Home is Where the Spark Is ~ Trial Run
Night is thick and penetrating in Detroit. Somewhere deep within its' towering skyscrapers, a clock tower tolls the early hours of morning.
Dong…dong…dong…
Suddenly, the sound of a large engine starting is heard. The source is a slate-grey armored van pealing away from the Detroit National Bank, no doubt carrying countless thousands of dollars within its' thick walls.
The massive vehicle speeds down the empty street and pulls up to a red stoplight, idling, with its' passengers unaware that a lone figure stands atop a nearby business complex with a confident smirk on his masked face. Now, the sight alone of a single person standing on a six-story building at three o'clock in the morning might be rather odd; but the fact that his clothing not only consists of mint-green tights and forest-green smock-his costume also includes a large bow and cache of arrows, rather obsolete in 2058 Detroit.
Seeing his opportunity, the Robin Hood-esque figure removes what resembles an arrow, sets it in his bow, and with a gleeful shout of "Tally-ho!" he fires it at the armored van.
Mid-flight, the "arrow" suddenly sprouts the ends of a magnet on either side of the blunt metal head and attaches to the top of the van with a clang. Using a rope which was attached to the "feathered" end, the archer ties the other end to a nearby fire escape ladder and slides down on his trusty "wooden" bow.
Just as he lands on the roof of the vehicle, the light switches to green and the forward motion of the van pulls the magnet-arrow away. Letting loose another "arrow", this one again attaches to the roof of the vehicle, and with the use of a collapsible laser, makes quick work of the thick metal and creates a large circular hole, revealing two bewildered SWAT team members.
"Stand and deliver, old sport!" the green-clad thief cries.
Before either man can react, two bronze fist-shaped arrows have them pinned to the opposite wall, both unconscious from the impact. Five more rope-arrows quickly snatch up the beige moneybags and return to the one whom fired them. The Robin Hood impersonator swiftly ties them about his waist like some demented skirt of cash-bags.
"Forsooth! The Angry Archer is victorious!" the villain announced.
Sirens suddenly wail behind him, and the Angry Archer is alerted of the close presence of the DPD. Backing up a few steps and scanning his fast-moving surroundings, a means of escape suddenly presents itself as a red, white and blue fire truck, approaching from the opposite lane with sirens blaring, lights flashing, and beams on high.
With all the experience of Robin Hood himself, the Angry Archer lets loose yet another magnet-arrow onto the top of the oncoming emergency vehicle. As it zooms past, the Archer turns with it, sprouts small metal wings from his quiver, and glides after it like a human kite. Upon landing on the truck's hood, the masked man let forth a chortle and declared to the open air, "Victory is mine! Yon police would ne'er stop a fire truck from speeding to an emergency!"
But to the robber's surprise, a deep and smooth voice replied, seemingly all around him, "Only one problem with that theory…" The brakes suddenly screeched against the pavement below, causing the Archer to lose his footing and balance. Momentum had the thief flying uncontrollably off the front of the truck, and with a yell, he fell to the earth again unceremoniously with a grunt.
Gears whirred, metal clank-et and clang-ed, and joints re-aligned as the truck transformed.
"…you're the emergency."
The shaken Archer turned to face his unknown foe, only to meet what looked like metal feet. Fear evident on his masked face, the strange man looked up…and up…and up… and what met his eyes would be imprinted there forever. Looming above him was a robot, but not just any robot; oh no, it was much too advanced to be the work of Sumdac Systems, that he was sure of. It had the same coloring scheme as the fire truck; red, white and blue, like some leftover Fourth of July parade prop. A massive barrel chest tapered off to a slim waist and long legs, and powerful apelike arms angled out, his hands resting on his "hips".
Dumbstruck, the Angry Archer had no time to react when the large truck-robot suddenly bent down and grabbed him up, as if he were no more than a child's doll. When his mind suddenly caught up with time again, the Angry Archer found that he didn't like being handled like a mere toy, so he began to struggle to free his arms and commanded "Unhand me, metallic ruffian!"
After a few seconds, his arms and bow were suddenly free. Taking advantage of what little opportunity he had, he swiftly let loose a grappling arrow and sent it flying to the nearest streetlamp. The gears started to pull him free of the metal giant's grip, so with a cheeky grin, the thief turned back to him and said "Tally-ho and fare thee well!" before he suddenly slipped from the trucks' grip like a bar of soap.
Energon axe pulled from subspace, Optimus Prime reeled back and promptly let it fly through the air. Tumbling end over end, it sliced through the rope of the fleeing villain before embedding itself in the asphalt with a crash of echoing thunder.
Having found himself kissing the ground for the second time in two minutes, the strange robber leapt up with a loud growl of frustration and fired an arrow. Anticipating the attack, Optimus dodges the volley, which flies past his shoulder and causes a car behind him to explode. Quickly putting out the fire with a well-aimed blast of anti-flame foam, Optimus turns back to face his opponent only to notice he is fleeing down the street. Two bolas are swiftly released from his forearms, which cycle through the air and entrap the running man.
After crashing to the ground with yet another pain-filled grunt, the captured thief is picked up by a single rope, left to dangle like a small fish on a line.
"Oh vexing fate, thou art a harsh mistress! I was to be rich, I was to be famous!" the Archer yelled as he thrashed and wiggled.
Police sirens wailing and camera-bots whirring overhead, the momentary hero simply replied,
"Looks like you'll just have to settle for famous."
~*~
*Well, that's it! This is the OFFICIAL first file I have uploaded on FF, and like the title says, this is just a test run. I don't really plan on continuing the episode beyond this little opening scene. For those of you who braved my (as Henry Masterson would say!) n00b-ishness, I applaud your courage!
-3 Kalee*