Mega Man Recut: Season 3

by BlackRussian

After the events of Bro Bots, Mega Man and Roll wonder what it will take to ever get Proto Man to switch sides. Dr. Wily builds Bass, a powerful robot with the same capabilities as Mega Man. Kalinka hatches a plan to become closer to her masked hero, and Quint makes an unsettling discovery about Earth's future. Ruby-Spears cartoon continuation. Now airing "Teleportation Tangles"

13. Teleportation Tangles, Part 2

The first thing Quint did after he, Kalinka, Beat, and Punk had freed themselves from the Shadow Blades was call Dr. Cossack on his video communicator. Quint dreaded telling Dr. Cossack about what had happened, but to his amazement, Dr. Cossack was not upset.

"This is fantastic. Teleportation, what an incredible invention!" murmured Dr. Cossack, thoroughly impressed.

"…I'm not in trouble?" Quint asked anxiously. Punk had hidden himself in a far corner of the laboratory so that Dr. Cossack would not see him, and Kalinka had changed out of her Mega Girl armor as she stood next to Quint, Beat perched on her shoulder.

Dr. Cossack shook his head. "Of course not, there was not much you could have done. Shadow Man has an inconvenient talent of being a nuisance wherever he pleases. In fact, I think this is more my fault, I think I know what he wants. Never mind that now though. Though it was undoubtedly unsettling to have your laboratory broken into, you do not have to worry about Shadow Man—he knows better than to harm a creation of mine, that I am certain. Pay close attention to him—I suspect he is far from an ordinary Robot Master. As for the teleportation technology itself, it is not exactly legal, so I would be discreet."

"Yes, of course!" Quint responded. Then, feeling harkened that Dr. Cossack was not disappointed in him after all, he added heartily, "After all, it is not my first rodeo breaking the law!"

Quint was referring to when he had illegally converted himself into a bomber robot. He immediately regretted saying this, however, for Dr. Cossack's square brow drew into a deep frown, light flashing off his half-rim glasses.

"This isn't a light matter, Quint. As you know I take crime very seriously," said Dr. Cossack sternly.

Quint gave a guilty jerk. Beat bowed his head somberly. In a far-off corner, Quint heard the soft clanking of Punk fidgeting nervously.

Kalinka, however, rolled her eyes. "Yes, we all know that Daddy, you only say that all the time."

Dr. Cossack blinked, slightly abashed. "Do I? Well, it's true."

Looking earnestly at Dr. Cossack, Quint said, "Shadow Man said he plans to sell the prototype on the underground."

"Really? That may be a problem. I'll inform Chief Fictus that something was stolen from Citadel, have him watch the black market."

"What about Wily?" Quint asked tentatively.

"Oh, I doubt that idiot will make much use of your invention even if he can figure it out," Dr. Cossack responded dryly. "Still, inform Dr. Light, he should know about this." Then his face cracked into a wide grin. "Teleportation though—truly remarkable."

"Well, it was thanks to Kalinka really, she helped me with the theory behind the invention," Quint responded humbly, feeling both embarrassed and pleased by the praise.

"I'm so proud of both of you—" Dr. Cossack continued, "Working together to create breakthrough technology—"

"Oh my god Dad, stoooop," Kalinka complained.

---

"…You know, I like don't see what the big deal is about this Wily dude," said Kalinka privately to Punk and Quint after they had finished talking with Dr. Cossack. "He's that really weird old guy Daddy hates, right? Dad didn't seem too worried about him. Can't we just like wait, let the old man have his fun, let him try to take over the world or whatever, and then…he'll probably just die of old age before he even does anything?"

"He's…not nearly that old," replied Quint, perturbed. "Fifty, I believe."

"But that's ancient! Even older than Dad!"

"But many humans live well into their eighties and nineties before dying of old age!"

"Yeah, Dr. Rose lived to be one-hundred and sixteen, and she only quit running ultramarathons because it conflicted with her weekly poker night schedule," said Punk.

"Okay, if you feel that strongly about this," Kalinka muttered, sounding unconvinced, but willing to indulge them. "Stopping Professor Willy will be good for my superhero cred anyway."

"It's Dr. Wily."

"Whatever."

---

It was a full three minutes before anyone responded to the beeping noise of an incoming transmission coming from Dr. Light's supercomputer. Mega Man was reading an organic chemistry textbook in the atrium, Roll was engrossed in a project in her workshop with Wrath of the Vengeful blaring at levels that would have made a human's ears ring, and Dr. Light was taking a phone call in his office (while firmly trying to ignore that vibrations from Roll's music were making the picture frames on the wall rattle). But finally, all three noticed the persistent beeping, and hurried to Dr. Light's laboratory. Mega Man quickly accepted the transmission, and a frantic-looking Quint appeared on the overhead monitor.

"Quint!" Mega Man greeted. "I have a sinking suspicion a crisis is going on. You know, you can call us at other times too!"

"R-right. Yes, well, anyway—"

Quint hurriedly explained about his new teleportation device and the unfortunate break-in at his laboratory.

"Shadow Man!" exclaimed Mega Man. "Doesn't he work for Dr. Wily?"

"I don't think so…I believe he is acting rogue, and plans to sell the teleporter prototype," said Quint, his head bowed dolefully. "Teleportation is achieved through the use of quintessence and the satellite grid. The good news is, without quintessence, I very much doubt a buyer could make a functioning duplicate."

"I got a sneaking suspicion Wily could figure it out…" said Roll wryly, catching on to the true purpose of Quint's call.

Mega Man's eyebrows raised. "Wily could turn up anywhere, any time, no warning? That's the worst news I've heard this year!"

"Calm down, everyone," Dr. Light broke in quickly, standing before the keyboard on his supercomputer. "Quint, I will need you to help me develop countermeasures to limit the use of your new invention for criminal activity. Is Dr. Cossack aware of what happened?"

"Affirmative, but he had business to attend to and asked me to keep him informed of developments," said Quint, standing up straighter and looking important.

Dr. Light was tabbing through a long file directory within his computer. "In the past, I had employed signal jamming to prevent Dr. Wily from using his transport chambers long distance again—fortunately, Dr. Wily had quickly abandoned the idea anyway, as he so often does—I only hope Wily cannot find workarounds with this new technology."

"All safeguards have workarounds," said Quint miserably. "Signal jamming may be only a temporary measure."

"Yes indeed, this sounds like it may turn into a technological race, us against Dr. Wily," sighed Dr. Light. "But the good news, thus far, is that only one teleporter is at large, which may give us some time."

…A small thing was bothering Mega Man, his mind lingering uncomfortably on transport chambers and his last incident with teleportation. "Quint, about your new invention…" he said, leaning toward the supercomputer and lowering his voice. "It can't by any means be used to swap the circuits of two robots, can it?"

"Erm…what exactly would be the context for that sort of application?" asked Quint, mystified.

"Never mind," Roll said, giving Mega Man a small smile. "Well, what are we waiting for? We better get started before Wily causes any trouble!"

Quint nodded. "Right. We will be there momentarily."

The transmission ended abruptly.

"What does he mean, 'we will be there momentarily?" queried Roll aloud to Mega Man and Dr. Light. "Aren't they in California? That's at least a three-hour flight!"

Then they all jumped.

"Surely, he doesn't mean—"

They rushed over to the front door and threw it open. Four shimmering streaks of light dropped from the gray, overcast sky—scarlet, green, blue, and pink—then four familiar figures materialized on the snowy front lawn.

"Eregh, I forgot how cold it is in New York," exclaimed Punk, looking around. "That was like having a bucket of ice dumped on ya after a fighting match!"

"Hiii~" sang out Mega Girl, her support unit Beat fluttering nervously over her shoulder. "Long time no see!"

"Yeah, we haven't actually had any of those 'team meetings' you talked about," Mega Man reminded her.

"Yeah, well, I've been a little busy," said Mega Girl loftily. Mega Man and Roll exchanged glances. "But we're here now! What do you think of Quint's teleporter? It's really something, huh?"

"It's something alright…" muttered Mega Man, frowning at Mega Girl's apparent upbeat attitude in spite of the crisis they were now in.

"Please, come in everyone," said Dr. Light, opening the front door wide.

---

When Jewel Man had first settled into his new lapidary studio within Skull Fortress, he had drawn a lot of curiosity from the other Robot Masters.

Some of the encounters were friendly.

"What do you think of this gem?" Crystal Man had asked, branding what appeared to be a crystal ball, a pale blue globe-sized orb in which the halls of Skull Fortress appeared to be upside down.

Jewel Man gave the Crystal Eye a cursory look. "Hmm. Yes, I've seen these on the black market before. Very interesting. It's quite a beautiful fake, nearly identical to diamond in hardness, yet its structure is unstable—it deteriorates into carbon dust within hours."

"Heh, that's right. You really know your stuff," replied Crystal Man, nodding.

…Others were less friendly.

"Back off, alien, I'm warning you…" Dust Man had growled at Jewel Man.

"Oh, I'm not an alien. Not anymore. Not ever, actually. I think. In fact, I'm not sure I really understand what happened," Jewel Man tried to explain helplessly. Dust Man only gave him a grumpy harumph, glaring at him through a beady eye, while muttering about needing to attend to a new armadillo infestation within Skull Fortress's foundations.

Still, many weren't sure if they believed the whole "Curator" business in New York City, and even those who had been there couldn't remember what had happened, and none of the events had been recorded and therefore did not circulate on the human news. In fact, most were unimpressed with Jewel Man, thinking him timid and weak for a Robot Master. This was all the better in Jewel Man's opinion, for he had planned to co-exist quietly with his new allies. He had also been attempting to keep his new allegiance with Elec Man discreet, but of course, Ring Man eventually sleuthed out the news.

"You're Syndicate now? That's serious stuff!" Ring Man said in an impressed voice as he and Magnet Man cornered Jewel Man in the armory's supply room.

"Yes, well," responded Jewel Man coolly, pretending he had been given a choice in the matter, and feeling thankful that he had only been appointed something ordinary and respectable as a P.A. and not something dreadful like a hitman. He was even beginning to like the feeling of protection: no one would bother to mess with him if they feared the likes of Elec Man would retaliate.

Ring Man stared, both incredulous and envious. "Well, I suppose you think you've done well landing yourself a job as his secretary or whatever, but I hope you know Elec Man is not very nice. Still, might be handy for us having this angle—er, connection with the Syndicate…"

Magnet Man said nothing, his arms folded and his brows furrowed, his eyes flickering between Jewel Man and Ring Man.

"Don't even try it," Jewel Man responded quickly and nervously. "Elec Man said he'd shock you if you caused trouble."

Ring Man only snickered. "Elec Man's always making little threats like that, but it's all talk. He's programmed to work for Wily, he's not allowed to—"

There was an earsplitting crackle and a bright flash of light.

"I'm not allowed to do what, Ring Man?" Elec Man asked, emerging from the small, windowless room that he had once used as an office back before he had moved to his new quarters in the western wing. Evidently, Elec Man had been checking in with Dark Man about Skull Fortress's security protocols as he did from time to time and had overheard their entire conversation. Elec Man looked down with perfect indifference at the twitching, scalding, and furiously cursing heap on the floor. "That looked like that hurt."

"Oh shut up you lousy bastard!"

Magnet Man backed away with his hands up as if to say he was not part of this, though Elec Man ignored him as he stepped over Ring Man while casting Jewel Man a cool look from the corner of his eye. "I'm disappointed in you, Jewel Man. I told you not to let losers like him be a nuisance."

"I'm so sorry. It will never happen again," Jewel Man replied meekly.

"See that it doesn't, and stop apologizing all the time, it looks weak," responded Elec Man, sweeping out of the armory.

"Hey! Why aren't you shocking him?" Ring Man called after Elec Man indignantly, springing to his feet and pointing at Jewel Man. Then he glared at Jewel Man. "What the hell was that, you sniveling hypocrite? You went rogue to get out of serving humans, now you're doing the same thing with that snobby gangster!"

"It is quite different. Stop embarrassing me in front of my superior, I did warn you," replied Jewel Man, heated, but dignified. "You run your mouth too much, it gets you in trouble."

Ring Man snickered. "Sure, whatever you say! Won't be easy street with him like it would us though, ya know! And don't forget, we're the ones who saved you from getting arrested after all the trouble you caused as Curator! We'll be seeing you around, Pink Panther."

Top Man had followed Elec Man out of the armory. "It's true then? You recruited Jewel Man?" he demanded furiously. "Even though he was trying to leave crime? If you're trying to start your own Syndicate branch here, you can count me out!"

"Oh yes, a real intimidating mob we'd make: Jewel Man can't fight, and you won't," Elec Man responded sardonically. "Calm down, you're obviously projecting. I think he's grateful, especially as my alternative was to kill him for turning you into a jeweled egg."

Top Man glared crossly at Elec Man, but his outrage subsided.

Likewise, Proto Man had been less than pleased when Elec Man casually broke the news that Jewel Man was now under Syndicate protection back in the west wing a few weeks prior.

"Under 'protection?'" Proto Man repeated flatly, leaning against a tool cart with his arms folded. "Like some mobster shit? Why? He turned us all into tiny rocks!"

"Yes, well, allies with those skills are powerful," Elec Man replied without concern as he marked up the draft jet radar blueprint Proto Man had handed him with a technical pen. "He's now my P.A."

"A personal assistant?" Proto Man gave Elec Man a long, hard look. "You don't seem the type to have a P.A."

"I'm not, they seem pointless, but Jewel Man is competent enough to run errands that Ring Man and Magnet Man are too lazy to carry out properly."

"You know what I think? I think you're hanging around Top Man so much you're getting soft," goaded Proto Man, leaning forward to nudge Elec Man in the ribs.

Elec Man ducked away, his eyes still glued to the diagram, though his brows had knit crossly. "Am not. I do think Jewel Man can be useful, so shut up."

At that moment, Jewel Man himself slipped quietly into the hangar. He gave a small, polite cough to announce his presence.

"Excuse me…" he called over to Elec Man. "Forgive my intrusion, but you weren't in your office. I have the hard copies you requested?"

"Leave them on the table by the door," said Elec Man, watching Proto Man.

Jewel Man gently placed a manilla envelope onto the table. He glanced shyly at Proto Man. "Er, hello again," he added deferentially.

Proto Man didn't respond, and Jewel Man looked away. As the west wing was regarded as the domain of two of the most dangerous robots in Skull Fortress, Jewel Man looked like he would have been content to leave as soon as possible. Still, it seemed he couldn't help but marvel at the collection of sleek, state-of-the-art jets within the massive hangar. "You built all this? Without a roboticist or human engineer? I've seen a few of them in flight my lapidary studio window, they are quite beautiful. Who built you?" Jewel Man looked curiously at Proto Man.

"Wily," said Proto Man coldly.

Jewel Man scoffed, then his face faltered as he took in Proto Man's temperament—which at the moment was a bit like staring down a laser cannon. "You're not at all serious, are you?"

"Better question, what makes you think you can just waltz into the west wing? You're not allowed here."

"Why would I want to be here? I beg your pardon but it's dirty," retorted Jewel Man, nodding to an untidy pile of scrap in Proto Man's work area. "—No offense. I am an admirer of your work—this scale of metalsmithing is impeccable—if Elec Man is the engineer, you are the designer then?"

Light flashed dangerously across Proto Man's visor. "Stop acting chummy, pal. I don't care if you're Elec Man's fancy new gopher, you and I are not cool."

"Uh…" Jewel Man edged hastily backward. He glanced out of the corner of his eye toward Elec Man to see if he would intercede—Elec Man had summoned Jewel Man to the west wing, after all—but Elec Man was still watching Proto Man with a faint smirk. This was apparently an area where Elec Man's protection would not be useful; fortunately, Jewel Man had come prepared. "A-as a matter of fact, I have something for you."

With a small bow, he presented Proto Man with a black jewelry case.

Proto Man scowled as he seized the case. "What's this? You can't just bribe me with some stupid—say!" Inside the case was a perfect miniature replica in platinum of one of the jets he and Elec Man had built. "Look, Elec Man! It's a mini-mark VI!" (They never named any of their prototypes, and instead began referring to them by serial numbers) "—With little jewel cockpit and jet fire!"

Grinning absentmindedly, Proto Man plucked the beautiful replica of the beautiful jet out of its case with ungloved hands and perched it precariously on the top edge of his slanting drafting table, dumping the case in a nearby trash can.

A look reminiscent of Curator's fury crossed Jewel Man's face as Proto Man did this. His hand twitched as though to snatch the treasure back, but he sensibly suppressed this impulse and instead took the opportunity to edge hastily back out of the western hangar while Proto Man was still pleased and distracted. "I'll be only a call away if either of you need anything—energy cans, attire, getaway cars, lapidary services, room accommodations—"

"Yes, that will be all Jewel Man, thank you," Elec Man cut in pointedly.

Nodding curtly like a concierge at a fancy hotel, Jewel Man swiftly and silently departed from the hangar as though melting into thin air.

Proto Man whirled, realizing too late that his quarry had slipped away.

"Still say you've gotten soft," he teased Elec Man instead with mock sympathy. Then, a dark edge entering his voice, "—and I still say we should kill him. In fact, I thought after you'd finished interrogating him about alien energy, you'd go all gangster on him."

"I did, I set aside personal grudges for business."

"But—"

"Let it go, Light."

"'Let it go'?! You were—you all were—"

"We were what?" Elec Man responded dryly, his eyes piercing Proto Man.

"Nothing," lied Proto Man quickly, yet he sorely recalled—for one terrible moment inside Curator's jewel cave, Mega Man, Roll, and Elec Man had all been lost, each transformed into a helpless trinket in Curator's collection, and in a momentary fit of hopelessness, Proto Man had succumbed to the same fate. He didn't like thinking about this anymore than he liked thinking of the gubernatorial election night, when he thought Mega Man had died. It stirred up uncomfortable feelings. None of Dr. Wily's past schemes had ever been that bad before. Having Jewel Man bustling around was a constant subtle reminder of the event (not to mention Jewel Man's far-fetched claim that the alien energy inside Proto Man was justice energy, of all the stupid improbable possibilities). Proto Man noticed Elec Man's gaze had shifted down toward his fist, which Proto Man had an unconscious habit of clenching when he was agitated.

"Call me soft if you like, you need to recover your nerve," Elec Man told him matter-of-factly as he turned back to the blueprints on his desk.

After that, Proto Man dropped the topic—nevertheless, he had no plans to make Jewel Man feel welcome anytime soon.

Time had been flying for Proto Man—quite literally. Mark XI and XII had posed some challenges as Proto Man and Elec Man continued to push the limits of their speed and flight maneuverability, spending days at drafting tables or zooming around the world in prototypes. He welcomed the distraction—it was fun, and it kept his mind off other more bothersome things, like Mega Man, Curator, and alien energy.

Things had not been progressing so well in Dr. Wily's laboratory. Dr. Wily had begun the new year starting, but not finishing, a bunch of inventions, his laboratory littered with scribbled, incompressible diagrams. Somewhat reluctantly, perhaps out of a small, distant feeling of obligation as second-in-command (or at the very least to stop the occasional smug comment from Elec Man that Proto Man had been acting less and less like a second-in-command), Proto Man had been checking in on Dr. Wily, each time hoping he'd find Dr. Wily up to something different than in front of his Global Extraterrestrial Scanner, yet Dr. Wily seemed to have latched onto an all-consuming obsession for finding a new source of alien energy.

And so it was that fateful afternoon in which the very future of travel hinged.

Proto Man made another routine, obligatory visit to Dr. Wily's laboratory. Elec Man had followed him. Though Elec Man acted disinterested in Dr. Wily's work, Proto Man noticed that Elec Man was occasionally looking toward the Extraterrestrial Radiation Scanner with a small crease between his brow—Proto Man had a suspicion Elec Man was still studying alien energy independently, though Elec Man had not admitted this out loud.

"I don't know why you're bothering with alien energy, Doc—it's not like it went well with 'Hellrazor' or 'Curator'," Proto Man pointed out.

This only made Dr. Wily defensive. "I don't know why you're bothering with jets. What are your plans with that anyway, hmm?" he countered with the chiding tone of a parent inquiring a teenager if they were spending their summer wisely.

"Same as always—nothing." Proto Man paused—he didn't like the moment of clarity he was feeling, and quickly brushed it off. "Wily, c'mon…you were always at your best when you were the one creating chaos. You don't need alien energy, you just need to come up with a new scheme for world domination, and stick to it."

"Actually, I have just the thing for you."

Dr. Wily, Proto Man, and Elec Man started at the voice. A shadow had detached itself from a corner of the room, and with uncanny silence that contrasted the loud, boastful voice that had preceded it, a familiar Robot Master appeared before them.

"Shadow Man!" shouted Dr. Wily, quickly huddling behind a swivel office chair. "You work for the Syndicate!"

"Not true, I work for no one—though I occasionally take the odd job when it amuses me," replied Shadow Man.

Proto Man stepped forward, blaster raised. "You tried to kill me…"

Shadow Man wagged his finger at Proto Man. "Could have, but didn't. No hard feelings, it was just part of a favor for a dear old friend." At this, Shadow Man gave Elec Man (who was watching Shadow Man with folded arms, thoroughly unimpressed) a somewhat nervous look, apparently getting shocked by Thunder Beam still on his mind, and added hastily, "—But I'm not here to fight little baby robots like you, I have something to sell to you."

Shadow Man held out a hand—in between the crook of his thumb and his forefinger was a circular device, a minute crystal twinkling at its center.

"And that's supposed to be…?" asked Proto Man, his blaster still trained on Shadow Man.

"A teleportation device," answered Shadow Man.

"Yeah right, and I'm the fourth member of Cold Steel."

"Your sarcasm is amusing, but I do not lie."

"Pff, oh yeah? Big deal! Wily's already done teleportation," sneered Proto Man. "Worked well, too—but getting the teleportation chambers set up was more hassle than it was worth."

"Ah, that is where this is different!" said Shadow Man, grinning broadly and brandishing the small device like a poker chip. "This can be installed within robots, granting them the ability to teleport anywhere, anytime, without chambers."

Proto Man hesitated. He glanced over at Dr. Wily, who was still cowering behind his office chair, though had gone very still, then Elec Man, who looked bored. "…Even if that's true, not just anyone can build a teleporter. Where would you have gotten a gizmo like that?"

Shadow Man rolled a shoulder lazily. "California—from some know-it-all green robot who looks like Mega Man. Built by a colleague of yours, I believe," he said casually, nodding to Dr. Wily.

"Brain Bot?" breathed Dr. Wily. He had emerged from behind the chair, his eyes now fixed hungrily on the teleporter. "That…is a powerful device. I could steal anything I want! Attack anyone without them knowing! This is brilliant. I shall go down in history for pioneering the world's first portable teleportation device!" he crowed, already taking credit for Brain Bot's invention.

Proto Man rounded on Dr. Wily. "Wily…" he hissed. "We can't trust this bot, he's already double-crossed us once!"

"Well…we can let bygones be bygones," said Dr. Wily sagely, looking past Proto Man to Shadow Man. "I'll overlook your previous treachery. Come work for me again."

"No, too boring," said Shadow Man, his eyes glinting. "What I want is copies of this device. Not for me, of course (for I am a ninja and can already appear wherever I want), but for a friend—and perhaps to distribute across the black market at an exuberant fee."

Dr. Wily scoffed at this proposal. "And what am I, a middling supplier, while you, a sneak thief Robot Master, profiteer off my brilliant genius?"

Shadow Man shrugged. "If you view it that way, it is your loss. I am simply offering you access to this priceless invention that I stole and is of no use to me, but is of invaluable use to you, and in return, I want to make a profit. That's the deal, take it or leave it."

Dr. Wily's beady blue eyes sized up Shadow Man, plainly calculating how he could play Shadow Man to his advantage. Proto Man very much wanted to challenge Shadow Man to a rematch—their last fight was an embarrassing blemish on his otherwise impressive record of being unbeatable, yet now seemed not the time—not when Dr. Wily was finally focussing on something other than stupid alien energy for once.

"Alright, hand it over," Dr. Wily said finally, making a good play-act that he was unhappy with the deal (Proto Man doubted anyone was actually fooled) "If this device really is of any value, then I shall make your copies. We will discuss the matter of your employment later."

Shadow Man handed over the teleporter to Dr. Wily with a bow, though his mischievous eyes remained locked on Dr. Wily's face.

A deep frown appeared on Dr. Wily's face as he turned the teleporter around in his hand. "Well, the design is pitifully elementary…it is the energy that powers it that is the true innovation."

"What kind of energy?" asked Proto Man curiously.

Dr. Wily did not answer. He was lost in thought while pacing. "No doubt that snotty little Brain Bot has already informed Light about this new technology, and they are already working on safeguards…so, it is between us again to see who comes out first, Light…and the first to master teleportation, will control the world!" he stopped pacing and picked up a communicator. "JEWEL MAN!"

Jewel Man skidded into the laboratory a few minutes later, the flashing pink gems on his pearly white armor looking conspicuous and out of place amongst the gloomy, grungy computer equipment.

"Y-yes?" stammered Jewel Man, shrinking away from Dr. Wily.

Dr. Wily beckoned Jewel Man over to the teleporter impatiently. "I need you to make copies of this crystal."

"Oh, yes," said Jewel Man, looking extremely relieved. His face resettled into a professionally interested expression as he used the high-tech loupe on his helmet to examine the crystal. "Hmm. Fascinating crystalline structure. Lab created, obviously. Yes, I do believe I can make satisfactory duplicates."

"Don't forget we need the energy that powers these—" began Proto Man.

Dr. Wily nodded. "Indeed, quintessence."

"…'Quintessence'? What's that?"

"Product of Citadel laboratory, the energy that powers Brain Bot," Dr. Wily explained shortly.

"Oh yeah, you mean that purple stuff Brain Bot fired at the Skulker when we were chasing him across the California border? Always thought there was something odd about that bot," mused Proto Man aloud.

"Purple stuff?" repeated Elec Man, frowning. "What exactly is quintessence?"

Dr. Wily hesitated, then looked at Shadow Man. "Since you are determined to be business partners in teleportation, will you help me acquire the asset I need?"

"No guarantees—buut I may check in, after I attend to some business of my own."

His eyes still glinting, Shadow Man stepped backward into a shadow, then simply vanished.

Dr. Wily scoffed at Shadow Man's abrupt departure, then turned his attention back to the teleporter. "Yes, building duplicates will be exceedingly simple—acquiring quintessence will be risky, but we must act quickly. We will only have a small window of opportunity before that miserable Light sabotages us!"

"Risky, huh?" commented Proto Man. "Now we're talkin', Doc!"

As Dr. Wily turned to his computer, busy analyzing the teleporter and plotting their upcoming heist, Elec Man turned to Proto Man.

"Light, I don't know about this," Elec Man muttered in a quiet undertone. "'Quintessence' sounds suspiciously like evil alien energy."

Proto Man looked over in amazement. "You're calling it 'evil energy' now too?" he asked, feeling betrayed—for he had thought they had agreed categorizing alien energy as 'evil' and 'justice' was stupid.

"I—whatever," sniffed Elec Man wearily, "—My point is, this new invention sounds extremely dangerous. Besides, didn't Wily use similar technology to switch the circuits of robots?"

"You're not going to end up in the body of Bright Man or a battonton—that twerp Brain Bot built it; it's bound to be safe."

Elec Man pondered this. "Hmm…you're right, that does make a difference."

Proto Man nodded. "Yeah, Brain Bot really knows his stuff, that's why he's working at Citadel with Dr. Cossack."

"Yes, so I've heard." Elec Man said with stiff, unconvincing apathy. While he may have respected Brain Bot, Dr. Cossack was a completely different story.

Hastily, Proto Man moved past the subject of Dr. Cossack, on which Elec Man was notoriously touchy. "Besides, this is a good thing—it's finally a solid, legitimate scheme. We don't want to get left in the dust on teleportation. And maybe Wily'll finally forget about alien energy and things will finally go back to normal around here."

---

Dr. Light and Quint had spent nearly an hour swapping notes and puzzling over teleportation research in front of Dr. Light's computer while the rest watched in interested silence. Both Punk and Quint acted somewhat guilty and awkward—for Punk had once been a criminal rogue robot, and Quint hadn't visited the laboratory (nor his co-creator) since his activation as 'Brain Bot' and subsequent journey to California. Mega Girl, meanwhile, continued to smile dazzlingly at everyone while perched on the edge of a lab table—giving the uncanny impression of a famous pop idol.

"This is the device—an exact duplicate of the one Shadow Man stole," said Quint, holding out a small circular device in the palm of his hand. "As you may have observed, these teleporters contain a small gem that I've dubbed an 'e-crystal'. An 'e-crystal' functions similarly to the meteorite fragments at Red Gulch—only these are lab-created, contain quintessence, and will not give you superpowers, though they are quite safe for anyone to handle for any duration of time and can power teleportation devices."

"Wow! With one of these, we could go anywhere, anytime!" said Roll excitedly.

"Well, there are a few limitations," admitted Quint. "Firstly, the teleportation destination must be stable, or the teleportation sequence is canceled, and the user is sent back to their origin point. As such, it is important to establish a home base to return to, such as our respective laboratories. Secondly, It takes a lot of energy to teleport, so there is a limit to how much the user can transport while teleporting, and a limit to how much a teleporter can be used in a certain amount of time, factoring in weather, distance, and atmospheric conditions of the satellite grid, of course."

"So…there's nothing to stop Wily or any other criminal from teleporting into New York City, or directly in our rooms at night," Mega Man pointed out dryly.

"Well, the teleportation destination is not always that precise," said Quint.

Punk gave a small jerk. He shifted to glower at Quint. "What do you mean? I just teleported onto a target in your lab!"

"Well of course, I have every inch of my lab mapped out, so calculating pinpoint coordinates was simple," explained Quint. "However, for less known locations, even those such as Los Angeles or New York City, the teleporter's destination may be approximated based on the closest stable coordinates available." He looked over at Mega Man. "Additionally, the 'teleportation beam' is highly visible, so the element of surprise could be lost even if Wily's robots were to teleport directly into, say, Central Park."

…Privately, Mega Man felt he agreed with Punk on this. Teleportation sounded more and more complicated and dubious by the second, and the thought of Dr. Wily's robots still appearing instantaneously in Central Park was very disturbing, even if they didn't have the element of surprise!

"And here I was enjoying the peace and quiet! Quint, you're a real brainy guy—" began Mega Man sternly. "Ever read any of those stories about when a scientist takes science too far?"

Mega Girl rounded on him instantly.

"Hey! Leave him alone! Quint didn't do anything wrong, he just got robbed by a ninja! It could happen to anybody!" she reprimanded shrilly, seeming surprisingly formidable for someone of her pixie-like stature.

Even Punk was outraged on Quint's behalf. He clanged over to Mega Girl's side, his large eyes glaring forbiddingly through the gap in his armor at Mega Man. "Yeah, who died and made you the moral police anyway? I heard you attacked Washington D.C. a couple of years ago—which as an anarchist, you'd think I'd respect, however, that definitely puts a big fat check in the 'bad guy' column!"

Mega Man backed away hastily. "Alright, alright! I was just saying…"

"Well keep it to yourself," said Mega Girl, sticking her nose into the air.

"Yeah!" chorused Punk.

Quint looked sheepishly at the floor, seeming glad that a visor covered his eyes. Dr. Light rested a hand on his shoulder comfortingly,

"I think our best course of action is to build a teleportation shield," said Dr. Light finally as he stroked his beard, "—That is to say, employ a more powerful form of signal jamming that can prevent criminal teleportation in or out of certain areas, such as our laboratories or within the cities. That should be enough of a deterrent to limit any trouble the likes of Wily might attempt. But, in the meantime, we're vulnerable. It is highly likely the teleportation device will be used before we can enact such a shield. You said Shadow Man stole your first teleporter earlier this morning, and you have no idea where he went?"

Quint shook his head.

"What about our very own satellite scanner, Galaxy Man?" suggested Roll. "Perhaps he could monitor the network for teleportation, just as he does when he's looking for Wily?"

"Excellent idea, Roll," nodded Dr. Light. He then looked over at Quint, smiling proudly. "Quint, this is a remarkable invention. Such an ingenious application of quintessence!"

Quint looked pleased, yet humbled. "It really is thanks to Mega Girl's help—"

"Yeah yeah yeah, no biggie," Mega Girl cut in impatiently, "Now tell them the important bit!"

"Oh yes," said Quint quickly. "This is all currently unregulated technology, and for that reason, we'd like to limit any police involvement—you see, if the government finds out—" he added, his voice lowering conspiratorially.

"Got it, got it, we'll keep it quiet," said Roll, winking. Dr. Light and Mega Man looked disapprovingly at Quint, who winced apologetically, then over to Mega Girl who smiled sweetly back.

Finally, Dr. Light turned back to his computer. "It's decided then. I'll instruct Galaxy Man to monitor the satellite grid for teleportation beams, and in the meantime we must get to work on a teleportation shield!"

As Dr. Light and Quint resumed their work, Mega Man sighed, then looked over at Roll and said quietly, "So, not only has Quint accidentally loosed this dangerous, possibly illegal technology on the world, he's making us complicit through association!"

Roll shrugged. "Lighten up Mega, Dr. Cossack's a billionaire. I'm sure he could get us off if he we get charged with anything."

---

Dr. Wily summoned Cut Man, Guts Man, Needle Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man to the laboratory for briefing. To Proto Man's continued surprise, Elec Man volunteered to join the group shortly after Proto Man agreed to lead the mission.

"This is one of the most useless lineups Dr. Wily could have come up with," muttered Elec Man to Proto Man, glaring critically at the other Robot Masters.

"Hey! That's not nice! I'm useful!" fumed Needle Man, whose buzzing voice sounded like a human talking into cupped hands. Like Elec Man, he had volunteered, annoyed at being left out from Dr. Wily's schemes since the night of Deacon's election. "Before I joined up with Wily, I used to be part of a gang too you know! We were the number one apparel smuggling gang in all of Rhode Island!"

Elec Man sighed, ignoring Needle Man. "Whatever. If they get arrested or destroyed, it's a net neutral to me."

"That's the spirit," said Proto Man.

Needle Man's dinner plate-sized eyes narrowed. "Hey, I heard that, and it hurts, you know!"

"Together again!" said Ring Man, nudging Jewel Man with his elbow.

"Don't crowd me," Jewel Man said stiffly. He looked over at Dr. Wily. "Er, is it really necessary for me to join the others out on the field?"

Dr. Wily spared Jewel Man a withering glance. "Yes, you can make yourself useful with the new weapon I gave you, Jewel Satellite, in the event Mega Man shows up."

Jewel Man gulped, clearly not relishing the idea of fighting. "What about Mega Girl?"

Mega Girl? Proto Man had never heard anyone refer to Roll this way. He looked sharply at Jewel Man—he had never liked when Robot Masters paid special attention to Roll."What about her?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"Won't we have to fight her too?" Jewel Man asked nervously.

"Yes, I suppose if she turns up with Mega Man," replied Proto Man, still watching Jewel Man closely.

Dr. Wily waved a hand dismissively. "Pah, pay no attention to that annoying blonde pest! We shall deal with both those meddlers at the same time!"

"You're worried about him? With Roll?" Elec Man murmured quietly to Proto Man, sounding highly amused.

"…Yeah?"

"You're an idiot."

"You'd understand if you had a sister like mine," Proto Man responded simply, unabashed.

"Elec Man! Proto Man! Stop whispering over there and pay attention!" Dr. Wily admonished, waving a bony finger at them. Then he beckoned them all closer, and began pacing like a general marshaling his troops. "This plan is simple, so not even you nitwits can bungle it up." At this, he glared fiercely at Cut Man and Guts Man from beneath his bushy eyebrows. "I need you to break into one of Citadel's secure storage facilities and steal samples of quintessence. Your success will rely on Proto Man's ruthless leadership, Elec Man's skill at hacking, Jewel Man's expertise at breaking into secured vaults, Guts Man's brute force, and Cut Man's razor wit."

"Hey! Whatabout me?" interrupted Needle Man squeakily.

"You are backup, along with Ring Man and Magnet Man," said Dr. Wily simply.

Needle Man puffed up importantly. Ring Man and Magnet Man both had a dull, glazed look in their eye, clearly not paying any attention nor enthusiastic about being called to work again.

"The Skullker's all ready, Dr. Wily!" piped up Cut Man, as though eager to prove he wasn't really a nitwit.

"You're not taking the Skullker, you're taking this, a teleportation device," said Dr. Wily, holding out the teleporter. "I have already programmed it with your destination. The storage facility is well guarded, and it will be nigh impossible to rob without security immediately being notified, but you need only to break in. Once you have obtained the quintessence, you can simply teleport back to my laboratory." Dr. Wily glared at all of them in turn from beneath his bushy eyebrows. "It will take significant energy to teleport such a large group at once. I calculate this device will only have enough energy for the journey there and back before it will need time to recharge, so don't get separated. Got it?"

"Got it, doc!" said Proto Man, taking the teleporter.

Dr. Wily's face split into a grin. "Once I have the quintessence, I will build more teleporters to install into my most fearsome Robot Masters, then unleash them in major cities! My worldwide invasion shall soon begin!" He let loose a piercing cackle, startling a few battontons that had been hanging from the ceiling into taking wing.

This scheme was sounding more and more promising by the minute. Even Elec Man had found little to criticize. Proto Man smiled to himself.

"But Dr. Wily, aren't I one of your most fearsome robot masters?" whined Needle Man again.

Everyone ignored Needle Man as the Robot Masters gathered around Proto Man, each reaching out a hand (or in Needle Man's case, a blaster) to touch the teleporter. Then all eight disappeared in a stream of light.

---

The Emergency Satellite Scanner began beeping in Dr. Light's laboratory.

"Your idea is working, Roll!" Dr. Light announced excitedly from his supercomputer. "Galaxy Man was able to trace an unknown teleportation beam—origin point, Skull Fortress, destination—oh dear, Los Angeles."

"They're returning to the scene of the crime?" asked Roll.

"They're after quintessence!" cried Quint. "There are samples stored in a secure facility just outside the city—trace samples, granted, just leftovers from other experiments, but a single-unit teleporter does not require much. Normally I would say that Dr. Wily has a fat chance of breaking in without getting caught—the storage facility has an infallible lockdown procedure that would be impossible for them to bypass—but with the teleporter, they may just manage…"

"I was afraid of this," said Dr. Light gravely. "If Wily gets ahold of quintessence, he'll be able to create more teleporters, which would be very bad news indeed. I'll continue working with Galaxy Man on creating teleportation shields—with any luck, we'll have one up before the end of the day, which will make it very difficult for them to steal anything using the teleporter!"

"We better delay the bad bots until then," said Mega Man. "Maybe we can even recover the stolen teleporter!"

Quint nodded. "Right! But first, let's return to my laboratory," he said, grabbing Mega Man by the elbow.

Mega Man jerked, realizing what was about to happen. "Wait, I—aaarghh!"

For a brief instant, Dr. Light's laboratory seemed to blur into long vertical streaks. Mega Man felt like he was both plummeting from an airplane and shooting upward like a rocket. But the feeling cleared just as fast and he felt like he was on stable ground again—only, he was no longer standing in Dr. Light's bright laboratory but in Quint's vast, still laboratory.

"Whoa!" said Roll, smiling broadly like she had just stepped off a thrilling roller coaster.

"Cool, huh?" said Mega Girl, who had teleported with Roll and Punk.

Mega Man felt extremely shaken. He tumbled unsteadily into a swivel chair.

"Oh, it's okay, you'll get used to it," Mega Girl told Mega Man in a soothing voice, as though addressing a very small child.

"Yeah Mega, get a grip," snickered Roll.

"You could at least warn a bot," complained Mega Man, annoyed at how uncomfortable teleportation had felt, yet no one else seemed to mind. "Holy shit, we're actually in California! Did we really just travel through the satellite grid?"

Mega Girl was now looking at Mega Man in frank concern.

"If you're going to freak out at even the tiniest bit of weirdness, then maybe you're not cut out to be a superhero," she said seriously.

Mega Man, who had been on more weird misadventures than Mega Girl could ever know about, gave Mega Girl a long, hard look. Mega Girl was beginning to remind Mega Man of someone, though he couldn't quite place who… Meanwhile, Roll was shaking with silent laughter.

To break up the tension, Quint gave a small cough. "Er…now that we're all here, we must stop Wily's robots. As I said earlier, it would normally be impossible to raid one of Citadel's storehouses, but it will be best to head them off, just in case."

Still recovering from his first cross-country teleportation trip, Mega Man did not immediately get up. As he gazed around the strange, half-finished inventions in Quint's warehouse-like laboratory, each likely as big of a liability as Quint's teleportation device, he had a sinking feeling he was dealing with yet another mad scientist. He personally would rather stick to Rush Jet or the air raider for transportation.

---

"Whoa. It actually worked."

Dr. Wily had programmed the teleporter to take them to the outskirts of Los Angeles. Proto Man glanced around at the palm tree grove they were hidden in, faintly impressed. Teleportation might not be as classy as jet travel, but this sure was something. Behind him, Cut Man, Guts Man, and Needle Man were blinking in the sudden sunlight that had assaulted them after the gloom of Dr. Wily's laboratory.

Proto Man turned to the group. "We're splitting up. Elec Man and I will deactivate the security while the rest of you head to the storage facility. If you see any police that might cause a problem, trash them. We'll all meet up again inside the room with the quintessence. Remember, you miss our rendezvous, you miss your ticket back to Skull Fortress."

"Hey, that's no fair, how come you get to keep the teleporter?" complained Guts Man as Proto Man handed the teleporter to Elec Man, who had plugged it into his handheld computer clipped to his belt.

"So none of you geniuses accidentally activate it early and abandon the rest of here," said Proto Man.

"May I come with you two?" asked Jewel Man hopefully. "Perhaps I may be of assist—"

"No you may not," Proto Man cut him off with a scowl.

"Keep a low profile. Only engage with the police if they become a nuisance," instructed Elec Man. "Otherwise we don't want anyone to know we were here."

"Hey, I gotta question," spoke up Needle Man, glowering sourly at Proto Man and Elec Man. "How come you two get to be boss?"

"Because we're not annoying pinheads like you," answered Proto Man in a warning tone. "Now hurry it up so we'll be in and out before anyone is the wiser!"

---

Shadow Man returned to his favorite hideout—a small tropical island, deserted, save for a thick habitat of highly noxious flowers, though it had been made cozier by the addition of a lavish two-story thatched cabana that stood on a pier on its southern end. He had just excitedly explained to the Sniper his plan to sell teleportation technology to other criminals, creating as much chaos as possible for the Robot International Police. The Sniper, however, was skeptical of this plan.

"There's been too many close calls with the Robot International Police already, Shadow Man," the Sniper's voice crackled, as though coming through a walkie-talkie. "We're at the top of their most wanted list; we should be laying low, not causing more trouble. I don't even feel safe here." His single red optic flashed over to the cabana. He had not approved of the installation, he felt it drew too much attention.

"No no, but don't you see? Our problems with R.I.P. are solved!" said Shadow Man. "Thanks to some shrewd business dealings on my part, we will soon be able to go wherever we want."

The Sniper's optic rested on Shadow Man for a moment. "I thought you said Centum wouldn't allow us to operate independently in America…"

Shadow Man waved a hand dissuasively. "Who needs him! This new device will change everything. I just don't know how it works—but, with a little help from a mad scientist…"

The Sniper quickly stepped away from Shadow Man. "Oh no, I want nothing to do with mad science."

"No, it's not like that, it's quite safe. Maybe," said Shadow Man offhandedly.

Before the Sniper could answer, they both froze—they had heard the distant crunch of a footstep in the sand.

"Shit, I told you they'd find us!" muttered the Sniper, his optic sweeping reproachfully at the cabana.

"Maybe, but I don't see how," replied Shadow Man, shrugging.

The Sniper hesitated. "I got a way out. You?"

"Pff. Don't worry about me, I'm a ninja. You go, I'll hold them off."

Without delay, the Sniper sped off across the beach and out of sight to where he had stowed a getaway submersible. Meanwhile Shadow Man turned around.

A familiar figure was stalking slowly toward him while holding a spear pointed straight at Shadow Man's chest.

"Hello there," called Enker. "Face to face at last, my shadowy friend."

"Well if it isn't my most favorite loser—I mean, R.I.P. officer?" greeted Shadow Man with a sweeping bow. "It is cute how you try to sneak around in those big honking boots of yours."

Another figure came skidding out of the island's small jungle of noxious flowers. A staff—its moniker 'buster rod'—was slung across his shoulder, his posture crouched low. "He's not alone!" put in Wukong.

With a splash, another figure emerged from the waves of the ocean holding a trident. "You're under arrest," announced Splash Woman in her silvery voice.

"You should be honored, you are getting the attention of all three sergeants of R.I.P. today," added Enker, smiling snuggly at Shadow Man. "I've been looking forward to this."

Shadow Man smirked back, several Shadow Blades appearing between his fingers. "Oh, I bet you have."

Without further ado, the three R.I.P. sergeants pounced—Enker came charging with his barrier spear held aloft while Wukong tumbled forward like an acrobat. Even Splash Woman had leaped out of the water into the fray with surprising agility. Using her trident as a pole vault, she came at Shadow Man swinging her tail viciously like some sort of giant sea serpent. It was quite an alarming sight.

"Hey! That's not fair! Your domain is water! Stop it!" complained Shadow Man angrily as he was driven backward along the pier toward his cabana.

"As you wish!" Splash Woman responded cheerfully, swinging her long tail at the pier. With an almighty shutter like a small earthquake, the pier splintered into pieces. Shadow Man began to tumble into the turquoise waves below, where he would surely have been at the mercy of Splash Woman. But just as his tabi boots touched the surface of the water, he suddenly stood upright.

"Ah ha, but did I ever tell you I could walk on water?" he called boastfully as he returned to shore.

Enker was waiting for him there.

"What's your plan if you capture me?" asked Shadow Man as he nimbly avoided the flashing jabs from Enker's barrier spear. "Our delightful repartee will be over!"

"Oh, I don't see why it has to end," responded Enker lightly, ducking a Shadow Blade, "However, you will be arrested, and Duo will reprogram you—but you'll get a new start as a rookie at R.I.P., maybe scrubbing floors or organizing our filing system, something like that."

"A rookie?" Shadow Man repeated with a deep chuckle, leaping back from another lightning-fast pass of the barrier spear. "What a hilarious joke! Admit it, you just want me working under you! I'm flattered, but I'm also too busy to be pinned down. Better idea—why don't I conscript you into my ninja clan? Then again, you'd be a terrible ninja, and would never make it past peon foot soldier, and I'd probably have to kill you to save you from your own embarrassment, so maybe we just forget the working together thing and just keep our relationship unprofessional."

Shadow Man threw a handful of white dust into Enker's face, and Enker staggered backward, spluttering and momentarily blinded.

Instantly, Wukong sprang forward. He was the smallest of the R.I.P. senior sergeants, and his design was deceptively cute, as though he had stepped directly from the pages of a popular children's Manhua (in fact, plushies of his likeness were extremely popular in China). It was difficult to say whether he was more like a child, or more like the legendary monkey king of his namesake. But to robot criminals, Wukong was better known as the most dangerous of the Genesis Unit, and a formidable kung fu master. He had beautifully crafted red armor gilded in gold and bright green, round monkey ears and a monkey tail of interlocking titanium.

"You know, after all this time, Wujing, Zhu, and I always thought you were just Enker's imaginary friend," Wukong commented conversationally, his buster rod whirling serenely around him like a helicopter blade, effortlessly batting away Shadow Blades. "I'm disappointed to learn you are, in fact, real."

"Yeah, good for you," muttered Shadow Man, wanting to say something wittier, but annoyingly Wukong required his full concentration.

Again, Shadow Man was driven backward from a third furious assault. He tripped, then fell head over heels backward down a sand dune before quickly springing to his feet.

"I meant to do that," he told them quickly before taking off into a sprint in the opposite direction.

They chased him to the far corner of the island. There, Shadow Man was surrounded—Enker coming up the beach, Wukong from the forest, and Splash Woman in the ocean, a spear, a staff, and a trident all pointed at Shadow Man.

Looking around at them all, Shadow Man yawned. "Okay. Well. It was horrible meeting you all, but I have business to attend to. Let's do this again sometime!"

At this, Shadow Man performed a very complicated series of hand seals, then was suddenly enveloped in a dense cloud of gray smoke. When the smoke cleared, Shadow Man was no longer there—a thick, twiggy log sitting on the beach in his place.

Enker darted forward, prodding the log with his Barrier Spear as though to make sure it was actually a log, then cursed. "Scheiße! Escaped again! We've never been so close!"

He threw his barrier spear into the sand in frustration.

"Still, there's something very extraordinary about that robot," mused Splash Woman, who had perched on an ocean rock, her long tail dipped in the waves. "Even all three of us together couldn't manage to arrest him."

"And here we all thought you were just terrible at your job, Enker," said Wukong brightly. "Oh look, Shadow Man left something behind," he added, grabbing a small scroll that had been pinned to the log and unrolling it. "It's a haiku: Stupid R.I.P., you will never arrest me, ha ha ha ha ha. Well, he's not an extraordinary poet, I can't give him that."

Enker just kicked the sand, but then smiled up at the sun. "Some day, we'll catch him. Criminals always get caught."

---

"I could get used to coming out to L.A," commented Roll to Mega Man as they hurried away from Citadel headquarters across the flat rooftops of buildings, occasionally dodging billboards advertising soda and car insurance. Quint, Punk, and Mega Girl were ahead of them, leading the way, Beat soaring above Mega Girl's head. "The weather is so much better here!"

Mega Man looked over at the towering palm trees rising between buildings, feeling a smoggy ocean breeze blow over his armor, and shrugged. "I like the seasons."

"Really? Even with all the snow shoveling?"

"Yes. Besides, I always got the impression that L.A. is full of self-absorbed celebrities who don't really pay attention to current events, or even know who we or Dr. Wily are!"

"That's not true!" Roll paused, realizing the lack of reaction anyone had to them walking the streets, and the numerous robo-impersonators of Dr. Wily's robots in tourist locations (though Times Square had its share of robo-impersonators too, none were of Mega Man nor any of Dr. Wily's robots, which would have been considered tasteless even by robo-impersonator standards). It gave the impression that on this coast, they were mistaken for corny cartoon characters instead of real criminals. "Well, maybe it's a little true. But, isn't it kinda a nice change? To not be noticed as a hero wherever you go?"

Mega Man thought on this, then shrugged again. He still preferred Dr. Light's laboratory in upstate New York, which was quite cozy in the winter, perfect for reading books.

At the talk of celebrities, Roll's gaze shifted over to Mega Girl, and she hurried to catch up to her.

"Hey, I was just wondering…do you know Kali Cossack?" she asked curiously.

"None of your beeswax," Mega Girl replied delicately but firmly.

"Oh, okay," said Roll, slightly put out. "I just thought, you know, she's like a major celebrity. Would be cool to meet and all."

"What, just because she's famous?" Mega Girl responded in a highly dignified voice."I'll have you know that celebrities are just people. People, like you and I."

"Yeah, maybe…" said Roll doubtfully.

"We're almost there, just a few more blocks," Quint called back. "Perhaps it will be better if we split up to cover more ground?"

"Right. Roll and I will watch the main entrance while the rest of you cover any side entrances," answered Mega Man. "We'll keep in touch with our communicators if we see any signs of the bad bots!"

---

Mega Man and Roll departed across the rusty slanting roof of a steel warehouse, while Punk charged forward toward a path that would lead toward the back of the storage facility. Kalinka was about to follow when she saw something out of the corner of her eye, something red and yellow. She turned her head to look at one of the side streets below, and her heart did a cartwheel. It was the Masked Hero! He must be out on patrol too! What luck!

Quickly pretending not to have seen anything, Kalinka looked over at Quint and Beat, who were waiting for her at the top of a fire escape. "Um, why don't you go on without me, I just remembered I forgot something back at the lab. I'll catch up!"

"But, didn't you want to help face off against Wily's robots?" asked Quint, scratching the back of his helmet.

But Kalinka was already sprinting off, for she could see Beat squinting suspiciously at her. "Don't worry, I'll be there!"

She wasn't about to let another opportunity to meet the Masked Hero pass her by! Kalinka wondered how he knew to show up at precisely the right time when danger was present. Maybe he had his own secret hero base (probably someplace cool, like behind a waterfall or on top of a cliff) with an emergency satellite scanner like Dr. Light's, or maybe he listened to police scanners. …Or maybe the Masked Hero's justice energy guided him—that seemed most likely, for there was still so much they didn't know about justice energy…

Kalinka hadn't told Quint about the Masked Hero possessing justice energy, just as she hadn't told him or anyone else of her crush. It was not Quint's (or anyone else's) business, in her opinion, and she doubted the mysterious Masked Hero would want any of his secrets spilled. Still, Kalinka had so much to ask him! But, she knew he was unlikely to tell her if she asked outright. After all, he wouldn't be the mysterious Masked Hero if he just told all his secrets to just anybody. No, she'd have to rightfully earn his confidence first.

After climbing down into an empty alleyway and checking to make sure the coast was clear, Kalinka activated her holomorpher, changing her appearance into a different outfit—a denim miniskirt, a pale pink blouse, a white crop jacket with toggle buttons, and faux leather boots. Cute, but casual. Perfect.

Now, time to turn on the ol' Cossack charm! she thought to herself, tossing her hair.

---

While the rest of the Robot Masters were making their way to the Citadel storage facility, Elec Man had gone into a nearby office building to remotely deactivate any security protocols they might encounter. Proto Man was keeping lookout outside—though he didn't bother to keep too low of a profile. He would welcome a fight to make things more interesting. He recalled one of his previous stints in Los Angeles, where he had attempted to kidnap Dr. Cossack—and found it nearly offensive how no one, law enforcement or civilians, had even reacted to his presence.

Unfortunately, this trip was already shaping up to be just as uneventful. No police, or even a parking meter attendant, even glanced down the street—instead, Proto Man had been waiting in bored silence for nearly a half hour when a strong smell of rose petals and strawberry bon bons wafted into the air. Then he heard a small, girlish cough.

Proto Man looked around, then down. A small figure was looking up at him with a dreamy expression on her face, a black daisy hat sitting on her blonde curls.

Oh, just a human teenager. Not a threat to shake up the mission. How disappointing.

"Hi. You're that guy again," the human said breathlessly.

"What guy?"

"You know…" she continued coyly, twisting a lock of blonde hair.

"I do?"

The human nodded, batting her lashes demurely, her hands clasped behind her back. "You save my life. Twice. If it weren't for you, I surely would have perished."

That didn't sound like something Proto Man would do. He wondered if the human had somehow mistaken him for someone else, and why she was talking to him with the air of a silver screen starlet in a cheesy period drama. "Oh. Right. You're welcome."

"So…are you on the lookout for trouble?"

"Yeah, though I'm hoping it'll find me."

The human giggled as though he had told a funny joke, then returned to gazing coyly up at him, her olive green eyes sparkling. "I just wanted to let you know how much you've inspired me. I've decided to become a better person because of you. More grown-up—"

Proto Man was now certain she was confusing him with someone else, and said vaguely, "Yeah, that's nice." He glanced over her shoulder down the street. What was taking Elec Man so long?

Something blue the size and shape of a basketball dropped between them.

"Back off or I'll peck your eyes out!" cried a robo-bird, glaring at Proto Man as it flapped its wings fiercely, "—Or whatever you're hiding beneath those shades!"

"Beat! Knock it off!" scowled the human. In one quick swoop, she had thrown her macrame purse like a net over the robo-bird, who gave a startled squawk.

"Oh yeah! You're the kid with the cool robo-bird," Proto Man said with sudden recollection.

"Ignore the bird," the human replied with a sweet smile, quickly whisking the purse behind her back. "He has over-protective programming. But I'm eighteen now, I can do whatever I want."

"You're eighteen? Congratulations," Proto Man said in vague surprise. He wasn't good at guessing humans' ages, but he may have thought she was younger, for the human was a head shorter than himself. He also had no clue what this had to do with anything, his eyes lingering instead on the macrame purse, which was bulging round and floating above her shoulder as the robo-bird fought to escape.

The human smiled. "That's right! I'm Kali, by the way."

"Proto Man."

"Proto Man," Kali repeated breathlessly. "What a cool name."

"Uh, thanks?" Proto Man was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what the human wanted. To his relief, he noticed Elec Man watching them from a shadow of an awning further up the street.

"Nice chatting, but gotta go!" he said, quickly leaping over her head, then darting down the alley Elec Man had disappeared into.

"Oh, uh, ta-ta then!" she called plaintively after him. "I hope we run into each other again!"

Elec Man was walking at a brisk pace through the crooked alley, his shoulders squared and tense.

"Finally, I was starting to think you got lost," joked Proto Man, hurrying to catch up to him.

"Who was that?" Elec Man asked without looking back at him.

"Who?"

"That girl you were with."

"Oh, just a human I rescued a couple times apparently."

"She seems…pretty."

"Oh yeah?" Proto Man felt lost why Elec Man had brought this up and even more lost about the edge in his voice, and hastily decided it was best to agree with him. "Yeah, she's pretty."

Yet Elec Man's voice only became sharper as he turned out of the alley into an empty lot. "Do you rescue humans a lot?"

"Pff, no, that's hero work."

But this answer didn't seem to satisfy Elec Man. "Well, if you're done goofing around, I for one would like to get this over with."

With that, Elec Man marched imperiously on.

Proto Man stopped walking, staring at Elec Man's back in complete bafflement. "Now what'd I do?" he muttered to himself. Shaking his head in rueful amusement, he quickly jogged to catch up to Elec Man again. "Hey, slow down, will ya? Elec Man!"

---

Elec Man wasn't sure why he felt so irritated at the situation. Primal rage bubbled within him, which seemed immature and admittedly a bit dramatic. What did it matter what Proto Man did in his spare time? That was Proto Man's business. Yet something about this particular human in the black daisy hat felt different, she seemed somehow familiar…

A block later, it became immediately apparent why she looked familiar. Several advertisements for a perfume called 'California Love Princess' bearing her face were plastered inside a bus shelter. Proto Man had taken no notice of the posters, but Elec Man blinked at them, then down at the perfume brand's label, which was her signature, a daisy dotting the 'i'. It was as though his circuits had suddenly evaporated.

The human's name was Kali Cossack.

Another Cossack?! Elec Man grimaced, turning his back to the bus shelter, his mood shifting from irritation to a cold panic. He vaguely recalled Top Man once speculating that Dr. Cossack and Kali Cossack might be related. Likely Dr. Cossack's spoiled little daughter, judging by her looks (they had the same eye color), wearing her own cloying perfume. Just fantastic. The thought of Dr. Cossack made Elec Man's circuits squirm and knot uncomfortably. Elec Man seriously had no clue what Proto Man's attraction was to Cossacks, it made no sense to him (he himself wanted nothing to do with the Cossacks)—but he quickly forced the issue from his mind. The sooner they left Los Angeles and the Cossacks behind, the better.

---

"That went really well!" Kalinka sighed happily as she strolled dreamily back down the street."Did you see the way Proto Man talked to me? Most dudes just stammer and grunt when they meet me, you know, because of the whole world-famous-rich-teenage-fashionista thing, but he just acted totally normal, so cool. I really think it's meant to be, Beat!"

Beat, finally free of the macrame purse, was flapping in a dejected way just behind her shoulder. "It was your third time meeting him, and he didn't even recognize you," he muttered in aggravation under his breath. "I don't even know which one of you is more clueless at this point."

Kalinka cast a quick sharp look over her shoulder. "What was that?"

"Gah, n-nothing!"

"Hmph! That's what I thought. And don't go blabbing about this to anyone. I will decide who needs to know and when to tell them."

"But, erm," began Beat tentatively, sounding nervous. "If Proto Man is here, shouldn't we at least warn the others that there are criminals about?"

"Stop fussing, Beat! I'm on it," Kalinka reassured him airily, And by the looks of it, so is my Masked Hero, which means I'll get to run into him again, she thought to herself, then she giggled, sinking back into the memory of their meeting. Maybe she should have asked him out for coffee! No, too soon—she didn't want to seem too eager.

She had looked up into his visor, hoping to see even the faintest outline of what his eyes looked like, but had only seen her own reflection. Kalinka guessed Proto Man was nineteen or twenty, maybe even twenty-one. Older guys were cool. She supposed her dad wouldn't like it, but her dad never liked any of her boyfriends, and he'd just have to learn to get over it!

"I always liked February," she said aloud. "Love is in the air, all the stores are decorated with pink…"

"Oh good grief…" she heard Beat sigh.

---

Quint was a mixture of nerves and confidence. Though he felt quite guilty that Shadow Man had stolen the teleporter prototype (it did not help that Mega Man appeared to be quite irritated on this matter), he was also quite sure his security protocols at the storage facility would hold out. Even if they didn't intercept any intruders, it would take a hacker of prodigious skill to even get into the facility, which was of some comfort.

He and Punk were posted on opposite ends of the back alley of the facility, Punk rolling around as a spiked ball restlessly. Beat had departed shortly after Kalinka to check up on her, and when they both returned, Kalinka seemed to be in an oddly giggly mood while never mentioning what she had forgotten, while Beat acted as though his beak had been superglued shut.

Quint himself had begun pacing. He began to wonder if he had been correct in his assumption that Dr. Wily's robots would attempt to rob this storage facility—or if they had some other unforeseen ploy at hand. Then, in a quick flash of movement, Quint noticed two figures dart out of an adjoining alley into what should have been a locked loading dock. He didn't get a good look at the first one, but the second looked familiar…

"Elec Man?" Quint breathed. He was certain the others hadn't seen it—for Punk was still at the other end, Kalinka seemed to be lost in a silly daydream, and Beat was flapping around with a consternated look in his face.

His communicator began beeping. "Quint! Mega Girl! Punk!" came Mega Man's voice. "Get to the main entrance—we've spotted Wily's robots!"

After a moment's hesitation, Quint tore his eyes away from the loading dock. "Right! We're on our way!"

---

After entering through Citadel's storage facility through its loading dock, Elec Man and Proto Man paused to look around. They were standing in a blank hall lined with sheets of blast-proof supersteel, making them feel as though they had stepped into a giant air duct. All was completely still.

"So far, this is beyond easy," lamented Proto Man. "Starting to worry teleportation's gunna take all the fun out of Wily's schemes!"

"I've disabled most of the automated security protocols in this building," said Elec Man. "We should have ample time to steal the quintessence from the central storeroom."

"You go on ahead, I'll keep watch. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I suddenly got this weird feeling someone's got their eye on us."

Elec Man glanced Proto Man, hesitated, then nodded. "Fine, but be careful, and no more goofing around."

---

The Citadel storage facility's smooth, windowless walls and discrete doors gave it the uncanny resemblance to a gigantic block of snow that had been nestled between a sprawling complex of grimy old buildings. Mega Man, Roll, Quint, Punk, Mega Girl and Beat converged out front, where a group of Robot Masters were already heading toward the front gate—Cut Man, Guts Man, Jewel Man, Ring Man, Magnet Man, and Needle Man.

"…Not exactly the A squad, huh?" snickered Roll to Mega Man.

"Hey, how did you know we were here already?" complained Guts Man, catching sight of Mega Man and jumping backward.

Mega Man stepped forward. "Alright, fellas, I believe you have something that belongs to my pal Quint here. Now hand over the teleporter and we'll go easy on ya!"

"Joke's on you, we don't even have the teleporter!" jeered Needle Man smugly. "We're just here to break into that building and steal something for Wily!"

"Don't tell him all that, idiot!" snapped Cut Man.

"Yeah, we figured," chuckled Mega Man. "But jokes on you, you never had a chance of breaking in anyway!"

"Jewel Man, there you are!" cried Mega Girl. "We were worried about you!"

"No we weren't," said Quint and Punk in quick unison.

Jewel Man shrank to the back of the Robot Masters, looking like he'd rather flee back into the streets rather than face the team of heroes. He wasn't the only one, Ring Man and Magnet Man were also hastily edging away.

"Well this isn't fair, there's five of these dorks now?" muttered Ring Man. "We barely outnumber them now!"

"Hey, don't I know yas from somewhere?" asked Needle Man, his eyes fixed owlishly on Punk.

Punk sighed, turning away from Needle Man and shaking his head in embarrassment. "Oh yeah, we crossed paths on the underground back when I was rogue," he confided to Quint and Mega Girl. "But don't worry! We weren't pals or nothin'. To be honest, he was lousy at crime."

Infuriated, Needle Man began hopping noisily from foot to foot. "Hey! You don't have to say it like that! I have feelings, ya know! You know what, take this!"

Swinging both blaster arms wildly in front of him, Needle Man fired a barrage with his Needle Cannons. The whistling projectiles were slow and the aim was haphazard, however, so no one had any difficulty dodging them. Instead, the needles bounced harmlessly off the storage facility's walls without leaving so much as a scratch before clattering to the ground and rolling around on the concrete with a silvery ringing noise.

"Alright, we're doing this the hard way then," said Mega Man with a mock tragic sigh, drawing a plasma cannon.

…But the battle was over even quicker than Mega Man would have suspected. Eleven seconds, to be exact.

No one had heard Shadow Man coming. He had just suddenly appeared behind Mega Man, smiling impishly, and thown a flash grenade onto the oil-stained concrete, blinding them all. They heard a flurry of movements, a few surprised shouts, then the next thing Mega Man knew, Mega Girl and Quint had been tied with length of super steel chain to a nearby telephone pole; Beat had been locked inside a dumpster; Punk lay face down on the ground beneath a heavy frog statue, his spike-cuffed fists banging against the concrete madly as he struggled; Roll was hanging upside down from a grappling hook that had been wrapped around her legs, and Mega Man was pinned to a wall by a series of u-shaped hooks.

Shadow Man cast a smug eye on his handiwork. "Aw, you had a welcome committee and everything waiting for me! I'm flattered but it's really too much! Next time, I would just prefer a card, maybe some balloons (but only the black ones shaped like shuriken), or a tasteful arrangement of poisonous flowers—nothing too expensive, of course." He patted both Mega Girl and Quint on the head as though they were toddlers. Then he winked at Mega Man and Roll. "Sayōnara, suckers!"

"Where have you been?" demanded Cut Man.

"Like I told your boss, I had business to take care of, though I am touched that you all missed me so much." Shadow Man jerked a thumb toward the front gate. "Now, shall we?"

As the Robot Masters tramped past them into the storeroom, Mega Man hurried to free himself from his bindings. "Shit, forgot about Shadow Man," he gasped still blinking hard and shaking his head as he recovered from the flash grenade. "That Robot Master seriously sucks—maybe even more than Proto Man!" After a moment's struggle, he was finally able to wrench his communicator arm free. "Calling Dr. Light! I have bad news—Wily's bots have infiltrated Quint's storeroom!"

"Not to worry," Dr. Light responded brightly. "I was able to finish the teleportation shield early. Yes, I think they are in for an unpleasant surprise once they reach the quintessence and the facility's lockdown sequence activates."

For a moment, Mega Man was too surprised to speak, but then he burst out into a grin. Despite his initial annoyance about Quint's teleportation mishap, if they winded up capturing some of Dr. Wily's robots, then this day would end much better than anticipated!

---

The Robot Masters hurtled through the clean halls of the storage facility, which were lined with super steel, roll-up doors. Already, an alarm was blaring, the facility was going on lockdown. The only one who looked unconcerned was Shadow Man, who tailed behind them with a Shadow Blade in each hand.

They were relieved to find the central storage room open and Elec Man already waiting inside amidst neat aisles of storage lockers.

"They're on to us!" bellowed Guts Man as he hurtled through the door, crashing clumsily into a shelf and knocking a cascade of archival paper to the floor.

"We better get Wily's stuff and cut out of here, quick!" wheezed Cut Man.

"Quiet, you two screaming hysterically is annoying," said Elec Man. "And it doesn't matter, we're almost done here."

Elec Man plugged his handheld computer into a computer terminal, and within minutes had hacked into the mainframe, his fingers flying rapidly over the keyboard as he located the quintessence.

"There," he muttered, extracting a case from a nearby storage locker that had just popped open.

Inside the case glittered a small vial of dark purple energy, no larger than a pencil eraser head.

Needle Man stooped over the case with squinted eyes, the top of his pointed head nearly scratching Elec Man. "We came all this way just for that? That doesn't look like very much!"

Elec Man leaned away from Needle Man irritably, snapping the case closed. "It's what Wily wanted." He lifted his communicator. "Elec Man to Proto Man, the quintessence has been acquired, we're ready to teleport."

"Great! Be there in a second."

"Wait." Elec Man froze, looking down at his handheld communicator, where he had just been attempting to fetch the teleporter's coordinates for Skull Fortress. "Shit, we have a problem. The teleporter lost connection to the satellite grid."

As though stabbed with a hot poker, several heads jerked and turned sharply toward Elec Man.

"What?" said Proto Man. "How?"

"Signal jamming. Shit. Why didn't I think of this earlier?" Elec Man hissed to himself.

"Shit. Alright. Keep—t—ing—eporter. " Proto Man replied, but his voice transmission was becoming garbled. "I'll—" but whatever Proto Man was about to say next, no one ever found out, for the communicator suddenly hissed to static.

Cut Man, Guts Man, Ring Man, and Magnet Man exchanged uneasy glances. The sudden realization that their easy escape plan had just vanished hit them like a bulldozer, and something had just knocked their communicators offline! To make matters worse, another alarm began blaring inside the storeroom. A rotating strobe light mounted to the wall sent shafts of red light sweeping through the storage locker aisles, and the super steel door they had all entered through suddenly dropped closed with a defining crash, then made a soft whirring noise as security bolts drilled into the wall.

Cut Man leaped back with a cry of panic. "Ack! We're locked in!"

"I'll go check for another exit!" rumbled Guts Man.

"Me too!" cried Cut Man.

"Yeah, us too," added Ring Man, nodding to Magnet Man.

"Hey guys, c'mon…don't forget about me!" complained Needle Man, toddling after them.

They scattered in different directions. Jewel Man remained sensibly at Elec Man's side, twisting his hands miserably as Elec Man continued to use his handheld computer, trying and failing to get the teleporter to reconnect to the satellite grid. Only Shadow Man seemed untroubled as he looked calmly at the security door, his arms folded and cricking his neck.

"So, if we can't teleport, does that mean we're trapped?" Jewel Man asked, his voice rising. "If I get caught, they'll make me go back to working at the jewelry counter department store again, I know it!"

"No, you're a Syndicate associate now, going back to being a domestic robot is no longer in your cards," Elec Man reminded him.

"Ah, yes, right," mumbled Jewel Man somberly, clearly realizing that as much as he detested customer service, he would be much worse off being charged with conspiring with a dangerous robot gang. "—What are we going to do?" he added in a desperate whisper.

"Stop panicking, I'm trying to think," said Elec Man, casting his eyes around the storage room. It did not look promising. They were in a sealed room within a fortified facility, the only exit blocked by the heroes, and likely the police would soon have the premises surrounded. He wasn't sure he could take on both Mega Man and Roll at the same time, and the other Robot Masters would be of little help—well, except perhaps Shadow Man, if Shadow Man could even be relied on…

Then, something caught Elec Man's eye. Something he was quite certain hadn't been in the room before. "What the…?" he muttered.

Sitting on top of the wireless mouse of the computer terminal Elec Man had been accessing was a ball of purple flames. It glowed in an inviting sort of way, and for a brief moment, the pale image of a skull flickered in its center.

"Oh. Shit." remarked Shadow Man in an uncharacteristically grim tone, his attention also attracted to the purple flame.

"What?" muttered Elec Man, but he had a bad feeling he already knew.

Shadow Man jabbed a thumb at the ball of purple flames. "That is evil energy."

"You know about evil energy?"

"Of course! It was I who started calling it that, because that shit is evil. Shit. Oh shit shit shit. You are all on your own."

Shadow Man threw a smoke bomb, and vanished.

"Uh…" muttered Elec Man. Grudgingly, he felt unhappy that Shadow Man had deserted them. It put a lot of pressure on himself to fight off Mega Man, and if Mega Man copied his weapon it would be all over. He looked over to Jewel Man to confirm if this was indeed evil energy, then froze.

All fear had been wiped clean from Jewel Man's face, replaced by an eerie, buoyant calmness. "Well this solves our dilemma rather nicely, don't you think? We could team up, you and I," he told Elec Man in a soft, velvety tone. "If you took this evil energy, and I figured out a way to get my powers back—"

In one swift instant, Elec Man had thrown Jewel Man against a storage locker, a hand crackling with electricity next to his ear. "Whatever you're thinking, snap out of it. Now."

Startled out of his dream-like trance, Jewel Man stammered, "R-right. Sorry…it's just the evil energy stirring up all these silly thoughts—"

"I don't care, I'm not dealing with Curator today, are we clear?"

"Of course." Jewel Man shivered, and added, "Thank you."

Elec Man said nothing as he released Jewel Man. He himself felt shaken. He looked back at the evil energy, which continued to flicker and twist in a mesmerizing way.

Five pairs of footsteps scampered back toward them.

"No use, Elec Man! There's no way out," boomed Guts Man unnecessarily as he and Cut Man came thundering back into their aisle.

"Mega Man will be here at any minute! They're going to catch us for sure!" shouted Cut Man, his round eyes wide in fright.

"Hope you got some plan, Elec Man," said Ring Man as he and Magnet Man followed from close behind.

"We're doomed, doomed!" added in Needle Man from the other side. Then he stopped short, looking down at the purple flame. "Ooo, what's this?"

"Stop! No one touch it!" Elec Man ordered, rooted to the spot. He felt like he needed to keep a close eye on Jewel Man in case another ominous spell overtook him and they all wound up as trinkets again. At the same time, the tongues of purple flame appeared to be reaching for Elec Man, and a slight fuzziness settled into his mind, making it harder to concentrate properly on their more immediate problem of escaping…

Everyone stared at the purple flame, slightly entranced. Tension was building in the air, like that before a stampede…

Finally, Needle Man's dinner plate-sized eyes, which were inset into his torso, glared defiantly up at Elec Man. "Don't tell me what to do! You really think just because you're Syndicate you're a big shot and you can boss everyone else around—but I want to touch the cool purple flame, so I will!"

"No—" Elec Man hissed, still feeling a bit lightheaded, his voice sounding distant.

But there was nothing anyone could have done. Needle Man had reached forward with one of his permanent blaster arms, the tip of the nozzle grazing the flames.

The flame suddenly shot up into Needle Man as though his blaster arm were a vacuum. Needle Man went ridged. "Oh…" he muttered stupidly. The pupils in his eyes faded, leaving only giant white discs, and all went still. Then Needle Man burst into purple flames.

"Oh shit," muttered Jewel Man from behind Elec Man.

"Shit!" exclaimed Ring Man and Magnet Man, leaping backward.

"Duh, you're on fire!" shouted Guts Man, pointing at Needle Man.

"W-what's happening to Needle Man?" whined Cut Man in mingled panic.

"Oh, nothing to worry about!" came Needle Man's squeaky voice cheerfully from within the wreath of purple flames. His eyes began glowing yellow. "But don't call me Needle Man anymore. What did Jewel Man go by? The 'Curator', right? Well call me…call me the, uh…call me…uh…." Needle Man paused, scratching the back of his head with a blaster arm. "Oh yeah! I know! Call me…the Knitter."

To be continued...