*Author's Note*: For the last chapters, I will put up the fanfic first before I illustrate them. I have discovered that illustrating slows down production incredibly and kudos to everyone does it successfully!
Three months later....
"You shall achieve where others have failed," hissed a soft, dry voice. The man, partially hidden in shadow, petted a creature fondly. It was massive, and docile. As he stroked the thing's head, it's eyes lit up, a deep red, and it rumbled softly.
"I have made you stronger than most of my creatures," he continued, "But unlike my failures such as Terra, and the blasted Cybers, I have created you with only two purposes in life: DESTROY CYBERSIX. DESTROY DATA 7."
The monster looked up at his master and roared in agreement. He understood his mission, his sole reason for living.
It was 6:30 pm, still early. Adrian Seidelman and Lucas Amato were sitting at the usual table in the cafe for their dinner. Adrian was absently playing with his pasta. Lucas noticed this and quizzically raised his eyebrow.
"What's the matter, Adrian?" he asked, "You haven't touched a thing on your plate-"
Adrian smiled wanly. "No, it's...nothing.. really." He sighed. "Lucas, have you ever..what I mean is, say your friend from out of town appears. And it's a friend from a long, long time ago, so long, you hardly remember h-him. I mean her. Yeah. Anyway, say at first, you're really happy to see her; but then, as time goes by, you realize that she is, well... different." Adrian looked flustered. "What I mean is, say your hypothetical friend-"
"Adrian," interrupted Lucas, "I think we here all know that you're talking about you and your friend." He laughed. "And I know what you're talking about. The same thing's happened to me with couple of my friends. People change. And your 'friend'-" Here, Lucas winked at him, making Adrian feel really awkward and slightly queasy. "-Probably did a lot of different things after you and she parted company. As long as you aren't continually bailing her out of jail, it's totally normal."
"Oh." Adrian smiled at him, a bigger, natural smile. "Thanks, Lucas. Listen, sorry to leave, but I gotta go. See you in school tomorrow." He stood up, tossed a few bills on the table and left the restaurent.
From the outside, she watched her friend continue to eat, blissfully unaware. "I wonder if your friend was your crazy, socially inept, genetically-engineered sister too."
Jose was sitting in his oversized chair, tapping his oversized desk with a pencil as he thought out loud.
"There must be some way I can show Father how much I'm worth to him," he said, "But what could I-"
"JOSE!"
Jose spun around and nearly fell out of his chair. "F-f-Father!"
"Am I interrupting something, son?" Von Reichter's mouth was twisted into a cruel smile.
"N-n-n-no, of course not!" Jose stood on his chair. "I am always ready for new assignments!"
"Good. I'm sending over one of my newest creations to dispose of the renegade Cyber. Do take care of it, will you? I'm rather fond of it."
"Of course! You can always count on me, Father!" Jose saluted him.
"I'd better!" Von Reichter growled, his smile vanishing. "I will tolerate no more failures. Is that understood, Jose? NO MORE FAILURES!"
Jose gulped. "Understood."
Adrian unlocked the door and came in. The window was open.
That's funny, I'm sure I closed it...
She looked around. "Kayla?"
No one was there.
Still frowning, she walked over and closed the window.
"BOO!!"
The upside-down head of Kayla popped down.
"Gah!" Adrian tumbled backwards. Kayla grinned.
"Did I scare you?"
"Did you- no you did not scare me!" snapped Adrian, "Don't do that."
"Sorry." Kayla turned rightsideup and jumped onto the windowsill. "Can I come in?"
"Okay," said Adrian warily, opening the window for Kayla.
She stepped in, followed closely by Data 7. She was wearing her usual black outfit with the high boots and double belt. On her back was her treasured katana in its scabbard.
"I'm guessing this isn't a social call," said Adrian, taking off her trenchcoat.
Kayla shook her head. "We've got trouble..." she hesitated, wondering what name to call her sister. "Uh..."
"Cybersix."
Kayla looked surprised. "You really think of yourself as Cybersix?"
"Yeeess," she said slowly, "Why?"
She shook her head. "Nothing, it's just...Cyber 6 was your designation, not your name. Like a bar code. Why-"
She growled, annoyed. "So what's the trouble? Von Reichter?"
Kayla nodded.
Adrian sighed. "Not again. Ok, I'll be right out. Give me a minute to change."
Kayla nodded again, and giggled a bit. "Okay, whatever you say...sir."
There was a slight whoosh and she was gone, along with Data 7.
A few minutes later, a person stepped out of Adrian's apartment. It was not Adrian in his usual baggy pants and drooping figure. This stranger stood up straight, in a tight, complimenting, black suit and a red, flowing cape that flapped in the wind. Her hair covered half her face, which was firmly pushed down by her black hat. She crouched, leapt, and soared into the sky.
Cybersix landed on a rooftop, flexed, and soared again. In what seemed to be no time at all, she saw Kayla and Data 7 waiting patiently on top of a building near the subway station. She smiled, and leapt onto the building behind them quietly. She crept up behind Kayla and-
"Don't even think about it."
Surprised, Cybersix plopped down beside her sister. "How did-"
"I trained six months with a man who could hear crickets sleep a mile away. How could I not?"
Cybersix smiled mystified, not knowing whether she was telling the truth or not.
"So.." Cybersix watched the crowds of ordinary people go about their business. "When is our friend showing up?"
"Don't know. I've been scouting around, and no sign of anything except for the usual puny humans."
"Well, it was one of those 'puny humans' who gave you first the information," replied Cybersix, patting Data 7 on the head, "Speaking of which, are you sure your contact is reliable?"
"I'd trust my life with him, if I was the trusting type. He says definitely saw a big hulking creature trampling around the east side of Meridiana."
Cybersix was skeptical. She had no idea where Kayla met her 'contacts' or who they were. But before Kayla, she usually met up with Von Reichter's goons right before they punched her in the nose, so it was a refreshing alternative. Still wary, she asked, "Where did you meet your 'contact'?"
"Downtown. I was going undercover as a prostitute," said Kayla casually, "He sells information, and very good information at that."
"Oh." Cybersix didn't know what to say. "Did you-"
"Of course not. I have standards, you know."
"...Sure." Cybersix wisely said nothing. While Cybersix had a steady job teaching middle-class high school students, what Kayla did- well, that was a mystery. She rarely saw the other cyber, but apparently, she had several tricks up her sleeve and very little shame: she would do anything from panhandling to programming and selling software. Lately, skulking around Meridiana's underbelly and taking out drug lords seemed to tickle her fancy. Well, I suppose the pay's good, thought Cybersix. Kayla's tastes seemed to vary as the weather changed- she could be sleeping in a posh hotel one night and a box another. It was uncertain how long the pattern could last before Kayla decided to settle down.
As if reading her sister's thoughts, Kayla said softly, "I will leave soon."
Cybersix was surprised. "Why?"
She fidgeted. "I don't like staying in one place too long. Too risky. You must know that a lot of Von Reichter's goons are here, in Meridiana. Ever since I came, I have killed countless fixed ideas and technoes, two monsters, and I have escaped from at least three agents. It's too dangerous here...."
"Agents?! I saw one of your 'agents'! She was harmless! She was a child!!"
"I suppose..." She trailed off, thinking. "But it was strange...yes, she was just a girl, but...I think I saw her before once, when I was nine years old...anyway, I don't care what you say, she wasn't normal. A normal human couldn't have move like that...she was almost as fast as I was."
"Kayla, I don't think Von Reichter would send children after you...or me, for that matter."
"No, I guess not. But she was definitely on something. Maybe steroids.* But, Von Reichter cannot know that I am alive. Anyway, it's been three months here...I'm getting restless. I hate settling down, you know...I'm always on the move." She sighed. "After we take out this one, I'm packing my bags and taking off."
"Where will you go?"
"I don't know," said Kayla lightly, but she had a gleam in her eye.
"Don't think of taking him out yourself," warned Cybersix, "He's too smart for that, even if he doesn't even know you're still alive."
"Don't worry about me." Kayla turned away from Cybersix, indicating that the conversation was over.
Suddenly they were interrupted by a loud crash. The people came pouring out of the subway, screaming bloody murder. Cybersix shot up and looked down to the streets.
From the subways below stumbled a terrifyingly large creature. It was built like an ox that was becoming a man, but stopped halfway...almost like a minotaur. Its hands and feet were cloven and two twisted horns spiralled from its huge, bumpy forehead. Its face looked as if its creator couldn't decide what to do with it, for everything was disproportioned and ugly. It grunted, "DESTROY CYBERSIX. DESTROY DATA 7!"
"There's our cue," said Kayla, getting up. She leapt from the rooftops to the streets right in front of the monster, who was thrashing about. Cybersix and Data 7 followed.
That got the monster's attention. It turned around and slobbered at them. "DESTROY CYBERSIX. DESTROY DATA 7!"
Cybersix looked at her sister. "Ready, Kayla?" She had to be careful never to call Kayla, "cyber 338": not only did she hate her real name passionately, it was also for safety- should any technoes overhear her being called "cyber" then it would be game over.
Kayla smiled serenely. "Let's kick his ass!"
Data 7 roared.
