Voxman - Strictly Business

Chapter 1

mmh hell why am I doing this
i wanted this to be a one-shot but it's gonna end up being a whole series since I've never actually done a series before
this all came from a single dumb exchange of diologue I thought up
what
be prepared for a lot of Wholesome Time with the Boxmore Family®

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"Drat." Lord Boxman lifted his welding helmet to stare down at the pile of misshapen metal he had been absentmindedly blowtorching for the past half hour. "Distracted again." He sighed angrily, setting down his tools and pinching his forehead as he tried to clear his mind. Ever since troubles with Cozma demanded a greater manufacturing rate than ever before, the engineer had been stressed out of his mind for the past few days. Sure, he had entertained himself by sending the occasional Darrell to attack the plaza, but that just didn't seem to work.  For some unknown reason, he just couldn't keep himself focused anymore.

Slowly removing the mess from his anvil and putting away the remaining utensils, Boxman shuffled out into the deserted halls of his workshop. These conveyor belts used to be flooded with projects, he thought to himself. I would think that everything was back to normal after that plaza incident a few weeks ago, but…

Boxman shook himself, taking a deep breath and turning to walk towards the break room. He needed to talk to his kids. Ugh, he never thought he'd actually have to say that. Just how out of it was he?

As he walked, the engineer let his mind wander into that place it usually went while he worked. He began to ponder new designs and new methods, new upgrades for models. Improving himself and his robots should be his top priority at the moment.

That's when it happened again. Those slow, rolling thoughts flew through his mind like clouds. His head felt fuzzy as he let them pass by - a familiar face, a trashed dinner, some meddling brats, vanquishing heroes…

Boxman felt something in his mind snap. That's what he couldn't keep his mind off of. Professor Venemous.

He stopped dead in his tracks, feeling his face heat up. Venemous' stylish choice of dress, his gorgeous hair, his voice, the way his eyes stared into Boxman's soul…

"No!" The engineer hissed out loud, gripping his head to try and shake the thoughts off. "Get it together, Boxy! He's just a client, nothing more!" As much as he tried to convince himself, he couldn't stop thinking about the attractive bioengineer. This was clearly a problem.

It took Boxman longer than it should've to realize that he was just standing in an empty hall, yelling at himself about his attraction to a client. With a quick smack to his cheek he was back on his way to consult his idiotic children about his work dillema, trying to block out all distracting thoughts. He would under no circumstances mention his problem with focus. Not at all.

With a deep breath and a whole lot of self-pep talk, Boxman pushed open the door to the break room and prepared for the worst. Knowing what his kids normally got up to, the engineer had no clue what to expect.

"Oh, hey, dad's here!" Darrell piped up from across the break room's table. He jumped up from his spot, accidentally scattering the pieces of the siblings' game and making Shannon yelp indignantly. The red robot proceeded to cross the room and crush his father with a hug.

"Darrell, what the heck? I wasn't done with my move!" Shannon fumed, scrambling to retrieve her marker and place it back on the boad.

"Ah-ah-ah," Raymond reached over the table, taking Shannon's piece from her and returning it to where she had left it before Darrell intruded. "Your turn's over, sister. Looks like I'm still in the lead." The green robot smirked haughtily as Shannon seemed to be preparing to slug him in his face.