Preview: Lash
over 4 years ago – Fri, Sep 27, 2019 at 05:00:45 AM

Hello Renegades,

We've now got two awesome sections of our kickstarter preview manuscript up and available for backers to review, but it's always fun to peek ahead and see what's coming up.

And, it's also fun to see what you're most interested in sneaking a peek at, so we've got a bit of a poll at the bottom to help us decide on the next preview...

Lash

Eric here. Deviant’s Variations and Scars are meant as a toolbox. Each is a skeleton of mechanics around which troupes build flavorful flesh to reflect why a character’s abilities (or weaknesses) have those mechanics. Lash is the extreme example of that customizability. While some Variations, like Telekinesis and Bioluminescence , have effects that can cause damage or impose Tilts, Lash exists solely to do so, and to do so in as many ways as a player or Storyteller can imagine. Given their penchant for violent revenge, it seems fitting that the Broken should have ways of offing their enemies in interesting ways.

[Descriptor] [Skill] Lash (• to •••••)

Overt

Discrete, Toggled

This Variation allows the Remade to attack enemies with an arsenal other than a Baseline’s punches and kicks. The manifestations of this Variation are as varied as the Broken themselves. Some lash out with telekinetic force, others with a hail of glass shards or a blast of necrotic shadow, and still others have wicked claws, fangs, or horns. This Variation may be purchased any number of times to represent different means of attack.

• Lashes have a descriptor chosen at the time of purchase — Bruising (deal bashing damage), Cutting (deal lethal damage), or Gentle (deal no damage).

• Choose a combat Skill when purchasing this Variation — Athletics, Brawl, Firearms, or Weaponry. This determines the dice pool used to resolve attacks with the Lash (Dexterity + Athletics/Firearms - target’s Defense, or Strength + Brawl/Weaponry - target’s Defense) and whether the attacks are ranged (Athletics/Firearms) or melee (Brawl/Weaponry). Each attack with a Lash requires an instant action.

• A ranged Lash has a range of 30/60/120 yards/meters. Although not Directed, Scars and Deviations that cannot entangle Directed Variations cannot entangle a ranged Lash, and ones that may only entangle Directed Variations can entangle a ranged Lash.

• In order to apply their Tilts, Cutting Lashes must inflict at least one point of lethal damage after armor, and Bruising Lashes must inflict at least one point of damage in excess of the target’s general armor rating (before applying armor). Gentle Lashes apply their Tilts on any successful attack, regardless of the target’s armor.

At Magnitude •, the Lash has a damage rating of 0 and deals damage as part of an attack. In addition, choose one of the following effects at the time of purchase:

• Blasting (Ranged Lash Only): The Lash behaves as a short burst.

• Caustic: The Lash splashes the target with a caustic chemical with an intensity of +0 and coverage of 1 (2 on an exceptional success).

• Channel: Choose one of the Remade’s Directed Variations. On a successful attack with Lash, the Deviant may reflexively activate that Variation as though she had touched the target. Variations that can affect multiple targets only affect the target of Lash, however. The Lash gains the Exclusive keyword.

• Conjured: The dice pool for attacks made with the Lash is instead Scar Finesse + Acclimation - the target’s Defense.

• Deadly: The Lash has a damage rating no greater than the lower of Scar Power or Magnitude and has an equal Initiative penalty.

• Deafening: The Lash inflicts the Deafened Tilt in both ears.

• Disabling: When attacking a specified target with the Lash, reduce the penalty by one, and increase the damage by Scar Power for the purpose of applying Tilts. A Gentle Lash also adds successes on the attack roll to this effective damage.

• Envenomed: The Lash causes the Poisoned Tilt.

• Forceful: The Lash inflicts the Knocked Down Tilt.

• Grappling (Melee Lash Only): On a successful attack, the Deviant may also initiate a grapple against the target as a reflexive action.

• Immolating: The Lash causes the target to catch fire as though exposed to a flame with a size of 1 and a heat of +0 (size 2, on an exceptional success).

• Insidious: The Lash ignores Defense. However, attacks with it are instead resisted by a Resistance Attribute chosen at the time the Lash is created.

• Obscuring: The Lash inflicts the Blinded Tilt (in both eyes, on an exceptional success).

• Piercing: The Lash has the Armor Piercing quality equal to the lower of Scar Power or Magnitude.

• Reach (Ranged Lash Only): The Lash instead has a range of 100/200/400 yards/meters.

• Sickening: The Lash inflicts the Sick Tilt.

• Soporific: The Lash inflicts the Drugged Tilt.

• Touch (Melee Lash Only): The Lash is delivered via touch attacks, rolling Dexterity + Brawl/Weaponry - the target’s Defense.

• Versatile: Your Lash becomes Tiered, allowing you to call upon fewer of the effects and Deviations you chose. A Lash with Sickening and Soporific, for example, may inflict the Sick Tilt, the Drugged Tilt, both, or neither, as you decide before making an attack with it.

At Magnitude ••, as Magnitude •, but choose three effects, instead.

At Magnitude •••, as Magnitude ••, but choose five effects, instead.

At Magnitude ••••, as Magnitude •••, but choose seven effects, instead.

At Magnitude •••••, as Magnitude •••••, but choose nine effects, instead.

Deviations

None of the following Deviations has one of the similar effects above as its prerequisites. Corrosive does not require Caustic, and only the more powerful effect applies. Additionally, Deviations that increase the damage rating do not stack (only the best one applies).

• Blinding (+1 Magnitude): The Lash inflicts the Blinded Tilt in both eyes.

• Burst (Ranged Lash Only; +1 Magnitude):The Lash behaves as a medium burst.

• Circle Strike (Melee Lash Only; +2 Magnitude): The Lash attacks every viable target within one yard/meter of the Deviant — friend or foe. Resolve each attack separately.

• Corrosive (+1 Magnitude): As Caustic, but the chemical’s intensity bonus is instead equal to half Scar Power (rounded up).

• Debilitating (+1 Magnitude): As Disabling. Additionally, if the Broken does not specify a target, it still hits one chosen at random based on the face value of a single die, potentially imposing a Tilt: Arm (1-3), Leg (4-6), Head (7-8), or Heart (9-10).

• Devastating (+1 Magnitude): As Deadly, but use the higher of Scar Power or Magnitude.

• Explosive (Ranged Lash Only; +2 Magnitude):The Lash instead generates an explosive with a range of 10/20/30. It has a blast area is equal to Scar Power + Magnitude and a Force equal to the lower of Scar Power or Magnitude. Its damage rating is unchanged, but extra successes on the attack roll do not increase damage.

• Full Auto (Ranged Lash Only; +2 Magnitude):The Lash behaves as a Long Burst.

• Gunshot (Ranged Lash Only; +1 Magnitude):The Lash ignores Defense as though it were a firearm attack.

• Horrendous (Cutting Lash Only; +1 Magnitude): The Lash instead deals aggravated damage.

• Immobilizing (+2 Magnitude): The Lash imposes the Immobilized Tilt on the target. Escape attempts treat this as a restraining item with a Durability equal to half Scar Power (rounded up). This restraint further imposes a -2 penalty on the escape attempt (-4 if the Deviant achieved an exceptional success on the attack).

• Incinerating (+1 Magnitude): As Immolating, but the fire’s heat bonus is instead equal to half Scar Power (rounded up).

• Line-of-Sight (Ranged Lash Only; +1 Magnitude): The Lash can strike any target not completely hidden by cover, regardless of the distance.

• Penetrating (+1 Magnitude): Armor affords no protection from the Lash’s damage.

• Scrambling (+1 Magnitude): The Lash inflicts the Insensate Tilt.

• Stunning (+1 Magnitude): The Lash inflicts the Stunned Tilt.

• Terminal (+1 Magnitude): The Lash inflicts the grave Sick Tilt.

• Toxic (+1 Magnitude): The Lash inflicts the grave Poisoned Tilt.

Example Lashes

Ranged Lashes

Magnitude •

The Cephalist’s psionic strike dulls the target’s senses (Bruising Firearms Lash; Soporific).

The Chimeric spits venom (Gentle Athletics Lash; Envenomed)

The Coactive unleashes a directed scream seeming from the pits of hell (Bruising Athletics Lash; Deafening).

The Invasive shoots lasers from his eyes (Cutting Firearms Lash; Immolating)

The Mutant fires shards of bone out of specialized organs on each side of her skull (Cutting Firearms Lash, Deadly).

Magnitude ••

The Cephalist’s lightning-quick telekinetic strike grapples her foe (Bruising Athletics Lash; Channel [Telekinesis], Gunshot).

The Chimeric fires a burst of quills that can penetrate body armor (Cutting Firearms Lash; Burst, Piercing)

Arcane darkness envelops the Coactive’s opponent (Cutting Athletics Lash; Blinding, Insidious [Composure]).

The Invasive fires stunning energy from his hands (Gentle Firearms Lash; Blasting, Stunning).

A terrifying, short-lived winged gremlin bursts out of the Mutant’s skin and bites the target (Cutting Athletics Lash; Devastating, Soporific)

Magnitude •••

The Cephalist unleashes a wave of telepathic control that plunges one or more victims into a reverie of vivid memories of trauma or ecstasy (Gentle Firearms Lash; Conjured, Burst, Scrambling).

The demonic ovipositor under the skin of the Chimeric’s left arm sends forth a barrage of hungry larvae that burrow into the target’s flesh (Cutting Athletics Lash; Blasting, Horrendous, Toxic).

Tendrils of blue energy burst out of the Coactive’s body, lashing out in every direction (Cutting Firearms Lash; Deadly, Full-Auto)

The Invasive’s right hand folds back to reveal a small cannon (Cutting Firearms Lash; Piercing, Devastating, Gunshot).

The Mutant exhales a plume of pure pestilence (Bruising Athletics Lash; Soporific, Terminal, Toxic).

Magnitude ••••

The Cephalist projects intense psychic energy that causes brain hemorrhages (Cutting Firearms Lash; Insidious [Resolve], Horrendous, Penetrating).

The Coactive lobs a ball of explosive, white-hot ectoplasm (Cutting Athletics Lash; Deadly, Conjured, Immolating, Devastating, Explosive)

The Mutant showers the victim in deadly acid (Gentle Athletics Lash; Conjured, Corrosive, Full Auto)

Magnitude •••••

The Chimeric generates a powerful bolt of electricity (Bruising Firearms Lash; Devastating, Reach, Gunshot, Penetrating, Stunning)

The Invasive’s body contains a whole arsenal of weapons suitable for any occasion (Cutting Firearms Lash; Deadly, Disabling, Forceful, Immolating, Obscuring, Piercing, Reach, Soporific, Versatile).

Melee Lashes

Magnitude •

The Cephalist sheaths her hands in tiny forcefields that allow her to land bone-shattering blows (Bruising Brawl Lash; Disabling).

The Chimeric has razor sharp, retractable claws (Cutting Brawl Lash; Deadly).

The Coactive conjures a main gauche of coruscating energy (Cutting Weaponry Lash; Piercing).

The Invasive deploys canisters that project sand into a nearby target’s eyes at high velocity (Gentle Weaponry Lash; Obscuring).

The Mutant’s teeth are sharpened and envenomed like those of a cobra (Cutting Brawl Lash; Envenomed).

Magnitude ••

The Cephalist touches her opponent, sending a knife of psychic fire into his brain (Bruising Brawl Lash; Deadly, Insidious [Resolve], Touch).

The Chimeric’s prehensile tail is covered in bony hooks as sharp as shark’s teeth (Cutting Brawl Lash; Forceful, Deadly, Grappling)

The Coactive’s touch burns white hot (Gentle Brawl Lash; Touch, Incinerating).

The Invasive has an electrified sword for an arm (Cutting Weaponry Lash; Channel [Electrokinesis], Devastating).

The Mutant’s claws drip with foul substances (Cutting Brawl Lash; Sickening, Corrosive).

Magnitude •••

The Cephalist’s punches literally strike fear into the heart of his target, sapping away the will to fight (Bruising Brawl Lash; Channel [Creeping Dread], Insidious, Piercing, Scrambling).

The Chimeric explodes into a berserk whirlwind of claw, fang, and horn (Cutting Brawl Lash; Deadly, Circle Strike).

The Coactive’s touch freezes the target in a block of ice (Gentle Brawl Lash; Touch, Immobilizing).

A chain of small teeth protrudes from the Invasive’s right arm, moving like a chainsaw (Cutting Weaponry Lash; Piercing, Debilitating; Devastating).

The Mutant bites off chunks of his victim’s flesh and swallows them (Cutting Brawl Lash; Channel [Inhuman Digestion], Deadly, Grappling, Horrendous).

Magnitude ••••

The Chimeric sprays the target with toxic and highly caustic black ink (Cutting Weaponry Lash; Blinding, Corrosive, Deadly, Toxic).

A needle in the Invasive’s finger injects the victim with aggressive nanites with effects ranging from light-headedness to the formation of super-fast-acting cancer cells that harden into tumors throughout the victim’s body (Gentle Brawl Lash; Piercing, Sickening, Soporific, Toxic, Venomous, Versatile).

The Mutant wields a dozen, grasping, memory-devouring tentacles (Bruising Brawl Lash; Channel [Memory Thief], Deadly, Grappling, Circle Strike).

Magnitude •••••

The Cephalist conjures flaming swords of varying sizes and intensities, and the fires they ignite are under her command (Cutting Weaponry Lash; Channel [Pyrokinesis], Deadly, Immolating, Versatile, Devastating, Incinerating).

The Coactive conjures a spear with a point made of pure necrotic energy (Cutting Weaponry Lash; Deadly, Debilitating, Devastating, Obscuring, Penetrating, Stunning).

Poll for the Audience

Eric and I are finding it monumentally difficult to decide what to show you in Sunday’s public preview, so we'll leave it to you. Let us know in the comments which you are more desperate to see: some Clade Variations or more Scars. Fear not, though. If you’re a backer, you’ll get the full list of Variations and Scars on Tuesday, so even if your pick doesn’t win out, you’ll get access to all those power/drawback combinations soon enough!

#Renegades

#Variations-vs-Scars

Kick Out the Jams
over 4 years ago – Thu, Sep 26, 2019 at 03:49:55 AM

Kick Out the Jams

Two months ago.

Red. Red everywhere. Red lights spinning, red blood on his hands, red smear on the wall. Alarms rang in his ears as Spider took another step, leaning against the wall for support. More of his blood left behind as he held his hand to his side.

He should have seen it coming. The skinhead had swastikas and Aryan Brotherhood tattoos all over his head and face, so it wasn’t like the shithead was going to hang out with his Mexican ass. When the asshole came over to him in the cafeteria, Spider should have shut him down right then. Instead, he tried to ignore the skinhead, focusing on his lunch.

“Hey, I’m talking to you. This ain’t the table for fucking beaner gangbangers. Only pure white folks get to sit here.”

Spider didn’t look up. “I’m Cuban.”

“Fucking excuse me?”

“Cuban. Not Mexican. Also, I’m a mechanic, not a gangster.” He looked up at the skinhead and smiled. “So, fuck off. This ain’t the table for Nazi assholes.”

The skinhead pulled a shiv, Spider punched him in the face, and things went downhill from there.

Now he was in the middle of a full-blown riot, as the skinhead’s friends jumped into the fray. Jones must have paid them good money to start the conflict. Spider barely managed to slip away, bleeding from his side. His hand was warm and sticky with blood, and sharp pains lanced his side.

“Going somewhere, beaner?” The voice behind him was followed by a blow to Spider’s head before he could turn around. His eyes swam, and he felt nauseous as he slumped to the floor. The smear of blood followed him down.

“Doctor…” Spider mumbled. “Need a… doctor…”

“Yeah, you look pretty bad.” The skinhead leaned over Spider to examine the damage. “Hell, a couple more stabs oughta—”

Spider grabbed the skinhead and slammed his tattooed head into the wall. His eyes swam as he struggled to his feet — not as badly injured as he let on, but still not well. Spider kicked the skinhead once more for good measure, and pulled up his blood-covered shirt to see how badly he was stabbed.

Pain still lanced his side, but Spider couldn’t see the wound under all the blood. Trying to wipe it away, he saw that the stab wound was covered with a fine metal mesh. In the red light, smeared with his blood, it looked like ruddy brass. Whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn’t there a few minutes ago.

“What the…?” Spider shook his head and pulled the torn shirt back down. No time. He needed to get the hell out of this rent-a-prison before Jones found another excuse to kill him. Taking a few tentative steps, he pushed open the first door he could find and stumbled inside, fumbling for a light switch.

The harsh white glare hurt his eyes as he fell against the door, shutting it behind him. He was in some kind of janitor’s office. In one corner was a desk scarred by cigarette burns and coffee rings, on which sat a beige computer that was probably older than he was. The rest of the room contained floor-to-ceiling metal racks of industrial cleaning chemicals, half-empty paint cans, and old mop buckets full of broken electronic gadgets. Spider could tell the electronics were broken without even looking at them.

He knew because he could hear them crying softly in pain, even over the insistent alarm.

Pushing the siren and weeping out of his head, he stumbled over to the first rack and started pulling things off the shelves. His hands seemed to know what to look for, what to do, so Spider let them work as he thought. He had to escape. He’d be a convict, always on the run, but it was better than being dead because of some bullshit medical experiment. He could get out, find a place to crash, and start making plans to get back at Jones and his bullshit WellBeing International. He could…

Spider’s hands stopped moving, so he looked down at what he had made. It was a mass of wires and pulleys, plugged into canisters of toxic-smelling sludge. Connected to it all was an old Disney wind-up alarm clock. One of Mickey’s hands was lost somewhere, but he smiled as his hand pointed to 11.

“I’m a bomb,” Mickey whispered to him. “Please explode me.”

So, he did.

* * *

Once Spider stopped running, he found an old overcoat that looked awful and smelled worse. But it had a twenty-dollar bill shoved in one of the pockets, so he shrugged into the coat and walked for miles until he stopped seeing signs that said “Prison Area Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers.” The moon was high in the sky when he finally found a motel that would accept the twenty and didn’t ask questions.

Inside, Spider took everything off and stood in the shower for an hour. He scrubbed the gooey blood off his body until he felt vaguely clean. In the flickering florescent light, he examined his side. The metal mesh was indeed a brass color, made of thin, flexible rings. It also looked a little bigger than it did before. Maybe some of it was covered in the blood, he thought.

He splashed some water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror. A rough, exhausted face looked back at him. It took him several minutes to realize it was his own face. Spider looked himself in the eyes.

“You’re fucked, you know that? Totally, totally fucked.”

Something glinted off his eye. Curious, he leaned over the stained sink, trying to get a closer look. He stared hard in the mirror, trying to get a glimpse of whatever it… there. Whatever it was, he could see some kind of movement in his eyes.

Some kind of… gear.

Holy shit, he had tiny brass clockwork turning in his fucking eyes.

#Renegades

#IThinkI'mSensingAPatternInTheTitles

STRETCH GOAL EXPERIMENTS - NEXT PHASE
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 25, 2019 at 06:30:42 PM

Very very good, my Renegades!

The experiments are coming along nicely! You have achieved a great deal of success since we've started this project, and I feel you're ready for your next challenges...

[EXPERIMENT COMPLETE - TEST SUBJECTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED TO RECEIVE REWARDS]

[SUCCESS] – CELEBRATION OF DARKNESS ADD-ON UPGRADE: We’ll add the Beast: The Primordial PDF to the list of title options, and reduce the price to $12 EACH for this Add On.

And, thus... our Add On has been updated:

For +$12 EACH, add any of these CHRONICLES OF DARKNESS titles to your digital library:

• Chronicles of Darkness Core Rulebook PDF
• Vampire: the Requiem 2nd Edition PDF
• Werewolf: the Forsaken 2nd Edition PDF
• Mage: the Awakening 2nd Edition PDF
• Beast: The Primordial PDF

[SUCCESS] – SUPPLEMENT EXPANSION: The Clades Companion PDF. As Chimerics are at home with every species of animal, the Clades Companion PDF will be expanded to include a wide assortment of sample animals and Manticores - perfect for Remade with the Manticore Companion Merit or the Animal Transformation Variation.

Very, very well done. The Clades Companion is proceeding along nicely. Now it's time to see what we can really accomplish here...

But first, let's talk about a change of wardrobe! We can't all be walking around in lab coats, after all...

At $59,000 in funding  – KICKSTARTER BACKER T-SHIRT – Hosted on the redbubble store for a limited time, a Deviant: The Renegades-themed shirt will be priced at a steep discount. All backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available.

At $62,000 in funding  – SUPPLEMENT EXPANSION: The Clades Companion PDF. Coactives have connections to worlds not our own, and so The Clades Companion PDF will be expanded to include full ephemeral entities rules, including guidelines for creating new Numina and parallel worlds using Deviant’s toolbox approach, as well as guidance on how these beings interact with Variations such as Otherworldly Connection.

Ah! A glimpse into another world, perhaps a parallel world where I'm a superhero or a vampire! Very intriguing! Let's work together to successfully complete these experiments and unlock some additional potential... rewards...

So, remember to share your enthusiasm for this campaign in your social media and within your social circles! Let's get more test subjects... I mean, backers... involved and continue to grow this game line and expand our Clades Companion for everyone!

#Renegades

#DeviantStretchGoals

BACKERS ONLY – MANUSCRIPT PREVIEW #2
over 4 years ago – Wed, Sep 25, 2019 at 02:54:44 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

Chemical Warfare
over 4 years ago – Tue, Sep 24, 2019 at 03:59:25 AM

Chemical Warfare

Three months ago.

The suit with the CiviTech badge read the screen on his handheld scanner. “Perez E.”

Spider stepped forward, the ill-fitting orange jumpsuit chaffing his legs as he did. The suit flashed the scanner on the barcode stenciled on Spider’s breast. There was a beep, the scanner light flashed green, and the suit nodded. “Follow me.”

He did. “Obey instructions” was the first thing drilled into him when he was sent to CiviTech Detention Facility Two. The second thing was “take your medicine,” some scheme by CiviTech to keep the prisoners constantly sedated. The facility code — CDF-2 — was scattered everywhere around the prison, but the wittier inmates had taken to just calling it “Dose.”

The two men walked in silence, down an endless corridor of identical-looking doors. The everyday prison noises — people chatting, arguing, working out, eating — faded as they moved into a part of the facility Spider hadn’t seen before. He was curious where he was being taken, but he knew that questions only got punishment, rather than answers. Over the past year he’d gotten good at finding information out without asking directly. “Hope this doesn’t take long,” he said. “The guards are expecting me in the exercise yard in fifteen.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the suit said.

“You say that, but it won’t be your ass being beat down when I don’t show up on time.” He paused, and then quickly added, “Sir.”

They stopped at a door numbered 113. He yanked on his badge, and Spider could hear the springs turning as the lanyard spun out. He imagined the pieces of the cheap plastic badge holder spinning and turning to steadily unspool the cord as the door beeped. There was a heavy click of the door unlocking, following by the soft zipclick of the badge snapping back into place on the suit’s lapel. Every cog and spring and electric sensor working in harmony, doing what it was meant to do.

The suit pushed the door open. “They know you’re here,” he said, as Spider could see the room beyond. It looked like an operating room, complete with two people in white masks and latex gloves setting up trays of instruments. Off to one side, Spider could see a row of bottles inside a glass refrigeration case. Each was marked with the words “WellBeing International” and a number.

“You’ve got the wrong guy,” Spider muttered, trying to back away. “I ain’t sick.”

“Of course not,” the suit said, carefully closing the door behind them. “That’s why you volunteered for medical experimentation.”

Spider tried to protest, but he felt the pinprick in the back of his neck, and latex-covered hands catching him before he fell.

* * *

Zipclick. Zipclick.

Spider kept pulling on the cord and releasing it, testing the action of the springs.

Zipclick. Zipclick.

“Good work, Perez. That badge holder was always jamming.” The suit leaned over and took it out of Spider’s hands.

The inmate shrugged. “I’ve always been good with my hands, Mr. Jones.”

Jones — the nameless suit — clipped his badge on the holder again. There wasn’t any name on the badge, but he said his name was Jones, and Spider didn’t care enough to argue. “It’s more than that,” Jones said. “You seem to have a way with machines, even simple ones.” He handed his barcode scanner over to Spider. “Now I want you to activate this scanner.”

Spider glanced at the screen. “It’s locked. What’s the password?”

Jones smiled. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

* * *

“Just take the pain meds twice a day, along with your other pills. That should help with the headaches until our next checkup.” The medic handed Spider an orange plastic container.

Spider shook the container, listening to the rattle of the pills inside. “Thanks, doc.” He got up and pushed open the door to leave. Jones was on the other side, holding onto the door and stepping inside just as Spider was stepping outside. They bumped into each other, and the pill container bounced away in the scuffle.

“Watch out, Perez,” Jones muttered, closing the door behind him. Spider flipped off the door in mute protest, and then looked for the dropped pills. Shit, they’re probably in the examination room. He was about to open the door when he heard Jones’ raised voice. “I don’t care about his headaches! I want results!”

Spider put his ear to the door and listened.

“… getting some unusual readings on his scans,” the medic was saying.

“What kind of unusual readings?”

A rattle of plastic film, and a click. “Look at this. Right there.”

“Looks like a bright spot to me.”

“That’s because we can’t scan past it. It’s some kind of dense material.”

“Hrm, interesting. So, the procedure is altering his physical makeup, but we weren’t expecting that kind of mass.”

“I’m not entirely sure what that mass is,” the medic muttered. “His mechanical aptitude is off the scale, and you’ve suggested he has some ability to communicate with more advanced machines. The growth of this mass seems consistent with the growth of those abilities, so there’s probably a connection.”

“What’s the outcome?”

“Frankly, Jones, if Perez keeps using his abilities, he’ll likely die. Or turn into something else. Maybe both. The only way to tell would be a complete biopsy of his brain.”

A pause, then Jones spoke again. “Fine. I’ll speak with the management team, see if we can’t arrange an incident. Perez will be shipped here, and you can make sure he dies on the operating table. You’ll get your autopsy.”

Spider felt his hands tremble as he hurried down an endless corridor of identical-looking doors.

#Renegades