Cyborgs and Spies Volume 1: Teamup

Chapter 5: Friends and Enemies

A few weeks had passed since the Robo Squad and the spies fought together against Cyber Mower. During that time, things remained a bit calm. While Richard and Benjamin were able to do their jobs, Andrew wasn't able to work due to the destruction of the Beverly Hills Lawn Services building and lack of lawn equipment. Luckily, he had help from Sam who spent her time trying to help him find a different job. Unfortunately, there was no one who was willing to hire him due to the fact they already had too many employees to look after.

"Dang it," Andrew muttered quietly. He was sitting on a park bench with Sam next to him. "The one job that I really wanted is unavailable now. And no one else is hiring. I never thought that finding a job could be so tough."

Sam patted him on the back with a gentle smile. "Hey, don't worry about that," she said. "I'm not giving up on you. We will find a job for you! I promise!"

Andrew looked at her and smiled a little. "You're a very sweet girl, Sam," he said. "Thanks for helping me out. Even if I'm... not fully human."

Sam smiled at him. "Hey, don't let the fact that you have a robotic arm bug you," she said. "Richard was right. You really do have low self-esteem."

Andrew nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "That's what happens when you've lived with a very toxic family. I love them, but their toxicity has really taken a toll on me."

"Well, you're far away from them," said Sam in a reassuring voice. "As long as you have me and my friends, you'll be able to get through anything."

Andrew smiled and felt his heart melt at her reassuring gaze. This is the first time any girl has ever been this kind to me, he thought. Other girls that I've met and tried to talk to only told me to get lost. If it wasn't that, then it was to dream on or that they would never be friends with a loser like me.

He was awakened from his deep thoughts when Sam snapped her fingers in front of his face. He jumped a little and saw the girl had a look of concern on her face.

"You okay?" She asked. "You spaced out there for a while."

Andrew shook his head while blushing. "Sorry about that," he said. "I was just thinking about... how nice you are compared to most girls I've tried to talk to."

Sam smiled again. "Well, you don't have to tell me now," she said. "I'll let you tell me on your own time."

Good grief, Andrew thought with a big grin. This is the sweetest girl I've ever met!

*****

"So, you like to work out and get strong?" Alex asked curiously. She was walking beside Richard, who was grinning widely in response.

"That's right," he said.

"Why is that?" Alex asked.

"Well, I wanna be strong enough to protect my friends from bullies," replied Richard. "If there's one thing I hate more than anything else in the world, it's people being jerks and picking on the little guy. I don't understand why they think that's funny!"

Alex smiled at him with admiration in her eyes. "You seem to have had some pretty bad experiences with bullies," she said. "Am I right?"

Richard's grin disappeared as he nodded. "Yup," he answered. "I was pretty weak as a kid, so I was an easy target for the bigger kids. I was so fed up with being pushed around so much that I went ahead and did intense exercises to grow some muscle. My dad was pretty abusive, so that made me want to get stronger even more."