A/N: Don't get me wrong, I detest Other M, but, unfortunately, we must accept it as canon. I thought that the concept of MB was actually good, but, unfortunately, she was never given much information.
Overall, the plot had potential, but the poor execution and characterization condemned it. We were expecting a tough Samus, not some silly little... princess. Yes, I liked the whole drama between the two, but it was just done so... badly. It seemed like the creators were trying to mesh a shooter with a chick flick. But, that's another story and rant.
Anyway, I'll probably make a reference or two, but I'm going to stick with "kill anything that looks like a Space Pirate" Samus, AKA, "the only CO I need is my own COnscience."
Originally, I was going to keep this off of the site for a little while, until I had a much more solid story lined up, but, upon seeing a few stories that were just... horribly written, I bumped this up, to show that there are decent Metroid fanfics out there. Granted, this one focuses on a different character than most would expect, but you can be assured that you'll see more of everyone's favorite Ridley-slaying, planet-destroying, artifact-hunting, butt-kicking bounty hunter in later chapters.
Oh, and if you'd like to see some Other M bashing, let me know. I'm sure I can work some it at some point. (Adam's killed... no chance of bashing him... :( And he was set up to be a really good character in Fusion, too.)
Anyway, as always, I do not own Metroid, unless I'm suddenly owner of Nintendo, and please leave reviews, good or bad. If it's good, give a reason, if it's bad, please say what's wrong. (No general cop-outs, like "This story sux." or "OMFG! OTHER M SUX MAN!" Give a legit reason, like "The story has potential, but there are a few actions that seem confusing."
Aboard the Bottle Ship, as Federation troopers collected the remains of the experiments, a lone trooper entered the room where Melissa Bergman, the android derived from Mother Brain's designs, was destroyed by the troopers, for "security reasons" according to the Colonel.
Carefully, the blue-suited trooper picked up her body.
"What do you think you're doing, soldier? That's evidence." the aforementioned Colonel stated.
The trooper turned.
"I am under orders by Federation High Command to secure the MB prototype, for research by top men."
The Colonel raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, really? Who?"
The trooper turned back, gently cradling the corpse.
"Top... men."
"Samus!" A voice called out.
The bounty hunter turned from her group: the stoic, loyal Anthony Higgs, and the exhausted scientist Madeline Bergman.
"What do you want?" she gruffly asked the trooper.
The man stopped, easing the corpse of MB onto the ground, causing a small yelp from Madeline.
"I... was ordered to give you this by top men." he said, handing a small communications device to her.
Confused, Samus looked oddly at the object.
"It looks almost like a Chozo design..." she breathed, barely audible, before she continued in a louder, suspicious voice, "Who told you to give this to me?"
The trooper sighed, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry, I can't say. That was one of my orders they gave me. But, they did say that, should you ever be in trouble, to contact them." He saluted, picked up MB's body, and took off down the hall.
Quite a strange little guy, eh, Princess?" Anthony commented, chuckling at the speed of the man.
Samus nodded, still looking at the device, which appeared to be made out of a strange stone.
The trooper tenderly placed the body of MB on a small cot, inside a ship separate from the rest of the platoon, hidden behind the fighters and frigate standing by.
"She has endured so much... Yet, her own flaws and her inability to handle them caused her death..." he sighed, brushing a blonde lock off of her lifeless face.
"MB... The Federation kept you as a weapon, but that's no life... I promise, you will experience the joys of life, not just the cold, hard shell of that accursed prison."
The small ship left the Bottle Ship with the rest of the fleet. However, at the last second, the ship altered course, taking a hyperspace jump to a different location.
The small ship touched down on the planet Aether, as a Luminoth approached the ship, helping the trooper with his cargo.
"I see that your extraction has been a success." the tall alien noted.
The soldier nodded.
"The Federation is starting to change. They're taking greater risks. U-mos, They tried creating invincible Metroids."
U-mos nodded, slowly looking at the sky.
"Yes... strange that they want those bio-weapons for themselves, given how dangerous they've been in the past."
The trooper nodded, removing his mask, showing wild brown hair and matching eyes.
"That's why I left them, my friend. People, ships, money, it's all meaningless to them. If something doesn't go as they want, the Federation is more than willing to destroy it, and resurrect it in a new experiment."
He looked at MB's lifeless body.
"A pity that they didn't know of the life they had called forth." he said, gently caressing the android's face, compassion filling within his eyes.
The Luminoth nodded.
"Yes, Drake. But, what do you plan on doing with her? Certainly not turn her into another weapon."
Drake merely smiled, a slightly mischievous sparkle in his eyes.
"Why, I want to give her the greatest gift one can give."
Without saying another word, the trooper and Luminoth carried the android into the Great Temple, down into a hidden lab.
Melissa awoke, shocked at finding herself still alive, despite the her destruction at the Federation's hand.
She weakly rolled over on the bed, recalling events vaguely: Samus about to shoot, only to have Madeline freeze her in an attempt to stop the attack on the Federation. Yet... the soldiers killed her on the spot, so why was she alive now?
As the android contemplated this, a young man entered the room, humming a strange tune.
"You are awakened, MB." he stated, looking her over. "How do you feel?"
Melissa drew back.
"I-I'm fine! What happened? Who are you?" she demanded, distrustful.
The man looked away.
"That's good to hear. I am Drake. As for what happened, I believe the Federation tried to shut you down. However, if you are willing, I would like to try something..."
The android drew back, hesitant.
"What is this you want to try?" she asked.
Drake smiled, showing creases in the grease that seemed to be present on his face.
"I've been on Aether for a while. During that time, my allies, the Luminoth, had patched into the Federation, tapping and sniffing their top-secret files. When we found out about this Project Metroid Warriors, to say the least, we were concerned. The Metroids are a living being, not a simple weapon. You can't control life, even with an MB system like yourself."
MB nodded, partially seeing that Drake had done some research.
"What interests me, though," the technician continued, "Is the last report from the ship, which contains orders for you to be wiped. Emotional matrices are revealed to be present, theorized to be caused from your physical interaction with Metroids."
Melissa poised to strike, her mechanical veins running hot.
"So, you plan to wipe my memories, and turn me into just another machine?" she hissed, ready to punch his head through the stone walls.
Drake shook his head.
"On the contrary. I would like to see how you develop as a human being."
At the mention of being human, Melissa felt her resolve waver slightly.
"N-no... The last time someone treated me like a human, they stood by while the Federation took me away!" she shouted, starting to cower back.
Drake typed at a small datapad in his hands.
"Anger, betrayal, distrust... amazing..." he muttered, before saying to the machine, "Of course, if you would rather just leave, there's a ship right outside. Code is Alpha, Sigma, Delta."
MB tilted her head in confusion.
"I... I don't understand: I could just leave now and you wouldn't try stopping me?"
Drake nodded, looking away.
"That's correct. I won't stop you or your decisions. You can either leave on the ship, and continue your life wherever you feel like, or you can stay here. I could teach you a little about humanity, and the Luminoth are always willing to adopt other species to spread their knowledge."
He pulled out an old picture frame, dusty and well-worn. Melissa couldn't see the details of the photograph, but she could feel that this strange man had some kind of attachment.
"It would be like raising a daughter."
Drake sighed, putting the old frame back into a drawer.
"I'm sorry..." he said, "I was just... remembering."
Melissa looked at the darkening day.
"May I have some time to consider?" she asked.
The man nodded, standing up.
"You have all the time in the world, Melissa."
For the first time it felt like in forever, the android smiled, finally having her own free choice in a matter.
"Thank you... Drake."