Slave Flash

balloonarcade said: My photography nerd loves this <3. Thanks to yesterday when you mentioned your “slave flash,“I can’t stop thinking of them as part of the disposable class now.

The two small mechs rounded the corner, walking briskly as they chatted in the dark of the night. They had only walked about half a block when two larger mechs stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of them. “Well, well, what do we have here?” one of the large mechs sneered.

“This street is under our protection,” said the other, stared down at the small disposables. “There’s a toll to pass.”

Rewind skidded to a stop, his posture tense. “Aww, no, not again…”

Looking at his friend, Shadow frowned. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“Look,” said Rewind, trying to sound reasonable. “I just got mugged last week! I hardly have anything on me now.”  

“Then you should know how this goes,” growled the first mugger. An oily smile crossed his face. “Give us what you do have, and you can go about your business.”

The other large mech loomed over Shadow. “Both of you,” he said.

Seeing his friend balling his hands into fists, Rewind put his hand on Shadow’s arm and said, “No, stop. It’s not worth it.” He looked back up at the thugs. “We’ll cooperate.”

“Big mechs, picking on disposables a quarter your size,” Shadow said, curling his lip. 

“What are ya gonna do about it, trash?” the first mugger said, shoving Shadow’s shoulder.

With the distinctive sound of a transformation cog spinning, Shadow shifted into his alt mode and activated his flash. “THIS!” he yelled.

“Augh! My optics!” the first mugger yelled, covering his face with his hands. His companion stood dumbly next to him, blinking rapidly as he tried to readjust his optical sensors that had been blinded by the bright light.

Switching back to root mode, Shadow grabbed Rewind’s hand. “Come on - run!” He pulled the data slug past the muggers and down the street, running for the relative safety of the bar he knew was open on the corner.