A/N: So. This came about as a result of my cracked-out brain while I was hovering suspiciously close to sleep. I, uh, more or less hate myself for this, and I can't decide whether to laugh or cry at the sheer amounts of awful. But at the same time, it's sort of awesome. I guess. In a horrible way.
Please forgive what will probably be a horrible mutilating of both the Pokemon and ReBoot canons. I haven't followed Pokemon particularly closely since Johto, though I have played all the games. I'm going to attempt to throw some ReBoot storylines into the fic, but they'll have to be massively altered (as you will see in this prologue, lol).
Since it's set in the "real" world, I won't be attempting to use/make sense of the ReBoot timescale. :D I will probably be using stuff like "alphanumeric" and what have you, though. Uh. Think of it as slang? :D;;
Also OCs will probably abound. Not as main characters, but as gym leaders and such. There's not a ton to work with in the ReBoot canon.
Really, this isn't crackfic, but it's not horribly serious either. I'm mostly writing it for fun, but I am attempting to make it not suck too terribly. Really, I just hope people enjoy it (even if the enjoyment comes from how bad it is :P ).
Prologue
-Five Years Ago-
"We are here for the experiment."
"Y-you can't have it!"
"Is that so? Mmm, and just who is going to stop us? You?"
There was a shout. A scuffle. A large, bald, hulking man clad in a blue jumpsuit grabbed the professor, held his arms behind his back. The professor struggled.
"I-it hasn't been properly tested yet!" the bespectacled man shouted, his voice pleading. "It could be dangerous! Please, you d-don't know what it is you're playing with!"
The man who seemed to be the leader of the small group chuckled and stepped forward. While not as large as the man who was currently restraining the professor (though rather big in his own right), he had a much more intimidating presence, possibly due to his strong jaw and bright red hair that was spiked impossibly high. It made him look even bigger than he actually was. "Quite the contrary, professor. I've been reading up on your research. You've put out some fascinating report files. The one on teleportation was most intriguing. But currently, there is only one of your experiments that I have a particular interest in." He strolled casually over to the professor's workbench, picking up a small, circular object.
"Put that down!" the professor cried, a note of panic in his voice.
"Every experiment needs a test run," the red-haired man said, examining the object with a look that was half-interested and half-malicious. "Fortunately, we have an excellent test subject right here. Gigabyte, if you would just bring Professor Matrix over here, please."
The large bald man lifted the professor as easily as if he were a child and set him down in front of their leader. Professor Matrix shouted and struggled even harder than before, but Gigabyte hardly appeared to notice.
"Ooooh, dear brother, may I test it? Please? Pretty please?" A woman, previously somewhat hidden by shadow, swooped in, coming up behind the leader to peer over his shoulder at the experiment. Her face was static, frozen as a grin.
"Really, Hexadecimal, I don't have time for this," the man snapped, waving her away. Her face suddenly became a pout. It seemed for a minute that she might actually try to take it from him, but instead she simply slinked away; when she looked back over her shoulder, she was glaring. The man either didn't notice or ignored her.
"Now, how does it work… ah," he murmured to himself. "Here we go. Thank you, professor, for being such a wonderful sport about all of this." He narrowed his green eyes, and, with a grin, pushed a button.
"NO!"
A split second later the professor's glasses clattered to the ground, lenses shattering. The red-haired man chuckled darkly, reaching down to pick something up.
"Ah, Professor Matrix. Your experiment works after all. I'm sure you'd be thrilled to know that." He turned to his two subordinates. "We're finished here. Destroy it."
Gigabyte nodded, grunting. Hexadecimal clapped her slender hands, her face grinning once again. "I want to blow it up!"
"I don't care what you do," the man snapped. "But wait until I'm gone." With that, he turned on his heel and walked out. The two watched him go. Once he had left, Hexadecimal turned to Gigabyte, her smile now much more mischievous.
"I call using the explosives!"
-----
BOOM.
"What in the Net…?"
BOOM. BOOM. CRASH.
"Sis? What was that?"
"I don't know. I... oh… oh no."
"That's where dad's lab is! Sis! Dad-"
"I know, Enzo!"
Smoke was billowing on the other side of town. A girl in her late teens stood, frozen with shock, while a little boy clung to her leg. Around them, the city was starting to move. People were rushing out of their homes only to stare in the same shocked manner as the girl. The small emergency force the town kept on standby was mobilizing, heading for the wreckage as quickly as possible.
"Sis, what about dad?" the small boy asked, tugging on the girl's skirt.
His voice seemed to snap her out of her shock. She looked down at him. "I'll try calling him," she said, trying to keep her voice steady as she pulled out her cell phone. She dialed, put the phone to her ear, waited. Nothing. Desperate, she hit redial and tried again. No answer. She shook her head slowly. Why wasn't he answering? What was going on?
"Sis?"
"I…" she began, not sure what to tell him.
"Dot!"
The girl and her brother turned. Heading toward them on her motorcycle was the town's police chief, Officer Jenny.
"Have you heard anything from your father?" the officer asked as she slowed to a stop and hopped off her bike.
Dot shook her head, holding up her cell phone. "I tried calling him, but… there's no answer." Somewhere in the back of her mind, she noted dully that it was becoming more difficult to keep her voice from shaking.
Officer Jenny reached out, placing a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. We've got the whole police force out there. I'm sure everything will be fine."
Dot just nodded, brushing a few strands of rainbow hair from her face. She patted Enzo absently on the head.
"Jenny! We need you at the scene!"
Jenny looked back over her shoulder, waving at the other officer in acknowledgement. "I'll be right there!" She turned her attention back to the siblings. "I have to go. I'll call you as soon as we find anything out, I promise." With that, she jumped back on the motorcycle, the engine roaring to life as she took off. Dot stared after her, looking out to the distance where the smoke continued to billow. Enzo sobbed quietly into her skirt.
-----
Things were in worse shape than he expected, he realized as he swooped in on the back of his Pidgeot. He could see the smoke and flames on the other side of town. Hopping down from the giant bird Pokemon, he pulled a Pokeball from his belt.
"Glitch!" he shouted as he tossed the ball. A Starmie emerged in a flash of light.
"Glitch, they're going to need your help. Go give them a hand," he said, pointing in the direction of the devastation. The Starmie launched itself into the air with a jet of water, spinning off toward the scene. He watched it go, distressed.
A movement nearby caused him to look over. Walking toward him was a rather pretty girl - his age, maybe a bit younger. Clinging to her hand was a small boy. Both had a look of shock on their faces. The girl pulled a pair of small, purple glasses off as she peered at him. He smiled at her, partially to reassure her and partially because, well, she was cute.
"I'm a… I'm Bob. A Pokemon Master," he said, by way of introduction.
"A Pokemon Master?" she repeated.
"Yes, from another region. The Supercomputer region." Bob looked off into the distance, where the smoke continued to billow. Obviously they hadn't gotten things under control yet. "I'm so terribly sorry," he said slowly, unable to tear his eyes from the scene. They obviously hadn't managed to beat Team Viral there, and they were probably long gone by now…..
"You caused this?" she asked accusingly, pointing at him.
"No!" he responded quickly, shaking his head. She had obviously misunderstood.
"You did!" the girl insisted, dropping the little boy's hand and rushing toward him. She started to pound on his chest. "This is your fault!" she choked out. Then, unexpectedly, she collapsed into him, sobbing. Bob stared down at her, slightly dumbfounded.
"No, I-I'm here to help! Please, I just want to help." What was he supposed to do with a crying girl? This wasn't quite his area of expertise. And the boy looked like he was about to start bawling, too. He looked around helplessly and was relieved to see three people swooping in on their bird Pokemon of choice.
"Bob? Are you okay?"
The head Pokemon Master, Turbo was headed toward him, the others close behind. Bob nodded.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine."
The arrival of the other three seemed to snap the girl out of it. She pulled away from Bob suddenly, and the young boy ran over and clung to her leg. She pulled him close to her.
"Do you have any idea what happened?" Turbo asked him.
"I'm not sure. Obviously Team Viral beat us here and then left a 'parting gift.' But I haven't had time to assess the situation beyond that. I got here just before you did."
"I see." Turbo looked to the girl. "Ms. Matrix, have you heard anything from your father?"
"Matrix?" Bob repeated. He gaped at the girl. She's Welman Matrix'…?
"How do you know my name?" she asked. "And my father?"
"Your father is more well-known than you realize," Turbo told her. "This may be a small region, but your father's name - and research files - are known throughout the Pokemon community."
The girl nodded slowly. Bob felt a stab of sympathy for her. This was obviously a lot for her to absorb.
"So-" she began, but was cut off by a ringing coming from her belt. She pulled out a cell phone and glanced at it, her eyes widening. "E-excuse me." Flipping the phone open, she turned away. Bob strained to catch the conversation. "Officer Jenny? Yes…. Yes…. No, I- oh. Oh, no. No…." She raised her free hand to her mouth. "No…."
Bob rushed forward to catch her as she sank to her knees.