Rockman. Not. Mine. Bah.
"Did you hear something?"
Spectre shook his head lazily, snatching the remote off the arm of his chair and switching to the Speed channel.
"No, I'm sure I heard something breaking downstairs. Glass."
Spectre snorted. "Probably just Bladewing walking into something again. Don't worry about it."
"But Bladewing is with Rast and Terry in the Room." He motioned down the carpeted hall that connected the common room to the lab. "Mizuri's off at wherever the heck he is this time of week. There's nobody else downstairs."
"Mizuri coming back early and falling-down drunk, then."
"He comes in the back way, remember? The fire escape by the Room."
"Hell, Thor, your ears must be acting up again. If you're going to freak about people breaking in, go be paranoid with Rast."
The robot in his late teens known as Thor glared and ruefully forsook the comfort of the overstuffed saffron couch. "The Boss appreciates those who take the initiative to go check things out more than those who take the initiative to sit on their asses all day."
Spectre's eyes never left the television screen. "Bite me."
"No thanks. I might have rabies." Thor stalked out of the common room, drifting down the stairs toward the ground floor of the refurbished warehouse.
The place was packed to bursting with stacks of crates full of parts for the Boomstick. One corner of the building was devoted to two separate holding columns for the uranium and the thessium-the rare moon rock stolen by Spectre from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. A number of bunk beds were clustered against the back wall, the large albeit broken glass skylight above them spilling moonbeams onto the freshly washed sheets.
Wait a minute...broken?
Thor jogged over to the sleeping quarters, ready to switch to his battle armor and Storm Hammer (the very large hammer filled with lead mounted on a thought-controlled robotic arm attached to his back to curl up over his shoulder) at any moment.
Pieces of glass littered the cold concrete, many of them stained with a dark blood-like liquid. Viscous droplets of it led away from the mess, winding around back of a small heap of boxes. Thor tiptoed over, pausing for a second to listen. All he could hear was his own thumping heart. He took a deep breath, switched to his purple medieval-style plate armor and sidestepped behind the crates.
Nothing.
Thor glanced about in confusion. The blood was concentrated in one area behind the boxes-if you can call a larger amount of droplets than usual a 'concentration'-but that was all.
There was a stifled groan from above and his eyes drifted upward to a steel beam overhead.
"What the hell?"
The intruder was an average-sized boy around twelve years old. He was wearing a navy blue jumpsuit with large yellow boots, an oval pad on his chest of the same color and a glove on each hand, the left one white and the right one red. There was a narrow black belt around his waist, inverted pentagons of metal hanging from the front and back and small steel triangles dangling on his left and right. His helmet was smooth and navy, open at the front and dropping down to cover his ears, the sides of and the back of his head. His armor and his face were riddled with scratches from the window's glass.
He crouched on one of the many horizontal I-beams that helped keep the roof up, eyes fixed on the tall platinum-blond robot below. He stiffened as Thor saw him, one hand flying to the three-bladed spear slung points-down across his back.
They stared at each other for a brief moment, one feeling the other's fear and the second the other's surprise.
"SPECTRE!"
The boy was off in a second, dashing along the beam. Thor cursed darkly and gave chase, trying but miserably failing to keep up with him. The intruder had reached the hole he had made not long ago, hopping off the I-beam that ended at the broken skylight and tensing his legs.
All of a sudden he was thrown with a yell behind a stack of crates. Thor nearly sighed in relief; Spectre would take care of things from here on in. The smaller boy grappled with his invisible attacker, clearly confused and frightened at this new turn of events. Thor grinned as he rounded the corner; the poor kid didn't stand a chance.
Spectre was in his element, landing punches from one side and moving to a new one when the intruder blindly retaliated. The boy was abruptly slammed on the head and his knees crumpled. Thor stepped forward and, seizing his shoulderblade-length ponytail, yanked him to his feet.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Spectre asked, rematerializing beside Thor. The boy's eyes widened slightly.
"You're the guy from the café in the airport!"
Spectre laughed humorlessly. "Ah, right. Found my emblem, did you?"
His response was cut off by metal footsteps on a concrete floor. Thor and Spectre glanced at each other. "You're in for it now," the latter snickered. "Here comes Terry and he don't sound too happy!"
"Who's Terry...?" the intruder began nervously. His question was answered as a huge, dark figure stepped under the skylight.
Terry was a robotic dragon twelve feet long, five feet tall at the shoulder when on all fours and seven feet around at the widest point. Unlike Thor and Spectre, he hadn't been outfitted with synthetic skin; his vital circuitry was clumsily sheathed in steel cylinders and spheres instead. His body was one eight-foot forest-green cylinder, occasionally punctuated by rivets holding pieces of sheet metal together. His neck was a pair of short black cylinders linked by a round joint while his head was a silver sphere with burning red eyes on the front and a contraption much like a bear trap for jaws.
His legs were grey, powerful cylinders, joined by spherical knee-like coupling with large three-clawed feet at the ends. His back legs were much larger than the front ones, since he stood and walked on them. His tail was just as green and half as long as his body, made up of several telescoping cylinders. AT the end was a large steel ball erratically studded with long, slightly rusted spikes. The skeleton metal of his large wings were midnight-black and the membrane was a deep crimson.
Thor held the intruder at arm's length, still supporting him by the hair. Terry leaned forward to sniff at the boy, who scowled back rebelliously.
"What's your name?" Terry growled softly, his voice hollow and metallic.
"None of your business!" Thor's prisoner snapped back. "Lemme go!"
"Well, None of Your Business," the robot dragon muttered, extracting a grin from Thor, "It's impossible to do that, really. You've found our secret hideout and if we let you run free, you'll end up telling somebody where we live. Can't have that, can we?"
"Aw, go screw yourself!" the boy half-screamed, electricity springing to his hands. Spinning viciously, he smashed his fist deep into Thor's stomach. The purple robot doubled over in pain as three thousand volts shot through his body. Terry reached out to grab the intruder but he was already out of reach, running for the front doors instead of the skylight. There was a loud whoosh of wings from behind but he ignored it and kept going.
Suddenly the robot dragon soared over him, dropping to the ground six feet ahead of him. The boy skidded to a stop, tearing his three-bladed spear off his back. Terry turned to face him, his huge metal body between the boy and the exit. Spectre and a recently recovered Thor dashed into place behind the intruder. There was no way he could take all three of them at the same time.
"S-so, what're you gonna do with me?" he inquired, trying to keep his voice steady. "Shut me up for good?"
Terry gave a snort. "Of course not-you're too valuable to waste. The LIST could always use a new bargaining chip."
"You don't mean...?" His eyes narrowed, then shot to full size. "No way!"
"Yes way."
"Not on your life, iguana ass!"
Terry gave a very loud, very fake sigh. "But if the subject is unwilling, we could always use the option you suggested. Now pick one-will you stay or be deactivated and dismantled for parts?"
"Well, I..." He moaned and let his head droop. "I'll stay."
"Good. You will refer to me as Terukaima or Boss and NEVER Terry." He shot a meaningful glare at Spectre and Thor, who tried their best to look innocent. "What is your name, boy?"
"Raiden, sir." He spat out the second word like a live spider.
"Hmph." Terukaima sat down, much like a dog would. "Who built you?"
Raiden grinned suddenly; he had just found his Ace of Spades. "Doctor Albert William Wily."
There was utter silence in the bottom floor of the warehouse for a moment. Terukaima shook his head in disbelief. "...Raiden. I am about to say two words that, behind which, are the most emphasis I have ever put on a phrase. Bullshit."
"No, really!" The triumphant smile still on his face, Raiden dismissed his armor and turned his back to the dragon. He pulled up Shadow Man's sweater and the shirt underneath halfway up, revealing five words clearly stamped on the small of his back in Copperplate 16 Bold.
Property of Dr. Albert Wily.
"Wily sent me to-recover something for him," Raiden said, barely missing a beat. Barely. "There are currently four Robot Masters, one of them my older brother Forte, on their way. If I don't show outside in five minutes, they'll storm the place and blow it sky-high. Wily told me earlier that he doesn't need sludge like you mucking up his plans."
"Oh, really?" Spectre suppressed a laugh. "Then why would he send you alone if he knew the kinds of dangerous criminals hanging around in here?"
Raiden blinked. Oh crap. "I'm...uh...expendable?"
Terukaima abruptly lunged, wrapping one set of claws around Raiden's throat and hauling him into the air until they were eye-to-eye, the Wilybot's toes dangling ten feet off the ground. "If there is one thing I cannot tolerate from those below me, it is a lie. Contrary to popular belief, I am not an idiot. If you wish to keep your fragile head on your puny shoulders, I would advise that you avoid fibbing to me."
"Boss!" Thor shouted, taking one unconscious step forward. "Leave him alone! Terukaima, he's just a first timer. Strike one, man! Let it slide!"
The dragon seemed to consider for a moment. "Fine," he hissed, letting the boy fall. Thor caught him before he hit the ground, setting him down on his feet.
"Thanks," Raiden muttered, gracing Thor with a curt nod. The taller robot put an arm around the other's shoulders, leading him away from Terukaima. Raiden felt the dragon's eyes on his back but pretended not to notice-he wasn't going to let some fat lizard tell him what to do. He'd killed the stupid bastard on his way out if he needed to. Seven and a half thousand volts through his body was all he needed to be floored long enough for Raiden-
"He gets the storeroom off the second-floor hall." Terukaima flicked his tail irritably. "There are some cots in there he can use. Be use to double-lock the door behind the little bugger."
Raiden suddenly stopped short. Thor halted as well, having a good idea of what was coming next. "What am I supposed to do to keep myself busy, then?"
That made Terukaima think for a minute. "Tell you what-you can think of all the ways in which I could brutally torture and subsequently kill you if you try to run away."
"I-" Raiden cut himself off at a sharp glance from Thor. "Whatever." He tramped away with the purple-armored robot alongside.
"You okay, kiddo? Only pick a fight with the Boss if you feel like being shredded."
"Er...yeah. Got it. What's your name again?"
"Thor. It's Thor."
It was just like what Raiden had hoped a week ago on the plane; he was part of the Lazuli Island Strike Team whether he liked it or not.