By David C. Daoust
Margo felt the impact all the way to her core.
Truly, it was nothing to her, she’d already been wracked with far worse several times that day, though the humans that were also packed in the Armored Personnel Carrier when the mystery object struck the vehicle, were a different story.
The collision forced the heavy metal frame to bow instantaneously into the interior of the tank with so much concussive force that everyone with a pulse was, at the very least, knocked unconscious. Including the kind woman, Mari, that was nice enough to pull Margo out of the collapsed building. Margo could see, not only a small drop of blood from the woman’s nose but also from one of her ears. The man she’d called her son, was also out cold, his body lengthwise through the center, was turned on his side, the black mucus still streaming from his mouth.
One of the soldiers to her left suddenly toppled over, out of the still open double doors, he groaned a bit as his face met the asphalt but did not move again.
Margo hopped over him -exiting the vehicle.
Margo did not have a clear idea of what to do, or even what the hell had happened. She did not want to remain in the vehicle, though she did not want to abandon those within. She studied her surroundings; she found the streetlight attached to a rather large chunk of concrete, still planted in the side of the APC. She guessed that explained that. Upon the thought of what may have put it there, the huge metal form came charging into sight.
Margo could tell immediately it was a bot, though unlike any she had ever seen. She knew bots came in all kinds; all shapes, all sizes. Margo had never seen one so massive, so strong.
This guy had to be illegal!
Margo could barely open a jar of pickles, while this guy had just plowed into the APC, shoulder down, ‘sent the tank flipping onto its side. Given the size and weight of the vehicle, and what it was built to withstand, this was no mean feat!
Margo’s jaw dropped, there were people in there!
“Hey!” Margo yelled at the massive metal bot, “There were people in there!”
“Yeah,” Vincent said casting a glance back at the diminutive form of Margo, “So?”
“So?” Margo said aghast, then marched straight up and yelled, fists clenched, “SOMEONE COULD GET HURT!”
Margo knew he knew she was a bot; Outside of the Hub, Bots have a rather annoying bit of feedback in their systems when they are around another bot. Like a tiny buzz in their ear, that only they can hear, only not heard at all, just kind of felt. Often times this feedback will go away if they spend enough time in each other’s company, but when bots first meet, the buzz is unmistakable. This knowledge did not lessen the shock Margo felt as the massive blue bot, unexpectedly, swept her away with one massive sweep of his arm, sending Margo’s tiny form flying through the air to crash into the nearby rubble.
Margo, unhappy with the situation, had to kick herself free of even more debris as she regained her feet. She spied Colin behind the remnants of a nearby wall, two of the soldiers, the same ones he had previously assaulted, were crouched low with him, clutching their weapons, clearly not interested in taking on the massive bot. Colin signaled her to join them, though she ignored him.
Margo watched as the strange bot smashed the turrets and ripped any weaponry he could find from the Personnel Carrier, with very little care for those that may be within. Margo made her way back to the massive bot.
“Hey,” she yelled again, he ignored her as he forced one of the massive cannons into a big metal U. “I’m talking to you!”
“You can still move?” he finally said to her once she’d positioned herself in his eye line, “I’m surprised you’re still in one piece!”
“I ‘been hit a lot harder than that buddy!” Margo announced.
“Oh yeah?” he said as he towered over her.
“Yeah…” is what she began to say, though the massive fist that suddenly pummeled her into the asphalt ended her retort before it began. Despite the crater she found herself within as the dust cleared Margo grabbed hold of the bots arm and did not let go.
“What the!” he said as he tried to shake her loose, “Get off me!”
Margo did not let go, instead she got a better grip on the bots over-sized arm, she gripped even tighter as the bot began swinging her around in an attempt to shake her off. It was like a carnival ride! Lucky for Margo, just as her fingers began to slip free, he suddenly switched tactics, granting her the moment she needed to get a better grip.
He smashed his fist into the ground repeatedly and then smashed his arm against a nearby wall just waiting for an excuse to topple. None of which phased the indestructible stunt-bot. Margo managed to climb up onto his back as he continued his thrashing.
Believe it or not, Margo had a plan!
Bots were never truly independent, not if they wanted to be released from their bodies. They all needed someone to help them, which meant they all had a way for someone else to open them up. With very little control once they were open. She wasn’t totally sure how she knew, how to pop open his particular body, the info came as a flash of insight she sometimes received. But she knew, she only need pop it open for the bot to be effectively shut down.
The bots mistake was toying with her.
He should have taken her seriously.
Margo felt the buzz suddenly go silent as she reached behind his neck, pulled up on the latch just under his back carapace that covered his torso. The massive bot went perfectly still as his head rolled forward a little too far, and then split in two above his neck, his data sphere raised up as though on a pedestal for the tiny stunt-bot to grab up in her hand. She held it up triumphantly, though doubted anyone was there to see; his brain, his heart, his soul, all right there in the palm of her hand.
