Spare Part Scavenging: On Wings of Light

Junk, junk, and more junk. That's all the past forages seemed to amount to so far. Then again, one bot's trash is often another's treasure, is it not? Scraps wasn't one to overlook any spare wires or metal he was able to scrounge up in lieu of more useful parts--even if they weren't of the best quality, surely they could be used for something, right? Even if it was just to maintain the old academy where he first awakened, if only for a little while longer...
But this time, he happened to find something even better than just some cables or leftover tools.
The abandoned city was rich with spare parts, where else would the other Amicabots find parts to sell for salvage? And sure enough, he found one in one of the ruined buildings--a shiny piece of a wing, still miraculously intact! He took a moment to consider it after claiming it for himself--judging by the ports on his back, his creators probably intended for him to have wings at some point, did they just never give him any? Well, today was going to be the day he would fix that. But at the same time, could he do even better than just an ordinary pair of wings? And if so, how?
"How" came in the form of a downed lamppost on his way out. Passing by, he got a strange idea. Briefly setting the wing part down, he carefully tried to dismantle what he could of the actual lamp... and in succeeding, managed to fish out a spare light. Even after all this time, it was still glowing brightly--almost too bright for his optics to handle. Yet, a smile crossed his beaked snout. Perfect! With a stroke of inspiration, he scooped up both parts and quickly headed for home.

Once he made it back to the academy, he wasted no time modifying the parts he'd collected. Surely, his basic knowledge of modifying parts would come in handy, right? It took a lot of work, in low light and with only the most basic of tools, yet... somehow he managed to make himself a set of fancy new modules. A pair to plug into his back, and... a spare one, to cover the torn wires in his tail feathers. "Maybe it's a little much," he thought to himself, "but who's going to judge?"

Click, bzzt, click, bzzt... gleam!

A few moments to make sure everything was calibrated, and... finally, he felt ready to leave the academy basement. Though his new augments were still a little bright for his liking, they seemed to suit him just fine. Feathers of hard light spread in the sun, it was off to test these wings and soar to new heights! ...Well, provided the lights didn't fizzle out after about five minutes of use and send him plummeting. That light was in that lamp for a while, after all...

Submitted By benightedswallow for Spare Part Scavenging ・ View Favorites
Submitted: 6 months ago ・ Last Updated: 6 months ago