IMPORTANT: As of 7 July 2009, this chapter has been partially re-written!!! Please disregard anything before that date, as there has been some changes made that'll impact the story. Thanks!!!

Author's Note: Dude, first off I deeply apologize for not updating this story in so, so, so very long. I forgot how busy life can get with school, frat stuff, and picking up a lil' bro in the frat to make sure that he crosses successfully into it and making me an awesome big bro! Also turning 21 on December 7th made my party life a bit more… interesting… now, hehehe, but no worries, I did NOT forget about this story and I promise to try to get weekly updates on this.

This chapter is pretty short and just serves more as a filler to confirm that yes, I am indeed alive and well, and also as a warm-up since I haven't written stuff in awhile, so bear with me here.

Once again, I apologize for not updating for so long and to say that all of you readers out there are truly awesome and thanks for all of the support in keeping me inspired to continue on with this fic.

Enjoy!!!

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Ah dude… déjá vu must love me, huh? Heh, the world must really hate me…

Nate continued to crawl on his hands and behind backwards on the floor, masking on a horrific countenance while the ever so familiar black, red, and yellow cladded robot slowly took a step forward each time the brunet crawled back.

"Wh—... wh—… what do y—… y—… want fr— from me?" A sense of fear was definitely present in the brunet's stuttering voice.

Only silence was the initial reply from Quick Man as he continued to take slow steps at the terrified teenager… while taking note of his surroundings.

"Heh, nice digs you got here kid…" Quick Man snorted with a demonic smile. Apparently he noted the blue painted walls filled with pictures of Nate and his friends and family, random art portraits, a few collages, anime posters, band posters (such as Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, Paramore, Tokio Hotel, Yellowcard, The Vines, Good Charlotte, The Academy Is, All American Rejects, Jimmy Eat World, No Doubt, Simple Plan, Blink-182, etc.), tennis posters (from Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, Andre Agassi, Ana Ivanovic, the Williams Sisters, etc.), and other so-called knick knacks. "Seems like not much has changed since I last came in here." The droid couldn't help but to chuckle a bit under his breath. "Heh, I'm sure you remember that lil' encounter."

And oh for sure did he recall that.

"Uh… heh?" was all that Nate could crack out. Yup, he was sure as hell clueless on what to do at the moment. Brushing his long, emo-looking (and how he despised being called that) brunet locks that covered his left eye, he began to scan his immediate surroundings, utterly desperate to look for any object deemed useful to fend off the droid.

Aha! The broken lamp stand!

Nate immediately grabbed the broken metal pole.

Hmmmm, how come I never cleaned up the mess here… Eh, oh well, but here goes nothing...

He closed his eyes and swung the pole with all of the remaining strength he had towards the intruder.

CLAAAAANNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG

Nate cringed his face as he felt the violent vibration of metal hitting metal in his arms. The shockwaves traveled into his arms and eventually his entire body. As the annoying resonance ceased, he decided to open his eyes to see what kind of damage he caused… if any.

Oh please let it be good… let it be good… let it be g—

Dismay promptly returned as Nate saw the metal pole he swung towards Quick Man in the hands of said robot, no harm done whatsoever.

Just… effin'… great…

"Uh… what do you think you're doing?" Quick Man raised an eyebrow, holding the pole effortlessly in his hand.

"Ohhhhhh shit…" Nate said aloud as he released the object, Quick Man still clenching onto it. "Uhhh… errrr…. a reflex… I guess?" The brunet managed to crack a nervous smile, small chuckle included, hoping to lighten up the mood. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with the android above him narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

Err… I guess he's not amused, eh?

"Now enough of this nonsense and let's cut to the chase," Quick Man's assertive voice echoed throughout the room, quickly tossing the metal pole out the window and into the backyard pool, followed by a big splash. He proceeded to hastily pick up the teenager, forcing him to stand up straight and eventually slamming him very hard against the wall.

"AAAGGGHHH—!" Nate cried out in pain as the back of his skull bumped the wall, but not before being hastily hushed by having his mouth covered with the strong touch of cold metal.

God, I guess this is becoming a routine thing now.

"Now… tonight I just saw a rather interesting show from the distance in… North Hollywood…" Quick Man once again put on that nice, but deceiving smirk, keeping the brunet's shoulders pinned firmly against the wall.

"You… were there?" Nate managed to say through Quick Man's hand, mentally smacking himself moments later as he recalled the events from earlier.

Duh, you smart ass… Remember the boomerangs that were used to fend off what's-their-name? Metal Man and Air Man is it? It has to be him!

"But of course," the robot squinted his eyes, looking intently through Nate's chocolate-colored ones. "Remember what I said in our first meeting?"

The brunet quizzically shook his head, despite the precarious situation he was in. Quick Man couldn't help but to deeply exhale a sigh as he looked away for a moment, eventually returning his gaze to meet the teen's.

"I said that I would always be on you at all times…" A scoff escaped from the metallic figure's mouth as he shook his head from side to side. "I guess humans are dumber and slower than I thought…" And so, Quick Man commenced an all-mighty, fast-paced, but long ass lecture about robots, humans, his speed, and intelligence.

And knowing Nate… he could NOT stand lectures.

Oh my god… I have GOT to get out of here… But how?!?!?

Nate sure as hell did not have the faintest idea on how to get out of Quick Man's death grip. He steadily recalled the last time he was in a grip like this, he was being throttled to death and nearly blacked out… but not without seeing his life flash right before his eyes!

Suddenly, he felt something vibrating in his pocket… his cell phone!!!

Maybe I could call or text someone (or at least attempt it since I can really only do it with one hand for the moment) for help while he's talking… Whatever as long I try to do something instead of sitting here.

The brunet went over to reach for his cell phone in his pocket with his left arm until—

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Nate shrieked in agony, feeling a strong grip on the bandaged wrapped part of his injured left arm. The stinging was more than a human could stand.

Why can't anyone in this house hear my screams? God, even the neighbors should be able to hear them!

"Once again, you must think I'm so idiotic to not notice you trying to make a move for help while I'm lecturing," the robot squeezed the arm even harder, causing the human to cry louder. The brunet wanted to slump onto the floor as the pain made his legs feel like wobbly sticks.

"AAAHHH—!"

SMACK

Nate's head lolled to the side as he was immediately silenced by Quick Man's cold, metallic hand slapping his cheek. The slap was so hard that warm tears began to form in his eyes. Streams of fluid began to drip along his face when he blinked, slightly hissing when it made contact with the reddish area where he was smacked. Certainly a bruise would form there soon.

"You better calm down and keep you freakin' mouth shut…" Quick Man continued to keep a firm grip on the brunet's shoulders. "I could've knocked you out with one blow and killed you, but I think a hard slap would've be better since I want you to feel the pain and keep you alive."

"Alive?" Nate scoffed while sniffing. "It seems more like you wanted me de— AAAHHH!!!"

"What did I say, HUH?!" Quick Man applied even harder pressure on the injured arm, resisting the urge to just knock out the human in front of him… though another slap wouldn't hurt.

Dude, I've never seen Quick Man so aggressive before… what's up with him?

The brunet was sure in a jam this time. Although he was still debating in his mind whether or not this was his worst encounter than their last previous ones, Nate finally deduced that this was by far the most aggressive one with Quick Man smacking him definitely taking the cake. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted when he heard that oh-so-familiar, yet awful shining sound coming from Quick Man as the droid reached around his back.

Oh no… not this again…

"Now to do… what I should've done…" Quick Man briefly paused, absorbing the dramatic pause in the room, hearing Nate's breathing becoming more labored. "... a loooonnnnggggg time ago…"

The brunet on the wall couldn't help but to widen his eyes, suppressing the whimper that tried to escape from his mouth. He cringed his face even more as the sound of Quick Man's evil cackle crept into his ears.

Must do something! Must do something! Must do someth—

"What the hell is going on in here?" Nate opened his eyes as he heard a very familiar voice coming from the open window. He turned his heard towards it… and somewhat sighed in relief at the sight.

Cameron's here!

"Ugh, what now?!" Irritability becoming apparent in the red, yellow, and black cladded robot's voice as he gazed at the spiky blond climbing through the window, bandaged and all on his head due to the concussion he suffered earlier.

As Cameron was finally well inside the room, one would think that he would instantly spring into action to save his best friend's ass from a hell-of-a predicament. Instead, he awkwardly stared at Nate being gripped into the wall by some strange robot.

"Again I say: What the hell is going on in here?" Cameron scratched the back of his head, obviously confused.

Nate couldn't help but to mentally shake his head from side to side.

What does it look like, you blond idiot!!!

After staring at the blond for a few more moments, Quick Man eventually released Nate from his death grip, whom instantly slumped to the floor with a nice thud following right after since the brunet nearly passed out from the pain.

"I guess your friend here, Nate, doesn't like introducing me to his other friends." Quick Man began to slowly stalk his blond prey.

Cameron was perplexed. The De La Loire only wanted to talk to his best friend about something, but is now up against this red, yellow, and black cladded thingamajig. He slowly walked backwards as the robot followed him. "Uh… who the hell are you? And what are you doing to my best friend?"

Once again, the android couldn't help but to laugh at the questions being posed to him. "Oh forgive me, but sometimes my train of thoughts go faster than I would want them to. Allow me to introduce myself…" The boomerang that he held in his hand was now tossed into the air, the droid doing a little spin around before catching it into his hand and finishing off with some kind of pose, complete with a shiny sound of metal in the end. "My name… is Quick Man…"

The Frenchie widened his blue eyes as the name registered into his mind. "So you're Quick Man…"

"Heh, looks like you've heard of me before kid…"

"I guess you could say that…" Cameron recalling the piece of paper he found on Nate's floor. He was sure gonna have to make his brunet-of-a-best-friend explain a lot to him later on… but for now, he had other problems to deal with. "So anyways, why are you here in his room? What's your business for being here?"

Quick Man barked out a rough laughter. "Heh, I'm only paying a visit to my bestfriend on the floor here." The robot pointed to Nate, who was busy nursing his injured right arm, not exactly paying attention to what's going on.

"You mean my best friend you douche!" Bravery echoed in Cameron's voice.

Where the hell did that come from? Anyways…

"Anyways, I suggest you get the steppin' before I— er… I— do something… really bad to you…"

Bravo Cameron! Now that's really gonna scare him.

"Such a pathetic idiot!" Quick Man remarked, rolling his eyes to the side.

"Uh… excuse me?" The blond was not at all pleased at the droid's words. Although he knew other people saw him as being dimwitted or clueless at times, Cameron always got pissy when such words were expressed orally, causing his anger to rise and make him do… well something… stupid. "I know I didn't just hear the words pathetic and idiot mingled in together."

"You heard correctly you paaaatttthhhheeeettttiiiicccccc idioootttttttt…" the android drawled.

Nate, who was just now starting to become aware on what was going on, knew something bad was going to happen when he heard those two words being constantly stated. Knowing his best friend, he could only whisper, "Cameron… please don't do anything stupid…"

And his words fell into deaf ears as the blond began to blindly charge into the robot, coming to no avail as Quick Man just simply stepped onto the side, letting Cameron collide with the wall.

"OMPH!" The blond grunted as he turned around, but was abruptly pinned to the wall as well by Quick Man in a mere matter of microseconds.

"There is a reason why my name is Quick Man you dimwitted human…"

"Doesn't mean your mind is quick wit— UGH!" The blond was roughly shoved against the wall.

"Like I said… there is a reason why my name is Quick Man!"

Nate gaped in horror as he watched his best friend getting the same rough treatment that he's stumbled upon at least three times now. He attempted to get up to try to intervene but—

"AAAGGGHHH!!!" The Figueroa sat back down, quickly gripping onto his bandaged wound, the discomfort just seemingly getting worse and worse. He was now as useless as an empty piggy bank.

Meanwhile, Cameron was still having problems of his own trying to get out of Quick Man's clutches.

"Ugh, let me go you piece of junk!" The blond grunted, trying desperately to free himself from the wall, but was no use. Quick Man was just too strong.

"Not a chance in hell," said robot smirked as he began to reach something from behind his back.

"NOO— AGH!!!" The stinging sensation returning once again as Nate for the second time attempted to get up to intervene and warn his best friend about the familiar boomerangs that will soon appear. Instead, the brunet laid back onto the carpet to keep the pain in check.

Where are the painkillers when you need them the most?

"Cam— ugh… Cam— eron… watch— ugh… ou—"

BLAST

"ACK!!!" Quick Man yelped as he dropped the yellow-coated boomerang onto the carpet, quickly gripping his hand at the discomfort. "What gives?!"

Taking the opportunity, Cameron hastily retreated away from the Quick Man and immediately went to Nate's side, despite being in pain.

"Are you alright Nate?"

"Yeah, I'll live…" Nate slightly hissed as he felt another stinging sensation in his arm. "But what the hell was that blast?"

"I dunno…" Cameron scratched his head before the two resumed their gaze at Quick Man, still nursing his hand.

"Who's out there?" The droid called out towards the window where the plasma blast originated. "Show yourself!"

No response came as darkness and the shimmering pool were the only things present in the backyard.

"Anyways…" Quick Man averted his attention back onto the two human teenagers. "I think it's time that—"

BLAST

That time, the blast destroyed some clay art sculpture Nate did back in the day. Nothing was left but charred shattered pieces and smoke steaming up from the remains.

"Uh… my clay thingy…" Nate dully said, but not in the upcoming comparison to Quick Man.

"OK, that's it!" The android pulled out two pairs of boomerangs and rapidly jumped outside the window.

"Hurry, close the freakin' window!" Nate ordered Cameron, who did not need to be told twice. The blond quickly got up, pulled the window down, and confirmed its security with the sound of the lock's click. The two then proceeded to watch the action outside.

Speaking of the outside, Quick Man began to search all over the backyard for any signs of his possible assassin. After impatiently searching all around within a matter of seconds, the robot quickly gave the two gawking teens at the window a long and hard glare.

"Heh… anyways I think I'm done for tonight. See you two later…" And with that, a beam of red streamed up straight into the air until it disappeared from sight.

Though Nate and Cameron couldn't hear what Quick Man voiced, they pretty much got the notion that wasn't going to be the very last time they would see him.

Shutting the curtains behind them, the two teens sighed in relief as they both sat on the edge of the bed.

"So do you mind telling me who this Quick Man dude is and what in God's name he was doing in here, trying to throttle you?" Cameron tried to get a response from Nate, which totally failed.

"Ugh… I'll tell you later on today…" Nate let out a big yawn, scanning for the clock on the nightstand. "Shit man! It's 4:00AM!!!"

"Yeah, no kidding," Cameron as well yawned before heading to Nate's closet to get the spare blankets and pillows he always used whenever he crashed for the night. "I was gonna tell you something as well, but that can wait as well."

"Is that all?"

"Nah, I also came here cuz I couldn't stand my parents still yelling at me and in their room en français. Heh, I think they are just trying to come up with a punishment for me." Cameron rolled out the blankets after the guest airbed was fully inflated.

"Uh, wouldn't that get you into more trouble dude?" Nate slightly opened the curtain to be sure that nothing was in the backyard… although he swore that for some reason, his eyes captured a silhouette figure nearby.

"Nah, they wouldn't notice if I was gone anyways."

"Riiiggghhhhttttt…" Nate was about to shut the blinds when he could've sworn that he saw the silhouette figure giving him a thumbs-up and then disappearing up into the sky with a blue stream of light.

"Mega Man?" Nate softly said to himself before shutting the blinds. He needed the sleep, but will probably end up being a nap since he still hasn't done his homework. Oh how he wished that his parents would let him skip school.

Yeah, like that'll ever happen in my lifetime…

"What the hell happened in here lil' bro?" The brunet turned around to see Claire at the doorway… staring confusingly at the broken clay sculpture thingy... and at the boomerang Quick Man left behind.

"Ummm… uhhhhh…"

Oh shhhiiiiittttt…

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Don't forget to review :-) I'll try to get the next chapter out during the three-day weekend. And suggestions are always welcomed!!!