October 12th 5:48 AM

Diana

I knew I was dreaming when I saw Anthony smiling, because it had been a month of nothing but his comatose body in that little hospital room. Maybe that was why I didn't want to wake up yet, into the rank hotel I tried to hide in, far away from my father and the police.

Anthony's eyes opened, soulless and devoid of humanity as they bled crimson tears. The silhouette of his body bulged and twisted until a monster screamed at me, commanding my thoughts. My guilt. My fear. My regret.

Abruptly, he disappeared, and in his place was Kendrick Rorsche. A man who had tried his damned best to violate me, but in the end was thrust out of the police force. The Rorsche looking at me was dead, a rod of metal jabbed through the side of his head, but moving with crooked limbs staggering towards me. His mouth dripped off his face, exposing wires and a hose as Indra Harmony blossomed out of his maw to grasp at me with her dead grip.

The monsters continued fighting me, each once human. Each lost. Children who had never even seen the sun before grew grotesque. I'd failed to save them.

They clawed at me, but never reached.

Because I failed to keep them alive.

Then I saw the faces of those people who were still alive and around me, and only now could I look away.

Because I had to protect those who-

I woke up, sweat dabbed on my forehead, and my body chilled. This hotel room was discreet, that was the price I paid for the foul musk of rotten floorings and drug-soaked walls that infiltrated my nose the second my mind whipped to reality. It was ironic, I was being paid more than ever now, and my living conditions were far worse.

I couldn't care. Here, I couldn't be found by Soul Killer, by my father, either. Only Dryder had access to my 'home' whereabouts, and I preferred it that way. Forcing myself off the stiff mattress, I found my uniform and took my peace with a quick shower.

Then it was off to work.

———

The Special Intelligence Operation Unit was still located near Great Lake, or the Pleasure Lanes, like my old building. It just so happened that now I had the penthouse view. Broken up into ten teams of around 30 personnel—a third were on-field specialists—we controlled the top ten floors of the Central Westbrook-District Police Department. We oversaw all Precincts, not just the First anymore, but in the technical hierarchy of things, we were still under the management of Lieutenant Anabelle Grazhe.

Under her, and the other soulless side of her.

In one month, I continued to discover what secrets were open here and which were not. Mr. Skeleton was a very common thread of discussion among the SIO, Dogwhistler less so, and Soul Killer was a faint whisper only known to Omen and others at his station.

Soul Killer wasn't an unknown, however, it seemed like to a degree there was some hidden cooperation between the top brass of the police and that damned scientist — hidden away by Anabelle and the government. It all had to stem back to Juliet Grazhe's initial investigation, Anthony's mother, but Dryder refused to open up to the topic.

All he'd said was: 'There's a damn good reason they keep Anabelle, and a part of that is because she maintains the peace between Soul Killer and the police, even when she doesn't know it.'

The metal part of a pen's clip snapped as my mindless chewing gave into the frustrations, yet out of instinct, I swallowed the metal. It tasted sweet. A new Meta-Mutation for Inorganic Metabolism had gifted me with the ability to gain flavor from various inorganic substances my body could now digest.

Being Tier II was weird…

Special Investigator Rick 'Fang' Lopez strolled into my office, the wide and hardened man was the exact image you imagined when it came to a special operative. Large and bulky muscles that tested the elasticity of his black and blue uniform, a faint scar under his eye, and a calculating gaze that tested each and every person he looked at.

"Associate Ulrich, I brought you cookies." He put down a tray of steaming chocolate chip cookies that filled me up with an appetite. "I saw that your birthday was last weekend, so consider this a late surprise."

A handsome smile lifted over him, and a sadder one came from me. "Thank you, Special Investigator. That's very thoughtful."

There was more I wanted to say, but I held it back, not wanting to give too much of myself. "Is Trixie done with the Skeleton drone? And… the MAL?"

"She'll be filling us in on her autopsy report later today. For now, take a break. You've done enough." He said the last bit with a warning, before leaving my office. I took a bite of the cookie, remembering how he'd done the same thing on the day I joined Special Intelligence. At first, I thought he was trying to get favor from me due to my parentage, but the more I understood him…

The more I understood all of them…

His wife called him out on his bullshit, he'd never try and flatter his way up the ladder. Corporal Alex 'Bastion' Lopez was somehow the most serious figure I'd ever seen, while appearing aloof yet with a smile half the time. I took heed of Rick's warning, closing up the plethora of screens drying out my eyeballs and making my way through the labyrinth that was the operating floor of Theta Unit of Special Intelligence.

I found myself comfortable in the lounge. Belle, the second-latest member of the team after me, was stirring up some coffee. He wasn't as daunting as Rick was, but the man was still tall and big, with short blonde hair that swept into free-flying waves.

"Wassup, Silvereye." He saluted me. "Want a cup o' joe?"

"Sure." I sighed, keeping myself at a distance. "No sugar, but I'll have-"

Sabrina finished for me, her bright voice whistling from a couch. "Skimmed milk with a shot of caramel."

My voice sank slightly as I met her cheerful gaze. "Yeah, that."

"Coming right up." Belle confidently began another brew, using some coffee beans that he grew himself. His mutation had something to do with plants since his blood acted like an instant fertilizer, but I couldn't help but find it weird that he could manipulate an organism other than himself. It reminded me of… Soul Killer.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The Nexus' SIM rolled in my fingertips inside my pocket.

I found my seat alone, my eyes opening up another stream of case reports and detailed analysis of various crimes committed in the past week. Dreadwire was spotted in the Sanbreque Heights, but other than a few snapshots from street cameras in which a rumor-stirring blur of black and gold, there was little else about Ripley.

Though I couldn't deny that his appearances built into rumors around the Net, somehow being a mere shadow made him more popular. He'd made one hell of an entrance, and these sporadic sightings were generating lots of interest as an… anti-corporate, anti-establishment figure.

Some more activity from Muramasa was up and about. What was interesting was that apparently, it was the Snake Fangs they were fighting. And they… lost? Shaun must have rallied some force to get a foot back in the criminal world after June's annihilation of his club.

Los Diablos were busy posting up holo-flyers and net-bombing various news sites to promote some new music album. Crimson Souls were as mysterious as ever, and Metal Heavens continued being the creepy cult of body-morphing cyborgs they were. The smaller gangs were under more pressure lately, the Swarm's approach meant lots of big changes, and some were beginning to assimilate into the larger gangs. Interflame was all but a puppet of Los Diablos, while the Gorgons bowed their heads down to Muramasa and…

None of this mattered. It was Soul Killer and The Uncaged who mattered. These were all just distractions. We were the SIO… the motherfucking Special Intelligence Operations who were supposed to deal with all this hidden bullcrap. Hell, I was just distracting myself until Trixie could get us a lead from Skeleton's drone.

"Diana… whatchu looking at?" Sabrina's head popped above me, waving her hand through the screens in my vision.

"Just checking up on Intelligence 17's report of Interflame's latest shipment to-"

"Boooring. It's your break, Diana, c'mon let's gossip!" Sabrina bounced onto the seat next to me, lounging her feet onto the coffee table.

Belle arrived and knocked her feet away, replacing them with a cup of coffee. "Here you go, Silvy. And as much as I hate to admit it, 'Brina's right. You're showing all ten symptoms of burnout."

"I'm fine. Really." My tongue got a bit harsher. "But thank you for the sentiment, still adjusting, I guess."

"Well, you know a good bar crawl is a great way to adjust to new faces. Don't even need to drink, fuck… I've been sober for years." Belle's smile was charming enough that a year ago I would have taken the offer.

But I had better things to focus on, now. "I'll think about it."

"Oof. Rejected. Haha." Sabrina laughed in Belle's face, to which he only shrugged. The blonde girl weighed her head on my shoulder, too close to the point I began feeling uncomfortable.

"Why are you even looking up all the old news anyway? Why not take a look at Dreadwire? He's Gold like you, too. I feel like you're bound to run into him sooner than later." Sabrina sent over an article about Dreadwire from some Abyssnet forum. The theories on him ranged from him being the R0N1N's pupil to many speculating he had the Implant from the club attack.

Others refuted that claim; some commenters stated that it was impossible for an Adapter to progress that quickly. However, that also brought my name into the forum. I was now publicly confirmed to possess the SIM produced from the Toxin Club's MALignant and at Tier II, and a lot of discourse now fell into what happened to the BUG.

Which was probably what Sabrina wanted me to give input on, I'd heard through the grapevine that she was trying to get a case on Dreadwire. The girl might have a sunny appearance, but she was incredibly sharp with her instincts. It took a lot more effort to fight non-lethally like Sabrina did.

I didn't know too much about her, other than that… she was involved in a high-profile case some years back where she went undercover in Muramasa for more than a year. Something about that experience made her… merciful to criminals. Empathic.

A part of me even felt ashamed. A few months ago, I had been like her. Not willing to kill as a first resort until… I began to kill too often.

"Dreadwire's definitely an interesting target, but until we get assigned his case, I don't see why I should look into him," I said, as I mentally closed down multiple tabs of my own research on him.

Belle chortled. "That's rich coming from you, aren't you the one always requesting access to files from Corporal Lopez to build cases?"

He'd caught me the cracks, but my defense wasn't so flimsy. "Well, they're all still related to our current investigations. Mr. Skeleton isn't exactly a figure whose secrets are told to everyone."

Belle hummed, accepting my answer. He took a sip from his own cup of coffee as his gaze flicked between me and Sabrina, thought ultimately whatever thought he had never came out verbally.

Sabrina, however, let her intrusive thoughts come out. "You two, if you had to play fuck, marry, kill with R0N1N, Dreadwire and The Iron Devil… who would you choose?"

My mind went blank. "Excuse me?"

Sabrina scratched her chin as she pondered her own question. "I think I would choose to fuck the Iron Devil — he's got that aged-man-with-a-broken-past vibe. Marry Dreadwire and kill The R0N1N because I want some of that sweet Yuzhou payout."

Belle sighed wistfully. "I-I'm straight, so I'm not answering that."

"Just genderbend them, you wuss." Sabrina pouted.

"Fine. Kill The she-R0N1N. Marry The Iron Succubus and… damn, now that I think about it. Dreadwire would be hot as a woman, but would also kill me if I said the wrong thing, so yeah fuck him-slash-her."

Sabrina's gaze turned to me, my thoughts still turbulent while trying to process the question. "What about you?"

"How am I even supposed to answer that?" I tried to deflect as much as possible. "They're criminals."

"Eh, just go on their vibes." Sabrina shrugged.

"Vibes?"

"Yeah." Sabrina nodded, like it was the obvious answer to life. "Like, The Iron Devil gives me the old bartender type of feel, y'know, the kinda guy that's always existed and is rough around the edges with a beer belly but can kick ass when he needs to. Real gruff cus he's seen some shit, but can be your charming silver fox when he needs to be. R0N1N, though, is more like that perfect dude who only cares about his ambition and won't let anyone get in his way, but like… in a way that's kinda hot and at the same time a red flag. As for Dreadwire, you seen the early vids of him back from early August? Man's a goofball, the unassuming guy in the back who's hiding what he's really capable off. He'll be all cute puppies one second, and a ravenous wolf the next. Or spider, I guess. Wolf spider?"

That wasn't the most false assessment of Ripley, if I was being honest. Earlier on, he'd always been kind of nervous, yet it was undeniable how fearsome his Dreadwire persona had become. The R0N1N… I'd seen him once, a killing machine in action.

The Iron Devil, I'd never met, though I'd read some of his files which dated back to nearly twenty years ago — wielding an Exo-Suit that could shred into Metal Heaven's front door and walk out with the head of the snake. Juliet had also noted him down as one of the figures in league with Missy, which meant he was against The Uncaged. A good look in my book.

But… from the research I'd done into him, he was still undeniably linked to criminal activity.

"I guess… Fuck the R0N1N. Kill The Iron Devil and… marry Dread-" I paused, Dreadwire was Ripley, I just… it felt wrong to say that now considering that he has a girlfriend and…

"Ooh, both of you want to marry the same guy." Belle teased. "Drama."

"Well, I call dibs on his case." Sabrina nudged me with a teasing edge to her smirk. "Though he does look kind of hot, though. Can't fault you — man has a lot of thirst traps and fan accounts on Hotgram."

"But no one knows what he looks like?" I turned to her, disbelieving in the turn of this conversation.

"That's the charm, he's winning me over purely on his aura. A man dressed in military gear, with four extra limbs that he certainly knows how to use…?" She fake swooned, and that let an exasperated chuckle out of me.

Belle whistled. "Was that a laugh from our indomitable Silver Queen of Gold? I didn't know you had it in you."

"You two are just stupid, that's all."

"Yeah, our damn seniors won't stop pointing it out." Sabrina stretched.

"That's because it's true." A louder, sterner voice tore our attention away to the entrance. Alex Lopez, our Corporal, wore her uniform with pristine grace, the curves of her metallic limbs peeking just the right way to leave a threat in every motion she performed. A smile from her sent shivers down me as she faced all three of us — before she was corporal… she was considered one of the top ten Special Investigators in the district. "I'll be making sure to take your personal feelings into account, should we ever have a case on either of those three."

Sabrina laughed awkwardly. "Uhhh, I wouldn't actually fall in love with him or anything… but I kinda still want Dreadwire's case. No conflict of interest here."

"Well, let's hope you can compartmentalize your feelings." Corporal Lopez chuckled, a slight reprieve of her typically stalwart self that disappeared in an instant as her mouth turned thin and straight. "First Investigators, report to Dr. Lumlow's lab, she's ready to share her findings with us."

"Aye-aye Ma'am." Belle saluted, picking up his things as we all got ready to leave.

It was time to know what was hidden on Skeleton's drone.

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