A/N: So now i have two REal Steel Stories. This movie doesnt have enough love. so my other projects are on hold till i tire of these or people stop reviewing.
Speaking of! Thank you all for reviewing my stories! Im alternating the posting of chapters between teh two. Please keep it up with the feed back!
I only own Atlas and Alex. Nothing else but the plt is mine.
[message] atlas speak
Two months later and I still didn't have any idea of how we could get out of the complex. What I did know is that I wanted out. I was restless, tired of staring at the dark gray walls that always surrounded me.
The good thing was I had better control of my link with Atlas, my robot. Everyone else in the complex still referred to him as R2145. I hated that name.
Atlas had systems that no other robot was built with. He could scan for heat signatures, had weapon tracking ( he had no live weapons) and he would was able to knock over a standard tank.
No one else had figured out that he was sentient. Everyone believed that he just shadowed my brainwaves to understand some of the things that I had him do. An overly obedient robot that followed commands like a good solider.
I hated everyone around me.
[Alexandra?] Atlas asked, his blue eyes glowing gently from the corner he charged in. I was sitting up on the bed, my eyes locked onto the black wall in front of me. I didn't sleep as much as I had before Atlas. I had too many thoughts running through my head at once for that. I looked towards him as he searched through my recent thoughts.
[Come here child.] He said, and I walked through the darkness, borrowing his sight to avoid the random furniture scattered through the room. I stood in front of him, my eyes locked on the floor.
[Look at me.] He said, and I refused, a single tear falling down my cheek. He lifted my chin with a gentle hand, forcing me to look into his eyes.
[We will get out of here] he said, and I felt another tear join the first on its journey down my cheek. He reached out with another hand, pulling me into his lap. I curled up around his arm, weeping as he mentally soothed me. He pulled me closer to his chest, the humming of his systems slowly lulling me back to sleep.
"Wakey wakey S3661!" called a voice over the intercom. I groaned, shutting my eyes against the light the flooded the once dark room. I glared at the door as it shuddered open, three soldiers armed to the teeth with large guns and black armor walked in, waiting for us.
[Are you ok?] Atlas asked, powering up and rising from his charging station. I nodded, running a hand through my now waist length hair. It was tied back with a scrap of ribbon I found in the corner of the room one day, but that seemed to have fallen out late last night sometime. I looked in vain for it, but it was no where to be found. Training was going to be a major problem.
"No time to waste, S3661." Said one of the soldiers. I nodded to him, walking through with Atlas close behind me. The door slid to a shut behind us as we walked down the corridor to the mess hall. We were about ten feet away from the entrance to the hall when a siren like alarm lit up the hallway with flashing lights.
"What's going on?" I yelled at one of the soldiers. He turned towards me, his gun cocked and ready to fire.
"Someone's exploded something in a lab, I'm guessing!" he said, and at that point in time Atlas scooped me up, running towards the source of the heavy smoke gushing through the hallway. I started coughing, covering my mouth with my shirt.
"Atlas, what are you doing?" I asked, keeping my eyes shut and my mouth covered. He didn't respond, ducking into the smoke of the destroyed lab.
[Getting you out of here.] he said, and suddenly we were in bright sunshine, clean air ridding the scent of burning materials.
[We must hurry. That solider must have reported us by now.] Atlas said, and he charged into the sparse woods surrounding the compound from view.
"Max! Hurry up now!" called a feminine voice. A young boy, around the age of eleven turned towards the door, looking over his shoulder at the girl standing at the edge of the backyard. She was dirty, covered in mud and leaves. She lifted a finger, motioning him to stay quiet. A glint of metal above her made Max peer into the brush; a robot stood just behind her. His face lit up with glee, and he took another step towards the girl. She shook her head, motioning him towards the door.
"Go. Ill still be here when you get back." She said, and Max turned, ready for dinner more than ever.
I watched the boy run inside, leaning against Atlas as I closed my eyes. He relaxed slightly, his fans whirling harder to cool his systems.
[He knew what I was, Alex.] Atlas said, keeping a close eye on the back door. I nodded, smiling slightly.
"What kid doesn't know what you are?" She said, and Atlas shifted, rocking me slowly. I opened my eyes as I looked through the trees at the sun. It was setting soon, which meant less visibility. Good of the kid came back. Atlas could hide in the trees.
We had moved further from the complex than we thought, according to Atlas's trip meter. He was running low on energy as well. He needed to charge soon. And I had no idea where to go for that.
We started heading towards the lights we saw on the horizon, hoping for anything we could steal energy from.
[The child is returning.] Atlas said, keeping still as the kid ran across the backyard. He held something in front of his chest in a bag, glancing over his shoulder at the door.
"Be back before 10!" the woman called, and the kid yelled back. I shook my head as he slid to a stop before me.
"I didn't know if you had eaten, so I sneaked food out for you." He said, and he offered me the food. I smiled, thanking him and taking it. It smelled delicious.
It was real food, home cooked and steeped in seasonings, unlike the food at the complex. I was never going to miss anything from that place.
"Does he fight?" he asked, and I shrugged, finishing the food quickly and handing him back the plate. He took it, setting it down beside him as he moved closer. I stood up, moving forward as Atlas's target locked onto the boy.
"Easy kid, we've been on the road for a long time. " I said, and he backed off, watching Atlas as he moved back into the shadows some more.
"What's your name kid?" I asked, and he glanced at me then back at Atlas. He sighed, running a hand through sandy blonde hair.
"Max. Max Kenton." He said, and I held out my hand after rubbing it on my pants. He looked at me oddly, slowly putting his hand out as well.
"I'm Alex. Nice to meet ya. This big boy here is Atlas, and we haven't found a good fight in a while." I said, shaking his hand. He nodded, releasing his hand.
" Can I see him?" Max asked, and I nodded, moving out of Atlas' way as he walked forward. He glared at the boy, stepping closer than I was comfortable.
"Wow. He's pretty rugged. Got some dents I see." He said, and he walked around him, inspecting him. I winced as I felt a twinge in my leg, rubbing at that spot. Then I realized that it wasn't my leg that was hurting.
"Ok, that's new." I said, and I walked forward towards Atlas's left leg, inspecting it. There was a stick stuck under the armor, blocking one of the pistons from fully being used. I pulled at it, ignoring the twinges I got in my own leg as the stick wiggled out. I chucked the stick towards the nearest tree, checking the piston for any damage.
"Yeah, we've been traveling for a while, remember?" I said, and Max raised an eyebrow, looking towards the street.
"Where's your truck? Only way to run a bot as good as this one is a trainers truck." He said, and he crossed his arms, looking intently at me. Atlas turned slightly, looking towards me.
[He knows something is up, Alex. We cannot afford for him to tell anyone that there was a girl with an expensive robot wandering around.] He said, and I shook my head, running my hand through my hair.
"He's mine, if that's what you were wondering. We just….lost the truck. Someone took it, thought there was a good bot inside." I said, lying and hoping he wouldn't smell it. He shook his head, a half smile on his face.
"Good story, but I know one better. You ran away from the military complex down the road a good bit. We, as in the good citizens of this crappy town, are supposed to report any sightings of you." Max said, and I paled, Atlas stepping closer. He now towered over the boy, targeting him again.
"So then why haven't you reported me yet?" I asked, standing up and walking over to Atlas. He was running low on juice. I didn't want to have to shut him down, but that was looking like my only option soon. I didn't want to be alone again.
"Cause I don't like this town. I want to be with my dad and my own bot, but….he visits a lot. My aunt Debra says that he's trying to be a better dad." He said, and he turned, almost running into one of Atlas' legs. He looked up, noticing the flickering lights in Atlas' eyes.
"He needs to recharge?" He asked me, and I nodded, walking until I was touching Atlas' leg. He relaxed slightly, fans clicking to cool his systems.
"I can get my dad here with the truck tomorrow. Its summer, I don't have school. We can travel places…fight, train…." Max said, turning back towards his house. I smiled, picking up the forgotten plate and calling out softly for Max.
"Don't forget to return this, champ. Go home, I'll be here tomorrow. Don't worry about your aunt; we've gotten really good at ninja-ing." I said, and Max smiled, running off to his house and sneaking in the back door. Atlas reached down ,and I climbed up his arm as we walked further into the woods. The sun was now fully set and we didn't want anything or anyone to get curious.
Max ran into his house, putting the plate in the dishwasher and running up to his room. He shut the door behind him, sighing as he looked over his room. There were pictures of his bot, Atom, everywhere. The towel he had of Zeus was tacked onto his wall, as well as different articles and magazine covers featuring Atom as the people's robot. He kicked aside the scattered items and dirty clothes on the floor, walking to his bed where his phone sat. It was a gift from his father. His dad's number was number one on speed dial.
"Max? You have fun?" his aunt asked through the door. Max called out an affirmative, and he waited with a held breath as his aunt walked away. He reached for his phone, knocking a few scattered robot parts he was tinkering with off his bed and onto the floor.
He called his dad, waiting as it rang.
"Yeah?" he heard his dad ask. Max sighed, a slight smile on his face as he started talking.
"Hey dad, can you come pick me up tomorrow?" he asked, waiting anxiously for the answer. He heard Bailey in the background, asking who it was.
"Yeah, Ill get ya. What for?" his dad asked, and Max paused, thinking of how to word his situation.
"I found a girl. She's got a robot she wants to fight, but she s got very little to no equipment to fight with. Her bot need a serious charge….and she asked for my help." He asked, and he heard Bailey start to talk, her voice getting faster and faster as she got more excited.
"Yeah, ill come get ya. We will see what we can do with the girl's bot too. Debra know you wanna come with me?" his dad asked. Max waited, looking out his window. Alex and Atlas were gone.
"Yeah. Shes cool with it." He said, and his dad laughed at something Bailey said.
"You know, Atom misses you. At least I think that's what hes been doing. Hes a little slower with you gone." His dad said, and Max laughed himself, looking at the most recent picture of Atom on his wall.
"I miss you all too. Ill see ya tomorrow dad. Love ya." Max said ,and he got a muttered love ya too before he hung up.
Max went to bed soon after, thinking about Atom and Atlas and Alex as he drifted off.