"Wh..where am I? What's happening?" Version 1 glanced around the room, trying to make sense of everything. It had felt as though something had just switched on inside him, and he was there. He couldn't remember a thing, but yet he felt as though he had always been there, and although he had no memories, he had knowledge. He knew where he was and what he was, without anyone telling him. He knew his name, and he knew what he was built for. Everything seemed normal, but at the same time it was all so strange...
"Hey!" He suddenly yelled, quickly withdrawing his arm from a scientist by his side, who had just put a strange needle to his skin, sending a sharp electrical pulse out into his wrist. He stared down at the small burn mark that was left, before glaring at the scientist, who slowly backed away.
"It's okay," a voice said from somewhere behind the group of scientists, and Version 1 looked up. Mr. Hardy walked slowly up to his creation, slowly pushing the scientist aside. "It was just to test your sense of touch," he explained, and Version 1 sneered.
"So," he began, not knowing which of the many questions in his head he should ask first. He wanted to ask so much, but a part of him already knew the answers. However, there were some things he didn't know, so finally he decided what to say, and frowned at Mr. Hardy. "Who the hell are you?" Mr. Hardy laughed slightly, studying his impressive creation.
"I am Professor Thomas Hardy," he explained with a smile, "and I am your creator. That means you will do as I say, without argument. Do you know who you are?" Version 1 nodded, then slowly shook his head.
"Yes, I mean, no, I mean - sort of." He frowned again, trying to avoid confusing himself without much success. "I know I'm a robot, and my codename is Version 1, but-" He stopped, looking up again at the professor. "Umm, do I even have a name?" The professor smirked at Version 1.
"Not as yet, but I'm sure we can think of something. Anyway," he made his way to the door, then looked back at Version 1. "For now, just prepare yourself for your meeting with your true master, Mr. McMahon. You will be working for him, and will follow his every order unquestioningly. Is that clear?"
"Sure, whatever," Version 1 said nonchalantly, stretching as the numerous scientists unstrapped him from the stand he was attached to. Thomas Hardy shook his head and walked out of the lab, rubbing his forehead. Already Version 1 was beginning to show undesirable character traits. He reminded Thomas so much of his brother-in-law, Matt...
Thomas stopped, grinning to himself. Matt. Matt Hardy. That could be the robot's name. After all, he was the creator, so in a way that made him the father, so he had every right to give the robot his own last name, and the first name just suited Version 1 so well. He turned around and walked back to the lab, and smiled at his robot.
"I've just found you a name. From now on you will be known as Matt Hardy, is that okay with you?"
"I guess," Matt answered, then a small smile formed on his face. "Not sure about the Hardy bit though," he said with a laugh, receiving a glare from Thomas. "Relax," he laughed. "I'm just kidding. It's a cool name. I like it. Anyway," he looked down at the towel wrapped around his waist. "Any chance of me getting some proper clothes?" Thomas picked up a sports bag and tossed it to Matt, before walking out the lab.
"Come on everyone," he called, signalling all the other scientists and engineers to follow him. "Everyone out, let Matt get ready for his meeting with Vince." Matt sat on the metal desk for a few moments, watching all the scientists and engineers slowly file out of the lab. Once they had all left, he quickly unzipped the sports bag, grimacing at the dull-looking tracksuit and t-shirt inside. He casually dropped them to the floor, searching around inside the bag for something more appealing. He was amazed at how many items of clothing could fit inside one bag, and finally pulled out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Just as he had finished getting dressed, he heard a noise outside the door.
"Come in, door's open," he called, and froze as he saw a tall man enter the room. Even though he had only yet met Thomas and the others, he knew instantly who this was, it was just knowledge that was already built into him. Grey hair. Stern expression. Neat grey suit. Nose that made him look like an ugly seagull. This was him, Matt told himself. He was face to face with Vince McMahon.
"You must be Matt," Vince said calmly, and Matt nodded, half smiling. Vince also nodded, and continued. "As you're probably aware, I am Vincent Kennedy McMahon. I am also your boss and master, and you will do as you are told whenever I'm around. Now," his voice gained a cold edge as he spoke, "I have a little task for you to test your abilities..."
Now he understood.
Edge leaned tiredly against the turnbuckle, casting an angry glance at his new opponent. His name was Matt Hardy, and he was stronger than any other opponent Edge had ever faced. Of course, Edge could guess why. It all fit into place now. This was the robot that Vince had been talking about last night. It had even been introduced as "Matt Hardy Version 1", so he was surprised that no one else had picked up on it yet. The again, no else had heard him on the phone...
He was suddenly jerked from his thoughts by a heavy blow to the head. Slammed down on the mat, Edge just rolled out of the way of an elbow drop from his opponent, and scrambled on top of the turnbuckle, just wanting to end this. It didn't matter if he "killed" this one; after all, it was just a machine. However, as he dove off the turnbuckle at his opponent, he felt something grab his arm, throwing him to the ground. Before he knew it, Matt was on his feet. He stood above Edge, arms slowly raising in a mechanical manner, letting out a cry before jumping straight on top of Edge's head. Edge was out cold before he was even released from under Matt's heavy frame.
"Man, are you okay?" Edge slowly opened his eyes, squinting in the bright light that seemed to shine from in front of him. It took him several seconds to realise that he was lying on a couch, and the voice was Rey Mysterio's. He glanced down worriedly at his best friend, before turning to the other occupant of the room, Chris Benoit. "We need to find out what's with that new guy Matt Hardy. He's just way too strong for one person to beat." Chris nodded, then looked over at Edge, who sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Did you notice anything strange about Matt?" Chris asked, and Edge nodded. He did. He knew exactly what was strange about Matt.
"Yeah," he replied, trying to shake off the fuzzy feeling in his head. "I heard Vince talking on the phone to someone last night. He said something about a robot named Version 1, do you think Matt could be him?"
"Definitely," Chris answered, almost laughing at the strangeness of it all. This was the stuff that happened in cheesy sci-fi movies, not in real life. "Only question is, how do we stop him?" Rey glanced up at the taller man.
"What?" He asked, confused. "This guy is almost completely invincible. It took two of us just keep him down long enough to get Edge out of there, so how are we gonna kill the dude?" Edge nudged Rey on the arm, remembering part of the phone call.
"Okay, I think I have a plan," he said, trying to recall last night's events. "Last night, when I heard Vince on the phone, he said something about only other robots and genetic creations being able to do something. I'm guessing he meant only they could stop Matt, what do you guys think?" Rey smiled.
"That must be it. Thing is, how do we get a robot of our own? It's not like we can just-" Chris suddenly stopped Rey mid-sentence, a slight smile forming on his face.
"I think I know just what to do." He looked down at his two friends, grinning triumphantly. "Be ready by tomorrow. We're gonna put our tag team titles on the line."
"Hey!" He suddenly yelled, quickly withdrawing his arm from a scientist by his side, who had just put a strange needle to his skin, sending a sharp electrical pulse out into his wrist. He stared down at the small burn mark that was left, before glaring at the scientist, who slowly backed away.
"It's okay," a voice said from somewhere behind the group of scientists, and Version 1 looked up. Mr. Hardy walked slowly up to his creation, slowly pushing the scientist aside. "It was just to test your sense of touch," he explained, and Version 1 sneered.
"So," he began, not knowing which of the many questions in his head he should ask first. He wanted to ask so much, but a part of him already knew the answers. However, there were some things he didn't know, so finally he decided what to say, and frowned at Mr. Hardy. "Who the hell are you?" Mr. Hardy laughed slightly, studying his impressive creation.
"I am Professor Thomas Hardy," he explained with a smile, "and I am your creator. That means you will do as I say, without argument. Do you know who you are?" Version 1 nodded, then slowly shook his head.
"Yes, I mean, no, I mean - sort of." He frowned again, trying to avoid confusing himself without much success. "I know I'm a robot, and my codename is Version 1, but-" He stopped, looking up again at the professor. "Umm, do I even have a name?" The professor smirked at Version 1.
"Not as yet, but I'm sure we can think of something. Anyway," he made his way to the door, then looked back at Version 1. "For now, just prepare yourself for your meeting with your true master, Mr. McMahon. You will be working for him, and will follow his every order unquestioningly. Is that clear?"
"Sure, whatever," Version 1 said nonchalantly, stretching as the numerous scientists unstrapped him from the stand he was attached to. Thomas Hardy shook his head and walked out of the lab, rubbing his forehead. Already Version 1 was beginning to show undesirable character traits. He reminded Thomas so much of his brother-in-law, Matt...
Thomas stopped, grinning to himself. Matt. Matt Hardy. That could be the robot's name. After all, he was the creator, so in a way that made him the father, so he had every right to give the robot his own last name, and the first name just suited Version 1 so well. He turned around and walked back to the lab, and smiled at his robot.
"I've just found you a name. From now on you will be known as Matt Hardy, is that okay with you?"
"I guess," Matt answered, then a small smile formed on his face. "Not sure about the Hardy bit though," he said with a laugh, receiving a glare from Thomas. "Relax," he laughed. "I'm just kidding. It's a cool name. I like it. Anyway," he looked down at the towel wrapped around his waist. "Any chance of me getting some proper clothes?" Thomas picked up a sports bag and tossed it to Matt, before walking out the lab.
"Come on everyone," he called, signalling all the other scientists and engineers to follow him. "Everyone out, let Matt get ready for his meeting with Vince." Matt sat on the metal desk for a few moments, watching all the scientists and engineers slowly file out of the lab. Once they had all left, he quickly unzipped the sports bag, grimacing at the dull-looking tracksuit and t-shirt inside. He casually dropped them to the floor, searching around inside the bag for something more appealing. He was amazed at how many items of clothing could fit inside one bag, and finally pulled out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Just as he had finished getting dressed, he heard a noise outside the door.
"Come in, door's open," he called, and froze as he saw a tall man enter the room. Even though he had only yet met Thomas and the others, he knew instantly who this was, it was just knowledge that was already built into him. Grey hair. Stern expression. Neat grey suit. Nose that made him look like an ugly seagull. This was him, Matt told himself. He was face to face with Vince McMahon.
"You must be Matt," Vince said calmly, and Matt nodded, half smiling. Vince also nodded, and continued. "As you're probably aware, I am Vincent Kennedy McMahon. I am also your boss and master, and you will do as you are told whenever I'm around. Now," his voice gained a cold edge as he spoke, "I have a little task for you to test your abilities..."
Now he understood.
Edge leaned tiredly against the turnbuckle, casting an angry glance at his new opponent. His name was Matt Hardy, and he was stronger than any other opponent Edge had ever faced. Of course, Edge could guess why. It all fit into place now. This was the robot that Vince had been talking about last night. It had even been introduced as "Matt Hardy Version 1", so he was surprised that no one else had picked up on it yet. The again, no else had heard him on the phone...
He was suddenly jerked from his thoughts by a heavy blow to the head. Slammed down on the mat, Edge just rolled out of the way of an elbow drop from his opponent, and scrambled on top of the turnbuckle, just wanting to end this. It didn't matter if he "killed" this one; after all, it was just a machine. However, as he dove off the turnbuckle at his opponent, he felt something grab his arm, throwing him to the ground. Before he knew it, Matt was on his feet. He stood above Edge, arms slowly raising in a mechanical manner, letting out a cry before jumping straight on top of Edge's head. Edge was out cold before he was even released from under Matt's heavy frame.
"Man, are you okay?" Edge slowly opened his eyes, squinting in the bright light that seemed to shine from in front of him. It took him several seconds to realise that he was lying on a couch, and the voice was Rey Mysterio's. He glanced down worriedly at his best friend, before turning to the other occupant of the room, Chris Benoit. "We need to find out what's with that new guy Matt Hardy. He's just way too strong for one person to beat." Chris nodded, then looked over at Edge, who sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Did you notice anything strange about Matt?" Chris asked, and Edge nodded. He did. He knew exactly what was strange about Matt.
"Yeah," he replied, trying to shake off the fuzzy feeling in his head. "I heard Vince talking on the phone to someone last night. He said something about a robot named Version 1, do you think Matt could be him?"
"Definitely," Chris answered, almost laughing at the strangeness of it all. This was the stuff that happened in cheesy sci-fi movies, not in real life. "Only question is, how do we stop him?" Rey glanced up at the taller man.
"What?" He asked, confused. "This guy is almost completely invincible. It took two of us just keep him down long enough to get Edge out of there, so how are we gonna kill the dude?" Edge nudged Rey on the arm, remembering part of the phone call.
"Okay, I think I have a plan," he said, trying to recall last night's events. "Last night, when I heard Vince on the phone, he said something about only other robots and genetic creations being able to do something. I'm guessing he meant only they could stop Matt, what do you guys think?" Rey smiled.
"That must be it. Thing is, how do we get a robot of our own? It's not like we can just-" Chris suddenly stopped Rey mid-sentence, a slight smile forming on his face.
"I think I know just what to do." He looked down at his two friends, grinning triumphantly. "Be ready by tomorrow. We're gonna put our tag team titles on the line."