The Usual Cliches

"I never meant to hurt you, I-"

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Well, no, but-"

"But you want credit for not actively planning on breaking my heart. You want to be sure that since you're not the worst of the worst, that you get some degree of acceptance?"

"I... No, I'm just explaining-"

"I don't need or want an explanation. Unless you're claiming you were drugged or hypnotised or something?"

"Well...

No."

"And that pause tells me everything I had left to ask. Goodbye then."

"Wait, I-"

"This another cliche?"

His silence was all the answer needed.

Regaining Connections

He logged in and clicked on the connect button with all the enthusiasm and vest for life of a piece of roadkill spread across two lanes.

The various AIs and networks all logged in with one of the half dozen phrases they had in their databanks as cheery, personable greetings.

Except one, which just delivered a sad message about needing... Cheese?

He paused mid slurp of Indonesian energy drink and looked into it.

It was connected, data was flowing, but the message section was damaged, and all the flags were wrong.

He deleted the error messages and left it alone.

The Big Fight

For all the prophecy and foretelling about the battle between the Dark Two and the Heroes of Brilliance, none of it was about the battle itself. Admittedly, given none of it addressed the outcome either, people focused on that more than the logistics of the fight.

But of course, all the attempts to prevent or influence the fight just led to it occurring, because predeterminism is gonna predetermine.

And the result, well you're aware.

But as for the actual fight itself?

From the outside, it looked like they just stared at each other a bunch.

But actually... Pretty much that.

Sally Fire

The fire wasn't much, but it kept the worst of the cold away.

As he sat warming his hands, a figure approached from the other side of the flames.

"You the Marshall?"

He stared at the figure as he moved a hand closer to the fire.

"Who's asking?"

The figure moved a little closer, so the Marshall could see their face, and the gun.

"The woman you've been searching for."

"Only to get information about-"

"I ain't seen him in years, you know."

The fire crackled, and the real target behind him almost managed to hide his footstep underneath it.

Intelligent

I woke up lying on part of the ship's hull, floating just off the coast of an island.

As my memories came into focus and I remembered the storm, I suddenly felt something pushing against the wood.

I looked down into the water and saw dolphins, taking turns to push me towards the shore.

By the time I was awake enough to think through what was happening, I saw the figure on the beach, and I was happy.

Until I saw the look in his eyes, and the basket of raw meat in his hand that looked like a reward...

Write Down

"And in the room with Mr Francis is Detective Sergeant Peter Garten and Corporal Robin Michaelson. Now, for the tape, you have been informed of your right to a lawyer and are waiving that right?"

"Well, we're just chatting, right?"

"That's correct! We just want to get a grip on what happened, is all. So why don't you start at the beginning?"

"Ok, well, for the last few years I've been working in the Stonecutter building-"

"On 42nd Street?"

"Yeah, right below the Police Commissioner's offices, and-"

[Note: At this point, the tape malfunctions until after the subject's medical episode.]

Power Ratings

As Glory threw Greyscale into the cell, Entropy (as they'd come to call the cosmic entity) asked a question of her.

"Why do you not swap locations?"

Glory paused as she was reaching for the paperwork.

"What?"

"These enemies you fight here in Los Fransisco, you are evenly matched. If you were in Night City, you could easily overpower those enemies."

"That's Solanaceae's territory."

"But-"

"And this is my home. I don't want to fight somewhere else just because it's easier."

Entropy seemed to consider this while she filled out the paperwork.

She should have glanced at her power scanner.