K2

K2
--

Bit Chaos

Fridge

Kerry Eurodyne

Denny

Rogue

Johnny Silverhand

Aunt [Redacted]

Alt Cunningham

“Kilo” John Nettson
 [deceased]
“Crossbones” Taylor Hart III
 [deceased]
Iris Turingsen

*I will defend the faith*

*Going down swinging*

*I will save the songs*

*That we can't stop singing*

- ***Save Rock and Roll*, Fall Out Boy (feat. Elton John)**

## Dossier

K2, pronounced either “Kay-Two” or “Cato”, is a Rockerboy daylighting as a merc to pay the bills. She is outspoken and tends to wear clothes as loud as her opinion. Filling in for area groups in need of an extra body, he preferred to play the alt cafés rather than the clubs (even though the clubs give better ED) and could often be found busking select street corners with his original music. All that changed with a spontaneous debut set at Hammer, and K2 now finds themselves navigating rising fame and stardom.

Above all else, K2 appears to value honor, respect, and honesty.

## Physical Appearance

K2 stands 5’7” and is distinctly androgynous in their overall features. Their chemskin is the color of aquamarine-colored water – such as one might only read about now - and their tech hair is short, spiked, and colored: mainly dark blue, but with steaks of red, yellow-orange, and neon blue at the front. Their affectation are contacts that make their eyes look like those of cats, and one eye in particular tends to change with K2’s mood – thanks to a cyber eye with color-shifting capabilities.

Close observers may notice K2 sports a Cyberaudio Suite with level dampeners and a radio scanner/music player, while those few allowed more intimate knowledge of their affairs will have more detailed information regarding K2’s qualities.

## History (**Contains Spoilers**)

*Family Backstory*

Born October 20, 2024, Parker Huntsman, known by the handle K2, is the middle child of reclaimer parents (handles: Kilo and Tera) who saw the devastation of the Corporate Wars as an opportunity to return to so-called “simpler times” of small, self-sufficient communities in the style of 19th C “utopias” (minus the religious trappings) – with immediate and extended family forming the core of the group.

However, like the settlements of days gone by, they soon found themselves struggling to survive. Taking over what had once been a suburban development, they found themselves on constant lookout for boosters, raiders, and other assorted gangs and “distasteful groups”. They worked out a security system of sorts, and often took turns watching through the night.

One night the community was hit with surgical precision, the attackers interested more in certain supplies the group had than in directly confronting anyone. It so happened that K2 and Syn (aunt on mother’s side) were on guard duty, and while no-one accused either of them of conspiring with the bandits, Syn cast enough doubt on K2’s ability/word of honor that a rift opened between the two. While Syn likely shrugged off her actions, K2 has internalized their anger. While they will not actively seek out their aunt, should the two ever cross paths, K2 is likely to act first and ask questions never.

With their supplies now seriously depleted, the small community disbanded, scattering each of them to larger towns or cities, with K2 finding their way to Night City thanks to a Nomad named Nova. Nova has periodically checked in on what remains of the community for K2.

*Relationships*

K2 is both nonbinary and demi-pansexual. They have no strong feelings about what pronouns people use for them so long as they are treated with respect. They have had two serious relationships:

* Dyne was with K2 in the commune and was killed in a building collapse during a storm.
* Ink was one of the first people K2 met in Night City. Ink chased the leading edge of technology without regard to their own humanity and went into cyberpsychosis. Ink blames K2, as Ink – in their thoughts - only wanted to impress K2 the only way Ink knew how. Ink is now gunning for K2 and – just maybe - anyone else with them, too.

*Motivations*

As a rockerboy, K2 shares their parent’s dream of a better society. However, they think the best way to do it is to expose the corruption of the current powers and bring them to an accounting of the people they pretend to protect.

K2’s homeschooling taught them enough that they know such firebrands rarely last long, but they are willing to make that sacrifice, confident that when (not if) they go out, it will be with a recognition and reputation unparalleled by anyone else in their family.

*Becoming Rockerboy*

K2 developed their musical talent early to help pass the time in the commune/community. They really started putting their soul and emotions into their art when Dyne was killed, but there’s only so much that one can rage against life when life’s nearly equally shitty to everyone else, too.

It was also during this time she began dressing in the fashion of a Rockerboy. Although the clothes they wore were nothing like those worn by those in the wider world, they certainly stood out in the community, and her parents expressed their disdain whenever she’d trade her hard-earned/won materials for something flashy, and held an especially strong animosity for her guitar and amp.

What little she was able to ferry away from the commune she sold upon arrival in Night City and immediately upped her Rockerboy game, spending nearly every ED she had on clothes and accessories.

Music is K2’s passion, but it doesn’t pay all the bills . . . yet. To make ends meet she daylights as a merc. Looks like some of those skills gained in the community weren’t all useless after all . . .

## Edgerunner (Buncha Jackasses)

#### **Welcome to Night City**

* K2 received a message from Fagin to meet at the Tipsy Monk at 10:00 AM; K2 made sure to arrive just before, entering at the same time as Smoke. K2 and Smoke exchanged words about their axe and fist-bumped in their shared nonbinary-ness.
* Flat broke, K2 was the second to agree to find and return a heifer (not a cow) for a client prepared to pay 8,000 ED for the job. Smoke was the first to agree, and Bit Chaos, Nova, and Fridge followed them.
* Fridge bought aged tequila for the traditional shots. Everyone seemed fine except for Bit, whose drunken demeanor seriously annoyed K2 - though they also tried to help Bit out (without much success).
* K2 thought about calling in a favor from a fan to borrow a car to get the party to Rancho Conrad, but Nova told them to save the favor as she’d already called her brother Sonny to get a car from their motor pool.
* As they drove, K2 tried to keep Bit upright and not let her vomit. This was successful. At the checkpoint, K2’s bright clothing drew the attention of the guard, but they were able to persuade the guard they’d all been called in at the last minute - it being New Years’ Day - and weren’t exactly in delivery service uniform.
* Finding the truck seemingly abandoned, K2 and Smoke went to investigate while the others stayed by the car in case a hasty exit was needed. Walking around the back, K2 noticed the seal appeared intact the the door apparently locked.
* It was then K2 noticed a boot sticking out of a nearby gas station bathroom. It was the driver, named Lowell, braindancing with a wreath. K2 tried to remove the wreath, but as she did so was attacked by Lowell - something she knew shouldn’t happen.
* K2 got in the first punch, but Lowell allrared familiar with a variety of martial arts disciplines. Thankfully, the rest of the party soon caught wind of the fight and joined in. Thanks to Bit grappling Lowell, Smoke shooting him with a nonlethal, and Fridge choking him, Lowell was rendered unconscious.
* Using his skills, Smoke informed the party the heifer had been hijacked by some red-white-and-blue 6ers and taken to a rather obvious house nearby - though for what purpose was anyone’s guess at that point.

#### **National Myth**

The party was able to sneak up on two guards outside the gate to the house where the heifer was being kept. K2 took down one of them with a single swing of his lead pipe, and Smoke took out the other one with a blade.

The group entered the yard with K2 bringing up the rear and Fridge taking advantage of a nearby cherry picker to keep an eye on things from above. K2 was spotted (perhaps due to his clothes) and an alarm began sounding, which Smoke quickly disabled. He exchanged gunshots with the 6er who spotted him, with K2 taking the most damage of the two. Fridge began trying to take guards out inside the house by firing into the windows; one shot went wild and hit K2 in the left shoulder. Smoke sent K2’s attacker into unconsciousness, and K2 finished him off with his lead pipe before entering the house.

Bit had caused quite the pandemonium inside as she found herself surrounded by four 6ers, yet dodged each of their bullets before attempting to slice one of them with her blade. K2 tried to even the odds with his lead pipe, but found himself shot quite severely in the stomach and was forced to retreat outside. Feeling his life ebbing, he began to apply pressure. Smoke hacked K2’s biomonitorand helped get his adrenaline rushing, which helped stabilize him.

The rest of the group finished off the gang (with Smoke literally blinding most of them) and secured the heifer, and they made their way back to the truck and car. K2 rode in the truck to the drop off point at the address MrWilson had provided. On the way, Smoke got the address of a good rippredocfor K2 and Bit, who had taken massive damage to her arm.

Smoke and K2 delivered the heifer to what appeared to be a backyard barbecue for a seven-year-old’s birthday party. K2 had no feelings about this one way or the other, so long as she got paid.

Gifting the truck to the Nomads for their assistance, they made their way to Doc Hazzard, who told K2 there was nothing that couldn’t be fixed. He suggested a new liver, which K2 considered before finally saying “yes” when Doc Hazzard told her Fagin would be taking care of her medical bills in addition to her promised payment. K2 was unsuccessful in convincing Bit to take advantage of the situation and get a cyberarm. After surgery, K2 and the others received payment of 1500 ED each, as well as a message from Fagin that they’d all gained entrance into The Afterlife club – and that with their newfound experience Fagin would no longer be their intermediary for jobs.

They each went their separate ways to clean up before meeting at The Afterlife. K2 changed into muted neon colors. But before they could go in, someone detonated an EMP within a block of the club, causing K2 to go temporarily blind in one eye as well as experience minor organ failure. Fifteen seconds later the electronics started coming back online, including the large outdoor screens. They showed an image of the (in)famous – and decidedly deceased - Johnny Silverhand delivering a message of chaos to the those below.

#### **Runaways**

Taken to safety in The Afterlife by Rogue, they tried to collect their thoughts – which, at the time, centered on Smoke’s unconsciousness. K2 couldn’t tell much, but used some bar napkins to clean up the blood that poured from her nose and the blood mixed with clear fluid that came from her ears. When Smoke regained consciousness, the group tried – with limited success – to fill her in on what happened.

Someone threatened to break down the door, and Smoke asked Fridge to please take care of it before their headache got worse. After several false starts and attempts, Fridge opened the door and let someone into the bar that Smoke knew personally and the others knew by reputation: Kerry Eurodyne.

Kerry shook K2’s hand, admired the guitar, and invited them to play sometime. K2’s ears turned warm, though they weren’t sure why.

Kerry and Smoke talked briefly about what was going on; Smoke indicated they were running a program of some kind to prove Johnny Silverhand’sinnocence in the attack, but would need a few minutes to finish coding. While she did so, Kerry poured the others drinks from the bar: an Mk1 Grenade Launcher (a boozy wassail concoction based on Jägermeister and fireball) for Nova and K2, and a lemonade/grenadine mix for Bit Chaos. Nova named the drink “Bloody Punch” and Kerry agreed it was a good name.

Smoke came back with her program finished and decided it was time to tell more of the story. She told the others they had one more chance to bail; K2 said “no way” and listened intently as Smoke filled them in on certain facts of her past and who exactly was behind the attack: a woman (?) Smoke called The Patron Saint of Vicious Cunts. K2 asked for a name to add to their personal shit list and got it: one Alt Cunningham.

It was at this point Rouge came back with her bodyguard/assistant Dodger. Rogue and Smoke discussed the particulars of the gig Kerry was paying for. Some of it went over K2’s head, but the gist of it was that the group of them were being hired to clear Johnny Silverhand’sname and track down whoever had been causing mayhem in Night City. Rogue also told the group they would need a name for their crew.

Smoke suggested taking their findings to local news personality Potion, but in the meantime they would need to kill time. K2 and Nova suggested getting Smoke to a ripperdoc, and Smoke agreed. They made their way back to Doc Hazzard, and while he fixed up Smoke and did some alterations to Nova, K2 and Bit Chaos and Fridge played cards.

Well, they tried to play cards. Fridge tried to teach the other two poker, but was unsure how the game was played. Eventually they settled on Go Fish, with the losers sharing something about themselves. K2 lost twice, and shared they had two siblings and an aunt they hated. He was somewhat surprised that the others so easily agreed that, should the aunt ever show up, they would help K2 beat the shit out of her.

Smoke and Nova returned and they played a few more rounds of Go Fish. K2 lost once and told the others their favorite pizza topping was cheese. Smoke shared even more of her backstory and her old crew (The Runaways) and suggested the five continue using the name. Smoke also wondered if Rogue would give them their old table back (which wasn’t to be: another crew had taken it over; they’d have to fight for it).

With a few more hours to kill before Smoke’s program finished running, they made their way to Kerry’s mansion (where they’d earlier been invited). Smoke got them through the gate and into the house, where it became clear Kerry was Smoke’s mysterious roommate. They crashed for several hours, and when they woke up Kerry was walking about in an animal print robe.

After some brief banter, during which K2 promised to take Kerry up on his offer of playing sometime, they left to meet Potion. The meeting had been moved several times and would now be held at Lizzy’s Bar. K2 started feeling a bit more confident being on familiar ground, and also uneasy given her history there. To her surprise, it was Nova that took the lead, flirting with bouncer Foxy who agreed to let them in for “favors”.

Bit Chaos surprised K2 by whispering something to Foxy, and Foxy agreeing that she didn’t owe a favor. K2’s brain finally kicked into gear; they knew him here, after all. “You know what favors I’ll do and which favors I won’t” she said, and got in with a promise to perform some live music at some point in the near future.

As the group entered, K2 asked “Is she here?”, to which Foxy answered “No. Did you need her?”

“Hells, no!” K2 replied, and Foxy smiled. “Good,” the bouncer nodded.

While the others sorted themselves out, K2 tried to lend a reassuring voice to Smoke, who seemed overwhelmed with . . . joy? . . . at the club. They entered and found Potion, who led them to a back room. K2 walked as though they belonged there.

Smoke did most of the talking and K2 listened. Potion went off to investigate, but hours later had still not been heard from. Smoke then got a call on their phone from the NCPD claiming that Potion hadn’t been seen for the past \*26 hours\* and they were treating this as a missing person. Smoke bullshitted their way out of the conversation and hung up when another call came in on an encrypted line.

It was Potion, who thought he’d been tagged and possibly kidnapped. Smoke’s attempts to locate him via the net were met with a firewall. A firewall set up by Ajax – Alt Cunningham – The Patron Saint of Vicious Cunts.

#### **Operation Rescue**

They passed some time in Lizzy’s, with K2 performing a short set that put listeners in mind of lyrics by Johnny Cash with tunes composed by The Birthday Massacre. The set went well, and K2 even made a couple of new fans, who went away excitedly with signed demos.

“Tell your friends and family and your roommates!” K2 called after them.

“if you like it the name’s K2, if you don’t like it the names B52?” Nova asked.

“if you like it the name’s K2, and if they don’t like it the name’s still K2,” she replied kindly yet confidently. “I stand by my music.”

“I respect that.”

Somehow, in ways they weren’t quite sure of, K2’s walking back and forth and banter with Nova have Smoke some kind of inspiration.

“K2, you’re brilliant,” she said, and then Smoke proceeded to tell the group a more detailed account of their past history and current theories as to what was happening with Potion and the seeming reappearance of Johnny Silverhand.

Following up on the ideas would require some programs to be reloaded; while Smoke did that K2 played a bit more and Nova and Bit Chaos worked on updating the tech on Nova’s rifle - revealing that Bot Chaos was quite capable in her chosen field as she upped Nova’s rate of fire from one to two.

Smoke’s programs finished installing and she called Foxy over to reiterate her joy at finding the club and to warn her trouble might follow them - not least because infamous killer Marcus Collins (the “Watson Widowmaker”) had escaped death row just prior to his execution. Foxy replies that NCPD had been tight lipped on The Mox’s involvement in apprehending him in the first place.

It was decided to track Potion form where he was supposed to have been: Eden Club. They drove there in Bit Chaos’ van/home with K2 holding on to a bench in the back.

They arrived to find a police presence already in the area - with two black vans surveilling the area from an alley - and chose to act as if nothing was wrong. They were too early for the club to be open, and Smoke was unable to appeal to the bouncer (named Michaels) to let them in and he wasn’t a fan of K2’s (yet, though he also missed an opportunity to give out another demo).

Amazingly it was Bit Chaos that wore him down with her talk of a relatively obscure mixed drink or cocktail she called “Wolf Crazy Tornado Drink” - the syllables of which cussed K2’s head to hurt. She rambled on and on and on and Michaels must have felt sorry for her because they left of good terms.

Smoke received a communication from one Trace Aldecado, a “free pressman” and contact for their . . . interests. The two vans started to tail Bit, and they as they tried to lose their tail the group realized they were hungry. Smoke told Bit to drive to “Caliente Capitan” - a place she knew from eating with Kerry.

Most of them ordered the nachos, but hardly had their food arrived than the police showed up. They tried to leave and the cop - maybe Kenneth Royale? - followed them out. Smoke made a scene and accused the man of harassment (true) and essentially told him to pound pavement.

leaving, they carefully made their way to Trace Aldecaldo who waited for them at a safe house. Knowing the police were not far behind, he and Smoke (with help from BIt’s workshop) rigged up a trap at nearby intersection. The group would follow a lead on Potion into the badlands; when the cops showed up Trace used a non-leathal IED to disable the police van while simultaneously escaping on his own motorcycle.

They hid Bit’s van and waited for Nova’s truck. They piled in, with K2 in the back between Fridge and Bit. Their plan worked and they drove unimpeded into the badlands following a tip that Potion was being held at a remote wind/sun farm.

they found the place at dusk and a shootout ensued, with K2 being largely ineffectual in the actual fight but able to literally hold Fridge’s arm together when he was shot and offering his lap as a table for Bit to unjam Fridge’s gun. Nova literally drive the truck into the men shooting at them and - with difficulty - she and Smoke took care of the rest.

Bit and K2 and Fridge went into the house and came up against a door with a magnetic lock. Bit couldn’t force it but K2 used her bat to persuade it to open. In the room beyond they found Potion tied to a chair and a laptop on a nearby table.

K2 untied Potion, and he confirmed he’d been drugged after Eden but before Lizzy’s. He also said the ones who’d taken him planned to use a Rogue Soulkiller program on him before he could be rescued.

Getting Potion back to the truck, he continued to give Smoke the details he could remember as The Runaways made their way back to Night City.

#### **Baby You’re a Haunted House**

The Runaways made their way back to Night City with Nova driving, Potion and Bit Chaos in the back, along with Fridge. K2 and Smoke switched places so Smoke could work on keeping Fridge alive.

———

As Nova navigated everyone back to Night City she turned the radio up for some quality music to drive too. “I do not need to remind you that the screamsheets had given Collins the nickname of "The Watson Widowmaker" for a reason: the man is dangerous and unpredict…” she promptly click the dial low. They had all heard about the sycophant that was now roaming the streets. The thought of that guy being loose in the city made her sick. Foxy’s concern was understandable, but Nova had no intention of being flatlined and leaving her input alone in the world.

She glanced at the back seat in the rear view “How you doing back there Fridge?” She asked  glancing back over her should at the solo. Before turning back in time to course correct around a cactus.

Smoke had insisted on staying in the back with Fridge, making sure that their own neural link was focused on their clotting factor and adrenaline while their hands were preoccupied with pressure on Fridge's arm. The reminder that Collins was still on the loose added to the copper at the back of their throat, though the bullet wound they were trying to ignore also had a hand in said bitter aftertaste.

"He's clotting well and the adrenaline's gotta be a nice high to float on. Now if he'd promise to not punch anymore flora before we make it to Doc's I think everything'll be preem."

K2 had taken over Smoke’s position riding shotgun. “Good to hear. I tried to hold him together best I could - can’t have a choom bleed out on me, you know?”

In his head, K2 went over his shit list. Looked like Collins was on it now, and that cop was jockeying for a spot, too.

"Thankfully you're able to do your digital magic, otherwise that could have gotten more dicey." Nova said to Smoke looking back at them in the rear view. "If you still have any of that anger left in the tank after we hit up Doc Hazard's, maybe you can help pound out the dent from the scav I used as a breaker."

She glanced to K2 and held her fist up for a bump. "You did great."

K2 returned the fist bump and nodded in appreciation.

“Thanks. Your driving was something else.” And she chuckled as she recalled the sound of the van hitting the shooter.

“I’m glad that my Angel was able to make me into a ‘runner. If I was still like how I was back in the day, you’d just have another Solo back here bleeding out on your interior.” Smoke yet again was thanking whatever higher power that was smiling down on them for the crew they managed to stumble into, echoing Nova’s statement about K2 with an enthusiastic nod.

“We did good, All of Us.”

"That we did, your full of surprises." Nova said with a smile, "hold tight." She added as she swerved to miss an outcropping of stone. "At a girl Gamera." She said softly as she patted the dashboard. "Wouldn't be the first time, she cleans up nice though."

Bit had been quietly listening to everyone. She was using her time to think about how she could enhance the others weaponry as they would definitely be needing the best.

————

They dropped Potion off at his house to a number of . . . fans? friends? romantic interests? – the situation seemed somewhat nebulous – and headed to Doc Hazzard’s. It was late, and the good doctor was clearly nearly asleep when the Runaways came knocking.

“Any more of this, and I may just have to set up a repeat customer discount.”

“Do we get a punchcard?” asked K2

“So like, every ten surgeries we get an ice cream?” asked Bit.

Doc Hazzard just shook his head. “Okay, what do we have this time?”

“Well, his arm is the most serious thing I think. Between all of us we managed to keep it together, but it’s only holding on by a tendon.” Smoke looked gratefully over at K2 as she continued, “As for me, I’ve got a bullet rattling around in here,” and Smoke lifted her corset to show where one round had made it through her armor and corset and entered her gut.

“And what would you like done with your arm?”

Fridge spoke slowly. “I thought about harpoon arms, seeing as that’s what did most of the damage anyway.”

“A good choice,” the rest agreed.

Doc Hazzard quickly did his work on Smoke and then went to being on Fridge, but was soon back.

“What’s wrong?” they all asked, concerned.

“He’s asked me to try to save the hand rather than simply amputate,”

“Makes sense for a Solo; he needs his hands,” Smoke explained.

“I can do the work, but it will take time.”

“But he’ll be okay?” Bit wanted to clarify.

“Yes. Things would go smoother with an assistant, but he will be fine. Come to think of it, if you keep brining me business like this, I may be able to afford one . . .”

They laughed, knowing he was trying to lighten then mood.

“Okay then, it’s off to the shops. We need supplies and cigars and rum if we can find it,” Smoke began

Doc Hazard turned around. “If you’re needing to resupply, you may want to see what they have next door. New shop just opened; they may have what you’re looking for.”

“Thanks for the tip!” Nova and Smoke said together.

The Runaways went next door and entered what looked like a fancy bodega. It was bright and clean and somewhat industrial, with metal shelves behind glass holding an array of items that increased in price the further back one went. Despite a soft *ding*when they entered, no clerk appeared. It put K2 in mind of a vending machine.

K2 and Bit browsed a bit while Nova and Smoke seemed to find what they wanted right away and approached the register. A hologram appeared and, in a very pleasant voice, welcomed Nova to “Chapel” and asked if he would like to make a purchase or require a service. He listed what he needed and then asked for the total. The AI indicated that Chapel was a Barter House, and that prices would be arrived at based on what might be agreeable to both Chapel and the customer. A unique system, which Nova found easy to navigate. She made her purchases and then Chapel said “a fortune: a hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.”

Smoke was next, and while most of the transaction was done in Japanese, she did tell the rest that Chapel was all-inclusive and to open a Chapel account. Fortune: a new perspective will come with the new year.

K2 ended up buying a set of brass knuckles, some armor-piercing rounds, and a basic metal bat for Bit to upgrade at some point. She found out why Smoke had told them to get the Chapel account when Chapel gave them a 100 ed credit just for opening an account. The price was just a little higher than what she had anticipated, and she paid 425 ed plus trading her iron rod for her purchases. But, saying “it’s only money,” she agreed to the exchange. Fortune: one bad chapter doesn’t mean your story is over.

Bit followed suit, making purchases and opening an account. Fortune:

Seeing K2 ask for something that wasn’t on display but was in back gave Smoke an idea, and she asked if the shop had any rum or cigars. Chapel thought a moment and then a section of wall lifted up to show very fine rum and cigars indeed. Smoke burned through their savings but got what they needed.

Before they left, Chapel left them all with one final fortune: “courtesy is contagious”

Now able to proceed directly to Pacifica, they made their way there as Smoke explained what it was like – to the best of her memory. The area was run by the Voodoo Boys and was dominated by two main buildings: a crumbling amusement park and nearby hotel known as Playland by the Sea. This territory was home to scavengers and the roads were used for housing. In fact, barricades would have made it impossible to drive a vehicle into Pacifica even if they had driven one.

“Above all, be respectful,” Smoke warned them as they crossed into Pacifica. K2 obliged “keep your head, legs, and arms inside the ride at all times,” he said to himself. The Runaways sat at a bus stop, just chilling while also not paying any attention to what was going on around them. After a bus or two passed them by, they started to draw attention, and soon enough a boy of about thirteen – wearing braids and a hoody about two sizes too large for his body – approached. He pulled out a cigarette and Smoke offered a light. The two struck up a conversation.

K2 only half listened to what was going on, waiting for a direct comment.

“Do your friends talk?” the boy asked eventually.

“When the situation calls for it,” K2 replied.

Smoke explained why they were there, with the kid disbelieving parts of their story, particularly about being gone for thirty years. But eventually they must have come to an agreement, because the boy led them to a church – flanked on either side by ten-story buildings yet obviously cared for by those who attended.

They were left outside for some minutes before the boy returned and motioned them inside, where Smoke was dismayed to learn that her former contacts in Pacifica had passed on. The new priest (?), Gaspard, also listened to Smoke explain why The Runaways were in Pacifica, his face first showing he thought them all foolish, then growing serious as the tale went on, and ending with slight suspicion as Smoke asked for a “dragon”. His attitude was changed somewhat when Smoke revealed the rum and cigar. A small measure was poured for them all and the bottle placed on a nearby altar. Then Gaspard lit the cigar and passed it to K2.

“Oh, I’m supposed to smoke it?” he said to himself before seeing Smoke giving him an encouraging look. If a puff could be called respectful, K2 gave it and then passed it on to Bit. In this way, the cigar made it around before ending back at Gaspard, who – after his own puff – placed it leaning against the rum bottle on the altar.

“I will see what can be done,” he said. K2 did not understand Creole, and so could not know what ritual Gaspard performed. But he came back looking . . . not exactly friendly, but definitely friendlier than before.

“A service must be done. This is the way of things.”

“Of course,” Smoke replied.

“Do you believe in ghosts?”

The question caught them a little off guard, but they each agreed that they believed in ghosts to varying degrees.

“We have a safehouse that has become haunted and is in need of exorcising. Our men made it out before the house went on lockdown, but . . . If you could take care of this matter for us, we can give you what you need,” Gaspard said, looking directly as Smoke with his last statement.

The four nodded and, getting the address, made their way towards the safehouse. On the way, their talk turned to how to deal with a ghost – and if it was even real or not. It turned out that while all of them held some superstitions, it was Smoke who was most superstitious of all. They talked of iron and salt and charms as they approached the house. Smoke tried to look for tech but it was dead like the house in the desert. Any tech contained inside was not hooked up to the net.

As they considered their options, a figure in a white dress standing in a second-story window caught their attention. They all spoke at once, each one uttering some version of “You all see that too, right?” when the figure disappeared in a blink. The house was supposed to be on lockdown, but as Bit examined the door, she put away her lockpicking kit and tried the knob. The door swung open with a creak, revealing a dusty foyer and an iron spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

”Well, gang - it looks like we have a mystery on our hands!” K2 exclaimed.

“I love that show,” Smoke said.

“it’s the best,” Bit agreed.

“Timeless,” Nova nodded.

“Let’s go!” said Bit, taking the lead. K2 looked behind them, eyeing the door. It stayed open . . . for now.

“Remember: avoid mirrors and bathrooms,” Smoke reminded everyone as they ascended the stairs: Bit leading the way with a flashlight, Smoke holding on to Bit with their metal arm and clutching a box of salt in the other, K2 following them, and Nova bringing up the rear with another flashlight.

The rooms were staggered catawampus from each other, two on each side. They carefully opened to the door and Bit poked her head around the corner. She immediately backed out. “Nope, that’s a bathroom,” she said.

Crossing over, they noticed the floor here was also covered with a thick layer of in disturbed dust.

The next room over was a bedroom. No mirrors, the bed neat and made and un-slept in, and a closet door. K2 opened the doors while Bit shone the light inside and Smoke made ready with the salt - - but aside from a closet full of stiff white dresses, it was empty.

Nova a Smoke began checking under the bed while K2 and Bit examined the closet. There was nothing under the bed but more dust. Bit, though, found a loose board that, when pushed, swung open to reveal narrow, tunnel-like tracks between the walls.

“Hey! Look at this!” She exclaimed as she claimed up. “Are we sure this is a good idea?” K2 asked, but no one heard them as the others followed Bit into the walls. With a sigh, K2 followed.

The tracks split and Bit chose to go to the right and stay on the upper floor rather than going left and down. A short while later and they came to another panel, but this one was locked. It took both Bit and Smoke working together and shifting positions several times to force the lock and swing the panel open. It looked to be the next room over, but as Bit stepped out she tripped a wire and the door slammed shut and would not reopen.

With no other choice but to go back the way they came, K2 (now in the lead position) began heading toward the room thy’d come from. Bit wanted to take the hallway back, but K2 and Smoke convinced her to stay put. Reinterring the bedroom, they were about to make their way back to Bit when they heard her scream.

Racing into the adjacent room they saw a floating figure reaching out to attack Bit. “You’re not a ghost; you’re just a person!” Smoke called out. The thing seemed uninterested.

“Not enough,” it said as it lashed out with a monowire and struck Bit on the arm.

In response, Nova raised her rifle and fired. The bullets struck and the things fell to the ground with a cry and did not move again. Looking up, Smoke noticed an arial track similar to that used in dry cleaners. Nova and Bit began to examine the “ghost” and were horrified to find that is was a person - apparently acting as their own ripperdoc with badly done cyber surgeries. Nova stayed with Bit as Smoke and K2 went back through into the walls, this time going down and down again to what appeared to be the thing’s lair in the basement.

The found bones, and equipment, and a box of MREs. Smoke also found a hermetically-sealed cooler with more human remains inside and K2’s attention was drawn to a small collection of books on Richard Ramirez - better known as The Night Stalker. Or rather, it was three copies of the same book. Smoke also found an ID for the ghost - a former Night Watch agent named (???)

Going back upstairs, Smoke called Gaspard to fill him in, sending him a picture of their quarry. It was an interesting picture, with Smoke and Nova and Bit looking perplexed, confused, and/or shocked, but K2 was posing as if they’d been on a big game hunt and bagged a trophy.

satisfied that the house was no longer haunted - and convinced they’d taken a serial killer off the streets - Gaspard agreed that the terms had been met, and The Runaways left the building. (Thank you very much.)

#### **Alors on Danse**

With time on their hands while Fridge recovered, K2 went back to Lizzie’s. Playing a set that sounded like The Oh Hellos collaborated with The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, K2 managed to pick up 8 more fans, brining her total fanbase to 23. They had just finished their set when their agent went off; Smoke sent a message about food at Kerry’s.

*Will play for food, babieee* they replied.

Back at Villa Eurodyne, K2 discovered the food was pizza delivery, and somehow Bit was still going on about the Wolfcrazy Tornado Drink. This time she was able tio give more details, and it became apparent to Kerry that she had misheard someone telling her in Japanese about a Japanese drink. K2 hoped that solving the mystery of the drink would reduce sonde of the randomness in Bit’s conversations, While Kerry tried to recreate the drink from his well-supplied stores, The Runaways began to debate whether or not food should have priority in consuming fresh water. K2 did his best to participate in the conversation, which seemed to come back to the idea that the corpos would be corrupt no matter what.

Bit said something brilliant about everything turning to fungi in the end, and K2 was about to make a comment on it when Kerry interrupted that he’d made the drink. It was good, or so K2 thought, though Nova seemed to react rather differently. It would be a wonder if Nova remembered anything over the next few hours.

Kerry then offered up a variety of mood-altering substances. Bit went for a joint but needed Kerry’s help figuring it out. Smoke and Nova declined; or at the very least, nobody let Nova take anything since she could not give consent .”When it comes to sex, drugs, and rock & roll I might as well go for two out of three,” K2 said as Kerry handed him a paper filled with polka dots. The green tasted like an artificial green apple and causing a burning euphoria. A little later on, the yellow had hints of lemon and resulted in a giddy mania. K2 ended the evening trying to stick a guitar pick to vertical surfaces before passing out, awaking some hour later with a piece of pizza stuck to her face.

Peeling it off, Bit came inside from spending the night in her van. She carried a box with a large red button, but didn’t seem to know what it was, and despite everyone else trying to figure out what it did, they all came up empty. K2 tried suggesting looking at Bit’s inventory list, while also knowing Bit was unlikely to have such a thing. This suspicion proved accurate. Nova awoke having no memory of what happened after downing Kerry’s concoction, and soon The Runaways became convinced Bit’s box held her memories - a theory not even Smoke’s realization the mystery box was radioactive dispelled.

Smoke focused on making breakfast while Bit went out and talked to Kerry, who was in a melancholic mood on his balcony. With breakfast consumed, they decided to follow Bit’s lead and go “dumpster diving” by raiding the junkyard, passing several Night Corps construction sites on the way. The place was filled with bad smells and little surveillance; between Bit and Smoke everyone was able to at least filter out the smell.

Poking around, K2 found what had once been a 1970s Fender Stratocaster among the rubble. The body was still there, but it would clearly take a great deal of time, money, and luck to restore the instrument to it’s former glory. A few yards away, Fridge and Smoke appeared to have a conversation while Bit and Nova wandered just a little bit off in the other direction. Soon, Smoke called them all over, asking if they could “hear the music”.

strangely, there seemed to by music rising from the piles of junk, and if pressed, K2 would say it reminded her of Tchaikovsky. Bit went and put her foot in it, literally, and fell into a cavity about five foot deep. Stranger than the sinkhole was the hatch she was now standing on, through which a dim light shown and the music came a little louder.

Smoke checked for traps while she picked the lock and they all discussed if they would open the hatch or not. K2 offered the opinion it would be a waste of the day if they did nothing, and they all seemed to agree. Smoke popped the hatch open and they all entered what looked to be a 1950s style fallout shelter. It was not well maintained, and was filled with crates of Russian MREs and the sound and smell of a petrol/gas generator. There also appeared to be a garden of sorts and a still in rooms off either side of the hallway. At the end of the hallway was a door with a reinforced window set in. Smoke and Bit got the door open, and stepping inside, they noticed a trail of blood on the floor.

The blood was not fresh, but neither was it set, and following the trail they found a body on the floor of what was the kitchen area - a pot of potatoes boiling into burnt nothingness on the stove. K2 checked for a pulse, and while he wasn’t well-versed in medical things, the sound and feeling reminded him of what Smoke’s pulse had felt like after the EMP attack. K2 then did what he had done for Smoke, trying to clean up the person - who was indeed leaking blood and CSF, but to a greater degree. He kept at it while Smoke began to plug themself into the fallen victim as Nova came to offer first aid as well. Fridge and Bit tried looking a round for clues as to what had happened.

K2 plugged in his amp according to Smoke’s instructions so they could hear what was going on “inside” as Smoke went to offer technical aid. Inside, Smoke met the digital version of the individual known as "Pusik”, who further revealed that she was a spy working for Russia: collecting reconnaissance on Night City’s infrastructure as run by Night Corp. She had been attacked though her cybernetics, even though she had no remote link in any of her hardware. Smoke pointed out that it had to be another AJAX attack, given the similarity to the EMP attack and even the brain dance hijackings. Together, the Runaways helped her back to mental and physical health enough for her to regain consciousness. Specifically, K2 helped create a safe space by plugging in Smoke’s headset and singing/humming “Peter and the Wolf”. Prokofiev wasn’t Tchaikovsky, but at least it was Russian . . .

With with everyone now up and moving, they needed to get her out of the bunker. When they tried asking Pusik further questions in the meat, it was discovered that she couldn’t talk. When she tried to speak, her voice came out in rough, rasping noises in the back of her throat. Using a notepad, she said she probably would need to report to her superiors soon, and when asked where they were, she pointed up into the sky.

Smoke deduced she meant superiors were in space, and, since they were all after the same thing when it came to taking down Alt, space was clearly the next stop. With a suitcase full of cash and a suitcase full of weapons, they exited the bunker. Clicking a remote, it exploded behind them. They did not look back.

#### **Old Friends/Bookends**

They loaded back up into Bit’s van and decided to head back to Doc Hazzard’s. Leaving the junkyard, they hit something that seemed to knock the undercarriage, and while the van could still be driven safely, Bit looked concerned. When the finally arrived at Doc’s, Bit dropped off the others and excused herself to go fix her ride.

Smoke gently led Kat inside and explained her situation to Doc Hazzard.

“I can help her, but it’ll likely take a majority of my stock and a great deal of time,” he warned the group.

“Do what you can, and we’ll make sure you get paid,” Smoke assured him.

Smoke and Nova and Fridge sat in the waiting room; K2 paused a moment before sitting down.

“So, how are we going to pay for this?” Nova asked.

“Now let’s just hold on one second,” K2 interjected. “Do we want to discuss this on an empty stomach?”

“No, you’re right,” Smoke agreed.

“Okay then, I’m going next door to Chapel. Any requests?”

They all shook their heads and K2 went next door. Things had changed a little: the store was just as clean but perhaps a little better stocked at first glance. A chime went off as they entered and Chapel materialized almost instantly.

“Welcome and good afternoon.” There was a brief pause before the AI continued. “Thank you for coming back, K2. Do you require assistance with anything today?”

“I’m looking for some snacks. Something crunchy and salty and maybe some soda.”

“Might I direct your attention to the All Foods’ Cabinet?” The lights dimmed, or perhaps one certain light shone a little brighter.A cabinet stood out, well-stocked with chips and soda – exactly what K2 was looking for.

“Thanks for shining a light on the situation, Chapel!” K2 exclaimed good-naturedly.

“Was that sarcasm or irony?”

“Let’s go with irony; I wasn’t trying to be mean.”

“Does sarcasm have to be mean?”

“I guess not. I was just trying to be funny!”

“It was certainly taken that way, K2”

K2 gave Chapel a double-thumbs-up. “Heyyyyy”

“And will you be bartering today or would you prefer a more Western method?”

“You know what? Let’s haggle. I could use the experience at the very least.”

“Very well then. With your current items, we are prepared to accept 13 eddies.”

“Hmmm. If I accept your first offer, that’s not haggling, now is it?”

“I believe this is the case.”

“Okay then, what would you say to 11 eddies?”

“We would counter with 12.50 eddies.”

“That’s acceptable to me” K2 said with a grin.

“And will you be paying with your Chapel account or with what you have on hand?”

“The Chapel account will be fine today.”

“Very well. A fortune for you: ‘You must try, or hate yourself for not trying.’”

“Thanks, Chapel! I think I understand this one better than the last one.”

“Sometimes we all need some introspection.”

“True, True” K2 agreed as they went back to Doc Hazzard’s.

K2 set the food down, and found Fridge in conversation with Nova and Smoke about Chapel and the nature of AI. The conversation ended with Fridge looking down at his morphine pump and saying

“Thank you, little morphine pump”

“That’s the spirit!” K2 said encouragingly. “Now, where were we?”

“Trying to figure out how to pay for all this,” Smoke reminded her.

“Hmm. Well. I’m starting to get a few fans. Maybe I can put a gig together somewhere?” K2 suggested.

Smoke got a gleam in her eye. “You’ve got better than that, K2: you have a promise to jam from Kerry!”

“Do you think he’d go for it?”

“Text him and ask.” Smoke shrugged. “Tell him you’re trying to play Hammer.”

K2 pulled up his agent and was reminded that Kerry had sent them all his deetswhen they’d first met at his house.

*You still up to jam? Trying to put a gig together at hammer*

*- Hell yeah! You have an in or do you need me to arrange it.*

*This could be important for us. If you have an in, I could use it.*

*- Consider it done. What the plan. What do I need to play? You know what: why don’t I call you?*

The phone rang:

*- So. Tell me what’s up.*

*Well I’ve only got my guitar . . .*

*- Okay, so I’m bass. Cool cool. You need a drummer? Keyboard?*

*Drummer: yes. Keyboard is being taken care of. Smoke says she’s getting Ghost.*

*- Sweet. I have a drummer but she’ll want to meet you. You okay with coming out to North Oaks?*

*Sure thing.*

*- Okay. Now, what’re we playing?*

*I’ll send you a demo and some lyrics I’m working on.*

*- Got it. See you soon. Bring your swim trunks.*

K2 relayed everything to the group and then asked Smoke, “You want to be my manager?”

A small smile crossed Smoke’s face. “I’d love that. We’re roadies now.”

They went back to Kerry’s, and Smoke went digging in some boxes and pulled out their favorite blacks with sizes perfect for Fridge and Nova.

“I look good in black,” Nova observed.

“You should invite Foxy,” Smoke told Nova, and Nova sent off a text, though it wasn’t immediately responded to. Foxy may have been bouncing someone – in one way or another.

Now changed, they piled into Kerry’s car to drive the 1/16 mile to his neighbor’s house, where a large pool party was already in progress.

There were several well-known celebrities; K2 recognized Potion right off and maybe one or two others if he heard their names. There were a few glances in their direction; most seemed to want a glimpse of Kerry. “So, what do you think? Did I choose well?”

K2 nodded.

“Great. Now let’s get down to business.” Kerry said, and took them over to a woman in a two-piece bathing suit that left little to anyone’s imagination.

“Denny, this the group I’ve been telling you about. I think you already know Smoke.”

Smoke and Denny embraced. “Denny was drummer in Samurai back in the day,” Smoke explained.

Denny looked them all over. “Let’s take this inside, shall we?”

They went inside to find a more classically-decorated home than they’d seen at Kerry’s. They were led to an interior office with windows facing the pool; at the push of a button, the windows frosted and the exterior sounds muted. The sounds of a water feature now filled the space, making a not unpleasant situation. Rather than sitting at the desk, Denny leaned on it in the manner of those who want to say “I’m going to tell it to you straight and not take advantage of you.”

Denny looked over K2’s lyrics, and the two discussed the nature of fame. K2 was apprehensive about things moving so fast, but went through bravely – bolstered in part by a blue-colored signature liquor provided by Denny. The business side of things concluded, Denny looked at her watch.

“We’ve got two hours until the set. Are you leaving out the front or ourthe back?”

“Out the back,” K2 said, and they walked back through the party. Now, though, people seemed to be talking about them and not necessarily Kerry. People were starting to notice, it seemed, and were starting to talk as well.

“Who are they? Oh, they’re friends of mine,” they heard Potion saying behind them.

Kerry drove them to a nearby storage facility to get his van, which had equipment for that night. Nova and Fridge drove the van; Kerry drove his car with Smoke and K2. They arrived at Hammer just as Denny arrived on a motorcycle. Though she wore more clothes than before, they were somehow more revealing than her bathing suit had been. Not that it mattered.

K2 took a good look at Hammer. This was a place that was the stepping stone for many an artist. Big names and nobodies played its stage; the only thing that mattered was the music for the music’s sake, and many a nobody left Hammer having taken the first steps to true stardom. And the people knew it, and so they came every night in hoped of being part of music history. K2 wondered how tonight would go.

The manager came out, and Kerry handed him a box wrapped in gold paper. He smiled and then spoke to K2, “So, what do you have for us tonight?”

K2 handed them the set list. With two of the four living members of Samurai on stage, it only made sense to play something familiar. Chippin’ In and Archangel, followed by a few of the songs from K2’s demo, and ending with the new song sent to Kerry and Ghost and Denny just a few hours before.

“I’ll do what I can to get you set up but then I’ve got to see the Voodoo Boys about something,” Smoke said. “I promise to be back for the set.”

“Anyone know how to set up a holobox?” the manager asked?

“I’ve got some experience,” Nova replied, and began fiddling with the box. She knew more than she was letting on, because it didn’t just turn on – it seemed to actually be better than it had any right to look.

The stage set, they retired to the Green Room. Denny seemed to be in some sort of meditation; Kerry ate burritos and took some uppers – for medical purposes, it would seem; and K2 rocked gently back and forth to keep themselves from throwing up. And then it was time.

The manager announced them simply as “K2, backed by Kerry Eurodyne, Denny, and Ghost.” The holobox sprang to life and a keyboard and mix deck appeared, presided over by Ghost:a female-presenting person dressed in black with white makeup, wearing a crown of thorns and an inverted neon cross on their forehead.

K2 got a good look at the crowd. The people he’d seen outside were nothing compared to what was inside, which was now standing room only. There were more people here than had been at Denny’s party. K2 glanced to the side and saw Smoke had come back and was giving them a thumbs up. The energy was nearly palpable, and K2 chose to ride it:

“All right Hammer, let’s make some noise!” The crowd roared its approval and K2 counted themselves in under the cacophony.

*1 2*

*1 2 3*

And then they launched into Chippin’ In. If K2 thought it was loud before, it was nothing to this. Two members of Samurai playing their own song? The crowd loved it, and K2 noticed Kerry smile and turn up the monitors. He’d done this before.

Archangel done, they switched to K2’s demo songs, and the crowed grew quieter as these songs were unfamiliar to them. The energy, though – the energy in the club continued to hum and surge and look for an outlet. And then came the finale: K2’s new song they called Immoral/Immortal – an industrial-metal ballad of a toxic relationship. And though the song was new to them, the crowd ate it up. As the last notes died away, K2 heard them chanting her name along with Kerry and Ghost and Denny. Chanting and stomping and cheering. For them. K2 raised hands in personal victory.

Kerry came up beside them. “You did it, K2! You did it!! Can you hear them?!”

“I can herethem,” K2 replied, but their joy faltered as they saw a hooded figure holding a sign: “Never Forget Ink”

*Fuck. Not Tonight.*

But just as quickly, the crowd shifted and they were gone from sight.

“You know what this means?” Kerry asked excitedly. “Green room stuff! What do you want?”

“Pancakes. Lots of pancakes.”

Enjoying pancakes from all over Night City, as well as alcohol and other food Kerry ordered in, the party continued back stage. At first, Smoke was excited, talking about how they’d live streamed the set and things had blown up online. Wouldn’t be surprised if some of the radio stations picked it up for replay later that night. Bit had joined the stream, and contributed some slick dance moves. But after a while, they began to look a bit off. Not sick, but more . . . sadly nostalgic.

“Let’s move this party somewhere else,” Kerry suggested.

“So long as I don’t have to drive,” K2 said.

“Leave that to me,” Nova answered gladly, and they all made their way to Club Eden, where Smoke saw the bouncer that had tried to help them before and explained Bit’s drink. Club Eden was a bi-lighting free for all and Smoke’s mood improved immediately as they were led to Kerry’s VIP booth.

Denny had to leave soon after they arrived; someone had put soap in her pool.

They all left the club about 2 AM, and as they left, they noticed a hooded figure standing under the same streetlight the cop car had been parked previously. It was the same figure from the Hammer, and K2 swore under their breath.

Smoke, somehow, convinced Kerry to go home without arguing and then took a look at the person in the net. She initiated a silent call. “Do you know this person?”

K2 nodded, “I think so, but they’re even more different than the last time I saw them. They’re the one responsible for tonight’s song.”

“Cyberpsychosis?”

“Just a little,” and K2 held up two fingers close together.

“Lovely,” Smoke said as they also sent vidcapto the group. The person showed up as blue tinged with red fire. “They’re wielding Ajax. Not infected by it. Not riding it. Wielding it. They’re just waiting to be let off-leash, and I think both Ajax and the cops are watching us.”

“Then let’s not provoke anything,” K2 said.

“If we run, we might be able to make it to Old Chinatown.”

“You lead and I’ll follow,” K2 said.

They ran, but the figure seemed faster. They made it to a parking garage and hauled themselves up and over a guard rail; the figure did the same in one smooth motion. There was a flash, and Smoke started bleeding from her nose. At the back of the pack, Fridge struggled with his arm and started swearing, finding it jammed. Nova tried to run and gun, and managed a very glancing blow against their pursuant.

K2 tried persuasion, “Leave us alone, Ink” and though the hooded person hesitated slightly and perhaps even slowed their stride just fractionally, they did not stop nor did they give an answer.

Smoke seemed to try to take out some defenses and perhaps hack their legs, and while their initial attack went smoothly, the attacker kept coming. They all made it to a stairwell and slammed the door behind them. Their follower kept running to the edge of the parking garage and, rolling over the barrier, began climbing up the exterior of the building.

Smoke changed direction and headed down, followed by Nova and then Smoke and Fridge. They emptied out into the street and watched as the hooded figure finished climbing to the roof. Smoke’s eye twitched ever so slightly, and K2 got the impression they were recording. The person stopped at the top of the garage, the wind blowing against their hood, which remained unmoving. In the net, shared by Smoke, they screamed wrath and rage into Night City, and a small EMP went off, darkening the garage and the building next to it.

“I found who did the EMP. Send” Smoke said.

#### **Ballroom Blitz**

They retreated to an alleyway, their lungs burning as exertion caused them to catch their breath. Darkness covered them as the smell of a restaurant at closing time wafted on the air. Frustrated, Fridge tried forcing his new harpoons open, until Smoke warned him off. Smoke herself was bleeding, and K2 jokingly mentioned that this was getting to be a pretty bad habit. Nova suggested heading back to Doc Hazzard’s, and K2 told Smoke not to worry about the money it would cost.

They turned to leave the alley when bright floodlight illuminated the alleyway. An AV deposited three men at the entrance: K2 could see one held a scanner and another a gun, but could not make out what – if anything – the third individual held. Stenciling on the AV indicated Trauma Team had arrived. K2 and Nova hugged the wall, and Fridge followed their lead.

The one with the scanner honed in on Smoke, while the seemingly unarmed individual picked up Smoke’s organic wrist and asked “May I?”

Smoke nodded an assent while verbally saying “huh?”

“Ms Arasaka, can you walk to the AV?”

“Who?”

“She might be experiencing brain trauma.”

“How hard did I hit my head?”

“How hard would you have to hit it to effect all of us?” Nova asked.

“I don’t have Trauma Team . . .” Smoke protested.

The one checking Smoke’s vitals brought up a set of schematics. “Chiyo Arasaka, will you please come with us for imaging and treatment at the hospital?”

Confused, Smoke put up a brief protest before switching tactics to allow the party to come with her.

“Your friends will need to make their own way.” (and then turning to the rest) “We are traveling to the hospital in City Center, where you will find your friend in the Platinum Ward.”

With further protest futile, Smoke allowed herself to be taken into the AV. Nova, Fridge, and K2 talked briefly as they walked back to Nova’s car (called Gamera) and held on tight as she proceeded to drive with haste (while not breaking any traffic laws) to the hospital at City Center.

Smoke must have sent a message to Kerry, because K2 got a text on her agent from him:

*What’s going on? Are you alive? Is everyone dead? What happened??*

Trauma came for Smoke. Taking her to the platinum ward in the hospital at City Center. They keep calling her Ms Arasaka?

*What the hell? I’m on my way.*

Nova and K2 and Fridge arrived at the hospital, passing a small group protesting the high cost of Trauma, the only health insurance available in Night City. Night City riot police were there making sure things didn’t get out of hand outside the hospital’s 250 floors.

They entered and approached the front desk; Nova took the lead in talking to an AI attendant who, satisfied with Nova’s answers as to the reason of their visit, directed them to a private elevator that would take them to the platinum ward. The elevator itself rose like a vertical bullet train, covering most of the hospital’s height in about a minute and a half.

Finding another AI attendant, they were led into an empty room.

“Ms Arasaka is in imaging but will be done soon; she will be brought here for observation.”

The door had barely closed behind her when they opened again and Smoke was brought in. She woke up smoothly and blinked slowly, looking around the room and at her friends.

“You in there?” Nova asked.

“I think so,” Smoke replied, and then the party talked about what was happening. Theories ranged from a bad dream to laced pancakes to an elaborate setup, but nothing provided satisfactory answers.

A nurse came in. “Mr Goro Takemurais on his way up, Ms Araska. As the primary contact on your account, he was notified by Trauma of your situation.”

They all glanced at each other. Takemura was the bodyguard to Saburo Arakaka, CEO of the Arasaka Corporation. Arasaka practically owned Night City, and Takemura was known to protect its interests by killing without remorse. He had studied the art of samurai, and as such was both fiercely loyal and held honor in high esteem.

K2 asked if they should stay or go, and when Smoke protested she couldn’t make that decision, K2 responded, “Okay, I was going to stay anyway.” She looked at the window and noticed it was heavily reinforced. It wasn’t an escape plan, per se, but rather a worst-case scenario plan that would now need to be rethought.

Goro Takemura entered with a chime at the door. He was dressed in an all-white and carried a smart gun at his side. He passed K2’s initial vibe check, giving off a level of authority tempered with genuine concern and interest. K2 didn’t sense any danger yet; Takemura seemed here to assess the situation.

He looked at Smoke and his expression did not change. K2 wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or scared that it wasn’t a setup.

They held a brief discussion in Japanese before Smoke switched abruptly back to English. “And I still have to fix Fridge’s arm, and I’m starting to wonder who exactly I am, and I just don’t know what’s going on . . .” her voice trailed off.

Takemura crossed the floor and locked the door. He demeanor suggested this was for privacy and not to take care of business. He sat down by Smoke again before continuing in English,

“Do you remember sitting down in a garden, playing go with a man slowly losing a battle with age?”

Smoke’s face scrunched in confusion. “Yeah. Weirdly . . . I do. He brought me miso when I was sick.”

Takemura nodded

“I’m freaking out a bit . . .”

“I have my orders to bring you back to the tower.”

“I don’t remember my past,” Smoke protested as she briefly outlined for Takemura what she knew about herself.

“Yorinobu is concerned about you.”

“So I’m not free to go home; I have to go with you?”

“I have my instructions.”

“Was I in the tower for the thirty years I can’t remember?”

“Yes. I was sent because things would go better if it was me. It could have been Adam Smasher instead.”

“That would have been a mistake. But my question is still unanswered.”

What followed was a discussion between all of them about how Takemura could fulfill his instructions while allowing Smoke to continue working out on the streets of Night City. Smoke managed to convince him – truthfully – that we were working to protect Night City from AJAX, and therefore Arasaka investments as well.

The door chimed and a nurse announced “MrKerry Eurodyne is on his way up to see you.”

Takemura looked around in surprise.

“We played a gig together a few hours ago,” K2 said, attempting to sound as if it were no big deal.

Takemura nodded. “And will you swear to protect Chiyo as you go about your. . . business?”

“With everything I have,” K2 said seriously.

Takemura reached into his pocket and took out a slim case. Opening it, he took out old-school business cards and handed one to each of the party. “Please keep me updated.”

He left as Kerry entered, and they dance-scooted around each other.

Kerry entered with a tablet in hand. “They’ll let you check yourself out. Where we going to?”

“Afterlife,” Smoke said with clarity.

On the way down the elevator, Kerry pointed out they’d need to sleep sometime soon. K2 realized they’d been going for the past 48 hours at least . . . At Afterlife, they passed Rogue’s personal security at the door. Rogue herself was leaning on the bar, waiting for them. She motioned for them to follow, and led them past the freezers and the VIP room and into what appeared to be a private apartment.

“You can fight for the good bed, and the rest of you can get a cot - or sleep on the couch, if you like a bar up your ass. Some do, no judgment.”

“Rather than fight for it, I’ll just say Smoke can have it,” K2 said (and the rest agreed). Cots were set up and the next 7ish hours passed in dreamless sleep. K2 woke up and started going over song ideas; by the time everyone else woke up Kerry was looking through a pile of takeout menus.

“What do you all want?”

“I picked pancakes last time,” K2 said.

“A burger. With pickles. Lots of fried pickles.” Smoke said.

Fridge looked serious. “We need to talk,” he said as he turned and walked out the door.

“I guess we’re following Fridge,” Nova said.

He led them to a booth where three individuals sat; the booth was tagged with graffiti proclaiming “The Dukes”.

“Can we help you?” one asked condescendingly.

“You’re in our spot.”

Another, perhaps the leader, leaned out to see who else was with Fridge.

Danger rolled off Fridge like morning mist under a hot sun.

“I said, you’re in our spot.”

“Fuck you, we earned it,” leader spat back.

“Give it back”

“Look we suggest humbly you walk away and maybe we won’t remember what was said.”

Fridge pulled his gun. “One . . . Two . . .” he began.

Smoke got quiet-angry as she leaned in, placing a hand on a gun she knew was there simply out of habit.

“We’re The Runaways, you jackass!” she scream-whispered.

“And I’ll make sure you don’t forget today,” K2 happily added.

Fridge pistol-whipped the leader’s face and blood poured out of his broken nose, his hands flying up to cover it.

Smoke went for the man’s gun and whacking him in the occipitals with it; the gun went off, leaving a bullet hole in the crown of the graffiti behind them.

Nova drove a knife into the hand of one of the guys in the booth, pinning it to the table and preventing him from reaching his gun. K2 thought the damage looked bad enough it might need to be amputated.

K2 used his bat like a catholic nun wielding a ruler, snapping the saddle joints of the third Duke.

“Thou shalt not covet,” he said.

“How about now?” Nova asked.

“Now apologize,” Smoke sneered.

The leader stuttered an apology as they slunk away. The group was under no illusions that they would be back.

Rogue, who had been watching with interest from the bar, now came over with brandy, wine, and champagne. “The booth is yours” she said smiling as K2 reached for the brandy.

A bartender came over to clean up the mess; he seemed used to it. K2 took the opportunity to order a Blood Razor (red wine, brandy, red food coloring, cherry soda, chicken bone garnish). They may have had more than one, as drink were free for the first twenty-four hours after successfully taking a booth in Afterlife.

Smoke and K2 searched their bags and, finding some basic art supplies used in their various professions and hobbies, began painting over The Duke’s graffiti and replacing it with The Runaways. They purposefully left the bully hole; Smoke filled it with sealant to prevent the bullet being removed.

“We need to talk,” Fridge said again. “Some of us aren’t okay. I think I might be a werewolf.”

No one laughed. Fridge seriously thought something was wrong, and they would listen.

“It’s like I’m not myself. Like there’s a monster inside that I won’t be able to control. Like a kind of cyberpsychosis.”

They all, but Smoke in particular, assured Fridge that his empathy was a sure sign he wasn’t suffering from that particular malady.

“I want to apologize in advance just in case I hurt someone . . .” he said.

“Pre-apology accepted,” K2 said, “but only because I know you won’t accept ‘no apology needed’. If anything, I should be apologizing to you all for not warning you about my ex. Emphasis on ex.”

This started a conversation about K2’s past, and he was as open as he could be. He described meting Ink on a shopping expedition after Nova brought him to night city. How Ink had introduced him to The Mox, but then started treating him as a thing rather than a person. When Ink started showing signs of cyberpsychosis, K2 tried to end things, but Ink had a rather possessive-obsessive personality and was generally unwilling to let anything go. K2 speculated Ink would keep coming for him - and by extension, The Runaways as a whole, wether or not AJAX was involved.

K2’s story filled in some observations others had: Nova wondered who K2 had referred to when the went to Lizzie’s, Fridge had noticed Ink in the crowd at Hammer, and all of them had heard K2 call Ink by name in the parking garage. Smoke was worried K2 was acting too much like Johnny Silverhand when Alt got her claws in him, but was somewhat reassured with K2 genuine hatred of Ink and what they had done.

“Any other skeletons in you closet?” Fringe asked.

“Well, I have one other ex, but he’s dead, so . . .” K2 responded with a mix of both sadness and humor at how Fridge had set up that response. “And of course, there’s my aunt. I’m trying to see if there’s anything I’m missing . . .”

“At least we know you’re not deliberately hiding important information from us, that’s the thing,” Smoke replied reassuringly.

Fridge was concerned about everyone else too. Smoke tried to piece more parts of her missing past back together with her new information. Nova tried her best to encourage Smoke to work through the pain, and Smoke herself encouraged K2 in the process.

The Dukes had helped take the edge off, but only a little, and Smoke mentioned going after the Watson Widowmaker. But before they could go have more “stabby time” as Smoke called it, Fridge pointed out that Nova hadn’t said anything.

Nova talked a little about her past; K2’s chief takeaway was that Nova’s family had been framed for dealing with human trafficking unwilling sex workers and was trying to restore her family’s reputation.

Now they set to the task of hunting down Marcus Collins. They pooled their collective knowledge: he had been a Night Corps supervisor before going on a killing spree that saw twenty-five killed in a matter of months. The police had released few details about how they tracked him down, and many thought the NCPD only got involved after an officer’s wife was killed. Collings killed with extreme precision, often in a police his victim would assume was safe and private.

The drinks must have gotten to K2 because they began to zone out. While they heard everything that was being said, it didn’t quite register until someone said

”You know what this sounds like, right? It sounds like Pusik’s could be in danger.”

As they left Afterlife to go check on Pusik and Doc Hazzard, they passed a billboard that Smoke shot with an armor-piercing round. “You know who they modeled the iron ads after? Fucking Alt Cunningham.”

Nova got them to Doc’s in minutes. Smoke and K2 rolled out before Nova even came to a full stop; Nova herself drift-parked Gamers with practiced skill. They immediately know something was wrong; his lights were off and his always-open door was locked.

“We’ll take front,” Fridge called out. Nodding, Smoke and K2 ran to the back, passing by Chapel’s delivery door to find a large shutter-style delivery door with a physical lock. When Smoke failed to pick it, K2 smashed it open with her bat.

They entered a loading/receiving area covered in spilled saline. They entered a hallway with operating and recovery rooms; the screens that would display calming scenes or bring up medical charts were nothing but static.

Smoke took a look at the net and sent a message to Nova and Fridge. then she smashed the hallway window and K2 followed her in, finding Pusik in a corner with a scalpel: alive, but bleeding and fighting.

Seeing a slim, non-Doc Hazzard-shaped figure in the room, K2 let out an “incomprehensible rocker yell” and attempted to hit them, but they dodged out of the way. In the hallway, Nova and Fridge arrived.

Collins looked at the group and smiled. “In my mind’s eye, my thoughts light fires in your cities,” he said as he pulled a ball from his pocket and rolled it out into the room.

Smoke tried to dodge out of the way while K2 rushed Collins, grappling him and turning him around.

When the homemade explosive went off, Collins took the full brunt of it. How he was still standing was anyone’s guess, but a quick shot from Nova put a hole in his chest and he went to the floor.

Smoke started grabbing his tech and kicking his body.

”Do we need him alive?”

”I don’t know. If we put styptic powder in his wound, will it burn as he goes?” K2 asked.

Smoke sent what she saw to the rest of the group: Collins had been touched, but not controlled by AJ4X. He had been a bad man in control of his own actions.

Then there was a message in his code, written in Latin and translated by Smoke: “Love conquers all; let us yield to love”

“Fuck. I’m messaging Trace. Did you find Doc Hazard?”

”We was on the floor, alive but barely. His cyberware had been shut down: eyes, brain, lungs, kidney, heart. I was able to restart his heart but that’s all.”

Smoke ran to help Doc, while K2 sent Kerry a message with the deets of what went down.

#### **Radar Gun**

As they worked to reboot all Doc’s systems, Bit Chaos rolled up in her van. Profusely apologizing for her lateness, she explained that she’d been collecting bits and bobs around town and was clear on the other side of Night City when Smoke had alerted her to what was going down. She’d also tried looking her box over more carefully, and determined that it was lead-lined; which caused a further concern: how was it giving off radiation? Nova suggested it was leaking around the button.

With Doc Hazard back to his mostly-fully-sunciotning self, Smoke turned his attention to Pusik while he explained his thoughts about what to do with the widowmaker’s body. The NCPD bounty was 150k eddies, which would go a long way to getting Pusik and The Runaways into space.

Pusik asked if the Museum of the Damned would offer more. When fridge expressed slight confusion, it was explained that the Museum was filled with the taxidermied bodies of infamous people. Smoke suggested turning the body in for the bounty first, then stealing it back a few days later and reselling it to the Museum. K2 wondered if that might cause more legal problems than it was worth, but Smoke assured her that the Museum didn’t give two shits about the NCPD.

Kerry returned K2’s message, asking her what he should do.

“We’re getting cold hard corpse cash and then to Afterlife to finish drinking. It’s bounty and booze, baby! See you at the bar.”

Bit was excited to go back to Afterlife, having missed the beat-down for the booth, and really wanted a Wolf Crazy Tornado Drink. However, Nova pointed out that it was now the signature drink at Eden, which Bit found incredulous. Smoke and K2 explained that the bouncer really remembered Bit, and when they visited Eden after K2’s performance at Hammer, Smoke told the bartender how to make it and it was a huge hit. Smoke and K2 heavily implied that if Bit were to go back, the bouncer would likely remember her, but Bit wasn’t too sure.

Turning their attention back to Doc, they tried to figure out the best way to make things right, but Doc insisted that in this case they were all even, chalking the day’s events up to the balance of life. The Runaways accepted this reluctantly, and determined to find a way to help Doc in a way it would be difficult for him to refuse.

They invited Pusik to meet them at Afterlife, and assured her there was plenty to drink other than vodka, and that Kerry was a master of ordering food that wasn’t potatoes. It did not take much to convince Pusik, and she agreed enthusiastically.

K2 found they still had some quality snacks from their last excursion to Chapel, and passed them out to everyone; they all greedily munched the chips and guzzled the soda.

Leaving Doc’s, The Runaways found that it was midday in Night City, and nearing the end of the city’s lunch hour. Using a tarp and duct tape from Bit’s van, they tossed the corpse into the back and made their way to One Police Precinct, the central precinct in Night City, and the main station in Watson where the widowmaker had been most active. One the way, Nova texted Foxy to let her know it was now safe (or at least safer) for the sex workers to go out at night, and by the look on Nova’s face she received a rather exciting thank you message in reply. Nova looked up just in time to see her brother Sonny worker at a construction site across the street from the station, and called out to him:

“Quit farting around and get back to work!”

Smoke had also spent time on their agent, arranging a meeting with the head of Homicide and Kit Samson’s immediate supervisor.

They pulled up to find Trace sitting on a motorcycle with cops watching him carefully. He must have been waiting for The Runaways, because when they pulled up he parked in a general parking spot and activated his video orb and HUD.

“Do you really have him?” Trace asked as they piled out of Bit’s van.

“See for yourself,” Smoke replied, and then went on to hint that they would be attempting to sell a tip to the NCPD for more money than the bounty, but would give him for free: the AJ4X connection.

Trace smiled. “They’ll be begging for more,” he opined.

Fridge looked at the body. “I suppose I can carry him. How do we want to do this?”

”In the most disrespectful way possible,” K2 offered.

“Yes!” Smoke agreed. “You know the old story of Krampus? Carry him like your carrying a naughty kid in a sack back to hell for a beating.”

Seeing the group - and in particular the body - the police that had been watching Trace from behind a blue glass door immediately went on lockdown. K2 couldn’t blame them: the ineptitude of the NCPD likely caused a variety of disgruntled complainants.

“ID?” one asked.

Smoke turned and smiled at the party before turning back to the officers. “We have an appointment in two minutes.”

“Yeah, and we did your job for you, too.” Bit called out.

“Indeed. You’re welcome for that by the way. You don’t want us to be late now, do you?”

”We still need to scan your ID,” another protested with resignation in his voice.

Nova shrugged and stuck out her hand; “Lillix Quallister” flashed across the display.

K2 had no qualms about using his real name; if anything she wanted them to know it; being associated with brining in the Watson widowmaker might make them think twice about messing with them, and might increase their popularity. “Parker Huntsman” showed across the screen.

Smoke’s name flashed something in Cyrillic; K2 was pretty sure it’d be a fake name anyway, and Bit’s name came up as Audrey Hepburn, which K2 recognized as the name of an actress from a hundred years or so ago. The police didn’t seem to notice, though, which probably explained a lot about the organization.

Fridge went last: his name displayed as “Rush Stark”. And then Fridge slammed the dead man’s hand down and the scanner displayed “Marcus Collins”. That got the officer’s attention, and immediately one of them got on the phone. K2 caught a small part of the conversation:

“yes sir . . . The scanner confirmed it, too.”

“So, what about our appointment?” Smoke asked.

“Go to the second floor immediately. Do not talk to anyone on the way and make no other stops.”

“Y’all ever hear of Weekend at Bernie’s?” Fridge asked as they made their way inside. They laughed in recognition. “It’s gonna be a party.”

They had arrived just as the lunch crowd came back to the office. Everyone was watching them, and the crowd parted to let them through to an elevator. A desk sergeant, likely on the job for twenty years or more, watched them even more intently.

“I hope he doesn’t leak on your floor,” K2 remarked.

The elevator took them away from the gawkers and opened into offices connected by a large hallway. Big metals doors to one of them slid open, revealing Chief of Precinct Parris Voight. His clothes spoke to a working man who’d been placed in a position of authority, and the look on his face indicated we wan’t quite sure what to make of the crew in front of him.

“Chief Voight?” Smoke asked, and the question seemed to help Voight. He stood, buttoned his vest, and introduced himself.

“Yes, I am Parris Voight,” he said, extending his hand to anyone who would take it. They all did, except for Trace, who silently indicated he was on the job as Media. “I had heard you wanted to meet with me, but did not expect . . .”

“And we did not expect to be sent to a second floor office with our delivery,” Smoke agreed. “Is there somewhere we can get him flat, and then talk about things in a more appropriate setting?”

”Well, there’s the morgue. The Medical Examiner is expecting you by now, I am sure, but we’ll have to talke the back elevator.”

“Perfect. Let’s walk and talk.”

Smoke must have gotten the idea that Voight was someone who could at least be trusted with the bare minimum of details. They filled him in on how they came to apprehend Collins (with Pusik left out) and the difficulty they had with Samson. Voight seemed concerned, particularly when Smoke revealed she’d received threatening messages after a restraining order had been granted, and promised an internal investigation.

They arrived at the morgue, where the ME affirmed what the officers at the front already knew: they had indeed brought in the body of Marcus Collins, the Watson Widowmaker.

”So, who do we cash the bounty to?” Voight asked.

“Well, let’s not be too hasty,” Smoke began before dropping the same hints she had given to Trace: the connection between Collins and AJ4X and AJ4X with Sampson.

“And this information isn’t free!” Bit exclaimed.

Voight scanned NCPD databases. “I’m not coming up with anything,” he said finally.

”Try the local screamsheets,” Smoke suggested with just a tinge of sarcasm. “And then ask yourself why you didn’t come up with anything in your own systems.”

It was a few moments before Voight spoke again. “this is indeed troubling and worth an investigation. But the NCPD won’t pay for the information,”

Smoke frowned.

“But there are some reclamation funds I can perhaps dip into and reallocate.”

Smoke smiled. “I’ll send you the name of our fixer,” she replied before turning and gesturing to Trace.

“I give info for info,” was Trace’s simple reply.

“I get off at seven. Coffee?

”A date,” Bit sighed, “but not for me,” she finished sadly.

Smoke then launched into the politics game with Voight, pointing out the NCPD needed some positive press, and that perhaps helping rebuild or fund Doc Hazard’s clinic would go a long way to changing minds in Watson. Voight was concerned about the Police Commissioner, how very little would make him happy, and hinted vaguely that he might have had something to do not only with his own father’s death when he showed ambition, but his own current position. That particular conversation ended with The Runaways satisfied they had a sort of working relationship with Voight, with Bit offering her building services and K2 giving out his demo and a promise of a complimentary copy of the studio version if he liked it.

The Runaways went back to the ground floor, which had largely returned to normal, and left by the front door. They waited until Trace had left safely, and then headed to Afterlife to meet Pusik and Kerry.

There were still twenty-some-odd hours left to their free drinks, and K2 ordered Rippers and brandy and said to keep it coming. Rogue herself came over about an hour later, verifying the receipt of the bounty and suggesting she had a lead on their space problem. They turned the information down for the time being, deciding to enjoy their party time. Bit initially said she didn’t deserve a cut of the bounty, but K2 reminded her of all the things she had done to help collect the bounty, and Smoke said simply: “You’re a Runaway, right? That means you get cut in.” Smoke passed around paint pens, and they all added their names to the wall -even Pusik, who Smoke claimed was now Runaway-adjacent. Nova called Foxy, and the two disappeared into one of the private rooms for the remainder of the evening and into the night.

By six o’clock at night Afterlife had already taken on a nightclub vibe, and The Runaways partied hard until they each stumbled into a private room to pass out; Kerry apparently partied harder than anyone else - he was still passed out the next morning and could not be awakened.

They stumbled to find Pusik already sitting at the bar with Rogue.

“Hair of the dog?” Rogue asked. they all agreed, with Smoke calling next door to order a burger. When they had all drunk and eaten something, Rogue said

”So, when you’re ready for the space job, here’s where you’ll want to go. It’s part contact and part job.”

Nova wanted to drive Foxy home first, which they did (but not before Bit left some lizards on Kerry ‘for protection’ and Nova herself mixed up some pharmaceuticals), and then followed Rogue’s directions into Santo Domingo and Megabuilding Number 7.

The apartment number was on the last floor before the penthouses; the name they were given was Luna. The hallway appeared to be well-lived-in, almost akin to a public street, and a group of kids were kicking a vending machine for stealing their money. Approaching the door, they could hear loud Japanese techno-rock coming from inside as Smoke raised a hand and knocked on the door.

It slid open to reveal a figure all of four-foot-ten looking up at all of them. “Oh hi! Rogue told me to expect you. Come on in.”

They entered a top-of-the-line room filled with all kinds of technology. Looking closer, K2 realized the apartment had been converted into a large supercomputer; even the shower had been repurposed to cool the tech.

Luna moved some piles of tech, revealing a couch onto which The Runways sat, She then rummaged in a cabinet and pulled out some sticky rice and a small amount of what appeared to be papaya juice.

“Why don’t you cook the rice in the juice?” Smoke asked when Luna offered them something to eat.

When Luna went to hand K2 their bowl, they stopped short.

“You’re K2!” Luna practically shouted.

“Um. Yes? That’s me . . .” K2 replied.

“No, I mean, I’ve seen you online. You played that set at Hammer!” And Luna pulled up the recording of the livestream that Potion had linked to on his show.

“Hey, that’s me!” K2 said excitedly, having not yet seen what had been done that night from a spectator’s perspective.

“I’m a huge fan!” Luna said with a huge grin. “But now, to business.”

Luna activated a series of projectors, and a hologram of a soviet-era Sputnik rocket sitting in the desert appeared in the middle of the room. Luna launched into an explanation:

The short version was that Luna had been working on retrofitting the rocket for the last four years, using its poor exterior as a perfect camouflage for the technological marvel hidden inside. However, with all her work, there remained one part out of reach: a booster rocket. Luckily, Militech Corporation was bringing a prototype booster to an industry expo and the convoy would be close by in just twelve hours. If they could get the device, Luna would have three days to integrate it into her system and launch them all into space. If they missed that three-day window, it would be another 180 days to the next opportune time - and in that time Militech would most certainly track their property down and kill whoever they found with it. Luna herself wanted to go into space to gain access to the servers on a specific satellite, which she thought held information on a shadowy operation called “Save Your Soul” - which was supposedly based on Soulkiller. That bit of information launched her into a foray into all the problems facing the Arasaka corporation, and K2’s dislike for corpos steadily increased.

They needed a plan and a distraction; Smoke was surprised when K2 offered to look at the convoy schematics Luna had obtained, but used the opportunity to examine what they knew of AJ4X. Finding a flaw in the code, Smoke created her own version of a Silverhand PSA to air when they would attack the convoy.

For his part, K2 looked over the schematics: a flatbed truck protected by crew and couriers would arrive in the wee hours of the morning.

#### **The Great Train Robbery**

The Runways brainstormed their plans to steal the Militech booster rocket:

* Smoke and K2 would alter their looks, including K2’s skin, and the would all use ID blockers and maskers. They wouldn’t get any reputation from the heist, at least not immediately, but it might just be enough to keep them safe in the short-term.
* Nova could use Nomads top forge paperwork for the booster and its transport as well as providing a hangar large enough to house the 12-foot-diameter, 149-foot-tall booster.
* K2 found a few details in the schematics that led Smoke to one Kyoto Mosfet, a contact in Militech that would provide a manifest and crew list in exchange for a favor. [24 soldiers/mercs and four named crew: Thomas Bohr, executive, with bodyguards Lela Bretmer (nertruner), Una Twelve (borg), and Biffo Woolorn the Fourth (solo?).]
* The transport convoy would come from the southeast though Santo Domingo via the main highway. Weighing the pros and cons of making their attack in the badlands or in the city, it was decided to boost the booster in the badlands.

They each had their own individual actions to take: K2 changed their chemskin and hair, Smoke updated their shards, Bit worked on what she called “bombs and busters”, and Nova worked on pharmaceuticals.

Regrouping, Smoke had the idea to issue a fake sandstorm warning to slow the convoy down. They went shopping for supplies (which included a rocket launcher and a grenade launcher), and as they finished K2 took a moment to examine their own plan and suggested calling in some support if they could, to which Nova was able to call a contact named Aries in the Folk Nation.

Then it was time to wait while eating Japanese takeout ordered by Luna.

At 3AM they headed out, meeting Aries along the way. They liberated a few ATVs, with Bit driving one with K2 as the passenger and Nova the other with Smoke on the back. Aries drove himself.

At 5AM the first rays of the sun still under the horizon backlit the coming convoy, and Smoke issued the “sandstorm” alert. The convoy slowed down almost to a halt and the bodyguards exited their vehicle while The Runaways tried to take cover behind nearby dunes.

Somehow, despite there being 4 other targets and being a passenger on one of the ATVs, Lela focused in on K2 with a sniper scope and fired. Smoke must have sensed something was up, because they sent out an alarm just fast enough that Bit was able to swerve and K2 duck and lean just enough that the bullet missed.

However, there was nothing K2 or anyone else could do to prevent Lela from hacking into K2’s cybereye, causing it to overheat and causing them intense pain.

Nova now burst over the dune and tried slamming into the group standing outside like she’d done when rescuing Potion.

Bit drove herself and K2 up beside Lela and Una and tossed out a spike strip o prevent them driving off easily. K2 made incompressible noises behind her as she realized they were now in melee range of the bodyguards.

Smoke attacked Lela on the net, weakening her cyber-attack abilities, and then used the rocket to attack the rear complement of 12 mercenaries that had emerged from the front transport vehicle. The rocket caught one full in the chest and blew him to bits, causing chaos among the soldiers.

Aries drove up to the drivers’ side door of the booster transport and held a gun to teh drivers’ head. “You know what to do,” he deadpanned.

K2 focused on cutting off the eye, which severed the link, but she knew there was nothing to stop Lela from coming at him again.

K2 and Bit were still in melee range of the bodyguards, and Una (a big, beefy man standing 9’6”) now revealed his gorilla arms as he closed what little distance remained between them and punched their dune buggy, decimating it in a fiery explosion that sent Bit and K2 flying.

K2 was able to duck and roll, taking no damage, but Bit was hurt bad by the hot metal and hit the ground very, very hard.

The rear guard now exited their vehicle and started making their way toward the group. Thankfully for The Runaways, they were almost 150 feet away and out of range of most attacks.

The front soldiers now opened fire, and Bit, already hurting from Una’s attack, took damage to her armor that collapsed her left lung. “My favorite lung!“ K2 heard her exclaim and she now struggled to breathe.

Biffo, assigned to protect Thomas Bohr, took no action against The Runaways.

Still on the ATV, Nova tried slamming Una but succeeded only in launching Smoke as a human projectile at him, which Smoke used to their advantage to shut down Una’s gorilla arms, further weaken Lela, and then shut off Una’s heart, essentially sending him into a heart attack.

Aries held his position and lobbed a frag at the rear-approaching enemies while K2 now stood over Bit and fired shots at Lela. The frag Granada did its job in slowing the back 12, and K2 managed to hit Lela in the shoulder.

The front 12 soldiers sprayed bullets at The Runaways, but the chaos around them from the rocket must have really thrown their aim off as no one was hit.

Una seemed to ignore the fact he was dying and reengaged his arms, throwing part of Bit and K2’s buggy at Smoke, clipping them in the arm quite forcefully.

Biffo took the opportunity to get back in the car and begin to drive away, careful to avoid Bit’s strips.

Lela now attacked Bit, and K2 heard a screech from Bit’s music players and a groan from Bit. “She deleted my favorite song!” (It turned out that Bit had relatively little cuberware for Lela to attack).

Bit launched a smoke grenade at the front soldiers, and K2 took advantage of the slight distraction to Lela to shoot her Moe-Green-style, finally eliminating one of their threats from the convoy.

Nova ran toward Smoke and gave them some kind of injectable pharmaceutical to keep them going.

Aries lobbed another grenade a the rear 12 soldiers.

Smoke refocused on Una, taking his arms down again then sending something called “hellbolt” through his borg circuitry and he went down permanently. She then fired another rocket at the front group and 1/2 of them went down, whether killed or incapacitated K2 couldn’t tell.

Bit fired a smoke bomb out into the desert (she’d been trying to hit the rear 12) and K2 focused on provided some first aid to her.

Smoke ran to Aries and intimidated the driver into f getting out of the cab while the front soldiers continued to spray and pray - their prayers ineffective as they still hit no one - and Biffo made his fair escape with Thomas Bohr (who would be certain to face repercussions for failing to prevent the attack).

Dragging herself toward the cab, Bit lobbed another grenade at the front group of soldiers, and when the smoke cleared none remained standing.

As The Runaways took possession of the truck and booster, Bit laid down spike strips to prevent the rear 12 soldiers from following them easily.

By 6AM they were back in Nighty City. They pulled into the arranged hangar, killed the lights, and locked things down. From the shadows stepped another Nomad, introduced by Aries as Haven, a ripper of his own who came to assist the Runaways, but Bit in particular. Smoke negotiated the trading of annunciation for his services, and the whole party gratefully received what medical attention they needed.

### **Starman**

The Runways spent the next three days laying low, resting up and communicating via group text for about a day and a half or so before meeting up at Luna’s. In that time, K2 focused on:

* finding a way to safely search what it’s like to travel in space without the searches coming back to him
* changing his skin back to blue; Smoke and Nova encouraged him to change it back as she didn’t seem herself during the heist while also pointing out that in this case, they wanted the reputation
* wondering if they’re going to steal a body before going into space (they did not)
* slightly freaking out about things in general.
* using that anxious energy to spend some time working on private recordings of the vocals and guitar tracks for the album in progress
* Storing said tracks on shard and engaging a service to release them in the event of his certified and verified death, as well as sharing them with Kerry and Denny via the net.
* Touching base with The Mox to see if anyones seen Ink, just to keep tabs, warning them that she was extremely armed and ultimately dangerous and to assume everyone near her was under some kind of surveillance and to report only, not engage.
* Keeping an eye on the news and screamsheets for anything related to the heist that would give an indication someone was looking for any of the runaways. They were not.

They met back up at Luna’s, where somehow the subject of Bit’s box came up. Luna excitedly shared that she also had a mysterious box that she didn’t know it’s purpose. Unlike Bit’s, Luna’s was made in her sleep, had a switch instead of a button, and gave off an electromagnetic reading instead of nuclear energy. Nicknamed “Terror Boxes” they all decided to keep them with them as they went into space.

Kerry’s kids arrived in town, and they decided to go meet them and at least introduce Fridge, who would be staying behind to offer some protection as Adam Smasher would be in town. They were typical teenagers and didn’t express much interest in their dad’s friends, though they did perk up when Smoke promised to take them to Afterlife when The Runaways “got back from their trip”

The conversation descended into innuendo-laden dad jokes with Kerry as they all began their all-water pre-space prep. With Fridge staying behind, Luna said she’d even out the weight with rocks. She then gave them static-free coveralls with a pink cat emblazoned on them, and K2 mentioned that Bit should bring her “luckiest lizard” along - which turned out to be the smallest of her mechanical pets and named “destruction” (which had to be said in a low, almost rough growling voice).

4AM came all too soon, and K2 bemoaned the lack of caffeine. They boosted rides to take to the rocket, and after discussion with Pusic and Bit and Smoke about what had happened last time she rode with Bit, K2 decided to ride with Bit once again, certain this time would be different. She was pleased to see their assumptions were correct.

They made their way to the coordinates provided by Luna, finding that she’d chosen the perfect location for her rocket: it was deep in the shadows in the pre-dawn light, and glancing at the landscape it was clear that from even a short distance it would seemingly blend in with its rocky surroundings. Luna herself was some 18 stories in the air, putting the finishing touches on a large pink spray-painted cat head that matched the symbol on each of their cover-alls. Looking at the rocket it appeared that Luna had constructed a capsule on a bottle rocket, but there was no going back now.

They climbed the exterior ladder and found the interior to be rather more up-to-date than the exterior. Where Fridge would have sat was a pile of rocks with a picture of Fridge’s face taped to the topmost one.

Luna put on some mood music and offered for someone to do the countdown. K2 took her up on the offer and ten seconds later the rockets fired. It took several seconds for them to realize they were actually moving as the landscape slowly dropped away from the windows.

Forty-five seconds later, Luna’s autodeck started playing Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” as they entered low gravity atmosphere and they caught their first glimpse of the stars unimpeded by the general pollution below. K2 was literally starstruck as the others took pictures and Smoke sent messages on her agent to Kerry and Rogue.

After an indeterminate period of time an intercom came to life

”Unidentified space traffic, what is your destination?”

*“Oh shit,*” Luna half-whispered, “*I forgot to name her.*”

”Fluffernutter” Bit suggested, while K2 offered “Luna One”

More confidently now, Luna replied “This is the Luna Two requesting emergency landing” and then turning to Bit and K2 said “*there’s more than one Luna, right?*”

The voice over the intercom came back “ID all passengers inn board or submit to DSI scanning.”

They opted for the scans and, after a short pause that seemed much longer than it was, the voice said “Luna 2, please use docking bay number 3. Welcome aboard the O’Neill Space Colony.”

They all masked up using portable oxygen tanks provided by Luna, unbuckled from their seats, and floated through the door and into the airlock. A red light flashed and an alarm buzzed as artificial gravity was introduced to the room.

The door opened into a utilitarian-grey room with two figures standing in front of the group.

The first was a tall man in his 50s with salt-and-pepper dark hair. His eyes seemed to be looking for Pusic, who now gave off an attitude of overt-discipline as she spoke clearly: “Agent Clara Bella Pavlova reporting for extraction and debriefing.” K2 thought he noticed something of a familial resemblance between them.

They spoke briefly in Russian before the man introduced himself as General Alev Kondrasha

The other person was a Japanese woman who bowed to Smoke and said “ Arasaka-san, I didn’t expect you to return so soon. Will you want tea, or perhaps you are here for a treatment?”

”No . . .” Smoke said shakily “I won’t need a treatment, but tea would be perfect about now.”

Kondrasha said he would need to to meet with Pusic for about an hour, after which he would make himself available to meet with the rest of them.

Smoke uneasily agreed to this, and they were led through the colony to the other side (passing signs for cryogenics departments along the way) and into a corporate meeting room, the decor of which indicated it was for the rich. The faint sounds of a kabuki opera and the low sound of running water filled the air. Low chairs sat at a short table; Smoke sat down at one and pulled a blanket over their legs. She made small talk with the woman, who raised the shade on the window to show a view of Earth before leaving to get the requested tea.

This time K2 took pictures of the Earth while Smoke and Luna developed a plan to get information from the computer system. Smoke was still rattled by the personal information revealed at their welcome, and helped Luna into a net chair and then made her look like she was sleeping as she attempted to access the colony’s on-board records.

A chime sounded and tea arrived, Smoke accepted gratefully and managed to get the woman’s name (Suki Sato), though she seemed surprised Smoke didn’t remember it.

No sooner had she left than Luna bolted from the chair and rushed to the bathroom in a fit of sickness. Nova aided her with some well-made pharmaceuticals and then Luna was able to reveal she hadn’t made it very far before she’d been attacked by a contagion virus. Together, Nova and Smoke made sure Luna was okay both in body and in cyberspace and then Luna shared an image she’d found relating to what was called “Project Kamishibai” - an image that seemed to indicate several people were being cloned in some kind of experiment. They were all disturbed to see Pusic’s name on the list, but Smoke almost had a breakdown at subject 003: “Linder, Robert John”

“It Johnny.” She managed to get out. “We need answers. Now.”

The hour was up, so they made their way to the conference room by following the signs.

Kondrasha and Pusic were there, and as they entered without knocking Pusic nearly attacked them but stood down immediately. As they seated themselves she remained standing behind Kondrasha like a dutiful bodyguard. It was like a switch had been flipped: Pusic was physically there but her humor and personality had been turned off. Small comments from Nova and Bit regarding potatoes and chooms elicited no response, where there should have been a visceral reaction (at least to the potatoes).

Seething with fury, Smoke tenaciously demanded answers from Kondrasha and made allusions to what they’d found in the hopes that Pusic would pick up on them.

Kondrasha wasn’t having it and sent Pusic out of the room before his own attitude changed and he revealed what he knew about what he called “the emperors’ pet project” - of which Pusic was an unwitting participant/victim (as well as remaining unaware that Kondrahsa was her father.) Kondrasha made it clear his own participation was to protect those he loved - perhaps two or more of his family were part of the project.

While he could not let Pusic leave with The Runaways, he did secure their promise to help Pusic when (not if) they saw her again. In exchange, he told them that Johnny Silverhand was indeed being held in cryostasis on the colony, and that while moving him was possible, it would be dangerous. With one last glance of understanding between Smoke and Kondrahsa, The Runaways ran toward the cryostasis room.

One med tech was on duty; Smoke took him down as he rose to his feet. Nova was able to start the countdown to release Johnny; as she watched the three-minute timer, she gave the rest of them instructions about what to grab in terms of medical supplies. Smoke was determined to make him look like Pusic wrapped in medical blankets and the like, and when the timer reached zero Bit was able to guide him into a wheelchair as Smoke applied the disguise while simultaneously dehydrating her own eyes with alcohol wipes to simulate a medical emergency of some kind.

As they were about to leave a shard popped up and out of a storage unit. Smoke grabbed it and plugged it into her deck, but the shard had too much ram for them to open it. Angrily they tore it out and slammed it into the port on the back of Johnny’s neck (which apparently hadn’t been there before when Smoke knew him) and then it was time to high-tail it out the door and to the spacecraft.

Someone sent Luna a message to start the engines, and as they entered the airlock the gravity was turned off. The rocks now floated out into the bay and Johnny floated up into the air, guided by Smoke and Bit.

“It’s a rocking chair” K2 observed as the rocks crashed into the now-empty chair, and both he and Smoke reached for Fridge’s picture.

inside, they buckled johnny into the seat and Luna and Smoke requested emergency departure due to medical emergency, which was denied due to an oncoming solar flare. They would be given permission in three hours, when the flare passed. They were warned leaving without clearance would result in a revoking of their ability to return in future, to which Luna said

“Screw it” and blew the connection.

Smoke sent a message to Kerry regarding their projected landing. As they entered earth’s atmosphere, Johnny woke up, perhaps due to the intense shaking.

He ripped off his seatbelt and, crying “you son of a bitch” attempted to strangle Smoke, who was closest to him. Nova and Bit tried to calm him down, to no avail. Smoke managed to say “Fuck you too, baby” which seemed to have some sort of effect on him just as they hit water and Johnny was pushed back into his chair and then forward into the side of the ship, causing him to lose consciousness again.

The capsule floated to the surface, and opening the hatch they found Kerry and his yacht (the Sea-murai) waiting for them.

### **My Dead Drunk Friends**

They headed to shore and then, thanking Kerry for his help, headed to their headquarters at the formerly-“haunted” house. Bit and Smoke worked on planning upgrades while trying to keep Johnny in a Faraday Cage (the first of several upgrades) to avoid detection.

They also kept an eye on the news, but when nothing showed up, they felt it safe to visit Afterlife. On the way they noticed new tags in the Night City graffiti. “My thoughts light fires in your cities” and “The Widowmaker Lives”. They were unsettling, to say the least.

They also made a stop at Kerry’s house on the way, were - to K2’s eyes - he and Johnny had some conflict. Johnny poured drinks and tried to convince Bit to take some of Kerry’s dots, which K2 had promised to keep her from. Bit told Johnny about the box and her lizards while Kerry did something else.

And then it was to Afterlife for drinks and updating the booth graffiti and brainstorming their next steps. They all seemed to think that investigating the night corp connection would be the way forward.

After drinks, they headed over to Chapel to restock on supplies. As was apparently custom, they received fortunes:

* Nova: you must try, or hate yourself for not trying.
* Smoke: Today you shed your last tear. Tomorrow fortune knocks on your door.
* Bit: Time is precious. Don’t waste any of it.
* K2: Someone is thinking of you now.

The next day Kerry was tied but would’ve admit to it, while Johnny crashed at the safehouse with Fridge. K2 began looking over their guitar a bit more closely. It had been in the landfill, true, but apparently not for long. There was not much outward degradation and the inner working were good. The real problem was the strings. The company, Fender, had gone out of business, and finding strings in good condition would be pricey - and they could always break, anyway. Third-party replacements were an option, but they were (by comparison) subpar to K2’s other option: retrofitting.

K2 decided to visit Chapel again to look for the parts, and found a kiosk in Watson, the architecture leaning towards cypberpunk brutalist. Chapel and K2 had a very pleasant conversation, and Chapel convinced her to go with the retrofit since it would be easier to repair when things inevitably went wrong. K2 was delighted to learn Chapel’s pronouns were now plural, and their fortune was “Action speaks nothing without the motive.”

As she left the kiosk, she sent a message via agent telling the others about her finds and Chapel’s upgrades. Rather than the pleasant, positive response she was expecting, K2 instead got a forwarded message from Trace via Nova. Militech had put outa hit on the Runaways, namely Fridge, K2, Smoke, Nova, Luna, and Bit. He received another message on its heels to head to a certain No-Tell Motel outside the city. He sent Nova as vague directions as possible to catch a ride.

While they waited, they ducked down an alley where vendors were selling (mainly) Japanese street fashion. It was a street market with collapsible vendor stalls and this was the first time K2 was out in public face-to-face after their debut at Hammer. Thankfully no one seemed to recognize him as he ditched his clothes in favor of new purchases: boots and jeans and a large hoodie, gloves and a baklava, and a set of goggles. K2 hoped his distinctive skin didn’t show through.

Nova rolled up with Gamera and hopped in; Nova didn’t even need to stop. This was a good thing, because no sooner had they re-entered traffic than a Militech antipersonell vehicle came up behind them. Nova stepped on the gas while K2 held on for dear life as she expertly drove her beloved Gamera under and through Night City before finally outrunning Militech with a burst of NOS. K2 felt damp.

They pulled up to the Motel (which looked icky, sleazy, and cheap) just as Johnny arrived on a motorcycle and Bit and Smoke arrived in a stolen vehicle. Fridge and Luna had already arrived - Luna was curled up in a fetal position on the bed. Smoke told how the three of them had got away just in time by taking out an Araska helicopter, and then told the other details of the bounty - the grand total of 50,000 eddies for everyone seemed kind of small to all of them, all things considered.

They quickly came to the conclusion that the best way to clear the bounty was to fight back against the ones that had placed it - and it was countering that Militech and Arasaka had seemingly teamed up in this endeavor. Smoke’s plan to his end was to (a) blackmail the head of Militech and (b) use Soulkiller on the head of Arasaka, whose replacement would be more understanding.

K2 suggested using a concert as a cover, and while he texted with Kerry, Fridge determined that Luna would be kept safe by the Aldecaldos (they were afraid she would be hacked). Smoke used the Net to find what she was looking for against Militech: massive amounts of CP.

There was no helping it, but the party would need to split.

K2, Johnny, and Kerry would set up and perform at the Distraction Concert - certain that an alive Johnny Silverhand would be more than enough to draw attention away from their actual target. Johnny tried to give Kerry’s spot to K2, but K2 refused and instead took up the now-open bass position.

Fridge, Bit, and Nova would act as Smoke’s extraction team, waiting for the signal that the mission had been accomplished and then getting the four of them to safety.

Smoke would go into Arasaka  HQ alone to fulfill their mission.

### **Born to Run**

They had just under an hour to prepare. K2 rode with Johnny in relative silence, periodically texting Kerry with updates on their permitless concert and keeping track of their social media to make sure fans knew to show up - before they’d split, Bit suggested encouraging a kind of Cosplay to help confuse any NCPD they might encounter. Bit and Nova were also calling in favors to provide added security.

K2 and Kerry arrived at the same time Kerry arrived; Ghost would be attending via hologram. An excited fan named Aurora singled out K2 for an autograph, and even offered their own back as a signing surface. They seemed genuinely pleased to receive it, and K2 made a mental note to remember them.

It was minutes to showtime and K2 was nervous - not about the playing, but about the plan. He was away from the others and didn’t know what he’d do if things really went south. It helped that Bit and Nova and Fridge were on the outskirts of the crowd.

Johnny had worn a helmet when out in public, and he used the opening of the concert to make a grand Johnny reveal - to which the crowd understandably went wild. they opened with Never Fade Away and the crowd went apeshit for it. K2 was decent but could hardly keep up with Johnny. The second song was Black Dog, which K2 new was the first time this song had been played in its entirety as it was intended.

As the final chords reverberated, K2’s concerns came to fruition. Adam Smasher appeared at the far edge of the crowd. Johnny was staring into space and K2 took it on himself to put the plan into motion, telling the crowd that now was the time to show their costumes. K2 couldn’t see Bit or Nova or Fridge, and he watched in horror as Smasher fired shots into the air to part the crowd and rush at the stage. He screamed for the crowd to part - he wouldn’t let anyone die for him tonight - and working fast he and Kerry got Johnny off the stage and into Kerry’s van. Kerry took off before the door could even shut, and as they speed away the last sight K2 had before the rounded a corner - shutting the door - was of Smasher bearing down on Sonny, Nova’s brother.

She sent a message to the group chat:

K2: Trying 2 get away. What do we do?

Bit: U hav Kerry/Johnny?

K2: ys

Bit: Nomad Camp

K2: thumbs up emoji

Bit: after get smoke

K2: b safe

They arrived at the location indicated by Nova and waited for the others to arrive. They did - but without Sonny or Trace. Neither one could be reached via agent, either. Smoke was injured and headed into a trailer. Nova was without Gamera and headed into a garage; Bit followed. Johnny and Kerry sat by an outside fireplace. K2 decided that her place would be with Smoke. Not that she could do anything, but she wasn’t going to leave Smoke alone.

Smoke briefly tried to talk, but K2 shook their head, indicating they understood that Smoke didn’t need to have a conversation right now, and one wasn’t necessary. With a small smile despite the circumstances that quickly turned into a grimace, Smoke gave K2 a look of appreciation as she drifted off to sleep.

Note: Because K2 wasn’t there, what happened to the others and their part of the mission will not be recorded here, though the player knows it was epic.

### **All Along the Watchtower**

K2 could here muffled sounds from outside. It seemed that Kerry and Johnny were having a dispute. Eventually their voices stopped and the door to the trailer whipped open as Johnny came in. K2 knew what they were about and was already up and moving before Johnny could say a word. She shut the door behind her and then went to sit by the fire.

Hours passed, and one by one the Runaways found themselves around the fire - the last being Smoke and Johnny. No sooner had she sat down than she got a message from Rogue, who was somewhat pissed that no one had called her, yet also understanding.

While she spoke, Santiago mentioned to them something about a public murder . . . K2 gathered that the hit had been successful.

When the call was done, Bit had something to say. She had already talked with Nova about this, but felt we all needed to know that - for a time - she had been involved with a guy in the Tyger Claws named Third. she was never an active member in the group, but had been somewhat of an attachment and did have a tattoo from her time with them. However, it was more of a working relationship than an ideological alignment, and when Third seemingly dropped of the face of the earth (he’d turned into a brain dance junkie), Bit found herself once more without a clear direction.

At this point in her life Bit was once again rudderless, and this time Lizzie and The Mox took her in.  Now, just before the concert, she’d gotten word that Third was back and looking for her. She had also called in a favor for assistance from the Tyger Claws “just in case”.

The party thanked Bit for telling them so that there was no misunderstanding, and K2 in particular felt they should clarify something to Bit. “I want you to know that just because I don’t understand you doesn’t mean I don’t like you.”

They began talking of brain dancers and how Alt may have gone after yet another connection to the Runaways in her quest for whatever it was Alt was questing for when an alert went off. Aledecaldos ran for weapons and took up designated posts. They went to the walls where Santiago faced outward alongside Johnny.

Ny now it was a dark desert night. Don’t here was a pinprick of red light, and then other, smaller ones - seven in total. As the source came into view though a vacuous dirt could, K2 saw a cybernetic faceplate, enhanced arms, and smartlink tech. A message came from Smoke via agent: “lungs/heart implant, cybernetic brain. Time, effort, and money went into a low empathy dirtbag.”

It was holding its hands up in a sign of surrender as the final pieces of surface information came through: “normal amount of netrunner weaponry. Maelstrom mercenary goes by Craven.”

“What do you want?” Santiago asked.

I am here to deliver a message from Adam Smasher

“We’re listening,” Smoke replied.

Kind of a big audience . . .

“What you say to us you can say to everyone”

No, you don’t understand - this is supposed to be a private message

The Runaways went out to meet him, covered by the Aldecaldos. They formed a semicircle and Craven leaned in close.

“Smasher’s got your boys. He wants to parley - and a guarantee it’ll just be you.”

Smoke gave an imperceptible nod and Nova and Bit tried to argue with Craven that we would need assurances and a location. Craven responded that he had the information and would relay our response.

The conversation seemed a bit antagonistic to K2, who tried to steer than back into being slightly more agreeable. She might be a Rockerboy, but it was one thing to put herself in danger - quite another to willingly antagonize someone who would hurt someone just because they could.

Smoke finished what she was doing and made a “kill him, we don’t need him motion”.

Perhaps is was because she hadn’t been arguing, but K2 got the drop on Craven. Unfortunately, she missed as his legs dodged him out of the way - - and right into position for Nova to blast him at point-blank range, bringing him to the ground and allowing Smoke to finish the unlucky merc off in a matter of moments and strip his tech.

There was no time to lose, and Nova found an AV transport in the motor pool. Johnny offered to drive it so they’d have a way out, and they quickly piled in. Their plan wasn’t so much of a plan as a set of guidelines: go in and cooperatively as possible, assess the situation, and go from there.

The address took them to an old abandoned reservoir facility lit by the kind of lights one would see at a minor league baseball game, leaving little shadow for any to hid in.

There Maelstrom with guns raised guarded the entrance, though they did not attack - nor did they question the driver of the AV. They were led down a system of tunnels and into a large drainage tunnel that emptied into the dry reservoir basin below. Smoke was keeping track along the way: 14 total Maelstrom, split pretty evenly between runners and techs.

Looking down, they could see that Smasher had two bodies tied to two chairs, one on their side of him. They were about three stories down from the party’s present location. Bit sent down one of her lizards, onomatopoeia, to try to access the situation, but Smasher’s heightened senses caught it’s sound (or something) and he blew it to smithereens. Poor lizard.

With their presence announced, they engaged Smasher in some decidedly not good-natured trash talk before realizing that they would, in fact, have to descend the ladder. Arriving at the bottom, they could see that Trace and Sonny were not in good shape. Smasher had wanted them alive, but he didn’t hold the Maelstrom back from having their “fun.” He stopped them about twenty feet away, where they could see the two were unconscious but still breathing.

He was willing to deal. We could trade Johnny for one of them and Smoke for the other. Apparently, though Smoke had taken out the head of Arasaka, there was an inheritance dispute, and Smasher had chosen a side - the side that said Johnny and Smoke were company property.

Nova raised her gun, firing once. Smasher merely howled and threatened to shoot Trace if they tried anything other than organizing a switch. Nova shot again (thanks to her rate-of-fire increase from Bit) and K2 wondered what they could do. Their firepower was the least effective of the Runaways, so if Nova couldn’t hit Smasher, then what chance did he have? He made up his mind to grab Smasher’s arm - well aware that he could rip her to shreds.

Just as he was about to make his move, he caught motion out of the corner of his eye. Bit had the box! Not only that, but she had pressed the button and threw it toward Smasher - - where it landed at his feet!!

K2 watched in shock and awe as things became unnaturally quiet - the box was emitting a sound at a noise-cancelling frequency. Then the temperature around them got quite warm, hot even, and there was an audible click as the box activated. There was an explosion centered around Smash that pushed both Trace and Sonny further away from Smasher - and good thing, too. Because somehow, in a night of drunken inspiration, Bit Chaos had built a gravity well. A gravity well that now proceeded to rock Adam Smasher to his core before sucking him down into a well of its own making - his tech and body fused and melted and broken. Smoke screamed, jumped down into the pit, and decapitated the monster.

Nova ran to her brother while K2 went to Tracey, who seemed to have been injected with something. Hearing noises from above, they looked up to see the door opened by Johnny and Santiago and the other Aldecaldos who had decided to fight their way though the Maelstrom to assist whatever was going on with the party.

Everyone stared at Bit with admiration, and as they headed back to camp Smoke got in touch with Arasaka about what had happened with Smasher and what he had said to the group. By the time he was done, they got notifications that the bounty on the Runaways had been cleared.

### **Safe & Sound**

It had been two weeks since they took out Adam Smasher. Rogue had agreed they needed a rest, and K2 spent those two weeks doing the following

* Pay rent
* Pay the backup service
* Work on lyrics related to space and The Runaways
* Purchased clothes to replace the ones left in the alley while running from Militech and a few armor piercing rounds “just in case” (having seen what they’re going up against)
* Periodically check in with everyone else (if they were not all together), including Fridge/Luna, and see if they need anything.
* Sent a message to Smoke in their capacity as manager about finishing the album they’ve been working on since Kerry suggested it. Smoke sent it on to Denny.
* Checked in with the Mox if anyone has seen or heard about Ink and even played a few sets at Lizzie’s

Their reputation rose to 8, and even Arasaka knows about them. Thier agents went off soon enough; Rogue wanted to meet at 7:30 at Afterlife. The doorman expected them, and they were led to the private back rooms that had once been the morgue’s cold storage.

Rogue came in with a bottle of thirty-year-old bourbon. “First round is on me,” she said, pouring shots. K2 appreciated the burn of good alcohol. But Rogue was, well, roguish. She seemed upset that only one person had checked in with her. K2 was perplexed because they had checked in with her, but checking the agent they saw the message hadn’t been delivered. But at least they’d tried?

She wasn’t angry though, and explained that if she was, she’d have ignored them altogether. There were now a great many people interested in their services in Night City, and she wanted to know what kind of jobs they wanted, and wether they would take any solo gigs.

Smoke suggested our next job be one that focused on helping someone directly, and Rouge brought up a job from one Micah Turingson who wanted to raid Biotechnica. There was a twist, though: he wanted to come with the Runaways. It must be personal.

They nodded, and Rogue activated the room’s privacy screens. Micah entered, shivering somewhat, and he was offered both bourbon and a jacket. The short version of his request was that his boyfriend was on testosterone, but Biotechnica and Trauma Team had a collaboration on the pharmaceuticals in NIght City, pricing it out of their range. With an unofficial motto of “Be Gay; Do Crimes” the Runaways were in.

Smoke fixed the boyfriend, Oberon Vell, up with Doc Hazard while K2 found a fan who worked at the warehouse indicated by Micah that was willing to leave a door open for them during third shift. Nova called Sonny for a vehicle, and he insisted on coming along as their driver.

They went to Doc’s, the to Chapel, and tried to get Micah to open up about his situation - Oberon didn’t know he was doing all of this, of course.

They found the warehouse in the University District, and though they tried their best to sneak in (after Sonny helped them scope it out), Bit and Fridge were seen by a security guard. Bit tried a tactic to deceive him that they were there for unique engagement photos, and when the guard went to escort them off the property without prosecution, Smoke wiped his memory.

We followed Nova’s lead into the warehouse, but it didn’t look like a warehouse. It was cleaner, with no visible storage areas, and it was deathly quiet. There was a buzz of security cameras, and looking around they saw that Micah, after coming inside, had disappeared.

They saw someone in the hall, and as they tried to find cover Bit and Fridge fell to the ground on top of each other. The camera zoomed in on them and Bit tried to make it look like they were making out.

The someone had bee Micah, and K2 and Nova and Smoke were in hot pursuit. They followed him through a door which they failed to keep open; it shut with a magnetic click. Behind them, K2 could hear a proximity alarm go off.

Smoke saw Micah run into a closet, and Nova and K2 followed. Cornered and confronted, it was revealed that what the Runaways were told was not the full truth. It was true, but what had been left out was that Micah had someone gotten sick with “the plague” from the East Coast, despite never having been there. He hadn’t been around any of the Runways to infect them, but the rest of Night City may be a different story as he shared his apartment with Oberon and four other roommates. He had been convened he wouldn’t get help.

Smoke made it clear we would still help him and that then he would be indebted to us and Rogue and Doc Hazard for a very, very, very long time.

### **Give the Anarchist a Cigarette**

They continued to tell Micah off until interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing outside, followed almost immediately by the sound of gunfire in the hall.

“In here, Bit” K2 called out, only to be met with

“I don’t know where ‘in here’ is, but the problems are out here!”

Smoke pushed past them all and into the hall, trying first to hack into the security system and then, failing that, slicing their way in with Sword.

Having pushed Bit to safety and to buy the party time, Fridge was on the other side of the door - facing off against several guards.

Nova ran to Bit while K2 stood in the closet doorway, keeping an eye on both Micah and the hallway leading in the other direction. Bit screamed to Fridge “Ratchet’s coming - use him. I don’t care how; just do it!”

By this point Smoke had successfully interfaced with he security system and deployed both caltrops and blunt force in the form of riot beanbags against the guards, who were knocked prone. They opened the door just as Ratchet arrived, running past Fridge and onto Bit’s shoulder. Someone pulled Fridge through the door and then shut it again.

Nova injected him with a speed-healing syringe, apologizing for the abruptness. “It’s not so bad,” Fridge said.

Back at the closed, Micah wanted to come out.  “Slowly,” K2 said, “and then apologize to the people you hurt.”

Quickly they all caught each other up on what was happening, and Bit freaked out just a little at realizing Fridge had been hurt. Fridge, though, simply shrugged it off, saying that Nova took care of it. He also refused to hold anything against Micah, pointing out that he was sick and scared and who’s to say what anyone would do in that situation. This only caused Smoke to be even angrier at Micah, pointing out he’d hurt the teddy-bear conscience of The Runaways.

Smoke also ran a quick check against Micah’s mother, finding that Iris Turingsen was - in her past, at least - an Upper East Side Rich Bitch - - automatically making Smoke suspicious of her given Smoke’s own past.

Fridge reminded Smoke they should call Rogue; Afterlife would need to be decontaminated. The call was made with much profanity on either side.

As to where to go from here, Smoke teamed up with Bit to help gain a sense of where pharmaceutical Research and Development would be. They found it in Sub-Basement Number 2, but in order to get that information Smoke had needed to briefly turn off their antivirus software, and it would take three minutes to run diagnostics to make sure they were okay. They ended a distraction to buy time.

With Nova needed to keep an eye on them in case of medical emergencies, it was up to Fridge and K2 to provide that distraction. Rather than risking opening the door again, K2 motioned that they should continue down the hallway on the side they were on. Keeping time in his head, K2 and Fridge walked for about a minute before K2 whispered “Hey Fridge, what’s your favorite type of music?”

Surprised at this unexpected question, Fridge thought for a moment before responding “I dunno - bluegrass and EDM?”

“I can work with that,” K2 said before launching into a few bars of Johnny Cash’s “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”:

“You can run on for a long time / Run on for a long time / You can run on for a long time / But sooner or later God’ll cut you down / Sooner or later God’ll cut you down”

And then they hoofed it back to the others, where Smoke remarked that K2’s voice had echoed down the hallway, an an eerie and spooky “God’ll cut you down” was all they had heard. K2 smiled.

A nearby elevator was the only way to reach Sun-Basement Two, and on the ride down they used the group chat to check in with each other. The doors opened on a security guard who stood up in surprise at seeing the Runaways and was immediately gunned down by Smoke and Nova.

They went down the hallway and found the laboratory they were looking for; across the hall was a room with frosted glass that caught Smoke’s attention. They entered, and almost immediately made a sound that caused Nova and K2 to make sure he was okay. Inside was a netrunner’s chair, and in the chair was someone or something that could hardly be called a person. If it weren’t for nearby medical equipment keeping track of vitals, K2 would have assumed it was dead. K2 called them “it” since it put them in mind of a human-fly hybrid.

Smoke was determined to make contact and gave Nova instructions on how to safely disconnect him if things went wrong. K2 leveled his gun at the door in case anyone other than Micah or Bit or Fridge came in. it was only a minute or two before Nova alerted K2 to a problem with Smoke’s eyes, and then realized she herself - though knowing the steps - didn’t have the technological expertise to disconnect Smoke safely. K2 called for Bit, who came into the room and helped get Smoke to safety. At least, relative safety, as Smoke couldn’t see.

He said it would be another three minutes or so for his cybernetic eyes to function properly again, and then told Micah it was time to starting paying back his debt by being his eyes. He then told the rest that the thing was not human and was in fact a simulacrum and should be ended. Nova fired four shots into it’s head.

Crossing the hallway to the lab and searching together, they found preventatives and treatments for The Plague as well as testosterone for Oberon. As they were walking out the door, a voice came from Fridge’s side: while K2 was in the runner’s room, Fridge had picked up the dead guard’s radio. A voice warned them that a force was incoming.

Fridge, with the assistance of Bit and Smoke, gave the voice on the other end a BS story of a machine malfunctioning and asked for a tech, giving the heart rate, oxygen levels, and breathing rate he’d seen on the biomonitors. There was a long pause on the other end before they heard “confirmed”. However, the elevator had been called to another floor.

They could only assume forces were still incoming, and Smoke still couldn’t see. With some kind of intuition, Micah and Fridge found a secret stairwell that led them to the surface, coming up through a grate near the marina.

Sonny had pickled up on Nova’s location and came to pick them up; he was less than thrilled to find out he’d also have to quarantine with the rest of them for two days due to Plague exposure. They dropped off supplies and Doc Hazard’s, who said he would work on synthesizing the medicines needed to combat Plague. They also picked up Oberon, who was less than trilled at Micah’s deceptions, but was someone in awe at being in the presence of the Runaways - and suffered secondhand embarrassment when Micah had to explain to Johnny what had happened.

By the time the conversation ended, they had arrived at the safehouse. K2 determined to used these two days effectively.

### **Ain’t No Right**

Kerry joined the Runaways in quarantine. There was no partying this time as everyone watched for signs of plague. Micah developed symptoms against proper inoculation, but synthetic antibiotics would help him in about ten hours, with full recovery in thirty-six. Obie didn’t leave hours side; often muttering “fucking idiot” under his breath. K2 stayed with them both, and Obie and K2 held forth on whether Samurai was a rock band or pop punk. No clear answer was arrived at, though from listening to Kerry and Johnny (via video), it was clear even the band was divided in their opinions.

K2 also began work on another project.

When the quarantine ended, they found Johnny and Foxy outside waiting for them. They went to Caliente’s to celebrate, and then to Kerry’s to plan their next steps. Nova and Foxy went to a drive in theater to relax, while Bit and Fridge went dumpster diving. To hear Bit tell the story later, they were jumped by 5 Maelstrom and only escaped due to the strategic deployment of a smoke bomb.

The rest of them partied at Kerry’s, with Smoke  offering K2 a place in their cuddle puddle. K2 desperately wanted to be included, but didn’t feel they were up for a whole lot of physical contact. Smoke sensed this and placed a large pillow beside them and patted it. K2 gratefully collapsed, leaning her weight into it.

Smoke made breakfast the next day, and as he made it Bit came in with her arm in bad shape from the night before. Thankfully, Nova was there with her med kits to make things better. As they discussed their next steps over food, Bit asked Smoke if he could look for her prior acquaintance Third on the net.

The good news was Third had been spotted in Watson, near the Kabuki and in Mox territory.

The bad news was that there was an Ajax-like security program embedded in the CCTV that spotted Smoke.

Deciding to start their search for Third at Lizzie’s, they found the club closed - a bad sign, to be sure. Third was inside and holding several workers hostage. He claimed to have a bomb, though eyewitness accounts didn’t notice any bulk that would indicate a C4 vest. And, given the club’s security, there may also be someone helping Third on the inside . . .

The Runaways decided to go in and allowed themselves to be locked in behind a blast shield.

They heard Third in one of the back rooms; it seemed to K2 it was the same room Potion had been in earlier. Hearing them in the building, Third began shouting nonsensical phrases; Smoke said he thought AJ4X was in control.

Bit took the lead given her history with Third, and successfully negotiated the exchange of hostages for herself. Fridge, using his software, was able to keep an eye on her through the scope of one of his guns, and Smoke was able to patch through the building’s security to hear the audio.

It looked like Third held a thermal grenade in one hand.

Third lamented all the bad things that had happened to him since Bit left, but explained that “the woman behind the wall” would take care of everything. Third seemed determined to take the entire building out with him. Bit and Third went in circles, with Bit trying to extract a promise from Third that the others could leave if she stayed behind.

This seemed to be unsuccessful, but before Third could do anything, Fridge shot through the wall and cleanly killed Third with a shot to the head.

The box Third held was just that - a box with nothing in it. He was a hollow man with empty threats.

Or so they thought.

Smoke noticed a secondary device, and worried that there might be a dead man’s switch or remote detonation, wrapped his cyber hand around it and, with the help of Nova and K2, successfully detached his arm and placed it in Lizzie’s safe. Just in time, as the grenade went off. He had to incur a significant debt to Arasaka to get it replaced.

That night they got drunk at Kerry’s and played a few rounds of “No Shit, There I Was” - in which K2 shared how they had lost their first liver. They did not share what else they had lost that night.

The next morning Smoke filled them in on an organization she was a member of: the Continental. They had just set up a branch in Night City, and Smoke wanted to pay them a visit concerning an agent named Zeus that had recently turned up dead as the result of an apparent mugging.

They met two other employees of the Continental: Styx and Anders by name, and the group agreed to take on the Zeus case while not becoming full members of the Continental (though the offer was made).

They were paid an advance in gold coins, not eddies, and rather than shake hands on the deal, K2 offered a solemn nod and accepted a cigar. No one seemed offended by this.

### **Somebody That I Used To Know**

Elsewhere in NIght City, a Corpo named Drone woke up in his own bed in Cleavertown to an empty and desolate house with the power off. There were suits at the door and he saw Biotechnica moving in. He went to open his mouth and the suits cut him off, saying his wife and kids had been taken by Trauma.

At that moment a vehicle drove rapidly down the street and an armed reached out the window and threw a percussion grenade. Drone found himself being abducted by none other than Trace Aldecado, who promised him he was taking him somewhere safe. Drone immediately relaxed, showing an ability to shift his perception of reality.

At the same time and elsewhere in Night City, a scientist named Lynx worked quietly in her Araska lab. There had been chaos in the corporation as of late, and this meant security was tightened in some sectors while relaxed in others. She thought today would be the day, and put her plan to commit espionage into motion - downloading an engram from the database.

Lynx was interrupted halfway through by Sandayu Oda, head of security. Lynx tried to bullshit her way out of things, but the program and download was found. Oda gave Lynx a long look before suggesting she leave through Section C and find Smoke.

This was not Lynx’s lucky day, though, and she found herself running into guards doing scans. She stopped, patted her pockets as if she’d left something behind, and turned around a walked back to her lab normally. Then she went out a different exit. As she left the building, she received a text with Smoke’s address.

Drone, meanwhile, was riding along with Trace, who called Smoke. When Smoke put together that Drone was neighbors with Micah and may have been exposed to plague, Trace looked over at Drone  and said “Change of plans. You’re getting stabbed. Medically, that is” and drove him to Doc Hazzard’s. Drone insisted it was called “haz-ard’s” but was nonetheless seen and given a shot, a bandaid, and a lollipop before Trace set them back on track to the Continental, arriving at the same time as Lynx.

Drone seemed intent on tipping everyone he met.

Drone and Lynx met the Runaways over breakfast and put a few things together:

1. Drone’s family (wife (Night Corps) and two kids had been taken, but were likely alive.
2. Drone had seen AJ4X mentioned in internal memos related to BDs.
3. Lynx was looking for her brother, whose information seemed to have vanished from the net.
4. Night City was corrupt (no surprise) but Kit Sampson (Smoke’s stalker) seemed more corrupt than usual, rising quickly by closing cases without actually investigating them.

They made their way to the Night City Morgue (a “cave of wonders”) and found a John Doe wrapped in plastic bearing a “do not open” tag. They broke up and tried to look for evidence of Sampson’s dodgy paperwork. Lynx and K2 were in the walk-in freezer when John Doe sat up.

### **Brave New World**

[Note: Foxy had previously called Nova away for assistance dealing with some Tyger Claws causing problems outside Lizzie’s]

With the others looking for dirt on Kit, Lynx and K2 were unsure if they saw the “zombie” sit up. the lights in the freezer went out as it came upright, and the red Kiroshi opticals glowed as the plastic fell off and the mural link - supposed to be inactive in death - began processing. The semi-opaque bag keeping in the bodily fluids started to come open, revealing an algae-like fungal lining.

Smoke was looking on the net when they got a small ping from the body, indicating active cyberware.

Lynx and K2 stepped backwards out of the freezer, and Bit slapped a lock on it while whipping out her agent to text Voight.

Nova arrived in Gamera and pulled the fire alarm, emptying the building. For a brief moment they caught sight of Kit Sampson before he became lost in the crowd.

Voight was the last one out and was quickly brought up to speed before he made an agreement with the Runaways to have them handle the zombie problem.

They went back to the Morgue and stormed the door with Bit in the lead. Between her sword and K2’s bat, they dealt a significant amount of damage to one zombie, but by know six more had awoken. Lynx did something with her fingers that grappled another, while Drone attacked a third. Nova shot the one Drone was engaged with. Drone miraculously dodged out of the way. Smoke used some kind of bone breaking program in incapacitate one of them.

One zombie clawed and attacked Lynx and K2, but they both evaded its grasp. K2 caved its chest in with her bat and the head, no longer supported, hit the ground hard - shattering its neural link.

Bit shattered the link of another zombie and suggested using them as shields against the others. Fridge seemed to be having a panic attack, and Bit stepped back from melee range to calm him down.

Mist and fog began pouring from the upper vent of the morgue. There was no illumination except for the blinking lights of the ocular implants. The five remaining zombies stood in a star pattern, now ignoring the Runaways and standing at attention as if awaiting instructions. Looking to the center of the star, K2 saw flashing lights.

A human figure took shape in the mist and fog; given the lighting, they looked like Carrie.

“Hey, Alt” Bit said - and the figure slowly rotated its head to look at her. All five zombies followed suit and stared at Bit. Their eyes blinked again and Bit fell to the ground in pain and she began to lose color in her face. It reminded K2 of video of when the lost their liver the other times, and both she and Nova suspected Bit’s liver wasn’t working properly.

Smoke used “ban hammer” that shattered a firewall somewhere, and the figure now focused its attention there. “Hey, Alt. Remember me?” Smoke asked, as the figure’s “skin” peeled away, causing it to twist and turn but refusing to de-rez. Smoke then unleashed dragon, causing its hair to catch on fire & the code itself to burn and burst.

Alt looked at Smoke and said “I don’t remember you. Who are you?” as her code crumbled and the zombies began stumbling.

By this point, Nova was able to assist Bit with her breathing and eradicate the toxins that had begun building up in her system. She would need further help since her binders were offline and the toxins would return soon.

The zombies were slow, and Alt shimmered into code. The zombies spoke in the deep, guttural voice of the dead: “We call to thee, dark mother of stillness and rest.” Smoke grappled Patient Zero and took him out; the others soon fell. Their heads were taken as well as samples for analysis.

Exiting the building, Nova was concerned to find Gamera had a parking ticket. They piled into Gamera and went to Doc Hazzard’s for Bit and then back to the Continental - where they still had time left on their room - to plan.

### **Help!**

With about 24 hours of downtime, K2 spent the time drinking and writing, and sent Smoke and Nova lyrics he’d written based on them for his new project, tentatively called BGDC (for “Be Gay, Do Crime”). Bit and Fridge stayed at Doc Hazzard’s.

Meeting together, the Runaways decided to send Micah (with Johnny) to find out why they hadn’t been paid for Adam Smasher’s head, while the rest of them continued to track down Zeus’s murderer.

Smoke examined the investigative files and tracked Zeus’ movements through the city. Zeus had walked from Militech north of Water and down toward City Center toward a Watson area bar: Lock and Key. Zeus spent some time there before leaving and getting jumped while exiting the Watson Development Corporate Zone.

Smoke called Styx and then the bar, where a female voice on the other end indicated - hesitatingly and begrudgingly - that they might have some shit the Runaways might like to see.

They arrived at the bar at 3:00 pm. Lock and Key was located underground and behind a large vault door. It gave off Prohibition vibes. Smoke gave the password (QWERTY) and the door was opened by a doorman that would put  Fridge to shame. K2 felt he was the “lock” of Lock and Key.

They passed some live stream vloggers and through a curtain where a filler removed all color from everything. It was like stepping into a film noir with a smoky jazz aesthetic.

“Not dressed very appropriate, are we” said someone behind the counter. K2 gave them a look. “I can’t do anything about the clothes, but . . .” and she shook her head, telling her tech hair to transform into a flapper’s bob.

“Neat trick!”

Introducing themselves as Java, a women stepped out from behind the bar in a flapper-style dress and kitten heels. The room took on the smell of cigars and hand-rolled cigarettes.

After brief introductions, Smoke shifted the conversation to Zeus. Java insisted she hadn’t seen the agent, but Nova sensed they might be hiding something due to fear of retaliation. Nova offered the Runaway’s help, and Java said the help wouldn’t be for her, but for one of her girls named Trixie.

[Bit arrived; Fridge was still at Doc’s with a spinal injury]

She was a working girl due to hardships, and a corpo was at the bar the same night as Zeus. Trixie had taken a “liking” to the corpo. They left together, and the corpo seemed to be wearing a Biotechnica uniform (and not exactly hiding it). Trixie came back an hour later all bloody, yet she insisted the blood wasn’t hers. She washed and finished her shift.

Now with a face for reference, Smoke accessed Biotechnica’s files and found a name: Leopold Tostov. Smoke sent the name to Styx, who passed it on to Anders.

Java was concerned that Trixie hadn’t arrived yet, so the Runaways went to her instead. She had a standard two-bedroom apartment. What was unusual was the corporate-grade firewall around the apartment. Smoke tried to attack the firewall, and it reacted almost like it was a living thing. Smoke detected one lifeform hard-jacked into a private net port.

They entered the apartment via back doors. Nova heard something that sounded like bees, and there was obvious signs of a recent struggle. Whatever was in the cable running into the apartment was powerful and running a hard input. The girl was unconscious but awake and looked something like high or drunk or maybe even sedated. Nova made a quick check and determined that she would need either a potent or market-grade detox.

Smoke prepared to take actions on the net, and K2 started to provide some calming music, when the security door slammed shut, locked, and the firewall came back up. It was now dark except for the light from one of Bit’s lizards.

Trixie looked at Nova and “spoke” - “You don’t understand. This is the happiest we’ve been in a long time.”

K2 tried putting Trixie in a sleeper hold while Smoke went to disable the technology. Trixie’s own hair reached out to reattach the cable and Smoke was forced to physically jack Trixie out of the port.

Smoke got a look at the code and was able to tell the code was called “Gaia” - an artificially integrated code not made by a meat brain. This was machine-made code.

Carrying Trixie out of the apartment, Nova and K2 saw a car blocking Gamera. Somebody steps out of the car and Smoke recognized them as Fridge. “Thank god, it’s been a long day,” she said.

“It’s about to be longer,” they said as they pulled a gun and opened fire. Decidedly, they were not Fridge. K2 was targeted and hit in the leg; she felt that any more damage would cost her the leg itself.

Nova let down her end of Trixie and moved towards the assailant. K2 moved behind a nearby dumpster. Nova fired but missed thanks to an armored door.

Smoke ran the man’s picture through her files and found his code name was Ares and he was excommunicado from the Continental. In the meat, Smoke took out his left leg, pissing him off. She engaged him in martial arts, but he punched back, breaking Smoke’s ribs “as warning”.

Nova rushed him and hacked at an arm; Bit followed it up with a katana and took the entire hand off.

K2 moved toward Gamera. “Thanks guys!” she called weakly as Smoke engaged in another round of bone-breaking gun-fu. Ares tried to disengage, but Smoke held on as long as possible - but Ares made his escape.

In parting, Bit tried - unsuccessfully - to get him to change his name to Freezer, since he was no Fridge.

Nova attended to Smoke and K2, and with Nova’s feel-good medicines, they forwent going directly to Doc’s and returned instead to the Lock and Key.

### **Episode 21**

They chilled at the club. K2, using “Night City Jazz” as proof they could play jazz, put on a live set in the front room.

Micah and Obie and Kerry and Johnny arrived, and the drinks started flowing. Smoke became very mellow and started work on code of some sort, while Bit became a weird blur of dancing insanity. K2 expressed interest in investing in the club, and found they wanted to open a distillery as well. Overall, they would need 50,000 eddies to get started. K2 made no promises but expressed earnest interest.

Bit needed up passing out on the dance floor, and Micah and Odie got her back to Nibbles to sleep it off. The rest made their way back toi Villa Eurodyne.

K2 was up early the next day and began checking on everyone. “You good? You hydrated?” paying no mind to anyone’s state of dress or evidence of sexual activity.

Smoke checked the code written under the influence and declared it “chaos code” that wouldn’t play nice. It was their version of whatever Bit’s box had been, and determined to save it for a rainy day.

They ate breakfast and then went to pick up Fridge. While there, Doc mentioned he would be retiring and introduced the Runaways to his intern, Victor. Picking up snack from Chapel, they took Fridge to his apartment. While there, he told them he dreamed he attacked them in an alley and proceeded to describe Ares’ attack.

Concerned, Smoke checked Fridge’s code and found it was very similar to what Johnny’s had looked like. Was there a possibility Fridge was part of the Engram project?

Smoke thought it best they go to the Continental, but she couldn’t disconnect from Fridge. Leaving the apartment, they evaded a Max Tech lockdown, which wasn’t intended for them but definitely put them on the radar.

They got to the Continental’s cold room and Smoke entered the net while Bit and K2 and Nova (and a Continental agent) watched from the meat.

The short version is:

In the net, Smoke interlaced with one “Otto Lyder” who said that Fridge was part of the Hive and could not be released without consequences.

In the meat, Fridge’s “defense mechanisms” took over. Thankfully, they had had the foresight to restrain Fridge, but the things controlling him engaged in psychological warfare - to the extend that it claimed Fridge wasn’t real.

In the end, Fridge was released, though “Otto” warned Smoke that someone would come looking for him.

### **Episode 22**

While Nova went to a Nomad garage to work on Gamera, the rest returned to the Continental, where K2 sent messages to Denny inquiring about production and Java regarding a possible business deal between K2 and the Lock and Key. K2 ordered gin and took their time dressing. Meanwhile, Smoke called a meeting with Yorinobu Arasaka. The Continental made available one of their “brown rooms” - under constant surveillance and security, though for whose security K2 wasn’t quite sure.

What K2 knew of Yorinobu Arasaka was limited to what they read in the scream sheets, though as they thought on them they began to put some pieces together. Some time ago Araska had been dating a woman named Chiyo - a name K2 had also heard in reference to Smoke. But Chiyo was younger and her hair was different. And then K2 remembered that nearly everything was available for purchase, especially to an Arasaka. There had been a rumor that, while Chiyo and Yorinobu had appeared to be a proper Japanese couple, they were not actually together, and that Chiyo had been a planted bodyguard. Now that sounded like Smoke.

Yorinobu had a criminal record, starting a booster gang called the Steel Dragons, which some claim formed the basis of the modern Tyger Claws in Night City. The Steel Dragons and Arasaka were in a state of mutually-assured destruction when Saburo Arasaka (his father) targeted Yorinobu’s generals. Yorinobu was physically and publicly humiliated before being welcome back and made heir-apparent.

Now running Arasaka following the death of Seaburo, he is known to still like the music of Johnny Silverhand.

Yorinobu arrived, and Smoke explained Project Gaia to him, proposing Arasaka and the Continental work to solve everyone’s problems. Hesitantly, Yorinobu agreed to consider the plan, but wanted assurances he could trust the Runaways. K2 almost derailed things with their honesty that they didn’t much like corporations, but since Arasaka hadn’t tried to actively kille them, and since Smoke trusted him, and since even Johnny Silverhand wouldn’t go against Yoribonu personally, K2 would also trust him. There was also some talk about how to address K2, which they appreciated, settling that “K2-san will work until our relationship dictates otherwise.”

Yorinobu asked the Runaways what they wanted in return for their services, and after they deliberated, K2 started with an offer of 1 million eddies. Amazingly Yorinobu agreed, though he warned them it would only be a verbal agreement an unenforceable in any court. In return, the Runaways would kill or capture both Leopold and Ares.

Yorinobu left - not without Smoke and Bit trying to ensure his safety - and then Smoke called Potion to see if he had any contacts that might help them. He knew of a conspiracy theorist/pirate DJ named Peaches and dropped his deets.

They left in Nibbles and drove across town until they reached a large building with three larger red Xs. People of various genders displayed their wares both scantily clad and fully nude. K2 was reminded that, with the right permits, one could go about Night City in as little as they desired.

They used the fire escape to reach the second floor - apartment 2B to be exact, and knocked. K2 noticed a ring-style camera nearby. A figure opened the door and Bit asked “Are you Peaches?”

The figure opened the door further, revealing themselves to be a wheelchair user, and opened the door. The camera outside seemed to be one of the few pieces of tech Peaches owned. Though there was a six-monitor computer and desk casing, the majority of the room was taken up by a large cork board with red lines everywhere.

Smoke again took the lead, explains they were looking first for Leopold Tostov - who Peaches named “The Whisper” and said lacked all fingerprints. Smoke initiated a kind of information exchange and learned that AJ4X served “the dead lady” and that there were cults devoted to their worship in the sewers. Bit noticed a picture of Fridge on the board, and after a great deal of convincing from both Bit and Smoke, Peaches removed the picture. K2 noticed Ink’s picture as well, and was in the process of negotiating another information exchange when Peaches cut them short.

Peaches had somehow placed a tracker on Whisper,  or was otherwise able to follow their whereabouts, and something was happening. He was headed toward Nova’s location, and it seemed he had initiated some kind of scrambler system to keep folks like Smoke from getting too much information.

They ran out the door with promises to check back in with Peaches when they could.

### **Episode 23**

Bit raced Nibbles through Night City while Smoke ensured they had green lights all the way out. Just as they neared the Nomad camp Bit hit some traps - a spike strip to be exact - that sent the vehicle careening on its side. From the back K2 saw Smoke through out a hand to catch/stop K2, and as the van turned on its side she saw Bit launch herself up and trough the open window. K2 wondered how Bit did it.

Hit by the contents of Nibbles, K2 and Smoke made their way out; it was clear Smoke had taken the brunt of the damage. K2 and Bit tried to help Smoke, but as they neared the gates a warning shot hit the ground between Bit and Smoke. K2 got the impression whoever had shot at them put the bullet exactly where they wanted to.

The gate was locked - the camp and been under sniper attack and gone into lockdown - so Smoke launched herself over the gates and, as he went to break the lock, took a bullet just under her metal arm. It bounced around her ribs before exiting, leaving her with broken ribs and significant bleeding.

The lock gave way and the gate opened, and as Bit and K2 ran toward Smoke, Nova and Gamera emerged from the closest garage. Nova spun the van as a kind of shield, and they all slid inside.

Holding a boob in her hands, Smoke explained the scrambler was located somewhere in the camp, and they needed to take out both the scrambler and the shooter. Bit and Smoke ran toward a bike to find the scrambler, and as K2 shut the door they called out “Don’t worry, will give them tat for your tits!” That got a smile followed by a grimace from Smoke.

As Nova and K2 drove out into the desert, the shooting stopped. They noticed an armored vehicle on the side of a dune, and as they deliberated what to do, received an altert from Smoke. Bit had disabled the scrambler with ease and they had a location on the shooter.

“Wanna see something new?” Nova asked K2 as she pushed a button. K2 watched in amazement as a rocket fired into the desert. They missed the shooter but broke his cover, with K2 watching as he used his bionic booster legs to rapidly close the distance between them.

“Here ya go,” Nova said and handed K2 her Malorian. K2 fired but missed as he shot back, using his legs to keep pace with Gamera. Nova tried running him over with the nitrous, clipping his leg. Leopold Tostov stopped himself from falling by stabbing a very large knife into Gamera, and with the leverage fired into Gamera. The bullet hit K2’s and, breaking it and sending the Malorian tumbling out into the desert.

As Nova put Gamera into spring donuts, K2 heard a ping on her agent. Tostov was thrown off Gamer and under her wheels, sending a spray of blood up the back window. Nova threw it into reverse and crunched him again before the two got out. Tostov was dead, and K2 spit on his corpse. “Break my fucking arm you bastard. I need that arm!”

Nova, using her med kit, quickly set K2’s arm and then the two of them went looking for Nova’s Malorian as well as Tostov’s rifle and pistol. They found his weapons but failed to find the Malorian when they both got another ping on the agent.

Smoke:

*Got the scrambler. Kid named Nimble... he faked being a Nomad*

*how's Tostov? Need me on the Net?*

*....why is Nova in two places...?*

K2 and Nova raced to reply

*Fucker broke my arm and I dropped the gun*

*Tostov is one with the desert. But my gun took flight*

Smoke replied

*Oh.*

*....this gun?*

And she dropped a pin to the Malorian’s exact location.

Nova typed back:

*thank you, love*

Smoke sent

*anytime babes*

And they returned to the camp. Picking up Bit and Smoke and leaving Nimble to be dealt with  by the Nomads, they returned to Night City with a bounty to collect and some cyberware looted from Tostov:

* Booster legs
* Neural link
* Adrenal pump
* Smart grip
* Mono wire (claimed by K2)
* Reinforced skeleton
* Internal agent
* Kiroshi eyes
* Fancy Knife (given by Nova to K2 in the desert)
* Medium smart gun
* Modified Rifle (given by K2 to Nova in the desert)

They would divide the loot fairly later on.

### **Episode 24**

*Note: the player became sick after this session, and while their notes have jogged their memory, they cannot remember exact conversations. The rundown of what happened in this episode is as follows:*

The Runaways had closed a job for The Continental and were rewarded with 10 coins each

They went to Doc’s for medical care for Smoke and K2. They both allowed his apprentice, Vic, to help them and gain experience. As part of this, K2 discussed their options regarding their arm and concluded that, given their reliance on it to make a living, it was worth the risk to replace it with a high quality cyberarm with 9 slots and grating a +10 to their dexterity. Therapy was already something K2 knew they would need; the resulting loss in humanity brought them into the low tees and bumped it up to a priority.

The Runaways reunited with Fridge, Smoke sent a message to Johnny, and they decided to unwind at the Eden Beach Megaride Amusement Park. Fridge and Bit got cool haircuts while Johnny and Smoke and K2 got tattoos - K2’s looked like a vintage radio microphone backlit with bursts of color.

Fridge used his new arm to win Bit a huge stuffed alligator she named Avocado Aldecaldo by knocking down bottles (throwing three balls at once). Johnny took a different approach and beat the shit out of a carnival game (or four) and was given a box of random parts as a prize - which Bit promised to turn into something awesome for him.

Smoke suggested they track down the hooligans that attacked Johnny and Micah. There was some debate about how far to take their revenge, with Smoke going for death and K2 suggesting extortion with a side of maiming. When Smoke shared pictures of what Micah looked like after the attack, K2 changed their mind to extortion followed by death.

Smoke tracked the assailants to a ganger bar called The Slammer, a Booster club known for its cinder fighting pit. They stopped for food at Jesse James’ Kosher Deli on the way.

Entering the club, they saw a women (named Beauty) literally breaking a person over her thigh. They only reason they couldn’t hear the spine break was due to the screams and shouts from the crowd. Looking around, they ID’d the motherfuckers mingling in the crowd and getting drinks.

Singling one of them out, Smoke hacked their agent, identifying her further as “Aurora” - a legitimate (yet solitary) edgerunner with \*lots\* of medical bills. Looking into her deets, Smoke found she and others had taken a job to find Dom Pearl, but the real surprise was finding a 50k eddy bounty on Micah - issued by Biotechnica and co-signed by one Iris Turingson, Micah’s own “mother” !

The Runaways’ shit list continued to grow.

### **Episode 25**

Smoke shared what they could find on the Net about The Slammer. It was a booster club frequented by Maelstrom, though the owners strictly enforced the grounds as neutral territory. Any violations would be stealth with most swiftly and severely. The club itself operated as close to analog as possible. Smoke was able to get a general location for each of the goons they were looking for, though they appeared to have split up for the time being. At least, they were scattered throughout the bar. Smoke put in a call to Rogue, who was aware of the job and said it had been arranged by an unknown up-and-coming fixer named Archangel.

“How DARE that bastard take one of Johnny’s songs!” Smoke swore.

In short, The Slammer offered the Three Bs: Brawl, Bar, and Bets.

Bit slid out of the car and entered the throng. To K2s eyes she seemed to blend in seamlessly with the crowd, practically becoming a ghost. K2 was reminded how she’d dodged the guys with swords back on the heifer case; if they didn’t know to look specifically for Bit and keep both eyes on her, it would be practically impossible to know she was there. Soon enough she was on her agent.

“So I was trying to find the weakest member and I think I found her - name of Blue Betty. Everything about them is blue and she’s drinking a blue drink. Anyway, I was going to go over and buy her a drink and see what I could learn when this other person came at me out of nowhere. I think she was tagged with Mamba and she had a monowire out but I saw her first and she backed off. So we might want to be careful since they might maybe kinda know what we look like if she was expecting me. Anyway I’m coming back outside now.”

As Bit made her way back, Smoke delved for more information via the Net and CCTV. When Bit arrived, they all looked over the information they’d gathered and discussed what to do about them. K2 was somewhat relieved that Smoke had changed their mind about wanting to eliminate every last one of them.

* The girl Bit had seen when by Blue Betty; AKA  "Elizabeth Wescroft" - maybe a solo and stood at the very back of the attack not doing much of anything.
* The one who had thought about slicing Bit was Mamba "Sally Wescroft" - a borg with a solo stealth spec that indicated some kind of history. Reports indicated she’d once been Maelstrom, but any identifying tattoos had been removed.
* "Aku" Yosuke Butet - was a booster runner, tech who had helped track down Johnny and Micah and seemed to have landed the first punch. Though security footage revealed that when Johnny began fighting back, he took much, much worse than he dished out
* "Kilo" John Nettson was the one fighting in the pit, another borg, maelstrom (active), solo and one of the major antagonists of the fight
* "Priss" Jia Key - net runner who shut down Micah before the attack and tried to hack Johnny. From what Smoke could tell, she’d been much more gentle than most net runners would have been.
* "Leo" Leonardo Wolfwood - solo edgerunner, father of Daryl Wolfwood and actual military veteran. Resided in dog town. Though Smoke did not initially mention it, it came out that Leo was a person of color.
* "Crossbones" Taylor Hart III - the only one of real reputation and edgerunner of some history (thanks to a heist on the bank bloc), solo. He was also connected: his father was in upper management in Militech (a small-s-secretary as Smoke put it) whose family had made their money through war profiteering, specifically coding.

Smoke called Rouge back and asked about any pending payments due The Runaways; 30,000 eddies were deposited in K2’s account. This was for the general fund; it was K2’s turn to hold the purse, and they were reminded that they really should set up a group account.

From the backseat, Fridge spoke up. Crossbones had hired him for a job some time back delivering a package, which he’d done exactly as contracted. He was never contacted again. Smoke theorized this was because Fridge hadn’t been desperate enough. Crossbones and Kilo seemed to form the core of more than a few gangs over the past several months. Those they ran with seemed rather more disposable (at least, disposable to Kilo and Crossbones).

It seemed that K2 and Smoke were on the same wavelength as he suggested seeing if certain members of the gang (everyone but Kilo and Crossbones, who were definitely on the hit list) would be open to meeting, with the intent that just maybe they could be bought off or otherwise convinced not to intervene (nonviolently, if possible).

Smoke sent the message and contacted Rogue to act as intermediary. Rogue took 400 eddies to set up a safe meeting place, which took about 2 hours.

Arriving early, Fridge scoped out the place and radioed in when he saw Rogue arrive and her driver leave. “She’s brought her own sniper,” he observed. Johnny took up a perch on a crate a ways away from the rest. He was only Runaway-adjacent and would not take part in any negotiations. They had stopped by Caliente’s on the way and Bit had brought some guacamole to share. As she set it out, K2 talked to Smoke and Nova about how they were going to handle this - specifically who would be doing the talking. When Nova said she thought they’d all say something and Smoke agreed, K2 nodded.

The others arrived separately. Perhaps their previous transportation had been arranged by Kilo or Crossbones . . . They each got five separate looks as they came in.

Bit called out to Mamba as only Bit could: high energy and enthusiastically trying to smooth things over by saying there were no hard feelings, she knows she was just trying to protect Betty, and wouldn’t it be nice if they could look back on this and laugh over drinks?

Thankfully Bit didn’t come across the wrong way. At least, none of them tensed up (although Aku got a rather “WTF” squirrelly look on his face).

Though Nova and Smoke had said they’d all talk, it seemed that Smoke would speak for them -at least at first, trying to reason with them using all the information they’d found out: namely, that they were being used by Crossbones/Kilo and if they were really looking for a way into Afterlife this wasn’t they way it would happen and hey were really in so far over their heads they couldn’t even see it and why not just listen to what they all had to say?

They had also seemed to nominated a spokesperson as Leo stepped forward. “You understand it was just a job, right?”

“Yes, and coming from someone who took after their mom’s melanin and not their dad’s - - thank you for your service. Sergeant Wolfwood.”

That earned Smoke a raised eyebrow and the two spent several minutes discussing the racism inherent in the system that had kept both Leo and Smoke down for so long.

Nova made a comment about Adam Smasher having underestimated the Runaways, and both Priss and Aku spoke at once in respect and admiration. Nova took grater delight in recounting how Bit had made her box, and K2 had to smile since neither Bit nor Nova actually remembered that night and they were going off what Smoke and K2 (and Kerry) had told them.

That led into a discussion of the pros and cons of making friends with the gang one runs with. The others pointed out that “friends” weren’t really done nowadays, with Smoke countering that maybe it should. Smoke pointed out the positive aspects of each of The Runaways, saying that K2 was (somehow) their moral center.

“What say you then, Priest?” Mamba asked, catching K2 somewhat off-guard (even though Smoke had said to be ready to talk).

“If I’m the priest then assume I’m not going to lie to you. You’ve heard what my friends have to say; what do you want to know?” she asked in good faith.

They asked what it was, exactly, The Runaways were offering, which came down to

* 30,000 eddies to divide among themselves
* The opportunity to join Afterlife (conditions and employment set by Rogue, of course)
* The knowledge they wouldn’t be punished for hurting Micah (unless new evidence came to light implicating a deeper involvement, which they all denied).
* In exchange, they would walk away from Kilo and Crossbones and not warn them what was coming their way.

They all checked on the current bounty on Micah; while it had been 15k just a few hours before, it was now up to 250k. With each failure, it seemed the bounty was increased. This would have to be dealt with sooner rather than later.

Convening among themselves, the others all declared they would walk away from the two ringleaders. They would take the money and divide it. As for Afterlife, they would each make their own individual decision based on individual negations with Rogue.

Though Smoke tried to get them to take that offer collectively, they declined. Nova brought up the Dukes, to which The Runaways were told they’d been taken over by Maelstrom. “You know what they were doing out on the island?” Aku asked.

When none of them did, he said he’d be in touch.

K2 sent the eddies as Bit continued to try to befriend Betty (to the frustration of Mama) who, while she did not like lizards, did like frogs. Smoke had some parting warnings for Priss regarding Alt Cunningham, AJ4X, and the  cult surrounding her/them. In particular. Smoke was concerned what Priss had learned about Johnny when trying to hack his arm.

*“He’s my output. I love him. Please forget about what you saw. Forget about him. Please; I am begging you.”*

*”That thing. I can get a lot of eddies for that . . .”*

*“Name your price. I will do anything to keep him safe. So name it. Because I won’t survive losing him again.”*

Left alone, they formed their plan to take out Kilo and Crossbones, who were still at The Slammer. Knowing they couldn’t attack them on club grounds, they decided to set up an ambush. Smoke and Bit and Johnny would be the distraction to bring them over the line. Fridge and Nova and K2 would set up with sniper rifles and a rocket launcher to attack from a distance. They had to swing by the safe house to pick up some things, and when Smoke offered K2 a choice between the rifles and the rocket launcher, K2 said “make them go boom” in a slightly too excited voice.

On the way to The Slammer, K2 reflected that it was a good thing Fridge and Bit and Smoke had offered to teach K2 how to handle heavy arms after the heifer incident.

### **Episode 26**

Making a stop and Caliente’s, They continued on back to The Slammer and began their stakeout. Bit grew impatient and wanted to lure them outside while Smoke advised caution so as to let them come out naturally and hopefully unaware. Nova took the time to sketch up a plan for her and Johnny and Fridge and K2 to lay down suppressing fire for Bit and Smoke when their targets came out. In true Bit fashion, she turned the idle conversation from steakouts to stakes to cows to bovines to animal husbandry in general - leaving K2 shaking their head by the end of it. Finally their quarry exited the building and the Runaways waited for them to cross the line. Literally: there was a bright spray-painted yellow line put down by Laserface marking the neutral territory of The Slammer.

This was the first time they had all gotten a good look at them in the flesh - or the borgwre, as the case might be. Kilo came out sporting his Maelstrom marking and enough Borgward that he seemed an Adam-Smasher-wannabe. Crossbones was physically fit and his clothes betrayed a jacked strength threat went beyond any gym. He lacked any official Maelstrom markings, but Smoke thought that was due mainly to his daddy’s connections. What The Runaways had not counted on was more folks being with them; namely, three Maelstrom chromeboy hangers-on who appeared a little above the level of the average NIght City street thug.

The exited the car quietly. Smoke and Bit went down the opposite side of the street from their targets, intending to sneak up behind them. the others took up positions in the buildings facing The Slammer, with K2 taking cover behind the car.

Smoke popped the top on her drink and dumped a bottle of glitter inside while Bit prepared one of her lizards - Moldy Bread, which would emit a rather stomach turning gas when activated.

As the scene unfolded, the sun sank below the horizon, taking with it the heat of the day. Cool weather began to roll in, and with it the sky turned darker than might be expected for early March. Their agents told them storms were likely.

The thugs didn’t seer what was happening until it was too late. Smoke “dropped” their drink all over Crossbones and Bit activated Moldy Bread. The gas seemed to have no effect on either Crossbones or Kilo and two of the other Maelstrom coughed a little. The last one, though, started heaving and coughing like he was trying to expel his internal organs.

Nova took the distraction to fire two bullets at Kilo, who moved with an unexpected agility out of the path of the first while getting clipped by the second. He looked up in Nova’s direction.

Bit already had her Katana’s drawn and brought them down on the still-standing chromeboy nearest her, sticking one into his upper thigh and taunting him - though what she said couldn’t be heard from K2’s position.

Visibly pissed off, the Maelstrom retaliated by raising his opposite arm and brining it down on her head, hard. K2 watched as Bit tried to dodge, and this time she yelled loud enough for her to hear: “I just got my hair done!”. Bit’s head jerked mightily and she sank to her knees but did not go down fully. K2 wouldn’t be surprised to know she was badly concussed - if not worse.

Kilo seemed to smile seeing Bit go down, and even in the dim light K2 could see he took a rather perverse pleasure in her pain. Using the trunk of the car for leverage, K2 aimed the rocket launcher at Kilo’s head and pulled the trigger.

Kilo’s face changed dramatically, going from concern at Nova’s shots to pleasure in Bit’s abuse to a disintegrating eye socket as the projectile found its mark. K2 started to smile but then watched in horror as Kilo’s body was lifted backwards across the bright yellow line on the ground, over the perimeter fence, and into the wall of The Slammer  - where the rocket finally exploded. Patrons and Laserface himself looked out of the wreckage; if there was any silver lining it was that they all appeared unhurt. Aside from Kilo, of course.

Smoke took on crossbones with some spectacular gun-fu, cracking and shifting his skull and crumpling an occipital lobe in the process. Crossbones was still up, but quite unsteady on his feet.

Crossbones remaining eye flashed as he reached out against Smoke in the Net; they would say later he tried to infiltrate their own architecture. Then he drew a gun and fired; K2 heard Smoke scream out “Motherfucker!”

With Bit and Smoke under attack, Fridge and Johnny stormed across the street to come to their aid and defense. Johnny ran straight into Crossbones and took him to the ground. Fridge swung a haymaker and the goon who’d attacked Bit but didn’t connect.

The last upright Maelstrom chromeboy surveyed the situation and for whatever reason did not flee in terror but struck out at Fridge - who saw his attack coming from miles away, dodged the attack, and proceeded to simply palm the bastard’s head.

Nova focused now on the Maelstrom that had attacked Bit - and two quick shots caused his head to simply explode, scattering viscera on the ground.

Behind the car, K2 reloaded. With no idea if the Maelstrom had called for backup or what kind of reception they might receive for installing an unplanned entryway into The Slammer, K2 thought it best to be prepared.

Fridge continued to squeeze the unlucky Maelstrom who attacked him, while the one taken out by Moldy Bread was now turning an interesting shade of purple.

Smoke ejected Crossbones from their architecture, releasing Kraken on him, and then finished off the Maelstrom held by Fridge with a well-placed bullet.

Seeing Crossbones taken to the street, Bit unleashed another of her lizards, who literally began clawing its way into Crossbones. Practically paralyzed by Smoke’s attacks, he put up no defense, twitching briefly before falling still.

In the silence that fell, K2 crossed the street. Seeing the last Maelstrom in danger of chocking on his own vomit, K2 kicked them to his side. Sure, Maelstrom were kill on sight, but they needed this one for information.

Laserface came out of the hole in the wall and looked and the world around him as if seeing it with brand new eyes. Then he turned to the group and asked “So, who’s gonna clean all this up then?”

K2 was about to respond with “how much will this cost to make this go away?” when Smoke said nearly the same thing: “What will it take to make this right?”

They negotiated, with BUIt providing gasping commentary. Bit came close to offending Laserface by misnaming him, but he seemed to understand she was actively undergoing significant trauma and overlooked it - at least this once.

Finally it was agreed they would pay 1250ed and allow Laserface to keep whatever ware he wanted from Kilo. It had already been delivered, after all, K2 observed as she transferred the money, offering to send Laserface some music when their album came out.

Smoke scooped up Bit’s lizards while also picking up the still-living Maelstrom. Bit stumbled to the car and then they’re ere off to Doc’s. The found Vic in the lobby reading magazines. Looking them over, Doc remarked that each time they came in the seemed to be worse. At the beginning the Runaways were almost untouchable.

“They’re getting smarter,” Smoke observed as she and Bit discussed their needs and then went back for surgery - but not before Smoke reached out to Priss to let her know Kilo and Crossbones had been handled.

Nova and K2 went to Chapel, wehre Nova insisted on picking up the snack tab and K2 taught Chapel how to fist bump.

They waited in the lobby and then returned to Kerry’s - where Smoke wrapped the boys in a big, encompassing hug. The weather was turning nasty and it seemed that, wherever they were headed, they needed to get there sooner rather than later. Smoke and Johnny would stay at Kerry’s; Nova went off to find Foxy, and - when both K2 and Bit expressed a fear of storm - Fridge offered to protect them both and the three of them headed to the safehouse.

The storm proved to be slow-moving as it rolled over Night City, brining with it not only rail but also flooding and mudslides and arcs of lighting. A bolt hit Militech tower and, though nearly every building in City Center was designed to deal with events like this, seemingly amplified the lightning as the lightning strike started an arc-light reaction. the skyscrapers turned into conducting rods - this was definitely not any kind of normal lighting.

An advisory went out wanting all Night City residents to stay inside for at least one day.

Five hours later all wireless communication in Night City ceased, cutting everyone off from the outside world.

### **Episode 27**

*The previous episode ended with our buncha jackasses splitting up under threat of an unprecedented, catastrophic storm in night city. The actual session rotated scenes between the serious groups, but for clarity the account talked here will follow each group until their reunion.*

#### Eden Club

A figure sat alone in Night City’s Eden Club, conducting business on her agent. What business that was would be anyone’s guess. Was it drugs? Was she a fixer? No one approach and nobody asked.

At 10:30 her night was interrupted by her agent going off: Night City was in the midst of an EMP-and-hail inducing storm. It was uncertain how large the storm would be, and everyone would need to shelter in place for the next 24 hours or so.

There was a momentary hush and then the girl tending bar hefted two large bottles - one in each hand - and declared “Hurricane Party!”

The volume in the club went up and the party resumed, lasting a full fifteen minutes until the bass and lights and holograms all shut off. The Eden Club was essentially a large windowless room, and it was now pitched into utter darkness for a few tense seconds until the battery-operated emergency lights came on - revealing a throng of people that were decidedly not okay in the slightest: scared, angry drunks tripping and falling over each other in a tangle of arms ms legs.

The clubgoer remained calm as she tried to find the door. “Best keep my options open,” she thought. Approaching one of the exits, she heard the metal-on-metal scrape as magnetic locks engaged and sealed the door shut. The bouncer was nowhere in sight and the bartender was doing her best to keep order. The calm-in-the-storm made her way to an alternate exit she knew of - one leading to an alley - only to find it also locked.

Making her way back to the main room, she looked up at the stage to see a person backlit by the emergency lights with their head down. A young woman stood just behind him wearing loose clothes and a large, hooded coat. He’d been out clubbing for a few hours’ relaxation, but now found his ecstasy replaced by an entirely different emotion: fear.

The woman had a wire wrapped around the man’s neck and, perceiving that she’d been seen, looked straight at the woman beneath her as she closed the garrote with such swiftness that she decapitated the man. And then, spreading wings made of cyberware behind her, she spoke:

“Now that I have your attention, we can talk about the Dark Mother.”

The horrified onlooker tried to disappear into the crowd, which proved mostly impossible as the crowd itself found the headless body on the floor.

“How many of you have heard the good news?” the monstrous angel asked as she made a vague gesture, closing another door and locking it shut while she continued. “The truth is, non of you understand what tonight is about. None of you are indeed worthy of my sermon. But the Dark Mother has decreed that all who wish to shall be saved.”

Another gesture as she stepped off the stage moved the tabled and chairs away, clearing a path between Angel and Witness.

Getting a clearer look, it became apparent the Angel was really a cyberpsychotic bitch using electrical pulses to mimic telekineses.

The greatly put-upon young lady primed her weapons and, finally seeing the bouncer behind the bitch in front of her, tried to catch his eye. They tried to keep her away from the crowd, but something was lost in translation, because rather than wait for an opportune moment, the bouncer threw a punch that, from what any onlooker could see, didn’t really do all that much.

Thankfully, our gunslinger was already readying a shot, and before the Angel could do anything, she aimed right for the brain pan and fired a shot. It hit true and the bitch dropped to the floor, her wings curling inwards.

the door locks were still engaged as mechanical servos clicked into place and the Bitch Angel rose in a profane resurrection. Her wings were now appendages and she stalked forward towards her assailant, the crowd entirely forgotten.

There was no escape, but now the sharpshooter could see clearly under the cowl: a featureless, metal plate reflected her own face. And then it spoke, its voice mechanically altered. “The Dark Mother will sing so sweetly to you,” she heard as a hand was laid on her head and she found herself locked away from her body and onto the Net.

She was surrounded by pinpoints of red light - dots forming a grid. And out of the grid, more red dots forming a red figure. She screamed into the void of the Net for help as the Red Woman, seemingly ignoring all the laws of physics, touched an invisible wall that shimmered silver and black - before touching her captive’s cyberware and smiling.

“What are you doing?”

“Welcoming you to the fold, lost lamb.”

“Who are you?”

“You’ve heard my name before.”

“And?”

“You have heard me called Alt Cunningham.”

Before she could reply, she saw a bright, white light approaching.

#### Smoke (and Johnny, Kerry, Micah, and Obie)

At Kerry’s, Smoke had slipped into something comfortable: footy pajamas covered by a large armored coat; her meds were safely tucked in her bra. Turning her attention to the Net, she focused on background searches and protecting Johnny’s shard. Strangely, she had a hard time being on the Net, almost like it was fighting her presence. She might have pursued this had Obie not called out from near the front door “Hey. There’s someone here!”

Smoke, already armed, made her way to the door. The exterior lights were off, but in the flash of lightning she saw two figures across the street. Then the next flash came and they were gone. “Covert Ops,” Smoke thought.

“Kerry, boys - safe room. Now,” she said flatly. As they made their way there, Smoke and Johnny readied themselves.

And then the door was kicked in, followed by one of Kerry’s “robits” in pieces.

Smoke couldn’t detect any cyberware on them, and so took over the house’s security system tot Ty to find them - using the remaining “robits” to track them down and putting the house on emergency lockdown.

She got the jump on two men with melee weapons. Between herself and Johnny, they were able to dispatch them quickly. And then a third person entered the doorway.

Smoke looked at them a moment before uttering one questioning word:

“Mom?”

They hardly had time to speak before Smoke got a message from Peaches. How it came through is anyone’s guess, but someone needed saving. Someone named Lurker. Peches gave Smoke an email address, and she was off.

Finding Lurker on the net, Smoke found a way to eject her safely and then turned her attention to attacking the android on the Net.

#### Bit, Fridge, and K2

Bit and Fridge and K2 made it to the hideout just in time for the weather warning to go off. Fridge was dethroned to go out for food and recalled a nearby Caliente’s. The entire trip should have taken him about a half hour and he’d been gone for fifteen minutes already.

Bit and K2 went through the walls and down into the basement. Neither of them cared much for storms and tried making small talk, but seemed to have opposite ways of dealing with the storm. Bit became quite chatty and encouraging; K2 withdrew more into themselves. One would describe the conversation between them as awkward but well meaning as they counted down the minutes until Fridge should be back.

And then, when he wasn’t back, Bit tried calling him only to find calls weren’t working. She tried sending a message but got “connectivity issues” which just shouldn’t happen in Night City. Even her lizards couldn’t get a signal.

Bit was determined to go looking for Fridge, and despite their misgivings about the venture,  K2 wouldn’t let them go alone. Bit opened the front door and the two were hit strong by the wind and hail.

There was a car across the street. Not their car, mind you, but a car. Of course it was locked, and while K2 tried to convince Bit to just smash a window, a lightning bolt struck close by.

Actually, it was a bit more than close as K2 felt a surge of power through their body and then felt the now all-too-familiar sensation of their liver shutting down. “Damn it, that’s the third one. How many of these am I going to have?” they explains to Bit what was happening: they had about ten minutes where they would feel okay, ten minutes of feeling decidedly not okay, and then things would get very very bad very very quickly.

Failing to find a flashlight, Bit gave K2 a light-emitting lizard to shine out on the trees looking for Fridge. they hadn’t gone far when they saw lightning strike three times around the corner. Nature was being unnaturally aggressive tonight.

Fridge had dropped the Caliente’s in the street as lightning kept hitting him. Somehow, he remained upright.

Bit and K2 bailed out of the stolen vehicle and tried to move Fridge. But the servos in his legs were shot and he was literally rooted to the ground, unable to walk. K2 spied a dolly in an alleyway and, apologizing profusely to Fridge for needing to manhandle him, they maneuvered him into the back seat before Bit sped off to Doc’s - with K2 suggesting she pull in behind Doc’s to the loading doors.

They pounded on the doors and Vincent answered.

“Liver’s off” K2 deadpanned. Vince did his best, but despite successfully restarting K2’s toxin binders, he still managed o shock her again, eliciting quite a groan.

Doc had not yet moved away, and so set up to assist Fridge. Bit followed him into surgery before coming back outside. Before they parted, Fridge thanked Bit for coming to his rescue and told her o pass along his thanks - but not the kiss - to K2 as well.

And then their agents went off. Not only were they working again, but they were needed at Club Eden.

#### Nova and Foxy

Nova made her way to Foxy and the two of them decided to ride the storm out at Lizzie’s. Parking Gamera outside the bar, they made a run for the door. Foxy was struck by a jolt of electricity but kept moving.

Nova was almost to the door when she heard something heavy hit Gamera. If she didn’t know any better, it sounded like a body dropped from a height. Looking back she did indeed see someone on Gamera’s hood - dressed in somewhat familiar clothes.

Running back, she scooped the person up and found himself looking at the netrunner that had helped take them into space. Luna. Foxy was screaming at her, but she yelled back “I know them!”

Entering Lizzie’s, Nova tried to use first aid, but quickly found it would be impossible. A large, gaping neck wound plus the drop from Lizzie’s roof had done their intended job.

There was nothing to be done. Nova now moved the body to a back room, and Foxy gave her some space. But as Nova looked closer, something seemed off about the whole thing, particularly about Luna’s face. She moved Luna’s hair and realized it was not Luna, but someone made to look exactly like her.

on purpose.

to send a message.

Foxy came and and Nova explained, then they went to look at the CCTV footage, which showed a figure Nova thought liked remarkably like Ink kill the poor person Nova had mistaken for Luna.

As they pondered what it could mean, Nova’s agent went off. She was needed at Club Eden.

#### Coda: Eden Club

Released from the Net, Lurker tried to remove the thing’s head from its body. the fact that she didn’t have any tools did not dissuade her.

She was still taking her frustrations out on the body when the intrepid buncha jackasses known as The Runaways rounded the corner.

### **Episode 28**

After a brief chat, they returned to the safehouse, with Bit returning the boosted car - with luck, any damage would be chalked up to the storm. They went down to the basement via the secret passageways and entered the Faraday Cage and began talking about what to do next; Bit tried to break the ice with Lurker by offering her some of Kerry’s dots. The drugs were declined, but Lurker did allow Smoke to scan her cyberware - - and Smoke found an overheating neural link.

The decision was made to draw an ice bath, and Bit offered up the lizard Destruction to help comfort Lurker. Now, Lurker’s head started to get uncomfortably hot and she shoved her head underwater. Lurker felt relief and then . . . a forced dive into the net, where Smoke’s silver-clad avatar seemed to be already waiting for her.

Both Smoke and Lurker were now both in the ice bath, fully clothed, and appeared to be on the net, somewhere.

K2 had been keeping track of their vitals on a laptop, which had now gone to a black “processing” screen. “Oh, shit - that’s not good,” she said. But things were about to get worse, as a proximity alarm went off.

Bit went stealthily to the second floor, where she saw a MaxTac AV land outside - six soldiers plus a pilot. She sent this down via her agent, and then “Smoke’s agent came back with an error; keep a good eye on them both, K2.”

K2 had little knowledge of what was Ana wasn’t normal in this exact situation, but as both Lurker and Smoke seemed to be breathing normally they decided to keep an eye on them. Their heart rates did seem to be off, but what could be done about that?

“To the occupants of the house - we have you surrounded,” a voice boomed over loudspeaker. “Come out with your weapons down and your cyber off.”

Nova nodded at K2 and then headed up towards Bit.

On the net, Lurker found herself entangled in red webs. Smoke’s blade sliced through them; they disappeared in puffs of red code. Lurker was free - maybe too easily - but nothing else seemed wrong. Smoke went to jack them out safely - only to find them blocked by a tall wall: a tall, black wall, to be precise - the supposedly unbreachable barrier in the net. This was no place for AI or sentient beings . . .

Outside the bath, K2 picked up the rocket launcher and, using the tub as a back brace, aimed it at the stairs. If anyone other than Nova or Bit came down . . . And then she started getting some kind of readings on the laptop. It was staticky and glitchy, but she saw that both Smoke and Lurker had upswings in their beta waves, bringing them up to 35 hz. This was decidedly not to be expected; even K2 knew that. Their bodies looked like they were in a meat coma, but their brains were hyperconscious . . . ?

Nova and Bit had come up with a plan, but they failed to take into account that MaxTac were different than any other force they’d encountered so far. The plan had been for Bit to surrender, and then use her naturally chaotic attitude to cause a distraction. But for a team used to dealing with cyberpsychos, Bit wasn’t even a rough day.

She disconnected her shoulder harness and was handcuffed - “not my style” she said “but I’m not complaining” and as two of them rushed her back to the AV two more rushed the door, giving a final warning to those inside.

On the net, Smoke sent out a coded worm audio message via Archangel, hoping someone would find and understand it in time: “tear it down again the corporate men architect broken on the run to tear it down again” - the message reached Johnny and Kerry and K2. if anyone could make sense of seemingly random Samurai lyrics, it would be one - or all - of them.

But they kept trying to find an away out. Ahead of them, they saw a light. a three-foot-long anglerfish materialized, its bulging eyes and razor teeth seemed ready to see and attack them at any moment but it and two others swam right by. Smoke was able to determine they were not far behind the wall and may actually have a chance.

They saw spiderweb graffiti in neon pink; “any chance there’s a Murphy on the other side of this?” Smoke asked. The graffiti began to blink in morse code: “friend. hurry. she is coming.” The webs reached for their neural links and, glancing at each other, they relented and allowed themselves to be wrapped in pink and pulled in . . .

The first to MaxTac through the door seemed to make a beeline for the basement; Nova followed them from behind. K2 saw they weren’t Nova or Bit and pulled the trigger on the rocket launcher, taking them both down. They did not get up.

“Scramble! Scramble! Shots fired!” came over the loudspeaker as a second AV landed and its crew rushed the house along with the other two from the first AV. There were now 8 living/conscious MaxTac agents inside.

“Fuck,” Nova screamed as she fired her Malorian, taking down the first two agents.

Some unintelligible jargon came over the loudspeaker; K2 caught “lock it down” and then MaxTac appeared to retreat. If one had been outside, they would have seen Bit handcuffed in the back of one AV with three agents (and the pilot makes four) while the others piled into the second AV and both took off.

On the net, Smoke and Lurker felt like they were on a waterslide. Looking around, they saw copies of themselves - digital replicas - appear. And then something else emerged from the void: long, feminine hands pulled a figure of Alt - her torso attached to a snake tail - out into the open. She rushed forward and attacked. . .

She attacked the mirror images, tearing them apart by Getti of the Black Wall. As Smoke and Lurker watched, they were pulled again and slammed back into their own bodies.

K2 had been watching for them and, helping them out of the tub, quickly filled them in as they ran for the escape route. They reached the door just as someone (Johnny) knocked the secret knock on the other side. the door opened as other MaxTac agents stormed the house and Smoke put the basement on lockdown.

They came up behind a fence in the middle backyard to se Johnny had brought Nibbles.

Piling in, Smoke and Lurker explained what happened to them while Nova be K2 told what happened in the house.

As near as anyone could tell, MaxTac probably had a lookout on the Runaways ever since they “broke lockdown” and with agents coming back online after the storm, used it as the perfect time to collect.

“We’re going to get her back, right?” K2 asked rhetorically.

Each of them looked at the other a grinned.

### **Episode 29**

#### Rescue Team

“Ok, so who are we calling in on this?” Johnny asked. Smoke looked at him with a mix of emotions as they talked it out: Smoke didn’t want to put Johnny in danger, but his experience just might give them the edge they would need to pull the rescue off.

Micah and Obie were non-starters; no one would put them in danger unnecessarily. Kerry would need to watch the kids. Nova didn’t want to involve Foxy, which would by definition involve the Mox.

They all knew there would be no stopping Fridge from coming, even in his compromised state. Smoke was able to get a promise that he would be good, mainly by pointing out that they were both in the same predicament with  pumps and whatnot.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” Smoke said to Lurker. “We’d all understand.”

Lurker was quiet for a few heartbeats before replying, “I like her. I’m all in. What will you need - weapons? amor?” And before any of them could answer she was already on her agent  setting up a meeting with one Shri.

They met her in an alley; her van was a veritable cornucopia of goodies to delight any buyer. They browsed quickly and planend as they talked. Given the situation and Lurker’s presence, they would have a one-time 50% discount. Maybe it was the shock of how quickly things had happened; maybe it was the fact she’d just fired a rocket in closed quarters, but K2 started to shut down in a very focused way. Al their attention was centered on getting Bit back. They couldn’t think, but they could certainly act. They just needed someone to point them in the right direction.

“Gun or incendiary grenade?”

“Incendiary grenades are harder to come by,’ Smoke offered.

Lurker tried getting Kerry to pick something, but he politely and consistently refused. Then he got a look in his eye.  “Got any cocaine?”

#### AV Shenanigans

In the AV with MaxTac, Bit continued to sing and whistle. The agents had removed her weapons but she still had on her jacket. Either they hadn’t noticed the lizards or they thought they were just toys. Bit had, unknowingly, one of the best defenses against MaxTac: looking weak.

Bit carefully assessed the situation. There’s wasn’t much she could do, but Ratchet and Blender might be able to do something . . . “Blender and Ratchet causing a scene; complete chaos is what I need . . .”

The MaxTac agents had put up with Bit to this point, but now they had seemingly had enough as the muzzled her. This did nothing to stop her inner monologue. And now they were plugging a wire into her neural port: running diagnostics, getting her ID, shutting down her cyberware, gaining access to her contacts and chats . . . Bit was aware of what was happening and laughed into the muzzle. What would they make of memes and sex jokes?

#### Party Planners, LTD.

“Oh, planning a party, are we?” Shri asked with amuesment. “And how much do you need?”

The conversation went on for a few moments until they’d settled on a price of $30 per gram. K2 realized this was a huge discount and was determined to get their money’s worth. They knew their exact eddies as they were planning to invest in Lock and Key, but that was it important now. Out loud K2 said, “Investing in friends is more important than investing in business. I’m in for 30k”

“I’ll chip in 11 thou,” Smoke said, bringing their total to just over 4 kilos of cocaine.

“And I’ll need a contact bomb and some duct tape,” Johnny said. Wrapping the whole thing into a bundle, he said “MaxTac’s respirators aren’t worth shit.”

Meanwhile, Nova was working her magic with the Nomad moto pool, securing for the Runaways one tricked out vehicle and one that would be used to carry the bomb. Nova and Smoke realized that MaxTac had a hard time thinking outside the military box and chose to make the armored vehicle the one to carry the bomb and the other would be the Party Wagon.

Johnny s;named the bomb under the hood. “That’ll get it nice and warm and ready to dance,”  he said.

#### Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Blender and Ratchet had by now made their way up and oolong the ceiling and into the cockpit before descending down to the control panel. Using Blender’s camouflage ability and their combined weights, they began fucking up the console - enough so that a small fire broke out.

The pilot attempted to put the fire out with his armored glove, but instead his hand came down on Ratchet’s  spikes. “Ow!” he shouted in surprise as he backhanded Ratchet again and. - again - was pierced by his spikes. Ratchet crumbled to the ground, broken and lifeless, but able to be repaired if Bit could recover him.

The AV was now, for all intents and purposes, in a crash landing. The MaxTac agents went into a calm scramble - they were soldiers, after all - while Bit stood up and spun around in circle. They did not try to restrain her.

And then an AV taxi slammed into the side of the AV, which practically exploded on impact. The force of the explosion flipped Bit’s AV, rendering its propulsion unit ineffective and sending it into free fall.

The pilot kept form and tried going through procedures. The guard to BIt’s left fell directly on his back and broke his spine, killing him instantly. The agent to her left fell onto the ceiling-now-floor and went unconscious. The guard in front of her managed to keep his footing - and proceeded to open the AV door and bail out along with the pilot, leaving Bit alone in the catching AV. Their backpacks kicked on moments later.

“Oh fuck,” Bit managed to send to Smoke in morse code via her lizards. Looking at the dead guard she saw a passkey; her dexterous hands were able to maneuver it and unlock her handcuffs.

#### Convergence

Meanwhile, the Rescue Party had been tracking the lizards and gaining on Bit’s location. Hearing her distress call, Smoke was able to access the net and flip the gyroscope on the AV at just the right time so the propulsion units kicked back in and minimized the damage to Bit - who now had all the contraband lockers open and at her disposal.

Smoke had also been making use of their contacts, and at the site of the crash what went out on the waves and net and screamsheets were images of MaxTac harassing a clearly powerless individual. It would be spin of the best kind.

Smoke directed bit toward the good vehicle as Lurker and Smoke drove the bomb brigade toward the wreckage, with Smoke deftly maneuvering them from one vehicle to the other while K2 provided covering fire.

As Smoke sent out a Red Alert to all MaxTac’s vehicles, the bomb went off, enveloping the crash site in an exploding cloud of cocaine.

They were now all in the tricked out Party Wagon (as Nova called it) and their ventilators were - thankfully working.

“So, what next?” K2 asked.

“Next we get supplies,” Smoke said, “and then we probably have to leave the country.”

### **Episode 30**

The minutes passed as The Runaways sped toward the neutral ground of the Continental. In those first few seconds they realized Bit had a sort of contact high from the cocaine, but she seemed pleasant enough and didn’t want any help. Truth be told it probably helped her from panicking. They also realized how lucky they were: MaxTac should have had them dead to rights, or dead at least, and though their safehouse was compromised, they had successfully mounted a rescue mission by exploding a cocaine bomb in a shitty car and no one had died.

And now, in the early dawn of NIght City, red-rimmed wanted posters began appearing on the digital billboards as on the radio Bes Isis broadcast the news of “local terrorists” in the heart of Night City. The Runaways had to laugh: from what they knew, only MaxTac soldiers had been injured (apart from the cab driver, and that was technically due to the negligence of the MaxTac pilot) and the citizens in the area around the extraction point were probably having as good a time as Bit. Johnny had it right - they’d thrown a party and only the officials would complain. Smoke looked up their respective rewards - information would pay 25k and capture (dead or alive) would result in 2.5 million each.

“Rookie numbers,” K2 observed. “Gotta pump those numbers up.”

Bit had the idea of creating chaos by hanging out the window and shouting “call the cops and get your cash” - an idea which the Runaways took to immediately as it would hurt the NCPD budget, stimulate the economy, and endear them to the people of NIght City as sort of modern-day Robin Hoods from Bits old movies.

Smoke began texting Kerry as Nova navigated the streets. Closer to the Continental, Bit stopped shouting out the window and Nova obeyed the traffic lights as much as possible and was stopped at a red light when four Maelstrom crossed in front of them. Maelstrom had a reputation of being rather dull-witted, but the third one in line took a second glance. Maybe it was the posters or maybe Bit hadn’t been quieted down yet, but he cocked his head and shouted “it’s the fuckin’ Runaways!”

Smoke always said Maelstrom were KOS, and as they drew their weapons Nova floored it. Number Three should have just kept walking as - by some twist of fate - all four wheels of the disguised Gamera rolled over him.

Smoke now turned attention to the traffic lights and, hacking the system, gave Nova the green the remaining two blocks to the Continental. He then drew a weapon and along with Johnny began firing behind them. Lurker seemed in a state of shock - whether from the rescue or seeing her own face on a wanted poster or from the sudden attack K2 wasn’t sure. But Johnny haded her a grenade and she smiled ever so slightly as she pulled the pin, counted to three, and then threw it behind them. It landed at the feet of the Maelstrom. “Hey, that’s a”

BOOM

Nova pulled up to the Continental; a valet was already coming down the stairs as The Runaways all rolled out of the car and ran towards the door. Nova tossed the keys and said “don’t push any buttons, none of them are for the sunroof!”

“I was disabused of that notion many years ago,” came the reply.

The door closed behind them as close to twenty MaxTac vehicles pulled up outside.

Styx, the concierge, came to meet them. “I’m glad you came.”

“I believe the director said we were needed?” Smoke asked in the manner that was more a statement than a question, yet still polite.

They waited for several minutes with some of them enjoying the complementary water. Getting to the bar would cost a gold coin.

Eventually they were ushered in to see Director Anders, who had clearly been awakened by their arrival and was in a state of partial yet still modest dress. There was a brief introduction of Lurker, and Anders seemed to know her by reputation at least, letting drop that he had been a fixer in a former life. This was more background information than any of them had gotten out of Anders, ever.

Pulling out an accounts book, Anders checked their names and then handed each of them a silver coin. K2 made a mental note to check the exchange rate of silver to gold. Anders then asked who would be taking on the next job, and K2 immediately said “if Smoke’s in, then so am I” and the rest said similar. Anders seemed surprised they would agree to the job without knowing what it was, but Smoke said simply “that’s the Runaways.”

This seemed to satisfy Anders, who handed Smoke a sealed black envelope and left the room. Opening it revealed a shard and a black card with silver ink: “John Wick - A Sucka”. Plugging the shard into a provided dock brought up a video feed overlayed with a long list of atrocities committed by the aforementioned Wick. Watching him move and taken on adversaries in far greater numbers convinced Nova he must be immortal. It ended with the current bounty tally at 20 million and his lastest crime: murder of the elder above the table. Whatever that meant.

“Anders!” Smoke shouted, and the director returned. “Where’s his last known whereabouts?”

“Osaka, Japan. An AV is in the roof waiting for you.”

And then Anders spoke to Smoke directly, informing them of Wick’s actions in New York that resulted in the condemned NY Continental, the excommunication of its director Winston and concierge Charon, the death of the latter and subsequent memorial erected by individuals identified as Marquis and Cain.

Smoke seemed broken by this news.  She then turned to Johnny and told him that he couldn’t come; he might be mistaken for their target. Apparently the two bore more than a passing resemblance. He would sneak out to the Aldecado camp in the trunk of one of the Continental’s less obvious vehicles.

Styx now brought in items suggested by Anders: changes of clothes and, most importantly, small purple-colored chips that, inserted into their agents, would block all messages and prevent tracking.

“If you have any messages, send them now,” Anders said.

Bit called Fridge and, getting his voicemail, left a message. As she typed her own messages, K2 listened to Bit tell Fridge to keep himself safe and that she loved him. K2 wondered how leaving that as a message would go over once Fridge finally listened to his voicemail.

K2 finished their first message to Denny: a photo of their wanted poster with the question “promotional materials?”

“So much ammunition,” came the reply

“Looks like it’s Release Day,” K2 sent back.

“Perfect.”

As they began their second message, he overheard the last part of Smoke’s call to Rogue. They were talking about Lurker, and Rogue seemed unsurprised that she had joined the team. “TJ has a reputation,” she observed. Lurker looked uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry,” K2 said. “I’m sure your reputation’s increased since she first looked it up, what with the posters and all.” This did not help Lurker, but neither did it make her angry.

Then K2 finished their last message to Java at the Lock and Key. “Intended to make full investment but circumstances . . . Take this for now.” K2 transferred 25k to help them get their brewery started.

Up to the helipad they went, plugging in the chips as they walked. They got in the AV and were surprised to find it a well-stocked luxury vehicle. As they lifted off the rooftop door opened on a very surprised Styx. For a moment they thought MaxTac had violated neutral territory, but then they recognized the charging figure of Fridge.

He ran across the tarmac, jumped into the air, and held on as the others opened the door for him. His unexpected weight tilted the AV, and then as the gyroscopes adjusted he used the shift to his advantage to fall up and inside.

Below them, the MaxTac vehicles stayed put and not one visible soldier looked up.

Fridge walked right over to Bit. “Got your message. I love you too, you know. Is it okay to kiss you?”

Bit blushed and smiled and then looked behind Fridge to the rest of the Runaways. “Stop staring!” K2 kept looking in their direction but shut her eyes as the others found things to occupy themselves.

“Now you can,” Bit said.

“Ok,”

As they all settled in for the few hour’s journey, Smoke filled them in on her background with John Wick. He had been her mentor, her friend, some even thought they’d get married - but in the end he’d used her and left her for another woman who died of cancer. Then she had died and left him a puppy, which was subsequently killed by an insolent Russian mobster who was little more than a child. That had kicked off many of the crimes they’d seen on the film.

Note: there is much more depth and detail to Smoke’s story, and given the personal and serious nature of the story, this player does not wish to take away anything by an incomplete summary or seemingly glossing over important aspects. Smoke’s player may choose to include this backstory on their own character page, but the account given here is enough to move ahead with the campaign as seen from K2’s perspective.

Despite all this, Smoke did not want to kill him as seemingly the whole of the Continental System did. Smoke’s plan was to find him and try to figure out how to help him. Smoke may be the only living person Wick would not attack  on sight.

Fridge asked how well a sniper would do against him, and Smoke asked that he not speak of Wick’s weakness so loudly. K2 observed that, as Smoke indicated he was close to 80 years old, if no one had figured that out by now then they weren’t really trying. Nonetheless, Fridge promised to refrain from sniping Wick unless absolutely necessary under direct orders from Smoke.

And now attention turned to in-flight entertainment. Bit found some drugs and K2 and Nova raided the bar. K2 noticed Lurker pulling up a movie.

“Whatcha watching?”

“This old comedy called Monty Python and the Holy Grail”

“Ah. One of the classics. Might I join you?”

“Please.”

And so the two of them passed the time laughing to the antics on the screen.

Entering Osaka airspace they saw signs for Arasaka everywhere. It and its subsidiaries like Kiroshi were THE dominant company here.

Landing at the Osaka Continental they were met by an individual who, bowing, introduced herself as Kira Shimatsu (in the Western naming convention); K2 matched her bow as Smoke asked to speak with the head of the Continental.

Th Runaways were led to a conference room of sorts; Lurker poked around and found sake and biscuits. A tablet lay on table, and Lurker continued poking around the room

Koji - director of the Osaka Continental - entered the room. His body language indicated he was on the verge of a secret; the look quickly changed as he recognized Smoke and a look of guilt flashed across his features.

Bit tried to drag Smoke away quickly as Lurker stepped in to distract Koji, and the ploy seemed to work as Bit expressed her opinion that Koji was hiding something.

Returning to the conversation, Smoke explained to him their individual roles and relayed news of Charon’s death.

Koji was a little dismayed, wondering if so many coming to Japan would simply add to Wick’s body count.

“We protect our own,” Smoke told him, upon which Koji  indicated he would return before leaving the room. He returned almost immediately, almost as if someone had been waiting outside the door with the object he now held out to Smoke.

Handing the Netrunner a sword he said, “He is here.”

### **Episode 31**

#### Going for Drinks

Smoke sighed. “Well, let’s go take care of my headache.” (But “my headache was in Japanese and K2 thought they recognized an honorific in there).

Koji and Akira secured the room and then they all entered a nearby elevator before going up many, many floors to the top of the towers which in turn commanded an impressive view of the river running through the city and into the bay. They stepped out into an empty rooftop bar.

Or rather, it was nearly empty. Red lights lit up the blossoming sakura trees in the garden, highlighting their pink flowers. The also illuminated a singular individual, seemingly carrying himself with a new injury and rather distinctly missing his ring finger.

John Wick turned toward The Runaways and immediately squared off, ready for a fight. Likely the only thing that kept him from breaking even more Continental rules (if, indeed, there were any left unbroken - if the video record were to be believed) was the presence of Smoke - who had taken the elevator ride to change her hair into a color and style John would associate with them.

They stared at each other, and kept eye contact as Koji introduced the unexpected visitors as guests and not bounty hunters. At least, not necessarily.

“Can I offer anyone a drink?” Akira asked, continuing in her role as Concierge. Bit ordered a Wolf Crazy Tornado Drink, and after some searching on the Net, Akira felt she could make one. Nova hesitantly asked for a Nomad Special, unsure if such an establishment would have a greased bolt on hand for a cocktail, and was pleasantly surprised when Akira simply took her order and went on. K2 ordered a Bee’s Knees and then heard Lurker say almost immediately “make that two.” Smoke ordered a bourbon on the rocks and Wick silently indicated he’d take the same.

K2 was momentarily startled to feel Lurker’s arm starting to link with hers. “Is this all right?” Lurker asked in a very quiet voice. K2 remembered the cuddle puddle at Kerry’s not too long ago and how Smoke has given K2 what he needed. And then he remembered just a few hours ago as he and Lurker had watched a movie on the AV. It seemed he was making friends with Lurker faster than anyone since . . .

She nodded and whispered back, “we’ve got this, Exit Buddy.” It seemed the Lurker had attached herself to K2, and K2 now took it as a point of personal responsibility that Lurker would survive the night, come what may.

While they continued to wait, Koji indicated he was willing to break the rules of the Continental and the High Table due to personal honor. Wick had asked for protection; Koji had provided it.

Smoke shook her head as she patched into the closed circuit tv system and broadcast it into the group chat.

For the first time since exiting the elevator, Smoke diverted her full attention from Wick and asked, “Nova, delay?”

Finding themselves on the videos, Nova waved an arm and counted. “Five seconds”

The drinks arrived and Koji asked they all be seated. K2 and Lurker, seeking to be polite, sat almost immediately. Nova took up a position to watch the elevator and rooftop door. Bit (and subsequently Fridge) remained standing until Smoke moved to sit, and even then Smoke refused to sit until Wick moved to do the same.

Once seated, Smoke began telling Wick off. With Nova watching the physical entryways, K2 kept her eyes on the CCTV footage in the chat on her agent while her ears kept tabs on the conversation around her. She and Lurker sipped at their drinks.

The details of the dialogue escaped K2, but he definitely picked up what Smoke was saying - essentially berating Wick for acting like a child and necessitating her - and by extension the rest of the Runaways  - coming to Osaka.

Wick hadn’t yet touched his drink. “I don’t want you here.”

“I don’t care what you want,” Smoke spat. “I want explanations.” And then Smoke proceeded to lay out the many personal and professional sins Wick had committed against Smoke, accusing him of attempting suicide via High Table, and as Smoke continued tearing Wick a new one, K2 heard Bit  - the absolutely perfect wingman- start to chime in with commentary and support for Smoke as she gave Wick the quick version what what her life had been since Wick threw her out of his life.

When Smoke began explaining their Polycule, Lurker started sending messages in the chat:

Lurker: “I only know about 2 of them kids.... there's more!?”

K2: “smoke tends to find people and people find them. Like us here at the table.”

“that makes sense. yup yup yup”

Bit joined in with “He coulda just gone into a hole. He wants to end it my foot”

Nova concurred with “yeah he want's to end it my foot.”

Smoke reached the end of their lecture and K2 could hear the exasperation as they said “and despite it all and in spite of everything, I still love you.”

Just then K2 saw something happen on the CCTV. In the lobby, a muscular and chiseled man entered the hotel, followed by about a dozen men dressed in similar charcoal suits, dark blue ties, black leather gloves, and black combat boots - clearly subordinate yet equally dangerous - began to set up a perimeter in the hotel lobby.

The man wore a lapel pin and the camera s zoomed in on it. K2 saw what appeared to be a crowned spear in front of a shield. On the shield were fler-de-lis that gave the spear the appearance of a cross if viewed the right way. Surrounding the symbols was text in a language K2 could not read.

K2 was about to say something when he noticed Akira’s eyes flashing and Smoke smiled ruefully - Smoke must have been keeping tabs on the surveillance too as, without saying anything, a message appeared from Smoke in the group chat:

“Ah. Myrmidons. The first problem is here.”

“How do we help?” K2 asked.

“Don’t die,” came the reply.

“What do we say to the god of death?”

Almost immediately they all responded:

“Not Today”

Akira’s eyes stopped flashing. “The front desk has requested the concierge,” she said as she rolled her shoulders and set off toward the elevator, “and they have also requested the personal presence of the manager of the hotel.”

K2 quickly glanced at Smoke. “Where do you need me?”

“You take Lurker and Fridge and go downstairs. Bit and Nova and I will see if we can’t get this asshole out in one piece.”

The thee of them ran to catch to doors before they closed. They rode down in relative silence only broken by K2 asking a single question:

“Any advice?”

“Remember your honor,” Koji answered.

K2 nodded and absentmindedly felt the weight of the incendiary grenade they now carried in their pocket. This and a somewhat concealed pistol were the only weapons she had on her, though the bag Lurker carried with her may have held more supplies.

#### No Reservations

The Runways had arrived at the Osaka Continental via  a VIP entrance before the verbal smackdown Smoke had delivered in the rooftop bar. The elevator doors opened into a much different scene: the lobby was without a doubt the bustling epicenter of a well-established business. Even now, sometime between 11:00 and midnight, dozens of people entered and exited in a seemingly never-ending flow of people. It was certainly much different than the newly-established Night City Continental.

Akira took up position at the front desk. Koji lingered for just a moment and held out a keycard toward the three of them.

“You have a choice which must be made quickly. Stay with us or take this keycard to the second floor and protect Araska-sama.”

K2 was struck with the sudden realization that Smoke had sent her to lead this mission. Lurker was here because she had latched onto K2 (at least for the evening) and Fridge was one to take orders, not necessarily give them. Fridge also had significant experience as a bodyguard while both Akira and Koji literally knew the ins and outs of the building.

“Fridge, please go protect Araska-sama. Lurker and I will stay here. And please shout if you need help.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

K2 touched two fingers of her right hand to their brow in a kind of salute to see Fridge off before turning to take in the lobby. They had seen 13 men enter the lobby. Four had disappeared entirely; K2 felt they were probably somewhere else in the hotel looking for the man they had just left on the roof. Two more they noticed on the mezzanine headed to the second floor; K2 hoped Fridge didn’t draw any attention to himself in the hallway. that left the leader of the Myrmidons, identified as Chidi, and six subordinates in the lobby proper.  Apparently their organization’s reputation preceded them as the lobby was quickly clearing - a majority finding their way to elevators or stairs while a few left via the front door.

Chidi smilies an unfriendly smile of intimidation.

“Ah. So glad you could finally make it,” he said to Koji, “I was beginning to wonder if the service of this establishment had slipped.”

He paused as if exciting a response, and when none came, continued

“You know why I’m here.”

And now Koji answered:

“You can’t have him”

“You know what this will come to.”

“It doesn’t have to. It doesn’t matter.”

Chidi seemed to try to stare Koji down; he didn’t. Then Chidi made a motion in his agent and spoke again.

“This hotel is now deconsecrated. Open fire.”

As if they had been anticipating the order, Chidi and the men in the lobby immediately drew their weapons and filled the hotel lobby with a hail of bullets aimed mainly at the front desk proper. K2 didn’t know if it was because they hadn’t yet drawn attention to the fact that they were with Akira and Koji, but they were not particularly targeted in the initial attack. Or if they were, somehow they had escaped harm.

Akira had taken a bullet in the chest and was on the floor behind the desk; Lurker moved to her side.

K2’s anger flashed. Smoke has sent them to aid Akira and Koji, effectively placing them under her protection. Lurker had come with her of her own choice. They had now been fired upon, and according to the rules as exhaling earlier, self-defense was permitted on Continental grounds. Smoke had identified Chidi as a problem, and the problem was now K2’s to deal with.

Almost without thinking they closed the short gap between her and Chidi, grabbed and handful of tie and shirt - the fabric didn’t feel like a normal shirt and tie - and pulled him down to her level.

Chidi was evidently a man unaccustomed to being confronted - his presence usually resulted in obedience or retreat. K2’s actions must have startled him, and he started to yell

“What the fuck?!”

As his mouth opened wide as it formed the word “fuck,” K2 let go his clothes and brought her free hand up with the incendiary grande, slamming it in his mouth and then punching him as hard as she could with her off-hand. It connected and it hurt like hell and K2 could feel it in her bones but none of them broke.

It was enough.

Chidi was caught just enough off guard to stumble back and in his surprise was unable to do anything about the grenade that now blew the top of his head off. Not much his reinforced, specially-tailored armored clothes could do to mitigate that damage.

His body blocked the blast from the front desk where Lurker, Akira, and Koji now sought refugee. The six other agents were not so lucky, and they were forced to spend time putting out the burning fragments now coating their bodies.

Koji had looked ready to fight and now simply looked at K2 in a mix of wonder and astonishment.

Lurker had intended to treat Akira, but realizing that she was not bleeding and that either she had on a bulletproof vest or similar now opted to take a grenade out her pack and wave it threateningly at the remaining agents.

“All right motherfuckers; who’s next?”

K2 now stared in amazement as the agents now decided to retreat rather than engage. And then they wondered what the long term consequences would be.

“Might I suggest we retreat to another room?” Koji asked an an urgent yet somewhat hier voice.

They entered the elevator and went up one floor - or maybe it was almost one floor - and then a secret door opened in the elevator. Waiting behind he door were the rest of The Runways with Araska-sama and Wick now disguised as Johnny Silverhand - and honestly, if K2 hadn’t known that Johnny wasn’t in Osaka, she would have sworn it was him.

#### What Happened Elsewhere

Smoke, with the help of Bit, disguised John Wick as Johnny Silverhand so that only an expert in Silverhand would know he wasn’t real.

They all made it down to the second floor where Smoke knew Arasaka was staying and successfully bluffed the two agents K2 had seen on the mezzanine. They had been trying to convince Fridge to open the door to allow them to search for Wick; Fridge was essentially daring them to try when Smoke arrived and - talking to Arasaka through to door - convinced them to move on.

They were just about to open the door themselves when a third man noticed them - Smoke recognized them as Caine.

Caine was blind and recognized Wick by his steps, but out of honor and professional courtesy allowed Wick to attempt the ruse, going so far as to have Wick sign a Silverhand autograph for his daughter.

Smoke had surmised that Caine was being used and was not loyal to whoever was giving him orders, and used this to negotiate a few minutes head start.

They entered the room and quickly filled Araska in on what was happening when a secret door to an elevator opened and Koji, Akira, Lurker, and K2 stepped into the room.

#### Checking Out

“Good to see you made it,” Smoke said, giving K2 a fist bump. And then Smoke began outlining their next steps. Shock now started to kick in for K2, and as their mind tried to keep going they only heard some of what was being said.

Smoke was encouraging Akira to live her own life and not feel beholden to either Koji (her father though he may be) of Wick (who had unnecessarily endangered so many people).

Then she was berating Koji and Wick for how their own sense of honor was a lot of selfishness that hurt people, and that if they were going to fix this their next step would be to find a certain Frenchman. But first, they all needed to clear their heads.

“Get me a car and I’ve got this,” Nova said. A car was obtained and they all piled in. Nova  could unwind by driving, and like driving a child with insomnia, the others gradually settled into the vehicle and looked out at the sights zooming by.

K2’s agent went off. It was Smoke; they had sent the CCTV footage of K2 taking out Chidi along with a three-word caption:

“proud of you”

### **Episode 32**

Nova shifted in the seat, something unexpected had caught in her pocket. Fishing it out she held it out to Smoke: it was a business card with a local address: The Xenia Hotel known for being Adults Only.

The card caused Smoke to reiterate the intrinsic value of sex workers and berate Wick once more for his actions, a well-deserved tirade that ended with an exhortation to act more like Johnny Silverhand.

Wick seemed defeated for a second and then rolled his shoulders and put an arm around Smoke. At least he was trying.

The car was small and Fridge was large and so some folks had to sit on other’s laps. Lurker fell asleep on K2. Smoke saw and passed back a jacket to cover Lurker, or to help K2 avoid any unwanted physical contact. K2 nestled the jacket around his Exit Buddy and rested the weight of his bionic arm to maybe imitate a weighted blanket. They could all use some sleep soon.

And after sleep, they’d find some waffles.

Passing though the Osaka waterfront Smoke spied a billboard featuring one Louise Nadine Eurodyne. Smoke glared at it as she said “I’ve told you my theory right? that she’s the one who arranged it have Kerry kidnapped?” and without looking away the billboard changed, replacing her name with two words:

INDUSTRY PLANT

Nearing the Xenia, Lurker stirred. Maybe she’d seen the place online or something, but her sleepy voice let them know the Xenia had a good reputation similar to a high end  Las Vegas brothel. The rooms were always clean and the workers tested and treated with respect. No illegal drugs or unregistered weapons were allowed inside, and though the management would not call the law, anything prohibited would be checked into a locker like the coat check at a nicer theater.

They parked in an indicated spot and went inside. The first room was just as Lurker described, and those who checked their times received a cheap, quickly engraved metal tag. K2 checked everything. Though he could have registered weapons, he’d refused to do so on principle.

He’d been quiet ever since the grenade went off. He thought of the way Smoke had spoken to Wick and how they continued to talk to him. He saw that Wick was not in the group chat and determined that he would not speak to or about anything related to him until things were set right or otherwise resolved. He wasn’t worth it.

The next room contained slippers. The were soft and comfortable and K2 wiggled his toes in them. Fridge seemed to be in a bit of crisis. He reluctantly removed his combat boots which looked like he slept in them more often than not, and looking at his socks the Runaways were all struck that Fridge removing his socks now might be more of a hygiene issue that leaving them on.

“Socks shouldn’t be cast iron, you know” K2 said out loud.

In the end, Fridge kept his socks on.

The next door opened into the lobby proper and approaching the low desk they were greeted with a gracious low bow as the receptionist welcomed them and informed them that their expense had already been taken care of by an unnamed benefactor.

“My apologies, but you’ve been booked for the Rankō pātī - I hope this will not be a problem?”

Smoke’s eyes flashed as she quickly translated and then in the chat came the message “so . . . someone booked us the ORGY ROOM.”

There was a great deal of awkward laughter in the group chat as Smoke realized Johnny Silverhand was about to be implicated in an orgy, and Nova realized she couldn’t even text Foxy to preemptively apologize. K2 thought “Orgy Room in the Sex Hotel” was a fantastic name for a song.

They were taken up to a speciality floor; there was only one other room here. Their own room was an automated suite with a fusion aesthetic of Japanese and Rainbows. It worked for them. There was a rather large conversation pit that could hold about a dozen Fridges and just off to the side was a kitchen area. Three doors branched off from the sitting area.

The first door led into a large bathroom with an equally large tub and large shower and tastefully scented with the smell of lotuses.

The second door let into a large bedroom with a lotus-shaped bed with plush and comfortable custom sheets. Between the central flower and the branching petals, maybe 10-12 people could sleep comfortably. It could fit more if folks decided to lay on top of one another, though sleep was unlikely. Of course, given the nature of this hotel, it was more likely than not that other acts would be going on.

The third door opened into a storage room with a semi public changing area and bathroom. Again, this room was designed for a certain kind of clientele of which the Runaways were not.

There was a brief discussion of showering order and they turned to look at K2, saying that those who may be covered in a kind of chunky material should shower first. Oh yes. That was a thing that happened.

While K2 showered Smoke called downstairs and asked for clothes to be sent up for them all. They also tried to figure out who might have paid for this. It would have to be someone with connections to the Continental but also who wanted Wick alive. Smoke seemed about to put things together when the table in the conversation pit dinged as a platform rose out of the middle with three sets of clothes for everyone.

“Looks like they expect us to be away from Night City for a while,” Smoke observed.

Then Smoke and Lurker bounced ideas off each other and Smoke came back to the thought they’d had before the clothes came.

“Winston,” they nearly spat and then their eyes flashed before picking up the phone and dialing. Apparently she’d found a thinly-disguised alias for this Winston fellow and had decided to quite literally call him out, arranging for a meeting around 11:00 the next day.

The each claimed a louts petal with Fridge taking the central flower and snuggling in with Bit. There was talk of Wick and, if he would not sleep on the floor, would take the petal closest to Fridge’s feet. He might’ve had a shower, but . . .

The next day at 10:30 the table gave off a series of happy beeps and coffee and waffles came up on the platform. Taking the coffee carafe, K2 poured for whoever wanted it.

A exactly 11:00 a call came from downstairs. A visitor had arrived; Smoke indicated they could be sent up. Soon enough there was a knock at the door as as Smoke went to open it, K2 followed behind. Smoke held a katana in their off hand, it being a registered and allowed weapon in the hotel; K2 held a waffle in theirs. Smoke looked questioningly at the breakfast food and K2 said, “I can always crumble it up and stuff them down his shirt.”

“You know, that would probably bother him more than you know” and opened he door on a distinguished-looking man in a tailored suit, his  salt-and-pepper hair and deep-set eyes holding a mixture of wisdom and mystery with the overall effect of leaving K2 with the impression he was a man used to power and sophistication.

“Hello, Kali. Might I come in and meet your friends?”

“That name’s new, coming from you.”

“Your mother updated everyone this morning.”

Smoke opened the door and Winston stepped inside. “You’re getting quite the reputation you know,” and as he talked Lurker sent a message to the chat.

“Who is this guy again?”

“Smoke said he was the Manager of the New York City Continental,” K2 replied. “Beyond that . . .”

“He’s a pompous asshole” Smoke finished in the chat as Winston sat in the conversation pit and formally introduced himself, though the Runaways did not off any introductions of their own. Winston continued explaining that me might still be under observation, but not as much as he once was, and he was definitely no longer excommunicated. That had cost him, and things would have worked out just fine If Wick hadn’t decided to go off and kill He Who Sits Above the Table and throw everything into chaos.

Smoke went off on Wick again about how his selfishness kept costing everyone other than himself and then Winston said maybe there was still a way out of this. A Frenchman known as the Marquis  - specifically the Marquis Vincent de Gramont, was overseeing the search for Wick. He was the one who sent Chidi and Caine and thought Wick was frightened as the bounty continued to grow.

“My thoughts regrading aristocracy are remarkably similar to my thoughts on corporations,” K2 commented in the chat.

It was the Marquis who killed Charon, Winston said, and if they played the game properly, perhaps they could end this once and for all. There were three options they could take. First, they could turn Wick over for what was most assuredly a very public execution. Second, they could invoke the right of a duel, but Wick was not part of any family currently under the Table. Third, they could find someone to take Wick under their protection.

K2 sent a message, still unwilling to physically speak when it came to anything regard Wick:

“I don’t like this idea at all, especially as we were warned about being under the table, but what if we made our own family ?”

Smoke seemed to like the idea, and they and Winston talked about how Smoke was already under the table perhaps the could, indeed, form their own family with them as the head. Of course, it would need to be witnessed by someone of some standing, and wouldn’t you know it, but here was Winston. Then there was the matter of Wick’s induction into the family, which could only be accomplished by performing some great deed for them - or at the very least taking a blood oath to complete such an act.

Speaking out loud and using the chat they assembled a list. Bit wanted to humiliate Wick as well as demanding an apology. K2 wanted him to kill Ares and pay 25,000 eddies for taking K2 away from a business deal. Lurker wanted larger guns and for a former client named Diode be taken care of. Nova wanted something spectacular for Foxy.

Wick started to explain and attempted to apologize to Smoke, but only a few sentences in and it was clear Wick was already out of his depth. “Intelligence is his dump stat,” Smoke sighed in the chat before cutting Wick off and saying what he had said was a good enough start for now.

Then Smoke and Nova “helped” Wick take a blood oath to fulfill the deeds for the Runaways.

Winston then explained the rules of engagement for the due, at the end of which Smoke said, “Get your suit, John,” when they got an indication that Anders had a message for her. Going into the bathroom Smoke drew a cold bath and emerged a few minutes later with information regarding the Marquis, the long and short of which was that he was accomplished and dangerous but would follow the letter of the law and had more than his fair share of hubris.

“Paris, then” was the conclusion, and as they packed up K2 took the slippers with her. Another AV took them to Paris; on the way K2 and Lurker watched another movie and then Smoke and Lurker and Nova strategized about the duel, with all agreeing that Lurker would have the best chance of drawing cards against the Marquis.

In France they were met by a tall, large man who took the Runaways via SUV to a sprawling estate where they were met by an even taller, though much thinner, man. The Marquis.

Smoke greeted him with his full French name, and when he asked for Smoke’s titles, K2 realized that they technically held the title Priest. They followed a bit of protocol that K2 didn’t quite understand but went along with and eventually they were all ushered inside and seated near The Harbinger.

Wasting no time, they began pulling cards. Despite their best laid plans things did not go their way. The Marquis won the first two pulls, choosing the Basilica of the Sacred Heart as the location and pistols as the weapons. It made sense, he was a noted marksman. Lurker won the last pull and was able to chose the time, picking dawn so at the very least their shooter wouldn’t have the sun in their eyes.

For the Runaways, Smoke would duel with Wick as Second. For the Marquis, Caine would duel with the Marquis as Second.

“Pistols at dawn. How American,” the Marquis said somewhat mockingly.

“You’re the one who picked pistols,” Lurker said under her breath but still audible.

“That I did,” the Marquis acknowledged before bidding them a good night, but the way he said it was a threat.

They spent several minutes discussing how best to survive the night before settling on taking a meandering yet quick route to the dueling grounds where they would hide out best they could until the dawn. They weren’t about to get caught by a roadblock or some other trap that would keep them from meeting their appointment and losing by forfeit.

### **Episode 33**

#### Paris Plans

Lurker was sent with Winston for reasons on which K2 was unclear. Nova jacked a likely-looking car and the found themselves a hiding spot. They’d been there about half an hour or an hour at most when Smoke sat bolt upright:

“I need a ripper.”

“What’s wrong?” K2 asked.

“I sense a devious plan,” Nova remarked.

“Do we want to know?” Bit wondered.

“Probably not right now,” Smoke answered before warning Wick that, whatever happened, this was all on him and he needed to remember that. He needed to take responsibility for his actions, and maybe that would start tonight.

But how to find a ripper in a city none of them knew?

It was K2 that the idea to check their social media. Their debut album had gone live just before the Runaways left for Osaka - had it really been less than a day? Of course, logging in to an account would post risks if anyone was trying to track them, to say nothing of the fact that none of them knew just how good DemoGraphic had performed. It could have flopped for all they knew, but given that both Smoke and Denny had a hand in production, promotion, and distribution, and that Kerry and Ghost and Johnny each had their hand in bringing K2 to public attention, and given their worldwide fame/infamy (at the moment) - chances were good at least one Ripper in Paris was a fan of K2’s work.

The drove the streets looking for a likely Internet Cafe, with K2 using what streetwise they had to settle on one named Milk of the Unicorn. It sported a neon sign with the titular unicorn giving a knowing wink at a glass of milk in front of it - it seemed vaguely sexual and put both Smoke and Bit in mind of innuendo. Looking in the front windows, they saw a room painted baby pink with lots of rainbows. It looked like one of the many brandance studios one might go to for a session of escapism, and as such the person at the counter might be persuaded to look the other way.

Smoke seemed to pick up on the nature of the establishment and warned Wick that he should behave inside - and keep in mind that what he was about to see was what she had been driven to when he cast her aside. “You’re going on a field trip to learn from your mistakes,” entered into the conversation.

They had a plan: Bit would make the dadie (the physical hardware required to plug into a terminal), Smoke would write the code, and then K2 would plug it into the machine and press “go”. Bit and Smoke had a drive and code on them that could be repurposed for the occasion.

#### Milk of the Unicorn

Leaving Fridge and Nova to watch the car, the rest of them went inside - immediately realizing that some kind of film had been placed over the windows. Inside was much brighter and several orders of magnitude more perky than it had seemed from the street.

The attendant at the front counter was dressed in a French maid outfit of the type seen in Lolicon and had some type of holographic screen in front of her with various cybernetic hookups nearby. The Kiroshi eyes glowed as her default ennui gave way to . . . a less default ennui. She looked up and greeted the group in French; after a quick look on the local data pool Smoke downloaded translation software and began translating her greeting when she was interrupted by Bit asking - in English - “what all goes on here?”

Now speaking in English with a French accent the digital attendant explained that this was a place for entertainment or braindances or the like. Smoke was more direct and explained - for Johnny’s  benefit mainly - that this was a place intended for a certain type of clientele to engage in their proclivities in a legal manner.

“What about drinks? I could use a drink,” Bit said, and the hologram indicated that a tour of the facilities, along with certain amenities, could be provided for a reasonable fee. Bit agreed to pay for the group and a door opened or a curtain parted on their left and another virtual assistant - who introduced itself as Minou - greet them and explained the various package levels and - of course - legal disclaimers (particularly where it came to age of majority).

Bit asked if they had any souvenirs available as well and was told that one free drink and a neon keychain was provided in the Silver Package (200 ed per person). They each ordered some kind of drink; K2 got the Dreamy Berry Bliss (vodka version) while Smoke got the same with tequila. Their drinks were delivered by a very polite robot chirping happily in binary; Smoke took delight in sending it signals that it was doing a Very Good Job while K2 nicknamed it the “new-mba”.

Then it was time to get down to business. K2 logged on at one of the provided terminals and plugged in the coded dadie. It did what it did and about fifteen minutes later K2 was prompted to create a social media account. They’d talked with Smoke about whether it should be a real account or  a fake one and K2 decided to make this a real account using the same handle as the one she used in Night City. The app took a moment or two to process and then there it was: a newly minted account with no followers. And then, a verified badge. Whatever things Denny and Smoke had been up to in promoting K2 must have just been there, waiting.

K2 made their post — “so my music’s gone worldwide and maybe someday I should too. let’s make a tour together - where should we go?” — and waited to see what would happen.

Two things happened quite quickly:

First, K2 was tagged by a local news industry, mainly about the fact that she’d created an account and was seemingly asking where to go on tour.

Second, K2 started to get followers. LOTS of followers. Followers who started posting about her and tagging articles that called her “internationally acclaimed” and then “10,000 units sold . . .” K2 looked at their watch. It hadn’t even been a day since they fled Night City and now . . . this was a lot, especially for a debut artist. In fact, it was extremely good. She did some quick mental math: 10k units at oh, let’s say 25 ed a pop, would bring in 250k. Of course there were those that would need their share of the proceeds and given the success of the release they’d more than earned it.

“Someone please tell me that number says what I think it says,” K2 asked to everyone and no one.

The others, looking over her shoulder, confirmed the number and offered congratulatory cheers.

And then K2 shook her head.

“Ok. Now to find a Ripper,” she said as she started scrolling through the local users who had followed her.

They scrolled down a few times but not enough to discourage them when one stood out. Their handle seemed to indicate they were a ripper and clicking on through their location was in downtown Paris. Nexus was her name, and her profile stood out as having interacted with liking, sharing, and commenting on K2’s post, as well as other posts mentioning her. Her profile picture showed a young woman with purple hair smoking a cigarette in what appeared to be a cybernetics lab while also surrounded by flammable liquids. She was also completely independent of any hospital.

K2 looked at Smoke and Bit and their looks told her everything: this was exactly the kind of person they were looking for.

There was line about only getting her certification two weeks ago, but certified was certified. Right?

And then the texts started coming from Nova.

#### Vortex

Nova and Fridge sat in the car. As they recounted it later, they were just chiling and vibing to some music. They did not say what music.

After some minutes, Nova commented: "Thy’re getting shit faced I bet."

Their agents dinged with a text from K2:

“Hooray for the designated driver!”

"I really want a drink...” Fridge sighed.

"We'll get one once we're done with this plan of Smoke’s."

To pass the time, Nova began to more carefully examine the car they were in. As her hand explored the crease around the driver’s seat, she felt pressure sensors activate and a console came up between her and Fridge, opening to reveal another console inside. Navigating the various folders and menus, it seemed that this particular vehicle was involved in “night deliveries” -that is to say, trafficking.

“What the fuck?!” Nova said in soft exclamation.

“Now what?”

“There seems to be an active delivery in the trunk.”

“Want me to look?”

“If you don’t mind,” Nova replied

As she got on her agent to let the others know, Fridge checked his pistol and then reholstered it - he wasn’t about to be waving a gun on foreign streets without clear justification.

Nova: So .... We 'might' have 'borrowed' a black market delivery car.

Smoke: ... N i c e ....

Nova: Stand by fridge is checking the trunk.

K2: Be safe

Smoke: Please

Outside, Fridge opened the trunk and looked inside. He paused for a moment before calling loudly for Nova.

Nova: Shit, shit, shit ..... Ssshhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiittttt!.

Smoke: ????????

K2: ????????

Nova: We accidently stole a car with an 18 year old in the trunk

K2: WTF please tell me they are alive ??

Nova: He seems drugged, but alive (Nova)

(She checked the car’s computer once more and could find no active deliveries. This kid was here for some reason, but it wasn’t clear what, exactly, that might be. Diagnostics confirmed that the trunk was set up to be a self-contained life support system.)

Smoke: we have to help the kid . . .

K2: We also have to stay alive. We’re already headed to a ripper; maybe she can do us two favors? I’ll write a song if I have to

Nova: agreed (Nova)

Smoke: The exact thought I had

Bit: Oh my soul (Bit)

Fridge: he looks kinda sad... like a very sad bunny

Bit: you all be safe

Nova: Digging into it

(She had found a file with some kind of dossier or profile)

Fridge: head on a swivel but I need to watch Nova

K2: I think we’ll be on our way soon

Bit: Another child for the runaways?

Nova: kid named piere aka vortex, they hacked into a corp called WSCN, they put a contract out for him alive ... yeah they aint getting him.

Smoke: yeah hell no

Bit: Awww can we keep him?!

Nova: Maybe?

K2: woo hoo for anti corpo hackers

Inside, those that were drinking downed the last of their drinks and headed to the door; Bit made sure to grab her keychain, which she gave to Fridge almost immediately once outside. They exited to see that Fridge and Nova had maneuvered the kid out of the trunk and into the car proper. Nova had just injected a rapid detox and the kid was currently curled up on Fridge in the middle of the backseat.

There wasn’t going to be enough room for all of them; someone would have to ride in the trunk. Smoke made it clear that person would be Wick, who after what he seen inside had maybe started to realize what he had done to others seemed resigned to this fate. Smoke slid in next to Fridge as Bit and K2 walked him to the back. He climbed in and Bit went to close the door.

“Goodbye” she said, stretching out the word to several syllables beyond what it normally was.

K2 said nothing but merely glared over Bit’s shoulder. This was so far the first time she had even acknowledged Wick’s existence and she wanted it clear to him she did not care if anyone opened the trunk ever again.

Bit went to the passenger side door and K2 slid in next to Fridge - Smoke had commented that she had a good record of shooting out of car windows. Apart from that one time someone had shattered her arm, that is. And could she really be blamed for that?

A fight was already in progress.

Vortex had woken up and out of pure survival instinct tired to punch Fridge. Since his own hands were busy holding Vortex, all Fridge could do was take the punch squarely on the chin. To be fair, Fridge did try to dissuade him, saying “No, please don’t” in as nonthreatenting a way as possible.

Nova was able to reach back from the driver’s seat and get a hand on Vortex, trying to comfort or reassure him they were there to help.

Smoke took a look at Vortex’s gear and found Vortex himself had somewhat limited  but very expensive, custom equipment: the kind that is designed to do one thing and do it incredibly well. He seemed to be a tad green around the ears, and clearly the Runways did not exactly bring him any comfort at this exact moment. There was something running that was overclocking his system - some searching found it to be a constant upload/download from some kind of telecommunications system. It looked to be his own program.

Smoke tried to talk to him, saying “woah woah woah why are you here” and that’s when K2 came in on the other side, grabbing Vortex’s wrists to prevent another punch (which was already in motion) accompanied by rather universal, generic interjections to get him to knock it off.

Bit added to the persuasive chaos by rummaging in her bag and finding a piece of chocolate. “You want some? It’s good!”

Vortex at least stopped actively struggling as it seemed his brain caught up with what was happening.

“This kid has woken up in a strange vehicle with strange people offering candy. We are now poster people for ‘stranger danger,’” K2 observed with a short laugh.

And it seemed that Vortex’s mind had reached a decision:

“Merde, you’re the Runaways,” he said in tones that were equal parts shock and awe. “I’ve seen your wanted posters; in fact they’re the wallpaper on my agent . . .”

K2 reached out for a fist bump.

His voice betrayed a kind of near idol worship, but more pressing was what he was doing in the car in the first place.

Smoke took this opportunity to conduct very brief introductions and then asked Vortex to fill them in on what they didn’t already know.

K2 sent a message: Nova if this thing has gps let’s get moving. Here’s the address we’re headed to

“Brilliant K2” Smoke replied as Vortex filled them in.

To summarize, he was in the middle of a ransom negotiation with WCN (Worldsat Communications Network) which was definitely misusing customer data in violation of many international laws and was poised in the coming months to emerge as a very powerful, very corrupt, multinational organization. This data was, of course, being held in satellites where noone could see the files, and the Runaway’s space escapade had inspired him to build his own rocket. Quickly finding that was out of his wheelhouse, he settled for hacking the system.

K2 glanced at Bit; it seemed her drink had caught up to her and she was passed out.

In fact, Vortex continued, it was really K2 that had helped them the last 24 hours or so; he had listend to DemoGraphic on repeat since it launched. And really, that’s what inspired him to hit the “go” button in the first place . . .

Of course, Vortex wanted to know what they were all doing in Paris, and as Smoke quickly filled him in with the vaguest of details, the fact that Vortex had no idea who John Wick was caused a celebration in the back of the car. In fact, K2’s disdain for Wick overcame her own touch sensitivity and she participated in a very large group hug.

Smoke talked more with Vortex, who explained how his signal was helping mask his location, with Smoke replying that they could get him out of the country and he was most certainly coming to live with them now and when did they all have a child together because his words were exactly like K2’s with a mind like Smoke’s and an attitude like Nova’s with the brilliance of Bit.

“I wasn’t trying to do anything like that!” K2 protested, and Smoke laughed at that and said that Johnny would love it.

#### Nexus

Nova had been navigating the Paris streets with the ease of someone born there; K2 felt that anyone tracking them by normal means would be hard pressed to keep up. They arrived at Nexus’ shop and quickly entered.

Inside, they were greeted by an iridescent layer of brilliant white rather than the typical “sterile white” found in most ripperdoc operations. Nexus had a bored look as she fiddled with a scalpel behind the counter. She had plenty of tools but no customers. Apparently she was so lost in thought that she took two takes to realize someone had walked in before launching into the usual prepared speech for new customers “Please excuse me,” she began in French and then did a third take when she noticed K2 and she switched into a a heavily accented English with some French words that most were able to make out from context.

They were obviously a huge fan of K2’s, and from her words and the way she addressed everyone else as her entourage seemed to indicate that if she even knew who the Runaways were, she was a fan of K2’s first and foremost. The pure joy on Smoke’s face at being called part of K2’s entourage encouraged K2 to go with it.

She was here in Paris on a mission to help fix someone else’s problem and had to keep her presence in the city super secret. She wanted to play a concert but now wasn’t the time. She was so glad to have found a follower that could help her, and hoped she could deliver on what they needed.

At this point K2 turned it over to Smoke to explain what was needed. They went back and forth about different types of cyberware and what the cost of humanity would be and what affects it might have long-term (if it even worked at all). Smoke needed a way to stop the heart but keep the mind working to essentially resurrect herself. They talked about something called a “possum” but it was an older model. There was also a kind of experimental neuralware . . .

K2 let them talk technical details until Nexus said

“I don’t want to seem crude, but there is the subject of payment . . .”

Smoke looked at K2; she knew Smoke had very little in the way of cash at the moment. Bit had said she had plenty and would help Smoke out, but she was currently passed out in the car being watched over by Fridge.

“I’ve got it,” K2 said. “And I know Bit said she’d help you so I’ll just get her to pay me back. And don’t forget we have a group bank account . . .”

Nexus told them the cost for parts would come to 4,100 eddies and would do the labor for free.

K2 tried insisting on paying her usual rates, and thought she had won for a brief second.

“Very well, I’ll charge you for labor. Currently, my labor is zero. Flash sale, and you’re in luck”

K2 screwed up her face at being outsmarted like that. At the very least, she was determined that Nexus would have the ability to run if she needed to just in case they were tracked. Whether that was a code word on a post or something the would hammer out. If it came to it, K2 would have Nexus’ payment info . . . whether or not Nexus will accept it would just have to be seen.

The surgery and recovery would take four hours; K2 went next door to a store both foreign and recognizable: “Chapelle” by name. It was a pleasant experience and K2 left with a fortune that was some cause for concern:

“Joys are often the shadows, cast by sorrows.”

#### Duel of the Century

They arrived at the Sacred Heart safely and on time to find some people already gathered: the Marquis and Caine were already in place and the Adjudicator was only moments behind the Runaways.

K2 sent a message to their group chat: “if things go sideways here everyone here will pay - I \*will\* find ways to make that happen.”

“Do it” Smoke confirmed.

K2 replied with a thumbs-up emoji

Smoke had some business to deal with, namely talking with Wick about his choices and their consequences, with Caine (in very low tones) about her choice to fight this fight and would he please leave her a pretty corpse and not shoot up her face or heart?, and with the Adjudicator about what the results would be regarding Caine’s family and her own mother. The Adjudicator indicated that some of those requests would have to go before the Table as the Harbinger who passed judgment had died and could not reverse them. Smoke even thanked the Marquis for his fairness, though they all thought he’d put a hit out on them. It was probably because they didn’t go looking for a fight that they didn’t find one.

And then it was time.

Smoke and Caine walked their paces as the Adjudicator gave his instructions.

Cain hit Smoke in the stomach; Smoke fired harmlessly into the air.

They reloaded and advanced.

“Great shot,” Smoke said.

“Shoot back?”

“No”

“Please?”

I’m not going to hurt you or your family”

It was clear Smoke was going to throw the duel.

Caine’s next shot was only glancing and Smoke once more fired into the air.

“Motherfucker,” Caine said out of his own mental anguish.

“There’s a lot of me to go around.”

Once more they reloaded and advanced. Smoke fired into the ground and this time Caine misfired and his shot went out into Paris.

Advance. Reload. Aim. Fire.

This time Caine overdid it, or maybe it was just because his first two shots had already done so much damage, but this time it was clear Smoke was dead before hiting the ground.

Caine was visibly shaking as he called for the Adjudicator, who examined Smoke’s bloody corpse with a stopwatch in hand and a stethoscope to Smoke’s chest. Then he took out a tiny hammer and broke the watch before turning to the Runaways (who had been out of the line of fire).

“Where would you like the body?”

“We will take it,” Nova quickly replied.

“Go in good faith,” came the reply.

They quickly rushed to Smoke’s side. A terrible silence had fallen over the dueling grounds. The moment seemed stretched out. They had never talked about how long this part of the plan might take, or when to give up hope, because while plans had gone wrong before, they had never gone *this* wrong.

The Marquis and the Adjudicator and Winston had all departed. Caine remained; he knew there had been some sort of plan and was apparently determined to see it through. Bit was now clinging to Fridge; Lurker was shaking, and Vortex was starting to show signs of trauma at seeing one of his heroes fall and not get back up.

On the edge of disaster, Fridge and Wick seemed to advance on Caine. K2 almost joined them, but remembered that Smoke had never once faulted Caine for his actions as they related to this duel. He considered for a moment of stepping between them, but then thought again.

They had laid down arms for the duel but his bat was nearby. If Wick’s attention was directed elsewhere, it was possible he might get a few good hits on the bastard before he realized what was coming. And if those hits were to the head, he might take Wick down and out. And then he would try to save Caine before planning the downfall of the Winston and the Marquis. The jury was still out on the Adjudicator.

There were so many maybes. Had the plan been too ambitious? Had the system malfunctioned? It was an older model after all. Had Nexus not done a good job or had she deliberately sabotaged them?

They all seemingly without thinking sent the same message on the group chat:

FUCK

#### Rest

And then Smoke spasmed once.

Then twice.

Then three times, and started breathing again as everything finally kicked in and started coming online.

Smoke’s eyes had opened from death once before, but this time was different. This time it was under the French sky at dawn surrounded by those who loved her.

“Not feeling so great,” Smoke managed to say.

Caine immediately shouted loud as possible for Winston to get his ass back here.

“Kali is not dead. Mark it.”

A quick call and the Adjudicator was back, once more with his stethoscope and the now-broken stopwatch.

He placed the watch in Smoke’s hand. “Your life is your own; you have died in service to the Table.”

Nova managed to stabilize Smoke as the Adjudicator said Smoke’s conditions would be met and an agent would visit upon recovery to settle things.

They needed to get Smoke to a hospital, or at the very least back to Nexus. And then, from above, came the sound of AVs.

Smoke’s worldwide platinum-level care membership had kicked in once again.

“Here we go again,” K2 remarked, and was surprised that out of the two AVs came paramedics? There were one or two armed Trauma Team agents, but this was definitely not Night City. Here, it seemed, they did not immediately engage anyone found near their charge.

“Family,” Smoke told them, and a medic looked at them.

“All of you?” He asked, only a little incredulously and more for logistics.

“Yes,” Smoke said weakly.

The medic nodded. “All right then. All of you in the second AV. We’ll need as much room as possible in the other.”

#### Condensed Conclusion

This session went very late and the players and DM had work in the morning. However, it was determined that the Runaways would take at least a three-month break from taking any jobs. They would eventually return to Night City, where Johnny would immediately take to K2 and their newfound celebrity. They would all find some way to get therapy for their humanity loss, though Bit didn’t need this specifically. They would need to start looking for a home of their own since the loss of their hideaway and their ever-growing family didn’t want to impose on Kerry. They would also need to consider that, technically, MaxTac still had a bounty out on them. All other downtime actions would take place either via discord chat or they might RP them come next session.

## Relationships

### The Runaways

**Bit Chaos** – “Just because I don’t understand you doesn’t mean I don’t like you” is probably the best way to describe how K2 sees Bit Chaos. K2 does not understand what possesses Bit to do and say a majority of the things she does, but cannot deny that she gets results and, when folks are open to hearing her out, often persuades others to share her perspective. There are times that K2 thinks Bit need protecting from herself (like when she wanted to hijack a car in the middle of one of the worst storms on record in Night City) and other times knows that Bit is fully capable of taking care of herself (like when she took down a fully-staffed MaxTac AV and walked out unscathed using nothing more than two mechanical lizards). Bit is the wildcard that makes every job a little more interesting, and K2 wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Fridge** – Fridge may think he and K2 got off on the wrong foot, with K2 catching a stray bullet in their first firefight, but K2 doesn’t hold that against him, and hasn’t really thought about it since it happened. K2 admires the calm, steady consistency Fridge provides and is often amazed at how he and Bit balance each other. K2 has helped Fridge through at least one panic attack, assured him that they were friends regardless of who or what had messed with his brain, went out to save him during a severe electrical storm, and wrote a song specifically for him – in fact, it was Fridge that inspired the concept of K2’s second album: Be Gay Do Crime.

**Lurker** – At this point K2 has only known Lurker for maybe a day or two, yet the two have seemingly bonded in a way that is still somewhat new and unknown to K2. Usually touch-adverse, K2 has watched movies with Lurker while sitting on the same couch and later allowed Lurker to fall asleep on them as they drove through Osaka. Lurker also claimed K2 as her “exit buddy” in Osaka, and has indicated that, from her perspective, this is unlikely to change. K2 has taken this to heart and already feels protective of the newest member of the Runaways.

**Nova** – Nova is perhaps K2’s oldest friend in Night City; in fact, it was Nova that safely brought K2 there after their family fell apart and introduced K2 to the Mox. Nova has often remarked that K2 knows as much about Gamera as anyone else – at least before her upgrades – thanks to their and Nova’s many trips together. Nova and K2 often have each other’s backs and tend to team up together on those rare occasions the party must split. K2 will be one of the first to admit that Nova is one of the parental units of the Runaways, and is in no way jealous of Nova’s relationship with Foxy or any other members of the team. K2 is forever grateful to Nova for saving their life at least twice, most recently by preventing K2 from bleeding out after their arm was shattered in the badlands.

**Smoke** – If K2 hadn’t known Nova already, Smoke would have been the first person K2 met in the Runaways. They instantly bonded over their sense of style and shared nonbinary identity. Smoke has gone out of the way to make K2 feel comfortable and included in group activities, and it is from Smoke that K2 has learned the most about using one’s abilities effectively. Smoke is also K2’s manager, and K2 would be the first to say any success they might have is due to Smoke’s knowledge and connections. K2 tries to make sure Smoke is cared for as much as Smoke cares and looks out for others. For better or worse, Smoke is one of the few people K2 will listen to almost without thought. After Smoke’s recent death and miraculous resurrection in Paris, K2 may or may not have their own personal hit list of those who should pay for the pain they inflicted on their friend.

### Other Characters

**Denny** – Denny is K2’s producer and is teaching K2 the music industry from her side: production and marketing. Based on the success of DemoGraphic, K2 considers Denny worth every penny of her percentage.

[**Redacted**] – K2’s first love, K2 rarely talks about [redacted]. Though hints have been dropped as to [redacted]’s existence, no one has followed up on them (yet).

**Ghost** – Ghost, also known as Ghost in the Machine, played keyboard at K2’s debut at Hammer, and may have provided the keyboard tracks for DemoGraphic. K2 hopes to never forget those who helped them get started.

**Ink** – K2’s former girlfriend and now avowed enemy, Ink has devolved into cyberpsychosis and is likely being used as a vessel for Alt Cunningham. Since Ink’s attack on the Runaways in the parking garage after K2’s Hammer debut, K2 has made it clear that Ink is kill-on-sight.

**Java** – one of the original owners of Lock and Key, Java is now K2’s business partner after K2 began investing in the club.

**Johnny Silverhand** - Johnny and K2 have played music, built bombs, and evaded both the law and the lawless together. Johnny seems genuinely excited watching K2’s career, but as the two have not had meaningful conversations, K2 wonders where she falls: friend, acquaintance, or coworker. One thing K2 knows is that she is not Johnny’s enemy; she’s seen what that looks like, and K2 isn’t it.

**John Wick** - Based on how he treated Smoke, K2 has made it a point to ignore the very existence of John Wick. He has only broken this willful avoidance twice, both times in Paris. The first was when he and Bit locked Wick in the trunk of a vehicle. The second time was after the Duel of the Century when it appeared Smoke’s plan did not work, and K2 considered ambushing Wick from behind with a baseball bat to the head.

**Kerry Eurodyne** - Kerry has supported K2 and the runaways almost from the very beginning, and seems to consider K2 at least responsible for keeping his drugs away from Bit.

Micah - K2’s initial sympathy towards Micah turned to distrust when it was found he’d lied about his true motivations for breaking into Biotechnica. However, his perspective was understandable and K2 and the other runaways have put Micah to work running errands for them - at least until discovering a rather large and seemingly ever-increasing bounty on him.

**Rogue** - the Fixer for the Runaways, K2 tries to keep Rogue aware of their activities - especially after failing to communicate once or twice led to complications.

[**Redacted**] - [Reacted] was the reason K2 came to Night City alone and is the reason they have no contact with other family members. If K2 sees [redacted] again, there is a 50/50 chance K2 will forego the pleasantries and skip right to violence.

## Music

### Styles

K2 often describes their music in terms of other groups and artists. They have described some of their sounds as:

* Taylor Swift x The Birthday Massacre

* The Oh Hellos x The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

* Disturbed x The Chicks
* Earl Scruggs’ fever dream

### Albums & Songs

#### DemoGraphic

DemoGraphic is the first album/ep released by K2 after their debut at Hammer. It is an eclectic mix of musical styles, with instrumental jazz to an industrial-metal ballad on the same album. The title comes from the fact that most of the songs were on K2’s demo, combined with the fact that the track listing is mostly autobiographical. On another level, the title refers to the fact that, like K2 themselves, music doesn’t fit into a box but is wild, free, and authentic to itself.

K2’s debut album was released to worldwide acclaim and sold more than 10,000 units in the first twenty-four hours.

*Track List*

1. What If?
2. Night City Jazz
3. Vainglory
4. Devolution
5. Random Access Memory
6. Immoral/Immortal
7. The Fifth Labor of Hercules
8. Life Gets Worse and Then You Die [Bonus Track]

#### Be Gay Do Crime

Also called BGDC, the songs on this album are based on The Runaways. Though not yet in production, K2 has shared the songs with all of The Runaways.

*Track List*

1. Beacon
2. Starstruck
3. Gravity of the Situation
4. 0K
5. Terra Incognita
6. Plague Rat [Bonus Track]

Misc. Songs

* Fun and Games