Episode 17: Mega Dreams

Proto Man lay awake in the reclined pilot seat of a jet after an evening of flying through the canyons around Skull Fortress. He stared up into the black November night, thinking about Mega Man and how far he had come as the Blue Bomber.

As his rival, being so closely matched in skill was exciting. The better Mega Man got, the harder Proto Man would have to train to keep ahead of him, and the more intense their battles would become. Mega Man had truly come into his own.

As his brother, part of Proto Man was annoyed. Mega Man hadn't become a good fighter for himself, he had become one to take him down and turn him in. Mega Man refused to understand Proto Man's viewpoint and would never forgive him for betraying Dr. Light. It was a rift that would always prevent them from ever truly getting along. He didn't have hope that Roll thought differently of him, if anything she seemed to hate him worse.

Still, Proto Man couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if Mega Man were here on his side, if they could train together. He felt a hollow, lonely sort of feeling in his chest as he thought about these things, a feeling that gnawed at him and made it difficult to sleep.

Later, Proto Man walked down to the armory. Elec Man was no longer in Dr. Wily's laboratory, which meant that Dr. Wily had finished his repairs. Proto Man hesitated outside Elec Man's office for a second before knocking on the door.

"Come in."

Elec Man was sitting at his computer, his eyes darting back and forth across lines of green code scrolling across its screen.

"Hey, Wily wants you for the next mission," said Proto Man, closing the door behind him.

"Already?"

"It's been weeks since the Warship Hunter blew up. We've even done another mission. Wanna know what you missed?"

"No."

"Took Wily long enough to finish your repairs. You were in pretty bad shape though…did he do an okay job getting you back to normal?"

"The repairs are adequate," Elec Man said neutrally. This was high praise coming from him.

"What are you up to?"

"Updating Skull Fortress's security protocols."

Proto Man noticed a small handheld computer plugged into the back of the terminal.

"Upgrade?" he asked, pointing at the device.

"It's more practical on the field than a laptop," answered Elec Man.

"Right." Proto Man paused, looking around Elec Man's 'office.' "So, uh, this room you picked out is kinda small. If you want your own space, you ought to move into the second floor quarters in the back wing of Skull Fortress. Wily won't care, and you'd still be pretty close to the armory."

Elec Man glanced over the computer monitor, narrowing his eyes. "You mean the rooms above the western hangar?"

"Well, uh, yeah—it was supposed to be a control room for the second airfield, but neither are used very much. It's spacious and quiet, has lots of supercomputers, and the main room has a big row of windows with a nice view of the badlands."

But Elec Man had already gone back to his work. "I don't care about any of that. I'm fine here."

"Really? This room sucks. It's cramped and there are no windows."

"That's not the point. I don't want to like it here."

"...Suit yourself. You may not have control over your actions, but you do have control over how you feel about them. You've been with us for a year and a half now, and your attitude toward Wily has not changed a bit. At this point, I have nothing but respect for that. I know you got a grudge about being stolen and reprogrammed…but robot gangs steal robots from rivals all the time, its just part of being the bad guys. Besides, you can still hate Wily just as much from a bigger, better room as you can in this broom closet."

Elec Man didn't respond. "You have something for me?" he said, changing the subject.

Proto Man did. "About your design flaw, you know…back on the Warship Hunter when Mega Man blasted you with a firehose and you almost got captured by R.I.P…" he began awkwardly.

"We don't need to go over that again."

"No, we don't…" Proto Man carefully laid down a small case on the desk. On a bed of fitted foam sat a pair of circuits the size of cufflinks. "These are for you."

Elec Man didn't even look up. "I told you Wily couldn't fix it."

"No, you're right. His focus isn't in androids, he thinks they're boring." Proto Man hesitated. "I built them."

Elec Man stopped working, his eyes focusing on Proto Man's face. He arched a brow.

"Technically the patents belong to Tom Light…they're based on a component of the bomber weapon—" Proto Man added quickly, as though covering for an embarrassing admission, "—With a few tweaks to be compatible with your systems. They can't stop your Thunder Beam from backfiring during water damage, but they're powerful enough to re-route it through your armor instead of your inner circuitry. It will still short circuit ninety-five percent of your weapon energy and may smart a lot, so don't go swimming or anything. Best I can do, but at least you won't be stuck on an operating table for a month next time."

Elec Man was silent, his face still and unreadable as he stared piercingly at Proto Man.

Proto Man felt torn and extremely self-conscious, as though a spotlight had been turned on him. He really wanted to convince Elec Man to install the circuits that he believed could save his life in the likelihood water was dumped on him in battle, but he also wanted to move away from the subject of who had built them as fast as possible, which seemed to have settled into the room like a solid, tangible thing as soon as he had brought it up.

Elec Man looked down at the circuits, releasing Proto Man from his stare.

"This is a good design," he said finally. "I didn't think you liked spending your processor time on inventions." He looked up at Proto Man with a small smile. It would have looked friendly to someone who didn't know Elec Man very well. "Not bad…Light."

The word hit Proto Man like an icy bullet, sending a shiver down his cybernetic spine. The skin on the back of his neck seem to crawl, and his fists clenched.

"Let's can the nicknames."

"It's not really a nickname," Elec Man said dryly.

Proto Man fell into a thorny silence. To forbid Elec Man from calling him that would only prove that it caused a rise. On the other hand, Elec Man had already known it would cause a rise before he said it, and giving any pretenses otherwise would be pointless.

"Can you be a little cooler about this?" Proto Man asked finally.

There was a small glint in Elec Man's eye as though he had won something. "Fine, though I'll never understand why you want to hide that you were built by an internationally acclaimed scientist."

"What, wanna hear my sob story or something?"

"You don't have a sob story, and no."

Looking smug, Elec Man took the circuits from Proto Man's side of the desk and placed them on the right side of his keyboard as he resumed working through lines of code. Proto Man glared at him for a moment, then relaxed, and leaned against the wall.

"By the way, I ran into one of your Syndicate pals during Wily's last scheme, some sort of clown robot."

"A clown?" Elec Man repeated dubiously.

"Yeah, I know. The weird thing is, I don't know what he wanted. He said Centum had some sort of offer for me. Do you know what that's about?"

Proto Man doubted Elec Man would have an answer. Elec Man's memory banks were scrambled, he barely even recognized Centum's name, who was his own creator.

But despite all of this, there was a brief pause in Elec Man's typing.

"What? Remember something?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

Elec Man gave him a flat look. "Oh please. You aren't this dumb."

"…What?"

Elec Man gave a small sigh. "Centum wants to recruit you."

"He wants to recruit me?"

"It's like you said, 'robot gangs steal robots from rivals all the time.' You're the most wanted criminal robot in the U.S., possibly the world. You have a reputation for being unbeatable, and your thrill-seeking stunts attract a lot of attention whether you mean to or not."

Proto Man had honestly never thought about this, but now that Elec Man had pointed it out, it seemed obvious. "…Huh."

"Do you want to join the Syndicate?" asked Elec Man.

"Hell no."

"I didn't think so, but they won't take no for an answer. Have you ever wondered why Wily never wants to deal with the Syndicate? It's not just because he's afraid of them, he's afraid of losing you."

"He shouldn't be. I'm not going anywhere. Centum's in for a big surprise, I can't be reprogrammed."

"You mean you can't be reprogrammed by Wily's little toys. You think your human-like programming protects you. But robots can be reprogrammed, and humans can be brainwashed, Wily has proven that. It's only a matter of time before someone smarter than Wily figures out how do one or the other to you."

"Won't happen, I'm an advanced android, state of the art."

"I was considered state of the art once, and look where I am now."

Proto Man found this statement a little unnerving. He recalled that Centum had built Top Man, his own advanced android. Elec Man might be on to something. "But why is he so secretive? Why not just ask if I want to join up outright?"

"He probably doesn't want everyone to know. Crime lords are not friends, even within the Syndicate. Perhaps he wants to keep you a secret weapon that he may use against the other bosses."

"You sure about that?"

"I have no memory, I'm just speculating. But unless there is some vital information I do not know, it seems likely Centum is trying to recruit you."

"Any tips for getting him off my case?"

"Go home and leave crime to the real criminals."

"Yeah, right." Proto Man headed back to the door of the office. "By the way, We're leaving tonight, meet in the lab in an hour."

As Proto Man left Elec Man's office, he ran into Top Man.

"Hey…weird seeing you in the armory," said Top Man. "Did you go see Elec Man? He kinda keeps to himself…he's kinda mean too."

"Yeah, I'd keep my distance if I were you," said Proto Man as he walked off, cutting off any chance at further conversation.

Shit. Elec Man didn't know about Top Man yet. He figured he should probably tell him soon—but it'd have to wait. Dr. Wily was ready to start his next scheme for World Domination.

It was just past one o'clock in the morning, the beginning of Proto Man's favorite time of night. The city was lit with the soft glow of streetlights. Most of the humans were in bed, so there were few cars out and even less pedestrians on streets that did not have restaurants or bars.

He was driving an oversized cargo van with a wide boxy back that overhung the rear wheels. A mini laboratory was crammed inside, the walls lined with lavender computer equipment. It barely fit within one of the city lanes, and rocked like a boat when taking tight turns. Dr. Wily sat in the passenger seat next to Proto Man, muttering about his plan, Elec Man and Cut Man sat in the row behind them, and Guts Man and Bomb Man stood in the back with the equipment.

The first real bite of winter was setting into New York City. They were traveling into an upscale residential district of designer homes with small gated yards, marble fountains (emptied for the season), and well-groomed gardens created by professional landscapers. Tall trees that provided a pleasant shade in the summer were now bare.

Mayor Hill's modern Federal-style mansion was the largest property on the block. It had smooth walls of evenly cut white stone peppered with an occasional slate-gray brick. A large, arched clerestory window spanned over the entrance. The mansion was completely symmetrical, with a rectangular transom above its double entry doors, two chimneys, a pair of dormer windows, twin wings branching out on either side, and landscaping that mirrored itself. Its shuttered windows were dark, while a bright floodlight shown over the driveway.

"Gee, white picket fence and everything," said Proto Man as he pulled up to the curb. "Ever live in a house like that?"

"No, it's very tacky," said Dr. Wily in an impatient way. "Get ready to begin the dream transmission."

"You got it, Doc."

Proto Man put the van in park, then walked to the back where Dr. Wily's dream transmitter was tethered to the floor. It was the size of a household furnace and painted in bold, clashing colors. Sticking out like points of a compass on each side was a yellow arm somewhat like an electrode. A bundle of cables rose from its center into the ceiling, which connected to a small parabolic antennae outside.

As Proto Man began hooking the dream transmitter into the generator, Dr. Wily pulled Elec Man and Bomb Man aside. "You two keep a sharp scan out for Mega Man," he hissed at them. "That blue pest shows up at the worst times."

Elec Man nodded. He keyed a command on the numeric keyboard of his handheld computer, then unfolded its small antennae. The postcard-sized monochrome monitor showed a map of New York City's streets. Dr. Wily realized he was scanning various security grids to track license plates, and thought this was rather clever, but wouldn't admit it out loud as he never liked it when someone thought of something before he did. After a moment a red rectangle began flashing on the map, proportionally the size of a car.

After turning on the generator, Proto Man stepped back from the dream transmitter, and noticed Bomb Man and Elec Man had opened the back doors of the van and were heading out into the night. Elec Man shot him a pointed look before shutting the door with a quiet snap. Proto Man hesitated, realizing what Dr. Wily had just ordered them to do, but let it go for now. Leaving Dr. Wily completely unguarded while he experimented with mad science in order to chase after Mega Man wouldn't be smart.

"The dream machine is all powered up, Doc," Proto Man said, turning to Dr. Wily.

"Exxxcellent! Cut Man, Guts Man, take your places! We're going to give the mayor some dreams he will never forget!"

Cut Man and Guts Man stepped timidly up to the mats before one of the dream transmitter's arms, as though they might really be electrodes that would shock them at any moment. Guts Man cast Dr. Wily an earnest look. "You're really sending us into the Mayor's dreams?"

Guts Man was nervous. Though Dr. Wily had explained the dream machine to him several times, neither he nor Cut Man understood exactly what a human's dream really was. Proto Man's explanation of 'it's like a movie that projects behind a human's eyelids after they go to sleep' made no sense to them. They worried about getting stuck in the Mayor's head or disintegrating on the spot.

"Yes, really! Didn't I tell you this was the greatest invention of all time?!" snapped Dr. Wily, tapping at the keyboard of the van's computer console. "Just do as I told you, and the mayor will be my little puppet!"

Dr. Wily pressed a small button. The dream machine's arms began to glow like the centers of plasma globes sold in human novelty shops, then a thin fork of violet energy snaked out at Cut Man and Guts Man. The light enveloped them, devouring and transforming them into a similar energy, before flitting back into the arms and leaving no trace of Cut Man and Guts Man at all.

Proto Man shifted in surprise. He glanced at Dr. Wily, who was grinning from ear to ear.

Mayor Hill was sleeping soundly after a late night in his office, his bare feet sticking out the end of a quilted comforter as frost crept up the panes of his window.

Outside, a purple flicker of energy zig-zagged playfully through the air like a wayward moth, before zipping through the window glass, around the bedside lamp, and into Mayor Hill's temple, where it disappeared.

Mayor Hill rolled over, his brow furrowing as he muttered in his sleep.

When the dream machine had first turned on, Cut Man and Guts Man had felt a funny tickling sensation as their circuits dissolved into energy. Then they felt as though they were floating away, like the weightlessness of space. Their vision had turned temporarily white, but gradually the world was coming back to them—or, a world. They looked around, blinking as though in bright sunlight.

The sky was a deep rose color, and tinted everything with a rose-colored glow. When they looked into the horizons, everything seemed to blur into a mist, like the background of an out of focus piece of film. A pleasant spring-like breeze swirled around them, reminding them of faraway times that lay at the edge of their memory—like the split seconds before Dr. Wily had reprogrammed them.

Ahead, they saw hundreds of houses arranged in a suburb, which seemed set in the distance—that was, until they walked nearer and realized the houses were actually close, yet very small, like rows of doll houses. The whole suburb was like the contents of several toy boxes laid meticulously out at their feet. Pointed, old-fashioned cars with headlights that stuck out like insect eyes glided through the streets. Guts Man reached for one, but it vanished between his fingers like a small puff of smoke.

Then he and Cut Man caught sight of each other, jumped, and began laughing.

To Guts Man, Cut Man looked like a human woman wearing a mauve sack dress, wrist length gloves, pearls, and a felt hat on top of brassy curls. To Cut Man, Guts Man was another human of a similar age, and wore knee long madras shorts, knee long argyle socks, penny loafers, and a contrasting fabric belt. These fashion statements hadn't been popular for quite some time, therefore Cut Man and Guts Man had never seen humans dressed like this.

They would have been alarmed if Dr. Wily hadn't explained to them it was a projected appearance, like a hologram. It helped that they couldn't see the projected appearance on their own selves, only each other. They also didn't feel any different, other than the utter weightless that had lingered with them even after entering the dream. Cut Man felt he could be as strong as Guts Man, and Guts Man thought he could be as fast and light on his feet as Cut Man.

Cut Man and Guts Man found their disguises hilarious, and tried describing them to one another. As they argued who looked more ridiculous, their fears lifted. Entering the dream had seemed strange and foreboding from the outside world, but now that they were inside they had a sense that nothing really mattered here.

Still, Dr. Wily would dismantle them for spare parts if they didn't get their job done. They headed into the suburb center (stepping over roofs and into streets and backyards along the way) toward one house that stood out. It looked like the others, yet seemed larger, more colorful, and more distinct, almost as if it were more substantial and the others were just pale reflections.

Once Cut Man and Guts Man were standing in its driveway, they looked down at an open window in its side, no bigger to them than a mouse hole, where they could see inside a room. Guts Man bent over to the window, grabbing its sills with his fingers, then began pulling. The window sill stretched like a rubber band, until the opening was wide enough for them to climb through.

The room looked much larger on the inside. It was painted a deep cranberry red. Clothes, a baseball bat, toy dinosaurs, checker pieces, books, a cap gun, Lincoln log pieces, a train set, and a view master scattered around the room like debris.

At the far end of the room was Mayor Hill. His face looked the same with his bushy brown mustache, but to them he looked no taller than the knee cap on Cut Man's boot. He wore an orange cap and a corduroy bib that was too big for him. He looked awkward perched on the edge of the bed, hugging a mohair teddy bear with black glass eyes and a hand-stitched nose.

"Mommy? Daddy? Is that really you?" Mayor Hill called out to them.

"Yeah, it's us, your daddy, and your mommy," said Guts Man.

"And you've been a very, very bad boy!" said Cut Man.

Cut Man and Guts Man didn't like the mayor very much as he tended to defy Dr. Wily, making it harder to take over New York City.

Mayor Hill buried his face into the teddy bear's mohair. "But I'm not a bad boy, I'm a good boy!" He gestured to the paperwork scattered around him on the bed. "—But I've been so busy. I didn't mean to forget to do my chores. And I'll visit more often, I promise."

As he fidgeted, a cascade of documents fell off of the bed and was swallowed up by the shadows as though sucked into a vacuum.

"No!" he moaned, reaching out in vain for the hours of paperwork slipping out of his grasp.

"Then prove you're a good boy!" wheezed Cut Man, picking Mayor Hill up in his hand like a doll. "Go to City Hall, and get your secret passcode out of the vault! Then fax it to me."

"Do it now!" thundered Guts Man, his voice echoing throughout the dream.

Mayor Hill tossed fitfully in his bed. "Do it now…do it now…do it now…" he murmured. He sat up, got out of bed, headed downstairs and out the double entry doors.

"…Do it now…"

He climbed into the black town car parked outside. A second later, the engine revved on and the car shot down the driveway, splintering the wooden gate before weaving haphazardly down the street.

"Um…isn't having the Mayor drive a car while sleepwalking a bit dangerous?" Proto Man asked. A small part of him wondered if he needed to intervene before Dr. Wily's plan went seriously wrong.

Dr. Wily waved a hand at him. "Cut Man and Guts Man have complete control of him now. He will not crash."

The town car was now driving so close to the curb that its right side view mirror was toppling the recycling bins that had been left out for collection.

"Yeah, that's gunna attract attention," Proto Man muttered to himself as the town car's taillights disappeared over a hill.

Mega Man and Roll, dressed in hats and coats, were exiting from the Monty Cinema, an old fashion movie theater in uptown New York City that played blockbusters and cult favorites from decades past. They had just finished watching a showing of The Last Dragon.

"What a great movie!" said Roll jubilantly as they passed the outdoor ticket booth, which had closed for the night. "I sure do love Kung Fu movies."

"I liked the music," said Mega Man. He yawned. Roll had talked him into going to the midnight screening, and while he had a good time, he was starting to feel tired.

It was a cold night. A few humans were catching cabs under the golden light of the marque, but otherwise the street around the cinema was quiet. Roll and Mega Man walked down the empty sidewalk, heading toward the side street where they had parked the red Aerohead convertible (which had its hardtop roof closed until the end of winter). They passed a line of movie posters in backlit frames along the way. Their illustrations depicted scenes of giant monsters attacking capital cities, a human couple embracing on a beach at sunset, a black and white detective's office, the interior of a blood-spattered abandoned house, and finally a woman with wavy blonde curls and a teal catsuit exiting an armored sports car, a gun slung across her back, bullets and explosions streaking across the background, and a caption that read: Evelyn Wray in Spy Hunter.

Roll pointed at the last poster. "Let's go to that one next! I've always wanted to see it in theaters."

"That looks kinda violent," Mega Man commented.

"It's not violent! Well…okay, it is, but I think you'd like it. I've seen all her movies. She does all of her own stunts. She's a total badass…for a human."

Mega Man and Roll stopped walking. Their electronic hearing had picked up something. In the distance, tires were squealing against asphalt. The sound grew gradually louder, echoing through the building until suddenly a black town car came barreling down the street and straight through a red light. Cross traffic came to a screeching halt, honking angrily. A delivery truck driver leaned out of his window and shouted after the runaway car, "What are ya, crazy?!"

The town car sped past Mega Man and Roll in a black blur, turning a corner so sharply that it bounced over the curb, its rear bumper falling off.

"Hey, that was the mayor! In his pajamas!" Mega Man gasped. "Something's up, c'mon!"

They ran to side street, Roll pulling the keys for the convertible out of her coat pocket, when the street lights above them flickered then exploded in a burst of electricity, broken glass tinkling to the ground. They turned around, and saw the silhouettes of Bomb Man and Elec Man standing in the street behind them.

Roll drew a circular saw from her utility arm and took a battle stance. Mega Man wasn't so easily battle ready, though fortunately he had worn his titanium skin suit under his clothing. He threw off his coat and reached into his canvas backpack, ducking under a Thunder Beam as he slipped on his titanium gauntlets, jumping into his boots as Roll charged past him, and had just slipped on his helmet in time for a Hyper Bomb to explode against his back. Mega Man was flung forward into a bus stop shelter, which collapsed on top of him. He shook himself off, drawing a plasma cannon, then joined his sister in the fray.

It wasn't easy dodging the two Robot Masters. Elec Man was constantly changing positions, making it seem like random lighting strikes were hailing at them from every angle of the street. Mega Man and Roll both knew if one touched them they'd be down in one hit. It didn't help that Elec Man's black armor blended into the night, and they could only see golden flashes from the harlequin mask on his helmet as he darted around.

Bomb Man's weapon was not as powerful as Thunder Beam, but Hyper Bombs were still bombs and caused a lot of collateral damage, blowing up parked cars and the fronts of street-level shops, scattering glass everywhere. The Hyper Bombs were also difficult to see (and Bomb Man's aim was not bad), so Mega Man and Roll had to listen for the direction of hissing fuses seconds before deafening impact while avoiding Thunder Beams.

Bomb Man rolled a Hyper Bomb like a bowling ball at Mega Man, who was busy firing at Elec Man and couldn't dodge in time. He was knocked back into a building, sinking an inch into the brick. Elec Man appeared suddenly in front of him, his fingers crackling with blue electricity, but just as fast he dashed away again as a flying circular saw buried itself the wall next to Mega Man, only half an inch away from his neck.

"Sorry!" said Roll. "Trying to hit that creep, but he's too fast."

Mega Man detached himself from the wall in time to leap over another Hyper Bomb, which completely shattered the wall and sent brick cascading into the street.

Mega Man felt that they couldn't keep this up forever. One wrong move and Elec Man would hit one of them with Thunder Beam, and if that didn't finish them off Bomb Man would. He and Roll needed to neutralize one of the Robot Masters in order to get at the other. He remembered how Elec Man had collapsed after he had soaked him with water from a firehose back on the Warship Hunter. It seemed to be a hidden weakness. But there was no water around, not even a fire hydrant or puddle—except—

A plan springing into to his mind, Mega Man went for the slower of the two Robot Masters first, running toward Bomb Man.

Bomb Man saw him coming, and threw more bombs at Mega Man, leveling a phone booth and a newspaper stand, but once Mega Man got into a certain range, Bomb Man was hesitant to continue throwing Hyper Bombs at him, as he too would suffer damage from the explosion. He held his bomb aloft by his fingertips. "Hey, what are you doing—"

Mega Man lunged for Bomb Man's forearm, draining his weapon energy. Bomb Man stumbled back, still holding his remaining Hyper Bomb as though it were a delicate vase. "Hey!" he croaked.

Mega Man ignored him. He caught Roll's eye, and they both focused on Elec Man, moving in the silent coordination only achieved by two siblings working together.

Mega Man fired a Hyper Bomb at Elec Man's feet. As Elec Man dodged, leaping onto the roof of a station wagon, the Hyper Bomb blew a deep crater in the middle lane of the street. At the same time, Roll pressed a button on her utility arm. Elec Man had just aimed a Thunder Beam at her, forcing her to scramble into an alley to avoid the sizzling arc, but behind them, the headlights of the Aerohead convertible had flashed on. A small cannon unfolding from its hood, which fired. Elec Man turned around just in time to see the blast from the unexpected secret weapon before it hit him, sending him airborne. Mega Man switched to his plasma cannon and fired at Elec Man, the strike pushing him toward the hole in the street. Elec Man tumbled into the darkness.

For a second, Elec Man was confused where he was. He lay sprawled in icy, opaque water. City light streamed in from a large hole above his head, and round black openings of tunnels yawned on either side.

He had fallen into the tubular brick New York City sewer system. His ears were buzzing with static, and steam hissed off his armor, which was as hot as an ironing plate. He felt sore, but in an after-the-fact sort of way, as his processor had crashed during the actual Thunder Beam backfire that had occurred when he had fallen into the sewer water. Yet, as far as his systems could tell, no permanent damage had occurred, though a warning flashed in his eyes that he had only a sliver of energy left.

There was a loud BOOM above—Bomb Man had thrown his remaining Hyper Bomb at Mega Man—then Bomb Man hopped into the sewer, landing next to him with a splash. "Are you okay?"

Elec Man looked down at his wrists where he had installed the circuits Proto Man had given him. "Yeah," he said slowly.

Elec Man staggered to his feet, and for the first time noticed how slimy the bottom of the sewer was, something like the mossy bottom of a still pond. He gazed down the long stream of frothy sludge.

"What is this…?" he hissed, flicking water off his hands.

"Best not knowing," Bomb Man said frankly. "Let's get out of here!"

They splashed down the tunnel and into the darkness.

The noise of the battle had attracted a lot of attention, and police sirens were closing in on the scene. Humans from upper story apartments were leaning out the fire escapes, shouting to keep it down and that some people had to work in the morning before hurrying out of the cold and back inside.

Roll was patching up the hole in the street using the steel door from a destroyed post office as a support, rubble from the buildings as a base, and quick setting cement from her utility arm. Mega Man called back to the laboratory, asking Doris to wake Dr. Light and send Rush into the city with an energy can from Eddie. He was low on plasma after repeated Hyper Bomb hits.

"Since when does our car do that?" asked Mega Man after Doris had hung up, pointing at the convertible, which was blocking off the street until the police arrived to control traffic.

"I modified it in my workshop," Roll said proudly. "I'm also working on giving it jet wings so it can fly, but I haven't tested that out yet. I might need Dad's help."

Roll tamped down the temporary patch with the back of a shovel then inspected it, nodding to herself. Then she said to Mega Man, "Figures Wily's Bad-bots are up to something again. And what was up with the mayor?"

"I bet you a hundred gold medallions they're connected," said Mega Man. He spotted Rush flying above him, and waved him down. Rush landed in the street, dropping the energy can he was carrying in his mouth at Mega Man's feet. Mega Man picked it up then leaped onto his back. "C'mon," he called to Roll. "It looked like Mayor Hill was heading to City Hall. We've got to find him!"

It was going to be a long, sleepless night.

To be continued…