"Joel!" The two bots cried out in joy together as they watched Joel exit his pick up truck through the rear windshield of Mike's car.

"Mike!" Crow whined impatiently as he began spastically clawing and biting at his seatbelt. "Get these stupid straps off of me!"

"Yeah Mike!" Tom whined just as impatiently as Crow. "Move it! Let's go!"

Mike reached into the backseat and unfastened Crow's seatbelt first and then Tom's. Crow began frantically pulling on the door handle but the door remained closed.

"Mike!" Crow whined again, even louder. "Unlock the door! What's the matter with you?!"

Just to toy with the energetic duo Mike slowly hovered his finger over the automatic door lock and exaggerated the motion of pressing down the button.

"Hurry! Move it, move it, MOVE IT!" Tom was beginning to bounce around in his seat, clearly unamused by Mike's joke.

As soon as the audible 'click' of the doors unlocking was heard, Crow flung open his door and scrambled out of the backseat of the car, his legs getting momentarily tangled in the seatbelt during his dramatic exit. Tom, unable to open his own door, quickly followed Crow and managed to nimbly hover over the seatbelt without getting caught himself.

Mike watched in the rearview mirror as the two robots clambered all over Joel as their creator did his best to hug the bots without being knocked down to the ground in the process. From his seat in the car, though muffled, Mike could hear the rapid paced voices of Crow and Tom frantically talking over each other. Mike finally exited his car and walked to the rear bumper where Joel ad the bots were standing in a group hug. Crow was hanging onto Joel's right arm while Tom, who was 'weeping' in joy was being held under Joel's left arm in a hug.

"Joel! Joel! Joel!" Crow repeated Joel's name over and over again, trying to get his attention over Tom's dramatic sobbing. "Did you miss me?"

"Yes, Crow. Of course I missed you!" Joel admitted with a smile.

"Hey!" Tom butted in and sniffled a little. "What about me?"

"You too, Tom. I missed you both and Gypsy and Cambot and even 'Magic Voice'. I missed everyone."

Crow spoke up. "Who did you miss the most?"

"What? No one, I missed you all equally."

"Yeah, sure. But seriously, who's your favorite?"

"Crow, I don't have a favorite. We've discussed this before."

"But I don't believe you and I never will! Answer the question!" He was clinging onto Joel's arm and was pulling himself up closer to Joel's face.

Mike casually leaned against the trunk of his car and watched the joyous reunion in respectful silence, glad that the bots were hanging onto Joel instead of himself. Joel finally took notice of Mike and extended his hand, with Crow hanging on for the ride, to Mike.

"Mike, good to see you again. You're looking well, you still have a nice jumpsuit, too."

Mike accepted the gesture. "Likewise." He took note of Joel's red jumpsuit. "Nice to know that level of energy from the bots isn't exclusive to me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Joel managed to shake Crow loose from his arm, causing Crow to fall to the ground with a 'thud'. "I always had to hide the candy when we were in space."

"Same." Mike watched as Crow climbed up Joel's leg and clung onto his waist. "But it didn't seem to make a difference."

Tom spoke up. "You cannot stop us Mike! We are immortal!" He laughed manically for a moment. "Right Joel?"

Joel laughed a little. "Sure, something like that." He returned his attention to Mike. "So, what've you guys been up to?"

"Joel! Joel! Joel!" Crow continued his childlike rambling. "You know what happened after you left the Satellite of Love?"

"No, what?"

"Mike broke the Hubble Telescope!"

"Yeah!" Tom piped up. "And he blew up three, count 'em, THREE planets!"

Joel couldn't believe what he was hearing, in fact he didn't. "Really Mike?"

"It's... It's a long story, Joel... And, it was ALL an ACCIDENT."

Tom continued on. "He stood trial and everything!"

"Yeah..." Crow added. "He only got community service though. What a rip-off!"

"Hey Crow, remember when Mike tried to grow a mustache?"

"Oh yeah!"

The two bots giggled evilly at the odd memory. "Wait, wait, Servo?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember when Mike tried river dancing?"

"What a joke! Ooh, what about the time we thought he had rabies?"

"Classic! Or the giant spider web!"

The mischievous robotic duo laughed together as they stumbled through some of the less flattering moments during their time with Mike aboard the S.O.L. Mike simply bowed his head in embarrassment.

Joel saw Mike's reaction and couldn't help but smile. "Seriously? They're actually telling the truth?"

"Yeah... They are. Unfortunately."

Crow spoke up again. "Joel! Joel! Joel!"

"What Crow?"

"I had the 'touch of death' and it's totally a real thing and I used it to kill Mike!"

"Yeah!" Tom confirmed. "But it's okay, Mike got better."

"Yeah, after we hauled his heavy dead carcass into the theater!"

"What about the time you turned Mike into a 'werecrow'?" Tom continued.

"Oh yeah! That was awesome!"

Joel couldn't believe what he was hearing. "A were... crow?"

Mike tried to explain. "Uh, yeah. I tripped over Crow and cut my forehead on his net, and apparently his 'essence'-"

"Ewww!" Both bots interrupted.

"Uh, anyway," Mike continued. "I was slowly turned into a 'werecrow'."

Joel didn't know how to respond. He just gave Mike a blank look.

"It's okay. I got better. Again."

"I see that."

The sound of thunder in the distance caught the reunited group's attention. Dark clouds began to build quickly and block out the sunlight. "That's weird." Mike noticed the approaching storm quickly. "I checked the weather before we left, it's so supposed to be sunny all week!"

Joel looked over his shoulder at the hauntingly empty Gizmonic Institute only a few yards away. "You guys, I think we're going to get caught in the rain."

Mike looked up and felt a few raindrops fell on his face. "I think you're right."

"Joel..." Tom saw where Joel was looking. "You're not seriously thinking of going in there, are you?!"

A second roar of thunder, closer than before, caused Tom and Crow to scream in fear and cling onto Joel even tighter! "Guys, you're crushing me!"

"Right." Mike didn't like the idea of being caught in a storm. "I vote we head into the building and wait out the rain."

"Second!" Joel agreed as he tried to pull Crow off his waist.

Mike grabbed ahold of Crow's arms and pried him loose, only to have the gilded menace turn his grip onto Mike's face and head 'face-hugger' style. "Crow! Crow buddy, I can't see!"

"Don't worry about it, just run in a straight line!"

With a firm grip Mike managed to lower Crow's arm so he could finally see beyond the robots body. Just as Mike regained his vision the clouds above opened up and quickly drenched the quartet in a freak summer shower.

"Let's go!" Joel encouraged as he made his way toward the building with Tom still under in his arm.

The long abandoned 'G' and gear shaped building looked ominous from the parking lot, but as the storm settle in overhead the structure became a menacing figure in the isolated lot of scientific madness. Even the lawn and trees were dead. It was also their only option for shelter.

While Joel fumbled with the heavy padlock on the door, Tom tried to guide Mike toward the building.

"Straight... nope, nope! You need to take a step to the right. No, your right Mike! Your other right, Mike!"

"I think I got it..." With a heavy 'thunk' the padlock gave way from its long sealed tumblers and fell free from the chains.

Mike managed to find his way to the door and pry Crow from his face. He saw the lock on the ground and watched as Joel released the chains from the door. "How'd you do that?"

Joel gave Mike a sly look. "I managed to build four robots out of parts from an experimental satellite, lock picking isn't too different."

"Oh."

The large doors swung open with an ear piercing squeak revealing a vacant lobby attached to long, winding dark hallway.

"Okay, this is bull!" Crow announced. "There is no way I'm going in there!"

A powerful roar of thunder shook the building causing both Crow and Tom to scream in fear again. "Never mind, let's move it people!"

...to be continued...