The scrapyard was oddly quiet.
Too quiet.
Bob stretched his legs and sniffed the air — burnt rubber, rust, and just a hint of alien plasma. "Smells like victory. And maybe a little tetanus," he muttered, brushing dust off his shell.
But his celebration was short-lived. Something rumbled under the ground. The debris trembled.
Then —
KRSSHHHH!!
A massive insectoid creature burst from a pile of junk, gleaming with metallic armor and wriggling tendrils. Its brain-like head pulsed with green light.
"Let me guess," Bob said. "You're the welcome party?"
The creature shrieked, and a psychic wave blasted through the air.
---
Mind Games Begin
Bob stumbled, antennae buzzing.
"Maya—!" he croaked through the comm, but static answered.
The Brain Bug had cut off communications.
"Great. Now I'm alone, cut off, and I'm being targeted by a six-foot space termite with mind powers."
The creature lunged. Bob rolled, narrowly dodging a pincer the size of a baseball bat. He darted up a broken pipe, jumped onto a broken hover-bike, then launched himself straight at the bug's face.
"You want a brain battle? Fine," Bob growled. "Prepare for cockroach IQ!"
---
Counterattack: Roach Style
The Brain Bug tried to read Bob's thoughts — only to find chaos.
Flashbacks of Bob eating leftover pizza. Dancing in a cereal box. Screaming at a sock.
The bug paused.
"What the—?"
Bob grinned. "You're in my head now, pal. And it's weird in here."
While the creature reeled from confusion, Bob scurried up its back and jammed a Resistance-made spike bomb straight into its skull-plate.
Click.
"See ya, Mind-Melt."
BOOM!
The Brain Bug exploded in a flash of goo and light, its tendrils twitching in the air before finally going still.
---
Backup Arrives
Maya's voice came back through the comm, crackling with static.
"Bob?! Do you copy? We just picked up a huge energy signature—"
"Handled it," Bob replied, panting. "Just had to outthink a brain monster. You know. Classic Thursday."
"You're insane."
"I'm effective."
---
A Message from the Sky
Suddenly, a giant projection appeared in the sky above the scrapyard. An alien figure with sharp features and glowing eyes stared down.
It spoke in a deep, metallic voice:
> "Insect. You have meddled too long. We are watching. And we are coming for you."
Bob looked up, unimpressed.
"Yeah, yeah, send whoever you want. I'll still be here. Probably chewing wires."