Kabuki Backstreets – 2:47 A.M.
Lucy's safehouse wasn't much, just a concrete box stuffed between a noodle bar and a broken joytoy studio. But it had heat, signal shielding, and a mattress that didn't smell like death. Bee sat on it, legs crossed, staring at his palm.
Lucy watched him from across the room, arms folded. "You don't sleep?"
Bee shook his head. His body didn't really need it. It pulsed with low-level Energon not enough to light up like a transformer, but enough to run almost indefinitely. Still, something was bothering him.
He flexed his hand. Something inside his arm clicked. A vibration traveled up his forearm, through muscle and metal. And then
Shh-click.
A blade burst from his forearm. Sleek, thin, gleaming. It hummed faintly vibrating at a frequency that could slice clean through polyceramic plating.
Lucy's eyes widened. "Uh… what the hell is that?"
Bee stared at it, stunned.
🎥 [Soundbite: "Okay. That's new."]
Lucy stepped closer, crouching in front of him. "That's… not standard cyberware. I've seen Monowires, Mantis Blades, Gorilla Arms, hell even projectile launchers. But this?" She gently tapped the blade with a stylus. "This thing's alien."
Bee looked at her. Tapped his speaker.
🎶 "I got a feeling… that tonight's gonna be a good night…" 🎶
Lucy chuckled. "You're a dork."
He nodded. Proudly.
The Heist
By morning, they were on a job. Nothing too big just a data heist from a small-scale Zetatech satellite station. Lucy would do the deep netrun. Bee? He'd get her in and cover the exit.
Everything was going fine until the backup security team showed up early. Four guys in combat gear. Lucy cursed as the uplink hit 68%.
"Stall them!"
Bee grinned behind his scarf. He raised a hand toward a nearby Corpo SUV parked across the street. His fingertips glowed faint blue
Remote link established…
The SUV roared to life, reversed, and smashed into the approaching guards, pinning one to the wall.
"Did you just drive that with your mind?" Lucy yelled.
Bee spun, arm blade deploying again with a satisfying snap. He slid between two guards like a spark of yellow lightning and knocked one cold with a punch that cracked his helmet. Then he spun, blade singing as it carved clean through the barrel of an assault rifle.
🎥 [Soundbite: "Let's dance."]
Lucy finished the upload. They ran rooftop to rooftop, neon blurring past them like colored rain. She laughed once, something rare, raw.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad I met you."
Bee tapped his wrist.
🎶 "You're my wonderwall…" 🎶
She rolled her eyes, but her smile lingered.
Later, Safehouse
They sat in silence, breathing hard. Bee looked at her. Not with words but with a feeling, raw and broadcasted through the flickering lights of a radio on the desk.
🎶 "I'll be there for you…" 🎶
Lucy looked over, quiet for a long time.
"I think... we make a good team."