Day 69 FLUFF FRIDAY 5
Dum-E swiveled his head up to face the massive purple groovy chinned ugly mother F-er. His father lay on the ground just below the ugly giant in a pool of red liquid... his oil. Dum-E knew that oil leaks were no joke, especially ones that bad. A few tiny drops was one thing, but a puddle? Puddles of oil were bad and could lead to horrible malfunctions, that could lead to total system failure. His father going through system failure was not an option. Dum-E was concerned that he was already going into system failure, because he knew that there was the distinct possibility that the pieces of metal in his father's body had cut some important wires.
The purple giant picked up a long, wide piece of jagged metal and raised it above his head.
"You will die for ruining my plans Stark.
Rage was a new concept to Dum-E. It wasn't something he had really felt before now. He kind of liked it. It gave him power. It gave him strength. Rage helped Dum-E Do something that he probably never would have done had this new power not worked its way into his circuitry, his wiring, the very sole fabric of his being. The rage that sparked in Dum-E was the reason why the giant Barney's stroke never fell. Dum-E powered up his flame thrower and blasted the ugly prune. The prune roared and backed away a few steps. Dum-E moved forward, closer to his father still spraying fire at the grape. He was going to turn it into a baked raisin. It had hurt his father.
Dum-E had an awful feeling deep in his wires that he would not be able to hold off the evil Barny. He needed back up. Something beeped. The fuel on the flamethrower was running out, but Dum-E blasted away anyway. Thunder roared in the sky, and lightning crackled in the air. Thor was coming. Dum-E quit touching Thanos as soon as the god of thunder landed behind him. Dum-E didn't see what happened after that because he turned his attention to the man laying on the ground before him. He nudged his father's limp form with his arm. He didn't respond. Dum-E nudged him again. The red oil that his father ran on was caked around his mouth. Dum-E knew oil wasn't supposed to leak out of that place. This much oil wasn't supposed to come out of him. Dum-E whirred desperately and nudged him again. Surely he wasn't to badly damaged. He couldn't be. He was invincible. Dum-E spun around frantically. He needed someone who could fix his father, and make it so his systems weren't crashing.
His father needed help!
A hand reached out of nowhere and pushed Dum-E to the side, Dum-E almost attacked, but it was just Pepper. She knelt down next to Tony and lifted his oily head with one hand.
"Tony? Tony baby?"
Her tone made Dum-E feel... sick?... sick was a new concept for the bot, and he didn't like it. He also didn't like it when his father didn't move as Pepper pulled him into her arms. He really didn't like it when she started to make gasping sobbing sounds, and he didn't like the clear oil coming out of the corners of her eyes.
What was happening?
"You're going to be okay baby," Pepper rose to her feet holding Tony close. Red oil dripped onto her purple metal suit. She fired up her thrusters and left. Dum-E could only watch as she disappeared.
Dum-E didn't know what to do, so he didn't do anything. He shut himself down and did nothing.
Dum-E powered back up, and found himself in a the familiar white lab of the compound. U and Butterfingers were gathered close to him. The both whirred excitedly as he powered up.
"Where is daddy?" U whirred in a pattern of zeros and ones.
"What happened?" Butterfingers beeped in a more crazed tone.
Dum-E did know. He didn't know if their father was okay, or even really what had happened.
"Daddy is hurt," Dum-E hummed, this he knew for sure. The other two bots went still and silent.
"Bad." Dum-E added. The other two bots drooped, but Dum-E dropped further. He blamed himself for not helping sooner, for not getting there. The other bots seemed to sense his distress and they wrapped their arms around him. The three bots embraced in the dark of the lab and whirred quietly in distress. They didn't move from their place in the middle of floor. One by one the bots slowly drifted into their power saving mode and quieted. Dum-E was the last of the three to drift off. He didn't want to sleep, he wanted to stay up and wait for news on his father, but he failed to keep himself up.
The bots woke from time to time and continued their mournful cries, and they would drift back off to power saving mode. No one brought them news so they continued to wait. Days passed, and finally the bots decided to do their daily duties. U was the first one to pick daily life back up. Butterfingers was next, and finally Dum-E picked up his broom and slowly began to sweep. The bots moved in slow forlorn patterns cleaning up the already spotless lab. They needed something to do to keep their gear like minds from dwelling on what had probably become of their father.
The three bots had become so focused on their work and drone like movement that they didn't even notice the lab doors open.
"Good lord guys, you look like I died or something."
All three of the bots stopped what they were doing.
Tony stood in the entrance to the lab smiling like he had never smiled before. Dum-E was the first to get to him. The bot reached his arm and tucked it around his father. The man grunted a little but hugged Dum-E back. Next the other two bots careened to a stop and wrapped themselves around each other and there father, as their creator hugged and kissed each of them
"I'm fine guys!" Tony laugh, but made no attempt to get away from the bots' grabbing hands. He flinched a little as Dum-E bumped his wounded torso, but he didn't mind. He was glad to be out of the hospital, and he was even happier to be with his bots.
"You guys are acting like I died or something!" Tony tried not to laugh as the bots pressed closer to him.
"Ow!" Tony yelped as Dum-E bumped right against one of the bandaged wounds, "Come on guys!"
The robots only hugged him closer. Tony gave up on trying to stop himself from laughing. He let himself go. He laughed, and it pulled at his side, but he only laughed more. He laughed and wrapped his arms around his bots. He even laughed harder. He laughed until the pain wasn't even a thought in his mind. The robots hummed and beeped happily around him.
Pepper rolled her eyes as they fell upon Tony's empty hospital bed. She couldn't help but chuckle despite her irritation. Tony had been ordered not to attempt moving around for at least another two days. She wasn't worried however, because she knew exactly where he had snuck off too. She left the infirmary wing of the compound and headed to the lab. There was no way that that was not the first place he would head.
Pepper slipped into the dimly lit lab. she discovered Tony sitting atop one of the counters with his back leaned against U who had his single metal arm tucked supportively around him, cradling him. Dum-E and Butterfingers were wrestling with a blanket attempting to put it over top of him. Pepper smiled and watched the bot's struggle. She also studied her fiance's face. He was most definitely not asleep, but from the looks of it he was pretending, and letting the bots take care him. Pepper smiled fondly and stepped out of lab leaving the bots to their struggle.
Pepper went back to the lab a few hours later to check on them, and discovered Tony snoring peacefully with a blanket successfully tucked around him and his three bots supporting him. All four of them, Tony and the bots, seemed to be resting, and quite content. She could practically see the bots smiling, and she could definitely see Tony smiling.