TWELVE YEARS EARLIER-

Fuse dug. There wasn’t anything on her mind but digging. Stone crumbled around her, collapsing to dust at her feet. Every step forward was another step towards freedom. They wouldn’t find her out there. She could sleep without fear of being taken back. She could walk in the day without having to peek over her shoulder every thirty seconds. Kilowatt dug beside her, his single eye focused on the rock before him. They had been tunnelling through the northern wall for three years now. Fuse had no idea how close they were to the outside, or if there even was an outside at all. Regardless, this was the only option left for her. There was no salvation left in the box; no more corners to hide in and no one to help her but Kilowatt. Fuse had only one choice left to make: dig or let herself be taken back. Nothing would ever happen to make her choose the second option. They could tear her apart piece by piece and dump the remains in a vat of salt water, but they couldn’t break her will. That went beyond metal and machinery. Fuse could feel her power running low. She knew she could draw out her latent energy if need be, but that wasn’t necessary. It was time to call it a day. Kilowatt nodded in agreement and carefully placed his pickaxe on the ground. He wasn’t skilled enough to harness psychic energy, but his physical strength made up for it. It took a good half hour for Fuse and Kilowatt to climb their way out of the tunnel. They had deliberately saved time by only digging it large enough to crawl through, but this unfortunately came with the side effect of a lengthy and arduous trip back and forth and every dig. Fuse emerged first. She stood up and dusted herself off as Kilowatt climbed out after her, his lanky form unfolding itself from the cramped hole. Fuse looked up, then froze. A robot of average proportions wearing a dark, immaculate suit stood before them. His face was stern, like a teacher about to scold a student.

‘Miss Fuse, Mr Kilowatt,’ he said. ‘My name is Resistor. I believe you are both familiar with the organization I work for.’

Kilowatt moved in front of Fuse in an effort to protect her. She pushed him out of the way and stepped forward. ‘How’d you find us?’ she asked.

Resistor adjusted his cuffs. ‘There are more eyes in the Psychobox than you realise.’

Kilowatt looked at Fuse expectantly. She nodded. With lightning speed, he charged forward, throwing an expansive array of kicks and punches in Resistor’s direction. The suited robot dodged each one with grace and ease. Resistor waited for an opening then splayed his hands wide. Kilowatt flew back and smashed into the stone wall. He stayed there, suspended by telekinetic force.

‘I would rather not resort to further violence,’ Resistor stated.

Fuse roared in fury and launched a beam of burning purple energy in Resistor’s direction. He dropped Kilowatt and batted the beam away in an instant. Fuse had never seen anyone move so fast.

‘My superiors do not allow voluntary resignations,’ he said. ‘I would have hoped you would both understand this. By contract, you are their property.’

Fuse gritted her teeth. She knew she was powerless. She knew Kilowatt was powerless. It all came back to the choice. Dig, or don’t.

‘Back into the tunnel!’ Fuse shouted at Kilowatt.

She leapt into the hole and began to furiously crawl. She just needed to keep digging. Sure, Resistor would come after her, but maybe she was on the cusp of escape. Maybe they had stopped just a few centimetres short of breaking through to the other side. Would such a scenario be unlikely? Unlikely would be an understatement, but it wouldn’t be impossible. Not impossible was all Fuse needed. She felt something grab her leg. A hand with a grip strong enough to crush steel. Resistor pulled Fuse out of the tunnel with a single yank and threw her on the ground. His expression was the same as before, but something about his body language seemed to indicate frustration. Clearly he hadn’t been expecting Fuse and Kilowatt to put up a fight. Fuse smiled at the thought. At the very least, she had given them some trouble.

‘Please do not smile at me, Miss Fuse,’ said Resistor. ‘I simply cannot stand to be smiled at.’

Kilowatt’s fist hit the side of Resistor’s head like a truck of bricks. He hit the ground hard, finally dirtying up his perfect suit. Kilowatt stepped forward, the fingers on his right hand in broken shambles, and stomped on Resistor’s head. It broke apart like a cheap toy, plating, wiring, oil and cooling agent exploding outwards. Kilowatt wiped his foot on a patch of clean grass and went to help Fuse up. As Fuse took his hand, Resistor’s headless body stood up.

‘You have damaged private property,’ he said. ‘This will be noted on your employee record.’

The prison cell was cold and cramped. It was supposed to be a mandatory relaxation lounge for troubled employees but there wasn’t even a chair. It was just a box with a door. If only the full-sized thing had a door, then Fuse wouldn’t be in this mess. She didn’t know what the organization were doing to their agents to make them survive having their head blown apart, but she hoped never to run into such a monster again. Putting all that aside, right now all Fuse wanted was Kilowatt by her side. Not for the conversation of course, or even just the company. She just wanted some flicker of normality, like when everything was alright. Kilowatt had been by her side for every moment of the last four years. Without him she felt incomplete. Fuse smacked the side of her head to knock some sense back into herself. There was still hope. She wasn’t giving up yet. Sure, they had gotten her again. Sure, they would go to even more precautions to keep her here, but Fuse knew they still underestimated her. Inch by inch she would crawl her way back to freedom. Even if it took a decade or more, Fuse would escape.