Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The LGMs really doted on their robot after the whole Uni-Mind thing. According to them, that so called "XR" exceeded their performances expectations, but he still had his doubts that a robot could do the job of a real ranger. Commander Nebula would have to make a note to pay close attention to the LGMs' future vacation requests. He couldn't risk them making another robot ranger. After all, the colossal failure of the previous robot ranger left him wary of what XR might do wrong, and he had a good feeling the LGMs would be ready and raring to make an XD or something if the current project was shut down.

Really, he could stave off his worries and shut down XR right away, but Buzz had insisted that the darn robot join him on a team, and given that the thing DID help save the universe, Nebula had relented to allow a trial run. But the less he would see of the robot, the better...

But, no, he just had to trip over the robot while trying to walk out of a room. XR gasped and extended it's arms to catch him and set him up right, rambling apologies left and right.

"Yeah, yeah," Nebula groaned, brushing himself off. "Sheesh, you'd think the LGMs would program you not to loiter in front of doorways. That's a safety hazard."

"Right, duly noted, sorry sir, I'll be sure not to do it again in the future, is that a new suit, it looks stunning on you." XR nodded rapidly, being too eager to accept what Nebula said. The fact that it quickly faded into compliments, clearly as an attempt to weasel its way out of punishment was a problem in Nebula's eyes.

He slapped his face and dragged it down over his mustache. "I just HAD to sign your work order..." he mumbled to himself.

XR shut up almost immediately. It stared up at him, optics wide, somehow implying some sort of awe, though Nebula hated the idea of applying human traits to a robot. It was unnerving.

"...What?" he demanded once the silence got to him.

"You..." The motor-mouth of a robot seemed to be at a loss of words for once. "YOU signed my work order...?"

"Uh... Yeah? Who else would have? I'm the Commander, after all."

"You..." Sweet mother of Venus, was the thing tearing up? Why in blue blazes would the LGMs build in tear ducts? "You gave ME life?"

Nebula couldn't help the weirded out look on his face. He had no idea how to answer that. He had even less of an idea how to respond to what XR said next.

"You mean... YOU'RE my FATHER?" XR stretched up and quickly wrapped its arms around Nebula. It was crying. It was actually crying, but it was smiling, and Nebula did NOT know what was going on. "I have a father!" it continued to cry. "I can't believe it! This is the best day ever!"

"Oh for crying out loud," Nebula groaned. Well, XR did seem to be doing a lot of that. He placed a hand on the top of XR's dome and pushed it down. "I'm not your father! You were built by the LGMs!"

"But I wouldn't have been built if it weren't for you!" XR answered, grinning up at him. "Like you said, you HAD to sign my work order! You actually put aside your dislike for robots specifically for me! You gave me LIFE."

Nebula nearly cringed, wondering who told the robot about his "dislike", which actually ran deeper than XR seemed to know. He could only imagine what XR thought up him prior to finding out he was his "father".  "Look, son-." He regretted the word when he saw the beam of pride on XR's face. "XR... I didn't... Well, I don't want you to think..."

XR continued to grin up at him. Nebula faltered. He couldn't ruin that unbridled joy. It wasn't right, even if he was a robot.

"...Never mind," he sighed. "Look, just get back to work. And stop standing right in front of doorways. You're the shortest one here besides the LGMs. People aren't going to see you that easily."

"Thanks, Dad," XR smiled wider as he stressed the word. "Oh, I knew you had to care! I can't wait to tell Booster!"

Thankfully, XR rolled away immediately after. Nebula groaned, wondering exactly what he got himself into with those poor choices of words. Being the "father" of a robot. Of all the absurd things to think of...

Chapter Text

Commander Nebula never felt so right in his life. Of course, this was no time for feeling "right" or "wrong" considering all the zombie space suits that were attacking them. All the same, that so-called robot ranger was a traitor, no matter what Ranger Nova said.

(In the back of his mind, he wondered just when XR was "bitten" by that energy vampire. It couldn't have been in the science bay unless XR had stupidly shut down the force field surrounding the box. The only other time the two robots were alone together were.... When Nebula sent XR to examine the cargo... Well then...)

He was pinned down by the space suits, and he glanced over to see that large, red rookie merely pulling random objects out of the robot instead of taking care of the darn thing. "Quit monkeying around and blast that robot to atoms!" he ordered as he struggled to break free from the suits.

"Forget it!" Booster shouted at him. "Uh- I mean- Um- Requesting permission to disregard your orders, sir, please!"

Nebula wasn't in much of a position to reprimand the rookie and hardly caught Booster announcing that he found whatever he was looking for. However, he did catch sight of a red frame and heard that annoying robotic voice sobbing something...

"My creation authorization form..." What was going on...? "Signed... And initial...!"

Nebula's eyes widened when he saw XR's optics flicker back from red to their normal color. Had that form that HE signed actually been the key to breaking XR from whatever trance that energy vampire put him under? Nebula pushed past the space suits, just needing to see what the robot was up to.

And sure enough, there he was, draining NOS-4-A2's energy... "I'm a little more than just a machine! I'm a space ranger!"

Commander Nebula never felt so proud in his life. Of course, he wouldn't admit that to anyone. But still, this little robot cared about Nebula's signature enough that it could give him enough will power to break free from mind control and save all of their hides, and that was saying something.

"That is going in my report," Buzz said, sounding proud as well.

"I don't need any stinkin' report!" Nebula answered before he could stop himself. "You heard him, Lightyear. He's a space ranger!" He had to clench his teeth to keep from grinning.

"Thanks, pop!" XR saluted. The robot didn't seem to know how close he was to deactivation.

Nebula frowned and leaned in front of him. "Would you stop calling me that?"

"Aw, dad!" XR wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed his cheek before Nebula could stop him. Nebula just sighed and dropped his shoulders.

"Alright then," Nebula said, pulling away. "Let's go free the others and get the rest of our rangers back before the run out of fuel. And I want that energy vampire taken care of, pronto."

"Yes, sir, Commander," Buzz saluted before gathering his team to do their jobs.

Nebula went straight to mission control to help out there. As he walked, he wondered if he was making allowances for XR. ...Though if he was, it was because that little robot was expensive, not because he was his son, not because he was proud of him, and not because he cared. Yes, because it would be a waste of funds to shut him down. That was it.

After all, he signed and initialed that work order. So, he was responsible for making sure XR continued to do a good job as a ranger.

He didn't even notice his own smile at the thought.

Chapter Text

"Uh-oh..." The Grub read over the results again.

"Uh-oh?" another Grub asked. The first Grub handed over the paper and a few more Grubs crowded around to read it.

"Uh-oh..." they chorused.

"He's not going to like this," the first Grub groaned. "What do we tell him?"

"He needs that alloy for the bonds today," the second Grub reminded them.

"But it's not 'unbreakable'," a third Grub pointed out. "A strong enough force or- Or even a rotary saw could cut through it."

"Well- Well... Maybe we... Don't need to tell him?" The other Grubs looked at the fourth one to speak up. The fourth Grub rushed over to a keyboard and typed quickly, bringing up the file on Torque. "See- See? Mr. Torque wouldn't have enough strength to break through it. Emperor Zurg doesn't need to know."

The other Grubs glanced to each other, mulling over their decision.

"What if he finds out?" the first Grub asked. "The bonds aren't that easily broken, but if he uses them on Team Lightyear..."

"Maybe they won't try to break them if they're told they're unbreakable?" the second suggested.

"He needs them today," the fourth reiterated. "We- We don't have time to make them stronger."

"Think of the praise we'll get if we tell him they are unbreakable?" the second sighed.

"Think of how long we'll have to hide if he finds out the truth," the third moaned.

"GRUBS!" Zurg's voice boomed. The Grubs all cowered behind the first one as the Evil Emperor approached them. "Where are those unbreakable bonds?"

"We're... We're just about to make them, your evilness," the first Grub answered, glancing nervously back at the others. The second and fourth nodded encouragingly while the third hid further behind them.

"Well hurry up," Zurg demanded. "The hornets will be back any minute now."

"Y-Yes, of course, Evil Emperor Zurg. Unbreakable bonds coming right up." The first Grub scurried away to begin work on creating the bonds and the others followed suit, scurrying in different directions to their posts.

"Hmm. Keep up the good work." Zurg left just as the Grubs began smiling from the praise.

After a moment, their smiles turned back to worried frowns.

"He's going to find out," the third Grub told them.

"I'll tell the others to keep escape routes 4 and 5 open for us later," the first Grub assured, sighing sadly. For now, they just had to hope they could pass the alloy off as "unbreakable" for as long as possible.

Chapter Text

"Wait, Buzz!" XR jolted his head around. He had just been blown up again- Strange, wasn't he just telling Booster about this kind of thing earlier? What was it he said? Keep an eye on where your important body parts land- And Buzz had finished gathering up his salvageable part. However... "You forgot something!"

"Really?" Buzz asked, glancing into the sack. "What am I missing?"

"No, not me! Fido!"

"...Fido?" Buzz asked, brow raised in question.

"Yeah, y'know..." XR did his best to nod towards Fido. "Gravitina's pet thing. You can't just leave him here by himself, now that Gravitina is going into custody."

"...Well, I suppose not. After all, it is an innocent living being in all this... I suppose we can drop it off at an animal shelter on the way back to Star Command..."

"Well... Actually..." XR grinned. "I was thinking we could keep him! Kinda like a team pet. Booster and Mira will love him."

"What?" Buzz immediately frowned, but picked up Fido anyway. "XR, we can't just keep it."

"Why not?" he whined. He did he best to give what organics seemed to call "puppy-dog eyes".  "Please? I'll take care of it myself if I have to. How hard can it be?"

"XR, do you know anything about taking care of organics?"

"Sure, you just feed them and take them for walks and give them a place to expel wastes and sleep- preferably not in the same location. You guys are easy to care for in comparison to robots."

"...Uh-huh." Buzz sighed. "Well, if anything this can be a learning experience for you. Taking care of a living being is harder than you think. Spend a week taking care of 'Fido', and we'll see whether or not we keep him afterwards."

"Thanks, Buzz! I'd hug you, but I don't have use of my arms right now."

Buzz sighed and mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "I'm going to regret this."

"What's that Buzz?"

"Nothing. Let's get back to Star Command and let 'Fido', uh... settle in..."

One week later...

"Is there anything in here that Fido didn't chew to bits?" Mira asked disdainfully as she tip-toed around the room, careful not to step on anything gross. "Ew, is that a hairball? XR!"

"Look, I tried," XR answered from his place on the floor where his head was separated from his body and being chewed on by Fido. "It's not my fault Fido doesn't seem to know basic commands."

"Did you try teaching him?"

"It took five days to get him to use the litter box."

"Ewww," Mira answered. "Is that what that smell is?"

"No, actually, that's the smell of something Fido accidentally lit on fire."

"How did that even happen?" Mira asked, incredulous.

"I have no idea," XR answered, shaking his head to try and get Fido off of him. "Stop that! My head is not a chew toy!"

Fido responded by batting XR's head around the room, chasing after it each time. XR screamed in aggravation and nausea as his head jettisoned around the room out of his control.

Mira placed her face in her palm. Soon after, the door open and Buzz and Booster walked in.

"XR, it's been a week, so I wanted to see how..." Buzz trailed off, glancing around the room and seeing how much of a mess it was. "Well, okay... So, you learned that animals are harder to take care of than you thought, right?"

"Make it stop!" XR yelled as his face slammed into yet another wall, followed by a paw hitting him into another one.

Booster came to his aid and picked up Fido, petting it lovingly. "Buzz, maybe I should take care of Fido. I have experience with animals back on Jo-Ad, and he's so cute. I could probably do better than XR."

"Thanks," XR muttered sarcastically. He cheeks puffed up, as if he were holding back vomit. The others looked away just in case.

"No, Booster, I'm afraid I'm going to have to make a 'no pets' rule," Buzz answered, shaking his head. He sniffled a bit and frowned. "Besides, I think I might be allergic to it."

"Aw, but Buzz," Booster whined. "I can take much better care of animals. I'll feed him and walk him and..."

"Booster, as much as I'm certain you're capable, I..." Buzz frowned and picked up a charred piece of purple fabric. "Is this my baby blanket? How in the universe did it catch fire? XR, why was it even in here?!"

"Well, I needed something to keep Fido warm at night," XR answered. He glanced nervously to the side. "As for how it caught fire, well, let me tell you, that's a long story in itself."

"Forget it!" Buzz groaned. "No pets, and that's final. I'm taking this thing to the pound this instant."

"But Buzz," Booster argued.

"No buts, Ranger. Now come with me to take this thing to Capital Planet's animal shelter. Mira, put XR back together and then help him clean up."

"Why do I have to help him clean up?" Mira asked. "I had nothing to do with this mess."

"Don't worry, Mira, I have every faith in your abilities." Buzz leaned to the side and covered his mouth to XR couldn't see. "Besides, I mostly need you to make sure XR actually cleans and doesn't goof off. You remember what happened the last time he was on the janitorial staff."

Mira sighed. "Yes, sir..."

"Good." Buzz nodded and walked out the door. "Now, let's move people."

Booster and Mira sent final glares at XR while XR glared at Fido. Then, they all got to work on their "missions".

In retrospect, XR realized, maybe it wasn't the best idea to adopt a spoiled pet from an evil despot, but that was certainly a mistake he wasn't making ever again.

Chapter Text

XL hated Star Command. He hated Commander Nebula. He hated that little pipsqueak of a brother, XR. It wasn’t fair! He was built first, and he managed to rebuild himself and give himself much better parts than that runt. So why did Nebula still think he wasn’t good enough? Sure, he may have kidnapped his dear-old dad and tried to kill him, but what else was he supposed to do? Nebula shut him down and left him to rust! All the names he had to put up with, the taunts that just grinded his gears… All he did was try his best and everyone hated him anyway, so why not do his worst instead?

He pounded his arm in frustration, growling, checking his settings for an "escape out of prison" program.

"Hey, quiet down!" The prisoner across from his cell appeared at his own door, his five eyes glaring at XL. He looked up and down XL and whistled lowly. "Whoa, sweetheart, someone forgot to read the assembly instructions."

"Shut up!" XL glared back. "That’s what my brother said!"

"Your brother?" The alien leaned against the cell door, as if trying to get closer. It was clear now that both sets of his arms were handcuffed behind his back. "You mean that rust bucket on Lightyear’s team?"

XL looked up in surprise. "How’d you know?"

"Not that hard of a guess, baby," the alien laughed. "Name’s Torque. So what made the Rangers keep Shortstuff around instead of you?"

"That’s what I want to know!" XL banged his arm again. It was just so frustrating!

Torque scowled, growling a little. "You wanna stop that? Some of us need some shut eye."

XL glared and banged once more, but then stopped. "You know what I think?"

"Nope. Can’t say I care either."

"Commander Nebula said that XR has some part that I don’t have. I bet that’s what makes XR better than me!"

"Great, you got it figured out. Now how’s about you shut your trap?"

"But I…" XL pouted as Torque disappeared from sight. He sunk down into the corner of his cell and thought. And thought. And thought. He thought about Nebula and XR and how XR was somehow better than him. About that part, that ONE part that somehow made XR better. What did the LGMs give XR that they didn’t give him?

He had to find out. Maybe he’d be able to hack into Star Command from here and download XR’s schematics. And then once he figured out what part made him different, better, XL would have to take it from him! Then HE’D be the better robot!

And then no one would call him flawed...

Chapter Text

When one LGM noticed an odd presence, they all noticed an odd presence. The being was wandering around Star Command, following one group of LGMs at a time, but seemed like they didn't know where to go. One group of three wandered up to the being, smiling, and willing to help as always.

"Are you loooost again, Booster?" the one in the middle asked.

The being squeaked and stared. "Err... Uh... Well..."

"Err..." The LGMs glanced to each other. All the rangers looked the same; it was hard to tell them apart. "Miraaa?"

"Uhhhhh..."

"...Blaaaze?"

The being glanced around frantically. "Look at the time! Gotta go!" They ran around the corner before the LGMs could stop them.

The LGM on the left glared at the middle one, and the middle one grinned sheepishly. The one on the right tapped the side of his head in thought and then gasped, the other two soon connecting to the thought and gasping as well. "A spyyy!" the cried together.

They hurried to Commander Nebula's office, letting themselves in. "Commander Nebula! Commander Nebula!"

"What is it?" Nebula asked gruffly, standing up and moving away from his irritated desk.

"There's a spy on Star Command!" they cried.

"A spy?!" Nebula repeated. "How did he get past security?!"

"We don't knoooow," the LGM on the right answered.

"Well, what does he look like?"

The LGMs glanced to each other. "I think one of the colors was green?" one whispered to the others.

"Wasn't there some blue...?" another whispered.

"Maybe some red?" the third added.

"Oh, thanks," Nebula answered. "That's VERY descriptive. Look, I'll get Lightyear and his team on this pronto. And not a word to anyone! Just look out for any evidence and report to me if you find anything."

"Yeeees, Commander," the LGMs answered. They waddled out of the office, Nebula following after them in a quick line towards the briefing room.

Chapter Text

Good ol' Steve, that's what the called him. Just a portly man that nobody ever minded. No "Hi, Steve, how are you?" or "Happy birthday, Steve!" or even a "Steve, what are you doing with no pants on?" All he got was "Hey, Steve, we have more bills for you to factor into our budget" and a pile of paperwork to go through.

He blamed Lightyear and his team. Sure, they were galactic heroes, saving planets and people from evil-doers, but did they take into account just how much damage they did in their serving and protecting? No! That's why Steve was the accountant and not them.

And if Commander Nebula didn't get upset when they couldn't afford the high quality equipment he had his eye on... Ooh boy, the Commander's anger rivaled that of Emperor Zurg's sometimes. But how could Steve explain that "Lightyear is sapping up our budget"?

"Hey, Steve," a ranger said, carrying a handful of papers. "We got more bills for you to factor into our budget."

"Craters," Steve mumbled, snatching the papers up. "A massage bed, an expensive wool rug, a just as expensive shower curtain? Repairs for the bathroom in the Ambassador Suite of the Alliance Plaza Ambassador Hotel? The windows of the Capital Planet council chamber?! Who was on this mission?!"

"The only team that ever gets action," the ranger sighed.

"Ooooh..." Steve crumpled the papers in his hands and then set them on the desk and smoothed them out again. "I'd suggest putting Lightyear on tanker alley duty again, but the last time that happened..."

"Just be glad it's only Lightyear's team causing damages." The ranger walked away and Steve banged his head against his desk.

"Curse you, Team Lightyear!" Steve sobbed, bitter tears soaking into the damage claim forms.

The ranger merely shook their head, letting the door slide shut behind them. "Good ol' Steve..." they muttered.

Chapter Text

"Ha, trooper? She's cracked! That girl is one asteroid short of a belt. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"What happened to sensitivity training?"

"Good question. Here's another. What happened to your diet?"

The voices of her teammates faded away, leaving the dark balcony a solitary solace, away from the insincere sympathies for Tangea when the concerns for everyone had for their homeworlds were more pressing, and away from the wisecracks on her mental being as she searched the stars to find just where her people were calling from. The feeling pressed against her mind, sending down trickles of their concerns, Tangean concerns, of how they would return to where they should be and of wondering just where they were now.

Mira almost laughed, the vision of her people trying to write a strongly-worded letter to escape their predicament playing through her mind, a memory of years past whenever her father was sick or incapable of acting for them. She always felt her personality and ideals were nurtured by her mother's influence, even long after her unfortunate death, but the Nova line had been reigning for so long due to some hereditary need to take action in danger instead of lying idle waiting for bad times to pass.

It was one of the few times she allowed herself to feel superior based on her breeding, but it was superiority against other Tangean Royals alone. None of the others would join Star Command and risk their lives to help others, even if it would allow them to prove they were supposedly better than all the other species, yet she joined against her father's wishes to make a difference.

None of the others would attempt to save their planet, yet she knew for certain her father would be the first to take action. Well, almost certain. At least she hoped he'd be bold enough to, but then again... Of course, with Zurg behind the plot, he was likely to get killed. If he actually was still alive...

Mira shook her head. No, they had to be alive... Somewhere... And they needed help. She couldn't just stand there idly; she had to take action. If anyone could find Tangea, if it was still alright, it was her and her team.

With that, she nodded and turned to go back inside. Team Lightyear to the rescue, she thought.  She just hoped they were all okay.

Chapter Text

There was something about her that struck him and caught him off-guard. Maybe it was how Ozma didn't recognize who he was at first, the Buzz Lightyear, or maybe it was the total disregard for his approval and her own disapproval of his actions against her animals. Of course you can't expect any woman who volunteers to study and preserve animals on a primarily carnivorous planet all on her own to be a walk in the park. She was more than a challenge, she was an independent woman, capable and intelligent, rough around the edges, yet still beautiful...

Okay, wait, where did that come from. Buzz backspaced the word from his ranger's log. He'd be mocked for weeks if anyone heard he made that comment. Not by the rookies, of course, but by rangers like Rocket who knew how little Buzz could hold his own around a pretty face, much less a pretty face interested in him. With Mira, it was fine; she was a fellow ranger, on his team, and there for work like he was. With Ozma, she was totally uninterested in him, save for that last comment they exchanged about seeing each other again, of course..

At least he could admit to himself in the privacy of his own mind that he had something of a crush, sure, but where was he exactly going to go with that? Ozma seemed more dedicated to her work than he was with his, if such a thing was possible. Maybe he could get on her level, analyze the playing field and see what made her tick, what could keep her interested, what they could do together years in the future, maybe after they retired, if they weren't killed by their respective jobs first. Of course a tough woman like Ozma would be just as tough to kill, just like he couldn't be kept down when justice was on the line.

She liked animals, he thought. She liked keeping them from harm, even if they were ravenous monsters only intent on killing and surviving. Maybe the next time he visited he could have some sort of doo-dad as defense that wouldn't hurt the animals and was environmentally friendly. That seemed like the kind of thing to impress her.

In the meantime, he had to work on reports before he got behind again. At least his report for this mission would be a breeze.