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LORETech (PuzzlePieces & DarkRiffs)

P

PuzzlePieces

Super-Earth
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
The last tendrils of smog slowly spiraled up into the clear night sky as the factories shut down on the edge of the city. Now it was the shop, the restaurants, the clubs and the cafes' turns to be bustling with life and people. The early evening air was warm and dry and stars began to speckle the skyline as the sun finished setting on the horizon. Children ran through the park at the center of town and around the large oak tree by the bridge that went over the artificial stream, goldfish shining as she swam about in the lantern light.

Not too far from the park was a specialty tattoo parlor, said to be one of the bests in the area and have some of the best service. The woman who ran it was pretty, her platinum blonde hair cut short and curved around her cheeks, faded copper highlights striping it. She dressed for the job, a simple white blouse that she kept the sleeves rolled up, fitted faded gray trousers and tall worn out brown boots that came to her knees. The two belts at her hip kept her from having to worry about a purse that would have a strap easy to grab out in the market, each pouch sewn on. There was the fainted peek of a ruby colored corset under her blouse as she leaned forward, going over receipts and designs that had been done during the day. Despite her working for a tattoo parlor, she had no visible in on her body besides that on her fingertips from a pen that didn't want to agree with her earlier.

She lived in the apartment above tattoo parlor behind the neon sign that read "Ink This" but she kept heavy dark drapes to keep out the light while she wasn't working since that light was rarely ever off.

She sighed to herself as she looked over the appointment book. "Another slow night," She said to herself as she sat down in the large swivel desk chair, tossing the book aside and taking a long sip from a glass of water.
 
There were several gunshots down the block, followed by a loud billowing explosion, one could even hear the corporate thugs over the megaphone shouting orders."SUBDUE HIM MEN, DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!".They were obviously chasing a prospective "Client" in there work, though when people went in they never came out.It was not fifteen minutes later he bolted into her shop, keeling over as he panted for breath.The man was tall, easily 6'2, and obviously modified.In the day and era man had learned to fuse metal and flesh, it was surprising to find someone who didn't have some form of augmentation, whether it was military grade or a prosthetic.The soft drips of blood could be heard as his wounds ran, bullet holes littering his tattered shirt when he gazed up at the woman."I think...I'd like....A dolphin" he said before falling onto his side with a thud, the safe mechanism in his head was turning his body off to preserve life.

The corporate heavies could be heard down the street."COME OUT OF WHATEVER SHOP YOUR HIDING IN, OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO HUNT YOU DOWN!" the megaphone blared.Obviously they wanted him for something, and the fact he was decked out in augmentation it was no wonder.
 
She merely stared at him as he burst into her shop, and nearly yelled, he was making a mess on her shiny clean floor. She sighed as she got up from her seat, flipping the switch under the front counter, the windows becoming fogged. She walked over to his body and looked down at him, listening to the voice over the megaphone. "You just had to choose my shop didn't you," she said as she knelt down next to his body and rolled him onto his back. "I don't know what kind of trouble you got yourself into but it seems like you're in pretty deep," she said to herself as she began looking for his ID stick. She gave up looking for it after a few moments and tried to lift it up. She was a lot stronger than she looked, but she had to be with all the drunks that came in during the wee hours of the morning, collapse on her floor and then she would have to drag them back out.

She got him up and brought him to a door on the far end of the shop and slid it open with the toe of her boot. She dragged him into the small elevator and hit the up button with her elbow and shifted her weight as the elevator went up and stopped with a mechanical ding. She opened the door and dragged him into her apartment and to the bathroom and put him down on the tile floor. "You owe me big time. Wadsworth!" she called.

There was the sound of tiny wheels on the floor below and then a small monitor on the wall came on. "Yes, Madam." It said in a robotic voice with British accent.

"Clean up," She ordered and turned the monitor off at the sound of the floor starting to be scrubbed below. She went to work at getting his shirt off, looking over his wounds.
 
His body was like a lead weight, his bloody clothes squeeking as he was dragged along the floor.He was twitching a little as his eyes darted around under his eyelids.There was a high pitched whine almost like a grenade charging, but instead there was simply a compressive sound as a strange device shot out from his flesh, a strange tube full of a glowing green substance.On the top it had a red blinking light that read."Press here", definately not something among the ordinary bodychop shops.His wounds were ugly and horrid, the corporation forces had used the big guns against him.Cauterized fleshwounds were still semi sizzling from the impact of the ion weapons, not to mention the dozens of bullet holes that riddled his body.
 
She eyed the button cautiously, looking it over. "Well buttons are meant to be pressed and this one is an open invitation," she said as she put her finger on the button and pressed it. It wasn't something she sure wasn't used to seeing and she had no idea just what the button would do. She sat back as there was the sound of something in the elevator shaft and then the wheels on the floor. Wadsworth came into the bathroom and his lights blinked at her.

"Any other way I can be of assistance, Madam?" It asked, giving a small mechanical bow.

"Just keep an eye out for anyone who might try coming in, tell them we're closed for the night and we'll be open again in the morning," she said simply, watching the man.
 
The high pitch whine returned and the green liquid was pressurized, shooting into his body.Within ten seconds he sat up sharply with a hard groan, his eyes wide and his breathing intense.Almost immediately he began to sweat, gazing to her he shot up and pressed his back against the elevator, speaking in panicking tones."Where am I, Who are you, Leave me alone!" his words were fast and almost incoherent.The drug in the vial was a metabolic booster on steroids, it had jumpstarted his pulse and put his body into hyperdrive.Of course ones body needed food to fuel the chain, and his stomach began to growl intensely as he started to hyper ventilate.

The wounds had stopped bleeding but would require attention to heal, after all a drug only did so much.
 
"Whoah there, Sir," she said putting her hands up defensively. "You're the one who burst into my tattoo parlor littered with bullet wholes and said that you'd like a dolphin. Wadsworth," she said simply, crossing her arms.

"Yes, Madam?" Wadsworth wheeled his way back into the bathroom.

"Dinner for two," she said and he went off as she turned her gaze back to the man. "Now Sir, if you wont my telling me, why did you have the corporates on your arse?" she asked as she tossed the clothes she had taken off of him down the hamper shoot. "And don't tell me that you don't have any idea why they were after you because they filled you with bullets, they had to have had a pretty good reason to," she added, giving him an accusing look.
 
"If you knew the secret I knew, they'd be after your ass too" he said, feeling around himself."The button....the button did you press it?!" he asked in a worried tone, feeling around himself, it should have been sticking out."Tell me you didn't press it!" he said, staring at her blanky.It was his proof, he had been modified to contain the drug the corporation had been designing, he had only just managed to escape with it was was going to go public, if she had pressed the button, all evidence was gone."If you pressed that button, this city is fucked" he stated quite plainly.
 
"If I knew that's what it did I wouldn't have pressed it. It was practically screaming at me to press it. And why is the city 'fucked' as you put it," she said as she offered him her hand. "And calm down or we wont even be able to get food into you." she said. She has a sort of demanding tone, she was a strong woman after all, running her own business that seemed quite successful. "Tell me all you feel I need to know."

Wadsworth came back in with an old floral apron. "Dinner is ready Madam," He said with a bow.

"Thank you Wadsworth, Home protection mode," She said and the robots lights turned red and it went to the elevator and went down to the first floor to act as the security system. "C'mon, you need to eat something, and don't tell me that you don't, I could practically feel your stomach rubling.
 
He sighed quietly and dropped his Tirade.She was right, she hadn't known not to press it, and he could hardly blame her.Buttons that were shiny, red, and said PRESS ME in big bold black letters were extremely hard to resist to human nature."I suppose I owe you thanks for saving my hide" he said."Though I highly suggest you pack up and get out of town ASAP, there's a shitstorm coming and I plan on not getting caught in the middle" he stated with his arms folded."I'll tell you everything you need to know over dinner" he said, taking her hand and standing up.His brown hair was sweaty and matted, falling over his shoulders messily as he dusted himself off.
 
She pointed at the toilet. "Wadsworth's food is normally way too hot to eat right away, sit and I'll get you wrapped up real quick, I have some goo in my cupboard that I use on my not-so-tough clients," She said as she took out a jar and a case of bandages. "You still going to want that dolphin?" she asked, almost as s joke, but she wouldn't give up the chance of getting a new client.

She began working the goo in a jar, it smelled like a mixture of lime, some spices, pine and mint all mixed up into one, which as odd as that sounded, it actually smelled quite good, almost relaxing.
 
He flumped down on the toilet and folded his legs."You're too kind for your own good" he said with a smirk.He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes."Oh...do you mind?" he asked, after all it was her home."I can wait and go outside if you prefer"."As for the dolphin, sure, why not" he said with a shrug."I've wanted to get inked for a while, might as well" he said as he smirked.
 
"Go ahead, my parents smoke, I'm totally immune to it," She said as slapped the goo onto his chest. It was cold but would clean anyone's nasal passages and and even slightly numb sores and achy joints. "If you had burst into any other store, you would have had your head blasted off, people around here aren't too keen on people making messes in their businesses, but they don't have a service robot like Wadsworth," She said as she began to wrap him up. "My dad built him," she said simply. "He's uh....retired now, I guess is a way to put it.
 
"Yeah, my dad is....retired too" he said, lightning up a smoke and letting out a sigh of relief as he felt the goo soothe the singing burns from the ion weapons."He was a juicer, died in an explosion of pink froth...not very fun to watch" he said simply.Juicers were of course the infamous chemically augmented super humans, who's lifespans were shortened by the harsh drugs, to roughly five years."I was ten when he just randomly dropped dead VIA seizure" he stated."But that's irrelevant I suppose".
 
She tied off the bandages and tucked in the ends. "That should hold you in. Now dinner, you must be starving by now," she put away the bandages and the goo. "I hope you aren't picky, I didn't tell Wadsworth what to cook, then again I never do. He does better work than any human hands can, I let him do all the inking for the tattoos and can even do haircuts," she said as she washed her hands.
 
He grunted as he stood up, staggering a bit from the loss of blood."Dinner sounds great" he said simply, stretching a bit to relieve the stiffness."I'll be out of your hair soon enough though.I don't want to bring trouble" he said as he stepped out of the bathroom behind her, taking the last puff of the cigarette before he butted it out between his fingers."I'll be gone by noon tomorrow" he stated.
 
She gave a laugh and walked into the kitchen. "Don't worry about it," she said simply and then looked to the table. Wadsworth had taken 'dinner for two' a different way that she intended it. "I'm going to have to reprogram that robot," she said with a sigh as she sat down. There was wine, candles, steak with mashed potatoes and something that smelled chocolaty cooking in the oven still. "Wadsworth, you certainly know how to make things awkward," she sighed to herself shaking her head.
 
He laughed a bit."Well, he sure is flattering" he said, sitting down at the other end of the table."I haven't eaten solid food in weeks" he said, his eyes glassy.His mouth was watering and his toes were curled, the mere smell of the food was driving him wild."Your dad sure knows how to invent useful things" he said with a chuckle.He took both of there glasses, filling them with the wine as he smiled."This is actually rather nice, I don't meet new folks often" he said, setting her glass back down and scooching his chair back in.
 
She gave another small laugh. "We haven't even introduced ourselves yet." She said, almost giggling. "I'm Summer, Summer Neils, soul proprietor and owner of the tattoo shop that you barged into not even an hour ago." she said putting out her hand as a friendly gesture. she took the wine glass in her free and and looked at him, with a cheery warm smile.
 
He laughed softly, taking her hand and shaking it."My name is Kyuss, Kyuss DeGraw" he said with a chuckle."A fine shop it is too" he added before he sat back down, taking a swig off his wine.He was just about to dig in when the loud sound of the megaphones went off."Attention Citizens.LORETech urges you to stay in your homes, do not go outside and do not interfere with our efforts.Those who resist will be terminated with extreme prejudice.I repeat, do not resist".

Not more than five seconds later, gunshots rang out downstairs, the corporate soldiers had obviously broken her door down and were currently dealing with her robotic companion.He dropped the fork and bolted off the chair."We have to leave, do you have any way out?" he said in an urgent tone.More gunshots rang out in the streets, citizens resisting the will of the corporate forces, it wouldn't be long until It was rioting.
 
She stood up quickly, but smoothly as not to knock anything off the table. "This way," She said simply walking back to the bathroom. She opened up the laundry shoot. "It goes to the basement, there is a bit of clothes down there, a couple of blankets too." It was just big enough for a person to fit through, as long as they weren't wearing too much in the lines of clothing or gear. She took off the hatch and put a leg in. "I'll give a tap once I'm down. There is an entrance into the Old City down there," She said before sliding in and down the shoot.

The Old City is what they called the sewer system now and only the really old building had access to them. It used to be paths and hallways, even a couple of shops down there before a flood about 50 years back.

She landed at the bottom with a small thud and a groan, landing a little weird. She gave a tap on the side, tiny, like the sound of a coin hitting a tin can lightly.
 
He had tried and tried to fit through the vent, but couldn't manage it.He gazed around, grabbing a notepad and pen he began to write it down, short and to the point.Cant fit in vent, proceed anyway.Resistance underground at old parliament building.The instructions ended after that before he dropped them down the vent to her, turning to the door as the Corp forces began to bang on them.

There wasn't really enough time to worry about him, the corps were already heading down the stairs to the basement and her, likely well armed and short on good intentions.The seemed at the time to be two options, stay and find out what they'd do, or flee and avoid the likely horrible fate.
 
She grabbed the note and read it quickly her eyes darting back and forth. He had to know what he was doing....but she did worry for him. As she darted for the door that lead to the Old City she grabbed the main power switch and threw it. The lights went off and things seemed to creek. She detached the handle, hoping to buy him more time. She turned on a small light that she had in her pocket and pressed a button on the wall. Those thugs would find out that Wadsworth wasn't her only home security. The hanging tiles on the ceiling slid and she ran down into the Old City and towards the old parliament building.

------------

What resembled an eye appeared above the thugs at the door. "Name and reason for visiting the home of Miss Summer Neils," It said in a robotic tone. One of the thugs put his gun up and took a shot at it only to find that it bounced off. "Home Security Mode," It blared and it flipped pointing two plasma rifles at the thugs. There was the sound of gunfire and a metal plate blocked the door, only to go down again as there were the sound of a final thug hit the floor with a loud thud. The door opened and the eye looked in on him. "The family of the Neils wishes you safe passage."
 
The thugs in the basement were shouting orders in the dark, and the high pitched whine of thermal vision filled the air, though the water heater would ensure that she was well enough masked."DAMNIT, SHE'S GETTING AWAY!" the captain of the squad shouted.As the sound of the corporate men faded off, strange new ones filled in.While they hadn't accessed the old city, there were still tons of other things down there, some too strange to name.Rumors had it that a small group of people dwelled down here, the Punks as they were called, a group of human freeloaders and criminals that specialized in stealing corporate data.The fact he'd mentioned a direct route might have explained alot about him, he might even be an alleged punk.

The entire place was devoid and quiet, though if one listened they could hear the sounds of monsters just out of sight, she was most obviously being stalked, though by what was a mystery

--------

His eyebrow cocked as the security system kicked in, wasting the soldiers in a flash."Damn...she saved my ass again" he said with a slightly sour tone, for twice he'd been saved by her, he owed her big now.Scooping up one of the rifles and as much ammo as he could he proceeded out the front door, dashing down the streets which were now very much a warzone between citizens and corporates.He had no Idea where he was going, but anywhere was better than sitting still.
 
She kept running along until she was out of breath. She panted and her stomach began to gurgle unhappily with her and the growled back at it and looked around. She thought she was headed in the right direction, but down here it was easy to take a wrong turn, without knowing that you even took a turn. She lifted her flashlight up to eye level and looked around at her surroundings, looking for any marking on the old bricks.

---------------------

There was a thug rushing right at him from his left. "I've got him," He yelled raising his gun to eye level. "Stop right there!" Just then he was gunned down as s truck drove by, his head almost coming clean off. The truck came to a stop in front of him, doing half a doughnut and the passenger door opening as a man stood up and looked up at the window to Summer's living quarters and yelled out. "OH lovely woman who leaves a tattoo on my very heart! We have come to rescue you!" He sounded drunk. He was covered in tattoos, He seemed as if he grew no hair on his body as even his head was covered in a skull-like tattoo.

"Dude, I told you that she's probably already out of there!" The driver said, looking at Kyuss. "What are you doing just standing there. Get in you fool," He said pulling his pal in and nodding to the bed of the truck. There was another group of thugs on the way, in what resembled what the baby of a tank and a jeep would look like, One of the men aboard firing two ion shots. the man in the truck revved the engine.
 
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