Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Yay we can ask questions now. Welcome to tumblr guys and girl." - Anon

The entire team crowds around the computer to see their first message. Everyone is excited. Even Antauri has a calm smile on his face.

Thanks! We look forward to talking to all of you! :D

"Have a lot of fun with the blog, you guys, and stupid questions as few as possible." - Anon

Gibson raised an eye-ridge and replied with a proud look on his face.

Not to worry! I have faith that our citizens have nothing but the most interesting questions to bestow upon us!

Sprx rolled his eyes. “You don’t know humans at all, do you? I give it 48 hours before somebody weirds you out.”

Chapter Text

"What does the 77 mean in SPRX-77?" - the-iron-fjord

When Antauri came onto the bridge, looking for Chiro and suspecting he might be playing video games, all he found was Sprx standing at the keyboard. Oddly enough, the large monitor was inactive, and Sprx seemed to be looking at a message on a small screen built into the console. 

“Sprx? Trouble?”

“GAH!” Sprx jumped and turned to face Antauri. How long had he just been staring at the screen? “N-No! No!”

The truth was, he had no idea how to answer the question, and he felt rather silly. Still, asking Antaui was a little less pathetic than asking Brainstrain…

“Hey, Antauri…” He looked around one last time to make sure nobody else was lurking around. Still unable to flat out admit he had no idea what his name stood for, he settled on asking, “Why do you think the Alchemist named us what we did?”

“My memories of such have not returned,” Antauri replied. “However, I recall Chiro asking Gibson about that same matter, and he deduced that it’s likely my name is related to a star called Alpha Centauri, located a good distance from here. Sprx, if you’re wondering about your name, I’m sure Gibson would be glad to resea-“

“NO! No, thanks.”

Antauri chuckled privately. “Alright then,” he replied before walking off. Maybe Chiro was already in the training room waiting for him.

Sprx didn’t need Gibson’s help. Not with the power of the internet. He put the question aside and spent the next 10 minutes looking at possible meanings of the number 77. 

Naturally, they were all related to math and science.

Monkey Doodle.

It has to do with Iridium, a super rare metal used to make my magnets.

Sure, that made sense. Sprx shrugged, sent his reply, and tried not to think about it anymore. 

Chapter Text

"What got you guys into what you do? (Ya know, science, mechanics, piloting, etc.)" - Anon

“Antauri,” Gibson protested, “Are you certain we should be letting Otto do this? I mean, if the neutron generator isn’t configured properly, it could lead to a meltdown that could leave us stranded, or worse.”

“Gibson, whoever put us here left us very little information to go on, but our roles were one of the few things they were specific on.” Antauri waved the data disc that had been sitting on the console when they had awoken. Other than its sparse contents, including what roles they would each take and some basic information about the Super Robot’s contents. It didn’t even hint at who could have left them there in the first place…

But even though Gibson had only been active for a few days, he could tell that his knowledge database had to be far more extensive than Otto’s. Otto was just… Otto didn’t seem like heroic material period, much less one with any mechanical skills. Tuning up the forlorn neutron generator would take a series of complex calculations and hours of-

“Done!”

Gibson blinked and stared at Otto, who was looking over to the team with an innocent smile. 

“Oh, let me see that!” Gibson shoved Otto aside to fix the problem himself.

Except the generator was now in like-new condition.

“Uh, Gibson?” Sprxsaid. “You might want to pick your jaw up off the floor, fast. We haven’t dusted around here yet.”

I dunno. They just seemed to come naturally to us. Maybe the Alchemist trained us before he went-

Otto paused and frowned at his answer. 

I dunno. They just seemed to come naturally to us. Maybe the Alchemist trained us.

Chapter Text

"Is there anyone you completely dread being assigned to kitchen duty?" - Anon

Gibson looked at the question… and then looked around to make sure a certain silver monkey wasn’t in the room before answering. 

Would you believe me if I replied Antauri?  I have nothing against his vegetarian cuisine - in fact, Otto seriously needs to work on his dietary balance if you ask me -  but the Veron Mystics were known for amazing spiritual fasting… I haven’t heard anything about what they consumed when they were eating and I’m not sure I want to find out.

Sniff, sniff. The air in the robot filled with the scent of nutrient veggie shakes. “Team, time for dinner.”  

Oh doodle, speak of the devil. 

Chapter Text

"So how come Gibson has an accent and nobody else does? Where'd he get it?" - Anon

Accent? I honestly don’t know what you’re referring to, sir.

Sprx reached over Gibson to add to the scientist’s answer.

It’s because he went to the school for know-it-all Brainstrains. 

“Sprx, an accent refers to a tone, not to one’s level of vocabulary, and besides, nothing is wrong with using complex wording when it best describes a situatio- Sprx, come back here!”

"Can we ask the citizens of Shuggazoom questions; like B.T., Glenny, and Mr. Jeepers and his owner?" - lorriebm11

No.

“Sprx!” Gibson shooed Sprx from the keyboard. “No need to be rude! The entire purpose of this blog is to do a public service!”

We can attempt to forward questions to them should we happen to run into them under calm circumstances. 

Sprx crossed his arms. “They can’t be that bored with us already, can they?”

Chapter Text

"To Gibson: What were the lessons/topics you taught to Chiro?" - Anon

Chiro received a well rounded education, much like he did at his former human school. Although I must say, public education’s coverage of trigonometry is hardly adequate for a young man of Chiro’s stature, so I have put him on a properly accelerated course and…

Gibson looked away from the keyboard to realize the boy was nowhere to be found. He had just been working on his homework nearby and there was no way he was done yet. Closer examination revealed a few scribbles in his notebook and his electronic textbook on the first page of the chapter.

Then again, perhaps Chiro’s former instructors were less thinking about his potential and more his maturity level. In that case, I must agree with their methods.

“Chiro!” Gibson picked up the book and headed towards Chiro’s room. “You realize this chapter is due tomorrow, monster attack or shine!”

“Gibson.”

Gibson jumped. He hadn’t even realized Antauri was in the hallway, much less right behind him. “I question the wisdom of pushing Chiro’s intellect so hard when he is already dealing with so much stress.”

“… Right. Of course.”

In truth, the classes were just as much for Gibson as they were for Chiro. It was one of the few times he felt like he got to bond with his leader, even if Chiro would fall asleep half the time.

But things weren’t going to be the way they always had been right now. That just wasn’t logical.

Chapter Text

"Has Chiro been having nightmares?" - Anon

What? Why would I still have nightmares?? Skeleton King got kicked out of the dreamscape FOREVER ago.

Chiro sent the reply before Antauri could protest lying - it was clear the question had caught him off guard, and not because he didn’t remember having nightmares. 

It may have been true that Skeleton King couldn’t actively attack Chiro’s dreams anymore, but there were nights where Antauri would peek into his leader’s room to find the boy squirming and whimpering to himself, calling out one of his comrade’s names in fear of losing them, flinching at explosions and attacks that didn’t exist.

When Chiro’s life of risking his life every day was over - when peace finally returned to the world - what kind of side effects would all that stress leave him with?

Antauri tried not to think too hard on Chiro’s potential PTSD. The boy was the chosen one, and he wasn’t the one who got to make that choice. 

"Did you guys ever find out who the Frog Force mistook you for?" - lorriebm11

“…Huh.” No, no they didn’t. But Chiro had almost been afraid to ask, and now everyone was so busy that he wasn’t sure how to bring it up.

No, we never did. We’ll have to ask them at some point.

Assuming they all made it out of this alive, anyway.

Chapter Text

"When Mandarin turned to the 'Dark Side' why did you lock him away instead of trying to dissuade him and bring him back to you?" - Anon

…You think we didn’t try?

Really. Really, you think we didn’t try and talk him out of it?

“You’ve started down a dark path, my friend, but it is not to late to turn back. I still sense good in you, Mandarin… If you’d think back and realize how much more for you the love of this city has done for us than any dictatorship would, I know you have the sound mind to see that your desire isn’t sound.”

Antauri was running out of things to say. The usually stoic second in command had been talking at his detained leader for hours, offering every piece of advice and reasoning that he thought could help. That once upon a time would have helped, because until a few months ago he would have trusted Mandarin to say these things to him.

But now, the orange monkey was merely glaring from the other side of the energy bars.

When Antauri finally left, Otto ran in to try for himself whether anybody wanted him to or not. He was quickly beaten down by harsh words from his former best friend, but still refused to leave. He spent the rest of the day sitting in front of the cell, and only went to get some rest when Gibson all but dragged him away. 

You think we just happily locked him away and got on with our lives?

Quiet. Quiet missions. Quiet meals. Quiet downtime. The Super Robot was a small ghost town with five residents who were all but dead themselves. Effort was taken by every member to avoid the hallway containing Mandarin’s suite, even if the only other option was to crawl through the tubing system.

They all spent their time on the bridge - nobody wanted to say anything, but nobody wanted to be alone - sans Otto, who spent most of his time in his workshop building nothing and crying plenty.

Eventually, Sprx started turning on the TV to something mind-numbing just to have sound. He would have even taken Mandarin’s insults at that point, at least for a little while longer. 

You’re wrong. By the time we let Mandarin go, we knew we didn’t have any choice. And doodle you for thinking it could have been any other way.

Sprx sent the nasty reply without a second’s hesitation. Stupid anon. At least the jerk could have had the nerve to say it to his face.

Chapter Text

"Hey Gibson, why don't you like being called by your first name, Hal?" - Anon

Hal didn’t sound like a scientist’s name. It sounded like… well… like a name Sprx would have been given. Gibson, on the other hand, sounded proper. Yes, “Gibson” had a much better ring to it without being overly long like his full name would be. 

Yes, well, I suppose that is a matter of personal preference, isn’t it? 

And he’d leave his response at that. He didn’t have to give a reason if he didn’t want to after all, right? 

"In light of the whole 'Thingy' episode: why does Gibson dislike animals so much?" - kiri-blossom

I have no problem with animals, being one myself. I have a problem with animals that have been to unknown places without being groomed, and animals that try and slobber you with unknown bacteria. Can’t have the team’s doctor ill, after all. Seeing how Thingy had a virus in his dandruff, I’d say my wariness was well justified. 

“But the slobber would have kept you from turning evil in the first place,” Otto commented. 

“That was an extremely unique example,” Gibson replied with crossed arms, “and does not debunk my own explanation in any way whatsoever." 

"Aw, come on - you gotta love slobber!”

"Why was Sprx afraid of water? Was there a particular reason/experience?" - Anon

Monkeys weren’t swimmers, and if Sprx was to become any other species, it’d be a bird long before it’d be a fish. He loved the wide skies, up so high the ground was meaningless. Water closed in from all sides and suffocated.

None of your business. 

Chapter Text

"Sprx, please stop being so angry. You're starting to remind me of when you were corrupted by the Fire of Hate, and that's kinda scary. Is there any way for me to make you feel less angry?" - creativesorceress

You know what’d make me less angry? If you kids all shut up, stopped acting like you know me, and quit telling me what to do! 

Sprx nearly broke the enter key with his response. This stupid blog was supposed to be fun. 

My apologies to anyone who has been on the end of Sprx’s rude replies over the past week. The Hyperforce wants you all to know that we don’t approve of his behavior, and we wish to treat each and every one of you with the dignity your questions deserve. 

"Can I at least give Sprx a hug? I think he needs it." - ali-vega

He doesn’t think a hug from a random stranger would be of much help, but more importantly…

I’m… not sure how you’d embrace someone via written communication.

"Could you tell Sprx to look outside the Super Robot? I left him a gift because I want him to be less... angry. ((It's a pilot hat with his magnets painted on the sides.))" - creativesorceress

Your sentiment is appreciated, but please avoid the vicinity around the robot for your own safety. An attack could come at anytime.

All the same, Gibson peeked outside and found the item in question. He carefully placed it in a shield bubble and took it to his lab. Ever since Chiro’s birthday, any packages received by the team had been required to go through Gibson’s rigorous testing.

Chapter Text

Nova had been out in the field all of two days and Sprx managed to cuss out the blog, yell at a couple more people, and then lock himself in his room like a spoiled child when Gibson had told him to stay off the blog until he could calm down. But as she read the actual log of what had happened, rather than Gibson’s flabbergasted retelling, she couldn’t really blame him too much for the way he had reacted. It wasn’t easy to let Mandarin go, even for her, even after the creep had given her traumatic stress that she’d recall every time they scouted a planet with even a few flakes of snow on the ground. Once upon a time, she would have found the sparkling white silence gorgeous.

Still, she was lucky enough to have a fiery response to her handicap - when Sprx was mad, he was just stupid, like when he’d…

He’d…

She knocked on his door, and refused to walk away when he didn’t answer. “Sprx? I know you’re there.”

Another pause, and then Sprx’s door cracked open. He didn’t look angry at the moment - just hurt. 

“I heard you got banned from blog-duty. I thought you would love talking about yourself?" No response. Nova frowned. Usually Sprx was the first one to joke about a situation, but he was just looking at her like he didn’t know what to do anymore.

"I’m too tired right now,” Sprx replied before closing the door between them, and Nova knew he didn’t mean physical exhaustion.

Chapter Text

"What things changed for you when Chiro integrated into the team?" - youareshauni

It was… difficult, especially in the beginning.

“Who died and made you leader anyway?”

Gibson, Nova, and Antauri all glared at Sprx. Nobody had “died” per say, but the answer was painfully obvious. “…Okay, well, you still shouldn’t make Otto do this! You saw how hurt he was… You know how close they were! And now you order him to go help the kid clean out Mandarin’s old room?!" 

"Antauri, for once I find Sprx’s judgement quite sound.”

At first, Antauri was silent, collecting his words. “I sense this is something that Otto needs to do, and I assure you I will be keeping a close eye on his mental state as well." 

"But Antauri…” Nova said, “are you sure?”

“For the time being - until Chiro is ready to assume his duties - I am asking you all to trust me.”

All protests were gone. If anyone else had said it, it would have sounded like a hostile takeover of the Hyperforce in the absence of Mandarin. But when Antauri said it, it just seemed right. 

After the meeting, Nova headed for her room, hoping punching her formless dummy could get her mind off the awkward transition, not to mention Otto. Was Antauri really right to put him through something like that? She imagined Otto standing in their former leader’s room with that blank expression that she couldn’t get used to seeing on him, even though that’d been all the emotion Otto had shown since he’d stopped crying before they’d gone into stasis.

She’d been so deep in her worried that she’d forgotten to avoid the hallway around Mandarin’s room, and ran face first into Chiro.

“Woah!” Chiro fumbled the three boxes he’d been carrying out of the room he only knew as “an old guest room” and dropped all but one of them.

“I got ya!" Nova’s hands transformed to make it easier to catch the other two.

Chiro sighed. "Thanks … Nova, right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.”

“Hi Nova!”

Nova nearly dropped the boxes again at the other - chipper - voice. 

Otto was right behind Chiro, carrying two boxes in his own arms, and while it wasn’t close to his trademark grin, he was smiling for the first time since Mandarin had left. 

After exchanging the quick greetings, the two fast friends seemed to forget she was there and went back to talking a mile a minute about some video game Chiro liked and Otto though sounded fun.

…But there was no doubt that he was the Chosen One, even then.

Chapter Text

She knocked on Sprx’s door again, and he answered despite himself. But instead of finding one of his comrades, a formless was staring him in the face. 

He screeched and blasted it with his magnets. Once he calmed down, he realized the remains of one of Nova’s punching bags were scattered on the floor in front of him, a few stray sparks still bouncing off of them. Nova grinned, holding another bag under her arm. “There we go!”

“N-Nova?! What-”

“If you’re going to be too grumpy to run your mouth, than we’re going to release that anger my way.” She put the other punching bag down in front of him. “No magnets - they last longer if you punch ‘em. Trust me.”

“…”

“Well? Are you just going to stand there or-”

Sprx’s fist - hand knives at the ready - shot right through the bag, startling his teammate. She stared at he proceeded to completely tear the bag apart, leaving dozens of slashes in the metal flooring before he finally stopped, retracting the blades and catching his breath.

“Sprx…” her hand hovered a few inches above his rising and falling shoulder, but she pulled it away when he looked at her.

“If Otto asks, this was your idea, right?” Sprx said, pointing at the scratches in front of his door. 

Chapter Text

"After all that happened to Sprx and the rest of the team in the Mecha Realm, why was Chiro so cut up when everyone thought Scrapperton was dead?" - Anon 

Scrapperton is a rather misguided man, but we don’t make a goal of terminating every enemy we face. The key to wisdom is honoring life and understanding the weight it holds, and every sentient life deserves a chance at redemption.

“Misguided? The guy’s a coo-coo clock,” Sprx commented. Antauri ignored him and sent the answer as is.

"Nova: How long did you train under Master Offay?" - youareshauni

5 years, but It feels like it was a lifetime… Master Offay took me in when I first woke up, and I trained with him until Mandarin showed up one day. I didn’t want to leave, either - Mandarin had to fight Master Offay to get me to come. 

Chapter Text

"Well, to any of the Hyperforce members willing to answer asks: I was wondering what you think about how some people on Shuggazoom treat you because you're heroes. (Like? Hate? Meh?)" - dandi-candi

No place like Shuggazoom - We’re rockstars here! Flying over down while they cheer me on just fits.

“Ain’t that right, Antauri?” Sprx looked back at the second in command.

As long as it never interferes with our ability to bring peace to them, I don’t mind if they adore us or hate us. Although, the support we’ve receive from Shuggazoom’s government has been a great asset. 

“Uh, yeah…” Sprx went off to get answers from the others.

—

Perfect timing! I had just finished calibrating the results of a poll Shuggazoom’s newspaper recently did on that very-

“Sprx, where are you going?! I wasn’t finished!" 

"Yeah, you were, or I was gonna be.”

—

I gotta admit, it’s nice to be appreciated, but it won’t mean anything if we don’t keep Shuggazoom safe.

Nova punched her new formless dummy even harder as if to emphasize her point.

—

Everyone is so nice! And they give us cookies!

Chiro was tempted to remind Otto that the ones who gave them cookies tried to kill them, but… nah, Otto’s point still stood anyway.

Yeah, being a superhero is awesome! You get to save the world and you don’t have to deal with bullies at school! 

Chiro had even more light in his eyes than Otto had. Sprx, was about to leave to report the answers, when Chiro added one last thing.

But more importantly, I got the best family in the whole universe.

Sprx smiled. “We got a really great leader out of the deal, too.”

Chapter Text

"What would you to if you met doll versions of yourselves?" - ask-antauri-doll

Are we talking about dolls that are actually dolls or ones that LOOK like dolls and then attack us? Because I really don’t want to deal with that again.

"Can Jinmay taste things or no?" - Anon

My senses all work fine. I didn’t even realize I was a robot until a few years ago.

"Is Gibson a coffee addict?"

Hardly! In fact, I’d say many Shuggazoomians drink far too much of the substance. A cup of coffee can be a wonder when your energy level is low, but side effects of too much caffeine include shaking, agitation, headaches…

Chapter Text

"Does anyone on the team have any medical experience? What would happen if your doctor was seriously injured and needed immediate medical attention? Would you guys be able to give it?" - Anon

The entire team has basic field medic experience, such as stopping bleeding and disinfecting a wound. But Gibson’s the real doctor of the group. Between you and me though…

“Hey Nova?”

“Yeah, Chiro?”

“Could you rebandage this for me?”

“What’s wrong? Is Gibson busy?”

“No.”

“…Okay, one second.”


…Gibson’s bedside manner is terrible. 

Chapter Text

"You were living as sort of domesticated pets for a while so... are you guys neutered or castrated? D:" - Anon

A few minutes later, Gibson is lecturing Nova about respecting the Super Robot’s computer. For some reason that she won’t say, she decided to punch the control panel and it is now a smoldering heap that will take a few days to fix or replace.

Chapter Text

"Hey Gibson, If I a random person in Shuggazoom was captured by Skeleton King, and the only way to save them was to eat 3 tarantula hawks, 5 tarantulas, 8 mongolian hissing cockroaches, and 5 centipedes (all uncooked), what would you do?" -lbm11

Ohhhhh, this is a great idea. That’d be horrible, but let me ask him.

Sprx cackled at the question on the newly fixed monitor. “So it’s working?” Otto asked with a smile, although Sprx could only see the green pair of legs poking out from under the control panel.

“Yeah, it’s working fine. Also, I have an idea.”

—

“What, in Shuggazoom’s name, made you think it was okay to trick me like that?!”

Otto and Sprx were both laughing as Gibson tossed the pile of bugs against the wall. They had originally planned to tell him that the ransom note was fake after he’d finished his heroic meal, but they lost it before Gibson could touch a single bug. “Hey, do you know how boring watch duty is when you’re the pilot? I was born to move machines, not watch them gather dust.”

This excuse did nothing to sooth Gibson’s nerves. “You, of all - After what you’ve been - ” He caught himself before bringing that up again. It was still too low a blow. Too fresh a wound. Nothing would make him use the Fire of Hate against his brother. Not even 3 tarantula hawks, 5 tarantulas, 8 mongolian hissing cockroaches, and 5 centipedes in a bowl with a plastic spork.

And yet Sprx’s expression made it clear he’d gotten where Gibson was going with his retort anyway. The scientist winced, but was surprised when Sprx whispered to him rather than yelling.

“Look… Just, look how happy Otto is.” Gibson side-eyed the green monkey, who was still chuckling as he rounded bugs up with a level of care that made it hard to believe he’d collected them to be a sacrifice to the ultimate prank to begin with. He paused a few times, trying to collect himself but still laughing so hard at remembering Gibson’s face that he couldn’t quite keep it together. He tried to remember the last time his friend had seemed so… “happy” wasn’t the word for it - Otto was happy making weapons and fixing the robot too, but he hadn’t looked so relaxed since before this miserable war. Gibson’s heart ached a little at the realization that Sprx had been observing Otto’s level of stress better than the team’s physician.

“…We’ll all discuss better stress-reduction tactics later,” Gibson said with a huff as he headed back to his lab, but despite how incredibly stupid, rude, and thoughtless the event he had just gone through was, he couldn’t help a small smile from crossing his face.

Until he almost stepped on a centipede Otto was herding. “Please remove every insect from the robot before your watch shift is over.”

“Hey Gibson, what if-”

“You. Are. Not. Keeping. Any.”

Otto shrugged and returned to his task. Sprx sat at the monitor and finished his reply.

Gibson would totally do it. He’d do anything for Shuggazoom. 

He’d also do anything for his team.

Chapter Text

"Was it hard for Sprx to get back with the team after the whole "Fire of Hate" incident?" - Anon

It was.

She could tell in the way Sprx laughed, and once she pointed it out, they all could. It wasn’t the way he laughed to lighten the mood. They weren’t the kind of jokes he made candidly when something was genuinely funny to him.

It was the laughter he used to hide when he was overloaded. Ironically, the same kind of laughed they had seen more and more of in the days leading up to Sprx’s “betrayal”.

But he was good now, he said. Too good. Too calm. Too task-oriented. Too… not like Sprx. And in the few moments during the war where there are precious time to potentially talk about it, he was nowhere to be found.  

One day, Sprx and Nova were put together on guard duty at the robot while the others went out to assist their allies. Nova manned the control panel while Sprx gazed out at the city, his right hand listlessly fiddling with the cannon’s joystick.

Sprx just wanted to put everything behind him, and everyone else wanted the same thing, but it was going to take the one thing Sprx wasn’t willing to give anybody right now: a heartfelt talk.

“Hey, Sprx?”

No response. As expected.

She hated this.

She hated needing her eyes open at all times, scanning the city when she wanted so badly to shut off the monitors and stare him down until he said something that wasn’t a weak pun. She wanted to grab him, shake him by the shoulders and tell him for the love of Shuggazoom, say something. She wanted to do her job - her other job. The job only she could do, that made her feel like less of a cog in the machine.

She wanted to be the team’s heart again.

It was harder than it should have been.

Chapter Text

"What were your first thoughts when you found out the next Chosen One was a human teen? (It'd be cool to get an answer from all of ya.)" - Anon

He seemed too young. I’m aware that human teens can have a physical strength equal to adults of their species, but the brain changes rapidly during adolescence. I was more concerned for how Chiro would be affected psychologically and whether he would be able to handle such a harrowing leadership position.

Gibson saved his answer for later, making a mental note to ask each of his teammates for their answers as he ran into them.

-

I won’t pretend I wasn’t worried too, but anybody was better than Mandarin. 

Nova didn’t mention how nervous she had been the first time Chiro had suggested weather training. She’d avoided the robot all day and didn’t actually come to training - which turned out to involve everyone and be a simple wind-related exercise - until Antauri called her and talked her down.

—-

Chiro was really nice! 

“Are you sure that is your complete answer, Otto? There is more to being a leader, after all.”

Chiro was really nice and had a cool costume!

Gibson didn’t press Otto any further.

—

Who, the kid? I knew all along he’d be just fine. He had that “good leader” look to him.

Gibson rolled his eyes. Even if he didn’t already know for a fact that Sprx had been the most skeptical out of all of them, it sounded like much more of a lie coming from him than it had from Antauri.

Chapter Text

"Are Sprx and Nova dating (boyfriend & girlfriend) now? O3O" - tweekkinq

Sprx and Nova both looked between the console and each other for a good 5 minutes before Nova raised an eye-ridge and crossed her arms. “Are we?”

Sprx blinked and grew wide eyes. “No! I mean… wait, what?”

She looked down. “Sorry, I know we’re not. It’s just…I miss when you weren’t so down on yourself all the time. You haven’t even made fun of me for kissing you when we got you back.”

“You… want me to make fun of you?”

“No!” Nova turned away from the monitor completely and stepped towards Sprx. “I want you to be honest with me!”

“Look, I messed up, alright? This whole mess-”

“Is NOT your fault Sprx!" Sprx was taken aback by how loudly Nova yelled this, and shrunk even more when he thought he might have made her cry a second time. "It’s not! I thought when we got the Fire of Hate out of you we’d get you back, but all you’ve done is decide to hate yourself instead!”

“Well,” Sprx took some of his space back, starting to feel his pride being attacked. “I can’t just pretend I didn’t cause all of this!”

“You don’t have to!" Nova was waiting for a comeback and it didn’t come. Only when she looked at the wide frown on Sprx’s face and a few of the other team members poking their heads into the control room that Nova realized just how loud she’d gotten. "Sprx… I don’t… I don’t care whose fault it is or what happened or anything. I don’t want to lose you again.” Her voice softened and she took Sprx’s hand, who was too stunned to respond. “I want us to keep fighting together. I want us to keep being the team we’re supposed to be. I-”

“I love you.” Nova blinked at Sprx’s interjection. He squeezed her hand in return. “I heard you before. I told myself over and over I’d be the one to say it next time. I just… you’re right about everything, okay? I’m angry at myself and I don’t know how to handle that. But… If I try to deal with it, you’ll help me, right?”

Nova beamed. “Well, duh. Being there for you is basic girlfriend 101, isn’t it?”

Thankfully, yes.

Chapter Text

"Since Nova is third in command who's 4th?" - Anon

No one specific person is 4th in command. If the situation grew so dire that half the team was absent, we have a very detailed, extensive list of protocols and formations to handle the situation.

(In none of these plans are Gibson or Sprx in charge.)

"After this is all over with, and assuming you all survive fully intact, what would you like to continue doing?" - Anon

Sprx laughed. Dryly.  

There is no “after this is all over with” for us, buddy. Antauri said that evil will always exist and he’s right. We’re just going to have to keep fighting. And fighting. For the rest of our lives.

The real question is, how long will we last? Sprx shook off the question as quickly as it came to him. He couldn’t even let himself be so hopeless again. 

 "Exactly how big is the Super Robot?" - Anon

Chapter Text

"So Chiro what was your life like before the hyper force? Where did you go to school? Did you have any friends that you liked to hang out with?" - Anon

Shuggazoom isn’t that populated, so there’s only one high school. 

I didn’t really have any friends… Even before the monkeys people thought I was kinda weird I guess, and I liked spending a lot of time alone and building things. There were some people in my school’s robotics club I talked with sometimes, but nobody I got really close to.

Gosh, it’s hard to think back to so far. I know it was only a few years ago, but it all feels like another lifetime now. 

"Did you lose any of your friends in the war, and if not, how did you manage to avoid it?" - red-ruby-wings

Her master was old. Decaying. Breaking down. No matter how strong he seemed back at the dojo, there was only so much an old body could do. Only so much an old body could take before it started to crumble. And unfortunately, Master Offay was far too proud to call it quits when he should have.

She wasn’t a doctor. She had some field medic training, and her team tended to come to her the most because they appreciated her bedside manner, but there was only so much you could do for a wound when the patient just didn’t have the vitality to heal themselves anymore. She managed to hold him together with bandages and a prayer… and then he got bed sores, which wouldn’t heal either. At this point Gibson took over more and more despite Nova’s protests that she couldn’t just sit around and do nothing, but he was clearly overwhelmed himself.

One day, Gibson turned to the complaining Nova like he was going to snap at her, but her defenses fell when she was his eyes full of a level of compassion rare for the calculating simian, and he admitted what he’d been hiding from her for days: that all the care he was giving now palliative. It was over, and it had been for a long time.

Despite Gibson’s best efforts to console her, she stormed off, as if the situation wouldn’t exist without her in the room.

That night, Master Offay passed in his sleep.

…I don’t want to talk about it.

Chapter Text

"Hey, Nova, what exactly did you see in the wormhole?" - Anon

It’s hard for me to explain further than what I told Chiro… maybe if Gibson or Antauri had seen it they’d be able to describe it better than me. 

Then again, it was the creation of reality. It was the start of… everything. And then the same Voice speaking it all into creation told me my friends needed me, and suddenly I was back in the present. 

…”Why me? Why did He show me?”

"Can I take the Fist Rocket for a spin? :D" - Anon

Gibson and Sprx glanced at each other for half a second, then back at the question.

N o. 

"ARE YOU AND NOVA A COUPLE YET?!" - geekynglam

Otto blinks at the message cluelessly.

Uh…. no? Why would me and Nova be a couple when Nova and Sprx are a couple? Is there another Nova now?

“Hey Gibson? Did you clone Nova or something?”

“What? No, why would-” Gibson notices the ask on the screen and rolls his eyes. “Otto, I don’t think that message was intended for you.”

"Did you pick up some habits from Suppa, Gibson? When you saved everyone from the Vreen, you used your tongue to catch the bug similar to the matter that frogs use to catch their prey/food." - Anon

I don’t know what you mean. I highly doubt someone of my intelligence would let myself be influenced by others without realizing it. 

“Hey Brainstrain! Is your lab supposed to be leaking green smoke right now or…?”

“What? Why would… GARF!” Gibson rushes back to his lab to handle the situation. 

Chapter Text

"Is it possible for Nova to have kids considering that you're not fully robotic beings?" - Anon

Nova immediately deletes the message before Gibson can reply with a bunch of biological data that isn’t anyone’s business. 

Chapter Text

"Are you a closet Brony, Gibson?" - Anon

Otto pokes his head into the room and intently watches for Gibson to answer the message.

I beg your pardon? A what?

Otto frowns and leaves. Darnit. He needs somebody to talk to about his new favorite cartoon and the magic of friendship. If only he knew Nova had 6 colorful ponies among her ridiculous collection of plush toys.

"Does anyone keep a tally on how many times something explodes in the Robot?" - Anon

We were, but then Gibson blew that up too!

Heh heh heh!

no really he did

"How long would it take to count to infinity?" - Anon

Infinity is a concept, not a concrete number. There for you cannot count to it.

“Hey Gibson!” Sprx griped, “If you’re gonna answer a bunch of random nerd junk that has nothing to do with the team, make your own doodling blog!”

"Hello, fellow anon here, tick tick. You simians wouldn't happen to to know a good place a start a collection now, would you? Tick tock." - "Anon"

Chiro deletes the message and scoots several feet from the control panel. Aw heck naw. Not this creep again.

Chapter Text

"*Attempts to steal SPRX* I WANT HIMMMMM" - Anon

And this, folks, is why we had Otto give the robot so many shields and alarms.

 "How come you don't like the nickname "Sparky", Sprx?" - Anon

It’s just dumb, alright?

Still, he seems a bit overly defensive on the subject.

"Did anyone here order some pizza?" - Anon

Several pairs of eyes narrow, remembering the recent “security breach”.

Please leave it outside the door/foot and back about 20 meters away. 

 "Does a cheetah with a mustache have any relations to you, Nova?" - Anon

Dunno. Gibson says it could be a subconscious manifestation or something or whatever. We’re STILL trying to figure out half of the stuff in that dream. 

Chapter Text

"Had Chiro ever an 'overload' from the Power Primate's energy?" - Anon

The Inner Primate kind of is an overload - at least for humans. The trick is getting it to actually take a shape. One time, Chiro messed up so bad he was glowing like something radioactive for the rest of the day. Jinmay was scared of the poor guy.

“Nova!” Chiro yelled through his teeth, “you don’t have to tell them that!”

“Sure I do!” Nova said.“Come on, it wasn’t so bad. Besides, hearing about the times when your heroes mess up is good for self-confidence, and you’ve got a lot of fans.”

Chiro caught a hint of a smirk - maybe Nova was spending too much time with Sprx for her own good.

"I suppose there is no point in keeping up the charades, tick tock. I can promise you Hyperforcers that I will have my vengence! You may not see it, but I am shaking my fist, tick tock! ... Erm, metaphorically speaking, of course, tick tock... I am not currently in possession of a body, so, um, there is no actual fist involved... but my point still stands, tick tock." - "Anon

Yeah, because you being reduced to sending us anonymous messages has us shakin in out boots. 

 "Sprx, Gibson, what's the nicest thing you've ever done to each other?" - Anon

They both look at each other awkwardly, like admitting they’ve ever done jack for each other will somehow destroy the status quo of their frenemy dynamic. 

Well, I supposed we have saved each others lives a tremendous number of times. 

Yeah… I’ve saved Gibson’s more though. 

Chapter Text

"Does Sprx know about Otto's crush on Nova?" - Anon

Otto immediately deletes the post, his face flushed. That’s in the past, and NOBODY needs to know. 

"Gibson, how often do you feel lonely?" - Anon

On the contrary, I rather enjoy the little time to myself I can get. 

Gibson huffed a bit too loudly at the question before retreating to his room, as if to make a point to the others on the Bridge that yes, he was fine, and no, it didn’t bother him that nobody ever liked his lectures or understood the raw results of his experiments. Lonely? Him? Please. 

"Antauri, how did you feel when you found out that Master Xan had betrayed you? i mean it must've been hard right, we never really got to hear your side?" - Anon

Indeed, it was a challenging experience. I had spent a great deal of time with the Veron Mystics, and looked up to Master Xan greatly. 

…Unfortunately, it was not the first time I have seen someone I considered a mentor and a friend be tempted to the ways of darkness…

Chapter Text

"Hey Sprx, what are your feelings about Nova?" - star-spark

She’s amazing. She’s brave. She’s caring. She is that driving force that keeps me - and the rest of the team - going when things get really messed up. I don’t know what she sees and me and I don’t think I’ll ever deserve her.

Sprx will spend the next month cursing the honesty spell if anybody brings this up, but deep down he won’t regret a word he said. 

"So Chiro, you ever going to ask Jinmay to marry you? ;)" - Anon

We’re only 14 years old… but someday I’d like to. :)

"Chiro, what is the most embarrassing thing you've done since joining the Hyper Force?" - Anon

Falling from the robot when I saw Jinmay was preeeeeety bad. I’m just glad SHE doesn’t know about it.

…shedoesn'treadthisdoesshe

"What if the hyprforce had to face the cutest things in the universe?" - swampy-sweet

are you implying otto isn’t the cutest thing in the universe

Chapter Text

"Antauri, what are your thoughts on each of your team members?" - Anon

Sprx is passionate and more courageous than he gives himself credit for, but he is a poor strategist and tends to ‘wing it’ more often than he should. He is easily swayed by his emotions and concern for those around him.

In that way, he’s actually similar to Nova - she lets her emotions control her at times and is very proud. But of course, she is the heart and soul of the team; I’m not sure how we would have held together without her if she hadn’t returned. 

Otto is… surprisingly hard to understand fully. He’s simple and cheerful most of the time, but there are these moments where he clearly understands more than one would expect.

Gibson is very intelligent, but insecure about it. He feels a need to be aloof to fit the stereotype his IQ places upon him. It seems to be a defense to hide how out of place he can feel at times. 

Chiro is everything we could have asked for in a leader, but I wish he didn’t have to lose his childhood to fill that role. 

…“Wow,” Sprx says as Antauri is forced to tell it like it is. Still, he can’t manage to be upset at the silver monkey. It’s not like he’s wrong on any account. 

"Gibson, how badly have you ever messed up an experiment?" - Anon

Heh. I suppose this question was sent in an attempt to take advantage of the current “honesty virus” aboard the Super Robot, but that was a foolish waste of opportunity. A true scientist has no problem talking about their failures, for every one of them is a chance to learn how the world around us works! Failure is a key part of the scientific process! 

…That said, Sprx still hasn’t let me live down blowing the Super Robot’s head off that one time… 

Gibson mumbles to himself about how that wasn’t even his fault, and Sprx retorts that if science is about learning, that was a chance to learn not to let Otto in the lab ever.

Chapter Text

"Nova, if you got to meet the Alchemist again, what would you do? Would you be too scared to talk to him?" - Anon

HAS ANYBODY EVER NOTICED OUR HELMETS LOOK LIKE GRAPEFRUITS?!?

That’s NightofFear!Gibson-speak for “Er…. Nova was terrified by the computer making a “message received” sound and went to go hide in her quarters.. but I think any of us would be overjoyed to see the Alchemist in good health, even in this situation.”

Chapter Text

"Gibson, do you remember any of the things you said during the Night of Fear incident?" - Anon

I DO NOT WISH TO TALK ABOUT IT.

 "Sprx/Otto... is there any way I could get hooked up with a cool flying thing I could pilot?" - Anon

 Uh… look kid, we’re kinda busy saving the world to be making toys for-

“Done!” Otto yelled from the back of the room with a grin, next to a flying machine that had not been there a minute ago when Sprx opened the email.

…Scratch that. Sure thing. 

Splendid! I will send you a PDF with my notes from yesterday! I look forward to your response!

10 minutes later you receive a 200 page document filled with PHD level calculations. Good luck!

"Do any of you like to read?" - miss-portionality

Everyone else had their egghead moments where they curl up with a book (even Otto!) but not me. I’m more a monkey of action. 

“I still say you’d love the Sun Riders tie-in comics if you gave them a chan-”

“Not happening, kid.”

Chapter Text

Any of you readers wanna be useful and help me think of date ideas for Friday? 

…er, this is uh…. CHIRO. YES. THIS IS CHIRO. NOT SPRX. DEFINITELY NOT SPRX. Sprx would never have to ask for help with this kinda thing because he is a super cool monkey who knows all about the ladies and would never be nervous about where to take Nova on their first real date. Yup.

 "Well what does she like? You might wanna take her to places she would really enjoy." - Anon

Well, she likes violence.

And….

violence….

And cute things, but I worry that if I point out how everyone TOTALLY KNOWS she has a “secret” stuffed animal collection, it might LEAD to violence.

"You can never go wrong with the classic dinner and a movie. Just make sure the movie is something they'll like." - Anon

Hmmm…. that could work.

Hey Guys! It’s Sp- CHIRO again!

Again, this is CHIRO. Not Sprx. Totally not Sprx.

Thanks for the date ideas! We wound up going to an action movie and cheering so loudly when the bad guy got punched in the face that they were both kicked out of the theater.

Worth it.

“…Do we really need to have an explicit discussion about NOT impersonating your teammates?! Is that not a given to you, Sprx?!”

“Can it Brainstrain. Worked out, didn’t it?”

"So Sparx, did your date with Nova end with a kiss?" - Anon

Nova, blushing furiously, deletes the message. That is NOBODY’S business.

Chapter Text

"Will you ever let Jinmay protect the city again? She failed pretty hard." - Anon

Chiro looked at the question, fuming.

Hey! Jinmay did her best! 

"Otto, why were you afraid of the clams with feet?" - Anon

Why wouldn’t you be?! They’re CLAMS with FEET!

"Being heroes and all, you guys get everything for free, don't you? Or do you still have to pay for it?" - Anon

We don’t technically have any laws on Shuggazoom giving the Hyperforce any special privileges (other than diplomatic immunity when our fights cause damage to nearby structures) such as free entertainment. However, many kind citizens have offered us the services of their respective businesses for free as thanks for what we do.

That said, we don’t often have an opportunity to go “out on the town” so to speak, regardless of our budget.

"Sparx, why are you so awesome?" - Anon

Gibson blocks Sprx’s mad dash for the keyboard.

Please, don’t indulge him.

Chapter Text

"Have you ever tried switching places in the Super Robot?" - Anon

Otto suggested such once, but it honestly seemed like a waste of time. We have quite enough training on our plates to handle Skeleton King’s forces without such pointless endeavors. 

“Antauri said it’d be helpful for us to walk in each other’s shoes!” Otto protested. 

“If you are so adamant about learning the ways of your teammates, Otto, why don’t you visit my lab without touching everything for a change and simply observe?” Gibson retorted.

"What is your favourite planet so far? Besides Shuggazoom of course." - Anon

Heh, you say that like Shuggazoom is the best planet ever. Sure, it’s home, but I can name TONS of more exciting places to spend an afternoon, not to mention places without an evil overlord constantly trying to crash the party. 

…That said, the best place is where my team is. Bar none.

"Watch out Gibson! There's a bug on your tail!" - Anon

Oh, please, anonymous contributor. I do not so easily fall for-

“Actually Gibson, I’m pretty sure there really is a bug on your tail.”

Gibson jumped four feet in the air and ran off to the decontamination showers, trying to fling off the spider the whole way there.

Somewhere nearby, Sprx cackled to himself and offered Anon, holding a bag of plastic spiders, a high-five.

Chapter Text

"Are you in contact with the frog team?" - Anon

Here and there.

…Well…. what’s left of the frog force, at least…

Chapter Text

"Can I be your Best Monkey at your wedding, Sprx?" - Anon

W-Wedding?! 

Sprx looks like he’s gonna faint at the question. Nova pretends to read a book in her chair with an amused smirk. 

"For Gibson and Antauri: I have a friend who has the same interests like science and being peaceful and stuff... Anyway she's also a really big fan of you and is asking if you guys wanna hang out?" - staarbles

Anybody is welcome to message us, but we don’t often have much time to “hang out” with citizens outside of that. It’s part of why we decided to run this blog. 

"To Antauri, Otto, and Gibson: Have you ever had a crush on someone?" - dreamerredstreak

Hmmm… I haven’t as far as I can recall. If Antauri has, I doubt he’d be very open to disclosing such information…. and I cannot find Otto anywhere, for some reason…

Meanwhile, Otto was hiding under the control panel. He’d seen the message first and was about to delete it when Gibson walked in. 

He thinks about how happy Sprx and Nova are together and decides the world must never know. 

"Gibson, how did you get so smart?" - Anon

Years of hard word, studying, and effort!

….Probably. I don’t actually remember back to when I was less smart.