SidePack And Co. Oneshots

Caution (NoochM)

So I decided to transfer another one of my oneshots over from fanfiction.net over here.  I might transfer all of them eventually, but we'll see.  I've made some changes from the original version, but it doesn't impact the storyline at all.  So I hope you enjoy this.

"Hey, Mat, I bet I'm stronger than you! Let's lift weights and see who's stronger!"

Even though Mitch won that contest, I knew I had more power than he would ever have. I had never wanted to be a weapon of mass destruction. But I couldn't change the way I was created. No one could without erasing my memories. None of my friends would dare mess with my systems, even if I asked them to. Not that they knew what I could do. If they did, I'd be dead, if they had the capability to kill me.

"Hey, Mat, what powers were you programmed with? Can you do anything cool?"

That day, I lied to Preston about my abilities. Well, I didn't exactly lie. I didn't tell the entire truth. I showed him my ability to imitate anyone's voice and my ability to power electronic devices, but that was about it. I told him the reason for this lack of abilities was my free will, which other robots lack. But this free will had come with a horrible cost, another power I never intend to tell Preston, or anyone for that matter.

"You know, Mat, you should be more cautious. Why do you have take unnecessary risks like that?"

Robots in nature aren't cautious at all. Especially ones with free will in factories unseen to most people. Lack of caution is why free will robots haven't exactly been realised to the public yet. But what Rob doesn't know is that unlike other robots, I know the importance of caution, thus allowing me "safe" to humans. But that reasoning for my caution should declare me unsafe with humans. One wrong move on my part, and my world may no longer exist. That's how powerful I am. And that fact terrifies me.

"Mat, what's your worst fear?"

I told Vikk I didn't have any fears because I'm a robot. But with free will comes fears. And it makes me even more afraid that my worst fear will eventually happen. That fear is losing my friends. For ages, I had been alone and planned on staying that way, but after meeting Rob and Preston, I felt happier. It takes my mind off of who I really am. But I know I'll outlive them. The amount of power stored in me is enough for me to last almost forever. I try not to think about that, or the future far ahead.

"Mat, would you rather want to be a hero or be a tyrant?"

"Probably a hero," I said to Jerome that day.

When he asked me why, I told him people would give me respect and praise me instead of fearing me. Jerome kinda just accepted the fact I said that because I'm that type of person. At least, that's what Jerome thinks. But really, having extreme power and not being greedy makes you want this world to remain the same. I wouldn't want to trade my friends for tyranny. Living as long as I have makes you appreciate friends. Especially when most of that time was in isolation.

"Hey, Mat, what is your goal in life?"

I told Ashley I wanted to be the most important person in the world and I wanted to be honored by all. That's the type of answer you'd expect from a jag like me. But only half of what I said is true. I am pretty much the most important person to ever exist; I decide the fate of this planet. But I don't want to be known. I'm afraid of what others will think about someone who could destroy the world whenever they want. Who would be friendly to a deadly weapon? It doesn't help that I'm extremely hard to kill.

Only Lachlan has the slightest clue of how powerful I am. He knows I contain great power, but not how much. He thinks I might have the power to destroy just a park using the maximum of my power. Maybe even a city. But that's not even close to the damage I can do. I could do far worse.