Time: Around noon
Date: 5/11/2011

It must have been a very typical, boring day at Jo's place. People were out doing what they normally did this month: setting things on fire, looting cars and shops, taggers spraying graffiti, and even the rare individual who chased down others with armed firearms. Yes, nothing but a typical, boring day on Portal Breach. There wasn't probably anything out there that could possible deter the ridiculous amount of monotony everyone was suffering from.

....Brrrrr! ....Brrrrr! ....Brrrrr!

Well, except whatever that was.

Something started from underneath a pile of oily rags, most likely a device set onto vibrate. A cell phone, a communicator, what? Whoever stopped by to notice and finally pay attention -- be it Jo, Lawrence, or Proxy -- they would find that the culprit was none other than a datapad. A strange datapad. It didn't seem too out of the ordinary, but just by feeling this particular device someone would be able to tell right that this was something important. There were no markings on it, and it was nigh impossible to tell where it came from or who it belonged to. Perhaps Jo would know. In any case, the source of the insistent vibrating was coming from this determined piece of technology and someone had best tap its screen quickly.

In the effort to save time, let us say that perhaps someone had pressed it; either annoyed and wanting peace of mind, or highly curious. In any case, they would surely not be disappointed as the datapad retrieved what was most likely an archived video feed.

The screen's backlight darkened and a little pinwheel scrolled around itself endlessly before anything happened. There was a brief high-pitched noise that fell in pitch, and slowly a very familiar voice and face faded into being.

"Hello, my friends and dears! It is I, your favourite Evil Emperor~!" It was really none other than everyone's favourite purple menace, the Evil Emperor himself, and he seemed highly contrasting of his most recent, terrible self. Flamboyant and charismatic as always, wasn't he? Clearing his throat, the Evil Emperor put on his reading glasses and shuffled some notes. "You must pardon me..." He gave a teeny smile before tugging on his collar. "I had gone through so many bloopers with this particular video it isn't even funny anymore. I was never any decent at pre-recording messages and this is my second one today! Someone call me insane and have me attack the police, or something!" If only the viewers of the video had known the truth of that statement. Finished getting his note cards in order, the Evil Emperor cleared his throat again and resumed speaking. "Dear Jo, Proxy, and Lawrence." He paused to quickly glance at the camera before going back to reading. "I regret to inform that you that the upcoming event with Mister Dark may alter my typical thinking and cause extreme, distorted perceptions of the world and those around me." It was a polite way of saying 'going crazy', and a card was placed at the bottom of the stack. "Because of these unfortunate undoings, I have taken the time to install special safeguards to prevent any severe damage from happening. It is within these safeguards that I -- Ugh..."

The Evil Emperor suddenly sighed and brought a thumb and finger to the 'bridge' of his nose, rubbing his eyes wearily. "This isn't working. This just isn't working." Giving up the man removed his glasses and tossed the slips of paper over his shoulders, not caring as they fluttered to the invisible floor softly behind. With his glasses gone and his previous demeanour fallen, one could finally see just how tired he was. The black bands under his eyes were just as dark as ever, and his usual scowl was devoid of that typical nastiness. In short, he appeared drained. "Jo. Lawrence. Proxy." He took the time to address them all, staring hard into the camera. "If you have gotten this datapad this means I have either given it to you to warn you all of the inevitable devolution of my mental state, or I am inconveniently dead. Most likely this regards the former, so let's focus on that. Jo, Lawrence, Proxy... I'm going mad." For a man of his stature to say that -- to say he is going mad -- must have been one of the hardest things he had ever admitted. Oh, besides admitting he had accidentally set Lightyear's cat on fire at the fabled Star Command cook-out. "And if I am going mad, then I am going to be dangerous. I will commit things I have so hardly tried to prevent from happening. I will say things I have so hardly tried to prevent from speaking. And I will set things in motion I have so hardly tried to prevent from occurring. I am going mad, I can feel it. Like the ticking in the back of my mind. It never goes away, never silences. I am going mad, and when I do, I will repeat exactly what I had done five decades ago."

There was another pause as his eyes fell, gazing somewhere off to the side at an invisible tangent. "I don't want that from happening, so I have installed numerous safeguards. Now, I know I will circumvent every single one of them, but if I outsmart myself while I am currently sober, you may just have a fighting chance of stopping me. I have planned for SIR to undertake the necessary precautions lest I do something damaging, but that isn't good enough. I'm crafty, I'm smart -- I am a survivor and I WILL escape. Mark my words. The fact that you possess this datapad is testament to the fact." Take, for instance, the Evil Emperor hypothetically warping out of the factory via his personal teleporter. Or the Chrono-Disruptor that could stop time so he would be able to sneak out unhindered. There were many loopholes to be violated, and none would offer any assistance. "Hopefully with this datapad you will be able to put an end to my madness and keep me sequestered away. I've already installed several command codes. One of which will temporarily entrust all power into you three until the situation has been contained. All of it. Everything that makes me an Evil Emperor will be yours to command until I get better." Was he really that desperate? Wow, imagine what they could do with all that authority and force!

After finally getting that off his armoured chest, the Evil Emperor released another drawn-out sigh and he closed his eyes for several moments. He needed a second to compose himself.

"Jo, Lawrence, Proxy..." He addressed them for what would be the last time in the entire video and allowed a small, slow weary smile to grace his face. "I am about to commit something very terrible..."

And so, it begins...

Jo had woken up pretty early for some reason, but had been so tired by eleven that she had decided to go back to bed. When she heard something vibrating, she'd initially dismissed it and just rolled over. But the racket seemed louder in her quiet room, and after about a minute of hearing it clattering against the top of her desk, she rolled over to the edge of the bed, stretched out an arm to push the oily rags aside, then picked up whatever was vibrating.

Blinking, it took her a second to see just what she was holding in her hand. When she did, she jumped out of bed and ran out of the room. "Proxy! Lawrence! Big Z's datapad! It's finally doing something!"

After some debating, they decided to tap the screen, and they watched a long prerecorded message from Zurg, explaining recent news to them.

By the end of it, Proxy had been left stunned, as well as angrier than he thought possible. Why were they supposed to clean up his messes? And why did he continue to cause them such grief with these habits? Sometimes, Proxy felt like he could understand Zurg, and yet other times he wanted more than to wring his neck -- or make a neck for him that he could properly wring.

Jo, on the other hand, kept flipping the datapad around in her hands. "What? That's it? That can't be it! He must've left instructions, more information, a second message..." And she didn't want to entertain the thought that Zurg's mind had deteriorated. There had to be some other answer, some other way. Something --anything -- they could do!

Proxy was certainly not expecting the level of commotion today. The moment Creator-Josephine had shouted out something from the back room, the poor robot jolted upright from his work within the sink and bonked his head gruffly. "Hrghoohohoo..." He did his best to correct his sensors, and abruptly left his work to join at his creator's side, the robot running on all fours like some top-heavy beast. "What is it, Creator-Josephine, what is it?" Was it something terrible? Something bad? What could possibly be on that datapad in order to get the mechanic shouting like that?

The robot didn't have to wait any further as it watched a portion of the message play out, Proxy taking back his head and feeling angered all over again. Oh, it was him. "Ugh, I have already seen enough." Madness, a plea for help? It was already too late for that, and Proxy wasn't feeling particularly forgiving. Why did they always have to be on the receiving end whenever he messed up, or whenever he engaged in his routine self-destructive policies? Didn't he see how much they hurt Creator-Josephine? No good, selfish, arrogant...

Proxy noticed his creator's distress and he tried to place a comforting hand upon her shoulder. "You have done more than enough, Creator-Josephine." He told the mechanic, hoping she would be able think clearly. "Zurg-Emperor has no doubt landed himself in, yet again, one of his many vices and he is asking that we, yet again, rescue him. The man needs to learn and live with the consequences. After what he put us through I think it is time we let him figure it out himself. He is a grown man. He is a disputable monarch. And he doesn't need us. Not this time." Better to let that man reap his just rewards than to see Creator-Josephine hurt again. How Proxy hated to see Creator-Josephine hurt again...

By the end of the message, Lawrence slid his optics closed and growled faintly. Like Proxy, he was also angry, but for an entirely different reason. Damn him, if Zurg had just let the three of them stay with him, maybe he would've been able to keep control over himself longer. In the depths of his mind, he cursed his boss's foolishness for a few seconds (and that's a lot of cursing, given how fast his processors were), but after he was satisfied he opened his optics again, focusing on the others.

As much as he hated to admit it, cleaning up after his masters was something Lawrence had lots of experience in. He actually felt more confident than he expected given the situation, and because of that, he was able to reach out and gently still Jo's hands. He was about to say something, but then Proxy spoke up and his train of thought was briefly lost to anger. The larger robot earned himself the coldest glare the butler's optics could produce. The tone of Lawrence's reply was deadly calm, though it would waver slightly as he tried to keep his emotions under control. "How dare you. Do you have any idea how hard it had to be for His Evilness to even record this message for us? He. Needs. Our. Help. He wouldn't have asked if he did not."

Lawrence looked to Jo, his expression softening. "Jo, it may seem like he hasn't given us much to go on, but this message effectively handed us the keys to the empire. We have the means to stop him, all we have to do is use it. Enough show of force and we should even be able to apprehend him peacefully. I'm sure we won't be in time to stop the first part of his plan, but we can keep him from doing any more damage."

Oh, Big Z...

Jo wasn't going to pretend what it felt like to be a person in his rocket boots. It must have felt awful, very awful, but what could they do? Zurg was an Evil Emperor. Craters, after what she had seen on Planet Z she was fairly sure that he could squash them all like tunnel mites and be done with it. He was that scary, and to hear his mind rapidly decaying? A man with such power needed to be stopped. And he knew it, he did... "Always one step ahead of everyone else, huh, Big Z." She muttered softly to herself and tried not to think about it. He had planned this all out, the horned pest.

While she did appreciate the boys lending her their support, their views couldn't have been any more polarized. Proxy, the robot she had created with her sweat and toil, was telling her to simply let him go. Just... Just forget about him. Could she do that? Could she honestly, realistically do that? Jo already made up her mind the moment she had finished listening to the message. No. Big Z needed them, and if she turned her back upon him now when he was in danger and practically begging for help, what would that say about her? She couldn't abandon him now, even though he had gotten his horns into another twist. Hmph, after all this was through Jo was going to make certain he got a thorough scolding. And as for Lawrence's viewpoint, he urged them to help, which was what her better half was leaning towards. And like the butler said, they had the power and authority to do so, didn't they? Big Z trusted them that much to give them his power, the very thing that made him an Evil Emperor. A terrible burden, but it was a necessary one. She was finally beginning to understand why the mantle he wore was slowly driving him mad.

"Lawrence is right, Proxy." The mechanic gave a soft smile to the butler for being there for her, and she glanced up at Proxy, hoping he would understand as she placed a hand upon his. "If either of us were in a predicament Big Z would do all in his power to help us. And while I know he's a no good, selfish, arrogant ding-dong who gets himself into these kinds of messes without second thought... He's our no good, selfish, arrogant ding-dong, and he's our friend. And to some of us even more." She had to end with a sigh, her eyes saddening at the datapad, and she gently handed it to Lawrence. "Lawrence, think you can perform a scan? I'm sure whatever 'keys to the empire' are in there. See what you can find and we'll think about how to handle Big Z. If I know him, he's already up to his usual shenanigans."

And that meant they were probably already too late to stop what was now in motion.

She always aligned herself with Lawrence, always. Proxy felt a tinge of jealousy, his lone eye dimming. So, she was going to, yet again, help the fool who caused them all unnecessary pain and suffering? Her and Lawrence were both fools! "You both suffer from a severe clinical level of insanity." The robot told them curtly. "Every time Zurg-Emperor lands himself into trouble we have to somehow bail him out, only for him to repeat and make us follow with him. This is abuse, Creator-Josephine, and it takes a toll on you. Don't think I do not see the signs." Whereas the tone Proxy was assuming had been harsh, it was done so out of concern and anguish. He was tired of seeing his creator, the woman he loved, consistently getting hurt by the man she loved. Ugh, it made him sick.

"And just why is it that he constantly sets the predicaments while we do not? Not once have we done anything foolish enough for Zurg-Emperor to descend from his mighty throne up high and express effort to bail us out. It is always we who have to save the day, not him. He is a typical villain, doing what he pleases and how he pleases. He has you under his spell, Creator-Josephine!" And as for Lawrence, Proxy might as well have glared at the chubby model. "And you under his charms, Lawrence-Sycophant."

Proxy was determined to fight this one through, for enough was finally enough. If anyone wanted to doubt the robot's stubbornness they need only listen to the insults and demeaning titles he threw to those he hardly liked.

As before, Proxy was about to find out he wasn't the only stubborn robot in the room right now. As Lawrence accessed the datapad wirelessly, he aimed another glare at Proxy. "Sometimes I wonder if Jo here really did create you . . . it's surprising that a child of hers could be even more cold-hearted than myself. As for His Evilness never having to rescue one of us, well, you are terribly mistaken. Back of the start of all this Dark business, I encountered NOS-4-A2 and failed to fend him off yet again; this is what happened afterward."

With that, the butler retrieved his own datapad from his storage, and uploaded a memory file to it. It was audio only, but it was enough. Lawrence started the playback, hoping Jo wouldn't be too angry that he and Zurg had kept this from her.

"Mess with my minion, will you?" The recording started with the all too familiar voice of the Evil Emperor Zurg, followed immediately by the sound of ion cannon fire. There were explosions, NOS-4-A2's screeches of agony, and then silence.

Well, silence until Zurg spoke again. "Lawrence! Lawrence, can you hear me?" The sound of metal on metal could be heard, no doubt of the emperor's gauntlets tapping against Lawrence's chassis as he gently examined his minion for damage. Yet more silence, and the emperor prompted his minion one more time. "Lawrence, speak. Speak."

It was still quiet for an agonizing length of seconds, but then there was finally a response. Lawrence's own voice was heard, sounding weak, lost and frightened. "Y-your Evilness...?" In the here and now, the butler closed his optics at the sound of his own frantic whimpers. It was painful to relive it all, but it was necessary.

Finally, Zurg's voice could be heard saying one last thing. "Yes, Lawrence, I am here. Be still. I am taking you back to the factory."

Lawrence stopped the recording right there, and put his datapad away. He reestablished the wireless link with the datapad in his opposite hand, finally opening his optics again and regarding Proxy wearily. "His Evilness returned me to Factory Zeta and repaired my injuries himself. If not for him, I would have likely died at NOS-4-A2's fangs that night. Yes, he is a villain who does what he pleases, but do not forget that caring about us is part of doing what he pleases."

After a bit more wireless poking at the datapad's software, Lawrence found what he was looking for. "I've found something. There are two transponder codes in here, as well as a third that is linked to this datapad and your DNA, Jo. Once installed to our systems, the codes will cause everything in His Evilness's arsenal to recognize us as their commanders."

Oh, no. Not this fight again. Jo was exhausted from hearing the same old thing of Proxy bashing Big Z and then Lawrence coming back with his quick rebuttals to stand up for the man. Boys will be boys, but let's face it; weary mechanic was weary.

"I am not insane, Proxy, and neither is Lawrence. You don't have to go saying that and get people thinking the wrong things." That's the last thing Jo needed right now was for people to think she was crazy. Big Z had enough scrambled marbles for the three of them! "And it's not abuse, okay? I mean, sure, it always looks like we're bailing out Big Z, but that's because his pedian slug guano stinks more than ours." And what did that mean, exactly? "I'm not going to lie, I've done some rather bone-headed decisions where Big Z had to save my knickers. Craters, I've been a complete airhead, a real novice with life whereas he knew more about things to prevent me from endangering myself along with everyone I care about, including you." Jo wasn't going to talk about how she let Rhys feed on her, how she angered those stronger than her like Dr. Doom, and how she arrogantly challenged Starscream without realizing the possible implications. She wasn't even going to delve into the matter of how selfish she could be at times, too. In short, Big Z bailed her out enough times; it was just that her issues were paltry compared to his.

But she had a funny feeling Proxy was going to start another war with what Lawrence had just mentioned, and the mechanic tried to fan the flames to a low.

"Proxy--?" She was soon cut off however, as Lawrence withdrew what was probably his personal datapad and the woman was stunned to hear what happened next. Powerful laser fire, mechanical shrieks, Lawrence, Zurg; this had been a confrontation, and one all hidden from her. And this probably happened right after Jo had scolded them both for being reckless, too! Oooh, when she got her hands on that no good, selfish, arrogant... Both of them! The mechanic did her best to keep her hands still, the urge to give Lawrence a good whacking right there, and she tried to focus on the heart of the matter. Which was, of course, Big Z showing concern for his minion and personally going to retrieve him. Sigh. How could one so caring be so... so... "When this is all over I'm going to scold you both for being dense, BUT!"

Jo then released a tight sigh and opened her eyes, lowering her upraised hand. "Now is not the time to criticize. How do I get this thing to take my DNA and most importantly..." The mechanic scrunched up her nose. "Will this hurt."

If Big Z installed a needle in that thing when he knew she didn't like needles, oh, he was going to get two whacks to the head.

Jo was right about one thing: Proxy was certainly going to cause a war and not let old dogs lie. His internal cooling fan whirred furiously as Lawrence played the recording and the taller robot urged closer to the portly unit, lowering his elongated head to an even level with Lawrence's. Their optics were just mere inches from another, and this had the potential to become very dangerous. "You are not one of us." Call it Mister Dark, call it fate, but Proxy was starting to get a bug in his system and right now that bug told him to enter defensive protocols. The most basic parameter was not a pretty one, either.

While Lawrence may be foolish to trust in the man, and Jo too, Proxy was not going to fall for such fanciful traps. "So Zurg-Emperor saved you." The robot's voice clipped, noting sarcasm. "He most likely did so because you still had worth to him. For example, NOS-4-A2-Vampire had once been his creation, one Zurg-Emperor had been most proud of at the time. Now that NOS-4-A2-Vampire had become a loose end, a threat, Zurg-Emperor had it killed. I imagine that you were sent to assassinate the rogue robot, weren't you, Lawrence-Assassin? Zurg-Emperor couldn't be bothered to kill what was technically his own son, so he sent you to clean up after his mess and look where it had gotten you." And this was where Proxy had become most malicious in his intent. If Lawrence thought to persuade a robot operating on seven million platforms, think again. "He replaced NOS-4-A2-Vampire with you, someone who could carry out orders and remain loyal. But I wonder, Lawrence-Peon... What would happen if Zurg-Emperor found someone to replace you with? And what about you, Creator-Josephine?" The robot then addressed his creator. "You are so quick to defend the man, but here he was, hiding information from you. I hardly call that something a healthy relationship thrives upon, and trust, as they say, is the first to go and the last to come back."

And thus, the seed of doubt had been planted if it hadn't already been before. Content with himself, Proxy relented under Jo's wish (barely) and turned his head to the side haughtily. "What if we do not accept the 'gift' Zurg-Emperor has so happily given to us."

Hopefully the plan didn't require all three of them to agree, because that simply wasn't going to happen with Proxy the way he was.

Lawrence's own defensive protocols kicked off at Proxy's closeness, though he held himself back as much as he could. Jo was right there, if they got into another fight now they'd probably hurt her, or she would get hurt while she tried to pull them apart! He still growled lowly in the back of his vocalizer and didn't give an inch, his optics glaring right back into Proxy's single glowing optic.

Then Proxy took off on his rant, and Lawrence's glare only intensified. Ohoho, this tired old chestnut again? The thought of being replaced only registered because he thought it amusing that the bigger robot tried to use it as ammo. The thing that truly infuriated him wasn't anything said to or about him, oh no. The butler waited until the other machine was completely finished talking, then struck, his words positively venomous. "Oh, you must think yourself so clever to try using that on me; it's too bad that I'd already thought of it. Being replaced and abandoned . . . oh, I agonized over that for weeks, until I fought that particular demon in my nightmares and won. I'm not even angry that you mentioned it."

A pause for a moment, oh so deathly silence passing by, and Lawrence started again. "What does make me angry is the hateful things you've just said to your creator. That was strangely similar to how NOS-4-A2 spoke of Zurg during our battles, now that I've thought about it."

....And just what had Lawrence just said? Proxy literally shoved his face directly into Lawrence's and the bigger bruiser actually succeeded in shoving the butler bot down onto his plump, metal rear. "Well, then let me educate you upon the differences between NOS-4-A2-Vampire and I, Lawrence-Fool." Hateful towards Creator-Josephine? How dare the robot insinuate such a ridiculous and outlandish accusation. Proxy had half a processor to teach Lawrence a lesson he would never forget, but Creator-Josephine would surely not have it.

"NOS-4-A2-Vampire was designed and created to commit evil. It is only natural that the robot wished to overthrow Zurg-Emperor and take his wretched place through the use of vile tactics. I am not surprised it would declare hateful things to a very repugnant man." Consider Proxy the most stubborn robot ever on Portal Breach. "Whereas I, Lawrence-Butler, was created to be Creator-Josephine's protecter, her companion. Is it not acceptable that I try to the best of my ability to protect the one I love? Is it not acceptable that I try to protect Creator-Josephine from a dangerous, abusive man? The things I say, while harsh and cruel, are things I say to protect and reason with Creator-Josephine. My intention is not to harm, ever, and you will do well to remember that, minion."

Proxy had apparently been brooding upon this very train of thought for weeks, if not months. It would explain why the robot was so adamant and thorough, just as Lawrence was adamant and thorough in regards to the Evil Emperor and being the balance to Proxy's own judgment.

Okay, this was going nowhere. Jo could only pinch the bridge of her nose and not believe what the boys were doing. They were arguing, arguing, when Big Z needed their help. When he had practically begged for their help. How could they help him if they could barely assist themselves, stuck in petty bickering!? This was just... just... "ENOUGH!" The mechanic pressed Proxy away when he shoved Lawrence and she made sure to stand in-between them, her arms spread out to enforce the distance. "I cannot believe you two!" Jo gave them both furious glares and made sure her wrath was upon each robot equally. There would be no discrimination so she didn't even want to hear it. "Big Z needs our help, and you two can't even put aside your differences a single nanosecond so you're just going to argue back and forth while he's probably leveling half the city by now! Can't you two just... just, argh! It's like everyone is going mad this month, and I'm the only sane one around here!"

Jo was furious, even more than furious, and she was just tired--tired--of everything that was going on. All she wanted was for everyone to return to normal, for Lawrence and Proxy to get along, for the city to stop burning, and for Big Z to return to normal with his usual gay self. Was that really so hard to ask from a single, over-worked and over-stressed mechanic in a city filled with madmen and women? Really?

"Lawrence, I want you to carry out Big Z's wishes and get us that access. And Proxy, I want you to cool it, you understand me?" For the first time in her life Jo was having to resort to a commanding tone, and it was just awful. Big Z was the one who kept things in line and barked at people, not her! She wasn't Evil Emperor material at all! And if her tone, as sharp as it was, didn't simmer the boys down she was going to personally offline them both and save Big Z all by herself. She was a strong woman, and she could do it, but that didn't mean she'd want to do it.

Ugh, Jo was going to need a vacation or therapy after this... Craters, they all were!

Lawrence had been about to get back off the floor and lunge at Proxy, but then Jo got in the way, shouting at the both of them. Part of him still kind of wanted to push past her and attack, but it was quickly silenced by the mechanic's scolding tone. He found himself looking down at the floor rather sheepishly, ashamed that he'd lost himself to Dark's influence yet again. To be honest he'd been about to mention that the longer this went on, the more damage Zurg could do, but something kept him from voicing it.

After she was done scolding the two of them, Jo barked out some orders, and Lawrence nearly instantly snapped to attention. That touched on parts of his programming that hadn't seen activity for weeks, and he couldn't help but act in accordance with his directives. He saluted, blurting out "Y-yes, my Empress!"

Two seconds later, Lawrence blinked in confusion. "Did I just...?" He snapped out of it quickly enough, shaking his head. "Oh, nevermind, that's not important . . ."

The butler once again focused his attention on the datapad, accessing it and downloading one of the transponder codes onto his own systems. "Right, there's my transponder code installed. Yours is already set up on this device, Jo; I think it read your DNA when you activated it, if it wasn't already supplied with some. You'll want to hang onto this." He handed the datapad to Jo. "As for giving Proxy a code, well, he would have to download the remaining one. But as I doubt he wants it, I think we may be ready to go now."

And again, she stood up for him. Typical. Proxy just hated playing second fiddle compared to someone as low as, oh forget it. The robot took the scolding like a trooper and it shifted its huge shoulders in a disgruntled fashion. If she wanted to take charge, then so be it. "I shall cool it, as you say, Creator-Josephine." Proxy was not by any means a happy camper and upon hearing Lawrence dare to call Creator-Josephine Josephine-Empress got the robot's cooling fan to unexpectedly peak. She was not Lawrence's empress, and she was not an empress. If anything, she was Creator-Josephine and Creator-Josephine she shall remain!

"I have already downloaded the necessary system components and fully integrated them while Lawrence-Bootlicker called you Josephine-Empress." Not that Proxy wanted such a repulsive bit of coding, but the prospect of commanding Zurg-Emperor's power was almost too tempting to pass up. Maybe with his rational thinking he could restrain the man while these two fawned over him. Joy. "I am ready to get this maddening rollercoaster over and done with."

Finally.

Jo had a raise a slight brow at that. Wow, empress, huh? Well, she did sound rather commanding back there. Say, maybe she could get used to that kind of treatment! Wait, no. That would mean she'd have to hold immense responsibilities and possibly go insane. Yeah, she'll pass, but no reason to rain on Lawrence's parade. That was apparently Proxy's job, and she gave her robot a curt look. "Proxy. Be-have." Intentional stress to get the message across that she wasn't playing around this time.

Taking the datapad and clipping it onto her work belt snugly, the mechanic put on her best work gloves, removed her dirtied smock, and holstered the spare emergency blaster. Although she didn't like weapons, it was best to take it just in case. Armed with a wrench in hand and a no-nonsense attitude, this was a woman on a mission and Jo pulled up her overalls at the waist before marching out. "Let's go, boys." She told them confidently, working her way towards the door. "We got an Evil Emperor to save, and he sure ain't gonna save himself. Move out!" Yeah, she could really get used to this commanding around and stuff!

Maybe with the power of an Evil Emperor at their beck and call they could actually stand a chance. Whoever was on the receiving end of Big Z's Zurgatronic Ion Cannon surely didn't, however!