A YELP ESCAPED robbie’s throat as he was suddenly , unexpectedly , picked up by the vest . he dangled there , in the robot’s grip , hovering above the floor & in the air , not far away from the ground , but high enough to thoroughly spook the villain. first instinct was to struggle , kick , punch , FIGHT HIS WAY OUT . as fast as adrenaline crashed , it rushed back into his body , his ears tingling , his limbs freezing up as all his attempts at freeing himself with the little bit of strength he had proved itself to be fruitless . helplessly , he was exposed to the booming voice & mockery , feeling even smaller with each sneered word .
the feeling of being small , inconsequential & vulnerable spiked with the violent jerk in the iron grip , causing robbie to see stars & nausea to climb hotly into his throat .
ah. the beast has a name ! at least that robbie could hear through the haze that settled into his head as the shaking finally stopped ━━━ until the iron talons released him. HE WAS DROPPED ! robbie landed on the asphalt with another sound in distress as he hit the ground . he groaned at the pain shooting through his lower back from the impact . great ! this is what he got for standing up to the brats ! this is what he got for foolishly thinking he could act the hero for once. oh he should have stayed INSIDE today !!
HE HAD TO ADMIT DEFEAT. there really was no way he could battle this robot with his bare hands without getting himself killed for real. he slowly got up to his feet, shaking all over , his trembling fingers fumbling for the hem of his vest to tug back into place . his knees were quivering so hard , they knocked against each other .
❜ i-i’m … ❜ he stammers . his throat aches from how dry it is . he had no idea what he had that could POSSIBLY BENEFIT a seven feet tall robot ( & potentially keep him ALIVE ) should he reveal his identity & villain - title to them ? or could that put him into possible hazard , if this robot had a problem with potential competition ?
❜ m-my talents ? ━━━ i - i make disguises to trick the locals ! & i - i b - build robots. c - clockwork robots ! ━━━ ❜ the lump in his throat threatens to suffocate him at this point. nervous gray eyes stare back at the single panel of glas, devoid of emotions. it was CREEPY ! there was a reason robbie put in the extra effort to make his robots as human as possible !
⤥ ❝ Hmmm... ❞ the robot hummed aloud, its gears whirring aloud in apparent contemplation as it brought its hand up to thoughtfully caress where its chin was supposed to be.
❝ You build robots and make disguises, eh...? ❞ the bot echoed, and after meditating on this revelation for a moment, it chuckled softly beneath its breath at the very real irony of this situation-- the sound translating as very flat and almost sarcastic.
If he thought back on his few times in prison, Plankton could probably recall numerous similar situations as this one; where he himself had been at the mercy of some much larger and stronger creature. As someone who was quite literally as small and ( arguably ) defenseless as a jellybean, things like being called weak and small and insignificant were an every day occurrence. But in Plankton’s experience, very few things were as satisfying as making those same fish which had stepped all over him eat their words.
--And yet, it would appear that he’d learned nothing of humility from those encounters, if his present treatment of his fellow villain was of any indication.
Heh.... Alright, maybe he had been a little preemptive there with his show of force when they’d first met.
Truthfully, he’d just been a bit frustrated at how poorly this whole endeavor had been working out for him. Since he’d set out from his temporary shelter earlier that morning, he hadn’t had a single customer. ( Big surprise, right? ) And so, he reluctantly supposed that if he intended on using this guy’s talents, maybe he could stand to tone it down a little. After all, Plankton knew better than anyone that he could definitely use an ally around these parts. Since Karen left, he’d quite literally had no one to talk to since setting out on this venture, despite the fact he’d pointedly left his phone number and other methods of contact taped to the front door of his restaurant for those that might be curious as to his whereabouts. Big surprise #2: he hadn’t gotten a single phone call nor text since he left.
❝ Uh-- Forgive me, I’m starting to think that perhaps we got started on the wrong foot, here, ❞ said the bot, withdrawing a little from Robbie’s space, if only so the guy could breathe a little. ❝ You and me, we’re both villains, right? ❞
❝ I’m new to this area, and I intend on setting up shop here for at least a little while, and could use a man like you to help out. You know-- put a good word in with the locals, maybe help drive the heroes out of town... Maybe even help me with constructing my own robot army. Little things like that... ❞
❝ So what’s your name, kid? Because you’re gonna be my newest henchman, I should probably know what to call you. ❞ ⤣