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Capítulo 3: Chapter Three

Water: one of God's greatest gifts to mankind.

A quench to parched throats. Irrigation to dry fields. An ingredient to the world's natural beauty...

Water is that and much more.

Eh~ then again, Manny won't be starting any lecture on the importance of water. To Manny, at that moment, water was one thing alone; a source to cool off and enjoy—that is if he wasn't a 9 ft. behemoth, currently bathing by gathering the H2O on his cupped palms and spraying it upon himself.

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"Should have figured my size would come to bite my ass, sooner or later."

Grunting, Manny squatted beneath the spray. Careful not to knock it off, as Manny let the water cascade down his body.

It could have made quite an amusing sight... That is if Manny hadn't been the subject of the laughter.

"Ah... That's it."

Standing up, Manny retreated back and looked at the shower with a scowl.

Giving up on the opportunity to get rid of the blood on his person would be the highest level of asininity, and Manny is not asinine.

Besides...

"It's not like I'm entirely out of options."

A familiar feeling of a liquid fire coursed through Manny and his lips widened an inch.

This time, he would be using 'it', deliberately.

The power that came from that dimension called, the Warp-space...

Yeah, Manny knew what he was currently doing was the epitome of madness.

If this was Warhammer's reality, and any loyalist to the Imperium -Inquisitors and specialized forces- caught hold of what Manny was doing, they would have come to with lasguns blazing and chainsaws cackling...

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Barring his Demigod heritage of course.

The Warp must not be so carelessly tempered because doing so makes you subtle to its influence... Or stuff like that.

Hmm... Not like Manny cared either way.

To Manny, there were only two options available; either hate his rather powerful connection to Wrap and never again utilize his Psyker's abilities for his benefit, being like his more physical-inclined brothers, OR accept and love this power—this capability that made him more Sentry than Superman.

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So, what's there to think about?

This power is his for better or worse.

Besides, Manny has always been more of a 'Million Exploding Suns' fan than a 'Truth, Justice, and the American Way' fan.

Flexing his will, Mannny commanded and the sprinkling water froze midair. It was as beautiful as it was eerie; the sight of water droplets frozen airborne as soon as they exited the faucet.

It was certainly quite the marvel...

That is if one does not consider that such a thing is only made possible through the Wrap.

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With an outstretched finger, Manny pushed away a frozen droplet watching it drift and meld with another droplet. It triggered a chain reaction as the now slightly larger droplet of water floated toward the other suspended water drops, merging and growing in size.

Soon enough, the droplet swelled up to a size larger than a watermelon.

But Manny wasn't done yet—more like why should he stop? Especially, when this is his chance to experiment with an actual freaking superpower.

The orb of water wriggled and bubbled changing shape. An orb became a square. A triangle. A cylinder. A hexagram. A large runic decorated sword. A fantasy looking spear. A plas-gun. A neighing mythical seahorse. A roaring western dragon...

... Sasha dying as rain fell and Night City burned.

"... ..."

The orb of water violently exploded on Manny, petering him with futile blows while leaving a small but deep depression on the walls. Blinking, Manny looked at the water that unceremoniously dropped to the ground and shook his head.

'What the hell was that?'

That felt too... Real.

Unlike his other water constructs, Manny knew that the last structure felt entirely different—and strangely familiar.

It's like Manny had seen it somewhere but the 'where' is the problem.

Sighing, Manny made to move out of the shower—only to pause and regard the state he had left it in.

Manny clicked his tongue.

"Yeah, leaving here like this would leave a bad taste in my tongue. So..."

The liquid fire stirred.

"... Let's try this one more time."

ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ

Manny let out a relieved sigh upon exiting the shower.

Fortunately, fixing all that damage was easier than Manny had expected. Or rather, utilizing his Psyker abilities to fix the walls had been easier than Manny had expected it to be.

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Of course, Manny knew of the dangers in utilizing power from the Warp space—source being from the Warhammer edition books and notifying the denizens of the Warp of your existence and becoming susceptible to the corruption that ' ridikulous' could bring.

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There was a reason for the forceful conscription of human Psykers. It was either be left alone and become mad or a meal to some Warp demons or be conscripted and be trained for you to fight for the Emperor.

Either way, it is a loss-and-loss situation—which shouldn't be a surprise considering that it is Warhammer.

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In a way, Manny considered himself lucky that such a situation hadn't been thrust at him. But that could be attributed to his Primarch physiology or this place not being related to Warhammer in its entirety.

Manny hoped for the former and prayed for the latter.

In the small space just outside the bathroom, a set of clothes was arranged on top of an old-looking washing machine. Manny walked, picking it up only for him to balk at the size.

'It's too small.' Manny thought with a grimace.

The clothes articles were a black long-arm shirt and brown pants. They were simple but nice outfits, now if only they weren't the wrong sizes. Manny wasn't sure he could even fit his head through his shirt and he felt like just one of his legs could rip the pants into shreds.

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... There's only one thing left to do.

"Yeah, I'll just consider this as an emergency." Manny promptly called upon the precarious power of the Warp. "Besides, I'm kinda' curious if I can expand matter."

The clothes were bathed in a white glow which acted exactly to Manny's intentions.

'Is being a Psyker really this easy?' Manny couldn't help but ask himself.

2

There were many uses for the Warp, but it is commonly used for destruction. The seemingly perpetual war is to blame.

Nevertheless, Manny felt like he had broken a lot of records as he could be the first Psyker who had used his abilities to expand clothes so that they could be of his size.

'Yeah, I'm never telling anyone about this.' Manny solemnly and silently swore while dressing. 'To the grave you go, heretic memory.'

Manny gave himself another once over and nodded satisfied. The shirt was still slightly tight as it showed his abs and muscle lines, on the other hand, the brown pants were freer giving him the chance to make more movement.

Still not as comfortable as his former wear, though.

After putting it on, Manny gave some light stretches and nodded in satisfaction.

"Hm. This will do for now. Either way, I better thank Sasha for lending me these."

Upon the thought of Sasha, Manny paused as that image once again suffused his mind.

Manny has seen that image somewhere, before—maybe not the burning city, but certainly of Sasha dying with a smile on her face, while the rain wiped away her tears.

There was singing in the background.

A song that spoke of struggle. Of pain... Of a story that would have a painful, unfulfilling, yet happy ending.

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They will finally feel the flames.

Flames that run down through my veins.

I will make the city burn.

We're not planning to return.

Trying so hard to be free.

To make you see what I see.

Hold on to your wishes, if you can't hold on to me...

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Fists capable of rending steel balled up into fists.

"Yeah, it can't be possible... Right?"

But despite saying that, there was no confidence in Manny's tone.

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I'm about to ask a kind of 'hypothetical' question. However, your answer is up to you and you alone, that is to say; whatever you say is the right course of action is the right course of action?

Understand? Good.

Now, you come from a world where physics is well... Physics.

What goes up must come down. Running fast does not create sonic booms. Punching hard does not explode people or feel like a C4 had just gone off...

You know what? Let's not go that far.

You come from a world where things like flying cars or exchanging one's body for cybernetic parts were still more of a consideration of the future than a present happening. Then suddenly, you're transmigrated (read dumped) in a place that seems to give everything you know about the world the middle finger.

Here comes the tricky part.

Everything about that world seems so familiar; the environment, the events... The people. It's like you have been placed in a situation similar to all those Japanese troupes; the Isekai type.

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Now here is my question; even if the answer is staring at you right in the face, can you confidently be able to pinpoint the kind of world you have been taken to?

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That was the kind of situation I had been back then.

This world I had arrived in had always felt familiar. Hell, the mega-buildings situated across town and even the name, Night City should have been more than enough for me to recognize the place I had been taken to.

There's also the fact that as a Primarch, I had this physiologic characteristic called 'eidetic memory'. So it's not like I hadn't run the comparison in my head.

It's just that I couldn't bring myself to come to such an implausible conclusion.

Like seriously?

It was just too fantastic to believe.

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Then again, when evidence upon evidence is thrown to one's face at alarming speeds. The issue of whether you believe or not becomes a non-factor.

⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎⸎

ᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥᴥ

Manny had many questions and a budding suspicion, but he kept it to himself deciding that now was not the best to go about finding answers -not when he had just promised Sasha to help her go rescue her sister.

'There's also my attitude back then.' Manny bent a bit to avoid hitting his head on the wall and exited the bathroom while looking troubled. 'Why was I so annoyed back then when Sasha told me that I couldn't handle those Gangs...? Could it be pride or something?'

2

Manny was a lot of things, but being that assertive wasn't one of them.

The 'you' of before cannot be compared to the 'you' of now.

2

Grunting, Manny shook his head ignoring the whispers for now.

Just like his budding suspicion, Manny's new sporting emotions would be dealt with at a later time.

Besides, judging from the voices in the background, it seems Sasha's crew has finally arrived -which is a good thing by the way.

If Sasha is who Manny is beginning to suspect she is... Then.

Then what? What will you do, Manny?

'Well, I don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.'

Manny walked back into the living room—only for his breath to hitch at the sight.

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Forgive me for letting you down~

Forgive me for letting you down, again~

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"Whoa~ atta' girl. I've always been telling you to go get yourself an Output and enjoy life more. Seems you've gone and done beyond that!"

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Sited comfortably on the cushion was a girl—no, a woman (?). Short in stature, and garbed in an extra-large hoodie, the famous pale-lime gremlin in Cyberpunk; Rebbeca, said with an impish grin on her face.

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"Fuck, how I wish Pilar is here to see this."

"Fuck off," Sasha said, flipping Rebecca off. "Manny is not my Output."

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"Manny huh~" Rebecca wiggled her eyebrows—only to wince at the sudden bonk. "Ow! What the fuck, Dorio?!"

The muscled female Russian blonde relaxed her clenched fist.

"How would you feel if I did that to you at your place, then?"

Rebecca huffed, turning her head, and folded her arms with a pout.

"It's just fucking ribbing among chooms. Ain't no big deal about it."

Dorio sighed and turned to Manny. "Sorry about our little package here—"

Unsurprisingly, Rebecca took offense to that.

"Who the fuck are you calling little, blonde gorilla?!"

With any pause, Dorio smoothly ignored the raging imp and continued. "So, tell me. You're Sasha's Output, right?"

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Groaning, Sasha threw Dorio an exasperated glare. "Not you too..."

"Hey, don't blame me." Dorio shrugged. "You've got to admit it's the only logical explanation. I can hardly think of a time when I've ever seen a guy in this house."

"Well, what of Maine, Falco, or even Pilar?"

"Those three don't count." Dorio sighed. "Hah... Stella has the excuse of wanting to be a rockstar despite our grievances about that. Still, there's no denying the time and dedication she's put into achieving her dream. Not much chance for her to screw around. You, on the other hand, don't have much of an excuse."

Rebecca cackled. "I swear I'd almost pegged you as a Les if you hadn't thrown off that * bitch's advances."

"Yeah, fuck off." Sasha flipped her off and turned to Manny. "You tell them. Seeing you coming out from the bath seems to have flipped their brains upside down."

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Manny had thought whatever conclusion he had come to regarding Sasha, and well... The planet in general could be easily dealt with. If this is truly Cyberpunk reality, then with the rudimentary information Manny possessed from the game and anime he could—no, would survive and thrive -which is a given considering what he is.

But looking at them now...

Rubbing the base of his neck, Manny breathed and quickly fixed up a light smile.

"I'm Manny and I'm not Sasha's Output... Yet."

Sasha threw Manny an affronted look, although her face was beet-red.

"Manny-you... Fucking gonk."

Rebecca on the other hand merely grinned wider.

"Yet, huh~ well, good luck with our cat, here."

"Rebecca, I'm seriously this close to frying up your chrome." Sasha punctuated by bringing her thumb and index close.

"Oh, how scary." Rebecca stood up and ran behind Manny—whose frame funnily enough swallowed her own. "Save me, prospective Output with these bulging muscles of yours…"

Rebecca trailed off, touching Manny's legs before looking at him with eyes filled with awe.

"Know what, Sasha? If you aren't interested in him then I am..."

Sasha raised a brow. "Huh? I thought innocent and boyish looking are your type."

"A lady's gotta branch out once in a while, choom." Thumping Manny with her elbow, Rebecca

Manny, of course, said nothing. However, Dorio, who had noticed the look he threw at Rebecca who hadn't noticed due to the immense height difference let out a raucous bout of laughter.

"Hah... Alright, alright, before I die of laughter here. We've gotta' delta. Maine and the others are waiting for us back at our place and time's wasting considering what's at stake."

"Oh..." Whatever perkiness Sasha had on her face was replaced with solemnity. "You're right..."

Sasha stood up—before pausing and regarding Manny ambivalently.

"Manny's coming with us."

Dorio blinked. "Wha... Sasha, you sure about that?"

"Yeah..." Sasha nodded while still looking at Manny. "Yeah, I am."

Rebecca pumped her fist. "Nova! Now I can show you my preem bursting head skills."

Sasha cryptically chuckled. "Don't be so sure of yourself, 'Becca. Manny's got some serious preem skills of his own."

"Really, huh~" Dorio hummed.

Manny shrugged. "Well, I aim to impress."

Grunting, Dorio stood up. "Can't tell what Maine and Pilar will say considering this addition, but the fact that with all that chrome and juice you're packing and can still speak normally, I'm sure they can give you a pass."

Sasha's lips parted—before closing with a huff.

Then again, Manny couldn't blame her. Sasha lived in a world where despite it being all bloody dangerous still had its own set of rules. So, seeing Manny going all brrr-brrr eyes on her without any sort of cyberware must have been quite the shock.

'Well, not as much as mine, considering that I'm talking to characters from an 18 anime.'

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I guess I'm not strong enough~

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Manny lightly clenched his fist as that image reappeared once again. This time it had a whole new meaning to it.

'I'm Manny and I'm a Primarch. I'm strong enough—powerful enough to make a difference in this world, talk less of Night City... And right now…'

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Unseen to everyone, lightning flickered at Manny's fingertips.

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Right now~

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'Right now... I'll start by changing her future.'

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Capítulo 4: Chapter Four (Maine P.O.V)

"Ah, why haven't the others arrived yet?"

Stifling a groan, Maine cradled his head which threatened to explode due to the living headache sitting on the cushion opposite him.

"You've been asking this for the fucking umpteenth time and I'm telling you for the fucking last time; they're on their way back. Besides, why haven't you called Rebecca if you're this curious about their coords?"

With long cyber-arms splayed on the cushion, Pilar grumbled. "I've been pinging her more than four times already, and she hasn't picked up even once... Not even to insult me. I'm having a bad feeling about this, Bossman."

"Bad feeling, my ass." Maine uncaringly shut him off and threw him an iron. "Just get to the maintenance and fill up the irons with leads. I want us to be done here, pronto. When the others come back all that'll be left is to go over the plan one more time, and then delta to the edgezone."

Even though Pilar let out a harsh huff, he still thankfully got back to doing what he does best -when he ain't fucking himself, that is.

Unfortunately, Maine's respite only lasted till Pilar was done with the third iron.

"Hey, Falco."

Pilar turned to the man who sat reclined on the worn couch at the edge of the room.

"Come help us with this."

Falco opened an eye and regarded Pilar. "With what?"

"What do the fuck do you mean, what?" Pilar lifted the iron in a gesture. "This. Join in the collective effort."

"Zip me the eddies, and you'll get the helping."

"Huh? Why the hell should I do that?"

Huffing, Falco reclined himself even more.

"You do know I'm paid to drive, right? Serious emphasis on the drive—and nothing else. I ain't some leadhead that'll go do a job without any scratch. Not how this old timer rolls."

"Old timer with that fake beard of yours?" Pilar scoffed, "Sure you haven't been watching too many movies from the time of Red?"

"Wrong period. It goes way longer than that."

"And that ain't fucking refutes my point."

Maine sighed as he left both gonks to their argument while keeping himself busy with loading the irons—though, he'll be docking Pilar's share on the next gig for this.

See how the short-circed fucker will get that cyberware he's been eyeing for ages.

That thought brought a slight quirk to Maine's lips.

Suddenly, Maine's holo-call pinged.

[Dorio: We've arrived. Heading in.]

''Bout damn time.'

Unlike a certain gonk, while Maine hadn't been vocal about his concerns, that did not mean he wasn't worried... Well, less worried and more concerned.

The others should have been here, minutes ago—the nature of what they must do required that much.

The Animals weren't known to be patient like their shitty counterparts... Well, they and the Maelstrom.

That the others weren't here could mean that the Animals had decided to nab Sasha at her place with Dorio and Rebecca getting involved in the skirmish.

While Maine was apprehensive at the prospect of tangling with a poser-gang -like the Animals. All that apprehension goes on a fucking trip if he so much as sees any of them getting hurt.

He would fucking flatline the lots of them.

Thankfully, Maine's Input has been pinging to keep him posted—even though he feels like she's been leaving some deets out.

Sasha is alright. Although Maine's fears had been actualized as the Animals did try to nab Sasha on the way back to her place—though the emphasis on the 'try' as he wasn't currently on a warpath at the moment.

Nevertheless, that was made possible due to Sasha's perspective Output; Manny.

'Now ain't that fucking amusing?' Maine thought, letting out a small huff.

Even though Maine made it a self-imposed rule not to get too involved in his team's personal lives, Sasha wasn't included as she is the special exception.

Maine does see her as a little sister, after all.

So while Maine is glad that Sasha has finally decided to open up to others and live life a little. He couldn't help but feel left out—well, left out wouldn't be the right word…

But at the same time, it wouldn't be the wrong word.

Upon hearing the sound of the front door opening, Maine sighed, slotting in the lead for the last iron on his table. Maine will be keeping his reservations till he gets a read on Mr. Mysterious.

Till then—Maine will be content to sit back and watch the show...

Namely, Pilar freaking out as any hope for a relationship with Sasha just flatlined. Then again, Maine wasn't all that enthused by the prospect of Pilar dating Sasha -while Pilar isn't the worst choice in a city like this, he certainly ain't getting an A mark.

So no loss on that part.

But that doesn't mean Maine approves of the stranger, either.

"I'm back..." Dorio said, announcing her presence to the others.

"Dorio..."

Nodding, Maine regarded her while feeling relief that nothing bad seemed to have happened judging from her appearance.

"So, you're gonna' be giving me the full deets, now?"

Dorio shrugged with a small sly smile.

"Well, it's not mine to tell, and besides... I wanna see how you'll react when seeing him."

Maine hummed in bemusement.

Pilar, Maine could understand. Heck, Maine could understand even Falco being surprised... Well, not surprised. But Maine could see the man feeling quite flabbergasted.

Although for himself, not that much.

Dorio had already informed him of what he should expect; that Sasha had been attacked and that they were coming with Sasha's potential Input. So while Maine knew that there would surely be surprise gasps and howling, Maine couldn't understand why he would be among the numbers.

Rebecca strutted in with a wide beam. "What's up choombas, miss me much? ~"

"Is that the first thing you say when you haven't been answering my calls?" Pilar interrupted his sister with a look.

"And why the fuck must I answer you when I don't want to. You ain't my fucking out... Put." Rebecca trailed off, eyes widening before her lips followed suit. "You know what you're right. Sorry about that, Pilar."

"... Eh? Sorry. You? You're sorry?" Pilar's short-circed reply was the unspoken words of all the men present. "Who the fuck are you, and where's the real Rebecca?"

"Hmph." Rebecca huffed. "Can't I be in a good mood for once? Besides, why shouldn't I be happy when Sasha -my favorite choom- has finally nabbed an Output for herself?"

The room was tensely silent for a moment.

"... …Hmm?" Falco raised a brow.

"Heh." Maine, the only one in the know shook his head with an amused huff escaping his lips.

"..." Pilar though blinked, and blinked, and blinked, and— "… THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN SASHA'S NABBED AN OUTPUT?!"

With a gremlin-like cackle, Rebecca said. "Knew that would throw you off. The look on your face right now is so worth telling Dorio to keep quiet about it."

"So who's the lucky guy?" Falco asked.

"He should be coming in any moment now," Dorio replied, scratching the side of her head. "Sasha told us to go ahead. Says she wants to talk with the big guy."

"I wanna' talk with the guy, too," Pilar said darkly, resting on his hand was an iron. Maine was quite it was a loaded one. "A talk with my little friend, that is."

"Pft...Hahahahahahaha!" Rebecca chortled, holding her stomach. "Tru-Trust me when I say this, Pilar. I'd just met him today, and I can say I haven't seen anyone more dangerous in Night City."

"Hah. Now I know that's a joke."

Falco sat up, his interest now apparent on his face.

"Ain't no one ever truly dangerous in NC—except, you're Morgan Blackhand or Adam Smasher."

Maine agreed with Falco on that.

No amount of iron or chrome or body stims can save you from a bullet, a bomb, or even a plain old lucky stab. In this city where life is nothing more than a commodity—a statistic, no one knows when it's their time to follow the grim reaper. It's because the Corpos know this which is why they use people like him—Edgerunners to do their dirty work.

But even that, doesn't save them when their time comes...

Rebecca walked and plopped herself on the cushion next to her brother. There was a dull look on her face.

"Hey, is there any time you guys ever seen me look afraid? Not talking about our kiddy times, Pilar. I'm talking about ever since I'd begun edgerunning."

Thinking back, Maine couldn't think of a time he had seen Rebecca shiver in fear—her first reaction to an iron pointed at her skull would be to draw her own, or curse whoever was pointing it at her with sweet colorful words.

Her only sense of fear would be caution—the kind of caution when drawing her iron would mean leading the heat to her crew, and even that has its limits.

"So you're saying, he's that dangerous?" Maine asked with arms crossed Akimbo.

Dorio, who relaxed on the door, exhaled.

"Hmm... It's less dangerous and more of 'try this shit and we flatline.' Simple as shit"

"Hahaha… I swear I've never felt like that in my entire life." Rebecca hauntingly chuckled. "My first move when I saw him was to pull out my iron and start shooting like crazy—then next, I flatlined... Or kinda' felt like it. Damn, that was scary. It's like I was looking at a live bomb… I still can't believe that the first words that came out of my mouth were to congratulate Sasha on nabbing him as her Output."

Maine subtly looked at Dorio who subtly nodded in confirmation.

Fuck.

Damn, who the hell is at his front door, right now?

"Okay~ so, why the hell did you leave Sasha alone with him?" Maine asked.

"What were we supposed to do? And in case you've forgotten; it was Sasha who asked us to leave her alone with him. She didn't ping us to do the opposite..."

Rebecca sat up with a sigh.

"Anyways, I don't think he's a bad guy. Not in a gang, Scav, or even Corpo way. Don't ask me how; I can just feel it. He's just dangerous s'all... Then again, who isn't in this city?"

"So, what's the call, bossman...?" Pilar called to him—his bitching face was replaced with a solemn one. "We doing him hot or not—ow! What the fuck, Rebecca?"

Punching Pilar in the ribs, Rebecca said. "Is there something fucking wrong with your brain, leadhead? I just said he's dangerous and the first thing you do is go looking to get yourself zeroed."

"What? It's not like he has an answer for a hail of bullets coming right at him."

"But what if he fucking does, gonk?"

"Hah! That ain't possible."

"Alright, that's enough." Maine interrupts the siblings before they can start another bout of argument. "We aren't flatlining anybody. He's got Sasha's unspoken seal of approval, and we've got to respect that. So, all we do is wait and see. If he's ain't a problem, then all's well and good. The opposite, well..."

The remaining words while unspoken were known to all in the room. Irons blazing, incendiaries and bombs blasting. Typical violence at its finest.

No one in NC is gonna' be making it out in one piece. Not even Mr. Mysterious.

… Unless you're Adam fucking Smasher.

Dorio's eyes glowed yellow for a moment. "Alright, get ready. They're heading in…"

Tacit nods were exchanged as everyone resumed back with what they were doing—or rather, resumed back with added caution to their every move.

One can never be too cautious in Night City. Not even the Maelstrom, who were known as one of—if not, the most unruly gang in Night City can behave so impulsively.

If so, they would have been wiped out by the others a long time ago.

Now while it is only just one guy, Maine isn't about to be a gonk and dismiss him as a non-threat. Not when Rebecca and his Input had specifically stressed about his level of danger.

But even so...

'This ain't about pride. But isn't he just one guy?' Maine thought as the sound of heavy footsteps drew closer. 'It's nothing a bullet or two cannot fix. Besides, we have the home advantage.'

Soon enough, HE came into view, and then...

Then...

Then… … … …

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Even to this day, I stand by my choice that my behavior was perfectly normal and logical.

Now I know Rebecca and Dorio were quite cautious of Manny—and when someone as loud and crazy gun-toting as 'Becca feels cautious about someone. It means fucking keep an eye out for your interest and life.

But, come on... To me, he was merely just one guy. Ok, maybe I should have assumed that he was chromed up with the latest cyberware, or juiced enough to make most Animals blush. But he was only one man... In a room of experienced Edgerunners.

I'm not one to brag—seeing as we weren't part of the big leagues at that time- but my crew; we were dangerous. It had been merely four years since we'd come together to start this shit, and we were rocking it.

We've had our ups and downs. But our rep; yeah, we fucking delivered.

So, I'll say it again; I stand by my words that my behavior; that little dismissal I held for Manny was perfectly logical...

But then again, I, like the fucking millions out there were wrong.

So, very fucking wrong.

Manny ain't just one guy. These days, he's the Cyberpunk Jesus.

Sometimes, I look back and doubt if he is even fucking human... And I'm quite sure that is the thought running in the mind of every living being that has met him.

At least, that is how it is for me.

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'Damn, he's big.'

Seeing Mr. Mysterious walk in, Maine had to admit; that Dorio and Rebecca had not been exaggerating on his look in the slightest.

Rather, they had been understating it.

If it weren't for the lack of skin tears and peeking cyberware, Maine would have assumed he was looking at the male version of Sasquatch.

On the other hand, not even Sasquatch had the height of the guy.

He was big—ginormous, even.

Mr. Mysterious has the look of a dangerous man.

But Maine wasn't going to quit his observations just yet.

What Maine did next had merely been a little hazing. All things said and done, Maine wasn't going to let some stranger waltz into his place without showing any proper form of courtesy.

Maine might not be as pompous as the Corpses, but that doesn't mean he is open to shit on.

The large brown skin merc narrowed his eyes...

Then…

His head shattered into a pile of gore and brain matter. His chest ruptured out spilling metal chips and fleshy bits. His arms were mangled in ways he had never seen nor wanted them to be in. His body vanished in a bloody mist.

Maine had been zeroed.

Maine had been flatlined.

Maine was dead...

"Hey..."

The deep voice of the stranger pulled Maine out of the nightmare.

"Wh-Wha-WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Maine roared, a look at Pilar told him that he wasn't the only one sharing the sentiments.

The poor bastard looked like he'd just gone ten rounds with the Devil and lost each one.

"Um, is he always like that?" The stranger—no, the monster asked Sasha.

"No... No…" Sasha replied and then turned to Maine. "Maine, you alright there?"

"Uh-Uh yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

Maine slowly nodded, taking a deep breath before regarding Mr. Mysterious (or was it Mr. Fucking Dangerous, now?) a tad more cautiously.

Had all that been some kind of illusion or some new QuickHack that hasn't entered the market, yet?

Maine hoped it wasn't the former and damn prayed it wasn't the latter. It would be damn scary facing someone with that kind of QuickHack.

"So, you're the mysterious Manny." Maine cleared his throat as he said in an even tone. "I heard you've been taking care of our Netrunner, there."

The stranger—Manny shrugged. "More like the opposite if you ask me."

"Really, huh?" Maine hummed and straightened up from his couch. "... Allow me to level with ya. You're scary and I don't trust you. No offense, but I don't normally trust the unknown... Unless it's a sweet gig. And you, choom are an unknown that's certainly not a gig."

"Maine—"

Sasha began—only to pause as Dorio placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head with a small assuring smile.

"It's alright, you of all people should know how he is by now."

Meanwhile, Maine carried on with pause.

"... I've got questions that need answering. But unfortunately, not enough time to ask them. Then again, seeing as you're here with us would mean that you wanna' join our little rescue ops. So for now, I've got one question to ask; sure someone like you is up for this?"

"Huh, what are you talking about, Maine?" Rebecca raised a brow. "I mean look at him. He's perfect."

"Maybe, if it's zeroing gonks and all. This time, what we're pulling off requires a covert approach. A simple mistake on our end is all the Animals need to decide that keeping Stella alive just ain't worth it. Manny, here looks more like he'll be comfortable lighting up a storm. I just got to know if he can go covert and follow instructions while on the field."

Maine turned to Manny—only to realize that he was gone.

"Huh? Where'd he go—?" Maine asked—only to freeze as Manny's voice came out in a reply. This time, it was uncomfortably close.

An iron clicked.

"You don't need to worry about me."

Sitting beside Maine was Manny pointing an iron -his iron- at him.

"As you can see. I'm quite good at being covert."

The room was tensely silent as no one made to move. Not when Maine's life had been carelessly placed in the hands of a stranger.

"Manny..." Sasha's said, chidingly.

"What? It's just a presentation of my skills. " Twirling, Manny presented Maine the iron for him to take. "See, no harm done."

Sasha sighed in exasperation while the little gremlin, Rebecca, shivered in excitement.

"Fucking nova! Now, that's some cool Ninja shit, right there!"

As he took back the presented iron, Maine eyed it, sure that he had kept this one specifically slotted in his holster. For Manny to have klepped it right under his and everyone's nose spoke of a considerable amount of skill.

The kind Corpos would kill to have.

'Just who the hell is this guy?' Maine thought as his apprehension towards Manny merely increased. 'And what does he want from us?'

Although ostensibly, Maine merely nodded.

"I feel ya, loud and clear. Alright, show's over. So everyone, gather up... We've got planning to do."


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