Disclaimer: I own nothing having to do with this series except the words below.

Notes: Depending on whatever else comes up for air in my brain, this will stay a standalone or become a dropbox for Malik/Adam things. We shall see~.

Her augs weren't like his would eventually be.

His would surge through every part of him, weave their way through his muscles and bones and nervous system, integrated with his body forever in a harmonious tangle of technology and flesh. But hers lurked just under the surface, tucked away in her brain like a dirty little secret.

It'd taken her a few moments to collect herself when she'd stood in front of her mirror for the first time after the operation, seen the dots and lines and hexagons mapped out across half of her shaved skull like a chemical formula.

A heavy swallow.

She'd known she was still human. The implant was said to be only an improvement on her skill, and it was true. Even without this implant she was one of the best pilots out there; Sarif had hired her just a year prior for that exact reason. But it felt...different. Now there was something there that wasn't just little gray cells sitting in her cerebrum. Her body had been tampered with and had not been left the same, even if this was all for doing a better job. Her eyes had clouded with tears just then for reasons she didn't understand.

She does not punch the mirror like Adam eventually would when he was first able to comprehend his new reflection. Instead, she removes it from the wall with care, carefully unscrewing each screw on the corners, gently hauling the mirror down from above the counter and placing it behind all her old coats and clothes in the closet. She promises herself that in a month, she will put it back up.

But she doesn't. Not even after her hair starts to grow out into an unruly boy cut. Not even after it gets just a little past her ears and any sign of the implants disappear under dark brown curls.

Eventually, she forgets about the mirror and the hexagons and lines, and buys a new mirror to replace the old one. She tells Adam that it'd pissed her off when she found out she still had the old one, but somehow, it feels different looking into the newer mirror. It's as if the past is far behind, and the troubles in it are no worry any longer.