Ripperdoc Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Novels & Stories

I didn't pull my sleeve down. To hide the glowing silver lines would trigger a stress-response in the Null-Drone’s optics, and right now, my pulse was the only thing I could afford to keep steady. The red scanning beam stayed locked on my wrist, a hot, invasive needle of light. In Rebirth City, your biology was your login credential; mine was currently flagging as a corrupted file.

It displayed two colored streaks of lightning circling the globe where one was blue and the other red. Carter pointed to the red one. "This is the new trace we got from the original speedrealm energy which has been reacting at unstable level unlike the normal speedrealm energy." "So, what does this have to do with the 'speedster killer' ?" "I'm getting to that." Carter went on.

The Triad salesman pauses, looking a bit confused “What brings you to the Tea Shop anyway?” “14K always gets the good stuff. Bit of a 26D institution.” The Triad salesman smirks, lowering his guard as he signals a henchman to open up a huge crate lined up with a few drones. Spider types, rolling balls, a dog one and of course runners. Runners were anthropomorphic, highly customizable, and preferred by megacorps due to their reliability in nearly every terrain. The human form was always adaptable. “How much are the runners?” she asks, pointing at the one covered in smooth bluish white paint. It had a round shape, hawkish face plate and the scrubbed logo of Thelma-Dionis on its neck. “You talk

It's perfect for me because even with his larger build and greater strength, I'm a worthy opponent in human form. Drakon heads to the center of the room with his back to the egg. I want him as far away from Pepper's son as possible. Drakon's silver eyes give away his intent a second before he charges in low. I leap over him and turn. My foot is up and I land a solid kick to his back which sends him toward Pepper.

She smiled gently at me saying, “thank you, Leo.” Sometimes I just sit and don't speak. Seeing Frey sleeping on her study table. It was really fun. I feel like I always want to spend time with Frey like this. Even though I know something like that won't last long. *** “Leo, did you hear about people being attacked by vampires?” My friend at work named Edwin suddenly said nonsense with a very serious face. “Do you think vampires exist? Bullshit!" I said.

My world had shrunk to the space directly beneath my feet. Eldrick lay paralyzed under the heavy silver net. The white smoke rising from his skin carried the sickening, sweet smell of burning flesh. He was transforming back into his human form, a defensive mechanism his body was forcing upon him to reduce the surface area touching the silver fibers. His midnight-black fur receded, revealing his broad, heavily scarred shoulders, now covered in deep, weeping chemical burns. His fingers clawed at the frozen earth, his fingernails tearing as he tried to drag himself out from under the mesh.

I said, my voice dropping an octave as the next wave of red-gold current rushed up my shins, turning the gray fabric of my tattered dress into a solid, smoking crust of dark violet slag. The three remaining enforcers didn't try to reload their broken anti-material rifles. Their cybernetic jawlines split wide open, revealing the dull, zinc-plated backup data-ports beneath their synthetic gums. They moved toward Dante in a tight, triangular formation, their heavy leather shoes sliding through the liquid glass with a mechanical indifference that made my marrow run cold. They didn't have souls to burn, which meant they didn't have a baseline for the "Grit" to infect. They were just heavy steel a

He spoke the words clearly into the void. > HELLO WORLD. The Red Wall shuddered. Then, it turned a brilliant Green. [ ACCESS GRANTED. ] [ EXECUTING: SYSTEM REBOOT. ] The Real World. "I'm out of ammo!" Kian clicked his rifle dry. He swore, throwing the gun at an encroaching cyborg. He pulled a combat knife, standing over Alex and Cassandra’s unconscious bodies like a guarding lion. "Come on!" The heavy security blast doors finally buckled. CRUNCH.

I am a woman possessed, my vision blurring as I tunnel through layers of encrypted HRB firewalls. On the security monitors, I see the nightmare unfold. Clyde hits the gravel at the base of the villa, his body mid-transformation. It’s a gruesome, painful shift; the pulse-dampeners make his bones snap and reset with agonizing slowness. He is a half-form, a shadow-beast of terrifying proportions, tearing through the first wave of mercenaries with a feral, protective fury. He is a whirlwind of obsidian fur and blood. But the HRB agents are coordinated. They stay in the shadows of the towers, firing steady streams of blue-lit pulses and silver.

Corvin stepped forward. If the castle had made him look like a dark knight, this world made him look like a glitch in the rendering—something too old and organic dropped into a digital hellscape. His torn shirt and scars didn’t belong here. His eyes, with their ember-glow, cut right through the neon. He didn’t bother with a weapon. The nearest drone leaped, metal jaws gaping. He met it midair. One hand clamped around its snout, slamming the jaws shut before they could close on his throat. His other hand drove into the joint of its front leg. Metal shrieked. He twisted.