If it had been anyone with malicious intent, I was sure I would have been easily killed off. The fevered thought of it being someone avenging Red Dust quickly washed away as soon as the shadowed figure before me pulled down their hood.

  Despite the dark circles around her dull eyes, there was no mistaking it for being anyone else but Roxy. She looked terrible, any sign of her usual energy drained from her tired expression. My V-Force drive snapped off, allowing the loaded pen to fall straight from the end of the barrel to the floor.

  Before I had the chance to move or allow my brain to tick over to the next thought, she was upon me. Enveloped in a hug. I held her in return, as best as my tired arm and awkward shotgun were able. The warmth was comforting. At first, I thought she was getting super-heated and her head was melting through my neck, but the warm rivulets running down onto my chest were tears.

  [I missed you.]

  She moved her head back to look me in the face. I had never seen her in such a sorry state, and it was heartbreaking. Her lips quivered as she tried to return the phrase, but it was unnecessary. I could tell. Apologetic, regretful, and guilty. She would do it again in a heartbeat, of course, just as I would kill to save her. After a couple of moments of unspoken understanding, she put her head beside my neck again.

  “I thought… I’d lose you,” she managed.

  [There’s too much for me to do. It’s not my time.]

  “So much blood… and your legs…”

  [Now I am even more of a machine.]

  She squeezed me a little tighter. “But no less of a man.”

  Any intention of winding up the thoughts to tell her how much I appreciated that sentiment blew away with a sigh, as a familiar set of light footsteps came up to the door.

  “I do hope you are not a fugitive, sister. Plus, Gunquake is not allowed to be standing.”

  Roxy turned us both to face Clara standing in the doorway. “I’ve been holding him up, as I thought that might be the case.”

  Of course, she could lift me with ease due to her strength. While having my legs dangle a couple of inches from the floor was probably still not the correct amount of rest, it was better than the pressure of me standing up. Plus, trying to walk around seemed to amp up any fever and delirium within seconds. My body was trying to tell me to stay put.

  “Fantastic. Then please put the patient back in his bed.” The techie had her arms crossed, still not pleased with the two of us. I could tell that behind that, she was torn up with how upset the super looked. That, or my mind was getting close to shutting down, and I was making things up.

  Roxy walked me gently back to the recovery room and laid me down like I was an oversized doll. I let out a long, exasperated sigh at being back in this temporary tomb, and looked up at the sad hero.

  [You aren’t a fugitive, right?]

  “No.” She wiped her face with the back of her sleeve and returned a sigh. “The League let me go, but suggested I go home to sleep before seeing you.”

  [I feel guilty then, if you haven’t slept. That’s all that I’ve done, pretty much.]

  She gave me an exasperated smile, emotions still wavering across her face. “I came so close to turning rogue and burning the city to the ground. For your dumb ass. I must be mad.”

  “Madly in love,” Clara interjected, as she closed the door. “Director Kingston knows this, which is why we are granted so many concessions. Gunquake has become leverage for your cooperation and stability. If you became a villain yesterday… well, not even we know what you’re fully capable of.”

  Roxy nodded slowly. “I wasn’t feeling much like a hero at the time. Not only was I unable to save Dubs from getting injured, but I then murdered the asshole after losing my temper.”

  [The wastelands desensitized us. When killing our problems became the norm, it was easy for that to become a quick decision under a moment of high pressure.]

  “Don’t excuse it, shithead.” The super gave me a scowl as she pulled over a stool to sit beside the bed on my left. “I fucked up, hard. It’s lucky the League could see the self defense angle and are spinning it into something positive.”

  I watched as Clara came over on my right side to inspect my legs for any damage. Perhaps Roxy was right about being hard on herself, but the trouble was… I didn’t really care. I was a little sedated, so my judgement might be off, but if a villain is willing to kill, then it should be fair game for them to meet a justified end. A viewpoint that was no doubt baked in after years of kill contracts and being separate from normal society.

  [Shame. I was ready to go to war against the whole of Goldarch, by your side.]

  “Idiot.” Roxy relaxed and smiled. “I know you’re saying that because making me annoyed will distract me from being sad.”

  She wasn’t wrong, but I still meant it. Sure, it would be a short-lived rebellion, but a bloody one. We wouldn’t be able to stand up to a group of S-Ranks, even if Roxy had the ability to kill one if given the chance. A thought clicked around in my mind while the super turned her attention to the elephant in the room, but I put a pin in it for now.

  Her eyes went down to my new legs. “I’m… relieved you were able to get replacements. These look a lot better than I was expecting.”

  “I twisted Doctor Jarl’s arm until he dug them out. He let me run an inventory check a while ago, so I knew what he had available. I wasn’t about to allow Gunquake to get anything but the best.” The techie finished making sure I wasn’t injured before glancing up at the super. “Now that all the cards are on the table, the Doctor has been rather receptive to me ordering him around.”

  “You said that he agreed to be the in charge of Dubs’ health?”

  Clara pulled a face. “In the eyes of the League, perhaps. Gunquake is still to come to me first. That said, Doctor Jarl is very useful for many reasons.”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  [Seeing as he was the one who did my original cybernetics, I’m inclined to agree.]

  “He did what?” Roxy looked at me, confused.

  We got her caught up. While she had been given the more important information about my continued existence, Clara hadn’t filled her with all the unnecessary details. Speaking it out loud to a third party, it almost seemed obvious that the most prominent cybernetics expert in the city would have been the one to fix me up all those years ago. It made me wonder about all the random connections over the last month or two that joined us all together. Secrets were made to be unearthed.

  Roxy put her hand on my leg, and I twitched involuntarily. “Oh,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “You can feel through them? Already?”

  “Something about Gunquake’s physiology makes him almost perfect for cybernetic replacements.” Clara leaned against one of the cabinets as she read through her notes. “Doctor Jarl believes it is due to the nanites.”

  [They are what make me a super solider, as well as granting me the magical abilities that I possess. Stims and nutrition canisters keep me going, but my regeneration is thanks to the magic-inscribed miniature tech going through my bloodstream.]

  “The tech side of them works with your synapse controlled parts, and the magic side of them grant Gunquake his spells.”

  Roxy nodded along, slowly, as we explained. “Shit. So if we take a look at them, we could see the spell runes and know what Dubs is fully capable of?”

  I raised an eyebrow toward the techie, not knowing the answer myself.

  She didn’t respond at first, a full answer formulating behind her glowing green eyes for a few moments. “Most cities on the continent have differing tech specialities. Some of them are unique to their provinces, and others are more common, but have varying qualities that aren’t comparable. An example would be cybernetics as a whole. Goldarch has Doctor Jarl, and thus, the most mechanically intricate and functional tech. To the southeast, a city called Lighthaven has the most realistic cybernetics, but they aren’t as technically detailed.”

  [Realistic how?]

  “We’ve talked about it before, but the stuff that looked like real skin.” Clara gestured to my neck. “The cyberskin you have now is functional, and frankly, a brilliant invention. If you were flayed alive, we could put that all over and you’d still have no trouble regulating temperature or feeling through your nerves.”

  “Don’t put that kind of shit into the universe,” Roxy grumbled.

  “Lighthaven’s realistic tech isn’t built as well as what we have, however.”

  [You could say it’s built-]

  “Likewise, your nanites aren’t something produced or seen in this area. Neither the Doctor nor I have been able to trace where they are from yet and don't have the equipment to truly investigate their potential.” Clara seemed a little annoyed at that point. “Far to the north, Karlberg has the best cybernetic weaponry.” She tapped her notepad. “Or they did have, until I stepped onto the scene.”

  She didn’t want to tell me what the arm was going to do, or how the artefact really helped with anything. It wasn’t like her to be so secretive, so I wondered what she had in store. Just having a useable hand was worth the wait. I wiggled my toes in anticipation, drawing the eyes of the two women.

  “How long until he can walk?” Roxy asked.

  “That is the golden question. Does the League have any arrangements with the delayed team reveal?”

  The super pulled a face. “It was meant to be… tonight? I haven’t slept so I’m not sure what is going on, but they want to do it in two days. Not tomorrow, but the day after.”

  Rather optimistic of them. I checked my new STAR windows and brought up the time. Four in the morning. Given that they’d want to throw us out at night time, that was a decent number of hours that I had to try to force my recovery.

  Roxy put a warm hand on my arm. “I guess we’ll have to see how our new leader feels, right?”

  [That hasn’t been decided on.]

  “It has, Dubs. You can play it down as much as you want, but if the goofballs aren’t following me, then they’ll follow you no questions asked.”

  [Feels disingenuous to reveal me as the new leader of your team, given that the narrative is you were injured saving me.]

  “Eh.” She leaned back and shrugged. “Public won’t give a shit. You seen the clips yet? Ah, of course you wouldn't have. Here, let me send it.”

  I waited a second before my STAR gave me a notification. A video message from Roxy, which was rather novel given how basic my old lens system was. In my right eye, a box opened up, showing a full color clip of my time in the graveyard. I watched myself break free of Bonemeal’s ethereal restraint, run up and punch the villain in his face.

  [That was an even more satisfying punch in third person.]

  “That is blowing up on the web right now. The League are actually trying to downplay it, as they don’t want you to be the ‘cyborg guy who punches criminals in the face’.”

  [Apparently I’ll be able to kick really well soon.]

  The glare she shot me actually lit up her eyes like a pilot light. She turned her attention to the techie rather than melting me away. “I’m more worried about… like baths and stuff. These new pins waterproof?”

  “Hmm?” Clara flipped over a page in her notes. “Oh. All of Gunquake’s cybernetics are reasonably resilient. A bath would pose no issue, and even his shotgun can be submerged for a few hours, to no detriment. As long as they are properly maintained…” She paused to glance up from her notes. “That does mean I’ll need to get on my knees and oil up your legs regularly, Gunquake.”

  Roxy flipped her off, but seemed more at ease with how things were back to normal proceedings. It had been a rough couple of days for all of us, and the sooner we were back on track, the better.

  [I’m tempted to try to run home to get into the bath, then.]

  While my shotgun might be fine getting in the bath with me, I still wanted to keep it dry. My legs were a different matter, but I was sure to get told off for-

  “No, Gunquake.” Clara switched from teasing the super to frowning at me. “No running, and no submerging your legs while they heal. You are afforded several miracles and yet you still try to push your luck.”

  “I’ll make sure he behaves.” Roxy tightened her grip on my arm to make sure I understood she was serious. “Being a hero without legs isn’t impossible, but with the other things the League wants to do… just fuckin’ heal up, okay?”

  A grunt was the only acknowledgement I gave. The lack of action was already making me itchy. Recovery was necessary and perhaps deserved, but I’d much rather be active.

  “How you… even find Red Dust? Last I heard, you were coming home from your League mission—which you aced, by the way—and then I got the message from Clara that you were in trouble.”

  [I… just had a feeling something was odd with that building. After stopping to pick up something from the shops, I felt compelled to investigate. No doubt assisted by my lack of energy and wits from stim withdrawal. Any clue, Clara?]

  “I’ve been doing some research on magical spells. There are a few based around premonition. Either danger-sense, foresight, or intuition aligned are all options. You’ve always displayed a high level of perception, so who can tell? Perhaps you are just led to things that get you in trouble.” She paused and looked off to the side. “I am receiving a call. Please excuse me.”

  We watched her leave; the door closing as she went back out further into the… whatever this building was called. Roxy leaned over and put her head on my shoulder, sighing deeply.

  [How are you doing?]

  “Terrible. I need to eat, wash, and sleep. Pretend I didn’t murder a guy in the middle of the city because he cut your legs off.” She drummed her fingers on my arm. “I’d like to say that I just want to move past all this, but it’s easy when I’m not the one suffering the permanent consequences of the fuck up.”

  [I’m at peace with it. Frustrated that I’m stuck in a bed for a while, but karma has been waiting a while for me to slip up. I’m just lucky that the team showed up to save me, and I have the backing of the League and Clara to put me back together again.]

  “You’re way too calm, Dubs. I’d be seething in your position, but… I guess that’s why we work, right? Nothing gets in your way, not even my temper making me a loose cannon.”

  [...I really want to kick a criminal with my new legs.]

  “Asshole.” She sat back up and smiled. Before she could say anything further, the door opened back up, and Clara stuck her head inside.

  “Good news. Doctor Jarl is coming down to give you a final checkup, Gunquake. If all things are as expected, we are allowed to take you home for the rest of your recuperation.”

  For a man with no mouth, my smile couldn’t be wider.