A/N: So here's my story about Specs from Starship. I feel like her character has very little back story, and as a nerdy girl myself I really relate to her. This will become a Spayonder fic, just an fyi.


"But Mommy, I don't want to get glasses," the five year old whined. Her mother just patted her head absentmindedly.

"I know Janie, but you have to be able to see, otherwise the robots will just snatch you up right away. And you have to stay safe. I don't know what I would do if I lost you," her mother trailed off. Miranda Alverson had been extremely overprotective ever since her husband died in the robot wars, but any and every parent that was still alive kept their children within arm's reach nowadays. It was hard to find people alive who remembered a time when the Earth wasn't under the robots control.

The Alverson family lived underground, in a hidden compound for the human resistance. There were a few of them around, but their numbers were slowly dwindling. It seemed like the robot wars would never end.

"But Mommy, why do I have to get those glasses?" Jane asked. The frames her mother held would have looked fine perched atop an old man's nose, but they held no appeal to the little girl. Her mother sighed.

"Janie, be grateful that you're getting glasses at all. Most of the industrial materials are going to the war effort. Commander Jones was nice enough to allow you this old pair and new lenses. Now, do you want to be able to see or not?" Miranda said, coming off a bit sharper with her young daughter than she intended.

"I'm sorry," the little girl said in a small voice. "Thank you, Mommy. I love you." Jane grabbed the glasses from her mother and put them on. "Hey, I can see perfectly!"

Miranda smiled. "Go play with your brother and the other children and do not leave the compound. I'm going to Mr. Jacobs fix the engine to his hovercraft again. Dinner is laid out for you and Danny at home. Don't wait up for me." With that, Miranda kissed her small daughter on the head and watched as she skipped away.

Jane spotted her brother and some other children playing ball in a small open field mostly shielded by a gigantic boulder. "Hey! Hey, Danny!" she yelled, but he didn't hear her. Janee took off at a run towards him. She noticed that they had found a ball from Dead-God knows where.

"Hey!" she yelled again, now standing directly behind Danny. He jumped and swore.

"Jesus, Janie. Don't scare me like that," Dan Alverson Jr. told his younger sister. He was only thirteen, but hard work and stress made him look much older. Recently, his voice had started getting deeper, which only made him sound more like his dead father.

"I yelled your name. It's not my fault you didn't hear me," Jane retorted, sticking out her tongue. Danny sighed. She was such a child. But if she wanted to toss around petty insults, two could play that game.

"Nice glasses. I think they suit ya, Specs," he said teasingly. The look on her face told him he had struck a nerve.

"Don't call me that, Danny," his kid sister whined. Danny's eyes brightened wickedly.

"Whatever you say, Specs," he said chortling. His best friend, who had now grown frustrated that Danny was chatting with his little sister rather than throwing the ball, yelled at him to hurry up.

"Sorry!" Danny yelled back. "I was just chatting with Specs here about her shiny new glasses." He smirked when she scowled up at him angrily.

"Well, quit chatting with Specs and throw the Dead-Goddamn ball!" Ricky shouted, kicking at the dirt with the sole of his well-worn shoe.

"Don't call me that," Jane grumbled quietly so that only Danny could hear her. She was afraid of the other kids, especially Ricky. He had once left the compound and come face to face with a robot and bashed its head in with a rock. He was incredibly tough, not to mention intimidating to a scrawny five year old like Specs.

"Too late now. Looks like it's stuck," Danny said with a cheerful smirk. Jane gave him the dirtiest of looks before scampering off to go look at bugs that were crawling around in the dirt. She liked to look at them because they were so different from her. Specs wondered if they were worried about the robot wars too.

She had been half-playing, half watching her brother's kickball game when she noticed a dark, hulking form outside the fence. It was gray, so her mind automatically jumped to robot. And yet it walked exactly like a human. Specs ran to go get her brother as well as the rest of the big kids. They would know what the thing was and whether to tell their parents.

"Danny," she shrieked. Her brother was so startled by her yell that he nearly pitched the one good ball they had right over the fence.

"What is it now, Janie!" Danny yelled, briefly forgetting her new name. He turned around to face his little sister with an absolutely murderous look on his face.

"There's something coming this way. It kinda looks like a person," Specs said quietly. Danny abruptly forgot about his anger. He motioned toward Ricky.

"Specs thinks she saw something coming this way. It could be a human, but robot technology is advancing so quickly that they could have made humanoid robots to try and trick us. Ricky and I are going to get a closer look." Danny gestured to the oldest girl in their group who looked about fifteen. "Izzy, you keep an eye on the kids." The older girl nodded and picked up a large rock while the smaller children excluding Specs huddled around her.

Danny turned toward his little sister. "You're staying here." She let all of her breath out in a huff.

"No. I wanna see what it is." Even though she was a tiny girl of five, Specs looked rather tough in that moment; with her feet spread apart and her arms crossed, she seemed ready to fight.

Danny sighed. If he made her stay back, she would just follow him. She had done it before. He pulled out his old pocket knife, and ignoring Ricky's cry of indignation, handed it to the little girl. Danny looked his little sister straight in the eyes.

"If you can tell it's a robot, turn around and run. Don't worry about me, okay?" Danny told her and Specs nodded up at him. He knew she wouldn't do it, but hopefully she wouldn't have to. He trusted Specs judgment on the thing. She was observant, even as young as she was, in a way he could never be.

"Hey," a ten year old named Riley said, shifting her feet. "Maybe we should go get the grownups." she seemed nervous, as if they were all going to make fun of her.

Ricky snorted. "They won't be around to fight the robots for us forever. We have to learn. That's why I'm joining the League, just like my dad." Ricky's father had lost both of his legs to the robots and now designed weapons for the League from his wheelchair. With that, he wandered toward the section of fence where Specs had seen the thing. Danny followed him closely, and Specs trailed after her brother. Her small pink tennis shoes left heart-shaped marks in the sand.

It didn't take long for them to spot the figure Specs had seen. It had gotten much closer to the compound, but it was now lying flat. It looked an awful lot like a young man lying face down in the dirt. It didn't move. Danny wondered if it was pretending or if it had really died. Ricky immediately put his knife between his teeth and began scaling the fence. The fence used to have electricity going through it, but now the robots would just absorb that and make themselves more powerful. After a moment of hesitation, Danny followed before giving a meaningful look at Specs. It said, Don't follow. He needn't have bothered; Specs was far too small to climb the fence. She wondered how the two boys would get the man over.

Danny approached the form. It was a man-no, more like a boy. He couldn't have been that much older than Danny himself. Ricky tapped the man on the shoulder, but he didn't move. He pointed to the man, and then at Ricky's water bottle. The pair of them wanted to be quiet in case there were any robots nearby. Most of them could sense sound waves.

Unscrewing the cap, Danny prepared to dump some of his precious water on the man. He figured a shock would be best, so he poured it directly on the man's face. It worked, the man opened a eye and asked in a hoarse voice, "You got any more of that?"

Danny nodded. "Can you stand?" he asked the stranger. The man considered it, and with an intense amount of effort, pushed himself on his feet. He nearly toppled over again, but the two boys each grabbed an arm. They began walking with him to the fence. The stranger nearly tripped three times, but Danny and Ricky both pulled him up when that happened.

Specs was staring at the three of them with wide eyes. The man looked back at her with some trepidation. "Is she the best backup y'all have got?" he groaned.

"No," Danny hissed. "There are adults here; they're just over this fence. You're going to have to climb it somehow." The three children all shared a worried look. The man seemed to take it in stride.

"No problem. I can handle it. I'm going to join the Starship Rangers you know, and kill all the robots." He nearly keeled over again, a small grin on his lips.

"Aren't you a little young to be a Starship Ranger?" Specs asked innocently. The teenager bristled.

"I am sixteen. And I've already fought a few robots. They gave me this," he said, rolling up his right sleeve and showing them a large cut on his arm, "but I killed 'em all."

"Look, mister. Can you climb the fence or not?" Ricky asked, growing impatient. This boy may have killed robots, but he was dehydrated and losing blood quickly. If any robots were to find them at that very moment, none of them would have stood a fighting chance.

"I'm here to get the job done!" The guy yelled deliriously and began climbing the fence. Specs looked up at him worriedly and moved several feet back. It was a lucky thing she did too; as soon as the wannabe Starship Ranger went over the top, he fell right off and hit the ground.

"I'm okay," he mumbled, but he didn't try to peel himself up off the ground. The other boys climbed the fence eagerly and half-carried, half-dragged the man towards the main building of the compound. They didn't have to go far; waiting inside the door was every adult who could be torn away from their work. The nurse started yelling instructions to the strongest men, who were loading the semi-conscious youth onto a makeshift stretcher.

Miranda Alverson walked over to her children. She grabbed Specs by the hand and Danny by the ear. He began whining at her to stop until he caught the look on her face. It held some anger, but mostly fear. Danny didn't know what she was afraid of. They were totally fine and hadn't seen any robots.

"You're gonna get it," Ricky whispered as the two of them were pulled away. Danny ignored him, but Specs turned around and stuck her tiny tongue out at him. So much for being Dead-Goddamn heroes.


A/N:Bonus points if you know who the boy is. I'll probably post the next chapter this weekend, but it could be later because I have SATS.