Chapter 4

Glitch and Vex arrived at a relatively good time. It was close to noon as they pulled into the racing event. Rebar Canyon was long and expansive; it reminded Glitch of the wasteland areas he had to brave through during his mission, only less sinister. He wasn't sure how far these canyons were from there. He considered asking Vex, but didn't think it really mattered all that much. The important part for Glitch was being away from his duties, even if it were only for a short while. He felt a pang of worry at the thought of Colonel Alloy discovering him missing, but he tried brushing it off as he found a place to park the RAT.

Although there was still plenty of time before the races actually began, the crowds were already flooding in. Vex took it as an opportunity to show Glitch around, introducing him to a few old racing buddies. Most of them recognized Glitch from pictures in the newspaper. Even after a month, he was still surprised by how famous saving Iron Star had made him. He was a bit of a celebrity at this point. Glitch went to get them seats while Vex caught up with his old fellow robots. He wasn't keen on separating with how busy it was becoming, but he figured it wouldn't hurt so long as Vex didn't spend too much time mingling before the races started. It was Vex, though, and he had always been the crowd-pleasing social bug.

Glitch took advantage of two second-row seats right next to the steps leading up the metal bleachers. He sat and somewhat impatiently waited for Vex, knowing he would probably be forever. He used it as a chance to practice his pre-planned script for when he had to explain to Alloy where he'd gone. He brainstormed a few lines: "I couldn't sleep, so I got up and took the RAT for a drive." "I didn't take Zobby because it was early and I figured he was still asleep." "I promise I'll take you next time, boy, ok?"

He sighed. It was no use. The Colonel wasn't an idiot. He could tell when someone was lying to him.

But Glitch also remembered the moment they were all betrayed by Dr. Exavolt. He had everyone fooled—including the Colonel. Maybe he won't be so hard to lie to, Glitch said to himself.

He was almost too deep in thought to notice Vex finding him and taking his seat beside him. Vex saw the semi-troubled look in his eyes. "You good?" he asked.

"Er, yeah," Glitch replied.

"Ya thinkin' 'bout what's gonna happen to ya when ya get back, aren't ya?" Vex asked him in a teasing manner. "Eh, don't worry, bud, just tell Alloy what I told ya to tell 'em! You were just takin' the whip for an early-morning spin. Right? Huh, huh?" He gave a wink.

Glitch hesitated. It wasn't just the inevitability of the Colonel finding out he sneaked off-base. It was whether or not he would trust him ever again. Since the argument he had with the Colonel yesterday, Glitch couldn't help but wonder if he was still upset with him about it, and if leaving only made it worse. He glanced away as he found himself regretting what he'd done.

"Glitch? Hey, Glitch, buddy!"

Glitch came back to reality.

"Hello, Iron Star to Glitch!" Vex waved a hand in front of his face. "Snap out of it, man!" he said. "The first race is startin'!"

Glitch noticed the cheering and clapping. He turned his attention to the first two racers of the day. The announcer came on and started introducing them. One of the racers was on a glistening, bright-red custom superbike. The other racer…

Glitch froze. He found himself doing a double-take.

The other racer… was a bike?

It wasn't a model of Droid Glitch was familiar with in the slightest. They had a fast, sleek design, equipped with components you would find on a dirt bike: a helmet-like head that had its own visor and headlights, and two durable wheels in place of feet. It was like the Droid was specially built to dominate any competition involving speed. The most notable part of all was that they didn't appear to have a very masculine frame.

It's…a girl Droid.

Glitch hadn't expected it to surprise him as much as it did. Before meeting Void, he never saw a female bot before. He only overheard Krunk mentioning she-Droids at one point—something about how rare they've become since the war. With limited resources and lack of scientists, they weren't built as frequently as before. Knowing that, it almost felt surreal seeing one in person.

The announcer had introduced her, but Glitch was too captivated to hear her name. By what, he wasn't quite sure. Or maybe he was and just hadn't come to terms with it. He could only watch in silence as she got into position. She had a carbon fiber outer frame. It had a glossy finish. It shimmered in the late morning sun, showing off her fresh-looking green and blue paint job. Her tinted visor shielded her matching green optics. The feminine set of eyes seemed daring, charming, and alluring all at once, despite being partially obscured behind the visor. They were the eyes of a determined robot who had accepted a challenge. There was something about this face—this female Droid's face—that rendered Glitch incapable of looking away. She was ready for this race. And if anyone could see that, it was him, sitting only two rows away from the starting point, completely unable to take his eyes off of her.

A shot was fired from close by, cueing both racers to go. The she-Droid and her competitor took off soaring down the straightaway. A collective gasp swept the crowd as the female Droid immediately shot past the red-bike racer, leaving him in the dust. She crossed the finish line long before him. The crowd had never seen anything like it. Cheers erupted quickly after the victory was so effortlessly claimed. Glitch and Vex watched on with amazement.

"Sweet crude oil," Vex breathed. "She's a beast!"

"Yeah." Glitch's voice was unusually soft for his character as he spoke. "She is."

"I wonder where she's from," Vex said. "Woman bots don't come around often, y'know!"

He nudged Glitch's shoulder, hinting at something. Glitch shook his head. "Yo, Vex, come on," he groaned. "Seriously?"

"Aw, don't deny it, man!" Vex joked. "I saw the way you were lookin' at 'er before the race started!"

"Whatever, dude," Glitch huffed. He could see it now: Vex ratting off to Shooter and Tank about him drooling over the first girl he's ever seen. It was totally in his character to blow things out of proportion. When Vex nudged him again, he lost his patience a little. "What?" he demanded.

This time, though, Vex was only trying to get his attention. "Look, she's walkin' this way!" he pointed out.

The she-Droid was talking with someone else while heading in their direction. They congratulated her once more before she said goodbye to them and continued making her way over. Glitch carefully watched her approach. She had tires in place of actual feet, so her "walk" was more of a skating motion. Her movements felt natural, nonetheless. She pressed something hidden from view on her right temple, and her visor lifted. It disappeared from over her face, fully revealing her eyes. The optics were an even more vibrant shade of green than what he previously thought they were. It was at that moment when they suddenly shifted toward Glitch. He froze a little as she came all the way up to them in the second row of the stands.

"Hey!" Her voice was higher in pitch than what Glitch was used to hearing. It was definitely a feminine tone, but one that carried an edge.

"Hey," Glitch simply said back. His voice came out much smoother than he was expecting. He was relieved at that.

"Hi, there!" Vex suddenly inserted himself. "You did great out there!" he commented. "And my good ol' buddy here would like to congratulate you personally!"

Glitch flashed him a cold glare. Vex held back a snicker. He sighed and shook his head at him before looking back at the female Droid. "Look, don't mind him," he told her. "He's right, though. You were great out there."

"Thanks!" she said, accepting the compliment. "That means a lot. I've been racing for a few years now back home, but I just started taking it seriously a little bit ago. I got out here today to do a few races here and there. Gotta keep sharp when you're a professional, am I right?"

"You do this professionally?" Glitch was somewhat taken aback.

The female Droid nodded. "Yep!" she answered, beaming with confidence. "My next real competition's in a few weeks! It'll be my second one. Big leagues, here I come!"

"That's…awesome. Really, it is." Glitch was having a hard time finding words for some reason.

"Gotta go!" The she-Droid turned to leave. "My next race is comin' up after this one." She pointed a thumb toward the two new racers taking their positions on the track. "See ya!"

"Oh, wait!" Glitch held his hand up after her.

"Uh-huh?" She halted again. "What's up?"

"Er, sorry, but I kinda missed your name," Glitch admitted with a small chuckle.

"Oh!" The female Droid gave a little laugh herself. "Naw, it's cool," she said. "My name's Rev."

"Good to meet ya. I'm Glitch."

"Glitch." Rev uttered his name serenely. It was almost as if it interested her. "I dig it!" she stated. "Hope we run into each other again sometime, Mr. Glitch."

She uttered the "Mr." title as a joke, and Glitch actually found himself laughing at it a bit. "Later, Ms. Rev," he quipped in response.

Rev gave him one final pleasant gaze before skating away. He watched her go, but not without realizing how she didn't appear to be familiar with him. He figured she would have already known something about him given his status, at least his name. Glitch shrugged it off. It certainly wasn't a big deal for him. It was refreshing knowing not everyone was celebrity-obsessed. He exchanged a glance with Vex, who seemed a bit dumbfounded for some reason.

"What?"

"Are you sure that was your first time talkin' to a chick?" Vex asked, sounding completely stupefied.

Glitch shrugged. "Yeah?" he answered, puzzled at why Vex seemed so stunned. "What's the big deal?"

"Dude!" Vex slapped him on the back, nearly causing him to stumble. "You're a flippin' natural! That's what I'm talkin' about!"

Glitch cracked a laugh. The thought of Vex expecting him to fumble, only for him to excel in talking to women, amused him quite a bit.

"Wait…"

Glitch grabbed Vex as he noticed something with Rev before she was too far away. His eyes fell on an insignia etched into the back of her head. It was on the same side as the switch that manipulated her visor. Glitch became stiff with shock after making out what it was. Vex looked down at his metal, three-digit hand tightly gripping his arm. "Glitch…?" he piped up.

"Huh?" Glitch snapped out of his state of shock. He realized he was clutching Vex's arm and he quickly let go. "Erm—my bad," he stammered.

"What's the matter with you?" Vex studied him from top to bottom through a side-eye. "Did one of ya screws come loose?"

Glitch hesitated; he looked back in the direction Rev had gone. She had already disappeared. He lowered his gaze and quickly shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "I'm spazzin'. Sorry."

Vex gave an amused laugh. "Dang, man, you're right," he agreed. "You are trippin' out right now!"

"I…I need to head out." Glitch started backing away.

"What?" Vex blinked at him, confused. "What's gotten into you, dude?" he demanded. "We just got here!"

"Look, you don't have to come if you don't want to," Glitch insisted.

"You sure?" Vex asked. "Naw, man, you ain't actin' right. I think I should go with ya. Besides, we came here together—"

"No!"

Glitch swatted Vex's hand away when he reached toward him. Vex quickly withdrew, but not without a look of shock flashing across his face. "What the hell, Glitch!" He grew visibly irate. "Why're you actin' like some kinda looney bot?"

"I-I'm sorry!" Glitch started. "It's just…I—"

He was cut short by a powerful jolt. He felt a jarring force overtake his body and mind as his Morbot symbol began to glow. Vex and a few bystanders were repelled by a wave of energy that suddenly emanated from him. Everyone stared at Glitch in a mix of intrigue and fear as his feet lifted and he proceeded to hover in midair. An iridescent light engulfed him. Vex remained still on the ground, too bewildered to take any sort of action as he saw what was happening with Glitch.

Not far off, Rev was preparing for her next race when she, too, was stopped by a strong jolt. The symbol on her head came alive with a glow, and her body was enveloped by light and lifted from the ground in the exact same manner.

...

When he opened his eyes again, Glitch found himself back in the Morbot realm. He thought he was alone, until he saw a green flash in the corner of his eye.

Rev was there with him. She was frantically wandering the space, her optics wild with panic and confusion. Her Morbot symbol was still glowing, in the same way as Glitch's. She eventually took notice of him and screeched to a halt on her tires. "Whoa. You're here, too?" she gasped.

"Yep." Glitch kept his answer simple.

Rev spent another minute or so nervously looking around. She went from one end to the other, feeling the walls and even punching at them occasionally. "Argh, what is this place?!" she cried. Eventually, she broke away, giving herself a break and rubbing her knuckles. After one final hit, she decided to give up with a sigh. She eased off and studied the strange, hard material.

"Not gonna work!" Glitch called to her.

Rev looked over at him again. She was still trying to catch her breath. "Ah, yeah!" she said. "Thanks for letting me know after the fact."

Her voice wasn't sour when she spoke to him. Glitch could hear the friendly sarcasm behind her words and held her gaze steadily while leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

"It's called Morbite." He advanced toward her. "And it ain't somethin' you can break."

Rev planted a hand on a carbon fiber hip. "Oh yeah, Playboy?" she remarked. "How do you figure?"

"Because." Glitch studied the Morbite alongside her. "I've been here before."

"You have?" Rev was equal parts astonished and baffled. "H-how?" she asked him.

"I'm not an expert with all the details," Glitch answered. "But it's got somethin' to do with this."

He lightly tapped the back of his head, the side his symbol was on. It seemed to make Rev remember hers. She slowly lifted her hand up to feel it. The etched lines were embossed, ever so slightly. It tingled a little from the faint electric light it gave off. She went over it with her fingers gently, almost carefully, as if she was nervous about touching it. She lowered her hand a few moments later. Her eyes fell on Glitch's reflection in the Morbite wall behind him. It was her first time seeing his insignia. It was a lot like hers. Glitch was able to better examine Rev's symbol through her own reflection. In conclusion, there were only minor differences between them. They were distinct enough to tell them apart.

"Where do they come from?"

Glitch returned to Rev's eyes. Her voice was now soft and uncertain. "The Morbots," he gently revealed.

Rev gawked at him, nearly speechless. "N-no way," she breathed. "You can't be serious."

"I am," Glitch said quietly. "Here, I'll show you." He stepped back and started to shout. "Void! Void, where are you? You comin' out or what?"

Rev tilted her head. "Who?"

"Void," Glitch repeated. "The Morbot who meets me here all the time." He uncertainly scanned the room. "Where is she?" he wondered. "She usually pops up outta nowhere and scares the scrap outta me—"

They were interrupted by another powerful jolting sensation. Glitch and Rev both staggered from the force. Rev looked at him, startled and confused. "What's happening?" she asked.

...

In another jarring shake, they were sucked out of the realm as suddenly as they arrived. Glitch dropped to the ground and groggily rubbed his head. He was still surrounded by onlookers at the drag racing event. Vex was among them; he and the other bystanders stared intently at Glitch, frozen in fear. Whispers began sweeping through the gathered crowd. Glitch hesitantly rose to his feet. It wasn't in his character to be easily embarrassed, but the events—combined with the dozens of suspicious optics searing into him from every angle—made an exception. The awkward feeling only eased a little when Vex came closer to him.

"Bro, what was that?" Vex had never sounded more shaken.

"I had another vision," Glitch explained. "But it was different this time! Rev was there!"

"What?"

"I gotta find her." Glitch brushed past Vex. He began pushing his way through the crowd. "Rev!" he yelled.

He saw her, standing at the center of her own small group of bewildered bystanders. She eventually locked eyes with him.

"Rev!" he called. "I'm over here!"

But something in Rev's attitude had changed. She was as frightened and lost about the situation as the robots surrounding her. It was apparent from the worry and fear that clouded her face before she spun around and sped off.

Glitch started after her, but it was already too late. She vanished from the crowd quicker than he had spotted her.