Cyber Fair: Glitch (Escape from Club Apophis, 15)

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STORYLINE: "Can't we just... wait? Until I get my paycheck?" Kyra asked, her voice tight with anxiety. She adjusted her visor, watching Lisa's face flicker with the telltale digital snow of a poor connection. On the screen Lisa's defiant grin flashed confidence, but Kyra's augmented eyes caught the tremor in her hands. The mask of flippant bravery was beginning to slip.

"And risk him coming back? No way. MasterGin's out of town, - rare window. We strike now while the viper's nest is empty. Your cybernetic body's our best bet, Kyra. Faster. Tougher. Built to handle obstacles. In and out, just like old times. Hey, you didn’t flinch sneaking into GNet’s server tower, did you? That was epic! We beat those foo-foo major outlets to the scoop!" Lisa winked, the gesture hollow against the tired smudges under her eyes. "And if you take a little damage, we just swap out the parts. Chop chop."

Her tone was glib, but fear bled through. Her stream’s sudden shift into a smear campaign was costing her dearly. The fans didn’t like her kicking poor Jihoon when he was barely alive. The sponsors were bleeding away. This was her last chance.

Her palms itched with the old thrill, -- the same itch she felt the night she crawled through a corporate skylight so Lisa could stream the CEO scandal live before anyone else. Kyra would do anything to see that beaming smile on Lisa’s face again. She turned from the flickering image of her best friend to face the new reality before her.

To her eyes, the edge of the Forbidden Zone was no line but a wound in reality. It shimmered like a heat mirage, but her enhanced vision detected no warmth in ultraviolet. The pulsing distortion bent the air like liquid glass. It smelled unholy. She felt sick.

"Lisa, my augments are picking up something strange. Do you see that warping? The air... it's like it's corrupted," her words barely audible.

Lisa's grin didn't falter on-screen. "What are you talking about? Looks the same as always. A big pile of nothing. Hurry up, before someone spots us!" The panic cracked through the false cheer. 

Kyra lowered her helmet, spun up the solar rotor at her back, ground her rollarblades against the gravel, then dropped into the crouch of a speed skater. She had always been the one who fixed Lisa’s problems, the silent partner, the fixer who never missed a cue. But her throat tightened before her wheels moved. 

Go fast. In and out. Quick.

Then finally, with the choreographed confidence of a head cheerleader, she launched herself into the Forbidden Zone in a burst of speed.

The instant her blades touched the dusty stone, her body became a stranger. Breath stalled—not from lack of air, but lack of command. Hands, throat, lips were present and unresponsive, as if a directive had been issued and immediately revoked. Signals to her artificial limbs jammed.

 

A frantic voice shattered in her comm. "Kyra? You’re freezing... what's wrong? C'mon, don’t do this..." The sound fractured into a digital screech, splintering like glass. Her vision hiccupped. A moment vanished. Then Lisa again, torn by interference: "...remote reboot signal... why isn’t it taking?" Another gap. Her body unzipped, metal sinking against metal. Lisa returned, raw with panic. “Damn, this place is... messing with the signal! Kyra, can you hear me? Force a hard reboot! Now!"

A suffocating claustrophobia seized her. Her body, the perfect machine she'd built was now a deadweight, a lifeless thing with no power. Kyra was awake inside a corpse. She could feel the rough grit of the pavement below her wheels and the cool wind on her shell, but her nerves were dead ends. On the outside, she was a statue, a monument to a glitch. Inside, a terrified animal pacing its cage. 

Her body, frozen unnaturally at the start of a race, gleamed just inside the border, a perfect mannequin abandoned mid-step. Inside, her mind thrashed. Out there, past the rippling distortion, something shifted. Not wind. Not stone. Something watching. If it came closer, she would meet it like this—unmoving, unarmed, unable even to scream.

CyberFair is back! *does a happy dance* Today's post continued the Apophis series, this time focusing on Sleepy Dwarf, of the Snow White tale, but in the cyberpunk twist, it becomes Glitch. Kyra is athletic and she wearing the fantastic Abeabi AB36 roller boots. They come with a brilliant Ao that really sells the roller vibe, with multiple animations, and of course a hud to change out the colors and textures. ...From GACKIGANG is the Neko 1 suit that includes helmet, suit, transparent jacket, and armor. It has fits for Legacy and Reborn, Texture hud, with LED lights. The helmet has a 3 hologram option, and has a hold pose too. Very nice! Did you see the cat kneepads? lol ... Keeping Kyra powered up and moving fast is the G-Blade Mk1 spinning propeller by geek. It has PBR textures and options for lighting effects, textures, and animated textures. ... From Volga is the cyber beautiful Elektra Skin. (Bonus, there are cool Addons you can purchas: Neonix and Glambot masks). ...Providing more hints of cybernetics, are the Hexed Cyber Eyes, and MJN Exoline tattoos. The eyes have metal base with colored enamel iris in several colors. The Exolines comes is several versions to best match your skintone. ... From FaeTal are the Btye earrings, with fits for Lelutka human, elf, or Swallow ears, and a texture hud.  ....The vortex effect is amazing, its by Mindgardens Creations and really does look like a 3 dimensional illusion of a spiraling hole, but its a flat surface. it uses fancy Advanced lighting tricks and projectors to create it. I hide the stone board to make it double as the force field of the Forbidden Zone. ...Thanks to Aarya for the help and letting me Cosplay her for this post.

On Her, Kyra:

Helmet, suit, armor: GACKIGANG [GG] Neko, Halogram, LegacyF fatpack[mesh](CyberFair)(600L)

Skates: abeabi AB36 roller boots, white, Legacy F [mesh](CyberFair)(249L)
Wing: geek G-Blade V2 PBR [mesh](CyberFair)(699L)

Earring: FaeTal Byte, LeL Human Female[mesh](CyberFair)(199L)
Eyes: Hexed BOM Cyber Eyes, pink [BOM](CyberFair)(190L)

Skin: VOGLIA ELEKTRA Skin, EvoX, Icy With Brows [BOM](CyberFair)(699L)

Tattoo: [MJN] ExoLines, icy [BOM](CyberFair)( L)

Gloves: ContraptioN Dapper Dandy's Glove, LegacyF  [mesh]

Scalp: no.match EvoX hairbase  NO_DEAR WHITE  [BOM]
Head, eyes: LeLUTKA lel EvoX LILLY 3.1 [mesh](3990L)
Body: TheShops Legacy female [mesh](Linden Labs starter avatar)

Pose: DevinVaughn created inside Firestorm's poser.

Setting:

Vortext: Mindgardens Creations MG - Xyphoria Astral Stone Portal [mesh]

Torii gate: MAke a MArk Japanese City Complex #26 - main torii [mesh]

Stone Path: xin. ishidatami 1 [mesh]

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky