The press conference lands big but light. Numerous segments, but little substance for regular Night City citizens. It is meant for corporations, not street folk: a message that Ascension Technology is no longer just a pharma shop, so do not act surprised when they roll out things beyond pills. Marvin's robot demo proves they are not bluffing. It is a pre-inoculation for the market, laying groundwork for the expansion plan that follows.
Once the lights go down, expansion begins in earnest. With fresh funding routed through Arasaka, Ascension Technology scales its industrial park beyond the original blueprint. On the lines, Marvin units come off the fixtures one after another and deploy into different posts across the company. Some media outlets that did not accept sponsorship criticized the move, claiming that the upkeep of robots would outstrip human labor costs and calling the effort a failure. Ascension ignores the noise and continues to build. Those critics never stop to consider the kind of frenzy these "failed" Marvin robots will trigger in Night City later.
Ascension Technology. A side room off the lab has been converted into a boxing ring. Rocky, Vik, and Jackie still keep the habit; they meet here to trade rounds when time allows. Power levels differ now, but with control and respect, they can still enjoy the hit-and-learn rhythm of the sport. Today, there is a fourth: Marvin. Since coming online, Marvin has lived in the lab as Vik's assistant whenever he is not running upgrades. In truth, Vik "raised" him and taught him boxing the same way he taught Rocky. Vik even machined a modular glove assembly for Marvin, with a small expression display on the backplate that links to Marvin's system. Marvin loves the thing.
Ding!
Vik and Marvin square up. Marvin limits his output to match Vik's level, but the vibranium chassis soaks up impact until there is nothing left to drive back. You cannot rattle a robot's liver, and a flat plate does not flinch. Add Marvin's learning curve, and he outpaces Vik in short order. Vik steps out, smiling and honest about the result. Jackie rolls his shoulders and takes the ropes.
Against Jackie, Marvin cannot coast. Jackie has taken two rounds of physical-strength enhancement and hits on a tier Vik does not. Vibranium alone no longer lets Marvin shrug off the heavy shots. They trade evenly, back and forth, clean guard, sharp footwork, neither giving more than he takes. Rocky watches from ringside, pleased to just be here in this moment.
Lissandra pings Rocky with bad news—another attack is underway. The panel shows a hit on Ascension's raw materials convoy by 6th Street. It is the eighth incident in only a few days. The list is growing: transport teams, staff, and even the industrial park have all been targeted at different levels. The attackers are a mix of Night City mercs and gangs; 6th Street is the most active. Someone is getting antsy.
The Cybertron incident did not just wake Arasaka up to the serum's importance. Militech did the math, too. As Arasaka's mortal rival, Militech knows what happens if Ascension and Arasaka are allowed to combine. They start seeding a spray of commissions aimed at Ascension as an appetizer for something bigger. Most of the recent harassment can be traced back to that pipeline. Many hits cause minor real damage, and the Special Operations Department clears a lot of them, but the tempo keeps rising, and Jackie's team is getting buried in mosquito work.
Rocky calls it. Do not chase every mosquito. Even if you swat ten, more will come. He instructs Lissandra to prepare a response, a special "gift" addressed to the mercs and gangs targeting Ascension and to Militech itself. Then he puts the feed aside and turns his attention back to the ring. Today is one of the rare days the crew can meet to box. He is not losing that to background noise.
Under the overhead lights, Jackie's musculature sits in clean relief every time he slips a cross and answers with a hook. Marvin gleams with a different beauty, one that is metallic. Look closely and you can see four neat claw-like scratches on the right forearm plate, a slight imperfection that breaks the symmetry. He picked that up recently, fooling around with the lab's dog…