Chapter 1

The city was a prism. Light bounced off of one glass building, only to hit another. It was trapped in a maize of glass walls and metal structures. To the normal optic, it would seem like a sunny day in the city, but to my roving eye, it was more of a glowing metropolis.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Flashman questioned me, coming to stand by my side and view the city. "All the precious light, trapped in the city?"

I snorted. "It's a prison. The humans that live there enslave our kind. We're just as trapped as the light."

Flashman shrugged. "What are we gonna do about it?" I didn't grace him with a verbal answer, just made fists and shifted on my feet. Flashman caught on. "What? You want to destroy the city? Hello! We can't turn the tides against the humans unless they're alive!"

I ignored him, instead facing my other brother as he appeared beside me. "Humans disgust me," Quickman muttered absently. "They're slobs with squishy insides. The only human worth anything is Dr. Wily."

I clucked in agreement, glaring once more over the glowing city. "They think they can enslave us as though we're pets of some kind." My optics glowed at my speech. "But they're completely wrong. We're the superior beings, and with Dr. Wily at the lead, we'll show them just how inferior they are."

Nobody said anything. They didn't have to. We all felt the same way. It might have been programming, or maybe we had been convinced somehow. It didn't matter. All of my brothers agreed with me that the humans were practically soulless on their treatment towards robots. Wily was different. He believed in robots' rights. He had made a promise to us that if we fight for him, we'd get the same freedoms that humans have. We would be the superior beings, not them.

"Does Wily have anything to say to me?" I asked after a moment. "Don't tell me you came here to hear me rant."

Quickman gave me a sidelong glance. "Not really. He wanted to see Flashman real quick." He winked. "And sent me to get him."

"What about me?"

He shrugged. "Nothing."

I shifted my weight as the wires in my leg pinched under my heavy weight. "Ask him if I'm needed for anything, will you?" Although I wouldn't tell my...dear?...brothers it, I was itching to go into the city. Something about the depths of the prison were calling to me. It would also give me the opportunity to see the humans up close, to see their interactions and remind myself just what I was fighting for and against. It wasn't only because I didn't want to see their laughing faces pointed at me, but they would glitch all to hell if they thought I was going to spend a night in the city.

Quickman "rolled his eyes" at me- as Wily would put it -and vanished to find our great leader. It didn't take him long to get there, ask the question, and return. He was at my side again in under 5 minutes. "He says he's got nothing for you," he reported.

I nodded slowly. This was my chance. I could my make escape without disobeying orders. Quickman glared over my shoulder at Flashman. "But he did say that you are to report to him immediately." Flashman bared his teeth in snarl, then paced away. I watched them silently for a moment. There was nothing more amusing than watching my brothers squabble over something stupid like such.

"Look, Quickman," I began, looking at him. "If Wily asks where I am, tell him I'm walking, wouldja?"

Quickman tilted his head curiously. "Where are you going?"

I shrugged. "Wherever. Doesn't matter to you, does it?"

Quickman nodded slowly. "So long as I don't get in trouble for it, sure." Looking into his eyes, I understood what he was thinking. Wily was a great leader, and a noble man to follow, but when you made him angry, he was not quick to forgive or forget. I turned back to the city-prison.

"It's got nothing to do with you. I'm leaving and I'm not letting you stop me. You can tell him I said so."

It was Quickman's turn to shrug. "Whatever dude. Just get lost before I change my mind."

Tossing him an un-intimidated glare, I leaped from the building and began my trek through the human wasteland called the city.

Humans really are disgusting, I reflected glumly as I stalked through the passerby. Why had I wanted to come to this dumphole they called home? What was wrong with me? I must ask Wily's work-bots to check my inner circuitry for glitches when I get back. The people had habits I couldn't imagine. A younger almost-full sized girl was chewing ferociously at something sticky in her mouth, smelly water droplets clung to my arm where a round man had brushed past me, one guy even stopped and spit on the ground in front of me! I bared my teeth. These pests would pay one day for what they were: atrocious creatures of glutton and smelly liquid.

One human in particular stood out in front of me. I knew upon sight that she was not like the others, though how I knew was beyond me. Glitches...glitches...she had white hair that was pulled up in a hoop on the back of her head. She was skinny too, or maybe that had to do with black over-shirt she wore, which pulled really tight against her body. A long sleeved white blouse was sticking out from under the black corset. She was also wearing a skirt that was pretty close to leaving her nude. Her arms- unnaturally bulky compared to the rest of her -were bare, despite the long sleeves. Buttons on the sides of the sleeves had been undone, I guessed. Human clothing had never interested me. The skin on her legs was shiny and smooth. With one leg bearing her weight, and the other brought up so the toe-tips were touching the ground. She had on black boots that covered her feet, but I guessed they were small and smooth like the rest of her.

It occurred to me while I studied her that most humans would find her quite attractive. I didn't see it. Her pale face was set in a pout, and by the way her arms were folded below her breasts, I surmised that she wasn't happy about something. Her troubled blue eyes and unnaturally pale face, compared to her incredibly thin body- give the bulky arms -made her actually quite disturbing. She wasn't a normal human at all. She was deformed beyond repair!

Right about that time, a group of five human guys rounded the far corner. I stepped back against the growing shadows, watching the girl as the five human men came her way. She oddly seemed small compared to them. When I had first laid optics on her, I had noticed her arms as a little more round than the rest of her, but these new humans were so much larger than her. She almost seemed fragile.

I leaned against one of the buildings and watched with sudden interest.

The men noticed the girl just then. One of the group's greasy eyes roved her over. He lifted his rather large arm- though not as large as mine, I noted in satisfaction -and nudged another member of the group. He whispered something even my nicely tuned audio receptors couldn't pick up, and before the girl even realized what was happening, the group had surrounded her where she stood. I looked around. To my surprise, there weren't actually a great deal of fleshlings around. There were some across the street, and others a little farther down the block, but in the immediate vicinity, it was only the group, the girl, and me.

By now the girl had noticed she was not alone. I felt a little at ease that none of them had noticed me yet. I was strictly the observer- like humans watching their pathetic tv shows or whatever they call 'em. The girl tilted her head as the men enclosed her, but otherwise did not react. It was unnatural, I thought. Most people were fight/flight creatures, but it seemed that this human wasn't going to do either. My interest piqued.

"Hey beautiful," one of the men growled. I assumed by the primal way he stood and appeared that he was the leader of this group. He had the biggest bulges on his arms, making him the strongest. He had stepped forward to speak, and the other four men in the group watched him eagerly. I shall call him Bulge, because of his odd looking arms. "I think I seen you afore. Where you from?"

The girl continued glaring into the store window, not gracing the man with a response. "Now that's not really any of your business, is it?"

The male laughed. "Nah, I guess it aint." He let his eyes roll over her once more. "But I do recognize yo face. That outfit...you work at Moon Flower, don't ya?"

Moon Flower? What is that? That sounds so stupid! Something a human would say... I watched.

She sniffed disapprovingly and finally whipped around to face the five humans. Her soft back touched the glass as she leaned against the smooth surface, folding her arms carefully. "So what if I do?"

Looking at her face, I could see something there that I hadn't noticed upon first inspection. Her murky, dark blue eyes had a human element, a human emotion, that I didn't recognize. It was a sort of wild expression, an emotion with a sharp edge. It was a look Wily had never used before in my presence, and it clicked in my mind that the look caused me to feel...worried? Anxious? There was no describing that moment in a way that would make any sense to my inner circuitry. The emotion was so encompassing, I wasn't even thinking glitches.

The human males had moved closer to her in that second of contemplation. They hadn't seemed to have noticed the change in her. "So, you got a lot of nerve even askin dat," one of the guys said in a deep voice. I narrowed my optics as Presumed Leader asserted himself by cutting off the new guy's access. He stepped between him and the girl, so close to her I was sure they were breathing each other's air.

"Why even ask, little lady? The answer don't matter nohow. You know what we want." By now I was beyond confused. I felt a rush of indignation for the poor girl. She was being roughly interrogated by a group of men much bigger than her, and they expected her to read their minds? How was she supposed to know what they wanted, being a mere human and all?

I shook myself. What was I doing? Watching petty human interactions like this was going to my head. I really need to get back to Wily's base and get checked. I must be malfunctioning somewhere!

I needn't have fretted in the first place. It seems that the human race was more talented than I gave them credit for. Little human girl did know what the men wanted. "Yes, I see. Well I'm not interested." She took a step forward, signaling the end of the conversation. I nodded though I wasn't sure why. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to get to-" she cut off as the men crowded around her. I couldn't see her face, but it struck me that the strange emotion I had detected earlier had become more noticeable. Even the men had noticed now.

"Work can wait," Leader declared. He stood and approached the girl from behind. I leaned forward from my spot, becoming as interested as I had first been.

As she spun around, I saw another change in her features. Her face seemed to be shrinking. Her eyes were wide, the tops of the irises showing. The look was unsettling. Her air of authority seemed to have dimmed a little when she spoke, her voice sounding a little more strained. "You can tell my boss that. In the meantime, I really have to be going-"

The men had her completely enclosed, Leader stepping forward and standing next to her. "You're not going anywhere." In the instant that he reached out to brush her cheek from behind, I noticed two things. First off, her jaw had clenched, her face set in a look of single-minded determination I had seen Quickman use when trying to carry out a difficult task for Wily. The second was that her hands- both of them -had clenched into tight fists.

The men's fingers brushed her cheek ever so softly, almost as though he weren't actually touching her. Later in my life, I will be swearing that it sent an electrical charge into her, forcing her into action. She spun around without introduction, brought up a round fist, and rammed it into the guys nose with a force I wouldn't have thought possible for a girl her size. I then reflected the arms- they were more bulky than the rest of her. She must be a bit tougher than I thought.

Not tough enough. The moment her fist connected with his face, the men sprang forward. On of them punched her in the stomach, causing her to double over. As she was otherwise occupied, a different guy grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her back. The poor human girl was completely defenseless.

As had happened a lot in the past few moments, I had a new revelation. This human girl was in real danger. Something that the men wanted from the girl was putting her in danger. It was a reality that brought a wild feeling into my system- like a splash of frigid water from Bubbleman when he got mad enough to respond to our endless taunting. No thoughts occurred to me at all. In fact, I was sure Flashman had followed me and messed up my sense of time. One moment I was watching with intense interest, the next I was looming over the humans, my shadow falling across all of them simultaneously.

"I suggest you let the girl go," I stated simply. The men had dropped her and formed a line facing me. Girl gasped and lifted her head, staring at the men from below me. Leader stepped forward, obviously enraged at my arrival.

"Who're you to say what I should do, robot? Have you forgotten that humans don't have to listen to robots orders? Or are you malfunctioning?"

If he thought he was mad, nothing compared to rage I felt the moment the words left his lips. How dare he? Robots were just as capable- no, more capable -than humans would ever be at getting anything accomplished! All that I fought for, all that Wily had ever preached to me, rang in my ears as I revealed two of my precious blades to the humans. That'll show them, robots don't take orders either!

Leader took a step back, gray eyes widening at the site of them. "What the-?"

I reared back, ready to let loose. The humans turned on their heels and took off running down the sidewalk. My whole arm snapped forward, and I released the blade the moment I calculated decent enough aim. My programming was off, because I just barely missed the men as the last of them rounded the corner and vanished. The blade struck a light post with a clang, and rolled on the ground.

Girl had stood up by now. I knew she was watching me I a walked over without a word to her to pick up my weapon. Anger boiled inside me. Stupid humans thought they could control my kind. Well I'd show them. I really really need to get looked at, I thought. One of the reasons that they had infuriated me so was because I knew I was glitching. The human had guessed just right when he'd spoken.

"Thanks," said Girl in a soft alto. I looked up at her. Who was she to embarrass me so? I hated her then more than any other time, the pathetic and soft looking human. She was one of them, trying to enslave my kind. She didn't understand the hatred in my glare. "For saving my life. If you hadn't had come along, I don't know what would have become of me."

I turned without gracing her with a response and began to tread away. "Hey," she called after me. I ignored her. She ran up beside me and matched my stride. "Are you all right? Can you understand what I'm saying? I know you can speak but can you-?"

She was too annoying to be allowed to continue. I turned to her to tell her to shut up and stopped at the look on her face. She genuinely wanted to know about me. This frustrated me, but at the same time calmed me. How could she help but ask these questions? She was too stupid to know the answers herself. I explained in a tense, but quite voice, I answered her, "I'm fine. Now please," I gestured with my arm that she should back off. I took another step but she followed.

"So you understand me?"

"Yes."

"I said thank you."

"Good for you." By this point I regretted saving her. What was I thinking? I should have just walked away when I had a chance.

She stepped forward so she was walking beside me again. "It's considered polite to say you're welcome when someone thanks you."

"Whatever."

"You saved my life!"

I bared my teeth inside my helmet. "Don't mention it."

"Don't mention it? You saved me! How am I supposed to just-" Like many other times tonight, she was cut off. I spun around and put my blade to her soft throat, knowing only that if I cut there she'd shut up.

"I said, Don't mention it." I growled, looking into her eyes. They were wide again, the tops of the irises showing. While her eyes had widened, they scrunched together. Her whole face clenched.

"Yeah," she finally managed to choke out. To me it was a sign enough of submission for me to let her go. Besides, I had to get back and get checked for glitches and malfunctions.

Briskly walking away, I expected to be left alone. Such was not the case. She called after me again. Oh forbid I kill this girl! I screamed internally as she caught up to me. "Those are some handy blades," she said hotly. "But I'll bet it's not the only thing you got up your sleeve."

"Not at all," I conceited. And unless you want to meet them, I suggest you back off.

"Any chance you got surveillance equipment up there too?"

I glared at her. "What, you wanna spy on someone?"

"Not necessarily," she bowed her head sheepishly. I cursed her silently for being so confusing. "I was just wondering if you recorded the last couple of minutes. You see I work at this bar down the street- that's where the guys recognized me from -but anyway I want to give the guardbots their faces so that they won't allow the men to come into the bar anymore."

I hissed under my helmet. "Then describe them to them." I turned away. "I don't record things."

She seemed so disappointed. And that look was coming back. "I need you to help me!" she exclaimed. "Those men will just come back once you're gone and then I'm done for!" I looked at her, not quite understanding what she meant, but knowing it was a bad thing. "Look, if you could just come for a few minutes, the guardbots can look into your memory chip and then you'll be on your way, and I'll be safe, and we both win!"

She seemed so desperate. Glitches..."Fine," I growled. I couldn't believe myself as the girl lead me down the street, away from my destination.

"Oh thank you thank you, what's your name? I'm Kazue by the way."

I glared at her- at Kazue, for the first of many times. "I'm Metalman."


:D I finally finish after weeks of preparation. Believe me, this has been hard for me to write. I got to ask Rev. Breeding and Keyboard Man from The Megas about Metalman, and they pretty much said he's a snarkass stuck up character that I can mess around with for a bit, so that's what I'mma do! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter.

-Cara Lea (TalaLeisu2)