New Bot on the Block
Chapter 13: Power Up I
Leo ran in fear from Brad's scolding for half an hour before he found himself in the downtown area. Although he knew Brad got it all wrong, he's still shook up from the scolding; still, he has no idea on where to sleep for tonight. He then decided to walk around Tremorton, since he hasn't been to every corner of the city yet.
During the walk around, he passed by the Post Office, City Hall, The Mall, Fire Station, Police Precinct, General Hospital; he was then amazed by the one building that's look like to be Hi-Tech: The Sky Patrol Headquarters. He looked up at the many floors of the skyscraper, which were circled by defence drones, before he made an awed smile and said "This is so amazing…"
Meanwhile, Brad, Tucker and Melodie are searching for Leo in the residential area, which Tucker said after nearly an hour of searching "It's no use Brad! He's not here…" Brad then replied "He's SOMEWHERE Tucker! I doubt he'd have gotten far."
Tucker rolled his eyes before continuing to search, when Melodie asked "Brad… How much longer are we searching for Leo?" Brad then replied, puzzled "About 10 minutes…" Melodie then asked, not averting her gaze in the distance "What if we don't have 10 minutes?" Brad then replied, raising his head a little "Then we call the Sky Patrol Hotline to search for him. Why do you ask?" Melodie said as her optics widened in fear "Because I seriously doubt we HAVE 10 minutes." Brad and Tucker then stopped searching to see what Melodie is seeing; they took a few steps back before they fled to Downtown as a Cluster Squadron chased them in the dropship.
Leo then began to walk back to the residential district, deciding to ask Dr Wakeman if he can sleep at her home for the night, when he heard a familiar voice yell "LEO! RUN!" Leo looked up to see Brad, Tucker and Melodie running towards him, before his eyes widened when he saw what the trouble was: A Squadron of Cluster Soldier in a heavily armed dropship.
Leo then said softly "Uh oh…" He then ran away as well, when a Cluster on a mounted Plasma Launcher took aim at the fleeing group and pulled the trigger. Leo looked over his shoulder and realised his friends were in danger of being hurt from the Plasma Shot, so he slowed down a little and pushed them out of the way just as the Plasma Shot hit Leo and sent him crashing into an abandoned apartment building.
Tucker then yelled in despair "LEO, NOOOOO!" In the apartment building, Leo got out from the wall rubble and patted the dust off of him, before he turned and saw his friends in danger. He gripped his hands furiously with his teeth gritted firmly, when he heard a low-tune hum and looked down to see his hands are making the noise. He then got out of his human Exo-Skin and held his palms in front of him before he saw Quantum energy materialising in front of him.
His optics widened when he realised that his powers were only just temporarily locked, before remembering the burnt out Fail-Safe Chip. He then understood at once, before he went up the stairs and onto the roof as the dropship turned so that the gunman would be aiming at Brad, Tucker and Melodie. Leo was about to intervene, when he realised he was the same colouration as Jenny, so he materialised his whole body pitch black and puts on his holomask before he jumped over to the opposing rooftop.
The gunman then switched to a minigun and pulled the trigger with a malicious smirk; as the gun-barrel wound up quickly, Brad, Tucker and Melodie ducked their heads before they heard the bullets firing… but it wasn't hitting them. Tucker then dared to open his eye and was in surprise to what he was seeing; he nudged Brad and said "Brad… LOOK!"
Brad opened his eyes to see a figure shielding them with a holoshield from his left palm, with the minigun's bullets having no effect from the holoshield. Brad then looked at Tucker and said "Is it… a robot?" Tucker nodded silently before they heard the minigun's barrel wounding down from overheating. The gunman then raised his head as Leo dispersed the holoshield before the latter said "My turn."
Leo then materialised Quantum energy into his fists, before they turned into hand cannons and shot at the dropship twice before it began to spin out of control. Leo then ran towards the dropship, which was going to crash into an occupied building, before he jumped and grasped it before saying "Manual Override!"
He then directed the dropship onto the ground and entered it to sack the Cluster Squadron before he exited the dropship and grabbed the tail before swinging it around in increased speed before he threw it out of the city limits as it blew up. Tucker, Brad and Melodie looked, unknown to them but Melodie, at Leo in surprise before he knocked out the Squadron.
He then turned around and said to the group "I trust any of you aren't seriously harmed?" It took them a few moments to reply, before they shook their heads; Leo then made a courteous nod before he left the area just as the Sky Patrol came to the area.
10 minutes later, Tucker, Brad and Melodie are wrapped in blankets and sitting on the bench, when Jenny flew into the area and rushed to the group and yelled "GUYS!" She then gave them a relieving hug, before she asked "Where's Leo?" Brad, Tucker and Melodie were stunned, because they forgot about Leo; they then heard rubble moving from the abandoned apartment building before Leo, in his human Exo-Skin, staggered out of the hole with his mouth trembling.
Jenny then exclaimed loudly "LEO!" She then rushed over to Leo and hugged him tightly; Leo's fortunate he's got dense armour, though since he doesn't want Jenny to know he's a robot yet, he let out an *OOF!*. Leo then looked down and patted Jenny on the back with a small smile, which Jenny blushed about, before she broke it off and said in concern "What happened?"
Leo explained, as he let loose his arms "After I left your home, admittedly in infatuation…" Jenny giggled slightly with a blush, still remembering of the peck she gave Leo before the latter continued "I went over to Brad's to inform him and Melodie on your condition. A few minutes later, there was a misunderstanding and Brad scolded me off."
Jenny held her hands on her chest in concern, before Leo continued "After that drama, I decided to look around Tremorton some more. It was about nearly half an hour before I decided to turn in, when I heard screaming; when I looked up, I saw Tucker, Brad and Melodie running away from a Cluster Dropship."
Jenny's optics widened and questioned "The Cluster?!" Leo nodded glumly, before he continued "I ran with them as well, before I noticed one of the soldier brought out a Plasma Turret and took a shot at us. I couldn't let them get hurt, so I pushed them aside and took the shot, which as you can see, resulted in me crashing into this apartment building. By the time I got back up, the Sky Patrol was here."
Jenny's optics welled with tears of joy, though Leo didn't deserve it since the last bit was a lie. Jenny then said "You… You're willing to… sacrifice yourself to save others?" Leo then looked at Jenny's face and nodded with a small, sincere smile, before Jenny lunged at him with a tight hug. Leo was frozen briefly, before he hugged Jenny back with a warm smile, secretly happy that he's having a moment with the girl of his dreams.
Jenny then slowly broke off the hug before she smiled endearingly at Leo; she then went over to the others as Leo looked on with a deep blush. He then saw Jenny asking Brad what happened and he confirmed Leo's story, adding that they were saved by a robot that looked quite similar to Jenny and did very little damage. Jenny puts her hand over her mouth and tapped her finger in ponder before she excused herself and went back over to Leo.
Jenny then asked awkwardly "Leo… Um… You, uh… You want to sleep over at my place?" Leo widened his eyes and blushed like a tomato, before he nodded while smiling broadly. Jenny then smiled with her optics closed and walked with Leo back to her house, thinking to herself "His kindness… His sweetness… His protective instincts… I swear, I'm going to fall head over heels in love with Leo…"