Chapter Text
The streets are quiet as the city of Argon comes out of curfew. Such procedures had become so routine as programs still blink the sleep out of their eyes and the monotonous hum of the cycle begins.
Yet nobody considered looking up. If they had, the sleep might have been shocked out of them at the towering winged figure perching on the edge of a building. The mask on this program hides only their eyes, and they don’t bother to hide their grin as they grab a baton from their hip. A bored tap to their thigh extends the baton into a bow while their other hand slips out a small, purple dart from the sling on their hip. With expert touch, the program’s gloved hands notch the arrow, and they turn their gaze and arrow down to the street. Not even a breath escapes the program in their study, and the arrow steadily trails a feminine program with dark blue circuits. She pauses to avoid bumping into a stranger, and the program lets his arrow fly.
The target program stumbles into the building behind her from the blow, and her cry causes others to pause. Her hand instantly goes to her shoulder, and rips the arrow from her shoulder despite the warning shout of a bystander. Her hand shakes as she examines the tip of the arrow, and her frown grows to find no code staining it.
“What-?”
Any questions are ripped from her with a gasp as her circuits flash and stutter. She keels forward, and programs rush forward to help her as her knees slam to the ground. The winged figure ignores his first victim’s seizing and moaning as he notches another arrow. Her circuits begin to pulse purple as she catches a ragged breath from low in her throat. One of her hands that had been holding her up travels down her suit, pulling out a shaky moan.
Most programs have the sense to back away from the profane display, but one dares forward. The winged program pauses in their hunt to watch the hunt as a smirk crawls onto their visible face.
“Hey,” The aroused program looks up as a stranger nears. Her pupils are blown wide, and the stranger hesitates, before continuing forward. “Are you okay-?”
The second arrow plants into the bystander’s shoulder, and he curls forward. With strength unforeseen, the woman lunges. She slams him to the floor, and his hands are instantly reaching for her as the code takes effect. His back arches off the ground as her hands hurriedly grab at any available circuit.
The others turn to run, but in that time, the hunter has fired three more shots. Three programs collapse against the ground and walls, squirming as the primal code conquers all functions, and the victims tackle strangers. Soldiers in red run towards the attacks, but what they shout is obsolete. Four more shots and the patrolmen join the fray in the street as suits and helmets derezz and bodies press against bodies.
The hunter is out of darts for the time being, but the work has been done. They return their bow to baton and rise. The survivors now look up to their shadow. Someone points and screams as the hunter retrieves a bomb from their side. Too bad the patrolmen were involved in the growing orgy, powerless to stop the hunter from activating and dropping the bomb into the street.
There is an explosion, but surprisingly nothing is destroyed. Rather, a purple smoke rises from the detonation. There is no shelter for the survivors. One inhale is all it takes, and the remaining victims lunge for each other, nails digging into skin as suits shed and the street seems to glow purple.
The hunter activates the remainder of their mask before the smoke can reach them. Their creaking laugh is lost in the sea of moans and cries below as they spread their wings and rise, casting their shadow further over Argon City.
Beck groans as a sharp beeping begins in his ear. The one cycle he gets to sleep in…
Lazily, he presses a finger to his ear. “What?” His voice comes off whiny, but Beck can’t bring it in himself to care. Tron ruined a perfect sleep cycle!
“Where are you?” Tron’s pressed tone should wake Beck more than it does, who fights back a yawn as he rubs sleep out of his eye.
“Well, I was sleeping until somebody woke me up.”
“ Look outside .” Is Tron’s terse answer. “ Now. ”
Beck pushes himself to his feet and shuffles over to his window. “Alright, alright….”
He taps his window, bringing it out of the shade. The purple smoke makes his eyes go wide. “What the-? What is that smoke?”
“ It’s an infection.” Tron answers. “ Created by a program named Cupid, based on a User myth of a flying User who shoots other Users to make them fall in love with each other.”
Beck wrinkles his nose. “That’s disturbing.”
“ That’s only the beginning. This Cupid program has been known for using his darts to activate a program’s system in a similar reaction. But his infection overcharges the system, with the idea that a program can balance out if they interface with another program. He targeted Gallium for many cycles, but he seems to have turned his attention to Argon. The smoke must be his newest weapon.”
Beck looks down to the street below. Programs writhe on the street against each other, their moans muffled by the window. One program has backed away from the others, holding themself close as they seize. Their bright violet circuits pulse faster and faster.
“Uh…what happens if a program doesn’t interface?”
The program explodes in a burst of bright light. The boom shakes Beck’s apartment, who can’t help his cry as he stumbles back. As soon as it happened, the light was gone, leaving Beck blinking spots out of his eyes. He hurries back to his window and looks down at the crater in the street. Any programs down there, especially the defiant ones, are now cubes.
“ ...That .”
“They explode ?” Beck stumbles away from the window again, this time not rocked by any physical explosion. “He’s killing them!”
“ I know .”
“We have to stop him!” Beck hurries to grab the white disc from beneath his bed. He docks it. “I’ll see if I can track him down, then beacon you to come help.”
“ Beck, I need you to wait. ”
“Can’t wait, Tron-”
“ Cupid is dangerous. His arrows could break through your armor. You need to come to the hideout, get a full debrief, and more armor.”
“Tron, we don’t have that kind of time! More and more programs will be infected by the minute. We have to do something now!”
“ Beck -”
“I’m not waiting a moment longer,” Beck argues. “Either you help me now, or I’ll do this myself.”
The line goes silent, and Beck wonders if Tron has turned off their comms. Whatever. He sighs and pushes himself to his feet and slips on his mask.
“ Fine, ” Tron says finally, and Beck pauses in surprise. “ I’ll start on the east side of the city and try to make an antidote out of the gas. You track down Cupid and I’ll find you. Keep him from infecting any other programs.”
Beck nods. “On it.”
The line goes dead as he opens the door, and the loud moaning freezes him in place. He peeks around the corner to find Mara pinning Zed to the wall. She cups his ass and he her face as they begin to grind. Both their circuits are blindingly violet, and Beck feels himself flushing as their suits begin to derezz. Well, at least they aren’t in any danger now.
Even though they are occupied with each other, Beck steps lightly around the two until he can sprint down the hall. He slips up the ladder to the roof. He shoves the flap open and pushes out into the smoke.
As he crawls onto the roof, the smoke wraps around him, as if to consume him. He takes a deep breath and relaxes when he is met with clean air. So far so good.
A shadow grows over him, long and winged. He gasps and ducks down into the smoke against the roof. Cupid flies over, and Beck feels his core stutter at the sight of the dark metallic wings of sharp-edged feathers. He isn’t looking down, Beck notices, so he slowly rises. His gaze follows the program’s path up to throneship in the sky.
“What is this smoke infecting my city?” Tesler demands from his seat on the bridge.
“We’re not sure…sir,” Pavel answers with an overexaggerated bow. “Our scientists have sampled the air and are working to analyze it.”
Tesler grunts at that, and glances over to Paige who is staring down at her tablet. He allows her silence for a moment. “Paige.” She jumps and looks up at Tesler’s raised eyebrow. “Is there something more fascinating than solving this foreign substance?” His voice edges on dangerous, meaning ‘ you better have a damn good reason for ignoring me’ .
She makes herself ignore Pavel’s snicker. “My apologies, General. I’m looking at security footage across the city. This reaction programs are having is familiar…”
“Surely it must be the Renegade’s newest trick to be a thorn in my side,” Tesler grumbles.
“I…I don’t think it is, sir.” It wasn’t the Renegade, this wasn’t his style. She remembers this but it was so long ago…Gallium had been hit hard by this infection…but there had been no smoke before. Rather it was… oh frag it was-
The tablet clatters out of her hands as the siren blares overheard.
“ Intruder in airspace!” The system shouts. “ Report to battlestations immediately.”
Paige runs to her station, mind reeling as she pulls out her disc. Cupid had devastated Gallium with just his bow and arrows. Half the city had been in flames by the time he had decided to have mercy. What is he doing here? And now ?
As she approaches her command station, the soldiers under her command are running to their ships. As the hatch opens, Paige activates her mask. If Cupid was involved with that smoke, she did not want to risk being exposed to it. She takes the turret attached to the throne ship and activates her comm. Just out the window, a large winged figure approaches. “Fire at wil!”
The soldiers in their jets obey, firing rapidly at Cupid. The program banks between shots without a care, as those that hit him simply bounce off. He extends one of his wings as he dares to pass directly in front of three jets. His wings snag and shred the jets and pilots with a wrenching screech. Cubes rain down from the sky. Cupid continues forward, and jets chase after him.
Paige has to blink hard and grit her teeth to pull her gaze from the falling voxels to the perpetrator. Her men’s shots may be useless, but her turret has a bit more of a bite. Her eyes lock in on his side as he arches over a jet, and she fires.
The shot catches him in the side and sparks fly. Cupid cries out in shock, and his gaze shoots to her.
“Gotcha!”
His eyes narrow as if he could hear her, and he shoots up. The remaining jets take chase and Paige steers the turret to follow. Cupid activates his bow, notches an arrow and turns at the last second to fire. It shoots straight through one, wrenching the pilot from his seat and leaving him to fall as his circuits begin to flash. The remaining two jets split and bank around Cupid and begin to shoot from opposite sides. Cupid throws up his arms to protect his face as the bullets bounce off the suit. He glances back and forth as the jets close in, before letting him drop. With no time to turn or brake, the two jets collide and explode.
Paige slams the turret down to follow his descent and shoots again. She misses, so she fires a third time. Cupid looks up to her as she tracks him for a fourth shot that he just barely dodges. And he shoots up just in front of her view. She starts to pull the turret up just to see him make an arch in the air, and zoom straight towards her. She manages, two more shots, one more-
His form shatters the glass and she throws herself out of the turret just before one of his wings slashes through it.
She rolls to a stop with a grunt and smoke blocks her vision. She pushes herself onto her knees as Cupid strolls through the smoke. He towers her over, his gaze lasered on her as she gets to her feet.
“You have some nerve.” Cupid’s voice, despite the digital edge of his helmet, is smooth against her ears. “I cannot tell if you are brave or stupid for that.”
She grits her teeth and arms her disc. “Get out of my city, Cupid!”
“Oh?” Even with his mask hiding his expression, she can see his smug surprise as a mechanized hand splays on his chest. “You’re familiar with my work? I wasn’t aware that the Occupation followed my projects.”
She lunges forward for his legs, thinking she has him distracted. Yet he sees her coming and sidesteps. She stumbles past him and hurries to turn, only for the back of his hand to catch her across her head. She’s thrown off her feet and hits her back against the floor. Her air leaves her in a gasp and her disc clatters from her grip and rolls out of reach.
She turns herself onto her stomach as she struggles to catch her breath. She happens to look up and gasps as she rolls over. A purple arrow strikes the ground where she had been moments before. She scrambles to her feet as he prowls close, notching another arrow in his bow. Her disc is on the other side of him. He’s backing her into a corner.
He laughs as he raises his arrow. “Your feat was futile, little program. You should know I’m unstoppable.”
Her breath hitches as she hits the remains of her turret seat. His arrow hovers just above her throat, lowering and forcing her to kneel.
“I won’t let you get away with this.” She musters, hands blindly searching the ground for anything. “Not again.”
“You talk like we’ve met.” His masked gaze betrays nothing but his aim remains steady. “But I’ve never interacted with the Occupation.”
“I know.” She pants despite herself. Her right fingertips trace something metallic, but she can’t grab it. Not yet. He has to be distracted.
“You attacked Gallium City last time before the Occupation ever settled. Programs think you’re an ISO spreading your disease. That’s why they came. But I…I know better. I’ve seen that infection up close. It’s no virus. It’s…it’s your sick idea of fun.”
His head cocks at that. “You’re a medic.”
“ Was. ” Her fingers finally wrap around the metal debris. “Because of you, and then the ISOs, I lost everything . I know what I would do if I ever met the ISOs who destroyed my friends. But you…I was hoping you derezzed.”
She can feel his gaze looking her up and down and she freezes. But he doesn’t address her hands. Rather, he says: “What are you now? A scientist.”
She disguises her relief by straightening her shoulders. “I’m a Commander over this city. And I won’t let you devastate it like you did Gallium!” And she swings the pole.
It doesn’t strike him but it doesn’t need to. He stumbles back in surprise and she swings again at his leg. He falls to one knee with a grunt. A third strike to his bow and it splinters in half.
“ My bow !” He screeches. The fourth blow across the head knocks him down to his side, and he goes still. Only then does she stop swinging, gripping the pole for dear life as she struggles to catch her breath. There’s a crack in his mask, and she can see slivers of an old face, with a closed eye.
Until it snaps open.
She can’t get away fast enough. His hand wraps around her ankle and sends her flying until she slams against the wall. Pain burns through her back circuits and she can’t help her groan as she slides down. He picks her up again and slams her into the floor. She feels the back of her helmet dent and her vision goes dark. She comes what feels like moments later when he picks her up by the neck and pins her to the wall. She chokes on her gasp as his grip grows tight.
“You’ll pay for destroying my bow!” He seethes, a jagged tooth in his growl visible in his broken mask. “And I’ll stop at nothing until your precious city is under my control.”
“And I’ll-” She chokes as his grip tightens. Her hands try to pull his off of her to no avail.
“Stop me?” He mocks with a laugh. “I’d like to see you try, Commander.” He looks her over, “But since I’m feeling particularly generous today, I’ll let you live. For now.”
He lets her go and she collapses to her knees. She gasps for air and chokes on it as she curls in on herself.
“Consider yourself lucky. Because if we cross paths again, I will not be so merciful.”
And with that, he turns away. Paige slowly tries to rise but by the time she makes it to her feet, he’s jumped from the hole in the ship and is gone.
She stumbles on shaky legs to her disc, immediately docking it before turning to survey the damage. She’s alone among the carnage, silent save for the smallest beep.
It begins to speed up and her head whips around to find the source. There! The air duct above her head.
“Frag!” She curses and bolts for cover. She slides behind the remains of her turret as the beeping accelerates into a high-pitched whine. Then…nothing.
Still trying to catch her breath, she peeks out from behind the turret to the air duct. A light is flashing up there, and purple smoke fizzes from the vent.
Frowning, she rises from her cover. This has to be a trick, right? Cupid knew she couldn’t breathe it in because of her mask…
Her hands fly to her ears with a grunt at the blaring alarm as the light begins to flash on the ship. “ Airborne contaminants detected. Please evacuate the carrier immediately.”
“Frag!” She curses. Of course, it wouldn’t bother her! But any other programs not wearing a mask, like Tesler….
She shoves the door to the bay open and sprints through the corridor, pushing past the masked soldiers. They’re lucky, but her general…?
She forces the doors open. “General!” She shouts before even looking in his direction, “Put on your…” She breaks off as the scene in front of her catches up with her.
Tesler’s back is to her, but she can see purple racing up the circuits up his back. Someone below him whines as he shoves them against his throne. Paige’s core halts as Pavel cranes his head from his crooked position against the throne. He doesn’t seem to see her, not really; his eyes are glassy with pleasure as his jaw drops, each vulgar moan growing in volume. Tesler’s grunts louden alongside Pavel. Paige makes herself blink hard, averts her gaze, and slowly backs out of the room.
When the door finally shuts in front of her after an agonizing pause, she lets her shoulders drop with a sigh. She’s too late.
She’s alone.
“It’s even worse here.”
The Renegade perches on the edge of a highrise. The violet smoke is thick here, obscuring his view of the square below. Not that he needed to see; the moans and screams of pleasure are clue enough.
“ Any sign of Cupid ?” Tron buzzes in his ear.
“Not since his attack on Tesler’s ship. How is he covering so much space so quickly…?”
“ He must have planted the smoke bombs before his first attack. Following his smoke trail will be useless because he’s already two steps ahead of us.”
“Well, how are we supposed to catch up?”
He supposes Tron was about to answer when a loud BOOM echoes through his mic. The tiny shriek of the aftermath squeals into Beck’s ear and he grimaces and thumps the side of his helmet to try and clear it. “Tron?”
“ Programs…” Tron’s voice is fizzled, cutting in and out. “ Explosion….Find…later…”
“Tron!”
“What are you doing here?” The new voice startles him, and his balance wavers. He can’t help his cry of alarm as he tries to balance again, and clumsily steps off the ledge. He turns to see Paige, disc in her hand.
Frag!
“Look, I can explain….none of this is me! It’s this program who for some reason calls himself Cupid! He planted the smoke bombs that are making programs go crazy. He even attacked your ship. I swear this has nothing to do with me.”
Paige simply watches him as he rambles on, her face hidden by a mask. Only when he sputters into silence does she scoff. “I know this isn’t you, Renegade .”
“...and you didn’t say anything sooner?”
She shrugs and docks her disc. “You were eager to defend yourself, although I’m not sure I believe you have nothing to do with this.” She passes The Renegade and peers over the edge of the building. “You always have something to do with chaos in this city.”
“Not this kind . Why would I pass on a virus that makes programs interface with each other?”
Her helmet tilts back to him at that. “First of all, this isn’t a virus . Viruses can be passed from program to program, this infection dies following interface.”
“I’m not so sure about that. All those programs are trapped down there. They just keep going!”
“That’s because they’re trapped in the smoke. As long as they keep breathing it in, they’ll keep getting infected and clearing it over and over.” She sighs and straightens. “Now I do know you couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this.”
“And how do you know so much about this?” He questions, crossing his arms. She steps away from the ledge, no longer able to look down at the scene.
“I was in Gallium the last time this happened.”
“...But the Occupation wasn’t in Gallium at that time.”
“I know it’s hard for you to imagine, but some of us had lives before our service.” She sighs and looks up to the nearby skyscraper. She can barely see it through the smoke. “It almost destroyed the city.”
“I….” The Renegade drops his arms. “I didn’t know that. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t need your pity.” She responds bluntly, finally looking at him again. “I need to find Cupid and stop him before it’s too late.” She turns and begins to walk away, “I mean, have you seen what happens to programs if they don’t balance off that energy?”
“Yeah.” The Renegade shudders. “We need to stop him before-”
“Wait.” Paige freezes in her tracks and turns back. “What do you mean we ?”
“Look around.” He closes the distance between them, stopping just inches from her, “The entire city seems to be infected, except us. We’ll have a better chance of stopping him if we work together.”
Paige looks out to the city. The smoke surrounds them now, almost blocking out the sky.
“Fine.” She sighs but pokes him hard in the chest. “But this is temporary . Don’t get any ideas.”
The Renegade holds his arms up in fake surrender. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
She doesn’t believe him but lets him follow her to the other edge of the building. “He just hit Tesler’s ship. Did you see where he went next?”
“I thought I saw him come this way, but he ducked into the square and I lost sight of him. I don’t think there’s really a point in trying to follow his path of damage.”
“Maybe not.” She agrees but looks to the Renegade. “But Cupid is obsessive. He always circles back to keep the infection going. We figure out the order of his trail, then we might be able to beat him to his next stop.”
The Renegade considers this, hand cupping the bottom of his mask. He must do that when he isn’t in the mask.
“From what I can tell, he hit a business sector in West Argon first. Then he came here. Then…” He breaks off and turns to her. “Then he hit the Park district. Near Mara’s Garage.”
Mara’s Garage. That’s not far from the Square.
“Then we need to hurry. He might be finished here.”
The Renegade nods. “Follow me. I know a shortcut.” Before she can argue, he backs up, takes a running start, and leaps across to the next roof.
“Are you crazy!?” She shouts at him. What kind of program travels by rooftop??
“Well, we can’t fly or drive in this smoke.” He shouts back to her. “You got any better ideas?”
She curses softly to herself. Of course, he’s right; it was hell trying to get down here in a chopper. Finally, she takes a running stop and lands next to him. Her stance is weak and her legs crumple with a cry. But before she can hit the ground, the Renegade’s hands catch her under the armpits. “You okay?”
She looks up and finds herself the target of that blank mask’s stare. For all she knows, his gaze is mocking her. Who doesn’t brace their stance when landing?
She pulls out of his grip and stands. “Fine. We’re wasting time.”
The Renegade turns without another word, hopping to the next roof. Paige makes sure to brace this time as she stays hot on his heels.
Sure enough, the Garage is soon in sight. The Renegade slips down to the street without a sound. Paige is quick to follow, having expected to have to track the outlaw through the fog but instead finding relative ease.
“The smoke is fading here.” He notes, noticeably scanning the alleys on either side of them.
Paige feels her frown grow, and glances behind her. “That must be why he’s making rounds.”
“I don’t see him…” And yet the Renegade breaks off. Paige, having been looking behind her, runs into his back, and stumbles back. She bites back her initial urge to curse him and follows his gaze up. On top of the Garage, a winged program is latching something to the roof.
“ No… ”
“Wait!” Paige hisses as the Renegade starts towards the Garage, but she surprisingly catches his wrist. “How do you plan to get up there without being seen?”
The Renegade thinks for a moment before pulling out of her grip. He pulls a baton off his hip and turns and runs to the other end of the street. The moment he clears the close-knit buildings, the jet forms beneath him as he shoots to the sky, arcing his trail in a dead sprint toward the Garage.
“ Idiot !” Paige spits, but grabs her own baton and takes chase. Within moments, she comes alongside the white jet.
She spots the exact moment Cupid notices them because he straightens. His gaze cuts into her as they approach. Then, subtly, the winged program pulls something off his waist and aims. Her gasp is the only warning she can get out as Cupid fires the gun. The violet blast cuts through the air where Paige had been moments earlier, having just dived down.
“ Paige!” The Renegade’s voice is faint on the staticky line.
“I’m fine!” She grunts. “We need to destroy that bomb.”
“ Already on it. You distract him. ”
“But-”
But the Renegade is already firing at Cupid. The latter simply holds up an arm over his face while the shots bounce harmlessly off him.
“ What the-? ”
“He has an exoskeleton .” Paige can’t keep the exasperation out of her voice. “Normal jet artillery isn’t strong enough to pierce it.” She wraps around the Renegade’s jet. “Fall back until I can get him away from the bomb. Then shoot!”
“ On it. ”
The Renegade banks out of sight and Paige returns her full focus forward. “It’s just you and me now.” She mutters as Cupid turns to her, raising his gun again. Her gaze narrows as she aims and then fires.
The shot bounces off his suit, but he still stumbles back off balance. She cuts in close to the Garage, barely dodging a second blast as she makes a serpentine up, then to the left. As she balances, she steals a glance to see Cupid following her, still firing. His chase takes him away from the bomb.
Just a little further…
When he steps just outside of the center of the roof, she flips back on the comm. “Now!”
The Renegade shoots out of the shadow of a building, and Cupid whips around at the sound. He starts to run toward the bomb, but with one clean shot, the bomb explodes. Cupid is thrown back and hits the ground.
Despite everything, Paige can’t help her laughter. One down!
“Nice work!” She shouts over the comm.
The Renegade laughs. “ Careful, Commander. That may have been a compliment from you. ”
She rolls her eyes in the direction of the Renegade before turning back forward. Cupid rises and aims up. Her eyes widen as the violet bullet shoots towards her.
“ Paige! ”
Her jet disintegrates beneath her, leaving her to gravity’s mercy as she plummets. The wind whipping around her is deafening as she struggles to slow her fall. The Renegade’s jet disappears, and suddenly a white dot is hurtling towards her.
The Renegade’s arms are suddenly tight around her. Gravity jerks, her neck snaps back, and suddenly she’s crammed between the Renegade and a joystick.
“Saved your life. Again.” The Renegade quips. “A thanks would be nice this time.”
She waves blindly as she squirms, flat palm finding the glass of the mask and pushing back. “Yeah, yeah. Give me some space.”
“Fine. But that means you’re driving.”
She grumbles under her breath as she resituates and takes the joystick from the Renegade’s lingering grip. Cupid has taken flight, shooting forward like a bullet towards the sea.
“He’s getting away!” She revs the thrusters and takes off after him.
Cupid takes them over the city. He glances back once and fires. The shot goes low into a building below.
“He’s not a very good shot while flying.” The Renegade comments.
“Not with a gun at least. I broke his bow when he attacked the ship.”
She feels the Renegade’s gaze on the back of her head in his stunned silence. “You know, you are really impressive sometimes.”
“ Only sometimes?” She can’t help but comment with a growing smirk.
“I’m trying to keep you humble.”
She scoffs lightly. “Yeah. Right.” She dodges another bullet.
“Wait a minute.” The Renegade says suddenly. “The wings can’t be bulletproof.”
Her brow furrows as her smirk fades. “Meaning?”
“If his wings were bulletproof, he would be too heavy to fly. His wings are probably the same material as a jet wing…”
Paige’s brow unforrows and she grins. “Which means I can do this.” One steady shot rings out and Cupid’s wing begins to spit code as he immediately makes a nosedive. “Hang on!”
She faintly feels the Renegade’s grip on her waist as she angles the jet down into the street. When close enough, she derezzes the jet, and the two roll to the ground. This time, Paige settles in a steady crouch and looks up around them. “Wait a minute.” She says after a second. “There’s no smoke around here.”
“That’s weird.” The Renegade comments behind her. “I wonder why.”
Paige isn’t sure herself, but she won’t lie that taking off her helmet is a nice relief. “I don’t know how you wear that thing all day. I swear it gets so itchy sometimes.”
She swears she hears the Renegade chuckle. “Lots of practice.” Is his only comment.
She glances down at the blue baton and hands it back. “Thank you for letting me fly. You didn’t have to do that…” She hesitates as she sets the baton in his hand before she admits: “But I had fun.”
His blank mask looks back at her, and she wouldn’t be sure what he was thinking if it weren’t for his chuckle. “You didn’t really give me a choice, but of course.” He clicks it to his side.
She turns away before she can think about that laugh ( she knows it somehow ). “He should have crashed nearby.”
The Renegade nods. “You take point. I’ll cover you.”
She nods and pulls off her disc. She hears the Renegade do the same as she creeps forward. The first set of alleys are empty, so she continues forward.
She has to scramble back to avoid a violet dart from the second alley on the left. The Renegade hurries to her side as Cupid leaves the cover of the alley and takes off. The Renegade throws a blunt disc, which catches Cupid in the small of his back. He stumbles, and the Renegade lunges forward to tackle him. The two tumble down the street with a couple of rolls, the Renegade ending on top. “Stay down!”
Cupid is the opposite of angry when he sees his attacker. His face splits into a grin. “The Renegade! You know, I’m a big fan of your work!”
“Really?” The Renegade quips. “Because I totally hate yours.”
Cupid tuts, grin morphing into a fake pout. “What a shame.”
The foot catches the Renegade in the midriff and he grunts as he’s thrown off Cupid. Cupid hurries to his feet, readying his gun again. Before he can fire at the Renegade, Paige throws her disc and knocks the gun off balance with a CLANG! The Renegade’s head shoots up, and Cupid turns to her.
“Oh, Commander! I had a feeling that was you. But I never thought you’d be working with the Renegade !” He shoots again. Paige ducks into an alley, where the dart sticks into the wall. Cupid takes the opportunity to take off, and the Renegade is already scrambling after him. Paige hurries to catch up as they reach the end of the street.
Cupid turns left and then left again into an alley. Paige and the Renegade are quick to follow as Cupid leads them into a maze. He glances back once before turning his gun back to them, shooting wildly. The Renegade falls back as he dives to the side from a shot, before hurrying to catch up. All three balance on luck, Cupid staying just out of reach while Paige and the Renegade dodge and duck from darts.
But soon the luck runs out.
Cupid turns into a dead end. He turns to run but scrambles back when Paige’s hands almost grab him. He stumbles out of control, and Paige hears the Renegade catch up behind her, breathing hard.
Cupid’s back slams against the crate with a bang , and his last shot goes wild as his head whips around wildly.
“Stop!” She shouts, aiming her disc at Cupid. Cupid slowly looks away from the dead end to her. “We’ve got you trapped. There’s nowhere to run now.”
For a moment, a flicker of fear passes on the program’s face. Then, he notices something , because he straightens and grins. “Are you sure about that?”
A short, sudden gasp causes Paige to whip around. The Renegade is stumbling away from her, circuits burning brighter than ever thought possible.
Glitch!
One of his hands blindly palms at his chest. When that fails, his hand travels to his middle, then his crotch. His other hand reaches across to the back of his groping arm. With a groan, he rips a dart out of his skin. A stuttering pulse of energy causes him to stumble back. His back slams against the wall, and the dart rolls out of his hand and clatters to the floor.
Behind her, Cupid cackles, and she turns back to see his wings pop out. “Good luck, Commander!”
He takes off into the sky. Paige takes off after him but is stopped by the wall towering above her. Before she can think to climb, he’s out of sight. She can’t help her scream of frustration as she bangs her fist against the wall.
“Paige.”
The Renegade’s voice is husky, her name almost a whine. Something skitters next to her, tapping her foot. She looks down to find the black and blue baton resting against her shoe. She looks up to its owner, who has slid to the floor, legs splayed out in a manner most unlike him. His chest is rising and falling rapidly as his circuits begin to tinge violet.
“T-Take it.” He grits out. “Take it and go.”
She picks up the baton but pauses at the implication. Take it and go without me.
“What about you?”
His breath hitches as his circuits blaze. The wave of energy slumps him further down, leaving his head propped up awkwardly. “Don’t…don’t worry about me.” He groans, free hand forcefully slamming against a chest circuit.
That only makes her frown grow. “You can’t get rid of that on your own. You know it doesn’t work like that-”
“I know I know !” His second hand joins in his clumsy pattern, reaching down to his crotch while his upper hand splays across the T. His back arches as the muffled scream of frustration drags from his helmet like a grating screech. If the infection continued at this rate, he would overload and explode within the microcycle. “Just…go…”
“No.” She finds herself saying before she even thinks, but she finds her delayed thoughts agree. The Renegade may be her enemy, but no program deserves this humiliating fate.
But if she is being honest…that’s not the only reason. She can’t pull her eyes away from his now dark violet circuits, hands uselessly palming himself as he writhes on the floor. Something rises deep and dark in her chest, a stringing yearning to feel those pulsing circuits at his neck between her lips. To hear his hitched moans and whispered begs in her ear…
She may not have been struck, but she finds the imagery infectious as she prowls closer.
“Paige-” There’s that voice again, that whine that sends shivers down her spine.
“No.” She repeats, now towering above him. It’s an effort to keep her voice level. “Unless you have someone hiding in the shadows, nobody else will get here in time. Do you want to die like this?”
He doesn’t answer. His chest is heaving now.
“Believe it or not, Renegade, I don’t want you to. So let me help you.”
It takes a long moment for the Renegade to speak, and the seconds grate against her core. The violet has spread to his skin, creating splits in his knuckles. Whatever face lays behind that mask must have the same pattern. He doesn’t have long.
“...F-fine.” He breathes, and Paige instantly descends.
The moment Paige’s thighs brush his circuits, the Renegade’s air rips out of him in a shuddering gasp. The energy rushes through her with enough force to cause her to plop down gracelessly. The Renegade groans beneath her.
“Sorry.” She manages beyond the overwhelming shock. He doesn’t answer so she allows her fingers to brush across his chest. The energy transfer is smoother this time, trickling through her circuits. But she already knows this rate of transfer won’t be enough.
“The extent of the infection will require complete circuit-to-circuit contact.” She finds her voice remaining soft, even as she stares into the blank of the Renegade’s mask. “I’ll need to remove our suits.”
This time he manages a nod. Only then does she reach out and splay a hand on his chest. At the touch, his suit begins to fade away, leaving his violet circuits on display. And her suspicions are right: the fracture lines are lightly pulsing across his skin. It is everywhere from his bare hips, up to the skin just below his mask-
Suddenly, his hand shoots out and grabs her wrist. Despite the infection, his grip is a vice, and she blinks hard, finding herself reaching out for his mask.
“Nnno.” He manages through what sounds like gritted teeth.
She instantly pulls her hand away. “I…wasn’t thinking. I won’t remove your mask.” To prove it, she turns both hands to herself. Her fingers trace across her chest, and her own suit derezzes beneath her touch. The air is cold against her skin, a freezing reminder of just how exposed they are. What if someone stumbles across them? What sort of rumors would fly if a program caught the Renegade and a high-ranking officer interfacing…?
Don’t think about that now , she chides herself. This is life or death.
She returns her hands to his chest as she lowers herself. Her chest circuits brush the Renegade’s and he moans, head arching back. Paige can’t help her own gasp at the new rush of energy, so intoxicating. It had been so long since she interfaced, especially with someone she knew like him.
She allows her hands to travel down his waist as she licks along the coveted circuits on his neck. Her lips are gentle, coaxing her name soft from his lips. His hands shyly cup her backside, thumb tracing the circuit on her lower back. She rewards him with a soft moan in his ear as she notes that her own circuits are now violet, too. She lets the rush take over and sinks her teeth into his neck, and sucks hard. He gasps, nails inadvertently digging into her flesh. “ Fuck !”
She lets go at that and smirks at him. “A User swear?” She purrs. She kisses the blooming mark and lowers to lick the circuit in the middle of his chest. Odd, it isn’t a T….
His fingers squeeze and then relent. She gasps, but manages to say: “Didn’t know you knew those…”
“Everyone in Argon does.” His stutter is gone, but his voice is still husky. Backing up his newfound confidence, his right hand spanks her hard . She chokes on a moan, not quite ready to give him the satisfaction of her full arousal. She’s still in control.
“So you do want this?” She raises an eyebrow at him. Instantly, she grabs his wrists and pins them above his head. She doesn’t miss how his circuits flash as his breath stutters. “You’re more eager than you were letting on.”
She places her knees between his legs, forcing him to spread. Her right knee presses forward until it brushes against the cluster of circuits at his crotch. The circuit on her knee provides enough pressure for him to gasp, and she grins.
“You’ve wanted this, haven’t you?” She teases, voice dark and low as she feels him grind helplessly against her leg. “Have you imagined me above you like this, stringing you out in a random alley?”
He whines softly, hands balling into fists above his head. But he doesn’t break free, even though he could.
“Or…” She removes her knee, and his whine rises in pitch and volume. “Have you imagined me against soft sheets, moaning your name while we interface nice. And. slow.” She presses her own crotch against his, giving slow rocks against his with each punctuated word. When he starts squirming, her grin grows. “You’ve always struck me as a romantic.”
“Please.” He whispers. He’s rutting against her, and she pulls away. He continues humping the air. “ Pleasepleaseplease- ”
“Okay.” She relents easily and then snaps her hips against his pelvis. His cry is loud, bouncing off the walls. She lets go of his arms to balance herself as she starts a rhythmic grind. With his hands free, they go straight to her breasts.
“Yes!” She gasps. Encouraged, his right thumb and finger rub her nipple, sending jolts of energy through her, and she moans. Her pace stutters, and the Renegade puts his left hand down to balance himself as he attempts to thrust up into her from his angle. His fingers tug on the nipple, elongating the circuit there, and her moan grows. “Yes yes yes-!”
Her world turns and she finds herself pressing against the floor. Her hands struggle to find stability, and the Renegade adjusts her hips, pausing just long enough for her to prop herself up. Then his speed is slow and teasing as he thrusts against her. Paige arches her back as raw, raspy groans escape from her.
One of the Renegade’s hands settles on the ground, his pinky brushing hers. The circuits on his chest scrape against the ones on her back, and she keens as his breath hitches. One hand cups her breast again as he begins a breakneck pace, snapping his hips against her ass. The energy between them is crackling. She begins to pant as she feels every muscle ripple, her free breast smacking against her chest.
The energy is reaching a fever pitch, and she can hear it in the Renegade’s voice. They’re so close…
The energy balls in her chest, escaping her with a long groan as his pace stutters and stops. He moans loud and she feels the energy seep from him into her, before balancing out. Her throat is sore as she tries to catch her breath. Her arms are shaking…
His circuits drag across hers, and she starts when he hits the ground with a soft thump. Her own ailments forgotten, she crawls to his side. His circuits are dim now, but she still shakes his shoulder. “Renegade!”
He gasps as he instantly comes to. His circuits flicker back online to their standard white. “Are you okay?” He asks breathlessly.
“Me? You’re the one you should be worrying about!” She chides. She makes herself take a deep breath before asking softly. “How are you feeling?”
“Normal….I think.” He looks down at himself. “I at least look normal.”
Paige notices the dark purple spot on his neck and has to look away. She shouldn’t have gotten so carried away, especially with the enemy. “Good.” She says finally and rises as she begins to rerezz her suit. “We should go after Cupid now.”
“Paige?” She looks back to find him splayed out on the floor, still naked.
“What?” The fun is over, and now they can go their separate ways. He should be happy, so why is he looking at her like that…?
Finally, he looks away. “Nothing.”
His answer doesn’t make her feel better, but she lets whatever is unsaid hang in the air as she turns away. “We need to get moving.”
“...Right.”
It only takes a moment for Paige to retrieve the Renegade’s forgotten baton. She looks up at the top of the wall, not looking away when she senses the Renegade stop next to her. “He can’t have gotten too far.”
“You take the jet.” He says. She steals a glance out of the corner of her eye to see the Renegade is pointedly staring up as well. “I’ll follow on foot.”
Without waiting for a response, he leaps to the first rung above her head. He hoists himself onto the fire escape, seemingly returning to full strength.
How does he manage that?
She presses her mind to return to the task at hand and takes a running start. As soon as she has enough momentum, she jumps, and the jet forms beneath her. She shoots to the skies. Down below, she faintly sees the Renegade jump from roof to roof, his white a speck against the purple smoke rising from the alleys and streets. She forces herself to look away from him and search the roofs for any other signs of life.
There!
A speck of a program pausing on a rooftop. The Renegade seems to notice them as soon as she does because he veers right. She banks out wider, hoping the smoke will mask her tracks if the Renegade doesn’t prove to be enough of a distraction.
When she comes back through the clouds, the Renegade has stopped, and Cupid is out of sight. He looks up to her and waves her down. Her frown grows but she descends anyway.
“There better be a good reason you lost him.” She can’t help her frustrated edge to her voice, but the Renegade instantly shushes her. He turns and points to the next building, a warehouse that should have been demolished ages ago.
“He’s in there.” The Renegade whispers. “I think it might be his base.”
She follows his finger and peeks between the gap in the wood. The purple light is faint but slips through the cracks nonetheless.
“That would explain why there’s no smoke in this district.” She mutters.
“Roof doesn’t look stable. It might come down under our combined weight.”
“Well, we can’t exactly walk through the door!” She hisses.
He’s quiet for a moment, looking out over the water. Then he points to the edge of the building.
“This one has a ship dock. These docks run into the interior of the building. The water should be shallow enough to sneak in underneath the dock.”
“You really think that’ll work?”
He tilts his helmet just slightly, and even from her angle she can feel his side-eye. “Unless you have any better ideas.”
She doesn’t, and he doesn’t wait around to listen. With a soft grunt, he slips off the roof. She leans over the roof to see him slide down the ladder. He hurries down the bank, only slowing as he enters the water. She bites back a sigh and follows his lead down.
Surprisingly, he waits for her on the bank. “Stay low.” He whispers and crouches as he wades into the water. She stays close behind him, keeping one eye on the still warehouse. No one jumps out at them; she can’t even see Cupid through the cracks…
They leave the shadow of the building and head to the dock. The water is up to her waist now, but the Renegade continues forward. It’s only when he ducks under the dock does he look back. “You doing okay?”
She nods. He nods back and faces forward. One hand traces the underside of the dock as they continue forward into the dark overhang. His white circuits stand out against the dark water, so she sees him trip before she hears his splash. She hushes him as she reaches out to help him balance.
“What was that?” He pants. He kneels down until the water reaches his shoulders. Through the water, his circuits shine on something metallic and misshapen.
“There shouldn’t be any pipes running to this warehouse.” She whispers. “What’s it doing out here?”
“It feels handmade.” He answers.
“Handmade? That means…” She breaks off.
He jumps to his feet and trudges forward with slightly less care.
“Wait!” She hisses, hurrying to keep up with him. “Don’t be stupid, Renegade! Slow down!”
He ignores her, and it really is a miracle that Cupid is not waiting for them on the shore with a gun. Rather, the warehouse is…empty.
The Renegade doesn’t spare a second glance and runs to the glowing mainframe. Paige is slower to follow. Her wide eyes travel first across the mech suit and wings in the corner, and then to the barrel upon barrel of containers, each glowing a soft violet and connected to their own tube, creating a wiry web poking out of different holes in the building and into the water or abandoned pipes.
“He’s going to poison the energy supply.” Paige pulls her gaze away from the barrels to the Renegade. He’s hunched over the top of the screen but steps aside to let her see the map of blinking paths across the city. “The entire city could be contaminated in minutes. We would never be able to escape the infection.”
She looks up at the barrels again, the light of the interface casting a ghostly glow. A non-stop infection…the city would fall to pieces.
“Then we destroy the system.” She says.
“Oh,” Cupid chuckles, “good luck with that.”
Both Paige and the Renegade whip around discs out. Cupid laughs, hands on his hips. Without his suit, he’s smaller than Paige, and he doesn't have any guns or arrows, just a grin.
“Commander, I had a feeling I would be seeing you again.” His eyes travel to the Renegade. “You, I’m more surprised about, Renegade. I thought you would have been cubes by now.”
“Obviously you thought wrong.” The Renegade quips. Cupid merely raises an eyebrow.
“Obviously. But if you’re here, then that means…” His grin splits even bigger and his laugh grows. “Oh Commander, how scandalous! The Renegade and Argon’s top soldier, interfacing in some back alley on the docks!” His eyes settle on Paige with a gleam of mockery. “What would your general think if he knew?”
Her disc throw is effortless, and Cupid has to duck to avoid the blow. She doesn’t wait for her disc to return as she charges at him. He sidesteps, and when she whips around, his elbow catches her in the gut. Her air leaves her in a loud gasp, and she stumbles back.
“Paige!” The Renegade calls, and Cupid tuts.
“You’re getting sloppy, Commander.” His backhand catches her across the face and she falls to her knees. “You really think I’d leave this place defenseless?”
The Renegade charges with a battle cry, only to be tackled by a robot twice his height. They slam to the ground, and the robot pins the rebel program there by the neck. The Renegade struggles, seething hard through gritted teeth, and the grip tightens. A second robot comes from the dark to Cupid’s side.
“Like them? I made them myself. The perfect guard bots for while I’m away. And soon, my top enforcers when I take this city.”
Paige grunts as she wipes the leaking code from her nose and glares at him. “I won’t let you do that.”
“I’m afraid you won’t have much of a choice.” He snaps. One of the robot’s arms shoots out before she can move, a clawed hand wrapping around her arms and middle. She cries out as they tighten and lift her off the ground. The robot’s other hand flips back to reveal a syringe dripping with violet liquid. “I told you I wouldn’t be merciful. Now you and the Renegade will have bigger problems than stopping me.” She glances over to see a syringe approaching the Renegade’s neck, too. His fight grows desperate, feet scrabbling uselessly against the ground. She glances out of the corner of her eye to see her syringe grow closer. “With both of you out of my way, there’s no one to stop my infected code from conquering this city. Soon this city will burn -!”
A large blast shoots through the robot and hits Cupid, who goes flying with a cry. The destroyed robot drops her and she rolls out of its path of collapse. Her head whips around at the second shot to see a program in black has overtaken Cupid’s mech suit and has shot out the second robot. She doesn’t recognize this masked program, but the Renegade sighs loudly. “About time you showed up! What took you so long?”
The program in black doesn’t answer as Cupid shoots up. His hair is disheveled, and his glare is piercing. He growls and rips off his disc before throwing it at the stranger. They block it with a wing, and the disc goes sideways. Cupid lunges after it. The Renegade takes the distraction to run to Paige, pulling her to her feet.
“Are you okay?”
She nods wordlessly at his question, still trying to catch her breath before she asks: “Who is that ?”
“Uh…” The Renegade glances up as the stranger thunders towards them. “A friend. We need to destroy the system while they’re distracted. I’ll disable the mainframe,” he points to his friend, “use the mech to destroy the barrels.”
“And I’ll take care of Cupid.” Paige cracks her knuckles.
He nods and takes off to the mainframe. The stranger leaps up, soaring over their heads as he slams into a barrel. Cupid watches with wide eyes and grabs his gun. “No!”
“Hey, Cupid!”
She slams into him before he can face her. He loses his grip on his gun and it clatters away. He reaches for it but she grabs his hand and pulls it back behind him. He cries out but uses his weight to flip them. He squirms out of her grip and sprints after his gun. She glances over to see her disc nearby. She lunges for it before throwing it. The blunt edge catches him in the middle, knocking him off his feet. She catches her disc and sprints after the gun. He notices her coming and kicks the gun further away. He rolls onto his knees and draws his disc. For all the struggle, his grin is triumphant.
“You’re too late,” He pants. “My system is on a timer that will go off in moments. My infection will overtake every program in this city! Victory is mine -!”
He cackles as the system begins to whir to life. Suddenly it dies back down, and Cupid breaks off in confusion.
“Man, I hate an early celebration!” Both turn to the Renegade, who is holding up a bundle of sparking code ends.
Cupid’s jaw drops and he begins to sputter when there’s a loud CRASH behind him. He whips around to see the stranger shoving barrels over. They shatter and spill over the warehouse floor.
“Here!” The Renegade calls to his friend. “Catch!” He tosses the code ends to his friend, who bats them into the growing lake of violet. The sparks grow and catch flame, turning violet to blue. Cupid’s eyes bulge in horror.
“No. No!! ”
He turns to attack the Renegade when Paige’s fist slams into his cheek. He crumples to the ground and goes still. “I’ve heard enough from you.” She comments to Cupid’s unconscious form.
She turns to see the stranger jump out of the suit. He slips a vial from his suit and kneels down to scoop up some of the remaining poison.
“Hey, wait a minute-”
The Renegade is in front of her in moments, hands up in surrender. “He’s just gathering some to make an antidote.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“After everything? Yes.” The Renegade doesn’t falter. “He just saved both of us and helped us stop Cupid.” At her unconvinced look, he sighs. “At least trust me.”
In the light of the dying fire off to their side, she swears she can see the glimpse of a face in the Renegade’s glass. His features she can’t place, but something about it makes her relax her shoulders.
“Don’t make me regret it.” She says finally, tapping him on the chest.
“I won’t.” He promises. “In fact…” He pulls a full vial from his pocket. “You can have this one. I trust that if we manage to screw it up, you of all programs can fix it.”
How…strange. His open palm is inviting her to take it, and after a skeptical glance, she reaches out. His hand is warm and a small shock races through her circuits. If he feels it, he doesn’t react, hand remaining steady as she takes the vial. As soon as she has it, she pulls her hand away and holds up the vial to study it. The violet code seems so harmless in this form…it’s hard to believe this has been the cause of all this trouble…
“I suppose I should thank you.” She says, looking up. But the Renegade and the stranger are gone, leaving her, Cupid, and the dying flames.
Chapter Text
“Any luck with the antidote?”
Beck nods, as he enters the hideout and removes his helmet. “Zed and Mara responded well to it, with the only injuries being a bruised ego.” He chuckles lightly at that. “I passed the code on to the nearest hospital. They’re redistributing it now. Smoke should be dying down by the end of the cycle. Then everything should be back to normal.”
Tron hums and continues working on the screen. “You seemed close to the commander today.” He says finally.
Beck shrugs, squashing down mixed and unclear feelings that are making his core ache. “We made a truce to track down Cupid.”
“I’m surprised she let you go.”
Beck stares at the wall off to the side. In his mind’s eye, she’s removing her suit, leaving her bare and straddling his waist. She leans forward, kissing his neck…
“Beck?”
He blinks and makes himself return to the present. Tron is staring at him with a furrowed brow.
“Oh! Uh, yeah I’m surprised she did, too, I guess.” He rubs the back of his neck to try and cool his flustered circuits, hoping they hadn’t started turning violet. But Tron is still staring at him, expression growing more and more bemused by the second.
“Is that…a hickey ?”
“What?” Beck follows Tron’s gaze, and all too quickly remembers Paige’s bite. He smacks his hand over the mark as his cheeks grow hot. Tron raises an eyebrow.
“Please don’t ask,” Beck begs.
Tron simply blinks at him. Beck can practically see the question forming behind his teeth. Then, with a long sigh, he turns away. “Fine. I’m sure it won’t happen again.”
The mark feels warm beneath his hand, and the memory of her hands stroking his circuits does nothing to help the matter. “...Right.”
The Renegade’s breath is hot against her ear as he moans her name. “Paige…”
His weight is a comforting pressure against her chest. His chest circuits drag against her, sending tingles through her core. She moans softly and his chuckle tickles her ear. His lips are warm against her neck as he kisses down until his lips wrap around a nipple. Her moan is louder, and her hands wrap in his hair…
Wait hair…?
She looks down and the Renegade pulls away to look up at her. His face is a dark glass plate, his hair a void that seems to be sucking her in-
Her air is ripped from her in a gasp as she bolts up from sleep. Her ears buzz, struggling to take in the silence as she wildly searches her quarters.
She’s alone, just as she should be. She ignores the ache in her core as she slips out of bed. She ignores the Grid’s welcoming chime as she crosses to her window. The cool glass calms her system as she presses her hands against the window. The city is still quiet four cycles after Cupid’s attack, but her system can still find no rest.
Each rest cycle has been like this, a sensual dream only rotting at the realization of the Renegade in her arms. Of all programs, it had to be him.
Because of course. Four cycles ago, she had been on top of him, helping him find completion .
“It was to save him.” She tells herself. “It was to prevent casualties.”
But that doesn’t change the fact that she can’t stop thinking about him. She closes her eyes for a moment, and her mind instantly supplies his bare, panting chest, violet circuits bright. She forces her eyes back open. This obsession - there’s no other word for what this is- this can’t be normal. She’s never felt like this before…and considering it only started four cycles ago…
She’s tracked nearly every lead she could think of. Cupid’s code wasn’t viable for viral spread. It seemed to truly be an infection. But she hadn’t been hit, and with each passing cycle, this obsession grows…
Even though the code is not obviously viral, there has to be a switch somewhere. But since she can’t find it, that leaves only one program that can.
It feels like a simple blink before she finds herself in the prison blocks. She ignores the jeers of prisoners as she passes them to the end of the corridor. The guards at the door there let her pass after she flashes her clearance. Still, she has to scan her hand before she can even enter solitary. The scanner beeps in confirmation and the doors open. She steps in and the door closes behind her. She can hear it lock before she turns her attention forward.
A second pair of guards watch her approach, but let her pass. Finally, she makes it to the core of solitary and stares down the lone cell. Guards line the wall around the lone cube of a cell lit in the center of the room.
“Leave us.” She mutters to the guards closest to her. They exchange a look, and she spits a sigh. “ He won’t be getting past me .”
At that, the soldiers nod and slip out. She pauses until the programs are out of sight before entering solitary. There, Cupid stares a spot into the floor, both hands chained to the ground a short distance away. His shoulders seem to droop heavier without his mechanical wings, and his brow is just as burdened.
“How did you do it?” She asks as she steps into the light spilling out from his cell. He looks up from the floor, and a grin splits across his face.
“Ah, Commander! I knew you would miss me!”
“ How ?” She presses, tapping her unlit disc against her leg. Cupid glances at it, and his grin slowly disappears.
“How did I know you’d come to see me? Well, you are quite clever and you must have so many questions-”
“Not what I’m asking.” She grinds out, eyes narrowing. “How did you infect me? You haven’t had any access to me since your arrest and we confiscated all your weapons. Tell me how you did it.”
Cupid simply stares at her, and she huffs. “The code of the virus didn’t seem like it could pass the infection to others upon interfacing. But it must have, after I…” She breaks off. She won’t say the Renegade’s name in that vicinity. A giddy smile begins to return to Cupid’s face, so she straightens and presses on. “There must be a fail switch in the code. Where is it?”
At that, Cupid bursts out laughing. His laughter echoes off the wall and grates against Paige’s ears. “ What ?” She snaps.
“A fail switch ?” Cupid wipes a stray tear from his eye. “My, Commander, I wish I had thought of that myself! Maybe I can put that in the next strain. Oh, won’t that be a sight?!”
“You…you don’t have one?”
“Nope.” Cupid, for his part, at least tries to smother his laughter slightly at her glare. “The virus deactivates after interfacing and derezzes once it's obsolete. It can’t be transferred to another program. And you…” A laugh slips out. “You think the Renegade passed it to you? You can’t stop thinking about him, can you?” She only responds with a deeper glare, and it triggers a new wave of giggles. “Oh, this is rich !”
“What?” She demands. “ What did you do to me ?”
“Nothing!” He’s not convincing, so he tries to smother his laughter and holds up his cuffed hands in surrender. “I don’t have that much power.”
Her glare lessens at that. “Then…”
Cupid’s laughter finally lessens naturally. “Come on, Commander, you’re smart. You know what that means.”
“No.” She turns her face out of the light. “That’s treason.”
Cupid’s laugh comes off as a huff. “You can add that charge to my rap if that will make you feel better, but it doesn’t change what you’re feeling. Why don’t you at least admit that maybe , just maybe, you enjoyed it? Enjoyed him ?”
She doesn’t answer. No, this is wrong. The Renegade is a…nuisance, a traitor, a liar. She shouldn’t be thinking about his breathy moans in her ear, his circuits against hers, their hands just barely touching…
“We’re done here.” She says finally and turns her back to him. She presses the call button on the wall.
“Don’t you worry,” Cupid calls. “Your secret is safe with me!”
Paige refuses to look back as the door opens and the guards reenter. “Keep a close eye on him.” She instructs, then lies. “He’s been trying to aggravate me, and no doubt he will say anything to force you into action so he can try and escape.”
“Hey!” She hears Cupid call. “Hey, wait! She's lying-!”
But the door has shut behind her and sealed him in.
With the crime scene analysis on the warehouse having just ended earlier that cycle, she is expecting to be alone. Yet there’s another program standing in the middle of the floor. His white suit makes him stick out like a sore thumb, and he ignores her as she approaches.
“What are you doing here?” She demands. He finally looks up from the purple stain on the floor with a start.
“I…” He clears his throat, and his voice deepens as he straightens. “I could ask you the same thing.”
She raises an eyebrow at him, and his facade falters. “If you must know,” she answers finally, “I’m looking for any remaining infectious code to test.” Cupid didn’t seem to be lying, but another sample wouldn’t hurt either. Not that the Renegade needed to know why. “You?”
He looks out to the cracks in the wall. “Need to collect my thoughts. I’m struggling to wrap my mind around this…whole thing.” He says softly, and Paige blinks at the sincerity in his voice. Before she can dare to ask, he turns back to her. “What do you need more samples for? There’s nothing left here, so I think you’re looking in the wrong place.”
“ Damn. ” She mutters under her breath and hesitates. The Renegade had been honest with her. Maybe it’s only fair she does the same. She sighs and looks at the violet stain instead of the other program. “I’m trying to find if this is a virus after all. If infected programs can spread it to the uninfected through…interfacing.” She notices a pebble at her foot and bends down to pick it up. She runs her thumb over the smooth stone as she continues. “I checked our initial samples. They’re non-viable for spread after the…act. I questioned Cupid about it.”
The Renegade is silent. She can feel his gaze on the stone. “...And what did he say?” He asks finally.
C’mon Commander, you’re smart. You know what that means.
Her fist clenches around the stone as Cupid’s laughter rings in her ears.
“That bad, huh?”
“He has to be lying.” She says finally. She looks down at her fist, forcing it to unclench and let the stone fall to the ground. She stares down at the stone as her thorny confession drags itself from her lips. “This…what I’m feeling, it has to be due to us…” Even now, she can’t bring herself to say it.
“Paige.” Her name, though at a whisper, pulls her attention from the stone to the Renegade’s mask. Her own reflection, wrinkled nose, and weary eyes look back at her. He wipes his hands on his legs, and she notes his shoulders are rising toward his ears. “There’s…there’s something I need to say.”
She doesn’t speak, his shaky breath the only space given before he continues.
“I don’t think what we’re feeling is because of Cupid. Well, at least for me.” His hands wrap across each other and begin to wring. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t stop thinking about what happened. Every time I close my eyes…I see you. Every time I try and rest, I hear you in my ear. And…and maybe it’s a side effect of the infection. But maybe not because…because I…”
His hands begin to shake so he separates them and closes them into fists and takes a tense inhale. “I have had these feelings for you, for a long time now. The only thing that has changed since Cupid is the intensity. You don’t have to feel the same for me. I don’t expect you to. But maybe Cupid is right. Maybe he had nothing to do with it.”
Paige opens her mouth to speak, only to find herself dry and wordless. He cocks his head as he looks at her, then nods to himself.
“Okay. Okay, forget I said anything.” He turns to walk away.
“Wait!” Her words catch up as she reaches for his hand. He pauses in his retreat and turns just slightly to look back at her. She struggles for the words, but this time the Renegade waits.
“Maybe…maybe Cupid is right.”
And she means it. If she is honest with herself, she remembers the multiple rest cycles she’s replayed her fights with the Renegade in her head, remembering when her thighs brushed his side circuits, his quips that could be interpreted as flirting, now paired with his moans and naked form…
“If I’m honest,” she pulls his hand close. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it either. It’s ridiculous because you’re everything I should be against. And yet, I keep imagining what I would do if I had another chance.”
“It’s dangerous.” His voice is hoarse, and the circuits on his wrist that brush her hand are growing warm. “If we got caught, they’d-”
“Who says we would get caught?” She counters. “I think you and I both know how to be careful.” She releases his hand, but he doesn’t pull away. Rather, he grows stiff as she lazily traces the T on his chest, watching it trail violet behind her. She smirks. “You can’t tell me you wouldn’t want this.”
He doesn’t answer immediately, so she pulls away her finger. His hand automatically latches onto her wrist.
“Let’s say that I did.” His voice is soft, but managing to hold steady. “How do I know you wouldn’t turn me in?”
“And implicate myself in the process?” She scoffs at that, feeling herself relaxing under his touch. “Please, I won’t be doing that. Users, you don’t even have to remove the mask. There’s plenty more of you to enjoy, anyway.”
He lets go and she kneels down to his middle, letting her lips brush a hip circuit as she settles. His breath stutters and his hand finds purchase in her hair. She continues on the circuit running down his left leg, and manages to pull a moan from him as his leg shakes. She pauses and looks up. “Have I convinced you?”
“ Oh more than enough .” He sighs, releasing his grip on her hair. He kneels down in front of her and gently pushes her onto her back. He moves forward to straddle her, his circuits brushing hers and causing her to moan. His hands spread across her breasts, and her suit derezzes at his touch. He slowly rocks into her once as his hands travel down her stomach, her hips, finding the sensitive circuit at her crotch. One finger traces the spot and her back arches. Her moan stutters as he pairs the finger with a thrust before pulling away. His hands now find her ass and both grab a handful and squeeze. Her squeal is obscene and out of character, but he stops her hand from covering her mouth.
“Let it happen.” His voice is growing husky again as he leans forward and pins her wrists. Her legs are forced apart and rest on his shoulders. “Gets me going to know you’re enjoying this.” With that, he begins to thrust, and Paige doesn’t hide her cries of ecstasy as they grow and bounce off the walls.
“F-fuck…” She whimpers after a particularly hard thrust, slamming her breasts against her chest.
“You know,” He says as he pants, “I have thought of you like this. Beneath me, moaning my name as I bring you closer and closer ….”
“Y-yes…”
“But this… this is so much better. Fuck… ”
One of his hands lets go of hers and returns to her crotch, fingering at the same speed as his thrusts. She can’t help her cry as she arches her back. “ OH! I’m so close…”
His fingering speeds up in time with his thrust. It’s so much, it’s too much-!
Her orgasm hits her with the same exploding energy deep in her chest and for a moment her vision goes white. Perhaps she derezzed from the pleasure. Oddly enough, she wouldn’t mind if that is how she went, never mind Tesler’s waiting glare, Pavel’s greasy little smirk, or the needs of all of Argon waiting for her.
None of that seemed to matter now.