I don't own Mega Man. Wah.
-t-
Mega Man had a lot on his plate. He had to keep the laboratory going, which surprisingly took more than Auto just working tirelessly at experimentations and construction of goods. Light Laboratories employed thousands of people and robots across the world. As it was for most of the past year, regional managers and executives ran the factories. They had been slowly taking more control ever since Dr. Light became more sickly. Now that he was gone, the CEO of most of Light Laboratories' economic side was Dr. Kenneth Imahara, a distant in-law of Dr. Light's that also had interest in robotics.
The blue bomber sighed and pulled more of the papers closer for a better look. It was a good thing that robots didn't need sleep; even despite the wider spread of control Rock found himself shuffling through financial and legal documents, sorting out budgeting and copyright. Mega Man didn't mind this work. There was a lot of it, but it was comfortable tedium, a nice distraction from fighting all the time. Auto still had to keep his shop in town going, so that meant Mega Man was going to have to deal with economics.
Mega Man glanced around the room once, sighing again. No, it wasn't the work that bothered him. This room had once been Dr. Light's office, more or less. In life, the good doctor had always referred to it as "the library", as it held scattered documents, maps, and blueprints filed in an ecclectic (messy) manner in all of the bookcases and racks that lined the bare walls. No one knew why Dr. Light kept it the way he did, only that it was in an order only he had understood. Any rearranging had brought immediate protests.
No, it wasn't the room that bothered him either. His eyes darted to the source of his concern: Roll. To look at her, no one would see a troubled girl. They would only see the cute Japanese-ish, American-ish robot that was rather contentedly pulling out Dr. Light's old documents and trying to organize them in a way that ordinary people would understand. Her assistant robot, the green spider mechaniloid Dub, reached out his eight arms to bring her the highest documents out of her reach. Roll cheerfully explained to him the significance of whatever paper was pulled, asking him to put it in whichever pile on the floor was appropriate. The robot listened - Rock was never sure how much it understood - and affirmed Roll's words with a computerish squeal or plunk.
Her brother had to smile. Roll could just tell Dub some order of how to set the files and have him do it all, but to her this was a labor of love. It had been three months since Dr. Light passed, and even since then Roll had a difficult time transitioning. She tried her hardest to be happy, but there always seemed to be something missing from her smiles. Mega Man saw it no matter how much his sister would bury it under cheer or work. Her now geniune merriness came from organizing the files, doing it as is for Dr. Light.
She glanced up at her brother from her seat on the floor. Even as he pretended to look down, Roll knew that he had been staring.
"What is it?"
"Nothing, nothing." Mega Man sheepishly said. "Don't let me bother you."
Roll knew it was a lie. She teasingly frowned at him, pretending to be stern as she put her hands on her hips. "Don't you have a patrol or something to do? You're getting in my way. Shoo! Go on now!"
"I have to get this work done sometime." Mega lifted several documents to prove his point.
"Bah, get going. You can do it in the lab." Roll playfully turned to her assistant. "Dub, escort Mr. Mega Man out!"
The spider-loid reached out two of its long arms, and whatever else it understood, it knew what teasing meant. The two claws reached out and started to bonk Rock on the head more or less gently, as two more metal limbs stretched out and started to tug at Mega Man's arm. Ducking under the play onslaught, the bomber made his way to the door, pretending he was going to kick over one of the stacks of paper as he passed. But he left all the same, turning once more to stick out his tongue at his sister, who promptly stuck out hers in reply.
With that, the door was shut and Rock was excluded. He had to smile though. It was nice to see Roll genuinely cheerful. She worked so hard at making herself look happy, but this was as close as Roll was to her normal self since before Dr. Light's last few months of life.
The library was only a little ways down the hall from the main laboratory, so Rock decided to go there. Bearing a few of the more important papers, Mega Man entered the lab and settled down at one of the repair tables closest to the door. As much as the table was designed to hold the body of a robot and not be convenient to work at, he liked it. The width of the table made it easy to see all the documents he had to work on at once. Again, he was glad to be a robot. It was so much faster to get through everything he had to work on.
That didn't mean he concentrated on his work. Auto was buzzing about the lab, merrily gathering supplies for his robot supply shop in the middle of Monstropolis. He was working on a new energy converter for robots with specialized weapons, and if it worked he would be in for a lot more profit. Not that Auto was money-minded, but he had to keep his shop running. It was, after all, the main source of income for the home. Saving the world didn't pay as much as most people thought.
Mega Man found himself jealous of Auto. Long ago, he too had been a lab tech, assistant to Dr. Light. Those had been some of the happiest years of his life, and his original directive had been to support the new inventions that Dr. Light created. He was responsible for a lot of the construction of the first robot masters. Making robots was such fun, and yet he so rarely got to do it these days. He had defeated Wily so many times that people always thought of him as someone that fought crime. Mega Man never fought crime for fun, but to protect people. Every time that the governor wanted help in finding someone or stopping rampaging robots, he dialed the number to the lab. Mega Man never could say no.
"La la la..." Auto hummed an old Japanese song to himself. He was in a very good mood. "Oh, hi Rock! Getting a lot of work done on those papers?"
Mega Man started. He had barely even given them a look since spreading them out on the repair table. Embarrassed, he reached a hand through his locks with a sheepish grin.
"Uh, well, not as much as I wanted to." he admitted. "It's coming along."
"Make sure you file those patents for me!" Auto cheerfully stuffed a box of screws into a crate to bring to the store. "I've got to help Eddie get our new power pellet display set up. Hopefully I'll be back in time to get some work done on the Proto Man's Christmas present before the day is out!"
It was only April, but this sort of present took a long time to build. Mega Man smiled. The Proto Jet had been a replacement for the dog-bots that he and Bass used. Proto Man wasn't an animal person, so he instead got a fighter jet type aircraft, one that could do vertical take-offs and landings. It had actually been Crystal Bot's idea, as she somehow got it into her head that Proto Man never came to the Lights' Christmas party the year before because no one had presents for him (how Mega Man wished that it was that simple). Before she and Bass returned to Russia, her and Auto had started putting it together.
Now that the girl tech-bot was gone, Auto took it upon himself to finish its design. The design was more or less his, as he knew more what Proto Man liked as far as design asthetics went. Not a day went by that he didn't work on the gift, even though it was nearing completion. Even as close as he was, Auto always found something that needed doing or even re-doing. In fact, he was already considering a second coat of paint.
"Come on, you've got to be finished by now." Rock said. "You're always working on it."
"I know. It just seems like each day some better technology comes out and I have to install it!"
Auto snapped a lid onto the crate and began carefully pushing nails into it. Auto was essentialy one large tool, and if he couldn't use his hands for a job, then surely the appropriate device for the job was tucked under his armor. Despite the girth that this gave the repair-bot, Mega Man still felt jealous. It would be nice to stop fighting for once and actually be able to work on the job he was created for.
Of course, most of the serious fighting is done. Mega Man thought. Dr. Wily had managed to stay in jail for three more months since his last escape. Maybe he'll stay there this time...ugh, yeah right. If he actually stays in jail this time then I'm a flying robot pig.
Auto lifted the crate he packed to his shoulder, and the noise brought Mega Man out of his thoughts. "Hey, it's getting towards eight o'clock. Isn't it time for you to go to patrol?"
"Yes, I know." Mega Man said. "Tell Roll I'll meet her at six."
"I wish I was going to the Cossacks' party, but I just have so much to do!." Auto said. "Have fun getting fit for your tux!"
"Gah, I wish you were going too. I hate shopping for clothes." Mega Man dramatically flopped his arms down on the table with a sigh. "Oh well. At least that will be the worst part of it. I haven't seen Dr. Cossack in a while. I hope Bass found what Dr. Wily was planning out there. It would be horrible if something happened to the Cossacks."
"You'll have to check it out while you're up there, then."
"I sure will!"
Mega Man stood up, converting his right hand into a buster. He always swore up and down that he wanted to be a lab tech again, but every time he heard of threats, he felt his heart soar. The thought of a threat being there without him to stop it was nonsensical to him. He wanted to be there facing it down so that other people didn't have to. As long as electricity flowed through his wires, Mega Man wanted nothing more than to keep people from being afraid. Life was meant for fun and invention, not for fighting and tyranny. And he wanted to make sure it stayed that way. This was what brought him joy.
No matter how much he wanted something else for himself.
Mega Man teleported out, signalling for Rush to follow. They would start at Kauffman Tower and make a full circle over the city. From there they would recieve signals from the police and the results of various scans. Any crisis would prompt an immediate teleport to the area in question. Monstropolis was big, but not so big that Mega Man's teleportation couldn't go from one side to the other in more than five seconds.
So, like normal they teleported out. It wasn't but a minute before Mega Man was flying on Rush jet, cruising the city as was his wont. The air whooshed by much as it always did, the sound of it drowning out his auditory recievers. That wasn't a problem, as he could always hear with his radio function. He slowed down nonetheless so that he could get a better look at the tall buildings and busy streets below. From up there things looked so peaceful, and that meant things were. Mega Man's many years of stewardship made his eyes alert to even the slightest danger. People were likewise used to him saving the day, so crimes occured less often.
Less violent ones, anyway. Mega Man reminded himself. I never was that good at figuring out economic crime.
Some violations of the law just had to be dealt with by humans. Countless people had told Mega Man that just seeing him being a kind and pure hero made them want to be more honest in their lives, but he had no way of knowing if this was true in practice or not. But Rock just smiled, letting himself think it was true. He hoped that he was a good influence to Monstropolis.
All this thought didn't stop him from keeping his firm gaze on Monstropolis below. They caught sight of a blue van just outside of a tall building - not quite a skyscraper - the bottom floor of which Rock knew to be a bank. Ordinarily this would mean nothing, but he knew the bright flames of Burner Man when he saw them. It was time to get his feet back on the earth.
"Let's go, Rush!"
"RRR...WOOF!"
As Mega Man neared, he caught sight of other robots with Burner Man. Magnet Man ran alongside him into the monetary facility, followed along by Pump Man and Burst Man, who faced back out into the street. They surely knew that any minute Mega Man would be there. They had to anticipate him. In fact, both of the rear robots kept fresh eyes out for this inevitability.
"There he is!" Pump Man pointed as Rush neared the sidewalk and allowed Mega Man to jump off. "Get him!"
Pump Man's water shield wasn't up in time for him to block the charged shot that knocked him backwards into Burst Man. Their two companions dodged inside the bank as the water-bot and the bubble-bot hastily got up and readied themselves to face the blue bomber. A half charged shot tore a gap into Pump Man's latest shield, but Burst Man wasn't going to be stopped so easily.
"Eat bombs, blue guy!" Burst Man yelled out. "Whooo yeah! That's the ticket!"
Three bubbles bearing explosive ordinance flew towards Mega Man. The first he could dodge by jumping, but just as he was about to land a little away from the second one, Pump Man pulled off his pump handle and flung it out. All three bombs were hit, and Mega Man fell sideways, smacking into the building.
"Alright! Great job, Pump Man!"
"It's a 'great job' when he's dead, Burst Man!" Pump Man caught his handle as it boomeranged back to him. "Just focus and keep fighting."
"Come on, you need to just enjoy the ride!" Burst Man blew and extra big bubble at Mega Man. "Life's a journey on the surfboard of sunshine!"
Mega Man unleashed a barrage of plasma pellets as he fired off shots at the bubble headed his way. "Quick, Rush! You go inside and see what's going on in there!"
The red dog barked, dodging as Pump Man scattered the pellets of his water shield. That was his last attack, as one moment later Mega Man fired off the final shots that killed the team 10 robot master. However, the team 7 one was still fighting back, and Mega Man was going to have to be careful if he didn't want to be trapped in a bubble.
Inside the bank the mischief began with screaming as the patrons of the rather grand bank scattered across the burgundy carpet to get as far away from the Wily-bots as they could. It was almost comedic to see the people knock down the velvet ropes that formed the line to the tellers, or scramble to the right and dash inside an office in the hopes that the Wily-bots would find whatever they wanted elsewhere. Those on the left could do nothing but hide behind the plush sofas and chairs that made up a waiting area.
None could really blame them for being afraid. To see a picture of or hear a story about Burner Man was one thing, but to have to face this guy in the (metal) flesh was truly terrifying. Magnet Man simply couldn't compare, and he jealously shot a few magnets in the air just to make himself feel intimidating. But no, the frightened eyes of the bank patrons seemed completely focused on Burner Man, who started to speak in a careful and very calm voice, if tainted with some hissing.
"Hi everyone! This is a stickup, so don't go anywhere. So then," Burner Man cleared his throat. "GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONAAAAH!"
As he magnificently screamed his demand, people scattered in all directions from the flames shooting out of his body. Magnet Man snatched up one banker, but all the rest of the humans started running for the door in the back that was their only escape - they didn't dare hope to get out past Burst Man, who was still shooting bombs outside.
"No, no, everyone!" Burner Man called out.
Burner Man dashed past the bank tellers' counter, breaking the little wooden gate as he did so, and he immediately shoved a six foot man to the floor. He showed his mad grin to the rest of the humans as he warned them.
"I said, this is a stickup! You're all hostages!"
With that, Burner Man directed his propane buster to the door. Unfortunately (for him), nothing much happened.
"A metal door? I HATE METAL DOORS! ARRRRGGGHH!"
More flames shot out, and the people scattered away, ducking on the floor for fear of retribution. The man Burner Man had knocked down earlier had to roll away and crawl as fast as he could in the teller area (where he froze when he realized he was caught between Burner and Magnet Man). Fortunately for all the nearest people, the door remained the target of the Wily-bot's fury, and he shot his flames at it rather than anyone. This, however, produced something interesting for Burner Man: the flames that hit the door melted it completely shut.
"Ooooh, that's nice." Happy that this was settled, Burner Man turned around. "Hey, I'm not seeing any money!"
Instantly cash, change, and bank envelopes flew towards Burner Man, who stood there laughing brilliantly with his hands on his hips.
"I feel like a king! A king...of FIRE! MAGNET MAN, bring me a BANKER!"
Magnet Man shoved his prisoner, a young blonde of about twenty-five years of age, over towards the propane-bot. Burner Man laughed a haughty laugh, and he snatched up the girl by the arm, pulling her nice and close. She began to whimper, sweating from the heat of the robot master.
"Hey babe." Burner Man spoke quickly. "How about you open that vault and I don't set you on fire, mm'kay?"
"Uh...okay!"
The blonde hurried to the vault he pointed to, fumbling with the keys. She waved a Hispanic woman over to help, and the two started working on the door as if there was no tomorrow. Burner Man was starting to get impatient, tapping his foot on the floor. He growled at the women at the vault, and they screamed, working ever the more violently.
Magnet Man wasn't unaware of his friend's impatience. If Burner Man didn't get some sort of distraction to keep him from just burning everything down, then the whole plan would be ruined. Magnet Man stepped over the aforementioned human man as he headed towards Burner Man. He glanced down just in time to see Rush charge out and chomp ferociously onto his leg. Shooting magnets at the dog hurt it, but still Rush kept his toothy grip.
"Hey, Burner Man! Get this dog off of me!"
"Something to burn! Oh the joy!"
The propane fueled flames shot out, not only hitting Rush but also Magnet Man. The dog finally let go, whimpering and dashing behind Magnet Man. That left him to bear the full impact of the roasting fire (and Burner Man didn't seem to notice that he was burning the wrong robot).
"Gah! You idiot!" Magnet Man jumped back from the fire. "You weren't supposed to hit me, hit...hit Mega Man!"
"He's here?"
Burner Man asked this just as Burst Man blew up in an explosion worthy of his name. All that remained was the blue bomber, and he was quick to enter the bank. His buster was ready and his face was confident, even despite the fact that Burner Man was definitely one of his least favorite enemies.
"He's here! I HATE MEGA MAN. But I love burning him. I'M SO CONFLICTED!"
"You have the emotion of an anime character." Mega Man said, his body beginning to glow as he charged his weapon. "Look, just leave these people alone!"
There was no need to say anything to spur him on. The only person Burner Man cared about right at that moment was Mega Man, and he would be even happier to make Mega Man into ash. However, even in America dreams don't always come true. Burner Man's ended with his foolish collision into Mega Man's freshly gained water shield, direct from Pump Man's power chip. The eight particles of water doused Burner Man, and the stench of free propane filled the air.
"Not fair!"
"Hey, you're the one that brought along a water robot!"
Pump Man's power took down Burner Man quickly, and Mega Man made sure to lead Burner Man away from the door as the fight progressed so that the humans could run away (they ran like crazy. He didn't forget about Magnet Man, though. How could he? Just as Burner Man converted into junk, Mega Man felt himself drifting towards the teller counter. This effect suddenly stopped, and Magnet Man shot out his magnets, jumping into the air before Mega Man could recover and get in a shot.
"Gotta go, Rock! See you later!"
WHA-BLAMM!
"Whooo-hooo!" Napalm Man cheered from the fresh new holes he had made in the front of the bank. "Even after all this time of not getting to blow anything up, I shot and I got Magnet Man right in the face!"
Indeed he had. The burning napalm sank under Magnet Man's armor, burning his electronics quickly away. However, napalm, being a liquid, is not a precise thing. As the evil robot burned, so did about half the carpet. It started spreading to the left, setting a rather lovely green sofa on fire first.
"Napalm Man!" Mega Man exclaimed, re-equipping his water shield ability. "Napalm sets things on fire! I'm almost out of water shield too!"
"Um...sorry?"
"Call the fire department and make sure everyone on the higher floors evacuates!"
"Right, right!"
Off went the over eager and itchy-fingered Napalm Man. It was harder for him being a good guy than it was the other Team 5 robots, especially since his expertise was in fighting and not something that was more useful on Team 5's isolated space station. The bomber sighed as he used up the last of his power to soak the carpet around the fire with water so that it wouldn't spread. He also sent out a signal to the robotics store. Thankfully it didn't take long for Eddie to teleport down and toss a weapon energy Rock's way.
"Thanks, Eddie!" Despite trying to put out the fire, Mega Man managed a nod and a somewhat merry joke. "Tell Auto to put it on my tab."
"No problem!" the happy little treasure chest with feet chirped. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, have Auto come here when he gets a chance and get Burst, Pump, and Burner Man back to the lab. I don't think there'll be anything left from Magnet Man's CPU to look at."
"Will do!"
Eddie teleported out. Napalm Man must have done as he was told, because that was when the firemen came. Five humans rushed in, bearing chemical flame retardant and a fire hose. Mega Man had the fire somewhat contained, but napalm wasn't easily put out. Mega Man let the humans in their yellow coats douse it properly.
"Thanks, you guys!" Rock exclaimed. Ah, despite both Burner and Napalm Man, everything's under control! I'm just glad Napalm Man came here after Burner Man was destroyed...
Mega Man shuddered at the thought. There was nothing left for him to do but leave the place and get out of the way, but Rush was barking at him. Dodging the crowding firemen, the blue bomber went over to the teller's counter and jumped over it. Rush was waiting there, his nose wriggling at one of the computers a teller normally worked at. Mega Man pushed a button on the disc drive, as Rush indicated, and out came a small, blue disc.
"Huh, I wonder what this is..."
The dog barked a few times, pointing out that Magnet Man hadn't been using his power to fight anyone when he activated his magnetic field. The significance of this ocurred to Mega Man at once. Magnetic waves could wipe out computers, and Magnet Man had done it before.
"Hey Rock, sorry about the fire!"
Mega Man looked up to see a newly returned Napalm Man on the other side of the counter. He also saw that the fire was nearly out, and the firemen were busily making sure that any ashes from the carpet and couches were cold. Besides the napalm fire, the only damage to the place was the melted door and scorch marks from where Burner Man had stood. The building would definitely not collapse. Mega relaxed a little.
"It's okay, Napalm Man. I know you were just trying to help. But uh, next time you shouldn't use your napalm bombs. You've got those torpedos."
"Yeah, you would know!" the purple ammo-bot laughed, slapping Mega Man on the back in a friendly manner. "I've shot you enough times! So, what do you think they were doing here?"
"Rush tells me that Burner Man called all this a 'stickup'. They were trying to open the vault, but I stopped them. It's weird though, because I found this disc in the computer." Mega Man lifted it for the Team 5 bot to see. "But I don't know what it is. Magnet Man must have done something to the bank's network and then destroyed the evidence of it. I get the feeling that this fight was all just a big distraction for something else. He was probably trying to send the money to a different bank account rather than take anything physically from this bank."
Mega Man didn't want to make Napalm Man feel bad by telling him that killing Magnet Man as roughly as he had kept them from finding out where exactly the money had gone. So he just let the robot go on.
"So, you're saying that there's going to be more stuff to shoot? I'll be ready!"
For good measure, Napalm Man lifted his busters into the air in celebration. Despite not having a face, his eyes held all the smiles that Napalm Man would ever need.
"Don't fire those!" Mega Man said quickly. "Um, hey, Auto will be here in a minute, so why don't you convert your launchers into your normal hands again and help him bring these guys to the lab for investigation? After that you'll need to contact Team 5 and tell them what's going on. I know you're supposed to cover me while I'm in Russia, but I have a feeling I'm going to need your help as soon as possible."
Lowering his launchers, Napalm Man obediently converted them back into his hands. The very idea of having an important duty was wonderful to Napalm Man. In his heart of hearts he knew he missed Dr. Wily, but he liked working with Mega Man a lot better. Mega Man always knew how to say things just the way that made sense to him.
"Alright! Napalm Man is on the job!"
Mega Man just smiled, letting it hide his anxiety. Just once he wanted the day to stay saved, but if he knew Dr. Wily then something big was about to happen.
\\\\\\
Author's Notes:
- Okay, here we go in the final story in the madness that is my fanfiction requiem. The concept behind this story is a concept I've subconciously wanted to address in any of my fanfictions (or thoughts of potential fanfictions) so I figure if I get it out of the way now, I'll be able to focus more on stuff I actually want to publish. This is the story that I shall do whatever I want, unchecked! You can't stop me! BWAHAHAHAHA!
- The Eddie shaped store that Auto ran in MM7 is the one I'm referring to in this chapter. It's open to the public, though not all of the items he sells are available to all robots legally.
Since I hate people having to go back and read the whole dang series just to understand what's going on now, here's a summary.
For those who are starting to read now:
- Crystal Bot was created by Crystal Man to replace him as a technical aide to Dr. Wily and upgrade the Team 5 (Mega Man 5) robots. Wily got mad and destroyed Crystal Man's CPU to get revenge.
- Team 5 (Napalm, Wave, Gravity, Charge, Star, Stone, and Gyro Man) are all now living on Star Man's space station as good guys, because in helping Crystal Bot they made an enemy out of Wily. They all have upgrades that Crystal Man left them, so they're not as wimpy or wonky as they were during MM5.
- Bass left Wily after Wily attempted to kill him, taking Crystal Bot as his technician. Mega Man saved his life and Dr. Light inspired him, so now he's trying to be a good guy. He wants to prove himself by killing Zero before Mega Man finds out about this robot. Mega Man doesn't know Zero exists.
- Another mad scientist known as Dr. Cain made eight robot masters and one robot assistant (Epic, Algorhythm, Psycho, Emit, Signal, Sight, Bullet, and Echelon Man, and his assistant is Demi) that Bass and Mega Man defeated. Cain is now in prison.
- Dr. Wily was betrayed by Bass and sent to jail. He escaped by faking his death, but was caught again after trying to force Dr. Cain to work for him, and is there now still.
- Dr. Light, after serving as a mentor to Bass, died. His mind exists in a computer and is now testing Mega Man X for thirty years. He is effectively cut off from the world.
- Proto Man's power core was repaired using information left behind by Dr. Light. He has a lot of dark secrets.
- Mega Man has remained relatively unchanged, but he constantly worries how he is going to continue to save the world and keep his home in order without Dr. Light's help.
We had a little time change, so many things that happened in the story before get erased. I encourage newcomers not to worry about this next section. So...
For those who have been keeping up to remember:
- Mega Man, Bass, and Proto Man did not defeat Team 2 and the Cain-bots in a giant rematch fight.
- Dr. Wily is not dead. Neither is anyone who died in the robot apocalypse.
- Proto Man did not explain to Crystal Bot why being a bad guy is wrong.
- Kalinka is still going to university and has not married Alyosha Polovstiansky.
- Bass is still legally going through probation and is not too well trusted by the authorities. He has not destroyed Zero or the Zero decoy.
- Roll is the only one who remembers the alternate timeline, including the robot apocalypse and the X series.
Character profiles!
=====Burst Man
"This is my passion."
Good Point: Optimistic
Bad Point: Happy-go-lucky
Like: Nightlong binge
Dislike: Steady efforts
Now, I don't really feel any particular attachment to MM7 robots, but I need to give them some screentime. They're pretty cool. Burst Man always threw me off when I would watch playthroughs, because he looks like a rook piece from chess. Actually, all the MM7 robot masters (other than Shade Man) have a very strange, almost tacky appearance. I know that Junk Man was the only one built out of spare parts, but it looks like seven out of the eight were also. It's not a big deal, but it was strange. So I made a plot point out of it in my head.
Burst Man is one of several robots built by Wily during the MM6 period. Team 6 wasn't built by Wily, so he had time to work on more of his own projects. Most of this time went to making Bass, but he had to build others so that when he took over the world with the Team 6 scheme, he would have servants made by his own hands to rule it (dream big, Wily, dream big...). He was running out of money faster than he realized while making Bass (bassnium added extra cost to the project) so he threw together some ideas and supplies for Team 7. He was only able to finish four of his robot masters before being caught at the end of MM6. One of these was Burst Man.
Burst Man is a happy robot, one that loves a good time and having fun with others. He often takes up a project and works hard on it, but then drops it when he gets bored. Most of this pertains to his bubble art (does anyone remember that from school?) and learning to surf or build sand castles. He always looks on the sunny side of life, and he appreciates Wily for giving him such fun and playful powers. From his defeat in MM7 until the events of Okkusenman, he spent the entire time in the robot museum. Once Mega Man destroyed the last Skull Castle in Okku, Burst Man spent his time enjoying the beach and looking for his team alternatively, as much as his short attention span would allow.
=====Burner Man
"I'm burning with youthful fire!"
Good Point: Faithful
Bad Point: Jealous
Like: Global warming
Dislike: Self destruction
Burner Man is actually one of Dr. Wily's favorite robots. He was built by a frustrated Wily during the events of MM7 (most of the MM8 and MM&B robot masters were planned and begun at that time), and Wily ended up experimenting with propane tanks more or less to see what would happen. He was very pleased with the result, though it took him a while to figure out how to work out the kinks and he wasn't done in time for MM8. Burner Man's a very simplistic robot, and his firey worldview makes him...interesting to talk to.
While Dr. Wily had been behind the scheme to get King to kill Mega Man and Bass, what he didn't reckon on was King betraying him and stealing his robots to "liberate robots the whole world over". Once the MM&B robots were defeated, Dr. Wily let most of them stay dead, as he didn't have any need for traitorous robots. He made an exception for Burner Man because Burner Man is pretty much insane and was manipulated rather than convinced to join King (Burner Man was very disappointed to find out that he didn't have to burn down all the world's trees). Also, he gave Mega Man a lot of trouble, and Dr. Wily definitely liked that. He and Pirate Man were put in Team 8 to replace Tengu and Astro Man, but not without adding several new failsafes to keep Burner Man from betraying him again, even unintentionally.
Since then, Burner Man has done a lot of defending of Skull Castle, as well as powering the heat. Months before MM9, he was caught and put in the robot museum. After the scattering of the robot masters in Okku, he wandered around the world causing mischief.
