For the fifth time, Ben Adler opened his eyes to the familiar control room of Scarecrow's crashed ship.
Blue and purple arcs of electricity popped above him. Blinded, Ben shielded his face with his arm, well aware of the sense of panic around him as scientists and guards scurried to find cover behind crates and tables filled with equipment and computers. LED light projectors exploded and crashed to the ground. Then, suddenly, silent darkness swallowed the alien cockpit.
Far from feeling relieved, Ben focussed straight in front of him, where he knew Scarecrow was lying under the control arch, waiting for its face's red glow to dispel the shadows while groans and weak calls for help came from all around.
Boots squeaked on the sleek floor and dozens of flashlight beams lit up the alien cockpit's vaulted ceiling. As one blinded him, a hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Lie still, son."
As always, Ben pushed Dr. Weigel away, causing the old man to fall over. No matter how many times he'd done this, he couldn't keep himself from reacting the same way.
"Sorry, doc."
Dizzy and nauseated, Ben sat back on his heels while guards, armed with electrical rods a hundred times more powerful than the ones used for sharks, positioned between him and Scarecrow.
"Move away, Commander!"
Clenching his jaw, Ben staggered to his feet and stepped in front of the damaged robot who, a minute before (or sixteen years ago, time was relative) had managed to free himself from his shackles, causing some kind of cosmic shunt, a space-time loop that forced him to relive the same four years of his life over and over, more or less. But this time, it would be different. This time, he knew how to break the infernal cycle.
During the last evolution, he'd learnt a critical piece of information; saving John and his family from being killed in the initial attack on the Resolute had caused a major twist in the chain of events. His old friend's son had connected with the robot who had attacked them, proving that these deadly machines could be reasoned with. The kid was the key. Ben was certain of this.
"Everybody out!" he yelled.
Frozen by the order, the guards looked at each other for a second, hesitant to leave him alone with the killer, but they were highly trained men who obeyed orders and Ben didn't have to repeat himself. He watched tensely as the soldiers retreated, dragging the scientists and the medics out with them. They all looked puzzled, frightened. Maybe he should be too, but he was too tired to dwell on his feelings at the moment. His stomach though...
Ben bent forward and swallowed bile. Those time displacements sucked.
Come on… get up! He had one opportunity to start over with Scarecrow and it was now. What happened in the next two minutes could change all of their lives.
After drawing in a sharp breath, Ben straightened himself up when he heard a familiar scratching noise from in front of him. In the darkness, a red spot appeared.
Scarecrow was awake again.
Ben clenched all his muscles, fighting to maintain a relaxed, non aggressive stance. Will Robinson had helped the other robot in a moment of weakness, when the machine was dying. A child's thinking had turned a killer into a dove. He could do that too, right? He opened his hands and lifted them above his head.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
Scarecrow's pixels remained red.
"Don't you remember? I was trying to save you. Back then. On that planet's ring. Before the lightning struck us."
More red pixels.
Damn. As with the previous four times, Scarecrow didn't seem to remember. Or was it like him and Dr. Weigel? A first reflex, rooted in instinct and triggered by the shock of the temporal displacement? Could robots feel dizzy too?
"I want to be friends with you," Ben said when he heard a slight squeaking two meters behind him and the humming noise of an EMP loading.
"No!" Ben screamed. Scarecrow's face turned a bright red and Hastings fired, too close to his head.
It was like a balloon had inflated in his skull. His ears and lungs popped. Feeling like he was breathing through a straw, Ben crumbled on the floor, and rolled on his back next to the unconscious robot while his boss stood above him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? That thing could have killed you."
Restraining himself from yelling his rage, Adler pressed his hands to his eyes. "I don't know… I don't feel so good…" he whispered as Hastings called the medics back.
Ben closed his eyes. He was vaguely aware of the ground shaking once more under the guards' boots, and as he let himself drift toward unconsciousness, a last thought floated in his brain: here we go again.
