The pneumatic hammer

Leo reviews the preparations for the upcoming attack on the Shadow Syndicate's headquarters. In the repair bay, Pneuma is watching him work. Or rather, her head is - the rest of her body is separated into its modular pieces, held up like a scarecrow by the repair scaffolding.

"I'm feeling a little exposed up here," the girl quips, noting Leo's stern expression. When this doesn't get a response, she eventually tries again. "If you want to know if I've got the guts to do this, well, you can see them."

Leo looks up, and Pneuma realizes with shock that there's a tear on one cheek. "What is it?" she asks softly.

"I'm afraid of killing my father," Leo answers, plainly. He puts in a new program on the computer console, and Pneuma's parts begin to shift. "That's why you're going to keep me under control. Like you always do. This time more directly."

"I don't understand, Leo. I know you're angry with Judson - we all are - but how..?"

At a typed command, Pneuma's body start reassembling itself. Leo suits up. By the time she's back together, he's in the Link suit. "Give yourself the unlock command," he instructs. "Hammer mode." Pneuma nods, and concentrates for a moment.

The effect is dramatic. The girl's entire body swings open, ejecting a thick-set piece of metal that lands squarely in Link's grasp with a flare of verniers. He swings it about experimentally, and Pneuma finally gets a glimpse of its shape: a warhammer, Nearby Leo has set up a practice target, and now he swings the hammer in a sudden arc. Jets flare out from the back of it, dramatically accelerating it into the target. He effortlessly tugs it out of the rubble, then flings it across the room at a ranged target. The hammer guides itself on hydrogen jets, smashing into the target, then flying back to Leo's outstretched hand.

"Not bad," whistles Pneuma. "That's what you installed in me?"

"And more." Leo tosses the hammer back at her. Rapidly, the girl's body re-absorbs it and she regains her shape.

"Otto!" The car drives itself in obediently and transforms; Link leaps upward, skyhooks dragging him into the core of Otto. "Unlock command, big hammer mode," he tells Pneuma.

This time the girl's entire body transforms. She's still aware of herself and her surroundings, but knows that her shape has been dramatically altered. Now she is the hammer, and she can feel full control of the verniers come alive inside herself. Otto's huge hand grips the haft firmly, just like Leo's human-scale hand had done.

"I can only attack at full power with your permission," Leo explains. "And your verniers let you control how much force I use. If I flip out, nobody gets hurt too much."

"I understand." And Pneuma does understand, now. "I heard what you told Angela. About heroes fighting right. Thank you for trusting me to support you."

"Connection is strength," Leo says with a smile. "You and me, together. We'll protect the city from the Shadow Syndicate and the Gnome. And maybe we'll even rescue Judson Snow from their clutches."