Living Machine

Threat level: Red

Late afternoon, Warren sat on the long sofa in front of the TV of his rooftop Penthouse, his prosthetic leg leaning against the arm rest as he was polishing his gun, removing all wear, traces of blood and cybernetic fluids. His bionic eye watching where he was polishing, targeting the faintest traces of body fluids so he could clean them, whilst his real eye remained watching the news. It was the same old gossip: which celebrity was dating who, car crashes, stock market updates, and the interviews he and Kaitie had to participate in after defeating even more Borg. "Media do anything for publicity these days..." Warren thought to himself, then something caught his full attention. He picked up the remote and turned up the volume on the massive flat-screen.

"Due to the recent increase of Cyborg related acts of terror throughout the world, the threat level has been elevated worldwide to Red. Military are said to be dispatched to areas that are hit more commonly, while areas that are hit the hardest will receive more specially trained operatives who specialize in fighting this threat. Do not be alarmed, your every day lives will not be affected." Great... Red Level... Warren knew just from personal participation that LA was on the list of hard hit areas, but couldn't help question if he and Kaitie would actually receive their reinforcements. They sure could use it.

Outside, Kaitie lay back in a deck chair, attempting to tan her organic skin to match the colour of the prosthetic skin of her Cybernetic limbs. Why oh why did they put olive skin Cybernetics on a Redhead? On the table beside her, she had her sun lotion and a bottle of whiskey, the lotion containing more liquid than the alcohol, which she grabbed more often.
"Kaitie. Come here for a sec." Warren called out to her from the sofa. She groaned as she stood up, preparing for yet ANOTHER lecture on her alcoholism. She stalked in behind him and flopped onto the back of the leather sofa, her head at his level.
"What is it?"
"After the increase in attacks, the Terror threat has been raised to Red level."
"Well shit. We getting backup?"
"Supposed to." They both sat in silence after that, until Warren sniffed the air. "Have you been drinking again?" Kaitie froze. She knew this would happen eventually. She smiled innocently back at him, hopeing to avoid this altogether.
"I have, but not much." Warren just stared at her sternly. He knew she was lying. Ever since the explosion that maimed them both, Kaitie had been an alcoholic, originally drinking to forget the whole ordeal, but later becoming addicted to the effects of the intoxication.

"Kaitie, for gods sake, it's not good for anyone to be drinking as much as you do. I will do it if I have to."
"Wait... You don't mean..." Kaitie shuddered at the thought.
"Yep. Alcoholics anonymous sessions." Kaitie groaned as she slid down face first onto the spot next to Warren.

"NOT ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS!!!" She screamed into the cushion her face had landed on, spitting the words out like poison. Warren was not amused, but sympathetic. It was a big problem for her, and he wanted to help her out, but he didn't know how. His recent tactic of hiding the alcohol on the top shelves she couldn't reach had failed, as he had forgotten one crucial detail: Step Ladders. So until he created a new plan to keep Kaitie away from the booze, she wasn't going to be very sober. Warren let out a sigh and rubbed the back of Kaitie's head before reattaching his right leg prosthetic, and getting up to put his gun away.

Hours later, on the edge of evening Twilight, Warren's phone lit up. He and Kaitie were required to attend an area where suspected Borg were about to attack. It was in South Los Angeles, but none the less, it was still a serious matter. Spyder scouting drones always made their way around there, using the sewers and underground network to find entrances for Cyborgs. That's how they got into the city undetected, but not many people knew about this. It was West Hills this time.

"You think we'll see him there?" Kaitie sounded somewhat concerned and reluctant to mention the name of the individual. Warren turned to her.

"Most likely. But he will help. He's had training, and Biotic enhancements, just like your mothers when they were apart of the Syndicate." Kaitie didn't feel any less concerned, but she knew she could trust Warren, and they made their way from their building towards South LA.