Rustworld: A planet in distress. It’s robot citizens, the RUSTIES, live in fear under the tyrannical rule of a megalomaniac human named GRISTWEED. To make matters worse, a mysterious ailment, the CREAKS, is causing huge numbers of Rusties to seize-up completely.

At GRISTOCORP, thousands of Rusties work 25 hours a day making GLUBE, a toxic alternative to the plant based LUBE they all need to survive. To create a market for Glube, Gristweed has made Lube drinking punishable by drownsizing.

Gristweed’s Charred-Guards, led by a primitive coal-fired Rusty named HURT, terrorize the citizens of Rivet City as they enforce Gristweed’s ‘One-Strike’ law. Thousands of prisoners are forced to work for nothing, processing Glube inside the dangerously volatile Nuclear Confusion Reactor. Meanwhile Gristweed makes a fortune peddling the stuff to the Rusties.

In the midst of this chaos, a small Cockney, named BILLY SCRUGGS, labors in the robot repair-shop. From sweeping chimneys in Victorian London, to a prison on the Planet Corrosia, and now virtual slavery on this far-flung world, Billy has seen it all. He wants to keep his head down, and stay out of trouble. He’s just a regular bloke, he keeps reminding everyone.

In prison, Billy shared his cell with CHARLIE BOLT, a huge Rusty, who insisted on breaking out - despite them both having less than an hour left to serve. They stowed-away on a spaceship which turned out to be taking Gristweed to Rustworld, to exploit the Rusties on behalf of the Corrosian Mob. On arrival they, and thousands of Rusties, were put to work at Gristocorp.

After a hard day repairing worn-out robots, Billy tries to earn a little extra money by publishing the Daily Grind, a trashy tabloid paper. Billy has saved more than 500 bobs, and as soon as he has enough, he plans to buy a one-way ticket on a passing cruise-ship.

Billy and Charlie head over to IRMA’s Squeak-Easy, where they keep a printing press in the cellar. As soon as Billy walks in the door, the Rusties start complaining that he should investigate something important - like the Creaks - before they all die. Billy tells them a few sick Rusties ‘ain’t news’.

Now that everyone is drinking Glube, and Gristweed has destroyed almost every barrel of Lube on the planet, Irma’s trade is suffering. PRESIDENT BOB, the Rusties’ beloved leader, is planning to buy a supply of black-market Lube from a couple of Zapalonian traders, but if the deal doesn’t go through soon, Irma will be out of business.

Irma tries to enlist Billy’s help. A story in The Grind is all it would take to get the Rusties, who believe everything they read, to boycott Glube. Billy, however, has seen what happens to those who cross Gristweed. He doesn’t want to stick his neck out and end up drownsized.

The last thing Gristweed needs right now is for the Rusties to stop buying Glube. He must raise 2 million Bobs to pay off the Corrosian Mob, who haven’t seen a penny since they sent him to Rustworld. In a few days, the notorious CRUSHER is arriving to make the collection.

Gristweed is fuming because, despite repeated threats, Irma still won’t stock Glube. Later that night, Irma is visited by Hurt and his Charred-Guards. When she refuses to cooperate, Hurt sends a Guard to destroy her bar with a shatter-cannon.

Billy and Charlie find Irma unhurt, but desperately digging through the mess. With tremendous relief, she pulls out a small bag. In it is the Rusties’ life savings - all 200,000 bobs of it. This is the money President Bob needs if he’s going to buy the Zapalonian Lube.

Gristweed has heard from one of his spies that Billy Scruggs is being asked to print a story that will damage Gristocorp. Hurt is instructed to frighten Billy enough to make sure he doesn’t.

The next morning, Hurt is waiting for Billy when he arrives for work. Knowing Billy suffers from claustrophobia, (a result of all those years spent inside chimneys), Hurt forces him down a waste-pipe to free a trapped Rusty. When a steelcruncher, a ferocious metal-fanged fish, drags them both into the moat surrounding Gristocorp, Billy is nearly drowned. As Hurt fishes him out, he tells him things will get a lot worse unless he gives up the newspaper business.

The incident enrages Billy enough to hit back the only way he can - by writing an article he hopes will stop the Rusties drinking Glube for good. The story, ‘Glube Sucks!’ is a huge success. The Rusties flock back to Irma’s, even though she still doesn’t have any Lube, eager to shake Billy’s hand. For the first time in his life, Billy finds people seem to like him - particularly SWARF, one of the newer customers.

Irma gets an urgent phone call from President Bob. The deal with the Zapalonians is on, and he needs the money in his office as soon as possible. It’s dangerous walking the streets after curfew, so Irma asks for a volunteer. Billy, still basking in his new found glory, insists on taking the money to Bob.

Gristweed still needs another 200,000 bobs to give the Crusher when he arrives on Saturday night. If the Rusties don’t start buying Glube again, he’ll never make it. He orders Hurt to find Billy Scruggs and take him to Gristocorp to be drownsized in a vat of boiling Glube.

Later that night, in a dark alley, Billy is confronted by Hurt, who tries to shove him into a waiting Satelloid. Billy struggles free and runs off. He’s miles away when he discovers the Rusties’ money is gone.

At his command-center, Gristweed threatens to drownsize Hurt for losing Billy Scruggs. But when Hurt hands him 200,000 bobs, Gristweed’s fury turns to joy.

President Bob is waiting anxiously for Billy to arrive. He calls Irma’s and asks Charlie to find out where he is. Charlie goes looking for Billy at their home, an abandoned train in the old subway.

A few hours later, Billy shuffles back inside Irma’s and explains what happened. The Rusties are shocked, but don’t question Billy’s story. Meanwhile, Charlie has found Billy’s savings under his bed. Convinced he’s discovered part of the missing money, Charlie goes straight to President Bob and hands it over.

Billy is furious when Charlie returns to Irma’s, and accuses him of being a thief. He’s even angrier to find Charlie has given everything he’s saved to President Bob. Billy storms out, determined to get it back. The Rusties start to wonder if they should ever have trusted the human.

In the Oblong Office, Gristweed is having a violent row with President Bob. When Bob threatens to reveal Glube’s terrible secret to the Rusties, Gristweed beats him unconscious. A minute later, Billy barges in and finds Bob lying face down on the floor. As he bends down to check the president’s volt-meter, Hurt sneaks up and knocks him out. Gristweed sees an ideal opportunity to discredit Billy for good. He has him photographed beside the president, an oil-stained wrench in his hand.

After escaping from the Satelloid taking him to prison, Billy finds himself wanted by the law, and ostracized by the Rusties, who have all seen the shocking picture in the morning paper. Now they believe he’s not just a thief - but a Rusty-Killer too.

Trying to piece together what happened in the President’s office, Billy goes to the studio of the photographer who took the incriminating picture. He finds F-STOP FRANK has been the victim of a brutal assault. As his power-cells fade, Frank manages to tell Billy that proof of his innocence lies somewhere inside Gristocorp.

Later that night, Billy breaks into the Rustuary, hoping President Bob’s body will offer some clues. He and Charlie discover the coffin is empty, but in the corner of an old store-room, they find something even more amazing - a crate full of robot parts. A torn label reads: Rust Re...

Convinced he’s found Rustworld’s missing freedom-fighters, the RUST-RESISTANCE, Billy reassembles them, and develops a plan to break into Gristocorp. But when VERA, FRED, JACK and HERBERT turn out to be timid and scatter-brained, Billy decides to go it alone. As he storms out, cursing the Rust-Resistance for their stupidity and lack of bravery, Vera wonders if the others also find Billy irresistible when he’s mad.

Billy is recaptured and jailed after trying to scale the wall at Gristocorp. In the next cell, he discovers President Bob, who begs Billy to find a way to warn the Rusties about Glube. It’s Glube that’s causing the Creaks, and the only cure is Lube.

In JUDGE GRUDGE’s courtroom, the most damning evidence against Billy comes from a surprise witness: Swarf. Billy realizes Swarf was working for Gristweed all along. Billy secretly gives Charlie Bolt (who has appeared to act as his defense counsel) a medal belonging to President Bob - proof he’s still alive.

Judge Grudge sentences Billy to drownsizing, but offers him life without parole if he’ll name the members of the Rust-Resistance. Billy pretends to co-operate, but uses the opportunity to escape. He leaps out of the window and steals a Satelloid. His freedom, however, doesn’t last long. After a dramatic, high-speed chase, shatter-cannon fire detonates the fuel tank, and Billy disappears in a ball of flame.

With a little prompting from Irma, Charlie finally figures out the medal Billy gave him means President Bob is alive. He wonders if he may have judged Billy too harshly. To their surprise, Swarf walks into the bar. After hearing Gristweed gloat about how he kidnapped President Bob and framed Billy Scruggs, he wants to change sides.

Later that day, Charlie and Swarf find a battered and embittered Billy near the wreckage of the Satelloid. Billy vents his rage about being dragged into a battle that isn’t even his. He insists he’s going back to being a regular bloke again.

Charlie tries to explain how nothing is ever going to be the same. Billy is public enemy number one, and his only hope of survival is to help the Rusties in their fight against Gristweed. Billy reluctantly follows Charlie and Swarf back to Irma’s, where they find her collapsed on the floor - stricken by the Creaks. She tells them the Zapalonians have agreed to deliver the Lube, but must have the 200,000 bobs by midnight.

Billy tries to hold back the tears. He’s known Irma almost all his life, and can’t just let her die. Billy realizes now, where his loyalties lie. He knows that if he gets that money, he can buy the Lube to save Irma - and get his revenge on Gristweed.

Swarf reveals that the Crusher and the Corrosian mobsters are also arriving at midnight, to collect their 2 million bobs from Gristweed. Billy has only a few hours to find a way to break into Gristocorp. He summons the Rust-Resistance and begs them to get their act together for the sake of Irma. When the Rust-Resistance reveal they’re really the RUST REPERTORY COMPANY, however, Billy is devastated - until he comes up with a daring plan.

Knowing Gristweed has never met the Crusher, Billy reckons it shouldn’t be too hard to walk into Gristocorp disguised as the Corrosians, and simply walk away with the money. The Rust Repertory Company couldn’t be more excited. It’ll be the performance of a lifetime.

Billy disguises Charlie as the Crusher, while he and the others masquerade as his officers. With Charlie at the controls, they take their old subway train to the station below Gristocorp, where Swarf is waiting to let them in.

Billy and Swarf trick Hurt and the Charred-Guards into heading off into the sewers on a bogus mission to find the Rust Resistance. If they ever find their way way out, Billy and the others will be long gone.

Gristweed welcomes everyone into his command-center, and while Charlie, Vera, Herbert, Fred and Jack keep Gristweed occupied, Billy sneaks into the cells and frees President Bob. They successfully liberate all the imprisoned Rusties, but when Billy returns to Gristweed’s control-room, things start to go wrong.

Gristweed hands Charlie a bag containing the money, which he passes to Billy. Suddenly, the door bursts open and the real Corrosians walk in. The Crusher turns out to be CIGARFACE, an old friend from prison, whose life Billy once saved. Realizing he’s outnumbered, Gristweed grabs Vera and the bag of money, and rushes out of the room.

Gristweed jumps into a Satelloid and disappears into the subway system, with Vera as hostage. Billy sprints downstairs, followed by Charlie, Swarf, and the Rust-Resistance. They leap into the train, and Charlie pulls the starter. The engine turns over once and dies.

Billy is forced to take a huge risk. He climbs into the highly unstable Reactor and attaches cables to the output generator. He connects the other ends to the terminals at the back of the train - but nothing happens.

A dejected Billy climbs into the cab and accidentally leans back against the auxiliary power switch. The train takes off like a rocket, flattening everyone against the back wall. Charlie whoops with excitement. Three hundred miles an hour in less than five seconds! It’s like a dream come true.

They finally catch up with Gristweed at the TV studio. It turns out the studio is actually built inside the space-ship Gristweed used to get to Rustworld in the first place. Billy and Charlie race up the steps, and leap through the open door.

Charlie is thrown back out as the ship begins to leave the ground, but Billy manages to hold on to part of the landing gear. Billy is forced to confront his claustrophobia when he finds the only way to get inside is to crawl up an exhaust vent.

Inside the spaceship, Billy looks around in confusion at the hundreds of statues, portraits, and other images of Gristweed. He spots the real Gristweed at the control panel, and begins sneaking up on him. Suddenly Stoopig, Gristweed’s pet, hurls himself at Billy, sending him flying into the middle of the room.

In a violent confrontation, Billy is pinned against the wall. Gristweed pulls out an electronic device and waves it in Billy’s face. He’s leaving Rustworld for good, and will use this remote to blow up the Confusion Reactor - and the Rusties along with it. Gristweed punches the ‘die’ button, and tries to throw Billy back down the vent.

Billy saves himself by grabbing hold of some electrical wires, causing the navigational system to short out. The ship lurches violently, and a huge statue of Gristweed begins to rock from side to side. Gristweed spins round and watches in horror, as the giant statue crashes down on top of him. Billy grabs Vera and the remote control, and jumps out of the still open door.

Billy and Vera fall thousands of feet, landing in the moat surrounding Gristocorp. They look up to see the ship crash into the building above them in a massive explosion. As the Glube catches fire, it looks like the Confusion Reactor will blow. Billy desperately presses the ‘cancel’ button on the remote, until the Reactor slowly grinds to a standstill, and its green pulsating light starts to fade.

By the time Billy and Vera get back to Rivet City, the Zapalonian traders are about to leave. President Bob and Charlie are overjoyed to see they’re still alive, but can see they don’t have the money. Billy, however, has some good news. Back at Gristocorp, he switched the money in the bag for a dozen copies of the Daily Grind. He removes his top-hat and pulls out the entire two million bobs. Now the Rusties will have all the Lube they’ll ever need.

At Irma’s, the Rusties celebrate with a party in Billy’s honor. When Vera discovers Billy already had the money when Gristweed took her hostage, she realizes he risked his life just for her. Now she can’t stop fawning over him. Billy is slightly embarrassed by all the adulation, and reminds everyone he’s nothing special - just a regular bloke.

The party comes to a sudden stop when Hurt crashes in, picks up Billy, and begins choking the life out of him. Billy tricks Hurt into letting go by telling him they’re having a Glube drinking contest to find Rivet City’s toughest Rusty.

It’s a challenge Hurt can’t resist. He pours over thirty cans of Glube down his throat, before seizing up completely - Rustworld’s last ever victim of the Creaks. Vera turns to Irma and asks what Billy means when he says he’s just a bloke. Irma tells her ‘bloke’ is human for ‘hero’.