#silverwarmachine

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"The Spine?" Colonel Walter's voice was muffled, Ollie's startup working painfully slow, his optics lightly glowing and barely focused.

"Oh thank goodness. It's about time!" There was relief to the Colonel's voice... What was he so elated about?

Before he could ask, Ollie felt the man forcing water into his boiler, which, after a moment, kicked into gear. In a matter of moments, he was functioning properly again and took a look around; he was on one of the workbenches across the Manor from his library.

"Colonel?" Genuine confusion and steam flowed from his lips.

The man was suddenly very close to Ollie's face, no doubt checking his optics. "You've no clue how long you were powered down, yes?"

"Only an hour, just like I usually do... Right?"

Peter Walter's eyes widened a bit. "No, not right. You were out so long I feared you a vegetable of a robot; it was nearly half the year, Spine!"

A spark shot off of Oliver's neck, which jerked at a painful angle.

"Hal-half a year-ear?!?"

Ollie was slowly coming to, processing his surroundings, and wincing at the bright light in front of his photo receptors. There was a new sensation to his face, jaw, and hands, and a new weight to his right side.

He sat up, looking Colonel Walter over before looking down; there were new panels and plates everywhere, his right arm actually there again, but difficult to move.

"You'll have to readjust to the weight, but you're quick on the uptake... Hold out your arm."

With a bit of effort, he did as he was told, lifting his arm and holding it out, his creator watching him intensely.

"That took a few seconds... Perhaps something's a bit too tight?"

The bot nodded. "It strained at the joints, particularly the shoulder."

Peter Walter nodded back, grabbing a screwdriver, and going back to work on Ollie's arm. Without looking up from his work, he spoke again, smirking to himself. "I've made some adjustments to your face and hands; you'll be able to see the face in a moment, but go ahead and look at your free hand."

Lifting his left arm, Ollie looked down at the hand, fingers a bit less blocky, and turned his palm up. Where there had once been solid metal, a black mesh was now found.

"That ought to do it." Peter backed away before taking the bot's right wrist, bringing his palm up, and applied pressure to the mesh with his own fingers, making Ollie jump and Peter grin madly.

"I... I felt that."

"I was hoping so." The mad grin was plastered to the Colonel's face. "It's a new technology I've been tinkering with; figured you'd be more responsible and least likely to cause it damage."

All Oliver could do was stare at his hands, slowly flexing the fingers, then touching the palms together; it wasn't quite like being human, but it was damn close.

He didn't even notice that Walter had picked up a hand mirror and held it out.

"What about this?"

Ollie held the mirror, nearly dropping it at the sight of his face; larger openings for optics, a plate that nearly looked like it could be a nose, more expressive 'eyebrows', a more movable mouth, and... Did he have teeth now? The face plate was more exaggerated than the one before, but it seemed somehow more human, too.

He wiggled his face, trying to make the biggest, most cartoony expressions he could, since he had less restraint to his expression.

"It's... Interesting to say the least, Colonel."

"Everything's in working order, then?"

"So it would seem."

Letting out a tired sigh, Peter gestured toward the door to the workshop. "I'm sure the others would love to see you again, then..."

"That's a horrible excuse to get some rest, Colonel." He gave a sympathetic smile. "I... I would like to formally apologize for exploding on you as I had before, and--"

The Colonel held up a hand. "Just get out for now, The Spine. I'm too busy to hear it just yet."

Standing, Ollie nodded. "Hopefully busy sleeping, Colonel."

It got a bit of a chuckle from his creator. "If only, if only..."