Daring daylight robbery still baffles.

The footage itself has been viewed over 200 million times. It's the grand re-opening of The Saint Century Hall of Heroes. This young woman—later identified as 16-year-old student Roxanne Belmonte—could be seen arriving and later on is captured perusing the exhibits. In one instant, she is stopped in front of the rings of Solar Flare; in the next, both she and the rings are gone. It’s been claimed that you can see a brief flash of light when the footage is slowed down but others dismiss that as video artifacts. Police say the case is still open and they are following many leads but informants inside the SCPD claim that there are no leads and that this girl appears to have vanished without a trace. Has she gone off-world? Our informant says it's possible, even likely. Still, after all these years, questions remain: Who was Roxanne Belmonte, and what caused her to suddenly pull off such a brazen act? How did she even pull off what has baffled all experts? And most important of all, where could she be now?

-crime.bleed.net editorial, 3130.

Roxanne sat befuddled at the kitchen island as her tearful grandmother recounted everything. She couldn't believe it, 5 years? Everything that happened in the Bleed felt like hours at best. A quick scan of the Bleednet confirmed it all; it was true, 5 whole years have passed and, worst of all, she might be wanted by the police. Fantastic.

Time exists differently in the bleed; last time I do that, promise.

Roxanne ignored Azonne as she listened to her grandmother, "They tried to say you stole those things; I never wanted to believe it but...you're wearing them now, aren't you?"

Roxanne's eyes shifted to her hands, her immediate urge was to cover them up but she decided against it. Instead, she offered: "It's...a long story. I'm not sure you'd believe me.

"Does the story involve how you got that tattoo?"

"What tattoo?" Roxanne squinted.

Millie tilted her head and raised both her eyebrows, Roxanne arched an eyebrow in return, confused. Millie got up silently and left the room, Roxanne considered following her but grandmother was back pretty quickly. She had a mirror in her hand that she handed over to Roxanne who accepted it hesitantly. Roxanne held the mirror up to her face and a degree of panic swept over her.

There was a tattoo. On her face. It was partially covered by the swoop of hair that fell over her right eye but she hurriedly shoved it aside to inspect it further. Two solid black triangles were above her right eyebrow while a single black triangle was just below her eyelid. Azonne had this; oh my god they all did!

"Greshing hell!"

“Roxanne Dawn!”

“I’m sorry gramma!” Roxanne continued staring into the mirror and touching her face. “I don’t even know what to say!” The reflection in the mirror suddenly came to life to answer her:

"It is the mark of the chosen."

The sight of that made Roxanne drop the mirror. It collided with the hard floor and shattered, sending pieces flying like a dropped bag of marbles. Roxanne backed up suddenly, her heart pounding and searching for a way to escape. "Sesh!" She shouted.

"Rox-anne!" Grandmother had also shouted.

"Did you see that??" Roxanne asked her with fright in her voice.

"See what?!" Her grandmother replied, and Roxanne realized she must look insane. She gazed down upon the broken glass and sighed. She could still see her reflection amongst all the broken pieces.

"That’s you, isn’t it Azonne?"

"My apologies," the reflection answered.

"We'll talk about this later," Roxanne said, annoyed.

"Roxanne..." Millie said, Roxanne returned her gaze; grandmother looked so worried. "...who are you talking to, sunshine? What the heck is going on?? I’m sorry, you know I hate to curse but I’m just so—so…tell me what’s going on, please."

Roxanne sighed and looked from her grandmother and back down to the shattered glass. She pointed a ring at the ground, and a beam of light energy escaped from it that engulfed all the glass pieces in a small hard-light bubble. They clinked together loudly as she lifted the light bubble from the floor and mentally guided it over to the trash. The clean bot had emerged from its crevice but quickly turned right back around with a disgruntled squeak. After she deposited the glass, Roxanne looked back up at her grandmother who had stood there with her mouth agape.

"So," Roxanne began. "I was...kind of given a job." She partially shrugged which caused her grandmother to narrow her eyes and walk toward her. The body language was fairly typical for Roxanne and it triggered something inside Millie; she hugged her tight. Tears streamed down her face.

In between sniffs, Millie said: "Oh god, I'm just so happy you are home; I don't care!" Roxanne returned the hug with a tight one of her own. Her being gone for so long must have hurt grandmother so much, she felt grateful to be home and that grandmother still loved her.

She pulled away from Millie and said, "I can't believe I have a tattoo on my face." But barely got the sentence out because a laugh had bubbled up out of nowhere. Grandmother grinned right back at her.

"Oh, sunshine," she said and brushed Roxanne's hair back and kissed her on the forehead. When finished, she rose and her expression changed to a probing gaze. "What happened to you?" Roxanne looked up at her grandmother and hesitated. She wasn't exactly sure how to broach the entire thing, where would she even start? Okay so, like, I started hearing this voice, okay? It sounded completely crazy in her mind.

And then she worried about how Millie may react. Would she believe her? Would she hate her? Grandmother had never been a fan of so-called OverHumans and, while Roxanne wasn't one all of a sudden, would grandmother functionally see a difference? No, there existed the possibility that grandmother would, in fact, freak out.

"Okay gramma, but," Roxanne started. "You just got to let me get through this—and don't interrupt, okay?"

Grandmother Millie nodded in acquiescence. Roxanne took a deep breath and was about to speak but she stopped herself and said, "...you should probably sit down."

Millie took a seat at the kitchen island and waited. Roxanne would continually start a thought only to immediately stop it. Anxiety was getting the best of her. Grandmother, perhaps sensing the discord in her granddaughter, reached up with a hand and touched her gently on the arm.

"Sunshine, just tell me," she said with a smile.

Roxanne blew air out of her mouth, emptying her lungs. "Okay," and she relayed the last few hours of her life as best she understood it. It wasn't as long a story as Roxanne had anticipated in her mind but grandmother sat enraptured for all of it. She asked so many questions, questions Roxanne surprised herself by having the answer for. The shared memories of her predecessors were coming in handy but it was so imperceptible to her that it never registered that it was happening. Roxanne had drifted for a bit when she considered all the newfound possibilities at her fingertips, not realizing her grandmother had been speaking to her.

"Say that again?" She asked.

"I said, and how come you never came to me?" Millie replied. "When you started hearing the—you know."

Roxanne scoffed, "Are you kidding? 'Oh, hey grams, somethings been calling out to me, hurr hurr’." She had a mocking tone, which grandmother did not appreciate.

"...Sorry."

"Well, you're still definitely 16," Millie stated flatly, turning Roxanne a shade red. Roxanne leaned back on her stool and looked around; not much had changed in the 5 years, unsurprisingly.

Something struck her, though. "Gramma?" She asked.

"Yes, dear?"

"Where's grandpa? You haven't mentioned him once."

Grandmother’s eyes grew dark and she lowered them. She choked up for brief seconds but took a deep breath. She was struck by how much it still hurt.

"I'm-I’m so sorry honey," she said. "But he passed on a year ago."

Roxanne's brow furrowed while her eyes grew wide. "What?! How?!"

"He had a heart attack," Millie replied, both lips drawn in as if biting them.

"When the hell were you going to tell me??" Roxanne spat.

"I'm sorry!" Millie replied. "But baby, please understand, I'm still processing you even being here right now."

Roxanne fumed. Sure, she could understand what her grandmother was saying to her. Sure. Recognizing that wasn't helping though, not even a little bit. What she did recognize, however, was that she needed to get out of here before she did something dumb.

"I have to go, gramma," Roxanne turned to leave and her grandmother chased after her.

"Roxanne, please!" Millie pleaded. "Where are you going?"

"I don't know!" She shouted but stopped and took a deep breath. The door slid open on approach but she stopped just short of it. Roxanne looked over her shoulder, and said with fought back tears, "I-I just need some air, alone. Please."

Grandmother backed off, getting the message. Roxanne stepped out into the night, powered up her suit, and shot out into the night sky. Grandmother ran out to watch her, barely catching the tail end of an orange comet rising up and away. She sighed to herself.

"Get your granddaughter back after 5 years and chase her away in 5 minutes," Millie said to no one in particular. "Gotta be some kind of record."

***

Roxanne slowed her speed once she reached above the skyline, the Central One building lingered off in the distance northward fully repaired. She paused in mid-air and hovered until she finally started crying. It was a gush all at once; Roxanne had been holding in a lot, not just due to the news about grampa but everything. Six months of fears, feelings, and mild freak-outs all came to bear at once.

A small part of her clung to the dim hope that this was all some extended nightmare, but no, it was real enough. Roxanne felt a glob of despair well up in her throat and had to choke it down. Grandfather was dead. The thought that he died thinking that she was a thief and that she had run away made her heart hurt.

Roxanne and grampa Humberto weren’t as close as she was with Millie, but they had an understanding. He was the “tough parent”, that was his role; Roxanne knew that and tried not to push things too far. It wasn’t always a success, but Roxanne knew he loved and believed in her. To her credit, Roxanne tried hard not to be a disappointment to her grandparents, she really did.

Anytime a teacher, or some other adult authority figure, had read her the riot act because she was being lazy always made her worry it would get back to them. It didn’t always; the times they had were…not fun. Not that she would stop being lazy but she was a work in progress. That and the better life that everyone wanted for her wasn’t her idea of a better life by any metric.

Roxanne shied from it because she wanted more, but the struggle always was: how do you bring that up to the people who raised you? How do you deal with the inevitable look of disappointment? Both Millie and Humberto would have such hopeful looks on their faces when they looked at Roxanne, it stressed her out sometimes.

She kept up appearances, went to school (mostly), and brought home good scores. It was fine, things were fine; until they weren’t. Until she vanished for 5 whole years. One of her worst nightmares, letting down her grandparents, had suddenly come true; she started crying again.

Back in the Bleed, she had told herself that she had accepted this mantle because it was the thing she had been looking for. Something she could truly care about and give her all; a way out of the rut. But the reality was, she had also accepted because it might have made her grandparents proud.

And now one was gone, alongside 5 years of her life.

Was this all a mistake? She had lept without thinking, again. Just like all those times she'd cut class or work on an illegal AUG hack, the decision was purely in the moment and because it felt right. This didn’t so feel right anymore. Roxanne sighed heavily and she headed south toward the lower districts. Crying above the harsh neon glow of the upper zones lacked any sort of appeal.

She spotted a few 6-story buildings that looked ripped out of old newsvids from Old Earth. Likely, they were; money was typically no object to these people. Past here was midtown, where most of the working class made a home; further south from there is when the city started losing its shine. Slums, shanty towns, and bombed-out buildings were the home to many squatters, both still on the grid and off. Further south was Junk Town, an area of Saint Century where most obsolete bots migrated once their warranties expired.

She lowered herself onto the roof of one of the buildings and started peering over the edge to the street below. Roxanne had spent very little time down here, she was always told it was dangerous for a young girl like her which always reeked of low-key misogyny. She slapped a hand on the brick edge and cursed under her breath. "Stupid," she uttered. "I shouldn't have just left like that, god I'm so stupid! And an asshole! And,"

Why not just go back?

"No, I can't do that." She turned her back on the edge and leaned against the brick barrier, arms folded. "Not yet, anyway."

I do not understand.

"Azonne, I don't think I could distill human relationships and interactions for you right now." Roxanne put her hands up and walked toward the center of the roof.

I’m sure I understand interpersonal relations.

Roxanne snorted but overall ignored the comment. She spotted a power box nearby that typically housed the building's AI, but down here she wondered if one would even be installed. A freestanding doorway was also present leading to the stairs and thus the building below. "So what's with the whole reflection thing?" She asked.

What do you mean?

"Earlier, at the house," she replied. "You took over my reflection to talk to me, I guess?"

It is one of the ways I can communicate with you in the real world; is this also something you do not want me to do?

Roxanne considered the thought for a moment. She waved it off before saying, "No, I guess it’s fine—is it a personal preference thing?"

I’m not sure what you mean.

“Do you do it that way for a reason?” Azonne was silent for a minute, Roxanne wondered if she had offended them. She shouldn’t have pushed, she'd been enough of a pain in the ass tonight already.

Yes. I haven’t felt the real in so long; the feel of matter…I believe I miss it.

“Makes sense, but it’s not the same is it?”

It is close enough.

“Fair,” Roxanne tapped her fingers on the brick wall and wondered if it was time to head back home.

I am receiving sporadic reports of an incident at Junk Town, it could be a possible manifestation point.

"Oh?" Roxanne said. "But humans don't live in Junk Town."

Are there no living things there?

"Let me correct myself," she replied. "Biological beings don’t live in junk town."

Well, some are there now.

This gave Roxanne some pause and she searched the Bleednet herself. She marveled quietly to herself how easy it was to bring up a HUD in her peripheral vision; this must be what having an Aug must feel like. She eventually found a live stream emanating from Junk Town itself.

"Oh cool," she muttered to herself, forgetting everything and feeling like her old self again. King Robo the Mechanoterrorist was streaming a hostage situation he had orchestrated. The old bot must have put himself together again after Lady Steel had knocked his block off. The hostages appeared to be mostly the press, Roxanne imagined it was easy to lure them out.

"Well, I seriously doubt that's going to be a manifest point," she said while trying to act like she knew what she was talking about; she was in a mood. "But, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go check it out…” Roxanne nibbled on her bottom lip. “Um, that being said, I'm a bit nervous about being out there, so to speak."

Expected. We will work through it.

"Gee, thanks, big help." Roxanne rose from the roof and she made her way south, high enough to clear the buildings in her way but low enough to avoid any police that may be patrolling the sky. Between that and facial and iris recognition, she wasn't ready to quite face the world at large just yet; the minute she got scanned was likely the minute all hell broke loose.

The Sight along with being plugged in directly to the Bleednet made avoidance that much easier, and she decided to dial down the intensity of her aura because a feeling told her she should; just in case. Roxanne found accessing what she could do increasingly easier the more she used them, it reminded her of working out or getting good at a video game. She was building muscle memory for her mind.

Junk Town met her after a few moments of flight. It was, as the name implied, an area full of junk. Although the majority of the bots living there would push back against the name were they so inclined, most opted to go along to get along since they had their original purpose ripped away from them by being obsolete. She supposed this was why something like King Robo had gained so much influence even though its own origins were currently unknown. If King Robo had some sinister ulterior motive, aside from killing humanity, no one could say. Not all bots marched with him as the eternal pursuit of purpose for some of them had kept their processes busy.

Junk Town also wasn't immune from its class prejudices. The majority of non-humanoid or insectile robots made up the architecture of the area and these so-called simple appliances would be broken down and scrapped into parts that made up their housing and businesses. Most people would point to that to show they don't need or require rights, that they were just savage machines with no concept of morality despite all the technology that created them or the miracle of evolution that gave them sentient thoughts of their own. Roxanne just felt, perhaps clumsily, that they simply mirrored the nature of their creators and probably deserved the same rights and protections.

King Robo’s little rally was staged at the center of Junk Town. It stood orating at a makeshift aluminum stage and was surrounded by a crowd of only 5-10 other robots who cheered them on. The reporters were lined up behind him, unbelievably taking pictures and recording footage. If they were scared, they didn't show it.

Roxanne hung back a bit, less than a block away, and she tuned into the live stream. King Robo ranted away on stage exaggeratedly, as if he were mimicking things he'd seen humans once do. Reading a robot's body language was not one of the things on her bucket list.

King Robo had to have been 10 feet tall; previous newsvids concerning it didn't do it any justice. It seemed built anachronistically, with visible bolts marking the connections between joints throughout its body as well as connecting its "jaw" with the rest of its skull. The shoulders were the largest bolts, sticking out a few inches above where both shoulders and chest met with it. It was colored pure white as if it had been dipped in powdered sugar, and—bizarrely—wore green tactical pants.

What could have possibly been its prior function? Roxanne considered this while it continued to rant.

"-*bzt*Lady Steel continues to be *chk* the arm of the oppressors! She infringes *bzt* on not just my right to protest but my right to simply exist! *Ggh* Today I show the world that we *zzt* are no joke, that I am no joke. These *chk* stupid flesh bags were given "press passes" lined with *bzt* nano-filament explosives!"

"Uh," Roxanne looked from the stream to the actual events unfolding below her. There was a delay; about 5 seconds. Enough time that it didn’t matter what his next words would be; Roxanne didn't hesitate. A low-energy pulse sent her careening toward the display. She pointed a fist in King's direction but he was still so busy ranting that she had not even registered.

A beam emerged from her ring and she instantly surrounded him with light and hardened it. Then, with just a quick thought, she contracted it and crushed King Robo as a trash compactor would. When she released the construct and her beam winked out, King clattered to the ground a perfectly geometric rectangular box. The crowd and hostages stood there stunned. But while the robot onlookers scattered, the media crowded her and took pictures.

Roxanne backed up and freaked out. She held her hands up and tried to get a word in edgewise but quickly realized that was not going to happen. An alert flashed in her peripheral vision; a breaking news report had hit the net and was setting off all sorts of notifications in her HUD. She mentally clicked on the window and let it fill her entire vision:

DARING DAYLIGHT ROBBER, FOUND??

Ghastly headline aside, Roxanne's heart skipped a beat when she saw the accompanying footage: it was just her standing there right that second with her mouth slack-jawed. From her perspective, it was an infinite mirror and goosebumps rippled across her skin. Roxanne had had enough, she pushed the pack aside with a slight expansion of her aura and then shot up into the sky. Police were converging on her previous location so she coordinated with Azonne to avoid them before she decided to settle on the roof of a 10-story gravcar factory. She sat at the edge scanning the net and police bands, hoping it would all die down soon.

"Nice work down there."

The voice caused Roxanne to fall off the roof, but she had effortlessly caught herself in mid-air and now just floated. She turned around slowly, not quite shocked to find the voice had belonged to Lady Steel. Corina Kyle stood there casually, hand on her hips, and had a smirk on her face. She was amused at the fact that she had scared Roxanne.

"Sorry about that," she chortled. "We should talk."