Records From Detroit: Enter Cicada

"Records From Detroit: Enter Cicada" is a story set in the Cyberlife Bus universe, and a part of the "Records From Detroit: Volume 2" additional content pack. The story is focused on Clark C, detailing his experiences during the years after his father's death. The story was written by Fred Continent and released as a part of the "Records from Detroit: Volume 2" DLC. It was released on the 21st of August, 2020.

Birthday Surprise
The story starts off during January 2039, as a 13 year old Clark C is at his home in the suburbs of Detroit. It's his birthday today, and he knows his dad is gonna buy him something great, like he has on every previous birthday. But this time, Clark wants to give something back to his dad. He knows Kent quit his job at Cyberlife a few months back, so he wants to cheer him up by making a surprise visit at his new workplace. He's even programmed a small arcade-like game on his laptop, where Kent is the main character. The only problem is, he doesn't know where Kent's new workplace is. So his plan is to wake up early, hide in his dad's car's trunk before he leaves for work, and then surpise him at work once he arrives. Kent has always seemed very serious after coming back from work, which was more reason for Clark to want to cheer up his father. Clark already woke up early, so that step of the plan is complete. Now all he has to do is hide in the car's trunk, won't be a tough task. Clark decides to take his laptop with him, so he can show the minigame he programmed. Before he leaves his room, Clark places some pillows under his blanket, to make it seem like he's still there sleeping. Once he has everything set up, he leaves the room, and sneaks into the garage, where Kent's car is. He gets into the trunk, and patiently waits for Kent to wake up and to leave for work. It's dark inside the trunk, and since Clark didn't get proper sleep, he's quite tired. His eyes feel heavy, so he closes them and tries to get some rest. It doesn't take long until he falls asleep.

A few hours later, Clark wakes up. Falling asleep wasn't a part of his plan, but it felt good to get some rest. Clark figures that Kent must be at work by now, so he opens the trunk and goes outside. The car is parked near a large warehouse, which has to be where Kent works. Which is strange to Clark, as the warehouse looks like it's a completely abandoned building. Must be a part of why Kent's always so serious after getting home from work, must be awful to work in a building like that. Clark still decides to move forward with his plan, so he starts looking for a way into the building. There's a large metallic door, but Clark doubts he'd have the strength to open it by himself. He keeps looking, and eventually finds a broken window. He keeps getting surprised by how bad of a condition the building is in, but still decides to use it as his entry point. He climbs through the broken window, and enters the warehouse. It's completely dark inside, Clarks wonders how anyone's supposed to work here. He considers that this the wrong building and not where Kent works, but if that was the case, Kent wouldn't have parked his car here. He keeps walking through the dark warehouse, until he hears something moving."Clark: Dad?"He's starting to get scared. He hears more movement in the dark. Like chains rattling. A voice in the darkness speaks to Clark."The voice: Who... who are you?... You gotta help me..."Clark is terrified, he doesn't know what's happening. He's too scared to say anything."The voice: Please.. don't leave me here... he's gonna kill me..."Sounds of footsteps are getting closer."The voice: He's coming... you gotta run... get away from here, call the police! You need to-"There's a loud sound, almost like something was hit with a blunt object. The voice stops talking. There's a moment of silence, before a bright light flashes onto Clark's face. Kent is pointing at him with a flashlight."Kent: Clark? What are you doing here, son?"Kent rushes in to hug his son. Clark is still terrified."Kent: Hey, it's okay... it's okay...""Clark: What was that voice... dad, what's-""Kent: You don't gotta worry about that. I'm working on something, this is gonna help the city. This is gonna help everyone. You'll understand when you get older.""Clark: Dad...""Kent: You gotta trust me on this, son. I wouldn't lie to you, this is helping people.""Clark: Okay..."Kent hugs him, and keeps trying to comfort him."Kent: We can just forget about this, alright? This is just a little harmless project of mine.""Clark: Yeah... you wouldn't hurt anyone...""Kent: That's right. Hey, how about we leave here so I can show you your present? It's your birthday! We gotta celebrate that.""Clark: That sounds.. nice.""Kent: Hey, I'm really sorry if this scared you. But this is just a project I work on, it's harmless. You need to believe me on that. You know me, I'm not a bad guy.""Clark: I know..""Kent: I'll make this up for you, I promise. This isn't how your birthdays are supposed to go, I'm sorry son."As they're driving home, Clark is still frightened. Kent feels horrible for scaring his son, and hopes he'll be able to forget this even happened. He doesn't want their relationship to change.

A Fateful Day
One month later:

Clark is at home, learning how to use the drones that Kent got him for his birthday. They're his favorite gift he's ever gotten from his dad, and he's already forgetting about what happened a month ago, he's repressing the memory. Clark's realized it's taking Kent a while to get home today. He's flying the drones around, when there's a knock on the door. He's hoping it's his dad, but the knock sounded different from usual. He goes to open the door, and sees a police officer. Clark has a bad feeling."The police officer: Hey, mind if I come inside for a moment? I have something to tell you. It's about your father."The police officer comes inside and apologetically informs Clark that his father passed away, and that he'll be staying at an orphanage from now. Clark breaks down crying upon hearing about his father's death, and refuses to accept it. His father was the only person that ever took care of him, that ever cared for him. And now he was taken away from him. This isn't right. Clark's entire world is shattering, this can't be happening. The people responsible are going to pay for what they did.

Soon after, Clark is already living at the orphanage, surrounded by people he doesn't know. Everything is new, everything is different.

One day, as Clark is at the orphanage, he waits for the other kids to go lunch while he himself stays behind. He doesn't want anything to do with the other kids, he just wants to be by himself. While they're there eating, Clark enters the lounge area. He sits down on the couch, and turns on the television. It's currently showing the news. He notices the headline "Breaking: Detroit Butcher found dead in collapsed warehouse""The news host: The city's infamous vehicle slasher has been found dead under piles of rubble tonight. Thanks to one of the city's detective vehicles, we got a look into its recordings and found out that the vehicle killer had been crushed by his own hybrid creation, shortly before the warehouse they were in caved in. The killer has been found out to be 34 year old Kent C, a former Cyberlife worker."The news show a picture of Clark's father. "The news host: Due to his death, authorities have placed his son, Clark, in orphan care while they try to establish contact with his mother. We have also found out that the police were not the ones to catch this vehicle slasher. Instead, we have a group of vehicle civilians to thank for this menace being taken off the streets."The news show a group of seven vehicles, and display their names. Clark takes a close look at them. It takes a while for the realization to settle in; these normal looking vehicles are the ones behind his dad's death. "The news host: These brave vehicles used their own resources to find and catch someone that the police couldn't. Undoubtedly, they are heroes-"The television is turned off by one of the adults arriving into the room. "You shouldn't be watching that, Clark. Come on, come eat." they say. Clark's not listening. In his head, he's repeating the names he heard on the television. Cyberlife Bus, Cyberlife Car, Cyberlife Mercedes, Cyberlife Bus 5, Cyberlife Van, Cyberlife Bus 8 and Cyberlife Minivan. Names he'll never forget."Clark's journal, entry 1. The adults at the orphanage told me it'd be good for me to get my thoughts out, so they gave me this journal. I'm supposed to write about how I feel here. What's there to write? Everything is horrible. I want my dad back. ""Clark's journal, entry 2. I heard some of the adults talking about dad. They were talking about him like he was a goddamn murderer. What the hell's wrong with the people in here? I see the other kids whispering about me, they think I don't notice. They look at me like I'm insane, but it feels like I'm the only sane one here. They expect me to just accept what happened. To just not think about how the city is cheering for the people that murdered dad. Fuck this place. I keep hoping this is just a bad dream and I'll wake up soon. ""Clark's journal, entry 5. I yelled at one of the other kids today. I don't know why, he's nice to me. People think I'm angry at them. I'm not, I'm just scared. I feel alone. ""Clark's journal, entry 9. The adults tried to get me to hang out with the other teens today, but it didn't work out. I don't know how to talk to people. We're too different.""Clark's journal, entry 30. Those fucking vehicles got into the news again. Those seven pieces of shit. This time they attacked some army veteran. Why can't others see the truth about them, like how I see the truth about them? Why do they cheer these murderers? Cyberlife United hasn't done a single thing to help this city. The other kids were talking about how they admire them, but I don't understand why. That's the one question that keeps popping into my head. Why?" Clark's journal, entry 62. It's now been a year since dad died. At one point I stopped writing in this stupid journal, but I might as well continue. I'm still not really over his death, but I guess life feels more normal now. I'm used to him not being here anymore. Some of these other kids aren't that bad. I still don't really have friends, I usually just spend my time using the drones dad got for me before he passed away.

New Acquaintances
June 6th, 2040.

Clark is outside during a warm summer day. He's 14 years old now, and laying on the grass. Once again he's on his drone, just observing the world. There's something fascinating about it to him, just being able to view everything from the sky, not having to actually be a part of the world, being nothing but an observer to people's everyday lives. The others are playing football on a nearby field, while Clark himself is on a hill near a forest. As he's controlling the drones, he hears someone's voice. "The voice: Hey. Clark, right?"Clark lands the drone and turns to look at the person talking to him. "The voice: Are you gonna say hello to me?""Clark: Ah yeah, sorry. Hi.""Maya: I'm Maya. How's it going?"She has blue dyed hair, and seems to be roughly the same age as Clark. "Clark: Good, I think. Just flying through the city with these drones.""Maya: Damn, where'd you get drones? Aren't they expensive?""Clark: My dad got them for me, before he passed away.""Maya: Oh, sorry. Can I try them out?""Clark: What?""Maya: I promise I'm not gonna crash them.""Clark: Sure, I guess."He hands her the drone controller, and attempts to explain how to use it. She doesn't seem to be listening to his advice much. It doesn't take Maya long to figure out how it all works, as she carefully tries out all the buttons. She begins moving through the forest with the drone."Clark: Hey, be careful with that, you're gonna crash it into a tree or something.""Maya: Have a lil faith in me, Clark."She manages to control the drone back to their location safely. "Maya: See? Told you.""Clark: Can't say I'm not impressed, where'd you learn that?""Maya: Learned it from video games. Pretty much what I expected, but still really cool. Didn't expect them to sound like cicadas though." Clark: What? Maya: Your drones. The sound they make, sounds like a cicada. Fitting, now that it's summer. Clark: Hmph, I guess they do. Never really noticed that. "...""Maya: Well anyways, thanks for letting me try them out. I'm new here, so I thought I'd try talking to new people.""Clark: Yeah, sure. Nice meeting you.""Maya: You too."The next time they have lunch, Clark decides to go out of his comfort zone. Rather than staying to watch television or going outside to view the city with his drones, he goes to the cafeteria, where he sees Maya. He grabs food and goes to sit next to her."Clark: Hey, mind if I sit here?""Maya: Not at all. What have you been up to?""Clark: Nothing much, just been hanging out. By myself.""Maya: Ah, that's a shame. Why aren't you friends with those other guys? They seem nice.""Clark: I don't think they're nice.""Maya: Why's that?"Clark thinks back to hearing them admiring Cyberlife United."Clark: I don't know, just the feeling I get.""Maya: If you say so... wanna hang out sometime? Like I said I'm new here, I don't really have any friends yet, and you seem alright.""Clark: Yeah, okay."They keep talking until lunch is over."Clark's journal, entry 70. I made a friend today. Her name is Maya, and she seems cool. She's not a dick like the others. It's good to know that not everyone in here sucks. We seem to be interested in the same type of stuff. It's gonna be nice not being alone all the time.""Clark's journal, entry 76. Turns out Maya and I will be going to the same high school soon. That's gonna be nice, having someone I can talk to in class. Just hoping that my others classmates are gonna be alright too.""Clark's journal, entry 80. High school seems to be going well so far. Can't really make any judgements about my classmates yet, but I usually just sit with Maya. She's pretty quickly turned into my best friend. Not like there's much competition anyway. Not a fan of my history teacher though, Maya and I spent nearly the whole lesson just coming up with different ways to roast him, without him hearing us of course. He does not seem interested in the slightest about teaching."The next year goes smoothly for Clark for the most part. He does well in school, his grades aren't amazing by any means but he's at least he's not failing classes. He hasn't made many new friends besides Maya, but he doesn't really need them anyway. Maya seems to be more popular with the others and has lots of friends, but Clark doesn't mind. He's happy to have at least one good friend. Cyberlife United isn't on his mind that much anymore. Every now and then he still hears people praising them, but he's learned to control his emotions and just tries not to think about it.

A Cause of Celebration
It's now been over two years since Kent died. Clark is 15 years old."Clark's journal, entry 149. My grades have stayed the same for the most part, but math's getting harder and harder. I've noticed that I'm really good at ICT though. It's like the only class where I consistently get great grades. The teacher said I have a bright future ahead of me. As a kid too I was always interested with technology and programming, probably why I like those drones so much. Maya seemed impressed too. All this gave me an idea for a project. A masterpiece. Dad had his with the hybrid, now I'll have my own. I'm gonna make you proud, dad."May 15th, 2041.

Clark's still living at the orphanage along with Maya. They're gonna have summer break soon, which means no stress from high school. As he arrives at the orphanage after a long day of school, the first thing he does is go relax in the lounge area. He turns on the television and checks the news. He drops the remote upon seeing the news headline, "Cyberlife United Member Found Killed""The news host: Now for some particularly tragic news from Detroit. Cyberlife Minivan, who worked as the medic for Cyberlife United, has been found dead. Her body was found by fellow members of the crimefighting group. As of now, we are unaware of her murderer's identity, and can only hope they are brought to justice. Further details will be given later on."Clark is shocked by the news. He utters out "holy shit..." to himself. After the initial shock of the news wears off, his mouth forms a grin. "Clark's journal, entry 150. The bitch is dead. I never thought this day would come. They always seemed invincible to me, taking down everyone they come across. Well not anymore, one of them has fallen. Only six to go. How does it feel? How does it feel to suffer the consequences? Now they know what it's like to lose someone you care about. I want to applaud whoever did it."Soon after, he discusses the situation with Maya."Maya: Did you hear about what happened to that Cyberlife United member? It's horrible.""Clark: I won't be shedding tears over her.""Maya: That's a bit rude to say.""Clark: Never knew her. If you want to stop criminals, join the police. If you're gonna be a vigilante like CU are, you're setting yourself up for a fate like that. The american police aren't perfect by any means, but at least they usually manage safe arrests. Can't say the same about Cyberlife United."He has so much more to say about CU, but doesn't want to reveal too much of his resentment. "Maya: Does this have something to do with your father? He was the first one they stopped, right?""Clark: Don't talk about my fucking father, this doesn't have anything to do with him.""Maya: Okay, if you say so...""Clark's journal, entry 153. Someone hired a group of hitmen to assassinate Cyberlife United, but as of now they've failed. Fuck. I knew it was too good to be true when I first heard about it. And because of the attack, Cyberlife is ordering a lockdown until the situation settles down. Couldn't this have happened while we still had school? There's some good news though, I hear Cyberlife Mercedes is missing and hasn't returned to their base. He's likely dead too. Two down, five to go. I used to fantasize about taking them all out myself, but at this rate, it seems like the job is being done for me."4 weeks later, the situation settles down. The army discovers the Mercedes Gang's location, and they are no longer considered a threat. Life continues normally for Clark, spending his summer days either by himself or hanging out with Maya. The question of what's going on with Cyberlife United keeps popping into his head, but he has no way of knowing, so he'll just have to try to forget this obsession of his.

One day as he's shopping, Clark overhears two other shoppers talking about Cyberlife United. They mention the news just revealing that Cyberlife Bus and Cyberlife Bus 8 have also been killed. Once again, it sounds too good to be true, but upon looking it up, he sees otherwise."Clark's journal, entry 157. The universe is finally looking out for me. The plague that CU has been on this city, will soon be gone. Another two dead, and it turns out that Cyberlife Mercedes himself was the one to kill them. This is Kent's revenge."Clark feels an immense sense of gratification. "Clark's journal, entry 158. Cyberlife Mercedes is dead. Cyberlife United will disperse. They finally got what was coming to them. Sure, a few of them lived, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that they're off the streets. What matters is they suffered. Fuck you Cyberlife United. I won't miss you. There's so much more I could say. But words can't describe it."

A Look Into the Past
It's been 6 months since Clark heard the news about Cyberlife United. He's gone back to his routines, getting decent grades at school, hanging out with Maya, and continuing work on his project. But every now and then, his mind still returns to Cyberlife Car, Cyberlife Van and Cyberlife Bus 5. The ones that got away with what they were a part of. He tries to let go of it, but is having a tough time. He's been having recurring dreams about his father.

As Clark goes to sleep, he has a dream about a distant memory. Back when his mother still lived with them.

The 8 year old Clark is in bed. He's trying to get sleep, but can't. He only hears his parents talking, sounds more like arguing."Kent: Come on, he's a child!""Heather: A disappointment is what he is. No friends, always on his computer, he's gonna grow up to be a nothing."She's smoking a cigarette and holding a bottle of beer, half drunk. She usually stays home drinking and smoking while Kent works his job at Cyberlife, she usually ignores Clark. "Kent: He's our child, how can you talk about him like that? What the hell's happened to you, Heather?""Heather: More like what the hell's happened to you, Kent? You're getting older, softer, not the same man I wanted to be with all those years ago.""Kent: Yeah? And what do you do? Sit here and get yourself drunk all day, neglect our son while I'm out there trying to make a living for us?""Heather chuckles, and says: Fuck you.""Kent: Goddamn you, Heather..."Kent leaves the room, and goes to check on Clark. To his surprise, he sees that Clark is still awake. He goes to sit down next to Clark."Kent: Christ, you heard all that? I'm so sorry...""Clark: It's okay.""Kent: No, it's not okay, son. No child should have to hear that. I'm sorry about mom.""Clark: You don't have to apologize, dad... it's not your fault.""Kent: I wish my job didn't take time away from being with you. You'll have a good life, Clark. Get some sleep, okay son?""Clark: I will.""Kent: I love you. Never forget that, okay?""Clark: I won't. I love you too."Clark wakes up in cold sweat. He can't let go of the past. He goes to wash his face, and takes a close look at himself in the mirror. He doesn't know what to do. He has his doubts about going after the other CU members, but he doesn't know what other choices he has. He can't let them get away with killing his dad.

The next day, Clark sets up a drone again. He flies it near the graveyard where Cyberlife Bus's grave is, hoping to catch a glimpse of Cyberlife Car. He watches the feed for several hours, but doesn't seem to be getting any luck. On a different day, he attempts again. It still takes some time, but eventually Clark catches a glimpse of who he believes to be Cyberlife Car. He's at Cyberlife Bus's grave with a younger vehicle, seemingly his niece, Detroit Taxi 17. Clark wants to stay far with his drone to make sure he's not spotted. After the two vehicles have left, Clark follows them from afar with the drone. After several minutes, they arrive at a house. Upon surveying them for a longer period of time, Clark gets to the conclusion that it's Cyberlife Car's house. He doesn't know what to do with this information, he doesn't have a gun, he doesn't even know if he should try to attack Cyberlife Car. ''Clark's journal, entry 180. I'm at a crossroads. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I know where Cyberlife Car lives now, but what do I do with this information? He's retired, which means he won't be put into anymore dangerous situations. If I want him dead, I'll have to finish the job myself. But I'm unsure if I should. Why am I unsure? I know I need to do it. This is for dad.''

Unwanted Attention
Clark has been gathering money for the past few months. Helping out some of the orphanage workers with chores and such to get some cash. He's done this long enough to obtain quite a large sum of money. And now Clark has a plan of using this money.

Clark arrives near a gun store. He's not old enough to buy a weapon, but he can't just expect to stab Cyberlife Car either. His plan is to wait out near the store, and offer money for an adult so they can buy the gun for him. All he needs is a handgun, as long as he uses it well, he'll be able to kill Cyberlife Car. He's not sure yet how he'll get away with it, but he trusts he'll come up with something.

He waits, until he sees an adult approaching the gun store. Before they go inside, Clark goes up to him."Clark: Hey, sorry for bothering you, but would you be willing to buy a handgun for me? I can pay you extra.""The stranger: What for?""Clark: Self-defense."The stranger laughs and ignores Clark, walking inside the store.

Clark's next attempt is also unsuccesful, as the adult just tells him to fuck off. After doing this for long enough, someone seems to have filed a complaint, as Clark hears sirens approaching. Before he can leave, the police car arrives and takes him in for questioning. The scene cuts to him in their custody."The cop: Why are you trying to buy a gun, kid? You're 16, what do you need that for?""Clark: Self-defense. This is the land of the free, right? So why's it such a big deal I want to have a gun? What happened to the second amendment?""The cop: You're underage, you buying a gun is illegal, you know that right?""Clark: Yes.""The cop: So why do it?""Clark: I'm sorry.""The cop: Just don't do it again, kid. You'll be let off with a small fine. I'm a strong believer in the second amendment, son. Just wait a few years and you'll get there."This can't wait a few years, Clark thinks. But out loud he only says "Okay."

The next day at school, as Clark arrives into class and sits next to Maya, he sees two of the class jocks staring at him. They seem to be talking about him. Clark turns to Maya."Clark: What are they talking about?""Maya: No clue. You tell me."They continue the school day normally, until the next break between lessons. Clark is preparing his drones, when the jocks approach him."Max: Hey school shooter, what are you up to?""Clark: What?""Brady: You got hearing problems or something? He asked what are you up to. What are you planning?""Clark: What the fuck are you talking about?""Max: You tried to buy a gun yesterday. What for? Planning to shoot up the school or something?""Clark: How do you know-""Brady: My dad's a cop, dipshit. He told me all about what you tried yesterday.""Max: Answer the fucking question, loner."Clark sees a crowd of people gathering to watch the situation unfold."Max: What, are you a mute now too? I mean we knew you were weird, but this is just pathetic.""Clark: Leave me alone.""Brady: Or what, you'll kill us?"Clark attempts to take his drones and leave, but Max intervenes. He grabs one of the drones from Clark, and smashes it into the ground. He begins stomping on it, with Brady joining in. "Clark: STOP! Those are from my dad-"He runs at them, but Max punches him in the face, causing Clark to fall onto the ground. Brady kicks Clark."Brady: Fucking loser."Maya sees the scene, and comes running in."Maya: What the fuck Brady?? Leave him alone."Brady laughs it off, and leaves the scene with Max. Some of the other students are chuckling at Clark as well, while he's still laying on the ground, bruised up and bleeding. Maya walks up to Clark."Maya: Hey, you okay?""Clark: Those drones were the last gift my dad gave me.""Maya: I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Clark.""Clark: Don't apologize. It's not your fault."Clark gets up, and walks away, leaving his broken drones at the scene.

It's almost midnight, as Clark is at a scrapyard by himself. He left school right after the encounter, and hasn't gone to the orphange. He just wants to be by himself, and ponder about everything that's happened. He's angry at everyone, and he's angry at himself. He only wanted to bring justice to his father, and it lead to this mess. Now he doesn't even have the last thing Kent gave him before passing away. Clark's sitting on top of an old rusting car, when he hears someone approaching."Maya: Hey.""Clark: How'd you find me?""Maya: Luck. I just searched everywhere, took hours to find you.""Clark: Ah. Why are you even here?""Maya: You're kidding, right? We're friends, and what happened to you really sucked. Brady and Max are assholes.""Clark: You're not wrong.""...""Clark: Life just kinda sucks, doesn't it?""Maya: Sometimes, yeah.""Clark: Most times.""Maya: Fuck Brady and his shitty cop dad.""Clark: Fuck Max and his stupid jacket."Clark grabs a rock, and throws it at one of the rusting abandoned cars."Maya: Fuck Mr. Peterson and his boring ass history lessons."She also grabs a rock and throws it at one of the cars, breaking its window."Clark: Fuck Olivia and her tinnitus inducing voice."He grabs a brick and throws it at a car."Maya: Fuck Liam and his arrogant friends."Maya does the same. "Clark: Fuck the whole school."They continue throwing whatever they find."Maya: Fuck the orphanage and the shitty food they give us.""Clark: Fuck life.""Maya: Fuck everything."Clark lets out a relieved sigh."Clark: That felt good, I gotta admit. Thanks.""Maya: Yeah, no problem. But that's not all.""Clark: What else?"Maya opens her backpack, and takes out two drones. Clark's drones, but they seem to be functional again."Maya: I took them after you left and went to get them repaired. Even if it looked bad, Brady and Max didn't manage to do that much harm. They should be working like new now. They must have some weak ass kicks-"Clark rushes in to hug Maya."Clark: Thank you... thank you so much.""Maya: No problem, bud. I know how much they mean to you.""Clark: I don't know how to repay you...""Maya: Just come back to the orphanage, alright? It gets cold out here.""Clark: Yeah, okay. Will do. Seriously, thank you."

Stealing Resources
It's been several months since Clark's encounter with Brady and Max, he's now 17 years old. Clark has been using the drones that Maya got fixed, and has noticed that she was right, they're working like new. He's been observing the city as usual, still not willing to completely give up on the prospect of avenging his father's death. "Clark's journal, entry 259. I can't let go of it. I need to do something. I could attempt to leak Cyberlife Car's address on the internet, but there's no guarantee that anything would come from that. The police would soon find out and he would be protected. Besides, I want this to be more personal. I want him to know it was me. I want him to know that the first man he caught, is finally now catching up to him. If he thinks he can just slumber his way out of this whole thing, he's wrong. I think I know how to get to him. I've been using my drones, and I've figured out the base of a criminal gang here in Detroit. They call themselves the Detroit Raiders, and they're the perfect opportunity for me to get what I want. They rob and steal around the slums, and they seem to have a stash of guns in their base. If I can get there undetected, maybe while they're out stealing, I'll be able to get what I need. So that's what I'll do."Clark is observing the Detroit Raiders' base from afar at midnight. He snuck out of the orphanage after everyone else went to sleep. He's been watching the base for a few hours now, but he's patient and is willing to wait. From what he's seen thus far, this is usually around the time that the raiders leave their base. "Clark's journal, entry 260. I'm still shocked by how easily I was able to locate their base with some simple recon and clever use of drones, not even the police have been able to catch them yet. I'm very much doubtful that Cyberlife United would have either. Just shows how flawed our justice system is, depending on me to figure out where a criminal gang is staying. If we had a working system, my father wouldn't have been killed during what was meant to be a simple arrest. I could give the police an anonymous tip on the raiders' base location, but not yet. I have more plans for them later."Clark sees a group of vehicles exit the building, being lead by a Cyberlife Helicopter. He waits until he's sure that each member is gone, counting each vehicle that left. He waits an extra 5 minutes in case they need to return to the base for whatever reason. They don't. Clark exits his hiding spot, and starts running towards the base. He's been watching the raiders for quite some time now, and knows that there's a backdoor he can use to enter the building without leaving any marks. Clark made sure to cover his face, in case the raiders have any sort of camera placed in or near their base.

Upon entering the building, Clark begins rushing through the hallways. He's not sure where exactly their gun stash is, but he has to find it before they get back to the base. He's quickly rummaging through whatever crates he finds in different rooms, but doesn't seem to be having much success, until he finally finds the right room. He sees a large stash, and rushes in to look inside. He sees dozens of stolen ammunition and weaponry, handguns, rifles, shotguns, explosives. Everything Clark will need. He knows that taking it all at this point would be too risky, so instead he just takes what he needs, hoping to make it so the raiders don't even notice anything was stolen from them. He puts them into his backpack, and gets ready to leave the base.

Clark hears the sounds of several vehicles approaching the base. They're not supposed to be back this early. Why are they back this early?

He takes his backpack, and runs as fast as he can. Before he can get to the backdoor, the main entrance is opened, and the group's leader helicopter flies in. Clark quickly hides under a table."CH 11: Fuck, fuck, fuck... she wasn't supposed to be home, that house was supposed to be fucking empty.""CC 37: Look, it's not a big deal, we didn't leave any traces, the cops won't find us.""CH 11: That's not what the fucking issue is. Why was she home?"As their conversation becomes more heated, Clark gets the opportunity to rush out of cover and get to the backdoor. He exits the base, and starts running back to the orphanage, making it back safely with all his stolen supplies."Clark's journal, entry 261. Holy fuck. My heart is still racing, my hands are shaking. That was the most exciting thing I've ever gone through, but at the same time horrifying. I was so close to getting caught, who knows what they would have done to me if I was. Shit. That doesn't matter now, I got what I needed. I'm coming for you, Cyberlife Car."

Means of Retribution
May, 2043.

Clark is at the orphanage. This is the day he's been waiting for. He has everything he needs to act out his vengeance; weapons, Cyberlife Car's address, free time. "Clark's journal, entry 270. Today's the day. I'll break into Cyberlife Car's house, and shoot him. He won't put up a fight, I've been watching him for months, he's nothing but a drunk now. Can't say I expected more from him. He's drinking himself to death, but he deserves worse than that. It seems like he doesn't even lock his doors, it's like he wants to die. And if that's the case, this is the one situation where I'm willing to help him out. You may be wondering why I'm targetting him specifically. After all, that detective couple played just as much of a part in my father's death. Mainly because he's the easier target. Don't worry, I've got eyes on those two as well."Clark packs a few handguns into his backpack, he doesn't think he'll need anything more than that. He opens his folder of pictures he's taken of Cyberlife Car from afar. I'm coming for you, motherfucker.

Clark leaves the orphanage, and heads out towards Cyberlife Car's house. He doesn't want to arouse suspicion, so he does his best to act casual. He's even prepared an alibi, in case someone connects the crime to him. He arrives near the house on a Cyberlife bus, feeling a sense of irony in the whole situation. For a moment, he just stares at Cyberlife Car's house from afar. The moment he's been waiting for, for so long. He puts one of the guns into his pocket, holding the grip. He approaches Cyberlife Car's house when there are no passersby.

Clark knocks on the door, still holding the gun in his pocket. No one comes to open the door. He knocks again. Still nothing."Why isn't he opening? He has to be home."Clark knocks once again. And once again, he gets no response. He's getting frustrated, he walks away from the door and peers inside the window. He sees nothing. Clark hears sounds of people walking nearby, he has to do something now. He walks back to the door, and simply pulling the handle to open it. It works. He was correct, Cyberlife Car doesn't bother to lock his doors anymore. Dumb bitch.

Clark quickly gets inside, and closes the door before anyone sees him. He walks further into the house, seeing pictures on the table. They're of Cyberlife Car with his niece and brother, some of them are of passed away Cyberlife United members. Clark keeps going further, now taking out the gun from his pocket, ready to shoot at any moment. He checks the bedroom, but no one's there. He hears a bottle falling over in the living room, and goes to check it.

Upon arriving at the living room, Clark sees Cyberlife Car on the couch, unconscious and surrounded by bottles of beer. Clark lowers the gun, at least he won't have to worry about Cyberlife Car fighting back. He's finally here. Cyberlife Car is right there in front of him. He raises the gun again, and walks right up to Cyberlife Car. Clark starts talking, even though he knows CC can't hear him."Clark: Hello, Cyberlife Car. We finally meet in person. You have no idea how long I've waited for this, you drunken fuck. Remember what you did? Do you remember what you were a part of? Well now you get to suffer the consequences."Clark glances at the bottles of beer, and notices some booze on the table."Clark: Neglectful family member, ignores his niece to instead spend all his time drinking. Sounds all too familiar. You don't deserve the life you've been given. You never did. Goodbye, Cyberlife Car."Clark puts the gun right up to his engine, and places his finger on the trigger. All he has to do is pull the trigger. But he can't."Come on, all I need to do is just pull the trigger. Don't pussy out now, I came all this way."Clark hesitates, but he doesn't know why. He takes a look at the photos on the table again."No, no, no. You deserve worse than this. You need to know that it's coming. You need to know it was me. A quick death when he's already unconscious, where's the punishment in that? That's how we all want to go out. I need to attack where it hurts most. You don't care about yourself anymore, but you still care about your niece."Clark puts the gun away."Clark: It's not your time yet, Cyberlife Car. But don't worry, it's coming. Maybe you'll live long enough to see my project."Clark walks away, but before he leaves the house, he decides to do some digging. He wants to find something out, and after a long search, he finds what he's looking for. He leaves Cyberlife Car's house, with Cyberlife Car unharmed.

Family Legacy
Clark returns to the orphanage, no one suspects anything. "Clark's journal, entry 271. I let him live for now, I got new ideas. I'll let Cyberlife Car see my project before I kill him. But for that to happen, I need to finish the project first. And I know the perfect place to do that. When I was searching through Cyberlife Car's house, I found the location to dad's old base. It's only fitting that I finish it where he died."As Clark heads out again, he runs into Maya."Maya: Hey, Clark. Where are you going?""Clark: Ah, just working on a little project of mine.""Maya: Alright... hey, you okay? You've been acting a bit weird as of lately, no offense.""Clark: Don't worry about me, Maya. I'll be the happiest man in the world, soon enough.""Maya: Okay..."Clark leaves, and heads out to the warehouse where it all went down. He was always fascinated about finding the base, but prior to this had no way of doing so. It doesn't take him long to get there, he takes all the equipment he needs with him.

Clark arrives outside the crumbling down warehouse. The entrance is still intact, and he goes in, but makes sure to watch his step. He doesn't want to have come this far only to die due to a warehouse collapsing in on him. Large parts of the roof are missing, allowing some natural lighting from the sun. The whole place is covered with greenery and overgrown. Upon going further, Clark sees the rusting body of the Cyberlife Hybrid. "Clark: Holy shit..."The police only managed to safely get Kent's body from the warehouse for a burial, moving the hybrid was too big of a risk, possibly causing the building to collapse further and cause more casualties. Clark walks further to admire the hybrid, his father's final creation. It's majestic, a perfect amalgamation of different Cyberlife vehicles. Clark walks closer and slightly caresses the hybrid, before backing away to finally settle down and continue work on his project. "Clark: I don't know how you managed to create something like this, dad. But it's beautiful. I'll make you proud."Clark spends the next few months continuing work on his project, and also planning out his vengeance against Cyberlife Car. He's shown modifying the drones his father got him, attaching a voice box to them allowing for him to give orders through it, and also attaching weaponry to them so he can use the drones in a battle. He also gathers electronics to build a device, an EMP with which he can stun and immobilize vehicles and androids for a long period of time. All these with the supplies he stole from the raiders, will be enough to make his plan work.

The Finale
September, 2044.

It's been over a year since Clark discovered the Merger's old base, he's now 18 years old. He's had to move out of the orphanage, along with Maya, both of them have their own apartments now. Clark's been struggling with money due to the amount of time he spends on his side project, but he's managed to do okay. As Clark is getting ready to leave his apartment for another day of working on the project, he gets a call from Maya.

Maya: Hey, Clark. Mind if I stay there for a bit? There was some commotion near where I live, and I'm not sure it's safe to go back to my apartment for now. This is only gonna be a quick temporary thing until everything settles down, I won't bother you for long."Clark: Yeah, of course. I'll give you the keys, just make yourself at home, but I need to go to work.""Maya: Yep, thanks.""Clark: Okay, bye."Maya soon arrives at Clark's apartment, just as he's leaving. They greet each other, and Clark leaves to return to the collapsed warehouse. Once there, he decides to test the functionality of his project. He opens his program, cicada.net.

As Maya is settling down at Clark's apartment, she notices something. There's a book left on the table, with the text "Clark's journal" on it. Clark must have left it there in a hurry. She tries to ignore it, but knows that something's been up with him recently. She wants to know what.

Clark waits for Cicada to boot up, and notices he's getting a call from Maya. He doesn't have time for her now, and ignores it. He notices that Cicada is ready, and then greets the voice on the other end."Clark: Hey, dad."Maya's been following Clark, she immediately left the apartment after skimming through the journal. She's worried about what Clark might do, but doesn't want to call the cops on him either. She needs Clark to explain himself, explain everything he's been up to, explain everything he's written down in the journal. She hopes that it's all some sick joke, or a prank he's playing on her, but deep down she knows it isn't. She arrives outside the broken down warehouse, and walks in through the entrance, making sure to watch her step.

Clark's talking to the voice on his computer, when he hears someone enter the warehouse. Clark immediately goes to grab a gun from his backpack, no one's supposed to come here. He goes hiding behind cover, and points his gun, waiting for the other person to show themselves. He lowers the gun upon hearing a familiar voice."Maya: Clark..?"Clark walks out of cover."Clark: Maya? What the fuck are you doing here?""Maya: More like what the fuck are YOU doing? What is going on?"She notices the rusting Cyberlife Hybrid."Maya: Jesus christ...""Clark: This is none of your business, Maya. Did you call the cops?""Maya: No, but-""Clark: Good, don't. Just walk away and forget you saw this, okay? As far as you're concerned, there's nothing going on here.""Maya: Clark... I read through your journal, and some of the stuff you say there... you're talking about killing Cyberlife Car? Stealing from criminal gangs? What is going on?""Clark: Just leave! For your own sake, Maya, just fucking leave!"Maya looks at Clark's computer."Maya: What... what's that?""Clark: Just let me explain myself, okay? It's my project.""Maya: What project?""Clark: I'm bringing my dad back.""Maya: That's not possible.""Clark: What if I told you it is? Maybe after some work, I can bring your parents back too.""Maya: Clark...""Clark: Look, come closer."Maya walks up to the computer. There seems to be some sort of virtual feed of Kent C."The feed: Maya, I presume? Clark's told me a lot about you. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."Clark turns to look at Maya."Clark: I couldn't bring him back like how vehicles can be brought back, so I had to do something else. I programmed an A.I. to replicate him. I've given him hundreds of responses to different situations, programmed in everything I remember about his personality and him as a person. Eventually it's gonna emulate him perfectly. And maybe at some point I'll be able to attach the A.I. into an android, it'll be like he's actually back.""Maya: Clark... please.""Clark: I call the program Cicada. It's what you first said about my drones, they sound like cicadas. It's only fitting that after dad's last gift to me was like a cicada, that it's what I name the program I'll use to bring him back. He died in this warehouse over 5 years ago, now here's where he can be brought back.""Maya: Clark...""Clark: I know my fucking name, Maya. What?""Maya: This isn't healthy. I'm worried about you... you're scaring me.""Clark: You don't get it. This is a good thing.""Maya: If you never let go of what happened, you're never gonna be happy. Look at yourself, Clark. You're unstable. You've lost your mind.""Clark: No, I'm bringing my dad back-""Maya: That's not your dad, Clark! It's an A.I! You said it yourself, it's an emulation of him, it's not him! Humans don't come back, and they never will. That's just how it's always gonna be. I'm sorry about what happened to him, but this isn't right... delete the program, Clark.""Clark: What? No fucking way.""Maya: Delete it... you have to, or else I'm calling the cops.""Clark: You're not gonna call the cops on me, Maya.""Maya: Delete the program!""Clark: No, I'm not fucking going to-"Maya runs to grab a nearby crowbar, and bashes the computer in. She continues hitting it, with the distorted A.I. Kent slowly becoming erased. Clark yells at her to stop, and grabs the crowbar from her hand. She tries to stop him, and during their struggle over the crowbar, Clark manages to overpower Maya. His strength charges the crowbar straight towards Maya's head, hitting her fiercely. He takes the crowbar and loses control of himself, hitting her in the head again. Maya drops onto the ground, bleeding rapidly from the injuries on her head.

Clark drops the crowbar."Clark: Shit... Maya? Are you okay?"He crouches down to shake her."Clark: Maya! Maya, wake up. Please. No, no, no... wake up, Maya, come on, please."She's not moving. Clark feels instant regret."Clark: Maya! Please, no, wake up! Fuck, fuck, fuck..."He checks her heartbeat. She's unconscious, but seems to still be alive."Clark: Don't die on me, Maya, fuck..."He grabs her, and carefully carries her away from the warehouse, dialing an ambulance as fast as he can. Every minute feels like an hour, as he's waiting there on the sidewalk for the ambulance to arrive, holding Maya who's still bleeding from her head. Clark constantly attempts to wake her up, do anything he can to ensure she stays alive. He's sobbing, holding his best friend, who might die because of his actions."Clark: I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Maya."1 week later."Clark's journal, entry 300. This should never have happened. I accidentally hit Maya, and now she's in a coma. The doctors said she'll live, but might not remember anything from the past few months once she wakes up. This is all my fault. What the fuck's wrong with me? I can't stoop down to Cyberlife United's level... I can't become a murderer. Dad never killed a human, but I almost did. I need to make sure nothing like this happens ever again. I'm so sorry, Maya.""Clark's journal, entry 301. The police took me in for questioning, I told them she came to me saying that she had been attacked, and then she passed out. That I know nothing else. They seemed doubtful, but they won't have anything to prove me wrong. And since Maya won't remember it, everything should go back to normal... I just hope she's gonna be okay.""Clark's journal, entry 302. My computer's beyond repair, Maya managed to destroy it entirely. Maybe it's for the better... she was right. That wasn't really dad. It was a simulation, a fake. I haven't been thinking straight the past few years. I feel like I'm losing my mind. I just want this whole thing to be over.""Clark's journal, entry 325. I still keep seeing dad in my dreams. Why can't I let go? I still feel like I haven't made things right.""Clark's journal, entry 327. I can't sleep anymore. The only way for me to let go of this obsession is to get rid of Cyberlife Car. I can't live like this, he needs to pay. This might be my last entry, I'm not gonna write anything until it's done. If I die and you're reading this, I want to apologize to those that I've hurt, especially you, Maya. I'm sorry for everything. Goodbye."