Daniel sat on the balcony with a downtrodden expression. "Man did I mess this up. I didn't even know she would..."
"Yeah, it's actually doomed." Phantom agreed to whatever the human was saying. He was a little distracted with keeping watch of the junkyard in front of this building. Through the binoculars, he wasn't seeing much. A ton of garbage, few magnetic cranes, Nefarious statue, just what one would expect.
The green humanoid decided to check in with Rivet. He tried to get a call going, "Rivet, do you copy?" He spoke into his transmitter.
Some noise did come through, but nothing audible.
A few seconds later both guys and likely the entire Megalopolis heard an explosion. It wasn't just one, but a chain of explosions. The entire junkyard lit up with balls of smoke and fire.
"Wow," Phantom uttered in surprise.
Meanwhile, the short runt was freaking out, "Rivet! We have to get down there!"
"Chill, brah. She's fine. That lombax made it through worse. A few pops won't bring her down." He put a comforting hand on the shaking human's shoulder. That seemed to work, and Daniel knew what he said was true as well. Phantom directed his attention to the junkyard again and didn't like what he saw. "But this might do it."
What could only be described as a poorly fixed empire robot just jumped over the wall separating the junkyard from the city. Then another, and another. The numbers grew from tens to hundreds and even the thick junkyard walls tipped over from their combined numbers climbing over.
"Okay, that's a big problem," he said in a worried manner. Their vantage point was high enough to see everything. Those creatures began to spread like a virus. Climbing on buildings, flying and crashing the air traffic, and breaking everything and everyone. Chaos flooded the streets of Megalopolis.
Meanwhile, the human was prancing left and right. He was at a loss. Every nook and cranny was being overrun with these junkyard monstrosities. There was nowhere to hide. "Oh no, oh no! This is bad!"
"You were right, we gotta get down there," Phantom ducked into the building. A moment later, he stuck his head back out, "Are you coming or not?"
"But, but, but...there's h-hundreds!" Daniel said through chattering teeth.
"As if that matters, yo!" Phantom grabbed the human and pulled him along.
Once they got down and ran into the street, the situation looked even worse. Scrapped and feral rust creatures of all shapes and sizes ran rampant and attacked everyone on sight. Robots and aliens alike ran from them. It was utter pandemonium.
"There's good news and bad news," Phantom said as he fiddled about with his visor buttons.
"Okay, start with the b-bad?" Daniel said as he tried to hide behind him.
Scanning the area, he picked up one hundred thirty of those junkyard monsters in their street alone. "There ain't no way I can take out all of them."
"And the good news?"
"The holonet is back up!" He announced while taking out his laser guns.
"Hooray..." Whether or not it was their version of the internet, Daniel didn't know or cared to ask right now. He shouted in alarm when a small but aggressive junk monster latched itself on his boot. "Whaaah! Phantom! My leg! My leg!"
Before the humanoid could help out, a yellow ray of energy blasted the creature away from Daniel.
Rivet had arrived with the help of her HoverBoots. In her hands, she wielded the Headhunter and used it to snipe any monsters that tried to get inside buildings or get further away. "We just can't seem to catch a break, can we?"
"It seems you are correct, my friend." Close behind, Kit touched down in her warbot form. Her double-barreled laser cannons were more than enough to destroy any crazed junkyard monsters. The human had backed off in fright of her massive stature, but she quietly reassured him that she's still friendly.
"So what's the deal with these zombots?" Phantom asked as he joined in on providing firepower.
"Hmm, zombots. I like it. Fits them perfectly. Anyways, they're a gift from our mystery robot." She was feeling quite guilty. After all, they were supposed to stop him. And now they had this to deal with. "He got away," She said with a guilt-ridden look.
"Worry about that one later. What's the plan?" Phantom asked casually. He wasn't about pin blame on anyone. Things just happen sometimes.
"Wipe out the zombots. Help anyone who's in trouble," Rivet quickly said as she switched to Lightning Rod. They started attracting more attention from those monsters. Which was good, anything to take their eyes off the citizens. "I will zip around the streets and take the bulk of them. Kit, take to the air, and handle the fliers. Phantom, handle any strays."
They both nodded in unison. Kit took to the air and Phantom used his dash to ascend a nearby building.
"I really want to fight besides her," Daniel thought, desperate for her attention. Yet his legs couldn't stop shaking, and he wasn't drawn to violence. Not wanting to get in the way of the actual fighters, with a heavy sigh, the blonde resigned to what he knew best. Daniel silently slipped away to look for high ground and a safe point.
"And I want you to-" Rivet turned to give the weird one a job too. "Where did he go?" He was just there a moment ago! Looking around, it didn't seem like he was snagged by any of the zombots. But she had no time to worry about him, several enemies were heading her way.
"You guys have several squads coming towards your location," Came a voice from her transmitter. Daniel's voice. He was using the resistance network.
So he can do more than run away. Still, she wasn't about to forgive him for holding out on them from before. Rivet meant what she said about him. "Do you see anything else?" She asked while nailing down zombots left and right. Kit flew overhead and rained hot plasma on many enemies, essentially clearing the street for her. Rivet nodded her head in thanks.
Daniel took a minute to respond. But when he did, the update was bad. "It's not looking good. Most of the wave is heading towards the power plants southwest of the city."
"Hear that, Kit?" Rivet called.
"Loud and clear," the big robot answered through the communication link. She came back and picked Rivet up.
While on the back of her friend, Rivet tossed out several turrets on the streets below. Topiary Sprinklers rooted junkyard monsters in place with an adhesive spray that resembled flowers and grass. All while using the Headhunter for sniping any junk machine that was chasing or otherwise hurting the citizens of Megapolis.
"Get ahead of that wave and drop me off," Rivet shouted through the rushing wind. It was difficult to aim while traveling like this, but she managed.
"Roger that, hang on tight!" Kit picked up speed and they flew towards the power plants of Megalopolis
Kit was a one robot army. Not only that, she watched out for Rivet too, providing aerial support whenever necessary. She seemed invincible in that big power form.
But the lombax! As he was watching her fight, Daniel was simply dazzled and fascinated. She was amazing! Dozens fell before her powerful arsenal of weapons and perfect aim. Her incredible agility was on point. Nimble, precise, fast. She even used some hammer to clobber zombots that came too close. Was there anything she struggled with?
And together they were simply unstoppable.
"Wow. So this is how they are in action. Dual digit army." Daniel could have watched her battle for hours without getting bored. How could he? She was eye candy, beautiful and cute.
However, once the human did a quick survey of the streets through his rifle scope, he saw a big flood of those monsters head towards a power plant. He assumed it wasn't good. After Rivet asked, Daniel said through the commlink what he saw. The two heroes flew there to stop them.
Which in turn forced Daniel to move too. It was easy to keep up with Kit. Since many buildings in Megapolis were connected in some way, through pipes or platforms, Daniel used them to head southwest. Exactly where he saw that massive flood of zombots go. It was stupid to go where the creatures were going, but the safest place in this city for him was next to the interdimensional hero.
He had to cut through a commercial building when he came across several zombots.
He was dashing through a particularly long bridge leading above the first floor. He was on the second floor and needed to get back on the roof. Just his luck too, for he saw an emergency exit door.
"Somebody! Help!"
Daniel paused and looked past his shoulder.
At the bottom of the first floor, a hulking collection of machine parts had two purple aliens backed in a corner. It resembled the ancient reptile creatures of Terra. Its jaws could swallow them whole.
But the exit was right there! He could escape so easily. "Just run! Slip past his legs!" Daniel shouted down at them.
He noticed they simply couldn't do that much. Not with a little child clinging to their legs.
But the exit was within his reach. He could almost reach it! Besides, he's not obligated to help them, it isn't his job. If he were to leave...
But those three had nowhere to run. And that little kid was likely more scared than he was.
"...Awwh! This isn't fair!" Daniel climbed over the railing and jumped down. He landed with a roll, grabbed his rifle by the barrel, and sprinted at the massive zombot.
"On your left!" The blond human yelled and the zombot turned its head just in time to get whacked up top of its rusty skull.
The rifle shattered on impact. Daniel backed up and looked at the sole barrel in his hand, "Huh. That happened."
The junkyard creature spun, bringing its heavy tail around. Daniel was smacked with it and he rocketed into a pane of hardened glass.
The human opened his eyes and was relieved to find his shielding unit worked properly. A green ball of energy prevented the tail from ever reaching him. It even absorbed the landing impact. From his belt, where the unit was located, an empty charge popped out. At that moment, the green energy ball vanished and he was back on the ground.
It seemed he was successful in drawing the zombots attention because it was facing him instead of the family of three.
"Quickly! Run now!" He yelled to the family of three. Luckily, they didn't hesitate and ran as he told them to.
Seeing its prey run, the zombot creature roared in anger. It gave chase!
"No! It's you and me!" Daniel procured a bomb from one of his pockets. He threw it straight at the enemy. It exploded on contact and forced the zombot to hit a wall. It was just enough time for the three aliens to get out of the building.
The explosion took off a big chunk from its shoulder, but its armor was too thick to cause detrimental damage.
"That's right! Whatchu got!?"
The robot stood up, raised its massive head, and roared at him so loud, the floor began to vibrate.
"Oh. You got a lot." This was too much for him to handle. The human knew he should've just ran without paying any mind to those people. Daniel turned on his heel and bolted with the big ugly machine hot in pursuit.
"Rivet! We have a problem!"
Two different rooftops. Both contained people that climbed up there to hide. Both were trapped with the zombots climbing up the walls to reach them.
"Split up! We'll meet at the power plant entrance!" Rivet said and jumped off of Kit's back. With the HoverBoots, she crossed the distance easily and landed just before the first zombot could get up on the roof.
Once it reared its crooked metal visage past the edge, Rivet was already waiting for it.
"Hello there! May I offer you a shortcut back to the trash can?" She asked with a tense grin, hammer held overhead. It took one brutal smash to flatten its ugly mug into a pancake. As it fell, it also knocked off the other zombots. "Strike! Rivet scores!"
She turned to the group of robots and various aliens who were there. "Don't stay out in the open! Hide indoors!" The lombax said as she dashed by. She had places to be.
Over the edge and grinding down the pipes of the commercial building, Rivet managed to get ahead of the wave using Phantom Dash and her HoverBoots. Or so she thought. It seemed that all the uglies of the junkyard went there from the start. Kit was already present and smashing zombots into pieces.
There was someone else fighting the zombots too.
It was that reptile thug from Goons-4-Less. Standing on a pile of destroyed junk robots with a brand new heavy-duty firearm. He sure used his bolts wisely. "Oooh yeah! That's what I'm talking about! COME GET SOME!" He yelled with excitement as the zombots climbing up the pile got themselves turned back into junk.
And further down the street, she could see a large wall of zombots coming towards the power plant. Not just from the street either. Jumping out the windows, emerging from alleyways. All monstrosities were converging on this point.
The lombax flipped in midair and landed right into the fray. She first helped out her partner who had several crawlies on her back. Then, Rivet 'helped" the reptile by sniping his target.
"Ayo! Not cool!" The thug complained as he wrecked a zombot with the butt of his rifle.
"It looked like you were hesitating!" She teased with a smirk.
"I don't hesitate with anything, duddete! I'm a 'go hard or go home' type of guy!" Answered the wannabe bounty hunter confidently. He even grabbed a zombot in a chokehold and crushed it by flexing his biceps.
"Then you're my type of guy!" Rivet said as she jumped over an enemy and shot it in the back. Oil went spraying so far even the reptile goon got splashed. He didn't seem to mind though.
"This guy has a name, love! It's Ripmaw!" He announced while stomping out a crawling zombot.
It seemed they were done taking out all the zombots in the area. There was a short time period where they could catch their breaths. Kit seemed to be doing just fine despite her sustained damage back in the junkyard.
Rivet looked at their mutual benefactor. Nothing like making friends on a battlefield. Especially well-chiseled, splashed with oil friends. "I thought you guys didn't have names," her lips curved into a smile while she studied his physique. Not bad at all.
"You're wrong. We do. But ever since I got separated from my bros-"
Kit suddenly cut in, "I hate to interrupt, but they're here!"
The wave of junkyard monsters were closing in at a rapid pace. Soon enough they will have a fierce battle on their hands.
Ripmaw took out a pair of sunglasses from his pants. Then he slipped them on and reloaded his rifle, "Scrap just got real."
They met the flood head-on. Utter oil bath ensued. A warbot and a lombax hero, both had experience with fighting armies, back to back they were a powerful force. And what they faced right now was essentially a worse version of the Emperor's army.
The junkyard monsters were getting wrecked.
Void Repulsor came in handy in this situation. For extra assistance, she deployed the Bombadier. That little floating turret was very useful in conjunction with her shield weapon.
At some point, Phantom joined them as well. He provided assistance fire from an apartment window.
It took little time to thin out the herd. Almost laughable how fragile some of those monsters were. Perhaps they were losing power because they didn't reach the power plant in time?
Then they heard a loud scream coming closer to their location.
Rivet and her muscular acquaintance looked up to see who it was.
Ripmaw squinted his eyes. It looked like a primate wearing clothes. Bipedal one, with golden hair on his head. "Who that?"
Chased by a large zombot who didn't look that tough. Rivet expected nothing less from that guy. "Great. I better go get him before he gets hurt." She was a little sore that her bonding time was over, but hero duty was calling. Even if it meant saving someone like that coward. "Will you guys be alright?"
"I got this! Go!" Kit said as she stomped ahead to fight off what remained of the junkyard army.
The lombax proceeded to the row of buildings where she saw the human run.
Daniel was running as fast as his legs would allow. Which was quite fast, adrenaline gave him speed. Alas, the reptilian machine creature was fast and tireless, he wasn't tireless. And there were only so many gaps between buildings he could jump before losing speed.
The human ran up into a ledge. Dead end. From where he stood, there was an eighty feet drop to the streets below. And his shield unit didn't include 'soft landing' option. Daniel turned around to confront the massive beast. Once the zombot roared again, he realized it would be better to jump than fight.
Maybe if he lands on his legs, the impact will lessen? Whichever the case, Daniel took a leap of faith. Daniel felt the pull of gravity dragging him down and there was nothing but metal streets below. "This will-"
Something smacked into him midair. He opened his eyes to find he was flying across the air towards the nearest platform.
The massive scrap amalgamation had too much momentum. It slipped over the edge and turned back into junk upon hitting the ground.
The human was being carried. His heart fluttered when he saw it was Rivet who was carrying him. In her strong embrace, Daniel couldn't help but swoon and say, "My hero~!"
Rivet just rolled her eyes and set him on the platform they reached. She immediately took out her weapons to continue blasting zombots from a far distance.
"So do you happen to have a band-aid? 'Cause I scraped my knees falling for you."
"Do you mean literally or figuratively?" She asked in a distracted manner, focusing on the flood of zombie-bots instead of the flirting idiot.
"Uhm...figuratively? I g-guess?" Daniel replied, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Rivet didn't even acknowledge him at the moment. It took him his whole courage to say something like that too. He's gonna have to think of some better pick-up lines next time.
Rivet, Kit, and the goon named Ripmaw managed to completely defend Megalopolis power plants. Not a single one made it inside. The only downside was, there was a lot of metal garbage littering the streets and the air was thick with the stench of oil. Not that Rivet had a problem with it, she liked it. Reminded her of home back on Sargasso.
The lombax and the scaredy human had made it back down on the streets. Daniel was still cowering behind her just in case if any zombot was still active. Rivet left him with Phantom who recently appeared there too.
"How are you holding up?" Rivet asked Kit, who just now climbed out of a pile of broken machines.
"Other than damage received back in the junkyard? I would say operational," answered her partner. "I sustained no further injury from this fight."
Rivet patted her leg, "I'll get you fixed up soon." Which will have to wait, because the lombax wanted to talk to Phantom. But first...
Rivet approached the larger reptile with a little smile. "Heya, Ripmaw! Thanks for your help!"
"No problem!" The reptile said as he took out a little card with his number on it. He passed it to Rivet. "Dial me up if you ever need my muscle."
"Will do! You're leaving right now?" She asked while putting the card away. The lombax made a mental note to give him a call someday.
"Yeaha. Everyone is still busy hiding. Ima go snag me a spaceship and get off his rock," Ripmaw grinned as went on his merry way. "Catch you later, Lombax."
Now to get her priorities straight. First, while they were all here, discuss the next plan of action with her partner and Phantom. Since the jerk who started this mess got off-planet, they will need people on the lookout.
Way off to the side, Phantom was zoning out. He was pretty tired after today's events. And he did take notice how the human was fidgeting about, his head always moving around and scanning the ground. "Scout, bro. They're down for good. Chill for a bit."
Daniel was quick to explain himself, "Huh? Oh, no. I was just thinking if Rivet likes waffles or pancakes. I'm planning on asking her out. As you know, today was all kinds of horrible and I'm sure she hates my guts. I must make up for it somehow."
This guy was blowing little things out of proportion. "Nah, I'm sure she doesn't hate you. Just dislikes you. There's a difference."
"Goodie," Daniel muttered sarcastically.
Rivet and Kit, latter of whom returned to her small form, came up to them. "Phantom, we need to talk."
"I noticed. Put a pin in that for a bit. I wanna get outta this mess for now. Let's hop somewhere else." He didn't want to be here when the cleanup crews arrive.
"And can we not run this time?" The human pleaded as he was spent after so much dashing around today.
Rivet completely glossed over Daniel's comment. "That's fine by me. Know any places?" She asked Phantom.
Phantom certainly knew some places. Few streets away, in an alleyway there was a small bar. It was still open despite the disaster that happened outside. Rivet admired how some robots were dedicated to their businesses.
The three sat around a table and Rivet along with Kit were retelling what happened once they went inside the Megalopolis junkyard. Meanwhile, Daniel kept a polite distance away.
"He knew we were coming. He set a trap and nearly got us," the lombax said as she was checking out Kit's damaged casing.
"And then he directed a flood of those...zombie-bots to the city and flew away," Kit concluded. Her body jumped when Rivet grazed an exposed wire. Her partner whispered a quick 'sorry.'
"So he packed up and pulled out." Phantom didn't know what to say. A robot with magic powers that could build and fix stuff on a whim. This was far out, on the same level as the dimensional shenanigans.
"How are the communication devices?" Kit inquired.
"Back online, no more breakups or static interference. Even the holonet connection is back to normal," He informed them while through his visor he checked to confirm it. "Yeah, working smooth like nothing was wrong."
It was Rivet's turn to ask something. "And you said it returned to normal somewhere around the time when the zombots attacked?"
The green humanoid nodded.
"That's around the time when that screamer ran away. With those antennas on his back, it's no wonder the signals were getting jammed. And probably listened too, that's how he knew we were coming!" Rivet leaned back against her chair. Her frown deepened when she realized a crucial problem, "It will be impossible to find someone who knows who and what is on the planet at all times."
"I wouldn't say so," Kit chimed in. The yellow robot went on to explain her thoughts, "We could use that to our advantage. Any planet we go to, we would know if our mystery robot is there too. After all, we don't have to speak through the communicators. We only need to listen for connectivity breaks."
"Well, I'll keep an eye out, but I can't promise anything more than that." Phantom rose from his seat. He was already preoccupied with his own private business. Besides, a certain someone could benefit from this more. "But if anything huge pops up, you can drop a call."
"We will," Rivet said and they bid each other farewell.
Daniel was listening to their conversation discreetly. Since the green alien wasn't going to help out with this, he definitely will. "Here's your chance. Get in there," Phantom quickly whispered while passing by the human. The blonde could only grin in appreciation. So that's why he refused.
Meanwhile, Rivet was silently thinking to herself. Phantom could only be relied in times of great need. For now, at least that leaves him out of the loop. And with Quantum busy playing anti-hero pirate captain, it was just her and Kit on this case.
Daniel sat down by her table, "So-"
And this guy, apparently. The lombax thought he would've left by now. It didn't matter, she and Kit had a fixing appointment back on Sargasso. "I better go. Good hustle out there today. Keep it up!"
"Wait! Wouldn't you like a drink? My treat?" Daniel asked with a hopeful look.
"I'm okay. Thanks."
"What if I said I want to make some manner of amends?"
Rivet looked at her partner to see what she will say in this situation. Kit shrugged and said she could wait a little longer. Reluctantly, the lombax sat back down. "One drink. And that's because I'm thirsty, nothing more."
"Right. G-gotcha." But the glee on his face was difficult to hide and his muddy blue eyes sparkled with happiness. Daniel went to the bar and got himself and his crush two glasses, plus one for Kit as well.
Back at their table, he was now thinking, "Oh my god. Don't freak out. Whatever you do, don't freak out! Start a conversation, you can do it. You must show her that you're not some sort of freak. Just a normal conversation, c'mon!" He clasped his palms together so that they wouldn't shake so much. He figured he had about as much time as it will take for Rivet to finish her drink. But what to ask, what to say?
Meanwhile, the lombax was using this moment to unwind a little. Today was a long battle. Maybe they should've stayed on Blizar Prime for a little longer?
"Did you make it yourself?"
Rivet heard Daniel speak up in the middle of her taking a drink. She noticed he inclined with his head towards her right arm. Setting the glass down, her light blue gaze focused on him, "Why? Do you also need one? It's gonna cost ya."
Daniel felt his face flush bright red. Her eyes were more beautiful than stars. He couldn't hold eye contact with her. "N-no, I was just thinking you m-must be great with mechanics. Do you do it as a h-hobby or a job?"
"Job? I collect most of my cash from the bad guys I beat up."
"Cool, that's c-cool," Daniel cringed at himself. It was a stupid question to ask. And here he thought he had something going.
"I guess it's more of an inherited skill than anything. I'm naturally drawn to machines and stuff. Naturally great with them too," Rivet explained absent-mindedly while hovering her drink close to her lips. The lombax was still thinking about that secret lab robot.
Maybe if he got her talking about it? That could help, showing an interest in her passion. Daniel adjusted himself in his seat and asked, "How does one build a bionic like that?"
"Simple. What I did was..." Rivet proceeded to give him a rudimentary explanation of building a prosthetic arm. Anything to distract him from trying to flirt again. After all, she wasn't blind. Rivet could see this guy had hots for her. "...then you just put it on and boom! Working arm or leg."
Daniel didn't understand a lot of what she said, but each word he remembered regardless because he listened with rapt attention. "I was wondering if you're an artist too because you are so good at drawing me in," although blushing, he spoke with a straight face this time.
Rivet's lips pressed in a thin line. He resembled Pierre, except less self-centered and more socially awkward. Back in the city before the zombot menace, she got mad at him because he had the skill, but none of the gut. That's why she didn't want to give him the time of day. If Daniel came around sooner, that skill could've prevented unnecessary losses. MoyDoy and Clatchky would still be...
Rivet shook her head. No. That was a terrible thing to think about. Especially associating their disappearances with this hopeless guy. What happened in the past will stay in the past.
Still, Daniel had just enough drive to try and flirt with her after she called him out like that. Not that it was a saving grace. Far from it, he was just annoying. Not wanting to be rude, she always chose to either focus on the matter at hand or a nice rejection with Pierre. Nice enough for the pirate at least. She decided to use the same tactic with the scrawny primate. "Look, buddy. That's nice and all, but I think I have enough on my plate already."
"O-okay. Yeah. U-understandable," Daniel expected something like this. He wasn't deterred just yet. And silver lining! She didn't gag.
"Besides, me and my pal are going to be busy with this robot stuff. Dangerous stuff all the way. Wouldn't want you getting hurt." This guy was far from a battlefield material. Today's situation supported that fact. He could get hurt really easily. She didn't want that hanging on her conscience.
"I understand," Daniel replied shortly. Since everything has calmed down, it was the perfect time to bring up something else. Daniel cleared his throat. "Do you remember yesterday? How I told you I have the locations of the places Nefarious visited?"
"Kinda, yep." He better get to it quick. She was approaching the bottom of her drink.
"That was during his absence from the throne."
Rivet blinked a few times and in disbelief asked, "You knew where he went during that time?"
Daniel took out something. It was the same little device with a screen that he tried to give her back at Zurkies Gastropub. "This contains notes and a map of places he visited. It might be related to the robot that escaped today," he explained while passing her the device.
"And...uhm...I'll help you look!" Daniel added with a semblance of hesitation and worry. "You said any planet with connectivity issues? You can count me in. It's likely all I can do at this point. Think of it as me trying to make up for my past...indecisiveness."
The lombax turned around the strange device between her fingers. This indeed could help out a little a bit. That and she wouldn't mind an extra pair of eyes out there now that all resistance members are doing their own thing. "Thanks! It would be appreciated." Just in time, Rivet hit the bottom of the glass. She got up from the table and said, "Stay in contact, Daniel. C'mon, Kit. Let's hit the road!"
"Okay, friend. It's been nice meeting you, Daniel," the little robot said and jumped in place on her partner's back. Before she could leave, the human called out to her.
"Rivet?"
"What?"
"That robot, he employed clear diversion tactics and can revive machines. More than anything, he knew his activity would draw attention, hence the bomb trap. He's no idiot. Please stay safe."
The lombax smiled adorably and winked, "You got it."