Amanda moved to stand beside him. “What’s going on?”

  Void took a conciliatory tone. “A couple of circumstances need to be taken into consideration. Firstly, the universe you’ll be visiting has no magic. There are no magi of any kind there, which means a soft touch is needed. Mundane method should be used if at all possible.”

  “I see.” Matt glanced at his wife.

  Amanda narrowed her eyes as she listened. “And?”

  “Also, this seems to be an unsanctioned mission led by Riven Reavers. There might be a little Magi back up, but not much.”

  Matt frowned. “So how does that change things?”

  “Based on previous experience dealing with universes with no magic, I prefer to keep things as mundane as possible and use assets that don’t use magic. Exposing a mundane world to magic is dangerous. I’ve seen it happen with the Reavers before and the effect it can have. Clean-up is a nightmare and sometimes impossible, so I’m keen to not go down that road. Usually, I pick a mundane team and back them up in case a Magus Reaver shows up. But given my workload, I thought Amanda could take my place while you lead this mission, Matt.”

  “I see,” Matt muttered in reply.

  Void turned to Amanda. “I was impressed with Matt during his mission with your friend Tanis.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, me too.”

  Matt grinned, feeling empowered. “Thank you, ladies.”

  Beside him, Amanda rolled her eyes at him before focusing back on Void. “Okay, this sounds interesting.”

  “You’re clearly capable of leading a mission and a team,” Void continued, “so I think this is the best option.”

  “Thank you,” Matt replied. “Do you need the whole team to be Riven?”

  “Ideally, yes, with Amanda to give magical assistance when needed. In fact, I think Jinx would be a suitable fit for this world.”

  “Oh?” Matt replied. “Is it a little futuristic?”

  “Compared to your Earth, yes, it is more advanced, but only by a century or so.”

  “Awesome.” Matt considered who else he could take with him and soon came to an obvious choice. “Then I think Jinx and Howie would be ideal.”

  Amanda nodded and smiled. “Sounds good. We should get dressed and gather the troops.”

  “Indeed,” Void confirmed. “I will be waiting.”

  DIVIDE AND CONQUER

  Quickly stepping through the roiling energies of the portal, Lux landed in a dingy back alley, slicked with water and coated in shadows. The glow from nearby neon lights leaked into the narrow space as he took in his environment, assessing the incursion point.

  It was quiet and somewhere deep in the city that he recognised from his first visit here.

  This, he remembered, was part of the undercity of Neo London, made from the patched-up ruins of the old city that was mostly destroyed by nuclear war decades ago, before it was built on top of. Looking up, he couldn’t see the sky, just the bottom of the massive platform that the new mega-city of Neo London was built upon. There were a few gaps in the platform that allowed some meagre light through to the city below, but not much.

  Draped in darkness the whole time, it was the perfect place for his team to appear.

  Around him, the first squad of Reavers he’d sent through were on high alert, their guns ready as they hid in alcoves and ducked behind cover. Behind him, he could feel the burn of the exotic energies that had ripped a hole between universes, allowing him and his team to cross from their own, dying universe, and come here.

  He turned to watch as Kaelis, his lover, partner, and confidant appeared too, the lambent blue and purple energies caressing her body as she appeared, as if from nowhere.

  She seemed a lot less affected by the reality-warping effect of the magic than he did, but as a magus, that was expected.

  She smiled as she met his gaze and glanced around. “Well, you weren’t kidding. This is a delightful place.”

  “I don’t care what it looks like, as long as it serves our purposes,” he remarked.

  She nodded as more of their team jumped through the portal to join them. Lux watched and waited as Emiko, Thyra and Dramen joined the squads of Reavers who’d been persuaded to join their cause in the hope of enhancement.

  Sonny was the last one through, and as he landed on the concrete and assessed his surroundings, the portal sputtered and died.

  “That’s everyone,” Sonny reported in, approaching Lux. “That all went smoothly.”

  “It did, thank you. Your man came through for us,” Lux said.

  “I told you he would.”

  Lux nodded and glanced around at the expectant faces. They were all here because of him, and placed their faith in his plan, but now it was time to deliver.

  “Right, we need to move fast, before either Reaver Command or Void and her redheaded pawn can cause us any trouble. So, I need us to split up. As per the plan, I need a team to hit the black-market suppliers, and another to gather the manpower from the camps. Thyra, Dramen, you’ll lead one team and grab the gear.”

  “Got it,” Thyra confirmed.

  “Kaelis, Emiko and Sonny, you’re with me. We’re gonna hit the camps. You all know what we’re looking for, so let’s get to it.”

  AFTERMATH

  “How are you feeling?” Frankie asked. She knelt down beside Gibson, where he lay on the stretcher with his eyes closed.

  They were in a government-issue VTOL flyer, a black, unmarked beast, cruising over the city, slipping between the glittering towers of Neo London. Two more flyers flanked them on either side from where they’d been picked up right outside the Police building where she, Gibson, Veronica and Xenox had fought the Psytech Corporation. The building itself had been utterly trashed, and they were all sporting injuries.

  Veronica and Doctor Xenox had somehow got away with cuts and bruises, but both she and Gibson had lost an arm. Gibson’s had been pulled off by a marauding mech, while Frankie’s had been shot off by one of Psytech’s deadly cybernetic agents.

  The last couple of days had been a chaotic, mind bending and life altering explosion of crap she’d barely had time to process, and it didn’t look like it was going to calm down anytime soon.

  Just three days ago, Frankie had been almost entirely organic. Apart from the nano that coursed through her blood, passed down to her from her mother at the moment of conception, Frankie had resisted getting any augmentations, including the ubiquitous cyber brain that nearly everyone had implanted into their skull, granting them unfettered access to the online world.

  She’d been a rarity in this commodified and, in her opinion, enslaved society that was controlled by the all-powerful corporations.

  That was until everything went wrong down in the undercity when she’d been shot by a Jacker Gang and left for dead.

  She felt sure she would have died that night in the dirt and grime of the exile camp, if it hadn’t been for Doctor Xenox, a back-alley cyber doc who’d picked her up, taken her home, and transferred her brain into a state-of-the-art cybernetic body, saving her life.

  But in the process, as a man on the run from the Psytech Corporation, he’d dragged her kicking and screaming into a head on collision with a powerful and faceless organisation that wanted her cyborg body for itself.

  What followed had been a protected and unending fight as she ran from this relentless foe, which came to a head in the police station just a few moments ago.

  And, despite her misgivings about the motivations of the agency that had picked her up, for the first time in several days, she felt she could at least relax a little.

  He smiled drunkenly. “Actually, not too bad. Whatever drugs they’re using, they’re good.”

  She nodded, knowing that his nano would also be helping with the pain. On the other side, two medical technicians worked on his missing right arm. She could only imagine the incredible pain he’d been through when that Mech ripped his arm off. “That’s good, I’m sure we’ll get you fixed up.”

  “I hope so. Looks like I’m going to need a prosthetic after all. You’ve started a trend.”

  “You don’t need a cybernetic arm. They could grow you an organic one.”

  “I’ll take whatever they’re offering.” Gibson sighed. He turned his head and looked her in the eyes. -Any idea who these guys are, yet?- he asked over their neural link, his voice loud and clear in her head where no one could listen in. -I’ve got zero net access.-

  -I know, me too. No GPS either. They’re jamming us.-

  -Probably a security precaution.-

  -I know. Still, it’s unnerving. Anyway, they call themselves the ACT, the Anti-Corporation Taskforce,- Frankie answered.

  -Really? That’s a little on the nose.-

  -What did you expect from a government agency? All I know is, they’re not Psytech, and their government-issue ID tokens check out.-

  -That’s something, at least.- He relaxed with a sigh. -Be careful.-

  -Don’t worry about me. Just focus on yourself.-

  -Sure thing. Thanks.-

  She nodded and backed away as Veronica walked over and took her place beside Gibson, taking his hand in hers.

  Frankie returned to her seat in the belly of the large flyer as it thundered over London. With her GPS blocked and the lack of any windows in the flyer’s hold, she had no idea where these ACT guys were taking them. But after the fight they’d just endured, anywhere would be better than where they’d been.

  Agent Forrester, the man who seemed to be in charge, stepped over and dropped into the seat beside her.

  A link notification appeared on her HUD as he tapped the side of his head. The ID attached to the link request matched, so she authorised it, and the link opened up. Without any access to the Net, the encrypted link was direct and basically line-of-sight rather than via the Net.

  -Thank you for agreeing to come with us,- Forrester began. -I appreciate your trust, and I apologise for our security precautions.-

  -You mean like the GPS and Net jamming?-

  -Exactly that. Psytech has virtually unmatched resources, and I’m sure you’re aware of that, so we need to be careful.-

  -No problem,- she replied, a note of caution in her tone. But she couldn’t deny anything he just said. Tracking them would be child’s play for a corporation like Psytech if they didn’t take a few reasonable precautions. -Psytech would have been there before too long, and you were our best option, frankly.-

  Agent Forrester shrugged. -Fair enough. I appreciate your honesty.-

  Frankie fixed him with a steely glare. -Why are you helping us?-

  -Because we need people like you,- Forrester replied.

  Frankie glanced around the inside of the flyer and then back to the agent. -Like me? Are you serious?-

  -Deadly. We became aware of you following the attack on your apartment. It was reported by a resident, and the case was passed to us. We traced you back to the Doctor’s lab in the Undercity and the Jacker Gang attack where you got shot, and we followed your progress as you rescued the Doctor from the Psytech Building through to your fight at the Police building. We were impressed.-

  -Thanks, I guess.- She felt bewildered that they’d been watching this whole time. -Could you not have helped?-

  -We weren’t authorised to. But that’s about to change, and if you’re interested in helping us, you can be part of it.-

  -Part of the ACT?-

  -Part of the fight back against the corporations. The ACT has been formed by the Prime Minister. It’s a black ops, strictly off-the-books group that will have the highest clearance and autonomy to pursue our mandate, and I think you and your friends would be perfect for it.-

  -Don’t be ridiculous?-

  -I’m serious,- he replied. -It’s up to you, of course. I can’t force you to join, and if, after you’ve heard me out, you don’t want to be a part of it, that’s fine too. You’re free to go. I just ask that you take my offer seriously.-

  Frankie frowned. -Alright.- She had to admit to feeling intrigued but also overwhelmed. She loved the idea of finally fighting back against the corporations with the government’s full backing and using this incredible cybernetic body that Xenox had given her. But she wasn’t sure she trusted her own judgement yet. These last few days had been a whirlwind, and it didn’t feel like she’d had a moment to digest what had happened to her. She’d been through some incredible changes in a short space of time and now had a giant corporation doing its best to hunt her down and kill her.

  Frankly, right now, she could do with a long bath, a drink, and a solid night’s sleep.

  She wasn’t sure she would get it, though, not yet at least.

  The flyer juddered between the gigantic buildings and archologies of the city while Agent Forrester discussed some of the details of the deal he was offering her and the others. It sounded good, she had to admit, and after everything she’d been through, this might be everything she wanted.

  -What about this?- Frankie asked with a sigh and raised the ragged stump of her left arm. Beneath her ripped synth skin, she could see the carbon nanorod skeleton, the artificial muscles and the ballistic gel that made up her flesh. -Can you fix it?-

  -I’m sure Xenox can sort that out. We’ve been to his lab and salvaged what we can.-

  -Oh, really?- She thought that was a little presumptuous.

  -We’re committed to this.- He smiled.

  Frankie glanced over to where Xenox was sitting, hunched forward, his elbows on his knees, looking exhausted. She opened a link to him. -They’ve brought your lab to… their place.-

  He lifted his head to peer at her from behind the cybernetic lenses that covered his eyes. -I know, he’s already told me. I’ll work on your arm once we arrive… wherever it is we’re going.-

  -Thanks.-

  Xenox bobbed his eyebrows in response and hung his head once more.

  Frankie sat back and sucked in a breath, curious to see how this played out.

  Eventually, the flyer descended and landed with a bump. Once it had settled and the whine of the engines started to cycle down, the rear hatch opened. Gibson was wheeled quickly off as the medical team whisked him away for treatment. Veronica went with him, leaving Frankie and Xenox to follow Agent Forrester and his men down the ramp into the sizable hangar. There was room for maybe two more flyers in here. Above them, the roof doors levered closed with a metallic squeal and a bang, sealing them in and cutting off the incessant rain.

  “Well, that’s ominous,” Frankie commented.

  -Did that Agent offer you a place on the ACT?- Xenox asked over their shared link.

  Frankie glanced over to where the agent was talking with some of his team. -Yeah, he did.-

  -What do you think?-

  -Sounds good. I’m interested.-

  Xenox nodded. He didn’t seem surprised.

  “Right then,” Forrester said as he walked over. “Shall I show you to your lab so you can get Frankie fixed up?”

  “Please,” Frankie replied.

  “Lead the way,” Xenox added.

  The agent did just that and led them to an elevator that descended a couple of floors. The doors opened into a series of bare hallways that had seen better days. But Forrester didn’t apologise for the mess and led them through the building. He spoke the whole way, describing his plans for the place, which they’d only just been assigned before they finally reached an unremarkable door.

  Agent Forrester stopped and waved towards it. “You’ll find all your tools and things in here. We salvaged what we could, but a lot of it was broken from the explosions.”

  Frankie grimaced. She’d detonated a couple of grenades in the lab during her escape.

  “Thanks,” Xenox muttered and marched through the door. “Frankie, come with me.”

  -Is he always this grumpy?- Agent Forrester asked over the link before she entered the room.

  -No,- She replied and then grinned. -Sometimes he’s worse.-

  Forrester’s lips twisted into a grimace. -Good luck.-

  -Thanks.- Frankie said and followed Xenox into his new lab while the agent walked away. The room was much bigger than she’d expected. It went back quite some distance, and was already filled with devices, machinery and cybernetic parts, some of which she recognised from Xenox’s lab in the undercity.

  She stiffened as Frankie felt suddenly overcome with paralysing emotion. She remembered waking up in Xenox’s lab, strapped to his table with her motor functions disabled. She remembered looking at a nearby gurney with the butchered remains of her organic body laid out on it, the top of her head missing and her brain case empty.

  All the fear, nausea and feelings of helplessness came roaring back and rooted her to the spot. She never wanted to feel like that again, and seeing the remains of Xenox’s lab spread out before her, was not helping.

  Nearby, Xenox waited by a damaged a cyber table and placed her severed arm on it. He then tapped the top of the table and beckoned her over. “Lay down here.”

  Her crippling fear abated, as she took a tentative step towards him. Sucking in a breath, she did as he asked. Frankie crossed the room and hopped up to the tabletop, where she lay back, her breathing short and tense. Meanwhile, Xenox hunted for various tools, cursing when he couldn’t find the right thing, before returning to her side and setting to work.

  He had to remove several damaged components from her stump and the severed arm, then find replacements amongst the endless boxes and crates. In all, she was laid on the table for over three hours while Xenox tinkered away.

  It was not relaxing. He barely spoke and didn’t engage in conversation, which was fine with Frankie. She preferred the silence.

  Finally, he stepped away. “Alright, I’m done for now. Try it out.”

  Frankie opened her eyes and lifted her arm. It was a relief to see her hand and wrist back where they should be and working again, but she guessed these were the benefits of modern cybernetics.

  She smiled. “Thanks.”

  “How’s your range of movement?”

  She twisted her arm back and forth and flexed her fingers and hand. “Seems fine.”

 

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