Episode 30: The Teleportation Race

Jewel Man was not having a particularly good time at Skull Fortress.

Dr. Wily had been very disappointed that Jewel Man no longer possessed the phenomenal powers he had had as Curator (Dr. Wily had been relishing turning Mega Man into a jeweled paperclip, and had no recollection of becoming an agate belt buckle himself). He spent several weeks running tests trying to get the alien energy to flare up—but alas, the only notable lingering effects Jewel Man had sustained from alien energy were his white hair, and ability to pass completely for a human—neither of which were traits that Dr. Wily was looking for in his grandiose world conquest schemes. Muttering darkly about useless robots who wasted his valuable time, Dr. Wily stomped off to his laboratory to go back to monitoring the Global Extraterrestrial Scanner, hopeful for a new source of alien energy.

As promised, Elec Man began his own investigation shortly after Dr. Wily had finished his. They were inside a small, windowless chamber near Elec Man's office. It was quite dark. Elec Man sat across from Jewel Man at a metal work table beneath a low-hanging ceiling lamp as though they were in an interrogation room. Proto Man leaned against a wall with his arms folded. Though neither Proto Man nor Elec Man had yet made a move to hurt Jewel Man, the harsh light made Elec Man look even more sinister than usual, and Jewel Man sat pressed into the back of his chair, appropriately scared and meek.

"If you're going to kill me, just get it over with," Jewel Man muttered crossly, his head bowed as he stared at the edge of the table.

"Don't be impertinent," Elec Man responded dryly. "I want you to tell me everything you know about alien energy. It gave you powers—strange powers that defy logic and physics."

"Kinda like mad science," put in Proto Man.

Jewel Man rubbed his forehead wearily—he had just been through all of this with Dr. Wily, why go over it again? "To be frank, it's all kind of a blur—though I feel it's prudent to point out I didn't actually harm any of you, rather, you both made for very fine pieces and I would have kept you safe in velvet-lined cases."

Proto Man loomed closer to Jewel Man, his visor like polished obsidian. "…You're not helping your case, 'Curator'."

Jewel Man shrank slightly away from Proto Man, yet annoyance flared inside him (he plainly preferred Proto Man and Elec Man as a ruby aviator badge and opal ring respectively) "I wasn't myself! You wouldn't be yourself either if you were infected with evil energy."

"Evil energy?" questioned Elec Man.

"Yes, the purple stuff—that's what he called it."

"Who's 'he'?"

"Er…that I do not know. The thing that infected me with evil energy. I never saw him, it was just a voice. Some kind of…alien, I think. My m-master."

The last word took Jewel Man by surprise. A small shiver shot through his circuits.

"This is idiotic…" Elec Man sighed. "You're not telling me anything useful."

"That's because I don't know anything useful!" retorted Jewel Man, the large pink jewels on his armor flashing like a sun catcher as he crossed his arms, sending small prisms of light dancing around the otherwise grim room. Dr. Wily had been dismissive of the voice too—he had said if such a thing existed, he would have picked it up on his weird alien-energy-scanner-whatever, which Jewel Man scarcely understood. "I'm just a jeweler, I didn't ask for any of this!"

Elec Man frowned dangerously at Jewel Man until Jewel Man hastily dropped his gaze to look meekly at the edge of the table again, then consulted the alien energy notes on his handheld computer, a brow still raised skeptically.

"So…it would seem there are three types of alien energy…" Elec Man told Proto Man. "Green, like Red Gulch's meteorite; purple, this 'evil energy' that created 'Hellrazor' in Los Angeles then 'Curator'—" Elec Man gestured idly at Jewel Man. "…and blue, which powers Duo."

"Justice energy…" put in Jewel Man, looking up and nodding. Then he blinked, his eyes flickering from Proto Man to Elec Man in fright, who were both staring at him. "Sorry, it just came to me. I could sense it in Proto Man's system while I was Curator—that blue alien energy that was inside the ruby aviator badge, it's like the opposite of the evil energy, I couldn't even handle it without it hurting me—it's called justice energy, I-I think."

Proto Man jerked, then backed hastily away from Jewel Man into the shadows like a beetle avoiding sudden sunlight. "Whoa whoa whoa…heh…this is weird," he chuckled nervously. "You got it all wrong—I don't have 'justice energy' or whatever this alien stuff is supposed to be. I'm not a hero, ask anyone! C'mon, Elec Man, you yourself said this is idiotic…let's go."

"Hold on—I still have questions," said Elec Man.

Jewel Man leaned back against his chair in exasperation. "What for? I told you, I don't know anything! Evil energy, justice energy, it's just as idiotic to me too, I'll have you know! Now can I please just go?"

"Go where, exactly?" asked Elec Man with a small, cruel smile.

"Oh, er…"

"That's what I thought. Now, how did you become infected with evil energy?"

Jewel Man fidgeted under Elec Man's cold, unblinking gaze.

"I…I don't know. A gemstone unlike any other was dropped off at my shop…it glowed with a strange purple light…but the stone was fake, and when I touched it, that's when I became infected. I began hearing a voice, his voice. It's…a little murky after that. I had power like I had never had before, like I could get anything I wanted and no one could stand in my way. But then, every dark thought I've ever had just multiplied, greed, vanity, anger…" Jewel Man frowned down at his hands for a short moment, his thoughts swirling, then shook his head. "I became 'Curator,' I began transforming everyone into gemstones while mutating into a monster, the rest you know."

Elec Man just stared at Jewel Man for a moment, his gaze like beams of frigid ice.

"Hmmmph," he said after a time. "Well, if that really is the best you can do…"

Jewel Man flinched, expecting a fatal strike from Thunder Beam and hoping his circuits fried instantly—but Elec Man had stood up and headed toward the door where Proto Man was waiting impatiently. "I will be in touch," he called back carelessly as he and Proto Man strode out.

Left alone in the bleak room, Jewel Man gulped. He had survived his first interview, but what about the next? He would have to think of something fast, or his new life at Skull Fortress would be either endlessly unpleasant, or extremely short…

"You don't believe all this shit about evil and justice energy, right?" Proto Man muttered to Elec Man in a would-be-casual undertone.

Elec Man shrugged. "Not in a literal sense. 'Evil' and 'justice' are childish, fairy tale constructs that humans invented to moralize their understanding of the world and have nothing to do with energy types, alien or otherwise."

Proto Man looked slightly relieved. "And the voice Jewel Man was talking about?"

"No clue—It seems becoming 'infected with evil energy' can drive a robot out of their mind. Jewel Man's recollection may be unreliable."

"Yeah, maybe," murmured Proto Man, sounding somewhat doubtful, then quickly grinned and changed the subject "…I still say we should use the idiot for target practice."

Screwing up his courage, Jewel Man later met with Elec Man alone in his office. There, with all of his professional pomp as a master jeweler in front of an important client, Jewel Man presented Elec Man with a beautifully crafted silver electronics case. It was etched in a circuit board pattern; fine geometric lines studded with minuscule colorless gemstones flashed in the light like sparks traveling along wires. Jewel Man did not like pricing his own works (his works were quite priceless)—but he estimated this one was worth the same as a condo unit on Park Avenue.

Elec Man looked away from his computer to the electronics case Jewel Man had placed on his desk with a haughty, pronounced blink. "Is this a bribe…?" he asked dryly.

"Tribute," Jewel Man responded promptly and without embarrassment. "I…er…know of your former employer and of their reputation," he added, discretely referring to the Syndicate. Like most rogue robots from the criminal Underground, Jewel Man was deathly afraid of the Syndicate, but he kept his voice steady. "I would like to issue a formal apology and humbly beg forgiveness for my actions as Curator."

He dipped into a small, proper bow. Though Jewel Man typically did not like to give away his works, it was, on occasion, nice to have his skill recognized and appreciated by someone of discerning taste who would likely take care of the treasure—ironically, gangsters were usually his most appreciative customers.

Elec Man sighed, yet his eyes flickered up to stare piercingly at Jewel Man. For a terrifying moment, Jewel Man worried he had miscalculated. This was a mistake. Perhaps Elec Man would electrocute him after all—

But to his surprise, Elec Man merely asked, "You were originally programmed to work at a jewelry counter in one of New York City's luxury department stores?"

"That's right. On Fifth Avenue."

"Hmm. Prestigious. Then you went rogue and became a jewel thief?"

"Y-yes…but I quit."

"Why?"

Jewel Man shivered. "Too dangerous. I'm not programmed with any sort of combat expertise. Though admittedly, it was just as bad going straight as a jewelry shop clerk where I kept getting targeted by crime lords. Ring Man and Magnet Man certainly were of no help either," Jewel Man gave a small, bitter sniff, looking down at the electronics case. "In my experience, giving such distinguished guests complimentary tokens of respect, or tribute, often kept things…peaceful."

"I'll bet." A faint, amused smile had appeared on Elec Man's face. "Hoarding valuables is a hazardous hobby, and will always attract unwanted attention. Did you ever consider going to the Syndicate for asylum?"

"A-asylum?" Jewel Man gawked at Elec Man, blinking rapidly. The word simply did not compute with a mob so notoriously ruthless as the Syndicate. "Why on earth would I presume the Syndicate would grant such a thing to me?"

Elec Man shrugged. "You undervalue yourself—you're programmed with sophistication and sense most robots lack—especially criminal robots. Very well, I accept your tribute," he said with crisp officially, like a lender approving a bank loan. His hand closed over the electronics case and pulled it to his side of the table. "You are now under Syndicate protection and will act as my personal assistant. Cross us or annoy me, and you'll regret it worse than any other decision you'll ever make."

It took a moment for Jewel Man to register what was happening. Quite quickly, he hid his surprise and re-adopted a professional look, his shoulders back. "Yes…sir?"

Elec Man wrinkled his nose. "No, not sir. That's for drones. You're an associate now."

"Oh, associate. Right. Good."

Jewel Man wasn't sure how to feel about this—he had been trying to leave crime, especially dangerous crime, for a while. At the same time, he recalled Ring Man saying how Elec Man and Proto Man rarely left the western hanger (a small smudge of oil on the back of Elec Man's right glove seemed to corroborate this claim—Elec Man's desk was also filled with heavily annotated sketches of what looked like jet systems that Jewel Man couldn't even begin to fathom), which meant Elec Man was not up to a lot of Syndicate work these days. Jewel Man also suspected Top Man was also one of Elec Man's 'associates'—and Top Man was definitely not a gangster.

Feeling grateful yet scarcely believing his fortune might finally be improving, Jewel Man decided to pass on a small, pertinent (if strange) detail he had picked up during his time as Curator.

"So…you're friends with Proto Man, right?" he asked tentatively.

"Not your concern," Elec Man replied curtly, his gaze drifting back to his computer.

"Oh, uh, as you like it. But there's something you should be aware of—the alien or whatever that infected me with alien energy—he didn't seem to like Proto Man very much, perhaps because of his justice energy—yet he seemed interested in you."

"…Excuse me?"

Jewel Man shook his head helplessly, "I-I'm not sure for what purpose, it's just something I observed. I think it's because you've thwarted him, he doesn't like that."

"'Thwarted'? What, by dropping paint cans on Hellrazor then a chandelier on you?"

"I'm only saying you may want to take caution."

Elec Man gave a light scoff. "Whatever. This is still idiotic. You may go—report to Crash Man in the armory. You can find any equipment you need for a lapidary studio in the manufactory. I will call you when I have a task. Oh, and if Ring Man or Magnet Man bother you, send them toward me and I will take care of it."

"R-right. Thank you. I will take my leave now."

With another small bow, Jewel Man eagerly retreated from Elec Man's office before his luck could change again.

"A Mega Girl? How extraordinary," Dr. Light had mused when Mega Man and Roll filled him in on what had happened at the Tinsel Ball gala and the attack of Curator. "It's strange, Mikhail never mentioned her."

"Quint said she's a secret," said Roll, shrugging.

"Is that so?" mused Dr. Light, stroking his beard. "Well, regardless, I'm glad we are all safe, and it's nice to know Quint has a sibling of his own now."

The year 1997 came with little fanfare. Despite the freezing temperatures and bone-chilling winds, Roll dragged Mega Man to Times Square to watch the ball drop amidst a packed crowd of happy (albeit tipsy and half-frozen) humans. Back at Dr. Light's laboratory, it was getting colder and snowier as January wore dully on. Dr. Light was away most weekdays for various work conferences in the city, and Mega Man and Roll were kept quite busy shoveling the driveway, yet nothing particularly eventful happened.

Roll was getting restless. "Maybe we should visit Quint," she told Mega Man one morning as they shoveled the driveway for the sixth time of the new year. Rush was in the backyard, playing in the deep snow drifts and chasing squirrels away from bird feeders, his tail wagging furiously. "You know, learn more about aliens and finally meet this Mega Girl."

They had only seen the mysterious Mega Girl in action once—but according to Quint, she had been the one to stop Hellrazor in Los Angeles, then Curator in New York, using something called a Sun Crystal which contained justice energy, a force that could neutralize their evil energy.

Mega Man stopped working and leaned against the handle of his shovel.

"I dunno, the less I know about aliens, the happier I'll be," he joked. "I'd rather just fight Wily, or even better, no one at all."

Still, he liked the idea of visiting Quint, who worked in a laboratory, the life he always wanted…

"Better to be prepared, right? It's going to be tough fighting off alien energy outbreaks and Dr. Wily," countered Roll, who was shoveling the walk in front of the lab. A dark cloud passed over her face. "Not to mention that creep Bass is still creeping around somewhere like the slimy creep he is, pretending to be a creepy human—" she added savagely as she began to hack away at a sheet of ice below the rain gutter. "And he's not even that good-looking, right?"

"Er…"

"And to think, I thought—doesn't matter, he's a creep. Where do you think he goes? What do you think he's doing right now?"

"Uh…" replied Mega Man, noting that Roll seemed to have quite a vested interest in Bass no matter how creepy she claimed she thought he was. "I…dunno," he said finally, still feeling guilty about getting on Bass's bad side and causing him to go rogue in the first place. He quickly busied himself by walking sideways down the front walk's stairs, scraping each step clean.

"Yeah. And that's what's scary," Roll continued on, shoving chunks of ice underneath a frosty shrub. "But I'll be ready for him next time. I know what he looks like now. It won't be so easy for him to sneak up on us and deceive me again!"

Mega Man decided to steer away from this subject. "Maybe I can talk to Quint about the evil energy in my system," he said seriously. "But do you think he'll see us? He's always been so secretive about his work!"

"After all that's happened, he's gotta! Especially if we show up in person," said Roll, sticking her shovel into a snow bank. "So how about it then? Up for a flight out of this winter wonderland to L.A.? We can listen to Nightmare Fuel's latest album, Wrath of the Vengeful, along the way! Who knows, maybe we'll even run into Kali Cossack while we're t there!"

"Yeah right, I doubt a famous socialite like her spends much time in a laboratory," sniffed Mega Man, who was less interested in meeting celebrities than Roll was and not impressed with Kali Cossack's reputation.

"You're probably right," shrugged Roll.

Despite sharing quarters with Quint, Punk was incredibly grateful to have a place to stay. Over the past month, he had arranged a corner of Quint's vast laboratory into something like a small gym with training equipment, a sparring ring, and a recharging station. He had cleaned up his armor and now looked like the robo-fighter champion he had been in the photo of himself and Dr. Rose that now sat on a counter next to a supply of energy cans.

Punk spent most of his time in the sparring ring. "C'mon, Brainiac!" he called over to Quint while leaning over the sparring ring's ropes. "You don't want to get too soft from doin' nothing but researching! Three rounds a day in the ring with me will keep you in prime fighting condition for Mega Girl's team!"

"But I don't want to fight," Quint replied crisply from his workstation, bristling at Punk's nickname for him. True, Brain Bot was his original name, but Brainiac struck a nerve…

"Now now, stop arguing…" Kalinka called in a lofty yet distracted voice from her desk, Beat perched on the back of her chair. She was perusing a newspaper, searching for any signs of criminal activity she could act on. It had been very quiet lately, and Mega Girl had had little to do.

The elevator door beeped. Panicking, Punk dove headfirst into a recycling bin. A second later, the door slid open as Dr. Cossack strode into the laboratory.

"Hi Daddy!" greeted Kalinka, her face lighting up like a Broadway stage as she rushed toward him.

"Hello Kalinka, Beat, Quint," said Dr. Cossack, smiling shyly. "Hope you don't mind me dropping by—it looked like you left this on the breakfast nook this morning."

He handed Kalinka an empty gray binder.

"Aw, thanks Daddy! But you didn't have to go out of your way to deliver this to me!" giggled Kalinka, tucking the binder under her elbow.

"It was no trouble, and I just thought it would be nice to see how you're getting by in Quint's laboratory." Dr. Cossack looked quizzically over at the fighting ring. "Um…Stardrop, have you taken up boxing again?"

"Yeah, part of a new workout regimen that's all the rage, all my friends are doing it too," said Kalinka, who swiftly began shunting Dr. Cossack back toward the elevator before he could get too close of a look at Punk's gym. "Sorry, but no time for chit-chat—we got lots of work to do—you know how it is, lots of science to be done and all that. We'll talk later! Love you! Byyyyeeee!"

Quint watched with an open mouth as Kalinka shoved her father into the elevator (admittedly, it looked a bit comical, for Dr. Cossack was quite a bit taller than Kalinka. Dr. Cossack gave a cheery if bemused wave as the doors slid shut). Dusting off her hands, Kalinka turned her back to the elevator, looking equally unconcerned and unabashed.

"This isn't even mine, it's one of his with boring Citadel corporate branding and everything," she muttered, looking at the ordinary gray binder with distaste before depositing it on Quint's desk. "Silly Daddy, he's like making up excuses to check up on me—as if he can fool me."

A second later, Punk emerged from the recycling bin with bits of cardboard stuck to his spikes. He was hyperventilating—a sound like a rusty bellows from within his thick armor.

"That—was the most—freaked out—I've ever been. Your dad—whoo—he's really scary," he stammered, clutching his chest.

"No he's not!" rebuked Kalinka, but then added in a low, thoughtful tone, "All the same, probably best if he doesn't know you're here…it might stress him out."

"I'm unsure…this is a lot of secrets we're keeping from Dr. Cossack," mumbled Quint. First Mega Girl, then Punk…not to mention the evil energy outbreaks and the vast amount of laws they were breaking. He worried about Dr. Cossack getting mad, or worse yet, disappointed.

"Don't worry!" replied Kalinka, flopping back on her office chair. "I like stole a cruise ship once and he didn't notice. Not that he's neglectful or anything—he's always done his best as a single parent, but he also takes on sooo much work sometimes he doesn't even know what day it is!"

"Y-you stole a cruise ship?!" stammered Quint, aghast. Punk looked impressed.

Kalinka waved her hand dismissively. "Long story. It was with my then boyfriend, Duke, lead singer of Dudes in Denim. We were going to run away together—so romantic—but then the cops busted us. It was all over the news for like five months. Probably should be in juvie but the cruise line liked the publicity so much they dropped all charges." Kalinka smiled. Punk stared at Kalinka, inspired by her astonishing feat of law-breaking, while Quint looked questioningly at Beat, who was busy preening his feathers and pretending not to have heard anything. "Anyway! You can relax—no one's going to find out what we're up to."

A notification appeared on Quint's computer with a soft beep. Quint glanced over at the screen, then jumped. "Oh drat."

"What's that?" asked Kalinka.

"Oh…n-nothing…it's just a message from Mega Man and Roll. Evidently, they're on their way to Los Angeles and want to drop by my laboratory."

"Who?"

"The heroes from New York who fight Dr. Wily—I've told you about them!"

"Oh yeah, that's the bot with a similar name to mine," responded Kalinka somewhat vaguely, displaying as usual her disinterest in current events and acting as though this were a common coincidence. "Well, invite them in! I'd like to meet them!"

Quint blinked. "Are you quite sure that's a good idea?" he asked worriedly, still thinking about their web of secrecy, and how Mega Man and Roll complicated things.

But Kalinka seemed completely unbothered. "Yeah, just give me a second to change into Mega Girl!" she said. With a wink, she skipped into the office where her armor was stored.

Beat took wing and landed on Quint's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze with his talons. "Probably best if we let Kalinka handle Dr. Cossack," he whispered in Quint's ear. "She was his own only child for a long time, so you could say she's got him, well, wrapped around her finger?"

"So I've observed," responded Quint, smiling weakly.

Kalinka suddenly reappeared in the office doorway. "You guys aren't talking about me again are ya?"

Both Quint and Beat gave a guilty jerk. "Uh—!"

"Hmmph. That's what I thought," Kalinka snapped, glaring beadily at them before shutting the door with a snap.

"How does she do that?" mumbled Quint while Beat let out a sigh.

"Heh heh, busted!" Punk snickered as he folded into a spiked ball and took a lap around the fighting ring.

Mega Man and Roll stared around at Quint's laboratory in silent awe. It reminded them of a cross between a high-tech warehouse and a bunker—the furthest reaches shrouded in darkness, and lots of strange and large equipment distributed throughout the echoing, open space.

Yet even more extraordinary were the occupants of Quint's laboratory.

"Mega Man, Roll, this is Mega Girl and her support unit Beat," Quint introduced. "Mega Girl, this is Mega Man and Roll, from New York City,"

Mega Girl was standing with her hands on her hips, looking somewhat like a large action figure of a cartoon hero. Beat, her blue robo-bird, was perched on her shoulder.

"Hi~!" Mega Girl sang out in greeting, then did a double take as she took in the titanium jumpsuit Roll always wore. "Cool outfit, by the way. Very grunge."

"Thank you?" Roll responded, seemingly confused to be complimented by this petite pink robot (Mega Man knew Roll hated pink as much as she hated pigtails.)

Mega Girl's gaze swept over to Mega Man's armor. "Um…no offense, but isn't your costume a bit derivative of a certain masked someone in red?" she asked with a sidelong glance through her aqua visor.

"I'm derivative?" Mega Man muttered in astonishment, staring at Mega Girl as Roll snickered. Behind her Quint gave them an embarrassed, apologetic smile.

A third robot shuffled over, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. He was a lot bigger than everyone else, and heavily armored in thick red and yellow titanium with long silver spikes.

"Hey how ya doin', my name is—"

Roll's face lit up instantly. "Hey I know you! You're Punk, a National Robo-fighting Champion! They still show re-runs of your matches on the Robo-fighting Network!"

Punk swelled with pride, his bladed mohawk making him look like a large beakless robo-rooster about to crow.

"You are also on the wanted list for rogue robots," Mega Man said, looking suspiciously at Punk. "And weren't you Hellrazor?!"

"That's old news," cut in Mega Girl, stepping protectively in front of Punk while casting Mega Man a reproving look as though to say oh grow up. "He's back to normal and part of our team now!"

"Team?"

"Yup, the team to fight back against evil energy, duh! And I'm the leader."

Mega Man and Roll glanced at each other. What a strange group!

"Er, now that you bring it up, evil energy is what we came to talk to you about," began Mega Man finally, feeling a bit foolish, but with a small prod from Roll, he quickly told Quint, Mega Girl, and Punk about his ominous dreams and the trace amount of evil energy Dr. Cossack had detected in his system.

"I thought there was something off about you!" exclaimed Punk, staring at Mega Man. "Back when I was 'Hellrazor', I mean. I could sense it—like you had something powerful and dark locked inside, almost drawing me in. How did you become infected with evil energy? Did you turn into some sort of robo-monster too?"

"I don't know," Mega Man replied, startled. "We think it happened sometime during the encounter with Lotos…but I don't remember anything about it."

"Lotos?" repeated Mega Girl, who had taken a seat on what looked to be her own desk (judging by the array of pink post-it notes, trapper keepers bedecked in sparkly stickers, and glitter gel pens stuffed in a starry mug). She had been listening with narrowed eyes like a detective taking in clues. "That alien that attacked New York City?"

"Ohhh yeah! I remember that whole fiasco, it was all over the news!" said Punk. "Now that I think of it, it kinda sounds like the one-eye shadow puppet from my apartment!—That's how I got my evil energy," he added to Mega Man and Roll, who were staring at him in confusion.

Quint slapped his forehead. "Of course! Why didn't I make the connection earlier? They may very well be the same entity, causing trouble by infecting unsuspecting robots with evil energy." Nodding to himself, Quint began pacing in front of his desk with his arms folded behind his back.

Mega Man and Roll exchanged grim looks, their worst suspicions confirmed. If Lotos was back, this was unsettling news indeed—Dr. Wily could be annoying enough on his own without the interference of a powerful extraterrestrial being on the loose!

"Well how do we find Lotos or whoever this alien is?" asked Roll, punching her palm with a fist. "He made a fool out of me once, I still owe him some payback!" Evidently, Roll had still not forgotten about her temporary escapades as a housekeeper robot due to Dr. Wily's wish and Lotos's 'magic.'

Quint shook his head. "Unknown. It may not be prudent to go looking for this entity anyway, we would be categorically unprepared."

"But then…this evil energy…" Unconsciously, Mega Man nearly raised a hand toward his power core where the evil energy lurked invisibly inside, but then quickly dropped it into a fist at his side. "I mean, I don't feel any different, at least not now—but those dreams, and when I was around Hellrazor and Curator—" Mega Man shook his head. "I'm still infected, and I don't even know how it happened!"

Quint stopped pacing and frowned at Mega Man. "That is most peculiar," he agreed. "The dreams, however, may be expected if another outbreak of evil energy occurs. It appears to be a side effect—since you have a trace amount of evil energy in your systems, you may become, er, sensitive if exposed to a stronger source of it."

"That's what I thought too," said Roll softly, touching Mega Man's elbow.

"My circuits get all tingly when I get near the stuff," put in Punk, closing his eyes and nodding.

"But the evil energy is not active in either of you," Quint spoke up quickly. "That is to say, it's not an immediate threat."

"And if it were to become active, I could get you both back to normal with the Sun Crystal's Justice Energy," said Mega Girl confidently as she kicked her legs.

Mega Man wasn't quite reassured, and neither was Roll. "Still, kinda weird knowing there's two of us with evil energy," he said with a shudder.

"Actually, three, counting Jewel Man, who has fallen into the hands of Wily," corrected Quint. "—Not to worry! It is doubtful Jewel Man still has access to his powers as Curator anymore."

"You better hope so, unless you liked being a wristwatch!" quipped Roll, raising a brow.

"A wristwatch? Is that what I became? Fascinating—"

"Not really," cut in Mega Man, sighing. A vague pounding was building in his forehead, threatening to break into a full-out headache. "Unfortunately, sounds like there's not much we can do except wait and see if this alien makes another move."

Quint nodded gravely. "I am working on alien energy counter-measures. I can keep you posted on any evil energy developments."

Mega Girl beamed at them. Of the group, she seemed the least unsettled by the impending threat of an alien invasion. On the contrary, there was an excited sparkle in her eyes as she leaped off her desk and walked toward them. "Oh this is fun! You can join our team, as, like, our East Coast division. We should have weekly team meetings! Here, or we can alternate!"

"Here? But—" began Quint.

"Why sure, just don't tell Daddy," Mega Girl overrode him with a sharp look. "The stress would be bad for his health!"

Mega Man and Roll blinked. 'Daddy?' She must have meant Dr. Cossack….

"Oh…I didn't know Dr. Cossack was ill," said Roll softly.

"Oh, he's fine, he's just…" Leaning forward, Mega Girl lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "…Really, really old."

"He's in his thirties right?" Roll asked with raised brows, a bit unnerved. Mega Man had a feeling their thoughts had jumped to the same thing. Dr. Light was in his fifties—fifty-eight, to be exact. Was this old for humans? Should they be worrying about his health too?

"Yes. Almost forty." Mega Girl shook her head tragically, but then brightened, smiling a thousand-watt smile at all of them in turn. "Okay team, now that that it's official—"

She put her dainty pink gauntlet in the middle of their circle, like what humans did in a huddle before a sporting match. They all stared blankly at it. "Well c'mon!" she prodded with a steely glare at everyone.

Punk put in his spiked-cuffed gauntlet next (which easily dwarfed Mega Girl's). Sheepishly, Quint added his green gauntlet, then Roll her utility arm (while catching Mega Man's eye with a suppressed snicker) then finally Mega Man put in his blue gauntlet, feeling completely bewildered.

"Alright, let's go team!" shouted Mega Girl, raising her hand in the air.

"…So now that you've met her, what do you make of this Mega Girl?" Mega Man asked later as they flew over a white quilt of snowy farm fields on their way back to New York.

"That she's Mega-bossy. Acts like she's the oldest in the room, even though she's the new kid on the block," Roll chortled, then added, "Still, all this secrecy is weird. I think Quint and Mega Girl are still hiding something."

"Yeah, me too," sighed Mega Man. "But maybe we'll figure it out in one of these 'team meetings'."

Privately, Mega Man was regretting the whole trip—getting conscripted into Mega Girl's team to fight evil energy was certainly more than he had bargained for!

Fortunately, January continued on with neither signs of another evil energy invasion nor a Dr. Wily scheme. As Hellrazor and Curator became old news, Quint became increasingly wrapped up in his research, spending long hours in the laboratory. He felt close, so close to his first meaningful contribution to the long chronicles of science—then, one day, in the second week of February, it happened.

"EUREKA!" he called out jubilantly from his workstation, standing up so fast that his office chair rocketed backward and crashed into the opposite wall.

"Hey—!" Kalinka looked up from a pink workout mat where she had been practicing yoga in her Mega Girl armor, frowning at the commotion. "What is it?"

Quint could barely contain his excitement as he whirled eagerly toward Kalinka. This. Was. Big. "Thanks to your improbability formula, I've had a huge breakthrough!"

"Oh yeah? Like what?" asked Punk, leaping out of his sparring ring to join them. Beat flapped overhead, looking curiously down at Quint.

"Instantaneous travel from one point to another—Teleportation," replied Quint breathlessly. "True, it has been accomplished before in a limited capacity—perhaps you've read about when Dr. Wily tried it with 'transport chambers'?"

"Who?" Kalinka asked blankly.

"Nevermind," Quint said, not wanting to lose his momentum by reminding Kalinka who Dr. Wily was again. "I have devised a method to harness the power of quintessence to convert matter into a beam of energy that can travel through the satellite grid to a pre-determined destination before re-materializing, therefore transporting a subject anywhere on earth without the use of chambers."

Quint held out a small silver device the size of a subway token. A small, purple crystal glinted from its center. "This is the completed model. I already ran an extensive list of computer simulations for its capabilities—all that remains is its trial run."

At this, Quint hesitated as he peered over at Punk.

"Whatya looking at me for?" Punk grumbled blankly. Then his eyes widened with a jerk. "Hey, no way, Brainiac! I'm no lab rat or guinea pig!"

"But I need to observe and take readings!" replied Quint. "But rest assured, my computer simulations covered even the most improbable scenarios, and have established safeguards to prevent accidental teleportation to somewhere hazardous (such as a volcano) or for the user's atoms to re-moleculize the wrong way (as in The Fly)."

Punk glowered at Quint. "Oh real reassuring, Brainiac. And what if something goes wrong with the satellite grid whatever while I'm in 'beam' form?"

"If anything goes wrong, the teleportation sequence is canceled, and you return to your origin point," Quint explained patiently. "Really, the procedure is actually quite safe—the chance of vaporization is infinitesimal."

"He's right, I checked his math," put in Kalinka, who was scanning Quint's notes on his computer.

Punk sighed. "Alright, I'll give it a go—but if something goes wrong you all owe me big time!"

Quint handed Punk the teleportation device, then pointed to a circle of masking tape he had placed on the floor. "Stand in that circle, then activate your teleporter. I've already programmed its coordinates. If all goes well, you will reappear in this circle over there."

"Yeah, yeah…" muttered Punk, sounding doubtful yet resigned. He stomped over to the circle, his pointed boots clanking noisily. "Ready?"

"Ready," Quint responded as he and Kalinka took positions next to the computer. "Commence teleportation."

Still looking pessimistic and annoyed, Punk activated the teleporter as instructed, then disappeared in a shimmering stream of scarlet light that streaked upward through the ceiling. A second later, the beam of light returned several yards away, and Punk reappeared right on target.

For a moment, Punk just blinked at them, seemingly unaware that something had just happened.

"You did it!" Quint cried joyfully, sprinting over. "And you weren't vaporized!"

"I thought you said the chance of that was infinitesimal!" roared Punk, his eyes bulging at Quint. But then he blinked, looking around. "Whoa…it worked! I was over there, and now I'm over here! This is really something, Brainiac!"

"Yes, just think of the numerous practical applications!" Quint replied happily.

"I could, like, go downtown in less time than it takes to even call a cab," mused Kalinka.

"I want to teleport again, this time send me somewhere different—like to the top of the Hollywood sign, or to Fun World!" joined in Punk.

"Yes, most impressive!" crowed a deep, unfamiliar voice.

Kalinka whirled on the spot. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

A shadow shifted above them, and something dropped silently from the ceiling and landed catlike to the floor on tabi boots. It was a Robot Master, dressed in dusky blue armor, a silver ninja star adorning his helmet.

"What the—! How did you get in here?" demanded Quint—his laboratory was one of the most secure structures in existence!

"I'm a ninja," replied the Robot Master, straightening up. He grinned broadly at Quint, his red eyes narrowing with fox-like amusement. "You should know me! I have eluded your creator many times when he was part of R.I.P! Glad he quit working with cops, by the way—never thought it suited him. He's much cooler now."

"Sh-Shadow Man?!" gulped Quint.

Shadow Man's grin widened, several ninja stars suddenly appearing between his fingers. Quint's visor scarcely had time to register Shadow Blade before he, Kalinka, Beat, and Punk were suddenly pinned to the laboratory wall like insects inside an Entomology exhibit.

"Hey!" screeched Kalinka indignantly.

Moving almost as fast as his blades, Shadow Man darted over to Punk, plucked the teleporter from his hand, then away again. He held it up to the light. "Oh-ho! I see you are dabbling in alien magic!"

"Actually, it's not magic," objected Quint. "It's just unquantifiable by our current scientific understanding."

"Yes, magic, nerd." Shadow Man was still examining the teleporter. "This…will do well on the black market! Many criminals would pay handsomely to be able to teleport and steal whatever they want, whenever they want!"

"No!" cried Quint. "You mustn't—just think of the danger you could put the world in—"

Still smiling impishly, Shadow Man shook his head. "Sorry. I have no choice. My nemesis, the Robot International Police, have been extremely annoying lately. I think they could use a distraction so they spend less time focusing on me, and more time focusing on anyone else. And now—I shall show you some ninja magic."

Shadow Man threw something to the ground. A bluish smoke screen briefly enveloped him, then he was gone, as though he had melted away with the smoke.

"Whoa, how'd he do that?" growled Punk.

"He's a ninja," replied Kalinka, shrugging.

It took a full minute for them to wriggle free from the Shadow Blades.

"Oh dear, he stole your invention, Quint!" murmured Beat, hovering over to Quint.

"Yes, this is very very bad!" moaned Quint. "I can build another one—but we must recover the original quickly before it is used for crime!"

To be continued…