The art of reviving a one year, one month old corpse that had been cryonically preserved approximately twenty-seven minutes after medical death was a delicate one. The Arasaka preservationists responsible for this initial process are quite skilled at this point, and can very quickly inject the appropriate fluids while making the destructive scans of the brain required to make an accurate Engram.
From there, the body is put into deep storage until the researchers responsible for the various immortality projects that Arasaka funds require another test subject. The preserved meat is incredibly useful in this regard. Afterall, the best way to determine if a process to revive the dead would work is to test it on the dead.
The preservation of the meat is the easiest part, simply inject the appropriate chemicals and store in cryonics until you need it again. The brain is a trickier thing to keep in one piece, even slight damage potentially causing major alterations in behavior or mood. This is where the immediate destructive scanning Engram comes in. The brain is, for as much mysticism is placed upon it, ultimately just meat. Memories form from the repetitions of neural signals between synapses, more repetitions forming stronger connections between correlating synapses.
The things that make a person's personhood is ultimately a mass of electrically-charged scar tissue, and scar tissue is a physical thing that can be recorded. This is how the destructive scanning engrams function, by fully recording the physical brain and constructing a digital copy from the scanned material. The original meat is destroyed by this process, but the scan remains. The scan can then be copied and placed into a new receptacle, for a sort of immortality via legacy copies of the self.
The meat is easy enough to manually re-constitute, the medical sciences of the corporations being more than sufficient enough to perform that act. The body was taken out of cryonics, and the meat was thawed and then restored via artificially inducing life in the body. The brain was removed and the nervous system connected to a computer with a program designed to mimic the basic automatic signals that cause the body to function. Then for several days the brainless body was restored to livable condition by a combination of natural healing and cloned replacements.
Then, a wetwork nervous system (complete with new brain cloned in the same pattern as the scanned original) was installed, with an engram insert located underneath the skull and then sealed up. Then, whatever parts of the brain and 'self' that were not properly recorded were manually filled in (by re-creating appropriate synapse connections via guided electrical signals) based on recorded footage of the individual that NC has in their databases.
Thus a (mostly) complete person is reborn from the grave more than a year after their death. Granted it was technically a copy of the original, and was a mandatory partial cyborg due to the new wetware and the engram insert that the process required, and it wasn't a perfect copy either. But for everyone involved after the operation was over, it was close enough to be acceptable. All minor inconsistencies written off as post-surgery damages or similar, after all resurrection is sure to leave marks, right?
That was correct, but probably not in the way most were thinking. Thus, the revived Gloria Martinez walked the world once more, and most people were happy with it. Adam wasn't particularly happy with it, not because she was alive again or because the kid had his mom back, he didn't care either way about those things.
No, Adam was mad because the revival process made Gloria Martinez the legal property of Arasaka, and the old man Saburo decided to hand that legal ownership over to him. What the fuck was he going to do with this? She was completely fucking useless in a fight as she was, the kid definitely would oppose her getting into a fight anyways, and if either of them ever learned this he would have to deal with their bullshit grumbling about it forever. All he could do is shut up about it and tolerate a fucking freeloader in his home.
The meatbeast rubbed against his leg, Adam snarled. Correction, a second freeloader in his home, fucking ball of fur and meat and shit. Stomping it would be merciful at this point.
When he told the kid that they both had his mother's body and were currently reviving her, he went simultaneously ballistic and incredibly happy. They went out together to kill scavs and destroy the jar of fake ashes to vent his emotions, which lasted about twelve hours. It was fun, they should do that every now and again, although the scav population was beginning to get quite low. Maybe another gang of meatbags?
The kid raved about how the crematorium made him pay for fake ashes, but he was much more forgiving than Adam ever was. When Adam asked him if he wanted to go and kill the whole lot of them, the kid quieted down and thought about it for a bit before deciding otherwise. Personally, Adam would have butchered them all if they ripped him off, but it wasn't his wrong to avenge here.
Then, when the doctors told 'em that the woman was up at the end of the week, the kid all but demanded to go see her immediately. They finished up their job and went back for the kids to have their tearful little reunion. Heh, at least the woman had the guts to tell him to fuck off. Most folks don't try to argue with Adam Smasher nowadays. It seems the girls were pretty tore up about the woman not remembering them, but Adam told them to just make new memories, it was better than her being dead, wasn't it?
They stopped whining about it soon after that.
Part of getting the woman settled into his home was the kids explaining what had happened in the past year and month to her. There were tears, there was anger, there was a whole lot of melodramatic bullshit that Adam immediately didn't care about. They were all alive, weren't they? Why the fuck were they complaining? He walked off to his bench and balcony room, and indulged in his favorite hobby.
Sitting and reviewing old fights he was in. It was a good hobby, he highly recommended it. Unfortunately, only six hours into his reviewing session, he was interrupted by the new freeloader in his home.
"Uh-um, Mr. Smasher?"
He grunted and turned to look at the woman in the hospital garb at the door. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, her hair was disheveled, and she looked emotionally worn out.
"What?"
She hesitated, before speaking. "I am thankful for everything you've done thus far. I-I would like to shower, but I don't have another change of clothes and the girls don't have anything that fits me… can you please… purchase some for me…?" She flinched out of nowhere, Adam didn't know why. She didn't have extra clothes, she was asking for some, it was required for meatbags to cover up. This all made sense.
He didn't have any clothes for women in storage, maybe she could use something of his in there? Eh, he'll go check.
He stood from his bench and began walking over, she cowered for a bit before realizing he was walking past her. Heh, she was a timid little thing too, huh? Unfortunately the boy would probably be upset if Adam went after his mother, so he made a note to visit Chiri again tomorrow.
"Follow." He commanded, she listened.
He walked to his storage room and went to the section that had his old gemini clothes. He grabbed a plain white t-shirt (did they even make these anymore?) and one of his belts. He hasn't worn any of these in more than thirty years, so it didn't matter if she used them or not. He was tall and broad enough that this would be a dress on her, it would have to do.
He tossed them at her and started walking back to his bench. She caught them somewhat clumsily, and he spoke.
"Old clothes, use 'em like a dress."
It would be a while before the sun rose again, he could get some more clips in in the meantime. Which one would he review next? He was feeling the time he beat a man to death with his own arms.
—
Saburo had really wanted Adam to keep using a katana (or really an odachi that happens to be conveniently katana-sized proportional to his eight-foot frame) but it would be months (or however long it took, Adam didn't know how long R for a 'indestructible sword' took) before he would get something that wouldn't break with usage.
Saburo's solution was simple, he put the Kendachi-MonoThree series of blades on permanent re-stock order for Adam using the same budget they used for his new chrome, and told Adam to carry five of them around at a time. Five blades would give him thirty panzerfaust-enhanced uses total, which would be enough for most all fights he was in. He would have time to restock after each encounter and Arasaka would be paying for the new swords.
Like a gun with five shots per magazine, and each bullet costing close to a thousand eddies. Saburo really wanted him to match the aesthetic. Adam was fine with this, he didn't have to pay for any of it, so he didn't mind breaking swords like this.
Now, all he had to do was refine his Panzerfaust to be most effective with blades, and figure out a way to carry the damn things around in a convenient manner. His solution eventually ended up being another shoulder-mounted bit of tech ordered from the techies that Arasaka employs. A revolving set of sheathes that hang parallel to his body, connected to a mechanism on his shoulder that rotated and pushed another one out for him on mental command. Like a six shooter revolver but instead it shot swords and it only had five bullets. And it was on his shoulder…
So not like a revolver at all, really. Uriel thought the comparison was clever, at least.
It was a robust, cheap, and easy solution to the whole thing. He'd let the PR department figure out how to make it look good later, right now it worked and that's all he really cared about. The upjumped techies called it "The Samurai Bandolier" so that's what its name was now he supposed. It took them all of a single afternoon to work it out too, it's not like it was a complex bit of engineering afterall.
Adam was… excited to be using a sword again. He couldn't deny it, slicing meat was entirely too much fun, and using an implement custom-built for the express purpose of cutting meat was simply divine. They were given another job by the higher ups.
Arasaka wanted to move into the low-value property that the scavs previously occupied. The permits to those areas of the city were easy enough to purchase, now the matter was simply one of clearing out the meatbags that were squatting in the area. Normally this would be entirely too expensive and not worth it at all.
But he and the kid had been walking around and thinning the herd for a solid month now, the scavs were at the lowest points they had probably ever been after their foundation. If Arasaka struck while the iron was hot, they stood a good chance of breaking their hold over the area entirely and rendering them a near-non factor in gang politics in the future.
That was fine by him. He was finally getting another massacre mission, those were some of his favorites. Hours upon hours of hunting down and cutting meat, what more can a honest, hard-working, warmonger like himself ask for? He was in such a good mood, that he decided to warn Rogue down in Afterlife about it, telling her that she should probably pull out all her operations in the area lest they get caught in the crossfire.
Of course, he also told her that if she let the scavs find out about the hell he was about to unleash upon them he'd go down there and butcher her everything. She promptly responded with a 'thanks for warning me' and 'fuck off asshole' and a third message of 'I'll try to keep them penned in for you'. What a considerate woman, he should let the kids visit her again.
What he wished he didn't have to deal with was the woman who wouldn't fucking stop with the bullshit worrywart act.
"You have your armor on?"
"Yes mom."
"What about all your spare ammo? Do you have all of that?"
"Yes mom."
"Are you-"
"Fucking hell woman, stop babying the boy!" Adam eventually shouted from his place at the door. He was already tired of this shit, and she was delaying his murder. "He'll be fine!"
She flinched at the first part, and then wrung her hands at the second. The kids were glaring at him but Adam found that he really didn't care. She spoke to him about that.
"You'll keep hi-them all safe, right?" What a useless question, as if he'd let his investments go to waste.
"I'm not about to let them die to worthless meatbags."
The woman nodded at this and finally let them go with a final hug to each (even as she had to reach her arms wide around to hug the gremlin in her ACPA). "Alright, you all be safe, alright. That includes you, Mr. Smasher."
Fucking woman, insulting him like that.
"They have nothing that can scratch my paint."
They finally got the elevator moving, and proceeding downwards. Despite the initial difficulties, Adam was excited for the upcoming job. It was sure to prove entertaining. He let himself grin at the thought.
—
Twelve hours, all of their bullets, and all of his swords later they finally entered his home again.
Bailando sola está (bailando sola está)
It was spotless, the normal fine layer of cat hair everywhere was cleaned up, the cushions fluffed and reoriented, the small amount of mud and blood at the doorway was scrubbed away. There was music playing from the kitchen, some sort of Spanish song. There was a metal bin in front of the elevator and a heavy-duty mat that said 'wipe your feet' on it.
No sabe a que se va a enfrentar la pobre (la pobre)
"Put your stuff in the bin, and make sure to wipe your feet!" came the call of the woman from the kitchen. "I'm almost done with dinner!" She sounded cheery for a woman that just moved all the stuff in his home around. Adam was a little bit irritated before he remembered all the furniture was for the kids anyway, so he didn't really care. Carefully he wiped the grime off the bottom of his chrome boots and dropped his emptied guns in the massive bin.
Sera un choque tan mortal (ah-ah-ah)
Soon enough the kids followed his example, but while they went off to the storage room to remove their equipment and change, he was his equipment and therefore only had to clean up. He grabbed his scrub wirebrush that he left next to the door to do just that…
Que jamás podrá olvidarme a mí
Where was it? That fucking woman.
El señor de la noche
"Woman! Where is my wirebrush?!" He shouted out.
Soy mitad hombre, mitad animal
She shouted back. "Did you check next to the bin?"
El señor de la noche
Adam looked and saw the brush on the right side, he grunted before beginning his self-cleaning process. This always took a while on account of those harder to reach and more stubborn stains.
Mejor escapa o te va a matar
The woman walked in with a spray bottle of some sort of solution, she put it next to him and walked back to the kitchen. "Cleaner." She said as an explanation. Adam grunted, the woman was finally being helpful it seems, this was something he could actually use. He grabbed the spray bottle and went back to scrubbing himself down.
El señor de la noche
His olfactory sensors returned that the spray was lemon scented, he disliked lemon a great deal.
Con tu corazón no deberías jugar
"Woman! Buy orange-scented next time!" He shouted. He wasn't about to buy something he didn't need, and he had a perfectly usable cleaner. It was just personally unpleasant to him.
A mí, a mí
"Can do!" She shouted back. Good, he wasn't going to have to smell like fucking lemons for too long then. He went back to scrubbing, the cleaner was doing it's job so it didn't take as long as normal. Why the fuck had he never bought any before?
Ah, right. Saving time didn't matter when you didn't have much to do with it.
—
Adam was sitting on his bench again. It was his favorite possession, stable, sturdy, reliable. He had bought it fifty years ago and it was still just as good as the day he got it. It was a good investment, and a better bench. His most reliable friend (and only friend, come to think of it), this bench was.
Unfortunately, his time with his best friend was interrupted by the woman coming into the room. It was late at night again, so the woman was in the shirt and belt he had tossed her yesterday. Hadn't she ordered new clothes yet? Was she just using that as night-wear? Eh, he approved, waste not want not afterall.
She came over and silently sat next to him on the bench. Hey woman, that's his friend you're sitting on, show some respect.
She was quiet for a long moment, so Adam went back to watching the ants crawl around outside his window. It was hardly his favorite way to pass time, but maintenance had been finished already and he had just rewatched all his vids last night. It would be another few months before watching them again became worth it.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Everything. You spared my son, you took him in, you got him treatment… You've helped him in ways I never could before you came along. So thank you. Whatever you need from me, you can have it, you've done more than enough for that."
Fucking woman, he wanted you to shut up and leave him to his ant-watching. Uriel said that was called brooding, so Adam tagged out with him. Uriel could talk to this fucking woman, he didn't want to.
"Do as you will. The boy wants you around, so you're around now."
She looked a bit startled at that.
"You… brought me back from the dead for David?"
Eh, technically correct, except completely wrong. Buzz, no points, try again.
"No, Arasaka brought you back, I didn't even know your corpse was still around."
She looked down at that, and fidgeted slightly.
"Still, you let me into your home, you've given my boy a good life. Even if it's more violent than I would like, he gets paid well enough to have a family and retire one day. It's all I really wanted for him, and you gave it to him."
Fucking woman, don't go saying he was giving shit away for free, that'll get more loafers like you around. He didn't need anymore meatbags to have to feed.
"I didn't give jack shit, boy's my apprentice, all of that's payment and he's earned it."
"He told me you wouldn't let him get new chrome… that you kept him from losing himself again…" The woman on his bench started crying. Goddamnit, he was going to have to deal with this before the boy walked in and got mad at him. Adam put one of his massive hands on her shoulder (and neck, she was small compared to him).
"Oi, don't go crying on me. You're alive, he's sane, stop with the waterworks."
She nodded and started wiping her tears away in a practiced motion. The fucking woman had the audacity to lean against him on his fucking bench. Oi, stop touching me, the kid'll get mad if I fuck you.
Adam growled and went back to ant-watching. The woman slowly fell asleep. Wasn't that uncomfortable, meatbag? Find somewhere else to sleep.
'All for the plan, Adam.' Uriel reminded.
'All for the plan.' Adam agreed begrudgingly.
The meatbeast came up and flopped against his foot. Adam suppressed his murderous intention as best he could.
Those fucking kids better talk to these freeloaders, he didn't need them thinking that he wanted them around. They were here because the kids were here. The kids were here because the meatfucker coming after him in a few months. As soon as they were a smear, all of these fuckers in his home are going.
He reminded himself that he still needed to pick up the V2 or whatever sometime for the bossman. He still had her contact, so he'll try to see if he can just order back first. He preferred otherwise, fighting her sounded more fun.