Alright, here's chapter 2 despite a very luke-warm reaction and thanks to those of you who did review.
As she finally reached her destination, Nene felt her determination melting away. Something still called to her from Raven's Garage, but at the same time her stomach clenched tight and her knees became weak just at the thought of going back inside. But the crow had no such reservations.
Cawing loudly, it swooped down to land at the threshold of one of the open bay doors. No light or life emanated from inside, and the entire building, obviously ravaged by fire, had fallen into disrepair. Still, the crow hopped back and forth and cawed impatiently, apparently urging her inside.
"Ok, already." She said, sullenly. "I'm coming. Just give me a minute."
As she stepped reluctantly inside, her hand brushed the doorway, and she was immediately assaulted by a flurry of images.
As if she were watching on a movie screen, she saw the garage as it had been that night, it's usual clutter and brick-a-brack lying about, clumsily but lovingly covered over with holiday decorations. And there, at the back, in the office, she saw six familiar figures. She even heard their laughter as they conversed and joked and drank wine and champagne together, a pile of presents under the tiny tree in the corner behind them
"For Christ's sake, Pops," Priss said, "I can't believe that you were just gonna stay boarded up in this hole by yourself on Christmas!"
"Yeah," Linna agreed, "And after Sylia invited you up to her place to join us, too. You're not getting anti-social on us, are you?"
Dr. Raven chuckled, and said, "Getting? Linna, my dear, I've been anti-social for years now. But with the state of society, who can blame me?"
There was warm laughter all around, and Nene heard her former self saying, "Gee, Dr. Raven, that's awfully cynical, isn't it? We're part of society, and it doesn't seem like you mind having us around."
The old man smiled, and said, "Well, there are always exceptions to every rule. And you young ladies pretty well define that."
Again there was laughter, and then Sylia said, "You're certainly not wrong there, Doctor. But far be it for us to leave a friend alone on Christmas. Since you declined to come to us, we wouldn't have it any other way than to come to you. Right, Mackie?"
Mackie had laughed and said, "Sure, Sis. You're the next best thing to family, after all, Doctor Raven."
With a groan, Nene jerked her hand away from the doorway, wrenching herself away from the happy, bygone scene. She just didn't want to see what she knew came next.
Unfortunately, as she followed the crow deeper into the ruined garage, it rapidly became impossible to keep the images away. Every stray object she brushed against triggered another scene in her mind's eye, and eventually, as she neared the office, her contact with the floor itself seemed to do so. She moaned, and dropped to her knees as the images forced their way in, leaving her no escape from the tragedy she desperately didn't want to relive.
Again, she saw the happy group of friends, now all slightly drunk and nearly ready to start attacking the perfectly innocent presents behind them. And then it happened.
From outside, in the bay, there was the clatter of a roll-up door raising and then lowering again. Conversation abruptly ceased, and all eyes turned toward the sound.
"What the hell," Priss muttered, hand reaching automatically into her jacket, as four disconcerting figures strode into view.
Three men and a woman, most certainly not invited guests, made their way slowly across the bay toward them, smug expressions on their faces. Those who had faces, that is. The woman, obviously cybered in ways that hadn't been socially acceptable for years, had only a reflective chrome mask for a face, with a single horizontal slit where her eyes should have been that glowed greenly. God only knew how she ate or breathed.
As they neared, they fanned out, neatly covering everyone, and stopped a couple of meters from the group of friends.
Dr. Raven, playing it cool, said, "Something I can help you folks with? I'm closed right now, by the way. It is Christmas, you know."
One of the men, probably the biggest oriental male any of them had ever seen, dressed all in black leather and wearing mirrored black shades, smiled coldly and said in a deep, rumbling voice, "Help us? No, doc, I don't think so. I'm thinking you're gonna be way too busy trying to help yourselves for that."
There was a chorus of cruel laughter at that, and then things had begun to happen very quickly.
Priss surged to her feet, her new hand-cannon, a Christmas present Dr. Raven had presented to her just a few minutes before, suddenly in her grasp and aimed right between the big man's eyes.
"Help ourselves!" She yelled. "The hell with that! You'd better get your asses out of here before I shoot 'em off, you son of a bitch!"
Again there was laughter, and the large man said, "Yeah, you're pretty scary, all right. But you just don't get it, do you?"
Suddenly, from his still-open mouth, a thin, clawed metallic appendage shot out, whipping around the pistol and tearing it from Priss's grasp. Retracting it, he took the pistol in his hand and looked it over appreciatively.
"Not bad," he said. "Custom make. Probably enough stopping power to put down a charging rhino. Or boomer." And, looking to Dr. Raven, he inquired, "Your handiwork, doc?"
Frowning, Dr. Raven replied, "Yeah. What's it to you?"
Smiling again, he said cheerfully, "Oh, nothing much. I just figure it's going to be worth a lot since it's a one of a kind now." And then he very casually shot Dr. Raven in the chest.
The 7.63mm round, powered by a full-sized magnum rifle cartridge, slammed into the doctor like a freight train, shattering his sternum and rupturing his heart like a blood-filled balloon before ripping through his spinal column on the way out. The impact lifted the doctor's frail body from the ground and slammed it against the wall like a rag doll. He was dead before he hit the floor.
"You bastard!" Priss screamed, grabbing a chair and charging the doctor's murderer with no thought for caution. "I'll kill you!"
But the big man just stood impassively as Priss swung the chair with all her might, shattering it over his head and shoulder. He cocked his head sardonically as she stared in disbelief, and said in a flat voice, "Ow." Then he hit her with a lazy back-hand that sent her sailing to rebound off the same wall that Dr. Raven had hit, landing almost on top of his bloodied corpse.
Dazed, half-conscious, and bleeding from the nose and mouth, Priss nonetheless forced herself to her knees, and reached for the table to pull herself the rest of the way up.
As this had occurred, other things had happened simultaneously.
Nene screamed, and backed into the nearest corner, mind momentarily numb with fear and horror. Linna, combat reflexes taking over, vaulted from her chair and landed in a ready crouch. Sylia, hand darting into her purse, rolled from her chair, and, still rolling, fired all four shots from her .32 caliber Derringer into the big man's face and torso.
Just as before, the big man simply stood there as the bullets struck him, tearing small nicks into the flesh of his face and having no apparent effect at all on his chest. Visible in the small holes on his face was just a trickle of blood and the glint of metal underneath.
"Shit!" Mackie exclaimed, "He's a boomer!"
The big man shook his head slightly, and said, "Only legally, boy. I just got rid of most of that soft, messy meat a long time ago, that's all." Then, motioning toward one of the other men, a bald headed, blue-eyed occidental who was bare-chested despite the chilly December weather, he said, "Now, my buddy Razz over there, he's a boomer. Got tired of being diddled by his fag owner and sliced him to little bits. I've kind of taken him under my wing since then, you could say."
With that, Razz slowly advanced on Mackie, a menacing expression on his face. In a raspy voice he said, "You look kind of 'sweet' yourself, boy. You queer? 'Cause I can't stand queers. As a matter of fact," He paused, raising a fist to Mackie's terrified face, and suddenly popped four shimmering, humming blades from his knuckles before continuing, "I just take a personal offense to their existence. You get where I'm coming from?"
Gulping, Mackie stammered, "I- I'm not gay! Really! I like girls! A lot!"
Razz chuckled menacingly, and said, "Is that so?" And, turning slightly, he addressed the chrome-faced woman. "You hear that, Delilah? He likes girls. So you two have something in common!"
Delilah harrumphed in a synthesized, metallic voice, and said, "Cute. But you know how it is. I like both sides of the fence. And he is a cute one. I think I'll play with him for a while. Be a dear, and toss him over, will you?"
Razz chuckled again and, grasping Mackie by the collar with his off hand, said, "Sure, why not?" With that, he lifted Mackie effortlessly, and casually chucked him in Delilah's direction. Without missing a beat, she plucked him from the air, holding him at arm's length without apparent strain.
Gazing into Mackie's wild eyes with her glowing optic slit, Delilah purred, "Oh, yeah, I'm gonna show you what fun's all about, little man. And we'll just see what's left afterwards."
Tucking Mackie under one arm, she turned on her heel and headed for a storage room at the back of the garage. Pulling the door closed behind her, she said over her shoulder in a silky voice, "Don't wait up, fellows!"
While this was happening, Sylia regained her feet, not even bothering to re-load the Derringer, and Linna charged after Mackie.
"Hey!" She yelled. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
But as she passed the third man, an ebony giant in a cheap black suit, his arm shot out, and his fingers locked around her throat, stopping her cold. "Naw," he said. "Let Delilah do her thing. You're gonna be kinda busy in a minute anyway." With that, he jerked Linna off her feet, and despite her best efforts, she was unable to pry his steely fingers loose.
He brought her up close, face to face, and said, "Yeah, you're a cutie, all right. I can imagine all kinds of kinky shit with you. But I ain't Delilah. Business is business to me." There was an audible crunching sound, then, as he flexed his hand and crushed Linna's throat and vertebrae, dropping her lifeless body to the floor at his feet.
She fell like a broken doll, arms and legs splaying out in odd directions, and there was an expression more of shock than of terror in her staring eyes. A thin line of blood dribbled from her open mouth to the concrete.
Again, Nene screamed, joined by a feral growl from Priss as she finally regained her feet. "Goddamn you all!" Priss husked, looking around desperately for a weapon, any weapon. "There's no way it can end like this! You bastards! Whatever happens here tonight, I swear to God, somehow you're all gonna pay for this!"
There was more laughter from the three males, and now odd noises, punctuated by occasional masculine screams, could be heard coming from the room where Delilah had taken Mackie.
Razz grinned cruelly, and said, "Huh! Sounds like somebody's having a good time back there!"
The big man chuckled, and said, "Yeah, and I don't think it's the boy."
Finally, Priss could take no more. Though Sylia, anticipating what was to come, screamed, "Priss, no!" it was too late.
With a bellow of rage, she charged the big man again. She hit him low with her shoulder like a linebacker, hoping to at least knock him off balance and then go from there. But it didn't work that way. Not only did he not budge, but Priss felt something pop in her shoulder and agony lanced through her body. And then, in a single quick motion, the big man locked his arms around Priss, pinning her arms to her side, and snatched her up off her feet.
Her eyes widened as the pressure on her ribs increased, and the breath was pressed from her body. "Ah, shit!" she said in a hoarse whisper. The big man just held her there, gasping, squirming and kicking futilely, slowly turning blue from lack of oxygen.
"Let her go." Sylia said in the most authoritative voice she could manage. "There has to be some way we can settle this. Why are you doing this!"
The big man just smiled, still holding Priss in his grasp, her struggles slowly becoming weaker, and said, "The oldest reasons under the sun, lady. Fun and profit." With that, he slowly flexed both arms inward, producing an odd, sickening crackling sound as Priss's ribs and spine gave way. She screamed, gurgling on her own blood as sharp splinters of bone tore through her lungs and other internal organs, and then was silent. The big man held her for a moment more and then dropped her to the concrete next to Linna, just another broken doll for their collection.
As Sylia and Nene stared in horrified silence, Razz clapped slowly, and said, "Nice, Tin Man, real nice. Couldn't have done it better myself."
Furtively, Sylia's eyes darted to Nene, and she said just one word. "Go."
With that, she whipped around into a spinning back kick, catching Razz off guard and connecting with his temple. The move was perfectly timed and executed, and carried as much force as Sylia's toned body could muster behind it. Razz staggered back, not really dazed but definitely surprised. Growling, he raised both fists in front of him in a skilled fighting stance and extended both sets of glittering knuckle claws.
Sylia too squared off, taking up a looser, more fluid stance indicative of a softer martial arts style, one more suited to evasion and redirection of a foe's momentum. Over her shoulder, again she hissed, "Go!" But Nene remained rooted to the spot, too terrified and shocked to move.
Razz smiled as he advanced slowly on Sylia, and said, "Well, shit. Finally a little competition. I was beginning to think that all of you were just gonna roll over and die on us."
Sylia remained silent, in a Zen-like state, not anticipating, merely waiting for time and target to align. Razz saw this, and, nodding appreciatively, took an experimental jab at her. Sylia reacted instantly, slapping the strike aside and taking control of his wrist with her strong hand, her left going to his elbow for what should have been a throw. But Razz had anticipated this, and twisted in her grasp, coming around and under with his off hand, aiming a claw strike at her gut.
Sylia twisted in turn, and, using Razz for a pommel horse, vaulted up and over him, performing a half-twist in mid air to land facing him from behind. From there, she aimed a vicious kick to the back of his right knee, a move that would have taken a human opponent off of his feet instantly. But Razz just took the blow, his inhuman strength keeping him on his feet as he pirouetted around, catching Sylia with a spinning kick that she couldn't avoid, and had to block instead.
The impact shattered her right forearm, and slammed her into the wall with such force that she slumped to the floor breathless, momentarily stunned. And a moment was all it took.
Continuing around with the momentum of his kick, Razz snapped out with a quick front punch, putting his clawed fist completely through Sylia's face and skull, embedding his claws in the concrete behind her. With a satisfied grunt, he yanked his hand free, bringing along blood and gore of all kinds.
Turning slowly toward Nene, he said, "Well, boss, it looks like we're down to the bottom of the barrel. And then there was one."
The Tin Man laughed, and said, "Hell, if I were fishing, I'd probably throw her back. Too small to bother with. But, what the hell. I think we can take our time with her. I don't think she'll give us too much trouble."
Just then, the storage room door opened, and Delilah strutted out, spatters of blood marring the reflective finish of her face. Sauntering up to her fellows, she said, "Ah, that was refreshing. But I'm afraid I might've broken the poor boy. He just wasn't up to servicing a girl of my caliber."
The Tin Man nodded, and, grinning coldly, said, "Well, no big loss. And you're just in time for the finale. I guess you can have first dibs on this one. You might be able to teach her a thing or two."
Delilah chuckled in her metallic voice, and, advancing on Nene said, "Don't look so scared, little girl. I'm about to totally redefine pleasure and pain for you." And then, horribly, a segmented, barbed metallic tentacle snaked from beneath the tight black leather miniskirt Delilah wore, and began to caress Nene's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood as it went. Delilah pressed herself close to Nene then, and in a husky voice said, "Oh, yeah. I love it when they're so innocent."
And then the tentacle had whipped away suddenly and descended toward regions Nene had prayed it wouldn't. What followed was predictable enough, and Nene's screams echoed from the concrete walls around her.
Of course that wasn't the end. Once Delilah had had her fill, there was still enough life left in Nene to satisfy the others. They took their time, and each had his turn. Finally, just before dawn, the ebony giant, whose name was Moe, she'd found out, put an end to her suffering with a quick twist of her head. It was almost a kind of ecstasy when her neck snapped and the various agonies that racked her body ceased.
As this final image slammed into Nene in the present, she threw her head back and screamed her pain out anew. Surging to her feet, she became a mad-woman, raging and screaming and destroying anything undestroyed that she could find in the wrecked garage. How long she was in this state she didn't know. But when it finally wore off, she found herself again on her knees, piles of ash and soot in front of her.
Without thinking, driven by some internal urge she didn't understand, she picked up a handful of the light colored ash and, staring at it for a second, rubbed it all over and into her face. Next, she took a smaller handful of the black soot, and, guided only by touch, applied it to her eyes and lips. Casting about her then, she found a broken shard of mirror, probably from one of the motorcycles that had been in the shop before that night, and examined the results of her efforts.
'Not bad,' she thought, but somehow, something was missing. Acting again on something that passed for instinct, she applied more of the soot in vertical slashes over her eyes and at the corners of her mouth, creating a harlequin's mask effect. 'Yeah,' she thought, 'That's it.'
Standing again, she faced the gaping bay doors, looking out onto Timex City, and said, "Tin Man. Razz. Moe. And Delilah. Four obituaries that haven't been written yet. But they will be. And soon."
But as those words passed her lips, she heard a tiny noise behind her. The familiar clicking of a hammer being cocked back.
Whirling around, she saw just the silhouette of a man behind her, face hidden by the shadows, and an extremely large pistol grasped in a chromed metallic hand. As she crouched, ready to spring at this new threat, a familiar, if changed, voice came from the darkness.
"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here? This place isn't exactly safe, if you didn't notice."
Nene's heart fluttered momentarily, and, in an incredulous tone she said, "Mackie?"
The other, hearing her voice, gasped sharply, and took a step forward, the dim light from outside illuminating his face, revealing a substantial patch of chrome and a dull red cyber eye. But, reconstructed or not, it was definitely Mackie.
"Oh, my God." He said. "This is impossible. Nene?"
With a sob, she lunged for him, wrapping her arms around him before he even had time to react. "Oh, God, Mackie, I thought you were dead too! Thank God you're not!"
But Mackie didn't return her embrace. Instead, he shoved the gun to her belly, and said, "Bullshit! You can't be Nene! I heard what they did to Nene, every damn little bit of it while I was laying there bleeding and cut to shreds in that goddamned storage room! There wasn't anything I could do but listen! And then, when it was all over, I dragged myself out of there with the one arm I had left and I saw what they'd done! I saw all of them, Nene included, dead as a goddamn doornail there on the concrete! So you've got about three seconds to tell me who or what you really are before I blow your guts out through your spine!"
Nene slumped, arms still around Mackie, and said in a hoarse whisper, "Mackie, I don't know what the hell I am! I'm not a damned boomer, though, I know that! And as far as being Nene, well, I don't think that's quite right either. Nene Romanova died last Christmas, not 10 meters from here. But I guess I'm what's left of her, the part that just couldn't accept what'd happened. The part that was determined to make what Priss said come true. The part that screamed so loudly for justice that someone or something heard me and brought me back here to make it happen. I guess that's what I am." Then, looking down, she said, "I'm pretty sure three seconds are up. If you're gonna shoot me, you should get it over with."
Mackie gazed intently at her then, his eyes, real and cybernetic, locking with hers. They spent several seconds like this, staring into each other's eyes, and then an expression of incredulous wonder spread across Mackie's face.
"It is you," he said in a tone of utter bewilderment, and then, joy suddenly lighting his features, he repeated, "It is you!" And then he did return her embrace, clasping her to himself fiercely. "Nene," he sobbed into her shoulder, "Oh, God. I don't know how this is possible, but I don't care. This last year, it's been- I've had to- oh, God, I've missed you all so much!"
Nene just held him and let him cry for a while, tears of her own flowing freely. Finally, though, she said, "Mackie, you're not going to like this, but I've got to tell you some things."
Sniffing, he said, "Like what?"
She sighed, and said, "Well, first off, I'm really glad that you're ok, but you're not really the reason I'm here."
Looking up, Mackie frowned, and said, "What do you mean?"
Nene met his gaze, and said, "I mean that I'm here to do something. To finish something. To set the balance right again."
"You came back to get the bastards who killed the other Sabers." He said flatly. "Who killed you."
She nodded slowly, and said, "That's right. When this happened, I was weak and helpless. I just stood there, cringing in a corner while they murdered my friends, and then I didn't even put up a fight while they raped and murdered me. Well, like I said before, that Nene is dead and gone. I'm not weak or helpless, and God help those sons of bitches when I find them."
Mackie gulped, feeling a shiver run down his spine as he fully realized that this really wasn't the Nene he'd known standing in front of him. Finally, he said, "That's just fine with me. But, Nene, those guys were awfully tough. Even the human ones were mostly metal. Are you really strong enough now to take them on?"
Nene smiled then, something almost like one of her old smiles, and Mackie felt his heart skip a beat. Still smiling, she said, "Well, I'm not exactly sure that I can do it bare-handed. But, with a little help, I shouldn't have to." And, stepping close again, she gazed into Mackie's eyes, some of the old warmth back in her own.
"You will help me, won't you Mackie?" She said imploringly.
Mackie sighed, and, heart melting at her tone, said, "Of course, Nene. What else are friends for?"