Author's Note: What luck I have managing to finish this chapter, despite a really busy first full week of the first quarter!! SWEET!! Also I've noticed that the reviews have been sort of dropping as of late. Come on all of you readers out there!! Step it up and leave a review. It can be long or short and sweet. It's up to you :)
Otherwise, I seriously give my biggest thanks to all of you out there!! You guys are majorly awesome!! Spread the word about this fic to those who appreciate Mega Man and the classic robot masters.
Enjoy!!
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Nate gazed in awe as he saw the blue robot emerge from the shadows. Guessing from observation, the brunet figured that the azure coated figure was slightly taller than him, but definitely shorter than the other two nasty droids that he was up against. The blue android also sported navy-tinted eyes that had sense of pride, selflessness, and justice for others. Yup, Nate definitely deduced that this robot, who called himself Mega Man, was on the side of good and not evil.
Hope this robot is what he stands for…
Back in the center of the action, Metal Man couldn't help but to demonically cackle at the sudden appearance of the shorter droid in blue.
"Hahaha! You really think you could take us on… Mega Man…" The droid in red, yellow, and black replied with intimidation, drawling especially at the blue robot's name.
"I may not be as physically imposing as you…" Mega Man proceeded to walk closer and closer until he was maybe a good few feet away from Metal Man and Air Man. "But I definitely have the advantage when it comes to courage, will, integrity, and mental strength." He straightened out his posture, signifying that was indeed strong and willing to fight evil.
"HAHAHAHA!!" Metal Man mockingly chortled, seeing on how he could possibly take Mega Man seriously. "Who do you think you are anyways? Some kind of blue bomber? You make me sick…" A new shiny metal was produced in the droid's hand. He held it up, ready to launch it towards the annoyance-of-a-robot in front. "Air Man, let's show this piece of junk what we can really do."
"You got it!" Air Man produced a couple of more blue colored tornadoes along with the synchronization of metal blades that were lanced onto Mega Man. Said robot immediately dodged out the way of the projectiles, one of the blades nearly piercing his azure coated exterior. He kneeled on one knee, sighing in relief.
"Man, that was clo— UH OH!" Mega Man hastily rolled out of the way once again as additional projectiles leered towards him. He found himself landing right in front of Nate, whom was still holding his arm from the laceration he sustained from one of Metal Man's blades. "Yo dude, I would take cover if I were you."
At first, Nate stared at the azure robot as if he didn't know what he was talking about. However, he instantly comprehended at the situation he was caught in, the stinging in his arm serving as a reminder.
"Right!" The Figueroa began to make his way over to where his other two friends were currently taking shelter in.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Metal Man once again tossed a pair of jagged blades towards Nate. As the whizzing projectiles came closer and closer, the brunet could only don the expressive deer caught in the headlights face as he saw the blades only mere meters from him.
THUD
"OOMPH!" was the word that escaped Nate's mouth as he felt his whole frame being tackled from the side and landing quite hard onto the cold concrete ground. "ACK!" He hissed as he landed on his wound.
"Sorry about that dude…" Mega Man apologetically uttered while on top of the brunet. "But if I haven't pushed you out of the way, you would've had some body parts on the ground instead of one whole you."
"Ugh… that's nice… Mega Man… but could… you… GET OFF OF ME!" Nate struggled as he felt the weight of heavy metallic pressing against his body. "YOU'RE HEAVY!"
"Oh… sorry dude…" Mega Man briefly chuckled before getting off of the brunet below him. He offered his hand out which Nate gladly took to get himself back up. As soon as both figures were back up on their feet, Mega Man noticed the nasty gash on Nate's right arm. "Ooohhh… that's a nasty cut. Are you okay?"
Does it look like I'm okay?
"Yeah, no worries, I'm fi— UGH!" The brunet hissed as a breeze of cool air blew into his laceration.
"Listen, you should go with your friends over there. It's too dangerous for a human to fight these androids," Mega Man tried to reason. Of course, the brunet shook his head in agreement, not needing to be told twice.
"Right..." Nate began to make his way where Judy took Cameron out of harm's way. "Be careful out there… blue dude…"
Mega Man beamed off a small smile before giving the assurance of a thumb's up. "I'll do my best to protect you guys."
Nate nodded before continuing on his way. When he got to the benches in the waiting area, his hazelnut eyes captured the girl sitting on the bench while the blond boy was lying on his back, seemingly resting comfortably.
"How's he doing?" Nate inquired as he looked upon the resting dirty-blond.
"He's still knocked out, but despite a few bruises, I think Cameron will be fine once he wakes up," Judy replied as she shifted in her sitting posture. Nate was definitely glad that she was an aspiring medical doctor.
"Cool…" The brunet took a seat next to the Wu before gazing back towards the battle that was occurring nearby.
"Shouldn't we help him out?" The bold inquiry escaped from the young Asian woman's mouth.
"It's too dangerous for us to fight along with him…" Nate began to rub his chin very gingerly. "But… we may have to spring into action if worse comes to worse."
Judy simply shook her head. Her headstrong oriented attitude assured one that she would not back or wuss out of a tense situation. "Right…"
--
"You think you can do better than that?" Metal Man taunted as he and Air kept launching their artillery towards Mega Man, not giving the Blue Bomber any sufficient opportunities to launch his own offensive moves. Aside from a few open shots from his buster, no real progress has been made.
"Ugh!" The azure coated robot grunted as he barely evaded another blade and tornado. "How much more of this can I take?"
"Ready to give up yet?" Air Man intensely voiced out as he blasted out more of his tornadoes.
"I don't give up that easi—"
CLANK
The Blue Bomber instantly fell forward as he felt the thick metal of a heavy-duty trash receptacle come crashing on the back of his head. Despite being equipped with a helmet to prevent further head trauma, the collision was strong enough to knock Mega Man down face first onto the concrete, thanks to the sudden burst of winds Air Man's tornadoes have generated.
"Owww… my face…" The azure robot mumbled as he lifted his face from the ground. Not a moment too soon, two pairs of heavy metallic boots came stomping in front of Mega Man, a red one disrespectfully stepping onto his cheek, rendering him immobile to escape.
"Hahaha! It looks like you've got no where to run…" Metal Man had an immense smug of a smile shining on his face. "Heh, some Mega Man you turned out to be… PATHETIC!!"
"Can we kill him now, Metal Man? Please?" A perception of glee can be discerned in Air Man's voice. Mega Man couldn't help but to think how could a simple trash can bring him into a sticky situation such as this. How could he have let his guard down? Why wasn't he taking note of the environment they were all immersed in?
"Hehehe, why not? He's useless to his human pals anyways…" Metal Man beamed off a distasteful grin.
--
Nate and Judy watched in horror in the background as they saw their blue savior being balefully stepped on the face with death written on his body. The two really wanted to intervene, but were not sure on how to approach the situation.
"We've got to help him!" Judy assertively whispered. "Mega Man will be killed if no one steps in to help!"
"I know! But how the hell are we gonna stop two domineering robots?" Nate murmured as well, his head as empty as a bottle of water in the desert.
"Well… uh… we better think of something quick then!" Judy began to go into her intellect mode.
On the other hand, Nate began to briskly scan the immediate surroundings in the hopes of finding something useful for the current circumstances. Within a few seconds, he smiled as his hazelnut eyes locked onto a couple of objects that were used earlier… in addition to the buzzword that Judy stated earlier.
Something "quick" eh? Hehehe, sometimes it just makes me wonder as well…
"Judy… this may be risky, but I think I have plan…" Nate slowly articulated.
Immediately, the Wu turned her attention to the Figueroa beside her. "Really?"
"Yeah… and I'll definitely need your help for this to work…"
--
Mega Man distressingly tried to get the heavy foot of Metal Man off of his face. It proved to be forlorn as the other robot was just too strong in strength and weight.
"Get… OFF OF ME!!" The Blue Bomber demanded, attempting to point his buster cannon at the droid on top of him. "ARGH!"
"Shut the hell up!" Metal Man forcefully kicked Mega Man's arm to the ground once again, showing who was the boss at the moment. "Now, how shall we kill you tonight?"
"Bite me!" Mega Man's quick wit did not please the droid once again as he was now being kicked on his sides. "UGGGHHH!!"
"Didn't I just tell you to shut the hell up?" The red, yellow, and black cladded figure gave another strong kick before resuming his pondering state of mind.
"How about I spin him in a vortex and then you could toss blades at him for the hell of it?" Air Man suggested.
"Hmmm, sounds nice I guess… but I want something that will enable me to slice him into pieces…" Metal Man folded his arms as he went through a very thoughtful process.
"What about you guys leaving him alone and go screw with each other?"
Both Metal Man and Air Man abruptly turned around, finding an Asian girl standing in he distance with a provocative stance and attitude.
"Yeah, you heard me right!" Judy tried to keep up the act. "I know you two must be love birds or something like that!"
Nate, this plan of yours better work…
"You're that bitch who claims that this ain't our turf!" Metal Man sneered at the young teenager, glaring daggers into her eyes.
"That's right yo!" Judy tried to front without letting any of the awkwardness impede the situation. "And I wanna say that if you don't leave Mega Man alone… that… uh… I… will hit you so hard… that you'll land in another ZIP code…"
Wow, Judy… Just… wow… Take a page out of "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air".
"Oh really?" Metal Man had the biggest demonic smile on his face. "Air Man: Show this young lady the way out of here… preferably via… Air Express…"
"Yes sir!" Air Man eagerly replied. The wide droid began to start up the fan located on the middle of his frame. A gust of wind began to develop in the path where Judy was standing. However, there was a slight problem for him to gain any more wind speed.
CLANG
CLANG
"What the—"
SCREEEEEEECCCCCCHHHHHH
"AAAAAHHHHH!!" Air Man began to scream in panic and pain. "MY… FAN!!" The droid attempted to look inside his chest cavity. Through the smoke now seeping out of the fan, he could make out two yellow boomerangs that jammed his internal system. "WHO… DID… THIS?!"
FWEEEEEEETTTT
"Right over here you dumb robot!" A voice called out nearby in accompany to the whistle. Air Man immediately turned around. He gazed at none other than the brunet he tried to kill earlier.
"YOU!!" Air Man immediately became angry, despite his systems now being overheated due to the boomerangs now jammed in his fans.
"Heh, I have to say that those boomerangs were really heavy…" Nate gave a smug smirk of his own. "Thankfully, you were too dumb to notice I was only a few feet away from you earlier. Damn, and I though robots were supposed to be smart."
Yet I'm sooooooo glad this worked… otherwise I wouldn't have the biggest clue on what to do next…
"Metal Man! Why didn't— why didn— say anything about that k— k— id being close b— by?" Air Man's systems were now failing him due to the excessive heat from the jammed motor, spreading throughout his body like cancer.
"I wanted to see your big finish dumb ass!" Metal Man failed to notice that he stepped off of Mega Man, sauntering towards his wide companion. "But since you can't do that, I guess I'll have to finish the job myself!" The red droid unleashed two more metal blade projectiles towards Nate.
BLAST
BLAST
BLAST
Two plasma bullets immediately shot down the weapons. Metal Man grumbled as he knew that the Blue Bomber was meddling with his plans once again. However, he didn't expect the next sound to come into his senses.
THUD
He looked to where the sound originated. The next the he knew, he was staring at Air Man, face first onto the concrete ground, smoke now seeping throughout his body, in addition to a big hole in the back of his head from what looks to be from a plasma shot.
"Air Man!" Metal Man cried out. He now had the face the facts that he was all alone and outnumbered, despite that two of them were only humans… pretty smart humans.
"Looks like it's game over for you, Metal Man!" Mega Man drawled at the name as he walked up to the limp Air Man. He put his right hand onto the fallen droid's arm cannon. For a few seconds, a strange sound began to emit from where the two were.
Judy caught up with Nate from the opposite side. The two stared in awe as a shiny bright light now began to beam off from where Mega Man was.
"What's going on?" Judy questioned with an awestruck expression.
"I don't know…" Nate replied with an equally wonderstruck face.
But as soon as Nate finished speaking, the bright light disappeared. The two humans, in addition to Metal Man, widened their eyes as they saw the Blue Bomber emerge from the light.
Mega Man now donned a completely different colored body armor, consisting of sky blue boots, waist, hands, helmet, and a white colored suit.
"What's the meaning of this?" Metal Man became defensive, ready to attack anything that the blue bomber would bring him.
"Heh…" Mega Man only simpered. "Metal Man, I suggest you and Air Man get the steppin' out of here before you pay some very serious consequences…"
"TRY ME!!" Said robot threw yet another pair of jagged metal blades.
"AIR SHOT!!" Mega Man shouted, unleashing three rounds of tornadoes of his own from his arm cannon. The projectiles immediately stopped Metal Man's attempts of harming the Blue Bomber.
"WHAT'S THIS?!" Metal Man shouted, but was too late to notice the tornado that came crashing right into his path. "AGGGGGHHHHHHH!!" He screamed as he was easily picked into air before being easily tossed like a rag doll next to his buddy that was still out.
THUD
"Uggghhh…" Metal Man rubbed his temple as he landed quite hard onto the ground.
"Don't… move…" Mega Man ordered as he pointed his arm cannon towards the droid.
Despite the order, Metal Man was brave as he grabbed onto his fallen colleague. "You may have won the battle… But mark my words… WE WILL TAKE OVER THE VALLEY... THE ENTIRE CITY OF ANGELS… AND THEN THE WORLD!! HAHAHAHAHA!!"
Before anyone could comprehend with the craziness, Metal Man and Air Man instantly disappeared as a red laser beam shot up into the sky, the cackling continuing nonetheless.
"Damn! They teleported away!" Mega Man grumbled, kicking the ground with his boots before returning back to his default armor suit colors. He then focused his pool of blue eyes at the humans. "Hey… are you two okay?"
Nate and Judy gave a reassuring nod, managing to give off a smile after all they went through.
"We'll be fine…" Nate replied for the both of them. "But I'm not sure if our other friend will be—"
"Uggghhhh… my head…" The three of them heard a voice croaking from the nearby bench.
"CAMERON!!" Nate and Judy cried in joy, their best friend finally awake.
"Yeah… that's my name alright…" Said boy managed to give off a chuckle, before being attacked by hugs of relief. "OOMMPPHH!!"
"How are you feeling?" Nate inquired, not letting go of the hug, along with Judy.
"I'm okay… just feel a bit groggy, that's all…" Cameron managed to get out, despite being squeezed to death.
"We're just glad you're okay!" Judy smiled before relinquishing the hug with the brunet. "You took a hard hit back there..." She pointed at the ad kiosk.
"What? What do you— OH SHIT!" Cameron looked on in shock as his cobalt eyes stared in disbelief on the shape of the kiosk. "I took that hard of hit?"
"You certainly did dude!" The French boy immediately turned his attention to where the unfamiliar voice came form.
"Who the hell are you?" Cameron inquired at the azure colored robot.
"Oh my bad, hehehe. I'm Mega Man, nice to meet you!" Said robot offered his hand out to the dirty-blond who reluctantly shook it back. "I was the one who helped your other two friends while you were knocked out cold."
"Well… uh… thanks… I guess…" Cameron was still at a loss of words. "I wouldn't know what to do if I found out that these two lame-o's were gone if I wasn't awake to see."
Before any more conversation can be ensued, sirens began to blare from the background.
"Well, looks like my job is done here," Mega Man stood up to look down at the three Valley teenagers. "Keep your guards up. You'll never know when some insane robot might attack you. And if you guys are in any danger, just know that I'll be there when things look bad… Laters!!" And with that, Mega Man instantly teleported into the sky with a beam of blue.
The three looked up until they couldn't see the beam anymore.
"Mega Man, huh?" Cameron spoke amid the silence.
"Yup… Mega Man…" Nate added in.
"Our new hero..." Judy began to smile with dreary eyes. "He's so HOT too!! Like TOTALLY!!"
The two dudes couldn't help but to roll their eyes at that notion... in addition to the Valley Girl moment.
"Riiiggghhhttt…"
"Nate! Cameron! Judy!" A voice called out from the street.
"Sis!" Nate waved towards the dressed-up female running in her heels. For once, he was actually glad to see his older sister.
"Are you guys alright?" Claire asked with concern in her voice, a surprise for the younger sibling.
"Yeah, it's all good, no worries…" Nate reassured his elder sibling.
"Just be glad that Judy called right away…" Clair chuckled before socking her brother.
"Ow…" Nate softly spoke. "Thanks Judy!"
"Heh, for sure…"
Before anything could go on any further, the sounds of sirens came closer and closer as they saw numerous LAPD squad cars and ambulances heading towards their direction.
How will I ever explain this to mom and dad?
Nate also recalled about the yellow boomerangs that came into the scene earlier.
I wonder if those were really targeted for me… And could that "insane robot" status be applied to… you know… Would he be there as well?
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of a nearby building, a familiar black, red, and yellow cladded robot was standing by, clearly watching tonight's events as they progressed. The yellow crescent on his head shone under the moonlight.
"I had the chance to get him right then and there…" The droid pondered to himself, folding his arm just under the crescent embedded on his chest. "But... why did I… I… I…" He let out a long sigh, his breath visible in the chilly December air.
"… Hesitate…"
--
Nate was finally back in his bedroom on his iMac after he and his friends went through some serious questioning from the LAPD and having his laceration treated sustained from Metal Man as evident with the large bandage wrap on his arm. Luckily, his parents weren't awake and Claire promised that she would keep this a secret from them… but with a price.
"Ugh… what a long night… Wonder if it'll be on channel 7 in the morning?" Nate glanced at the clock on the upper right hand corner of the screen. It read 3:00AM.
"Oh my God… I haven't even done my homework yet…" The brunet aggravatingly sighed as he rested his head in his hands, just wanting to pull his hair out of his scalp. "I guess I should get some sort of sleep before figuring out how I can finish all of my homework before I leave for school…"
Nate was about to shut off his computer before he remembered a certain name he heard on the news from the previous night.
Doctor Thomas Light…
Without hesitation, Nate decided to log onto UCLA's Department of Electrical Engineering website. There, he was able to find out more about the said doctor's information.
"Hmm… has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology..." Nate continued to scroll down the webpage. "An M.S. in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science from MIT as well… and a Sc. D (Doctorate of Science) in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science from the University of California, Los Angeles… Heh, no wonder this guy is old… He's been in school since forever…"
Nate continued to peruse through the page, noting the numerous awards he has won and been acknowledged for, various pictures from different projects and researches he has undertaken, grants he's been awarded, and finally contact information.
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me at light AT ee DOT ucla DOT edu
Nate clicked on the hyperlink, bringing up the Mail application window on the screen. Seeing the blank page with the flashing insertion point, the Figueroa began to type the following:
--
Hello Dr. Thomas Light!
-
My name is Nathan Figueroa. I am currently a junior at Reseda High School, residing in Encino. I was curious to see if I could possibly interview you in person as I have a lot of questions in regards to my science research report relating to robotics and its impact on humans.
I look forward to hearing from you!
-
Best Regards,
Nathan Figueroa
nate DOT figueroa818 AT gmail DOT com
818.555.1562
--
"There…" Nate sighed as he clicked the send button. Closing up all the windows and shutting down his iMac, the brunet sauntered his way towards the closet to hastily change into his pajamas before catching some z's.
TAP
TAP
TAP
"Hello Nate…"
Said boy instantly became motionless as he heard the tapping coming from his window. He was absolutely sure that the window was closed shut when he got to his room ever since that one incident… or did he? Taking a deep breath, Nate slowly turned around to face the window.
He was definitely in for a surprise.
"HOLY... CRAP!! QUICK MAN!!" Nate fell back onto the floor as he realized that a tiny crack of his window was open, gazing towards the familiar visitor he had in his room once again.
"Oh come on… I know you love it when I'm around…"
--
Seems like Quick Man just loves being a frequent visitor at Nate's house eh?
--
Yeah, I know the action scene was sorta lame, but let me assure you that there is A LOT more to come!!
--
Oh my God... The Blue Bomber talks with slang? Yes... Mega Man is a "Valley Robot"... but NOT a Valley Girl/Valley Dude/Valley Kid... Yeah, it may seem to be a bit OOC, but I swear that it'll be the same Mega Man/Rock Man that you all know and love :) No "Yo, yo, yo homey" or stuff like how I would talk... hahaha
--
And yes, that is a real e-mail address that was written on this page. Try writing an e-mail to nate DOT figueroa818 AT gmail DOT com (w/o the space and using the appropriate symbols of course for DOT and AT) and see what happens, lol ;-)
And perhaps I should say this: Looks and words can be… deceiving…
Don't forget to review ;-)