Ghost in the City

“Back again? Well you’re more consistent than your brother.” John offered as he noticed me working on a full punching bag. I was ducking and sliding making sure I was working my footing the best I could as I circled the bag. My legs getting a workout with how often I was shifting around and throwing hands.

“Jun’s lazy about exercise. Prefers to just chrome up.” I mentioned in short gasps as I backed off the bag, for a moment and then moved back in a few punches to the side as if I was up close and punching kidneys. I might be fairly out of breath, but I was close to a level up!

“Most kids prefer that. You’ve got chrome arms, but still practice, pretty unusual.” He said and then walked over holding the back so it wouldn’t bounce as much letting me start hammering into the bag even harder and faster.

“Skill and strength aren’t the same.” I huffed out dryly as I looked at the older man who was looking over my form and seemingly finding no issues over my motions as I went wild. Moving as fast as possible as I hammered chrome hands into the bag again and again.

I was just glad I had actually put on the padded knuckle gloves that had been lying around. Otherwise I would have punched right through the damn thing.

“You know how to box.”

“Boxing’s one of the martial arts I actually had someone work with me on. I know an old guy that used to be a pro.” I replied. Even if Vik had only given me the one lesson with Jackie that one time.

It was still the truth and a better lie than nothing.

“You got something driving you. Something on your mind kid?”

“You’ve been out here punching the bag for over an hour. Something is driving you. Need to vent?” The old man offered as he continued to hold the bag for me.

I blinked, checking the time on my system before realizing I had lost track of time.

Oops.

Sure I was tired. I was sweating up a storm and I was pretty out of breath, but that was all minor stuff.

A nap and I would be back to 100% and feeling fine. But no one else knew that.

I shook my head. “I’ve had a lot of stuff happen in the last week or two. But I’m not… I’m not letting it bother me. I just lost track of time.”

“Heh. If I could get half the gonks that I train up to lose track of time like you. My job would be a lot easier.” I didn’t have anything to say to that, and as much as I wanted to try and get that Body level up. I realized I had gone a bit overboard. I took off the gloves and set them to the side as I walked off.

I heard a chuckle behind me, but I ignored it.

Shower and then a nap. That was all I needed.

—--

Waking up refreshed that evening I crawled out of my new bed and looked around the apartment. Jun’s boots were gone. So I was alone.

I sent a text out to the group chat, just to see how Malcolm was doing, and then instantly got flooded by replies.

*Motoko: How’s Malcolm holding up?*

*Malcolm: Doing alright.*

*Malcolm: Ichi’s been smothering me and I just kicked him out of the clinic. So expect some whining.*

*Ichi: Malcolm kicked me out of the clinic!*

*Ichi: I’m not whining! I just wanted to make sure you’re doing okay!*

*HIromi: I’m stuck finishing homework! Motoko rescue me! Also Malcolm and Ichi have been whining about each other all day.*

*Malcolm: We have not!*

*Ichi: The hell we have! Hiromi shut up!*

*Hiromi: See?*

I laughed at the back and forth. It seems everyone was doing okay if Malcolm and Ichi could fight.

*Motoko: Preem. Reminder once Malcolm is back on his feet we are going to have a big party!*

*Malcolm: Yes! See this is what I wanted to hear!*

*Ichi: Yeah alright that sounds good. Know where you want to have it?*

I blinked at that. Then I remembered. I walked into the kitchen and found the flyer.

I sent a picture to my chooms.

*Motoko: Maybe? There’s a bar near where I am that does live music. Want to test it out? Or we could go hit Lizzie’s?*

*Malcolm: Eh. As much as I like Lizzie’s, they don’t like us much. Anyone been to this bar?*

*Ichi: Yeah. I made some deliveries there before the war. Harukiya was nice enough I guess. More of a music bar, than the BD stuff we normally hang at. They have an entrance fee though.*

*Hiromi: Ichi we have money to pay for an entrance fee!*

*Malcolm: You say that like we don’t have eddies. Hiromi beat me to it!*

*Motoko: Then I guess we get to try it out once Malcolm feels better!*

I nodded as the conversation flowed into background noise of messages popping in. I wanted to scope out how good Rockerboy Neighbor was anyways! Stupid cool jerk!

I’d show them! I’d show them all!

But first… I was so close to a new Body level!

—--

The sound of ‘The Only Thing They Fear Is You’ blasted through the apartment as I ran around.

I couldn’t rely on pushups to try and get the Body level so I had decided to use acrobatics. I was currently flipping around the apartment from one wall to the next, ending each set with a cool spinning kick, or a faux superman punch into the air, just to give myself something to do.

It was exercise and actually pretty hard work, since I was sweating up a storm and getting my muscles burning.

Then mid afternoon finally it happened.

*100 Body XP Gained*

*Body Leveled up!*

Body 8!

I stopped my routine as I felt the shudder go through my muscles. Breath in. Breath out.

“I feel amazing.” I whispered as I rushed to the bathroom and the mirror. It only took a few moments of checking my muscles to see the difference. Stronger. I felt stronger. I flexed my abs and grinned as it was definitely visible in the mirror.

Hell yeah! Superhero abs!

I exhaled in relief as I flopped onto the toilet for a moment.

“Sweaty.” I mumbled as I quickly stripped and fell into the shower letting the warm water wash it all away.

Heh. It had been a while since I had tried to grind out a Body point. I still wasn’t exactly the type to exercise all the time, but I had to admit it did feel good. Plus it meant I could grind out Athletics and Street Brawling again! I could go Parkour and get something out of it.

Well other than just fun.

That brought me up short.

Fun.

My system gave me incredible skills. Power. Talent. It let me do so many things… Like hunting Scavs down like the dogs they are.

But all of that was just what I could do. It wasn’t who I was.

Who I was… Was someone who took those skills and had fun with them.

I blinked as I wiped the water off my face. I got out of the shower. Quickly drying off, and getting dressed, adjusting my boots to make sure they were night and tight.

I loaded up my normal gear just in case but I could feel the beat of my heart urging me on.

Quickly running to the music box I copied a song to a shard. I had put together this song because I wanted it, and it had taken forever considering how many non-instrumental sounds it needed.

But complete it was, and now I had the perfect idea for what to do with it.

I headed up to the roof.

—--

The howl of wind blowing between skyscrapers. The stink of the city below me. And the California sky above.

I was on the roof, but I wasn’t as high as I could go. There was another section of the building that had almost japanese styled penthouses. I was sure some high end Arasaka, or TC guy lived up there. I quickly bounced my way up. Climbing along the side of the building, hitting AC units, and piping until I reached the penthouse.

I winced a bit at all the security, but I ended up just worming around it as I climbed over Japanese style tile roofing until I reached the very top.

Okay. It was time.

I blinked in between one moment and the next.

A BD recording began.

I had considered doing a test run first, to find all the right spots, but I trusted Parkour and my own mobility.

We were doing it live. It was just… Better that way.

I pulled a shard out of my pocket, flashed it before my eyes. I was getting call backs to Only Thing They Fear BD. But this wasn’t that.

This one Judy might actually like.

Inner Universe was scratched into the shard.

I pushed it into my port and let my agent play the song in my ear.

And as the notes began, I moved. I ran leaping off the roof to the short wall that surrounded the japanese garden, then leapt again. Completely freefalling into the Night City sky.

For just a moment. I was motionless. Perfectly still. Then I reached out. Snagged a pipe that I was falling past, pulling myself into the building so my boots could slow my decent, slowing enough until I hit an angled roof, where I was able to bleed the a bit more of the falls speed off, as I slid down and then once more I was in the sky.

I landed twenty feet below in a roll on a bridgeway between the buildings. Immediately jumping to my feet as I ran across the roof of the walkway. I could hear people below me wondering at the noise but I ignored them. Leaping off the side Another drop, another rolling landing and I was moving all the way across the street running along the roofing of the buildings across from the new apartment.

I leapt over bits and bobs, noticed the asian lanterns that hung down from the side of the building, noticed the wire they were hooked through and the idea flowed.

I drew my knife as I flowed into a powerslide. Grabbing the wire I slid off the roof. Falling a good three or so feet before the wire snagged.

Then I cut it with my knife. The back end of my blade had wire cutters and in a second I was falling again. Sheathing my knife I managed to wrap the wire around my chrome hands a few times so I had a good grip as I fell.

Above me the pittering noise of the studs drilled into the concrete that the wire had been hooked into popped loose one by one, and then it happened.

The wire at the end was attached to a much stronger cable tie.

And instead of falling, I was swinging.

My stomach flew up into my throat as I flowed through the air. For a second there I was spiderman.

Then of course because this was flying by the seat of my pants. I realized I was about to slam right into one of those concrete walkways.

I reached up, grabbed the wire and tugged myself up fighting the centrifugal force. Shifting my trajectory just in time so instead of slamming into the side I was able to bring my legs up and swing right into the open side window.

I let go of the wire holding on to it would only see me smashing into the roof as the wire caught, but I was still in trouble.

Too fast.

I slammed my boots into the concrete which sent me tumbling, but also pushed me up just enough that instead of slamming into the concrete barrier on the other side of the walkway I went through its window as well, sending me hurtling out the other side in a deadly tumble.

My heart was hammering in my chest. My breath was coming out in a rush. I couldn’t even hear the music over the adrenaline spiking.

But I moved using my chrome to come down on the roof first to protect myself I managed to get myself under control as chrome left trails of sparks across the concrete that I was skimming across

I was very thankful for my boots and pants. Because I could feel the road rash starting to build up where my pants weren’t as armored.

Then I was at the end of the line.

Still sliding. Still going too fast to stop, but the roof ended ahead of me.

So I stopped trying to slow down and instead once more used my boots to slam into the concrete and bounce me up.

I was in the air.

The music was there, and I knew what to do.

The flow of motions that were required to keep me alive flowing through me, and I moved. Reaching out I grabbed a pipe spinning me around it twice as I started falling then letting go. Sending me out once more, but this time at the right trajectory to reach an apartment balcony.

I rolled into the little concrete cube of personal space and then bounced up and into the next, and then again before my speed was under my control and then I was up on the guard rail along the edge of the little rectangular balconies running across them at full speed.

Almost there!

I had fallen quite far at this point. Only a few floors above the street level I was coming to the end of the street. Where it curved, but that was fine. I leapt out and this time I landed on the street lights. They shifted and swayed under my weight, but held and then I was running along the top and then to the light across the road, and then further. I was close to Megabuilding H8 now. I could practically touch it as I ran along, but that wasn’t where I was going. Instead I leapt down. Hurtling from the floor level I had been at, into the gloom.

The noise below me shifted from city streets. To back alley deals. To the sounds of pleasure and anger.

Jig-jig street.

I moved along the rooftops. Staying in the dark. Hidden from view from anyone not willing to look up. As I flowed through the area leaping from sign to sign, from window sill to corner apartment, that I actually rolled into and then out the window ignoring the scream of surprise from the john the Joytoy had been working over behind me.

Then I was just above the street level main entrance to the back alley, and there it was.

I leapt this time not landing atop a street light, but grabbing it and flipping around, then releasing, setting myself on a course, avoiding the giant eldritch statue that was above my target, and landing firmly on the sidewalk right next to the stairs down into Sakura Market. Then I was walking calmly, and steadily. Feeling my heart beating, and my breathing still rushing in and out as I cooled down, to my favorite place. I plopped down at the Ramen place, and since I was still recording didn’t say a word. Just pointed towards what I wanted.

A moment later the Ramen was rolled out to me, and I didn’t turn off the BD until the taste of the broth was on my tongue.

—---

“Ow!” I whined as Vik gave me a look.

“Don’t complain about it, if you are going to do it.” He told me and could only pout a bit.

“What did you even do to scrape down your chrome like that?” Malcolm called from across the room. He was still resting in the ripper chair although he would be heading home soon. His Mom wanted to bring him home to mother him. I had come to see Malcolm after Ramen.

Definitely just for that.

Not because my hands looked like I had run them against a grinder.

Most of the chrome was okay, but at certain points… Well the concrete hadn’t been kind to it, and it felt like I had an exposed nerve. So I had Vik looking it over.

“Nothing! Perfectly normal stuff! Not at all weird or strange!” I denied Malcolm who laughed once before wincing at his side.

“Most of the pads are okay, but I’ll need to replace a bit here.” He said sounding like he was mostly talking to himself, but saying it loud enough I could hear it. He pulled back and rolled across the clinic pulling open a crate and rummaging through it.

A few moments later he comes back with a sealed plastic bag. Inside were basically chrome pieces.

“Let’s see.” He muttered and then unsealed the bag reached in with his ripper gear covered hand and came out holding a piece of chrome. “There we are.” He muttered, resealing the bag and then leaned over my hand a moment later I felt a tickling sensation as he did something and a piece of my palm disconnected, revealing wires and sensors below. Then he placed a new piece of chrome down and had to keep from wiggling as the ticklish feeling surged up my arm.

Then it just soothed away and Vik nodded checking his little monitor device. “Connection is good. Test it out for me.” He mentioned and arm was released and I started poking at the cleaner section of chrome on my palm.

“Yeah. Feels… Normal?”

“Good. Be more careful, okay kid?”

“Yes! Sorry Vik.”

The old ripper laughed at me, before patting my shoulder. “Should be all good. Let me know if you have any problems.”

“Dr. Vektor, is Malcolm ready?” A voice called out and I turned towards the entrance to see Malcolms mom, the woman still looked a little tense after the shooting.

“Let me check his vitals one last time, but unless somethings changed, he’s all set.” Vik assured the woman his calm attitude did help. As he finished patting my shoulder and rolling over to check on Malcolm.

I ended up sticking around to help Malcolm out of the clinic and into his Mom’s car.

He hadn’t liked the fact that I had carried him up the stairs in a princess carry.

The pictures were worth it though.

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