(Disclaimer: A warning to those who continue.  This is a sequel to a previous story.  Both of these were written in the mid-1990’s.  While the first one was slightly edited and vanity press published, this one has not been touched in over 20 years.  I figure I should do something with it and people may get a laugh or fright from how I used to be.  Every author comes from somewhere, so this is part of my origin.  To that end, I am deeply sorry for whatever nightmares I will inflict on the literary world and the American English language.  Enjoy?)

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The sky is slowly becoming dark with storm clouds as Draveon and Cybro walk down Broadway.  They have finished getting everything on the list of electronics and presents.  Their only problem was when Draveon broke a case of crystal cups that he bumped into.  Thankfully, Adriana’s credit card had enough to pay for all of the damages and presents.  Since the two immortals had several hours before meeting with Adriana and Tegam, they decided to take in a show.

“Why did you make me go to this?  It was so stupid,” complains Cybro, who is still wearing the suit.  They had been getting strange looks throughout the performance from some of the people in the theater.  These looks of curiosity continue as Draveon and Cybro walk down the busy street.

“You have absolutely no class.  Even with that suit, you are still not able to enjoy the harmonious sound of music.  Didn’t you feel the pain of the characters?” Draveon replies in a sarcastic tone.

“You just enjoyed the fighting scenes.”

“Of course.  I slept through the rest of it.  It would have been a great play if they had forgotten about putting a plot in it.  Am I right?”

“I just wonder how that girl could keep singing for ten minutes after she was shot in the chest.  It made the entire show totally unbelievable.  We still have a couple of hours before we meet with the others.  Can’t let our presence known just yet.  Where should we go?” asks Cybro.  Draveon is looking around when a loud rumbling starts to shake the ground.

He says, “I think we should get something to eat.  That was my stomach.  That’s embarrassing.  Now, where can we go in this town in order to get some really good food?  Do you even eat, Cybro?”

“I can.  But I just do not need to.  Although Mindtrigger just recently modified my systems to incorporate food into my energy cells.  So to answer your question, no I do not have to eat, but I am capable of the act.”

“Oh.  Well, I think I saw an interplanetary cuisine restaurant.  Strange finding one on this planet.  I think it was on West 57^th.  You know the building we passed with the planet and the star coming out of it.”  Draveon crosses the street without looking and causes several cars to screech to a halt.  The drivers just stare at the big man that would probably hurt their cars more than the cars would damage him.

“I did not think that the Vorkis had sent any settlers to this planet.  That sign you mentioned means that it is an alien safe-haven.  But I remember seeing only humans going into the structure.  It could just be a coincidence,” mentions Cybro.  Without warning, a hand shoots out of an alley and yanks the disguised robot off the street.  Draveon silently follows and finds the barrel of a pistol against his chest.

“Hand over your money,” orders a young man with no hair and all leather clothing.  He is pointing a small gun at Cybro and his three friends all have their weapons aimed at Draveon.  The other two young men are wearing jeans and bright orange shirts along with tie-dye windbreakers.  The fourth member of this group is a small girl wearing a faded baseball cap, tattered jeans, and a dark red shirt with holes in it.  Her only intact piece of clothing is a denim jacket.

“I’d put the weapons away.  They won’t do you any good,” says Draveon.  Two of the men cock their guns.  Draveon grabs the guy with his gun pointed at Cybro and easily snaps the man’s wrist.  With a single punch to the guy’s head, Draveon sends the corpse flying into an open dumpster.

“Anybody else want to try and shoot me?”  The two other young men look at each other and run at Draveon.  He lets them punch and kick him several times before he gets a hold of one of the attackers.  Draveon holds him up by his throat and throws him through the side of the nearby dumpster.  The man’s legs hang limply from the ragged hole.  His terrified partner decides to jump at Cybro and attempts to stick a small knife into the robot’s gut.

“Nice try,” whispers Cybro when the crook looks at the broken knife.  A large claw comes out of the suit where the knife made a cut.  It clamps around the stunned man’s torso and twists it into something that resembles a Van Gogh picture.  The body is dropped into the dumpster along with the other two dead men.

The young girl drops her gun and turns to run down the alley.  Draveon grabs the girl by the back of her jacket and lifts her up to his face.  He carries her to the back of the alley, which ends in a wooden fence and boxes of trash.  As the frantic girl struggles, her baseball cap falls off and Draveon suddenly notices that she couldn’t be more than eighteen years old.  Even though the light is awful, he can tell that the brown-haired girl is actually very pretty.

“Please, sir.  Don’t kill me like you did to those other guys.  I just needed the money to get some food for my kid and me.  I swear I won’t tell anyone about what you two did.  Just don’t’ kill me,” cries the girl.  Cybro hears this and stares at her with his mouth agape.  Draveon lets her gently fall on her butt and bends down to look at her directly in the face.  She starts to move away from him once she notices that his eyes are bright red.

“You have a child?  But you’re not even old enough to legally drink in this country.  How old is your kid?” asks Draveon.

“He’s two years old.  Listen to me, mister.  Just let me go and I’ll never bother you again.”

“What about the father?  Where is he?”

“Damned if I know.  He never called me after everybody in school found out I was pregnant.  I couldn’t even get him to help me when my father threw me out of the house.  Eventually he moved to another town.  My old man didn’t want a slut ruining the family name.  Can I please go now?”

“Not just yet.”

“Come on, Draveon.  Leave the girl alone.  We have better things to do and we have a lot of time to do it in.  Just accept that Earth is a much different place than when we were first on this planet,” whines Cybro.  Draveon waves him off and the disguised robot walks toward the street in order to wait.

“The hell was he talking about?  Did you two escape from a mental institute and think that you’re aliens?  That’s just what I don’t need right now.  I have to get back to my kid before my friend has to go to work.  So please let me go,” the girl says.  She tries to walk past the large man, but is gently pushed back to the wooden fence.

“Your friend has work.  Why don’t you ask your friend to get you a job at her workplace?  Try to get some money without breaking the law.”

The girl begins laughing hysterically before saying, “Doing stuff like she does is what got me into trouble in the first place.  I am not going to become some streetwalking boy toy.  It may pay mucho dinero, but I have too many problems right now.  I don’t need any more.”

“What is your name?”

“My name?  It’s Sandra Hunter.  My son’s name is Brian.  Why do you want to know my name?”

“Just to put a name to the face of a kid who I’m going to help.  Here’s a hundred dollars.  Take care and try to find a better way to survive.  Now leave before I remember that I’m not a nice guy,” says Draveon.  He hands the nervous girl a pack of twenty-dollar bills and she sprints out of the alley.