Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Serena Pov.
We finally pulled up to the H8 mega-building. Maine's vehicle pulled up behind Rebecca's Maimai, and everyone had gotten out, which made sense; the only weird thing was the last two intruders.
"So why are you here?" I asked curtly in the direction of Gloria and David. Gloria flinched slightly; she seemed to have recovered somewhat from the encounter; she was less pale, but still visibly nervous.
"Uh-I- Maine said – I thought I had to follow him." Gloria said nervously, I stared at her while Gloria seemed to squirm.
"Hey, Choom, Gloria is a good friend; you have nothing to worry about." Pilar laughed as he put his arm around Gloria. I just raised an eyebrow.
"And I'm sure you have more important things to do," I said simply. Gloria grimaced.
"We won't bother you! We won't say a word! Let us go with you! " David said, immediately sounding very excited, Gloria seemed to pale.
"David!" Gloria cried through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry, don't listen to him, he's just a kid." Gloria apologized immediately.
"Meh, you can come, two more people won't be in the way," Rebecca said nonchalantly. I rolled my eyes.
"Don't invite people to other people's houses, it's mine." I said dryly, Rebecca's eyes twinkled slightly.
"For now." Rebecca said, winking suggestively. I snorted playfully as I tapped Rebecca's forehead with a finger. "Hey!"
"Fine, they can come if they want." I said with a shrug. David looked excited as he looked at his mother, Gloria looked conflicted.
"I'm sorry, but we don't want to get involved in Edgerunner matters; we'll leave them alone," Gloria said immediately.
"Don't worry, it's just a visit to a new Ripperdoc," Kiwi said with a shrug. That seemed to surprise Gloria.
"Oh…" Gloria seemed to consider it as she quickly looked down at her lips. "I think… I want to meet this new… Ripperdoc." Gloria said almost eagerly. I glanced at her slightly.
"Getting new clients?" Pilar asked with a smile. Gloria grimaced, but simply nodded.
"Let's go." I said simply as I started walking. The eight people immediately began following me toward the entrance of the mega-building, quickly moving out of the way as we walked.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Prince." Said a Tyger Claw, frowning as he looked at me. I could see the Maine crew preparing slightly for any encounter. No one was holding their weapons, but they became more alert.
"Yes?" I asked simply. The Tyger Claw member looked at me, and I could also see a couple of other members paying attention to me.
"Are they your guests, ma'am?" the gang member asked politely. I nodded.
"They are, they're here on business, they won't cause any trouble." I assured the Tyger Claw. The man's eyes glittered slightly as he nodded.
"Very well, everything is in order, please continue, ma'am," the man said as he moved to the side. I began to walk.
"What was that?" Maine asked hoarsely.
"Security," I said tersely. "The megabuilding is part of the Tyger Claws domain; there are important members on the upper floors, and the leases for the floors come with a 'security' contract, the Tygers Claws offer me security services and all that." I said simply.
I never expected to get involved with the Tygers Claws, but I guess they were actually doing their job. It felt like my face was inside their systems.
"Right, you said you lived in a penthouse," Rebecca said, snapping her fingers. That got everyone's attention, so I just smiled.
"Half of us take the second elevator, floor 47." I said simply, pointing to the second elevator as I entered the first. Rebecca immediately followed, followed by Maine, Dorio, and Lucy. Pilar, Kiwi, Gloria, and David took the second elevator.
"Good shooting out there, I didn't know anyone could use a bow like that," Dorio said suddenly.
"It was so Preem! Those arrows went through the armored limo like it was paper! " Rebecca squealed with a huge smile. I laughed in amusement.
"Tch, you used a Sandy." Maine complained, my smile growing as I looked at him mockingly.
"I don't need to use a Sandy for that kind of shooting, I'm that good." I said mockingly, Maine growled slightly.
"You're not fooling anyone, kid. The speed at which your hands were moving, the accuracy, you were using a Sandy, and anyone can use a bow if they have all the time in the world to shoot." Maine growled. I raised an eyebrow in his direction.
I opened the case with my bow, quickly assembled it, and handed it to Maine.
"If you can draw the bow to its fullest extent, I'll say you're right," I said, amusedly as I handed him the bow. Maine looked at me incredulously, almost seeming offended. He snatched the bow from me with a grunt.
He gripped the bow firmly and tried to draw it, only for the bowstring to barely move.
"Huh?" Maine said foolishly as he raised the bow, then used more force; the string barely gave way until it reached half of its maximum amplitude, and I laughed lightly.
"Come on, Maine, stop joking," Dorio said, very unimpressed.
"I'm not kidding." Maine gasped with exertion. "What is this shit made of?!" Maine asked incredulously as he stared at the bow before giving up.
"I created it myself; it had to fit my needs," I said honestly with a wide smile.
"Oh, come on, it can't be that hard." Dorio snatched the bow from Maine's hands and tried to string it himself, only for the same thing to happen, and he couldn't.
"What the hell?" Dorio muttered incredulously.
"My turn!" Rebecca exclaimed as she snatched the bow from Dorio, which was longer than her, and tried to draw it, but unlike Maine and Dorio, she didn't have any noticeable improvements in her arms, so the string didn't even move.
Rebecca grunted before dropping the bow on the ground. She stepped on the bow with both feet, grabbed the string with both hands, and tried to draw it once more. The string barely stretched.
"Does it have some mechanism or some trick?" Lucy asked, sounding really curious. I just shook my head.
"Fuck, choom, how the hell can you use this? What kind of gorilla arms do you have on? " Rebecca grunted in surrender. I grabbed the bow and drew it to its full length with ease.
And I was telling the truth; Archer designed this to be as strong as possible. He was able to lift and move tons with ease, and even more if he used more magic to strengthen his body. So, drawing this bow was ridiculously difficult for a normal person, or even someone with super strength.
The stronger the bow, the stronger the Noble Phantasms it would fire as arrows.
"It's designed by and for me," I said as if it were obvious.
"That doesn't prove anything," Maine growled stubbornly, and I laughed as I put the bow back away just in time for the elevator to open.
"Let's go." I stated as I stepped out of the elevator, just as the second elevator stopped, and the others got out. I signaled for them to follow me. I heard Pilar whistle as she looked around.
"It must cost a fortune to live here," Pilar murmured, impressed.
"98,000 Edis a month," I said simply. I could hear everyone tripping over their own feet, and I could feel the incredulous stares they were giving me. I just laughed as I stopped in front of one of the doors. "Excuse the mess, I wasn't expecting any visitors," I said dryly as I walked into the penthouse.
I entered the apartment and took a look around. There were more things piled up around the house. However, in the center, where the small table, sofa, and television should have been, the operating chair and all the necessary equipment were placed around it.
There was so much machinery that, even with the clutter around it, it almost looked like a professional Ripperdoc. I walked in distractedly, leaving my briefcase and the Company cyberdeck aside.
"Is that a Maelstrom?" Dorio asked incredulously.
"Oh, so you really brought these Gonks." Rebecca said as she walked over and kicked one of the still alive, but very unconscious Maelstroms.
"Ignore him." I said nonchalantly, and I could see several people looking at me in disbelief, but I ignored their looks.
"What's this?" Pilar asked as he pointed at a nearby gun. I blinked as I approached him.
"Oh, it's the PAN-12 Furia laser cannon." I said as I touched it with my fingers.
"Wait, did you say laser cannon?" Rebecca asked incredulously as she approached, her excitement evident.
"That's what I said." I said simply.
"Where the hell did you get something like that?" Pilar asked incredulously.
"From a Militech Chimera 0005-CM we dismantled last night, I stole it from Hansen," I said nonchalantly. Everyone froze stiffly.
"Excuse me... You stole what, from whom?" Maine asked incredulously.
"A Militech Chimera 0005-CM I stole from Hansen," I said playfully. Maine opened his mouth in disbelief.
"Wait, were you the idiot who angered Hansen and the Barghests? The whole damn Dogtown went on alert! " Dorio said incredulously. I laughed lightly.
"You stole Hansen's, made a mess, and didn't invite me?!" Rebecca asked, sounding indignant as she punched me in the arm. I smiled broadly at her.
"What is... a Chimera?" Gloria asked suddenly, her face almost pale, as if she really didn't want to know, but curiosity won.
"A tank," Kiwi said, her eyes slightly twinkling. "A prototype tank designed by Militech. That thing must be over 10 meters long and weigh tons. How the hell did you steal that thing without Hansen and her dogs noticing? Where are you hiding it?" Kiwi asked incredulously.
"A tank?! Can I drive it? " Rebecca asked excitedly, forgetting her earlier anger.
"An AI, not pilots, controls it. And yes, I stole it. It was easy, and I need to finish buying a warehouse to hide it in, but someone decided they wanted an operation right now," I said dryly, looking at Maine.
"Wait, so the Chimera is out there unprotected?" Pilar asked incredulously, and I shrugged.
"Something like that." I said simply. "But leaving that aside-"
"I don't think I can let that go."
"-we have a lot to do-"
"Ah! These swords! I know them! "They were on the new JK XBD! " David interrupted me as he shouted, holding Kanshou and Bakuya, the copies I had set aside.
"David! Let that go!" Gloria shrieked as she approached her son.
"These swords are so Preem! It's the same ones that took out the cyberpsycho last night! " David said excitedly before stopping stiffly and staring at me, as if looking me up and down. "You're the girl who killed James Norris!" David exclaimed incredulously.
"It was me, and drop my swords before you end up the same way," I said coldly. David paled widely and dropped my swords immediately. Gloria stood before her son and bowed.
"I'm so sorry about my son. I had no intention of upsetting you," Gloria said immediately as she apologized, and I snorted.
"Don't worry, just don't touch anything inside this house again without permission." I said dryly. Gloria sighed as she glared at David. "But speaking of which... is there a Norris XBD driving around?" I asked curiously.
I really didn't expect BD to exist; I had completely taken Sandy away from Norris. I didn't think he could still record BDs, much less that Kurosaki was capable of creating it.
"Oh yeah, JK works fast! James Norris happened last night, and today I was already ready with the XBD! I wanted to talk to the Doc, but he wasn't answering my calls, so I went to his clinic. He wasn't there, I thought he had gone to run an errand."
"Even so, he'd left the XBDs inside his clinic in a bag, I grabbed them to sell them like always," David said quickly. Rebecca sneered when she heard Doc's name, knowing full well why he couldn't reach him.
"Excuse me, what are you doing?!" Gloria squealed incredulously as she looked at her son. David paled, realizing what he had just said.
"I mean, I don't-"
"I'm ready," GLaDOS said as she came out of one of the side rooms, dragging a box. Everyone fell silent as they looked at her. "Where's the patient?" she asked directly as she approached the operating chair.
"Oh, I didn't know you had a daughter," Rebecca said, surprised, almost staggering. I choked on my saliva as I burst out laughing, listening to GLaDOS's growl.
"Rebecca, this is GLaDOS, my wife." I said with a laugh as I introduced her. Rebecca stood still and looked at me in disbelief.
"She's shorter than me!!" Rebecca squealed in disbelief. GLaDOS glared at her.
"And she's 38," I said playfully. Rebecca looked at her incredulously once more. GLaDOS snorted before smiling widely as she took off her hooded jacket and made herself more comfortable.
Everyone looked at GLaDOS's body, especially at the sides, where most of her robotic body could be seen. Luckily, she had somehow managed to hide the disc on her head and her metal wings.
Though she still had the two tail-like cables she used to gather magic from the environment, GLaDOS ignored everything and put on the original Perfector gloves before looking at Maine.
"Welcome to the Aperture Science temporary clinic. Before we begin, please be advised that while healing and implant placement are the primary goals of care at this clinic, serious injury, including death, may occur." GLaDOS said, perfectly rehearsed, still with a smile on her face.
I raised an eyebrow as I smiled slightly. I saw that she'd reverted to her Enrichment Center mode, although, come to think of it, it was the only way GLaDOS knew how to deal with other people without outright killing them.
"Okay, Maine, it's your turn." I said simply as I pushed Maine to the front.
"Yeah, no, I'm not going to let someone who looks smaller than Rebecca rip my guts out, especially after that weird announcement." Maine grumbled, crossing his arms.
"I didn't know that my height meant I was inferior as a Ripperdoc. Should I send a letter of condolence to your partner for the poor performance due to the size of your small member? " GLaDOS mocked without hesitation. I smiled widely. Dorio, Pilar, and Rebecca burst out laughing.
"HA, move it already, Meathead, unless you want to agree with her." Dorio mocked mischievously as he shoved Maine. Maine grumbled.
"It's not small," Maine grunted.
"Oh, don't worry. Since I'm not a licensed medical professional, I'm more than capable of modifying your medical record without any problem. Let me add a few centimeters to your final measurement, just... so you're within the range," GLaDOS said, her smile returning. Then she tapped a key.
*Ping*… *Ping*…*Ping*… *Ping**Ping**Ping**Ping**Ping**Ping*
"There. Looks pretty good... pretty average," GLaDOS said proudly. The crew burst out laughing, and Maine glared at her while blushing slightly. He grumbled slightly, but eventually walked over to the chair.
GLaDOS quickly set up everything and began connecting things to Maine. GLaDOS pulled a cable from her neck and placed it in one of Maine's ports. She then grabbed and placed a sort of metallic crown on his head. Several of the machines began to hum, while one of the screens started monitoring Maine's brain.
"And what is all this for?" Maine asked, bewildered.
"I'm mapping your brain. I need to scan your brain activity and other things. I need you awake for a few seconds. You're here to lower your psychopathy levels, not to give you a normal implant," GLaDOS said immediately, her fingers moving quickly across the keyboards.
Maine just grunted but said nothing. He stayed completely still while GLaDOS worked quickly; it only took her a few minutes to finally finish all the preparation she needed.
"There. I'll give you general anesthesia. Then I'll fix everything that needs fixing, and you'll wake up feeling good as new. Maybe even with a few extra real inches on your manhood." GLaDOS mocked, before Maine could say anything, she placed a mask over his face.
Maine took a deep breath and quickly became unconscious.
"Come help me." GLaDOS said simply without looking at me as she began cutting Maine's synthetic fur. I sighed and looked at the others.
"There are more chairs over there. Take a seat wherever you like. This might take a while. You can look all you want, but don't touch anything." I warned once again as I approached the other side of Maine. I cast a small cleansing charm on my hands and began to work.
GLaDOS's and my hands moved quickly over Maine's body, cutting, removing, and discarding everything unnecessary. GLaDOS opened one of the boxes and removed a large quantity of tools and spare parts.
I'm sure it wasn't difficult to remotely hack into Maine's systems and see precisely what was inside his body, then simply get a copy of everything, or most things.
Repairing and reassembling Maine's entire body was a pain, especially because the idiot had cyberware everywhere. Arms, legs, subdermal armor, internal exoskeleton, and some organs.
So, even with two people and our hands blurring from the speed, it took us several hours to repair and reassemble Maine's entire body. Halfway through, GLaDOS left the rest of the implant placement and repairs to me, while she personally coded, programmed, and tweaked all the cyberware.
Luckily, GLaDOS's box was hidden enough from view that no one could see her discreetly using alchemy to create the highly specialized parts she needed.
I barely touched GLaDOS's mind when I saw tons of lines of code being created rapidly as they tweaked the cyberware. I was even able to use a bit of healing magic to make everything heal faster than usual and fit together perfectly.
Also, as promised, we placed a Sandevistan on the back of his neck before finally finishing the job. I walked away with a sigh as GLaDOS continued rapidly manipulating several keyboards.
"That... that was impressive." Gloria muttered to the side. I looked at her while I grabbed a handkerchief and wiped the blood from my hands.
"Mmm? Which part? " I asked, confused.
"Everything! Your hands moved so fast! And both of you worked incredibly fast without interruption, and you finished in under an hour. I thought it would take half a day or more." Gloria exclaimed incredulously.
"Hey, you didn't tell me you were a Ripperdoc too." Rebecca said as she looked at me in surprise. I shrugged.
"I'm not," I said simply. "I only help GLaDOS, and I'm good at following orders and even better with my fingers. She told me everything I had to do," I said simply.
"Heh, good with her fingers." Pilar laughed, and I rolled my eyes.
"When is Maine going to wake up?" Dorio asked with a frown.
"Now." GLaDOS said simply. Just as she said, Maine groaned slightly as he slowly opened his eyes. With some effort, Maine began to sit up.
"Maine! Are you okay? " Dorio asked as he approached Maine.
"Yeah... me, yeah," Maine said, looking down at his arms. He quickly opened and closed his fists. "For now, I feel fine since I don't feel anything. I'll tell you when the anesthesia wears off," Maine grunted.
"You don't have any anesthesia," GLaDOS mocked as she disconnected Maine's cables.
"Huh? But I don't feel anything." Maine said, confused.
"Wait, nothing? You don't feel anything? How did you lose your sense of touch? " Pilar asked, confused.
"Let me guess, you're not feeling any pain, pressure, fatigue, discomfort, itching, or any other minor discomfort from your implants," GLaDOS said dryly.
"Uh... yeah." Maine said as if it were obvious. GLaDOS just snorted.
"First, it bothers me that you're comparing me to such a low-level Ripperdoc. I'm terribly offended. Second, of course, you don't feel a thing. I placed everything perfectly. This is what getting implants should feel like."
"You should feel better than you did with your flesh body. If you don't, then there's something wrong." GLaDOS said mockingly. Maine looked at her incredulously.
"Wait, all this time... I had poorly placed implants?" Maine asked, sounding almost furious. GLaDOS shrugged.
"Everyone does it, or most people do. Phantom pains, headaches, stabbing sensations, itching, pressure, chronic pain, and other symptoms may appear in poorly placed or poorly programmed cyberware. Still, people have normalized it so much that they end up getting used to the sensation."
"And end up believing that they are 'well' placed." GLaDOS mocked as she packed up everything she needed.
"Wait, does that mean us too? I have some of those symptoms you mentioned," Dorio said quickly, and I could see almost everyone else nodding. GLaDOS snorted.
"I'm sure you all do," GLaDOS said simply. "If you want, I can service them," GLaDOS said, her eyes shining with excitement.
"I... wow, thanks," Maine murmured as he stood up. He checked his hand, and his forearm opened, revealing a barrel. He seemed to repeat this several times before whistling. "Amazing, it opens so smoothly. Before, it was always jamming," Maine exclaimed. "How often do I have to take immunosuppressants?" Maine asked again.
"Never. Once again, I'm insulted. My installations don't generate any rejection; you don't need the immunosuppressants. I perfectly calibrated your cyberware to adapt to your body and added some things to your body so you wouldn't reject the implants," GLaDOS said dryly before sending me a mental message.
Before Maine could speak, I headed to one of the next rooms. I took out a small box and some potions from the inventory. The potions were Baruffio's. Brain Elixir, a potion that increases brain power, learning ability, and more. Specifically, it's supposed to increase brain plasticity to an insane degree.
With a couple of doses stored in a box, I returned to the living room.
"Here, take one of these a day for a week." I said, handing the box of potions to Maine.
"These... are they home remedies?" Maine asked, looking at the bottles of the cloudy liquid that was the elixir. I snorted.
"They'll increase your brain's plasticity, making it easier for it to adjust and get used to your implants, lowering the rejection rate to almost zero," I said dryly. Maine looked at the vials while nodding.
"I... thanks. You also placed the Sandy. Is that the one Norris used? " Maine asked.
"Nope." I said honestly.
"It's a normal one, like I said, you were close to cyberpsychopathy, first get used to that normal Sandy, once let's say... two weeks pass, we can try the Apogge, then let's see how you get used to that speed." I said simply. Maine looked like he wanted to argue before sighing and nodding.
"Okay, so how do I activate the- why is there something called 'Training Wheels Protocol'?" Maine asked, confused, and I smiled amusedly.
"It will keep a limit on Sandy, right now, you can activate it three times a day," I said, amusedly. Maine looked at me indignantly.
"What?! I don't need training wheels! Take it back! " Maine exclaimed.
"No," I said simply.
"There can't be training wheels! If there's an emergency during a Gig, I need to be able to push the limit!" Maine said without hesitation, and I looked at him, unimpressed.
"If you're still in danger after using Sandy, you're using it wrong. Sandy isn't something you use at the beginning; it's your trump card," I said dryly. Maine grunted. I just rolled my eyes. "Now, who's hungry? I'm making lunch," I said simply as I walked into the kitchen, ignoring Maine.
"Me! I want real meat again!" Rebecca said excitedly. I chuckled.