A Troublesome Customer
A commission that seems to have been forgotten as the start to a different series. Maybe it'll return one day, maybe not, but hey, have it for what it is. A nutty little fox decides that he should experiment with controlling nanites.
Commissioned by NecrossSkywing
If you're interested in contributing more frequently, consider visiting my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/draconiconlibrary?ty=h for good rewards and better stories.
If you simply want to get a commission for yourself, keep an eye on my journals and my twitter DraconiconWrite for updates on when I'm open.
Enjoy.
A Troublesome Customer For NecrossSkywing By Draconicon
"Make sure to keep an eye on the power levels, Nebula."
"I already am, sir. Please do not keep reminding me."
"And you please remember who made you. You are not immune to the whole dismantling concept."
"You haven't built a replacement yet. I am safe until then."
"And whose fault is that, hmm?"
There was no answer from his AI companion, not that he expected one to that particular question. Serverus shook his head, the five-tailed fox going back to experimenting on his newest implant.
It was a machine of his own design, meant to incorporate the natural bio-electrical currents of the body, brain, and spine, and then boost them. Essentially, it turned the mind into its own wifi projector, and - so long as you had the discipline for it - allowed one to use that signal to tap into nanites, other implants, and machines on the right frequency. He had yet to test it on a person, however; the implant itself was prone to...overpowering its targets, so he had been keeping it to strict computer trials thus far.
But there was only so long that one could keep to that. If you wanted to take tech further, you needed to try more accurate, real life tests, eventually.
"Sir, the power levels are starting to drop."
"Thanks for the update, Nebula."
The AI was the one doing the installation, articulated robot fingers working on tying off the injection point on the back of his neck. His 'experimenting', if he was honest, was limited to testing whether he could use it to connect to different devices just yet. The answer was, usually, not very well. The signal was still weak compared to what it could be when properly pushed into his spine, and having it floating between bone and skin wasn't giving him much of a solid connection.
The skin finally sealed on the back of his neck, and he immediately reached back to touch it. One of the robot arms grabbed him by the wrist before he could.
"Sir, I would recommend that you let it heal properly."
"Nebula, I appreciate the advice, but let me work."
"Sir. I am telling you. Taking it out already will not give you any new data. Let it rest for a few days."
"Rest? Take it out?" The fox chuckled. "You obviously still don't know me that well."
"Sir? Oh...No, sir, don't -"
Before the AI could grab his other hand, he jammed it against the back of his neck. He felt the needle end of the implant prick into his spine, and he nearly blacked out.
Not from pain, but from sensory overload.
Panting for breath, Serverus yanked his signals back into his head. The sudden information flow cut off, and he was able to focus again.
"Holy...holy crap..."
"You could have paralyzed yourself, sir. What were you thinking?"
"Mostly? Not wanting to waste this experience."
"You are an idiot. Respectfully, sir, you are an idiot."
"It worked, though."
Well, mostly. He still had to figure out how to deal with the sheer information overload that came when he extended his senses out past his person, but as soon as it was lodged directly into his spine, the implant was far more effective. Just as he'd known it would be.
As he looked down at his hand, he extended his control to the nanite dispensers that hung from his wrist. A single thought was enough to get them humming, and as he opened the small latch on the side of the dispenser, a small, barely-seen cloud came free. Yet, for all that he could barely see them, he could feel each and every nanite that buzzed away in the cloud, and each one had a list of capabilities and commands that were waiting for orders.
Serverus groaned, so overwhelmed by the data that he nearly blacked out again, having to lean back on the operating table he'd just been lying down on.
"Okay...that's going to take some getting used to."
"Apparently, sir. You missed the doorbell."
"What?"
"Someone's at the door, sir."
"Oh. Well...let's see who it is."
He walked through his lab, stepping over bits of debris here and there from failed experiments and abandoned projects. Scrap metal and wires alike were scattered about, some of them still live, as he found out after taking a shock to the back of his leg. He winced at the sudden zap, but kept moving until he reached the front door.
I really need to install a peephole, one of these days.
The fox meant to open it a crack. He honestly did; there was no need to open it more. But a sudden blip on his new radar distracted him, and it opened just wide enough for the guy outside to get his fingers in.
SLAM!
Serverus jumped back just in time to avoid being flattened by his own door, but not far enough to avoid getting grabbed by the thick-armed lizard on the other side of it. The five-tailed fox groaned as he sagged in the reptile's grip, groaning under his breath.
"Hello, Roy."
"Hey, fox. You're fixing something. Now."
"You got money?"
"Nah. Do I need it? Or do I need to go 'borrow' my boss for a minute?"
"...No. Come in."
The lizard stomped by him, and Serverus forced himself not to swear under his breath as he shut the door. After all, Roy might hear, and he didn't need the crime boss of the neighborhood just across the river to come after him for neglecting one of his men.
He walked back to the operating table, finally getting a better look at what needed fixing. Even he winced at the sight; the lizard's robotic left arm had been crunched in at the elbow, and the chassis from the forearm down was completely ripped apart. There was barely half of the original wiring left, and most of that was dead, not even carrying a charge.
"What the hell happened to you?" Serverus asked.
"Fight in an alley. Should see the other guys, heh."
"I doubt I want to. You want a full repair job?"
"Yeah. You got the nanites to make it happen. Everybody else'd take a week. Get it done tonight, man."
"I'd charge extra for this if you were anyone else."
"Yeah? Well, I ain't. So get working."
The fox took a deep breath in, then let it back out again. If it wasn't for the fact that this was an enforcer...
He walked over to the table, opening the other dispenser and set to work. He let the nanites fall into the gaps in the machine, then walked over to his console, as he always did...
Then paused in the middle of typing out an order.
I can control them directly, now...and they can do much more when directed mentally, I imagine...
With a tilt of his head, he commanded the nanites to start going up the wires rather than just rebuilding around them. To his surprise, they did, and without needing the long, complex series of commands that he would have needed to type out to make them do it.
Oh...
Not only did this save time, but it opened up a whole new set of experiments that he could run. If they could respond to direct thoughts rather than a series of programmed ones in his head, then the basic nanite safeguards were no longer a thing to worry about. They could work on more than machines. They could work on bodies.
He grinned, sending more and more of them up the wires, feeling them spreading throughout Roy's body. He was complaining about the fight, he could hear, something about it being an unfair one, that the lizard had been amazing, that it was a fight to end all fights.
Serverus didn't listen. He focused his attention on the way that the nanites were settling into the tissue throughout the lizard's body. What could he do?
Bulk. Bulk seemed appropriate. He'd barely thought it before he started getting feedback, the lizard's arms and legs thickening up where flesh existed, the muscles behind the scales starting to get thicker and tougher. The fox turned his head, looking over his shoulder at the big guy, and he saw that the pectorals were starting to pop out, too, pushing up against the leather vest the big guy wore.
Okay, so muscle growth is a thing...
He fiddled with Roy's body, always keeping it subtle, doing it so that the lizard didn't notice that he was being tweaked while some of the nanites set to work on rebuilding his arm. Serverus grew and shrank the reptile's ass. He bloated the big guy's balls until they were a proper external set, and then left them like that. He debated making Roy's cock bigger, but then decided not to.
No need to reward the jerk, after all.
He was about halfway through fixing the lizard's arm when a different thought occurred to him.
If I can affect his body...what about his brain?
Serverus paused in the middle of his fake typing, his eyes going wide at the possible implications. He looked back at the lizard.
Could I...really take over his mind? he wondered.
The End