Robert's eyes were glazed and heavy by the time the ambulance came. The policeman's name was Officer Lucas, or so the dispatcher said. He was holding Robert's head in his lap, comforting him while the sirens blared in the city.
"Officer..."
"Just be quiet. Help is on it's way."
He was an older man of about fifty years old. Gray puffy hair flew out from the sides of his head underneath the edge of the cap. He looked at the boy who was in his arms, blood slowly trickling out of the hole that started in his back and ended in the front of his body. He had placed a small handkerchief over it, and when he pushed, Robert winced in pain. Quite frankly, the officer knew the boy was never going to make it.
"Off..." Robert batted his eyes. He weakly reached up and put an arm on the officer's wrist.
"My name is Scott. You can call me Scott. Everything's going to be alright..."
"Where's Brett?" His eyes batted halfway closed. The officer knew that if Robert fell asleep, he would surely die. He pushed on the handkerchief, and Robert groaned.
"He's talking to my partner. He's fine."
Ambulance sirens were coming closer, and soon a black striped ambulance swung the corner and appeared at the front of the alley. A man and a woman jumped from the back of the vehicle. They quickly tore down the pavement and the male paramedic threw open the kit he was carrying. Together, the two covered the holes in Robert's back and front. They stuck an IV kit into his arm, and soon, another medic ran forward with a stretcher. All three rolled his body onto a backboard, secured him, then lifted him onto the stretcher.
"Tell my..." Robert was speaking. The paramedics were struggling with the stretcher. They loaded him into the back and soon the ambulance was blazing down the road toward the emergency center.
The caravan of police and medical vehicles arrived minutes later, and they unloaded Robert with amazing speed. Rolling him up the ramp and into the hospital, the male paramedic motioned to a doctor in a white surgical coat. Rapidly, the doctor ran over.
"Gunshot wound to the middle of the middle of the back. The exit wound is near the breastbone. Administered an IV and morphine. He's still slipping. Heart rate is ninety-four over sixty-six and falling."
They ran into an operating room where surgeons are waiting. The paramedics handed the gurney to doctors. Once settled under the operating room's bright lights, they lifted him onto an operating table. The doctors cut away the rest of the shirt he was wearing, blood-soaked and dirty. One surgeon stuck electrodes on Robert's chest and arms. Immediately, a heart monitor began beeping in the background.
Robert had lost consciousness in the ambulance about halfway to the hospital. He was having a rather vivid dream. In it, he was somewhere different; a long dark hallway in the midst of an underground labrynth.
His vision was strange, like other dreams he used to have. A phrase was pulsing in green below the upper-right view of a map. It was changing every few seconds between 'Data carrier line one opened' and 'Communications established'. He looked around the room. A voice echoed in his head with some static, but otherwise clear.
"Mega. Watch for Quick Man. He's in the area." It was Doctor Caplin's voice, striking a deep fear in his thoughts.
He was running down a corridor toward a giant door. Gaps every few feet in front of him challenged his quest to that door, but he found that jumping over them was rather easy. Suddenly though, a small group of five beings popped out of the gaps. They looked like bats, but were mechanical. They flapped their metallic wings, and emitted a low, menacing hum. Slowly they hovered to Robert. Closer and closer they edged. Robert was paralyzed with fear.
"Mega! Use the Buster!"
One touched his hand. An electrical shock vibrated up Robert's arm and stunned him with tremendous pain. He fell to the ground with force, and several of the display words changed on his view. The most notable was a gauge in the upper left that had several tiny white slots in it. About four were taken away, and a percentage below the gauge dropped from 100% to 94%. A booming laugh echoed down the corridor. Looking up from the floor, Robert tilted his head enough to see Quick Man at the end of the hallway. He was laughing hysterically, and pointing. Soon Robert's temper began to boil over.
"You expected to beat me when you can't even deal with them?! Hah!" He chuckled some more, and turned. The doorway slid shut.
With anger, Robert rolled on the floor. He kicked up, and propelled himself almost ten feet into the air. He pointed his left arm into the direction of the bats.
"Targeting," the female voice said within his mind.
Smiling, he let didn't let the force of energy go right away. He let it build, and remembered the laughing of Quick Man. Soon the power indicators on his forearm were all lit. Robert let go.
A huge blast of power hurdled down the long stretch, lighting the dim passage as it charged the air. Four of the five bats were in its immediate path, and were soon disintegrated into dust. The fourth flew forward, howling out and straightening its wings. Robert, still in mid-air, straightened his arm again and let out a string of blasts. They hammered the bat, denting its surface. It exploded into flames and flew a few feet above his head, smashing into a wall and scattering into pieces. Shaking his head, Robert checked the instrument gauges once more. He read the display slowly:
'Minor Damage to right extremity. Functionality at 85% and rising' 'Power capacitor in M-Buster at 98% and rising.' 'Approaching target. Distance: 240 meters'
Noting the last few words, he jumped the caverns to the door. Looking above it, a picture of the doctor tied his stomach in knots. Gathering his courage, he entered the doorway and it snapped shut behind him. A quiet, desolate stretch was in front of him, leading to another door. The distance gauge was decreasing. He knew that ahead of him was one of the doctor's evil creations. It needed punished. Robert used his mind to select the 'Transport Part' menu. It dropped down, and before him were the names of more robots. One was Ice Man.
"Quick Man- get ready for a blizzard."
He selected Ice Man, and his body felt strange. A light fell upon him, encircling his entire body. The female voice in his head spoke out:
"Transferring."
His external skin changed colors, from the black and gold he was familiar with, to a light blue with dark blue bands. His left arm changed shape, flaring out more at the tip and becoming rounder. The power gauge on the side lit up. The light surrounding his body disappeared.
"Transfer Complete."
He ran toward the door and it opened.
"Mega, be careful! He's not powerful, but he's dangerous either way...use your..."
The voice of Doctor Caplin died out when the doors snapped shut behind him. The lights suddenly lit the room, and Quick Man was right ahead of him.
"I give you one more chance. Join us and Doctor Wily, or be crushed." Quick Man stretched his legs, and inside Robert's view, a power gauge appeared beside his, counting up to 100% and sitting steady.
Robert smiled. "The only thing I'm going to crush is you."
Quick Man frowned, and jumped into the air. He shot a string of boomerangs at Robert, who easily dove beneath them. Quick Man was touching down on the other side of the room when Robert rolled, shooting a beam of ice at the enemy. It connected with the middle of Quick Man's back, and he shouted out in agony. Ice crystals formed on his arms and legs. He hit the ground and was completely frozen. Robert stood. He grinned again, walking over to the frozen person in front of him.
"Now, who's going to crush who?" Robert said. In his view, Robert accessed the 'Transport Part' Menu again, selecting the M-Buster once more. The familiar cascade of light surrounded him once more, and within seconds he was his old self. He patted his M-Buster, looking to Quick Man.
"You'll never win, Mega Man. Never."
"Watch me."
Robert lifted the Buster and charged it. The power gauge on the side of it rose steadily to the top until his entire body was glowing, acting as a gun. He pointed the weapon at Quick Man and released the electronic force. It hit Quick Man, and an explosion ripped through his body, sending a shower of robotic parts into every direction. Reaching down, Robert picked up a tiny black box. Like many times before, he brought up the menu in his visual systems and selected 'Disarm'. A few indicators disappeared from his few, including the targeting system. His left arm was encased in the light once more, and soon was replaced by a normal appendage. He placed the box in that hand, and lifted the right in front of his face. Smiling, he went through the GUI, selecting 'Data Download'. His index finger on that hand split at the tip and a tiny cable protruded. He directed it into the box and plugged it in to a slot on the side.
"Downloading." The voice said. Soon it chimed in again: "Download Complete."
Satisfied, Robert dropped the box.
"Boomerangs could be fun to play with, I guess...never was good with them before." He stifled a laugh and beamed himself home.
Meanwhile the doctors at the hospital had disconnected the EKG. The lead surgeon spoke solemnly, looking down at Robert's ruined body.
"Time of death, four fifty-eight," he said. The lights in the operating theater went dim.
"Officer..."
"Just be quiet. Help is on it's way."
He was an older man of about fifty years old. Gray puffy hair flew out from the sides of his head underneath the edge of the cap. He looked at the boy who was in his arms, blood slowly trickling out of the hole that started in his back and ended in the front of his body. He had placed a small handkerchief over it, and when he pushed, Robert winced in pain. Quite frankly, the officer knew the boy was never going to make it.
"Off..." Robert batted his eyes. He weakly reached up and put an arm on the officer's wrist.
"My name is Scott. You can call me Scott. Everything's going to be alright..."
"Where's Brett?" His eyes batted halfway closed. The officer knew that if Robert fell asleep, he would surely die. He pushed on the handkerchief, and Robert groaned.
"He's talking to my partner. He's fine."
Ambulance sirens were coming closer, and soon a black striped ambulance swung the corner and appeared at the front of the alley. A man and a woman jumped from the back of the vehicle. They quickly tore down the pavement and the male paramedic threw open the kit he was carrying. Together, the two covered the holes in Robert's back and front. They stuck an IV kit into his arm, and soon, another medic ran forward with a stretcher. All three rolled his body onto a backboard, secured him, then lifted him onto the stretcher.
"Tell my..." Robert was speaking. The paramedics were struggling with the stretcher. They loaded him into the back and soon the ambulance was blazing down the road toward the emergency center.
The caravan of police and medical vehicles arrived minutes later, and they unloaded Robert with amazing speed. Rolling him up the ramp and into the hospital, the male paramedic motioned to a doctor in a white surgical coat. Rapidly, the doctor ran over.
"Gunshot wound to the middle of the middle of the back. The exit wound is near the breastbone. Administered an IV and morphine. He's still slipping. Heart rate is ninety-four over sixty-six and falling."
They ran into an operating room where surgeons are waiting. The paramedics handed the gurney to doctors. Once settled under the operating room's bright lights, they lifted him onto an operating table. The doctors cut away the rest of the shirt he was wearing, blood-soaked and dirty. One surgeon stuck electrodes on Robert's chest and arms. Immediately, a heart monitor began beeping in the background.
Robert had lost consciousness in the ambulance about halfway to the hospital. He was having a rather vivid dream. In it, he was somewhere different; a long dark hallway in the midst of an underground labrynth.
His vision was strange, like other dreams he used to have. A phrase was pulsing in green below the upper-right view of a map. It was changing every few seconds between 'Data carrier line one opened' and 'Communications established'. He looked around the room. A voice echoed in his head with some static, but otherwise clear.
"Mega. Watch for Quick Man. He's in the area." It was Doctor Caplin's voice, striking a deep fear in his thoughts.
He was running down a corridor toward a giant door. Gaps every few feet in front of him challenged his quest to that door, but he found that jumping over them was rather easy. Suddenly though, a small group of five beings popped out of the gaps. They looked like bats, but were mechanical. They flapped their metallic wings, and emitted a low, menacing hum. Slowly they hovered to Robert. Closer and closer they edged. Robert was paralyzed with fear.
"Mega! Use the Buster!"
One touched his hand. An electrical shock vibrated up Robert's arm and stunned him with tremendous pain. He fell to the ground with force, and several of the display words changed on his view. The most notable was a gauge in the upper left that had several tiny white slots in it. About four were taken away, and a percentage below the gauge dropped from 100% to 94%. A booming laugh echoed down the corridor. Looking up from the floor, Robert tilted his head enough to see Quick Man at the end of the hallway. He was laughing hysterically, and pointing. Soon Robert's temper began to boil over.
"You expected to beat me when you can't even deal with them?! Hah!" He chuckled some more, and turned. The doorway slid shut.
With anger, Robert rolled on the floor. He kicked up, and propelled himself almost ten feet into the air. He pointed his left arm into the direction of the bats.
"Targeting," the female voice said within his mind.
Smiling, he let didn't let the force of energy go right away. He let it build, and remembered the laughing of Quick Man. Soon the power indicators on his forearm were all lit. Robert let go.
A huge blast of power hurdled down the long stretch, lighting the dim passage as it charged the air. Four of the five bats were in its immediate path, and were soon disintegrated into dust. The fourth flew forward, howling out and straightening its wings. Robert, still in mid-air, straightened his arm again and let out a string of blasts. They hammered the bat, denting its surface. It exploded into flames and flew a few feet above his head, smashing into a wall and scattering into pieces. Shaking his head, Robert checked the instrument gauges once more. He read the display slowly:
'Minor Damage to right extremity. Functionality at 85% and rising' 'Power capacitor in M-Buster at 98% and rising.' 'Approaching target. Distance: 240 meters'
Noting the last few words, he jumped the caverns to the door. Looking above it, a picture of the doctor tied his stomach in knots. Gathering his courage, he entered the doorway and it snapped shut behind him. A quiet, desolate stretch was in front of him, leading to another door. The distance gauge was decreasing. He knew that ahead of him was one of the doctor's evil creations. It needed punished. Robert used his mind to select the 'Transport Part' menu. It dropped down, and before him were the names of more robots. One was Ice Man.
"Quick Man- get ready for a blizzard."
He selected Ice Man, and his body felt strange. A light fell upon him, encircling his entire body. The female voice in his head spoke out:
"Transferring."
His external skin changed colors, from the black and gold he was familiar with, to a light blue with dark blue bands. His left arm changed shape, flaring out more at the tip and becoming rounder. The power gauge on the side lit up. The light surrounding his body disappeared.
"Transfer Complete."
He ran toward the door and it opened.
"Mega, be careful! He's not powerful, but he's dangerous either way...use your..."
The voice of Doctor Caplin died out when the doors snapped shut behind him. The lights suddenly lit the room, and Quick Man was right ahead of him.
"I give you one more chance. Join us and Doctor Wily, or be crushed." Quick Man stretched his legs, and inside Robert's view, a power gauge appeared beside his, counting up to 100% and sitting steady.
Robert smiled. "The only thing I'm going to crush is you."
Quick Man frowned, and jumped into the air. He shot a string of boomerangs at Robert, who easily dove beneath them. Quick Man was touching down on the other side of the room when Robert rolled, shooting a beam of ice at the enemy. It connected with the middle of Quick Man's back, and he shouted out in agony. Ice crystals formed on his arms and legs. He hit the ground and was completely frozen. Robert stood. He grinned again, walking over to the frozen person in front of him.
"Now, who's going to crush who?" Robert said. In his view, Robert accessed the 'Transport Part' Menu again, selecting the M-Buster once more. The familiar cascade of light surrounded him once more, and within seconds he was his old self. He patted his M-Buster, looking to Quick Man.
"You'll never win, Mega Man. Never."
"Watch me."
Robert lifted the Buster and charged it. The power gauge on the side of it rose steadily to the top until his entire body was glowing, acting as a gun. He pointed the weapon at Quick Man and released the electronic force. It hit Quick Man, and an explosion ripped through his body, sending a shower of robotic parts into every direction. Reaching down, Robert picked up a tiny black box. Like many times before, he brought up the menu in his visual systems and selected 'Disarm'. A few indicators disappeared from his few, including the targeting system. His left arm was encased in the light once more, and soon was replaced by a normal appendage. He placed the box in that hand, and lifted the right in front of his face. Smiling, he went through the GUI, selecting 'Data Download'. His index finger on that hand split at the tip and a tiny cable protruded. He directed it into the box and plugged it in to a slot on the side.
"Downloading." The voice said. Soon it chimed in again: "Download Complete."
Satisfied, Robert dropped the box.
"Boomerangs could be fun to play with, I guess...never was good with them before." He stifled a laugh and beamed himself home.
Meanwhile the doctors at the hospital had disconnected the EKG. The lead surgeon spoke solemnly, looking down at Robert's ruined body.
"Time of death, four fifty-eight," he said. The lights in the operating theater went dim.