Chapter 191: Chapter 186

There had been worries initially about submitting himself to Nexus experimentation, especially when it involved something as…doubtful (to put it lightly) as ‘magic’. But Robert House had found the offer of restoring his decrepit body to be too good to pass up, and now he was a man in his prime once more, no longer reliant on his life preservation pod.

Placing his chips on the Nexus Severalty was the right call after all. Sev has already proven himself to be a very generous overlord. Nevermind restoring his body, House now had the whole of New Vegas under his control. And the technology he got to wield now was both effective and efficient. Healing arches, advanced robot protocols, pre-bomb crops… It was far better than the wasteland peace House would’ve achieved.

Sure, there was the irritation of working with the idealistic Kings, but after the treachery House had to deal with, perhaps naive idealism would be preferable. 

And yes, the materialistic demands of the Nexus differed from the old clientele, but that only meant his businesses didn’t have to be so predatory to rake in a profit. Nexus citizens had their monthly allowance, and the Nexus provided a substantial minimum lifestyle for free, so no one was truly broke and the hardcore gamblers could be leached indefinitely.

What were the Nexus credits worth to him though? The same value mere bottle caps had. It was currency, and with currency came some measure of power and influence. The Nexus citizens might be less invested in greed, but the rest of the wasteland weren’t. House had the permission to sell Nexus credits to the NCR tourists, and the bottle caps they exchanged or lost in the casinos would be sent into the new atomic fabricators to be turned into more raw material to rebuild New Vegas.

It also went without saying that being one of the few legal vendors of Nexus credits gave House a leverage in negotiations with the NCR. Inroads were already being made to secure the disgraced Crimson Caravan; it was good to diversify his portfolio after all, and once the NCR fully fell under the Nexus - it was only a matter of time, surely - then he’d have himself an established Nexus compliant business ready to operate while the competition sorted themselves out.

Nexus credits also drew in Nexus businesses, and House had to admit that their brothels provided a far superior service compared to the addicts and indentured staff. It shouldn’t be surprising that willing and eager workers made for better products…or services in this case. 

And for someone who had been missing out for a couple of centuries already, enjoying the pleasures of the flesh from very…playful hostesses was fast becoming an avid hobby for House. The girls had been so…invigorating, he was tempted to take up their offer of an annual membership.

A shame he couldn’t buy a share in their business, but it was not a major loss. Fiona and the other girls were happy to offer discounts for his good manners. He still had to pay for the healing arches, but what’s a few dozen credits for a night of constant rutting?

Who knew that life in the post-apocalypse could be this good? Give it a few months for the grass to grow, and New Vegas - his New Vegas (and the Kings, of course) - would be a thriving tourist trap and booming economic center.

*****

She opened her eyes and for the first time in a long, long time drew in a heady breath of air. The rush of blood in her veins felt utterly weird yet reassuring. The tingling on her skin was…nice. It took a while to get adjusted to the familiar constraining yet liberating shell of flesh and blood and bone, and the emotion threatened to overwhelm her. Despite her initial doubts, the Nexus really seemed capable of miracles. 

“Welcome back, Diana.”

Instinctively making use of audiolocation she turned to the voice, finding the smiling man who had granted her new form. Diana felt her facial muscles twitch into a grateful smile, even as her vision became blurry. Her hands immediately went up to wipe at her eyes, the first skin contact she made on herself in centuries.

Tears. She was tearing up.

“Thank…thank you, Sev.”

Sev offered a hand and Diana took it to help herself sit up. She glanced down at herself, and then noticed the mirror just a few feet away from her. He stepped aside with a knowing smirk, and Diana stared at what was the reflection of her new body. Her breath hitched as more emotions threatened to bubble over. 

She was a young woman, younger than she remember being before her internment in a ZAX brain tank. Her skin was lightly tanned, eyes brown, her hair black, her breasts pert. She was far prettier than she remembered herself to be.

As if sensing her thoughts, Sev gave a light shrug. “We had the chance to…optimize your genes before growing your body. It meant eliminating genetic orders and latent vulnerabilities, but also had the side effect of enhancing your looks.”

“Thank you,” was all Diana managed to say as she marveled at her new form some more.

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Sev simply nodded before pushing a rack of clothes before her. “There’s a few options, feel free to try them out. I’ll be waiting outside.”

Diana got off the surgical table on wobbly legs, and she gasped as her feet made contact with the cold floor tiles. Ignoring Sev’s chuckle as he left, she slowly acclimated herself to having a body again before daring to attend to the clothes.

To think, before this she was nothing more than a slowly dying brain trapped in a ruined terraforming facility. Diana’s fingers curled into fists as anger and despair both rose in her. She remembered the razing of the Nursery, remembered the massacre of her children.

Damn Caesar! Damn his Legion!

A loud smash startled Diana, and she realized she had slammed her fist on the metal surface she sat on. The bloom of pain that followed made her wince and tear up again. She’d have to be careful with her impulses.

After letting the pain ebb, Diana returned to the initial task at hand and picked an outfit to wear. She decided on a casual and comfortable looking set, and then left the lab where Sev was waiting just outside with Curie and Nat.

“Oh wow, you’re really pretty!” Nat exclaimed immediately, causing Diana’s lips to curl up in a bright smile. The girl extended her hand and Diana shook it, enjoying the warmth from the skin contact.

“Thank you.”

Curie’s smile was warm and welcoming. “I hope your body is to your liking?”

Diana’s head bobbed enthusiastically, her hair bouncing along on her shoulders. “It’s more than what I expected. Thank you, Curie.”

“It is my pleasure to be able to help you out of that prison,” the other woman replied, with surprising venom in the word ‘prison’. “But enough of such dark thoughts. Come, let us show you to your new home.”

Curie glanced to Sev, who nodded in turn, and then with Nat the two young women escorted Diana through the hallways and towards a train station. They took turns explaining a lot of things to her, like her basic allowance, the many lifestyles Diana was free to pursue out in the Nexus, the chance to meet the survivors of the tribe she so carefully tended to…

The Nexus had not only saved her from an ignominious end, but were now offering a second, brighter life to the former scientist and then cybernetic computer of the Nursery. 

“...and if you’re not too squeamish about it, it even comes with live fire training.”

Diana blinked as her attention was refocused to Nat. “I’m sorry, training?”

“Oh, I thought you might be interested in Nexus basic training,” the girl explained without missing a beat. “If you make it to the higher stages, it also comes with live fire exercises on prisoners...” Nat’s eyes were alight with amusement. “...and we’ve got a lot of Legion prisoners, right Curie?”

“Indeed,” the other woman answered with a conspiratorial nod and wink to Diana. “I’m sure we can allocate a few dozen or so if you’re up for it?”

Diana silently pondered the offer, and then found the angry memories of her loss turning into bittersweet spite. “I’d be happy to give it a try.”

---

Author's notes:  is something I found when wiki researching and decided to cameo. Initially had an idea for an arc, but found it'd be a repetitive rescue and restoration.

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