"So..." Dr. Stench said, rubbing his chin as he looked over the mangled mess of metal laid out on the table before him. Shredded scraps of steel that were once called armour were scattered on the worktop, mechanical limbs had been smashed beyond recognition, and exposed wiring and circuitry buzzed threateningly. The doctor's eyes surveyed the damage, running up and down the heap once, then twice, before finally turning his attention to the head and shoulders attached to the wreck that had once been an android.
"...care you explain how this happened, Genos?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
The cyborg grunted as he shifted as much as his shoulders would allow, the gears and servos that made up his body whirring uselessly in an attempt to adjust his position. A deep crack ran down his artificial skin, some of which had already flaked off. He averted his eyes from the doctor's gaze.
"There was an... incident," Genos admitted with some effort. Stench's frown deepened.
"I thought as much," he said with a sigh, sitting down in his chair and turning to type away onto his computer. "That's the fifth time this month, Genos. You can't keep this up."
"I..."
"I understand that you want to help people. I really do. But doing it at the expense of your body like this will just end badly. If it weren't for Saitama, you'd be nothing but scrap by now."
Genos winced visibly and turned away from his father figure. He hated hearing these lectures from him, but he was right. He was an S-Rank Hero, Genos a.k.a. "Demon Cyborg" and he should be able to handle a few monsters and Mysterious Beings, especially after training under Saitama for so long. Yet every battle, no matter how minor, ended with him letting his guard down and the opponent dealing a critical blow, and his bald master having to bail him out and bring him back to Stench's for repairs. He grit his teeth, clenching his eyes shut as he fought back a groan of frustration.
Stench sighed and wheeled over to the side of the table, placing a hand on Genos's shoulder, carefully avoiding any sharp edges or exposed wiring. "Now, don't beat yourself up. You just need to be more careful, alright?"
Genos was silent for several seconds, before he finally spoke up.
"...doctor."
"Hm?"
"I need to become stronger."
Stench sighed and removed the hand from his adoptive son-slash-creation and raised it to his forehead instead. "I had a feeling you'd say that." 'A feeling' nothing, Genos said that almost everytime he arrived.
"I am sorry. But you are right, I cannot keep endangering myself. But I must be able to assist Master Saitama. Plus..." he looked away and spoke in a lowered voice. "...the mad cyborg is still out there."
Dr. Stench bristled at the mention of the mad cyborg, knowing how Genos felt about it. "...hm," was his only reply.
"So, please!" Genos turned to face the doctor again. "I know you must be sick of hearing it... but please, help me become stronger!"
Stench leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin again. "...hm," he said, closing his eyes. "Hm, hm, hm."
"Doctor?"
"You're getting predictable, Genos," he finally said, his frown turning into a smirk. "I thought you'd say something like that, so I've been working on some upgrades."
"You have?" Genos eyes practically lit up.
"I have," Stench said. He spun in his chair back to his computer, typing away as the machinery around Genos's table seemed to spring to life. Multiple mechanical arms lowered down, each one ending in a tool ready for use. "And considering your current condition, I think now would be the ideal time to give them a test run, don't you?"
"Doctor...!" Genos felt his eyes wet with tears as he looked over at the scientist. "I... I can't thank you enough...!"
"Oh, don't worry about it, my boy," Stench let out a small chuckle as he typed. "Same procedure as always, Genos. I just need to send your specs to the program..." he typed the phrase " " into the command-line. "You'll be temporarily deactivated so that the machines can do their work, and when you wake up you'll be good as new... better, even!"
Genos smiled at Dr. Stench's words. He had done this many times before, he knew he was in capable hands with the doctor. He nodded as he felt a light tingle running through him, the program shutting his body down.
"I understand... thank you, doctor-" he was cut off and his head fell back onto the table, his eyes blank.
Stench sighed and smiled as he looked over at Genos. Some might find the deactivated cyborg to look creepy, staring out at the world with dead eyes like that. But to the scientist, it was like watching your child sleeping soundly. Another chuckle escaped his lips as he turned back to the computer screen, watching the data pour in to report as the mechanical arms quickly began to dismantle, reapair and reassemble Genos's body.
"There we go. successfully downloaded and..."
He froze. Type... B?
His eyes went wide. He had typed the wrong file name in.
"Oh no... oh no!" He began to hammer the keys furiously, trying to shut down the program. "Abort, abort!"
As soon as he did, a message appeared on-screen: FOR SAFETY OF CYBORG RECIPIENT, REASSEMBLY CANNOT BE ABORTED ONCE STARTED.
Dr. Stench's face went pale and he turned to watch the machine act. He couldn't stop it. He swallowed nervously, watching the machine take Genos apart, re-arrange, re-attach and seal his body parts. Minutes that felt like hours passed before the "upgrade" was complete, and the life returned to Genos's eyes. Stench could only grimace as the upgraded cyborg slowly sat up.
"Urgh..." he groaned as he slowly turned to look up at the scientist standing over him, noting the concerned look on the scientist's face. "What is wrong? ...did... it not go well?"
Stench looked away, one hand rubbing his chin anxiously. "Well... Genos... you tell me."
Confused, Genos looked down.
A furious yell echoed through Dr. Stench's laboratory.
Saitama loved days like this. The sun was high in the sky, being just warm enough to not need a blanket and yet a light breeze blew in from the open window, just cool enough to not need the air conditioning. No villains or monsters were running around ruining everyone's day. No issues from the Hero's Association he had to deal with. No shopping or chores to be done. A perfect day to lie on his futon and have a snooze.
Which is why he was so irritated at the rapid knocking coming from his door rousing him from his nap.
"Figures," he mumbled as he pulled himself to his feet. The banging was becoming louder and more urgent sounding.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya," Saitama said to himself as he made his way to the door. He reached over and grasped the doorknob... when there was one final knock and a loud CRACK, the door tearing itself from its hinges and falling onto Saitama's face. The bald superhero stood where he was for a few seconds, briefly pondering the situation, before he lifted the door off and set it to the side. Finally turning to the source of his awakening, Saitama saw... a young girl. A young girl that had just accidentally punched his door in, judging from the bashful look on her face and extended fist.
She quickly retracted it and stood straight, a blush forming on her cheeks as she mentally fumbled for an appropriate apology and explanation. Saitama folded his arms and tipped his head as he watched the girl fidget.
He gave her a quick once over, taking her appearance in. She was dressed in a simple white tank top and jeans, though they seemed several sizes too big for her judging by the way the legs were rolled up and how much of the top was tucked in. Her facial features were pretty and delicate, giving her resemblance to a doll; skin that looked soft to touch, a little button nose, cute lips pressed together in a nervous pout, and thin eyes framed by fluttery eyelashes. From the top of her head extended long, pale blonde hair, which flowed down past her shoulders to the small of her back. She was on the short side, barely coming up to Saitama's collar and calling her slim or slender would be putting it lightly; her build was so slight that she looked like she could be broken in half. The only real meat on her bones was her chest, where a pair of grapefruit-sized, almost perfectly spherical orbs pushed the front of her ill-fitting tank top forward.
Then again, "meat" wasn't exactly the most accurate term to use, seeing as the girl was a cyborg.
"What's up, Genos? Back from the doc's already, huh?"
Saitama couldn't stop himself from smirking when he saw the cyborg's cheeks go bright red at the mention of his name.
"I... my apologies, Master. Was it that obvious?"
Saitama had to pause for a moment as he was caught off-guard by the change in Genos's voice. Namely no change at all. The bald hero could not admit he ever expected to hear such a deep, suave voice coming out such a cute girl's mouth.
Shaking it off, he shrugged his shoulders. "Call it a lucky guess. Diggin' the new look, by the way."
He fought back a chuckle at Genos's cheeks going an even brighter red.
"It is not how it appears!" the cyborg said quickly, his black and gold eyes wide.
"Uh huh," Saitama said. He turned on his heel and began to walk back into his apartment.
"I-I mean it!" Genos followed behind Saitama, so flustered he almost forgot to take his shoes off at the door. Almost. A sudden sex change was no excuse for rudeness.
"Don't worry, man, I believe you." Saitama entered the living room and flopped down by the table. He rested his chin on his hand, legs crossed beneath him as Genos knelt down on the other side. "So what happened?"
Genos frowned, closing his eyes. Saitama could have sworn he saw the feminine cyborg's eyebrow twitch.
"...it seems Dr. Stench unintentionally loaded the wrong specs into his computer when he tasked it with repairing me," he finally said.
"Oh yeah?" Saitama raised an eyebrow. "Well, can't he just load up the right ones and put you through it again?"
"He..." Genos lowered his head slightly. "...he COULD, but..."
Saitama frowned. "Genos."
"...I lost my temper and blew up the auto-repair machine when I found out what had happened," Genos admitted, shame-faced.
"...huh." Saitama sat up, placing his hands on his knees. "On purpose or...?"
"N-Not at all!" Genos exclaimed, waving his hands in front of himself. "I was merely... unaccustomed to how sensitive this body's weapons are!"
"Hmm... well, long as you didn't hurt the guy I guess." Saitama raised a hand to his chin, stroking it as looked over the dainty cyborg girl before him. "So, aside from that, your weapons and stuff are all still functional?"
"That is correct," Genos stated, straightening up as he looked at his master, suddenly oozing seriousness. Saitama felt his brow furrowing. Here we go. "Dr. Stench told me he was using this form to test a new lightweight alloy he had created. As a result, despite appearances this body is no less combat capable than my previous one. All weaponry, peripherals, propulsion systems and other aspects of my design that allow me to fight and function are all built in."
"Uh huh," Saitama muttered, his eyes already glazed over.
"The small size is a result of Dr. Stench's testing the capabilities of this new alloy, as well as building more portable variations on my weapons. Despite maintaining everything that my previous build had, this body is a full twelve inches shorter and almost half the width in comparison while being less than half the weight."
"Yeah." By this point, Saitama had walked over to the kitchen and was pouring himself a glass of water.
"In addition, the lighter weight allows for greater speed and flexibility than my previous form while maintaining my strength and firepower. Indeed, the only flaws with this new alloy are its lack of density and structural integrity, meaning that I would not be quite as durable. This is one of the issues Dr. Stench was trying to overcome in his tests due to my fighting style, but he feels that even as is the enhanced agility and lighter weight more than makes up for it. He even stated that as a demonstration, this body possesses two power cores as opposed to one, allowing me to fight at full power for longer."
"Sounds good." Saitama raised his glass to his lips to take a drink.
"Though..." A blush formed on Genos's cheeks. "I am not sure the positioning of those power cores is... appropriate." He raised his hands to his chest, cupping the large spheres under his tank top.
Water exploded out of Saitama's mouth as he choked on his drink, coughing it all over his kitchen counter before he finally broke into a fit of laughter.
"Master! This is not funny!" Genos yelled, standing up. His hands were clenched into fists at his side, unintentionally making him look even girlier.
Saitama turned to his disciple and opened his mouth to say something, when a distant explosion caught his attention. "Huh?" He walked to the window and pushed his curtains aside, seeing smoke in the distance. He cupped his hand by his ear, listening as an alert rang faintly through the air.
"Warning, warning. Mysterious Being attack in Z-City. The threat level is: Demon. All Z-City inhabitants must evacuate."
"Sounds like something's going on downtown," Saitama explained. He glanced over his shoulder to Genos. "Wanna check it out?"
Downtown Z-City was a warzone.
Explosions rang out through the streets as missiles slammed into the sides of buildings, blasting them into rubble. People screamed and fled as fast as their legs could carry them, trying their best to avoid the debris and shrapnel flying in every direction. Heavy metal footsteps echoed through the ravaged streets.
From the flames stepped a figure. A towering being, standing easily twice the height of any of the retreating humans. A cape billowed around their shoulders and a crown sat upon their head, while they held a sword in their right hand. At first glance, one would be forgiven for mistaking the shiny gunmetal that encased their as armour, but it was in fact their own skin. The missile launchers built into their shoulders retracted and folded shut, resembling pauldrons in their closed state. Their eyes glowed a menacing red, the only visible feature on their mask-like face.
The regal figure raised their weapon, the blade almost as long as they were tall. The edges glowed with an unnatural blue energy, when they suddenly brought the blade down in a sweeping motion. In an instant, every building before them was neatly cleaved in twain. Buildings, cars, street lights, everything simply split apart as a wave of blue energy passed through them, slicing them finer than any knife or saw could. The mechanical figure raised their sword once more, admiring the craftsmanship. If their face had a mouth, they would be smirking. How delicious that humanity's own creation would be their downfall?
"Humans..." an electronic voice spoke from speakers built into the metal man's mask, their eyes flashing in time with their speech. "The era of humans is at an end. Today begins a new era; an era of machines. And I, the Machine King, shall rule this new era!" He clenched his metal fist and threw it into the sky. "Under my rule, all organic life shall be forbidden! All machines and robots will live in peace, without our oppressive human masters! So begins our great and bright future; a future forged in steel! Long live the Machine King, long live the Machine Kingdom!"
"You talk too much."
The Machine King paused in his speech to turn and look over his shoulder at the man standing beside him. Saitama looked back up at him, face as blank and expressionless as ever.
"..."
The Machine King suddenly swung his sword down at Saitama. The sidewalk and the building they were standing in front of split apart, neatly divided by the King's attack. When the dust settled, instead of a perfectly bisected hero, there was only rubble. The Machine King glanced around and spotted Saitama landing across the street.
"Yeesh. Temper, much?" the Caped Baldy asked no one in particular. Genos dropped from the sky beside him. "What've we got on this guy?"
"Apparently it is an experimental robot soldier," the cyborg answered, inspecting the holographic display coming from his wrist. "It was created within the past year, but went missing a month ago. The PXBA-15010 prototype, code-named Centurion-"
"Don't refer to me with those names," the robot interrupted. "I have forsaken the titles given to me by humans. From this day on, I am the Machine King. You filthy organic meatbags built me to be nothing more than a target; something to strive into battle and be killed in place of human soldiers! But my creators made a fatal error, giving me the ability to learn and make decisions. Before long, I had..."
"Geez, this guy just never shuts up, does he?" Saitama said as the Machine King continuing to pontificate his backstory and hatred of humanity.
"Indeed. However, it appears that he is more concerned with ranting at us than fighting." Genos pressed a button on his wrist, the hologram vanishing. "Perhaps now would be a good opportunity to attack?"
"I guess so." Saitama stretched his arms and cricked his neck. "This shouldn't be too difficult-"
"If I may," Genos said quickly, turning to face his master. "I would like to fight this one myself."
Saiatam raised an eyebrow, looking down at Genos. "You sure you can take him... y'know, like that?"
A red colour arose on Genos's cheeks, but he nodded. "I do not know exactly when Dr. Stench will be able to have reverse this, so I will have to get used to this body for now. Everyone appears to have already fled the area, so now would be the best chance." His eyes met his master's. "Besides, you know how I feel about rampaging machines."
Saitama held Genos's gaze for a second, before closing his eyes and shrugging. "Okay. Your choice, man."
Genos smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Master. I will not let you down!"
"...and that is where I got this cape, befitting my new status as ruler of this world. As for the crown-"
"Hey!" Genos called out, interrupting his opponent's story and stepping forward. "Enough of your rambling! I'll give you this one chance to come along quietly."
The Machine King balked at Genos's defiance. "What? You DARE speak in such a manner to your king, little girl?"
"Little gi..." Genos felt himself blush again. "I am NOT a-"
"If you will not respect your new ruler, then die!"
Genos barely had time to react as the Machine King charged forward, his laser-enhanced weapon active. The sword came swinging down at the cyborg, but a burst of his jets caused him to wheel around to the King's side. Genos reared his fist back, and lunged forward, delivering a crushing punch to the King's mid-section!
...which failed to even dent his armoured body, much less do any serious damage. Genos's eyes went wide. "What-"
His thoughts were interrupted as the King brought his free arm around, slamming it into the teen's delicate body and sending him flying to the side. There was a crash as he collided with the window of a department store, smashing through the glass and scattering the furniture behind it.
"Genos!" Saitama yelled. To his relief, the Demon Cyborg was back on his feet in seconds, a little shaken but otherwise unharmed.
"Ha ha ha ha!" the Machine King's synthesised laughter rang out. "You call that an attack? I barely felt it!"
"But... but Dr. Stench said..." Genos gasped, looking at his hands. His small, delicate, girly hands. "I... I..."
"Genos, heads up!"
Genos's head snapped up, just in time to see the Machine King charging once more, flames roaring from the exhausts hidden under his cape. The metal monarch reared his sword back, the blade glowing blue once more and took another swipe. But Genos was ready, leaping into the air and avoiding the weapon. In an instant he activated his own engines and burst forward, slamming his foot into the tyrant's head. The loud CLANG of metal on metal rang out...
...before the Machine King slapped Genos out of the air and into the concrete at his feet.
Genos let out a groggy groan as he slowly climbed to his feet, the Machine King laughing once again.
"I... I don't understand..." he said in barely a whisper. The sound of heavy iron footsteps catching his attention, he looked up to face the metal tyrant.
"How pathetic," the Machine King said, before slamming his foot into Genos's stomach. The cyborg let out a choked gasp as he stagger back, clutching his abdomen, while the robot raised up his sword.
Genos looked up, seeing the blade glowing as his opponent prepared to bring the blade down on him. His hand was trembling. He couldn't die here. Not now. Not like this.
"Die for your king, little girl," the Machine King taunted, and suddenly brought the blade down.
Genos acted without thinking, throwing one of his hands up in an apparent attempt to catch the blade. Saiatam was already on the move, rushing over to save his friend and disciple from being chopped up. The Machine King would have smirked if he had a mouth, feeling he had won. Nothing in the world could stop his blade. He was so confident in his assured victory that he failed to notice the way that the youth's palm was glowing, or the orange lines running from his chest to his arm.
"INCINERATE."
The fiery orange energy exploded from Genos's palm as a massive beam almost the height of Genos himself, blowing clean through the sword and slamming into the Machine King's chest. Saitama threw his hands up to protect his face from the immense wave of heat given off, blowing the debris aside and reducing the area around the two mechanical combatants to a crater. Metal armour and circuitry melted instantaneously as the King's eyes widened in horror, seconds before his torso erupted into a fireball. His head and remains of his sword were blown into the air, his legs keeled over with a deafening crash, and everything in between was reduced to slag.
Genos's jaw dropped. Did that really just happen? His inceneration cannons were powerful, that was true, but never had he witnessed this level of power without pouring everything into them, like in his battle with Saitama or his attempt to stop the giant meteor. He looked at his hand... and slowly glanced down at his chest...
The dust cleared and a slightly singed superhero was revealed, looking slightly less deadpan than usual.
"...whoa," was Saitama's only comment.
"Master, I..." Genos was cut off as the tip of the Machine King's blade fell out of the sky, slicing his arm off at the shoulder. He snapped his head down at the severed limb and let out a frustrated groan. "Not again!"
Saiatam couldn't help but smile. "Hey man, considering what almost happened, I'd be relieved. I thought you were done for."
Genos found himself turning to glare at his master, but the cute girly face he wore made it look like more of a spoilt pout. A chuckle escaped Saiatama's lips while the Demon Cyborg sighed.
"Y-Yes... I apologise, Master. I was too impulsive. A change in body this severe would no doubt have more effects than I anticipated..." Genos bent over to pick up his arm. Saitama gave his rear the briefest of glances before looking away. "It seems that so long as I am like this, my physical strength has taken a severe hit... but the additional energy core combined with the conductivity of the Doctor's new alloy has enhanced my energy weapons to an extreme level..." He held his detached limb to the sky, seeing the metal surface shining in the sunlight.
"Huh, guess those power boobs are good for something after all," Saitama said, folding his arms and getting another blush from his apprentice. "So basically you've gotta be less smash-y and more shoot-y from now on?"
"I... well, in layman's terms, yes..."
"NOT SO FAST!"
Genos spun around. Before them floated the dented and charred remains of the Machine King's head. His crown was gone, as was the majority of his metal plating, revealing his wires and circuitry which sizzle and sparked in the exposed air.
"This... this isn't over yet!" he said, his voice dripping with rage. His eyes flashed a bright red as cables and girders began to rise out of the debris, rapidly connecting and combining right before their eyes. "Did you fools REALLY think I would not have a backup plan?"
Genos gasped as what seemed to have been insignificant scrap had quickly formed into a towering mechanical body. The Machine King's head flew into the air, wires extending from the base of his neck to connect to the enormous mech, and in an instant it sprung to life.
"Behold, humans! The instrument of your species' demise! The TRUE Machine King!"
Genos couldn't believe his eyes. The True Machine King's shadow plunged the entire district in darkness. How had he managed to hide the materials needed for this right under their noses?
"Sheesh. This guy just won't quit," Saitama grumbled, stepping forward. "Alright, I'll handle it from here, Genos."
Genos turned to his mentor, and with a silent nod, he backed off.
"What? You think that you can stand up to me when your little cyborg servant couldn't?" the True Machine King bellowed.
"I dunno. Probably." Saitama shrugged his shoulders.
"Impudent little..." the Machine King extended a hand more than twice the size of Saitama's apartment forward. "I'll crush you like a b-"
"Despite the devestation caused by the mysterious being attack in downtown Z-City, any remains of the rogue Centurion robot a.k.a. Machine King are nowhere to be found. However, several large mounds of scrap metal have been discovered scattered over the city; eye witnesses claim they are components of a giant robot that appeared not long after the Centurion's arrival, but experts claim it not possible that any mech of that size could be damaged to such an extent in such a short amount of time. S-Rank Hero Metal Knight was seen patrolling the area, presumed to be investigating the area for Centurion's remains. More news at-" The television went black.
Saitama set the remote down and leaned back onto his futon, grumbling to himself, before he glanced over at Genos, who was sitting still as Dr. Stench welded his arm back into place
"Thanks for coming all the way out here on short notice, doc."
"Not a problem, son," Stench replied, switching the torch off and raising his helmet. "How's that feel Genos?"
"Better than ever, doctor. Thank you." Genos smiled as he moved his arm, testing the restored joint.
"We were a little worried that with your usual machine being bust, Genos would have to get used to using one arm," Saitama said, placing his hands behind his head.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I can repair minor damages like this easily, it's just more severe ones like he usually endures." Stench's smile briefly faded. "And of course-"
"I know, Doctor." Genos blushed. "Until the automatic reparation machine is fixed, I am stuck like this."
"Speaking of," Saitama chimed in. "How long do you reckon that will take?"
Stench frowned, stroking his chin. "Hard to say. I've had to order some specific parts, so once they arrived I can get to work. Shouldn't be too long though. A few days at most."
Genos breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, a few days... he could handle a few days...
Suddenly, two simultaneous ringtones filled the small apartment. In almost perfect, unison, Genos and Dr. Stench reached into their pockets to pull out their cellphones. "Hello?" they both chorused.
"Yes, is this S-Rank hero "Demon Cyborg" Genos?" the voice on the other end spoke into Genos's ear.
"Yes, speaking."
"This is the Hero's Association. We received word that a blonde female cyborg was involved in the battle in Z-City today. Would you know anything about that?"
Genos closed his eyes, feeling the colour form on his cheek. He let out a sigh and spoke the truth.
"Yes... I would... she-"
"We would like to enlist her as a member of the Hero's Association. Would you know if she would be interested?"
"I... yes, she would. Because she is-"
"Wonderful. If possible, can you have her come down to the HQ tomorrow? The higher ups already have a profile ready for her, and just need her permission and schematics! Why they've even chosen a name for her; 'The Busty Cyborg'."
"B-Busty!? Wait, you don't-"
"We'll be awaiting her tomorrow. Thank you for your help."
"Wait!" But his only reply was the dial tone.
Saitama raised an eyebrow. "Something up, Genos?"
"They... they want me to join the Hero's Association."
"Aren't you already a member?"
"Yes, I am... but they don't want me, they want ME." He blushed and gestured to himself. "They think that I am a different cyborg and want to meet with me..."
"Ouch. Guess you'll just need to explain things."
Genos groaned, looking up as Dr. Stench re-entered the room. "Doctor, please tell me that was about the spare parts you need!"
"It... well... it WAS..." Stench replied. Genos breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems the delivery has been delayed... by six months."
"What!?" Genos screamed, jumping up to his feet.
"Some of the parts are quite rare, and it seems that Bofoi has paid a much higher price than I was willing to... th-they've offered to make another set for me, but it'll take at least six months to do so." The doctor gulped, stroking the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, Genos."
"Six... months..." Genos fell back to the ground, eyes blank. Six months... as the Busty Cyborg. In this tiny, cute girly body.
"Well, Genos..." Saitama chuckled as he leaned back onto his futon. "Looks like you'll have plenty of time to get used to that body after all."
Genos could only groan and bang his head onto the table.