Some Author's Notes: Welcome to an idea I just came up with out of the blue. Some credit goes to Juggalo Statix, he's not on this site, but he's a friend of mine.

Post Megaman 9, this story is the idea of what would have happened if Bass and Megaman hadn't fought together to defeat King. Instead, it was just Megaman and he lost. Now King rules the world.

Pesky Disclaimer: I don't own Megaman characters, that's all Capcom.

Pesky Disclaimer: I don't own Super Robot Wars characters, that's all Banpresto.

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They say that in the past, robots were just awkward little things, scurrying around garage floors on treads or scampering about on spider legs. They say that in the past, robots served mankind. They built cars and were used to defuse bombs or handle hazardous materials. That all changed one day, a long time ago.

Doctor Thomas Light and Doctor Albert Wily changed everything. They changed the world.

It seemed harmless enough at first, but that's how it always starts. They probably didn't see the impact their hard work would have on the world. Centuries have passed, they'll never have to regret their actions.

Robot Master…such a simple name that describes them perfectly…what they are…and their power. They dominate everything now. There isn't a corner of the globe where their influence isn't felt.

Led by King, they spent a hundred years hunting us down and destroying our numbers, claiming it was for everyone's own good. We went from six billion strong to barely a few million, only allowed to exist through the graces of the Robot Masters.

We're huddled into colonies now, the only patches of ground on this planet where King has decreed we won't be harmed. The ground is fertile enough for food and the weather is never harsh, but if we step outside our set boundaries, we become targets for them.

No matter how quiet we are or how well we sneak, if we leave our havens, the Mavericks come and take us. What do they do with us? Most are killed on the spot, something Mavericks take joy in. Others get taken back to one of King's cities; put on display until bought by some robot, as if we're their pets.

It's funny, some parents tell their children about a legendary Robot Master named Megaman. They say he fought to protect humans. Whether it was true or not, it doesn't matter, he died against King. Now, we're stuck with his much more dangerous counterpart, X. He might have turned out completely different if he'd been raised by humans, rather than King. Once again, it doesn't matter.

They say there was another, just as strong as Megaman, maybe more so. Was he real? I don't know. He never fought King, so we'll never know. Once again, it doesn't matter.

It's frustrating, living like rats in a cage while the robots prosper in their cities, completely safe, knowing we humans will never be able to mount an effective attack against them; not while we're huddled in our little colonies, praying each day that King won't turn on his word and let hundreds of Mavericks descend on us.

Worst of all, they spend their time, planting powerful crystals in the ground. These crystals, rather, refractors, stimulate the Earth's development, creating lush forests and jungles, repairing all the damage that mankind inflicted on our Mother throughout its many wars. It's like they think they're better than us, like they deserve our world.

Me? I'm a seventeen year old girl named Alfimi, in short, red curls, walking outside the safety of the city in weathered work clothes. Don't get me wrong, I like dresses, they just don't work out here.

Speaking of 'out here', I bet you're wondering why I'd be risking my life, wandering around in Maverick Country. Well I'm sensitive to the refractors they bury out here, it's a family trait that lets us locate those crystals and dig them up. It ticks off the Mavericks a bit, but there's no denying the fact that those refractors provide a clean power source with a higher output than anything we could make. It almost justifies the risk…almost.

You see, thanks to our…gift, my family managed to pull its weight and governs our little city. It's good for my father, because he gets to pretty much do whatever he wants or he threatens to stop hunting for refractors. It's not so good for me and my sister, Ellie, since he tends to send us out here to hunt.

It's not as bad as it sounds, I guess. We get sent out with an armed guard, and of course, big sis Excel. She's not related to us, but I've always called her that. Anyways, she's our best chance for survival, one of the very few Maverick Hunters that use their own technology and weapons against them. They call her Weiss Ritter, it means White Knight, and it's been appropriate in the past.

So the day was going by smoothly, I didn't know just how different today was going to be. Everything was going to change, and that mattered.

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"I wanna go home," whined Ellie as she brushed a dark bang out of her face. Wearing the same olive drab work clothes as her sister, she was the one that was truly bored in the dense forest, making her sister, Alfimi, smile. After all, boredom is much more favorable than fear, which was plastered on the faces of each member of their armed troop.

Each of them dressed in green camouflage, the six rather generic members of their armed escort were armed with the standard high density impact machine launcher. The weapon was dependable enough, with the capability of firing rapid fire ballistic rounds into Maverick armor, and it was known to work in the most dreary of weather conditions.

The other member of the group, however, was Excel, one of their city's only two Maverick Hunters. Official code name PTX-007-03C, she was more colloquially known as the Weiss Ritter. Unlike the rest, she was armored. As the name suggested, her armor was mostly white, except for a few bands of blue here and there. She wore tough, armored boots, with the greaves running halfway up her lower leg before the armor gave way to the black mesh she wore underneath, running up to her thigh. The upper legs were protected by loose plates of metal, forming a 'skirt'. The arms were protected by strong gauntlets, up until the wrists, where once again, black mesh took over. The shoulders were protected by the trio of thing plates jutting outward, connected to the chest armor which sported a pair of vents on the front, oddly more for keeping her cool in the armor than anything else. On her back, two thin wing binders to either side kept her mobile. Her blonde hair was covered by a helm, reminiscent of the days of medieval knights. As far as weaponry went, her left hand sported a trio of small beam cannons, but she depended mostly on her specialty weapon, the Oxtongue Rifle, a long weapon, reaching her height and exceeding it slightly. The weapon was capable of effortlessly switching between the powerful ballistic mode that shot explosive rounds, and the longer ranged energy mode that, as its name suggested, fired beam energy.

Things had gone smoothly enough, evidenced by Alfimi hoisting a satchel over her shoulder, emanating a faint glow of small refractors, but these weren't the prize they sought. For the longest time, she'd felt something stronger out here, much better than the E-class refractors they normally collected, no, this had to be at least an A-class, maybe even an S-class if she was lucky!

It had taken forever to get her father to allow approval of this. She might have felt better if she knew it was because he was worried about the safety of his daughters, but she knew he was more worried that if they found a refractor as big as the one she felt, then the city would have power for a good, long time, and his position as governor might be challenged.

Ellie leaned on her sister's arm as they walked through the forest, "Come on, we have plenty of refractors, besides, dad will probably be happier if we don't bring back the big one." "I know," Alfimi replied, "But think about how much better off everyone will be if we pull this off. It can't be much farther now, we just need to keep walking." "You said that three hours ago," Ellie droned.

Excel chuckled to herself before saying, "My, how my little girls have grown." "You're not THAT much older than us," Alfimi pointed out, but Excel wasn't listening as she hummed a tune, putting the armed escort in a stupor as they watched the armored girl skip along in her own little world.

Unfortunately for Excel and those around her, her little world came to an end as they heard the distinctive snap of a twig in the dense bushes of the forest, reminding them of their paranoia and the situation they were dealing with.

"Look sharp," Excel informed as she scanned the area intently, hoisting her Oxtongue Rifle as she whispered to herself, "Somewhere around…there!" Startling everyone with her statement, she made them jump when she fired a round into the waiting darkness. As they heard the scream of a Maverick, it's metal armor being torn open by such concussive force, they heaved a sigh of relief, but it wasn't over.

Silence, it's always silence followed by the surprise, in this case, the surprise being Mavericks in an ambush raid. Alfimi and Ellie shuddered, Mavericks were seemingly built with vicious, imposing forms in mind, and they tended to appear in the animalistic variety. These were all sharing the same lithe design, resembling one of nature's swifter, stronger cats, and they wasted no time with throwing themselves in the fray.

Howling maniacally, they rushed, one quickly tackling one of the soldiers and biting deep into his neck before ripping free. He smirked, but it faded as he realized that the soldier still had enough left in him to empty his clip into the Maverick's skull.

"Scatter!" ordered Excel as she ushered Alfimi and Ellie aside, hoping the dense bush around them would be adequate cover for the moment.

Two more soldiers blocked the path of another Maverick, letting bullets fly free, boring into the Maverick with amazing ferocity, riddling the warrior robot full of holes in a matter of mere moments.

Excel grinned as she brought her Oxtongue to bare, saying, "Big sis isn't gonna miss, ya know?" before a powerful burst of her E-mode sent a beam of energy through the target, "Bulls-eye!" She shouted with glee. "Scratch one more useless bot!"

Unfortunately, she couldn't react in time to the newcomer. Feet baring treads underneath and powerful boosters to his back, the mammoth of a Maverick sported a thick head and a trio of horns, and it used the full force of its body to ram into Excel, sending her skidding across the dirt, coughing along the way.

"Maverick Hunters, feh!" he spat as he announced, "My name is Buster Tri-horn, think you have what it takes to beat me!?" As she hopped to her feet, Excel replied, "Any day of the week! It's B-mode to the rescue!"

Explosive shells impacted against his armor, but did little to him. Instead, her reward was the boosters on his back roaring to life as the treads catapulted him forward. "I'LL SKEWER YOU!" he shouted as he locked his horns in place.

Barely avoiding the blow, Excel replied, "You don't know my speed, do you? It looks like D's the letter of the day!" She hopped back twice before firing the laser cannons on her left arm, grinning as her far more obscurely hidden missile pods fired, dropping the outer casing and letting multiple rockets fly. She fired several ballistic rounds from her Oxtongue before, in a moment of flair, she twirled the massive gun over her head and brought forth another energy round.

"It's not that easy!" He shouted as spikes shot out from the back of his head, brimming with electricity and forming a barrier around his massive body, enjoying his human opponent's moment of frustration before rushing for her again. Like before, his effort was met with a simple dodge, but this time he kept going, right into one of the remaining soldiers, running him through with three sharp horns before grabbing him and literally yanking him loose, tossing his dead body aside.

There were only two guards left now, and he whirled around to face them, firing gattling rounds from his horns and ending their lives just as easily as they blinked. Now turning to Excel and the two girls she was left to protect all on her lonesome. "Listen, I want you to make a break for it," she said. "No way, what about you!?" Alfimi countered, but Excel shouted, "GO! Make it back to the city, get those refractors back or this was all for nothing!"

Alfimi swallowed hard as she nodded and tugged on her sister, only to realize she was frozen stiff. Alfimi could definitely sympathize, given the situation. After all, neither had actually seen the carnage that Mavericks tend to wreak against their weaker, human counterparts, but this wasn't the time to be stuck to the floor. Showing enough strength for both of them, Alfimi yanked on her sister and practically dragged her away before Ellie realized she was moving and ran on her own accord.

"AFTER THEM!" Roared Tri-horn, but as his minions went to do as ordered, a hail of rocket barrage halted them. Hoisting her Oxtongue, Excel announced, "Big sis didn't say you could leave the table!"

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Alfimi ran, her sister tethered behind her with their hands clasped as they hurried from the battlefield, only for Alfimi to curse. After all, she had just picked a direction and ran, going on instinct, rather than logic. Instinct had made her follow her feeling, leading them deeper on the trail of the refractor that started this mess.

"We're lost," Ellie managed to huff between breaths, but Alfimi waved her down as they kept running, saying, "We're not lost, trust me." Deep down, she didn't trust herself, but something was making her keep going in this direction, rather than change it. By now, her lungs were burning, her legs were getting sore, and her heart was beating so hard and fast that she thought she'd fall out any second. Perhaps then, it was best that she impacted against something.

Given enough time, Ellie managed to stop running and helped her sister up. "Are you okay?" She worriedly asked, but Alfimi was more concerned with running into what felt like a wall, when nothing was there. She gingerly placed her hand forward and felt the cold of steel in the wake of nothingness before Ellie squealed. Jumping, Alfimi took her hand away and her sister sighed in relief.

"What was it?" Alfimi asked. "You…you upped and vanished for a second!" Surprised by her sister's remark, she tested a theory and put her hand to the invisible wall again, and before long, Ellie shouted, "You vanished again!"

Alfimi brought her hand away, murmuring, "A cloaking device? In the middle of nowhere?" She put her hand back to the wall, waiting this time, and in time, she could see a large, steel wall in front of her with sturdy double doors further down. It was making sense. As she made contact with the building, its cloaking field was extending around her, but that was only half the excitement. Deep down, a thought was burning in her head; the refractor was here.

"Hey, Ellie, put your hand to the wall and wait a bit," she ordered and her sister obeyed, heaving relief at seeing her sister again while exuding confusion to the large building in her path. "What is all this?" She asked, but Alfimi was making her way to the door. "Alfimi! What are you doing!?" The girl in question simply shrugged as she replied, "Well it's shelter, isn't it? What are the odds of Mavericks getting us in an invisible building?"

Ellie groaned as she thought of her sister's logic, but hurried beside her as she reached the doors and pushed, hearing metal whine as they parted, and the duo nervously entered.

As if someone was waiting for them, lights blinked into existence, cascading the room in their bright white glare, revealing a long corridor. "I don't like this," Ellie whispered to her sister, but Alfimi laughed lightly as she replied, "It's probably automated, that's all, relax. After all, it's better than being out there with the Mavericks…like Excel…"

The sober reminder of the girl fighting off Mavericks on her own was depressing, but then again, that kind of thing was what Excel was supposed to do for a living. Still, it was enough to get Ellie moving again, ambling down the corridor with her sister as doors slid away at the end.

Lab equipment was everywhere, strewn about in a mess that would be an office clerk's nightmare. Parts here, consoles there, and tools every which way, it was obvious that someone was living here.

Alfimi kept walking, Ellie lingering close by, as they encountered an object draped in a tarp. Curiosity winning her over, Alfimi pulled it back and they both gasped in fear.

It was a robot.

"He's…not moving," Ellie pointed out. "Y-yeah," Alfimi agreed as she closed the distance and inspected him. "What are you doing?" Ellie hissed. "I've never seen one this close before, I'm just curious, is all."

She looked over him, asleep in a capsule. Gray mesh was the beginning of his clothing, but black gauntlets and greaves took over his protection, as well as compact chest armor, equally black with a blue gem in the center. Red scars ran from his eyes, down his cheeks like war-paint. His head was protected by a helmet draping over his head like the crest of a cobra, with slim, almost streamlined 'fins' jutting from either side.

"He doesn't look like most Mavericks," Ellie said as Alfimi leaned closer. "What the heck, Alfimi? Stop messing around with it before you turn it on or something!" "Shh," Alfimi commanded, "I hear something."

As she pressed her ear against the capsule, she almost jumped. She was positive she heard something beating in a familiar rhythm…almost like a heartbeat. "That's impossible," she told herself, before she looked to the confused Ellie and said, "It's got a heart." "Sis," Ellie started, "It's a tin can with legs. It doesn't have a heart."

In a huff, Alfimi put her hands to her hips as she countered with, "Oh yeah? Well why don't you lean in and tell me what you hear!" Nervously at first, her sister complied, leaning on the casing of the capsule before her eyes grew wide and she shot up. "Oh my god, that thing has a heartbeat!"

Alfimi sighed as she looked off. Sometimes her younger sibling was so stubborn. Regardless, now that things were calming down and she had the chance to think, Alfimi felt it, that pulse of a refractor; a powerful one, and it was close. It was then that she gasped as she realized, "It's him!"

"Wha?" her sister asked, confused at her sister's sudden outburst, but Alfimi pointed to their sleeping companion and said, "He's the refractor we've been feeling! Can't you feel it?" Ellie shook her head as she replied, "I can feel it, but you know I've never been as sensitive to refractors as you. Wait, what are you doing now!?"

Alfimi began feeling her way along the capsule as she answered, "I'm trying to get it open, maybe we can at least score the refractor we were looking for, that'd be some kind of consolation for this mess." As Ellie sighed, a sharp voice shouted, "Get away from him!"

The duo jumped, trying their best to compose themselves as they turned and faced a man…they thought. He was aged, slightly hunched, with a bald crown and wild tufts shooting around his hairline. Sure he looked human enough, the problem was that he was blue…and transparent.

"You're a hologram," Alfimi figured. "Oh great, you're a genius," the image of the man said, "Now get out of my lab!" "You can't send us back out there, the place is crawling with Mavericks!" Ellie shouted, but the image waved its hand indignantly and replied, "Not my problem. Get lost before I activate my security systems!"

Ellie backed up at the threat, but Alfimi stepped forward as she noticed the image fizzle a little. "One of your emitters is damaged," she said. "They're all damaged, you stupid girl," he shot back, "There's only so much repair I can do on a system before it breaks down! What do you care, anyways?" Alfimi tapped her cheek with her index finger as she replied, "Death never sounds fun, especially when you see it coming."

"Bah," the image said, "The only thing I'm concerned about is completing my work." "That…robot?" The image scoffed as it declared, "Bass isn't just some robot! He's the most advanced artificial intelligence this world has to offer!" "But he doesn't work," Ellie replied dryly.

"Bass works just fine!" He shot back before slumping and adding, "He's just…incomplete." "So…he doesn't work," Ellie said, just as dry as before, gaining a scowl from the image before it howled, "OUT! OUT OF MY LAB!"

Ellie sighed, turning away, preparing to leave, when Alfimi asked, "What if we helped you finish him?" Ellie whirled around, mouth hanging open before she practically bit her sister's head off. "How can you even think like that!? The world does NOT need another stupid robot walking around!"

"In return, you let us hang out here until the coast is clear, deal?" The image smirked as it replied, "I'll do you one better. Bass will destroy every enemy in his way." The image held out its hand and Alfimi took it, confirming the deal with a shake as she reminded herself that she shouldn't feel creeped out by the lack of feeling in his hand, after all, he wasn't really there.

"He's lying," Ellie said as the image went to work on a console. "It's a robot, there's no way it's going to attack its own kind. It's just going to kill us…or worse…" Alfimi smiled before patting her sister on the head, saying, "It'll be okay, no one's going to get hurt. Hey, old man, the name's Alfimi, by the way. Alfimi Esther. This is my little sister, Ellie."

"Wily," the image replied as it typed away into the console, machines in the room humming to life as he added, "DOCTOR Wily."

It took them a couple moments, but the name rang a bell. They'd heard it so many times as children, raised on stories of the original Megaman. If what this hologram was saying was true, then he was the mad genius responsible for the Robot Wars of old before King took over.

"No way!" Ellie shouted as she got between the doctor and his work. "You mean to tell me that YOU'RE responsible for all this?!" "Ellie, shush," Alfimi ordered, but Wily shrugged. "I guess I am responsible…in more ways than you could understand."

"No way, Alfimi," Ellie said as she shook her head. "There's no way you can help that whack job with one of his crazy robots! It's not worth it to hide out in this trash heap!" Alfimi nodded, weakly adding, "Yeah," before sighing. This was nuts, she was going to help one of the two men that INVENTED Robot Masters?

The hologram of Wily turned to the girls, a sinister smirk growing on his face as he began to speak. "Tell me, do you think your precious Maverick Hunters will ever be in a position to do anything about King?" Silence was his answer as he continued, "I think you'll find that Bass is much more capable, and he'll be…driven to beat King's face into the ground, especially when he realizes that King beat his precious rival, he'll say King's destruction was 200 years coming."

"He was the other one, wasn't he?" Alfimi asked. "Yes, this is, indeed him. Bass, Megaman's rival and superior design, though I could never get the blasted fool to obey me." Wily sighed as he continued, "That's the ironic beauty of it, you know? The only thing that made Megaman better than my Robot Masters was…he thought he had emotions. They didn't, you know, not until King found that blasted X…beforehand, it was just clever programming that awarded them with little quirks and idiosyncrasies that gave them the allusion of emotions and personalities. I neglected that in my designs until I made him. Of course, giving him those stupid little quirks made him completely disobedient…"

Confused, Alfimi walked to the hologram and asked, "If you had so many problems with him, why are you still working on him?" Wily's eyes lit up, surprising in a hologram, as he mentioned, "Because Bass is naturally superior. I spent years working on him, giving him a total overhaul, making him the perfect single unit war machine. As you can guess, that far exceeded my own lifetime and I was forced to imprint my memory engrams onto computer and create this holographic representation of myself. It's been so long and he's almost finished. I just need a bit more." Alfimi mentally cursed her curiosity as she asked, "What more do you need?"

"Brainwaves."

"Okay!" Ellie said as she began to tug on her sister's arm, "Mr. Hologram is crazy, let's get OUT of here!" "Listen well when I say this," said Wily, "Bass IS the most advanced robot ever constructed. His mechanics are so close to human that it's hard to tell the difference. He literally requires a brain to function. I'd use my own, but I'm just as much circuitry as any machine now, so I'm out. So he sleeps and I update him as concepts become viable, but he'll never be completed."

The doctor slumped, gaining Alfimi's sympathy and a groan from Ellie, who just wanted to leave this place. "Why didn't he fight King?" Wily looked to Alfimi before replying, "He was going to, don't be mistaken on that. Unfortunately, I was in the middle of replacing him, you see. I called him Zero, a next generation model capable of actually emulating real emotions, I figured that Zero could remove Bass from my sight once and for all, but imagine my surprise when it was Zero's broken form on the floor and not Bass. Furthermore, imagine my surprise when I lock eyes with Bass. I was positive he'd kill me right there, but he turns around and leaves before the damage to his body forces a shutdown of critical systems."

Dr. Wily chuckled to himself before realizing, "Bass never did hurt humans, weird, considering how many times I told him to wage wanton destruction. Still, he didn't like it, he always considered humans weak, and thus, it was beneath him to waste his time with killing them. No, he'd only fight the opponent if he thought it was going to be a good fight, just to prove he was the better fighter. Hell, I only got him to fight Megaman by proving to him that it was worth it and by some stroke of luck, Megaman won and Bass turned all his attention on beating him, you know…the only reason he was built in the first place."

"What would he do now that Megaman isn't here anymore?" "Well, Alfimi, I'd suppose that one, he'd beat the stuffing out of King for robbing him of what he believes he rightfully deserves. Then, I recall their being a Megaman X, that would get his attention." "Let's do it." Wily looked to Alfimi, "Do what?" "Bring him online. I said I'd help, remember? That was the deal. Use my brainwaves."

Wily wasn't going to let her change her mind. He was back to his console in a flash, typing a storm, when Ellie came to her sister and asked, "Are you feeling okay? You're acting really mental." Alfimi shrugged as she replied, "Does one more robot really matter? Besides, what if he actually can beat King, isn't it worth it? I don't want to have to see any more humans hunted like rats. And…Excel…" "Stop it," Ellie said, "Excel's going to be fine and you know it!"

"We don't know that for sure," Alfimi admitted as she shook her head. "Maverick Hunters aren't invincible…and there were so many of them…" "So you bring him online and what?" Ellie asked, "Just what are you hoping to accomplish!?" "I…don't know," Alfimi answered as she shook her head, "But it will feel like I'm at least doing SOMETHING other than just sitting around and letting life go on like this."

"Stop blabbering to yourselves and get over here!" Wily barked. As the girls complied, the capsule containing Bass slid open with a hiss. Wily looked to her and said, "He'll be piggybacking your brainwaves for a while until he develops his own. Since he'll technically be sharing your mind, you might experience side effects like déjà vu. Don't worry, it'll only be a momentary lapse in the brain's perception and interpretation, it should pass." "SHOULD!?" Ellie squealed, but Alfimi ignored her. "What do I have to do?"

"Touch him."

Alfimi blinked. "Touch him?" "Yes, I've set up the sequence, contact should be all he needs now and he'll duplicate your brainwaves." "O…kay…" Alfimi nervously put a hand to Bass's chest armor. It was cold, but she could feel that beating in him, she even swore his chest was slowly heaving up and down, almost like he was breathing in his sleep. "Try harder than that, you stupid girl," Wily barked, "I'm not getting enough for transference!"

Turning to the doctor, she asked, "Well what else am I supposed to do?" "I don't know," he said as annoyance leaked into his voice, "Kiss him or something!" She froze. She couldn't kiss a robot! "I couldn't," she said, nervously poking her fingers together. "Wouldn't it be your first," Ellie chimed in. "Ellie, shush! He didn't need to know that!"

"Ah," Wily said thoughtfully, "Giving your first kiss to a robot, and one capable of fixing all this mess, no less." He waited a few moments, lost in thought before asking, "Aren't you a little too old to have never had a kiss?" "That's none of your business!" Alfimi shouted, "Isn't there another way?"

"Well if it were me," Wily began, "I'd use the microwave scanner, but I don't think you'd like the risk of having your brain scrambled, now would you?" She shook her head, "Then stop being so coy and kiss the damn robot!"

"Fine, fine!" She shouted, "Just lay off, okay? Yeesh. Well…here goes…"

Slowly, she leaned down on his sleeping form. She gulped as she felt a lump forming in her throat and she shook her head free of her attitude. Finally, with a sigh, she planted her lips to his own, feeling cold, lifeless synthetic skin for a moment, then warmth, heat, fire. She was glowing before she noticed his eyes shot open, and with a growl, he pushed her off.

"Well that's a problem," Wily admitted. "What," Ellie demanded as she helped her sister off the ground, ignoring Bass, who sat up, flexing his hands. "Well," Wily started, "Rather than just piggyback the brainwaves, I think he completely copied them with his 'Get Ability' system. It's a weapon he used to copy enemy data, so I can't say what will happen. How are you feeling, Bass?"

Bass sat silent for a moment before his crimson eyes flashed. He sneered at Wily, saying, "What the hell's going on?" "Too much to explain in one sitting, my boy. I'll fill you in on the important things. You beat Zero before you could fight King and were damaged in the fight. I put my ego aside and admitted you were the superior build and spent my time on you. In this time, King defeated Megaman and assumed control of the world, going with his plan of a robotic utopia and slaughtering humans to make it happen. Now it's two-hundred years in the future, robots rule the world, I'm a hologram, and you're sharing the brain of that girl you just knocked over."

Bass growled for the second time, quickly instilling fear in the girls as he said, "So King beat the dweeb, huh? I can't believe I missed the chance to knock his face in…and all because of YOU and your stupid girly-bot!" "None of that matters now, Bass," Wily said, "What does matter is that you're completely overhauled and ready for combat."

Bass stood up, quickly noting that his standard boots had become more compact and almost boxy at the heel. "Overhaul? What did you do to me?" Wily stood straight as a smile graced his wrinkled features. "Like I said. I removed the thrusters in your feet. They were only good for short range things. You'll notice the verniers on your heels. They work in conjunction with the stronger ones in your back. Don't worry, remove the armor and you won't have to worry about them."

"REMOVE the armor," Bass grunted, "Doc, I never remove the armor, you know that." "Yes, well in a world where in the event you encounter humans, they'll be more frightened of you then ever before, it might not hurt. A simple command will cast the armor off and send it to compressed space." "Compressed what?!" Wily scoffed as he replied, "Oh it's far too complicated to explain in a single sitting."

Bass looked off, disgruntled, as he held up his right hand, letting it fade away into his buster. "Doc…what the heck is this?" He waved a tripled barreled contraption sticking out of his arm. "Bass…in the time you've been offline…technology has progressed and you required…heavier ordinance. You'll find that the triple-barreled plasma chaingun delivers that ordinance. It's got an impressive rate of fire as well, though it'll initiate a cooldown after 28,000 rounds. It's for your own benefit. During that time you can rely on the linear launcher further back in the wrist. It fires live ammunition now, so you'll need to reload."

"Wonderful," Bass spat, "Design flaws." "Ugh," Wily slurred, "You're always so difficult…why can't we have a civil conversation for once?" "We never had one before, why start now?" Wily threw his hands into the air, annoyed as he said, "You're making me wonder why I didn't just rebuild Zero!" "You said it yourself, Doc, I smashed him to pieces…over there actually, if I remember it right."

The human girls and the hologram looked to where Bass was pointing, and as he rubbed his chin, Wily agreed, "Ah yes, that was a tough stain to clean up. Regardless, your other weapon is something not even you can get mad at. Since you so enjoy breaking things, your left arm extends a gauntlet of spikes that can be slammed into the enemy and they will release a powerful, short range burst, preferably after they've been shoved through the enemy's armor."

Bass whistled as he let the spikes extend out of his wrist, "Now THAT is a weapon I could get used to. Say…where's Treble?" Wily sighed, "After your battle with Zero, he was too badly wounded, there was no amount of repair that could help him. Instead, I added his components to your frame. In a way, he's now always a part of you."

Wily automatically cringed for the outburst, but all Bass said was, "I see. I guess it's better than you throwing him away…thanks, Doc." "Uhm…er…yes…" Wily was at a loss for words, this being the only time he could remember Bass thanking him for something, then it occurred to him that it might be the result of Alfimi's brainwaves. "Interesting," he said to himself, but waved Bass down when the robot looked to him.

"Anyways, with Treble's components installed, you can use compressed space to perform the Gospel Boost. Of course I improved it. Your standard Flight Mode is still available, but be sure and try out the Heavy Artillery Mode, I think you'll like it." "Sure," was all Bass said.

"So," Wily said to his creation, "What do you plan to do?" "Well King has a serious beatdown coming his way. As far as I can see it, if he rules, then he better be the strongest and beating him proves that I am the strongest. After that, who knows. I mean it's not like I can go and beat Megaman…"

"Actually," Alfimi finally spoke up, "We have Megaman X, he serves under King." "Well that's perfect," Bass said, "I can crush King and the new dweeb. Hey, Doc, what's with the girls, anyways?" "Oh, they were chased in here by some Maverick…robots that hunt humans. This kind girl donated the last piece to your design," he pointed to Alfimi.

"H-hi," she said, but he huffed, crossing his arms. "Thanks, I guess." "If you want to thank her, do something about the Mavericks out there," Ellie offhandedly said. "Ellie, cripes!" Alfimi yelped to her sister, "He just came on in what, 200 years? Give him a break!" "Why are you defending that stupid robot anyways?" "I don't know, still…"

Bass rubbed his shoulder, flexing his arm as he said, "Why not? I could use a warm-up after 200 years. Sending a few glorified bots to the scrap heap sounds like fun."

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Buster Tri-horn loomed over an exhausted Excel. Sure, she'd managed to take out his grunt, but he was another story. Armor that thick backed up with an E-shield was plain cheating and he knew it.

She moaned lightly as he lifted her by the arm. She guessed her a few of her ribs were cracked, probably some more of her too, she just couldn't feel it at the moment. "You Maverick Hunters are all the same," Tri-horn gloated, "A tough shell, but inside, you're just as soft as any other human rat. Now, let's peel this nut, shall we?"

Strong claws dug into her chest armor, not caring about the flesh they were penetrating as well, and he ripped away, casting her armor aside. "Broken and bloody," he said, "You humans are so fragile, I don't know why King keeps you around."

"You know, I'm guessing that beating up humans must be tough work. It must take guts, putting your life on the line against such dangerous opponents."

"Who's there!?" Tri-horn demanded as he whirled around and was met with the newcomer. "The name's Bass. I think you met my entourage." He pointed to Alfimi and Ellie, keeping a healthy distance.

"I…I thought I told you two to run," Excel managed to say. "We did," Alfimi explained, "And we met him. I'm just glad to see you're alright." "We knew you'd be okay," Ellie added as Excel weakly chuckled, saying, "Well I wouldn't call it okay…"

"Look," Bass said, stepping forward, "We can do this one of two ways. It doesn't matter to me. You can let her go and I reduce you to rubble or you can be the coward you are and use her as a shield…in which case I reduce you to rubble. Either way, the outcome's the same."

Tri-horn laughed, "A new Maverick Hunter, eh?" He tossed Excel aside, taking pleasure in her grunt of pain as he said, "It looks like my lucky day!" His boosters roared to life as he charged for Bass, even if he missed, he'd still get to crush the girls behind him. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for this development.

Bass yawned as he held up his hand, neatly stopping Tri-horn's advance. Tri-horn's treads whirred in defiance as they tried to push him forward, the Maverick stating, "This is impossible!"

"I'd say I was impressed with how much force you put in your attacks," Bass stated, "But I'd be lying. Let me show you some REAL horsepower." Verniers on Bass's feet and boosters on his back burst into being, effortlessly pushing the Maverick far back and into a tree before Bass backed off. "Not bad, Doc," he said to himself as he rolled out of Tri-horn's rapid-fire horn assault.

Finding that dodging bullets was far easier for him, Bass brought forth his triple-barreled chaingun and let shots fly. "Tch," Bass commented, realizing the recoil from the weapon took getting used to and most of his shots missed. "Leave it to Wily to give me something too strong to be viable…" but as bullets met their mark and ripped away Tri-horn's arm, he shrugged, saying, "I can't argue with the results."

"I won't be beaten by some upstart Maverick Hunter!" Tri-horn roared as the spikes on the back of his head produced his shield. He smirked in confidence as Bass's chaingun proved ineffective.

In a flash, Bass understood. "Kinetics…the more speed and power, the more energy, the more energy, the more it's used against it, so I can't use projectiles. Not bad." He held up his left fist, spikes extended and beginning to glow as he dashed for Tri-Horn. "Now, they say a single fist can't destroy the world, BUT IT CAN CERTAINLY DESTROY YOU!"

Tri-Horn never thought a fist could penetrate his shield, but there it went, sinking through like nothing was obstructing its path. Soon the spikes found their mark in his armor and he felt his circuitry sizzle as heat built up in him. A quick burst of plasma shot free, tearing through his back and he howled in pain, energy shield dying down as he fell to his knees in front of Bass.

"I can't lose…King, I've failed you!"

Explosions littered his body as he was finally encompassed in one blast. "Heh," Bass said, satisfied, "They still blow up just as good as they used to. Hey, your human friend is still alive. I'm no good with medical crap, so one of you do something."

As Ellie rushed to Excel, Alfimi was speechless. In a matter of moments, Bass had proven more effective than most Maverick Hunters. Wily wasn't kidding when he boasted on his strength. Could he be what the world needed?

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Ending Notes: End of Chapter One, yep, alternate universe-y, ain't it? No worries if you're a fan of the Misadventures of Bass or Lost in Time, Found By War, this won't slow them down. This being as radical an idea of mine as it is, it'll take a bit o' thinking for more chapters.

Yeah, Excel is almost a carbon copy of her Super Robot Wars counterpart, Excellen and the Weiss Ritter, and while Alfimi is original, her name…well… she's named after Excellen's clone…one of them…at least it was the one from their universe and not the alternate one that wanted to wage endless war throughout dimensions…Super Robot Wars sometimes gets confusing.

Please review! Until next time!