"Kiwi! Answer me, kiwi!" Falco desperately shouted into his com, the line went dead after that cold Netrunner had cut the line. She didn't answer any of his attempts to re-establish contact. "Damn it!" A fist was uselessly slammed against the steering wheel.

Kiwi had used her backup pistol, that meant only one thing: She was forced to because she couldn't hack it, whatever it was she was up against. The former Edgerunner didn't normally take jobs in the flesh, but this time they didn't have a choice, it was just the two of them and he was the wheels. Falco had offered to back her up, but Kiwi had refused, saying that his hand on the wheel was more important than on his iron. She had him parked around the block, waiting for extraction. That was looking like a big mistake each second that rolled by.

"There ain't no third chances, you stupid woman..." The chrome arm shook as it gripped the wheel.

He needed a drink, bad. The flask he kept in the glovebox was seeming enticing… A sip, to calm the nerves, maybe…

Another shot rang down the street, followed by half a dozen others. Falco cursed. He needed to get Kiwi out of there. Now.

The idling engine of the custom Chevillion Emperor sprung into life. Nearly a thousand horsepower roared, all cylinders firing, revved up to the max as the Nomad punched it into gear. The black and yellow behemoth spinning it's tires, burning rubber like an inferno as it spun around the corner.

The distance wasn't far to where the target had been, the neon sign of the clothing store visible with his Kiroshi, even after Kiwi had cut the lights. Falco just hoped he could make it there in time…

The scene out on the street was a mess, a car was on fire, another was bisected in half, lots of glass from the shop front windows had shattered their panes, littering the street with razor sharp blades of glass.

That's when Falco saw her, battered, shredded, and held aloft by the throat from the Cyberpsycho they had been hunting. His heart nearly stopped right then.

Kiwi was frantically kicking out against the white haired woman, little good it did as the target clearly didn't seem to be worried about such human things as pain anymore. The psycho gripped Kiwi's throat harder, squeezing off her lower faceplate with a sickening 'pop'. The Netrunner went limp.

"KIWI!" Falco floored it, the Emperor charging down the street like a mad bull out of the pen.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, events happened in mere nanoseconds, but for the experienced driver his well trained reflexes took it all in. Falco wouldn't say his skill was as good as a Sandevistan, since he wasn't too conscious of events until later. More like the reflexes ingrained into all rally drivers. It was how he had learned to drive his wheels through even the toughest of traffic, dodging bullets and rockets too. It took many years of training, but it had paid off.

Now though… He began to wish he had never learned it, because he was able to see every detail from up the road as it happened. And, what he saw haunted him for years to come.

The Cyberpsycho dropped Kiwi's lifeless body to the side, discarded like a ragdoll. Falco hissed as he saw the blonde's head bounce roughly off the curb. The engine roar must have alerted the cybercunt, for she finally took notice of the vehicle barreling down towards her. She turned to face the new opponent head on.

That's when the Night City cowboy met the face of death herself.

Two neon ice blue eyes stared back at him, cold and lifeless. They looked straight through the old man, even at such a great distance, piercing his soul even from down the block.

The woman's hair lit up in an eerie glow, surrounding her head in a halo of light that matched the intensity of her eyes as they glared at the fast approaching SUV. Two tuffs on either side of her head rose up, appearing much like fluffy ears. The pseudo antennas twitched as they reacted to the sounds or electric signals nearby.

Falco had known about Exotics, those that had altered their appearances to seem less Human, whether that be for fantasy or practicality. People spent millions of eddies to transform themselves into something else than ordinary an Human. The Animals were a good example, some sporting stripes or scales, others horns and tusks, all in an effort to reach something beyond Humanity's limits. Yet, this seemed to be too… Delicate for some backstreet mod. No, as the well hidden seams along her body split open, revealing umbral cables and panels beneath her 'flesh' she seemed more machine than woman.

He swore he saw her glitch in and out of reality a few times, though it must have just been a broken optical camo on the fritz; only parts of her body disappeared into a translucent haze. Falco could still see her standing there, but gradually her whole body became covered in the mist projected from the straining emitters. She didn't disappear, the effect was more like a specter or a mirage on the highway.

Sparks of electricity wove themselves along the cyborg girl's body, as broken cyberware struggled to keep up the effect. The lightning wound around her, like snakes they curled around the semi-transparent figure. Ironically it only made the ethereal figure more visible.

It became clear she was trying to disappear. To escape or come back for a sneak attack, the driver couldn't say, only that he wouldn't let her have a chance ether way.

Falco didn't know what kind of fucked up insane monster the mega corporations had created, all he knew was that she had harmed one of the last few people the old Nomad cared about. And for that she would pay.

"Eat this you bitch!"

Slamming his fist down on a big red button a harpoon cannon beneath the Emperor's chassis fired, launching it's spear pointed projectile. The heavy metal rod rocketed towards the lone girl in the middle of the road, trailing a thick cord of rope behind. The harpoon had enough penetration power to skewer a Militech cargo hauler, to a lone human it would vaporize them point blank into a mist of chunky salsa.

The ears twitched on top the Cyberpsycho, then the next nanosecond she merely leaned to the left, casually dodging the strike as if were nothing, the spear shooting past her head by a hair's breath. Falco stared stunned through his windscreen. No mortal without a Sandevistan should have made that dodge, and yet in the blink of an eye the girl had done so. She was nuts.

Worse, she now perceived the SUV as a threat.

Seeing her next target strike at her changed something within the white haired girl. She was mad now. Both the glowing eyes altered their colours, from a cold blue to an angry violent red.

A headache instantly flared up behind Falco's eyes, the vital readings in his glitching optic's HUD said his brain temperature was rising well beyond safe levels. It certainly felt like his brain was on fire, he yelled out in unbearable agony as his implants failed him.

His foot was still on the gas pedal however.

Four tones of reinforced combat grade SUV slammed straight into the specter, sending the Cyberpsycho careening into the air. Her eerie luminescent form vanishing into the darkness.

The borg's body had felt sturdier than it ought to have been, it was like hitting a concrete pillar. Regardless, not much would survive such an impact without at least a few scratches. Even a monster would need time to lick their wounds before they came back for the kill.

The Emperor swerved, jumping the curb, hitting a lamp post before smashing into the front end of a shop. Falco groaned, his head rang like an explosion had gone off next to his ear. He didn't have time to worry about himself, he needed to get to his partner.

Kicking the door open took several tries, the metal was bent out of alignment, getting stuck in position. The last thrust of his boot knocked the side door clean off it's hinges.

There was no sign of the Cyberpsycho, but even still Falco unholstered his Burya. The hand cannon would be enough to demolish anything, but he doubted he'd get the chance to use it if the man made camouflaged predator got the jump on him.

Not wasting another second Falco leapt from the stricken Emperor, he made a mad dash to where Kiwi lay still along the concrete. The flickering of the nearby flaming car cast dancing shadows along her body, as if she were moving, but his Kiroshi implants said otherwise. "Kiwi!"

The man rushed over, checking her body with a scan. Good, she's still kicking.

A Max-dox jammed into her chest later and the sour Netrunner's yellow eyes flickered open. She stared up at Falco, weary, but alive.

Her mouth had been replaced long ago, leaving a large cavernous space where her mask normally sat. If she still had her lips he was sure she'd have pulled them into a frown by now. "You… Should have stayed behind the wheel."

"Fuck you too Kiwi," the Nomad breathed a sigh of relief. He reached down to hold her hand, she hesitated, but eventually gripped it back in a tight squeeze. "You still have a debt to pay me back, remember?"

"I know…"

Trauma Team's AV swooped in overhead, their only objective was the Corpo kid bleeding out nearby. The paramilitary medics mostly ignored the two mercs and the shop vendor, they didn't have TT coverage. A Ripperdoc or 'meatwagon' would need to suffice for those uninsured.

One of the medics did point his SMG at the two on the ground, though he was just running security for the EMT crew as they carted off their client. Several orders to stay back were barked over the helmet's speakers. Falco held up his hands, leaving his iron on the ground. Kiwi just continued to lay where she was.

When the stretcher passed the two huddled on the ground the boy strapped down on top glanced over at them; with an oxygen mask strapped to his face and his black locks of hair disheveled, only his golden eyes were clearly visible. Despite his injuries and blood loss he managed to level a seething glare at the two mercenaries.

He was not done with them it seemed, his eyes held a solemn promise that he would hunt down and kill both of them as soon as he was healed.

The blue thrusters lit up the night sky as they evacuated to safety. As the AV screeched off into the abyss both mercs shared a single though: they had failed.


Delta didn't know what had happened to her. One moment she was talking with Maurice and the Corpo kid, and then… It hurt to think.

A lot of things hurt in fact. Her whole body had felt like it had been hit by a truck.

"Gah fuck me…" Delta groaned, attempting to stand up had proven a useless endeavor, her legs felt like they'd been replaced with jelly. She had just crumpled under her own weight as soon as she had stood.

She didn't know how she ended up on top of the roof of one of the buildings, but she knew there was only one way down. There was a fire ladder to the side other side, she just needed to get to it.

Pulling her broken body to the ledge had taken nearly all of her strength. Crawling over the roof had ruined her clothes too, Delta hoped Maurice wouldn't be too mad at her for ruining the clothes he had given her…

H̶i̶s̶ ̶f̶a̶c̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶q̶u̶i̶t̶e̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶c̶k̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶i̶m̶p̶l̶a̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶b̶u̶r̶ne̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶o̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶d̶.̶

Trembling hands gripped the railing, Delta felt like puking, did so in fact a few times when her stomach couldn't take the exertion. The girl heaved her guts out over the side of the building. She didn't pity the person who would step in the mess tomorrow morning. So long the first solid meal I've ever had…

Over the railing a series of flashing lights caught Delta's attention. From where she was two stories up allowed her unobstructed view of the scene below. "Stylishly", Maurice's store was in ruins, it's windows were blown out and many of the clothes inside were scattered about, looters already swooping in, like flies picking over a carcass.

"W-what?" Delta gasped, couldn't believe what she was seeing. She wondered what had happened to the friendly merchant, but he didn't seem to be down amongst the crowd.

There was also several wrecked cars out front, one being a burning shell while the other was cleanly cut down the middle. Pain spiked in Delta's head, her vision glitched out for a bit, she saw a fragment of her memory… Maurice laying twitching on the floor. A cold woman staring at her with yellow eyes. The young woman screamed.

The memories continued to roll through her eyes, heedless of her anguish.

She saw Ryuji's back, defending her from having her brain melted. He had matched the Netrunner woman pretty well at first, his speed more than enough to put him at the advantage. His claws had drawn glowing lines through the air, slicing anything in his path… Until she had blown him away.

The memories started to glitch out further now, mostly corrupted by streaks of static or odd colours. Delta had to blink away the pain in her eyes.

She saw the Corpo brat laying there in a pool of his own blood, dying, like everyone else she got near. She wanted to shut the memory off, to stop replaying the scene, to wish it all a mere nightmare. Her vision swam as more static overran her vision.

Y̴̡̏͑́̈́̊́͜o̴̪͔͊͌̐̐̏͐̂̾ụ̴̮̓̒ ̷̗͛̐̚w̴̛̦̮͎̃͊̎͝a̷̪͖̲̬̓̕͠s̵̝͂̂̈͒t̵̳̞̣͚̭̼̣̪̜̖̂̌̓̿͒́̐̈̚ẹ̷̢̧̧̉̽̈́͗d̵̹̦̭͊̐̽̓̍̀̽̈̕ ̸̢͎̜̘͓̯̩̩̳̈́͂̊̓̑̾̾͠͠ḭ̶͇͔͓̯̂̆̑͘̕͝͝t̸͔̱̜͖̟̙̐͒͂̃

Y̷o̷u̷ ̷b̷l̷e̷w̷ ̷i̷t̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷s̷m̷i̷t̷h̷e̷r̷e̷e̷n̷s̷

Ņ̸̧̡̯̦̰̗̼̫͉͒͗̄̃͐̉̅̚͠e̷͔̩̬̺̾̏̓̀͜v̵̧̧͎̻͍͚͉̩̄͛̔ḛ̸͓̻̈̆̅͐̊̚͝r̷̢̨̞̭͚̪͍͑͒̇̒̏̏̔̚ ̵̡̮̞̟̻̫̀͝ͅâ̴̪̞͈̐͑͛͜g̷̛͖͉͗̋̋̊͗͗͌̉ȧ̸͎̗̣̫̊̀̿i̵̅̎̌̈́̅̓ͅn̵̨̗͔͚̗̥̟͖̐̀̈́ͅ Ɏøᵾ'ɍɇ ŧɍa̷s̷ħ

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P̧͕̒̊͘ā̤̓̍͘t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ẹ̿͋̒̕t̲̂̓ͩ̑ỉ͔͖̜͌c͕͗ͤ̕̕ G̩̱ͩ̏͜o̯̱̊͊͢o̯̱̊͊͢ḑ̴̞͛̒ f̵͖̜̉ͅo̯̱̊͊͢r̴̨̦͕̝ ṇ̤͛̒̍o̯̱̊͊͢t̲̂̓ͩ̑ḣ̖̻͛̓ỉ͔͖̜͌ṇ̤͛̒̍ĝ̽̓̀͑

₮ⱧɆɎ'ⱤɆ ₳ⱠⱠ ĐɆ₳Đ ฿Ɇ₵₳Ʉ₴Ɇ Ø₣ ɎØɄ

The voices in her head kept taunting her as mind crippling pain shot through her cranium. They were jeering at her suffering, reveling in his failures, and encouraging her to keep being such a fuck up. At this point she couldn't tell if it was her own corrupted thoughts, or someone else's, but all the same she hated them… Because they were right.

She was trash, and it didn't matter how much someone dolled her up, how many eddied he threw at her, or how he kept flirting with her. She was what she was. A gutter rat.

Delta crawled herself into a corner of the roof, hiding away from the bright lights that never shut off in Night City. She didn't belong to that world, never did, and never will.