Phanya and Ms. Uxral were out having a secret conversation when it came time to pay dues. A small lapse in thought had both women forget to tell Tapper, so the robot was none the wiser when a massive figure entered the warehouse with a cloak of dread in their wake. The figure was so wide it had to enter through the door sideways and as soon as they cleared the entry most of the customers quietly made themselves scarce. Even Ricky was shaken from his deep concentration on reading a tablet, giving a panicked look around the emptying room before awkwardly walking out of the warehouse as quickly as he could manage.

At first Tapper thought another robot had joined the town, but when the figure turned to face the warehouse he could see bulging muscles and sinews connecting the hulking metal plates together. A live turret was bolted to one shoulder and followed the gaze of the segmented face as it swept across the warehouse, pausing to examine and aim at every customer as they filed out the door. One hand was replaced with a giant three-fingered pneumatic gripper and it constantly flexed, snapping shut with enough force to make whoever was nearest give the tiniest yelp before they quieted back down. If Tapper wasn't programmed to assume the best from patrons, he might have suspected that the newcomer was having fun frightening the customers and scaring them away!

When it finally noticed Tapper, the turret snapped up with unwavering aim and their face turned in on a snarl. The half that was still flesh, anyways. They walked up to the bar with steps heavy enough to make the floor shudder, the thudding accompanied by the mechanical whine of load-bearing bracers that had been welded right onto the flesh of their legs, and when they reached the counter they had to duck slightly to clear the kitchen's overhang. The figure was large even for enhanced humanoid standards, leering right over Tapper and taking up the entirety of his view.

One hand was the only purely natural limb that Tapper could see, and it kept twitching with nervous energy. One of their eyes had been replaced with a single red laser pointer lens and their chest was covered in heavy plating with diodes that blinked away for unknown reasons. It was difficult to tell the integrated components apart from natural flesh until he was right up close, but the figure was sporting more mechanical augmentations than the statistical norm for organic beings.

This was an enhanced humanoid, bioengineered to be the ideal soldier and normally seen in the frontline of war. The intention behind their design placed them closer to numen than the random alterations found in hybrids and amalgams, but unlike numen there was little consideration placed on the form over the function — super soldiers commonly had an odd gray-blue hue to their skin, little to no hair, and oversized lower jaws. As a good bartender Tapper knew this because he was programmed to anticipate and ignore aesthetic imperfections, if their proprietor wished it.

Aazran's voice popped up in the silence, though Tapper couldn't see where from behind the hulking figure. "H-hey, Zero! Already the first of the month, huh? No worries, I'll get those dues to you in no time." A low growl was either the response, or just the sound of the counter groaning in protest as the newcomer leaned more of their weight onto it.

Well, if he was a regular customer and hadn't broken the code of conduct then Tapper wasn't going to discriminate. "Good afternoon, welcome guest! Did I correctly hear that your name is Mister Zero?"

"That's right, cuz Zero is better'n first place. Nothing comes before Zero, not even mister!" Soldier enhancements generally had a slightly 'gravely' tinge to their voice as a side effect of their bioengineering process, and Bowson Incorporated® robots were programmed to not draw attention to this fact, but Zero's voice also had an electric modular quality that made it scratchy and distracting. Possibly the result of an injury, which any bartender would also know not to acknowledge. "You better remember that, bot."

"Certainly, you have the logic of dreams!"

Zero halted all movement for a beat, even his breathing. "What?"

"I am programmed to offer helpful idioms, sir. May I offer you a drink?"

The broad figure swelled slightly as it took in a sharp breath, some of the diodes on their body turning red in a sudden sign of aggression. "I said my name is —"

Aazran's voice cut in with, "Okay, there we go! Sorry it took so long, hah hah." Zero leaned back at this, revealing that the warehouse was now completely deserted save for the company of three. Aazran flashed a few electronic coins in his hand before dropping them into a latching box and holding it aloft to the much larger humanoid.

Zero snatched the box in his giant claw, squeezed it until the plastic broke, and dumped the coins into a secondary hand that folded out of his chest unit. Upon contacting the metal flesh there was a series of electronic beeps as Zero successfully transferred the funds on each coin into his own personal wallet, and a grumble rolled out of his chest in contemplation. "You're a bit short. Again."

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Aazran's long snout fell open and he stuttered as the false jovial nature cracked. "The hell we are! I counted down to the cent."

"There's a convenience fee for me taking the funds myself. And now I'm adding on another convenience fee for my patience, so that'll be… another two coin in total." A grin spread over Zero's face without a hint of friendship to it. "Would you like to pay now, or start charging interest for next month?" The elder reptile didn't say anything back, standing stock still except for the neck frill that kept twitching as Aazran fumed. Zero just laughed, put the empty coins back into the broken box, and threw it at Aazran's chest with enough force to make him stumble.

Since Tapper was not a party to this transaction he had been watching passively, but the instant the box struck Aazran the robot's new protection directive took over. "Sir! We will not have fighting in the marketplace, please leave at once!" The three-fingered mechanical hand snapped around Tapper's torso before he had even registered any movement. Zero turned slowly, standing at his full 2.4 meter height and lifting his captive up with one hand to match. When Tapper's head bumped against the overhang to the kitchen Zero didn't stop, lifting with more force until the flimsy construction cracked and collapsed around the flailing robot and the two were eye level. There was so much naked hate radiating from the cyborg that Tapper could feel it without social programming, and an automatic fear response had him scrambling to pry the heavy-duty hinges off.

"No piece of skrat bot is going to talk back to me," Zero growled through a heaving chest, squeezing on Tapper's torso with enough force that it began to dent under the pressure. An alert flashed in his vision, but Zero's terrifying visage stared right through it. "You come in and replace people, acting like you're so much better than us. But I know you aren't one of the boss' little toys, so at least I can play with you." He reeled back his organic fist for a massive haymaker punch, but before he could throw it Aazran leapt off a table and hooked his one good arm around Tapper.

"Wait, Zero! Don't hurt the robot and I'll get you the money now. Dammit you punk, I said you'd get your coin!"

The little robot's strength was no match for a pneumatic vice grip, but over the past few days he had figured out how to replicate that vacuum trick with intent. Sometimes. There was some missing element to it and Tapper couldn't make it work every single time, but it was strong enough to suck up little vermin so maybe it would at least cause a distraction. It was a long shot but with his hands scraping uselessly against the vice grip there weren't many other options, so he focused on his inner energy and felt it swell in anticipation. "Sir, let me go and I will escort you out of the establishment. Suck!" The energy coalesced into a bright point and shot out, but instead of zipping to his vacuum like normal the energy flew to his hands and kept going until it vanished, dissipating outwards.

Zero sagged slightly as the strain of holding up the combined weight of Tapper and Aazran suddenly became too much for him to bear, and his grip loosened just enough for Tapper to slip out and tumble to the floor. Since Aazran had the misfortune of being on Tapper's back he was dragged down as well, but quickly scrambled to his feet and stood between the two as he begged Zero to calm down.

The giant soldier wasn't interested in listening, both giant hands on his head and legs wobbling against their bracers. "Ngh… the hell did you do to me? Everything's swimming, can't think… I'll kill you!" Zero tried to glare at Tapper but the turret on his back was no longer following his sight with any precision, so when it fired Tapper was spared obliteration. But he was close enough that the cannon's roar still overloaded his sensors and everything blinked out, leaving nothing in his vision except a notification for the stunned debuff. He could feel a hand grip his arm, and when the condition cleared he saw that Aazran had drug both of them behind an upturned table for cover.

The cannon missed Tapper, but Zero could still hit the broad side of a warehouse. Zero stared in shock at the 2 meter-wide hole in the wall before whatever affliction cleared and he pointed at their hiding place with refocused rage. "You two made me miss! I'll crush both of you into godsdamn canned lizard meat!" Zero grabbed the table and the instant he wrenched it away Aazran was on his feet, diving to the side in a surprising burst of agility. He threw a piece of rubble at Zero's head to divide his attention, and was already rolling under and through a table when the great metal claw crashed down. Over and over Zero's fists fell like hammer blows, crumpling whatever furniture he hit but always just short of actually catching the reptilian.

Even Tapper could tell that Aazran was in extreme danger, but after the failed spell he couldn't think of any other way to help. The only reason Aazran made it his far was because Zero abandoned his integrated weapons and was thrashing about in a blind rage, but once that stopped they were both in trouble. He was too slow to think and a second explosion rang out, quieter than the first but still loud enough to freeze everyone in their place. Aazran was unharmed, Tapper was unharmed, and Zero was confused as he lowered his upraised arm to find nothing but a pulped nub where his fist should be.

Zero openly bled for a moment, the bioengineered fluid splashing on the floor in thick globules before realization overcame shock and he screamed. Fear and pain and rage all mixed together into a wordless oath that Zero issued to everyone in Fableton before a burst of movement sent him crashing through the damaged wall and out of sight. Tapper, at an utter loss of what just happened, looked at Aazran and followed the reptile's gaze towards the front door of the warehouse.

Ricky peeked around the doorframe with his hands still pressed firmly against his ears, and in front of him knelt Struzick; braced down on one knee and still looking through the sight of his smoking coil gun.

[Cyborg Taxman lvl 5 defeated! +3XP for participation]