Her given name at birth was Cherise Brigit St. Clair. All through school most everyone called her "Cher", but when she got to High School it somehow got changed to "Cherry B." or "Cherry Bomb". It wasn't her doing and she hated it. She was the only girl in a family with five kids, she grew up tough and a real scrapper. She had to be, to give her brothers what for when they played their stupid sophomoric tricks on her. She'd gotten into a few fights at school too, and was once sent home from school for a week for beating the crap out of a boy who tried to grab her in places he shouldn't be grabbing. She could be ruthless when she had to be. She was conscripted for service, but Cherry B. made herself disappear. She wasn't about to fight for the government that had brought this on themselves, despite all their declarations of innocence. Cherry B. was smarter than that. Like many others, she found her way underground and became a pit-runner. Like Red, she ran supplies during the war to the rebel factions - mostly medical supplies and food. She ran them here in Motor City, and knew the UG like the back of her own hand. Somehow the name Cherry Bomb stuck with her through the war, but she had a new attitude about it this time. She'd become dangerous, and it sounded dangerous. She took a liking to hand-grenades and her re-fitted/re-tooled Walther P99RAD she'd heisted from an abandoned gun shop. It had been pretty well picked over, but the looters had missed a trapdoor in the floor of the backroom in a dark corner. Cherry was fearless - perhaps foolishly so - but she was also wary and observant...and quick on the draw. She opened the trap door and found several items down at the base of the vertiginous wooden stairs that she still had in her possession and used. Things weren't quite as exciting once the rebels were defeated and some semblance of order was established...but then the mutants started showing up, or becoming mutants. She wasn't sure which. Cherry B. made it her mission to find out exactly what was going on that was causing this small explosion of mutants. There hadn't been any for probably two years after the war. Fact - there were a lot of chemical spills and there was radiation, but it seemed to her from what she knew about it, if that was what was turning them they should have turned long before they did. One night, while making her way back home though the UG, she happened to spot a mutant coming out of a doorway she thought had long been sealed shut. She hid in the shadows and watched the thing make it's way outside, up through the drainage system. Once it was safely out of the way she went up too, through one of her escape routes. Tracing her steps back above ground, she found herself standing in front of what was once an old factory. The sign had long since fallen down but using her gun sight, she noted that a name had been stenciled beside the delivery bay on the outside wall. It read "DalTech Corporation"*. Was this the source of the mutants? Did they have something to do with this hideous mess? It was 20:32 on the night of September 29th, 2019. Cherry was startled by the report of a handgun a few blocks over. She decided she'd best get home and took off. It was the same night the pit-runner known as "Red" got into town and encountered a mutant...the very same mutant Cherry had seen come out into the UG from Daltech's lower levels. * Daltech Coporation is a fictious company, not to be confused with any other company, entity or corporation of similar name in this reality or any other...well, except in the story. ***** I decided to give you a break from the boys tonight and introduce Cherry Bomb here. Her story ties in with what happens later, but I won't say more than that. Cherise is one of my girls. Her outfit is "LM Shadowdancer" (DAZ) - gun and knife included. Hair is "Elven Hair" (DAZ). The toxic barrels are courtesy of Adam Thwaites. The walls and stairs are Poser primitives textured by me. A little work on the water with some water brushes. Lit with one sickly and very pale green point light. The hand-grenade is from ElLee (sharecg). Water is from DAZ Environmentals. Thanks to you for stopping by dear friends. Your comments, faves and views are always appreciated! Have a great Sunday!! Ray