Smashing

Arasaka was one of the largest if not the largest corporation in the entire planet since the first ever corporate war. It had gained a reputation for squashing and eliminating any kind of opposition. No trick or action was too big or too small or too underhanded for the mega corporation to achieve what it wanted, and what it wanted was to turn a profit by keeping everyone else under its heel. There wasn't anything inherently evil in the actions of the company, at the end of the day they were in business to make money and money was what made the world go round. It didn't matter to them that some insects or people they didn't care about got caught in the wheels of progress and eventually got squashed. And for the more persistent insects that refused to get squashed or held a significant threat to the company or its assets there was their personal attack dog: Adam Smasher.

Stories of this psycho in a walking tank body were a dime a dozen. He'd lost most of his body throughout his life, from the dangerous streets that were plagued with gang violence to the jungles all over the world filled with deadly soldiers and deadly weapons. But Arasaka saw something in him, so they rebuilt him. They gave him a body that was more machine than man. One would be faced with an uphill battle to find more than 10% of organic flesh and blood in the big monster. And that was being generous. He became the boogeyman that every edgerunner and punk feared running into or wanted to become. But he didn't care. Adam Smasher was a modern Frankenstein's Monster that only wanted one thing from his cursed existence: Entertainment. He didn't care much of what was right and what was wrong, all he wanted was a challenge. Something to make him have some fun other than just look scary and kill whatever Arasaka's executives told him to put in the ground.

"Smasher," an executive called his attention, getting the red lifeless eyes of death to look up. "We've had a thorn on our side for some time. Someone has been attacking our safehouses and crashing our deals with some of the punk gangs on our payroll. But this nuisance is a slippery one."

Adam Smasher didn't bother reading the reports on the attacks. It was all boring nonsense, not worth getting out of bed for. Yet he still looked at whatever little video there was of the attacks. Swift attacks with devastating results. It reminded him of guerilla warfare.

"Whoever is responsible for this must be a skilled hacker, possibly a net-runner but we're not discarding the possibility of there being a team behind all this." The head of security of the tower mentioned. "Which is why we need to capture them and get to the bottom of this. But there is one issue: No one knows who they are. All we've got is their street moniker and there are no matches in the police archives or any concrete pictures of who they are or what we're expecting."

"That is why we're sending you in to act as both trap and guard dog. for the shipment we're putting together." The executive added. "We need to send these new weapons to the Mexican frontier without any other issues, or else our partners down south will be displeased. The bait is a good one and knowing that it'll be secret will bring out our little trouble out in the open. That's where you take them out. Any questions?"

Adam Smasher only had mild interest in the assignment, if he could even call it that. He just looked at the pictures with some nostalgia, remembering how in his mercenary days a soldier had slammed into him with nothing but a shield and a grenade. That was a fun day. But this was bound to be some punk gang thinking it was smart to piss off Arasaka. Normally, he wouldn't even get out of bed for something like this. But it was what the bosses asked.

"What's the name of the pissant I'll be crushing?" Adam Smasher didn't show any emotion, not even actual curiosity.

"His moniker the attacker goes by, according to the few punks that knew it, is Ant-Runner," The head of security replied.

Adam Smasher groaned in annoyance. He almost sounded disappointed by the name alone.

"This is going to be boring." Adam Smasher left the room.

Robin never thought that Becca would invite him to this place out of all the places in the city.

"A shooting range?" Robin looked at the range. "I should be surprised, but then I remembered that you have a thing for shooting people." He looked at Becca as she smirked at him.

He'd promised her a night out after he'd blown her off the other night. And she picked the same night that she was helping teach David how to get better with guns. It wasn't bad by any means, but he wasn't sure how he was going to get through the evening with all the shooting. Not that he was afraid of it, but his lack of fear might be a telltale sign that he was hiding something. Best he could do was play it cool and not draw attention to himself. Maybe take a shot or two to keep up appearances.

"What can I say? I'm not the frilly dress sort of girl and you know it." Rebecca handed Robin a gun as they entered their turn. "Now, this is easy, you just point, aim and fire. I know you're not much for guns, but heck you gotta give David a positive role model when it comes to shooting."

Robin looked to see the young edgerunner holding up a gun and aiming it at the target across the range before him. His eyes glowed with a clash of determination and an inner conflict about pulling the trigger. It seemed like there was more innocence in the kid than he'd previously thought. Maybe this could help him get him from the jobs he was doing with Maine's gang. If the kid needed a job, he could spring for one.

"You okay, David?" Robin asked.

"Y-Yeah, nothing to worry about. Just getting used to the piece." David shrugged.

"It's cool champ." Rebecca patted David on the back. "No need to force yourself to pull the trigger if you don't want to. Hell, I bet Robin has never pulled one in his life."

"Yeah, nothing wrong with that, David." Robin smirked, trying to be friendly. "Sometimes you can't do it. No shame in admitting it."

David looked at him like he'd messed with his favorite shoes.

"Oh yeah, then why don't you show me, choom?" David glared at Robin. "You think you're better cause you ain't got any chrome, well, prove it."

Rebecca was about to step in and told David to chill, but the idea of having Robin actually shoot a gun was all too tempting. He had the guts to live wild and free, so it was only a matter of time before he started packing some heat that he could use. Plus she could tell a lot from a man by how they handled a gun.

Robin looked at the targets and then back to Rebecca, hoping that she would spring him from this awkward moment. However, she quickly flashed him a mischievous smirk that told him he was on his own. His eyes landed on the weapon that David was going to fire. It didn't look all that intimidating, but all guns didn't look like it unless you were looking at it from the wrong end.

"Well, I can't promise much, but we'll see." Robin got in position, picking up the gun.

"Let's see if you can put your Eddies where your mouth is, choom." David added.

"If you hit a bullseye, I might give you a kiss, Rob~." Rebecca added, making it seem like she was teasing him.

Robin shook the blush from his face. He needed to keep himself focused. The gun wasn't that heavy compared to his blaster. Aiming it was easy, and picturing who he was going to shoot was all too easy. Adam Smasher's face materialized in front of him, making him glare so intensely that one could almost see fire coming out of his eyes. It was one of the best ways he could practice with his blaster.

He grabbed his arm, steading himself to fire. But as soon as he saw David's face from the corner of his eye. The kid looked a little uneasy from the sight of him taking such a stance. It brought up a sense of unease from him. Robin could see it. So, he made a decision.

He opened fire. Letting all the bullets fly from the gun until the last casing fell to the floor.

Rebecca and David looked with shocked expressions at the result.

"You-You missed completely?" David asked, unsure of what he'd seen.

All of Robin's shots landed around the target's body. Not a single one of the bullets scratched the imaginary target.

"Yeah, I guess my aim is pretty bad." Robin put the gun down, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry to say that guns aren't really my thing. I'm gonna see if there's something to drink or something." Robin walked away, hoping to keep some semblance of not being capable of using guns.

It had been risky, but even so, he had to keep up appearances. Coming to the gun range with Rebecca was a mistake, but hopefully no one would've noticed what he did.

"You think you're so smooth, aren't you?"

Robin turned to see Rebecca looking at him with a raised eyebrow while tapping her shoe on the ground. For a second, she looked like a ticked off older sister wanting an explanation for why he misbehaved. Best thing he could do was play dumb.

"Um, I'm not sure what you mean, Becca?" Robin shrugged. "I missed the target. I mean, at least I didn't make myself look like an ass." She wasn't convinced.

If anything she looked at him like she had a microscope to look deep into his soul.

"Look, I didn't mean to get into an argument with David, and I didn't mean anything bad by what I said," Robin said. "I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn."

"I ain't talking about that. What you said wasn't wrong. You were trying to look out for David and I appreciate that," Rebecca said. "But what I can't abide by is you screwing those shots." She poked at his stomach harshly.

"Huh?" Robin asked.

"I've seen a lot of punks and runners shoot in my day, Rob. And I can sort of tell you about them with only a glance or two. And you have all the skill of a crack shot but you missed on purpose." Rebecca looked him deeply in the eyes. "So, spill, who are you really? You don't get those skills by putting cars or helping out with someone's picnic."

Robin wasn't sure if he should tell her about his career as the Ant-Runner, much less who he truly was. He liked her but he wasn't sure if he was in the right mindset to tell her everything or if she could be trusted with the information. Kiwi had said it enough times that he'd memorized it: 'You couldn't trust anyone in Night City'.

"Well, um, the thing is…" Robin tried to come up with an idea that would sound true enough that Rebecca would drop it.

"Forget it. If you don't trust me with that, you don't have to tell me," Rebecca sighed. "At least now I know you can pull your weight with a gun. Come on, let's go someplace else. The mood's pretty much dead." She walked away with her arms behind her back. "But just so you know. I think you looked hot the way you carried yourself. When you're ready to trust me a little more, give me a holler."

Robin felt like he'd just kicked a puppy. Groaning against his hand, he couldn't help but wish for something to swallow him whole and make him disappear forever.

"I'm the world's biggest jackass." He cursed himself.

There was no going around it. Rebecca had been genuine to him ever since they had met and she deserved at least a little more than a mouthful of lies. But his mission needed to remain secret. He'd have to figure something out before anything else happened and lost one of his only friends in this city.

Robin and Rebecca left the shooting range before heading to the downtown park area where Rebecca wanted to go get ice cream. It was mostly an awkward silent walk between them. Robin didn't know what to say and Rebecca wasn't going to force him to speak up. It was probably the most awkward they had ever been since their first meeting. Which was odd because they often talked about just about anything and they could go on for hours. This all the more added on to the guilt that Robin felt for not telling her anything about his past. His mind raced to look for an answer, but the one he'd arrived at wasn't one he loved: Being honest.

As soon as they arrived at the park, they spotted the large ice cream shop just across from them. There was a long line and it had a vast variety of different flavors and pieces for the customers to enjoy, which made Robin wonder where all the sugar went when it came to Rebecca, but he already knew what she would probably answer. There was a long line of customers waiting for their order, so the silence continued between them. It felt like a battle of wills to see who would crack first under the pressure. They shot glances and looked at each other before looking away like a couple of dumb hormonal teenagers that didn't know how to interact with the opposite sex. They were both trying to get a word in, but as soon as their eyes met their heads snapped to the other side.

Rebecca, despite living with her heart on her sleeve all the time, she was aware that some folks wanted to keep stuff to themselves. She wondered if she'd just hit something that Robin wasn't comfortable with. But it irked her that she knew very little about the guy she had the hots for. Not to mention that he stood out in his own way in this city. A fun girl that lived on the edge found that stuff irresistible. But she would have to be the mature one for a change and apologize if she'd screwed up.

"Hey, listen, I'm-"

"I know you have questions, I can't tell you everything, Becca," Robin said. "But I'll tell you what I can. Let's go outside once we get our orders and there we'll talk." Robin tried to play it cool.

"Jeez, you don't have to apologise, your personal life is your own business and if you wanna talk, you talk." Rebecca sighed. "But I shouldn't have forced you."

"I do wanna tell you, but like I said, only a little bit," Robin replied.

Once they had gotten their ice cream, they went off to sit by one of the park benches. Robin couldn't help but feel nostalgic about being in a park. Sure, it was partially all steel and holograms, but the few patches of grass reminded him of his early days.

"Seriously, where does all that ice cream go?" Robin asked, looking at the large sundae that Rebecca had ordered for herself.

"Where do you think I get all my energy and this sexy body of mine?" She smirked before taking a bite from her treat. "So, where do you wanna start?"

"Well, I guess it's obvious that I wasn't born here. I grew up in Chicago and lived there most of my life." Robin recounted his life. "I had a fairly chill life before heading to college and getting a masters there."

"Wait, wait, wait, you're a college kid?! But you're not that much older than me!" Rebecca looked Robin over.

"I skipped a few grades." Robin shrugged. "I got a job as an assistant under someone that planned to help a lot of people, though I was mostly just in it to get ahead in life. Doc was a mess but he always saw the good that could be done when we stopped looking at ourselves. And I didn't see it until it was too late."

Rebecca noted the fondness and slight bitterness in Robin's voice. He was proud of what he'd done but he was probably not all that happy for his reasons. She could sympathize, sometimes life got messy.

"So, what happened?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, someone, an asshole named Cross, thought we were doing too much of a good thing and well, it got bad." Robin gripped his ice cream. "Next thing I know, the lab is being attacked and me and the doc are running for our lives. Doc didn't make it. I learned how to shoot and fight to get even with Cross, and after beating the snot out of him, I decided to come here. As the saying goes 'head west boy', or something like that."

Rebecca couldn't help but picture Robin going through all that. He wasn't in Night City because he wanted to, but because he felt he had to start anew. The weight he was carrying had to be heavier than what she'd thought. But at the same time, it made him more shades of light and gray than she'd expected.

"So, you're here to start over?" Rebecca asked. "Not the safest place to do so. But I can see why you'd want to. I'm sorry about your friend. He sounds like a good man."

"He was. But yeah, I'm here to start over and find the other people that Cross was working for." Robin tasted his ice cream. "So far, nothing."

Rebecca watched Robin in a brand new light and she was very amazed by what she saw. Sad stories and broken hearts were common in Night City as much as stories of punks that just wanted to make it big in the big city and ended up with a bullet to the head. But hearing it from Robin was something else for her. It felt like she'd only been loving a sketch with little color on it, but now she was looking at an almost completely drawn canvas. And what she was seeing was something that sounded out of an old story brought to life. A man that had had the world at the tip of his hands and suddenly it had been destroyed so easily, and was now living with whatever he could scrounge up for survival. A story of living on the edge and fighting his way to the top for the justice of the gun was just her cup of coffee. The idea of someone with no Chrome going on a quest like that really sounded like the life she'd wanted, and yet here he was taking time to talk to her.

Even if she didn't know all the details or that he kept some things to himself, she liked Robin all the more. The idea of vengeance was something she could understand, but there was something far more important: living. And what better vengeance was there than living and having a good life despite all your scars. And living wild while you're at it? Well, that was what she knew all too well.

"You know they could be dead, right?" Rebecca asked.

"They… could be," Robin replied. "But yeah that's my story. I missed those shots because I didn't want David to get the wrong idea and double down on his quest or mission or whatever he thinks he's in. Guess I don't want him ending up like me or worse." Robin looked down at a small trail of ants walking around him.

"Yeah, edgerunners are often more remembered for their deaths than their lives. But I guess going out in a blaze of glory is something to look forward to. Thanks for sharing, Robin. But now, I got to give you something." Rebecca smirked, remembering the bet.

"What?" Robin turned only to get a kiss on the lips from Rebecca.

"You may have missed, but at least you had a reason for it." Rebecca shrugged. "You're a good man, Robin. Never forget that."

Robin's mind analyzed what Rebecca had just told him. Even if she didn't know his whole backstory, she still was happy to have known him. Maybe starting over wasn't such a bad idea. But he still had work to do. Now, he just had another reason to see it through completely.

"Not a bad kisser too." Rebecca added.

"'Not bad'? I am a great kisser, Becca." Robin argued. "You just caught me by surprise is all."

"Sure, sure." Rebecca shrugged as she ate her sundae. "No need to push yourself after such an emotional moment with little old me. Though, if you wanna try, you better show me what you can actually do." She looked at his ice cream as though it were a challenge.

"...Are you serious?" Robin asked, not believing her one bit.

"You know what they say about guys and ice cream." Rebecca continued teasing him. "Do one knot and you'll have me turned into a believer."

"That's with cherries and you can't do it with an ice cream. Guess you'll have to stay in complete uncertainty if you got the best or you only surprised me." Robin slowly licked his ice cream.

They stared at each other wondering who was going to call their respective bluffs. Neither planned on showing weakness to the other. They both wanted to continue kissing, but their respective egos wouldn't allow them to fall for the other so easily after everything that they've just had. Robin showing emotional vulnerability and Rebecca coming to terms with the fact that she'd snatched a kiss from him and learned more about him were both big things that weighed heavy on their minds. They just needed to hold out a second longer than the other and they could lord this over them for the rest of their lives. Their eyes never left each other's sight, almost as though they were trying to get into each other's mind from where they were. They grew closer and closer to each other's faces, narrowing their eyes like they were playing a game of chicken and the one that blinked first would be the one to lose.

A minute passed and neither were willing to make the first move, until…

"Hey, who let these strays near our campus?!"

Robin and Rebecca looked up to see a trio of Arasaka Academy students standing over them. One of them, the leader, had shiny blue mullet bowl-cut hair and a face that described the word douche to a tee.

"Can we help you?" Robin asked. "We're in the middle of something here."

"Listen gutter trash, I don't know if you and your sexbot know this, but this is Arasaka Academy property and we don't like your kind stinking up the place." He said, smacking Robin's ice cream off his hand.

"Hey, asshat, why don't you go suck on daddy's balls before I-" Rebecca snarled.

"It's okay Becca, we're leaving." Robin got up, glaring at the kid all the way up. "What's your name, kid? Just so I know who to charge for wasting my treat." He couldn't help but see Cross's face on the dumb kid.

"Ha, I'd love to see you try, asshole. I'm Katsuo Tanaka, and if you know what's good for you, you'll get lost." Katsuo smirked, activating his Chrome. "I got Kung Fu chipware!" His hands started going wild, striking poses of a kung fu master, well, moreso an amateur trying to intimidate someone.

Robin didn't buy it. Judging by the distance and the speed of Katsuo's hands, he guessed that he only had the arms and not the legs. In the blink of an eye, he slammed a kick right between Katsuo's legs.

Katsuo screamed in pain before he was frozen, grasping his balls from all the pain.

"Word of advice kid, no matter what power you have, if you don't know how to use it, it's not worth anything." Robin finished by punching Katsuo on the face, sending him to the ground. "Let's go, Becca, this place stinks all of a sudden."

"Yeah, lost my appetite anyway." She hopped off the bench.

Rebecca snarled at the other two students, making them flee in terror. She smirked at her handiwork against the two stooges as she caught up to Robin. Brats like them were no different from simple punks that thought they were tough just because they had some added stuff on their bodies. But underneath it all they were still the same pansies that thought a bigger piece was all they needed.

"Nice moves back there." Rebecca patted Robin's back.

"I may have gone a little overboard back there. He was just a dumb kid after all." Robin looked back, feeling a little guilty.

"Hey, that guy was an asshole. Think of it as an early learning experience he got for free." Rebecca suggested. "He got a taste of nor underestimating people or picking on those that could be more dangerous than him. You don't get that kind of education in Arasaka's prissy academy."

Robin looked over his shoulder at the so-called prestigious academy that spat out more grunts and legacy hires for the mega corporation. The kids had no idea that they were going to be stuck in a cycle that no one but the corporations themselves would be the winners. Arasaka had made a perfect scam right in front of them and no one was the wiser. With a constantly expanding force, the company would need a nearly endless supply of people to help run it even if their jobs were menial at best or irrelevant at worst. The academy was nothing more than a fancy building that took kids carrying the weight of their parent's dreams and turned them into cogs in Arasaka's machine. He wanted to punch whoever came up with this sick scheme so badly.

"Yeah, still, the more they could learn of the real world the better." Robin sighed. "It took a lot for me to learn that the game they're playing is rigged from the start. Best they'll do is take up their parent's place once they graduate."

"So, what'll be your plan then?" Rebecca asked.

"My plan?" Robin looked at her confused.

"After everything's said and done," Rebecca clarified. "If the douches you're looking for are dead, or well once they're all taken care of, what will you do?"

Robin stopped on his tracks. Rebecca's words had actually made him stop and think of what would happen next. He'd focused all this time on taking down Arasaka and Adam Smasher for what they had done to destroy his life. Even with all the strikes and attacks he'd led against them and their safehouses, he'd barely been getting close to the higher ups. But if he ever got his shot and managed to get them all in one fell swoop, what would be left for him. His world was no longer the same. The life he had lived was now a far off island that he could never reach with a lighthouse that often flashed him with reminders of why he was fighting. But what would be left of him once he was done?

He never thought about what would be left for him to do once he actually got closure. The cliche error of every single avenger and person that wanted vengeance was staring him right in the face and he couldn't come up with an answer to give. He felt like he'd just gone to the store and completely forgot what he was supposed to buy from it.

"I… I actually don't know," Robin replied.

"Well, if you need a hand figuring it out, do what I do," Rebecca said. "Live every day like it's your last."

"I guess I can try that until I get a better plan." Robin shrugged as they walked.

Regardless of what the future held for him, he was going to enjoy the little things he had. Even if one of those little things was as annoying as Rebecca. Plus, he had to show that he was a good kisser.

Adam Smasher watched the worms made of meat work on preparing the equipment for transportation. He wished they'd just send him down to South America and get things over with. But no, he was stuck playing babysitter with the meat in case a boogeyman tried to spook them. It was such a waste of time. There was so much meat that needed to be grinded into pulp and he was told to stand by and wait for orders. It was better than many punks got in their lives, but it didn't mean that it wasn't boring as all hell to him.

He was so focused on his own thoughts that he couldn't or didn't bother noticing two workers looking at him.

"Hey, what's his deal anyway?" The first worker whispered.

"Adam Smasher? Don't know and I don't wanna find out." The second worker replied. "Word is that he's here for security. And that's all they'll say."

"No, I mean, how does a man just go all chrome and steel like that and stay… well, sane?" The worker whispered back.

"Maybe he was born special, or his brain was scrambled so much that cyber-psychosis isn't anything to him." The second worker commented. "Now, let's move before he kills us."

Adam Smasher didn't bother paying attention to the two workers. The only word he registered was just that, one word. Special. Was he? He definitely thought so. He could mow down people left and right like most people took breaths. He could hold himself together with more chrome than flesh and still not have anything more than a headache or boredom. Of course he was special. Adam Smasher was the apex predator of Night City, the only thing stopping him was the leash Arasaka held over him. It was time to show this little fool that he was above all others sucking on the same air as him.

"You better show up, bug. I will make you worth my time." Smasher growled.

Robin worked on fixing Falco's car for what he could only assume was Pillar shooting the damn thing with a gun.

"How exactly did this happen?" Robin asked.

"Let's just say, Pillar better get his own ride from here on out. Mine has officially had enough of him." Falco replied as he handed Robin a different wrench. "So, how was your date with Becca?"

"We talked, mostly about me and we had ice cream before we called it a night." Robin shrugged. "Sounds like a fairy tale story to me. Though I didn't turn into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight."

"Well, congratulations are in order, I suppose. You two seem like a nice couple," Falco said. "Both of you complimenting each other's crazy to a degree ought to make things a lot better for the two of you."

Robin wasn't sure what Falco meant, though he wondered if he was planning on asking them for a wedding date. But that got him thinking of something else that arose from that conversation.

"Hey, Falco, are you planning to do this forever?" Robin asked.

"Excuse me?" Falco asked. "Well, I figured coming to you to get the old girl fixed up is much better than getting ripped off back in the city. Why you ask? Planning on closing down shop?"

"Not for the foreseeable future. But I wonder what I'm gonna do eventually," Robin sighed.

Falco understood what Robin was talking about. He pulled out a flask from his jacket and took a sip. It wasn't common for a youngster like Robin to ask for advice, but he would play the role of the old cowboy with words of wisdom if he had to.

"What brought this on?" Falco asked.

"It came up in conversation with Becca. I sort of told her why I'm here, I'm looking for some people and I-" Robin began.

"Want vengeance? Yeah, I could tell." Falco cut him off. "You don't look like an avenger at first glance. But I figured that there was more to you being in Night CIty than to settle outside of it. The look of determination you sometimes try to hide gives you away." Falco pointed out.

"You knew?" Robin asked.

"I had my theories as to what brought an organic fella all the way out here. The rest took some time to figure out. You keep to yourself and you're pretty smart to the point you make a good honest income, and don't act like a dick to your neighbors which is rare but not unwelcome." Falco explained. "So, I figured that you were planning something big that needed time or you were simply looking for your moment. So, which one is it?"

"...It's something that needs time. But I don't plan on dragging anyone into it if I can help it," Robin sighed. "I was just wondering what I would do after all is said and done. Never planned on what would happen after." He scoffed at himself for being so shortsighted.

"It's the curse of youth. Now, I don't know who it is that you're aiming to take down but you gotta ask yourself: 'will it be worth it in the end?' Cause you know the saying 'he that goes for vengeance should dig two graves'." Falco explained. "You may not make it out of this alive."

"I know, but let's say that I complete my objective. I come out of this smelling like roses, and no one even knows about me. Then what?" Robin asked.

Falco looked at the young man, trying to read him. There were many answers as there were possibilities in life, even in a world as bleak as this one. Thinking that one could get the most positive outcome was wishful thinking, but it didn't change that after everything, life went on. Robin was a bright kid and he could keep on living here in peace, but a part of him knew that he'd try to get as far from the city as possible.

"Then, you can start living. Travel and find a new place to call home, maybe settle?" Falco suggested. "No matter what I say, you'll have to make that choice. What is it that you want after the dust settles?"

Robin looked down, wondering. Back in his old life, he wanted to be at the top so the system worked for him. Now, he was an outcast with nothing to lose and everything to live for. The life he had was not coming back and no matter how much the lighthouse lit his path, he could never go back. But then there was something Dr. Albertson had told him…

"Explore the world…" Robin whispered.

"What's that?" Falco asked. "Travel?"

"Not exactly. An old mentor of mine always said that the world had long lost its wonder and yet it was still evolving," Robin said. "I think I get what he was referring to."

Falco looked at Robin, hoping to get more of an answer. But he gave up. The young man now had an idea of what he wanted and that was good enough for now.

"Well, I hope that's all you'll need. Just keep in mind if it's worth sacrificing that idea for your vengeance." Falco paid Robin for his time and help before driving off. "Stay safe, kid. Don't do anything crazy."

Robin smirked. As though he ever did anything crazy without thinking. He walked over to his recordings and anything intercepted from Arasaka. He listened in to the broadcast, only for his eyes to widen instantly.

"So, they finally brought you out to play, huh?" Robin gripped the table as hard as he could without flipping it. "Well, this time, you're mine, Adam Smasher." Robin set off for a fight, suiting up in his Ant-Runner suit.

According to the intercepted transmission, Arasaka was planning on sending a big shipment of experimental weapons to South America that night from one of Arasaka's private airfields. It was a big haul and it was being guarded by none other than their top guard and attack dog. There he was waiting for him like a main dish on a silver platter, ready for him to dig in and take him out. All his efforts had finally gotten to the corporation and had sent their big dog after him. Well, he wasn't going to let all their work go to waste.

He flew through the air with his ants like a squadron of bombarders to the airfield. It wasn't far from the city, but it was deep enough in the desert that most people didn't even know it was there. Robin narrowed his eyes as he and his ants landed on a rock just outside of the takeoff strip as a large plane was being prepped to take off. He pulled out his binoculars to see what was going on. But his eyes weren't focused on the equipment or the containers filled with weapons. He was looking for his target.

"Where are you, you bastard?" Robin gritted his teeth in frustration.

After all this time he was finally within reach of the bastard and he wasn't even showing off his face. It tested his patience to no end. How could a man so big and so feared keep himself in the shadows for so long? Was he only man enough to fight when no one was expecting him? It didn't matter to Robin what his deal was, all he cared about was to take him out like the mutt he was. He continued scanning but he couldn't find him. They needed to get closer. Quickly and quietly, Robin and his ants flew closer, landing on top of one of the warehouses without anyone being the wiser. They moved fast and thanks to their size no one could see them or even consider them an actual threat. That was their mistake to make and their weakness to be exploited. Robin continued scanning the area to get his sights on Adam Smasher, not paying attention to the workers or the crates that were being loaded onto the plane. He only cared for his revenge. And nothing would stop him until he got it.

"Where are you? Where are you?" Robin muttered. "Show yourself you borg son of a bitch." Only for him to notice a shadow coming from the other side of the field.

As one of the crates was being loaded into the plane, a large hulking beast appeared from the side of the plane. Robin's hands gripped his binoculars tightly as he recognized the man immediately. It was Adam Smasher and his bright red eyes looked as unalive and cold as the day that he'd stormed Alchemax and almost killed him and Dr. Albertson. That was the day that his life had been destroyed and yet the cyborg didn't look all that dissatisfied or changed by that.

"This job is such a bore. Get those things in and finish the damn thing already." Adam Shamsher groaned.

Robin's anger boiled inside him as he commanded his ants to fly once more towards the cyborg.

"You think you'll get away with what you did, Smasher? Not on my watch." Robin snarled, pulling out his blaster.

"So, where are these things going again?" A soldier asked underneath Robin, getting his attention.

"Can't you read?" Another soldier pointed. "They're going to South America. Chile or Argentina, I don't care. Arasaka made a killing with these weapons. Apparently some of the dictatorships down there are having trouble with rowdy groups that don't want to follow their leaders."

Robin landed his ants behind the crate that was being loaded. He listened in on the conversation, getting interested in what they were doing.

"Well, these puppies will put an end to all that." The soldier tapped on the crate. "It'll rack their nerves. Ha!"

"I don't get it," The other worker replied.

Robin grew a little more interested in what they were talking about. Pulling out his vibrating sword, he cut open a slight opening through which he could see what was inside, not noticing the alarm that had been activated by his intrusion. But his eyes were more focused on what he was looking at: Large glowing canisters filled with a glowing green agent. It was not a pretty sight, and made even more so when he noticed the warning and hazardous signs on the canisters. The ants that surrounded him didn't need to tell him that they were something nasty. But what they were chirping at him was true, then he was standing in the last place he wanted to be.

"Chirp, chirp, chip!"

"You guys sure?" Robin asked, getting more chirps as a reply. "So, what the soldier was saying wasn't just a bad joke."

Robin looked at his blaster and then at the canisters. Falco's cowboy words resonated in his head.

'Will it be worth it in the end?'

If he went after Adam Smasher and took him out with an assassination, then these canisters and more would take off without a hitch. They would be used to kill and hurt a lot of people. People the doc would've saved if he could have.

"I'll get you next time, Smasher. For now, I got bigger fish to fry." Robin holsted his blaster. "Let's get out of here and take these things down. Question is: how?"

Suddenly, the container started to shake, making Robin fall down on his back. Looking up at the ceiling, he watched in horror as the lid was callously ripped off by a pair of mechanical hands. His survival instincts kicked in as Adam Smasher looked into the container.

"Where are you, you little pest?" Adam Smasher growled in his inhuman voice.

"Mr. Smasher, please be careful!" The workers stepped away as Smasher kicked the container over.

"The nerve gas could be released and-ACK!"

"Like I give a fuck. The alarm went off, so the pissant has to be around here." Adam Smasher grabbed the soldier by the neck. "Search everything. Load up the rest of this shit and if you ever talk back to me…" Smasher crushed the man's neck, making his head roll off. "Understood?"

The workers got to work faster than before. The fear of Adam Smasher giving them the same treatment was more than enough encouragement for them. But it also gave the Ant-Runner a chance to slip away.

Robin needed to get out before he was discovered by the maniac. Commanding his ants, he hopped on top of one of them before flying out of the container before they were caught by the gas. Flying away from any prying eyes, they needed to keep moving but time wasn't on their side. All the workers were working overtime and Adam Smasher stood between him and the entrance to the carrier plane. He needed to get him out of there before the plane took off with the nerve gas canisters.

"How do I get rid of him? At least he doesn't have the same tracking chrome that Ink Spade had, and I don't have time to deal with him the same way." Robin muttered. "I need to get him away from the plane and then get in without him noticing me." He noticed a soldier handling a big oil drums all the way to the back.

He silently went back, following the soldier as he put the oil drums along at the back of the warehouse. There weren't any people looking and the area was pretty much on its own. He waited for the man to turn around before landing on top of one of the drums. Slowly, he opened the lid, getting a very familiar smell. Fuel and lots of it. It was one of Arasaka's more vehicle-centric products, but it tended to be very, very, potent. An idea came to fruition in Robin's mind. All he needed was something to get Smasher's attention. He spotted the guard once more, more specifically, the rifle he was carrying behind his back. Growing back to his normal size, keeping his stance low, he approached the soldier from behind.

In a swift movement, he silently knocked out the guard, muffling his screams as he passed out from the strike. Robin dragged the knocked out body before taking the rifle from the downed soldier.

Adam Smasher growled in annoyance. He had expected his target to show their stupid face by now, the alarm had told him as much but they seemed to live up to their name related to bugs and had run away. No one had seen anything, and the stupid canisters were all loaded up. The job was done and he'd still been bored out of his mind. The higher ups had better give him a proper workout after this mess.

"Guess the punk isn't up to scratch in the end." Adam Smasher scoffed.

"Sir, the plane is ready for take off, no signs of any trouble." The soldiers said, but he didn't pay attention to them. "We just need to close the door and it'll be out of our hands."

"Fine. Do it alread-"

Bang!

A shot ricocchetted against his head.

"Who the fuck dares?!" Adam Smasher snapped, turning to face the origin of the bullet.

Bullets started flying at him and the other soldiers, making everyone but Adam Smasher duck for cover.

"We're under attack!" One of the soldiers cried out. "Get this think in the air!"

The plane started moving, closing the ramp as the bullets continued flying like a rain of bullets.

Adam Smasher held up his hand as the bullets continued flying at him. They were no more than bug bites to him. His annoyance was already brimming and he just wanted to get this day over with. But no, he had to deal with this. Someone that didn't have the balls to fight him. All he saw was smoke used to hide the source of the bullets.

"Is this all you got?!" Adam Smasher stomped towards the source of the incoming bullets. "Is this what the mysterious and dangerous Ant-Runner has to offer?! You are even more pathetic than I thought! Come on, bug, show yourself!" Adam Smasher ran past the bullets at the sight of two red lights that looked like eyes. "At least show me what makes you such a big shot before you become meat for the grinder, punk!"

Adam Smasher punched through the smoke, pulling out his wrist-mounted cannon. He fired through the smoke, expecting to find a corpse at his feet. But as soon as he landed, his cybernetic eyes showed him the truth. There was no corpse, no one firing at him, and the lights were just that, two lights tied together and stuck to the wall. The rifle had been set up to fire between two oil drums as burning rags smoked up the place. His eyes landed on the holes he'd made and the fire falling on the spilling fuel.

"Motherfuck-"

BOOM!

The warehouse was engulfed in flames by a massive explosion. Adam Smasher took the brunt of it, coming out with scorch marks, missing an arm, sparks flying and half of his face being burnt. But his red eyes still glared through the smoke and the rage. He looked around and all he saw was confusion. He was certain the bastard was around.

"Where the fuck are you?" Adam Smasher snarled.

However, his target was long gone. No matter how much he snarled or threatened to kill everyone in his path, the Ant-Runner had done something no one had accomplished in years. He'd made Adam Smasher look like a chump and he never once saw it coming.

"I will make you pay for this, bastard!" Adam Smasher screamed in rage.

High up on the plane, Robin could only look ahead.

"Don't worry, Adam Smasher. We'll see each other soon," Robin said. "That's for damn sure."

Robin grew back to his normal size as he made his way to the cockpit, making sure to be ready for a fight. With such a dangerous substance onboard, landing wasn't an option and neither was crashing it into the ocean. The only way out was to destroy everything onboard. Thankfully, the gas could be destroyed by the flames of the plane exploding at that height that no one would become affected. The plane would not reach its destination.

Robin rushed to the cockpit only to find four soldiers standing between him and it. The soldiers didn't even bother warning him or thinking twice about taking action as soon as they spotted him. They fired at him with their rifles, aiming to kill. Just as the bullets were about to hit him, he jumped ahead, shrinking himself down. Firing his grappling hook, he pulled himself over one of the bullets. With the added speed and direction of the shot, he propelled himself over the soldiers. His feet landed on the door, springing himself at the soldier's back.

With the force of a bullet behind him, Robin tackled the first soldier. As the other soldiers turned and started firing at anything that moved, the Ant-Runner started his next attack. Grabbing onto the soldier's back armor, the Ant-Runner pulled himself up before hopping over to the face of the second soldier. He punched the face mask so hard that it cracked and sent the soldier tumbling back from the strength of the blow. Robin ran over the helmet before jumping to the rifle of the third soldier. He grew back to his original size, hitting the soldier with the butt of his own rifle and then swinging the rifle like a baseball bat to the man's face.

"Freeze!" The last soldier commanded, but fired regardless.

Robin shrunk down, avoiding the bullets. Though the other two guards weren't all that lucky. Robin jumped straight at the last guard, growing back to his full size to land a devastating uppercut to the man's jaw. The first soldier got up, pulling a gun on Robin. Thinking fast, Robin ducked under the shot, pulling out his blaster. He fired at the soldier taking him out with one shot. The man fell dead as the shot left him a hole right in his chest.

"Alright, time to set this place on fire." Robin spotted one of the panels on the floor.

He pried it open, finding the wiring of the plane along with the fuel lines that supplied the plane. He ripped out the wiring and cut the fuel, spraying it all over the containers. With his sword, he opened each container, exposing the canisters to their incoming fate. If this was going to hit Arasaka, it would be a blaze of glory that no one would ever believe was possible.

Robin turned back to the cockpit opening it slowly. He only saw one pilot while there were two seats. Someone tackled him from behind, they were big and didn't care about fighting dirty. Robin rolled them off of his back before they got up. He ducked under his attacker's fists before punching him in the stomach. The other pilot pulled out a pair of knuckle dusters with electricity coming out of them. He swung and punched at Robin, forcing the Ant-Runner to dodge and move around. Something made even more difficult with the other pilot steering the plane around.

The plane took a harsh turn that sent Robin to the floor followed by the other pilot. Robin rolled out of the way of the attacker before he kicked the pilot in the back of the head. The remaining attacker pulled him back, socking Robin across the face and in the stomach. The volts coursing through his body stunted him and hurt like hell, but he could still fight. He caught the soldier's hands by the wrists as they got ever closer to his head.

"Who do you think you are to go against Arasaka?!" The soldier demanded. "You're some punk kid who thinks he's some kind of hero!"

"I am a hero!" Robin snapped, kneeling the soldier between his legs.

Using this chance, Robin turned the man over, slamming his electric knuckle dusters on the controls. He jumped back as the electric shocks fried the controls and the pilot next to them. Fire started to come out as the plane started to plummet down to earth. He needed to blow up the whole thing before they crashed. Robin pulled out his blaster, shooting a hole in the windshield and then aiming another shot to the containers. He took a deep breath before he pulled the trigger.

The shot cut through the hallway before striking at its target. The fuel ignited and spread through the entire cargo bay and the plane itself. Small explosions spread through it all as Robin turned around. He shrunk down, calling upon his ants to flee through the hole he'd made.

The speed of the wind was crazy and Robin almost lost his grip on his ride. He held onto his ride for sweet life as they all managed to pull themselves out of the diving wreck. They spun away from the smoke and fire as it went down, avoiding any and all pieces that were breaking off from the plane. They watched the plane exploding and burning away all traces of the gas before it crashed down in a hole in the middle of nowhere.

"Let's go home, guys." Robin watched the flames take down another one of Arasaka's dirty schemes.

Back at Arasaka Tower, the executives and the head of security watched the pictures of the remnants that was once one of their biggest paychecks.

"This has gone too far." The head of security said. "Whoever this guy is, he must be killed."

"How do we know it was this ant-punk anyway? For all we know, this was the result of a bomb inside the plane."

"We'll leave that to the PR guys, but the one that should be held accountable is Adam Smasher." An executive pointed out. "He was there and yet this mess still happened."

"Adam Smasher will be dealt with, but for now, we must look at our current problem," the head of security said. "This is an open declaration of war. Spread the word through the gangs, Arasaka has a bounty on the head of whoever did this. "It's open season on this thorn on our side."

However, unbeknownst to the meeting executives, a small ant with a microphone heard everything from the vents.

"So, Arasaka wants to pull out the big guns, huh?" Robin scoffed. "Well, I've been fighting this for a lot longer than them. And I'm just getting started. And now, I have more of a reason to live." Robin put away the recorder, glaring at the picture of Adam Smasher and Arasaka.

The war had begun long ago, but it was just now going to get hot. Arasaka didn't know it, but they were already behind and Robin was going to use every chance he got to stay ahead.

"Let's dance."