"Are you ready, Mayor?"
Capella Burnham turned away from her study window and nodded. She was only twenty-nine years old, Lazuli Island's youngest Mayor to date, but her face was already lined with worry and fatigue. "I guess so, Robert. Let's go."
She followed the intern out of her spacious office, along the fifth-floor corridor, up the elevator two levels to the top floor and into the first room on the right. Every wall was made of glass, affording one an excellent early afternoon view of eastern downtown Lazuli Island. Four men were seated around the rectangular oaken boardroom table-the Elected Representatives (or ERs) for the suburbs of Micton, the commercial chaos of Downtown, the old homes of Uptown and the ritzy South Beach. Capella Burnham took her assigned seat at the head of the table, motioning for Robert to leave.
"Do we really have to go this far?" the Uptown ER asked, drumming his fingers on the desk. "Once we manage to wrestle enough men out of the United Nations, we-"
"The UN doesn't have any men that could be wrestled out of it," the Mayor cut in patiently. "All of ours were sent off to the UN, where they were annihilated by Wily and his robots. We have absolutely no choice but to call in someone from the outside." She tapped in a combination on the keypad by her elbow. "And we're going straight to the top."
The ten-by-ten inch screen at the foot of the table flickered and a videophone number flashed across it. It took three rings before it was picked up by a blond-haired girl around eleven years old.
"Hello?"
"Good morning," Mayor Burnham said. "Could we please speak to Dr. Light?"
"I-is he is trouble?"
The Mayor smiled reassuringly. She was good at that. "Of course not. We just need to ask him for a favour."
"All right..." The girl trailed off uncertainly. "Please hang on a minute. I'll go get him from the yard."
The five people in the boardroom waited for what felt like a long time. Finally a white-bearded man in a karate outfit appeared on the screen.
"Dr. Thomas Light speaking."
"Good morning, Doctor. My name is Capella Burnham. I'm the Mayor of Lazuli Island."
Dr. Light nodded. "Hello, Mayor."
"Doctor, I have never been good at coming up with long-winded speeches, so I'll get straight to the point. We're in one hell of a pickle and we require Rockman's services to get out of it again."
"Does this have anything to do with that street gang problem you've got?"
Mayor Burnham shifted in her padded swivel chair. "That's it exactly. Doctor, last night they killed seven people to capture one piece of machinery. This madness must be brought to a halt as soon as possible."
"And you want Rock to stop them."
"Precisely."
"I'm sorry, Mayor, but I have no right to decide myself. Rock would be the one fighting, so Rock would choose whether he wants to go or not. Would you mind waiting while I go find him?"
"Please, take your time."
Once Dr. Light was well out of range, the South Beach ER decided to speak up. "Why is he letting Rockman himself make the decision? You can't hope to have a robot make an informed choice. They don't have minds; their opinions were simply the ones programmed by whoever built them!"
"Dr. Light's doing the right thing," the Micton ER growled back. "He may be a machine, but he probably wouldn't enjoy other people making decisions for him."
The Downtown ER sat up a bit straighter. "Yeah. Everyone, even if they're a pile of metal, has the right."
Then Dr. Light was back, a short black-haired boy at his side. The kid grinned and waved at the five people a little less than two and a half thousand miles away. "Hiya, Mayor!"
"Hello, Rock. Has the doctor told you what we'd like you to do?"
"Nope."
"We've been having some trouble with a gang called the LIST. Most of the city doesn't think it's anything too serious-I mean, nothing Wily-scale-but I'm almost positive they're planning something major."
"Can I help?"
"You sure can." The Micton ER grinned at the South Beach one. "We'd really appreciate it if you could spin over here for a couple of weeks and help us flatten them. The city will pay for everything you'll need-hotels, meals, equipment."
"We can be there tomorrow."
"Wonderful. I'll meet you outside City Hall at...twelve, let's say. We'll do lunch. Thank you very much, Rock."
"You're welcome."
Mayor Burnham hung up.
Rock turned off the videophone and jumped from the stool to the floor. "Tomorrow's okay, right?"
Dr. Light ruffled his hair. "Just fine. Mayor Burnham will be really grateful for you helping her out."
"What have you gotten us into this time, Rock?" Roll asked teasingly as she walked into the room with her arms full of towels straight out of the dryer.
The black-haired robot grinned at his sister. "We're going on a trip!"
"Is Blues coming?"
Rock glanced questioningly at Dr. Light. "Is he? It would be nice not to fight alone."
"I'll buzz him on the radio and see if he feels like it."
Roll's eyes widened. "Fight? Is Wily back again?"
"Nah, I just have to go stop a gang. The Mayor thinks they're going to try and take over the world or something."
"Oh. When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning."
The four ERs got up and left the boardroom. Mayor Burnham stayed in the chair at the head of the table, staring out the window. Sure, she thought, we know they're planning something. But...what?
She clambered to her feet and decided to think it over along with a mug of coffee.
Mayor Burnham took the elevator backdown to her floor, asking Robert for some black coffee as she passed. Closing the door to her office, she dropped into her chair. The green plastic Inbox tray held a single folded note which hadn't been there when she had left. She opened and read it.
Capella, what makes you think the oh-so-mighty Rockman will save you? We refuse to be crushed by an irritating blue mosquito.
-Mizuri of the Strike Team
Down the hall, 'Robert' the intern was smiling to himself.