The Bodyguard III
With the deal accepted and her mother’s encouragement, the rest of the family packed up and followed Andrea’s golden opportunity to the Inner City. Before she was even able to fully unpack with everyone in their new home, further augments were requested by her wealthy benefactor. He wanted his future bodyguard to be top-of-the-line. As such, no expense was spared. With all charges covered for the accommodation that was provided up front, she felt indebted and thus couldn’t refuse. She spent the next few weeks undergoing surgeries and then recovering the bare minimum before heading back in for more. This repeated until she had all new sensory and movement enhancements along with inhuman reaction and processing speeds.
When they were done tinkering with her – for now, at least – she could finally take the time getting accustomed to the mid-class district and settle in with her family. It wasn’t as peaceful of an environment as she needed. Arguments sprouted amongst her cousins about abandoning the home and community that they had built. Andrea didn’t think to point out how hypocritical that was. With the barrier going up, there wasn’t much they could do. Being on this side of the fence, they were inclined to agree it was for the best. It didn’t stop them from just wanting to voice their anger though…
The rumors began to circulate upwards from the forsaken Outer City. There was widespread outrage and some small protests already brewing. Her heart clenched when she heard in passing the names of her old friends amongst a list of known agitators. They had stood up against this nonsensical division and were front and center in leading pushbacks against this definitive disunion. The unrest was still in its early days, but she feared what conflict her erstwhile friends would soon end up involved in. Those who were willing to give an answer to those demanding one, simply said the division was what needed to be done for the benefit and security of all. That was only the opinion of those who truly benefitted from it, of course. Instead of finishing the Outer district, the Executives decided that resources needed to be allocated to researching the spaceship and developing an adequate defense should its owner return.
On the night before the shield was to go up, Duun Strutts arrived with his entourage to the residence of Andrea and her family. He stated clearly that it was time for more augments, emanating an aura that allowed no space in the room for any follow-ups. Duun wasn’t a man who liked to be questioned. She followed him to his vehicle, but was left pondering what more they could do to her body. Wasn’t she already more augment than human at this point? Her unease only grew as they did not elaborate about its details. Unbeknownst to her, this would be the most drastic change of her life.
This operation differed from the previous ones. They weren’t enhancing muscle power or tweaking nerves and receptors. This one was far simpler in comparison. A single chip, no larger than a fingernail, was inserted into Andrea’s brain. Its goal was one to throw away ethics: to erase all human emotions. Tears, laughter, and anger. A mental overhaul. She would respond emotionlessly to commands, no matter the moral questionability. Her reactions – which were already superhuman – would no longer be delayed by conscious hesitancy.
Duun Strutts admired his masterpiece once she came out of the operating theatre. Though nothing had changed about her physically this time, there was a clear change to her demeanor. He smiled in sadistic satisfaction at seeing the lifeless sheen that glossed over her eyes. She would be perfect for his intended purposes – to crush anyone who dared to rise up against him and his regime without a hint of remorse or doubt.
Naturally, on the night of the shield’s activation, there were violet and tumultuous riots forming around the Barrier Pillars. Impromptu bonfires lit up the grim faces of an already poverty-stricken population. The full force of both the ICSF and OCSF was on the scene, all led by Andrea. Her troops weren’t aware of the controlling chip in her and were left clueless about her new, cold attitude. Without a hint of emotion, she informed them of what she had been told earlier. The use of lethal force had been authorized.
She rallied officers who dawdled with uncertainty. A few threats later and she had them moving with her as they met the resistance at the Barrier. Not a single warning was given to those attempting to breach into the Inner City. She opened fire. Only a few followed suit, and nobody stopped her. As she quelled the crowd with force, a sense of familiarity caused her vision to linger on the faces of her old friends. Some part of her true self remained and clearly recognized them, but her body didn’t respond to seeing their initially determined and then harrowed expressions. She watched their bodies become riddled with bullets shot by her hand. The sound of the gunfire was louder than their cries. Even when they fell to the ground, she made sure they would never again get back to their feet. She had to defeat the retaliation. She fired until she ran out of bullets. It was a massacre of familiar faces. She felt no guilt and shed no tears.
After that night, her benefactor changed his mind about simply allowing her to serve the ICSF Tech Squad. Instead, being so impressed with her performance, he appointed her as his personal bodyguard. He had invested so much in her after all. He didn’t even let her return to her family after the mission. Not that he cared, but it was for the best. His true intentions for her were finally revealed. After a few years and a close call, he felt particularly inspired, ordering a complete overhaul of Andrea. Under the knife she went for a complete spinal replacement and the removal of her augmented arms and legs. Fitted in their place were insanely strong mechanical limbs. She was kitted out to be more of a weapon than the bodyguard Duun claimed her to be.
Through the constant violence of her assignments and his insistent tweaking of her ‘design’, her once innocent and beautiful face soon became a mess of scar tissue and stitches. Her stunning, friendly blue eyes were replaced with bionic ones that were as unwelcoming and hollow to look at as the rest of her. Golden locks were hacked off and shaved down for convenience. A super soldier couldn’t afford to be slowed down by hair getting in her eyes, after all.
Eventually, the man grew bored of his little pet project. He wanted bigger, better and more outrageous. So he got creative. The next big change was an even more drastic one. He ordered giant bird-like talons for all appendages and a single large wing which protruded from her spine. It was perfect to scratch that itch to create something so powerful and never seen before. Unfortunately, she was now no longer aesthetically pleasing enough to accompany him as a daily bodyguard. She was altered beyond any other being, something barely capable of being labelled a human anymore. Andrea was a husk of her old self with nothing left to identify her by.
So Duun, wanting to keep up his own image, decided to seal her away in Strutts’ Tower – the tallest structure in the city that was topped by The Spire, a spiral extension that protruded into the sky and defined the Barrier. If he ever needed her services though, she was only a push of a button away. He had a remote that sent a signal directly to her brain, allowing him to keep Andrea at his beck and call. Only he could enter and exit the part of the tower she was locked in by its main door. As such, Andrea’s only exit was a hatch on the side of the building, only opening by the push of the same button that activated her. Witnesses of her leaping from the side of the ominous structure, swooping down at insane speeds to her master in his office just above, would barely believe their eyes.
Some days Duun Stutts’ orders were bloody – as to be expected of the corporate assassinations. Others, the man simply wanted to show off and gloat over his monstrous creation, taunting underlings before their demise or flaunting over other wealthy aristocrats who couldn’t compare to his outlandish invention.
It took Duun Stutts some time to get used to the surprise that came with his personal bodyguard slash assassin when she appeared before him, only moments after summoning her. He would hear a faint screech which would be loud and piecing to anyone nearby. Then a wind-shifting flap of her wing and finally, CRASH. She would land mere feet away, either impaling her target or standing to attention, depending only on the way the button was pressed. Soon enough, he became almost as unphased by the murders that happened in front of him as Andrea was. Something she lacked though, was his immense sense of pride at the killing machine, but also the underlying fear that came with knowing exactly what she was capable of.
GuNNhead 
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