If you thinking working with Samurai is difficult, try getting a group of them to work together. There’s only one thing most of them like more than xeno-slaying, and that’s social distancing.

  - Herding Cats: A Layman’s Guide to Working With Samurai, 2039

  Me and the dust runners parted ways that next morning, albeit passing them some desperately needed anti-hangover medication. They seemed like nice enough folks, and despite their less than glamorous job it was clear they were making the best of the hand they were given. Hopefully their company wasn’t intruding too much on that, and that they were actually able to earn themselves a real living without throwing themselves to the slaughter. If they weren’t…well, then I guess I would have words for the owner.

  …Dammit, I never got the company’s name. Diego said it was somewhere in Calgary? That…probably doesn’t narrow it down that much.

  Packing up my stuff was a simple affair–thank you once again Compact Structures Catalog, best seventy-five points I’ve ever spent–so in just a few minutes it was just me and the dusty ambience of the desert, dry earth, smoldering heat, and all. It took even less time for me to shove it all into the Charon with as much grace as a bison, and soon I was blasting through the Arizona sky, the sea of beige and brown slowly blurring together as I sped past.

  I caught a glimpse of Targ as well during the trip, since it sat almost directly north of the megacity. It was hard to tell from this distance how it was doing, as the entire town was composed of the scientifically blandest colors known to man, but I was just able to spot dots of bumblebee yellow reminiscent of construction equipment, so I assumed its recovery was going well. Such an assumption was also a matter of trust, as I knew that the Samurai who had chosen to take roost there wasn’t about to let the place fall into ruin.

  Targ was but the appetizer, however, as soon the main entree that was Phoenix came into view. An expansive homogenized mass of dirtied greys, further gloomed by the noxious smog that linger incessantly around the city’s middle. Endless streams of hover vehicles pumped in and out of the city like the veins of a heart. The very heat of the desert itself made the sight of the city waver just a touch, the heat mirage making it seem like a dystopian oasis in this valley of sun and suffering.

  To call it a welcome sight would be entirely incorrect. “Ugh.”

  I imagine you aren’t entirely thrilled about coming back to Phoenix, considering your history.

  I was a touch surprised that Cal knew that the city was my old stomping ground, but it really shouldn’t have shocked me. Really, the reaction was more about revealing that vulnerability. “You could say that.”

  If it makes you feel better, the coordinates Trigonometry provided for the event don’t actually point inside the city, instead northeast of it.

  A rush of relief washed over me. “Oh, thank god. The pollution in the city sucks anyways.”

  I stayed in one of the main lanes of the skyway for a while before veering off left into the desert before entering the megacity proper. What I did specifically was probably a traffic violation, but I seriously doubted any officers would pursue me. Knowing Cal, something in my bike probably triggered a warning that I was actually a Samurai rather than just some free spirited blonde with little respect for laws. Not that I wasn’t the latter, but the former is what everyone else would fixate on first.

  “Oh, right. I need a mask.” The Soiree being a more relaxed event didn’t implore me to wear the full getup, instead going in with a casual shirt and shorts, but I still wasn’t super comfortable showing my face to every John and Jane Samurai there.

  I have devised an appropriate face covering.

  Purchased: Class 0 Skull Phantom Mask - 1 Point

  Point Total: 9541, 1 token

  I felt the accessory materialize on my face, and when I took a glance in the mirror, I could see that a silver, skull-themed mask covered everything above my mouth. It wouldn’t offer me any protection in the non-zero case shit went awry, but for the purposes of masquerading at a party it would suffice just fine.

  I began to make out a collection of figures in the middle of the desert, and coincidentally the ping of my GPS told me I was nearing my destination. There didn’t seem to be anything of particular note about this spot, which raised an eyebrow, but I circled down to the ground nonetheless. I let the Charon rest next to all the other vehicles, which all were each differing levels of obnoxious. Sleek sci-fi muscle cars, shapes that didn’t resemble any sort of vehicle of all, and just the most gauche purple flying Harley I’d ever seen. The Charon looked downright mundane by comparison, which meant it was serving its purpose.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I got off with a stretch and began to wander over to the rest of the Samurai. With hindsight, maybe I should have come in uniform; everyone else was clearly wearing their natural gear. One dude's head was entirely covered in a helmet themed directly off of an eyeball, and the moment their gaze fell upon me I felt a pressure in the air. Another was relatively normal save for the hulking crimson red power armor covering him neck down, the back emblazoned with the letters ‘BBOB’. Three guesses as to who that was. Mostly oddly of all was the one other girl in attendance who took up my immediate attention: top bare save for some chest bindings for modesty, an obnoxious purple coat fluttering on their shoulders, and tattoos covering her entire body minus the face, which instead held a pair of slick aviators. Her companion, in stark contrast, was completely mundane and closer to me in attire. I had to assume that it was her plus one.

  A pair of hands covered over my eyes. “Guess who.”

  I didn’t recognize the voice, smooth and sweet like toffee, but there was only one birdbrain who would pull that stunt on me. “Kevin, will you ever stop being a dork?”

  I pushed the hands away to meet him in the eyes, and was briefly stunned with what I saw. While not completely towering over me, Kevin was now the definitively taller one, and his body was noticeably toned with impressive muscle, though not to the point of being macho. He let such muscle show itself off, subtly indenting his pair of jeans and sleeveless shirt. His face was sharp and well defined, that same short, red-brown hair and piercing brown eyes now on a different canvas, one that was slowly growing out a bit of stubble with it.

  Compared to how he was before, the transformation was night and day, to the point of me letting out an impressed whistle. “God damn, you really went ape on those body mods, didn’t you?”

  A big, toothy smile plastered over his face as he pumped an arm. “Like what you see?”

  “I do, though that might just be the shock more than anything. Better question is if you like it.”

  “More than you could ever imagine.” He came in and pulled me into a big hug. “It’s great to see you again, Max. …Jesus, why does it feel like I’m hugging a brick?”

  I got a small laugh out of that. “You’re not the only one who's gotten upgrades, Kevin.”

  A metallic bird automaton, reminiscent of a parrot but with more angular, aggressive beak and claws, landed on Kevin’s shoulder and gave a nod. “Glad you could make it today, Ms. Peregrine.”

  Kevin’s AI was always a little too formal for taste, but it was a welcome sight. “I imagine Kevin hasn’t been treating you too badly, Aytos?”

  “Oh, he’s as insufferable as ever, as you can probably imagine.” Such comments made the Samurai in question give an amused scoff.

  “Don’t worry, Cal probably feels the same about me.”

  ‘Insufferable’ wouldn’t be the word I would use to describe you, Max. Instead, ‘constantly appalled by your stupidity and lack of self-preservation’ is a much more apt summary.

  I laughed. “Good one. So, how’s it been hangin’ in Targ?”

  Kevin made a so-so motion with his hands. “Alright. The cleanup is going well and I’ve built myself a little hideout in the town, but those damn corpos just won’t let up. A bunch of them cornered me in an elevator once, and I basically had to threaten them directly before they’d leave me alone. At least I got to use a quote from Winter Soldier during that entire affair.”

  “Well, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for me either,” I replied. “Did you hear about Orson?”

  “So you were involved!”

  “Yup, even got to christen Staccato with his name. Wouldn’t shock me if he had a flying orchestra by now.”

  “Well, well, well, if it isn’t one of the Sams of the night!” A figure floated in on a hovering, triangular platform. They wore a skintight suit forest green in color, and their face was partially covered with a sleek, futuristic visor. Almost their entire getup had triangle imagery on it, from the pattern of the suit to the bits of armor, and their lime green hair spiked upwards into a sharp, neon point. Literally neon, as it was noticeably glowing. “To think the ever anti-social Death Punch has decided to make an appearance.”

  “The same could be said for you, Trig.” His energy was honestly a bit intense in person, but I did my best to keep my cool. “Also you did threaten me.”

  “Less threaten, more warn. Scurvy would have dragged you here regardless, so I’d rather you come willingly.” He turned to Kevin, but did so with a bit of unfamiliarity. “And who is this friend of yours?”

  I was about to reintroduce him, as Kevin looked noticeably different back when we both initialized, but he beat me to the punch. “Let me jog your memory, Trig.”

  Two huge, metallic wings magically unfurled from Kevin’s back, each one spreading out wider than I was tall twice over. Bladed feathers covered the tips of each one, and guns placed at each major joint swivelled diligently, looking for invaders who would not appear on this night.

  That seemed to get the gears turning, as Trig gave a surprised gasp. “Bone Hawk! Wow, that is one hell of a transformation you’ve gone through, even the full on team switch. Literally night and day. Couldn’t be happier for you, man.”

  That last little bit seemed to tickle Kevin especially, as he gave a downright radiant smile.

  “So, uhh…where is Scurvy anyways?” I asked, scratching the back of my head. “I imagine I would have noticed if she was here.”

  Trig took a glance at some sort of watch on his wrist, triangle shaped just like the rest of his wardrobe. “She’s on her way and should be arriving…right about now, actually.”

  As if on cue, a literal flying pirate ship soared around the edge of the city and came into view. I could literally hear the sea shanties blasting from it from here.