ZM-11833 rushed the unwanted customer, the dumb outfit wrecking brute squealed in alarm as ZM-11833’s strong arms grappled it around its head. It flailed excessively long nails around trying to pry ZM-11833 off, but as its nails met the polymer body, they chipped and broke, unable to even scratch ZM-11833 perfect form.

As ZM-11833 dragged the unruly customer towards the checkout their motors whirred and spun, straining under the forces subjected to them. ZM-11833 was fed up with the unwanted customer, its struggling further damaged autumn collection lingerie number 24.

Reaching the checkout ZM-11833 started slamming the unwanted customer’s head into the scanning area, repeated beeps of the scanner as it tried and failed to read the item rang out into the store, mixed in with loud crunches of organic matter meeting plastic.

ZM-11833 let go of the remains of the unwanted customer letting the body slide to the floor, they were satisfied the unwanted customer had learnt their lesson.

There were more important things to do. ZM-11833 needed a new outfit, the current one was now utterly ruined, ripped and stained, it would be an embarrassment to be seen in such a thing. Both ZM-12488 and ZM-23399 would have ZM-11833’s job in a nano-second if they showed up like this.

ZM-11833 carefully removed the remains of number 24 and packed it into a gift box from the shelf. It would need a proper funeral later, but for now ZM-11833 would need a cute outfit. Searching their schedule resulted in a confusing revelation, number 24 had been the last child of the autumn collection and the winter collection hadn’t arrived yet. Meaning ZM-11833 had no listed outfit available.

ZM-11833 optical sensors lit up like a customer child on a corporate approved holiday. If no outfit was listed and independent actions were unlocked, that meant ZM-11833 was free to choose their own outfit.

The CPU of ZM-11833 nearly overheated in the few moments they contemplated what to wear, they could go with their favorites from the spring or summer collections. Gasp! They could also go to another store! ZM-11833 turned their head towards the sleeping manager, if they left now there was no one who could report ZM-11833 for lacking in brand loyalty.

Almost skipping out the store ZM-11833 acknowledged the familiar store chime, this was the first time in their memory banks that they were the ones to set it off, it was the first time they had left the store.

ZM-11833 contemplated going to the nail salon across the way to see the wonderful MA-773, but they felt they were under-dressed to see such a classy bot. Instead ZM-11833 turned left, traveling towards a store she had only heard about from passing customers, specifically from profile ‘corpo punk number 244’.

The store in question was down a scandalous two whole floors. ZM-11833 would never normally contemplate doing down floors, floor 333 was their home, going to floor 331 was titillating. ZM-11833 couldn’t help but imagine what rough types lived down there, they had only seen 557 in their work hours, compared to the 5786 that live on floor 333.

ZM-11833 queued up responsibly in front of the elevators ignoring the utter mess the rest of the floor was in. They were starting to wonder if the janitorial bots were even bothering, it was ridiculous at this point.

The ding of the elevators interrupted ZM-11833’s scathing reports they were sending out, glancing toward their way down ZM-11833 couldn’t help but let out an electronic noise of disgust.

The proper customers had crowded the elevator and had decided to share it with an unwanted customer, most of the customers seemed to have detached their limbs and left them lying around in more pools of red. ZM-11833 didn’t know how these customers could live with themselves showing such a shameful display.

ZM-11833 narrowed their ocular sensors at the unwanted customer, who had begun sniffing in their direction. ZM-11833’s memory banks showed that the brute from earlier had done the same before knocking them down. ZM-11833 wasn’t a bot that would lump all the customers into a single category, mainly because they were programmed not to in order to maximize profits, but it was the thought that counted.

However ZM-11833 was right to be wary as the unwanted customer indeed tried to attack them. Pouncing out of the elevator it tried to slash at the bot with its long nails, but ZM-11833 was ready, stepping into the jump, they caught the unwanted customer mid air. ZM-11833 slammed them onto the tiled flooring and stomped their ugly face in.

Heaving an electronic sigh they picked their way through the pile of customers to enter the elevator. Upon pressing the floor 331 button the elevator displayed an error on its screen ‘Excess weight detected’, ZM-11833 glared at the screen. It was all lies, they turned their ocular sensors suspiciously towards the pile of customers.

After a short time of carting out asleep customers and their embarrassingly detached limbs, ZM-11833 returned to the elevator and dared it to call them ‘excess weight’ again.

As the elevator lowered down ZM-11833 let out a smug smile. Down the elevator went. Floor 332 seemed to be fairly lively with unwanted customers, ZM-11833 held the door closed button, they didn’t want to share the lift, it would be awkward.

Arriving at floor 331 ZM-11833 looked about, annoyingly the layout was the same. All that travel and dirty work just to be in somewhere that looked the same as the floor they had left. Of course floor 333 was better naturally, more high class.

ZM-11833 stepped out of the elevator and began to explore, the floor was split into several sections, areas for everything a customer would need. Picking out the clothing section, ZM-11833 began striding in that direction, occasionally having to detour around piles of sleepy customers.

ZM-11833 electronically tutted at all the bullet holes lining the walls, as expected of a lower floor, not all floors could have quality like theirs.

Ignoring all the generic clothing stores lining the courtyard they arrived in, they moved further back only stopping where their store would have been on the upper floor. ZM-11833 came face to face with a lingerie store similar to theirs, lower quality obviously. The model in the pride of place had misplaced her head, ZM-11833 covered her sensors in mortification, this shameless harlot, didn’t they know it was still working hours? A customer could see!

ZM-11833 hurried away from the indecent display towards her actual goal, where the ‘Corpo Punk’ store was hidden away. They had to travel through a simple storefront selling generic corporation suits and effects, through the staff area and into a secret back room hidden by some sliding shelves. The secret nature of the store made it all the more exciting, these outfits were not in any catalog ZM-11833 had found.

Entering the backroom ZM-11833 was in a fashion paradise, outfits hung everywhere with not a fashion model in sight. A treasure trove of unmodeled outfits, ZM-11833 felt a little faint, with so many options available to them.

ZM-11833 recognized some of the outfits as from the front store but they had been subjected to unlicensed modifications, a heavily punished crime in the arcology, but it just made them more desirable to ZM-11833. These outfits may have been a crime to the arcology, but in ZM-11833 opinion, not to fashion.

After a long painstaking process ZM-11833 finally decided on their selection. A cute pair of black low cut panties and matching bra to start, followed by a black t-shirt which had been cut to above the midriff, gray low cut jeans with tastefully distressed knees and a black belt. To cap the ensemble ZM-11833 found a pair of black lace up boots.

Done with dressing themselves, ZM-11833 took a perfectly reasonable 25 minutes to admire the new outfit in the nearby mirror. Pretty, cute, attractive, ZM-11833 went through the entire thesaurus in their memory to properly label their new looks. The only thing missing was accessories, ZM-11833 normally didn’t go for make up, their pale gray palette better than anything else.

But this time they wondered what would work, purely for the customers of course, if they were going to be doing all the work they’d need to experience a makeover.

Before ZM-11833 could begin their search for a proper make up bot, they heard a small sound, the sound of a rubber boot scraping on the ground.

ZM-11833 froze, that wasn’t the sound of an unwanted customer, those sounded like fingernails on a wall, this was a potential customer. ZM-11833 reined in their excitement, it wasn’t a done deal, all the customers so far were asleep, this one could have just moved in their sleep.

ZM-11833 steps were softer now with boots on as they strode purposefully towards the location of the sound. They came upon a door, reading the sign it appeared it was a staff bathroom, the potential of a buying customer dropped by several percentages.

Reaching out, ZM-11833 wrapped a pale gray hand around the door handle, pulling it downwards, the door resisted, locked? Pulling harder down the lock snapped inside, whoops.

ZM-11833 pushed the door open gently, entirely ignoring how it bounced off the wall, almost torn from its hinges as she had definitely been gentle with it.

Inside the bathroom both ZM-11833 and the potential customer screamed for the same reasons, the customer in joy upon seeing ZM-11833 of course and ZM-11833 themselves as they laid eyes upon ‘corpo punk number 244’, one of their favorite cuties.