11:56 AM

It trudged slowly down the street, leaving small cracks in the sidewalk where its titanium feet touched the ground. People first noticed the noises, slight booms interspersed with the whine of recently constructed servos. They'd turn, looking first at the shadow in confusion, then looking up at the colossus that cast it. Red optics scanned them with curiosity, the relatively small creatures. In and out the lenses turned, extending, probing; they took notice of heart rate, adrenaline levels, and even scanned the DNA of passerby. Many ran in fear of what they thought was an imminent attack; others turned and casually left, not wanting to get caught up in whatever came next. Even more got closer, only to take a few hurried steps backwards once they noticed the Gatling gun and the missile launcher proudly displayed on the thing's shoulder.

Already images of it were circulating on the internet, with many taking Vines and posting status updates of the thing's presence, as well as its uninterested, benign nature. A few walked up and touched one of its massive arms, only to recoil once it looked at them with its haphazard bundle of red optics. It felt the metal all around, but it had to resist the urge to munch on a nearby automobile...

>A Ferrari,

It observed silently.

>...A Ferrari!

It paused, turning its head to admire the sleek red car. Shining wheels, chrome-plated dash. And that engine! It imagined itself zipping down a freeway, low to the ground, overtaking dozens of commuters in mere seconds. Such an impressive piece of work. Didn't quite fit its current color scheme, but it could do with hot-rod red. Green was good enough for right now. Green was a friendly color, it remembered someone saying. Not like black.

It continued on, a small crowd following with fascination. Idly, it peered into the internet, watching newsfeeds of itself walking down the road.

>Mighty surreal,

It thought. It was almost enjoying its sudden fame. But it was not his function to revel in newfound celebrity status, no. It was to find the Knightfall heiress, and babysit her. That was how it was described to him, anyhow. In the span of milliseconds, it thought back to earlier that morning, picturing the events as clear as crystal...

>How quickly I've grown up,

It mused to itself, its entire childhood flashing through its mind. Only thirty minutes ago, it'd landed in that junkyard, the creator firing him precisely so as to come to rest in the scrap heap. Meticulously, it'd followed its programming, pulling every last bit of metal together and infusing the pile with circuitry from its nanomachine heart. Soon, it'd built an arm, then a head; after that came the legs, and finally, optics. For the first time, it'd seen, taking in color, heat, and sound. It was beautiful. Then, of course, came his gatling gun. How precious. Every babysitter, he remembered, must be a babysitter to be reckoned with.

Statler (for that was its name, it recalled suddenly) continued on, walking through the city with tourists in tow. Soon, it'd reach its destination, the Sentinel Tower. But...it didn't mind taking its time. It turned around, longingly staring at the supercar...