Hot Rod was not always the super cool, fantastically badass, alien ass-kicking mech pilot he currently was. Before he became Hot Rod, he was the fire hazard, and before that… he was just a kid that loved giant robots. Back then, he was called just Richie – an ordinary, if hyperactive, redhead kid with freckles.

He was always overly-excitable and hyperactive kid. His parents and older brother always had at least a few stories of his shenanigans ready during family gatherings. There would always be something new to tell whenever they met. What kind of mess he'd caused while trying to help his mom cook, him running all over the park and somehow ending up on top of a flagpole (they needed to call the fire department about that one after he got stuck), how he managed to catch a wild rabbit and bring it home because he wanted a pet. The time his older brother left him unsupervised with a pack of markers and he drew all over the family car, the time they went fishing and he jumped in the lake because his older brother dared him to, how the two brothers got lost in Ikea and liked it so much they decided to live there and so on. He was always full of energy! He could feel this buzz under his skin that made him want to move, to act, to just DO something instead of sitting around!

Another fact about Richie was that he absolutely loved giant robots. Yes, he also loved sports, and music, and hiking, and movies, and exploring, and animals, but those were mostly interests he went through and changed every once in a while, in his 'phases' of interest where one week he'd be out all day, hiking and the other playing football. But the giant robots- they were a constant to his day. From the posters on his walls, the action figures and movie collections.

He can't even remember when he first started liking giant robots, having liked them since forever, but his parents did remember.

…..

Richie was just out of the toddler phase, he could speak in short sentences and could walk on his own, so he was taking full advantage of that fact while he could. His brother had returned from school and sat down to watch his favorite show (at that time). "Super Robo Samurai" was all the rage among the other kids at the school and Richie's brother was the same and would rush home to watch the newest episode each day.

Richie had heard his brother turning the TV on and while his mother was distracted, hopped down from the chair and went to see what his brother was doing. It was then that he saw the Power Samurai get into their robots and combine to turn in the Ultra Samuroid. Needless to say, little Richie's eyes shone at the sight of the giant robot and he immediately glued himself to the TV.

…

At least that's what his parents told him whenever it came up.

"Oh, you were just obsessed back then, even more than your brother. You'd cry every time we wouldn't put the show on in the afternoon before your nap." – his mother laughed good-naturedly at the fond memories.

"Yes, you were even more into robots than you are now, and your room is covered in merch!" his father shook his head "Remember the time he drew all over our car to make it look like one of the super robots? Took me a whole day to scrub the markers off it!"

"Daaad~" – Richie groaned.

"Haha, that is true! He would also draw pictures all the time in school, making up adventures for him and his robot friends. Remember that?" – his mother looked at her husband.

"Of course I do! He even had an imaginary friend at one point that he said was an even bigger robot that turned into a ship. He even said he'd become a spaceship captain when he grew up when their class had a Show and Tell." – his dad grinned.

"Oh, how could I almost forget that?!" his mom laughed "The other parents all looked at us when he said he'd be the captain of a robot spaceship and explore the cosmos."

"Moom~ I thought we agreed not to talk about that on family gatherings!" – Richie whined.

Still, as much as he pretended to be upset at the stories his family shared about him, he still loved to see the smiles on their faces.

…..

Before the invasion, before he became a mecha pilot, before he got the name Hot Rod, Richie might have actually believed he could go to space and explore the cosmos. Science had advanced quite a lot and there were already trips to space available to people, so it wasn't that outlandish to believe that by the time Richie was adult, they would be exploring other planets. Plus, he figured out that if having a giant robot was impossible, he could get the next best thing and become an astronaut.

Everything had changed since that first attack – not only were aliens proven to be real, but their lives changed forever. Richie's plans to drive around the country when he got his driver's license and before starting College were gone before they were even possible, his brother decided not to go to another state for his education, then, the worst happened…

His mother and brother were out shopping the Metropolitan mall when another alien attack came out of nowhere. They were caught in the middle of it, they couldn't escape on time and the mall fell while they were still inside. The rescuers had found them a few hours after the alien was killed, they were injured and brought to the hospital but…

His brother didn't make it, he died on the way to there and his mother was in a medically-induced coma for half a month while they treated her. She lost one of her legs and had scars from the incident. Even after she returned home, it was never the same as it once was, it never could be – nothing could fill the hole that his brother's death left. Still, Richie decided to not give up and rise to the challenge.

"I am going to become a mecha pilot!" he declared one day when he was 16 "I have decided to enlist in the program when I graduate from school and will go out there and fight the aliens and keep you all safe!"

And he did so, despite his parents' initial protests. They had already lost one son to the aliens- they didn't want to lose another!

"Absolutely not!" his father stood up and slammed his hands on the table "You won't be going out in one of those- those DEATH CANS to fight the aliens! You see what can happen to them on TV! I won't allow you to throw your life like that!"

"But dad, I-"

"Even if you like them because they are giant robots and idolize the pilots, you can do that from home! Where it is safer!" his father grit his teeth "Your hobby doesn't-"

"I am not doing that because of my HOBBY!" – Richie shouted in anger, he almost never shouted.

His mother put a hand on his dad's shoulder and made him sit down, then looked at him with sad eyes.

"Are you really sure you want this?" – her voice was weak, quiet, she sounded on the verge of tears.

"Yes, I can't stand sitting here, behind the walls, doing nothing. Mom, dad, I want to help, I want to save people! I want to help stop the aliens so no one else has to lose their families because of these attacks."

In the end, his parents agreed, under the condition he finished high school first and he applied as soon as he did that. Richie was quickly tested for Neurolink compatibility and put in one of the many training camps for pilots.

He couldn't say that he wasn't at least a little bit excited to be there. He still loved giant robots and was a big fan of the mechs and their pilots. Not to mention that the possibility of having a mech of his ow, of piloting a giant robot was exhilarating.

'Would they let me put flame decals on my mech?' – he wondered as he was unpacking his belongings in his new dorm room.

…

The training camp was everything and at the same time nothing like what Richie imagined it would be. There was a lot of physical training- he had no problem with that, he aced the physical exam every time. They were also put through many logical tests, puzzles and challenges to test their reaction time and logical thinking – he had a lot of fun hitting all the buttons as soon as they lit up.

Richie's roommate was friendly and him being a social butterfly meant the two quickly met other trainees and formed a large friend group. They would gather in one of the rooms and goof a bit before curfew, when they learned about Richie being a huge mecha fanboy, they teased him a lot about it. They all had good time complaining about drills or just sharing funny stories.

There were also the training runs with practice mechas. They used some fancy helmets and gloves to allow you to pilot the mech suit and see how well you'd handle the activity. For Richie, that was simultaneously the most awesome and yet awfully wrong feeling he had ever experienced.

The first time he was hooked to the training mech and turned the helmet on, he was very disoriented – he almost stumbled and fell with the 5-ton mech training suit but he managed to keep his balance. Being so high up, looking around and down at the instructors and other trainees felt… right! It felt like he has been doing that his whole life, even as they made him move the mech and go through the test exercises, he never once faltered. At the same time though, he felt… isolated, cold, alone, like there was supposed to be SOMETHIN else there. The metal casing around him cut off all noise instead of the one in his earpiece and the gears in the mech. The way his body was strapped in made him feel trapped, immobile, the cold made him feel even more isolated. The lack of feedback from each move made his chest squeeze almost painfully.

He both loved and hated the exercises but he continued doing them and excelling at each test the drill sergeant threw at him and the other trainees. A lot could not keep up with the training and failed, others excelled, some could not synchronize with the training suits well enough and failed the pilot training. Richie was one of those that not only excelled but had results so good that they allowed him to graduate early. He was one of the youngest pilots to finish training in the camp.

….

The first base he was assigned to after graduation, was none other than the one in Washington. He couldn't believe he was assigned there right after graduation! There were so MANY cool mechs and famous pilots he had merch and posters of back in his room! (He should have guessed it was too good to last.)

"OMG! I can't believe that I am HERE!" Richie was vibrating and jumping in place to get the sudden surge of extra energy he got "I am so HYPED! This is where THE Ultra Magnus is! The Infallible Mech! Ooh, I can't wait to meet everyone! Do you think I could get an autograph from Sir Ultra Magnus?!" – he asked the man leading him through the base.

"W-well…" – the office worker was a bit taken aback by the rapid fire of words.

"Hah! Not likely, newbie. The big guy is one of the program's golden eggs, only select few are allowed to work on it." A nearby engineer laughed at Richie's words "That mech has its own hangar, an exclusive team of mechanics and engineers, all having signed an NDA before getting the position. For us ordinary guys… we'd be lucky to see the Magnus out once a month during training or an emergency. Heck, with how much new stuff HQ has been putting in that mech, it spends more time in R than here in the hangars!" – the engineer pointed with his thumb.

Richie's gaze followed and saw a huge door with guards station in front, it was the door to Ultra Magnus' private hangar.

Suddenly, there was a commotion as one some sort of barrel fell over and spilled its contents all over the floor. People panicked and scrambled to quickly get away from the growing puddle of oil or to try and contain the spill.

Before Richie or even the engineer he had been talking to could move or say anything, there was a yell.

"Stop!"

Everyone halted whatever they were doing and Richie could only watch as a… very… short, Italian man with a large moustache speed walked towards the spill, already bringing with himself a cart full of cleaning supplies. The Italian dragged the cart to the spill and started lecturing the guys at the site, which was quite funny, considering said man was at most chest-level with the other men.

"Were you not taught anything?! This is not how you clean with spilled oil on-site!" he even did the signature Italian fingers as he casually lifted a large bag off the cart "According to section 4 of the safety manual, it is stated that-" – he tore open the bas and started pouring the grainy contents on the oil.

"Who's that man?" – Richie leaned and whispered to the man beside him.

"Oh, that's Ambus aka Mr. Manual himself." the engineer chuckled "Used to be part of the cleaning staff back in the day but got promoted quite a lot because he worked hard or something. I am still not sure how exactly but he became the safety manager of the hangars." – he scratched the back of his head.

"Wow, really? From a janitor to a manager, that is something!" – Richie whistled as he continued watching the tiny man clean up the spill and citing guidelines in the meantime.

"Yup, but that means we have Mr. Manual going at us at every mistake. He was the same as a janitor, always citing the guidebooks and manuals whenever something happened, even if it was something minor. At least then we could ignore it most of the time, but after he was promoted, we can't really say anything. Only the commander or the heads of other departments really order him around right now." – the engineer grumbled.

…..

"Follow me, newbie. We're going to test out your mech suit while the others are doing their drills. I will be leading you through it. Just be warned, this is an actual mech. It is not only more powerful than the training suits you used at the academy, but has actual Neurolink connection, unlike those clunky helmets and gloves they have you use. It will be different, it will be disorienting at first, but it will also be your first real taste of what being a pilot is. Are you ready?!" – Ironhide looked at Richie and pointed at mech 986.

"Yes, sir!" – he beamed at the senior pilot, almost blinding him with his smile.

"Alright, get in the mech and strap in!"

Richie was SO excited he wanted to do a lap, or two, around the hangars just to get the energy out of him. Even if his mech was one of those boring, standard, factory gray suits all new recruits are given could not dampen his mood! He was SO going to do it and go kick some aliens butt next time the green bastards invaded!

Ironhide's mech was not only larger but heavier, it was obviously a Tank type mech, he could tell by just looking at the thick plating and the spiked mace attached to one arm. And even though every mech was equipped with a gun, it was obvious Ironhide preferred to get into the fray.

When Richie Connected to his mech through the Neurolink, he could immediately tell the difference between this mech and the ones they used at the training camp. Threr were no clunky controls, no awkward VR helmet, no feeling of isolation it was- it was almost as if the suit became an extension of himself, like he became one with it. It was amazing! It felt more right instead of wrong!

"Follow me. Take slow steps as you get used to the suit, I will be here to lead you." – Ironhide's voice reached him through the comms.

Richie shifted in his seat with barely contained excitement and his mech responded in kind with an excited wiggle and scraping of metal on concrete flooring. And even though he could not see Ironhide's face inside the larger mech, Richie got the feeling that the man was raising an eyebrow.

Richie then started moving and in a matter of minutes he was already running laps through their corner of the training field.

'I wonder…' he though as he looked at the other pilots doing their exercises 'Would I be able to do a cartwheel with my mech if I get a good running start?'

"Hey, eyes on me, kid!" Ironhide called "I have to say, yer a natural. Most newbies would still be going through the basic motions. Ready for something a bit more serious?"

"Yes, sir!" – Richie exclaimed loudly.

In his excitement, however, he did not pay enough attention to the console screen inside his mech, so he missed a small red light blinking.

Ironhide had him dodging the larger mech's attacks, jumping around while shooting a gun with hollow rounds and more similar exercises.

"Good! Very good!" Ironhide laughed as he blocked a kick from Richie, sparks flew as the mech clashed "By the looks of it, you will be joining us next time in regular practice, newbie! Haha!"

Inside his mech, Richie was grinning widely but…

'It's getting a bit stuffy inside… is the ventilation working properly?' – he wondered.

"Come on, one more time!" – Ironhide said and threw a punch at 986.

By now Richie knew what he had to do with his mech, duck, weave, strike back-

He gripped the controls and prepared to move his mech but then, the cockpit suddenly started flashing red!

BEEEP! BEEEEEP!

The alarms startled Richie, his head swerved left and right to try and see what the problem was. He was in the middle of a maneuver, so Ironhide's fist clipped him in the shoulder. The mech rattled and shook as Richie stumbled backwards. Smoke was beginning to escape from a few panels on 986's back.

"Kid, what's wrong?! What happened?!" – Ironhide asked in panic, immediately stopping the exercise.

Bang! Fwoooo~

It was at that moment that the heat and pressure became too much, Richie's mech could not take it anymore, there was a small explosion near the back struts, one of the canisters there exploded, completely blowing off a piece of plating. There was fire as oil from the destroyed tubing sprayed on the half-melted electric wires. The mech twitched and slumped slightly forward but Richie managed to keep it on its feet.

"Kid! Quickly, press the emergency eject button!" – Ironhide lumbered closed with his mech.

The fire was growing and spreading more as more oil and hydraulic fluid leaked from the mech. Inside the cockpit the lights were flickering like crazy, the alarms blaring and hurting Richie's eyes and ears. The Neurolink was also bombarding him with a lot of error messages and other information. Richie scrambled and quickly pressed the emergency eject button. The front of his mech popped open and his seat was ejected into the air.

Clang~!

Without a pilot or any support, 986 fell down with a heavy clang, the mech was now officially covered in fire, black smoke rose in the air as things started to burn more. All Richie could do was stare at the fire as the parachute slowly brought him down from the air.

"Kid, are you alright?!" – a pair of huge, metal hands cupped below him.

Ironhide caught Richie's chair mid-descend, as gently as he could inside a mech. There was worry clear in his voice.

"I-I am fine, sir. I-I just… It suddenly-fire-" – Richie stammered.

Yet, his eyes could not tear away from the burning mech, even as the emergency team came with fire trucks to extinguish the fire.

"Thank goodness you are fine." Ironhide sighed in relief "Let's bring you to the med bay first for a checkup and then you can tell me what happened afterwards."

Richie nodded dumbly as the heavy mech carried him and his pilot seat back in the hangar.

…..

Faulty wires. That was all the explanation Richie got as the reason for his mech's seemingly spontaneous combustion. The reason why he was benched until they fixed his mech – was just some faulty wires?!

"Are you serious?! That's all you could tell me? Some damn wires!" – Richie glared.

"Hey, don't raise your voice at me, new guy! I looked that charred mess from top to bottom and there's nothing else that could have caused the explosion! Nothing! Zilch! NADA!" – the female engineer threw her oil-stained towel in frustration.

"Alright, alright, I get it, chill!" – Richie took a step back.

"I will chill then they stop giving me overtime!" she fired back "Well, anyway, we fixed up your mech, you should be good to go for the next drill."

"Oh, that's great! Thanks a lot!" – Richie beamed.

Hopefully, there won't be any incidents like this one.

…

There was another incident during the next exercise. Richie's mech caught fire again – fuel leak, they said. Then another one during a deployment outside of the city, they had to drag his charred mech back to an extraction point – overheating they said the reason was.

Then it happened again, and again. Every time they fixed his mech and supposedly resolved the problem, somehow it combusted once more.

"You are being transferred to another base." Ironhide brought him the news "Sorry kid…"

"B-but I have barely been here for 3 months! Why- why am I being moved to another base? In Phoenix no less! That's like- the other side of the country!" – Richie protested and waved the transfer papers around.

"Look, kid, I am sorry. I know you don't mean it, you are a nice kid, really. One of the best new recruits I trained! But… the higherups said so, they said with all the incidents it would be better to get a new recruit. There's nothing I could do, especially when they signed on the orders…" – Ironhide rubbed the back of his neck.

"I understand." – Richie looked down at the floor, his fist crumbling the papers in his hand.

Things were the same in Phoenix, just a lot hotter, so not only was Richie forced to sweat in the heat, but also make sure his mech combusting didn't cause a wildfire, considering how dry the weather was. Still, the trend of fires continued and he was transferred once more.

….

'Whoever said that 3rd time's the charm, they were wrong.' – Richie though.

"And look at this!" the mechanic pointed at an open panel on 986's side "All these wires, MELTED! Then burnt to a crisp! We just changed them last week and they are already a melted, charred mess!"

"It's not like it is my fault-" – Richie began.

"You can't tell me that when you have come here 6 times this month because your mech combusted!" – the mechanic's face was turning a concerning shade of red.

[Pilot 986, please report to the commander's office.] – a voice rang through the hangar.

'Ugh! Here we go again…' – Richie groaned and dragged his feet as he began walking.

"…ook over there…"

"It's that rookie…"

"That's the fire hazard…"

"Not even 2 months here and wrecked his mech so much…"

"They say he can make mechs catch fire just by standing near them…"

"…no way it is a coincidence…"

"Who even has so many incidents…"

Whispers followed Richie as he made his way to the commander's office.

'To be yelled at again, most likely.' – he grumbled to himself.

…

Barely a year after graduation from the pilot academy and Richie had been transferred 4 times, he was currently heading for the 5th base, but he didn't hold much hope for the place. His parents were definitely worried, still trying to convince him to give up on being a mech pilot and return home, to join his father's new car dealership business.

Richie did not plan to quit anytime soon - he knew that being a pilot was what he wanted! It just felt so awesome, to see not only all the pilots there, but to also join them in training and on the field! It just felt so right to be piloting a mech! It felt like the machine became an extension of himself, even for the short time he had before it caught on fire, it was like they became ONE. He could not just give up like that and hide behind the city walls for the rest of his life!

He arrived at the latest base he had been moved to early in the morning, his jacket was half-unzipped and he had a nonchalant took on his face as he made his way inside. He had everything he needed on him, and it sucked because he had been transferred so much in the past year he remembered every document he needed to bring with him at that point. An older man with sunglasses and military getup met him halfway into the base.

"Oh, there you are! I was about to come greet you at the front gate just now! Hello, you can call me sergeant Knox, or whatever you prefer. Nice to meet you!" – the man offered a hand for a shake.

"Richie Torres, nice to meet ya too, sir!" – he smiled but not his usually blinding smile.

Richie did not want to get his hopes up once more, only for them to all fall back down when they inevitably start looking at him as a fire hazard because of the fiery incidents that seemed to follow him every time he got in the mech suit. He'd probably be transferred again in the near future.

…

It happened again, second drill session and his mech was once again charred and down for repairs, truth be told, Richie was surprised it didn't spontaneously combust the first time they had him out training with the other pilots. By now, already used to it, he had simply hopped out and left the firefighters do their thing.

When he heard Knox was calling him, Richie was expecting another yelling session or some punishment, instead, he was introduced to the man that would change his life – Swerve! The short, redhead engineer met him with a warm smile and a handshake, despite Richie's sooth-stained mech laying prone on the floor.

"So, your mech caught fire today. Can you explain what led to the problem?" Swerve asked him and pulled out a notepad "I know me and the others of the team got a good look through the mech before you came and fixed up whatever damage it has sustained, so it shouldn't have ended up like this, especially when we have not been in a real combat since then."

"How should I know? It just does that, you read my file, right? One way or another, the mech always gets flambéed. Faulty wires, punctured gas canister, oil leakage, overheating and everything else there could be has probably been listed in my file. Every time they fix something, another thing goes wrong." – Richie huffed, trying to act nonchalant.

"I see…" Swerve hummed "Well, it is fine. I promise you; I will try my best to solve this problem, with your assistance, of course! I would probably need you to be around for some tests, alright?"

"Whatever you say, you are the expert. I am always ready for action!" Richie pumped a fist up "If you can really make it so I don't have to sit around all the time while my mech is in for repairs, I would really owe you one!"

"Haha! It's nothing, just doing my job, but if you are offering, an interesting DVD would be enough." – Swerve laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

In the days after Richie's first meeting with the other redhead, he went around and asked a few of the less reluctant guys about Swerve. They were still a bit unsure about all the rumors with which Richie arrived, being known as fire hazard and seeing his mech combust, but they talked. Apparently, his name actually WAS Swerve, which, wow! It surely was a unique name to name your kid. He also learned that Swerve was the best damn mechanic they had on base.

"Trust me, rookie!" the one nicknamed Waspinator boasted "Swerve is the best you can get in this program, he can fix anything and make it even better! Why, look at my ride! Got a slick custom injector gun installed thanks to the guy. Isn't it awesome? One good shot to the head and the alien's brains are leaking to the floor!"

Waspinator pointed at the green-yellow mech behind him, it had purple 'eyes' and antennae, black stripes and a long needle weapon attacked to its left forearm, a large tank with a hose leading to said weapon was sitting on the mech's back. Overall, the mech was made to look like some giant robo bug hybrid and, in Richie's opinion, looked very cool! If only the man in front of him was not bragging and rambling so much about his achievements…

'I now understand why I only hear of him in passing. No wonder they don't put him out for interviews.' – the redhead sneakily retreated, all the while Waspinator continued talking.

He also learned that Swerve has been working for the program almost since its founding, that he was a bit of a loner, preferring to do his own thing instead of partying with others, he was also an avid movie watcher and a bookaholic.

A few days later, Richie was called back to check on the repairs of his mech and do a test run. When he entered the hangar… well, he was not expecting what he saw. His mech looked a bit charred still, but there were quite a few new parts just- tacked on! It looked like Dr. Frankenstein had a go at his mech! Exhaust vents everywhere, mufflers galore! Could it even move properly with all these things sticking out of everywhere?!

"Oh, Richie, just in time! I am just about done with the initial test design!" Swerve waved from 986's shoulder "I need to finish putting sensors here and we should be good to go for a test drive!"

"O-Ok."

Richie watched as the engineer worked swiftly and then expertly hopped off the mech and onto the catwalk without any fear or need of assistance.

"Alright, we're good to go." Swerve wiped his hands clean "I looked through your file some more and by the looks of it, I speculate that the reason your mech ends up on fire is mostly because of high heat. Now, I don't know why the systems work in overdrive like so, despite the many adjustments and installed cooling systems in the mech, so I figured the first step to solving the problem is to get that heat OUT! Hence, the additional exhaust ports."

"I can see that… It's… a bit much." – Richie looked over his mech once more.

"Well, it is a work in progress. I attached some extra sensors inside the frame to get a better reading while you do the regular exercise today. We're going to be working from there. Now, I got your pilot suit in the lockers over there, go change and get in for the test drive." – Swerve pointed at a door.

"Yes!" – Richie practically ran inside, excited to be piloting a mech once more.

…

'It is official! Swerve is one of the coolest people ever!' – Richie thought, a wide grin spreading on his face.

As ridiculous as his mech currently looked with all the exhaust pipes and mufflers sticking out of its back, arms, chest… everywhere except the head really, it was actually working! He had been going at it, like, really GOING AT IT for the past hour! No holding back, no constantly checking for smoke rising from the mech or sweating from the ventilation in the cockpit failing once more! He was running, jumping, doing cartwheels and what not at full throttle! All the while Swerve was watching from the sidelines and instructing him through the comms. It was amazing! He was SO getting Swerve a whole movie collection when his mech was finally ready!

[That's good!] Swerve's voice sounded in his ear [I got the data, come back to the hangar and rest a bit. I don't want to overdo it on the first test run and your mech just got fixed.]

"Got it, mech-wizz! One super awesome landing coming right up!" – Richie grinned and pushed the controls forward.

[W-wait, Richie! Don't-!]

But the mech was already running, its metal feet pounded on the concrete below as it approached the hangar entrance. Richie laughed as he could zoom in on Swerve panicking at the fast approach and almost dropping his tablet. Then, a few hundred meters before the entrance, Richie pressed down and made the mech jump in the air. He could hear Swerve screaming on the comms but all he could go was laugh in glee at finally being able to do whatever he always wanted to do! So, he struck a pose mid-air and them landed as gracefully as a large mech could, he skid a bit on the ground, metal scraping against the concrete and sparks flying. At last, 986 stopped and powered down.

Fssssssssh~

Hot air spewed out of the exhaust and made the air shimmer from the heat.

[What are you thinking?! Do you know how dangerous this was?!]

Richie could only giggle at how well it all went. The guys were right, there really was nothing that Swerve couldn't fix when it came to machines!

"Don't worry! Everything's fine! It all went smoothly-" – Richie gave a thumbs up.

Clang~

One of the mufflers' welds had come loose with all the running and jumping and it chose to fall at that exact moment and clang loudly.

[See! That's why I told you to be more careful!] – Swerve was gesturing at the fallen, still hot, piece of metal.

It took Richie and Swerve over a month more of testing – it included many late nights for the engineer and a lot of running around for the young pilot. It took many successes and failures, but they made it! They managed to make a design that works and won't spontaneously burst into flames!

….

It was late one night, when Richie snuck inside the base. He was trying to be quiet and sneaky as he snuck in and made his way to where his mech was currently recharging. He almost reached his goal when a nearby door opened and someone turned the lights on.

Richie jumped up in surprise and the sudden flood of light made him freeze like a deer in headlights. In the door Stood Swerve, hammer in hand, faint dark circles could be seen behind his blue safety glasses as he locked eyes with Richie. The two stared at each other dumbly for a while, none expecting to meet the other there.

"Uh… What do you got there?" – Swerve asked him, breaking the silence.

"A smoothie." – Richie held up the protein smoothie he held in one hand while poorly hiding oversized flame decals behind his back.

"I see…" – Swerve gave the flame decals a pointed look.

"Ok! I got these from town this afternoon." – the pilot took a sip from the smoothie.

"But, why?"

"Well, to make 986 a bit cooler! Just… look at it!" Richie gestured at the mech "It is all boring and gray, plus all the char marks and welds on it from all the times we tried adding and removing exhaust ports and mufflers from the frame! I thought it deserved a bit more pizazz, so I got flame decals! These can make everything 10 times cooler!"

Swerve stared some more, them looked up at the mech and back at the young pilot.

"And you snuck in here in the middle of the night because of that?"

"Yup!"

"You do realize that with how big mechs are, these decals won't even cover a quarter of the chest plating, right?" – the engineer crossed his arms.

"They… didn't have bigger ones." – Richie slumped a bit.

Swerve sighed and rubbed his forehead, exasperated.

"Alright, fine. I will help you put them on, so next time don't sneak in the middle of the night. I almost threw this hammer at you!" – Swerve lifted his hand.

"Oh, didn't notice that… Sorry."

Well, everything turned out fine and the two did manage to properly stick the oversized flame decals on 986's forearms. It wasn't much in the grand scheme of things but it was a bit of Richie's personal touch on the mech, just like the scorch marks from the many, many fires it has been in.

"Hey, do you think they will approve some cosmetic changes, like re-painting it or adding a few decorations?" – he turned to look at Swerve with a spar in his eyes.

"Wait until after your first successful mission and ask then. The manager of the warehouse just chewed me yesterday about all the extra parts I had to use to fix your mech." – the engineer gave a tired sigh.

…

It was finally time for Richie's first mission and despite the bravado he showed before they were out of the base, he had felt a bit nervous. Not fearing that his mech would spontaneously ignite on him in the middle of a mission was still a new concept for him, so he hung near the back of the group just in case.

[Alright! Listen team!] Knox's voice called through the comms [A small group of class S aliens was spotted touching down near the river, just outside city premises. We're going there and dealing with them before they can go into a populated area!]

"Yes, sir!" – Richie said and heard the other pilots say the same.

[Team 1 – Ricochet and Waspinator, you are going to be the first to engage the aliens, I want you to go through the east side and push them to the other side of the river!]

[Yes, sir!] -Ricochet.

[Ready to terrorize some aliens!] -Waspinator cackled.

[Tem 2 – The Fix squad, make a defense line on the city side and look out for aliens trying to sneak in, inform us if you spot any!} – Knox ordered.

[G-got it boss! Fix squad ready for ac-acto- ACTION!] – Fixit said.

[Richie, you are with me. We are going to hang in the back and provide support. The rest, spread out and dispose of any aliens! Watc out for stragglers!]

Richie followed Knox's smaller, black and green camo-pattern with yellow accents, Construction class mech closely. They headed downstream of the river and started looking for the aliens.

[We're going to be here and intercept any alien that might try to slip away from Team 1 and the other mechs. My mech is lighter and more vulnerable, so I usually hang in the back, but if any aliens come, you'd have to deal with them on your own, I am here mostly to support you Striker class.] – Knox explained as his mech zipped left and right.

It moved much faster that Richie's larger, heavier mech, using 4 car wheels attached to each leg, as if he was wearing roller skates. Richie on the other hand ran behind him, careful of the unsteady ground and gravel near the river bank.

Bee-bee!

"Sir, it appears we have some company!" – Richie immediately called, looking at the radar on his left.

[I picked it too. Ready to engage, soldier! I will provide support from the back!] – Knox's mech pulled back and readied the gun.

Richie did the same and prepared to engage the giant alien. Soon, from the river came one S class alien – large, gaping maw with sharp teeth, many eyes and tentacles with sharp hook-like claws.

"Screeeee!" – it charged at them as soon as it noticed the two mechs.

Papapapapapapa~!

Knox fired a barrage of small bullets at the alien's face, zigzagging in order to distract it.

BANG-BANG!

Richie also fired, his gun being bigger and more powerful shot twice, blowing large holes in the alien's side, he quickly reloaded and aimed again. The alien turned its attention to 986 and charged straight at Richie, ignoring the damage as he fired two more bullets and even Knox tried to distract it by zipping close and aiming for its face.

"Sir, what do I do? Should I engage it?" – Richie asked.

[Pull back kid, you are still not ready to engage in close combat. Keep some distance and don't let the tentacles grapple or trip you!] – Knox ordered.

Bee-Bee-Beep!

It was then that his radar informed him for another signal coming from the trees. Richie only had time to glance there before another alien came charging at him from the woods.

[Shit! Requesting for assistance! Me and the newbie are downstream, engaging 2 S class! We need assistance!] - Knox called on the comms.

Bang-BANG!

Richie fired and tried dodging the two aliens but they surrounded him. One got too close and rammed into him while the other jumped up and latched on his back with its tentacles. He dropped his gun! From inside the cockpit, he could hear the sharp claws scraping over his mech, trying to pry it open like a can, all the while he was wrestling with the two aliens. This was one of the worst situations! He could hear Knox shouting through the comms and saw his mech trying to get the attention of the aliens away from him but it seemed the two green bastards were out to get him first!

'Damn it! I just got the problem with the mech combusting spontaneously! I can't end up alien chow like- Wait!'

"That's it!" Richie got a genius idea at the moment "Sorry, mech-wizz, but this is the only way."

He mentally apologized to Swerve and the other engineers before manually shutting down the cooling system on his mech. He took a deep breath and then kicked his mech into overdrive with one big push.

"Eat slag, ya damn wigglers!" – he shouted and grappled the alien in front of him back, the fingers of his mech aiming for the eyes and other soft spots.

[Kid! What are you-] – he heard Knox's voice but he didn't care to explain.

Richie could already feel it, the heat inside the cockpit making him sweat as he fought back hard, wrestling with the two aliens. Many systems started sending warning messages, red light flashing in warning from overheating.

'Just a bit more-' – he thought.

He threw himself back, slamming the S class alien on his back into the rocky earth below and then-

Bam! FwooooooOOO~

The familiar sound of something in his mech exploding sounded in Richie's ears and he was on fire once more, as oil ignited and sparks flew.

"SCREEE!" – the alien on his back writhed and scrambled away.

He could see it rolling on the ground as it was covered in burning oil and there was a large hole just blown into its side from where his mech exploded. The alien he was grappling with also tried to get away from the flames but he held onto it. Richie quickly turned the cooling system off but there was no stopping the fire anymore, only slowing it down a bit and preventing a heat stroke in the sweltering cockpit.

"HAHAHA! How do you like the HEAT?!" – Richie laughed.

He lifted the alien and slammed it into the ground, then in a moment of brilliance, he threw a fiery punch right in the alien's ugly mug. The punch went straight into one of its many giant eyes and green blood spilled out of there. It wiggled and struggled under him, trying to escape but then, for some odd reason, he plunged even further in and then ripped something out – it was round, squishy and green, but it made the alien drop dead. He turned his attention to the second alien.

His mech's systems warned him about dangerously high temperature and loss of fuel, but he didn't care. He threw himself at the alien, gun in hand and blazing. Fire and bullets flew as he absolutely destroyed the alien! He-

[Richie! The fire-] – he finally heard Knox yelling on his comms, for how long had he been yelling at him?!

He was hot- he was burning- the fire! He had to put it out!

"Oh, scrap!"

Richie then remembered they were just next to a river, so he ran towards the water and threw his mech in there while pressing the eject button at the same time.

Click- PA!

His pilot seat was launched out of the burning mech, parachute deployed, just as said mech fell into the river with a loud splash. There was still fire burning where oil was spilled and the aliens were now also on fire, and the grass, and some trees too- Oh, no, he was going to be in SO MUCH trouble when they got back to the base!

Knox was already down there, waiting for him as his chair touched down.

[What were you thinking?! Do you know how dangerous and reckless that was?! You could have died and-] – Knox's voice sounded from the mech's speakers.

The sergeant picked him up and carried him all while lecturing him about his recklessness and behavior.

"But it worked, right?" – he tried to defend himself.

[…]

He might not have been able to see Knox's face, but at that moment he was sure he was being given a murderous glare.

….

At some point, everyone just figured that being on fire was kinda Richie's thing. One way or another, he always ended up causing a fire on the field or lighting his mech up. So, after he found a way to use the heat that came from 986's many exhaust pipes by shutting some of them off and essentially forcing all the heat towards the aliens. He could scorch the aliens trying to latch onto him with the heat coming off his mech!

Swerve and the other engineers still couldn't figure out how his mech always seemed to overheat so quickly ant to such a dangerous degree, but they made some more improvements to the design. They strategically placed the exhaust ports in such places so they won't hider movement and would even help him move faster by pushing hot air from the mech's back and legs, making them into thrusters. They had to use a LOT of fire-resistant materials while making the new adjustments.

"You know what would make this even better?" – Richie asked Swerve one day while he was checking 986's systems.

"What?" – the engineer looked up at him.

"Flamethrowers, my fellow ginger! Giant flamethrowers on each hand!" – Richie threw his hands up.

""NO!"" -everyone in earshot of the outlandish idea shouted at the same time.

Yet, somehow, by some miracle, Richie actually managed to get said flamethrowers approved by management, along with a slew of other more minor cosmetic changes to his mech, like some new flame-themed design, new coat of paint and so on.

"I still can't believe you got this approved." – Swerve shook his head as he sat down next to Richie.

"Oh, it was easy! I have a ton of energy and I am persistent! I basically badgered them until they agreed!" – the young pilot said cheerfully and took a bite of his sandwich.

Richie also got his official pilot nickname because of his fiery affinity.

"Hot Rod, eh?" Waspinator tilted his head "That's a pretty fitting name, not as good as mine, though! My nickname is THE best!"

"C-congra-rapu- Congratulations! For the nickname, Hot Rod." – Fixit, the shorter, brown-haired buy gave him a thumbs up.

"Yes, it is hella cool!" – Ricochet patted his back.

"Ideed, a fine name for one such as you." – Fixer Bug, another member of the Fix squad nodded beside Fixit.

"Oh, thanks guys!" Rich-Hot Rod blushed a bit "But I wouldn't have been able to make it without the help of everyone here, especially Swerve! Come here!"

Hot Rod grabbed and gave Swerve a strong, one-armed hug.

"Wha- hey! Let me go!" – Swerve wheezed a bit.

"Thanks a lot, man! I wouldn't have been able to even go out there without you taking all that time to fix my mech! You totally earned yourself a movie binge this weekend, my friend!" – Hot Rod laughed.

Swerve stopped struggling and grinned back at Hot Rod.

"Will you be ordering takeout?"

"Of course! We have to celebrate!" – Hot Rod raised a fist up in the air.