Chapter 8

Carol chuckled to herself as she watched a nervous Fink leave with Rad and Enid. She was sure they'd get into trouble sooner or later but didn't pay that thought any mind, knowing full well it will work out in the end like always. She waved one last time to the two teenagers and young child, though the former sported mischievous grins she knew Fink would be in good hands. Carol looked at her watch seeing she had ten minutes left before her classes started.

"I wonder what Eugene is up to?" Carol said taking out her phone. "He seemed in a hurry earlier. Wonder what he has planned for Fink."

Carol scrolled through her contacts until she found one with a heart next to it that caused a smile to spread across her face. Her pointer finger went to call but suddenly she received a call of her own. From POINT's new leader Elodie. Carol raised an eyebrow at this, wondering just what she was being called for. She quickly answered seeing the young leader's face appear in front of her. Elodie sat in her new office with a content smile on her face which calmed Carol's nerves for the moment. Nothing seemed wrong.

"Hello Carol, I trust all is well?" Elodie greeted warmly with a smile, to which Carol returned in kind.

"Hey Elodie!" Carol greeted her, but her tone suggested her wondering what the reason behind Elodie's surprise call is. "Things are good here. Is everything okay at POINT? No troubles I hope."

"On the contrary, things are marvelous!" Elodie beamed. "The transition of leadership has gone smoothly as one could hope for, sure some people shared their concerns but things are coming into place. Speaking of, I hear the Plaza has been doing well. Less nasty villains as of late from what I hear, has Boxman given up on attacking you all? Realized it was a fruitless effort."

Carol scratched her head nervously. "Well, mostly. We got a new bot just awhile ago, but nothing we can't handle!" She was quick to throw her confidence back into place with a reassuring smile that all was well. Then smiled brighter at the news she had to share. "Not only that, but we may be getting a new friend."

Elodie nodded contently. "Ah, new friends are always a reason to celebrate. You'll be getting another one soon enough, as fate would have it! A new POINT graduate in fact, and I was hoping you would shadow them as they go on their first official mission."

(Elsewhere at the Plaza)

"NOOOOOO!" Fink arched her back in agony as she tried to break free from her restraints as tears began to well in her eyes from the pain shooting through her head. "STOP IT! STOOOOOOP!"

"Hold still, you'll only make it worse." A cold mechanical voice uttered behind her. "This will be over soon."

It didn't feel that way for Fink. With each infliction of the robot's weapon it seemed the pain only grew tenfold. She trashed to the right as the metal chair creaked, the bolts that held it to the floor bending upward with each of the young girl's struggles. Two figures stood from across the room arms crossed with no remorse for the child's suffering. Another shot of pain went down her spine as her eyes went wide as her mouth opened wider in a blood-curdling scream echoing throughout the small confines of Fink's newest prison. She didn't expect this to happen. She didn't expect anything like this to occur under the hero's of Lakewood Plaza's watch

"It hurts! Stop it!" Fink once more yanked on the leather straps holding her arms and legs in place as she rocked back and forth, threatening to unbolt the chair from the floor with each violent motion.

"There's no point in trying to escape." Enid interjected coldly, almost as emotionless as the robots Boxman constructed on the daily. "It'll be better this way." A smile crept on her face watching the events unfold. Fink bellowed in pain even louder as the instrument of torture raked through her head pulling out several strands of hair this time.

"You'll rip my head off! I thought you were supposed to be heroes!" Fink couldn't hold it back anymore as she felt a tear stream down her face as another dreadful jolt of pain racked through her tiny body. She sniffled as she felt her muscles grow tired from the constant struggling.

Rad rolled his eyes throwing a hand in the air. "Oh come on, it's just a haircut!" He exclaimed annoyed.

The other patrons of the salon quickly left once Fink walked in, and those that remained bailed once a brush was taken to the matted, unkempt mess that laid atop her head. It's nothing short of a miracle that none of the windows were shattered from the howls of pain Fink emitted. The brush ran across her head once more trying to straighten out the tangled mess with each desperate strike.

"It doesn't feel like it! It feels like torture!" Fink whined once more, this time too tired to shout and thrash around as she's been doing since she got here.

Enid chuckled. "Have you even had a haircut before?" Enid stood slightly amused as the rat girl kept up her complaints. She knew not every kid out there was thrilled over a haircut, but this seemed over the top even for Fink.

"I suspect not." Mr. Logic deduced examining the girl's hair the moment she walked into his shop. He was quick to saturate her hair in a detangling solution; that was the easy part. But as Mr. Logic ran his brush through the mess it became clear that both Fink and her hair would be his toughest challenge as a barber to date. "It would seem you haven't been taking proper care of it, nor have you trimmed it previously. You could almost trip yourself over it."

"Argh, whatever." Fink huffed. She looked down at the leather restraints once more, trying to wiggle her way out of them. "We're these necessary?"

Mr. Logic looked in the mirror seeing the three new claw marks across his metal cheek. "Yes." He stated bluntly. "I've seen children throw a fit over having their hair cut before, but never like this. Who cut your hair before me?"

Fink frowned, looking away from the mirror to avoid Mr. Logic's gaze. "No one. Whenever it got too long I just cut it with scissors myself."

Mr. Logic held up a few strands of hair in his hand looking at it closely. "Kitchen scissors?" He inquired.

"Craft scissors." Fink mumbled weakly.

Mr. Logic hummed to himself seeing the uneven patterns in Fink's hair. No two were aligned evenly, each strand being either too short or too long on one side or the other from years of untrained self hair care. Not to mention the split ends at every lock. Mr. Logic smiled as he found the next stroke of his brush went more smoothly through the girl's hair. His robotic brain went back to his first meeting with Mr. Gar and why he loved being a barber in the first place. Taking a messy bundle of hair and molding it into a thing of beauty that the person it belonged to deserved.

Mr. Logic patted her shoulder causing her to raise her head. "You'll find my scissors cut more evenly. Not as dull too." He smiled at her reassuringly through the mirror.

Fink felt some of her worry leave her, and though it still hurt when Mr. Logic ran a brush through her knot infested hair it was beginning to hurt less and less with each stroke. Once satisfied with his work Mr. Logic rinsed her hair once more before applying the detangling solution again, then began a more thorough washing of her head running a comb through each strand as he did so. Fink winced and let out a grunt on occasion but this time around was going more smoothly for the both of them. Another rinsing process and Fink's hair was perfectly... better than it was before.

"What hairstyle do you require, Fink?" Mr. Logic asked handing her a catalog of some of the latest fashions.

Fink skimmed through the pages. None caught her eye. "Lame." She said tossing the book over her shoulder onto the counter. "Just cut it short enough so I'm not stepping on it anymore. But not too short, I like it wavy."

"Affirmative."

Fink watched as Mr. Logic's hands sweep across her hair as his scissors dashed like lightening across the mirror. If it wasn't for the fact she didn't get cut she'd say he was being reckless. And just as quickly as he begun it was finished.

"It is finished." Mr. Logic stated removing the barber cloth from his customer letting the green locks fall to the floor.

Fink looked at herself in the mirror again admiring the completed work before her. She felt like a person again, except for the raty clothes, then smiled turning her head around to get a better look.

"Wow, not bad." Fink complemented.

"Wow, something that's not a rude remark or a threat." Enid whispered to herself and Rad, to which he chuckled softly.

"You're welcome." Mr. Logic nodded contently that he satisfied yet another customer. He smiled to himself as he retrieved a broom to sweep up the mint green mess.

Rad gave a thumbs up. "Awesome hairdo."

"Yep, lookin' good!" Enid nodded in approval. "Now pay the man with the money you stole."

At this comment Fink's composure shattered, turning toward the two flustered. "W-w-what! How'd you know I stole that money from the break room?"

"We didn't, until you told us." Enid's grin grew wider, as did Rad's as the rat girl admitted her crimes for all to hear.

Fink grumbled, but clearly not getting out of this situation without a cursing match or a fight; so she reluctantly retrieved her pilfered goods, and even more reluctantly handed it over to Mr. Logic. The robot barber took the currency into his metal frame before producing a quantity of smaller bank notes.

"Your change." Mr. Logic held out the change to a confused Fink.

"Huh, change?" Fink asked curiously taking the money back. "Like, I get to keep some?"

"Affirmative, it's protocol for when a larger sum than required is offered."

Enid rested an arm on Fink's new hairdo looking at the stack of cash. "Hey, looks like you have enough to replace those rags."

Fink frowned. She had been an armrest for all taller than her, which was almost everyone, and she despised it to her short core. She growled ducking out from under Enid hoping she'd fall to the ground, but alas she caught herself before her and floor could be formally introduced. Fink pocketed the remaining cash turning to the two heroes who were currently her guardians for the hour.

"So what, we're going clothes shopping now?" Fink complained, though secretly would enjoy getting some new clothes.

"Nope!" Rad cheered lifting the girl over his head. "We're going to perform more hard labor in the hot sun! No sense in getting new clothes sweaty, we just thought you'd like to take care of that rat's nest on your head."

Fink narrowed her eyes on the alien. "Is that a rat pun?"

Rad only grinned. "Why, too cheesy for yo-"

Before he could finish a swift kick to the gut was delivered courtesy of Fink's foot. She hopped to the floor calmly leaving the store as Mr. Logic waved goodbye. Enid bent down to the alien getting to his level.

"Told you to hold off on the rat puns." Enid commented before leaving the store after Fink.

"Worth it!" Rad wheezed out.

After the not so rat-ical puns the three returned to Gar's Hero Supply and Bodega to continue their days work. Fink dreaded more labor, though the thought was far from her mind as she felt the wind run through her freshly cut hair. She had gotten used to it being a mess that it felt strange that it was in it's normal kept state, more than that even as it was tended to by an actual barber who knew what they were doing. She flipped her hair back letting the locks flow in the air causing a smile to grace her face.

That smile promptly left with a plane ticket as Fink saw the truck she was instructed to unload all by herself. A new shipment of merchandise ripe and ready to be unpacked for the many customers to come. Enid and Rad stood by the door about to leave when Fink called out.

"You can't expect me to do this all on my own, do you?!" Fink bellowed out in a mix of annoyance and anger.

Enid shot her a finger gun. "Just get done what you can, no pressure."

Fink pointed at the boxes in the truck. "That box is literally labeled 'pointlessly heavy things' and 'one ton weight'! How am I supposed to move them?!"

"You'll figure it out." Rad shrugged nonchalantly.

With that the two of them left walking back to the front of the store. Enid hopped on the counter kicking her feet up as Rad went to organizing the nearby shelves. Enid closed her eyes for a quick nap, but then opened them looking at her coworker.

"Hey, she's not supposed to lift the super heavy stuff on her own, right?" Enid asked, somewhat concerned of the labor the newbie was being tasked with.

Rad waved it off. "Of course not! It's more of a test, and to humble the young one by... something, I don't know. Testing their resolve?" Rad lost his train of thought in trying to spew some sort of sage old wisdom. "Anyway, I'll do the heavy stuff later. She'll just tackle the small stuff for now and probably move the others a few feet before I get to it. Or just slack off, that's what I'd do in her situation."

Enid closed her eyes once more content with her friend's response. "Good point."

(Elsewhere)

Many years ago Eugene Gar built Lakewood Plaza Turbo with nothing but his bare hands in order to not only conceal the glorb tree hidden underneath, but to also provide sanctuary and aid to the righteous heroes of the world against the ever growing tide of evil. It stood as a testament that despite constant threats coming at one from all sides that there will still be hope in the darkest hour of all heroes. For years Boxmore has set out to destroy the Plaza. Up to this day he failed because the forces of good always had something to fight for other than themselves and selfish gain. To protect. To strike down evil. And in some instances, to shelter those with no where else to go.

Mr. Gar turned over a box of nails letting them fall into his open maw. He aligned them right in his mouth before tossing the wall he had in his other hand at the newest addition to the plaza. He began spewing the nails out like a machine gun pinning the new wall segment into place with suburb precision. He lifted his foot up before slamming it down on the next piece of wall sending it flying into the atmosphere. With a single jump he was hot on its tail launching himself above the wall then delivered an elbow down onto it. The wall segment crashed down onto the foundation into place next to the other one. Mr. Gar landed in front of the structure looking it over carefully.

Mr. Gar looked to the sky seeing the shingles and nails he tossed into the air at the beginning of the construction project start to fall back down to Earth. A strong hand grabbed the ceiling lifting it over the man's head then he threw it like a frisbee above the building. Like clockwork all the pieces fell into place as Mr. Gar walked off, because cool guys don't look at the completion of their building projects. The newest addition is complete. Now all it needed was an occupant and-

"Mr. Gar!" KO called out.

Mr. Gar turned seeing the young lad rush over with a heavy cart hauling a load of crates over to where he stood. Mr. Gar smiled, he's grown to love that boy like he was his own, and for good reason. KO is always eager to help those who need it no matter the cost, even putting himself in harms way to make another smile as bright as he did on a daily basis.

"Hero material right there." Mr. God nodded before waving KO over. "Bring it here, KO. Get the tools too?"

KO screeched to a halt as he extracted a toolbox from the top of the pile. "Right here!" He cheered in excitement. "This is soooo amazing! Taking part in a redemption arc is a sign of a true hero. Not only that, it's helping someone else be a hero too!"

"That it is, KO, that it is. Now let's get started, this furniture isn't going to build itself!"

(Back at the Bodega)

Enid scanned the items of the last customer after a long long line that seemed like it would never end. It was frustrating work, not everyone understood the struggle of customer service. Having a short temper didn't make it better, being Enid didn't make it any better either. For anyone. Two customers cried. Rad finished the last display of Canny Canned Caramel stacked in an upside down pyramid, only to realize half an hour later he held the display photo upside down and unnecessarily made his job more complex than it needed to be. No matter, points for style in his book. As the doors slid shut the two slumped over exhausted.

"Busy day even without hourly robot attacks." Enid said picking up a new catalog of ninja armor she's been trying to read for the entire work day in peace when she wasn't taking her beauty naps.

"Another day another techno." Rad wiped his brow, in doing so looked at his watch checking the time. He squinted, the time seemed important for some reason.

"Hey, where's Fink?" Enid asked looking up from her magazine.

It then clicked for both of them at what they were forgetting. "We forgot to help Fink." The two said in unison.

The two then rushed to the backroom where they left the rat girl to unload the truck all by her lonesome. They meant to help her earlier, honestly, but the sudden influx of customers and chores distracted the two from their unfamiliar task in watching over Fink. The door to the back flung open as their eyes darted around searching for the new hire. The new hire they unintentionally dumped literal tons of stuff to move on their own. They didn't see her causing their worry to grow only more.

"Oh crap!" Enid shouted. "She's gone!"

Rad bit his fingers nervously. "Oh no, she worked so hard she got turned to dust from the pressure!"

"Now's not the time to be only using one brain cell. We have to look for her."

Before any action could be taken the sound of someone clearing their throat could be heard. The two of them followed the sound looking upward seeing two yellow eyes burning with resentment stare into their very souls.

Rad gulped. "Found her."