Introduction: September 11, 2001. As all of you probably know, a terrible tragedy happened today. Terrorists have hijacked four commercial jet planes and crashed them into the Twin Towers in New York as well as the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Though the death toll has yet to be tallied, one thing is for certain. It is going to be astronomical. As the fear, anger, and nausea slowly began to recede-I was fortunate in that I had to go to work at my local Wendy's today, so my mind could be taken off the gruesome scene for a while-this story began to filter into my mind. By the time I got off shift, the entire thing had been pretty well entirely thought out. This story is in no way intending to make light of today's tragedy, but I am a Mega Man fanfiction author, and writing these stories is a way that I vent pent up emotions. Please keep that in mind as you read this. Another thing, for those of you who have been reading my Time Trap series, this story takes place in the "normal" timeline, so any changes that have happened in those stories are not applicable here.
"I repeat, the Washington D.C. branch of LighTech has been bombed!"
At his home in the suburbs of Megalopolis, Rock stared at the television set, not seeing the terrible destruction behind the newscaster, nor hearing what was being said. All he could see and hear was the conversation he had with his creator-no, father-the night before.
"Dr. Light, I really don't think you should be going over to D.C. this time!" Rock insisted. "I have a bad feeling about it."
The white haired scientist shook his head. "Rock, you're being overprotective, as usual. The government is working on a new defense system and merely needs my help with some of the more intricate details. Don't worry. I'll be back by tomorrow night, Sunday morning on the outside."
Rock would not be swayed. "Then at least let me go with you."
Dr. Light chuckled. "Rock, you're needed here. You know that Dr. Wily's been on the offensive recently, and if he should attack, you need to be where you have easy access to my computer network. Don't worry so much, I'll be fine."
And so he left. And now...this! Rock was pulled out of his stupor as the newscaster said, "The anti-robot terrorist group, the Brothers of Humanity, have claimed responsibility for the bombings. As you know, they have been against robots ever since they began to be commonplace in the late 20th century, and have been held responsible for past attacks on LighTech as well as other robotics firms..."
The rest of the newscast was tuned out of Rock's mind again as he stood. He had to go and see for himself! He just wouldn't be able to rest until he did. "Roll!" he called as he turned to his sister, also watching the newscast. "Get the pets and find a safe place to hide! If this really was an anti-robot attack, then I wouldn't put it past these nut jobs to bomb the house."
Roll nodded as she stood, "Where are you going?" she asked, though her tone indicated that she knew exactly where her brother was headed.
Rock's mouth was set in a grim line as his blue armor appeared on him in a flash of light, turning him from Dr. Light's robotic son Rock, to the warrior robot Mega Man. "Washington," he replied as he disappeared in a beam of blue light.
Mega Man landed just outside of the yellow tape surrounding the disaster and stopped cold. He couldn't believe the destruction. The LighTech building once rose sixty stories into the sky, with another ten underground. Now, all that was left of it was a huge pile of burning rubble. The smoke was increadibly thick this close to the wreck. If Mega Man had been human, he'd have either choked to death or gone blind by now. As it was, he merely stopped breathing so as to not overwork his air filters, and his eyes were impervious to the smoke anyways. He could see rescue workers scrambling about, trying to find survivors and assess the dead, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to realize that they 'd be doing a whole lot more of the latter than the former.
Mega Man dropped to his knees, and tears would have been streaming down his face if he had the capacity to cry. There were hundreds of people who worked in that building at any one day-hundreds!-and today Dr. Light was one of them. With a cry of defiance and rage, Mega Man slammed both fists in the ground, causing the cement to crack even more than it was already. "I don't believe this," he sobbed in despair. "This is a nightmare!"
"No, it's worse," a sudden voice from behind said, causing Mega Man to spin. The speaker was another humanoid robot, of the same diminutive four foot height, with red and gray armor, a visored helmet, and a yellow scarf flapping in the breeze. The visor kept most of his face hidden, but what could be seen was set in a grim expression. "This is reality," Protoman added.
Mega Man turned back to the wreck. "All those people..." he murmured in despair.
Protoman nodded. "I know."
Mega Man tried in vain to keep a lump from forming in his throat. "And Dr. Light...?"
Protoman shook his head. "They haven't found him yet-alive or dead."
Mega Man sat there for a moment more, then stood up again, pushing his feelings aside with a resolve. "Well, what are we waiting for? These people are gonna need our help!" And without another word he walked into the Hell that awaited him.
The hours that followed were long, hard, and strenuous-both on the body as well as the soul. Mega Man and Protoman's incredible robotic strength was invaluable to the rescue effort, for they could move huge chunks of debris in minutes what would take the rescue workers hours. Still, they could tell that it was going to take weeks to get through the entire mess as thoroughly as they needed to go. And their findings weren't too promising, either. There were a few survivors, bleeding with broken arms and legs and very lucky to be alive. But they were in vast minority. Most of what they found were corpses, some missing appendages, others with crushed skulls, all of them covered in blood. And even more maddening was that there was still no sign of Dr. Light.
Finally, Mega Man, covered in dirt, grime, and human blood, collapsed with a sob. Protoman, likewise messed up, pulled is brother up in an awkward sort of embrace as he led him away from the carnage. "I can't take this anymore Hadrian," Mega Man cried, calling Protoman by his "human" name. "I just can't!"
"I know," Protoman replied. "I know. Look, we've done enough for today, let's get you back to Megalopolis to rest."
Before Mega Man could answer either in the affirmative or negative, a blonde man in a black business suit suddenly seemed to appear at their side. "Mega Man?" the man asked tentatively.
Mega Man hardly looked up. "Yes?"
The man went on, ignoring Protoman's glares. "I'm Mr. Collins, Secretary of the Defense, and there's something I need to speak to you about."
"You're crazy!" Protoman protested. "His father is buried somewhere under there and here you come like the leach you are expecting him to just do anything..."
"Shut up, Proto!" Mega Man snapped, causing his older brother to stop short. Mega Man straightened up and stood on his own. "What do you want?"
Mr. Collins nodded and led them towards a nearby building. "As you know, all feedback from the security cameras around the building get sent to another building for the recording process, so we might see what happened in events such as this one. We need your expertise to tell us who did it."
Mega Man looked confused. "Didn't the Brothers set the bomb?"
Mr. Collins shook his head. "They are claiming responsibility, but it's not unheard of for a terrorist group to claim to something they didn't to in order to get their message spread. Just take a look."
Mega Man, Protoman, and Mr. Collins entered a small one room building close, but not too close to the disaster. Along one wall was a bank full of monitors. "Just watch," Collins said as the hit a button. All the monitors switched on, showing a different part of the building as it was before the explosion. The hallways were filled with both people and robots. Not unusual, as this was a robotics firm. The most common robot was a little model that consisted of big bug eyes, a yellow hard hat, and a pair of big feet. Mets. Those weren't too uncommon either, as Mets were actually rather handy to have around for their laser torches and hidden tools. Then Mega Man noticed something peculiar. Several of the Mets started to move in synch, despite the fact that they were in totally different sectors. They all moved to seemingly predetermined areas, and simply exploded, causing the video to cut out.
Mega Man destroyed enough of those things during his war with Dr. Wily to know what kind of explosion they made, and what he saw that last instant before the static wasn't it. "Someone put bombs inside the Mets?" he asked incredulously.
Collins nodded. "So, do you think this could be the work of Dr. Wily?"
Mega Man shook his head. "No, it doesn't match his style, and he has nothing to gain from this. First of all, he likes to keep potentially useful buildings more or less in one piece. Another thing, most of the employees here had skills that Dr. Wily could use, so he wouldn't just do away with them. And in all the years I've fought him, he's even given the innocent bystanders a chance to escape. Fact is, the only people he's ever gone out of his way to kill are myself and Proto."
Collins thought for a second and asked. "And Dr. Light?"
Again Mega Man shook his head. "Dr. Light and Dr. Wily used to be good friends, and in his own perverse way, I think Wily still respects that. After all, he has had chances to kill him in the past, and hasn't. No, I'm pretty sure that this wasn't Wily."
Before Mr. Collins could answer, another man in a suit walked in. "Mega Man," he said without preamble. "The President of the United States has requested your presense."
Mega Man seemed to hesitate. "But..."
Protoman nudged him. "Go on. I'll stay here and tell you if they find anything."
The man in the suit shook his head. "Sorry, but he'd like to see the both of you."
Mega Man sighed. "Lead the way."
Mega Man felt kind of awkward, meeting the president messy and gory as he was. But the President seemed perfectly understanding. Protoman stayed to one side, not really wanting to have anything to do with the exchange. Mega Man gave a slight nod to the leader of the free world respectfully. "Mr. President," he said in an official voice. "With all due respect, I'd like to get back out to the disaster as soon as possible, so..."
The President shook his head. "Mega Man, I hate to break it to you, but there are more than one disasters."
"What!?" the two brothers broke out with simultaneously.
"There have been three other bombings across the U.S." the President said bluntly. "All of them Robotics firms."
Mega Man groaned. He knew the President was going to ask him to help find a way to stop it, and that meant he'd be away from his search. Before anyone could say anything else, the telecom beeped. The President switched the commuinication device on to tell the secretary he was not to be disturbed. Instead of the secretary, though, was am image of a not-too-imposing man wearing glasses and had black hair. "Mr. President," the man said. "I am Joshua Black, leader of the Brothers of Humanity. I have called you now to warn you that these last four bombings are only the beginning, unless you listen to my offer."
"Why have you done this?" the President asked angrily.
Joshua Black shrugged. "To save humanity from the robots, of course," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Mega Man couldn't hear any more. "You nut-job!" he spat. "You've caused more damage and death in one day than Wily has since he first began his campaigns!"
Black smirked. "Well if it isn't Mega Man, the very symbol of the evil I plan to destroy."
"Evil?" Mega Man couldn't help but growl. "If it wasn't for me, Wily would have taken this planet over by now."
Black didn't even blink. "If it wasn't for you and the technology that created you, Wily would never have had the ammo to try in the first place. Robots are dangerous. They outclass us humans in every respect. And I know that there will be robots that can think for themselves that will be in development soon. When that happens, the humans are doomed. I am trying to save my race."
"By killing helpless scientists?"
"A necessary sacrifice. A few lives for many."
Mega Man bristled. "Who are you to decide who dies and who lives?"
"Yeah!" Protoman piped up. "Who died and made you God?"
Black scowled. "I am not the one who plays God here. It's those scientists who created you. They are the ones creating near sentient life out of machines! They are the ones treading ground they shouldn't, not I!"
"You're crazy!" Mega Man said simply.
Black glared at the Blue Bomber for a moment, then regained his composure. "Well, it's obvious you will not listen to me, so I guess a few more examples need to be made." Black grinned. "At least I got rid of one of the main sourses of the problem," he sneered, obviously meaning Dr. Light, before the telecom went out.
"Collins!" the President called into the intercom. "Did you manage to trace where that came from?"
"No, sir," Collins replied. "He used every trick in the book to keep the transmission hidden, and then some. Piggybacking signals, false phone lines. Dr. Light himself would have had trouble.." Collins stopped when he realized that Mega Man was still there. "Oh, Mega Man, I'm sorry..."
"Don't be," Mega Man answered. "It's not your fault. And don't worry Mr. President," he added. "I'll be sure to find the one who's fault it is." And when I do, I'll kill 'im!
The next three days did not go well for Mega Man and Protoman. Both looked into every lead they could get, Mega Man's info from government agencies do to his standing as, for lack of a better term, Super Hero, and Protoman's info from less savory places. Finally, the coordinance they were looking for came from an unlikely place.
Mega Man stood in the empty field where the anonimous caller told him to meet. He was rather jumpy and impatient. Dr. Light still hadn't been found, and his already slim chances were spiraling downward with every passing day. He just wished he could get this job over with.
Finally, his informant arrived, and it was the last person Mega Man expected. He wore black and grey armor, with gold and white trim, his face had a pair of scars that each ran from his eyes down his cheeks, and he wore a black helmet with a golden crest, much like the head of a cobra.
"Bass," Mega Man growled. "I don't have time to deal with you right now..."
Bass raised a hand to silence his little blue enemy. "Relax, Mega Man. For one, we're on the same side."
Mega Man snorted derisively, but allowed Bass to continue. The black robot drew from his armor a computer disk. With a deft flick of the wrist, he tossed it to Mega Man. "Here's where that nutcase's signal came from. Make good use of it."
Mega Man looked at Bass in surprise. He didn't ask how he got the info, for Dr. Wily was very good at intercepting transmissions. Instead he asked, "Why would you help me?"
Bass shrugged. "Wily's getting nervous. The security systems on those LighTech buildings're comparable to the Skull Fort. If somebody could bomb that place, they could just as easily get him. And since their target is robots...Well, Wily know's he's in trouble." Bass smirked. "And besides, by threatening all robotkind, the Brothers of Humanity are threatening me, too. And I don't take too kindly to that."
Mega Man looked back at the disk he was holding. Finally he asked, "And what about you?"
Bass shrugged as he turned to go. "I gotta stay at the Skull Fort and play bodyguard. Otherwise, I'd go myself. Ta!" That said, Bass teleported out in a beam of violet energy.
As it turned out, finding Joshua Black turned out to be the difficult part. He'd surrounded his lair with a gauntlet of traps and soldiers that would have been suicide for even an army of humans to try and get through, but was nothing for robots of Mega Man and Protoman's calabur. The machine guns the humans turned on them stung, but did no real damage, and the robotic brothers easily disarmed and knocked out the humans as they strode purposefully, for Black's hole.
After so many years of fighting Dr. Wily, Mega Man sub consciously expected there to be a war machine of some kind when they got to where they reached the end. But all they found was a portable office, complete with a desk in the center. Black, sitting at the desk looked up in surprise. When he saw who it was at his door, he gasped.
Mega Man stormed into the room, angrier than he had ever been in his life. "You're pretty good at killing people from behind that desk, Black!" he snarled. "Lets see how you like it!"
Black stared into Mega Man's blue eyes with his own brown ones. "Those deaths were on their own heads, not mine."
"Don't give me that bull crap!" Mega Man shouted as he splintered the desk with one firm punch. "You killed those people in cold blood!" Mega Man grabbed Black by the shirt collar and threw him bodily into a filing cabinet. Protoman gasped. He had never seen his brother in such a rage before. But Mega Man wasn't done yet. He picked up Black and belted him in the gut. "They were only trying to better the world...and you killed them!" Mega Man punched Black in the face, causing blood to spurt from his nose. "Wily's never been that cold blooded!" Mega Man formed an arm cannon and pressed it against Black's chest. "He's at least a human. But there's no way you are!"
"Mega Man, NO!" Protoman shouted.
Joshua Black suddenly started to laugh. It was not a nice laugh to hear, as it was tinged with insanity. "Whatever you do to me, robot, you'll prove me right!" His laughter continued, louder and wilder than before. Mega Man stared at him.
Finally, Mega Man just bopped him over the head with his Arm Cannon, knocking the man cold. "Know what?" he said to the unconscious terrorist. "You're not worth it."
Protoman sighed in relief. Mega Man smiled slightly as he tossed Black over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "C'mon bro, let's go home," he said. And without another word the two teleported away.
When Mega Man got home after dropping off Black, he noticed the light on the telecom flashing, indicating that he had a message on the answering machine. Mega Man switched it on, hoping it was news. And it was. When the recording turned on, Mega Man could see the face of one of the rescue workers he helped earlier. "Mega Man," the man on the recording said. "We found Dr. Light." Mega Man held his breath, hoping against all hope. "He's alive."
Rock got to the hospital as soon as he was able. When he told the receptionist that he was there to see Dr. Light, she tried to refuse him entry, until he said that he was the good Doctor's son. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Rock was stepping into the hospital room. Dr. Light's head was bandaged and he had an arm and a leg in casts, but he was alive. Against all odds he was alive! Dr. Light looked up at his son. "Hello, Rock," he said softly.
Rock was over to his father in seconds, giving Dr. Light a fierce hug and sobbing uncontrollably. Dr. Light ran a hand through Rock's hair. "There, now. It's okay. It's okay."
They stayed that way for over an hour.
Joshua Black was locked away in one of the highest security prisons there was, awaiting trial. He knew that he would be found guilty of many counts of first degree murder, but he didn't care. He planned on being well out of his cell long before the trial was even to begin. A voice from a dark corner of his cell caused the man to look up.
"Y'know, I don't give jack squat about the humans you killed," the voice said. "But you threatened me and my kind, and I don't like that." The owner of the voice stepped from the shadows and revealed itself to be a black and gold demon with a cobra's hood. Bass grabbed Black by the collar and slammed him against the wall, arm cannon pressed to the human's chest. "Mega Man and Protoman may be too honorable to kill you," he said as he began to accumulate a charge in his cannon. "But I'm not. After all," Bass added with a wicked grin. "I am the bad guy." Bass held the hapless human hanging there for a moment, enjoying the feeling. Then he fired.