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I, Cyborg Part 1: The One
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For the past few days Nikki Vetter, also known as the cyborg superheroine Diamond, hasn't been able to get much sleep as night as she's accustomed to getting. After her recent encounter with the evil Sataria and being partially assimilated into the Cybercom Collective along with having more of her original organic body replaced with machinery, the organic components of her body requires less sleep and rest than they used to. Plus her traumatic experience of being dismantled and forcibly programmed has caused her to have night terrors and nightmares, often harshly waking her up from her slumber. Before her premature awakening on this night, her mocha-skinned physically fit and chiseled statue-esque body rested in a cushioned pod in the middle of a private AFPD laboratory room...her arms were stiffly straight by her sides to the point of where she almost didn't look comfortable as she lay there on her back like a black Barbie doll still in her packaging. Her cyber-symbiote was not present, as she lay there nude...her body was a patchwork of flesh and metal as her cybernetics and organics intersected at various points, seamlessly at some points, and even then her natural skin was riddled with circuits, nodes, and other mechanical gadgets that burrowed deep under her skin and muscles. Various wires and tubes had been connected to her in a few spots while a monitor located next to her pod displayed her vitals and energy signatures.

Her bionic right eye snapped open first and glowed brightly as her cybernetic systems were already fully online...it took her organic parts a minute to warm up however. She slowly opened up her left eye and lay still for a minute before she finally rolled over on her side in a reclining position, resting on her hip and left elbow as she crossed her completely mechanical right arm across her chest and held herself as she stared down at her bare body; she noticed the gentle glow of her diamond implant flickering in and out. Usually after a few minutes she would fall back asleep once she woke up in the middle of the night, but on this particular night she was especially restless.

On the outside, the city of Angel Falls was fairly quiet and draped in darkness with the morning sun still several hours away from shining it's first rays of the day...Nikki has been spending her last few nights in the AFPD laboratories where recent transplant and the new head technician of the AFPD SCU, Dr. Jetta Chambers aka Techna, has been monitoring Nikki. Techna had gone in to remove and replace the parts that Sataria had replaced to prevent any sort of systems takeover or incompatibility issues with her other cybernetics, as well as she's been keeping an eye on Nikki's new found ability of energy projection thanks to her diamond implant in her chest, an ironically fortunate mistake thanks to Polygirl, and some clever wiring to her other systems thanks to Techna. At this point, after some extensive repairs and system upgrades, Nikki was in the best shape that she has ever been in physically...the upgrades and new parts that her body received would make her even stronger, faster, and much more efficient than she's ever been since becoming a cyborg. Plus her energy projection/manipulation powers as well as her bionic eye now being able to shoot high-frequency lasers would give her more weapons to her already impressive arsenal.

Mentally, however, Nikki had been somewhat of a wreck. Since first becoming a cyborg approximately 7 years ago, she had never felt the way that she has been feeling in these past few days. Her cybernetic programming and systems have never challenged her raw human emotions and feelings as it has since Sataria nearly erased her mind and her consciousness with the assimilation process. Being a cybernetics wiz in all aspects, Techna is also skilled in "cyber-psychology" and getting into the minds and/or databanks of cyborgs to make sure that the mental health of her subjects is stable and that they are able to maintain balance between the part of them that is still human and the cybernetic part...she has been observing Nikki and had noticed that the partial assimilation to Nikki's thought process and to her computer systems has caused Nikki to struggle to decipher between raw factual logic and her human emotions...which is normal for a cyborg to experience after receiving a major programming change to their memory banks and data units. Not to mention that Nikki has been rather distant and a bit cold as well as experiencing a few bouts of depression due to her recent troubles, something that she has hardly ever had to deal with in her 28 years of living.

Nikki has been able to fight her programming from overriding her natural psyche and remain herself and her usual personality for the most part instead of acting completely cold, distant, and machine-like...yet it has been a struggle for her to do so and obvious to others that know her well that she's been acting much differently from what they're used to seeing from her. It really threw her off on seeing herself dismantled for the first time and realizing just how much machinery that her body is now composed of when Sataria had captured her and assimilated her....she wonders if she's supposed to act more machine-like because of her current condition. Plus, it didn't help that Sataria had gotten the best of her in combat and Nikki has never been good at dealing with defeat; that fact alone of Sataria beating her and rendering her helpless to the point of almost having her identity taken from her and turned into a mindless robotic drone was probably the core reason as to why Nikki has been in the doldrums for the past several days. Nikki has never taken losing and defeat well at all...her mind raced with several thoughts running through her brain with the events of her loss replaying itself over and over again. Not to mention that two fellow heroines had sacrificed their lives during her rescue...she feels personally responsible for the loss of Alexandra Robinson and Inez Moreno at the hands of Sataria and the Collective, plus the fact that she wasn't able to save Gemma Kildare like she had planned ate away at her core. Being that she was a part of the Collective, albeit for a very brief duration, her brainwaves were in tuned to the Collective's singular thought...she could feel the energy signatures of all three women and she knew that they were still alive; they were now Elite Cyborg Drones, but she at least could take solace in the possibility of saving them from the grasp of the Collective.

Another thing that deeply bothered her was the fact that she lost a significant amount of her hair due to Sataria removing a big piece of the base of her her skull on her right side to add more machinery to her body. Nikki has always taken much pride in her hair...being that she's from both a strong African and Jamaican heritage it's believed that a woman's hair holds much power and her glory. She would often joke and say that her hair was to her what Samson's hair was to him as the reason why she was so well rounded at almost everything...not to mention that her ponytail with her red scrunchie was her trademark for so long, dating back to her days where she first started using her scrunchie that she bought for a dollar to pull her hair back when she would play basketball and run track for her high school many years ago. She has never had her hair cut once in her life and she has NEVER added any harsh chemicals, perms, dyes, bleaches, or anything that wasn't all natural products to maintain her full bushy healthy head of hair. However, with Sataria's interference by removing part of her organic skull, that hair couldn't ever be grown back naturally...plus the missing amount of hair really made the rest of her hair look uneven and awkward.

Some Rastafarians believe in the notion that hair, dreadlocks in particular, contains positive and negative energy and once it seems as if the hair is emitting negative energy it's time to cut the dreadlocks off...although her hair wasn't locked and being that she's no Rasta, Nikki wholeheartedly bought into that notion. Her traumatic experience of nearly losing control of her own life coupled with the fact that she had a bad haircut with a big metal skull piece visible was enough to convince her to cut the rest of her hair really short to rid herself of any lingering negative energies...a beautician had been bought in and gave Nikki a brand new short-bobbed hairstyle that fell slightly below her ears along with a piece of synthetic hair extension. Her new do not only hid her exposed cybernetic skull, but it did a great job in accentuating her natural beauty...being that her scrunchie was also her charm of sorts, she had even devised a way to wear it as a headband now that her hair was too short to put into a ponytail. Since getting her haircut, everyone has been complementing Nikki on just how great she looks with her new shorter hairstyle, some even saying that it fits her better than her long hair and it makes her look mature and distinguished. She too really likes her new look, but is still saddened at the price that she had to pay to get her current look with the lost of her full head of hair that she has worn for the majority of her life.

As she lay there on her side, she raised her left hand and stared at her fingers and the cybernetic segmentation of where her knuckles were replaced with reinforced mechanical joints. Her cybernetic eye went into X-Ray vision mode as she looked through her epidermis and muscles and examined the fact that the although her flesh covered that hand, underneath the surface a myriad of wires and circuits that connected that hand to her forearm along with a completely metal hinged joint and the near indestructible metal bones of her cyber-endoskeleton that replaced her natural human skeleton. She then made that hand charge up with the energy as she balled it up into a fist...her diamond implant shimmered brightly as her fist fizzled until she allowed the energy to dissipate after a minute of playing with her powers, slightly smirking at her new abilities.

She used her right hand to move her bangs out of her face and stopped as her metal fingers made a slight clink as it collided with the circular audio receptacle dish that was now in place of where her right ear used to be. She slowly rubbed her new 'ear', another part of her that was replaced with machinery by Sataria along with the base of the right side of her skull and area leading to her jaw. She sighed and even her sigh was echoed, as her voice had also been permanently given a digital reverberation thanks to Sataria removing her larynx, trachea, and part of her esophagus in exchange for cybernetic replacements. Techna replaced it with another one and adjusted it to take some of the digital feedback off of it, but too much of her voice box was removed to fully save her natural voice. She reached over and grabbed her red scrunchie and placed it around the crown of her head, letting her bangs hang down over her forehead and keeping the rest of her hair pinned behind her ears as her ends curved back in toward her face and lips.

She raised herself to a sitting position as she watched the monitor displaying her vitals while she disconnected the connections from various ports and plugs located on her body. The side of her pod opened up; she stood up and her liquid metal cyber-symbiote spread from her torso completely covering her toned cybernetically enhanced body...the symbiote seamlessly washed over all of the wires and machinery contouring to her every curve, nook, dimple, and crevice from her neck down except for the fingers of her left hand and her diamond implant located between her breasts. She appeared to be glowing as the dim lights from the room reflected off of her impressive athletic physique. Once her body was completely covered in the living cybernetic chrome substance, she walked over to a mirror that was located in her chamber. She looked at her face and noticed a few more gadgets had been added to the area surrounding her right eye and forehead. After staring at herself for a minute and touching the new wires and nodes that penetrated her face, she pulled her hair back from over her lower right side of her head to see her exposed metal cranium...with her thoughts she then made her symbiote cover up her the exposed part of her skull as well as her cybernetic audio receptacle that replaced her ear. She then looked at herself again and ruffled her hair to get the kinks out from where she laid on it. She stared at herself for another minute before hanging her head and sighing again, then headed for the exit to her chamber.

Nikki headed to the rooftop of the AFPD Complex as she's done several times in her stay there at the police station...she would go up to the roof to sit and have some time alone to gather her thoughts. On her way to her destination she would pass by the rooms of AFPD/SCU officers and fellow cyborgs Genesis and Deuce, who were being housed for the night; she has been drawing support from them along with Lt. Hunter to help her deal with her recent feelings and would have loved to talk to one of them at this moment, yet Lt. Hunter didn't reside at the station nor did she want to disturb Genesis or Deuce's rest. She first looked through the glass window of Deuce's chamber to see the large tank-like cyborg woman standing in an apparatus in the center of the room...her helmet had been removed and Nikki looked at where Deuce's flesh face had ended at the bottom of her chin and top of her forehead and where the rest of her exposed head was completely mechanical complete with many wires and tubes plugging into the area behind her organic face. The left ocular implant that usually was plugged into her face was sitting at a table next to where her body stood; various wires, plugs, and other machinery covered the ocular cavity where her implant would normally go. As she scanned Deuce's frame, Nikki was thankful that she wasn't almost completely mechanical like Deuce...whose only organic parts that remained was most of her face and part of her brain, which could also be seen through a protective covering in the back of her skull. Nikki felt much remorse seeing Deuce's body hanging there like a car on a mechanic's rack...Deuce's right eye was opened and her head was slightly tilted down; it looked like someone had deactivated her in mid sentence, as her mouth was partially open. Nikki couldn't even imagine being almost completely mechanical to where someone could just come and 'turn her on and off.' Her thoughts once again flashbacked to when she hung in Sataria's chamber in a similar manner just days before as Sataria maniacally stole more of her humanity away. She shuddered and snapped out of her traumatic remembrance and moved along to the next door.

She then peered through the glass window of the sliding door of Genesis' dark and cold chamber where she saw Genesis' body connected to a huge machine and parts of her body disconnected from her as she slumbered...both Genesis and Deuce usually are dismantled to some extent to receive their standard maintenance overnight. Another thing that's been running through Nikki's mind is that since Genesis saved Nikki's life by splicing and sharing her power source to keep Nikki's life supports online as well as transferring and downloading part of Nikki's brainwaves into her own mind, the two cyborg women have shared a special bond. The bond is on a psychic level, almost like some sort of cyborg telepathy, as they can feel each others feelings even miles away from one another...almost as if they were one with each other. Nikki stood there as she almost yearned to want to be able to touch Genesis...she zoomed in with her bionic eye and stared at Genesis's peaceful face in awe and adoration as she slept while mechanical arms worked on her impressive body. She pressed her hand on the glass and whispered.

Simone....if you are able to find rest, then there is still hope for me yet.

After several minutes of watching the red-headed cyborg sleep, Nikki made her way through the nearly empty police station to the rooftop and found herself a seat on the ledge. A brisk breeze caused her bangs and newly bobbed hair to waft in the wind as she stared down at the streets below as she gathered her thoughts on the direction that her life has taken in the last few months. It wasn't that long ago when she was loving the idea of being a superheroine and never thought twice about her cybernetics being a hindrance to herself, however after her encounter with the Collective she often questions some of the decisions that she's made thus far. She wondered what if she would have just stuck to her comfortable life of fame and fortune being one of the most celebrated athletic figures of all time instead of helping others with her extraordinary abilities and seeking the thrill of wanting to be a superheroine. She never really stopped to think if she would even be a good superheroine...she just assumed that she would be given that she's usually successful in nearly everything she's ever set out to do. She thought that since she was regarded as one of the greatest fighters on the planet that she would easily be able to combat evil...supervillains with superpowers is a whole different world to deal with than other hand to hand combatants. However with her defeat on her first solo-mission made her think twice about being a top tiered superheroine. She never stopped to think that although she was indeed strong and mighty, that there are others that are even stronger and mightier than her...she never even entertained the idea that maybe she was just a big fish in a small pond. She then thought about some of the more popular superheroes and heroines in Angel Falls and even with her state-of-the-art cybernetics that she wasn't even halfway as strong as someone like Walkiria, Fantastic Lin, or Soviet Superwoman. How could she hang with, let alone stop someone like Ultrawoman when even it takes the top heroines to their farthest limits just to even slow someone of her caliber down?

She then contemplated as to whether or not she made the right decision by agreeing to go under Scarlette Tamzarian's knife and receive her initial cybernetic parts and to have her cyber-symbiote fused to her body so many years ago. The night that she met Scarlette and the days after, she was over-emotional at the fact that she lost a championship Blitzball match that she could've won if she had body mods like the majority of other athletes did at that time. Her decision to receive her cybernetic augmentation was a hasty one....Scarlette really made the idea of being turned into a cyborg sound absolutely great and alluring, and this was the first time in 7 years that she actually stopped to question if she made a wise decision and thoroughly think things through. She wondered what would her life be like if she hadn't have taken Scarlette's offer...where would she be? Would she be a coach or color commentator for one of her previous sports...still in the world of athletics to some degree and still respected? Would she have made the Hall of Fame and forever lived in infamy as one of the all time greats? Would she have continued her career to the point where she was too old to keep up anymore? Would she just have become some flash in the pan hotshot athlete trying to hold on to her glory years rehashing the same old stories in some bar wasting away in obscurity? Or would she just be a normal woman living a normal life with a normal job and family that was once one of the greatest sports figures ever?

She then thought about the idea of her not being able to have children nor being a mother and this further saddened her. All of a sudden, she was very remorseful of ever agreeing to trade in her humanity to become a cyborg. So what if she wouldn't ever get sick, or old, or feel pain, or have the speed to run along side a race car at top speed, or have strength far beyond that of 100 Olympic powerlifters; She would never know the joys of motherhood...having a baby, seeing her child take it's first steps, the first day of school, taking that walk across stage to receive their diploma....none of it. She thought about how unlikely it would be to find a mate that would love her unconditionally and would look past the fact that she's a cyborg. At that moment, she didn't think that any sane man would want to hold her and cuddle with a girl that's partly made of metal...thoughts of her being lonely for the rest of her life crept into her head. Tears streamed out of her light brown left eye as she put her face in her hands and sobbed to herself.

After several minutes of crying Nikki stopped abruptly and looked up to the Moon, which was in it's waxing crescent phase. She then looked to the skyline of downtown Angel Falls and thought about everyone that was still in their beds sleeping. She shook her head as she wiped the last few trails of tears from her face,

"Alright, enough!!! Snap out of it Nikki...stop feeling sorry for yourself!!! What's wrong with you...this isn't you at all...you're not a crybaby! Crying ain't gonna make things better...tighten up, girlie!"

She jumped to her feet and coached herself through her sorrow, almost embarrassed at herself for allowing for her emotions to get the best of her through self-pity. Even better for her sake, this was all of her human side chastising herself for having a pity party and not her programming trying to override her feelings. She then thought about why she wanted to become a superheroine in the first place rather than just focus on her career as a mega-athlete...she thought to all of the times that she has helped others and fought evil forces to protect this city and world and how it made her feel afterwards. As she paced back and forth across the rooftop, she thought about the citizens of Angel Falls that didn't have any kind of powers or augmentations and how they would be easily taken over and tyrannized by the likes of evil minded villains such as Sataria, Ultrawoman, Genocide, or Dark Star if it weren't for virtuous-minded protectors with the special gifts of metahuman abilities, genetic augmentations, cybernetics, or just a full arsenal of weapons ala La Femme Punisher...she realized that she was one of those protectors. She then thought about the children...although she couldn't have any herself anymore, she became a superheroine so that the children could grow and play in a free world with a decreased chance of having to live in an oppressive war zone to where they would have to live either as slaves, soldiers, or something worse at such a young age. She remembers her mother telling her stories of her childhood, often in tears, being forced to mine diamonds for hours on end with no break in the harshest conditions...only getting a sparse and unappetizing meal at the end of the day for her efforts. Although Nikki never had personally to experience that pain, she never wanted anyone else to experience anything like what her mother, grandmother, and many generations of her other relatives and ancestors did back in Sierra Leone. It was at that moment where she once again realized her purpose and exactly why she agreed to become a superheroine.

She fixed her mind on her cybernetics being a gift that she could use to help those in need rather than a burden for herself. She looked at her make and model number of 'Adora-1' on her right breast and thought to herself,

"Adora-1...Adora-1...I'm number one, the first of my make and model...I am 'The One'...by the fates, I have been given this body and these powers and abilities as gifts, not burdens. Although I have lost a good bit of my humanity to receive them, my soul is still 100 percent human. Sataria was wrong in saying that I'm not human...being human is a state of mind, not necessarily how much flesh I have left. Yes, much of my body has been replaced with cybernetics and I won't be able to enjoy life like everyone else does...but I see now that the life of a heroine is often a thankless job where at times I will have to sacrifice my own happiness and comfort for that of those who I protect and fight to keep safe.

The time for tears and self-sorrow is over...I'm through feeling sorry for myself! I have gone through a lot in the last few days, but what's in the past is in the past...wallowing in my own pity isn't gonna get me anywhere at all nor fix anything. I've been knocked down many times in my life, and I've always always ALWAYS gotten up! Sataria really did a number on my body and mind, but I refuse to ever let her or anyone else ever do that to me again! I should be happy...Techna has made me stronger than I've ever been and has given me the tools to make things right....I feel invincible right now with this body! It's time for me to make my mind and my thoughts invincible as well once again! This is me getting up off of the ground...and this time I rise back to my feet stronger than I've ever been! I promise, the next time we tango Sataria, it's gonna end much differently than it did our first dance! And I promise that I will save Gemma, Inez, Alexandra, and as many Collective Drones from your evil grip that I can as well as put an end to your horrific assimilations once and for good!

I will protect this city and this world and stand up for what is just, right, and fair; as long as my circuits and muscles are in sync and there's still energy coursing through my body I will do what it takes to be the greatest superheroine ever...that is my vow. I may not be the strongest physically, or the fastest, but I will use the talent and the technology that I've been fitted with to their full capabilities to protect the citizens and my comrades-in-arms at my side taking up the same fight against evil. I cannot lose...I WILL NOT LOSE!!!"

Just then a distress signal rang out in her internal databanks from an unknown frequency...a hollow, digitized female voice similar to that of Nikki's rang out as she frantically pleaded for someone to answer.

"Mayday...mayday...Angel Falls....can anyone hear me? If you can hear my voice, my designation is Cytrax-100...I am a cyborg agent employed by the U.S. Government. Please respond...mayday..."

"Cytrax-100, this is Diamond, copy. I hear you loud and clear...what's going on?"

"I have been tracking a hostile fugitive by the name of Valerie Harrison that is also a rogue agent for the same government organization which I belong to....she has been going to federal reserves, banks, and such with hi-tech armor and weaponry and has decimated everything in her path, leaving many injured or dead and millions in federal money lost. It appears as if she's trying to get her hands on some even more powerful hardware in the weapons and armor department...I was able to intrude on one of her phone transactions at it appears that she had made a deal with a Scarlette Tamzarian about receiving a cache of weapons, ammunition, and armament. She is set to meet one of Tamzarian's representatives at 4:05 am in an arbitrary location at the city limits of Angel Falls to make the transaction, which is in about 25 minutes."

"So it looks like Scarlette's up to no good again by selling her weapons to a criminal traitor...I knew she couldn't be trusted!"

"I gather that you are familiar with Ms. Tamzarian and Tamzarian Industries?"

"Yeah...just a little bit. She's only the person that turned me into a cyborg. So what do you need me to do?"

"I am still in pursuit of Rogue Agent Harrison...she is approximately 35 miles Due West of Greater Angels Falls city limit at the current time heading your way at a sustained speed of about 65 mph in a large automobile. The purpose of my distress signal is that I request some assistance in apprehending the rogue agent, as she is still heavily armed and dangerous. Plus, I don't exactly know what to expect from Tamzarian's cohort..chances are that if they are shipping hi-tech weapons and ammo, then they're strapped as well. Although I am quite powerful, it would be logical to not head into battle by myself not knowing what to fully expect...I do realize the fact that it is 3:40 am and that everyone is sleeping, but I would be extremely appreciative to have any sort of assistance in apprehending the hostile while I have her cornered."

"Pardon me for being a bit inquisitive, but how do I know that you're not a hostile trying to get the jump on some unsuspecting superhero or something? You mentioned Scarlette...she and I have beef; how do I know that you aren't in cahoots with her and that y'all aren't trying to get the drop on me? I realize that shit happens, but like you said it's almost 4 in the morning! I'm not trying to step into any unnecessary shit!"

"I can't blame you for questioning the reason of my late distress signal, but I can assure you...I'm one of the good guys and this is a serious situation...perhaps not anything that is a major threat to national security, but still serious nonetheless. I have called for backup from my organization, but I don't think they will arrive in time to assist me...I have been tracking Harrison for weeks and finally I have her in position for capture."

"Alright, alright...I believe you. Lucky for you, I'm antsy and I can't sleep tonight! I'm on it...I too am a cyborg like yourself, so please send me your coordinates so that I can get your exact 20 with my internal GPS implant."

"Done."

"Okay...I'm clear on the other side of Angel Falls, so I'll meet you there in approximately 20 minutes. Fortunately, there's hardly any traffic on the roads so perhaps I'll be able to shave some time off of my trip. Plus, it's good that there aren't a lot of civilians out and about just in case things get hairy. We'll rendezvous and take 'em down while they're not even suspecting it! Let's keep this connection between you and me open; maybe you can brief me a little on just what I'm about to face."

"Affirmative. I thank you in advance and I'll see to it that my organization compensates you for your assistance provided that we're successful in capturing the fugitive. By the way, I am a longtime fan of yours Diamond, and I look forward to fighting by your side! But fair warning...we are facing a moderate level threat!"

"Good...I'm in the mood to kick some ass and not hold back! I don't know about you...but I'm an Extreme Level threat by myself! I'm heading that way right now!"

With that Nikki ran over to the ledge of the roof and without hesitation jumped off of the side of the moderately high building. She formed her symbiote on her right hand into an elongated grappling hook and latched onto a stop light post, causing her to swing in pendulum like fashion before she hit the hard concrete street below. At the full height of her swing, she let go of the post and her symbiote came back to her arm...she continued to fly forward, somersaulting forward 4 times before finally landing on the city street, running at full speed towards the location that Cytrax-100 gave her.

To Be Continued
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Cast of Characters:

-"Diamond" Nicole Vetter bka "Nikki", "Genesis" Simone Rattica, Deuce, Valerie Harrison created by and belong to

-Cytrax-100 created by and belongs to

Mentioned, but don't appear:

-Alexandra Robinson belongs to
-Inez Moreno belongs to
-Ultrawoman belongs to
-Walkiria and Dark Star belong to
-Soviet Superwoman and Genocide belong to
-Fantastic Lin heralded by
-Polygirl belongs to
-La Femme Punisher belongs to
--Dr. Jetta "Techna" Chambers, Lt. Raina Hunter, Sataria the Cyborg Queen, and Scarlette Tamzarian all created by and belong to
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Alright, I had to take a short break away from my OC Sexy Summertime Swimsuit Bikini Jammy Jam as I've had Nikki on my brain something fierce! I've been stewing on ways to revamp her look, and since she went through quite a bit of stuff in her "Enter The Collective" story arc, I thought that this would be a good time to switch her look up a bit. Being that I pretty much made Nikki into my oldest OC of all, Adora-1, last year...I found myself looking at old pics of Adora-1 that I did a few years ago (This one look familiar?) and thought about ways that I could make Nikki look more like that while keeping her current look.

I entertained the idea of giving Nikki short hair like in those pics, yet I wanted to keep her hair busy/kinky and not straight...I experimented with a sketch and I liked how it came out. I then decided that I would redraw "The One", as I really like the pose, and decided to draw her with her short hair and the extra gadgets and her diamond implant now being visible. I thought back to earlier this year when I gave Nikki a head band here and threw that in with her new short hairstyle...success! I really like Nikki's quasi-new look, as I pretty much just took the old pics of the original Adora-1 character and melded them with how I've been drawing Nikki over the past year. I'm not exactly sure yet, but she's probably gonna have this shorter hair style for a while.

As for the story aspect, my homie and I decided that we should team up his cyborg gal Cytrax-100 along with Diamond...I would write and he would draw the image. However, when I first started writing, I was gonna make this a separated image. In fact, this drawing was just Nikki until I got the spark late last night (around 4 am! ) to add in the side view of Cytrax after I was all ready to upload the deviation! I'm glad I did add Cytrax-100, as I felt that the piece was missing something. I didn't plan of having Cytrax show up in this story, however it just flowed so I went with it...it was literally an afterthought that worked out rather well!

I think that this is a good follow up to the "Enter The Collective" arc, as I didn't like how it ended for Nikki. She had gone through some serious shit and in retrospect her ending seemed a little flat. I think that this is a better way of showing just how she felt after her encounter with Sataria and the internal struggle that she's dealing with.

Stay tuned for part 2 and the conclusion of "I, Cyborg!"

Description
I, Cyborg Part 1: The One
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For the past few days Nikki Vetter, also known as the cyborg superheroine Diamond, hasn't been able to get much sleep as night as she's accustomed to getting. After her recent encounter with the evil Sataria and being partially assimilated into the Cybercom Collective along with having more of her original organic body replaced with machinery, the organic components of her body requires less sleep and rest than they used to. Plus her traumatic experience of being dismantled and forcibly programmed has caused her to have night terrors and nightmares, often harshly waking her up from her slumber. Before her premature awakening on this night, her mocha-skinned physically fit and chiseled statue-esque body rested in a cushioned pod in the middle of a private AFPD laboratory room...her arms were stiffly straight by her sides to the point of where she almost didn't look comfortable as she lay there on her back like a black Barbie doll still in her packaging. Her cyber-symbiote was not present, as she lay there nude...her body was a patchwork of flesh and metal as her cybernetics and organics intersected at various points, seamlessly at some points, and even then her natural skin was riddled with circuits, nodes, and other mechanical gadgets that burrowed deep under her skin and muscles. Various wires and tubes had been connected to her in a few spots while a monitor located next to her pod displayed her vitals and energy signatures.

Her bionic right eye snapped open first and glowed brightly as her cybernetic systems were already fully online...it took her organic parts a minute to warm up however. She slowly opened up her left eye and lay still for a minute before she finally rolled over on her side in a reclining position, resting on her hip and left elbow as she crossed her completely mechanical right arm across her chest and held herself as she stared down at her bare body; she noticed the gentle glow of her diamond implant flickering in and out. Usually after a few minutes she would fall back asleep once she woke up in the middle of the night, but on this particular night she was especially restless.

On the outside, the city of Angel Falls was fairly quiet and draped in darkness with the morning sun still several hours away from shining it's first rays of the day...Nikki has been spending her last few nights in the AFPD laboratories where recent transplant and the new head technician of the AFPD SCU, Dr. Jetta Chambers aka Techna, has been monitoring Nikki. Techna had gone in to remove and replace the parts that Sataria had replaced to prevent any sort of systems takeover or incompatibility issues with her other cybernetics, as well as she's been keeping an eye on Nikki's new found ability of energy projection thanks to her diamond implant in her chest, an ironically fortunate mistake thanks to Polygirl, and some clever wiring to her other systems thanks to Techna. At this point, after some extensive repairs and system upgrades, Nikki was in the best shape that she has ever been in physically...the upgrades and new parts that her body received would make her even stronger, faster, and much more efficient than she's ever been since becoming a cyborg. Plus her energy projection/manipulation powers as well as her bionic eye now being able to shoot high-frequency lasers would give her more weapons to her already impressive arsenal.

Mentally, however, Nikki had been somewhat of a wreck. Since first becoming a cyborg approximately 7 years ago, she had never felt the way that she has been feeling in these past few days. Her cybernetic programming and systems have never challenged her raw human emotions and feelings as it has since Sataria nearly erased her mind and her consciousness with the assimilation process. Being a cybernetics wiz in all aspects, Techna is also skilled in "cyber-psychology" and getting into the minds and/or databanks of cyborgs to make sure that the mental health of her subjects is stable and that they are able to maintain balance between the part of them that is still human and the cybernetic part...she has been observing Nikki and had noticed that the partial assimilation to Nikki's thought process and to her computer systems has caused Nikki to struggle to decipher between raw factual logic and her human emotions...which is normal for a cyborg to experience after receiving a major programming change to their memory banks and data units. Not to mention that Nikki has been rather distant and a bit cold as well as experiencing a few bouts of depression due to her recent troubles, something that she has hardly ever had to deal with in her 28 years of living.

Nikki has been able to fight her programming from overriding her natural psyche and remain herself and her usual personality for the most part instead of acting completely cold, distant, and machine-like...yet it has been a struggle for her to do so and obvious to others that know her well that she's been acting much differently from what they're used to seeing from her. It really threw her off on seeing herself dismantled for the first time and realizing just how much machinery that her body is now composed of when Sataria had captured her and assimilated her....she wonders if she's supposed to act more machine-like because of her current condition. Plus, it didn't help that Sataria had gotten the best of her in combat and Nikki has never been good at dealing with defeat; that fact alone of Sataria beating her and rendering her helpless to the point of almost having her identity taken from her and turned into a mindless robotic drone was probably the core reason as to why Nikki has been in the doldrums for the past several days. Nikki has never taken losing and defeat well at all...her mind raced with several thoughts running through her brain with the events of her loss replaying itself over and over again. Not to mention that two fellow heroines had sacrificed their lives during her rescue...she feels personally responsible for the loss of Alexandra Robinson and Inez Moreno at the hands of Sataria and the Collective, plus the fact that she wasn't able to save Gemma Kildare like she had planned ate away at her core. Being that she was a part of the Collective, albeit for a very brief duration, her brainwaves were in tuned to the Collective's singular thought...she could feel the energy signatures of all three women and she knew that they were still alive; they were now Elite Cyborg Drones, but she at least could take solace in the possibility of saving them from the grasp of the Collective.

Another thing that deeply bothered her was the fact that she lost a significant amount of her hair due to Sataria removing a big piece of the base of her her skull on her right side to add more machinery to her body. Nikki has always taken much pride in her hair...being that she's from both a strong African and Jamaican heritage it's believed that a woman's hair holds much power and her glory. She would often joke and say that her hair was to her what Samson's hair was to him as the reason why she was so well rounded at almost everything...not to mention that her ponytail with her red scrunchie was her trademark for so long, dating back to her days where she first started using her scrunchie that she bought for a dollar to pull her hair back when she would play basketball and run track for her high school many years ago. She has never had her hair cut once in her life and she has NEVER added any harsh chemicals, perms, dyes, bleaches, or anything that wasn't all natural products to maintain her full bushy healthy head of hair. However, with Sataria's interference by removing part of her organic skull, that hair couldn't ever be grown back naturally...plus the missing amount of hair really made the rest of her hair look uneven and awkward.

Some Rastafarians believe in the notion that hair, dreadlocks in particular, contains positive and negative energy and once it seems as if the hair is emitting negative energy it's time to cut the dreadlocks off...although her hair wasn't locked and being that she's no Rasta, Nikki wholeheartedly bought into that notion. Her traumatic experience of nearly losing control of her own life coupled with the fact that she had a bad haircut with a big metal skull piece visible was enough to convince her to cut the rest of her hair really short to rid herself of any lingering negative energies...a beautician had been bought in and gave Nikki a brand new short-bobbed hairstyle that fell slightly below her ears along with a piece of synthetic hair extension. Her new do not only hid her exposed cybernetic skull, but it did a great job in accentuating her natural beauty...being that her scrunchie was also her charm of sorts, she had even devised a way to wear it as a headband now that her hair was too short to put into a ponytail. Since getting her haircut, everyone has been complementing Nikki on just how great she looks with her new shorter hairstyle, some even saying that it fits her better than her long hair and it makes her look mature and distinguished. She too really likes her new look, but is still saddened at the price that she had to pay to get her current look with the lost of her full head of hair that she has worn for the majority of her life.

As she lay there on her side, she raised her left hand and stared at her fingers and the cybernetic segmentation of where her knuckles were replaced with reinforced mechanical joints. Her cybernetic eye went into X-Ray vision mode as she looked through her epidermis and muscles and examined the fact that the although her flesh covered that hand, underneath the surface a myriad of wires and circuits that connected that hand to her forearm along with a completely metal hinged joint and the near indestructible metal bones of her cyber-endoskeleton that replaced her natural human skeleton. She then made that hand charge up with the energy as she balled it up into a fist...her diamond implant shimmered brightly as her fist fizzled until she allowed the energy to dissipate after a minute of playing with her powers, slightly smirking at her new abilities.

She used her right hand to move her bangs out of her face and stopped as her metal fingers made a slight clink as it collided with the circular audio receptacle dish that was now in place of where her right ear used to be. She slowly rubbed her new 'ear', another part of her that was replaced with machinery by Sataria along with the base of the right side of her skull and area leading to her jaw. She sighed and even her sigh was echoed, as her voice had also been permanently given a digital reverberation thanks to Sataria removing her larynx, trachea, and part of her esophagus in exchange for cybernetic replacements. Techna replaced it with another one and adjusted it to take some of the digital feedback off of it, but too much of her voice box was removed to fully save her natural voice. She reached over and grabbed her red scrunchie and placed it around the crown of her head, letting her bangs hang down over her forehead and keeping the rest of her hair pinned behind her ears as her ends curved back in toward her face and lips.

She raised herself to a sitting position as she watched the monitor displaying her vitals while she disconnected the connections from various ports and plugs located on her body. The side of her pod opened up; she stood up and her liquid metal cyber-symbiote spread from her torso completely covering her toned cybernetically enhanced body...the symbiote seamlessly washed over all of the wires and machinery contouring to her every curve, nook, dimple, and crevice from her neck down except for the fingers of her left hand and her diamond implant located between her breasts. She appeared to be glowing as the dim lights from the room reflected off of her impressive athletic physique. Once her body was completely covered in the living cybernetic chrome substance, she walked over to a mirror that was located in her chamber. She looked at her face and noticed a few more gadgets had been added to the area surrounding her right eye and forehead. After staring at herself for a minute and touching the new wires and nodes that penetrated her face, she pulled her hair back from over her lower right side of her head to see her exposed metal cranium...with her thoughts she then made her symbiote cover up her the exposed part of her skull as well as her cybernetic audio receptacle that replaced her ear. She then looked at herself again and ruffled her hair to get the kinks out from where she laid on it. She stared at herself for another minute before hanging her head and sighing again, then headed for the exit to her chamber.

Nikki headed to the rooftop of the AFPD Complex as she's done several times in her stay there at the police station...she would go up to the roof to sit and have some time alone to gather her thoughts. On her way to her destination she would pass by the rooms of AFPD/SCU officers and fellow cyborgs Genesis and Deuce, who were being housed for the night; she has been drawing support from them along with Lt. Hunter to help her deal with her recent feelings and would have loved to talk to one of them at this moment, yet Lt. Hunter didn't reside at the station nor did she want to disturb Genesis or Deuce's rest. She first looked through the glass window of Deuce's chamber to see the large tank-like cyborg woman standing in an apparatus in the center of the room...her helmet had been removed and Nikki looked at where Deuce's flesh face had ended at the bottom of her chin and top of her forehead and where the rest of her exposed head was completely mechanical complete with many wires and tubes plugging into the area behind her organic face. The left ocular implant that usually was plugged into her face was sitting at a table next to where her body stood; various wires, plugs, and other machinery covered the ocular cavity where her implant would normally go. As she scanned Deuce's frame, Nikki was thankful that she wasn't almost completely mechanical like Deuce...whose only organic parts that remained was most of her face and part of her brain, which could also be seen through a protective covering in the back of her skull. Nikki felt much remorse seeing Deuce's body hanging there like a car on a mechanic's rack...Deuce's right eye was opened and her head was slightly tilted down; it looked like someone had deactivated her in mid sentence, as her mouth was partially open. Nikki couldn't even imagine being almost completely mechanical to where someone could just come and 'turn her on and off.' Her thoughts once again flashbacked to when she hung in Sataria's chamber in a similar manner just days before as Sataria maniacally stole more of her humanity away. She shuddered and snapped out of her traumatic remembrance and moved along to the next door.

She then peered through the glass window of the sliding door of Genesis' dark and cold chamber where she saw Genesis' body connected to a huge machine and parts of her body disconnected from her as she slumbered...both Genesis and Deuce usually are dismantled to some extent to receive their standard maintenance overnight. Another thing that's been running through Nikki's mind is that since Genesis saved Nikki's life by splicing and sharing her power source to keep Nikki's life supports online as well as transferring and downloading part of Nikki's brainwaves into her own mind, the two cyborg women have shared a special bond. The bond is on a psychic level, almost like some sort of cyborg telepathy, as they can feel each others feelings even miles away from one another...almost as if they were one with each other. Nikki stood there as she almost yearned to want to be able to touch Genesis...she zoomed in with her bionic eye and stared at Genesis's peaceful face in awe and adoration as she slept while mechanical arms worked on her impressive body. She pressed her hand on the glass and whispered.

Simone....if you are able to find rest, then there is still hope for me yet.

After several minutes of watching the red-headed cyborg sleep, Nikki made her way through the nearly empty police station to the rooftop and found herself a seat on the ledge. A brisk breeze caused her bangs and newly bobbed hair to waft in the wind as she stared down at the streets below as she gathered her thoughts on the direction that her life has taken in the last few months. It wasn't that long ago when she was loving the idea of being a superheroine and never thought twice about her cybernetics being a hindrance to herself, however after her encounter with the Collective she often questions some of the decisions that she's made thus far. She wondered what if she would have just stuck to her comfortable life of fame and fortune being one of the most celebrated athletic figures of all time instead of helping others with her extraordinary abilities and seeking the thrill of wanting to be a superheroine. She never really stopped to think if she would even be a good superheroine...she just assumed that she would be given that she's usually successful in nearly everything she's ever set out to do. She thought that since she was regarded as one of the greatest fighters on the planet that she would easily be able to combat evil...supervillains with superpowers is a whole different world to deal with than other hand to hand combatants. However with her defeat on her first solo-mission made her think twice about being a top tiered superheroine. She never stopped to think that although she was indeed strong and mighty, that there are others that are even stronger and mightier than her...she never even entertained the idea that maybe she was just a big fish in a small pond. She then thought about some of the more popular superheroes and heroines in Angel Falls and even with her state-of-the-art cybernetics that she wasn't even halfway as strong as someone like Walkiria, Fantastic Lin, or Soviet Superwoman. How could she hang with, let alone stop someone like Ultrawoman when even it takes the top heroines to their farthest limits just to even slow someone of her caliber down?

She then contemplated as to whether or not she made the right decision by agreeing to go under Scarlette Tamzarian's knife and receive her initial cybernetic parts and to have her cyber-symbiote fused to her body so many years ago. The night that she met Scarlette and the days after, she was over-emotional at the fact that she lost a championship Blitzball match that she could've won if she had body mods like the majority of other athletes did at that time. Her decision to receive her cybernetic augmentation was a hasty one....Scarlette really made the idea of being turned into a cyborg sound absolutely great and alluring, and this was the first time in 7 years that she actually stopped to question if she made a wise decision and thoroughly think things through. She wondered what would her life be like if she hadn't have taken Scarlette's offer...where would she be? Would she be a coach or color commentator for one of her previous sports...still in the world of athletics to some degree and still respected? Would she have made the Hall of Fame and forever lived in infamy as one of the all time greats? Would she have continued her career to the point where she was too old to keep up anymore? Would she just have become some flash in the pan hotshot athlete trying to hold on to her glory years rehashing the same old stories in some bar wasting away in obscurity? Or would she just be a normal woman living a normal life with a normal job and family that was once one of the greatest sports figures ever?

She then thought about the idea of her not being able to have children nor being a mother and this further saddened her. All of a sudden, she was very remorseful of ever agreeing to trade in her humanity to become a cyborg. So what if she wouldn't ever get sick, or old, or feel pain, or have the speed to run along side a race car at top speed, or have strength far beyond that of 100 Olympic powerlifters; She would never know the joys of motherhood...having a baby, seeing her child take it's first steps, the first day of school, taking that walk across stage to receive their diploma....none of it. She thought about how unlikely it would be to find a mate that would love her unconditionally and would look past the fact that she's a cyborg. At that moment, she didn't think that any sane man would want to hold her and cuddle with a girl that's partly made of metal...thoughts of her being lonely for the rest of her life crept into her head. Tears streamed out of her light brown left eye as she put her face in her hands and sobbed to herself.

After several minutes of crying Nikki stopped abruptly and looked up to the Moon, which was in it's waxing crescent phase. She then looked to the skyline of downtown Angel Falls and thought about everyone that was still in their beds sleeping. She shook her head as she wiped the last few trails of tears from her face,

"Alright, enough!!! Snap out of it Nikki...stop feeling sorry for yourself!!! What's wrong with you...this isn't you at all...you're not a crybaby! Crying ain't gonna make things better...tighten up, girlie!"

She jumped to her feet and coached herself through her sorrow, almost embarrassed at herself for allowing for her emotions to get the best of her through self-pity. Even better for her sake, this was all of her human side chastising herself for having a pity party and not her programming trying to override her feelings. She then thought about why she wanted to become a superheroine in the first place rather than just focus on her career as a mega-athlete...she thought to all of the times that she has helped others and fought evil forces to protect this city and world and how it made her feel afterwards. As she paced back and forth across the rooftop, she thought about the citizens of Angel Falls that didn't have any kind of powers or augmentations and how they would be easily taken over and tyrannized by the likes of evil minded villains such as Sataria, Ultrawoman, Genocide, or Dark Star if it weren't for virtuous-minded protectors with the special gifts of metahuman abilities, genetic augmentations, cybernetics, or just a full arsenal of weapons ala La Femme Punisher...she realized that she was one of those protectors. She then thought about the children...although she couldn't have any herself anymore, she became a superheroine so that the children could grow and play in a free world with a decreased chance of having to live in an oppressive war zone to where they would have to live either as slaves, soldiers, or something worse at such a young age. She remembers her mother telling her stories of her childhood, often in tears, being forced to mine diamonds for hours on end with no break in the harshest conditions...only getting a sparse and unappetizing meal at the end of the day for her efforts. Although Nikki never had personally to experience that pain, she never wanted anyone else to experience anything like what her mother, grandmother, and many generations of her other relatives and ancestors did back in Sierra Leone. It was at that moment where she once again realized her purpose and exactly why she agreed to become a superheroine.

She fixed her mind on her cybernetics being a gift that she could use to help those in need rather than a burden for herself. She looked at her make and model number of 'Adora-1' on her right breast and thought to herself,

"Adora-1...Adora-1...I'm number one, the first of my make and model...I am 'The One'...by the fates, I have been given this body and these powers and abilities as gifts, not burdens. Although I have lost a good bit of my humanity to receive them, my soul is still 100 percent human. Sataria was wrong in saying that I'm not human...being human is a state of mind, not necessarily how much flesh I have left. Yes, much of my body has been replaced with cybernetics and I won't be able to enjoy life like everyone else does...but I see now that the life of a heroine is often a thankless job where at times I will have to sacrifice my own happiness and comfort for that of those who I protect and fight to keep safe.

The time for tears and self-sorrow is over...I'm through feeling sorry for myself! I have gone through a lot in the last few days, but what's in the past is in the past...wallowing in my own pity isn't gonna get me anywhere at all nor fix anything. I've been knocked down many times in my life, and I've always always ALWAYS gotten up! Sataria really did a number on my body and mind, but I refuse to ever let her or anyone else ever do that to me again! I should be happy...Techna has made me stronger than I've ever been and has given me the tools to make things right....I feel invincible right now with this body! It's time for me to make my mind and my thoughts invincible as well once again! This is me getting up off of the ground...and this time I rise back to my feet stronger than I've ever been! I promise, the next time we tango Sataria, it's gonna end much differently than it did our first dance! And I promise that I will save Gemma, Inez, Alexandra, and as many Collective Drones from your evil grip that I can as well as put an end to your horrific assimilations once and for good!

I will protect this city and this world and stand up for what is just, right, and fair; as long as my circuits and muscles are in sync and there's still energy coursing through my body I will do what it takes to be the greatest superheroine ever...that is my vow. I may not be the strongest physically, or the fastest, but I will use the talent and the technology that I've been fitted with to their full capabilities to protect the citizens and my comrades-in-arms at my side taking up the same fight against evil. I cannot lose...I WILL NOT LOSE!!!"

Just then a distress signal rang out in her internal databanks from an unknown frequency...a hollow, digitized female voice similar to that of Nikki's rang out as she frantically pleaded for someone to answer.

"Mayday...mayday...Angel Falls....can anyone hear me? If you can hear my voice, my designation is Cytrax-100...I am a cyborg agent employed by the U.S. Government. Please respond...mayday..."

"Cytrax-100, this is Diamond, copy. I hear you loud and clear...what's going on?"

"I have been tracking a hostile fugitive by the name of Valerie Harrison that is also a rogue agent for the same government organization which I belong to....she has been going to federal reserves, banks, and such with hi-tech armor and weaponry and has decimated everything in her path, leaving many injured or dead and millions in federal money lost. It appears as if she's trying to get her hands on some even more powerful hardware in the weapons and armor department...I was able to intrude on one of her phone transactions at it appears that she had made a deal with a Scarlette Tamzarian about receiving a cache of weapons, ammunition, and armament. She is set to meet one of Tamzarian's representatives at 4:05 am in an arbitrary location at the city limits of Angel Falls to make the transaction, which is in about 25 minutes."

"So it looks like Scarlette's up to no good again by selling her weapons to a criminal traitor...I knew she couldn't be trusted!"

"I gather that you are familiar with Ms. Tamzarian and Tamzarian Industries?"

"Yeah...just a little bit. She's only the person that turned me into a cyborg. So what do you need me to do?"

"I am still in pursuit of Rogue Agent Harrison...she is approximately 35 miles Due West of Greater Angels Falls city limit at the current time heading your way at a sustained speed of about 65 mph in a large automobile. The purpose of my distress signal is that I request some assistance in apprehending the rogue agent, as she is still heavily armed and dangerous. Plus, I don't exactly know what to expect from Tamzarian's cohort..chances are that if they are shipping hi-tech weapons and ammo, then they're strapped as well. Although I am quite powerful, it would be logical to not head into battle by myself not knowing what to fully expect...I do realize the fact that it is 3:40 am and that everyone is sleeping, but I would be extremely appreciative to have any sort of assistance in apprehending the hostile while I have her cornered."

"Pardon me for being a bit inquisitive, but how do I know that you're not a hostile trying to get the jump on some unsuspecting superhero or something? You mentioned Scarlette...she and I have beef; how do I know that you aren't in cahoots with her and that y'all aren't trying to get the drop on me? I realize that shit happens, but like you said it's almost 4 in the morning! I'm not trying to step into any unnecessary shit!"

"I can't blame you for questioning the reason of my late distress signal, but I can assure you...I'm one of the good guys and this is a serious situation...perhaps not anything that is a major threat to national security, but still serious nonetheless. I have called for backup from my organization, but I don't think they will arrive in time to assist me...I have been tracking Harrison for weeks and finally I have her in position for capture."

"Alright, alright...I believe you. Lucky for you, I'm antsy and I can't sleep tonight! I'm on it...I too am a cyborg like yourself, so please send me your coordinates so that I can get your exact 20 with my internal GPS implant."

"Done."

"Okay...I'm clear on the other side of Angel Falls, so I'll meet you there in approximately 20 minutes. Fortunately, there's hardly any traffic on the roads so perhaps I'll be able to shave some time off of my trip. Plus, it's good that there aren't a lot of civilians out and about just in case things get hairy. We'll rendezvous and take 'em down while they're not even suspecting it! Let's keep this connection between you and me open; maybe you can brief me a little on just what I'm about to face."

"Affirmative. I thank you in advance and I'll see to it that my organization compensates you for your assistance provided that we're successful in capturing the fugitive. By the way, I am a longtime fan of yours Diamond, and I look forward to fighting by your side! But fair warning...we are facing a moderate level threat!"

"Good...I'm in the mood to kick some ass and not hold back! I don't know about you...but I'm an Extreme Level threat by myself! I'm heading that way right now!"

With that Nikki ran over to the ledge of the roof and without hesitation jumped off of the side of the moderately high building. She formed her symbiote on her right hand into an elongated grappling hook and latched onto a stop light post, causing her to swing in pendulum like fashion before she hit the hard concrete street below. At the full height of her swing, she let go of the post and her symbiote came back to her arm...she continued to fly forward, somersaulting forward 4 times before finally landing on the city street, running at full speed towards the location that Cytrax-100 gave her.

To Be Continued
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Cast of Characters:

-"Diamond" Nicole Vetter bka "Nikki", "Genesis" Simone Rattica, Deuce, Valerie Harrison created by and belong to

-Cytrax-100 created by and belongs to

Mentioned, but don't appear:

-Alexandra Robinson belongs to
-Inez Moreno belongs to
-Ultrawoman belongs to
-Walkiria and Dark Star belong to
-Soviet Superwoman and Genocide belong to
-Fantastic Lin heralded by
-Polygirl belongs to
-La Femme Punisher belongs to
--Dr. Jetta "Techna" Chambers, Lt. Raina Hunter, Sataria the Cyborg Queen, and Scarlette Tamzarian all created by and belong to
***********************************************

Alright, I had to take a short break away from my OC Sexy Summertime Swimsuit Bikini Jammy Jam as I've had Nikki on my brain something fierce! I've been stewing on ways to revamp her look, and since she went through quite a bit of stuff in her "Enter The Collective" story arc, I thought that this would be a good time to switch her look up a bit. Being that I pretty much made Nikki into my oldest OC of all, Adora-1, last year...I found myself looking at old pics of Adora-1 that I did a few years ago (This one look familiar?) and thought about ways that I could make Nikki look more like that while keeping her current look.

I entertained the idea of giving Nikki short hair like in those pics, yet I wanted to keep her hair busy/kinky and not straight...I experimented with a sketch and I liked how it came out. I then decided that I would redraw "The One", as I really like the pose, and decided to draw her with her short hair and the extra gadgets and her diamond implant now being visible. I thought back to earlier this year when I gave Nikki a head band here and threw that in with her new short hairstyle...success! I really like Nikki's quasi-new look, as I pretty much just took the old pics of the original Adora-1 character and melded them with how I've been drawing Nikki over the past year. I'm not exactly sure yet, but she's probably gonna have this shorter hair style for a while.

As for the story aspect, my homie and I decided that we should team up his cyborg gal Cytrax-100 along with Diamond...I would write and he would draw the image. However, when I first started writing, I was gonna make this a separated image. In fact, this drawing was just Nikki until I got the spark late last night (around 4 am! ) to add in the side view of Cytrax after I was all ready to upload the deviation! I'm glad I did add Cytrax-100, as I felt that the piece was missing something. I didn't plan of having Cytrax show up in this story, however it just flowed so I went with it...it was literally an afterthought that worked out rather well!

I think that this is a good follow up to the "Enter The Collective" arc, as I didn't like how it ended for Nikki. She had gone through some serious shit and in retrospect her ending seemed a little flat. I think that this is a better way of showing just how she felt after her encounter with Sataria and the internal struggle that she's dealing with.

Stay tuned for part 2 and the conclusion of "I, Cyborg!"