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"Hey, it's the Doc," Jo waved to get Erica's attention as she exited Dwayne's hospital room. Rusty beamed, happy to see the other humans.
"Not surprised," Mack commented.
"Anything?" Jo asked expectantly as Dr. Slate approached the trio.
She shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid not... He still hasn't shown any signs of improvement."
"Damn..." Mack muttered.
"He's not doing worse, though," Garth pointed out determinedly, "Let's not give up on him yet."
"Did you feel something?" Jo frowned, suddenly on the alert.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Mack demanded.
"Almost like a miniature earthquake..." the blond young woman put her palm against a wall, "There... There it is again."
"Well, I felt that one," Garth said, looking somewhat disturbed.
"So did I," Rusty cocked his head to the side, listening, "I can hear it too."
The building suddenly shook violently, making it hard for the human's to maintain their balance. A loud noise came from the guarded hospital room. Flinging open the door, the soldiers stationed outside gaped in surprise. An enormous robot had put its fist through the wall.
"What the hell?!" Mack exclaimed as the group ran towards the door.
Reaching into the room, the mechanical hand grabbed the unconscious Lieutenant, paying little heed to the medical equipment he had been hooked up to. The robot draw it's arm out and deposited its human prize into a cavity in its chest. An armored plate slide into place, sealing Dwayne inside.
The soldiers fired several ineffectual shots at the monstrous machine. They could only look dismayed as the robot turned and began to amble away.
"And guess who forgot to bring their suit," Mack muttered, "Come on! Maybe we can catch that thing!" The Pit Crew raced down the hallway towards the stairs.
Rusty moved to follow the robot, but Dr. Slate called him back, "Rusty! You can't go alone! It's too dangerous."
"But, Dr. Slate... Big Guy can't..." he protested.
"I know, I know..." Erica bit down lightly on her lip. If the others couldn't get to a plane in time, they might lose track of the robot, "All right... Follow the robot... But stay out of sight, all right? Just follow it."
"Okay!" Rusty spun and flew out in pursuit of the gigantic machine.
Still standing in the doorway, Dr. Slate watched helplessly, "I hope I'm doing the right thing..."
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"There it is!" Jo pointed out the left hand window of the Osprey. Trailing behind the robot was Rusty who had radioed the position to the Crew.
"Great. So what do we do now?" Mack asked, "We didn't exactly pack the Big Guy in the trunk."
"Looks like we'll just have to tail it and see where it goes," Garth said, "We couldn't attack that thing without risking a hit to Dwayne anyway."
Jo studied the mechanical monster on a display screen, "Anyone else think that thing looks like the Legion 'bot from before?"
"Only someone actually finished this one," Mack commented.
"That'd explain why it nabbed Dwayne..." the young woman murmured, adjusting the monitor in order to get a better look at the machine.
"Looks like that thing is headed for the harbor," Garth gently banked the plane to follow the robot.
"What's it doing?" Jo frowned.
"Don't know... Maybe we can get a little closer..." Garth said, easing the Osprey to a lower altitude.
Instantly, the robot halted. Rotating its head, the gargantuan machine tracked the plane as it turned in response to its stopping.
"Whoah... Now what's it up to?" Mack muttered, bracing himself against the change in direction.
As the Osprey turned in front of the robot, it threw out an arm. The shriek of metal against metal accompanied a massive jolt to the plane as the left wing and engine were torn off, "Geez!" Garth fought for control of the crippled plane, "We've been tagged!"
"I'll say!" Garth grabbed hold of the co-pilot's seat to keep his balance, "This could get real ugly..."
Seeing the humans in danger, Rusty jetted past the other robot. Catching hold of the damaged side, the small robot kicked his feet out in front, using the thrusters in his boots to slow the plane, "Hang on!" Even with Rusty's best efforts, the impact with the water was jarring.
"Ow..." Jo groaned from where she had been thrown on the floor.
"Damn..." Garth turned his head to look out the left-hand window, watching the giant robot descending into the water. By the time the three people had climbed out of the sinking plane, the machine had completely disappeared beneath the waves, "Great... NOW how do we find it?"
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"What happened?" Dr. Poindexter stared at the massive hole in the hospital wall.
"I think it was the robot we saw in the desert bunker," Dr. Slate said, "It was the same design as the first one... But I don't know who could be controlling it. Number Seven was destroyed..."
"Perhaps it's functioning on pre-programmed orders," Poindexter suggested, "It's entirely possible that Number Seven had a contingency plan..."
Frowning, Dr. Slate started towards the building's entrance, "Something about this just seems wrong... What are we missing?"
"Maybe we should go back to the bunker," Matthew proposed, "There could be a clue there."
"That's a good idea," Dr. Slate agreed, adjusting her glasses, "But shouldn't we wait for Rusty and the others?"
"It's impossible to tell how long they'll be," the young man reminded her, "We'd be wasting a great deal of time."
Dr. Slate nodded in ascent, "I suppose so... Time could be critical in this case. I'll stop by Quark Tower and get some equipment. We should be able to get some transportation too."
"Excellent," Poindexter said as they exited the building. Following the two scientists, Matthew merely smiled silently.
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