Amidst the neon lights and vibrant streets of Trump City, people went about their daily struggle in the bliss of ignorance. Every street, every market, every rathole and even people harboured the eyes of KD-554. One might never notice it, but you were watched from the first day you started high school until your graduation. That beautiful neon holographic projection of a woman- was she truly just a piece of advertisement, or was she making her audience the main show? That television at your local pub- were you watching it for the boxing matches, or was it watching you as you scored a knockout on your drinks? Your wife's prosthetic eye- was it a blessing of sight or a blessing for somebody else's insight?
Nothing inside Trump City can slip under KD-554's eyes. All that exists outside of her vision exists as a being hiding behind a facade. After all, if you were to embrace your nature, why haven't you shown yourself to the God of Hate herself?
Atop the government tower, inside her shiny golden office where the walls were made of gold, KD-554 conversed with her men in Light City. While KD-554 talked in front of a holographic projection of Astroboy, Beth quietly intruded into the room.
[Astroboy] - "Mayor Leonardo Ulric was removed from his position as you had demanded. "
Said Astroboy with an emotionless face.
[KD-554] - "Hmm? I figured you weren't the type to fool me, Astroboy. I can still see him moving in the background. "
Said KD-554 in an underwhelmed tone.
[Astroboy] - "You said remove him from office. I did just that. "
Said Atroboy as he lifted the old man in the air with his hand around his face.
[KD-554] - "Remove him from his position. Wasn't my message clear enough? "
With a sudden push of his palm against Leonardo's chest, Astroboy evaporated the man's body, leaving only his severed head still tightly gripped in his other hand. In the background, the fragments of the victim's shattered body punched through the office wall and window like a knife through butter.
[Astroboy] - "He was removed, alright? "
Said Astroboy as he held the dead man's bloody head in his palm.
[KD-554] - "Heh... Hehaha! A joke, I see, my dear Astroboy. "
Said KD-554 while laughing like an infant.
[Astroboy] - "Indeed. It was a joke. Happy to have served. "
Said Astroboy in a monotone voice before showing a forced smile.
[KD-554] - "Hold on, I got an unwelcomed guest here. "
Said KD-554 in an annoyed tone as she ended the conversation.
Without saying a word, KD-554 turned around and squeezed Beth's cheeks between her hands. Then, with a sadistic smile, KD-554 stared down at Beth, who stood only at 5"10 compared to her massive 6"5 synthetic body.
[KD-554] - "Beth, BETH, BETH! My dear little lesbian doorwoman, what the fuck do you want? "
Said KD-554 in a unhinged voice.
[Beth] - "What? I'm not gay! "
[KD-554] - "Well fuck someone, you tainted nympho! Staying all day in that slutty DRESS! Why don't you let your savage nature show, huh? Why not strip naked when you guard my tower? Come on, strip naked, bitch! "
Yelled KD-554 with madness in her eyes before ripping off the dress on Beth.
[Beth] - "What are you doing? "
Screamed Beth as she covered her private parts with her arms.
[KD-554] - "I hate the way you talk, I hate the way you dress, I hate the way you are such a pretentious little cunt! All that facade for what? I know who you were. Ever since you started working for me, you've lost that edge. You used to sleep with powerful cyberknights and coerce the weak to climb the Imperial hierarchy- a truly shameless savage who used people like they were worms. Here, you try to look pretty, but you aren't fooling no one. Hahaha! Every single person here is raw and unatracted to facades. You aren't even a piece of fuckable meat to these monsters. "
Said KD-554 through gritted teeth.
Beth was cowering in fear on the floor as she was backed into a corner by KD-554. Without warning, KD-554 extended her wrist blade and stabbed her blade into Beth's left breast. As Beth yelled in pain, KD-554 approached her and pressed her forehead against hers while her crimson red eyes dominated Beth's vision.
[KD-554] - "Step up your game, Beth. If you wish to keep working clothed, then you need to unleash your true nature. Not this game of mask and daggers but a tournament of flesh and axes. Come on, try and kill me! Hehehe... "
Whispered KD-554 in a sinister tone.
Beth looked at KD-554 with her lips trembling in terror.
[Beth] - "Wha- What? I can't... You're my boss. "
Said Beth in a trembling voice.
[KD-554] - "Hmmm? What do you mean? "
Said KD-554 in a terrifyingly calm voice
Before Beth could react, KD-554 slapped Beth in the face with enough strength to knock one of her teeth out.
[KD-554] - "You're a cyberknight, for crying out loud! Come at me, tear my stupid synthetic face off! "
Yelled KD-554 before hitting Beth a second time.
[Beth] - "Trial Access: Queen's Gambit! "
Whispered Beth.
All of a sudden, KD-554's room trembled as a grid pattern appeared on the floor and ceiling with a 1x1 meter surface area each. Suddenly, KD-554 was isolated inside an invisible prison as Beth stood up with blood leaking out of her mouth.
[Beth] - "I'm done! I quit! I don't want to do this anymore. "
Screamed Beth as she extended her arm with her crystal glowing brightly.
[KD-554] - "Beth, BETH! You can't quit, ahahah! Not only is the Empire looking for you, but some of the cyberknights you groomed, especially Astroboy, are eager to tear you a new one. And guess what, the moment you walk out of this building, the next, you'll be captured and... "
Said KD-554 before stopping to look at Beth's physique.
[KD-554] - "...Be dissected alive and be used for experiments. You're seriously too boring as a woman for my boys to enjoy. "
Beth took a look at the monster before her and immediately knew that KD-554 was not the type to bluff. No matter how fast she ran, she would never run fast enough or far enough to escape her master's clutches. The day she chose to work for KD-554 was the day she signed away her freedom and life to the devil. As despair gripped her heart, Beth began to break down crying on the floor.
[KD-554] - "Pathetic! After I'm done with you, I'll also go for your brother, Dan. "
With these words, the sobs in Beth's voice disappeared as she looked up at KD-554 with rage in her eyes. The sorrow on her face quickly turned to fury as she abruptly deactivated her ability before launching herself at her opponent. However, without an ounce of effort, KD-554 kicked Beth away before slashing her across the face, taking one of her eyes. However, Beth wasn't defeated as she kept launching herself at KD-554 while yelling at the top of her lungs like a beast.
Meanwhile, KD-554 smiled joyfully as she enjoyed every moment of the chaos she had engineered. To her, seeing people's primal rage being unleashed is like watching a flower blossom. Every blood-curdling scream is like the melody of birds chirping. The smell of blood is like the sweet scent of roses, while the violence felt like the gentle and comforting push of the spring winds.
As Beth was pushed to her limit, she finally lost her rage as fatigue overwhelmed her. At that moment, she no longer cared if she was still naked or not, nor did she care about all the wounds around her body. For that instant, she was not a civilized human but a husk occupied by a savage animal aiming to tear apart her prey.
[KD-554] - "Ahhh... Now, you are BEAUTIFUL! Doesn't it feel good to not hold back and pretend to be something you are not? This is you, Beth. This is the reality of every single human being. You and me, what difference is there between us? You were the same savage beast I was a moment ago. "
Said KD-554 as she stared coldly at Beth while sporting a twisted smile.
Suddenly, as if she had realized what had happened, Beth inhaled deeply, followed by the spasm of her body in reaction to the pain from her wounds.
[Beth] - "Heh... Hahaha... *Exhale* "
Laughed Beth hysterically as she grabbed her face with her hands.
[KD-554] - "You've earned your clothing privileges, my dear. You may ask your question and go back to work. "
[Beth] - "I... I don't remember. Ah, right, why are we pretending to hunt for that sister of yours? We already know where she is and what she is doing... So why don't we go... KILL HEEER? "
Said Beth with madness in her voice while her eyes stared blankly up front.
[KD-554] - "Sigh... Because of that bastard Jagger. If he knew we had located her, he would've put a wrench in my plans. If we pretend to be lambs, then the farmer won't be hunting for wolves. "
Beth only nodded her head slightly before leaving the room, still naked and covered in cuts. Later, as she returned to her post at the main entrance to the government tower, Beth was barely dressed in anything except for a the minimal amount of clothing to cover her private parts. Though her coworkers were all shocked by her appearance, the simple sight of her disturbing facial expression caused the men to not ask any questions.
As some civilians passing by the government tower, many began to notice her practically naked body. However, when a few men began to try to take pictures of her, Beth pulled out a pistol and shot all the men dead without hesitation. The crowd immediately dispearsed as Beth kept firing her gun at the dead men until she ran out of bullets. However, despite being out of ammo and the men being long dead, Beth kept pulling the trigger while sporting a blank, dead expression on her face.
As this occurred, KD-554 was again enjoying a bottle of wine on her balcony overlooking the city. With an elegant gesture, KD-554 raised her glass high up in the air as if she was making a toast. Then, as if coordinated, the lights from the city began to switch to red as a response to her gesture.
During this time, inside her apartment, Kadyn unwrapped the bandage around her broken arm, which had fully healed by this point. On the desk was the heavy container, now empty of the exotic metal used for her bones. As Kadyn stepped on the scale, she noticed her weight go up a whole 35 kilograms compared to when she was running empty.
[Kadyn] - "Sigh... this is definitely a diet I won't repeat again. "
Said Kadyn as she rubbed her belly.
[scale] - "A healthy 6'0 foot woman in her twenties should weight between 70 to 75 kilograms. You are 35 kilos above the norm. Please consider a salad, fat a- "
Before the scale could finish speaking, Kadyn abruptly slashed the machine in half using her wrist blade. As Kadyn approached the mirror, she extended both of her blades and admired their shiny silver glow as they oscillated at high speed. Slowly, Kadyn approached the tip of her blade toward the mirror. Upon the tiniest of contact, the mirror suddenly shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor.
Turning slightly around, Kadyn glanced at the rows of weapons lined up on her bed. However, the constant activation of her kill-mode vision caused Kadyn to pinch her eyelids as it annoyed her to see the world continuously in a shade of red. Temporarily, Kadyn switched her eyes back to her usual green for some comfort.
As she looked around, she noticed that there was still some mercury-titanium poly-alloy left in the can that she hadn't been able to use. Thinking smartly, Kadyn quickly picked up her phone and dialed Poppy and Franklin for another quick supply run.
The day went on as Kadyn inspected her pistols and practiced assembling them and disassembling them. The KD-series pistols were lightweight and could be controlled at a distance while possessing a large pool of ammo types for different situations. As Kadyn scanned through the ammo pool, she took a close look at each of the types of bullets.
First, she observed the hollow point 9.2mm standard round. Then, she reached for a delayed explosive cap round for maximum post-penetration damage. Moving to the front of the bed, Kadyn unboxed the armour-piercing rounds, which were three times longer than the other bullets, with a discarding sabot for a final 5.5mm depleted uranium core. Beside the armour-piercing rounds, Kadyn picked up a whistle bullet with the possibility of directional change mid-air. Finally, moving to the right side of her bed, Kadyn opened a box with only 6 bullets. Though they looked normal, three of them were neutron charge bullets, and the others were miniature fusion core rounds. While the fusion core bullets (named "Sunriser") can detonate like a micro-nuke, the neutron charge bullets (named "Anesthesia") detonate with intense radiation, bypassing all armor and killing organic life.
The next day, as Poppy and Franklin deposited her requested items inside her house, Kadyn immediately got to work. Using her acquired knowledge from her early years, Kadyn began the construction of a new weapon for her crusade. While Franklin left the apartment to go tend to his sick mother, Poppy stayed with Kadyn and watched as she built a military grade weapon inside her cramped apartment.
[Poppy] - "What are you exactly making? "
Said Poppy as she leaned against the wall.
Kadyn slowly leaned over a microchip on a circuit board with her tools in hand.
[Kadyn] - "How to put it... A melee weapon? Have you ever heard of the Chinese weapon Guandao? "
Said Kadyn while the systems in her eyes adjusted to let her see at 1000x magnification.
[Poppy] - "Do I look like an educated fool to you? "
Said Poppy with a smirk.
[Kadyn] - "Well, it's a long pole with a large single-edged blade at the top. Useful for dealing with enemies in large swarms and keeping your distance. "
[Poppy] - "And you know how to build it... Using that metal sludge? "
[Kadyn] - "I have a more nerdy side I rarely show. I used to be a bookworm back then. "
[Poppy] - "Geez, queen, you know how to fight, repair and build. Why do you even need your man for? You can all do it by yourself. "
[Kadyn] - "He's the general, and I'm the soldier. I can win battles, but he wins wars. If he hadn't taught me to use my assets properly, I would've never been sharp enough to utilize my skills and remaining resources to build a weapon. "
Said Kadyn without taking her eyes off her task.
[Poppy] - "Oh, right, I almost forgot. Martin is not very happy with your long absence. You know, since you are currently our only assassin after you sent the others to hell. "
[Kadyn] - "Ugh! Tell that needy old bastard to retire or hire other people. I have more important things to attend to. "
Kadyn suddenly stood up and spun the Guandao she had built. With a click of a button, the tip of the blade emerged from the staff and formed an oscillating anti-material blade twice as large as Kadyn's wrist blade.
[Kadyn] - "Now, I'm ready. "
[Poppy] - "Oh! Of course you are ready... I mean, what's the rush, right? "
Said Poppy in a nervous tone.
[Kadyn] - "Yeah, let me just put on a nice dress. I'm moving out tonight. "
[Poppy] - "Tonight? Isn't it a bit abrupt? "
Said Poppy while trying to hide her nervousness.
[Kadyn] - "No, it will be a nice surprise for that bloody beast. "
Said Kadyn as she stared into her wardrobe.
Poppy nervously looked at the red glow outside of Kadyn's window. Though only a neon red hologram of a man appeared in her view, the projection was somehow specifically staring at her for an uncomfortably long moment. A shiver ran down Poppy's spine as her mouth trembled with uncertainty, split between whether she should speak or stay silent. The longer Poppy hesitated, the more she could feel the crimson shade invading her soul, triggering the primal fear in her bones.
[Poppy] - "Once you walk out into those doors with your weapons, you will have embarked on a journey you can't back away from. By then, please don't call us ever again. I'm glad to have been your friend, KD-555, but this is where our paths diverge. "
Said Poppy with a tone of sadness and urgency in her voice.
[Kadyn] - "Huh? Why? "
[Poppy] - "We often call ourselves monsters for our disgraceful actions because we are ignorant of what a real monster is. Ignorance is bliss, knowledge is harmful. I have to go now, good luck, my friend. May God protect you! "
Said Poppy with a fleeting look of guilt in her eyes.
As Poppy ran away, Kadyn attempted to chase her but decided to respect her friend's choice. As Kadyn approached her wardrobe again, she came face to face with Mike's coat. At first, she shoved the coat away to reach for a different coat but immediately changed her mind by taking Mike's coat anyways.
[Kadyn] - "Though you wouldn't approve of what I'm about to do, I also know justice is one of the reasons why you wore this coat. Mike, let's go for one last adventure, alright? "
Said Kadyn before smiling nostagically.
After arming herself by filling Mike's coat to the brim with ammo, Kadyn attached her two pistols on her thighs before reaching for her custom crafted Guandao. Then, Kadyn tossed a gold coin at her bed after biting it. Arriving before her doorframe, Kadyn took a large breath before throwing the phone she used to call Poppy and Franklin and crushing it using the butt of her staff. Soon after crossing her apartment door for the last time, Kadyn made her way to the roof of her building.
As she emerged out of the access hatch, she was met with the sight of the entire city shinning in all its glory like the lights surrounding a stage. As she looked into the horizon, the massive government tower was impossible to miss as its massive frame stood surrounded by a half-circular building. Though it towered over the city, Kadyn felt not a single ounce of fear in her veins. The moment Kadyn's eyes began to shine in red, many of the neon lights seemingly changed to match her crimson colour. The deathmatch has begun.
To be continued...