Chapter 1
"Three cheers for our main man GLITCH! Hip, hip…"
"HOORAY!"
"Hip, hip…"
"HOORAY!"
"Hip, hip—"
"Ok, ok, knock it off, already! Sheesh!" Glitch protested. "Like yo, how much more are you guys gonna milk this?"
His Droid pals burst into laughter. Glitch rolled his eyes, hoping at least one of them would just shut up and pass out drunk eventually. But, despite growing tired of all the attention, he couldn't help but feel at least a little good, especially after the amount of drinks he had. The entire day had been one of celebration. Since word spread a month before of Corrosives' defeat, the Droids could do nothing except rejoice. But after getting promoted, being in a parade, giving speeches, having his picture taken, getting stopped by dozens of newly acquired fans, and partying nearly nonstop, Glitch was already more than over his hero status. And his new group of friends really weren't helping.
"Hey, Shooter, Vex." One of those friends nudged the other two, chuckling. "I think our hero here's ready to get tucked into bed!"
"Say, you might actually be right there, Tank," Shooter teased. "Or maybe he's about to bring all those drinks back up!"
"Can ya blame 'em, though? The guy's had the most outta all of us!" Vex chimed in. "How could he not conk out at any minute?"
Glitch punched them all on their shoulders. "Shut up!" he laughed. "Bein' the talk of the town ain't easy work, y'know."
"Psssh, dude, are you kidding? More like the talk of Iron Star!" Shooter exclaimed.
"Yeah, my man, quit downplayin' it," Vex told Glitch while slapping him on the back. "You're a frickin' badass! Who can blast down a load of Mil grunts, fight off hordes of Zombiebots, blow up some Titans, take down Corrosive, and save Iron Star like it ain't nothin'? You can, clearly! Can't nobody do it like you. Ya built different, be proud of it."
"Heck yeah!" Tank agreed.
"You said it!" Shooter added.
Glitch looked down at the bar table in silence, taking in their compliments. Whether he liked it or not, they weren't wrong. And it didn't hurt to have buddies that were proud of him. "Thanks, guys," he said finally, unable to keep the gratitude he felt from coming out in his voice. He looked back up at the three of them, particularly Vex. "And you know darn well I'm not the one who had the most drinks!" he bantered.
"Alright, ok, you got me!" Vex finally admitted, throwing up his arms.
The four of them laughed together. Glitch joined them in one final toast and drink before he decided to get down from the bar. The other three bots noticed him getting ready to leave.
"Going already?" Shooter asked.
"I gotta get back to the command center," Glitch answered. "The Colonel said he had something waiting for me."
"Word?" said Vex. "I wonder what it is."
Glitch shrugged. "Dunno," he replied. "Maybe it's got somethin' to do with Exavolt."
"Oh, so like, a mission?" Tank asked.
Vex let out a sigh, pretending to be exhausted. "Man, oh, man! Glitchy ol' boy just can't have a break, can he?" he teased.
"Duty calls for our hero once again!" Shooter exclaimed in a fake, narrator-like voice.
Glitch chuckled. "Yeah, maybe," he said. "Wanna head out with me?"
...
Before long, they were seeing Glitch off outside the club. They stood off to the side of the building, out of the way of the bustling crowd. In just the short amount of time the Droids were free, things had changed. Night life in Droid Town had become a staple. When the war ended, the population grew as refugees poured in from all over Iron Star. The town went from being a top-secret location to a tourist mecca. Whether this was an entirely good thing or not, Glitch had no idea. Nor did Colonel Alloy. Krunk definitely wasn't happy about it, mostly because of how noisy and dense it had become. One thing was certain: it wouldn't be long before Droid Town would need to expand in order to support the growing community.
The four of them enjoyed a few more laughs and jokes before Glitch had to leave. He took one last look at his three new "partners in crime," as they liked to call each other.
Shooter, Tank, and Vex all had stories of their own. Shooter was a standard yellow Droid. He was a Mil captive, one of the ones Glitch rescued from the mines. Contrary to his name, he wasn't very fond of shooting. He had a different knack for weapons. He knew the inner and outer workings of nearly every weapon in existence. If you brought him any kind, he would be able to reveal the make and model, the amount of rounds it fired, the year it was produced or retired, and everything in between. He could take something apart and put it back together faster than a bullet could hit its target. Glitch considered Shooter to be not only the arms expert of the group, but also the straight-up nerd—especially since he wore a pair of goggles and a pocket protector. Aside from his weapons expertise, he was big into philosophy, literature, science, math, and code. He was introverted and awkward when they first met, but as time passed, Shooter seemed to come out of his shell more. Glitch was surprised he could get him to join them at the bar. He was pretty sure Shooter would've never gone near one in his life if not for them.
Tank was a demolition Droid. He was built with the components of an off-road pickup vehicle, with big tires for feet, a wrecking ball for an arm, a flatbed, and hazard lights. An amusing part of his design was the beeping sound he made whenever he backed up. Glitch and the others joked about how it would give him away in enemy territory. He was clearly durable and could likely take a lot of damage, hence his name. The Mils repurposed him for transporting items and destroying Droid landmarks to replace with their propaganda. He was actually forced to help build that hideous Corrosive statue in Mil City. Tank came to Droid Town to find better work and make a life for himself. Glitch figured that if another conflict arose, he would come in handy for taking down bigger enemies and getting to places no one else could. He was a gentle giant, though, so it wasn't clear how he would fare in combat. He reminded Glitch of his friend Mozer, who was kindhearted but still knew how to fire a Rivet Gun and clobber an enemy or two. There was a chance Tank could be the same way. Glitch hoped he could introduce the two sooner or later.
Last but not least was Vex. He was a unique model of Droid that no one else in the area recognized. He explained that he was a more rare model. He was sleek and silver with yellow and green accents—somewhat futuristic-looking—with a single green optic for an eye. He also had built-in, retractable wings and a pair of jet propellers that enabled him to fly. But flying wasn't Vex's only specialty; he was one hell of a driver, too. Before the war, he was a paratrooper by day and an underground drag racer by night. When the Milbots took over, he was captured and forced to partake in air raids. He revealed one specific mission where he had to bomb a Droid refugee camp located not far from the Mil base he worked on. He had a difficult time forgiving himself for the innocent lives he was forced to take. But Vex made certain to take his pain and anger out on the real aggressors. Whenever a Mil tried him, he didn't hesitate to fight back. One day, an entire group of Mils pushed Vex over the edge. They tried ganging up on him and a smaller bot he'd befriended. They were at least twenty deep. He soloed them all. It ended in punishment as usual, but Vex couldn't care less. No one talked down to him and got away with it. Glitch could relate to him the most. They were both loose cannons. They had the same temperament and attitude. They even spoke similarly. They both used a lot of slang. Maybe Vex did it more often. Ok, he absolutely did, without a doubt. He was definitely the best drinker in the group. He could down a can in no time at all.
What they all had in common were their beliefs. They believed all Droids were unique and had something to share as individuals. Glitch was confident that his new friends were living proof of this. The three of them came to Droid Town seeking their own personal freedoms, without the need to answer to anyone. For that, they were all rebels in their own right. That's what they were, four rebels, four rogue Droids finding their place on Iron Star.
For the past month, finding his place was something that weighed heavily on Glitch's mind. There were nights he stayed awake, thinking deeply about the hieroglyph he sported on the back of his yellow head. The month before, not even a few hours after the war ended, the symbol mysteriously lit up out of nowhere. But it happened so quickly that he figured he'd imagined it at first. So he never told anyone. As time passed, he grew more certain about what he saw, specifically, once the visions and dreams began. He wondered what it meant. No matter how much he accomplished, no matter how many Droids looked up to him, none of it could answer the unanswerable:
Who am I?
Glitch asked himself this for what must have been the thirtieth time that week. He stood reservedly, watching his friends yuck it up with each other outside the club building. Another thought crossed his mind, one that opposed his lingering question. It was something he realized about Vex, Shooter, and Tank the more he studied their chemistry. They, too, were discovering themselves. Neither of them were very different in that sense. It wasn't just what they had in common that brought them all together. It was their differences, too. Their different personalities, backgrounds, and experiences. They were from different walks of life. Coming to Droid Town to find themselves is what united them in the first place. But it wasn't Droid Town that was their new home. It was one another.
Glitch's gaze softened. Maybe that's what matters, he thought.
He arrived at the command center sooner than Colonel Alloy expected. When he saw Glitch walking in, his eyes grew wide and he stiffened, as if his best soldier was about to see something he wasn't supposed to. Glitch noticed his erratic behavior and tilted his head, confused.
"You okay, Colonel?" he asked.
Instead of answering, Alloy whipped around and sped off on his single tire. "Krunk, dammit!" he shouted. "You said he wouldn't be back for another couple of hours!"
"Well, excuuuse me, Mr. Frantic Pants!" Krunk shot back. He hobbled into view on his one good leg. "What am I, the f***ing party planner?"
Glitch was still wondering what the commotion was about when he heard a familiar happy bark. He turned to see Zobby bounding toward him. The large robot canine didn't look like he was planning to slow down. He ran at Glitch full speed, with all of the excitement in the world. Glitch backed away nervously, bracing himself. "Easy, boy!" he cautioned. "Zobby—Zobby, no—"
It was too late. Zobby tackled him to the floor before he could avoid it. He licked Glitch fervently with his metal tongue, covering him in oily slobber.
"Ugh. Why, dude?" Glitch complained. He tried to get Zobby to stop before the laughter set in, but it was no use. There he lay on the ground, chuckling uncontrollably because of how much it was starting to tickle. Zobby eventually got his fix and backed off.
Glitch gave him a few good scratches under the chin while Krunk approached them. "Argh, you crazy mutt, what's the matter with you?" he demanded. "The screw-boy ain't even been gone that long and ya act like ya haven't seen 'em in forever."
"Why's Colonel Alloy acting so strange, Krunk?" Glitch asked him. "Wasn't there something he wanted to show me?"
"He wanted it to be a surprise," Krunk responded. "But you came back early. I thought you said it was gonna be midnight by the time you got back here."
"Oh, yeah, well, I decided to go ahead and leave the bar," Glitch said. "It was gettin' pretty crowded out there with all the night markets opening up and stuff."
Krunk scoffed. "Those dad-blasted street vendors," he muttered. "I can't even turn good without someone trying to sell me some bullsh**."
"C'mon, it's not that bad," Glitch insisted. "Compare that to how Droid Town was a month ago. Would you rather have a vendor come up to you, or a Mil ready to blow your head off?"
"I'd rather be shot," Krunk griped.
Glitch rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Anyway," he carried on, changing the subject. "What's the big surprise supposed to be? I don't care about spoilers, you can go ahead and tell me."
Just as he finished his sentence, he heard the hangar door opening on the far side of the building. He tossed a confused glance at Krunk, who stayed quiet. Despite his silence, however, Glitch felt he still appeared as though he knew what was going on. He's gotta be in on it, right? he wondered. With a shrug, Glitch stood and headed over to investigate for himself. Krunk and Zobby followed close behind. The hangar door was opened fully by the time they reached it. Glitch froze in astonishment at what he saw waiting for him outside.
"That's your big surprise," Krunk stated.