CHAPTER TWELVE
Thunderstruck
The group arrived back on the teleporter pad and were waved through by Scotty, who was still involved with his computer game. They made their way quickly back to the control room. Piling in the elevator with the others, X punched the button for the command center, and the machine sunk deep below the earth.
The doors slid smoothly open, revealing the command center still as abuzz with workers as it was before. Signas stood at the main display. He looked back and forth between monitors, giving quiet orders to the reploids manning the computer consoles. The group left the elevator and approached the general.
"I'm glad you all made it back safely," he said, without turning around, as they halted within a yard of his armored form.
"It was no problem, sir," Rock exclaimed. "The mission was a breeze!"
Signas finally turned from the screen and nodded to the small blue robot. "Good work. You saved the city a lot of potential havoc by stopping him."
"It was just Cut Man," Bass muttered, folding his arms. "Why couldn't your Maverick Hunters beat him? It's not like he was that tough." He made no attempt to silence his disgust at the ineffectiveness of the soldiers on the scene before they arrived.
"The unit that was deployed there was a scout and reconnaissance team. They were only lightly armed and did not have the firepower necessary to complete that mission." Signas frowned slightly at the mouthy robot, but Bass wasn't even fazed. "Regardless, X and Zero handled themselves well, didn't they?"
"I guess," Bass grumbled.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Zero replied, in an equally irritated tone.
X elbowed Zero lightly in the side to get him to be quiet. "So, have Wily or Sigma made any big moves yet?"
"Nothing we've been able to pick up, X," Signas replied. "Current Maverick activity is being dealt with by other Hunters, but it's mostly small-scale incidents. However, I'd like you and Zero to stay on call for action until further notice. You are to be ready to move out at a moment's warning, is that clear?"
"Yes sir!" both Hunters replied, saluting.
"Good. You are all dismissed." Signas returned the salute, then returned to the control panel.
The group collectively turned around and headed for the elevator and returned to the upper floors.
"Well, now what?" Bass demanded. "Do we just wait?"
"Yeah," Zero replied. "That's about the size of it."
"Great. Well, I'm bored," Bass replied.
"Bass has a point, I guess... what are we supposed to do?" Rock asked, looking at X. "I mean, I have no problem just hanging out, but…" He glanced over to his companions.
"I can fend for myself," Proto Man returned, looking at his younger brother. "It's Bass that's the impatient one."
"Shut up," Bass snapped back.
"Well, you three are welcome to go relax in my quarters if you'd like," X said. "It may be kind of boring, but at least you know you won't get into any trouble in there."
"Whatever," Bass muttered. Blues and Rock agreed, however, and the group began the walk back to X's room, but at a relaxed pace.
"Hey, Blues," Rock began, partway through the walk, "I was thinking. Didn't Cut Man seem a little more unusual than he used to?"
"Well, he was faster and stronger than he ever was before, that's for sure," Blues mused.
"I meant in temperament. He mentioned he had better AI."
"His armor was reinforced like a reploid's, too." X looked back at them. "So I guess Wily upgraded him in a lot of ways."
"Surprising he didn't slap any new weapons on him," said Bass.
"Even still, he was certainly more dangerous than he used to be... and it would be safe to assume that any other Robot Masters Wily brings back will likely be the same." Proto Man adjusted his scarf casually, belying the serious tone in his voice. "I think we should be prepared to handle stronger Robot Masters than ever before."
Bass shrugged. "We'll deal with that when we come to it. No matter how much stronger Wily's made those scrap piles, they're not going to be impossible to beat."
"Yeah, you're right," X said, opening the door to his room. Bass and Proto Man, and Mega Man walked inside, but X and Zero were interrupted by the sound of footsteps running down the hallway. X let the door close as the steps came closer.
"X! Zero!" Alia said, halting in front of them. "How'd the mission go?"
"No trouble at all, Allie." Zero laughed, and waved his hand in the air. "He was a complete chump."
"Don't call me that!" she snapped jokingly, punching him in the arm.
"Eh," Zero replied, with a shrug and a charming smile.
"It wasn't too bad, thankfully," X said. "Not as bad as some of the Mavericks we've fought, though Cut Man was a little stronger than Zero gives him credit for. But, I have no doubt Sigma has better soldiers at his disposal..."
"You're probably right, X," Alia said. Then she blinked, suddenly noticing the thin line of red on X's upper arm, darkening with congealed coolant fluid. "What… what happened to your arm, X?"
X glanced down, seemingly only just noticing the injury himself. "Huh? Oh, Cut Man's scissors clipped me. It's only a scratch."
"More like a cut," Zero cracked, trying to look innocent and failing dismally.
"Zero, please, stop," X groaned. "I'm not in the mood for puns."
"Oh, you're just being a wuss." Zero waved him off. "You have no sense of humor. One of these days it'll be the death of you."
"You're a fine person to be talking about death," X replied, sardonically.
"I happen to be an expert on the subjects of death and humor," Zero said loftily. "So you listen to Doctor Zero and take three stooges and call me in the morning."
"You're a real quack, Zero," Alia sighed, rubbing her temples gently. "X, how did you let that Maverick hit you, anyway?"
"He just kinda surprised me as I was entering a room. It doesn't even hurt."
"You should get it checked out."
"Auto-repair will take care of it."
"It could be serious!"
"Hey, why don't you kiss it and make it better, Allie?"
They both whirled on him. "Shut up, Zero!"
He raised his hands defensively. "It's not my fault you two make it too easy."
Rock poked his head out the door, followed by Bass and Blues, "X? Zero? You okay out here?"
"Come on, X, you're going to the med wing," Alia ordered, grabbing his uninjured arm and dragging him towards the elevator. "You could get infected."
"With what?"
"Your own stupidity! Now, come on!"
"That scene looks familiar," Bass muttered, as Alia and her reluctant escort disappeared from view.
"Huh?" Rock said, but Bass had already stalked back inside.
"Come on, Rock," Zero said, ushering him into the apartment. "I'd like to show you a lovely little board game X has called Monopoly: Maverick Hunter Edition. The one who's destroyed the most Mavericks at the end of the game wins!"
"...Since when does Monopoly involve killing?" Rock wondered, and the apartment door slid shut.
-------
They were only about a half-hour into the game when Zero got a call on his helmet communicator ordering them back to the control room. Rock, who had just drawn a Chance card ("Go to Jail: Go directly to Jail, do not pass Sigma, do not retire 200 Mavericks") was not too upset at the interruption.
"They always have the worst timing," Zero sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Come on, Zero, you can continue your bloodbath later," Blues said, glancing pointedly at the thick stack of 500 Maverick notes resting beside the reploid's knee.
"Oh, funny," Zero returned, but stood up, offering Rock a hand. "Let's get moving, everyone."
------
The elevator doors slid open and Zero led the pack forward to where Signas was waiting, a rather impatient look across his face. The general unfolded his arms after noting the group's arrival.
Alia and X were already standing beside their commanding officer, X with his arm newly repaired. He nodded to Zero, who flashed him a grin and a slight glance towards Alia, which was responded to by an annoyed glare. X and Zero seemed to have perfected the art of voiceless communication over the years, complete with the arguments and relentless teasing of their normal conversations.
"Okay, what's up, Signas? What do you have?" Zero asked, coming to a halt beside his blue-armored friend.
"The reports are sketchy, but they come from a reliable recon unit." Signas turned to face the monitor, which flashed a picture of a large facility. "The 78th Intelligence Unit has uncovered unusual activity in one of the city power plants. Power outages have occurred all over the city and we suspect there is a Maverick under Sigma's control causing these problems."
"What makes you say that?" Rock asked.
"That power plant is usually very well guarded by mechaniloids. Whatever is in there wiped out the guards. The 78th reported seeing them deactivated; some of them by overload. Something's in there, and we need you to investigate."
"A power plant, huh?" Bass wondered.
"Sounds like Elec Man," Blues replied. "Of course, you never really know with Wily."
"Couldn't it be Spark Man too?" Rock cut in. "Or Cloud Man?"
"Cloud Man? Rock, don't talk." Blues put a hand over his visor in frustration.
"He never listens to you, you know," X observed.
"So you want us to investigate and clean out that power plant, right?" Zero asked, looking at Signas.
"Of course. I've sent the teleporter coordinates to Scotty and he should have them ready."
"Right." X saluted, then turned on his heel, heading for the teleporter. "Let's move out, everyone!"
------
The power plant had a fairly straightforward layout, having not been constructed with the intention of irritating visiting Maverick Hunters. Oddly, there were no enemies, or mechaniloids, anywhere in sight. The five warriors progressed down the hallways as they moved deeper into the facility. Only the emergency lights were lit, so the corridors were dim and eerie.
"Do you see anything, Zero?" X asked, checking the rear of the group to make sure they weren't being flanked.
"Nope. There's nothing here at all." Zero ignited his beam saber, holding it up like a torch to push back the shadows. The hallway was bare, only a large double door greeting them at the end. They reached it and carefully stepped into the next area.
"This is the central generator," Zero said, looking around. They were in a large room, surrounding a cylindrical object pulsing with light. Long cables extended into the walls, and computer monitors flickered with readouts.
"I don't see anyone," said Bass.
Rock scrutinized the shadows. "The robot master has to be here somewhere…"
"Indeed," came a voice from above.
The party looked up to find a young man perched calmly on the top of he generator, yellow booted legs dangling over the edge. He was dressed in gold, red, and black, his eyes covered by a marigold mask with a lightning bolt shape jutting up from the area above the bridge of his nose. He smirked when he saw them watching and dropped to the floor with the grace of a cat, walking nonchalantly in their direction.
"Told'ja it'd be Elec Man," Rock sighed.
"Am I that predictable?" the Robot Master asked. As he drew closer, they could tell he had been upgraded from his previous incarnations, now looking as humanlike as a reploid beneath the mask. His uniform hadn't changed much, however; he still had the light chest armor bearing the lightning bolt symbol, the red undershirt, and gold and black trim. He was far more imposing than Cut Man, probably due to the lack of scissors on his head.
"No, Wily is," Blues replied.
"Yeah, yeah he is..." Elec Man conceded, folding his arms and watching the party.
"What are you even doing here?" Zero asked, a hand wavering near his saber.
The robot master shrugged. "Oh, you know... wreaking havoc and mayhem..."
"The kind of stuff I used to do," Bass said, almost sounding wistful.
"Yeah. What's with that?" Elec Man asked, looking at the ebony robot. "All of a sudden you're a good guy? That's quite a shock."
X winced at the pun. "Ow. I think my processor just broke."
The yellow robot grinned. "Why, thank you."
"I... don't get it," said Rock, frowning.
"You wouldn't..." Blues sighed.
"Looks like someone's brain runs on a 9-Volt battery," Elec Man said.
"Nuh uh!" Rock stuck out his tongue. "I use AAs, you jerk."
"Mega Man," Blues said, raising a glove to his temple. "You're fusion powered. You don't have batteries."
Rock scowled at his brother. "I was trying to make a joke, but apparently you don't get it..."
"Well," said Elec Man, breaking easily into the diatribe, "as much as I would not like to pick a fight with you five heavily armed robots, I kinda have to." He raised a hand, and the computer monitors around him began to flicker.
"What a re-volt-ing development," Zero observed.
Elec Man grinned. "I like this one. He has a spark to him."
"I freaking hate you, Zero," said X, cupping his head in his hands.
"I know." Zero smirked.
Elec Man began gathering electrical energy into a ball and spinning it in his palm. "Thunderous battle awaits!"
"Oh, that's it. You're going down," growled X, raising his buster.
"Not a pun fan? That's sad," Elec Man sang, throwing the electrical ball at X and dodging the salvo of return fire.
Elec Man was as annoying as Rock remembered, darting from place to place like a lightning bug. His electrical powers were also formidable, though with five targets to watch for, he fortunately wasn't doing much damage. Rock brought up his buster and tried to target the swift Robot Master, but Elec Man continually changed direction as he ran, jumping and rolling, evading the rain of plasma coming from X, Bass, and Blues.
Zero had a difficult time approaching Elec Man through the crossfire, but he was more than happy to continually force the robot to change direction by cutting off avenues of escape.
"You guys just don't give up, do you?" Elec Man said, leaping gracefully away from a plasma shot followed by Zero's beam saber. "Fine then, I guess it's about time I really retaliated." He threw out his palm, and electricity crackled violently and shot forth toward the group. "Thunder Beam!"
Bass and X barely had time to slip away as the blast struck the floor. It left a smoking scorch mark on the concrete, testament to the Robot Master's increased power. Rock looked back to Elec Man, who was preparing another attack. He seized this moment and unleashed a charged shot.
The impact caught Elec Man unprepared, and it rocked him backward, causing his charging Thunder Beam to shoot toward the ceiling. It struck one of the light fixtures, which shorted out in a rain of sparks and caused the rest of the lights to flicker.
Unbalanced but undeterred, Elec Man charged up for another shot, and this time launched it at the now lunging Zero. An instant before Zero's beam saber could connect, he was shocked by the Thunder Beam. Electricity coursed through the red Hunter, cutting off his aggressive attack and sending him staggering backward.
"Zero!" X shouted, firing off a shot at Elec Man. "Are you okay?"
Zero straightened once the bolts of electric energy ceased dancing over his armor. "Of course I am! He just got a lucky shot in!" He twirled his saber, brushing a few strands of his bangs from his eyes, and lunged again. This time he managed to get inside the robot master's defense. The blade cut into his shoulder, but couldn't penetrate the armor deeply. Zero quickly whipped the sword out and around and hit Elec Man in the side, causing the Robot Master to wince behind his mask. But instead of pulling away, Elec Man grabbed Zero's wrist and sent electricity coursing through his body, causing him to drop the Z-saber. Yanking hard on the momentarily stunned Hunter's arm, the robot master threw him to the ground after his weapon, and darted away to prepare another attack.
Proto Man fired at the moving Robot Master, but he simply dodged with a forward flip. Rock was slightly impressed. Elec Man was more agile than he had ever been before, and he was proving to be a challenge. But then, something clicked inside his head.
Instantly formulating a plan, Rock called up the data for Cut Man's Rolling Cutter. His armor turned gray in color, and he took careful aim at Elec Man, who was preoccupied with racing a gauntlet of plasma fire from Bass and X. As Elec sped past, the little blue robot sent a Rolling Cutter arcing towards him. The foe hardly saw it coming before the blade had embedded itself in his chest.
Elec Man came to an abrupt halt and looked down at the Rolling Cutter jutting from his torso. Sparks began arcing out from the injured area. He ignored the damage and reached for the scissors, drawing the metal object from his body. The tips of the blade were covered in gooey red coolant, but the wound itself didn't look serious.
Angered, the yellow robot tossed the scissors aside and retaliated with a Thunder Beam pointed straight at Mega Man. Rock slipped out of the way with a well timed slide, and launched another Rolling Cutter.
"Not this time!" the Robot Master shouted, leaping up on top of a generator. He punched his hand into it, and his body coursed with electricity, replenishing his power supply. A moment later, he leapt off the machine, landed on the ground and spread his arms wide. With a clap of his hands, the surplus electricity in his systems gathered into a sphere around him.
"Nice light show, but it won't help you!" Zero said, lunging again. He swung his Z-Saber at the masked robot, only to watch the blade glance harmlessly off the energy field. "What the?" he asked, with aggravated wonder. Elec Man ignored him and delivered a devastating looking kick through the barrier, again knocking the red Hunter away.
"Hit him hard, that thing won't last long." Proto Man called out, changing to the Rolling Cutter as well and firing two at Elec Man.
"On it!" Bass shouted back, switching his Bass Buster to automatic and laying into the electric sphere with rapid bursts of plasma. X and Mega Man shot took turns launching charged shots, and the shield finally buckled and fell. Bass continued to fire as the robot master started moving again, eating through some of the armor on his arm.
Elec Man grimaced in pain, then counterattacked with a Thunder Beam, knocking the other Wily-bot off his feet. Bass didn't stay down long, however; he kicked himself back up the moment he impacted the ground, though smoke curled fromhis chest plate.
The Robot Master then turned to X, who was charging his buster for another shot. The electricity caught him before he had time to dodge and he was sent sailing into the side of a computer terminal, glancing off the surface with a metallic clang. He didn't stir for a few moments. Zero was at his side instantly, while Bass and Blues upped their rate of fire to cover the blue Hunter until he recovered his senses.
Elec Man dodged the plasma and turned to Rock, shooting four weak but quick beams at him. Rock simply strafed out of the way of the first two and then jumped away from the others. The robot master uttered a curse under his breath, and because of his frustration, he failed to notice Bass rush up from behind. Of course, he realized it when Bass's hand suddenly grabbed the back of his neck. Before the black robot could capitalize on this, though, he was promptly electrocuted, then kicked away like a tin can.
This, however, gave X a clear shot. The blue reploid was back on his feet due to Zero's help, and though his armor was dented and smoke-blackened, his buster still worked perfectly. The charged blast caught the yellow robot master unawares and he slammed backwards into the power generator, electricity sizzling around his form.
Elec Man got to his feet shakily, clutching a plasma burn on his arm and coolant leaking from the Rolling Cutter wound on his chest. Immediately, four busters were trained on him. He looked around at his foes. "Ow... in my current state..." he began.
"Damn your puns," X muttered.
Elec Man gave him a lopsided grin. "I think it's time to conduct my escape..."
"So you're going to retreat and re-charge, then?" asked Zero.
"Zero!" X cried, glaring at his friend. "Don't encourage him!"
"I'm still rather shocked that I lost, but when my power returns..." began Elec Man, but X had had enough.
"That's it! Pacifism be damned!" he shouted, and both Zero and Blues jumped to restrain him before he attempted to rip the yellow robot master apart with his bare hands. "Let me at him! I'll kill him! Seriously!"
Zero smirked, while struggling to hold the blue hunter back. "Resistance is futile."
The number of bad puns and the stress from the fight finally overwhelmed X. With an odd noise, his eyes rolled back and he slipped into stasis, hanging limply in Zero's arms. The crimson Hunter blinked and shook his friend, but X did not respond.
"Whoa. Blackout," Elec Man commented.
Blues watched as Zero tried to tip the other hunter upright, only to have him fall backwards again. "...I've never seen someone shut down because of puns before..."
"Seriously. That guy's a few Ohms short of a circuit..." said Elec Man, shaking his head. "But anyway, I really should be leaving... you know, 'cause you beat me and all."
"Well, considering X..." Zero said, looking down at the oblivious-to-the-world blue bomber, "I'd call it a draw."
Elec Man shrugged. "I don't really care." He turned his back on the party and started walking away. "As far as I'm concerned, you won. Anyway, I'm gone. See ya!" He flashed them a final brilliant smile and vaulted gracefully onto a nearby bank of computers, springboarded back to the top of the generator, and then disappeared in a column of teleportation light.
"What a nice young Maverick," Zero said.
"He always was the best mannered out of the first batch of Robot Masters," Rock agreed. He still remembered the original Elec Man from before Wily stole the Robot Master prototypes for his first world-domination attempt. The robot had been cheerful and pleasant... but not alive. Wily had rebuilt various Robot Masters, including Elec Man, several times over the years, but they had never achieved the sentience of Blues, Rock, and Roll. But this time... he didn't know. Elec Man didn't act like a robot master anymore. He obviously had his old memory chip, but he was too lively and engaged with the world for Rock to write him off as a mindless AI drone. He also looked more like a reploid than anything now. Like with Cut Man, Rock wasn't sure what to think of this resurrected foe.
"You know, though, I'm not even certain these guys are Mavericks," Zero said, obviously having thoughts similar to Rock. "I mean, they're on Sigma's side and all, but I'm not getting virus vibes from them."
"Hmm... that's a distinct possibility," said Blues. "Even though Cut Man and Elec Man attacked us, they didn't seem as amazingly aggressive as the other Mavericks we fought. Yet, they're obviously more advanced than any Robot Masters have been before. Maybe even to the point of sentience."
"Maybe Wily was just lazy and didn't bother infecting them?" Rock asked. "He built them, they have to follow his orders anyway..."
Blues looked troubled at this, and Rock understood why. If these new Robot Masters were alive, and not infected with the Maverick Virus, it would be difficult to destroy them when the time came...
"Uh, normally I wouldn't be the one to bring this up," said Bass, cutting into the conversation, "but maybe we need to get X back online."
Zero looked down at X, who was still limp and unmoving. "Right," he said. "Hey, buddy! Wake up!"
"Is pounding on his head really necessary?" Blues asked, as the blonde reploid rapped his knuckles against X's helmet, hard.
"Yes, it is," Zero replied, continuing to poke his friend.
X stirred, his eyes snapping open and hands shooting up to shove Zero away. "Ow! OW! Stop it! Jeez..."
"You okay?" Zero asked, giving the blue reploid a light shove so he stood upright again.
"Yeah... I'm fine," X said, rubbing the side of his helmet. "What happened? How'd I get knocked out?"
"Uh..." said Rock. X would probably be embarrassed to know he'd collapsed over something so pointless. "...Elec Man gave you a nasty blast of electric energy and shorted out your motivator for awhile."
"Hey, that's not—" Bass began.
Blues cut him off. "—But never mind that now! Let's get back to HQ."
"Right..." said X, but brought his hand up to his helmet,dialing HQ to call for the teleport room to bring them home.
-------
"Good work, men," Signas said, as the group reentered his office. He was beside the small viewscreen, with Alia working at the nearby computer. "You dealt with that Maverick in short order. Who was he?"
"His name is Elec Man, sir," said Rock.
"He was from the first batch of robot masters, as well," Blues said.
"He used to be a pretty nice guy, actually," Rock added, "before Wily got hold of him and reprogrammed him..."
There was a chiming sound from the computer, and Signas sighed.
"I'd like to chat more about him, but it seems that something else has come up," he said, walking towards Alia, who was now checking the new message.
"What now?" Zero asked.
"Another Maverick general has shown up in the vicinity of the city's main fire station," replied Alia, frowning at the computer.
"Which one?" Blues asked.
Alia typed something, and some images popped up on the viewscreen. They showed haggard firefighters aiming hoses at blazes set by a robot master wearing boxy yellow armor.
"...Heat Man?" Rock said.
"...Attacking a firehouse," said Bass, dryly. "Wow, he's absolutely brilliant."
"That makes very little sense..." said Rock, looking at the firefighters aiming jets of water at the flames.
"He is actually causing a great deal of damage," said Alia, still looking at the computer. "The firefighters are successfully beating back the fires he starts, but he continues to light new ones constantly, so they can't spare enough men to stop him."
"Still..."
"Never mind the logic behind Maverick attacks," said Zero. "Let's go help those poor guys before they collapse or waste the city water supply putting things out."
"Um, Signas..." said Rock, turning to the Maverick Hunter commander, "I was just wondering. Where exactly are the rest of your soldiers right now? Don't you have other units that could deal with lone Robot Masters like Heat Man?"
"We're in the middle of a war right now, Mega Man," Signas explained. "This isn't the only area of the world under attack. Other units are dispatched all over the globe to eliminate pockets of activity. If left unchecked, those areas will be as bad off as the area being assaulted by this Heat Man."
"...So basically you're short on numbers," said Blues.
X shrugged. "The life expectancy for new Hunters is about three years. Can you blame people for not wanting to join?"
"...Not really..." said Rock.
"I think Zero's pulling that average down, though," Alia quipped.
"You're cruel, Allie," said Zero, folding his arms and pretending to sulk. "I can't help it if I'm living-challenged."
"Just... try not to die any more, Zero," said X. "I don't want to have to put you back together ever again."
"Well, then you try not to get yourself into situations where I have to sacrifice myself to rescue you!" Zero huffed.
"Zero, please," said Alia. "X is only looking out for your welfare..."
"Yeah, yeah..."
Signas cleared his throat. "Moving away from the subject of Zero's frequent... accidents..."
"It's not my fault! Jeez..."
"All of you, get the heck out of the command center and go retire that Maverick!" Signas said, pointing to the elevator.
"Retire?" Bass said, scoffing at the word. "What, you want us to stick him in a home! Just say "kill" or "destroy." Sheesh, we can handle it, we aren't four year olds..."
"Yeah, you're three," said Blues.
"...shut up, you old fogey," Bass snapped.
"Three?" Alia said, looking up. "What are you talking about?"
"I'll explain later," X sighed. "Right now we have to go."
She frowned at him, but nodded. "...All right, X. Good luck."
"Thanks. We'll be back soon, Alia." He smiled at her, and she returned it. Taking Zero's arm before he could come up with a parting comment, X led him from the room, the other three following behind.