Life On Mars

Elsa, this is for your own good.

First came the cold. The kind of cold that sapped and drained, turning the muscles to lead and the mind to jelly. The coldness and hardness of metal restraints, metal tables, metal collars, and metal machines.

The problem isn't what you've done, darling. It's what you know.

Then came the flashes. Red hair. Teal eyes. Freckles. A smile so bright that it even made the sun jealous.

To think, you were doing so well, Elsa. I'm disappointed in you.

Last came the pain. Pain that erased. Pain that altered. Pain that transformed. Everything known to be good and pure was disintegrated. Memories and experiences of a life gone by were chewed up and ground into dust. All that was left was the pain and the remembrance of pain.

It'll hurt only for a little bit, dear. Try to be brave for mother, okay?

Before the tide became overwhelming, Elsa opened her eyes and looked around. She wasn't back at VanirCorp. She wasn't tied down to a table. She wasn't hooked into the FMR machine. She was at home in her apartment she shared with Anna on a completely different planet, millions of kilometers from New York. It was the safest place she could possibly be and even so, she felt a cold shiver crawl its way down her spine.

Matilda's ghost had no power over Elsa here and she was no longer a test subject to be poked and prodded for study. She was free and she was real and she was human. A deeply traumatized human with a head full of awful memories that testified to her torturous existence before meeting Anna. That was two years ago and still, she carried the mental and physical scars from her time as a captive at VanirCorp.

Elsa had been meditating, as was her usual habit when she didn't need to sleep. She was sitting in a seiza position on a pillow by the window, a short distance away from the bed where Anna was snoring peacefully. The glory of the new dawn was slowly inching its way across the floor, enveloping her in its warmth.

As peaceful and relaxing as it all should have been, Elsa was feeling on edge. Her muscles were tensed in anticipation of an electric shock that never came. Her mind was braced for a mental onslaught that never struck.

It's over, Elsa thought, trying to calm herself down as she took some deep breaths. She's dead and gone. She can't hurt me anymore. It's over.

Ever since their trip to the zoo last week, which had ended in a panic attack for Elsa when encountered with a stimulus similar to that of the one she experienced in her torture, she hadn't realized that her mind had blocked out some of those events. Clearly, the effects of FMR therapy could still be felt even years after the fact in ways unpredicted. For Elsa, the past years of her life had been the happiest she'd ever been, so it came as no surprise that only now did it become apparent that she had never properly processed the trauma she endured.

So, she was trying to do just that by literally meditating on that time of her life. Reflecting on her experiences from a safe place and trying to catalog her pain to understand it. If she understood it, then she could learn from it. If she could learn from it, then she could never be harmed by it again. At least, that had been her hope.

The fact was, for all her special abilities and unique talents, Elsa was human and could break down like any other person. So, she had to find a way to deal with all the attending human baggage.

All this time and it still feels as fresh as ever, Elsa thought as she looked down at her left palm, examining the self-inflicted scar there. I wonder if I'll ever be able to truly heal, or if I'll have to carry these scars for the rest of my life.

She and Anna both carried their own scars and their own trauma. Each of them had their own way of dealing with it. Only time would tell how well they had coped.

Deciding to put an end to her meditation, Elsa stood up and silently crawled into bed next to Anna, reaching out and holding her tight. Anna turned over in her sleep and shifted closer to Elsa, mumbling something and reaching out in a similar manner. For the next little while, Elsa stared at Anna's serene face as she slept. She simply lay there holding her lover and being held by her lover, feeling the last shadows in her mind being chased away by the rising sun.

The morning was quiet, save for Anna's snoring and occasional utterings she spoke in her dreams. They were all nonsensical and completely meaningless, but Elsa always enjoyed listening to them. Eventually, Anna stirred, blinking off her sleep, stretching languidly, and yawning. She then settled her eyes on Elsa, smiling and clearing her throat, turning her head away to cough quietly.

"Good morning," Elsa leaned forward and kissed Anna on the cheek. "Would you like to hear what you talked about in your sleep this time?"

"Let me guess," Anna snuggled more tightly against Elsa and shut her eyes, smiling sleepily. "Some incoherent nonsense about a time travel machine or I was talking about food."

"No," Elsa giggled. "You were talking about a certain treasure. The holy grail. But then you started talking about how you needed to warn the queen about a coming blight."

"Huh. That does sound pretty weird."

"You mentioned K as well. I'm sorry I was in the net when he called last time. I miss him."

"Yeah, I miss him too," Anna yawned again. "What do you do when you're in the net anyway?"

"What anyone else does," Elsa shrugged. "Read the news, browse social feeds, look at funny pictures, and sometimes, watch porn."

And make sure the underground railroad is running smoothly, Elsa thought, though she didn't vocalize that part.

"Ooh, saucy," Anna chuckled. "Hard to avoid these days, damn stuff is everywhere. In the ads, the commercials, the billboards, even the food. Did you know that at ACN they even have a dedicated studio where they shoot it? I guess I'm not surprised. After all, they are a multimedia conglomerate."

"It's important to have multiple revenue streams."

"Yeah," Anna cleared her throat and adjusted her position slightly. "But speaking of revenue streams, much as I'd like to stay here all day with you, I gotta run. You're working from home today?"

"Yes, but I might do some cleaning as well," Elsa glanced around at Anna's side of the bed where piles of clothing were haphazardly placed all over the floor.

That, compared to Elsa's side where everything was always neat, orderly, and organized. There was even a little yellow chrysanthemum flower in a pot by the window that she meticulously cared for. Not a fake one. A real one.

Anna squeezed Elsa tight and placed a kiss on her forehead before crawling out of bed. "Is that supposed to be a subtle jab at me?"

"Nothing subtle about it," Elsa laid out in bed and stared after Anna. "I had hoped by now, you would have picked up at least some better cleaning habits."

"Yeah, and I told you, old habits are hard to break," Anna went into the washroom where she started brushing her teeth.

"Hard to break when you're trying to break them," Elsa got out of bed and started setting the covers and pillows back into place. "We talked about this. Sometimes I feel like you aren't trying as much."

Anna looked at Elsa in the reflection of the mirror, toothbrush still in her mouth. "We split up the chores, what's there to talk about?"

"The chores apply to the bedroom as well, not just the rest of the apartment."

"I clean up my stuff... occasion- occasionally."

"Uh-huh, and how long has this shirt been here?" Elsa lifted one of Anna's old band t-shirts. "At least a week and it hasn't even been washed yet."

Anna spat and rinsed her mouth. "I was gonna get around to it!" she washed her face, toweled it dry, then turned around to face Elsa. "I've just been busy."

"Busy doing what? Cleaning your weapons for the hundredth time? Those are the only things you regularly clean."

Anna opened her mouth to say something, then closed it as she sighed and shut her eyes. "Look, I don't want to argue, not before date night," she approached Elsa and started helping her organize the piles of clothing. "I'm sorry, okay? I am. I know I promised you before and I haven't been living up to it. That's on me, I get that. So, from now on, if I'm not keeping my end, you can- you can, shit, I guess you can, like, withhold sex from me."

Elsa softened her expression and held Anna by her shoulders. "You know that's as agonizing for me as it is for you."

"All the more reason for you to hold it over my head then," Anna smiled. "I'm getting better though, right? Remember when I took out the garbage that one time and you didn't even ask me to?"

"That was big. I was really proud of you."

"I just need the proper motivation, that's all," Anna kissed Elsa on the nose. "Now, let's get this squared away, and then I'll get breakfast started. Bacon and eggs, your favorite, as my way of making it up to you."

"Hmm, I guess that makes us even for last week when I nearly burned everything down," Elsa nodded. "Not too much for me though, we still have those dinner reservations at seven."

"Right," Anna snapped her fingers as they both resumed cleaning up. "I still don't know how you managed to swing reservations at Hattori's on a Friday night."

"I have my ways," Elsa smirked, but as soon as she turned away, it vanished.

"Well, I for one, am super-duper excited," Anna smiled.

Uh oh, Elsa thought. I still haven't managed to get those reservations yet.

After they finished cleaning and after Anna got dressed, they went into the kitchen to have breakfast. As was their usual habit, they had the holo-tv playing in the background.

Anna was gobbling up her breakfast at the pace of someone who was once uncertain of when their next meal would be, while Elsa was tucking into hers at a more restrained pace. Furthermore, bacon and eggs stirred up a pleasant memory from two years ago when Elsa visited Anna's apartment in New York for the first time. Their relationship was initially contentious, to say the least, but since then, Elsa knew that Anna had made incredible progress in more ways than one.

The biggest change was that she had completely kicked her drinking habit and had remained sober for two years now.

"Anna," Elsa started, setting down her fork.

"Elsa," Anna glanced up, egg yolk dripping down her chin.

"I'm sorry for being hard on you sometimes," Elsa wiped Anna's chin with a napkin. "I know you're trying and I really do appreciate it. It's not fair of me to push into my way of living."

"No, no, it's fine, really," Anna picked up their plates and carried them to the sink where she started washing them "If you don't, then who will? I mean, I'll be annoying about it, but I do need you to push me. One of us has to be the responsible one after all, and it sure as hell ain't me," she finished up and set the plates to dry.

"Okay," Elsa kissed her on the lips, kneading the flesh of her rear as she did.

Anna gasped in surprise then melted into Elsa's kiss, moaning softly.

Just as quickly, Elsa broke the kiss and gave her a light slap to get her moving. "Now go on, you need to go to work."

"Ugh, typical," Anna rolled her eyes and went into their office to retrieve her weapons. "You're gonna pay for that later tonight."

When she came out, she was strapping her katana to her hip. At the same time, Elsa was curling up with a holo-book on their couch, trying to ignore the dampness between her thighs from what Anna had alluded to.

Anna came over and kissed Elsa on the cheek and forehead, tweaking her ear. "I'll see you when I get home from work," she started heading out. "We're getting dolled up before we go, right?"

"Of course," Elsa stared after Anna. "Love you!"

"Love you too!" Anna pulled on her long coat and waved Elsa goodbye as she stepped out.

After she left, the apartment filled with silence. Elsa hummed to herself as she started to read. Once she read the entire holo-book, cover to cover, in a little over an hour, she set it aside and went over to the office. Anna's workbench was off to the side where a set of tools was neatly arranged. Across from it was Elsa's netrunning station, so she crossed over to boot it up.

Before long, Elsa was jacked in, synced up, cooled down, and ready to dive into the net. Moments later, she was back within Teng-Lao's network, accessing it from the comfort of home. There were no breaches in their ICE that Elsa had to worry about, nor were there any other mishaps since rebooting the production line last week.

So, Elsa's workload for the day was rather simple and all she really had to do was patrol the perimeters of their secure data forts, their ICE, and ensure that all systems were running smoothly. In fact, it was so mundane, that while she was diligently performing her tasks, her mind began to wander to other busywork to occupy herself with.

I wonder how everything is back on Earth, Elsa wondered. The latest lifeboat reported their success and is already back in New York. We should be ready to move on to the next phase of our plan now, only I need to secure a hardened signal transceiver first. For that, I'll need Mulan's help, but I won't contact her from here. Can't risk the chance that something may be traced back to me.

Mulan was a fixer for mercenaries, but more than that, she had enough connections and pull within the underworld of Arcadia that made her a reliable acquirer of illicit goods. The underground railroad relied upon the support of people like Mulan, but Elsa never contacted her as Elsa or even as Caelestis. Secrecy was the name of the game after all.

I'll set up some automated systems to monitor Teng-Lao's net, Elsa thought as she started stringing together a sequence of codes to do her bidding, appearing like tiny little snowmen. Then, it's a quick trip to the safehouse, see what OLAF's been up to, hack into the net at Hattori's to get our reservations, get in touch with Mulan, then back home before Anna gets there

With a wiggle of her fingers, the little blue snowmen made up of her ICE chirped and bumped into one another before wandering off to different sections of Teng-Lao's net. Confident that nothing would go awry in her absence, Elsa checked the time and saw that an hour had passed in the real world, although to her, it felt like several. She promptly surfaced from the net, powered everything down, then returned to the bedroom where she got dressed.

Once she was ready, she gathered her weapons, then exited the apartment to get on with the rest of the day.

… … …

"Afternoon, OLAF," Elsa said as she stepped out of her car after parking it in her safehouse. "How are you? How's your week been?"

The safehouse lights clicked on in response, followed by OLAF's voice. "Quite well, thank you for asking," he replied. "I saw the most interesting film the other day, hidden away in the deep net."

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Elsa went over to her workstation and sat down, bringing up the various screens.

"It was an old film from the early twenty-first century. There were two brothers, a woman and her moose, and a talking snowman. Very amusing."

"Sounds interesting. What was it called?"

"Chilled, I believe."

"Haven't heard of it," Elsa said. "Would you send that to me? I could watch it with Anna."

"Of course," OLAF sent over the relevant file to Elsa's private server back at their apartment. "Arranging plans for the weekend?"

"I've been trying to get a table at Hattori's for a month now and no luck. I'm not playing nice anymore, so let's see what we can do from here. Pull up their local network."

"Just a moment. Accessing their main lines and tunneling through their firewalls."

It took several minutes for OLAF to break into Hattori's net, easily punching holes through their rudimentary ICE, masking their steps, and creating discreet back channels. Once they were in, he pulled up several screens for Elsa to look at, including the employee messaging system, security controls, and the guest list with reservations.

"Let's see," Elsa muttered as she started parsing through the guest list, deciding who to kick off and replace with herself. "Here's a table for two at seven. Ooh, balcony seating, fancy. Meant for a Mister Janowicz, a senior-level executive for Lazarus Biomechanica."

She was reminded of last week's trip to the zoo which had been quite unpleasant, to say the least, due to some of the more questionable practices of the cloning program employed by the same corporation.

"Mister Janowicz, let's see what kind of person you really are," Elsa muttered as she brought up his social feeds and swiped through the images she found.

Janowicz was a portly fellow with a balding head and greasy-looking skin. The custom-tailored suits he wore did well to hide his weight, but nothing could hide the smug arrogance behind each one of his crooked smiles. In some of the images, he posed with a dead exotic animal he had apparently brought back from extinction just to hunt. In other images, he posed with supermodels who were half his age with the same crooked smile, but there was also a predatory glint behind his eyes. None of the women were smiling.

"What do you think, OLAF?" Elsa crossed her arms and leaned back. "Think he could find somewhere else to eat tonight?"

"I don't imagine that would be an issue for someone of his type," OLAF replied.

Elsa grinned and then made the change to the guest list, kicking him off and replacing his name with her own. "There. Taken care of," she did a thorough check to ensure she left no traces of her activity in their system, then closed out that display. "Table for two, balcony seating, for Joy Wallace and Rachael Deckard."

"Anything else I can assist you with?" OLAF asked.

"Yes, actually there is," Elsa reached into the drawer of her desk for a circlet which she put on over her head. "Patch me through to Mulan, I need to speak with her."

"Right away. Opening connection."

As OLAF was doing that, Elsa tapped the circlet by her temple twice, activating the voice alteration and face-concealing functions. She glanced at holo-display showing a live feed of herself and nodded in satisfaction when her face appeared only as a nondescript mesh of blurred pixels.

Seconds later, Mulan's face appeared in another holo-display. "Ah, my mystery client," she said. "Was wondering when I would hear from you again. What is it you need this time?"

"A hardened signal transceiver, military-grade," Elsa replied, though her voice was deepened and distorted. "Capable of reaching Earth without having to bounce off of orbiting satellites. Got anything like that?"

"Not on hand, no," Mulan frowned in thought. "Might know of a place where they can be klepped though. Secure warehouse full of KGB surplus equipment. Same stuff they use to spy on the Americans. It's in the Carbon Quarter, that'd be the best bet."

"Can you have one of your mercenaries retrieve it?"

"I can. How soon do you need it?"

"As soon as possible."

"Alright. My best merc is already out collecting a bounty right now, but when they're done, I can put them on the job."

"The best you say?" Elsa asked. "This is a sensitive one. No killing, no alarms. I need this to be done quietly. How reliable are they?"

"They've never let me down before," Mulan replied, swiping through some unseen screens. "They're quick and mostly clean. My go-to person for gigs like this."

"Mostly clean?"

"They can be squeaky clean if the credits are worth the trouble."

"It'll be worth the trouble," Elsa transferred Mulan a decent amount of credits from one of her offshore accounts dedicated towards underground railroad activities. "When they have it, have them deliver it to the usual drop-off."

"Got it," Mulan nodded. "Out," she dropped the call and faded from the display.

With that taken care of, Elsa powered down her workstation and deactivated the circlet, setting it aside.

"Up to some espionage, ma'am?" OLAF asked.

"Nothing like that," Elsa chuckled. "I just need it to establish a more robust network which would allow androids to escape into the net. Physically escaping Earth is becoming too difficult, but with the net, all they need is a direct line. That's what the signal transceiver is for, and once I get my hands on it, I'll just need to do a bit of tinkering."

"An excellent strategy," OLAF said. "But what if some of our synthetic friends wish to stay in their bodies?"

"They have that option, but it's becoming less feasible. At any rate, Sinclair's testing has yielded promising results. Androids can upload their minds into the net and download them into another body at any time. Consciousness transference, he calls it."

"Two types of freedom, with the freedom to choose between each one and change at any time."

"If you want, you could download yourself into an empty body. You could be a real boy."

"That would be quite cheeky, wouldn't it? I'll have to consider your proposal."

"Well, let me know," Elsa stood up and started gathering her things, getting ready to leave for the weekend. "That'll be all for today, OLAF. Are you doing anything else exciting this weekend?"

"I might," OLAF replied. "There has been a considerable amount of chatter across the universal net about Port Armstrong. Something about their warden AI being updated. I should like to monitor the situation more closely and see if there are any other developments."

"Uncle SAM? I would have thought they'd have updated him sooner by now. He's nearly a hundred years old."

"Even old AIs can still learn new tricks, evidently."

"Well, I have to run now. I got a hot date," Elsa stepped into her car. "Goodbye, OLAF. Don't get into any trouble now."

"I wouldn't dream of it," OLAF said as he opened the garage door. "Have a pleasant evening, ma'am."

"Oh, I will," Elsa smiled, looking forward to the evening festivities as she drove home.

… … …

After Elsa made it home, she did a quick check on her snowmen in Teng-Lao's net to ensure that nothing had gone awry, then left them to their business when all was in order. Evening was encroaching, but she still had a few hours to kill before her dinner reservation at Hattori's. Anna wasn't home yet from work, so, with nothing else to do, Elsa spent her idle time cleaning their apartment, washing and drying their clothing, and organizing their office.

When she was done that, she went over to her closet to start picking out an outfit for the evening. Elsa's taste in clothing was rather restrained with mainly two-tone color schemes consisting of black and white, while tastefully influenced by streetwear styles of the early twenty-first century. Conversely, Anna's wardrobe consisted of a mixture of bright colors emblematic of kitsch and neokitsch styles, something she had adopted since moving to Arcadia, all while still maintaining some more practical pieces indicative of her time spent in New York.

Still, tonight was a special occasion for no other reason than to just spend some quality time together, so Elsa got ready by jumping into the shower. After that, she tried on several different outfits that departed from her usual wear, eventually settling upon a dark blue, long-sleeved cocktail dress. As she examined her reflection in the mirror, she smiled in satisfaction, then sat down to start doing her makeup, something she didn't habitually wear.

Someone is having sex tonight, Elsa thought as she worked, before glancing over to the time. I wonder what Anna is getting up to. It's almost time to head out. I should call her.

Elsa brought up her omni-pad, then swiped the display over to the mirror so she could focus on what she was doing while still talking to Anna. After a few seconds, Anna's face appeared on the display.

"Hey, babe," Anna smiled and glanced towards something out of view. "I know what you're gonna say, and I have been keeping track of the time. I'll be- woah," she looked back to Elsa and her eyes widened.

"Hi," Elsa purred as she applied some eyeliner. "I was just lounging around at home, wondering when you would show up. It's rude to keep a girl waiting, you know."

"What are you wearing?"

"Will you be home soon, or should I just head out all by my lonesome?"

"What are you wearing?" Anna's voice dipped into a husky register as she shamelessly ogled Elsa's appearance.

"Anna," Elsa giggled and started straightening out her hair. "Focus."

"Elsa," Anna replied. "I'm just wrapping up some quick biz at work, then I'll be home in a jif. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it."

"Alright, just hurry. I'll see you soon," Elsa blew Anna a kiss.

"That's classic you, always distracting me when I need to get stuff done," Anna scrunched up her face and shook her head. "See you soon," she chuckled, waved, and ended the call.

With that settled, Elsa started humming tunelessly to herself as she continued getting ready, assured that absolutely nothing was awry and that the evening would turn out splendidly.