Chapter Text
The Teen Team meeting room hummed with static as the holo-screen flickered on, projecting a detailed mission briefing… minus one key participant.
Eve hovered just above the floor, coffee in hand, glancing around the room. Dupli-Kate sat with her legs kicked over the side of a chair, scrolling lazily on her phone. And Rex- of course- was already complaining.
"Okay, where’s Metal Man?" Rex asked, scanning the room like Robot might be hiding behind a potted plant. "This is the third time this week. Dude's never late. Kind of his whole thing."
Kate didn’t even look up. “Maybe he’s taking a mental health day.”
“Or maybe he short-circuited himself trying to calculate how feelings work,” Rex muttered, arms crossed. “I’m just saying- it’s weird. Even for him. He's never off-grid like this.”
Eve tapped at the console again. Still no response. The comms link pinged back an error.
"Offline again," she said. Her brows knit together, concern creeping into her voice. "It's not like him. He usually keeps seven backups running at all times. This isn’t nothing."
Rex leaned back in his chair, clearly annoyed. “Well maybe he’s finally snapped. Can’t say I blame him, if I had to deal with me all the time, I’d fake my own death too.”
Meanwhile, across town in a quiet, nondescript apartment tucked between a laundromat and a corner store, Robot wasn’t dead. He wasn’t sabotaging the mission. He was standing in a tiny kitchen, carefully plating a sandwich and a small bowl of strawberries.
You hadn’t touched the food from earlier. He could tell. He had scanned you when he came in.
You were sitting on the couch, curled under an old blanket with one foot dangling off the edge, staring into space.
“I made something,” he said, placing the plate gently in front of you.
You blinked slowly. “Wasn’t hungry.”
“I know,” he replied. “But you need to eat.”
Your eyes didn’t leave the spot on the carpet. You shrugged a little. “I slept though. That’s something, right?”
He didn’t respond immediately. He was scanning you... again.. heart rate, blood pressure, cortisol levels. All elevated.
“I am aware that you slept,” he said. “I am also aware that you cried for twenty-three minutes and eight seconds beforehand.”
You gave a weak laugh. “Creepy. But accurate.”
He sat beside you. Or rather, stood beside you, because he never truly relaxed in his mechanical body. But the silence between the two of you felt comfortable. Robot was your safety.
"You missed another mission," you said after a moment.
"They’ll manage," he answered softly. “You’re more important.”
That caught you off guard. Even growing up, Robot showed you little to no affection but this was much different. You looked up at him and felt your chest tighten.
“I don’t want to be a burden,” you whispered.
“You’re not.” His voice was calm. “You’re my sister.”
You sniffed, looking down at the sandwich. “Thanks, Brobot.”
“I dislike that nickname,” he said slowly. “But I will allow it.”