Not a good sign
Sitting in the apartment, Motoko finally got to scrolling through notifications from the gig.
As expected, there wasn't much. No gonks had been flatlined, hence no level-ups from the bloodthirsty system.
"Wait, what's that?"
Defenestration resistance XP +300
"Oh... O-oh! A new thing to grind!"
Motoko's smile grew a bit wider, and the weather outside turned a bit gloomier.
It wasn't a good sign.
Malcolm was sitting in his car and looking at Motoko, who was silently sneaking into the nearby building with a cat-like grace. The fact that it was the middle of the day and she was using the front door clearly wasn't going to stop her.
**ring** **ring**
Rolling his eyes, Malcolm answered the call.
"I'm in," said Motoko's voice on the other end. The call, of course, was terminated immediately after.
Malcolm sighed.
How can someone as amazing as Motoko be such a gonk sometimes? It's like she felt compelled to compensate for every impossibly awesome thing she did with a-
Malcolm's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass.
**ring** **ring**
Tracking his purple-haired choom flying out of the second-floor window (head-first, face-up, doing a backflip for extra style points), Malcolm answered the call.
"I'm out," said Motoko, ending the call right before performing a backward superhero landing.
A few weeks ago Malcolm didn't know what a superhero landing is, let alone a backward one. Them's were good times.
Barely a few seconds later, Motoko hastily climbed into his car. Letting another sigh out, Malcolm drove away from the scene of a crime that had no reason to happen. And yet it did. Horribly so.
"Look, I don't know what's up with you and the windows, but did you really have to?"
Motoko actually took a moment to think.
"Absolutely. There was no way around it," she replied, nodding confidently.
Malcolm's brow twitched. He didn't look quite convinced yet.
"I saw a window of opportunity?" offered Motoko with a deadpan expression.
"It was a grocery store!" half-shouted, half-whined Malcolm, "You went to buy me a soda!"
Motoko's cybernetic arm softly slapped her forehead.
"I knew I forgot something!"
Malcolm hit his forehead on the steering wheel in frustration.
"You are impossible... You know your impulsiveness will get you flatlined one day," he mumbled, but Motoko didn't immediately reply. Malcolm glanced at her in the rear-view mirror, seeing her eyes directed outside.
"I spy a vending machine! I'll be back in a moment," she chirped, now looking not through, but at the window, and wiggling in her seat like a kitten preparing to pounce.
"Motoko, no!"
"Motoko, yes!"
With the sound of a shattering window, his friend flew out of the car. Malcolm immediately panicked. They were driving on an interchange, and the car was going very fast, and-
**ring** **ring**
-he shouldn't have worried, of course, because his gonk of a friend was too awesome to die like this. He answered the call.
"Vanilla or cherry?" asked Motoko, but before he could reply, the call ended again. Sinking into the driver's seat, Malcolm slowly exhaled.
Meanwhile, twenty meters below the interchange, Motoko swore. Calling her friend again was too awkward now, so maybe he did have a point about that "impulsiveness" thing. On the other hand...
Defenestration resistance Level Up
...she was one step closer to eliminating her only weakness.
"Soon, mister Anderson. Soo-oon. Mwa-ha-ha! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"
On the other end of the city, a guy in a jet-black bathrobe, jet-black fluffy slippers, and mirrored sunglasses sneezed. Considering he was almost a full-body borg at this point, it wasn't a good sign.