Diana

I was the granddaughter of a Founder? Not just any Founder, Beauregard Mazhyr — the one behind the Free Cities and creator of Neuroframes, arguably the most brilliant individual on the planet. My jaws clenched as I saw the streets below me parade with scattered lights, my voice unsure of itself. "How the hell does my last name keep on getting more complicated?"

"Because, Diana, you aren't supposed to exist." My biological father didn't meet my eyes. "Me and Elenora… fuck, you really want to know who she is?"

"Yeah, I do." At the very least, I wanted answers about who I was.

"Elenora at the time I met her… was with her, she was training to become a Herald at NeoCore — now she is one. Her existence has gone public under the name Sapphire. Herald Ruby, by the way, is your aunt." He didn't hold an ounce of humor as he spoke.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." I spat out to the streets below. "So I've got a bunch of family in NeoCore?"

"You've got the worst family possible among the Founders, you think Bladefather's tough on his kids? You haven't seen Beauregard and her spawn. Most of the world doesn't know how many kids she even has, hell... the entire time I was with your mother, no one except her close circle was even aware that she was a Founder's kid." Brian summoned the floating minifridge, grabbing another bottle from its contents. "And you wouldn't know it. She was… well, normal. Adjusted. Perks of being born after a Swarm. She got to live a normal life unlike Ruby, or dare I say, Emizren."

"Start from the beginning." I demanded.

"Fine. Here's the tragic fucked up love story of Brian Ulrich and Elenora Mazhyr." He gulped more of the liquor. "I was born in a Cradle, just like you, 'cept mine was focused on number crunching kids who could act as living computers for the corporations after the Fourth Swarm. I wasn't all too good at that; saved me, honestly. Ended up getting transferred to a facility where I learned to be a steward to the rich and mighty… got adopted by a distant business partner of the Mazhyr's. Some old-money family that survived the Collapse through those spaceships, they were the Ulrichs. That's where I got my last name from.

"So, early life, I did whatever Mister Ulrich asked of me. Tended to his gardens, organized dinners, piloted his damn Aerodyne and took a prick up my virgin ass." He said it all nonchalantly.

I cast him a… I don't know what kind of look I gave him, but I could feel his honesty and it disturbed me into empathy.

He shrugged. "Life sucks everywhere kiddo, people refuse to accept what they have and always look for the next best thing. I was one of several stewards assigned to the old bastard, guy was born before the second millenium and nearing his death… those early days when the Swarm just descended? People didn't know how to care for their Implants, and let's say that incompatibility isn't helpful to immortality, imagine reality-warping cancer to the mind… that's what he had. Hell, he was already a century old when the Swarm happened, and was hanging on by a thread ever since. Violent asshole, indignant and spoilt, at the very least when he passed he didn't have any heirs — just debts. And we were property, so I got passed on as an asset reclaimed under collateral to the Mazhyrs."

"Is that where you met my…" I gave him a wary glance, I'd never seen him so burdened.

"Yeah. Elenora was a few years younger than me. Not that age matters to half of those immortal assholes, but I was assigned to work for NeoCore to… well… do whatever made those agents happy. They were war-heroes after all! The good thing about Mazhyr, though, she's all about efficiency, she doesn't bother with all the fancy needs and wants someone her status should be entitled to. She just wants thing to run as smooth as possible for her experiments. So, by chance, I got assigned as the personal steward to your mother."

He let out a sad grin. "Elenora is beautiful, smart… a cunning woman with a heart of Titanium. And I was her tool, supposed to be. She didn't let me stay that way, gave me a reason to feel… wanted in life. Treated me well, like a person, saw that I'd have the opportunity to let myself grow and not just spend my days growing old as a butler to the Mazhyr estate."

"What made her different from the rest?"

"Her mother made her grow up in simulations of old-world Earth." Brian explained. "She'd tell me how she went on a school-bus and used an old world computer, how there was a simulated version of her mother that would cook home-grown meals when in reality she was fed by a tube. She'd have wondrous tales to tell, of that world without the MAL — claim it was some paradise and it only made her more ambitious to see those things dead."

"And eventually… you and her?"

"She had the silver hair, I had the silver eyes." Brian smirked, it was a nostalgic type. "But well, she'd had her ovaries cut out and stored. I don't know how the Founders did it, but they gene-locked the access to Tier V. Only their descendants can get there, those grown up in their labs and their facilities. Means there's no possible way for any independent group to attain that level of power, they monopolized the Adapters who could theoretically snap a mountain away. That guy Yuzhou sent to kill the Bladefather? If he had his full armory, I'd wager we wouldn't have a Sixth Precinct standing."

"All that power… it's… hidden behind the Founder-Gene?"

"Like I said, no idea how they did it. I don't know whether it's some genetic birthright or… well, some curse they spread across all Implants, but they simply refuse to develop past Tier IV for any Adapter who gets there. Once Evolved, they never get to Emerge." Brian gulped.

"So," he continued, "point of it is, the Founders keep their gene-pool cultivated selectively. Meaning that when me and your mother did get privately hitched… we couldn't have a kid. Her ovaries were taken out, and it was only Mazhyr who could give us the go-ahead to have a kid. We waited for a long time, thinking… we were fine. Being married to her put me in a position of power, I got to make big calls, change lives, and negotiate so many fucking deals with the rest of the corporations. Built my way from Bronze to Titanium, became a man not needing his wife's status to… well… stand on his own two feet."

"By that, you mean you-"

"Ruined a few lives? Fired people who deserved better? Trampled on the toes of my friends and rivals? I did worse, darling… and you know, maybe that did put a divide between me and your mother." He admitted. "I might be an asshole, but don't think I'm an idiot. At some point, we'd changed as the Swarm neared and well… we were stupid and thought a kid could change things. So we took a risk, decided to adopt."

"Adopt?"

"Yeah, just… adopt a child based on our genetics. Our way of a loophole" Brian sighed. "Sent our genetic info to every damn Cradle we knew could keep hush, tried to make artificial eggs out of her cells. All embryos failed, anytime we got good news, a month later it was dead. We couldn't figure out the reason, assumed it was some… complication Mazhyr installed to prevent this very thing."

"But I was born." I pointed out.

"We weren't told about you… but that's a little ahead of the story." Brian gnashed his teeth. "In the end, things only grew more tense between us. Your mother began to resent me, said I'd changed. And I fuckin' did, I was securing NeoCore platoons helluva deals, even if it meant a Free City or two gets fucked over in the process. I lived for the damn corporate jungle, a proper lion getting his share… until… well, until Mazhyr intervened."

"What did she do?"

"The so called pioneer of Warp Energy herself." Brian clicked his tongue. "Told me I was fired from working for her family, but would get me a position in any damned Free City I wanted. Chose New Cali, smack dab in the middle of a recession but vital to the plans of the Corporations — perfect time to insert my influence…"

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He got quiet. "Meant I had to leave your mother, truth is… it relieved us both in a way. She would be busy handling the Swarm as a general and me… I'll admit, I hoped that one day I'd show Mazhyr wrong for firing me by climbing to the top here. That I'd turn this demented city around, one way or another."

"Still believe that? Working with Skeleton." I got harsher.

"I…" He hit the railing. "You act like I make my decisions easily, like I don't like being played at the same time as well. I have to appear as though I'm the one controlling everything all the time, but I'm not. Guess I'm just a better actor than you."

He leaned against the railing, silver eyes reflecting the growing excitement of the city beneath him while his own mood was sour. "So yeah, came to New Cali, started a political career and thought… kept on thinking about her. About the life we never had, and I decided… fuck it? Single father sounds good! Would do wonders for my career as a politician so I began looking with a damn algorithm and… you popped up."

I didn't know what to say to that. "How?"

"I have no fucking clue Diana, I thought maybe the gene clinics fucked up and used my sperm to generate a bunch of bastards after I couldn't get a child with Elly. 'Cept you had my silver eyes and her silver hair, paid for your gene profile and… confirmed it. You were her daughter, my daughter. And we were never fucking told you existed! So, yeah, I adopted you. Felt right, felt like I had to do it because you're my damn daughter! Not Yorrick Jones'."

"You think it was that easy for me?!" I yelled.

"I thought…" He grabbed his hair as his own voice broke through in a yell. "I didn't know you'd be so stubborn! Founders, you're just like your mother! At some point, I was hoping I could raise you into some damn… star for this city, an inspirational icon to prove I was a changed man."

"Ah, make me do all the hard work?"

"Yeah." He admitted. "I thought children were supposed to be easy to influence, especially with money and treats. You, just, when you ran away I was expecting you to come back. Played the long con. But you kept getting dragged into deeper and deeper messes until… until all of this! I had to improvise! Like it or not, you're all I have left of your mother and… if we play things right, if we work together to the point that you have enough influence — that we have enough influence… we could..."

"Does… does she know about me?"

"If she thought you were her child, she'd have called me about it. I don't know what she knows, what her mother knows, but… if others knew about you, Diana. That you had the Founder-Gene, they'd damn well farm you for it. Or the corporations would kill you, it's in all the Founders interest to keep the gateway to Tier V as limited as possible."

I… I didn't push that matter. I didn't want to think about it.

"So, I have to keep my true parentage hidden until I'm strong enough to not be bullied by the corporations…" I groaned under my breath. "By the Founders themselves."

"Pretty much." He nodded. "It ain't the pretty truth, but I'm doing my best the only way I can."

"Do you actually care about me?"

"In some ways, I do." His eyes were filled with what seemed like genuine remorse, his Titanium Energy tense. "But I never got to see you grow up, and... I've never had any blood ties to know if they're important or not."

"I just remind you of someone you lost… but I'm not her." I rasped, standing up from the railing. "I need to go somewhere else to clear my head."

"You're leaving?" He had a perk in his voice.

"Yeah, Happy New Years. Brian." I stepped away, back to the door. Opening and leaving, I didn't look back.

In the elevator, I crumpled to my knees, overwhelmed with all of this.

"Damn, girl, I thought my birth was complicated." Twilight appeared in front of me.

"Twilight…" I wiped dry eyes. "Let's get fucking wasted."

"You… you sure?" She seemed hesitant now.

"Know any place where I can punch stuff while we're at it?" I asked with a bitter laugh.

"Yeah… The Hellfire Club. They have an underground fighting ring." She said.

I liked the sound of that.

Correction-

Lilian Rose

January 1st, 2498 12:55 AM

I loved the sound of that. As I wiped blood of my noise and heard the ravenous cheer of the crowd burn into my heart like inferno, ten unconscious bodies lay broken at my feet. My right arm, metallic and the color of blood, crackled with power as its claws sharpened and wire-like muscles coiled up to my shoulder with a hiss of red mist.

Making my way to the club dancefloor, all my drinks were paid for, too many men trying their best to hit on me. For once, I loved it. The blood burning in my veins was electric, and I loved teasing them to give them nothing in return. If they had a problem with it, I just punched them.

It didn't take long for me to find a body I did like when one of the Hellfire Club workers tended to my wounds, Twilight had asked for them specifically with a mischievous smile. I wasn't normally into girls, or maybe Diana wasn't, but at this point all I felt was a need to burn. I growled at the worker, whose heart steadily burned just as much as mine did. "What's your name?"

"Andressa." She said as she licked her lips.

"I'm going to bite you now." I decided.

"Oooh." She leaned in for me.

———

Ripley

January 1st

11:55 AM

"I don't like this." Mirage huddled close to me, her body warm as barely clothed flesh from all denominations of humankind raved under the haze of psychedelics, digital and chemical, and pressed up against us. "The Hellfire Club on New Years is… well that Twilight's specialty."

I pulled her closer, not complaining about the closeness of her curves against me. I whispered closely into her ear. "Don't worry, I'll be protecting you."

She melted willingly, a light flush on her cheeks. "Don't make us book a room here of all places. Don't want to, since she's likely watching us… but if you tempt me, I will. She can get off to us."

The Crimson Heart. When she arrived at my apartment, she either didn't know or feigned knowledge that Skeleton had just paid a prior visit. All she ended up doing was handing me a card, and an invitation for New Years before she disappeared in a haze of red light. The card remained, I was less sure of her powers every time I saw her.

I still couldn't say the word 'pony'.

"We'll get through it, but first…" I swayed a little with her, my hands sliding down to her waist.

"Donovick…" She hissed with a smile, pressing her back further into me.

"I made sure we arrived a little earlier than on schedule." I kissed her neck, and I felt her fingernails dig into my thighs as she purred.

We enjoyed what little time was left for New Years, as the clock counted down, we danced to the music and enjoyed a heated kiss… while doing our best to keep our hands away from places more suited to explore during a private time. Yet, the entire time... I felt...

I didn't know the word for it. I kissed her, the same way I always did. But something felt different, and not in a good way. For the first time, a kiss felt like... effort.

A finger tapped my shoulder. "Ripleyyyy… I see you brought a friend with you."

I jerked, turning back to see Andressa. That same worker who'd led me down to the Red Room countless times back when I was getting my therapy. "Oh wow, and you're even in your Mirage form! I thought you only came here as Twilight. Why, I wonder if I'll finally get to taste the original."

"You know why we're here." Mirage scowled, this time moving to protect me with a protective embrace I would never complain about. "And… besides, she's gone her own way."

"Hmmm…" Andressa leaned in between us, her hands snaking to hold us both as she delicately dragged us away from the commotion of bodyheat. We found ourselves taken not to the Red-Room, but instead backstage upstairs…

Me and Mirage weren't idiots, she was prepared to call upon Titanium and I had a Dreadwire mask fastened to my frame, ready to deploy at the first sign of ill will. When Andressa finally opened a door to us, who we saw was not the Crimson Heart.

Or well, not just her. Sitting in a hot tub was a woman with a plume of red-hair shaved one side, and with a body sculpted to win the damn neo-olympics in all categories. Besides her stood a tall crimson Exo-Suit, it radiated with the same pressure the Crimson Heart had, except… far more concentrated in terms of Warpcode.

This woman in the hot-tub was the Crimson Queen, and behind her on a bed was the Crimson Heart. Also naked and exactly resembling a Kaisel clone. Mirage quickly covered my eyes as both nude women waved.

"You damn sluts!" She hissed. "This better be for actual business and not some weird swingers event!"

"Relax, Mirage, sweetie." Crimson Queen chuckled with a voice gravelly yet having a feminine undertone. "We're just in our business suits after all."

The Heart chuckled behind her, but I couldn't see what was happening with Mirage's hand on my eyes. I heard the rustle of fabric and then light poured into my vision, and only then did the hand leave so I could see both of the Puppeteers of Crimson Souls were on bed. They wore loose robes and had their arms draped around each other, but their gaze was intent on us.

The Heart gave us an amused smile, it was unusual for me to see her without her veils. She looked just like a Kaisel clone, except, some deeper knowledge in me was aware that this appearance was just as much of a veil. "You know Mirage, if you're that insecure, the two of you are free to come here for couple's counseling."

"We're fine in our relationship." Mirage tensed around me. "I'm never letting you in my, nor his, head ever again."

"That's rich coming from you…" The Queen had a sick smile on her face. "Dogwhistler."

Mirage stepped back, but she took a sharp hiss out in realization. "Skeleton told you?"

"Word's gotten around that you've… retired." She said with menace. "But I have to say, Donovick, you got yourself involved with a girl you should have never done so."

"I know exactly who I'm dating." I glared back, holding Elsa's hand defiantly.

"Ah," The Heart mused. "Love. I wonder how far it will take you both. Of all veils that blind, love is the most honest deception."

"Shut up and tell us what you came to his house for." Elsa barked.

They exchanged a look, sighing at the same time before the Crimson Queen clapped her hands, and a table pushed up from the ground in between us. On it was a familiar torn body resembling the Bladedaughter, still breathing, and a pile of beating flesh connected to the body with tubes.

"Those are… Heart Seeker and Hexblood." I realized.

"They are." The Heart answered. "Would you like to turn them into a weapon?"

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