New Bot on the Block
Chapter 2: Crash Landing
In present time, Leo woke up from unconsciousness 5 minutes later and is slowly adjusting his optics to see clearly, before he remembered his escape from the Cluster Warship and his powers lost… His optics widened when he realised that Vexus installed a failsafe in case he went rogue, when he saw flashlights moving up and down on the left window and realised the authorities are here. He looked around and saw the hatch above him, so he reached up and turned the valve to open the hatch and he climbed out of the escape pod and hid in the bushes. He was still feeling pain in the back of his head and believes the failsafe chip is there, but without a mirror or similar object, he cannot remove it without damaging his circuits.
He then saw the lights checking out the escape pod and heard one of the officers say, what Leo believes to be a short-wave radio "Captain, we've found an escape pod… I believe it is Cluster-made, sir." Leo then heard the captain's reply through the short-wave "Any sign of the occupant(s)?" Leo stealthily snuck away from the vicinity of the escape pod, careful not to make contact with either a twig or graze a branch, when the officer radioed "No sir… but the hatch is opened very recently. I think he/she/they had left just before we even saw them leave the hatch." Leo backed away cautiously, when he turned around and saw a nearby alley; if he could just make it over there without so much as a commotion, he could evade the authorities. He then turned his head a little to hear the Captain's reply "Send out a search party in a 6 block radius ASAP, officer. The Occupant(s) can't have gone far."
If there was a window to get out, this was it; Leo jumped over the fence and landed on his feet cat-like before he rushed into the alleyway and hid behind a dumpster just before a helicopter and numerous vehicles arrived at the park. Leo noted they have such a fast response time, when he crouched away stealthily and went through more alleys to see an abandoned factory in the distance. He then decided to lay low there until they've stopped searching, so he rushed over to the factory, glad that at least his enhanced speed isn't erased. He was a few paces away from the factory, when he suddenly skidded into a halt and swore he was being watched; he looked around the empty street, but didn't see so much as glaring eyes in the dark. He then heaved a deep breath and proceeded into the factory: it was a run-down factory with rusted walls, doors and various equipment; there were mufflers, rubber tires, broken rear-view mirrors and rusted license plates all around the place.
Leo then heard a quick gale from his left and turned to see papers flown briefly in the air, before he gulped in nervousness and continued to sneak through the factory until he was tripped onto his back by a red blur. He closed his eyes in a brief moment of pain before he opened them a little, then widened them in shock as he saw what was stalking him: It was a female human Exo-Skin, with red hair in pigtails, a sky-blue dress with white polka dots and feet that has black shoes with black stockings. It was staring at him and he was staring at it back in fear, before the Exo-Skin made a sniffing noise, freaking out Leo in the process. As it stood up, Leo flinched in fear and waited for it to attack, when he felt something land on him with a *FLUMP!* and Leo opened his left optic and saw what looks like a massive hand-puppet on his torso.
When he picked it up, he realised it was a male human Exo-Skin: it had short, messy, jet black hair, a pure white t-shirt underneath a brown, sleeveless vest, blue jeans and black loafers with white ankle socks. Leo is puzzled from it, when his optics shifted their view to the female Exo-Skin and she gestured him to the Exo-Skin she gave him. He then realised, much to his obliviousness, that he can use this and pass as a human; he then thought about Jenny and blushed deeply on what her reaction would be if she meets him for the first time. Without a second thought, he puts himself into the Exo-Skin and felt it merge with him before being lit up by a bright light. He opened his eyes and blinked twice before he looked down and saw his hands as… human hands, before he looked around restlessly for a mirror or a glass pane. He then saw an intact glass pane and saw himself as a human in the mirror and felt relieved since he can fit along with humanity now, before he realised something: the Failsafe Chip.
He turned around to try to get it out, when he realised it was more difficult than he anticipated, since he cannot watch himself in the mirror OR get the chip out safely at the same time. He groaned in frustration and hit his head on a supporting girder, when he had an idea and asked the female Exo-Skin "Hey, um, can you please get the Failsafe Chip out of my head?" The female Exo-Skin raised her brow in puzzlement, when Leo explained "When I escaped from… a sinister place, they installed a Failsafe Chip in the back of my head to remove my active powers. I felt it go off, but I think it got fried to a crisp… Anyway, there should be a panel at the back of my head where they installed it."
The female Exo-Skin nodded in understanding and swiftly went behind Leo before diverting his Exo-Skin and pressed on a small panel the size of an SD Memory Card, before it retracted like a DVD disc tray and revealed a severely burnt chip. Leo can smell the melted plastic, despite its size, before the female Exo-Skin removed it safely and threw it into a disposable chute. She then pressed the chip tray back into locked position, as Leo thanked her for removing it before realising he has nowhere to sleep. As he looked around the factory, he hasn't seen so much as a bed frame to lie on, so he reluctantly decided to sleep on the hard floor. He then found the least uncomfortable spot to sleep on and lied on his back, before lifting his head up and gave a thumbs up to the female Exo-Skin before he shut his eyes to sleep.
