Mirror: Chapter 18

Panzer Kunst is a fighting art centered on the physics and instincts of a human-formed machine body. Rotational inertia, plasmatic discharge, electromagnetic manipulation, and vibrational harmonics, these are all weapons of the Kunstler. It might be rooted in the spirit of the human condition, but its foundation was mathematical.

The pattern of scattered parts mirrored those of disintegration by vibration. So, after witnessing the interaction between Adem and Bruno, a memory flooded her mind, and her doubts were evaporated away.

Unforgivable!

Although not her beserker body, her motorball body was still military-grade combat capable. She collapsed her fingertips into a spear and poured all her rage into one strike, her heart's flame enveloping her hand. The feeling of Adem's hand closed on hers as it blurred, collecting energy.

Fasteners under Bruno's armor and between his chest and head sheared away, the intense force cutting like a scream. Once she had access, her electromagnetic field forced the plasma down into his chest. Everything biological cooked instantly, and most of the cyber core fused into a useless lump.

The only reason she didn't fry his brain first was she wanted him to die in agony, sealed in a metal jar of flames. Bruno would expire soon, though, as his metal body conducted the heat to his head. Her only regret about that was the brain itself had no sensory nerves so, by then, the pain would stop.

"Adem!" she said, lifting the armless cyborg onto her lap.

"What kept you?" he asked while blue blood spilled from his mouth, and pumped from his shoulders.

Moving him could be fatal without emergency first aid.

"Coach! Get over here! Bring the aid kit! Coach!" she looked down, her voice alternating between desperation and reassurance, "Don't worry, Hugo. We'll get you to Ido's and patch you up, okay? Just hold on a bit. Coach, move goddamn it!"

---

The steady beeping report of Ido's medical assemblage was so serene that it made Alita uneasy. The violence of the motorball game was still evident across Adem's body, but he was whole again.

She took his hand, and it felt heavy and limp and devoid of his spirit.

"He's stable, finally. I'll wake him," Ido said.

Adem's eyes parted open, and he only moved them to look around. Moments later life filled his hand, and he gripped back. When they landed on Alita, he gave a weak smile and said, "Hey, give me a hand."

A single whimper then a single laugh escaped her before she clamped a hand over her mouth. When she could manage it, she said with a wavering voice, "That was such a terrible joke."

His voice underperformed against the beeps, "Sorry, I have been waiting for my entire motorball career to use it."

After looking around, Adem silently noticed Coach.

"Mr. 12. I've been talking with Dr. Ido and have a question. Did you install an oscillator in your arm, without informing your team?"

Everyone stared. He remained silent.

"You're lucky the race finished before you used it because all modifications must be registered. They handed down a one-game suspension."

"That's a relief. Thanks, Coach," Alita said.

"You're not angry this time?"

She shrugged, "It saved his life."

"It was dumb of you two to split up in a team game."

"Coach," Adem said, "Register with the commission that I'll be using a superdense weight with an ultra-tension spring, a harmonic oscillator, and the EM-locator."

Ido put a hand on his shoulder, "There's no way to install the counterweight, not without exchanging out bodies entirely and I recommend you don't. And, the EM-locator is still off-limits, no matter what. But I will install the oscillators, and I'll make sure they're done right, so you don't injure yourself using them."

Ido's work was, as always, exemplary.

After checking himself in the mirror, Adem admitted that he couldn't tell if the new devices were installed or not. But, he could feel them mentally, as if they were a section of his long-missed skin.

"I wired them into your tactile sense. You should be able to judge the frequency you're using now without concentrating directly on the numbers, and it should be more intuitive. In theory, it will offset the valley shift. Your sync is strong, so I don't feel bad about the upgrade, but don't overuse it."

"I have to take care of something," Adem said, pulling on his brown coat. He noticed there was a small tear in the sleeve, "You're a hunter-warrior, right?"

They checked for three names in the bounty registry: Bruno, Razor, and Shark. Razor's and Shark's face came up with minor bounties, Bruno did not.

"So that's why he was at the race, but not the other two. Check for Arez."

The bounty was collected.

"You know them?" Ido asked.

Adem idly scratched his chin in thought, "Yeah, they work for Arez, or they did, anyway. Bruno was at the race, and he's the one targeting me. When I was still giving credits to my sister, they were ending up in their hands."

"What happened to Sarah?" Ido asked, studying Adem's face.

"I need to go, doc."

Ido grabbed his arm before he could step away, "Let Alita know you need help," then raised his eyebrows and tilted his head forward.

---

"Well, this is a first."

Adem turned to stare over his shoulder. Alita had landed on the roof, then leaned on a nearby wall.

"You never ask for help, so I want to enjoy this moment. This is so wonderful!" Alita was hugging herself, with overly dramatic flair, and skipping.

"Smartass."

Alita smirked, then crept up next to him to spy with him, "This was the gang shaking you down?"

The building across the way had taped up windows.

"Yeah."

"Were they the ones that burned you?"

Moments later Alita crashed through the window, combat rolled, and sprang to her feet.

Empty.

Adem followed just a second later, landing flat-footed, using pure physical exertion to hold himself in place.

"Let's look for clues," she said.

The place was a dive.

On the coffee table in the center of the room, Alita found food trays covered in drugs. She was no expert, but she considered what she found to be a wide range--powders, liquids, some crystals, and various needles.

The couch next to the coffee table, nasty from years of neglect, and was blanketed in holocards, pornographic holocards.

That's Sarah.

"What happened to your sister?"

Adem was examining cybernetic parts he found on the kitchen table, then glanced at her. After making eye contact, he came over and traded the part he found for the holocard.

"When her cybernetic rejection happened she spiked on the left side of the valley and embraced the machine. She became obsessed with finding full-bio men and dating them and started getting extensive cosmetic upgrades. It was a coping mechanism. After that, she met Arez."

Disgusted, he let the card peacefully drop to the couch and turned away.

"What's this?"

"It's a plasma igniter."

She dropped the heavy part in the middle of the holocards, which flipped and scattered from the weight bouncing on the cushion.

Wait, that card isn't Sarah? Is that Adem's picture? I wish I had paid more attention to him back then, we didn't get the face exactly right.

As her fingers curled on the card, she felt something else under the couch.

"Move!"

Confused, he hesitated, staring at her rushing him.

With no time to waste, she hooked Adem under the arm, dragged him to the window, tossed him out, and then jumped out with him.

Right behind them, the apartment engulfed in flames.