Master Hand was still trying to defuse the situation with the press, to almost no avail. The Smashers, not being able to do much but watch, stood a small distance away from the mob of reporters. Master Hand was starting to get frustrated.
"I will say this again: Michael Jackson will be in full health by the end of this week. Any rumors saying otherwise or who shot him, are completely untrue. And contrary to other reports, Michael is not in critical condition, He's..."
Master Hand trailed off when he heard the hospital doors open. He turned around, and saw Michael walking out of the hospital in the same clothes he was shot in.
Master Hand was at a loss of words. Except for his clothes, Michael looked like he was never shot at all. He even looked a bit younger.
"Mr. Jackson," a reporter shouted. "How is it that your clothes have bullet holes in them, but you look like you were never shot?"
"I heal quick," Michael answered. "No stitches or nothing." Michael lifted up his shirt to prove his point.
The press still wasn't convinced, and again started bombarding Michael and Master Hand with questions.
This is gonna be a looooong night, Michael thought.
The following Monday, security was beefed up twice as much than it originally was. And on that same Monday, There were about 2 more assassination attempts on Michael's life. The first two happened during a team battle. Michael and G.C. Thunder were battling Marth and Samus. In the climax of the battle, a laser sight targeted Michael's head. Marth saw it, and tried to warn him, but Michael was too busy fighting Samus to hear Marth scream at him. Multiple shots were fired...and ricochet off his head, thanks, in part, to the gold armor he was wearing.
After ten minutes, the Smashers were given the all-clear, and continued battling. G.C. and Marth got KO'ed when Samus tried to use her blaster on Michael, only to have him roll out of the way. Samus was on the verge of getting KO'ed, until Michael slippped. Samus used this blunder to her advantage, punching him square in the face, and breaking his helmet in half. As if on cue, a spider-shaped helicopter flew over the platform.
More shots were fired at Michael and Samus, who jumped off the platform to avoid getting shot at agian.
An hour later, Michael was in the garden, surrounded by a dozen of the mansion's security guards. Everything was going fine, until one of the gaurds tried to attack Michael. Michael immediately moved out of the way, while the guards stopped the would-be assassin.
Later, while Master Hand interrogated the assassin, The Smashers were talking about the situation.
"I may not like the guy," Ike said. "But who would want to kill him? I know people hate him, but isn't this a bit much?"
"I agree," Snake said. "I don't think anybody can hate him that much."
"Don't be too sure about that," Afro Thunder interjected. "I heard a rumor about some guy..."
"You mean Frankie LeDieo?" Snake asked.
"You've heard about him?"
"Yeah, my pepole had a profile on him. He was a notorious drug lord. He even had his own state-of-the-art lab. we should've commandered it... Anyways, he wanted to take over the world, and as a start, he was going to get every kid in North America hooked on drugs. To finalize it, he built a ray cannon. Around the time he was about to execute the plan, Michael, and 3 kids he adopted, stumbled unto the lab. They escaped, and hid in Neverland Ranch. For obvious reasons, LeDieo found him, and tried to gun Michael down."
Ike was listening with interest. "What happened after that?"
"Here's the weird part: Michael was shot at point-blank range, but he somehow escaped."
"Are you serious?" Ike and Afro Thunder said at the same time.
"Dead serious," Snake answered. "Michael escaped, and ran down the alleyways of Los Angelas. LeDieo finally cornerd him when he hit a dead end. And again, Michael somehow escaped. He and his kids made their way down to an abandoned club called 'Club 30's and-"
"When Michael stepped into the club, it rejuvenated."
The three men turned around to see Samus (in her power suit).
"H-hey, Samus," Afro studderd. "Um, how long have you been there?"
"Long enough to hear Snake's story. The only problem with it is that he's missing some facts."
"Oh, Yeah?" Snake asked. "How much do you even know?"
"Well, I know that he has a special kind of power that he calls his 'Dance Magic,' and when it's used, it can force anyone to dance with him."
"And that's it?"
"Nope. If the pereson or persons who dance with Michael cant keep up with him before the dance ends, it'll kill them."
Ike gulped. "Does he use this ability often...?"
"No. Not in matches anyway. It's too lethal."
Ike and Snake sighed a breath of relief, while Afro, however, looked unfazed. "I already knew about the magic," he said. "It's the only thing keeping the Mastero from consuming him."
"Mastero?" Samus asked.
Afro realized what he just said, and coverd his mouth. Mike's gonna skin me alive, he thought. Or worse, cut off my afro!
his thoughts were intterupted by Master Hand's voice over the intercom. "All house members except Michael Jackson and Sonic the Hedgehog please report to the meeting room at once."
Afro started walking as soon as the announcement was finished. Samus walked past him, but gave him a look that said their disscussion wasn't over. He returned it wtih a glare of his own
Evreyone made their way to the meeting room. Zelda was the first one there, but was stopped by Master Hand.
"Zelda, I need you to check on both Michael and Sonic," he said. "I haven't seen either of them since this morning, and I'm starting to get worried."
"Is that why you said everybody except them come down here?" She asked.
"Yes it was. Now go check on them before anyone gets suspicous."
Meanwhile, Michael and Sonic were in their room when the annoucement went off. Michael had been pacing his room for hours, while Sonic, to no succsess, was trying to get him to sit down.
"Why would anyone want to shoot me?" he kept saying over and over. "I never did anything to deserve getting shot!"
"Well, if the jury had found you guilty in 2005, you would've gotten the shooting squad," Sonic said.
Michael stopped pacing. "That's a good point..." he turned to the cobalt hedgehog "But what I really wanna know is who's the guy that shot me?"
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in..." Sonic said.
Zelda walked in the room.
"Hey Zelda," Michael mumbled. "What're you doin' here? I thought every one was supposed to be in the meeting room."
"I was, but Master Hand told me to check on you two," she replied. "How have you guys been all day?"
"Not too good," Sonic said. "After the incident with the guard, MJ locked himself up in here. I came in to keep him company while the assassin was being interrogated."
Zelda looked at Michael. He looked like he was about to collaspe any second. She sighed. There wasn't much she could do for him, nor her boyfriend.
"Everything will be okay, Michael," she reassured him. "Master Hand is going to make sure the person responible for the attacks are brought to justice. you have nothing to worry about."
"Except me," a voice said.
Michael and Sonic froze on the spot, And Zelda was perpelxed. The voice was Michael's, but he never moved his lips the entire time she was there-
"Behind you," the voice said agian.
Zelda turned around, only to see a second Michael Jackson. Zelda looked back at the Michael on the bed, and the Michael in front of her now, trying to figure out if this was a trick being played on her.
"Don't worry, the Michael on the bed is the real one. I'm just a 'friend' of his."
"Who are you?" Zelda asked.
"They call me the Mastero."
The Mastero finally makes his debut! Let's hope Michael finds a way out of this one.
I've noticed that the setting of the story takes place a couple of months before the summer break of the tournament (before Shaq got bumped from the NBA Playoffs.) so i'll keep it like it is. I'll also have to fix the 'NBA Finals' line in chapter 1
And for the pepole who have no idea why MJ or Shaq is in here, or don't know who Afro & G.C. Thunder are, here's some fun facts:
Michael Jackson: The king of Pop originaly debuted with the hit Genesis and arcade game, Moonwalker, and was one of the ten composers that created the music for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. All in all, he appeared in four games in his lifetime, plus an upcomming fifth game for the PS3. He also appears as a Easter Egg boxer in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2.
Shaquille O'Neal: Shaq-Fu. Enough said. Like MJ, he also appears as a hidden character in Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 2.
Afro Thunder: The most well-known character in the Ready 2 Rumble Boxing series, and the most popular. He appeared in the first 2 Ready 2 Rumble games, but didn't make the cut for Revloution (Thank God).
G.C. Thunder: The cousin of the previously mentioned character, G.C. didn't appear until Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 2. He shares a freindly rivalry with Afro Thunder.
