Dr. Wily strode out of Skull Castle onto the temporary stage that DRCI erected whenever they held press conferences. His cane, topped with a silver skull, clacked as he walked. He didn't need it, but he used it whenever he wanted to look particularly sophisticated. He passed a large video screen, reached the podium, gave his tie one last adjustment, then faced the waiting crowd of reporters.

After some brief opening chatter, he got to the point. "The robots created by my colleague Thomas have served us well during their time here at DRCI. But they were not created for combat! They perform as well as they do despite their designs, not because of them! And as the recent events in New Jersey have shown us, we must be prepared for the unexpected, for danger that could happen at any time! To that extent, I present to you the protectors of the future!"

He turned away from the podium briefly and activated the screen, causing a video to begin playing.

-W-

Inside an office building that had clearly been ransacked, a large group of industrial robots strode menacingly toward the screen. The camera angle changed, displaying humans cowering in the corner. The robots approached closer, closer, closer…

Suddenly two large saw blades, thrown by something off-screen, sliced through half of the robots. As they fell to the floor in pieces, the others turned to face the new danger. The camera changed angles again, revealing a red Robot Master that none of the audience had ever seen before. As they watched, he held up his hands and a new blade appeared in each of them.

"Leave those people alone, and play with me instead," he said, his voice dangerously quiet. "Let's play catch." He hurled the blades—

—and the scene changed. Now a flock of Pipi model bird robots, also colloquially known as "Flying Fish," were divebombing another group of humans who were helplessly sprawled across a large street. But before they could swoop in for the kill, they were blown off course by what looked like several miniature tornadoes. A blue Robot Master, whose face was built into his torso above a large fan, calmly stepped in front of the humans protectively.

"Do not worry. You may not be able to protect yourselves, but that is why I am here." He unleashed more tornadoes—

—and the scene changed. A boat had capsized not far offshore, and its crew clung to the hull. They could have made it to shore easily, but they were surrounded by Claw Snapper model crab robots, who looked dangerous despite their small size. As the robots approached, a green blur swam just under the surface of the water, and one by one the crabs were engulfed in foam that seemed to dissolve them. A green Robot Master that seemed to be wearing scuba gear popped out of the water, waving at the stranded crew.

"Ho there, brave sailors!" he called out cheerfully. "Don't worry, I won't let you go to Davy Jones's locker!" He dove back under the water—

—and the scene changed. A large group of small drilling robots known as Moles were boring through a mineshaft, clearly erratic and out of control. A half-dozen miners were fleeing for the exit, but it looked like the shaft was going to collapse on them before they could make it. But a red blur ran into the mine, grabbed two miners, and ran back outside with them. It repeated the process twice more, the roof of the mine shaft giving way just a second later. As the miners caught their breath, the blur slowed down and resolved itself into a crimson Robot Master with a large yellow crest on his head.

"Six rescues, delivered in the nick of time!" he said with a smirk. Then he ran off—

—and the scene changed. In a lightly forested park, a family was having a picnic. Unfortunately, it had been interrupted by the arrival of a large group of robot animals: Kukku model "Atomic Chickens" and Robbit model "Robo-Rabbits," slowly moving towards the family, making threatening noises and gestures.

As the parents shielded their children, several bombs with pointed tips landed among the robot animals. After a second, they exploded, destroying all the electronic creatures. A heavily-armored red Robot Master, with similar tips at the end of his arms, walked over to the family, checking on them and giving them a smile.

"Don't worry," he said. "Those were pretty small explosions by my standards. You're all safe!" The parents looked relieved, the children started to laugh and cheer—

—and the scene changed. In a ruined warehouse, two battalions of Sniper Joes were engaged in combat with one another. The larger group was composed of the original green model, while the smaller group were of the newer, pinkish-orange "Returning" model. The Returning group was clearly on the losing end, and the original models closed in, raising their blasters, getting ready to fire the final shots.

Suddenly both groups of robots seemed to freeze in place. A blue Robot Master walked behind the green Sniper Joes, raising his blaster, and shooting each of them in the head, one-by-one. The robots all unfroze at once. As the green ones fell to the floor, he turned to the Returning Sniper Joes, smiling softly at them.

"Good job, men," he said warmly, gesturing at them and starting to walk off. They began to follow him—

—and the scene changed. A large blue canid robot, a Friender "Hot Dog" model, was circling around a group of firefighters, growling and snapping at them, keeping them pinned in and preventing them from escaping. From somewhere off-screen, there was the sound of some kind of energy building up, and after a moment, an enormous ball of fire slammed into the dog, turning it into a pile of melted slag while leaving the firefighters unharmed. A Robot Master colored yellow and red, and shaped rather like a lighter, strolled casually up to check on the humans.

"You guys all right?" he asked, rather nonchalantly. "Hey, welcome to my barbecue!" He gave them a thumbs-up, a small flame flickering on the end of his thumb—

—and the scene changed. Several hikers were backed against a large rocky outcrop in the middle of the woods, trembling in fear as a lumberjack robot charged at them, wielding a chainsaw. Before it could reach the humans, a brown Robot Master designed to look somewhat like a log, positioned himself in front of them. Four objects that looked like large leaves orbited him quickly. The lumberjack robot brought down its chainsaw, but one of the leaves intercepted it. The teeth broke off the blade, and a moment later, the chainsaw itself snapped in two. Then the Robot Master gestured, and the leaves flew forward, lodging themselves in the lumberjack robot. It fell to the ground, inoperable.

The Robot Master turned to face the humans. "Remember to respect nature," he said gravely—

—and the scene changed one last time. All eight Robot Masters were standing together, posing strikingly in front of the bright blue sky. After a moment, they faded away, and an insignia appeared: a circle with "Dr. W" on top of it.

-W-

"Let me introduce you to: Metal Man! Air Man! Bubble Man! Quick Man! Crash Man! Flash Man! Heat Man! Wood Man!"

A large cloud of smoke had begun to issue from the entrance to Skull Castle, and as Dr. Wily called out their names, the Robot Masters emerged from it, rather like the home team at the start of a gridiron football game.

"I give you the Wily-Force!"

-W-

As Wily prepared for bed that night, his thoughts turned again to the day's events. It had gone even better than he'd hoped. The reporters had asked all the right questions, and the Wily-Force was an immediate worldwide hit. He was already being contacted with offers for merchandise and entertainment franchise tie-ins.

And of course, no one suspected the secret programming he had buried in the deepest parts of their code. I shall obey the orders of Dr. Albert W. Wily, prioritized over any and all other guidelines, commands, order, rules, or laws.

He didn't know if he'd ever have to make use of that. But he had it if he needed it, and only he knew.

Yes, it had been a very good day.