⁕ Peeling Away The Layers (part 1)

KD-554 looked back at the house where she had murdered two of her sisters one last time. It was not out of remorse she looked but out of pride. To her, it was the place she liberated herself from the shackles of her existence to find her true purpose. 

To escape from any consequences of her action, KD-554 escaped on a smuggler submarine with a band of drug smugglers to America, where she will put her plan into action. As a part of Sniper's plan, America was to be ignored in the initial phase of Imperial takeover of the world, thus ensuring KD-554 can thrive without coming in contact with the Empire. 

As KD-554 arrived before the Federal Bureau of Investigation building in Washington, DC, she looked up at the imposing structure, and her irises turned purple. The seconds on the clocks slowed with every step she took. As she walked toward the entrance, the next moment, she was already deep into their offices wearing one of their uniforms. The seconds passed at a regular rhythm on the clocks. No one suspected her as she walked away from the locker where she shoved her mutilated victim, from whom she stole her disguise. 

As she passed through the offices, each computer she came across glitched slightly before appearing to be back to normal. Before long, she was in the CIA main office building in Virginia, sporting a new disguise she stole from another unfortunate victim. Just like this, over the course of a few weeks, KD-554 had infiltrated every single agency which held information over the elites of society. 

"At first, I thought this rotting world didn't share my appreciation for one's true nature. However, after coming face to face with the dirty deeds of those out of reach in society, I understood I was not alone in my quest. I had once believed I needed to break each person out of their fleshy shell to expose the animal underneath, but fortunately, many seemed to have already shed their facade as darkness had already provided them their mask. Those who hold power are, paradoxically, my best allies instead of enemies. "

As a group of politicians gathered in a room filled with rich CEO and investors, KD-554 snuck through the shadows and appeared inside the room with her blades drawn. However, that night, not a single drop of blood needed to be spilled. From men who can sacrifice to the happiness of millions to make a profit to those willing to sack the stability of a society to increase the price of stock on the market, the people who KD-554 thought she would need to convince were in fact, already on her side. 

With all the information she had stolen from all the major agencies and firms all across America, she was indeed the biggest threat but also the biggest asset to the crowd before her. From the cocaine filled tables to the degrading and dehumanizing show put on by two female actresses on stage, each person was at their most raw and savage self. At that moment, as KD-554 overheard two men laughing at the ways how they each raped their young escorts last week, she withdrew her blades back into her arms. 

"My goal is to make this world suffer. Only through the same pain I endured, could each person be forced to shed their facade to expose their rawness form. The perfect society is one where no one can pretend to be morally superior to others while each suffers equally without difference. To these people, my peers, my proposal was just an upgrade from what they were already doing. Instead of making profit at the expense of people's tears, I simply suggest making a profit at the expense of making people tear each other apart. Unsurprisingly, the looks which condemned me as a monster are now replaced by the regards of admiration by people who considered me a hero of the elite class of society. "

The second time KD-554 entered the same room of decadence where all the heads of society met, she didn't need to extend her blades or make threats. Instead, people flocked to her, each wishing to get a single minute with her to acquire her precious bank of information. KD-554 could reveal details about a rival, information which could influence the next stock market changes or even knowledge which can sway society in different directions. 

By the end of the year, KD-554 had the entire North American and South American continent in her pockets. With the amount of influential and powerful people she had befriended, she was basically able to control the wind which directed the sail of society. With her connections, no one was safe from her. Wherever you are, KD-554 will have her eyes on you and know your every move and thoughts. Anyone who actively opposed her will never live to speak about her influence. She was the void which puppeteered the shadow government. 

Without wasting any time, calamity soon began to rain down upon society.

The price of food being too affordable? KD-554 will manipulate the few conglomerates controlling the distribution of fresh produce to simply pretend the truckers are having a strike. Without the supply of produce, the prices in the market skyrocket. While KD-554 achieved her goal of causing suffering to the people, the distributors will be paid extra by the market for the limited number of supply. Basically, making more profit while needing to sell less produce. Meanwhile, the people will blame the government, never suspecting the conglomerates or KD-554's hands in the affair. 

Housing being a problem? Introduce a cage-like housing initiative barely enough for a person to sleep in. While a person is caged like an animal, the blame and anger will still fall upon the government, never upon those responsible. 

Society being too quiet? Introduce divide and societal issues for the people to fight about. Create a false flag attack and injustices for the mob to be angry about. Let the situation get out of control and let entire cities be trashed by an angry crowd. After all, those suffering are the ones living in that city, not KD-554 or her minions. 

Crimes being controlled? Build multiple metropolis with a prosperous atmosphere where crimes are more punished as a promise but never as a reality. Hide the dirty under a facade of light and technology while beefing up the economy to draw those desperate enough to enter the city's gates. Trump City, Light City, Night City, Freedom City, Cloud City, all but a bunch of facades for KD-554 to cause suffering while enriching those allying themselves with her. 

Then came the war in 2069. By that point, even Sniper was aware of KD-554's reign of terror over the American continents. He had no personal interest in her ideology. Whether she believed in stripping people of their humanity or not was irrelevant to him. What mattered was that her actions served his greater vision. The more nightmarish the American continents became, the more his empire seemed like salvation by comparison. Rather than stopping her, he saw an opportunity. Instead of condemning her, he sent his loyal cyberknight, Astroboy, to support her efforts not out of approval, but because she was the perfect tool to highlight the decay of the old world against the order of his new empire

On her balcony overlooking the construction of Trump City, KD-554 stood beside her ally Astroboy. As time moved, she could be seen often overlooking the city she engineered to fulfill her ultimate philosophy in normalizing suffering. No one would've ever suspected the inhuman truth hidden beneath as the balcony offered a breathtaking view over the neon-lit city, which spanned as far as the eye can see into the horizon. Only those who look closely at the world below can see the rot beneath the city's facade. However, this duality in perception is exactly engineered to KD-554's desire. She knew those powerful enough to stand here with her will either never look closely or bother with the misery below. 

In the present, the oppressive atmosphere of Trump City crushed the will of those in the street like an invisible demon. As thunder cracked inside the dark polluted clouds looming above the city, the few stragglers in the streets quickened their pace to find a shelter. Suddenly, a storm of acid rain besieged the city with a destructive fury. 

As a family ate their meal in depressive silence, the father suddenly noticed a drop of rain leaking through their roof. Thinking quick, he immediately pulled his wife and child away from the dinner table before the roof cracked under the build-up of an acid rain puddle. Unfortunately, the splash not only caused severe burns on the daughter's legs but also completely soaked the family's dog. With an agonizing howl, the dog collapsed to the ground with severe chemical burn all over its skin. With a hateful expression in his eyes, the father stared at the brand name on the dangling roof piece: [Bob and Witney housing inc.]

During this time, an employee of Bob and Witney housing stepped out of his van inside the company's depot. After saluting his co-workers, he joined them at their makeshift table. 

[Carl] - "So Matthew, how's that job of yours? How much did ya scam? "

[Matthew] - "I told that dumb family that they needed to pay a premium for some quality roof. Instead, after that dumbass paid me his entire year's salary, I got him some cheap aluminum alloy roof. "

[Johnson] - "Ain't he going to notice you sold him crap? What's your secret? "

Said Johnson as he passed Matthew a cup of water. 

[Matthew] - "Dude's got an actual college degree, so he ain't so easy to scam like the other families who lacked education. So guess what, I asked him if he valued the life of his daughter over some cash. God damn weather was working in my favour today as well, so he coughed up that money as soon as he saw the cloud looming over. "

[Carl] - "Damn! Do ya think your cheap roof could get them through the storm? "

Said Carl as he looked worryingly at the rain splashing against the window. 

[Matthew] - "Who the fuck cares! I got a family to feed, so it's either that dumb family or mine eating moldy bread for the next week. "

[Johnson] - "You know you still have to give 75% of what you got paid to the boss, right? "

Said Johnson as he poured a packet with "Artificial whisky flavouring" into Matthew's cup.

[Matthew] - "Guess why I fucking scamed that dumb guy so hard. I want him to pay me enough, so I could afford my daughter a cellphone even after that 75% deduction. 13 years and this is the first time I actually saved enough to buy her a birthday gift. "

[Carl] - "If you got any spare cash, I would like to borrow some from you. I need a bit of cash to get this cancer in my neck treated. "

Said Carl as he scratched the lump on his neck. 

[Johnson] - "And that cup of artificial whisky, that cost money too, man. Give me some since you are now rich. "

Said Johnson as he reached his hand toward Matthew.

[Matthew] - "What? I never agreed to any of this! "

Said Matthew as he began to back away. 

During this time, a bunch of rich businessmen sat in a room as they each had a naked woman dancing in front of them. Despite being high in KD-554's tower, they were shielded from the stormy horror outside as the windows around them were screens which displayed a sunny day in the city. Suddenly, KD-554 arrived beside a middle-aged man before waving the woman dancer away. 

[Bob] - "Oh my, Witney, stop flirting with that bitch! The big boss is here! "

Said Bob in shock as he sat upright in his seat. 

[KD-554] - "Now, now! Witney, keep doing what you are doing. It's Bob who I want to speak to. "

Said KD-554 with her finger extended. 

Witney, upon seeing the situation, quickly pretended as if nothing had occurred as he went back to getting intimate with his personal dancer. 

[Bob] - "Oh what a pleasant surprise, dear KD-554. I wasn't expecting you to want to meet me personally. "

Said Bob nervously.

[KD-554] - "Look at you, Bob, falling so far behind your competitor Invincible Housing. You know, there are ways to innovate and increase profit in your products, right? Like, per se, instead of lasting a year when installed, your housing unit could only withstand a month, thus leading to a 250% increase in production time and profit. "

Said KD-554 in scornful amusement. 

[Bob] - "I was planning to decrease the thickness of my units' roof but I thought they might be too obviously unsatisfactory for customers. "

[KD-554] - "Ah! I see, so I suppose I must revoke your VIP status inside my lounge. You see, I prefer to work with men and women who are ambitious in their endeavours and true to their nature as true capitalists. "

Said KD-554 as she stood up and looked down at Bob as if he was a worm. 

[Witney] - "My lady, KD-554, I beg your pardon. If Bob isn't willing to adhere to such an opportunity, I shall comply with our shared goal of economic growth. "

[Bob] - "Oh what? No! I'm willing to do this as well! I will tell my supplier to make it even cheaper at only half the previous iteration's thickness. "

Yelled Bob in a panic. 

[KD-554] - "Ahaha! Oh, how lovely. I always knew my recommendations are pieces of wisdom all great men in society love to respect. Enjoy your stay, gentlemen. "

Said KD-554 with a creepy smile. 

As night approached, the family trembled in the cold as they watched their house fill up with the toxic rain. While the father bandaged his daughter's burnt legs, the little girl cried while holding the blood-soaked collar of her dog. On the other side, in the depot, Matthew limped away with his gun while blood dripped from his bullet wound in the chest. Behind him, both Carl and Johnson were shot dead on the floor with a pistol in each of their hands. 

Meanwhile, inside a bar, Kadyn slammed her empty cup down before drunkenly collapsing against the counter. 

[Kadyn] - "Another! "

[Bartender] - "A word of advice: Pretty ladies like you shouldn't get black out drunk. Just know that I ain't saving you if some punks take your unconscious body to a backroom for some fun. "

[Kadyn] - "I passed out earlier already when another bartender was on shift. Two guys and one girl thought I was cute, so they took my body back there. It's been four hours and still no one has come to scrub off their remains from the bedroom floor. So give me another one. "

Said Kadyn groggily as she tossed a gold coin onto the table. 

The coin immediately began to spin on the counter before the bartender slammed his palm over it. With a pitying look at Kadyn's miserable state, he turned around and poured another glass of hard liquor into a cup. Despite being drunk, Kadyn flawlessly caught the glass of whisky before it hit her head. As she raised her head and poured the liquid down her throat, the flashes of her actions the previous few days came back to haunt her.

As the first 1/3 of the glass entered her mouth, she remembered her savage assassination of one of Martin's associates where she splashed his body all over the wall like a stroke of red paint over a canvas. By the 2/3 point, Kadyn remembered how she took down a whole squad of mercenaries sent to intercept one of Martin's drug shipments. The gory details flashed inside Kadyn's mind as, despite their best effort to fight her, she stepped away from the battle covered in red from the men's blood. Finally, as the last drop of liquid left the glass, Kadyn remembered her most recent mission where she had to kill a rival mob boss alongside his entire family. 

[Bartender] - "Do you need more? "

Said the bartender as he held the whisky bottle before her. 

Without looking at the man, Kadyn snatched the bottle out of his hand before throwing him another gold coin. While the man recoiled in shock, Kadyn silently left the bar with her bottle of liquor. 

Later that night, as she entered her apartment, the landlord immediately opened her door for her as if she was royalty. Without paying him any attention, she slammed the door on his face before collapsing on her bed. Around her, suitcases full of pure gold coins were stacked all the way to the ceiling. It was way more money than what she ever needed, but why did she keep doing a job she hated so much? It was a question even she struggled to find an answer to. After rolling onto her back, she looked at the ceiling with a blank stare. 

[Kadyn] - "Mike, all this drinking and smoking you did, was it because there are things weighing on your heart this whole time? Why have I never noticed? It's always me and how I feel... "

Whispered Kadyn to herself. 

[Kadyn] - "Why was I so dumb? Why have I never asked you about how you felt? "

Cried Kadyn in her drunken stupor. 

As Kadyn slammed her bed in her drunken rage, an unstable box of gold from a pile suddenly fell down upon her. Acting out of instinct, Kadyn extended her blade and slashed the box in two, spilling the gold coins all over the room in the process. 

As she shielded her face from the rain of gold, she abruptly noticed a small dent on her wrist blade. Usually, her blade will automatically draw the exotic alloy from her bones to repair any damage, but a dent means that Kadyn is running dangerously low on the special material. Without a new supply of it, Kadyn might lose her blade entirely or even experience bone fractures. However, instead of dread, Kadyn showed a genuine smile of relief at this grim sight. 

To be continued...