Anger fills her heart. No. Not anger. Frustration, maybe? She worked her ass off to get those Augmentations, and before she could even use them, that fucking machine took the Augmenter.
Then that psychotic bitch took it for herself.
Jane keeps her hood up and she stalks through the streets of Nerawin, hiding under the cloak of the night. If she's not careful, Corbin's new attack dog might catch wind of what's going on. She needs to make this quick.
Making her way down the alleys, she constantly checks over her shoulder to make sure she's not being followed before she finds a way up to the roof of some apartment building slapped in the middle of this nothing backwater city. She could be anywhere else right now, but no. She needs this.
The psychopath has been leaving endless hints all over the city, so finding her isn't the problem. Dealing with her is. She already killed her cousin, but without the Augmenter, this might be a bit more challenging. But killing her isn't the part she's worried about. It's suffering the headache she'll inevitably get just from talking to her.
Jane waits atop the roof, irritably tapping her foot and scanning her eyes around the alleys and roofs around her in search of J. The instructions told her to wait here, on this roof, so where the hell is she?
'Eleven forty-eight my ass,' she scowls her annoyance.
A sudden rock hits the side of her head and she winces, holding her head and looking down at the rock in time to see as it bursts out in a puff of pink smoke, turns into a rat with a cowboy hat, and scurries off down a vent.
Jane lifts her head to see that on the building across the alley from her is J, silhouetted in the night and waving like a lunatic.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" J jumps up and down, flailing her arms in the air. "Oh shit, did I give the wrong address? Sorry, I meant to meet you on this sketchy roof! My bad!" she snaps her fingers and vanishes, reappearing on the same roof as Jane.
The instant J appears, Jane draws her gun and takes a shot at her, but J laughs and turns into a pigeon to fly out of the way and then instantly turns back into herself with a scoff. "Rude."
"Give it to me," Jane hisses and keeps the gun trained on her as she holds out her free hand expectantly.
J glances at her hand with its palm facing up and tilts her head before high-fiving her. "There you go! High-five, given!" she states proudly.
Jane pulls her hand back and growls, tightening her grip on the gun. "My Augmenter," she snaps. "I know you have it," she says and briefly glances over J's body to see if she can locate it, when J laughs again.
"No shit. I told you I have it," she squints at her. "You're a bit dense, aren'tcha?"
"You're trying my patience," Jane states.
J pouts. "Aw, only trying? Damn, I'm losing my touch. Ah well, might as well get to the point since you're having such a hard time keeping up," she pulls out a baseball bat and smacks it against Jane's head. The woman recoils and glares at the psychopath as she pouts and looks at the bat.
"Dammit. I forgot the nails before I did that," she holds up the bat and it's suddenly cloaked in pink mist, and when it disperses, it's now covered in rusted nails. "Better!" she giggles, then quickly hops out of the way as Jane fires at her again.
J lands on the stone ledge of the roof and holds her bat ready as Jane runs at her. The woman grabs her arm, but J winks and sticks out her tongue before transforming into a monkey and climbing along her arm, swinging around to her back and perching on her shoulders which is when she turns back into herself with the bat hooked around Jane's neck.
Jane reaches back and grabs J's wrist as she throws herself forward, slamming J on the ground and quickly getting up, firing at her again. J rolls out of the way and stands innocently with the bat behind her back.
"I really hope you put more effort when you killed Fritz," she huffs. "This is kinda pathetic."
Jane pulls a knife from her belt and spins it around in her fingers. "I didn't have to. He was so easy to kill, and you will be too."
"Um, I'm not dead," J holds out her hands as if to check. "Must be a bit harder-" she cuts herself off with a gasp and a happy little clap. "That's what she said!" she lets out a delighted squeal as Jane takes a strike at her head with the knife and she swiftly cartwheels out of the way.
She turns and swings at her with the bat, and Jane snaps her hand up to grab the barrel and direct it away. A few of the rusted nails end up piercing through her palm but she just growls and shoves J aside as the lunatic laughs again.
"Yay! It's a two on one fight! Jane Harvey versus J and her good buddy: tetanus!" she hops back as Jane takes another stab at her and she grabs her wrist, pulling her to the side and pivoting her foot to help her as she turns and kicks her in the side.
Jane falls to her knees and J hooks her arm around hers and rolls over her back, shoving her to her side and lifting her bat in both hands, slamming it down towards Jane's head but she rolls out of the way and kicks J in the shin, making her stumble with a grunt.
"Ow, fuck my shin!" she glares at Jane. "You monster!" she flips her off before smacking her in the ass with the bat, making Jane yelp and J giggles hysterically. "Sorry. I may've broken your money maker."
"Shut up!" Jane exclaims and sprints at J, reaching forward to grab her throat but J jumps up and hooks her leg around Jane's arm, climbing up onto her shoulders with her legs around her neck.
Jane reaches up and slices her knife at J, not being able to see where she hits her but J yelps and lets her go, dropping to the ground. Jane turns around and faces her, seeing that her arm is bleeding heavily from a deep gash.
The woman smiles and stalks towards her, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground. J fights her, kicking and trying to hit her with her bat again, but Jane grabs it and rips it out of her hand, tossing it to the side.
J coughs. "That's... rude," she pouts.
"The Augmenter," Jane demands. "Where is it?"
J giggles with strain and winks at her again. "Oh, I don't know, officer. You might have to search me for it. I hope I'm not in any trouble. I've done nothing wrong," she bats her eyelashes and pouts her lip.
Jane growls. "Does this seem like the time to make jokes?"
"Please, officer. Don't tell my parents. I'll do anything if you keep it secret," she bites her lip, when Jane tightens her grip on her throat with a growl.
"Fuck it! I'll just take it off your corpse," she barks and lifts her knife to her throat above her hand, ready to slice it across her skin when a bullet soars between their faces. Jane flinches back and drops J, who gasps with a delighted giggle. They both look over to see that figure in black.
The Ghost is standing across from them with a glare on his face and his gun directed on Jane and she scoffs. "What the fuck are you doing here? Did Corbin send you?"
J giggles happily and claps. "Ooo are you my sexy savior? To what do I owe the—" she shuts up when Cree's glare and gun both quickly aim at her.
"Shut up," he snaps and glances at Jane again, keeping the gun bouncing between the two women. "As for you, Jane. You're not hard to follow. Your orders were to remain at the Bastion until further notice, yet I find you here starting fights that hold no relevance to anything other than your own selfish agenda."
"Look who's talking," Jane scoffs and motions towards J. "She's with the outsiders. Isn't killing them your selfish agenda?"
"My motives are my own business," Cree states and takes a step closer without lowering the gun. "Yours could hinder The Director's plans. Walk away and let the psychopath do the same. There's no need for more bloodshed than is necessary."
Jane rolls her eyes and returns her knife to her belt. "What does it matter to you?"
Cree steps towards her once more. "None of your business. Remember, Jane, I outrank you."
"You're not even in Validity," Jane hisses.
Cree snickers. "Neither are you," he states. "But at least I have an Augmentation."
Jane snaps her gun up and fires at him, but the bullet phases right through him and he huffs. "Leave before I lose my patience and kill you myself," he smirks. "Again."
She shuts her mouth and reaches up to run her fingers along the length of the scar across her neck. "Didn't you just say there's no need for unnecessary bloodshed?" she crosses her arms.
Cree nods sharply. "I did. To get you to shut the fuck up for once, I'd say that's more than necessary."
Jane glances between him and J, finally being silent as she finds no words left to argue. She just shakes her head and returns her gun to its holster before turning and leaping off the roof to vanish into the night.
J peers over the edge of the building with a pout. "Damn anti-climax," when she's suddenly backed against a stone wall with a metal hand gripping her throat and a knife to her chest. Her eyes light up and she squeals happily.
"Oooo a different kind of climax!" she grins and throws her arms out wide. "Harder, daddy!"
"Shut the fuck up," Cree snaps. "You've been trying to stir chaos with Jane, which causes problems for The Director and therefore me. So hand over the Augmenter and I'll let you walk away," he demands but stops when he notices that J isn't really paying attention to a damn thing he's saying and just looking him over from head to toe. "What are you doing?"
"Man, you die and not only do you come back to life, but you become a leather daddy? What the fuck was Regan complaining about?" J giggles and reaches out to pet his hair, but he flinches away from her touch.
Cree's eyes flash with utter hatred and he slightly falters his hold on her. "I'm sure that pathetic cunt has plenty to complain about. Always has to play the fucking martyr," he growls and has to shake his head to bring himself back to focus on her. "The Augmenter. Give it to me," he orders.
J taps her chin in deep thought before pursing her lips and snapping her fingers. She vanishes and reappears sitting atop the stone wall with her legs crossed.
"How 'bout a deal? Answer my riddles three and the Augmenter I give to thee!" she reaches into her shirt and pulls out the black device, holding it up over him. He tries reaching up to grab it, but it's just out of reach and he growls, slightly shrinking back as his height is apparently his greatest obstacle right now.
Cree tenses and takes a deep breath against his anger. "You're wasting my time," he steps back and lifts his metal arm towards her, but she groans and holds up her hands.
"Okay okay, fine. Fuckin' lame-o over here," she rolls her eyes. "Just tell me why you want to kill your boyfriend and we'll call it even."
"Regan is not, nor will he ever be my 'boyfriend,'" Cree snaps and J snorts.
"Wait, have you been straight this whole time? That'd be a bigger plot twist than you being alive," she chuckles.
Cree deepens his glare. "No. It's just that I would sooner die than even consider being with him."
J laughs and pokes him in the center of his forehead. "What, did you get shot in the memory box? I had the room next to yours and Regan's. I heard things," she grins. "Pretty hot, I must say. But please, do go on. Why the hate, bro?" she rests her chin on the palms of her hands and wiggles in her excitement.
"It's simple," he looks away, staring off over the city cloaked in the shadows of night save for the neon red glow of streetlights and police cars with whirring sirens.
"An eye for an eye."
J stares at him in question and slumps forward. "That wasn't really an answer but it was also pretty hot so I don't know how I should feel."
"That's all you're getting," Cree rumbles and holds his hand out again.
J sighs and hops off the wall before tossing him the device. "Take it. I don't know why you want it, but I honestly don't care. I'm bored of this game already. I'll deal with Jane some other way." She starts walking away but she stops and faces him once she's on the edge of the roof. "And word of advice because I'm a dope ass fuckin' therapist," she starts, getting his attention as he stuffs the Augmenter into his jacket.
"Stop making everyone so depressed. There's not enough booze to go around. I'm only surprised your little elf gremlin child hasn't taken up the bottle yet."
Cree watches her step back and drop off the roof and his heart momentarily freezes at just the mention of Reela. His daughter.
He'll save her.
"Just a little longer, Reela..." he sighs before he reaches up and presses on the implant in his neck, turning his body invisible and he vanishes into the night.
"Director. After running those neuro scans you requested, we found the subject to have claustrophobia and mild aquaphobia. With this information, we made all necessary arrangements for the test, just as you requested," an Imperium scientist reports and bows her head to The Director.
Corbin smiles and nods to the woman. "Excellent work. We'll begin the test right away," she states and looks over her shoulder. "Ghost."
Sitting atop a metal shelf in the corner with one leg propped up and the other dangling over the edge is Cree, spinning a knife around in his metal hand and watching it through narrowed eyes. Once he hears The Director call him over, he doesn't even break his attention from the knife before phasing out of sight and reemerging in front of her and the scientist, where he remains silent and simply awaits orders.
The Director chuckles her approval of his silence and nods to the scientist. "Let's begin."
"Of course, Director," the scientist turns towards Cree. "Right this way." She leads him over to the center of the room where there is a glass container that looks no larger than an average phone booth and in the middle of it is a black chair with metal cuffs on the arms and legs.
The scientist steps away from Cree to approach a terminal set at a desk in front of the box and starts typing something, and the front of the box clicks and slides open. The Director follows them over and stands behind the scientist.
"Ghost, enter the chamber and take a seat so the test can begin," Corbin orders.
Cree stands in front of the box for a second and his face hardens. "What the hell is this test for again?"
The scientist lifts her head from behind the terminal. "To find the limits of your Augmentation, of course. Now, enter."
He slightly tenses and has to force himself to stifle a deep breath before stepping into the small box and sitting down in the chair. The scientist types something into the terminal again and the door to the box quickly closes and the metal cuffs on his arms and legs snap shut, locking him into place.
"Now what?" Corbin asks the scientist, who keeps typing.
"Now we start the test," she says and types one more thing into the terminal before looking up at the box and Cree restrained inside.
His tension grows and he tries to remain calm, but his paced breaths are disrupted once he sees a pipe is connected to the base of the chamber and water begins to flow out of it, starting to fill the box. He slightly tugs on the restraints and his breathing grows heavier, but he realizes there's no source of air in the box so he has to remain calm or else he'll suffocate.
Once the water fills up to his knees, his eyes dart to The Director on the other side of the glass to see her pleased smile and it infuriates him, but he has to focus on the situation he's in. This is a test of his Augmentation. What is he supposed to do? His ability doesn't work when he's restrained, so how the hell is he supposed to even try using it?
The sound of the rushing water makes his heart beat faster and his left hand starts to shake. He keeps tugging his arms to try getting the restraints to release him but they are sealed shut. The water keeps filling and he tries to hold onto the belief that once it gets too high, Corbin will have it shut off.
But once it reaches his chest and slowly starts climbing to his neck, he sees that she's making no effort to call it off. She just watches with a smile as he starts to panic.
"Focus your Augmentation, Ghost," the scientist says from her desk.
Cree almost snaps at her but he's unable to get a word out before the water rises over his face and he has to quickly shut his mouth. He wasn't prepared for the water to elevate so quickly so he only managed to get a quick breath before having to hold it.
The panic increases. He starts yanking on the restraints with more force, desperately thrashing to break free. He feels his Augmentation trying to work. His limbs flash with dark smoke but he's not released from the cuffs. He can't escape.
With a violent tug of desperation, some of his held breath escapes his lips and he accidentally inhales some water in his panicked state. His heart begins to beat faster, making it almost painful. His body trembles and his head starts to spin. He can't tell if it's because of his lack of breath or if he's about to fall unconscious, but he faintly hears the distorted cries of a little girl in the back of his skull.
His vision starts to darken as his lungs scream for air, but he holds on, knowing that giving up would mean drowning. But this is a test. He has to trust that he'll be released before he can actually die. After all, he can't get another Second Chance. Corbin wouldn't kill him already.
Right?
Still, she makes no moves to release him. Even the scientist is starting to look worried. "Um, Director. I don't think he's going to get out on his own. Maybe we should—"
"Don't let him out," Corbin cuts her off without looking away from Cree.
Their voices are muffled to him to the point that he could hardly make out their words, but he recognized the tone of The Director's voice well enough to know that she's not yet satisfied and thus won't be letting him go.
His vision wavers. The water stings his eyes which makes him want to close them, but he fears that the moment he does will be when he slips into a comatose state. He fights to force his Augmentation to work, but still nothing happens.
Terrified, his eyes involuntarily close to try to block out the world around him. The tiny box where he's trapped, submerged underwater. In his panic, he accidentally inhales some more water and begins to cough. He can feel as the water starts to fill his lungs.
He's going to die.
Again.
The Director is going to let him die.
As that thought enters his mind, his eyes snap open and in his terror, his body convulses and his limbs phase through the metal cuffs and his body moves through the glass wall of the box and he collapses to the floor at Corbin's feet, spluttering and coughing to get the water out of his lungs so he can breathe again.
He trembles. His body is soaking wet and he's suddenly freezing cold, either from the air or from the icy grip of death with how close it felt, but he survived.
"Excellent work, Ghost," Corbin states coldly and nods to the scientist to signal for her to stop the test.
Cree can't bring himself to look up at her so he just stays laying on his side on the floor, trying to get his body back under control. He tenses when he feels her hand condescendingly pat his soaking hair. "It seems fear is what empowers your Augmentation. Only fitting, as you are the embodiment of fear itself," she sighs complacently. "Now go. I need you rested for a few more tests tomorrow. I'm sure you can handle it." She simply turns to leave without another word.
Cree tries to get his breathing under control, letting out occasional coughs. He props himself up on his metal forearm and wipes his face with his left hand. He angles his gaze up to watch the scientist gather some folders labeled 'Project Ghost' before she scurries away after The Director.
This place is hell. These people are monsters. This whole fucking game is bullshit.
But for his revenge, it's worth every second of suffering.