A normal day in DenTech City, with NetNavis, Network Navigators, and NetOps, NetNavi Operators, living in peace and harmony. Today was a special day as a newcomer arrived on the train, a teen with a grey and blue PET, Personal Terminal, on his belt. His attire consisted of blue jeans, a white shirt, a very old pair of shoes in surprisingly good condition, with little more than a loose strand or two along the side of one shoe, a regular pair of glasses with a grey frame, and a light brown belt. "DenTech City. ~inhale, exhale~ For a high-tech place, it sure has some scenery to it."
"You got that right. Ahh, I love the smell of fresh cut spring grass in the morning." The NetNavi's appearance was close to that of a standard NetNavi, but with normal eyes, no mask, green body armor, small mechanical protrusions along the back of the lower arms which in no way hindered any sort of movement, and a sort of small tank on his back.
"Heh heh, sometimes you're funny, CustomMan. " You would know. After all, you do stuff like that too, Travis." "True. Enough of that, let's see what this city has to offer."
"Wait up!" A man rushed out to Travis before stopping next to him, out of breath. The man was wearing a light blue T-shirt, yellow jeans, a more modern pair of orange shoes, no socks, and a white lab coat. "Sorry, I had to use the bathroom." "Had to hold it in the whole trip?" "Yeah..." "Don't sweat it, dad, it happens." "True. So, you're the one holding the PET, where do we go? Where's our new place?"
"Let me give you a ride there. First, I gotta talk to some of the local NetNavis and see if I can drive a car from the Cyberworld." Noticing a terminal, Travis proceeded to jack CustomMan in. "Jack in, CustomMan. You've got a good idea." CustomMan vanished from the PET's screen an a swarm of pixels before ending up in the Cyberworld. The first thing the NetNavi saw was a generic maintenance NetNavi, not fit for combating Viruses.
"Excuse me." "Oh, hello. How may I help you?" "Me and my NetOp and his father are looking for our new home. We just arrived on the train and I was looking to drive a car to bring them to these coordinates I acquired." CustomMan projected a set of numerals for the NetNavi to locate on the DenTech City map. "You wanna go there? OK. How about I bring the three of you there myself?" "Oh, thank you, how generous. Heh, reminds me of myself, and my NetOp." "My generosity reminds you of yourself and your NetOp? Nice." "They're waiting at the train station. I'll let them know."
CUSTOMMAN - LOGGING OUT
CustomMan reappeared on the PET's screen. "Well?" "Found another NetNavi willing to give us a ride himself. We should be heading out of the train station right about now." "Got it. C'mon, dad." "Heh, smart, just like your mother." "I miss her too, but it wasn't your fault." "...I know."
They exited the station, just in time to see a taxi roll by. The door opened, followed by a NetNavi's voice through the speakers. "A NetNavi told me you would be coming here. It WAS the same NetNavi... right?" "You must be that generous NetNavi CustomMan said would give us a ride." "Oh so THAT'S his name? CustomMan? Sounds interesting. Now then, ALLLLLL ABOOOOOAAAARD!" Travis and his father entered the taxi, allowing the NetNavi to transport them to their new home.
"For future reference, what're your names?" "My name is Travis Peterson." "And I'm Harold Peterson, his father. I use to be the lead scientist at the laboratory in Iceland, but something went wrong and the lab was destroyed. It's just me, my son, and his NetNavi. His mother worked with me at the lab, but after the incident, I never saw her again. The last time we spoke, I remembered I had left my PET connected to the computer on my desk, and she went in to go get it. I think my NetNavi was deleted when the lab's computer exploded." "I'm... sorry to hear that... Rest assured, if you decide to sign up for a scientist job again, you can work with the best in DenTech City. You'll work at SciLab, with the lead scientist, Dr Hikari." "Wait, Dr Hikari? THE Dr Hikari?! He's the best of the best from what I've heard!" "You must be well-informed. Anyway, this is your stop."
The taxi slowed to a stop in front of a nice big house. It had a concrete porch, a flowerbed, a garage at the end front of the driveway, clean windows, cyan roof tiles, an outdoor patio and a nice coat of orange weather-proof paint along the brick surface. By the looks of the place, it seemed to have two floors. "Whoa. I knew you got us a good place, but I didn't expect it to be THIS good." "Ya learn somethin' new every day."
The taxi drove off as they went inside, seeing the old furniture from where they last lived, neatly placed along the sky blue wallpaper. "Why don't you take a stroll around the neighborhood while I fix dinner?" "Alright." "CustomMan, can you set a time for half an hour?" "Right. Thirty minutes and counting down." As Harold went to figure out what to cook, Travis headed out to explore DenTech City.
At a crossing, Travis was admiring the scenery before being almost knocked down. "HEY, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YA IGNORANT DELINQUENT!" The boy that almost knocked Travis on the ground stopped on his scooter before turning to face him. From the appearance, it looked as if fat food was all the boy ever ate. "Yeah, I'm talkin to you, ya human whale." "Well now, you wouldn't want to have a problem on your hands, would ya?" "Just stay away from me, I can smell you from here. ~sniff, sniff~ Ugh... smells like your odor is worse than the spray of a skunk. ~disgusted shuddering~ And did you eat dumpsters WHOLE, because it looks like you're still digesting from about seven months ago." "Why you...!" "Careful, my dad beat up a thief from an alley once before turning him in to police. Don't think I won't do the same to you. After all, I observed."
"Oh, burn. Heh hah, learning from your dad, and standing up for yourself."
"C'mon, fatty. I've got one quality you don't: mobility." "AAAAHHHH!" The fat boy threw a punch, a significantly slow one, just slow enough for Travis to easily avoid it and throw an uppercut at the speed of two blinks of an eye. "Come at me again and you'll get a second serving of my knuckle sandwich." The fat boy backed away and got back on his scooter before scootering away.
"Wow, nobody's ever stood up to Dex like that before." Travis looked back, seeing a boy wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with black squares on the elbows under an orange vest, black shorts with yellow stripes on the sides, black ankle-socks, orange shoes with black stripes, and a blue bandana with a symbol on it. "That was his name? Well, 'Fatty Faterson' fits him a lot better. Anyway, I'm Travis Peterson. What's your name?" "I'm Lan Hikari." "You're the son of Dr Hikari, huh?" "Yeah?" "It's an honor to meet you."
"Hey, Lan?" Lan took out a blue PET. "Yeah, MegaMan?" "I'm sensing a really powerful NetNavi nearby."
"That's probably just CustomMan, my NetNavi." "You wanna have a Netbattle?" "Um... sure?"
Later that day, Lan and Travis were at a local arcade, with their NetNavis jacked into a Netbattling arena. "Remember all that practice, CustomMan?" "Yeah, I know. Keep your eyes on your opponent, and read his movements."
"Ready, MegaMan?" "I'm ready, send me a Battle Chip!"
"Cybersword Battle Chip in! Download!" MegaMan's right arm shifted into a Cybersword as the blue NetNavi rushed in to attack.
"Alright, CustomMan. Transmitting Battle Chips: Area-Steal and Mini-Boomer." CustomMan vanished just before MegaMan's attack could connect. The NetNavi appeared behind him as MegaMan turned around. "Uh... feet?" MegaMan looked down, seeing a small sphere on the digital ground. It exploded, dealing significant damage and blasting him skyward. The blue NetNavi landed on his back, the Cybersword having reverted back to his normal arm.
"Nicely done, CustomMan." "Heh, that was easy."
"MegaMan, you OK?" "Yeah, I just didn't expect that."
"CustomMan, ready for our next move?" "Standing by."
"Cannon Battle Chip in! Download!" MegaMan's arm changed into a green cannon before he opened fire with it.
"Transmitting Battle Chips: M-Cannon and three Mini-Boomers. You know what to do with those." "I get what you're going for." The protrusion on the bottom of CustomMan's lower right arm transformed into a partially different red cannon. The back was open on the left and right sides with a grip in the middle, the grip having a trigger on it, and CustomMan was holding it like a regular weapon handle.
A panel on the side of the cannon opened up, allowing a sort of tube to come out, which CustomMan placed the Mini-Boomers into. With the tube stowed and the panel closed, CustomMan pulled the trigger once, launching one Mini-Boomer straight at MegaMan at high speeds.
MegaMan narrowly dodged the first Mini-Boomer, only to be hit by the second one, being knocked back by the explosion.
"Battle Chip custom combination weapon created: Grenade Launcher." The PET rang.
"Custom combination weapon?!" "Yep, that's CustomMan's ability: Battle Chip Customization. I send certain Battle Chips to him and he creates a custom weapon with them." "Nice. How about a Program Advance?" "Ooh, Program Advance. There's something to consider."
"Travis, get some Battle Chips ready. I still have one Mini-Boomer left." "Copy that."
"Barrier Battle Chip in! Download!" A protective barrier surrounded MegaMan as he formed his standard MegaBuster and aimed at CustomMan.
"Transmitting Battle Chips: Barrier and Blaster." "Storing remaining custom weapon charge for later use." A protective barrier surrounded CustomMan as his Grenade Launcher pixelated and vanished, being replaced by a modified Blaster armcannon. With one shot, CustomMan intercepted MegaMan's blast, surpassed it, and destroyed the barrier around the blue Navi.
"Resuming custom weapon use: Grenade Launcher." The Blaster was replaced by the modified Red M-Cannon, containing a single Mini-Boomer. CustomMan launched the third and final explosive at MegaMan, dealing further damage. "Custom weapon charge extinguished."
With MegaMan down, CustomMan took aim and fired the M-Cannon blast, finishing the job before MegaMan could touch the ground again.
MEGAMAN - LOGGING OUT
"Whoa, you took MegaMan down, just like that!" "MegaMan lacks the ability to customize and combine Battle Chips, so that practically ends the match before it even begins."
"You took down MegaMan on your first try?" Travis and Lan turned to see a boy with straight white-and-black hair hanging over his forehead, a red sleeveless jacket over a black long-sleeved shirt with a yellow collar and lower half on it, long pants with a green camouflage pattern, and a pair of black shoes.
"Chaud, what're you doing here?" Lan asked. "I heard there was a new guy in town, so I looked around. When I saw you Netbattling with him, I couldn't help but watch. I'm really surprised by the outcome. It took ProtoMan quite a while to defeat MegaMan, and your NetNavi made it look easy."
"Why not take a look at CustomMan, and see how he beat MegaMan?" Travis handed Chaud his blue and grey PET, allowing the boy to examine the victorious NetNavi. "Personal NetNavi of Travis Peterson: CustomMan. NetNavi ability: Battle Chip Customization. Battle Chip Customization allows CustomMan to customize and combine multiple Battle Chips to create unique weapons for Virus Busting and Netbattling purposes. Some combinations may even be used for healing purposes. Example: combination of Recovery Battle Chips and the Blaster Battle Chip will create a NetNavi tool with the purpose of repairing damaged NetNavis." "Impressive. That's new."
"Took my dad a few years to code that in." "Thirteen years to be exact. He was attempting to create new NetNavi abilities for other NetOps to choose from when creating their own custom NetNavi." CustomMan added.
"Interesting. Who's your dad?" "Harold Peterson. And you are?" "Chaud Blaze."
"I haven't met ProtoMan yet." "Well, we don't have anything else to do, so I guess I could jack ProtoMan in." Handing Travis back his PET, Chaud pulled out his red PET and projected the beam from it into the wireless jack on the Netbattling arena as Travis did the same.
CustomMan jacked back in, seeing a red NetNavi with a visor that looked like shades. "So you're CustomMan. Huh, interesting." "And I am to assume you're this ProtoMan NetNavi?" "That's me. Now, let's test your skills against a better opponent. Ready, Chaud?" "Looks like we've got a fight on our hands."
"How do you use a Program Advance?" "...You're kidding, right?" "I don't know either." Neither Travis nor CustomMan knew how to initiate a Program Advance.
"A Program Advance is a powerful weapon that occurs when you download a set of three Battle Chips in a certain order. For example: Cybersword, Widesword, and Longsword make Lifesword." "Got it. OK, CustomMan. Transmitting Battle Chips: Cannon, HiCannon, and M-Cannon." "Program Advance: Zeta Cannon." CustomMan's right arm formed a green cannon as his left made a blue cannon before they began glowing. The NetNavi knew what to do. Putting the two glowing cannons together, CustomMan created a larger five-barrel cannon with two exposed handle grips. Five beams came out at the same time, combining into a massive blast.
ProtoMan narrowly dodged the laser, the attack grazing his arm. "ProtoMan, are you OK?" "I'm fine. That attack seemed stronger than normal."
"Ready for another custom?" "Load 'em up." "Transmitting Battle Chips: M-Cannon and three Mini-Boomers." "Battle Chip custom combination weapon created: Grenade Launcher." CustomMan was armed with a red cannon, loaded with three Mini-Boomers.
"What?!" ProtoMan was caught off-guard. CustomMan fired a Mini-Boomer at ProtoMan, who avoided the explosive projectile. "You can fire Mini-Boomers from that thing?!" "Cybersword, Widesword, Longsword, Battle Chips in! Download!" "Program Advance: Lifesword." ProtoMan wielded a large glowing blade before slamming it down like a hammer, releasing a powerful shockwave.
"Transmitting Battle Chip: Area-Steal." CustomMan vanished from the spot before the Lifesword blast could make contact and reappeared behind ProtoMan before firing the other two Mini-Boomers at his back. The two explosions knocked the red NetNavi to his hands and knees as CustomMan approached. "Transmitting Battle Chip: Cybersword." A glowing blade popped out of the protrusion on the bottom of CustomMan's right arm before turning ninety degrees on a joint and disconnecting. The result was a normal Cybersword, but with a handle attached where an arm would be.
CustomMan tossed the Cybersword up before catching it upside-down in his hand, placing a foot on ProtoMan's back and holding the tip of the blade just over the red NetNavi's shoulder.
"Area-Steal, Battle Chi-" "Transmitting Ba-" They spoke at the same time before ending early, showing each other the Battle Chip they were about to slot in. They were both about to use an Area-Steal Battle Chip. It looked like a stalemate between the NetOps, but it didn't look that way for the NetNavis.
Before long, ProtoMan disappeared in a swarm of pixels.
PROTOMAN - LOGGING OUT
"You won that match so easily." "I just have to adapt battle strategies and Battle Chip combinations to different opponents and different scenarios." "If the situation changes, you adapt your fighting style to it?" "Basically."
All of a sudden, there was a beeping sound from Travis's PET. "Travis, I think your dad may have made dinner by now." "Right, lead the way, CustomMan. Seeya, guys."
"Bye, Travis." "See ya around."
Later, Travis made it back home, smelling something good. "Ah, Travis, you're just in time." "What did you make? It smells good. "Rib tacos and potato skins with bacon and cheese. I know you like swiss so much, so that's the cheese I used. I even put some of that extra spicy sauce in your taco, since you have a tendency for spicy stuff." "Ooh, sounds good."
"What about me?" "You get to explore the Cyberworld." "Fair enough." Travis projected the beam from his PET right into the wireless jack next to the door. CustomMan appeared in the Cyberworld, ready to see what there was around the place.
Well, there's a new and interesting story for you guys to see.
The emblem you see as the cover for this story is actually CustomMan's symbol. I... did what I could.
The reason for the 'protrusions' is mainly because CustomMan's forearms are basically the same design as the forearms of a Vanguard-class Titan from Titanfall 2, but it's not a crossover.
See you next time.