Frost hated Technovore. They were nasty little things that infected all kinds of technology, from the smallest cell comms to the largest hovercraft, then take control of it, and eat it from the inside out. Good news is that they died with the tech they eat and destroy. Bad news is that they cause a lot of havoc before then. Worse news is that in a world full of technology, Technovore have quite a bit to eat. Like, for example, a giant robot.
The giant robot was mainly why he was on this mission. Not because he wanted to fight the giant robot, but because his partner, Natalie, did. She thought it would be fun. Frost didn’t really want to, but after some arguing and pleading he relented, which is why they’re here. Or rather why he’s here. Natalie was nowhere in sight.
He told her to lure the robot here, and that they’d make short work of it. Not a bad plan, all things considered. However, it’d been half an hour or so since she and the robot were supposed to be here.
Frost took a peek in the sights of his rifle. He was in a warehouse – abandoned, of course, but still pretty messy and full of boxes and crates – to minimize any damage the fight with the robot might cause. Fights that involve him, Natalie, and any creature of some sort tended to be messy. Last thing he wanted was for someone innocent to be part of the mess.
He checked around for Natalie, trying to see if maybe she was hiding. Sure, it definitely wasn’t like her to do so, but he was bored and starting to get impatient.
THUMP.
Frost turned his head, trying to figure out whether or not his impatient imagination cooked that sound up.
THUMP.
No, he definitely heard that. And it seemed to be getting louder.
THUMP.
Frost tracked the sound, and aimed his rifle right where he thought the robot, or whatever was making the sound, would be.
CRASH!
The robot broke through the wall of the building, giving Frost his first real look at it. It was tall and silver, with a humanoid body. However, it had a square head with a diamond like glass plate on the front.
It also had Natalie on its back.
“YEEEE HAW!” she yelled.
The robot was bucking like a bull, and it threw her off of its back into a pile of crates near Frost.
Yeah, hiding was so not her style.
“Let’s go again, let’s go again,” she was saying.
Frost rushed over to her.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
Natalie got up. “Are you kidding? Of course I am! That was fun!” she exclaimed. Then she ran at the robot, her arm growing into a hammer of sorts. Well, her right arm – her liquid metal arm – did.
Natalie is a cyborg. She’s not sure how or why; she’s been one as long as she can remember, and is perfectly fine with it. And so is Frost, because that liquid metal arm of hers is actually pretty useful. Case in point: Natalie just punched the robot with her hammer-shaped hand, causing it to stagger and fall on its back.
Natalie turned around and whooped, not noticing that the robot was getting back up. Frost did, which is why he aimed his rifle at the robot’s head, and fired. This caused the robot to move its hands up to shield its face, delaying it from attacking Natalie, and the sound of the bullet got her attention. She jumped back, and turned her liquid metal arm into a sharp blade, extending it outward like a long, snaking tentacle. She then slashed at the giant mechanism’s legs.
The blade was sharp, and cut the robot down to size – literally. Frost and Natalie got out of the way as the upper part of the robot fell to the ground.
It was down, but not out. The robot raised one arm, which transformed into a gun of sorts. A gun that was powering up, and seemed like it was going to do some serious damage.
Frost and Natalie barely got out of the way as the gun arm fired a blast of energy at them, punching a rather large hole into the wall where they were. Frost noticed the robot powering up again, aimed his rifle right in the center of the gun, and fired.
The resulting explosion destroyed the robot’s arm. But the thing still wasn’t done yet. The glass casing on its head started glowing and fired a laser beam. Its head turned to follow the two as they ran. As they both ran together, they provided an easy target for the robot, and it seemed like it was going to kill the two.
Frost noticed this, and yelled, “Natalie, go in the other direction!”
Natalie nodded, flipped above the robot’s beam, and ran in the opposite direction Frost was going.
This saved Natalie, but created a problem for Frost since he was heading towards a small hut made out of fallen and heavy looking crates, which would mean that once he got there, there was no escape. What’s worse is that he wasn’t able to go anywhere else except there, due to the damage to the warehouse creating multiple obstacles in his path. He could try going in the same direction as Natalie, but that would lead the beam to her and might get her killed and, as annoying as she can be sometimes, she was his friend and he wasn’t going to be somewhat responsible for her death.
So, with no other options available, he ran into the hut, fully expecting to die. Oddly enough, the only thing going through his head was, I really, really hate Technovore. As final thoughts go, it was pretty fitting. And then…
The beam stopped.
Frost waited for about a minute, then got out of the small, cramped area, and checked to see why he wasn’t dead. The robot’s head had been crushed by Natalie, and now she was just kicking the body of the robot.
“I think I broke it,” she said.
“You did,” Frost responded.
“Yay!” Natalie cheered.
“And nearly got me killed,” Frost said.
“Oh. Sorry,” Natalie said, genuinely seeming apologetic and sad. Then she brightened and asked, “But wasn’t it fun?”
Frost sighed.
He made a mental note to never let Natalie pick missions again.
The giant robot was mainly why he was on this mission. Not because he wanted to fight the giant robot, but because his partner, Natalie, did. She thought it would be fun. Frost didn’t really want to, but after some arguing and pleading he relented, which is why they’re here. Or rather why he’s here. Natalie was nowhere in sight.
He told her to lure the robot here, and that they’d make short work of it. Not a bad plan, all things considered. However, it’d been half an hour or so since she and the robot were supposed to be here.
Frost took a peek in the sights of his rifle. He was in a warehouse – abandoned, of course, but still pretty messy and full of boxes and crates – to minimize any damage the fight with the robot might cause. Fights that involve him, Natalie, and any creature of some sort tended to be messy. Last thing he wanted was for someone innocent to be part of the mess.
He checked around for Natalie, trying to see if maybe she was hiding. Sure, it definitely wasn’t like her to do so, but he was bored and starting to get impatient.
THUMP.
Frost turned his head, trying to figure out whether or not his impatient imagination cooked that sound up.
THUMP.
No, he definitely heard that. And it seemed to be getting louder.
THUMP.
Frost tracked the sound, and aimed his rifle right where he thought the robot, or whatever was making the sound, would be.
CRASH!
The robot broke through the wall of the building, giving Frost his first real look at it. It was tall and silver, with a humanoid body. However, it had a square head with a diamond like glass plate on the front.
It also had Natalie on its back.
“YEEEE HAW!” she yelled.
The robot was bucking like a bull, and it threw her off of its back into a pile of crates near Frost.
Yeah, hiding was so not her style.
“Let’s go again, let’s go again,” she was saying.
Frost rushed over to her.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
Natalie got up. “Are you kidding? Of course I am! That was fun!” she exclaimed. Then she ran at the robot, her arm growing into a hammer of sorts. Well, her right arm – her liquid metal arm – did.
Natalie is a cyborg. She’s not sure how or why; she’s been one as long as she can remember, and is perfectly fine with it. And so is Frost, because that liquid metal arm of hers is actually pretty useful. Case in point: Natalie just punched the robot with her hammer-shaped hand, causing it to stagger and fall on its back.
Natalie turned around and whooped, not noticing that the robot was getting back up. Frost did, which is why he aimed his rifle at the robot’s head, and fired. This caused the robot to move its hands up to shield its face, delaying it from attacking Natalie, and the sound of the bullet got her attention. She jumped back, and turned her liquid metal arm into a sharp blade, extending it outward like a long, snaking tentacle. She then slashed at the giant mechanism’s legs.
The blade was sharp, and cut the robot down to size – literally. Frost and Natalie got out of the way as the upper part of the robot fell to the ground.
It was down, but not out. The robot raised one arm, which transformed into a gun of sorts. A gun that was powering up, and seemed like it was going to do some serious damage.
Frost and Natalie barely got out of the way as the gun arm fired a blast of energy at them, punching a rather large hole into the wall where they were. Frost noticed the robot powering up again, aimed his rifle right in the center of the gun, and fired.
The resulting explosion destroyed the robot’s arm. But the thing still wasn’t done yet. The glass casing on its head started glowing and fired a laser beam. Its head turned to follow the two as they ran. As they both ran together, they provided an easy target for the robot, and it seemed like it was going to kill the two.
Frost noticed this, and yelled, “Natalie, go in the other direction!”
Natalie nodded, flipped above the robot’s beam, and ran in the opposite direction Frost was going.
This saved Natalie, but created a problem for Frost since he was heading towards a small hut made out of fallen and heavy looking crates, which would mean that once he got there, there was no escape. What’s worse is that he wasn’t able to go anywhere else except there, due to the damage to the warehouse creating multiple obstacles in his path. He could try going in the same direction as Natalie, but that would lead the beam to her and might get her killed and, as annoying as she can be sometimes, she was his friend and he wasn’t going to be somewhat responsible for her death.
So, with no other options available, he ran into the hut, fully expecting to die. Oddly enough, the only thing going through his head was, I really, really hate Technovore. As final thoughts go, it was pretty fitting. And then…
The beam stopped.
Frost waited for about a minute, then got out of the small, cramped area, and checked to see why he wasn’t dead. The robot’s head had been crushed by Natalie, and now she was just kicking the body of the robot.
“I think I broke it,” she said.
“You did,” Frost responded.
“Yay!” Natalie cheered.
“And nearly got me killed,” Frost said.
“Oh. Sorry,” Natalie said, genuinely seeming apologetic and sad. Then she brightened and asked, “But wasn’t it fun?”
Frost sighed.
He made a mental note to never let Natalie pick missions again.