The boy stood on the roof of the apartment building, the wind tugging at his hair. Night City stretched out before him, its neon veins glowing against the smog-choked sky. Below, the chaos of the streets continued unabated, a symphony of sirens, shouting, and the occasional burst of gunfire.
He tightened his grip on the shotgun slung across his back. Every instinct told him to stay hidden, to wait until the scavengers' search burned itself out. But time wasn't on his side.
His Technopathy pulsed faintly as he reached out to the city's sprawling network of surveillance systems. He felt the flow of data, the tangled web of connections that bound the city together. Cameras, drones, traffic lights—all of it ripe for the taking if he could just grasp it fully.
For now, he focused on the scavengers' comms, filtering through their chatter for anything useful.
"West side's clear," one voice crackled. "No sign of the kid."
"Keep looking," another replied, its tone sharp with frustration. "Boss says he's worth more than a quick payout. He's hiding something."
The boy frowned. That last line stuck with him. Hiding something? What do they think I have?
It didn't matter. What mattered was that they wouldn't stop until they found him—or until he stopped them first.
He descended the building's fire escape, his drone hovering close behind. The upgraded sensors scanned the area as he moved, feeding him a constant stream of information.
The alley was quiet, its shadows deep and unbroken. He crouched behind a pile of crates, his eyes scanning the street ahead. Two scavengers stood near the corner, their cyberware glinting under the dim glow of a streetlamp.
The boy's Technopathy reached out, syncing with their systems. Their augmentations were crude—basic muscle enhancements and low-grade optics. Nothing he couldn't handle.
Two targets. One shotgun. And a drone that can't fight yet.
He weighed his options carefully. Rushing in was out of the question; he wasn't fast or strong enough to take them both head-on. But he had other advantages.
The drone chirped softly, its signal blending with the ambient noise of the city. It hovered above the scavengers, its sensors locking onto their cyberware.
The boy closed his eyes, focusing on the connection. His Technopathy flowed through the drone like an extension of himself, tapping into the scavengers' systems. He felt their cybernetics as if they were his own—a faint hum of artificial life.
With a subtle nudge, he disrupted the power flow to one scavenger's optics. The man cursed, his hand going to his face as his vision faltered.
"What the hell?" the other scavenger muttered, his eyes darting around.
The boy seized the opportunity, stepping out of the shadows with the shotgun raised.
"Drop it," he said, his voice low and steady.
The scavenger turned, his hand moving toward the pistol at his side. The boy fired, the shotgun's roar echoing through the alley.
The blast wasn't lethal, but it was enough to knock the man off his feet. He hit the ground with a grunt, his cybernetics sparking from the impact.
The second scavenger stumbled, his vision still glitching as he tried to draw his weapon. The boy moved quickly, closing the distance with the taser in hand.
The arc of electricity connected with the scavenger's chest, sending him convulsing to the ground.
The boy stood over the two fallen men, his breath coming in short, sharp bursts. His hands trembled slightly, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins.
Two down. But there's more of them out there.
He bent down, quickly searching the scavengers for anything useful. A pair of comm devices, a half-empty stimpack, and a set of data shards.
The comms would give him a direct line to their network, and the shards might hold valuable intel. He pocketed them and stepped back, his eyes scanning the alley for any signs of reinforcements.
The drone chirped, its sensors picking up faint movement in the distance. The boy's pulse quickened as he ducked behind cover, the shotgun held tightly in his hands.
Back in the relative safety of his apartment, the boy reviewed the data he'd collected. The comm devices were crude but functional, their encryption laughably weak. He cracked them in minutes, his Technopathy slicing through their defenses like a hot knife through butter.
The scavengers' network was a mess—a chaotic jumble of fragmented messages and overlapping signals. But amidst the noise, he found a single thread of clarity.
"Still no sign of him," one voice reported.
"Doesn't matter," another replied, its tone cold and calculating. "He'll slip up eventually. They always do."
The boy frowned, his mind racing. The scavengers were relentless, but this wasn't just about him anymore. There was something bigger at play, something he didn't fully understand yet.
He turned his attention to the data shards, syncing them with his drone's interface. The information was sparse—schematics for outdated cyberware, a list of scavenger hideouts, and a single encrypted file.
The encryption was stronger than he expected, its code intricate and layered. But his Technopathy thrummed with determination as he worked, unraveling the puzzle piece by piece.
When the file finally opened, its contents sent a chill down his spine.
Schematics for a high-tech surveillance system. A network designed to track and monitor individuals across the city.
And at the center of it all was a single name: Arasaka.
The boy leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. Arasaka was a name he knew, even if only from the show he'd watched in his old life. They were dangerous, their reach extending far beyond anything he could comprehend.
Why would scavengers be working with them?
The question hung in the air, heavy with implications.
He glanced at the drone, its sensors still scanning the room. The upgrades had been a good start, but they weren't enough.
If they're tracking me, I need to disappear.
The idea of invisibility resurfaced, his Technopathy already exploring the possibilities. Cameras, drones, eye chrome—all of it could be manipulated, turned against its owners.
But he wasn't there yet. His powers were still developing, their limits unclear.
For now, he focused on the task at hand. The scavengers were still out there, and their ties to Arasaka made them even more dangerous.
But he wasn't going to run.
Not anymore.
He had the tools, the knowledge, and the determination to fight back.
And he wasn't about to let this city beat him.