn, flopping down on the couch with a sigh. 

“Forget you have guests?” He asked, still making a point not to look.

“What?” She asked back, “...Oh, this? Man, don’t be such a prude, it’s my place, right? ‘Sides, I was wearin’ the same damn thing yesterday, just with a jacket!” He… couldn’t argue with that, actually. In fact, he’d only really asked as a way of trying to avoid his embarrassment. “Whatcha lookin’ for, anyways?”

He eagerly took the change of topic away from her clothing or lack thereof. “Food,” he said, “I’m starving. Got anything good?”

“I look like the cookin’ type to you? Nah, pretty much all we got is kibble and scop… I’ve probably still got some peach pie HoloBites left, if that’s your thing, and I dunno if Pilar’s got anything stashed somewhere but feel free to take it if you find it.” He’d figured as much, honestly. He sighed, just grabbing a bag of kibble he’d found and pulling it out, alongside a small bowl and a spoon.

“Nah, never liked HoloBites,” He said, pouring himself a bowl, “The texture grosses me out, I guess.” He looked down at his bowl, realized he was probably being rude, and asked, “You want some, by the way?”

She shook her head. “I don’t really eat breakfast, honestly.” She sighed wistfully, saying, “Maybe if it was a nice meal. Pancakes, bacon, maybe some realfruit… but nah, I don’t wanna start my day off with fuckin’ kibble, choom.”

It was pretty depressing, honestly, but if he didn’t eat something in the morning he always ended up grumpy. “Yeah, I mean, I get that. Maybe sometime I can-”

He was cut off by a call from… his principal? Why the fuck would he be calling David? For a moment, he considered not picking it up. As he thought about all the bullshit his mom had gone through to keep him in that damn school, though… he figured he owed her at least picking up.

He accepted the call. Becca was obviously interested by the orange his optics were now giving off, but she didn’t say anything yet. His principle popped up, covering a portion of his vision as he talked. 

“Mr. Martinez!” He said, “I have some wonderful news for you. Due to your exceptional academic performance, the Arasaka Academy is extending an offer of financial aid to you. It’s a full ride, with all tuition and necessary equipment paid for.” He furrowed his brow. That was way too generous an offer for a megacorp like Arasaka to be making. Sure, he got pretty good grades, but why would Arasaka care about that, really?

“This is an exceptionally rare opportunity,” He continued, “However, there is still the issue of your recent violent behavior on academy grounds. I’ve spoken with Mr. Tanaka, and him and his family have graciously agreed to strike multiple demerits from your record, if-” David cut him off by ending the call. He didn’t need to hear what the condition was. There was no fuckin’ chance he’d do anything for that asshole. Not after what he said about his mom.

“Who was that?” Becca asked as he sat down, beginning to eat his kibble. He scoffed. 

“Nobody I wanna talk to,” He said back. He wasn’t quite sure if he wanted Becca knowing he’d gone to Arasaka. Maybe she wouldn’t care, but… well, he was pretty damn sure she’d make fun of him for it, at least. No reason to give her more ammo.

She didn’t seem all that interested in prying, thankfully. “Ready for the job today?” She asked, “Whole crew’s going, so it’s gotta be something good.” David nodded thoughtfully, chewing on a bite of kibble. The night prior, Becca had told him there was still a few members of the crew he hadn’t met, a runner and another solo type. Today would be his chance to meet them, it seemed.

“Any ideas on what it is?” He asked. She shrugged noncommittally.

“Usually,” she said, “All our big jobs are corpo shit. Maine knows a fixer, gonk’s a total wannabe suit.” She grinned, shooting him a wink. “Not that I mind robbin’ corpo scumbags for all they’re worth, choom!” 

“Makes sense,” He said, “They got the most eddies to drop, I guess.” He didn’t know if it really counted, since they were just doing it for other suits, but it didn’t really matter either way. They weren’t some rebellion group, after all.

He was jarred from his thoughts by yet another call. This one was one he’d been expecting this morning, at least- Maine. “Maine’s callin’,” He said, “So I guess we’re about to find out for sure.”

He did appreciate Maine not making it a video call, at least. Took up way less brain space.

>Maine: It’s time for your big chance, kid.
>Maine: Strap on your big boy pants and get your ass down here.

>David: down where?
>David: kinda need to know where I’m goin’ to get there.

>Maine: Aldo’s Garage, Rancho Coronado.

>David: I know it.

>David: i’m from Santo, after all.

>David: i’ll tell Becca.

“Maine wants us to meet him at Aldo’s,” He said, switching from talking in his head to talking out loud so Becca would be able to hear him. She rolled her eyes, getting up off the couch and making her way over to her room.

“We always meet there,” She said huffily, “That old gonk’s always got some comment to make. Hopefully he’ll be out doing something when we get there, ‘cause this might just be the time I finally-” His attention was forcefully pulled back to the call with Maine as the man started saying something again. He could’ve figured out how Becca would end that sentence, but he kinda wanted to hear it in her words. Expand his threat repertoire a bit, at the very least.

>Maine: Shit, you with her?
>Maine: What, you spend the night or somethin’?
>David: yeah, was easier to just go back to her place after I saw her doc.

>David: shit, reminds me I need to take my suppressants

Again, Maine paused for a second. David used the time to grab one of the immunosuppressant vials Hephaestus had given him. He pushed up the sleeve of his jacket, made sure the needle was pointed the right direction so as not to stab himself in the thumb, and jammed it home. There was a pinch, and then a moment of cold rushing through his body. He tossed the vial aside just as Maine started talking again.

>Maine: Huh.
>Maine: Didn’t see it.
>Maine: Good for you, punk. get here soon.

Maine ended the call before David could clarify that his and Becca’s relationship was not what he was implying. Absently, he wondered if the clarification would just make him seem defensive. Becca had re-emerged from her room at some point, and was zipping up her black hoodie. He was thankful for that, since it made him much less likely to get caught staring.

“You ready to go?” She asked, brushing past him into the kitchen area. He glanced around, making sure he was. Wasn’t like he had much to take stock of… he decided to grab another vial of immunosuppressants and put it in his pocket, just in case.

“I’m good,” He said back, “Let’s delta.” She gave him a grin, a can of NiCola in one hand and a tube of Peach Pie HoloBites in the other.

“Hell yeah,” she said, “Let’s go pop your corpo job cherry, choom!”

He physically winced at the phrasing. “Could you… could you not say it like that?”

He’d seen Aldo’s a few times in passing, but this was his first time ever doing anything more than walking by. He was following Becca’s lead as she headed to a specific shutter, more than a little nervous. It was his first intentional job- getting roped into one already in progress didn’t count- and there were two variables at play regardless, neither of which he knew a damn thing about.

Still, at least Becca was going in first. She ducked under the half-opened door, waiting for him to do the same. When he did, he was greeted by Maine staring at the two of them from a door on the other side of the garage. “Let’s go,” He huffed, “Ain’t got all day here.”

Becca scoffed as he stomped back into the room. “Don’t get psyched out, choom,” She said, following Maine into the room. He did the same, doing his best to take her words to heart.

The two he’d yet to meet weren’t exactly hard to spot. One had a head of shockingly white hair, leaned up against the back wall with a cigarette between her fingers. The other was a woman almost as big as Maine, sat close enough to him for David to think they might be an object.

Christ, that’d be a terrifying power couple if he was reading it right. Of course, he recognized Pilar, leaning against the back of the couch with that grin of his, and Kiwi was there next to Dorio still seeming vaguely uninterested. Maybe that was a thing for netrunners? Well, he was assuming the white-haired woman was the second runner on the crew; something about the larger woman didn’t scream ‘quick-hacks and computers’ to him.

He didn’t quite like how they were all arranged on one side of the room, facing the other couch, though he was thankful that Becca had chosen to sit on that one. Made him feel less like everyone in here was against him. The larger woman chuckled. “Shit, you weren’t lying. He really is a kid. He gonna make it?”

“Guess we’re about to find out,” said Maine, turning his gaze to David, “Take a seat, choom.” David did so, sitting separate from Becca. He didn’t wanna look like he needed support.

“I’m more interested in him walkin’ in with my sis!” said Pilar. “Good night last night, kid? Should I start callin’ ya ‘li’l bro’ right now? Good thing I didn’t come back last night, wouldn’t wanna hear all that, would I?”

“Shut the fuck up, fuckin’ creepy gonk!” said Becca, gun pointed at her brother before David had even noticed she’d drawn it, “I’ll make your brain a grease stain on that fuckin’ wall!”

He made note of the fact that literally nobody in the room besides him was fazed by Becca pointing a gun at a crew member. Was Pilar that infuriating, or was Becca that unhinged? He was glad to be an only child. “Shit, defensive much?” said Pilar with a cackle, “If we’re talkin’ stains, I sure hope there ain’t any new ones at our place when I get back!”

Before Becca could make good on her threat, and her twitching eye made it seem scarily likely she would, Maine leaned in. “Zero each other on your own time,” He said, “Or don’t, ideally. Hard to find a techy worth a damn ‘round here anyways.” 

Obviously not wanting the argument to start back up, Maine started talking again before either of them could respond. “Kid, you already know Kiwi, Pilar, and Becca.” He jerked his thumb at the muscular woman, saying, “This is Dorio,” and then his thumb moved to the white haired woman, “and that’s Lucy.”

He nodded at each of them as they were introduced, committing their names to memory. He leaned forward in turn, saying, “I’m Da-”

Maine cut him off before he could even get the rest of his name out. “Fuck off, kid. Nobody asked.” He slid a chip across the table at him before he could even really react. “Slot that shard.”

For a second, he considered arguing. Becca had told him not to get psyched out, after all, and even if she hadn’t told him that he sure as hell didn’t like being told his name didn’t matter. His better judgment told him that pitching a fit about something like that would just make him look even worse, so he didn’t. He picked up the shard and slotted it in.

Immediately, his view was flooded with data. A vid-feed of a big, beefy suit, a corresponding photo of him, a photo of his car, and a bunch of text going along with all of it. “See that guy? That’s Maxim, ‘Saka driver. He’s our man. We gotta klep the nav-data from that fancy-ass limo of his.”

Honestly, the guy looked more like a wrestler than some suit’s limo driver, but David hadn’t ever been either so what did he know? “Why not klep the limo?” He asked. Honestly, the limo looked pretty damn valuable on its own, even if it didn't apparently have some valuable data in it.

Maine scoffed. “Can’t do it,” He said, “We take that limo, ‘Saka’s gonna drop a squad of ninjas on us ‘fore we can even get down the block.”

“Right. So, what’s the plan, then?” David asked. Maine gave him a grin.

“Shit’s simple, kid. Listen up, here’s how it’s gonna go.”

The plan really was pretty simple. Klep the guy’s limo key, let Dorio copy it, put it back in its socket. That was all he needed to do for his part of the plan. Becca and Dorio had gone into the bar separately, both a few minutes before him, just in case. Kiwi and Maine were waiting outside to do their part of the plan, and Lucy was out there on standby somewhere too.

They were all waiting for him. He took a breath. He’d found a seat by a wall where he could watch Maxim using a reflection, so he wouldn’t be caught staring. He was waiting for the right moment to move, watching Maxim’s every twitch and move.

Then, it happened. Maxim put his head down with a groan, burying his face in his arms. Perfect opportunity. He kicked his Sandevistan into action, and the world crawled to a halt. If he thought he felt untouchable when he’d used it before, it was nothing compared to his feeling right now. For a second he just stood there, feeling the calm, warm pulsing sensation going through his whole body.

Still, he had a job to do. He forced himself to zone back in, quickly walking across the bar to Maxim. He reached over, grabbing the key from Maxim’s socket easily. He moved over to Dorio, who had the device out and ready for him. David slotted the key in, ducking behind her larger frame as the Sandevistan’s time dilation faded.

>David: got it good to go
>Dorio: copying the key now.

>Kiwi: shit, guy’s boss is pinging him

>Maine: Motherfucker can’t catch a break!
>Dorio: Data’s not ready yet.

>Kiwi: boss wants him back ASAP

>Maine: Fuck, for real? Gotta be kiddin’ me.

David glanced over Dorio’s shoulder at Maxim. Sure enough, he was beginning to sit up, looking absolutely miserable. 

>David: he’s gettin’ up

>David: fuck, do we take him out?
>Maine: Guy’s probably got trauma coverage.

>Maine: Ain’t worth it.

>Maine: Gonna have to change plans. Grab the key and get to the wheels, kid.

Shit, were they just gonna klep the limo now? He’d thought that was a no-go. Wasn’t time to argue, though, he had to focus up. He grabbed the key from the device in Dorio’s hand, again shooting a glance in the driver’s direction. He was getting up to leave, now. He’d notice a kid rushing out right in front of him, no matter how hard David tried not to look suspect.

>Maine: Becca, you’re up! buy us some fuckin’ time!

He saw Becca move from her spot, still holding her drink. He didn’t wait for her to do whatever it was she’d do, he just got to moving. As he exited the bar, he heard Maxim shouting something behind him. Wasn’t his job to worry about, though, and Becca was definitely capable of handling whatever happened. More capable than he was

>David: alright, i’m out here, now what?
>Maine: We gotta get the fuckin’ data from inside!
>David: how the fuck am I supposed to do that?

He jumped as he felt a hand tap his shoulder. “I’ll handle that,” said Lucy from behind him, “You just get in the car. Driver’s seat.” He was thankful he had enough restraint not to reactively use the Sandevistan when she tapped him, because he might just have punched her in the face before even looking who it was.

“Got it,” He said, steeling himself. He couldn’t get psyched out now. This was his test run to prove himself, and he couldn’t do that if he freaked out at the first sign of trouble. He slid into the driver’s seat, watching Lucy get in the other side and immediately set to work. He’d never really seen a runner at work before. Definitely not one as adept as Lucy. She had four or five holo-screens up at once, each of them flashing through data faster than he could even really keep track of. Windows were closed and new ones opened before he could even see what their purpose was, streams of data flooding through her optics.

She was obviously focused. The white-haired woman’s gaze was intense. Best not to disturb her, right? He turned his attention to the interior of the car he’d found himself in instead. He was pretty sure the thing was worth more money than he’d ever seen, and everything about it was pristine. He got a weird sense of pleasure as he ran his hands over the steering wheel, felt the texture of the seats- this car was not made for some punk kid from Santo to be sitting in it.

>Kiwi: time’s up, Lucy.

>Kiwi: get out of there

>Lucy: almost done

He glanced over at her. Despite Kiwi’s warnings, the pace of her work hadn’t slowed. He could see the bulky driver stomping out of the bar. “Shit, we gotta go,” He said, “C’mon, let’s delta!” Again, her expression didn’t change, and her work didn’t stop.

“Quiet,” She hissed, “Almost there.”

>Lucy: got it.

Immediately, David turned and tried to open the door. Emphasis on tried. As he pulled the handle, the door didn’t respond. “Door’s not opening,” He said, glancing over at Lucy.

“I know!” She said back. The tiny bit of panic he heard in her voice made him feel a bit better about his own reaction, at least. 

>Lucy: Kiwi, security’s back up.
>Kiwi: i told you, time’s up

Shit, the driver guy was too close. Maxim stomped up to the driver’s side window, face contorted with equal parts rage and fear. He slammed his fist into the window, screaming, “Get the fuck out of my car! Now! I swear, I’ll flatline you both if you don’t quit fucking around!”

>David: fuck, what do we do?
>Maine: No way back now.

>Maine: We’re made either way.
>Maine: Gonna have to take the car, kid

David didn’t like that idea. His eyes shot over to Maxim- shit, was he grabbing a gun? His question was quickly answered as Maxim shot the window. It was bulletproof, thankfully, but those two shots had already made it start fracturing.

>David: i can’t drive!
>Maine: Shit, looks like it’s time to learn.

>Maine: Do or die time, kid. Show me what you got.

He flinched as another shot hit the bulletproof glass window, further fracturing it. Shit, this was bad. He looked over at Lucy, who was mostly unfazed, or at least was doing a damn good job acting like it. She noticed him looking, and wordlessly pointed at the engine start button. David took a breath, glanced back at Maxim, and forced himself not to hesitate any more. He jammed his finger into the button, feeling the car roar to life.

He didn’t waste any time. He put the car into reverse and hit the gas, immediately backing the car up into a pole he hadn’t seen behind them. Cursing under his breath, he shifted into drive, yanked the steering wheel to the side, and got out onto the road, bumping another pole on his way. 

“Fuck!” He said, ducking down a bit as he heard a few more gunshots coming from behind them as they drove off. He knew it was silly, the windows were bulletproof, but he didn’t think hiding from bullets was a terrible instinct. It was all he could do just to keep the damn thing straight as he drove down the road, gripping the wheel tight enough to make his knuckles go white.

>Maine: Shit, glad that ain’t my fuckin’ ride!

>Maine: Kid, take it straight to Aldo’s.

>Maine: Lucy, you hash the GPS?
>Lucy: Can’t from inside, sadly. Got a jammer up, but it’s rough work, not gonna last.

It was disorienting, hearing her voice next to him and in his head at the same time. He did his best just to focus on the road in front of him. Luckily, it had all been clear so far, though he couldn’t say how long that state of affairs would last.

>Maine: Aldo’s is good enough, then. Get it there quick.

>Maine: Shit, comms are droppin’!
>David: fuck, pull over then?
>Maine: You crazy? Don’t stop for shit, if you get pinged by geo-sats they’ll drop a squad on your ass! Don’t stop ‘til you get to Aldo’s, drive like hell.

With that, the call finally dropped. It’d let him focus on the road. He clenched the steering wheel for support, yanking it to one side to avoid a car in front of them that was going way too slow.  “Sending you the route,” Lucy said from the passenger seat. 

“Thanks,” He said, immediately beginning to follow the route as she sent it. He knew where Aldo’s was, but he’d rather have directions than follow his own mental map anyways. “You think we can make it?” He asked, “Before they figure out where we are and come after us?”

She shrugged noncommittally, continuing to work on whatever she was working on. “Up to you now,” She said, “You’re the one who’s driving, after all.” He huffed, though he knew she was right. Still, it was a lot of pressure on his shoulders, considering this was his first time ever even driving at all. “Chill out,” She said, having glanced over at him and noticed the obvious tension, “You’re doing pretty good.”

“You think?” He asked, letting a hint of pride creep into his voice.

“Well, yeah,” She replied nonchalantly, “It’d be harder to do badly, considering autopilot’s on.” He took his eyes off the road long enough to shoot her a glare, which only made her snicker softly. 

“Coulda told me that earlier,” He huffed indignantly, “Would’ve been less stressed, at least.” She didn’t respond, but she was smirking. Honestly, it was just good to see that she did have some personality. He had been worried she was the totally cold, monotone type. He kept driving silently, following the route she had provided. Of course, it couldn’t just be that simple, though. He only had a moment of quiet, focusing solely on the road, before he heard the sound of motorcycles getting closer and closer behind them. Lucy had evidently noticed as well, glancing behind them.

“Looks like we have company,” She said, attention on the rear view mirror. He nodded, speeding the car up a bit more.

“Heard ‘em,” He replied, “But how the fuck did they find us so quick? Thought we wouldn’t get pinged as long as we kept driving.” He glanced up at the feed of the rear of the car. Two Tyger Claws, decked out in neon colors, chasing after them on their motorcycles, shouting something in Japanese. Not the type he pegged as working for Arasaka, but Arasaka eddies still spent no matter how you felt about them.

Lucy shook her head. “If they’d pinged us,” She said, “It wouldn’t be Tyger Claws after us. Maxim probably put out a bounty, hoping he could get his car back without telling his bosses, get in less trouble for his fuckup.” He didn’t answer her verbally, but he agreed with the assessment. It made sense, getting a set of wheels like this stolen because you were getting smashed after losing a bet was a mistake corpo higher ups wouldn’t likely overlook.

“Shit, but they responded so quickly?” He asked, “What, is he fuckin’ chooms with the Tyger Claws?”

“Just the pros of being corpo,” She sighed. “Listen,” She continued, “They have the advantage on their bikes down here, they’re more maneuverable. Get on the freeway.” Again, he didn’t respond out loud. He just swerved, cutting in front of a Delamain and speeding onto the nearest onramp.

Of course, in keeping with the trend of luck he’d had that day, there was fucking traffic ahead. A massive line of cars, completely at a standstill, forced David to bring the car to a stop to avoid ramming it into the back of some poor schmuck. “Shit!” He hissed, eyes darting up to the rear view feed, “Fuckin’ traffic! God damn it, why the fuck is this shit happening?”

“They’re gaining,” Lucy said, and again he could catch a hint of panic in his tone. It was weird to think about, but knowing she was freaking out a little bit too was helping keep him calm. He didn’t know jack shit about her, but she was obviously more experienced than him. His heart was racing as he watched the Tyger Claws advancing on their motorcycles, breaths short and rapid.

Shit, his mom had died damn close to here… caught up in some gang bullshit, torn out of her car and dying on the freeway. Unlike her, he’d chosen to do this, but if he didn’t think of something they’d end up in the same position as her. Think, David!

What could he even do? He couldn’t magically make the traffic disappear, and he couldn’t get out of the car to fight the Tyger Claws. Then, all at once, he was struck with an idea. He activated his Sandevistan.

Immediately, he turned to the fractured driver’s side window. The bullets had left it cracked, but not broken. Still, it was probably weaker than it should have been; he could break it. Sure, it was bulletproof, but that didn’t matter in the face of his Sandevistan. Physics hadn’t been his best subject, but he knew force was mass times acceleration.

His fist was heavier than a bullet, and probably faster too, while he was moving like this. He slammed it into the window, felt a jolt of pain as the window shuddered and cracked. He punched it again, and physics prevailed. The bulletproof window shattered outwards, the fragments of glass moving through the air as if they were moving through molasses. 

He turned around, grabbed the headrest of his seat and wrenched it off. Then, he pulled his torso out of the window, took aim, and hurled it directly at one of the Tyger Claws. At that point, his Sandevistan had reached its limit, and time went back to normal. He watched the headrest sail through the air, connecting with one of the Tyger Claws and knocking him off his bike.

David didn’t get any time to bask in his success, though, nor did he get a chance to see if the goon had been badly injured. The other was still coming, and he could hear the rage in the guy’s shouts. Shit, he wished he had the time to think of a better plan, but he just couldn’t. 

“Hold on!” He shouted, and time once again began to dilate. He wrenched the steering wheel to the side, slamming on the gas and driving straight through the median. The time dilation dropped, and now they were driving directly into oncoming traffic. 

He heard Lucy yelp from the passenger seat as she processed what was happening, but he didn’t have the time or brain capacity to think about it too much. He had to focus on the road. As he drove, Hephaestus’ words were echoing through his mind. David knew he had to do as much as possible without using the Sandevistan, but one wrong move and he’d be steering them into a head-on collision.

Fuck it, he’d apologize to Hephaestus if anything went wrong. He had to worry about preserving his life now; he could worry about the consequences afterwards. Still, he wasn’t feeling any ill effects from his repeated usage yet. He felt a sort of tension in his back, but it was the pleasant kind, like he’d just gotten a work-out in.

He activated the Sandevistan again, swerving the car out of the way of an oncoming truck. Shit, this felt good! Every time that time dilation kicked in, he felt a rush of warmth shoot through his body, an unstoppable feeling of pure power pooled in his stomach. If this was what it felt like, he understood how people became chrome junkies. 

He looked up at the rear-view feed as he came back to normal time. The second Tyger Claw was still hot on their tail. He needed to shake him off; they were quickly approaching Aldo’s, and he didn’t want to lead the guy there. He returned his attention to the road, assessing his options.

He found one in the form of a massive semi-truck barrelling towards them. That was their ticket, he figured. He purposefully continued driving towards it, even as every rational part of his mind screamed at him to swerve away. It wouldn’t work if he didn’t wait. His knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, forcing himself to continue on.

At the very last moment, or at least the last moment he could stand to keep driving towards the truck, time slowed once more. He swerved violently, managing to avoid the truck just in time. The Tyger Claw on their tail was not quite so lucky. David chose not to look back and see the accident he’d just caused, but the sound of crumpling metal and scream of pain were easy to hear, especially with the window broken.

It was a bit easier to bear, though, as Lucy whooped happily. “Nice moves!” She said, a big grin on her face, “Shit, Falco might have some competition with you around!” He was too focused on driving to be enthusiastic with her, but the praise was nice. Now that the Tyger Claws were off their tail, he had to get back over to the right side of the freeway, and then get to Aldo’s. 

To do so, though, he’d have to weave through even more traffic. He turned on his Sandevistan for the fifth time that day, slipping through a gap in between two oncoming cars and getting as close as he possibly could to the median. He wasn’t able to get through on that use, so he had to turn it on for a sixth time to jump the median again. As soon as they were back on the right side of the road, he let out a sigh of relief, body relaxing some.

“Fuck me, that was terrifying!” He said, going back to following the directions the GPS was providing. He shot Lucy a glance as he heard her bust out giggling. David honestly couldn’t believe she was laughing at a time like this. Then again, it sorta seemed like laughing in the face of danger was a cyberpunk trait, if Becca was anything to go off of. Maybe he’d end up like that, with some experience.

He wasn’t sure if that would be a good or bad outcome. He kept his mouth shut for the moment, just pulling off of the freeway when the GPS told him to. They were in the home stretch now. He recognized Rancho Coronado well enough that he probably didn’t need the GPS telling him how to get to Aldo’s, but it made things simpler, meant he didn’t need to think about things that much.

After another moment of silence, he glanced over at Lucy and said, “I’m asking Maine for fuckin’ hazard pay.”

She bursted out into another fit of giggles at that comment, though this time it had been mostly intentional on his part. “Good luck with that,” She sighed in between giggles, “Tell me how it goes, I might have to ask too. I mean, I’m just the gonk sitting in the passenger seat on your wild ride, but still.”

He grinned at that. “Fuck, maybe we just oughta unionize,” He added as they turned down the street Aldo’s was on, “Soon enough we’ll have vacation days and fuckin’ trauma coverage, like suits!”

She hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe a 401k?” She added, “At that point we’d be better off just going and being straphangers, right?” The car came to a stop in Aldo’s parking lot, and it was time to be all business again. He reached over to try the door handle, only to find that the door opened without resistance.

“Security’s down again?” He said, wondering if she’d managed to breach the defenses. She just shrugged.

“Has been for a while,” She replied, “Didn’t want to distract you while you were driving.” He blinked, thought about saying something, and then decided it wasn’t worth it.

“Alright,” He said, stepping out, “Let me go make sure it’s safe. I’ll tell you if the coast is clear, yeah?” She nodded, and he went off to do as he said. He peeked into each window, making sure they weren’t about to be ambushed. It almost felt weird when he didn’t find anything of note, not that he was looking for even more trouble.

He turned back to face the car. “All clear!” He shouted, holding up a thumbs up. Lucy gave him one back, and moved to get out of the car. That was when he heard the faint sound of an engine rumble and dirt crunching. It was enough of a warning for his instinct to push him to activate his Sandevistan for the seventh time, and he was thankful for it. He turned his head and saw the Tyger Claw that he’d knocked off the bike on the freeway. He looked worse for wear; his clothes had been tattered, and there was blood dripping down from wounds on his head and arms.

Evidently, David hadn’t been able to take him out for the count, though. While time was still dilated, David moved out of the way. Time resumed, and the Tyger Paw skidded to a stop where David had been standing. He stared down the goon, ignoring the angry Japanese shouts. He was starting to feel a heat in his back now. Was he hitting his limit? He felt like he still had a few more in him, but he could just hear Hephaestus shouting at him for abusing his Sandy.

Shit, he really didn’t have a choice, did he? The guy had some sort of weighted chain with a heavy ball at the end. He was spinning it, obviously trying to gain momentum for an attack. David made up his mind. He’d end things before it became a fight. He slowed down time, hopefully for the last time, and rushed forward.

He reached out and grabbed the chain, taking it in both hands and yanking it away from the goon. He moved around behind the guy, wrapped the chain around his neck once, and then pulled from both sides. Time resumed, and the goon’s hands shot up to grab the chain, trying to pull it off. David fell backwards, grunting as the air was driven from his lungs by the weight of the Tyger Paw falling on top of him.

He didn’t let go, even though he was stunned. He forced himself to keep pulling the chain, even as the Tyger Paw struggled and tried to wriggle free. David was surprised by how long it took for the struggling to finally stop. Hell, maybe it hadn’t been that long, but it felt like it took forever. Still, after a while, the goon went limp. 

David shoved the man off of him, just in time to see Maine pulling into the lot with Kiwi in the passenger seat. David got up off the ground, brushing himself off. He didn’t know if the goon he’d been struggling with was dead or not. He really didn’t want to know, either. Fuck, had he just killed a guy? He was still forcing himself not to think about what had happened on the freeway…

Maine stepped out of the car, cutting just as imposing a figure as always. He surveyed the situation, shooting David a thumbs up. “Hey, good fuckin’ job, kid. Congrats.”

David gave him a weak smile. “You’re a cyberpunk for real, now, choom.” That, more than anything else, somehow put his mind at ease. He was a punk now. People died every day in Night City, and punks couldn’t spare the time to grieve for every single one, right? He looked at Maine, still giving him an approving grin and thumbs up, and assured himself.

If he hadn’t done it, someone else would. If he hadn’t done it, he probably would’ve been the one getting zeroed, in fact. The justifications pushed the guilt to the back of his head, for the moment, but he didn’t know if he’d call it gone.

Chapter Text

Becca looked out at Turbo’s, nursing a NiCola absentmindedly as she watched the people. Usually, she might have gone out into the crowd, found someone to flirt with for the night, laughed at her brother’s dumb antics. As it was, she felt weirdly pensive. She’d found a perch on the hood of somebody’s car, and she was staring across the dance floor.

The object of her interest tonight was David. He was sitting beside Maine, listening raptly as the older chrome jock talked to him. She could only guess what type of advice Maine was giving out. It wasn’t like Maine was necessarily a bad guy to listen to; he had more successful jobs under her belt than her by a wide margin, in fact.

Still, she’d pegged David the first time they’d met. He was a risk-taker, deep down, and so was Maine. He had the makings of a chrome fiend, and so did Maine. She took a long sip from her NiCola and continued to stare, mulling things over in her head. Fuck, usually she was the one getting the stares. He just had a way of flipping everything on its head for her, it seemed. 

She couldn’t just sit here staring. She wanted to go over and talk to him, but they were obviously deep into whatever conversation they were having, and she couldn’t interrupt it. Becca pushed herself off the hood of the car, rolling out her shoulders as she peered around. She wanted to go talk to someone, but she didn’t quite know who.

Lucy was sitting off on another car. The white haired girl was doing what she usually did; that was to say, she was staring off into the middle distance brooding. Becca couldn’t help but roll her eyes. What a bore! What was even the point of looking like that if you were such a wallflower? Dorio was sitting in the circle around Pilar, laughing heartily as he… did whatever he was doing. Could you call that juggling?

Dorio wasn’t an option, though. The woman was too intimidating for Becca’s tastes, and not just because of the difference in size. She was seasoned, mature, and always seemed to get tired of Becca’s antics pretty quickly. Pilar was busy, and that beanpole dick wasn’t good company anyways. She got enough of him at home, no fuckin’ way she was going to subject herself to more of him while they were supposed to be celebrating!

That left her with one option. It wasn’t her favorite, but Kiwi would have to do. The lanky, orange-haired netrunner was sitting by herself, nursing a cigarette. Shit, those runner types loved to stare off into the middle distance, didn’t they? She made her way through the crowd, eventually coming to a stop next to Kiwi’s table.

“Hey, choom,” She said with a smirk, “Am I interrupting your brooding? You mind if I take a seat?” Her smirk only widened as Kiwi rolled her eyes. The good thing about the broody type was just how easy it was to mess with them. She pulled out the chair across from Kiwi, slumping down into it with a sigh.

“Ah, we never hang out, Kiwi!” Becca rested her head on her hands as she talked, “You should drop by more, choom!”

Kiwi sighed, taking a long drag from her cig. She held it for a second and then the smoke billowed out of her vent with a mechanically generated huff. “What is this?” She asked, “You need me for a job or something? You know what my rates are.” She sighed, face dropping.

“You think so little of me, Kiwi!” She groaned, “I’d never try to con you outta free work!” Kiwi glanced at her dispassionately. For a second, Becca felt like a piece of meat being appraised.

“So it’s about the kid, then?” She asked, still in that mechanized monotone as always. “What, do you want me to pull some data for you? I’m not being your wing woman, even if you do pay me.” Becca did her damndest not to look surprised, but she was sure it didn’t work fully. Had Kiwi really read her that well? The damn borg-face? There was no way she’d been that obvious!

“Fuck are you talking about, you gonk?” She asked, sounding more than a bit defensive, “What, you think I get the hots for every cute guy I work with or somethin’?” Kiwi studied her for a second, and then the sides of her eyes crinkled. It sent a shudder down her spine, because even with just her eyes, Becca could tell the smile was a nasty one.

She didn’t want to imagine what the expression would’ve looked like if Kiwi had a proper mouth. “Oh, now I am intrigued,” She said, her synthesized voice still managing to absolutely drip with smugness. “So, what?” She said, leaning on her hand and taking a drag from her cig, “Little miss Mox has some kinda schoolgirl crush? You need me to pass a note for you?”

She narrowed her eyes at Kiwi. Lucy would’ve been a better pick after all. She could’ve dealt with the brooding, but the taunting just pissed her off. “Sorry,” She said, sipping her NiCola, “Not all of us are frigid fuckin’ deckheads like you, Kiwi. Ain’t my fault I got feelings and shit.” Kiwi didn’t react to the insult. Hell, Becca doubted Kiwi would even see that as an insult in the first place. 

Kiwi scoffed derisively. “Trust me,” She said, “If I could replace my feelings with a new cyberdeck, I’d gladly make that trade. Haven’t found a doc that offers that service yet.” Kiwi sighed, taking a long drag off her cigarette and going back to staring into the middle distance.

“I guess the question is,” sighed Kiwi, smoke billowing from her vent, “Why are you sitting here chatting up a frigid deckhead like me, and not over there with him?” Becca huffed, glancing over at David once more. He was still deep in whatever conversation him and Maine were having.

“Maybe invest in some new Kiroshis,” Becca said sarcastically, “He’s obviously talkin’ to Maine right now. I ain’t gonna interrupt ‘em.”

Kiwi shrugged. “If he’s picking Maine over you, I think you don’t have much of a chance, Bex,” She said dismissively. Becca didn’t answer, just continuing to sip her NiCola. She wasn’t insecure enough to actually believe anything like that. David was, fundamentally, a guy who sought advancement, wanted to reach higher places. Sure, life as a punk meant he’d never have a cushy corpo job in ‘Saka tower, but that ambition was still there, Becca knew that much. Of course he’d be hanging off Maine’s every word; the guy had experience, respect, eddies, his own crew, and all the other shit a starry eyed baby punk would be craving for himself.

Becca perked up as she saw them finally stop talking, noticeably enough to draw a synthesized scoff from Kiwi. She became more tense as she realized exactly why they’d finished their conversation. Maine was standing up, staring down the fancy-ass car that was rolling into Turbo’s parking lot. 

“Shit, is that Maine’s fixer?” Kiwi couldn’t hide the derision in her look as she looked at the car as well. History, maybe? Becca filed that one away in ‘future ribbing material’, though she wasn’t exactly sure how to use it. A problem for future Becca to figure out, next time she had a need to make fun of Becca.

“Yeah, Faraday,” Kiwi sighed. Becca watched the gray haired man step out of the car, immediately beginning to speak with Maine. “He’s probably pretty pissed,” Kiwi continued, not really seeming to care all that much, “Since we weren’t even supposed to klep the limo.”

“Tch, can’t exactly say I care if some suit’s pissed, choom. There’s other fixers,” Becca said dismissively, her uniquely colored eyes remaining trained on the fixer all the same. Honestly, if it was up to her, she’d prefer cutting ties with the wannabe corpo, finding someone else for them to get jobs with. It wasn’t up to her, though, so she was relegated to just watching the guy talk to Maine from afar.

“Corpo eddies still spend,” Kiwi said, falling silent after that. Becca didn’t see the point in pushing the topic. It wasn’t like she disagreed, so there wasn’t even any point to it other than indulging her need to pester the stoic netrunner. Her attention remained on the scene across the parking lot, just waiting for a break in the conversation so she could finally make her move.

“Christ, you really are crushing, aren’t you?” Kiwi snickered as she watched Becca stare. The worrying part wasn’t the ribbing, it was the fact that she didn’t have a rebuttal. Rather than try to respond, Becca pushed her chair out and stood up, shoving her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.

“I’m gonna go grab another drink,” She said, already walking away from Kiwi’s table. She didn’t like the bartender here, but she’d rather deal with him than have to fucking introspect while Kiwi poked at her. It looked like Faraday was wrapping up whatever stupid monologue he’d been doing anyways, so it was finally her chance to go talk to David.

She made her way up to the bar, ordering a pair of CHOOH2s for herself and David. Despite the name, the drink didn’t actually have any fuel in it- it was pretty much just a White Russian, as far as she could tell- but the bar had the stupid car theme going on so all the drinks were named accordingly. She shot the bartender a glare as he looked like he was about to give her shit, and he just turned to make her her drinks, cowed. Evidently, he’d been screamed at by her enough times to realize it just wasn’t worth it to piss her off. Maybe he was smarter than she’d given him credit for. 

Becca grabbed the cups as the bartender slid them over the bar to her and turned away from the bar. She made her way through the crowd of people, ignoring Pilar’s antics as she went. David was standing off to the side of the crowd, finally alone. Maine brushed past her on her way over; he shot a curious look at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him in response. Why was everyone being so nosy tonight?

David was so caught up in whatever he was thinking about that he didn’t even notice her come up and stand next to him. She waited for a moment to see if he’d snap out of it and notice her, but he didn’t. She huffed, holding the cup out in his direction. Pouting, she said, “Hey, you’re really gonna hurt my feelings here, choom! Hope you’re not givin’ me the cold shoulder here!”

He looked down at her, obviously surprised after being jolted from whatever he was thinking about. “Oh, sorry Becca,” He said sheepishly, taking the cup she was offering him. He brought it up to his face, staring down at it suspiciously. “What is it?” He asked her, making her roll her eyes.

“It’s not carbonated,” She groaned, “So just drink it, choom. I ain’t gonna poison my new partner, am I?” David chuckled, taking a sip after another moment’s hesitation. His reaction was less obvious than their first drink together, at least- soon enough, maybe he wouldn’t even wince at all!

“It’s good,” He said, leaning up against the nearby railing as he took another sip. Becca followed suit, leaning on the railing next to him so she could look out at the crowd.

“Heard you were pretty nova today, choom,” She said with a smirk, “Maybe we can make you our new driver, huh?” David snorted, shaking his head casually. 

“You like crashing, choom?” He shot back. She reached out and nudged his arm playfully.

“You might be surprised how I answer that!” Both of them chuckled for a moment, and for a second that was all that was on her mind. She sighed, shooting him a glance and taking another sip from her cup. Usually, she felt like she could just go with her gut when it came to people she liked. It tended to serve her well, and it sure saved her time with all the bullshit courtship and everything.

For some reason, though, the thought of her usual approach with David just felt… wrong. Maybe because he was so unusual for a punk. So naive compared to everyone else in this shithole city.  “Don’t get cocky though,” said Becca, “You’re still a total newb. You’ve got tons to learn, choom.”

“Yeah, I know,” David sighed, “Trust me, I know. Can’t exactly learn this shit at school, can you?” 

She was about to reply when she saw David’s eyes go orange. He huffed, rolling his eyes. “Shit,” He groaned, “Speak of the devil, I guess.” 

“Who is it?” She asked, brows furrowed. He obviously didn’t want to talk to whoever it was calling. “Same person from this morning?” She asked. He nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose, obviously annoyed. 

“Principal of my school,” He said, “I should probably just answer. At least get him off my back.” That was confusing to her. Why would the principal care enough to repeatedly bother some random student?

“Why’s this guy care so much about you, anyways?” He shrugged, not responding verbally as a video screen popped up in front of him. As soon as she saw the principal’s face, she’d immediately decided she didn’t like him. He just looked… scummy, somehow. She liked to think her experience had honed her ability to pick out creeps, and that experience was telling her this was one of them.

Wasn’t any of her business, though. She turned away from him, watching the party and sipping her drink. Ugh, Pilar was getting all handsy with Lucy. She didn’t think they were a thing, but Pilar sure acted like they were sometimes. As if he wasn’t gross enough usually. 

She heard David raising his voice next to her, turning her attention back to him. If he didn’t want her listening in, he would’ve moved away, right? “...if he wants revenge, I’ll be waiting,” he said, and if Becca hadn’t been interested in the conversation before she certainly was now.

“But I’m done goin’ easy,” He continued, “And I’m done with your bullshit school. You can all kiss my ass!” With that, David ended the call. Becca couldn’t help grinning at him, giving him a thumbs up. It didn’t even matter that she didn’t know the context of the call; she was just proud of him for telling someone he didn’t like to fuck off.

“What?” He asked as he noticed her reaction. “I say somethin’ weird?” Becca shook her head. How did he get that from a thumbs up?

“Nah,” She said, “Just proud.” She mimicked wiping a tear away, forcing a sniffle as she said, “My newbie choom telling some scumbag principal to fuck off! Oh, they grow up so fast…” He playfully shoved her shoulder, and she shoved him right back. They couldn’t help but burst out in giggles, Becca leaning back against the railing to support herself a bit as she laughed.

Becca took another sip from her drink, sighing happily. “Whatever,” David snorted, “You’re the one that needs to worry about growing around here, anyways.” She shot him a glare, but she couldn’t genuinely be mad at him. That stupid grin of his… She turned away, pouting, cheeks slightly flushed.

“You’re on thin fuckin’ ice, choom!” She said, “Keep it up with the short jokes and you’ll end up on my shit list, got it?” He didn’t answer her, just finishing off his drink. Holding the empty cup in his hand, he shifted his position a bit to lean more into the railing as he looked out at the ongoing festivities. 

“Nice, ain’t it?” Becca said with a grin, “Hell of a lot better than whatever corpos do in their time off, right?” David nodded quickly, not even needing to think about it before he answered. She could relate, even though she wasn’t coming from the same place. The thrumming music, the booze, good friends and the afterglow of a successful job; she wouldn’t say they were the only reason she was in this line of work, but they were a nice plus.

“Didn’t really have many friends in school,” David said softly, “Didn’t get invited to many parties. I wouldn’t have wanted to go if I did. This… this is nice.”

She reached out, patting him on the shoulder. “Hey, this is the first of many, choom,” She said, “All you gotta do is keep yourself alive and keep pullin’ your weight.”

“I think I can do that,” He said back, “But I don’t just wanna pull my weight. That’s not how you make a name for yourself. I’m not gonna get anywhere just scraping by, am I?”

Becca pursed her lips. That ambition was good, but it was dangerous, too. God, he looked so cute with that determined look on his face… now wasn’t the time for worrying. “Hey, you got anything going on tomorrow?” She asked, deciding to steer the conversation in a different direction.

“Uh… no,” He said, giving her a quizzical look, “Unless Maine’s got work, I guess.” Becca snorted.

“He doesn’t,” She said back, “So you’re free. Why don’t you let me take you out shooting tomorrow? You, me, some preem ass irons, my treat! Sandy or no, you ain’t gonna make it as a punk without a gun!”

“I mean, I don’t have the…” He trailed off for a moment, and then chuckled. “Shit, I guess I do have the eddies for a gun now, don’t I?” With a shrug, he continued, “Well, like I said, I don’t have anything going on. I’d have to be a gonk to turn down hanging out with a girl like you, right? I’m in.”

Oh, this was a problem. Her heart should not be racing from such a simple statement. “Tch, you’re damn right!” She said, purposefully turning away from him so he wouldn’t notice any potential blushing. “I’m gonna go grab us another drink,” She said, downing the rest of her own in one gulp, “Chill here for a minute, ‘kay choom?”

As she walked off to grab their drinks, she put a bit more saunter into her step than usual. Hey, what was so bad about wanting a cute guy to notice her, right? That was just natural. She decided not to consider it too deeply- more booze would help with that.

There were perks to being a frequent customer at the local 2nd Amendment. One such perk was that the owner of the shop was happy to waive the cost for using his firing range whenever Becca came by. In fairness, she’d spent enough money here to pay for the fees even if she used the range every day for the rest of her damn life, so it wasn’t really generosity on the owner’s part.

Still, it was benefiting her right now. Her and David were standing in one of the firing range stalls together. She’d lent him one of her uniquely colored pistols, and had another two in her hands. “So, guns ain’t exactly rocket science, choom,” She said, gesturing absently with one of the guns she was holding, “I’m sure you’ve got a vague idea of how they work, right? Point at gonk of your choice, big boom, gonk falls down?”

David nodded, looking down at the pink gun in his hand. “Yeah,” he said, “I get that much.” She grinned, turning to face the targets downrange. She held up her guns casually, holding them sideways as she took aim. Then, realizing she was supposed to actually be teaching him, she glanced over her shoulder at him.

“Oh, uh… don’t do this,” She wiggled the guns so he’d know what she was telling him not to do. “I can hold them like this,” She continued, “Because I have experience, skill, and, more importantly, recoil compensators and good optics. You will miss every time shooting like this, got it?”

She waited for him to nod, so she could at least believe she wasn’t giving him bad habits. Then, she turned to face the targets downrange. She drew a bead, letting her optics’ inbuilt compensation assist her aim, and began to shoot. She pulled the triggers of both guns as fast as she could, moving them to new targets as soon as she’d hit the previous ones.

She was showing off more than a little bit. Every shot she fired hit its mark with ease, and she was already shifting targets without waiting to make sure. Her shots were precise; foreheads, sternums, all the bullet holes obviously meticulously aimed and exactly where she wanted them to land. Her guns were empty after a moment, and she stepped back with a grin, bringing one of the pistols up to blow away some smoke.

“Well?” She asked, glancing up at him, “You impressed or what, choom?” Honestly, considering the way he was staring, mouth agape, at her handiwork, she really didn’t need to ask the question. Despite that, she preened all the same as he nodded eagerly, giving him a cheesy grin.

“You’re amazing!” He said, eyes darting around the rage at each perfectly placed hole in the targets. She leaned up against the wall, looking up at him. “I mean, I’ve never even seen anyone shoot that well!” He added, glancing down at the pistol in his own hand.

“Well,” She said, “All of that is true, of course, but you don’t need to live up to me right away! You’ll get there with time, choom!” He nodded, though somehow he still seemed very unsure. She stepped away from the stall, allowing him to move up to the front. He did so after a second of hesitation, staring down the range with the pistol in his hand hanging at his side.

“Give it a go,” She said, nudging him gently, “Point at a target and squeeze the trigger. It’s alright if you miss the first few times! Believe it or not, I wasn’t this badass from the start, y’know.” He took a deep breath and raised the gun, pointing it at the nearest target. He squinted one of his eyes shut to aim; she’d have to correct him on that later, but it was the least of his worries for the moment.

He just stood there for a moment in that same stance. Then, something seemed to change. His hand dropped back to his side and he stepped back with a sigh. He looked… scared? Sad? She couldn’t quite tell what emotion his face was portraying, but it was a drastic change from a moment ago. He turned to look at her.

“I… don’t think I can do it,” He said, offering the pistol to her, “It’s not what my mom… I just can’t. Sorry, choom.” Becca squinted at him, as if she could see into his brain and figure out what he was thinking if she just looked hard enough. His mom. He’d said she died during some kinda shootout, right? Was that what it was about?

“Don’t be sorry,” She said, still trying to think through his feelings, “I’m just confused. So your mom woulda been cool with you goin’ punk, but not with you carrying?” He winced, and she immediately felt bad for burying. Still, she couldn’t try to help him feel better if she didn’t.

“Nah, it’s… I dunno, obviously she lived on the edge more than I ever knew,” David sighed, rubbing his face, “But she was a paramedic, y’know? Helped people out. Never hurt anybody, never even wished anybody would get hurt. She wouldn’t want me killin’ people, would she?”

She almost brought up the fact that he’d been responsible for the death of the two Tyger Claws, from what she’d heard. That would’ve been the furthest thing from helpful. He was vulnerable; she could tell from his look that it wasn’t a rhetorical question. He was actually struggling, trying to figure out what his mom would’ve wanted for him. She gave him a weak smile.

“Listen,” She said, “I ain’t got the slightest clue what your mom woulda wanted, but she sure as hell wouldn’t have wanted you to die.” She reached out, resting her hand on his shoulder, trying to provide some comfort to him. “I dunno if it’ll help, but I’ve been there too, choom.”

She sighed. “My first time killing somebody was back when I was with the Mox,” She started, “I’d been at Lizzie’s for a few months. It was late at night, and some of the muscle were clearing out some loud assholes from the bar.” She couldn’t hide the emotions the story was bringing up fully, but she did her best not to show them. For what it was worth, David was obviously listening intently to what she was saying.

“Look, to make a long story short,” She said, looking away, “I came back to my room and found some piece of shit attacking my roommate. I guess he was a regular of hers, she told him she didn’t wanna do something.” She clenched her fist, feeling that same rush of emotions she’d felt that night.

“I had a bottle,” She said, matter of factly, “And I smashed it over the gonk’s fuckin’ head. Then I shoved the broken part into his neck and kept stabbing ‘til he stopped moving. Even just talking about it now, I remember every little detail.” The room stank of iron, and the blood on her hands was so, so warm.

“At the time, I hated myself, even though that motherfucker was trying to kill my friend,” She shrugged, “But everybody in Night City has blood on their hands, assuming you’re not some fuckin’ straphanger. It’s just the way shit is. You just gotta prioritize, right? If I didn’t kill that gonk, my friend would’ve been a flatline. Then her blood’s on my hands instead of his.”

“That’s how I think of it, at least,” She finished, crossing her arms. “I’ve got people I want to keep safe, shit I want to do. If I have to zero people to get that shit done, I will. Doesn’t hurt that I’ve done it plenty at this point. I’m not saying you should go out there and start ventilating skulls like it’s going out of style, but if you don’t even know how to shoot it’s gonna be your blood on somebody’s hands, and they sure as hell won’t care as much as you do, y’know?”

He nodded thoughtfully, looking down at the pink pistol in his hands. “Besides,” She said, putting back on a grin, “I can tell ya from experience it sucks a hell of a lot more zeroing somebody with your bare hands than just shooting them.” 

She didn’t like the grimace that came across David’s face as she said that. Did she always have to put her foot in her mouth with him? “Yeah, I… kinda get that,” He sighed, bouncing his leg nervously, “I mean, I don’t know if he was actually a flatline, but I did choke out one of those Tyger Paws that was chasing us the other day.”

She winced. Sure enough, she’d yet again managed to bring up some extremely recent traumatic event from his life. “Shit, sure wish Lucy woulda brought that up,” She huffed, “Sorry about that, choom. Still, means you get what I’m sayin’, right?” He nodded, and she stepped forward towards him.

Tentatively, she reached out and touched the hand that was holding the pistol. She gently pushed it up, aiming it downrange. She straightened his shoulders, pushed one of his feet forward, and brought his other hand up to brace the pistol. For a moment, her unnaturally pale fingers lingered on his, though she quickly pulled them away once she realized what she was doing. “I know it’s not exactly the coolest,” She said, “But for a beginner, this is about the best way to hold your gun if you wanna hit what you’re shooting at.

She stepped back, surveying his form. “Go ahead,” She continued, giving him a reassuring smile, “At least shoot it once, see how it feels.”

David only hesitated for another second after that. Then, he squeezed the trigger, and the pink and green handgun bucked in his hand. It was clumsy, obviously, but still he’d hit about center mass. That was praiseworthy in and of itself. “Nice one!” She said, “Keep going! Empty the whole clip!”

David nodded. Emboldened by his successful first shot, he let off a few more in quick succession, obviously doing his best to emulate what she had done. The gun bucked, and a few of the shots went wide, but the majority remained on target, at least. Her well-trained eyes had no problem picking out where each shot would land before they even hit, darting between the smoking barrel of the handgun and the target downrange.

Once he’d emptied the gun, she gave him a cheerful whoop, clapping him on the shoulder.  “Good shit, choom! You’re a total natural!” He flushed, shrugging sheepishly as he let the hand holding the gun drop to his side. “See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

He shrugged hesitantly, holding the pistol out for her to take once again. She glanced down at it, the pink slide racked back indicating it was empty, and shook her head. “Nah, you can keep it! Even if you never use it, just think of it as somethin’ to remember ol’ Becca once you make it big, yeah?”

David snorted, bringing the gun back to his side. “Sure,” he said, “But you don’t have to worry about that. I doubt I could ever forget you, even if I wanted to, and I don’t.” Becca, taken aback by the casual statement, just stared for a second. Her unnaturally pale skin only made the blush that much more noticeable as she worked through what he’d said.

For once, she was actually thankful for an interruption when it came in the form of a call. The person on the other end did raise her eyebrow; a woman named Masako, who she'd hung out with sometimes back at Lizzie’s. They weren’t on bad terms, but they hadn’t been close either, hence her confusion. Still, she picked it up. At the very least, it got her mind off of… whatever feelings shit was going on inside her.

>Becca: yo, what’s up choom? long time no talk!

>Masako: yeah no time for small talk sorry
>Masako: need help asap, you were the first person i thought of

>Masako: can you get down to my apartment like now??

Masako’s voice was obviously synthesized, meaning she couldn’t talk out loud with whatever she was dealing with. Even still, it was laden with fear, enough so for Becca to take the request deathly serious. 

>Becca: okay, shit, slow down

>Becca: what’s going on??

>Masako: it’s my input
>Masako: i think he’s going psycho
>Masako: shit, maybe he’s already gone, i don’t know!

>Masako: he turned on me, i barely managed to escape

>Masako: hiding in the closet now, get here please

Becca didn’t waste any time. She stowed her pistols in the pockets of her hoodie and turned to David, her usually playful expression suddenly serious. “Listen, David, sorry to do this, but I’ve gotta…” Then, she thought of something. 

“Actually, you wanna help me help out a friend of mine? I’ll pay you, choom!” David gave her a grin, though it was clear on his face he was more than a little bit confused by the request.

Still, he said, “Shit, you had me at a friend of yours. Mind telling me what I’m getting into here?”

Becca nodded, turning and walking for the door. “I’ll tell you on the way,” She said, glancing over her shoulder to make sure he was following, “Keep up!”

Masako’s apartment was in a particularly seedy part of Kabuki. Becca understood why she’d called her rather than banking on MaxTac. In a place like this, MaxTac wouldn’t show up for a psycho incident until long after Masako had been killed. 

Becca and David had gotten there as quickly as they could, though Becca had made a detour to pick up her Crusher. She was working on a heavily modified Carnage that probably would’ve been even better for turning a psycho into a smear on the pavement, but it wasn’t done yet. There was no way she’d reveal her masterpiece while it was only half finished. 

She had the shotgun slung over her shoulder, hands shoved into her pockets gripping her pistols as they entered the lobby. David was a few steps behind her, surveying the lobby warily. She had filled him in on what they’d be going up against; luckily, he hadn’t been scared off by the prospect of facing down a psycho.

“Sixth floor,” She said, making her way to the elevator without any further conversation. She pulled one of her hands from her pockets to hit the button, and up they went. Her heart was racing, though she did her best not to show it on her face. Shit, if she ever got to the point where she wasn’t a little bit scared of going head to head with a psycho, she was pretty sure she’d have become the psycho.

She turned to look at David as the elevator took them up. “Listen,” She said, noting the way he was bouncing his leg as she talked, “We’re here to get Masako safe, got it? We don’t need to kill this guy if we don’t have to. Hell, he might not even be full psycho yet. If we can get out without flatlining anyone, that’d be damn nova, right?”

David nodded, and she turned to face the elevator doors once again. The elevator came to a halt, the doors slid open, and they were immediately greeted by loud yelling from down the hall. Becca winced as she heard the sound of a crash, quickly stepping out of the elevator and gesturing for David to follow behind her. 

The apartment was 624. Becca glanced around the hallway, got her bearings, and began moving down the proper hall. There was another crash, a deep, distorted roar of anger, and then a higher pitched shriek. Becca hissed a curse under her breath, picking up the pace and running down the hallway.

Once they made it to the door, she took up a position to the side of it. She couldn’t hear anything from inside for the moment, but she had no doubt the screaming had been coming from there. 

Then, suddenly, she was on the other side of the door, with something pulling on the back of her hoodie. Her immediate reaction, alert as she was, was to draw her pistols and look for what had suddenly moved her. She saw a shock of yellow and an apologetic smile and relaxed slightly. David had pulled her by the hood of her jacket, but why?

Her eyes turned back to where she’d been standing, and she realized. A table had been flung straight through the wall where she was a moment earlier. A tall, lanky man with his eyes glowing red was staring quizzically through the hole, trying to figure out where his target had gone.

How had he managed to pull her out of the way before that thing had clobbered her? Had he reacted in the split second where the wall had begun to break outward? She didn’t have time to consider this. “Find Masako!” She hissed, getting back on her feet. She pulled both of her pistols, and before the psycho could even turn his attention to her she’d let off a few shots into his chest.

No reaction. He was forced back slightly by the force of the shots, but she heard a metallic sound as they made impact. He grunted, red eyes darting over to her. David was already moving; she needed to give him time to get in there and find Masako. That, she could do. “Hey asshole! The fuck are you doing going psycho, I don’t even see any cool chrome! What, you break over a Mr. Stud?”

She wasn’t sure if the guttural growl he let out was because of her taunting or something he was hallucinating, but his attention was on her, at least. She saw David moving in, and fired a few more times to keep the psycho’s eyes on her. David was in the apartment now, doing his best not to catch the psycho’s eye.

It was time for the big guns, she figured. She shoved her pistols back into her pockets and slung the shotgun into her hands. She had to duck around the side of the hole as a chair came flying her way, followed by a few knives. Shit, he’d found the good stuff now. She peeked around the corner, decided it was safe enough, and blasted. That one hurt. 

The shot took the psycho in the chest, carving out a decent sized hole in his chest. He screamed, a guttural, distorted sound of pure pain, and lunged towards her. She dodged away from him, darting into the apartment proper and letting him lunge past her smaller form. Becca wheeled around, leveling her shotgun at him once more and taking another shot. The recoil hit her like a train, but she gritted her teeth and did her best to deal. 

The shot hit him even harder, though. He had spun back around after his failed lunge, ruined cybernetics sparking in his chest, blood oozing from the wound, only to take another shot. His reflexes were quick enough for him to move his hand in front of his abdomen and try to mitigate the damage, but that only left him getting one of his hands blown off. Again, that gut-wrenching scream, distorted by whatever chrome he had going on. Despite his obvious pain, he wasn’t faltering in the slightest. “David!” She shouted, keeping her eyes locked on her opponent, “Status!”

From deeper in the apartment she heard him yell back, “Found her! Fuck, she’s hurt bad!” Becca grimaced. The psycho stomped towards her, a pair of mantis blades rasping out of his arms. She couldn’t let him get close to her. Becca moved back a few steps, crouching down in hopes of better bracing herself, and squeezed the trigger of her Crusher a few times in quick succession.

Only, as she fired, her target was suddenly not there. She felt a force from behind her, an odd coldness in her left shoulder. She glanced down and saw a mantis blade there, going through her chest. There was a metallic, raspy chuckle from behind her. 

He had a Sandevistan too. She opened her mouth to yell something to David, but all she got out was a weak cough. She watched David exit the bedroom down the hall, Masako slung over his shoulders. She watched him survey the situation, his eyes going wide as he saw her impaled form. The psycho roughly pulled out the mantis blade, leaving her to collapse to the floor.

Then, she heard a scream, one that was even more intimidating than the ones the psycho had been letting out. Yeah, David would handle this.

She held onto that notion and did her best not to pass out. David would handle it. She just had to trust him.

Chapter Text

David’s heart was racing. The job had been going fine. Sure, there had been a close call with Becca, but he’d reacted in time to get her out of the way. She had gotten the psycho’s attention, allowing him to slip into the apartment and look for Masako. The first two doors had been a bust, but in the third, he’d found her.

Masako had been cowering in her closet. She had something lodged in her gut; at this point, it was so coated with blood that he couldn’t even tell exactly what it was a piece of, but it had gone into her stomach and was sticking out the other side. She was still breathing, weakly, but he could tell the wound was bad. She was losing way too much blood.

“David!” he heard from the other room, “Status!” He winced. At least she was still yelling, that was a good sign, but he could hear stress in her voice. 

“Found her!” He yelled back, slipping his hands other Masako’s limp form, “Fuck, she’s hurt bad!” David had to get her out of there, he didn’t know how long Becca could handle the psycho on her own. He heaved her over his shoulder, silently thankful that she was skinny and small, and got back up to his feet.

He headed out into the hallway, just in time to see Becca get impaled. Even though his Sandevistan wasn’t on, it felt like it was happening in slow motion. She fired at the psycho, and he disappeared. Then, suddenly, he was behind her, and a Mantis Blade had punched through her shoulder. She opened her mouth wordlessly, and then was roughly shoved off the blade as the psycho prepared to face the new threat in the hallway.

It took him a second to react; maybe that was his brain’s natural processing time. What was in front of his eyes hadn’t reached his brain yet. Then, it hit him, as he looked at Becca limp on the ground, blood seeping from her wound at an alarming rate. Was she dead? He couldn’t tell if she was breathing still, not from this far away. 

He had one last moment of good sense; he put Masako down, leaning her up against the wall gingerly. If he dropped her in the fight, her wounds might get worse. She might slow him down, get him killed. David balled his fists, his fingernails digging into his palms as he looked at the psycho. The psycho, seeming to be processing the new threat, just stared at him for a moment.

David opened his mouth. There were a million thoughts running through his head, but all that came out was a scream. It was guttural, coming straight from his belly, loud enough that he knew he’d be hoarse for a while following. The rational part of his brain that was telling him that was also telling him he should probably be careful fighting this guy, avoid it unless it was absolutely necessary.

That part of his brain went ignored as he screamed. This motherfucker had hurt Becca. He didn’t know why he felt so strongly about it, but he knew that was not something he’d just let go. He had hurt Becca, and now he might never get to see her smile or laugh or be a badass again! His life was worth nothing!

Before he could even actively try to activate it, time was slowing down. He darted forward, only to realize just in time that the guy was reacting to his Sandevistan. He had one of his own. It was obviously lower quality, because he still looked like he was moving in slow motion, but it was fast enough that he was going for a counter-attack.

Using his higher speed, David feinted in one direction, waited to see him shift, and then moved in the other. Filled with nothing but wrath, he slammed his fist directly into the psycho’s gaping chest wound, grabbing whatever he could get a hold of and tearing at it. He had to dart backwards as the psycho swiped a mantis blade at him, the time dilation wearing off as the mantis blade came within inches of his face.

The psycho growled, in something maybe approximating recognition. David growled right back, heart pounding out of his chest. There was a moment of hesitation, and then both of their Sandevistans activated once more. This time, David was on the defensive- whatever leg implants the guy had made up for the difference in their Sandevistans, it seemed, as the psycho lunged forward at seemingly normal speed. David felt no fear. He stared down the psycho until the very last second, and then lunged out of the way, letting him sail past and lodge one of his mantis blades into the wall.

He shoved his hand into his pocket, grabbing Becca’s pistol and drawing it. All too calmly, he pressed the barrel against the elbow of the arm that was lodged in the wall, took a breath, and pulled the trigger. Once, twice, three times, he fired the gun, ensuring the arm would be ruined. He’d already lost the hand on that arm thanks to Becca and now, as David unloaded into his elbow, he’d lost the rest. His elbow exploded in a shower of sparks and blood, leaving the forearm dangling from the now detached mantis blade, hanging from the wall. David’s Sandevistan effect faded once more.

The psycho’s lasted a moment longer, this time. Maybe he’d deactivated it when he got stuck and reactivated it again now that he could move. He didn’t even get to finish that thought as he watched the blur of the psycho moving, spinning around and stepping into a powerful kick. David groaned as the air was forced from his lungs, sending him flying across the room until he impacted with the wall on the other side. He could feel it give, though luckily he didn’t break through into the next apartment. Luckily for him, losing his arm had shaken the psycho enough for him not to stab David with the other.

It gave him the time to reactivate his own Sandevistan again. Hephaestus’ words came to mind as he did it, feeling power surging through his body. Was this frying his brain? Was he pushing himself closer to cyberpsychosis? His eyes darted over to Becca’s fallen form for a moment, and then focused back on the psycho, the image of her in a slowly growing pool of her own blood burned into his eyes. He made up his mind. There was no room for doubts right now. He could beat himself up over it later, but for now, Becca needed him.

He needed to save her. He hadn’t been able to help his mom, but this was something he could do. He spurred himself forward, still clutching the pistol. He needed to finish this quickly. As if responding to his thought, he felt his Sandevistan go to its limits, dilating time even more. Even as the psycho kept his activated, he moved sluggishly, slow enough that even his own Sandevistan wouldn’t help him avoid David’s attacks. David rushed in, jamming the barrel of his pistol into the chest wound and firing.  The psycho’s leg implants let him jump back, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the shot entirely. Another gouge was carved out of his chest by the bullet as it grazed him.

This wasn’t enough! He couldn’t destroy this guy like this. He wasn’t fast enough. Even now, with the Sandevistan pushed further than he’d ever pushed it, he still wasn’t quick enough. He needed more.

As the psycho turned to react, David reached out for that place in his mind that controlled the Sandevistan. He pushed. He wanted more out of it, needed more so that he could finish this and save Becca’s fucking life. The Sandevistan responded. He felt a vibration from his back as everything slowed further and further until, eventually, it had stopped. Or, at the very least, had slowed so much that the movement was imperceptible.

David didn’t even notice. He was so filled with burning wrath that all he noticed was that he had an opportunity. He glanced down at his gun. With things going this slow, would it even work? He needed something more practical to finish this.

He ran into the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife he could find. He could feel his Sandevistan straining on his back as he neared the end of his duration. He sprinted back to the psycho, knife in hand, and jammed it into his throat as hard as he could. Then, for good measure, he yanked it back out and slashed at the guy’s face, taking both of his eyes. That was the limit of his Sandevistan, and he leapt back just in case the psycho lashed out out of instinct. The psycho let out a gargled screech, the blood from his newly slit throat leaking down his windpipe. David watched warily as he collapsed, waiting to be sure it wasn’t a trick. It wasn’t. The psycho croaked out a pathetic, watery last breath, and died. David immediately turned and ran to Becca.

He got on his knees beside her, cradling her head and pulling her close. “Becca!” He yelled, “Fuck, I’m gonna fix this, stay with me!” Her eyes were still open, but she was clearly dazed, half-conscious. The wound was, luckily, in a spot that didn’t have anything vital. Still, it had punched clear through her, and she was bleeding way too much. His knowledge of medicine was just what he’d picked up from his mother and had seen online, but he knew he had to stop the bleeding as soon as possible.

He grabs a blanket, tearing a shred off of it and doing his best to pack the wound with the cloth. He tore more of it to tie around her shoulder, pressing his hands against it and trying to apply pressure as much as he could. He could feel the blood still seeping out. David took in a shuddering breath, forcing himself not to freak out. They needed a ripper, for Becca and for Masako. He stood up, pulled off his jacket, and walked over to Masako. He picked her up, positioning her on his back as best he could, leaning up against the wall to keep her from sliding down. He tied his jacket around her to keep her there, moving back across the room with her tied to her back.

As gently as he was able, he slid his hands under Becca’s form, hefting her up into his arms. He called a Delamain to pick them up as he made his way out of the apartment block, still making himself stay calm even as he heard Becca’s shallow breathing in his arms. They needed him to do this. Becca needed him, and so even though his legs were shuddering from the weight of the two women he managed to get out onto the street and give the Delamain the location of Hephaestus’ clinic.

“Stay with me,” He murmured, grabbing Becca’s hand and squeezing it, “I’m not gonna let you die on me.”

They painted quite the picture as David stumbled into Hephaestus’ clinic. He had kept Masako on his back- he could feel her blood seeping out onto his jacket still- and had Becca cradled in his arms. His eyes were frantic. The Delamain had taken too long, even after he’d paid the upcharge for the express package. Both of them had lost so much blood that even David’s untrained eye felt like they were knocking on death’s door.

“Hephaestus!” He yelled, stumbling towards the entrance of the clinic proper, “Fuck, get out here choom! I need you!” He could hear a groan from the other room, but he didn’t have the presence of mind to be ticked off. Hephaestus didn’t know him well enough to remember his voice, maybe.

“What?” He asked, making his way into the front room, “You know what-” He cuts himself off as he gets a view of David’s state. Immediately, he’s all business.

“Bring them back, hurry.” David doesn’t need to be told twice, stumbling down the stairs and into the clinic, legs burning with the combined weight of two people. If it wasn’t a matter of life and death, he’s certain his knees wouldn’t hold. Hephaestus pulled Masako off his back, setting her on a stretcher.

He came to take Becca from David’s arms, but for a moment David couldn’t let her go. He was frozen, staring down at her. She looked so pale; she was always pale, but now she was noticeably even more so. Was she already gone? He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, shake him. He was snapped out of his silent reverie by Hephaestus.

“I need you here, David,” He said, voice straining to stay calm, “Give me Becca, now. Every second that passes the chance she’ll be good shrinks, understand?” He nodded, finally handing her limp form over to Hephaestus, hurrying over to the side of the bed as soon as Hephaestus laid her down. Hephaestus moved over to Masako, first, grabbing some bandages and a few doses of MaxDoc. She had the worse injuries, David knew that.

He stayed by Becca’s side, grabbing her hand and clasping it. “You’d better not flatline you gonk,” He said, “You owe me for saving you and I ain’t gonna let you die before you pay me back, y’know.” Once Hephaestus was satisfied Masako’s condition wouldn’t get any worse, he moved over to the other side of Becca’s bed, surveying the wound. 

“I need to deal with the friend first, Becca’s not in mortal danger, believe it or not. You’re not gonna go psycho on me if I leave her, are you?” Hephaestus’ question seemed entirely genuine, which would’ve offended David if he wasn’t aware of his own condition. Hephaestus quietly began bandaging the shoulder wound, stuffing the wound with some gauze before wrapping it tightly. He injected a dose of MaxDoc into her thigh before turning back to David.

He stared David down for a moment, emotionless visor boring into David’s soul. “I’m serious. If you’re going to freak out, you need to wait outside, understand?” David glanced back at Becca, and then nodded.

“I’m not going psycho,” He said, and that was that. Hephaestus immediately turned and hurried back over to Masako, and David could hear the whirring and hissing of some machinery as he began patching her up. 

“She’ll live, right?” Hephaestus huffed, and didn’t answer for a moment. David looked over and saw him pull out the chunk of wood that had been impaled in her gut, setting it gingerly on a tray to the side. His hands were working frantically, again stuffing the wound with some gauze to prevent any more bleeding until he was able to stitch it up. 

“She’ll need to get some RealSkinn, or else she’ll have to deal with a gnarly scar. Ain’t givin’ it for free, either.” He sighed, wiping his brow with the back of his hand as he took a second to survey the damage. “But yeah, she’ll live. You got her here in time.” David was relieved, honestly, but not as much as he should’ve been. He turned his attention back to Becca’s form. She had relaxed a lot, now that the MaxDoc had kicked in. He felt like that was a good sign. 

He watched Hephaestus work in a daze. Had it been minutes or hours? He was still holding onto Becca’s hand, clutching it in his own. It was clammy, not particularly pleasant to hold, but he really didn’t care. It was proof she was still there, still alive, if barely. He watched as the doctor diligently worked, pulling out smaller fragments of wood that had been left in the wound before stitching her back up.

David perked up as Hephaestus finally straightened up and stepped away from Masako. “Yeah, yeah, I’m comin’ loverboy.” For once, David didn’t care enough to get embarrassed. He just wanted Hephaestus to fix her. Hephaestus came to the side of the bed, glanced at David’s hand, and sighed. “You gonna want to keep holding her hand, kid?”

David glanced down at Becca’s hands, not having noticed when he’d even grabbed it. After a moment of thought, he nodded, and Hephaestus nodded wordlessly in reply. He got to work. David watched, still totally dazed, as the blood-soaked gauze was pulled out of her shoulder wound. Her wound, thankfully, was a clean puncture, so there wasn’t any shrapnel to worry about, which meant Hephaestus could just get right to the stitches. David’s eyes didn’t leave Becca for a second until Hephaestus stepped back, satisfied with his work.

“She’ll live,” He said, “She’s just out from blood loss. I’ll give her something for that, and something for the pain when she gets up. She’s lucky it didn’t get anything vital.” Hephaestus clapped his hand on David’s shoulder. “I’ll wake her up after that, and then you can… talk to her.” Somehow, Hephaestus still managed a meaningful look without any visible eyes. David just nodded, turning his eyes back to her as Hephaestus moved away to grab the needed medicine.

What was this? This wasn’t just worry for a friend. He couldn’t even deceive himself into thinking that. Protectiveness, maybe? Those carefree smiles reminded him somewhat of his mom, maybe part of it was due to not wanting to lose someone like that again. It was something deeper than that, though. 

He just wanted her to be happy. Safe. Whenever he saw her smile, he wanted to make sure she’d do it more. Was that love? Hephaestus was gently pulling Becca’s mouth open, pouring some red fluid in. David couldn’t imagine just how out of it he must have looked. Whatever the expression on his face was saying, there was no way it matched what was going on in his head.

Becca coughed as the liquid was poured down her throat, squirming around a bit before finally, blearily, her eyes began to slide open. David immediately stood up, finally letting go of her hand only so he could properly move to her bedside. Hephaestus stepped back, obviously still watching his patient but giving them enough room to at least have some semblance of a private moment.

Becca blinked, her red and yellow eyes sliding around her surroundings before finally settling on David. She just looks at him, for a moment, and then she says, “Damn, I really died like that? Lame.” She puffs out her cheeks, adding, “I’m surprised I made it to heaven, but at least the angels are cute.”

David breathes a sigh of relief, tension dropping from his shoulders as he snorts. “Yeah right, choom,” He said with a grin, “I think if you made it to heaven the place would go down in flames in a week.” She chuckled, sounding a bit weak from the blood loss but otherwise her usual self. “We really have to stop hanging out in hospital beds,” He said, stepping back a bit now that the moment had passed.

Before he could step away, her pale hand darted out and grabbed his wrist. He stopped in his tracks. “Sheesh,” She said, not making eye contact, “At least let me enjoy the bedside manner for a little, yeah?” He nodded, not needing to be told twice, and shifted his hand so he was properly holding hers. There was a moment of comfortable silence between them before Becca finally asked, “Masako, she okay? Alive and well?”

Hephaestus chose that moment to speak up. “Alive, yeah. Probably not well, but she’s not bleeding out anymore.” Becca nodded thankfully, turning her attention back to David.

“Guess you saved my life again, choom,” She said, “Pretty damn shameful, getting saved by some baby punk 2 times in as many weeks, isn’t it? I really owe you one.”

“No, you don’t,” He said, squeezing her hand, “I’m just glad you didnt fucking flatline. Would’ve been real shameful, getting offed by some gonk like that, right?”

Becca’s face was surprisingly serious. “I owe you,” She reiterated, “Don’t brush it off.” David was about to push the issue, but something in her expression told him he shouldn’t. This wasn’t just some ‘merc’s honor’ or something, it was her trying to convey something else without having to actually get into it.

“Fine,” He said, “I already know what you can do to pay me back, anyways.” She blinked, obviously confused.

“You do?” She asked, “Shit, alright, shoot choom! Whatever it is, I’ll make it happen.” 

He nodded, doing his best to make it look like he had some serious request in mind. “Alright then. …You wanna go out on a date with me, sometime?” For a moment, Becca stared at him like he had grown a second head. It seemed like she hadn’t even been able to process his words, totally stunned by him acting like that would be a sufficient payment for her debt.

Then, she just sighed, seeming to deflate a bit. “You’re a total gonk, David.” Hephaestus seemingly agreed, considering the way he was stifling a laugh, “I would’ve said yes if you asked me that the first time you saved my life, y’know. You didn’t need to risk your life fighting a cyberpsycho to get a fuckin’ date.” She gave him a dramatic sigh, as if she was agreeing to some huge request. “Fine,” She said, “You survived a psycho, I guess you’ve earned a date, haven’t you?”

He grinned, despite all the shit that night had put him through. She shot him a smile, too, cheeks slightly pink despite her attitude. Then, she blinked, and said, “I need to see Masako first, though. And, uh… finish licking my wounds, here.”

“Right, for sure, choom. No rush. I’m, uh… I can be patient.”