Eli steeled himself. His posture was firm and he held one hand out, keeping Dogbot at bay beside him. The metal mask lodged in his skin caused him a severe stabbing pain when he moved his face, so he left it perfectly still, and shook his head.
He opened his mouth, barely enough to talk, "These people were not friends of mine." The movements of his jaw cut him further.
'God damn this stupid mask!'
The disco ball of a woman frowned, but a second glance at the body behind him left her nodding.
"Okay. I can jive with that, it seems true." She shrugged, "But killing people is still illegal." She muttered.
Suddenly, her glowing yellow hands shot up, and she tousled her vibrant pink hair with frustration. She whined.
"This job is so hard! So what are you, Offclock Vigilante? If it were up to me, I'd say job done…" She sighed yet again. "But it isn't. You're going to have to come with me."
Eli's stomach dropped. If he were a real Offclock, he'd be living the dream now. They'd pardon this minor sin, or maybe even embellish it as a promising young hero's beginnings, minus the murder.
But he was just a kid. He was subject to the rules, he couldn't bend nor break them like some Overclocked superhuman.
Slowly, he shook his head. Blood dripped down his neck in tiny little streams. By now, he was almost as bad on the outside as within.
"What? Just come. This idiot is a nothing-burger, he was probably some scum anyway. I don't care if you killed him." The woman marched forward, stopping as Dogbot's legs whirred to life.
She stared down at the hound, and reluctantly stepped back.
"You made the machines, did you? The… the little one. It fucking hurt. I think it broke my rib, and it nibbled my heel." She frowned, "Listen, no hard feelings as to-be coworkers. But if you're refusing, I have a mind to pummel you."
Eli stared into her eyes through small gaps in the plate mask. He looked into their murky depths as every colour he knew swirled and mixed.
Deep inside those eyes, was uncertainty.
Eli smiled, his mask dug deeper. "Oh, that useless thing? I've made hundreds of the little critters. You really got injured? Hah, it seems NORA has been hiring stragglers."
A lie was half truth, and his memories showed him numerous iterations of the RAT.
Eli was awash with accomplishment, and pride. So many people had thought his mundane creations were powered by something inhuman. He was so great that his accomplishments couldn't even be fathomed to be Ordinary.
He didn't quite remember how old he was. Where he came from. Or really anything about his life.
He recalled machines, bots, a girl he knew as Tiffany, and a hateful, spiteful old man that had ruined his life.
But mostly, he remembered the lights. The lights and the darkness that he had resided in.
Eli stepped forward, and Dogbot readied his metallic frame.
"You remind me of the lights. Are you real? Ah- anyway. Just leave. I have no problem with you." Eli glanced back at Dogbot's work behind him. "Or we can try something less pleasant."
The flashing lights bouncing throughout the room grew more intense, as the woman they stemmed from pursed her glowing lips.
Suddenly, she flinched, and pressed a hand to her ear. Her eyes were cold and hard-locked on Eli's ragged form as she listened to something inaudible.
The next minute, the interruption ended, and the glowing woman stepped back, eyeing the staircase.
She muttered, "You're kidding me…" as she took several steps back, and turned her head back to Eli.
"I know you're lying. But… I'm not paid for vigilante rehab. I'm going back to my route before she gets here..." The woman grew silent for a single second before the flashing lights grew unbearably bright, nearly blinding Eli.
Next he knew, there were echoes resounding up the stairs, the woman was gone, and so too was the blinding light.
Eli found himself in the comforting presence of a lone Dogbot. He chose to ignore what was behind him.
As soon as he was sure the woman had left, he peeled the mask from his flesh, and it slowly rescinded. It was sticky, and left his cuts open as he removed it, pouring warm liquid down his face. The relief caused Eli to sigh softly as he removed the sharp spikes from his skin.
He had been smiling far too much while wearing it, but he didn't blame himself. What an accomplishment! His bot had attacked and injured a known NORA agent!
He was giddy as on christmas morning.
That was until he thought back to the disco ball's parting words.
'...Until who gets here?'
The boy thought better than to stick around to find out. He stole his trusty bag back from the basement, stuffing both dogbot and his grotesque, makeshift mask within.
Then, he simply walked. He lugged the heavy parcel up the unfamiliar stairs, and out through an open garage door. He found himself once more in a familiar back-alley, covered with the light dusting of midnight frost courtesy of mid-winter.
He chose to stick to the less public streets, wandering through alleys and side-roads. He was not approached by the denizens of the night as he wandered. He wondered if he finally appeared like one of them, now.
He didn't have anything to lose. After all, he barely remembered anything to begin with. But a lack of memories left those that he had even more precious.
'...Tiffany. I have to find the girl. I know… I know her.'
The injured, bleeding wreck clawed his way through the cold streets, each step felt less than the last as the cold numbed his feet and his mind fell to dissociation.
He gazed into the dark tarmac as he walked. Seeking the presence of the old familiar shadows he grew so accustomed to. Simply marching on like that until his weary body could not anymore.
He took his final step, up a small flight of stairs leaving him just a few feet above street-level. He fell into the door, banging against it in desperation.
Then, he slumped to the floor, and fell asleep.