Episode 5: Ice Age

"This is Bree Ricotta reporting live from Washington D.C. where hostile robots have sieged the White House. Authorities are without explanation to what provoked the assault, but it appears that the revered robotic engineer Thomas Light and the nefarious Albert Wily have joined forces against our nation's defenses. I am standing before Capitol Hill with one of the invading robots, hoping to shed some light onto the situation."

"You've found the right 'bot. I'm Wily's second-in-command."

"Tell us, is this a political protest against the current heads of government?"

"Nah, we see it as the natural uprising of robot superiority over mankind, to paraphrase the evil genius himself. Once Washington is under our control and the U.S. has surrendered, we'll fan out across the globe and conquer the rest of the world too."

"So this invasion is just the beginning?"

"You got it. The military can try to fight back…but they won't win."

"It's speculated that Thomas Light is not only behind this invasion, but under investigation for involvement in your creation. Can you comment on that?"

"Everyone gets that wrong. As the New York Police Department can confirm, I'm unbeatable; only a scientist with the boundless grey matter of Dr. Wily could craft such a powerful machine as myself, but Light came close with Mega Man."

"So you deny connection to Light?"

"That's right, I'm a bad 'bot. That clear things up for ya?"

"It certainly does. It's good to finally hear a straightforward answer about Wily's forces; we can hardly expect the same from our nation's leaders. You've heard it hear first, folks, straight from the mouth of a real-live Bad-bot."

"My pleasure, Wily loves watching your commentaries. Now if you'll 'scuse me, I gotta go assault the White House with Mega Man."

People could say what they want about the biased broadcasts of Channel 3 news and the questionable interviewing tactics used by its reporters, but Bree Ricotta had gall and always got the answers the public craved. Before long, the nation was buzzing with stories of a new robotic threat. The fear Dr. Wily had striven to elicit for months was finally being realized, but he still found one significant detail in Proto Man's impromptu interview to infuriate his mood.

"What's wrong?" Proto Man asked when Dr. Wily summoned him to his laboratory in Skull Fortress. "I talked us up pretty good. We're finally getting the word out, just like you wanted."

"You called yourself a 'Bad-bot,'" Dr. Wily growled.

"I know, kinda an understatement, right?" Proto Man grinned.

"You don't understand. The press thinks that what we're called, 'The Bad-bots.' Look!"

Dr. Wily threw a fresh newspaper at Proto Man, which he caught and let fall open. Proto Man didn't have to scan the report long before it became clear that the press had indeed coined the term 'Bad-bot' for Dr. Wily's forces. "Huh, didn't think they'd quote me on that," he said lightly.

"What sort of insulting name is that for my army?" Dr. Wily fumed, clenching his fists. "They should be called 'Wily-bots' after their master, Dr. Wily! Not Bad-Bots Gang! Makes it sound like we are a bunch of blundering fools instead of the terrifying conquerors that we are!"

"Mmmm." Proto Man tossed the paper onto an untidy worktable. "I wouldn't worry about it. No way a name like 'Bad-bots' will stick."

In the basement of Skull Fortress, construction for a new armory was still underway by the Pfister Robot Masters. Ring Man and Magnet Man leaned in their usual corner, not bothering to raise a finger (or a metal girder in Magnet Man's case) to help out. Elec Man was up to his usual business for Dr. Wily. No one knew for sure what that entailed, but they believed in involved a lot of complex tasks such as financial management, satellite surveillance, monitoring radio frequencies, operating cloaking devices that shielded Skull Fortress from enemy eyes, and other complicated tasks that Dr. Wily did not have time to attend to personally.

"'Sup Elec," Ring Man called as Elec Man strode past them.

Elec Man glanced at Ring Man, but didn't respond as he slipped into his private room where he could ignore the other robots. It was clear that he thought Ring Man and Magnet Man were clowns beneath his notice (They in turn thought Elec Man was creepy and found his predicament amusing), which was how he saw the majority of Skull Fortress. Elec Man's contempt even stretched to Dr. Wily who he was forced to obey through the power of the protocol-disruptor, though he didn't see Dr. Wily as his master.

Elec Man wasn't the only Robot Master less than loyal to Dr. Wily.

"If I don't go on another mission soon, I'm going to ice someone," grumbled a surly voice at Magnet Man's elbow. "I'm not being cute, I really mean it. I will kill someone. Bump off. Put away. Rub out. Do in. Dead."

Being naturally abrasive, Ice Man didn't get along with the other Robot Masters. His Ice Slasher wasn't useful for construction in the armory, so he didn't fit with the Pfister robots; Cut Man and Guts Man were usually working as a pair for Dr. Wily, Elec Man kept to himself (Ice Man also had the incorrect impression that Elec Man was vying for power), he didn't like Bright Man, and Proto Man rarely visited the Robot Masters. That left Ring Man and Magnet Man, whose usual sulkiness was misinterpreted by Ice Man to reflect his own plight.

Ring Man and Magnet Man said nothing in response to Ice Man, not really understanding why anyone would want to risk their neck for Dr. Wily's bizarre take-over schemes in the late summer heat when they could laze around in the cool underground armory instead.

"You ever notice how he always sends Proto Man and Elec Man out on special missions?" Ice Man continued, oblivious to the disinterest of his audience. "Just because they're androids and look more human. But you know what? Humans are dumb, any of us could fool one of them! Hell, I could do it, easy!"

Ring Man and Magnet Man glanced at each other. They had been having a nice silent conversation about nothing before Ice Man had intruded.

But Ice Man's lack of activity was about to turn that day. As soon as they heard Dr. Wily's footsteps coming downstairs, Ring Man and Magnet Man made themselves scarce. "Ice Man," Dr. Wily called, his head poking through the armory's entrance. "I've got a mission for you."

"About freaking time," Ice Man growled back.

"Want any of us to come, Dr. Wily?" Crash Man called. He, Drill Man, Bomb Man, and Stone Man had dropped what they were doing at the sound of Dr. Wily's voice and turned towards him attentively.

"No! Why haven't you circuit-heads finished the armory yet?" Dr. Wily snapped angrily at Crash Man. "It looks like a scrap yard!"

This wasn't true. What had once been a cramped cellar now was a spacious underground barracks for robots, nearly the size of the bunker above. A repair ward, basic plumbing, and lighting had been added, the equipment pilfered during their last visit to New York City. At the entrance was a catwalk suspended two stories from the floor, where Dr. Wily could stand and survey the entire room. Given their limited supplies, it was pretty impressive what the four Robot Masters had accomplished, but Dr. Wily refused to acknowledge this. After all, he was their master, and his robots should fear and respect him. If he seemed too soft, it would encourage insubordination.

The Pfister robots, on the other hand, did not take Dr. Wily's gruff behavior towards them personally, each coming from a construction or mining branch that had a similar style of tough management. "You heard the boss, get back to work!" Crash Man ordered, and they returned quite cheerfully back to their daily activities of hard manual labor and exchanging crude jokes.

Ice Man followed Dr. Wily through the narrow, winding corridors of Skull Fortress to his laboratory where Dr. Wily wanted to confer his latest scheme. He felt gratified that Dr. Wily had fetched him personally and eagerly gave suggestions towards its execution. The scheme even revolved around Ice Man's native element; it was as though he were finally being recognized as a dangerous Robot Master.

Dr. Wily then introduced Air Man, a large cerulean robot with a giant turbine operated fan lodged in his chest. His face was flesh-colored but of a stiff material, with red glowing eyes and white mouthpieces that clicked together like small shutters when he talked. As Ice Man and Air Man walked back to the armory to collect supplies for their mission, Ice Man puffed out his chest importantly. "Listen up, dirtbag. You're new here, so ya gotta follow my orders, got it?"

Air Man wasn't a fool. He had met Dr. Wily and Proto Man first, and neither had given any indication that Ice Man had any seniority over anyone—and even if they had, he could sense Ice Man was a nuisance and therefore didn't deserve his respect. "I was the main 'bot responsible for the safe ventilation of chemical gasses in all nine of Zero Refrigeration's production plants. I can produce winds at over a hundred and fifty miles per hour. Why should I listen to a pipsqueak like you?"

Ice Man was infuriated by the response. "Ya gotta learn some respect if you wanna get anywhere around here, and that starts with obeying me! Now shut your trap, I know the perfect way to take the Zero Chemical Refrigeration Company by surprise!"

After the attack on Washington D.C., Mega Man and Dr. Light had met with lawyers, judges, lawmakers, and other people of high political importance to discuss his combat capabilities, his status as a robot and a living being, and his role in society. His whole life had turned upside-down after his surrender to Civil Defense; Mega Man's reputation as a hero had been ruined and the public now feared and despised him. By the end of the week, Mega Man's job description had been redefined, growing clearer and more specific in its parameters: to defeat Dr. Wily's and his Robot Masters. All other threats to national security would be handled by Civil Defense. In addition, Mega Man was forbidden entry to any federal institutions for a year without advanced warning and approval by security.

For Mega Man's part in all this, he only needed to follow Dr. Light's and Mayor Hill's instructions. Being a robot, no one legally expected him to speak for himself, to make public statements, or even to sign off on paperwork. He had even been warned away from speaking to the paparazzi, which was keen to trap him in an interview that would add to his already spoiled public image. But even without a formal interview, every news station was retelling the story of Mega Man's misdeeds, trumping over his every act of heroism. Mega Man didn't watch these news reports, but he still knew what they said and felt diminished. Still, he tried to remain thankful by knowing his situation could have been much worse.

Roll was relentless.

"Damn straight they should be angry!" Roll would lecture Mega Man as he returned to the living room of Dr. Light's laboratory. He had spent the entire afternoon under scrutiny by the Senate. "You helped Dr. Wily waltz his ugly robot troops all over Washington D.C. when you should have been defending it. Crash Man even obliterated the Washington Memorial. If he had kept going, there would be nothing left of Washington but a patch of charged ground!"

"At least no one got hurt," Mega Man said feebly, sinking into an armchair. "Can't you just let it drop?"

"Yeah, you're right. National security isn't that big of a deal. We can just let your little party of fascist insurgency slide."

Despite his protests, Mega Man didn't mind Roll's admonishments much; it felt much better to be reviled face-to-face than to ignore the elephant in the room.

"So why'd you do it?" Roll asked with less force, watching Mega Man out of the corner of her eye.

That was a question Mega Man knew he couldn't answer with complete honesty. Apart from being angry with Dr. Light, he had betrayed them to get answers from Proto Man, Dr. Light's first advanced-android. But the situation had unraveled into total chaos. Mega Man's current feelings toward Proto Man were complicated, the truth weighing like a cold iron pike at the bottom of his chest cavity. While he hated Proto Man for everything he had done, there was something powerful about being siblings; even in the midst of beating down the National Guard Mega Man had felt instinctively loyal to Proto Man, his human emotions triumphing over his logic and sense of duty. He wasn't sure if his brother was good or evil, but he knew Proto Man felt justified for his wrongdoings for reasons insufficiently explained to Mega Man.

It would also be impossible for Dr. Light to rehabilitate Proto Man by reprogramming his guidance system like he could a Robot Master. The only way to stop Proto Man was through destruction or imprisonment, neither of which Mega Man relished. He just wanted to make Proto Man understand that everything he had done was wrong. Most of all, he wanted a complete apology and an explanation for Proto Man's actions, past and present.

Mega Man wanted desperately to tell Roll, to share his outrage at Proto Man's alienation from Dr. Light and ultimately their family as a whole—but he also knew his sister, and Roll would stop at nothing to solve the mystery of Proto Man's betrayal. While Roll was a staunch girl who claimed to hate Proto Man, Mega Man knew if circumstances were different the two would get along. If Proto Man convinced her to join Dr. Wily the same way he had almost tricked Mega Man into doing…he couldn't bear it. Mega Man wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but brother or not Proto Man was still manipulative, unpredictable, and dangerous, and the less Roll had to do with him, the safer she'd be "I've told you over and over again...I thought Dr. Light was suppressing my free will and I left to escape. It was all a colossal misunderstanding, and a huge mistake."

"Well, you should thank your lucky stars that the Mayor likes you and is persuasive enough to argue a grizzly bear into vegetarianism, or else I'd be taking you to get recycled into soda cans, traitor," Roll said reproachfully.

"Senator Wolfe recommended me for a community service program today," Mega Man replied with a cringe.

Irene A. Wolfe was a New York Senator who took active interest in the current affairs of robots. Mega Man had gotten the impression that Senator Wolfe didn't like him very much when they met in New York City's capitol to answer questions about his views on humanity, but after she dismissed him Mega Man's sharp robotic ears accidentally overheard her praise Dr. Light for creating such a human-like android. She also suggested the program as a good way to learn about real human teenagers also struggling to re-integrate themselves to society. "It's with a high school," Mega Man continued. "She thinks it'll be a good way to improve my public image."

"Doesn't sound so bad. You know what, I'll come along with you," Roll offered cheerfully.

"It's okay Roll, you really don't have to do that."

"C'mon, it'll be fun, brother and sister bonding time!" Roll replied with a grin. "Plus I know how to recognize your signs of craziness before you go postal."

And so while most New Yorkers spent a lazy morning in their air-conditioned living rooms avoiding the late August heat wave, Mega Man and Roll drove to Valley View High School to volunteer with some of its students. "They aren't the worst the school has to offer," the school's principal had warned them over the phone earlier that day, "They have so much potential, but they've been skipping class and participating in vandalism. I'm at my wit's end, and they only have a year left but they are so close to dropping out."

There were metal detectors at the entrance of the high school, and Roll and Mega Man had to show their police-issued ID badges to the staff before being lead to the principal's office to meet their students. The principal had her hair combed back in a professional fashion and her face was powered up neatly, but there were lines of wear around her eyes that indicated age and spending many years at a stressful job. "Mega Man, I'd like you to meet Bobby, Ramón, and Janet," she said, introducing the three grungy-looking teenagers who were clustered in a tight pack in the corner of her office. "They're the special students I told you about."

Bobby was freckly and wore a backward baseball cap and a t-shirt with a circle-backslash symbol on it. One of his ears was pierced. Ramón had a bowl cut with clean-shaven sides, and his hands were stuffed into the pockets of a baggy biker jacket. Janet sported a gold nose-ring and a shag haircut, her jacket had its sleeves hacked crudely off. The three teenagers glared scornfully at Mega Man.

"Hi!" Mega Man greeted, extending an arm towards the Bobby, Ramón, and Janet.

The teenagers ignored his hand, looking pointedly in another direction. Mega Man had never been around human teenagers before, especially delinquent teenagers, and was taken aback at the unexpected snub.

"This is not the way to show your appreciation!" The principal barked.

"We're not here to make problems," Mega Man added gently, not wanting his first impression to come across as domineering. "We volunteered to try and help you three become better students and citizens."

Bobby's eyes flickered up to look at Mega Man maliciously. "That's not what I hear," he leered in a low voice. "You're here on the Senator's orders. The government is trying to cover up what you did at the White House. Is it even safe for us to be around you?" he added nastily.

"It doesn't matter why we're here," Roll retorted before Mega Man could reply. "You three are flunking high school. We want to help you with your problems, but it's still your future. The least you could do is try."

"What do you know about our problems?" Bobby demanded.

"Yeah man, you're just robots," Ramón said in what almost sounded like a taunting voice.

"You don't have to deal with life, everything you do is pre-programmed," Janet stated, making typing gestures on her palm.

Mega Man and Roll exchanged glances. "Well, I think us robots will surprise you," Roll answered in a superior voice. "We're programmed to think and behave like humans."

Ramón snorted. "No such thing."

"You know, we better get going," Mega Man said hastily, sensing an argument. The teenagers were giving off an intense aura of dislike that he felt he and Roll didn't deserve. Mega Man wished his community service could have been helping the Science team with their Chemistry projects instead. "C'mon, our car's outside."

Let's get this over with.

Ice Man marched importantly up to Zero Chemical and Refrigeration Company, dressed in powder blue dress scrubs over his navy bodysuit, a teased straw-colored wig with a nursing cap sat on his head. He felt pleased that all it took to blend in with humans was a little hair and make-up. Androids aren't the only ones who can go undercover... he thought smugly to himself.

The security guard who greeted him at the front gate certainly did not expect what he presumed to be a nurse to freeze him inside his little yellow booth.

"Air Man, get the gate!" Ice Man shouted, tearing off his disguise and pointing toward the chain-link fence.

"Don't order me around, I'll get the gate 'cause I want to!" Air Man snapped back, demolishing the front gate with his Air Shooter.

Ice Man ignored him. "Let's go!"

"Halt!" a voice commanded as they broke through the front door of the plant. A robo-security guard was looking at them in surprise and distrust. "What are you doing here?"

"We just came by to get out of the storm," Ice Man responded innocently.

"There's no storm," the robo-security officer stated in a no-nonsense voice.

"There is now!" Ice Man crowed, trapping the robo-security officer in a solid sheet of ice using his Ice Slasher.

Despite suffering from a pronounced stutter, Mr. Chilton Zero was the successful owner and lead cryogenicist at Zero Refrigeration and Chemical Company. He had a cleanly shaven head with a pointy crown, a white Van Dyke beard, and a pair of round, wiry spectacles sitting on his hooked nose. He sat at his desk in the administration office, overlooking the latest report of his company that his assistant Ms. Pendergast had printed out for him. Belonging to a dull, dreary business, Mr. Zero was rarely disturbed at his work, and therefore was very surprised when two burly Robot Masters crashed through his office door.

"Huh? You're not s—suppose to be in here," Mr. Zero stammered, his eyes widening fearfully. "Guards!"

"I'm afraid he's got a 'chill' and won't be able to help you," Ice Man replied viciously.

"Wh—whh-whh-what do you want with me?" Mr. Zero cried, ducking lower into his chair as though to hide behind his desk.

"We just want your new super-freeze technology," Ice Man said in a low coax, which was betrayed by the menacing way he approached Mr. Zero.

"B-B-But that's impossible!" Mr. Zero protested. "It's t-top secret and v-v-very dangerous!"

"Oh, I think you'll give us what we want, Mr. Zero," Ice Man simpered, "Unless you prefer we turn you into a bucket of ice cubes."

Ice Man slapped his palms onto the desk. With a cracking noise, the wood froze rock-solid.

Mr. Zero sprang away from his desk as though fearful that the ice would spread to him too. He took a nervous gulp. "V-v-very well, I'll do w-w-whatever you s-s-say," he quailed, bowing his head in assent.

Ice Man chuckled triumphantly. He lifted his communicator to his mouth. "This is Ice Man to Dr. Wily! Mr. Zero has agreed to our demands."

"Goooood," Dr. Wily's voice purred back. "Meet us at the rendezvous point in fifteen minutes."

Ice Man looked back at Mr. Zero, who was quivering like a cornered rabbit. He pulled out a coil of rope that he had slung over his shoulder. "This will just take a second, Mr. Zero."

Mega Man and Roll lead the teenagers to their sleek chili-pepper red Aerohead convertible that Dr. Light had purchased recently so they could have separate cars. The teenagers cast stifled looks of admiration at the charcoal leather upholstery and shiny aluminum hubcaps before settling in together in the back seat, which they complained had gotten hot in the sun. Roll cranked down the top so the air could blow pleasantly over them as they cruised down New York's avenues.

"Where are we going?" Bobby drawled.

"To go do some good for the community with some outdoor volunteer work," Mega Man responded.

"But it's a hundred and ten degrees out," Bobby whined, throwing his head back against his seat. "We could die of heat exhaustion."

"No more sulking, we all have to do this," Mega Man replied coldly.

"Can we at least listen to some tunes on the way?" Janet asked petulantly.

"Sure," Roll said, turning on the radio to New York's Top Forty. A bubbly young singer backed by a trendy combination of digital synthesizers and electrical instruments piped through the speakers.

"No, not that," Janet said. "I feel like I'm in a mall. Change it to 102.3."

Roll flipped the station again. A chant of non-rhyming verse to a looping electronic beat replaced the cheery pop song.

"Hip-hop sucks," said Ramón.

"Yeah, change it to something else," agreed Bobby.

Roll's lips pursed, but she flipped the station again. A country singer warbled to the mournful twangs of an acoustic guitar.

"No," Bobby, Ramón, and Janet droned in unison.

"How about Nineties Talk Radio?" Roll suggested, changing the radio station again. "Sometimes they have funny interviews."

But Nineties Talk Radio wasn't playing any interviews, instead it was having a call in discussion where listeners could publicly voice their opinions about the fashion trends of popular celebrities.

They listened to the station for a few minutes in total silence, Mega Man growing increasingly bewildered at the unflinching frivolity of the broadcast. "Who's this Kali Cossack they keep talking about?" he asked finally. "Is she a movie star or something?"

"No, just some rich guy's daughter," Roll said offhandedly.

"That's it? She's famous because she's rich?" Mega Man asked incredulously. "Why does anyone care about the personal details of her life like 'does her spaghetti-string designer purse match her floral blouse' when there are more important things to pay attention to?"

"I don't know, Mega, people just do."

"Ugh, can we turn it?" Ramón groaned.

"Please," Janet added forcefully.

Roll changed the station again. A blood-curdling howl accompanied by a savage gallop from a guitar and a furious hailstorm of percussion began booming through the speakers.

"No…not Nightmare Fuel, Roll," Mega Man moaned. "I can't stand them."

"This isn't Nightmare Fuel, it's Gigavolt," Roll corrected tartly.

"Whatever, they all sound the same to me," Mega Man replied.

Roll, Bobby, and Ramón let out a collective hiss.

"Don't be such a nerd, Mega!"

"You did not just say that."

"Gigavolt and N.F. are like Death Metal rivals!"

"Well for rivals, they sure seem exactly the same," Mega Man retorted, obstinately refusing to feel abashed at not being up on whatever weird stuff was popular these days.

Fortunately, Janet was on his side. "And both sold-out years ago," she remarked scathingly. "Turn it."

"I can't please all of you," Roll grumbled irritably.

"I know, let's listen to a news station," Mega Man said in a loud, jovial voice. "Learning about what's going on in politics and current events will be an enlightening way to spend our car trip." He changed the car's radio tuner himself.

A somber address from a deep-speaking broadcaster drawled through the speaker. "—After the violent rampage started at Skytower Skyscraper, New York's 'Mega Man' was next spotted at the White House, resisting arrest and shooting a plasma-based projectile weapon at the National Guard's tanks—"

Mega Man quickly turned the radio off.

"Hey, I wanted to listen to that!" Bobby protested, snickering.

"Me too!" Janet jeered, giving the back of Mega Man's chair a light kick.

"I was getting enlightened, Mega Man," Ramón said in saintly voice.

"I changed my mind. Let's not listen to the radio," Mega Man replied curtly.

"Oh come on, you can't just pretend it didn't happen," wheedled Bobby.

"Yeah, tell us about it, man!"

"We're you trying to kidnap the president?"

"Did you shoot anyone?"

Roll kept her eyes on the traffic ahead, refusing to come to Mega Man's defense. He was, after all, still facing punishment.

"Forget it, he's just a robot. He didn't understand what he was doing," Ramón said slyly after a period of silence.

Mega Man stiffened at the remark, but kept his mouth closed. It was bad enough to be publicly ridiculed on the news, but hearing this from teenagers was just humiliating. "What's first on our agenda Roll?" Mega Man asked, hoping to get off the subject.

"The principle suggested we help the community by planting some trees."

"Sounds cool!" Bobby quipped. "Then maybe we can walk some old ladies cross the street." The three teenagers broke into rude laughter.

Roll came to a halt at a red light. At the intersection was a popular looking diner smelling strongly of garlic and pepperoni, the muffled bass of club music beating enticingly from inside.

Janet's face brightened as she caught sight of the diner. "Hey, why don't we stop at Electric Pizza and go dancing?"

"Sure thing!" Mega Man replied gamely. The teenagers silently pumped their fists in approval. "—After we plant some trees," he added snidely.

Mega Man could sense three pairs of eyes glaring mutinously at his back. The light changed green and Roll drove on. At the same time, the video conferencing console on the dashboard began to ring.

"It's Dr. Light calling," Roll announced, glancing down at the caller ID. Mega Man reached over to accept the call. A moment later Dr. Light's face appeared in the mini-monitor.

"Mega Man, the Emergency Satellite Scanner spotted Wily's bots at the Zero Refrigeration Company," Dr. Light's voice buzzed through the speaker. "I know you're supposed to be doing community service today, but the city's defense has a higher priority."

"I'm on my way," Mega Man said cheerfully. He looked over his shoulder to the teenagers sitting in the back seat. "We'll have to take a rain check on our tree planting."

Ramón lip curled. "Gee, I'm sooo disappointed."

"Hang on!" Roll commanded as she revved the Aerohead convertible forward.

"The others should be arriving any second," Ice Man announced to Air Man. They were waiting outside the chemical plant in front of a three-story-tall high-pressure storage tank, which gleamed brightly in the noonday sun. Mr. Zero lay in a heap at Ice Man's feet, bound head to toe.

Air Man pointed upward. "There they are now."

A dark shadow had fallen over them as an enormous violet blimp branded with a golden skull descended silently from the western sky. A thick in-take hose dropped from its gondola, landing with a heavy thud next to them.

"Start pumping, airhead," Ice Man commanded as he screwed the end of the hose onto the storage tank.

"Whatever you say, ice-brain," Air Man growled back, whirling the valve. The hose began to thrash back and forth like a python as liquid nitrogen shot through it.

"That blimp will hold ten million gallons of liquid nitrogen," Ice Man commented happily. "And with Mr. Zero's super freeze formula—" he cast Mr. Zero a grin, "Dr. Wily will make me the coolest guy in the world!"

"Shi—sizzling circuits!"

"It's okay Mega, no need to use euphemisms around us! Go ahead and swear!"

Mega Man ignored Ramón. They had just come to screeching halt in front of the Zero Refrigeration and Chemical Company, which had a large battle blimp floating ominously above it. "Wily and his bots are attacking the Zero Refrigeration Plant!"

"Now's your chance! You can run off and join your Bad-bot friends!" Bobby snickered.

Mega Man sighed in vexation, turned around to look around to look the teenagers in their faces, and decided they weren't trustworthy. "Roll, keep an eye on these kids."

"But Mega!" Roll complained as Mega Man hopped out of the Aerohead convertible. "What does he think I am, a babysitter?" she asked herself incredulously. She looked over at Rush. "Rush, keep an eye on these kids," she ordered as she jumped out to follow Mega Man.

Seeing that their chaperones were leaving them without proper supervision, the teenagers decided to slip off. "C'mon guys, let's check this place out," Bobby said, opening up a door to the Aerohead convertible. Rush barked helplessly as they ran out, no one paying him heed.

"Sorry to interrupt your little crime, but you're busted!" Mega Man called as he stepped towards the two Robot Masters. He wasn't too shocked to see Air Man working for Dr. Wily, he knew by now Dr. Wily couldn't resist adding new recruits to his ranks, and by Wily-standards Air Man was a 'good catch'.

"That's what you think, Mega-wimp!" Air Man shouted. The turbine in Air Man's fan roared to life, and a blast of air as strong as a hurricane force wind buffeted into Mega Man, sending him flying backward into a stack of empty steel drums.

Mega Man shook himself off, forcing himself to regroup. He needed to capture these Robot Masters and reverse Dr. Wily's evil programming. It would be leaps and bounds to help clear his name, but things weren't starting out well.

And it didn't help that the teenagers had come along to be spectators.

"Rock 'n' Roll, Mega Man," Bobby cheered.

"You're really smokin', dude!" Ramón laughed.

Mega Man glared sternly at them. "Go back to the car, it's dangerous here!"

Meanwhile, Roll decided it was her turn with Air Man.

"What do you want, sis?" Air Man growled as Roll ran fiercely towards him.

"I'm one of your biggest fans, Air Man. And here it is!" Roll cried, using her vacuum cleaner to suck up a nearby tin can. She shot it back out towards Air Man with bullet speed.

Air Man chuckled deeply as the can bounced harmlessly off his blue chest. "And I'm even a bigger fan of yours, kid. Now blow!"

A whirlwind sprang from his blaster, building steadily in intensity as it gusted towards Roll and lifted her off the ground. Caught in the vortex of the whirlwind, she spun around like a falling maple seed, wind roared into her ears. Then with a sickening crunch, the whirlwind spat her out against the ground. Roll groaned, the world still spinning before her eyes.

While his master was engaged with Air Man, Rush had padded swiftly to the intake hose, which was covered in a brittle crust of frozen condensation. He transformed his muzzle into a jackhammer, and then dug into the tough hose.

Hearing the thunderous rattle coming down along the hose, Ice Man's head shot over to Rush. "Cut it out you mutt!" he called angrily, shooting an Ice Slasher beam towards Rush. The frigid blast trapped Rush in block of solid ice.

"Now roll over, pooch," Ice Man ordered in a low voice. Rush trembled, unable to escape. "Aww, let me help you." He gave Rush a strong prod with his foot, and Rush was sent skating backward, yelping in panic before crashing to pieces against a brick wall.

"Forget about Mega Man, just wrap it up down there and lets get moving!" Dr. Wily growled through Ice Man's communicator.

Ice Man whirled the valve of the high-pressure storage tank closed. "She's full, let's go!" he called to Air Man, who was keeping their opponents at bay with his torrential Air Shooter.

"Not so fast, fellas!" Mega Man shouted after them. He darted around Air Man to get in closer to the storage tank. "Ice Man, what are you doing?" he chided in a softer voice. "C'mon, you're a Light-bot. You should know better."

"You're right, I know better," Ice Man chuckled darkly, "but that won't hold me back!"

"I don't want to fight, I'm here to help you," Mega Man continued firmly, staring Ice Man straight in the eye.

"Enough with all this false sincerity crap, Rock," Ice Man growled. "You're acting just like your big brother."

Mega Man bristled. "Take it back."

"Aw, did I touch a nerve?" Ice Man sneered.

Mega Man didn't reply, instead he fired a plasma blast at Ice Man's feet.

Ice Man flipped out of the way. He turned palm upwards towards Mega Man. "This will cool you off, Mega Man," Ice Man called as he shot an Ice Slasher beam at Mega Man's feet, cementing him to the spot in an ankle-deep crystal-clear encasement of solid ice. Mega Man pulled at his legs, struggling to break free.

Air Man lugged Mr. Zero over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes then he and Ice Man grabbed hold to the tail end of the intake hose. "Let's get out of here! Dr. Wily, now!" Ice Man radioed up to the blimp.

Mega Man had just melted the remnants of the Ice Slasher with his plasma cannon, only to look up and see Dr. Wily's blimp sailing away, Ice Man, Air Man, and Mr. Zero hanging from its hose. No…they're getting away, and they've got a hostage! Mega Man thought in distress. He lifted his plasma cannon, taking careful aim towards the dangling Robot Masters. Then he dropped his blaster, wondering what he was doing. Even if he made that shot, the risk of Mr. Zero plummeting to his death was too great. "This isn't my lucky day," he said in aggravation.

He treaded over to Roll, who was pushing herself up from the ground. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Roll said with a wince as Mega Man helped her to her feet, "—no thanks to them." She jerked a thumb over to where Bobby, Ramón, and Janet reclined lazily against a hand railing, peering boldly at them with controlled amusement.

"This isn't some video game you're playing, those 'bots mean business!" Mega Man scolded.

"It's not our problem!" Bobby retorted.

"Yeah, we get school credit for this whether you win or lose, ha!" Ramón jeered, spitting at the ground.

"These kids have a bad attitude," Mega Man muttered to Roll.

"Tell me about it," Roll muttered back. She turned to look at Rush, who was struggling to stand up from the puddle of melted ice. "Rush, let's move it!" Roll ordered, pointing to their car.

"We gotta stop Wily," Mega Man said to the teenagers. "Hope I can trust you to go back to school," he added pointedly.

"Yeah, sure," Ramón snickered as Mega Man and Roll hopped back into the Aerohead convertible and drove off in pursuit of Dr. Wily's blimp.

To be continued…