Thunderbird

The AVL-22 Thunderbird is a robot built by the Grey Impirium in Starbuster. It appears as a boss at the end of Mission 0: Laboratory 19.

Appearance
A futuristic plane-like robot, the Thunderbird is one of the few robots produced by the Impirium that can "transform" into two different modes.

The robot is a hybrid of sorts between a proper vehicle and bird, as the small cockpit section of the robot is separated by a dark grey neck, connecting to the Thunderbird's torso. The chestpiece below on the underbelly of the robot features a pinkish-red spike. Going back to the torso, parallel to it on either side are plane-like wings, with turbines near the middle of the bot and orange panels covering the wings. At the back of the robot, large thrusters propel the Thunderbird forward.

When transformed into the ground form, those thrusters in the back fold out to produce thick mechanic legs, while the wings fold out into multiple layers of panels. While still looking like a bird, the Thunderbird takes on the posture of a dog in a sort of way as well.

Another key feature of the robot is its minitature gatling gun, which folds out when needed from the cockpit to reveal gray and pinkish-red details.

Description
Attacking at the end of the mission on top of a cargo carriage of a train exiting the lab, the Thunderbird attacks in waves, each wave generally following under one of two forms.

The air form is the more commonly seen of the two, relying on ranged attacks.


 * Usually one of the earliest moves used by the Thunderbird, the robot reveals a miniature gatling gun under the cockpit component of the unit, tilting the weapon back and forth while administering rounds of three shots in short procession. This attack is easy to dodge, but being stuck in the chain of fire is still dangerous early in the bossfight.
 * Firing the same blue lasers from the attack listed above, the Thunderbird aims down with the gatling gun, firing off many blasts in procession while moving from left to right across the cargo carriage. Staying ahead of the firing will usually keep the player safe, but similar to the above attack, traversing the shots can be a challenge for newer players.
 * Swooping back into the player's view, the Thunderbird can launch a heat-seeking missile, which can be countered by navigating around the missile or using Alpha's special.
 * One of the strongest moves in the Thunderbird's arsenal, the gatling gun fires a long red laser, waving it across the train carriage. This laser is powerful, capable of taking chunks of the player's health meter if the attack lands.

The ground form isn't seen as often as the air form, but is equally as deadly.


 * Coined by some fans as a "Seismic Wave", the Thunderbird can slam onto the carriage in a ground form, similar in posture to a dog, that can ripple its impact along the carriage, causing damage to the player if they are caught in the wave.
 * Once again using the gatling gun, the Thunderbird aims towards the player and fires three rounds, each with three shots, in that general direction.