Graverobber stalked through the back alleyways trying his best not to be noticed. Bright lights flooded the main roads while cameras scanned the area for him. One of the many prices people paid to the mighty GeneCo gods! He kept to the shadows as he made his' way towards his favorite part of town, the graveyard. It was a place he knew all too well, his' territory. Surely, Amber would be smart enough not to mess with him on his' own territory. A smirk crossed Graverobber's lips as he rethought that. Maybe he was giving her too much credit.
Along the way, he stopped to stare at the latest propaganda poster that showcased GeneCo's newest President, Amber Sweets. It had been a long five years since the ever changing she-bitch had taken over from her father's death and Shiloh Wallace's abdication. Sales of GeneCo's replacement parts had gone through the roof; practically everyone had undergone at least one type of surgery or another. Graverobber prided himself on having avoided the temptation for as long as he had. Scanning the image, he started to count all of the replacements the Amber had made recently.
1 little, 2 little, 3 little implants.
4 little, 5 little, 6 little nose jobs.
7 little, 8 little, 9 little skin grafts.
10 jobs for amber Sweets.
Using all of his' favorite secret passages, Graverobber found Sanctuary in the graveyard in no time. Headstones and mausoleums were scattered everywhere, and those belonged to the fortunate few that were lucky enough to be claimed. Dig a little deeper into the earth, anyone could find one of the many mass graves. Poor, unlucky bastards that had been thrown away like used tissues. That had been during the darker times; before the miraculous healing light of the GeneCo's business sign had been graciously revealed to the world. Oh, how we love thee, he thought cynically.
Making his' way through the countless names, Graverobber came upon the only two mausoleums that really mattered in the entire place. They both sat side by side, one in simplistic elegance with the other towering over it in size and opulence. In the bigger one was housed the only remains of the once living God, Rotti Largo. The founder of GeneCo deserved nothing less than a tomb fit for the hero of the human race. The plots it had taken to create the monstrosity had been bought from many different families by GeneCo in order to fulfill the only wish of their fallen leader. It had been Rotti's wish to be buried next to the only woman he had loved and killed, Marni Wallace.
Her tomb sat in the shadow of its towering neighbor. On the front of it was nothing too extravagant. It sat as a simple temple to honor the woman who had started it all. She had been in love with Rotti, as the story goes, until she met another man. Though this other man was not as powerful or rich as Rotti, Dr. Nathan Wallace was the man of her dreams. So, Marni left the heartbroken entrepreneur and married the kind doctor. Rotti had to watch from atop his lonely tower as the woman he obsessively loved carried another man's child. He sat in vengeful silence, waiting for the perfect chance to strike.
When Marni had fallen ill during the last months of her pregnancy, Rotti saw his' chance. He secretly switched out some of Nathan's medicine for poison, knowing that Nathan would choose to save Marni himself. After mixing, unknowingly, a deadly cocktail for his' beloved wife, Nathan watched in horror as his' love slowly expired before him. There was nothing that could be done to save her, but the child within still had fighting chance. Sorrowfully, Marni's failing health forced Nathan to do the unthinkable: cut out the child in order to save a life. After the ordeal was done, the mournful father sat and looked over the mutilated corpse of his' beloved wife while their little girl, Shiloh, cried in his' arms, still covered in the blood and fluids of childbirth.
Not many people knew what happened next, but suddenly Nathan began to work for Rotti as one of his many Repo Men. It became Nathan's job to prowl the streets each evening looking for his' appointed victims. These people all had one thing in common: an unpaid debt. Being unable to make their monthly GeneCo payments on a surgery, whether necessary or not, got them hunted in the cool night, and murdered in order to retrieve the parts they had to desperately needed. This brutal task had been legalized, thanks to GeneCo's backing of politicians and bills, so no one could complain about it. Either you paid your debt, or you wound up among the many dead at the whim of GeneCo.
Graverobber's part had been small in comparison to all of the other players. He was just your average, everyday drug dealer. It was his' job to supply all of the needy drug addicts with hits of a powerful pain killer called Zydrate. Women would whore themselves out in order to make the money needed for a hit of "Z." Men would often steal from anyone to scrounge up the dough. It didn't matter to him how his customers came up with the money, so long as they paid. When supplies became low, Graverobber would simply take an evening stroll from his' usual hangouts and head home to the graveyard. Then, all he had to do was find a fresh enough corpse to extract the medicine. You see, Zydrate didn't come from any kind of chemical compound. Instead, people relied on extract of death in order to feel no pain.
It had been through his' lucrative business that Graverobber had met Amber. It amused him that the only daughter of a man who made a living selling reconstructive surgery would become an enhancement junkie. Each week, Amber would have something new done, and a slot of surgery required a lot of Zydrate. Amber chose to use alternative means instead of waiting for some doctor to write her a prescription. This brought her directly to Graverobber, and ever since then the two have always had a unique relationship: she provided the money, he provided the Zydrate.
On a very special night, Graverobber's life had changed. During a late night collection, he had come across a young girl out collecting bugs. Her name was Shiloh Wallace, and she was out without her father's permission. In fact, her father had forbidden her to leave her room, let alone the house, for fear of what would happen to her. She had inherited the blood disorder that had caused her mother to become sick and eventually led to her death. Nathan has always blamed himself for having mixed bad medicine that cost her mother her life, but he had sworn to find the right medicine in order to save his daughter. Until that day, Nathan had done everything he could to keep Shiloh inside their home and away from danger.
Still, Shiloh always found a way out. She would often come to sit at her mother's tomb for company. Her father was often out on "medical emergencies" because of his' being a doctor. So, she would slip out and then slip back in before he could find out she had gone. It was the perfect little system, but on this evening, things did not go so well. Cops were out in force looking for him, but Graverobber refused to allow their presence to deter him from his' nightly duties. After they'd met, the force had spotted them. Shiloh was caught, allowing him to get away. It hadn't been until the GeneCo flesh market that he saw her again. She was being held against her will by Rotti's bodyguards in a tent. He decided to help the poor girl escape into the night.
When Amber came looking for him, the two dynamic women met for the first time. To Graverobber, they were as different as night and day. Shiloh was quiet and reserve; where as Amber was loud and in your face. Shiloh had grown up fearing everything, while Amber feared nothing because of her family's power. Amber longed for the thrill of her next alteration, and Shiloh merely longed to be free of her father and her disease. Amber instantly disliked the meek girl, but didn't realize just how much she'd hate her yet.
After a police raid, Graverobber saw Shiloh by riding on the back of a body dump truck. They rode through the cemetery, and Shiloh exited when they drove past her mother's mausoleum. Graverobber continued on about his' business of collecting as much Zydrate as he could get his' hand on. Tonight was the GeneCo Genetic Opera, just another way GeneCo made light of their dark dealings. Their main promoter, Blind Mag, would be leaving the company tonight and giving her final, farewell performance. What most people didn't know was how Mag had come to obtain the eyes. She had been best friends with Marni and was introduce to Rotti through her. Rotti had given Mag the needed operation, but when Marni had spurned his love, Rotti demanded the payment. With no way to pay, Mag was forced into bondage as she was made to sing for GeneCo and no one else. Tonight, she was leaving it all for freedom. Yet, if she left, he eyes would be repossessed. Blind Mag was ready to face the consequences of leaving GeneCo, even if it meant her death.
Knowing Amber would need a fix, Graverobber sat outside in a dumpster to avoid detection. Being an unlicensed seller was illegal, and there was a huge bounty on his' head. Yet, he didn't have to wait long for the plastic-surgery princess to show up/. After giving the hopeful diva, who planned to replace Mag as the new vice of GeneCo, what she needed, Graverobber had planned on leaving. However, tonight's events were too good to pass up. Graverobber watched outside with many spectators as the Opera unfolded on the huge televisions that were everywhere. First were Amber's performance and her "faceless" extravaganza. Graverobber burst out laughing when Amber had picked up her own face and ran from the stage. Then, everyone gasped in horror as Mag gouged out her own eyes and fell to her death upon some railings. To save the show, Rotti promised to save a life the life of a sick girl by giving her the sure she needed.
Shiloh and Nathan then appeared on the stage. Shiloh learned her father's three horrible secrets. The first was his' profession as a Repo Man. He didn't heal patients like he had told her, but hunted victims. Second was his' involvement in her mother's death. He had been the one who had killed Marni, or so everyone was lead to believe. Finally, the most horrible thing he had done in the name of love for his' daughter. Her father had been poisoning her a little each day to keep her thinking she was sick. Her blood disease was a lie used by her father to control her. Nathan admitted the truth to a horrified Shiloh. Finally there came the big announcement. People had been wondering who would become the GeneCo heir after Rotti. Thought many people thought that they had years to figure it out, Rotti knew that time was running out. He announced to the world that he was dying, and had finally chosen his' successor: Shiloh.
Yet, with great power comes great sacrifice. In order to inherit GeneCo, she had to kill her father first. Though Nathan encouraged her, Shiloh couldn't do it and turned the gun on Rotti. Fed up, he had the lights turned off. In the darkness came a gun shot. When the lights came back on, Nathan sat in a pool of his' own blood. A desperate Shiloh pleaded for help, but no one came to her aid. Then, Rotti died too on the stage, his' sickness claiming his' life.
When Nathan closed his' eyes for the final time, Shiloh had obtained her freedom. She walked out of the Genetic Opera and away from it all. The next morning's papers ran the headline proclaiming Shiloh had given up her claim on GeneCo to Amber Sweetss. Amber sold her face to represent GeneCo's change in power. Her brother, Pavi Largo, was the highest bidder in the auction and won a new face to wear, but only because their brother, Luigi Largo, killed those who bid against him. It was all merely a political stunt because nothing changed. People still craved cosmetic changes while living in fear of the Repo Man.
"We can't seem to locate him, Ma'am," a voice called out pulling Graverobber from his' memories. He quickly ducked out of sight, and watched as a couple of police men walked past him. The one that had spoke was talking into his' wrist communicator which flashed an image of a spinning Amber's head. The familiar shrilly voice screeched over the speaker.
"I want that asshole found! Now!"
"Yes, Ma'am," the cop replied and ended the call. "Jesus, what's got her panties in a twist?"
The other office merely shrugged his' shoulders as they continued on. Once they were out of sight, Graverobber stepped from his' hiding spot with a big grin. Amber was still flaming pissed. He couldn't help but feel joy at her misfortune. Though she was now the President of GeneCo, Amber had an image to uphold. She could no longer behave like the immature heiress she once was. Her surgeries became less frequent than before, which made her irritable. The only constant thing in her life now was her need for Zydrate. Graverobber had continued to supply her with all of the drugs she needed in return for money and protection from the law. Whenever she tried to Welch on their little arrangement, he would always threaten to cut her off and go public with her problem. Usually, she would recant and even try to seduce him, but her tired tricks didn't affect him. It was either give him what he wanted or he'd go.
This past time, Amber had threatened to send one of the company's many Repo Men after him. Graverobber was not one to face threats lightly, and he was damn determined not to be in intimidated by a junkie. Amber's attitude had become very whinny and bossy lately, so Graverobber decided to teach her a lesson. He would leave her alone all day without a hit, and let her get a taste of panic and fear. This had pissed Amber off to the point of sending a hunting party after him. Graverobber was certain of his' skills at subterfuge, but he knew he would have to find somewhere to crash for the evening. What better place to hide then in the one place no one would ever expect, inside Marni's tomb?
Checking to make sure the coast was clear; Graverobber quickly entered the mausoleum and shut the door behind him, locking it from anyone else entering. When he turned around, he was shocked to find that he and Marni were not alone. After Nathan's death, Shiloh had her father's remains cremated and placed in a beautiful urn. The urn now rested at the head of Marni's coffin, and a portrait of the two lovers hung on the wall above. In the corner, a young woman, whose features resembled them, sat in a chair with an open book in her hand. To her right, two gas masks hung on the wall. People still feared catching the horrible disease from the dead that had started the need for GeneCo's cures, so seeing them was not too farfetched. At her feet sat a small picnic basket full of food. This young lady had come to enjoy a meal with her family, and from what Graverobber remembered of her, she hadn't changed much.