7 Chapter 7- Gun Gremlin Ahoy!

The fear he had when falling asleep with her in his arms, his head alongside her own, had slowly faded as the night went on. The fear was still there of course.

The fear he would wake up, and that all of this, all these wonderful new experiences would disappear and he'd be losing his mind, grinning defiantly at Smasher.

It was annoyingly repetitive, this fear. That he would lose his second chance.

But waking up to her? To his Lucy?

He…. He felt good about it. It chased away the nightmares.

"Nn...."

Lucy frowned lightly in her sleep, before groggily opening her eyes to see him gazing at her contentedly. Her eyes widened and blazed with the sign of her quick hacks getting ready to go.

Ah…. Fuck.

Her monowire wrapped around his neck roughly, digging into the flesh as she mounted him.

There was really only one thing he could do in response to this.

".... Ya know, I usually prefer to be in charge, but if you want to take the reins, we can try that too."

Her eyes narrowed and blinked as she slowly started to realize what she'd done. Her eyes widened in horror as she retracted the wire.

"I-"

But before she could apologize or chastise herself, he reached up and cupped her cheek, his thumb stopping her lips, stopping her voice.

"It's ok. I didn't get hurt, and I guess Edgerunners don't usually get the calmest of sleep."

She didn't say anything for a moment before sighing, giving him a small exasperated smile.

"You… you keep making me wonder how you can be real. Especially in this city."

He shrugged and let his hands stroke along the tops of her thighs, the fabric of her outfit allowing a varied tactile sensation as he felt her smooth but thick thighs up to her lovely wide hips.

"I'm… I'm just me Lucy."

She laughed, even as she shuddered lightly, (and boy if that didn't make his cock begin to wake up) and reluctantly dismounted him to lay down next to him.

"Yeah…. And I like it. So… going to Vik's today?"

He stretched out and wrapped an arm tentatively around her shoulders…. But he needn't have been tentative as she apparently had been hoping he would do that, snuggling under his arm and laying her head on his chest.

"Yeah… that's the plan. Get him to take a look at the Sandy, and give his opinion on how often I can use it. After that … I'm not sure. I don't want to be an imposition but… maybe we could… go for lunch?"

Her eyes got soft, but before she could say anything, her eyes lit up as she was getting a call.

"Hold on. Maine's calling me."

She reluctantly sat up, and moved off to the side, standing against a wall.

"What is it?…

"What? Seriously? Now?"

…

"Oh shut up. Fine. I'll be there."

She hung up, looking frustrated, and sighed as she moved to lay back on the bed, curling into him once more.

"... Don't think I'm gonna be able to do lunch handsome. Maine wants me for a job. It'll take probably all day. Tomorrow?"

His heart ached a little at the idea of having to wait longer to see her, especially when a part of him demanded to never ever be apart from her.

But that wasn't a loving relationship.

He wouldn't become her new cage.

" Yeah. I'd like that. Should I get going?"

She clung to him a little tighter before easing off.

"You… don't HAVE to go just yet."

He grinned.

"Cool. Hand me my medicine Vik gave me?"

She used her monowire delicately to do just that.

He had always been fascinated at the control she had with the wire. Probably because she had had It for years now.

Taking the medicine, he puffed the blue one twice, before handing it back to her and she put it away.

"So… what do you like to do while you're not on a job?"

He asked her curiously. They'd been so caught up in their romance in the time before that it felt like they never got to know the little things about each other. Only the broad strokes and the fact that they would do anything for one another.

He wasn't content with that now however.

He wanted it all.

She grinned, and looked up at him.

"You really want to know?"

"Always."

--

As David walked away from Lucy's apartment, he couldn't help but laugh as he made his way to Doc Vik's clinic.

Lucy apparently liked trolling 'Saka cunts who fumbled around on the net, trying to get access to XBD's and the like. She would reroute their searches, get them found out by their bosses, or pop up during Corpo business meetings.

She also had a penchant for musicals, but that was something that was going to have to wait until they had some time just to relax. Walking the streets, he took it all in.

…

Lucy was right. This place was a fucking prison.

He'd been neutral on Night City before he died at the hand of Arasaka's Boogeyman, sometimes even defensive at Lucy's complete disdain towards the city, and especially Arasaka tower.

But he got it now. This city was a ravenous animal. A monster in the dark, adorned with shiny jewels and dreams to lure the hopeful before crushing them.

But the Jewels held no luster for him, and his dreams weren't set in Night City.

This city…Would. Not. Have. Him.

He shook off the dark thoughts eventually, and found his way to Misty's Esoterica.

Wandering inside, Misty looked up to greet him with a smile.

"Hey there. Oh… damn I never got your name. That's embarrassing, especially after I did a reading for you."

She said with an airy laugh, and David laughed softly.

"Hey it's alright. That was some trippy shit. It's David. David Martinez."

She smiled as she looked through her array of crystals and curios.

"Well then David, are you here for a checkup?"

"Yeah. Vik said he wanted to get a baseline for how my vitals acted up when I fired up my chrome. Wanted to get a good idea of how much I could push before it would start to strain the system. "

She smiled approvingly.

" Good. Not all of Vik's new patients follow through with the treatment plans he gives them. I'm betting he'll be very happy to see you. Go on down. He's got someone there now, but it's just a basic tuneup. If you need to wait, he'll have the sign up."

He nodded. Made sense. That's what the man had done while checking out the Sandy.

"Alright. I'll head on down then."

She waved him off with a smile, going back to her supplies as he headed into the back alley, petting the cat he saw there with a smile.

As he headed back down however, he heard a voice he hadn't expected.

"Jeez Vik, you'd think you'd have more of a care for a girl's heart like that! Especially since you're in my guts!"

"Well then maybe you could pipe down half pint, and I could finish making sure your immunobooster system is still doing its job. Optics still good? Midnight Lady recently tuned? Gotta keep up on those updates. Heard a rumor that the latest Mr. Studd has a bug wherein if you didn't upgrade to the next iteration, it fucking explodes."

Rebecca?

W̷h̴a̵t̵'̴s̵ ̷u̷p̸ ̸C̸h̷o̴o̵m̴?̷ ̷N̷e̴e̶d̵ ̶s̷o̷m̶e̵t̶h̶i̵n̵g̵?̶

̶

̵S̶e̴e̴ ̶y̴o̵u̸ ̴l̵a̶t̷e̴r̴ ̸d̶i̸m̵p̴l̸e̴s̶.̶

̷

̸H̶E̷Y̴!̴ ̷I̷ ̷A̷i̶n̴'̴t̸ ̶g̷o̷o̴d̶ ̵a̸t̴ ̷p̵l̸a̷y̷i̷n̶g̸ ̸j̸u̸s̵t̷ ̸f̴r̶i̷e̴n̷d̸s̶!̴

Ǟ̶͓i̶̩͙̾̿n̸̗̯̈́'̵̨̛̦t̶̬͚̀ ̴̰̏̀n̷̪͐͝o̷̹͑͐͜ ̴̟̬̎́o̵͎̓n̴̨͇͠ẽ̸̡ ̶͙͂Ȋ̴͉ ̷̳̔͐ẅ̷̘̹́a̶̗͝t̵̳͊c̸̮̓͌ḧ̸̻͉́̉ ̶̪͚͛̽ă̷͈̠̕s̶̺̊ ̵͓̑͋c̸̼̀l̷̪̗͌͌o̵̫̓̉ș̴͛̀e̸̥͘͝ ̸̣̓͆à̶̢s̵̠͌͗ ̸̨̳͆I̷̖͊͗ ̴̹̏͝ẅ̶̤͙́̈́a̷̢̖͘t̸͙̣̀͝c̴̜̽͋h̴̡͓̎̽ ̵̼͕̏ẙ̶͉o̸̳͙̐̕u̴͚͝͝.̴̟̗͑

̸̚͜

̶͙̬̎G̸̱̣̔͋ȍ̷̪̻ ̸̭̏ḷ̴̂͝ȉ̵͎͙̈́g̶͔̖̅h̷͇͔͗t̷̲̿͘ ̷͔̋ö̸͐ͅņ̶̟͗ ̶̛̖̳̂y̵͓͈̑̈́ö̸̦́͒ų̵̥͒͘r̸̭̬̉̍ ̵̗̫̄̔c̷̯̘̍̏h̴̪̓̐r̵̛̰̃o̷̙̽́m̶̩̕e̶̝̹̒ ̸͓͕͗̈́f̶̧̯̎o̴̡̳͝r̷̦͚͝ ̷͉̽ả̴͔͝ ̴̩̍w̶̹̲̾̄h̶̞̙͛í̶̫̹͑l̴͙̪͂̎ȩ̴̘̂͒.̷̜͛͝ͅ ̸͎̭̄A̴̧͆̋n̷͉̩̉d̶͎̓̄͜ ̴̗̝͝d̸̹̗͆ò̶̝̕ṇ̴̗͑́'̵̦̀̈́t̴̰͉̿͝ ̷̹͋͝w̵̝̙̓͑o̶̼͝ͅȓ̷͉̜͆r̷̫̭̈́̚ỵ̴̓!̷̪̄ ̵̘̃I̴̢͇͐̂ ̶̳̓g̸̜̀o̷̡͚̐̚t̷̥̺͋̍ ̸̯̆́ÿ̶͇́̑o̶͙̅ǘ̶̙̻͐r̶̡͑́ ̶̝̖̉b̷̳̽̇a̷̟͎̒c̸̛͎͒k̶̮͝!̵͎͘̚

̴̨́

̸̺̄S̵̜͝Ṫ̸̘O̶̘̬̅P̷̤̜̈I̴͓̙̐͛T̵̨̤̀͠S̸͔̝̉̀T̷͎̞͒͐Ȏ̵̡̮P̷̫̊I̶͙͎̓T̶̳́͝S̸̨̈̓T̴̟̮̄͂O̸̥͝P̴̥͊I̵̹̣̅͠T̷͔͚͐!̴͖̣̊̐≮̰̥̾̊

Y̴̡̭̪̝̮̑͛̓͐̋̕̚͝Ỏ̷̹̯Ù̷̬ ̷̧̢̛̺̱̥̻͋̏̀ͅͅF̴̨̨͔̮͎̙͖͂̈͛̐̎͝Ū̸̲̱̫̠͈̉̌C̶͔͎̖̝̫͂̈́̔̂̚̚K̴͎͚̑I̵̢̗̞̲͈̻̰͓͋̌͒Ṋ̴̟̬̪͖͒G̴̛̣͔̣̀͘ ̴̛̻͙̪̝̺̥̮̍̐̔͊̈́̈́͘G̶̢̦̱̘͝O̵̧̥̣͌̂̀̉̆N̴̜̳͐͐͂̅͜͜Ḳ̸͕̳̞̩̥̏̊͑̔͛̈́̈́́ ̷͖̹̜̹̲̬̒͊̽̐̎I̶̢̤͎͎̜̋͂̊͂͑̐͋͝ ̶̧̧̼̩̥̋̈́̓T̸̬͙͔̞̈́̾Ȏ̷̗͚̓̉͂̕ͅL̴̛̠̫̽̌̆̏D̸̠̪̤̲̩͈̫̰͐̋́͌̅͘͝ ̵͍̩̭̥̳͕͚̭̋́͠͝Y̴̭̟̪̝̺̾́͋̉͘͜͜͠O̷̻̖͊Ũ̸̢͔̥̲͎̐̑̈́̚ ̶̟̰̜̗͕̚N̷̨̺̙̠̻͒̄̋̀̑̚O̶͚͖̝̗̘̞͇̎̅̚̕͜Ṫ̴̨̥̥͎̝̯̖̓̊̆̽ ̵̠̋̈͛̌͝T̷̥͍͂̽́̄̄̆̌͝Ȍ̸̥̫̫͑̕!̸̧̪̙̬̅̐̒̽̀͘

̶̦̖͖̫̳́͐ͅ

̸̡̢̝̯̗͉̱̀̓̃͌̈́Ä̷̧̮̮͎́͂̑͌̕̚͝l̴͔̼̤͕̈̆̓r̵̠̫̖̭͗̎́̒͋̀̕i̵̞̖͇̤̠͐ͅg̵͚̙̮͎͙͑̌͑̏̚͜h̴̲͈̟̠̳͙͂̋͗͑̆t̵͈̯̙͍̪̠̻͂̾̆͜ ̵̡͎͔͔̥̹͔͎̓̿̈̐̑͌̽̉Ḑ̶͔̦͚͕̙̃́͑͋̚a̵͔̪̘̽̀͋͑͒͘v̴̙͋̈̽̾̀́̚͘͜ì̶̢̻̝̜͕́͐͆d̶̦̅́̏̈́̇…̷̣̮̿̒̆͝ ̷̨̜̲̤̠̫̘͂̆͋l̸̝̳̜̼̳̣̚e̶̡̡̛̛̜̬̺̪̗͂̆̌̈́͒t̷͚͕͂̀͆̈́̌́͗̚'̷̲̤̯̪̗̑͊́s̶̖̲͈̲̊̃̕ ̴̛̞̜͓͕̞̟̭̽͒̀̎̆̽̀g̴̘̅͐̀̎̑̍ǫ̴̢̳̟̣͓̺͕͒.̵̳͈̈́̇̈̾͠͝ ̸̨̭̤̺̾͜R̵͎͚̣̹̽̆͜i̵̫̻͗̈́̑͋͊͑͛̓g̵̳̺͌́͒̅̌͋ẖ̴͇̱̲̥͉̘͋͌̿́͌t̸̨̯̦̘̤̻̘̅͗̓͒̾̈́ ̸̧̜̭̹̻̠͙͗͛̆͐̾͗t̴͙̀́o̴̎̌͝ͅͅ ̷̧̲̻̘̩̈́͗͐͆͗͝t̶̢̝͉̥̝̜͌̎̋̏͛ḧ̷͖͙́͛̊͆͠͝é̸̤̐͝ ̷̢͚̲͔͎̆̈́͘t̷̜͎̤̼̗̽̑̉͌ơ̸̡̨̬͚̣̳͚͎̕p̴̡̞͔̜͉̠̮̌̀̿̎͝.̴̘̺̮͇͗̅̅̀̐͐̿͒ͅ

No one was there. That was probably a good thing, as hearing Becca's voice had been like a gunshot to his chest, causing him to sag and draw in wretched, sobbing breaths.

Or to the head, he thought darkly.

But… oh god. Becca. Oh Becca, his best choom. He should have listened. To Lucy. But to her as well. She never did anything but try to help him. To welcome him.

To protect him.

She wouldn't have to do it this time around. He didn't cherish the fucking beautiful loyal Gremlin the last time around. That would change. It had to change. Or all of this would be… fruitless.

He took a shuddering breath, before wiping his face of any tears, and brought himself back to a place of calm.

Ok…. Ok let's do this.

He opened the door… and there she was. Laid out on Viks table as she was opened up a little, him poking and adjusting a few things, Was Becca. Beautiful eyes, a playful smirk, and loose pigtails.

"Oh my… another handsome man coming around to look at me while I'm all exposed? I'm so embarrassed!~~"

Goddammit Becca.

He flushed lightly before Vik turned his eyes over toward him, and smiled.

"David! Good man, you actually showed up. You take the meds? Keep from using that Sandy?"

He said before touching up the last few bits necessary for Becca to be done, before closing her up.

Becca of course was her usual spriteful self, grinning as she looked him up and down.

"Oh ho? So you're the newbie who Maine's gonna give a shot? Oh shit that means you're Gloria's kid."

She looked at him seriously for a moment before giving him one of her more honest smiles.

"You look a lot like her choom. Glo' was good people. Talked a lot about you. I'm sorry she's gone."

He didn't think the loss of his mom would ever not give him an ache in his chest. She'd simply meant too much to him for her to eventually not hurt anymore. But it would also always make him smile because his mom was…. His mom was wonderful. And it was good to hear people value her.

"Thanks. Means a lot. But uh … mom never really talked much about you guys. Not at all actually. I guess she wanted to keep me from finding out that she'd been keeping chrome from corpses. Wanted to try and protect me. Just like always. "

Vik stayed silent while they spoke, but eventually gave Becca the all clear.

"Alright Rebecca, that'll be 1k for the tuneup. Come back in 6 months, or if you need any adjustments or new chrome. Kid? You're up."

Becca hopped up, zipping up her oversized coat, not showing off her rather scandalous outfit. Well. Not so much in Night City really.

But she was still basically in a small bikini.

"Actually Vik, mind if I stick around? Maine wants to give the kid a shot in the crew, and I figure since I'm already here, I could get a feel for him beforehand."

Viktor looked at her with a knowing exasperated tone.

"... You're going to make comments about me working on an underage boy's body aren't you."

Rebecca's face grew to Savage proportions.

"If I wasn't before I sure as shit am now."

Viktor rolled his eyes..

"Alright, out of the chair. David? Into the chair."

Rebecca and David swiftly switched spots, with Becca pulling out a stick of synth-gum and starting to chew lazily.

Meanwhile, Vik had carefully started hooking up the diagnostics machines to his ports, and his chrome in general.

"Alright… tell me how you feel?"

David could answer this honestly.

"Like a billion eddies Doc. Barely even notice the Sandy is there."

Vic hummed and flicked a switcher, using a dial before asking another question.

"And you took your meds? Didn't fire it up?"

"Yep. And nah I didn't fire it. Said I wouldn't."

Vik nodded approvingly.

"Alright… well everything I'm saying says that you're operating as baseline, and your Sandy is showing more signs of Adaptation.

So I think it's finally time to let you try it out. Do you feel…. This?"

He said tapping a button, and David's head twinged.

"Whoa… what the hell is that doc?"

It felt like… a dial almost.

"That's your dilation. I want you to use it at a quarter of its intensity. Ok?"

"Got it."

It was almost like using a muscle he'd never been aware of. It felt a little tender, but he flicked the dilation to about… 25 percent normal speed.

"Ready?"

David nodded, taking a breath.

"Ready."

"Alright…. Go."

And like that, he flipped the switch. And…. Wow. This felt amazing. He moved his hand, and… huh. That was odd. He felt like he wasn't slowed at all. There was no subtle drag on his limbs.

That's weird… but he'd tell Vik when it wore off.

…..

Any moment now.

….

What the hell?

He looked through his HUD… it would normally be about now he dropped out.

But he was still there. And his head was fine. No pressure, no sickness. Nothing.

It was begging to freak him out. But with a tentative flick mentally, he turned it off.

"That… was weird…." David murmured as Vik began to read the stats and parse through the data.

"Huh…. That's weird. You were just there for like… a full minute, occasionally moving faster than my eyes could keep up with regards to your hand. That's odd. Is the limiter off somehow?"

Vik murmured.

"Tell me, how did you feel when it kicked you off?"

"It didn't. I turned it off."

Vik frowned.

".... Did you feel like you could stay like that for longer?"

"Basically forever."

Vik whistled.

"Jesus Christ kid. You get some experience with Maine's crew, and you're gonna be terrifying. Ok… you good for some stress testing?"

David took a breath and nodded.

"Yeah. Let's make sure that my head isn't going to pop."

A mild twinge happened then in his back. Mild enough that it didn't even hurt. Still felt odd though.

"Ok… punch that dial up about 2 thirds. Only for 30 seconds in your head, or until it BEGINS to twitch. Get me?"

"Yes sir."

And just like that, they continued to push and push, until finally they went to 100 percent. And the dilation… it was absurd. Becca and Viktor were in total stillness.

…. Wow. And it was only now that he was starting to feel a bit of pressure.

And as he'd promised Vik, he immediately stopped.

"Holy fucking shit kid. This dilation… you're looking at .00001 time dilation. Sensors picked up a rise in heat. Any damage?"

David shook his head.

"Nah… just felt a twinge. Jumped out as soon as you said."

Viktor hummed before throwing up his hands.

"I fucking give up kid. This thing is more advanced than any piece of tech I've ever heard. It's like you and this thing were made to go together. For the next week, I'm giving you licence to go down to 10 percent dilation as much as you want. You feel a burn? You stop immediately, and come see me. Come back in a week. You feel me?"

David grinned as he flipped the Sandy to 10 percent and activated It, getting to his feet easily in a blur.

What he didn't expect was Vik's fist to stop an inch from his nose in a flash when he dropped the Sandy.

"Don't get cocky, kid. You're really fucking fast. But fast ain't gonna cut it on these streets. Sure, pure speed or power will carry you for a while. But what happens when you meet someone as fast or strong as you? But they have the skill, and the experience to leverage it?"

His brain flashed back as always to the image of Smasher.

"....I'm sorry Doc. "

"Don't be sorry. Be smart."

Vic said before sighing as he put the cables away.

".... Tell ya what. You come by the clinic In a few days, I'll teach ya a few things. I might not be an Edgerunner… but I know how to throw a fucking punch."

Becca who'd been watching all this with gleeful eyes stared at David with a serious look.

"Choom, if you don't take him up on this, you're an idiot. Vik knows his fucking fights. Old man used to be goddamn Nova in the ring."

She looked at him with a defiant glare he was familiar with. People tended not to take her seriously because of being so short. Gave her crap about being a kid not the badass Solo she really was.

"If you think it's that important, I'll do it."

Her face screwed up in a cute state of confusion, before glaring and stomping up to him, looking right up at him like she was the one looking down on HIM.

"You fucking with me ya gonk?"

"No. You're the experienced Edgerunner. If you think I should take the lessons Vik's offering… I'd be a gonkbrain to turn em down."

It was one of the things he'd promised himself, waking back before it all went to shit.

That he'd listen to Rebecca more. That he'd give her the fucking respect she was due, and would have her back like she'd had his.

One of his biggest regrets from before, was the time after Pilar died. Yes. He'd been caught up in his fresh new romance with Lucy, but Rebecca had just lost her brother, no matter how much she pretended to not give a shit.

She'd needed someone to support her.

And he hadn't been there.

But when he needed help? There she was at all times.

Rebecca's face contorted in a softer expression of confusion, before giving him a little smile before smacking his stomach with the back of her hand.

"Heh… you know what Dimples? You're alright. Tell ya what. Let's go get some chow, and then I'll take ya to a 2nd Amendment. We'll get your iron sorted out before you have to do a job."

David grinned. Sounded like a plan. If he was gonna stay mostly chromed down it'd be a good idea to supplement his skills.

"Alright then. Vik. I'll take you up on that. Call me when you want me to show up?"

"Will do kid. Now go on. And remember what I said!"

David waved behind him as he walked off, Rebecca in the lead.

This was already going a lot better than the first time around. Who knows! Maybe that meant this next mission would go smoother than last time. If he could prove himself capable….

Maybe he could work his way up. Get Maine to take him seriously. And then… maybe they could work at getting him to chrome down.

He smiled as he felt the embrace of the sun, walking up the stairs of Vik's.

Fuckin Nova.

--

Gloria's kid was a fucking cutie! She'd seen a few pics of the kid when Gloria was tipsy, boasting about her smart little boy. But seeing him in the flesh .. yummy. ….but it wasn't just physicality that got her motor running for the kid.

He'd looked at her. Not as an ex-Mox who might be down for gargling his cock. Not as a kid who shouldn't be talking to her elders.

It was like he really saw her. The heart of her. The Badass Bitch Solo that she showed to the world…

But also the girl who just wanted a good time with her Chooms. To see them happy, and take every bit of fun this shitty city had to offer.

Those eyes … fuck those eyes should be fucking illegal. Molten brown and so intense~~~. She was a little wet just from that standoff she'd initiated.

Rebecca sighed as they walked down the street to find themselves a noodle joint.

She hoped Dimples had what it takes. She could get used to him hanging around.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes: Weird text= Flashback of past life