Just as they were about to board the drop pod a guy stepped in their way. Taz wanted to scream, the stupid idiota! Why couldn't they just leave already?
"Whoa, hey there gang!" he said, smiling. He had brown hair and eyes, and he was very skinny. She wasn't sure if she liked him or not... "Thank dead God I caught you before drop down! I just wanted to get the chance to introduce myself. My name's Junior, maybe you've heard of me. Or my dad, he's the head of the whole Galactic League."
"Oh, I've heard of your dad!" Krayonder said.
"Yeah, I'm his son!" Junior said, stating the obvious.
Krayonder nodded. "Nice."
"I'm also this Starship's ambassador to the Galactic League," Junior continued. He looked around at all of them. "Uh-oh. I know what you're thinking! Who's this ignorant gringo trying to flex on my ship? But, rest assured, I'm not here to ruffle anybody's feathers! Quite the opposite, actually. I'm just here to watch you fly. And to make sure this mission is run according to Galactic League standards, but don't tell anybody, kay?" Taz wanted to strangle him. Acting as though he was everyone's friend and being so... cheery.
And still he kept going. "Guys, I needed the best for this mission. That's why I hand-picked each and every single one of you, just like I hand-picked February."
"Drop down in one minute!"
"So what are you waiting for guys, get down there!" Junior shouted before adding in a nicer tone, "And when you rescue February, tell her Junior sent you."
"Drop down in twenty seconds!"
"Oh, no wait!" Oh mi Dios muerta! Did this guy ever. Shut. Up? "One more thing, I forgot. Sorry. I've got something that's going to make your job down on that planet a whole heck of a lot easier! It's the most advanced piece of technology the Galactic League has to offer!" They all perked up a bit, curious. Junior approached the door. "Allow me to introduce you to the final member of your team. Megagirl!" And with that he hit the button, opening the door, revealing a female sillouhette.
"Please state a command for me to service you."
Taz grabbed her gun from her back and had it aimed in seconds. Why would they have one of those here? Hadn't the wars taught them anything?
"It's a- a- a- a ROBOT!" Up yelled, ducking behind her. She wanted to yell at him for being a wimp, but at the same time understood why he of all people would run and hide.
"Wow, she's shiny!" Tootsie said. Was he really that dumb that that was all he could process?
Taz looked at Junior, who was smiling smugly. "Are jou loco, esay? What are jou thinking, bringing a robot on board?" she snapped.
"Now, I know the Robot Wars have left us all a little bit touchy, OK, but I believe that considering the billions of people who died to regain control of the robots, well, it's an insult to their memory not to use them as our unwilling slaves!"
Taz almost laughed. What did he know of losing people to the robots? Where did he find the right to talk about what would be an insult to their memory?
"Robots can't be trusted, mate! Jou know what the first thing a robot ever did, kill its creator. Then he made more evil robots!" she said, not backing down.
"All hail Astroboy!" Megagirl said, raising a fist in the air, stirring up another collective gasp.
"Yes, yes," Junior said, "but trust me, evil killing won't be a problem with Megagirl. Watch, Megagirl, can you kill humans?"
Megagirl stood there, eerily still. "No." Everyone relaxed, until she turned her head in Taz's direction. "But I'd like to." That caused everyone to raise their zappers again.
"See, nothing to worry about!" Junior said. "Unlike the robots we fought in the war Megagirl comes equipped with an inhibitor chip." He spun her around and pointed to the back of her neck. "Her behavioral programs make it physically impossible for her to harm or kill humans. Animals are fair game though, so a few ground rules, no one ever wears fur, no one is a chicken, and nothing came from the horse's mouth!"
"A horse ate my cousin!" Tootsie suddenly shouted. Everyone stared at him. "Me and horses got a feud." Krayonder and Specs let out an unnecessary gasp until Tootsie smiled and giggled a bit.
Taz stepped forward. "Jou know, in my life, I've done some things I said I'd never do. But one thing I said I'd never do is work with a robot! They kill billions! They ruled earth with their fists made of iron for a hundred years. And Up..." She gestured to her old friend.
Junior got a shocked expression. "Oh. Oh, no, I completely forgot! Commander Up, his- his famous injury, it's because of a robot, wasn't it? Well, color me embarrassed-"
"Junior," Taz interrupted. "Jou can pack her up, 'cause she's not a part of this rescue mission."
"Oh, uh-oh. Uh-oh, you guys. I already told my dad, he's the head of the whole Galactic League, that I sent Megagirl down to the planet already! He was getting on me about how I hadn't started the rescue mission yet, you guys, so, she has to go."
"If she's going, I'm not."
Junior clearly had no intention of letting her back out though. "Oh, God, this sucks for me because I, like, want to be your friend, but as the ambassador I'm also your boss too, so, how do I say this? You have to?" He put up his hands defensively and had a slightly scared expression.
Megagirl turned and walked over to them. Taz raised her zapper higher. "Looks like you and I will be fast friends. Try to get my good side when I rescue the science officer." She did a small pose that just angered Taz. "That was a joke, because my design is mathematically perfect and symmetrical."
"Jou better watch jour back, Tin Can!" Taz warned. But Megagirl just smiled slightly.
"I have radar sensors that do that for me," she said, turning away. Junior took a picture for some unknown reason.
"What a relief to see you guys are getting along so well already!" he said. He was such an idiota. Megagirl made an 'I'm watching you' gesture and Taz glared. "But, you know what, um, you guys actually all should get going, 'cause I told my dad you left fifteen minutes ago! Sorry guys, that one's my fault!"
They all started leaving, but Taz saw Up trying to sneak away.
"Hey. Up, hey!" she said. "What are jou doing?"
Up grunted. "Oh, OK!" he said, hand slipping off the bar he'd been using to resist her pulling him away. "You know, why don't you just go on without me this time? Well, I'm feeling a bit like a wet blanket nowadays." What? No! Taz couldn't stand the depressed look on his face.
She knew what she had to do. "Hey," she said. "Mírame." He looked at her, and she promptly slapped him across the face before grabbing the strap on his uniform and pulling him closer. "Now, escúchame!" she yelled. "Jou are the toughest son of a bitch I ever met in my life! Do you remember, when we met, at my quinceañera and jou saved me from those killer robots who tried to string me up like a piñata and smash me open so they could eat my guts?" The memory was painful, but effective.
Up nodded. "I destroyed them."
"That was tough. Or that time, that those bullies were picking on me, 'cause I so little, and I like to read?" This had happened about a week into her attendance at the Academy, before she'd made a reputation. "And I crawl on your back and we chased them into the dumpster! And they looked like a bunch of chilies? That was tough! Or that time, you taught me calculus." She didn't know why she brought that up, but she was desperate. "Calculus was tough!"
Up didn't seem to notice how estúpido the last memory was. "Yeah, I know, Taz, I know. But, I- but that was before my injury. That was before the robots."
"No!" Taz said. "No. It's been two years since your injury. It's time you move on! You taught me something once," she continued, walking slightly away from him. "That no matter how hard you get knocked down you always got to get back up! So, now it's your turn! Get back up!"
She did the only thing she could think of then, her last resort.
She began singing.
"You say you've lost your edge, I say it's all in your head, so, listen, Up, I gotta message for you." While she sang she grabbed his hands and then said, "And now we dance!" before continuing.
"You've got something of a dry spell, but you taught me everything that I know, so why not let me teach a thing or two?" She spun out, then in, only half paying attention to the dance, making up the words as she went along. She pointed at him, still rolled up in his arms. "You're a total badass at the top of your class, now you're telling me your having doubts?"
He was shaking his head, not believing her, so she spun out, somewhat reluctantly, and faced him.
"But I'm not about to let a Ranger forget what being a Ranger's all about!" She draped her arm backwards over his shoulder then stepped away. She heard the others step in behind her, and was relieved, but kind of weirded out, when they joined her dancing. Random...
"We're here to get the job done! Doesn't matter if it's tough or it's fun, we don't hide and we don't run away! 'Cause, we're here to get the job done, we do it better than anyone, and if we ever feel like we've gone astray-" She had begun with a simple square, clapping motion, then progressed to a simple step, now she moved to step side to side, snapping, hoping the others could keep up. She mentally thanked her mother for the music and dance classes when she was little. "Then we've got to get up, got to get back, get back up! So, we've got to get up, got to get back. Get back up!"
She ran over to Up, who'd fallen to his knees, hiding his face. She decided to slow down a bit. "I know you've seen the rough time, hell, I see this, too, but I ain't seen anyone face 'em half as well as you." Taz pulled him to his feet. "This is no time to worry. This is no time for fuss. I know just how great you are and I think I speak for all of us!" She turned to the others and glared. "OK, idiotas. Say something nice or I will kill you!"
This definitely shaped them up. "You're the coolest dude around!" Specs yelled, covering her ears.
Tootsie piped up, "You've never let me down!" You know, in the whole five minutes they had known each other.
Taz turned to Up. "Take a good look in the mirror!" she sang, before pointing at Krayonder while Up pulled out his mirror.
"Uh, you're an awesome guy!"
"And the reason why," Taz sang, gesturing for the others to join her, which they did, "every one of us is here!"
Up started singing, which felt like a weight off of Taz's shoulders. She didn't hear what he was singing, but it sounded happy and confident, which was all that mattered. She stepped forward, ready to finish it up.
"We're here to get the job done, doesn't matter small or a ton, when we're down and there's nothing we can do, then we gotta get up, gotta get back, get back up!"
"I gotta get up, gotta get back get back, up," Up sang before the others joined again.
"We gotta get up gotta get back get back up! We gotta get up gotta get back! Get back! Get back up!"
They finished on their knees, hands towards Up, all breathing heavily. Taz stood up and walked towards her old friend, putting her hand on his shoulder. "So, Up, are jou ready to go?"
He nodded, a smile on his face. "Yes, Taz. Yes."
She felt a bubble of happiness inside of her, swelling larger and larger as they strapped into the drop pod.
No matter what happened, no matter what pain they faced, they'd get through. They were best friends. Maybe, someday, something more. But for now, Taz was content with this.
But she didn't know what would happen down on that planet. She didn't know how her hero would fall, how a bright, burning light in her heart would extinguish.
All she knew right now was that they had begun to get back Up.