Even though it was getting late at night, I really didn't want to go to sleep. I could always just recharge in the morning, or maybe leech some power from the museum. It wasn't like they really noticed the huge amounts of electricity the Hostel must have been siphoning away. So, like most sucky sleepless nights, I pulled on a pair of boxers and started down the endless staircase. Tonight, I really wanted to come up with a way to keep from a guilt trip.

Most nights, I ended up thinking about my mom. I mean, I missed her, maybe more. She was working those three crappy jobs and had made a deal with worse that the devil, just to have me created as her perfect son. She had wanted me so bad, and yet all I had done was stood by as she had been murdered, not to mention-

Master Mancha, you seem distraught. Leapfrog always caught me off guard when it just started talking. Tonight, however, I was ready to do anything to keep myself from thinking too hard.

"Hey, I'm good." Maybe anything was too much. I was about to have a conversation with our getaway vehicle. Even if it did talk, that was weird. But then again… I was weird. I was just an android, right? Obviously, not just a android, just kinda the super smart super friendly super heroic android built to destroy the world. But that was the thinking stuff again. Maybe, one robot to another, this wouldn't be weird.

Maybe.

"Hey, Leapfrog, how smart are you?" I mean, I had fixed it a couple of times, and the inner circuitry was unbelievably complex, but that just meant that Leapfrog was well programmed and equipped.

I have very advanced systems Master Mancha. My navigation system in particular is constantly being internally updated. Is there something in particular you wish to know more about? Actually, there was. Back when Chase had gone vaka loco trying to bring Gert back to life and shorted me out, I made sure to check the tapes of the time I was out. I wanted to make sure he hadn't hurt anyone, really. And one of the things I had seen was Leapfrog using its global positioning satellite to answer one of Molly's questions.

"I was just wondering about that time, a little while back, when you told Molly that Gert's soul was in heaven." It hadn't seemed like anything big at the time - I was looking for Chase, not Molly and Leapfrog - but now it seemed strange. Either Leapfrog really could find souls in heaven, or, more likely, it had lied to make Molly feel better. Either one brought up the question of why. "How did you know that?"

I located her after an upgrade in my systems. After her location, I noticed a spike in her endorphin levels and heightened alertness. It was a successful upgrade. It shifted its eyes from side to side, like it was making sure they didn't get stiff. Or like it was trying to hide something.

"Cool. Hey, you think you could patch that into my system? I don't have GPS." I didn't know why I was making such a ludicrous request. I didn't have nearly enough memory, and I probably wasn't even compatible. I was a Mac and he was a government super computer. Still… Nope, wrong train of thought. I was talking to the getaway supercomputer so I wouldn't dwell.

Negative, Master Mancha. I do not have the capabilities to transfer software. Is there someone you wish for me to locate? The headlight eyes trained on me, and I wondered why he had been programmed to do that. Maybe Chase's parents wanted him to seem more interactive or something.

"Oh, no hombre, its okay." I had just called the car hombre. I was officially going loco. "It was just nice of you to find Gert for Molly." Leapfrog shifted it eyes again, and I could have sworn it was looking dead at me.

I am here to assist, Master Mancha. Leapfrog said, closing it eyes. I was going to go exploring, maybe find a slightly more sane distraction. Luckily, Chase chose then to almost trip down the stairs.

"Yo, Vic, having fun talkin' to my ride?" Chase asked, Old Lace just coming behind him, looking off-balance. "Leap, what's broken tonight?"

You have yet to repair my lasers Mister Stein, and I am running dangerously low on fuel. However, all of my software is in top running condition. Leapfrog was seriously looking at me this time. Chase dove underneath, looking completely nonchalent, and Old Lace nudged me with her nose-ring. Which was a rather weird habit of hers, since she only ever did it to me.

"Vic, get under here roboboy." Chase said, and I came rather reluctantly. "Okay, you hold this wire, because its live and if I get hit by a couple gazillion volts, I die. You, on the other hand will most likely get a slight tickling feeling." He handed me to wire, and I avoided the end that was spraying sparks. "So, are you down here talking about how fun having a CPU is, or trying not to miss your mom? And thank you for wearing some form of clothing." He took out a screwdriver and stabbed it between a few wires where there was most certainly not any screws.

"Que?" Chase poked me with the screwdriver before pulling another live wire down and handing it to me.

"I can't sleep because the dinosaur reminds me of Gert. And when that happens like five times a week, I come fix the machine that I spend the day inadvetantly breaking, so I don't have to think about it. And I think you're doing the same thing." I would have agreed with him if he hadn't gotten his hand stuck between two gears. "Ow, dangit. Gimme the wires."

"Here you go." I handed him the wires, and he didn't electrocute himself as he twisted them together carefully. "Uhm, is that gonna fix the lasers?" It didn't look like it.

"Maybe." Chase shrugged. "If not, I'll have something to do tomorrow. So will you." He almost smiled, then pushed me. "Okay, no more deep feeling. You leave now. The dinosaur will warn me if I'm about to explode. I stood up, and Leapfrog was watching me again.

As I headed back up the stairs, Leapfrog stirred, and said, Master Mancha, your mother's coordinates are also in location: Heaven.

I didn't sleep that night.

My first Runaways fic, inspired by Molly's delightful conversation with the Leapfrog just before Chase goes all epic-psycho. I like reviews. If you don't review though, its okay. I'm not the chase-you-down-with-a-harpoon type.

~ The Faerie of Darkness