CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Footloose

Marcus walked up the stairs, balancing the bulky box in his arms. Despite its size, he was shocked at how easy it was to carry it all, noting the increase in his Strength. At the top of the stairs, he grabbed his keys, knocked in an unusual pattern, then unlocked the door.

He opened the door to see Bastion hard at work, watching it carry bits of hardened plastic before placing it on the ground to form a robotic frame. The new frame had subtle differences compared Marcus’s other robots.

“Hey,” Bastion said, spotting the box in Marcus’s hands. “Got everything?”

Marcus nodded and shut the door behind him. “Cost me a kidney, lung and my firstborn, but I got most of the stuff.” He set the box down and locked the door. “I see you’ve been busy.”

He glanced around the room, watching the 3D printer churn out the next part that Bastion had instructed it to. The laptop next to it showed a 3D rendering of a robotic frame with each individual piece. Marcus recalled how the three of them had bought the design online a few days ago and figured out how to scale it up after several embarrassing failures.

‘‘If everything goes right, the final product should be about my height,’ he thought, moving over to Bastion.

“Looks strange without the steel,” Marcus said, squatting to pick up a piece. “Like we’re cutting corners... or going against nature.”

Bastion grabbed the piece from him and placed it down again. “Drama queen. It’ll do for now,” it commented while placing down another piece. “We’ll test it like this first. Then we’ll order a steel frame when we’re happy with it, and you get us more credits.”

The robot walked to the box Marcus had brought, pulled out several pistons, and returned to the frame, sorting where each part would go. “Where’s the Ikea manual when you need one?” it muttered, making Marcus chuckle.

“Idiot,” he said to Bastion before heading to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Afterwards he joined his companion, sitting down to watch it work.

‘If this works, we can build our own robots, or at least the basic plastic version for now. With enough credits, we can either buy or make our own upgraded steel versions,’ he thought, shifting his attention to Bastion’s dented and scratched frame.

‘Even with all the repairs we’re doing, it’s only a matter of time before their frames are fully out of commission. Let’s hope the old man was right about the newer version.’

He watched Bastion return to the box to retrieve several smaller motors, then go back to work on the frame’s right arm, carefully lining them up.

“So, you think it’s going to work?” Marcus asked finally.

The large robot paused, then shifted its attention to him. “I don’t know. It’s not a steel frame, so this is new territory. No way to know if the Orb and your Ability would even recognize or accept a plastic frame.”

It picked up another motor and positioned it carefully. “But there’s plastic in my current build, and by all rights, I shouldn’t even be walking or talking. So—”

“Fifty-fifty?” Marcus suggested, the large robot chuckling before nodding. “Still, if this works and we can make more robots, it could be big—faster repairs and more numbers on our side.”

“Only one way to find out,” Bastion said, gathering a bunch of bolts and screws before dumping them into Marcus’s hands. “Let’s get to work.”

They slowly attached motors and pistons to the plastic frame over two hours, forming a more complete robot, though a few larger pieces were still missing. Marcus had even grabbed the three Mana batteries he’d bought and carefully slid them into the ribcage gaps, using a steel file to shave off bits of plastic for more room.

After a while, Bastion grabbed two pairs of bundled socks, shoving one inside the robot’s chest to mimic where the Orb would go and placing the other where the head would sit once printed. “This is coming together nicely,” it said, inspecting its work.

Marcus nodded, finishing his water. “Yeah, it’s not bad at all,” he said, pointing at the batteries. “We still need to figure out just how much Mana each piece can hold.”

He grabbed one of the batteries and looked at it for a second.

‘If their frames could make this work, it’d be a massive boon. For Specter, with two Orbs, it could mean larger Mana storage, allowing it to use Overcharge far longer. And for robots with just one Orb, their operating time could potentially increase,’ he thought, recalling their previous experiments.

They’d figured out that with one Orb, each robot could contain 25 points of Mana, allowing five hours of operation. ‘Even a few more points could completely change the way we do combat,’ he thought.

“Let’s try to temper our expectations,” Bastion said, staring at the battery in Marcus’s hands. “It might not even work.”

“Screw that. Manifest destiny and all that,” Marcus said, moving closer to Bastion and stuffing the battery into its chest, lodging it in place. He fetched some tape and fastened it further.

“That should hold for now, I hope,” he said, staring at the object and waiting, but nothing happened. “Do you feel anything?”

“Besides awkwardness?” Bastion asked, looking down for a moment and seeing Marcus’s unamused expression. “No, nothing.”

“How about you try to remember how Specter got its voice to work and how it got used to all three of its cameras, making them feel like a natural part of it,” Marcus advised, only for the robot to move away from him in a slightly annoyed manner.

“Yeah, I’m trying, alright?” it said, heading to the couch. It sat down and lifted its gaze to the ceiling.

‘Bastion’s acting more like my sister—loyal, protective, and stubborn,’ Marcus thought, watching the robot focus on the task. He gave it the time it needed while he continued assembling the plastic frame.

“Screw this,” Bastion finally said, throwing its hands up. “It won’t work.”

Marcus smiled and walked over, taking a seat in front of it.

“Alright, let’s try a different approach,” he said softly. “The first Orb is like the brain and nervous system for a robot, right?” he asked, watching Bastion nod in return. “The second Orb is the heart, refueling the body with Mana. And the batteries... well... they’re something else.”

“Something else?” Bastion asked, shaking its head. “You didn’t plan your little speech at all, right?”

Marcus grinned before picking up his phone and holding up his hand to pause Bastion as he looked up a medical site. “How about the liver?”

“Meh,” the robot replied in a dry tone.

“kidneys?”

“I guess the kidneys make more sense, since we have more than one,” Bastion said slowly, doing its best to follow Marcus’s train of thought.

“Alright, focus your thoughts on the battery inside you. Treat it like a normal organ, a vital one. Think of how the Orb in your body works alongside it,” Marcus said as he slid his hand into the robot’s chest and pressed his fingertip against the Mana battery. Slowly, he let a trickle of Mana flow from his body into it, charging it. “Focus on the Mana, connect with it.”

“Dude, I’m made of plastic and steel. I can’t feel,” Bastion said, its tone tainted with irritation.

“Just shut up and try, or I'll recycle you into a toaster.”

A few awkward minutes passed like this, with him eventually also pressing his hand against Bastion’s chest and pouring some Mana inside of it as well. The connection grew stronger, and for a moment, Marcus felt like both the machine and the battery were extensions of himself, as though he was bridging the gap between them, like a Nexus.

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His mind felt fuller, the shared focus between him and Bastion growing clearer. They worked together in unison until a beep sounded nearby, signaling the 3D printer’s completion. He let go of the robot and the battery as he leaned forward to take a look at the battery. Tiny blue tendrils slowly spread toward the new addition.

Marcus grinned like a child as he slapped the robot's shoulder. “It actually worked!”

The robot quickly grabbed Marcus’s phone and snapped a picture of its internal components, inspecting the small blue veins growing inside.

“It really did. It worked,” it said, dropping the phone to the ground.

“This is big. This is really, really big,” Marcus said, pacing the living room, too restless to sit still. “I mean, this means that we can add all kinds of new components to you, as long as they make anatomical sense to you guys.”

“You guys?” the robot said, clearly amused.

“I wonder how many batteries we could cram inside,” Marcus mused, not even registering his companion shaking its head. “We’d first need to figure out just how much Mana each battery can store. But, theoretically, I’d just need credits and time and be able to fill up dozens of these batteries. Hell, perhaps Specter could even help with that. And if that is the case, perhaps we extend Bastion’s operating time indefinitely,” he said before he realized that the robot was just staring at him while shaking its head. “Sorry, I got a little excited.”

“Clearly,” Bastion said, amused, before getting up and walking to the 3D printer. It removed the printed piece and smoothed out the imperfections before starting the next one. “Let’s make sure it actually worked before we start popping champagne and eating cake.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Marcus said, helping his companion install and bolt the plastic pieces in place on the new robot.

“Alright, phase one of our plan was to spend the last few days collecting as much Glass as we could, print out a template for the new robotic frames, and fix the battery issue,” Bastion said while tightening the last bolt. “If phase one works, we’ll need to decide between quantity and quality. Either we double down on specialized robots like Specter and me, pouring all the Orbs into them, or we focus on quantity—cranking out basic robots to overwhelm enemies, with a few specialized ones for specific problems,” Bastion said, pointing to a piston. “Either way, it makes sense to give the robots as many similar parts as possible, to simplify repairs and part-swapping.”

Marcus eyed the plastic frame, noting the missing head. Only two camera lenses and other electronics bits sat where the robot would eventually think, see, hear, and speak.

“So, what do we do for the head?” he asked, pulling up a folder on his laptop. It contained several design options: one mostly human with two cameras like Bastion, a mechanical one with straight edges and a single lens, and hybrid designs between the two. “Two lenses would look more human and be easier to adjust to. But a single camera and mechanical design would save us credits in the long run.”

“Let’s go with the human-looking one for now. Two eyes are better in case one gets scratched. Besides, this is just the prototype,” Bastion said, gesturing to the design he thought would work best.

“Alright, let’s do it,” Marcus said, queuing it up for the 3D printer and glancing at the dozen other pieces still waiting to be made. He then made his way to the kitchen, grabbed a meal from the fridge, poked a few holes in it with just his finger, and tossed it into the microwave.

“Weird that some computer geek in Thailand designed the head, and now we’re printing it here in the Netherlands to build a monster-killing robot army,” he said, chuckling.

“Weird probably doesn't even begin to cover it,” Bastion countered as the robot scrolled through the various designs. “Besides, we paid the bloke.”

‘If this works, we could gain power fast—more robots, more Glass. But we’d also attract more attention if we’re not careful,’ Marcus thought, slowly accepting that his life could change drastically in a few weeks.

He glanced toward the window, catching flashes of Specter’s memories and thoughts. Moments later, he heard it climbing the fire escape. Marcus smiled, walked to the window, and opened it. Specter crawled through a second later, sinking to the floor, missing its right foot, its body covered in torn black clothes and still wearing its town raincoat. He then shifted his attention to the missing foot. “Didn’t like your shoes?”

“Don’t ask,” Specter muttered as it pulled out its foot from its backpack and handed it to Marcus before accepting his help and getting up to its feet. “One of the bolts snapped apart a few hours ago.”

“During combat?” Marcus asked, noticing dozens of new scratches on Specter’s steel frame and the bits of broken plastic plating.

Specter formed a connection and shared its thoughts and experiences from the last few days, condensing it all to avoid overwhelming him. Marcus saw Specter hacking apart monsters, luring them in one by one. It set traps and ambushes, explored more of the town, and found possible monster lairs, even destroying one, retrieving all the Glass pieces. Marcus then suddenly remembered how Specter had jumped from rooftop to rooftop to take down a fleeing monster, only to crash through one and land on its right foot at a weird angle, breaking the bolt.

Marcus chuckled as he felt Specter also peer into his memories, seeing all the training he had done, the shopping, and the lecture he had gotten a few hours ago from old man Pete.

“The old goat was right,” Specter said in an annoyed tone as it hobbled to the kitchen with him. “A few extra bolts on hand would’ve solved this on the spot. And the finger tools is actually a good idea.”

“Don’t let him hear that,” Marcus said as he helped Specter onto the kitchen counter. Bastion approached to examine the loose foot, then carefully removed the plastic covering the lower leg, revealing the steel frame underneath and light blue synthetic veins attached to it. Light blue fluid leaked from some of the broken veins and dissipated into the air.

“Looks like a simple fix,” Bastion said before leaving to find a replacement bolt.

Specter then opened its backpack and dumped a load of Glass in the sink, dirtying it with the bits of blood and gore that were still coating the pieces. “As requested, sir,” it said, watching him count the pieces. The robot then fished out a smaller bag and tossed it to Marcus. He opened it, eyes widening at five more Glass pieces, a water bottle, smartphone, and some snacks. “I ran into the girl again.”

“The pepper-spraying one?” Bastion asked as he joined them with a new bolt and reattached Specter’s foot.

“Yeah, her,” Specter said, glancing down at its leg as light blue veins spread from its lower leg to its ankle, attaching to the motor before expanding further. “But I took care of her.”

“You killed her?” Bastian asked, its fingers freezing as it stared at its brother.

“No, I didn’t kill her. What the hell, man? She was looting houses again. I just snuck up on her and told her she needed to leave before I called the cops.”

“Wait, she saw you?” Marcus asked, uncertainty creeping into his voice.

Specter shook its head, its three lenses focusing on him. “Not me, me… robot man. I stuck to the shadows and was wearing these clothes. I made sure my voice matched yours. So, we should be fine. I did scare the shit out of her though.”

A light blue mist bled from Specter’s frame as it burned through its Mana, speeding up the growth of its veins until the Mana ran out. It then looked at its foot, seeing more veins covering it. It moved its ankle and foot. “Much better. Thanks,” it said to Bastion before the robot jumped off from the kitchen counter and awkwardly moved its foot, getting used to it again. “I’ll put on the plating myself. So, what did I miss?”

Marcus shoved another mouthful of food inside while pointing at the robotic frame they had built on the ground. “That… and I bought three batteries and shoved one of them inside of Bastion. We just got it to work,” he mumbled through a full mouth.

Specter bent forward to look at the battery inside Bastion. “Tape, really?” it asked, poking the battery with its steel finger before backing off. “Alright. So, this phase of our plan is done, right?”

“Not yet.” Marcus pointed at Bastion. “We still need to see how the batteries work, get plastic-boy up and running, and use up the Glass.”

Specter paused, then shifted its gaze to its steel kin. “How much Mana do you have in the tank?”

Bastion concentrated for a moment before speaking up. “The HUD says three and a half hours left. So—”

“You’ve got around 17 to 18 points Mana in your frame,” Specter interrupted him as it walked towards the plastic frame on the ground and picked up one of the batteries, inspecting it up close. “With just the one Orb, you could store 25 Mana, and last for five hours. So, time to see how much these babies can store.”

Marcus motioned for Bastion to come closer, took another bite of food, and pressed his right hand against the robot. “Say when you’ve got 25,” Marcus said before he started to pour Mana through his Marks into the robot, keeping the flow slow and steady to avoid bleeding any out. It lasted a few minutes before Bastion spoke up to say it had 25 Mana inside, though Marcus kept going. He felt more resistance this time, as if the flow of Mana was pushing upstream through a narrow passage. Still, he powered through.

“It’s working,” Bastion said as it shifted its gaze to Specter. “It feels a bit weird, and my HUD is freaking out, but it’s working.”

Marcus continued until he spotted blue mist seeping from the robot’s frame, signaling they had reached their limit. “What does the HUD say?” he asked as he let go and watched Bastion take a step back.

“30 Mana,” Bastion said. “So, six hours.”

Marcus paused for a moment as he heard his robots discussing it. Bastion’s voice carried a note of disappointment. ‘No, this is good,’ he thought, doing the math twice to be sure before speaking up. “A five Mana increase isn’t much compared to the 55 I currently have at my disposal. But it’s still another hour that Bastion can stay in the field. With three batteries, we can already boost your operational time by three hours. If I do a few more jobs with the Salamanders or Felix, we could install three more, increasing it even further. Hell, we could even see if we can shove in more batteries if needed.”

Specter nodded, shifting its attention to Marcus. “Your right. And with your 55 Mana, that’s another eleven hours in the field for a robot when you’re nearby to recharge it. So, with just these three batteries charged beforehand, plus your Mana and what you recharge, we’d essentially have two robots active the entire day, with only three Orbs.”

“Well, that sounds broken,” Bastion said as it seemed to realize just how much more they could then get done.

“Yeah, but we still need to test it,” Marcus said, recalling how difficult it had felt to pour Mana into the battery. “The process burns up more Mana than it stores, and we still don’t know if its accurate.” He grabbed his phone and set up a timer. “Let’s see if the extra hour per battery is correct first. Then we’ll add a second battery, and so on.”

“And I take it you want me to fetch more Glass in the meantime?” Specter asked, sighing when it saw Marcus nod. “Fine. But I’m taking some bolts, screws, and tools with me. And I want new shoes.”

Marcus finished his meal and smiled as Specter grabbed a handful of tools and shoved them into its backpack. “Fine with me. I’ll monitor Bastion and its Mana carefully, finish building the third robot, and do the final preparations for phase two.”

“You’re forgetting something,” Specter said, pointing to the sink full of Glass pieces. “You’ve got to lift your end of the sofa too.”