Disclaimer: I don't own Big Guy and Rusty or any of the characters. They are all the property of their respective creators and whomever has the publishing rights and whatnot.

A/N: I suggest you read Tin Men to get the background on this story. I promise this one with have a lot more character interaction in it. And more Dwayne. :) Gotta like that, right?



Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot: Burned Out



Chapter 1: Nightmares



Dwayne pushed the trigger button for the chain guns as he directed Big Guy to dodge to the left. A missile impacted on the ground where he had just been standing. The explosion flung dirt and rock in all directions.

He watched in frustration and the unknown enemy blurred past him, "Who is this guy? Why can't I even hit him?" Chasing the figure, the Big Guy leapt over a fallen piece of building. Dwayne vaguely noticed the surroundings. It looked like a part of New Tronic City, but not something seemed out of place.

He had no time to consider this as he found himself in front of Quark Tower. His target was tearing a hole in side of the building. "Nuts... I can't fire without risking hitting someone..." Grabbing the assailant from behind, Dwayne tried to spin it around but found himself being thrown instead.

"Damn!" Big Guy slammed into Quark Tower, leaving a robot shaped dent. Dwayne jerked the controls to avoid a shot from the strange enemy. As he turned, he saw Dr. Slate standing near the entrance. "Get out of here!" he shouted at her. She called something to him, cupping her hands around her mouth, but Dwayne couldn't hear what it was. A second later, the entire lower portion of Quark Tower erupted in flames. Dr. Slate vanished behind a curtain of fire.

"Noooo!" Dwayne cried out in horror. Tears threatening to spill down his face, he rounded on his enemy. "Why?!" he snarled as he flipped the cap from the switch that would fire the sidewinder missiles. Just as he was going to press the button, he realized who his enemy was, "It... It's... me?" Standing in front of him was Big Guy's identical twin, and on the monitor in he cockpit, his own face.

Dwayne gasped as he woke. He blinked repeatedly as he tried to get his bearings. His hands were clenched into fists, gathering the bed-sheets in a death grip. Slowly forcing himself to open his hands, he pushed himself up off his stomach and swung his legs over the side of the bed, "A dream... A dream... Thank God..."

Breathing slow deep breaths, Dwayne ran his fingers through his sweat dampened hair. This wasn't the first time he'd had this dream. Ever since he'd returned from the hospital five days ago, the nightmare had repeated itself - often several times in a night. It didn't matter how many times he went through it, the nightmare always seemed real and always left him with a feeling of dread.

"No way I'm going to sleep tonight..." glancing at the clock, he was relieved to see it was already 4:30 AM. He was used to rising early, though this was even earlier than normal. Standing, Dwayne wandered into the bathroom to get dressed.


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"Hey, you're up early, "Jo commented when she came into the mess hall at 6:30, "Ready for the test flight today?"

"Definitely," Dwayne said. It'd be a relief to get things back to normal. Dr. Poindexter had suggested some modifications that would improve the Big Guy's performance. They had finished them yesterday and set the next day to test them, "Can't wait."

"Heh, once a fly-boy, always a fly-boy," she shook her head as she poured a cup of coffee, "You can't stand being grounded, can you?"

Dwayne stretched his long legs out in front of him, "I miss flying, if that's what you mean."

The young blond woman laughed a bit before taking a sip of her coffee, "Yup, you are definitely an air-jockey."

"So tell us somethin' new," Mack walked in, glancing at the two younger people.

Garth followed immediately behind him, "We'd better start the preps soon if we want to get this rolling."

"No need to tell me twice," Dwayne practically jump up from his chair, "I've been ready to do this since yesterday.


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"Okay, Dwayne," Jo gave him the thumbs up sign on the cockpit monitor, "You're clear to go."

The Lieutenant grinned, "It's about time." Flipping switches, he activated the Big Guy's systems and directed the machine to stand. He took to the air, flying out the hatch in the deck and hovering a short distance about the ship.

"All right, let's check the motor control..." Garth punched a few keys on the command panels, "Looking good, Dwayne..." Quick eyes darting from screen to screen, he monitored the results from the readouts. "Nice... Let's try out those new boosters."

Punching the button on front of the right hand control, Dwayne let the machine go at it's top speed.

"Wow... Now that's a definite improvement," Garth told him, "Bank around and come back, okay?"

"No problem," Dwayne executed the command easily, "What's next?"

Toggling five switches at the top of the board, Garth replied, "We're gonna try out the weapons responses. There go the decoys..." Five small, round machines surrounded the Big Guy, hovering in the air, "Give 'em what you've got, Dwayne."

He swung the Big Guy around firing the machine guns that were housed in the backs of the arms, destroying one of the decoys. Turning again, Dwayne fired the cranial laser and was satisfied as another of the small machines exploded. Pushing a button, he activated the forearm lasers and aimed at the third decoy. Just as he was going to fire, he saw an image of Dr. Slate yelling to him right before being engulfed in flames, "Gahh!" The Big Guy jerked in response to Dwayne pulling back on the controls, "No!"

Garth frowned as he heard the Lieutenant's voice over the speakers, "Dwayne? You okay?"

Struggling to breath, Dwayne found himself shaking badly. Sweat ran down his face, and as he removed his right hand from the control stick, he found he couldn't hold it still. He squeezed his eyes shut, praying the panic would subside, "No, no... It's not real..."

"What the hell's the matter?" Mack scowled, "What's he talking about?"

"I don't know..." Garth's concerned voice traveled over the radio, "Dwayne! Talk to me, man!"

"I can't... I can't..." gasping for air, Dwayne dropped his helmeted head into his hands, "Noooo..."

The three remaining members of the Pit Crew exchanged fearful looks. Garth punched in the code for the manual override and directed the Big Guy back to the deck. Mack climbed up to help unseal the hatch after the robot had been landed.

Dwayne crawled out, still shaking. Grabbing his arm to keep him from falling, Mack led the Lieutenant down, "What the hell's going on?"

Pulling off his helmet, Dwayne sat down, leaning against the platform used to seat the Big Guy. He closed his eyes and gulped large breaths of air, "I'm okay... I'm okay..."

"The hell you are!" crouching down next to him, the surly Mack looked him him the face, "This is something serious."

"No, no..." Dwayne shook his head, still out of breath, "It's nothing... I..."

"I've seen this before," Mack interrupted, "After getting bucked, sometimes people freeze when they get back on the horse."

"I didn't freeze..." Dwayne whispered.

"You did," in a surprising gesture of sympathy, Mack placed a steady hand on the younger man's shoulder, "There's no shame in it. That sort of thing happens to even the best. It just takes some time."

Jo glanced at Garth as she radioed for Thorton, "General... I think we've come across a little problem..."


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"You want me to see a shrink?!" Dwayne shouted. //I can't believe I'm hearing this...// "I'm NOT crazy!"

Thorton sat calmly at his desk, "No one said you were, Lieutenant. But you do need help."

Frustrated, Dwayne paced in front of the General, "I'm fine! I just got off to a bad start. I..."

"I heard the recording of the test flight. If that's was just a bad start, I'd really hate to see a serious problem," standing, Thorton walked around to the other side of his desk, "Hunter, we can't afford to lose you. You're too damn good at your job. There's something wrong here, though, and you need help to work it out."

"So you want me to see a psychiatrist?"

"I'll make it an order if I have to," Thorton said solemnly.

Dwayne slumped in defeat, "All right... I'll go..." Straightening he set his jaw determinedly, "But it this doesn't do anything, you'll let it drop?"

Placing his hand on the Lieutenant's shoulder, the General spoke with a serious voice, "We will ALL do whatever it takes to work this out."

Dwayne nodded, "Okay... So, where do you find a psychiatrist with that kind of security clearance?"


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