Date: 4th of June 2062

Location: Outside of Night city, Badlands

POV: Victor Von Doom

"Aright Aldecados huddle up. We will be organising jobs today!" Santiago announced, the sudden urge to strangle him tainting my mind. I had been rudely interrupted by him and my mother to huddle with the rest of the gremlin, bubbles nowhere to be seen. While it had been morning I didn't trust these people enough to sleep around em.

"Get up Victor, you're going to be helping around as well." My mother stated, her words leaving me angered. Help? I had better things to do! For example, the data packet.

"But mother-,"

"No buts child you've got to help and I've already told Santiago. While you're here you might as well fit in. Whether you like it or not." She snapped. Sighing in defeat I rolled back and checked my progress.

[Victor Von Doom]

[Unloading data packet…]

[Clearing Cache…]

[Loading progress…]

[Complete]

Corporate data packet III:

Linguistics – 69%

Logistics – 33%

History – 22%

Bartering – 6%

Combat data packet:

Mixed martial arts – 71%

Firearms – 49%

Blades - 23%

Misc. data packet:

Engineering – 21%

Hacking – 0%

Great with this I had to alter my schedule. Instead of completing this data packet by the 8th of October I now had to complete it on the 9th. This has single handedly ruined my day, my disappointment now immeasurable.

"Panam you and Saul are on watch duty with the others for today. Finally, Julius and V you'll be in charge of looking after everyone chrome. Gotta make sure we're running maintenance on everyone's schematics. Oh, and before I forget, you'll be handling Victor today."

"Excuse me? I don't wanna hang out with that corpo pig!" Vincent exasperated.

"Tough luck bud," Was all Santiago said before walking away with my mother. Leaving me to stare at the faeces incised fool. What a great family I've come to meet. Silently walking alongside him we were eventually led to a tent where Julius was stationed. There I was told of our responsibilities.

"Aight, I don't know exactly why he sent you here but here's the basics. I'll be running over any infections and treatments, and you'll be testing em for any basic diagnostics. Just plug em into the terminal over there and then ask em if they running an. It's a pain being the only competent ripper-doc right now," He sighed.

"What happened? Are there not others?" I asked confused as to how one man and child were essentially running everything.

"Last four got flatlined and the other two are currently out of commission. Something bout some cyber-virus infecting our neural-sensors. Looks like they picked it up from the wraiths," He revealed, flicking his cig.

"Who's your techie around here?" I continued, now that I was going to be here for however long it was best to sort out roles and understand the premises, something I found useless due to my expectation that this was a visit and not an extended stay.

"That'd be Carol, she's our main techie and net runner. While she would be running diagnostics today, I owe her one and seeing as I doubt you know a tinge about doc work it's best I give you something a little easy," He spouted, to which I immediately disagreed.

"Well, for your information I'm somewhat of a ripper-doc myself," I revealed. Seeing his expression, I knew he doubted my capabilities, a fair assessment if it were someone not of my calibre.

"Bah, you're still wet behind the ears still, but I'll give you a chance then. What exactly do you know about being a Ripper-doc?" He asked, his brow raised with his hand tapping against his desk.

"Why don't you ask me," I humoured.

"Fine, what's the first rule of being a Ripper-doc?" He assessed to which I smiled. Everyone knew what this one was.

"First, do no harm." I quoted to which he smiled a little.

"That was to test if you knew what it meant to be a ripper-doc. Here's a bit of theory then. A patient comes in with knife puncture. How would you treat it?" He asked curiously.

"First check the overall condition of the patient and ensure that the knife puncture is still enclosed. If the knife is removed immediately aim to stop bleeding by using a Medical puncture Wound kit or MPWK. This fills the wound with an anti-bacterial filament which cleans and heals the wound. While it may cause extreme discomfort it does the job better. Alternatively, you could stitch the puncture after cleaning the wound but this runs its own set of risks. The former allows for quick recovery, cutting healing time from a few months to a few weeks." I explained.

"Pretty good stuff kiddo but not everyone's got a MPWK or APF standing around. Stitching it is usually your best bet for the common folk," He explained. To which I agreed though I couldn't help myself but rebuttal.

"A doctor is only as good as his equipment."

"That's true. Now here's a tricky one. Say someone comes in suffering from Cyberpsychosis. What is Cyberpsychosis and how do you treat it and what are its symptoms?" He questioned this time his gaze stern as he awaited my answer. V over by the corner of my eye smiled.

"Interesting question Julius, Cyberpsychosis is a mental illness, specifically a dissociative disorder, caused by an overload of cybernetic augmentations to the body. Unlike what others believe it's not merely a disorder which inflicts an increased tendency to commit violence but a gradual decay of self-preservation, distancing or disregard from friends and family, and poor or impulsive outbursts or acts. This often pushes cyber-psychos to become extreme acts of violence or self-harm. Remedies are custom brain dance therapies, there was a drug which was marketed to cure it, but such claims were made false. The cause is the increased use of cybernetics and augmentations," I explained. It was simple knowledge from our database.

Our database also had a cure for Cyber-psychosis, but it required a deep dive within their own subconscious. This form of treatment either lasted a few seconds to never ending depending on how far they had gone. I had seen papers from my fathers desk which detailed that a test subject named – Zero had the longest recovery time of thirteen years. Side-effects of such treatment included nausea, memory-loss, sporadic mood changes, dulled senses and more . I never saw such papers again.

"Impressive, I'll let you help the few that are here then. V continue doing diagnostics," He replied leaving the current V to roll his eyes. Choke on that one Vincent.

Spending what seemed like hours I continued helping these peasants much to my dismay, but I did not once complain. A Von Doom always ensured that when a job was done it was done to perfection. Whether it meant you had to clean a room to clearing a room it made no difference. Perfection was a mindset that had to be instilled even to the tiniest detail. Simple patchwork this was.

"Thanks for the stitchwork kid. Not bad for a beginner I must say. Guess Julius got some eye for talent. Seeyah around lads," The man thanked before leaving. Julius finished with writing his reports looked over to me.

"Not bad... Not bad indeed. You ever done this work before? I know your dads a tad wealthy but even viewing a couple of BD's and some shards require some synchronisation." He asked.

"Never used a shard, it is purely beneath me. My work right here is all authentic, pure intelligence and skill was utilised during all these inspections and to answer your question this has been my second time, my first time shadowing behind one of our top ripper-docs."

"Pretty preem work for your second time kiddo but I'd recommend you go take a break or something. It's been ten hours already and I'm pretty sure V's gone out."

"Now why would I need a break?"

"Look kiddo, health is wealth. Go, get a drink or something and then come back."

"I'll be adequate, Julius. I appreciate your concerns but know that it wont hinder my work. Another patient will be coming here soon to screen his diagnostics."

"Fine… Suit yourself. I'm gonna go get a drink. Just don't kill anyone while I'm gone."

"Your worries are appreciated, doctor. Enjoy your rest." I waved before continuing my work.

It had to be stated that I still did not trust any of these fools. While I could tag them with Malware such actions would warrant suspicion from their Net runner who seemed to have quite the experience under her belt. So Instead I decided to scan for all their cybernetics with ways to backdoor into their systems. While most didn't seem to carry any I made sure that the ones that did were screened thoroughly.

My skills had to be developed further. To put into layman's terms. A netrunner had full access to the net, through their minds. They could fry the brains of individuals or hinder their movements from miles away. The ideal support of any group aiming to run through a technological world. A hacker such as myself hacked the net from a cyber modem or a cyber deck which lacked the versatility and strength a netrunner could easily achieve. In a metaphorical sense they were the apex predator of cyber space while I was it's visitor. While they could possibly wipe a town in a few hours I in the same amount of time could only achieve opening a door. A netrunners efficiency was to be feared and one reason why cybernetic augmentation was not an option. To put myself at that level of risk was the equivalent of allowing any mongrel to target me.

Not until I could create my Seraph series inference would I dare think of ever augmenting my psyche or body. The "Seraph" series interface similar to the Demon series was a series of personalised icons that served particular purposes in the net but was more ideal and fitting to my needs. While the legendary Rache Bartmoss was incredible for creating the Demon series, such interfaces were outdated. Even reverse engineering it was a pain. The amount of detail and work the man did was a testament to his intelligence, something I valued. It was a shame that he had to be flatlined. He would've proved effective under our care. So until I had the necessary tech and programs, there was much to be done.

[Check list]

[Develop "Victory" Power Bolter pistol: Complete]

[Develop "Vision" Helmet: Incomplete]

[Develop "Overlord" Power armour: Incomplete]

[Develop "Power" Armoured shock gauntlet: Incomplete]

[Develop "Michael" Seraph Interface: Incomplete]

[Develop "Infinity" Power sword: Incomplete]

Instead of completing my pet projects I was instead shuffled here to help the weak and poor… How despicable. It was their virtue that my mother had ordered me to help such fiends else I'd slaughtered them all. It was a shame my mother was a saint. The level of care she had for the world was childish. Kindness only earnt death in this world. Cleaning the area of dust and bacteria, my monologue was interrupted by another patient.

"Hey, uh… Where's Julius and V?" The man asked.

"They are currently on break. You'll be in my care for now, please take a seat," I explained, gesturing to the seat in front.

"So, ah. What do I call you? Kinda feels weird being helped by a kid you know… I was expecting someone of 'more' experience to be handling this," He explained, his hands fidgeting at my words.

"Have no fear, you are in capable hands. You may call me… Dr Doom."

"Dr. Doom? Sounds ominous…"

"Trust me I can hear the irony."

Date: 5th of June 2062

Location: Outside of Night city, Badlands

POV: Omniscient

"You know that corpo kid, he's not all that bad. He did a preem job patching me up."

"You know I don't trust him. Can't trust any of em. Ain't that how they lure you in? All nice and professional and shit before they stab you? I give him two days before he snaps."

"I mean have you met him yet? Real pro for his age. Haven't seen that level of professionalism since I went to that one whorehouse."

"Really now? Now that is something. Lizzies, right?"

"Yeah, I tell yah what when it's your turn to see him you'll see. Little twerp knew more about my own body then I did. Crazy stuff. Thinking about it now, he's kinda nice for a corpo,"

"Probably the only corp you'll run into, they like their skyscrapers more so than the ground."

"True, probably don't even wipe their own arses."

"What ya'll chooms talkin bout?"

"Ah we're talkin bout Panams little input."

"Bah, that kiddo? Good lad. I thought Panam was into V though?"

"Thought so too but V and Panam parently ain't got that flame if you know what I'm saying."

"Yeah, I heard she's into city boys."

"Oh shut it you farts, these are kids we're talking about."

"Tch, ain't much to talk about ere in the sand yah know."

"Well going back to the little "Dr. Doom" has anyone seen him sleep? Feel like he's a Borg with how he's running the tent."

"…"

"Nah… Haven't seen him leave the tent… At all."

"Damn… Kids' got better work ethic than us…"

"Maybe the kid does deserve to be rich…"

"…"

"Yeah right! Hahahaha!"

"So, I hear Saul's going under Santiago's wing."

"Well not anything crazy to be fair. He has got a soft spot for the boy."

"Hmm it's understandable, what about the Hazza and them boys? What they been up too?"

"Heard they're still getting high off those Methylene tabs. Little shits I call em."

"Oh there goes our new doc. Seems he's on break now."

Everyone in the group seeing the young Von Doom emerge into the crowd wondered why he had decided to finally leave his tent.

"Nah I think It's Saul. He's rounding us up for today's jobs now." Another replied seeing Julius and Vincent following behind.

"Alright party people, time for our daily notices and role order!" Santiago voiced, his words thundering to those who heard.

Going over his announcements not muched changed until it was time for Victor to be slotted into a group. Sitting on a chair he leaned his legs on top of a water cooler, his arms crossed.

"Oh and today Victor you'll be running with our scavenger group to see if you can find anything useful. I'll have you buddy up with Saul and Panam today," He revealed.

"No way! I ain't partnering with no corpo loser!" She spat.

"There ain't no arguing here Panam. You're just gonna have to deal with it," He ordered before driving away. The roar of his vehicle screeching forward, its voice heard throughout the camp leading others to begin moving about.

Panam, angered by such a decision, stormed off to Sauls vehicle. Who casually awaited them. Flicking through his engine's flux capacitor. A piece of technology which allowed for long travel, efficient fuel economy and use for any type of fuel at the price of speed and handling. The size of the thing meant that it had to use a smaller engine.

"Greetings, I presume we've met before. Saul?" Victor announced. Panam's eyes rolling at his formal speech pattern.

"Yep. We'll be running through the landfill today, gotta scavenge for some parts here and there. We'll be running with some of the other boys so that we don't lose pace. Better that way too, running solo always leads to trouble ." Saul voiced, as he not so subtly looked at Panam. The latter pointing the finger towards him.

"Now where was I? Ah yeah. Since you and Panam ain't gotta vehicle yet, you'll be with me until today or until you can find one yourselves."

"Understandable, when do we leave?" Victor questioned.

"We Delta now." Saul stated seeing the other squads move.

Date: 5th of June 2062

Location: Outside of Night city, Landfill

POV: Victor Von Doom

Arriving at the landfill I was greeted with a massive amount of trash that scaled into mountains and spanned into small towns. The once junkyard had become too big to simply be called one. Poor planning and littering had caused this conundrum. From condom rappers to damaged industrial vehicles it was all here. The stench of putrid, rotten corpses and feces bound to be mixed around here.

Our company had once avoided using such means and instead turned to more eco-friendly alternatives. Unfortunately such ideas were short lived as profit margins deemed it more costly than beneficial. Corporate greed my mother would say, to which I would agree. What I would not agree on is her talk of world peace. Human nature is fickle to such concepts. While our technology could heal the desolate lands of America it was too expensive, time lengthy and required no disturbances from the locals. Something that while successful in Australia could not be replicated in America. We had total domination in Australia, with the locals seeing our help as miracles… Our help here was equal to damnation, our so-called help being the work of socialists and communists. It seemed that my mothers attempts at creating a utopia was only a dream. A dream these insects didn't deserve.

Even her foundation was flimsy, the only reason its existence still exists is due to her funds from her beauty products and clothing line. If she were to ever die, then her foundation would go down with it. My father had once advocated for its support but ultimately declined as it neither gave profit nor positive PR. How could giving support to those in need ever be seen as negative? Children were fed, clothed and cared for. Army veterans were looked after. Single mothers and fathers tendered too. The homeless were even given homes and jobs. The whole organisation was none profit. Typical humans, spitting at the kindness of gods.

While the thought of rummaging through trash was detestable at first it was soon found that I could finally use one of my abilities to recycle random trash and with such trash all around this would be a perfect opportunity. While I had used it before I had no uses for it. I could always obtain the best parts and utilities from my father. Scrapped parts would also be separated into grades of material that were rated as such "Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic and legendary". These parts could also be scrapped and turned into scrap which would then be rated into the aforementioned ratings. Conversion rates were 1:10000.

Scrap as of right now could only be converted into actual parts if I was near a workstation. Or a table which was recognised as one. This means if I were to use it, I would need to be near one and even then I required a schematic that I had to draw out physically. Old tech style with paper and pen limiting the time I could construct tools by a hundred fold. While conversion for scrap was instantaneous to a point, actual construction of parts required a large amount of time. Time ranging from a week to a month. This was simply a waste of time, as in such a timeframe I could've already created what I intended. Then after all that waiting I was required to assemble it all together… The only positive to this was that parts that couldn't easily be created or ordered could be made. Flexibility and comfort was what this ability offered and with time could grow, as this was apparently merely the beginning. The ability was only in its first tier.

A limit to recycling junk was that I had to physically touch the object, the object be de-attatched from the ground, the object be abiotic in nature and have no apparent owner. Meaning structures, an individual's tools and living targets couldn't be recycled. Meaning its offensive capabilities were null. Had the second second and third capabilities be lifted this would be the ultimate weapon. To watch as an individual was warped into becoming my tools was a future endeavour I would approach. As my father did say "Even Filth has it's purpose".

The parts and scrap were also stored in my innerworld a somewhat hammerspace. It's where I stored most of my utilities; its current limits unknown. I had currently stored my personal pet-projects within and had amassed a large quantity of materials, equipment and vehicles in case I was ever isolated. Such contingencies had to be made. The entirety was void-like with only a blank space all around, its light blinding. Regardless the storage system was highly impeccable allowing me to abruptly draw on any fool planning to altercate with me. Strangely 'Scrap' was more characterised as a ball of silversitic metal that floated within my innerworld the more scrap being introduced allowing it to grow.

"Alright I'm gonna go see if I can find some spare parts for my flux. I'll leave you two to your own devices and if you see anything useful just grab em and chuck em on the back. Other than that don't stray too far, i'd hate to leave youse back," He smiled, before walking away. Turning to face Panam she already ran away east of Saul. Exquisite, this would leave less witnesses and the pain of making excuses.

*Common Scrap acquired x 1*

*Common Scrap acquired x 11000"

Recycling It seemed that trash such as wrappers only provided a single piece of scrap with large vehicles offering a good chunk. Ah yes, progress! Continuing my scavenge I eventually totalled an amount of 1200000 a large clearing now clear of trash. Though compared to what surrounded it mattered little, as tomorrow such a place would once again be trashed. This continuous flow of Scrap was interrupted when I stumbled across Panam being harassed by who? I had yet to check.

"Wowee look who we got here fellas… Fresh bait. Young one at it too…" A Wraith lusted, his hands by his junk as he stared at her. While I would normally be blind to such acts… This was simply disgusting. A man had morals which separated them from trash. It's what my mother had vitrued and something I agreed with. Only the strong could afford mercy, the weak - pity with trash deserving hell.

"Fuck off Raven Shivs, take one more step away and I'll end you!" She snapped, her hand steadily aimed towards the three that slowly surrounded her.

Eying their cybernetics I noticed cybernetic arms, hands and legs. Some optic cyberware as well. Older models which were defective and required high maintenance. The type of equipment you would only use due to necessity - possibly stolen. Any Idiot from miles away could see the cybernetic instalments. If these fools were aiming to be subtle then they failed by a hundred miles. While my scans couldn't identify yet what cybernetics were installed yet, they would soon.

Taking cover close to a ruined fridge I awaited my time to strike. She needed to learn her lesson that she was weak.

*Bang*

*Bang*

*Bang*

"Huh?"

Turning to aim I started to worry she had been flatlined. That had been too quick, surely they wanted live bait right? Seeing the aftermath I was shocked… Three dead Wraiths, all of which were cleanly shot in the head… Impressive.

"Want some bitch" She snapped, her pistol now snapping to my head firing. Luckily I realised what she was going to do and ducked. Now that was a close one. Had I not trained for such situations I would've been done cleanly.

"That was not appreciated. Your slight mistake could have ended me," I snapped.

"Tch, you were probably watching weren't you? Probably wanted a turn with me!" She swore.

"Hmph, as if you're worth anything to me. I'd rather die than touch you." I spat, before suddenly seeing a glare from afar. Tackling her to the ground a bullet was shot piercing my shoulder and hitting her lower torso.

"Great…"