Orange
Hell
by Rich (Bombman) Kassidy
CHAPTER
1 It
had been blissfully quiet in the city as of late. Dr Wily
hadn’t appeared in months, and City Garage was nowhere
to be seen. This sat very well with the premier Robot
Master fighting squad in the region: The Sinister Six,
who enjoyed the peace…mostly. The more sedate members
of the team, such as Erik and Gary, welcomed the peace
with open arms. Ben, on the other hand, was getting restless,
and was jumping at every phone call from the city, hoping
it would provide some much-needed action for the hotheaded
fire wielder. What he got was a few bank robberies every
few weeks, and maybe a car chase, but nothing too major;
all of those incidents could be solved within minutes,
and provided no real challenge what so ever. The other
three members, Fushidane, Britt, and Odin were bored,
but grateful for the quiet and used it as time for learning
and training.
However, on this day, Ben would get his action. In
spades.
Upon picking up the phone this time, the deputy mayor
frantically informed Fireman of the apparent robbery
of the Industrial Supply Co. on Gear Drive, which Ben
didn’t meet with the same frantic fervor of the public
servant. If anything, he thought he would be back home
within thirty minutes, and back to watching the same
old drivel on television, bored out his mind.
With a begrudging sigh, Fireman simply stated, “I’ll
be there soon” and hung up on the semi-important figurehead.
As he began his departure, Gary approached him, inquiring
as to what was up.
“It’s
nothing. Just some thugs robbing a warehouse in the
industrial district. I’ll be done in no time.”
“Maybe
you should take Erik with you”, Gary stated, almost
nervous as to what Ben’s response would be.
“…Why
the hell would I drag him into something so…easy?”
Gary took a moment to think up an answer that wouldn’t
agitate the fiery one any more than he already was.
“ He’s been kinda down lately, so I was thinking he
could use some exercise to lighten him up some, y’know?”
Ben blankly glanced at the diminutive snow bot and managed
a curt “fine” before continuing on his exit.
What Gary really wanted was Erik to keep Ben from leveling
an entire building like the last time he was called
for a robbery. When Ben was bored, he got destructive,
which was never a good thing. At least with Erik tagging
along he wouldn’t be so demolition inclined.
Upon reaching the building, Erik and Ben soon realized
that this was no simple robbery. Smoke bellowed out
from the roof, indicating a large-scale fire. Even more
ominous was a huge entry hole into the building from
the street, which meant this person or persons wasn’t
even looking for a door, and perhaps was confident in
their abilities to think they could handle whatever
crime-fighting methods would come their way. This greatly
amused Ben, and even excited him just a little.
“Heh.
Maybe this wasn’t a wasted trip after all. I might just
get some enjoyment out of this” Fireman grinned from
behind his half mask.
“C’mon,
man,” Erik interrupted with a concerned tone,” we’re
not here to fight anyone. Just avert the situation with
as minimal violence as possible.”
“Whatever.”
Ben coldly stated, “I don’t have the patience to play
negotiator with anyone”.
The two androids cautiously continued forth into the
building via the entrance hole, which was big enough
even for Erik’s massive 10 foot by 8 foot frame. As
Ben readied his famed arm cannons, Erik glanced around,
hoping to see the culprits before his partner. Erik
knew that Ben would sooner melt them into slag than
try to reason with them, claiming self-defense. As he
looked around, however, he noted some odd, but familiar
markings throughout the building.
Huge gashes crisscrossed the walls, neatly carved apparently.
Furniture and machinery alike were sliced neatly in
two in what seemed to be a wild rage with a sword of
some kind. The two S6 alumni treaded on broken glass,
and then on to something more gruesome: blood. Human
blood. The two stopped in their tracks to follow with
their eyes the trail that lead to what remained of a
maintenance engineer. He was separated from his arms,
which lay a few meters away from his torso, which were
only a few inches above his waist. It was horrifying
to think that someone would be dispatched in such a
cruel way.
While Ben started forth again, Erik became all the more
wary of his surroundings. It was clear that the culprit(s)
were in the next room now; they could hear the rustling
of papers and small parts in drawers. It was at this
time that Ben raised his arm cannon, waiting for the
killer(s) to emerge from the small office.
Even Erik’s anger level was nearing its limit. Knowing
that these people would tear apart a simple janitor
for simply being in the wrong place made his oil boil
underneath his ceramic-alloy skin. He hated killing
for any reason, especially when it was for something
so stupid such as robbery. He readied himself with a
heavy steel desk, leveling it at full arm length above
his head for maximum swing. He then bellowed to the
killers.
“Step
out of the room NOW! We know you’re in there, so make
it easier on all of us and just come quietly!”
Erik knew these people didn’t deserve such a fair warning,
but he wouldn’t lower himself to their level. He waited
a few seconds before repeating the first part of his
statement, but to little response. Agitated, he hurled
the desk through the steel plate door to the small office.
Ben followed suit with a hellish inferno loosed from
his twin arm cannons. The sudden force of the two weapons
would be enough to get the full attention of anything
behind that door. Unfortunately for both of them, that’s
exactly what happened.
Through the smoke and heat, they could hear footsteps
trudge forth, then stop at what seemed to be in front
of the fire. Suddenly, the water line above was slashed
open in a lightning fast silver flash, extinguishing
the blaze in a few moments. The footsteps continued
forth, and on ward through the doorway.
The two crime fighters peered through the dense steam
that now filled the large alcove they now stood in.
They could barely make out the figure, but now knew
they were dealing with just one suspect and not a handful
as Erik had thought. But suddenly, the figure became
a blur, leaving behind a small vacuum in the fog where
it once stood. Fireman and Gutsman whirled around quickly
to find the enemy’s position, which was now behind them,
standing in the huge entrance hole.
The outside light that poured into the dark building
once again created a silhouette of the assailant, but
now it was a much clearer shape. It had the signature
boots of a Light designed robot, which Dr Wily and Cossack
used often in their own designs. Over its shoulder was
slung a huge burlap bag, which was assumed to be filled
with whatever cash was once contained within that small
office, and in its hand were several rolled up plans
and blueprints. However, the most distinguishing feature
of this shadow was the over sized shears atop its head.
“Britt?!”
Erik blurted out. “You did this?! But why?”
The figure then spoke, but in a completely different
tone and voice than heard in their own beloved Cut-Chan’s.
“Oh,
but it would be so easy to frame your own team mate,”
The figure claimed with a confidence that was usually
reserved for world leaders “but where’s the fun in that?”
With that, the figure took on step forward to give his
two attackers a good look at his more distinguishing
features.
His glass eyes were the exact same shape as that of
Britt’s, but these were obviously not as taken care
of and were showing signs of yellowing around the ridges.
Grime and oil were streaked across his entire body,
as if he were constantly working on himself, or on something
else. A crooked sneer stretched from one side of his
tangerine colored face to the other, with his porcelain
teeth looking the worse for wear. Even the famed Cutman
shears adorning his head were scratched with thousands
of miniature battle scars, a testament to their rigidity.
Covering his back was an equally filthy lab coat, the
likes of which were very familiar to that of doctors
Light and Wily.
The two androids had only a few seconds to take in this
sight before he simply stepped backwards and dashed
off down the street. Erik and Ben followed, but as soon
as they were out of the building they had lost sight
of the orange menace. The two were now annoyed and confused.
Hopefully, they’d have some answers soon.
“What
the hell was that…thing?” Ben said aloud, but barely
audible.
“I…I
wish I knew”, Erik could barely muster.
The two then simultaneously realized what sort of a
hell they were surely about to experience and they also
knew they might be helpless against it.
CHAPTER
2 He
hunched over the sink, slowly and meticulously scrubbing
the blood from his gloved metal fingers. The sneer that
crossed his face had rescinded into a docile half open
maw of quiet contemplation. He was sure that the smell
of the blood would have made him sick. Luckily for him,
he had no nose to even bother with such a thing. As he
scrubbed away the day’s murders, he hummed along with
the music echoing within the caverns he inhabited: Beethoven’s
5th Symphony.
The caverns that he occupied lay beneath an abandoned
town in the Mojave Desert, empty since the small town
was deemed too radioactive for human inhabitation due
to nuclear testing less than a mile away. The caverns
beneath the town were made by gold miners in the late
1800s, and were further widened with the nuclear blasts
below ground not too far away. It was perfect for Cutman;
he felt the same way for the town as he felt about himself.
His creators abandoned him because he was deemed too
dangerous.
He dried his hands and slipped on his filthy lab coat
for the long night of work that lay ahead of him. He
thoughtfully put his hands behind his back as he strolled
through the one of the caverns’ largest rooms, which
contained a rather large example of his work. There
within the dimly lit caves were thousands of near complete
Sniper Joes, Metools, and giant Suzys, all awaiting
the implantation of memory chips. On this night, Cutman
would come much closer to this happening.
Nobody in the meeting room knew what to say. When
Erik and Ben returned from their encounter from the
“Cutman clone”, they just didn’t say much after explaining
their story. Truth be told, they just didn’t know what
to make of all of it. It scared them.
Odin theorized that it could be another one of Wily’s
clones doing his dirty work. It seemed viable, but there
was something so un-Wily in this robot’s movements.
He moved with both caution and confidence, knowing he
could be hurt yet be invincible to his attackers. His
voice was enough to make a human’s blood run cold. It
rang with a tone that was like a knife going through
one’s ears. However, there was a certain softness to
it, which commanded respect and attention, as well as
fear and contemplation. It was like an image of their
own Britt gone horribly awry, so twisted.
But now, they were all left with more questions than
answers. They were no closer to understanding this new
threat than they were yesterday, when the two Robot
Masters returned from their encounter. Dr Light, whom
the Six called only when they needed the direst of help,
could not be reached at his lab in Tokyo. He must be
off in England supervising his operations there, where
he would leave his phone off in hopes of greater concentration.
Finally, Britt broke the silence.
“…He’s
a clone of me, right? So, he might have the same weaknesses
as myself, so we can definitely beat him with six to
one odds, right?”
“No.”
Ben dryly stated. “He’s too quick, too devious. I don’t
think he’s a mere clone.”
“He’s
right.” Erik piped in. “There’s something…unnatural
about him.”
“Uh,
no offense, but being a robot isn’t exactly natural.”
Gary quipped.
Normally, he would have gotten at least a chuckle, but
the mood of the room keep on the dim side. Nobody would
feel like laughing as long as this problem existed.
Finally, after a solid week of incommunicado, Dr Light
replied to the plethora of messages left for him on
his machine. He didn’t know what the S6 needed, but
he knew the situation must be grave if they needed him
so badly.
“I’m
very sorry for not being available this past week or
so. We’ve been working the bugs out of the new line
of Sniper Joes and it’s been a rough week.” Dr Light
said with an innocent tone. He was oblivious to the
goings on in the Six’s part of the world. He had no
idea of this Cutman clone wrecking havoc across their
fair city.
“Doctor,
we need help, and we need it now.” Gary plainly stated.
“A week ago, Fireman and Gutsman were working on a robbery
scene, when they ran into the culprit. It appeared to
be a clone of our Cut-Chan, and what’s worse is he seems
to be able to break the cardinal rule of robotics and
can kill at will.”
“…”,
Was all the good doctor could muster. He had an answer,
but wasn’t sure of how to word it.
“Doctor,”
Fushi chimed in, “we haven’t much time. If you know
something, please. You have to tell us before he has
the chance to kill again!”
“He’s
not a clone…” Light quietly whispered.
“What
is he then? Some sort of new prototype of Wily’s?” Gary
questioned.
“He
is…the original DLNO 003.”
CHAPTER
3 Britt
sat on the edge of her bed, mulling over an old photograph.
It was a picture of the six of them prior to their reprogramming
at the hands of Dr Wily. This meant that the Cutman shown
in this photo wasn’t her after all, as she had believed
her whole life during her stay with the Sinister Six.
In less than an hour, her whole world was torn asunder.
Why? How could her own “father” lie to her for so long?
Her thoughts then turned back to the events just an
hour ago, when Dr Light finally explained the truth
behind her past.
“As
you all know,” Light began, “the Cutman model was the
first ever industrial robot to be given the designation
‘Robot Master’. What this also implies is the fact that
he was still a bit of a prototype, much in the same
sense as Blues is to Rock.”
The Sinister Six quietly sat in the room, fixated on
the white-haired man on the screen in front of them.
Light continued.
“I
had to use an experimental thought processor for this,
so I could check my theories of a high intelligence
processor that could easily be produced. What I didn’t
expect was that it would work out so well…at first.
When he was tested, he earned a 283 on the IQ test,
which places him a full two points ahead of Dr Cossack’s
Brightman. Cutman was capable of such incredible thinking,
and read as many books as he could get his hands on.
However, he became infatuated with the idea of war.”
The expressions upon the Six’s faces grew even more
grim.
“Before
I could get to tweak his systems to try and dissuade
this thought process, it happened: Dr Wily stole you
all away from me, giving him a near perfect military
genius in Cutman. I knew I couldn’t allow him to remain
in Wily’s hands, for then nobody would be able to topple
him. Indeed, if this Cutman was the one that Rockman
fought, things might be very different from what they
are now.”
“But
if that’s the case,” Odin chimed in, “what happened
to this other Cutman? How could there be two?”
Light gathered himself for what was sure to be a disheartening
story to tell his “children”.
“Like
I said, I knew that Cutman was too dangerous a weapon
for Wily. I doubt even Wily was able to realize this
robot’s genius before I took the measures needed to
keep Cutman out of his clutches. I had but one choice:
a memory surge.”
“Memory
surge?! That’s like killing a robot’s personality indefinitely,
Doctor! It’s like murder, but the body remains intact!”
Erik exclaimed.
“I
know…but I had no other choice at the time. Rockman
hadn’t been completed, and there was no telling what
sort of carnage would be unleashed when Wily deleted
the Three Laws from Cutman’s system. Believe me, it
was the last choice I wanted to make, but it needed
to be made.”
“But,
if you could stop all six of us from the get go, why
not fry all of us at once? Why let us become Wily’s
tools?” Ben shot at the doctor.
The other five in the room looked at Ben. He just said
what was on all their minds, but was avoiding asking
the doctor.
“Because…I
knew Rock could beat you. I still had hope in the rest
of you. You see, I saw you, and still see you, as children
of mine. It was difficult enough to end just one of
you, but to end all six of you would had driven me over
the edge.”
“But,
this still doesn’t answer the main question here: Why
are there two Cutmen now?” Britt snapped. Already, she
was feeling alienated from the other five in the room.
She already knew the answer, but she needed to hear
it from Dr Light’s lips.
“Cut-Chan,”
Light began quietly, “you are Dr Wily’s first functioning
robot. Despite his claims, Metalman isn’t the first
robot built by him; just the first totally original
Robot Master of his own design. My guess is that he
had plans for all six of you long before you were in
his possession, and needed to come up with a new robot
to take the place of Cutman, who was surely a useless
shell of a robot by now. So, he must have copied Cutman’s
body and made as close a clone as he could. In doing
so, he also wiped clean the rest of your short term
memory circuits, so that there would be little confusion
and less chance of a rebellion towards him on your part.”
“That…makes
sense.” Fushi rationalized, “That explains why we can’t
remember anything until our battles with Rock. I’ve
always wondered why that was.”
“Yes,
and to some extent, I agreed with Dr Wily’s decision
even after you were recovered. I just couldn’t bring
myself to tell you about this whole matter, and I had
hoped that it could stay buried with the original Cutman.”
Light began to become visibly shaken, tears welling
up on the edges of his glossy eyes.
The Six remained silent for a few minutes. Again, they
were collectively at a loss for words, only this time
it wasn’t from a lack of answers, but from the answers.
Finally, Gary asked another question that needed to
be asked.
“Doctor,
if this is all true, then why is this original Cutman
up and walking about? Shouldn’t he be laying in some
scrape heap in Wily’s Monsteropolis Castle?”
“I’m
afraid I don’t have an answer for that just yet. However,
I have Roll hacking into some of Wily’s old encrypted
files that we recently recovered from one of his destroyed
Skull Fortresses. We could have our answers within the
next few days if we’re lucky.”
It wasn’t the response Gary and the others were looking
for, but then again, neither was this whole conversation.
Especially Britt, who had heard enough and was making
her exit from the room.
Gary knocked on the frame of Cut-Chan’s quarters. The
door was open, but he felt he needed to show some decency
in a case like this. When he got no audible answer,
he sat on the edge of the bed alongside Britt, who by
now was clutching her Iceman plush, partially burying
her face in it.
“I…,”
Gary stuttered, “I wish I could tell you I know how
this feels…but I don’t want to lie to you.”
“Why
not? My own father lied to me!”
“I
do know that this doesn’t seem very much like Dr Light,”
Iceman tried to defend his creator, “he’s not much of
a liar and you know that. He…had a valid reason, I think.”
“Valid?
What do you know of that word? Now I know the true meaning
of that word, and I can say that I’m anything but valid!
I’m a mere copy of an original, a half baked replacement
made by some deranged scientist.” Britt screeched from
behind her gritted teeth.
At this point, Gary had nothing left to say. He could
try and say, “that’s not true”, but he didn’t think
it would do much good at this point. He knew, on some
sad level, that it was at least partially true, and
now he was getting depressed. Instead of saying anything,
he did the only thing he could think of: He hugged her.
And so, without a word for the next hour, the two drifted
off to sleep in each other’s arms, tears dried to their
latex skin cheeks.
CHAPTER
4 4Deep
beneath the scorching sands of the desert above it, the
almost frigid caverns below it teemed with the ominous
tones of Bach and Mozart on a regular basis. The classical
sounds kept the rouge Robot Master Cutman in high spirits
as he slaved away over his work. The chips that were recently
“confiscated” from the industrial warehouse were nearly
rid of the pesky laws of Asimov, and would soon be fit
for the troops of his army. His mad dream of vengeance
and retribution would soon be realized.
However, he only had part of the computer system needed
to awaken his army of patch work robots. He also needed
the control modules that would enable his creations
with the power of mobility. With the last component
in place, he could at last begin his great plan of revenge
against both doctors Light and Wily, as well as finally
validate his existence in the world. This would be his
grand debut as the first true Robot Master.
All he needed now was to wait a mere day for the control
modules to be completed in the small factory outside
of Florence, Italy. He had placed several scout robots
on the scene to monitor the progress of these important
components, and they were finally nearing completion.
Tomorrow, he would go to collect these components, and
at last start his great plan.
It has been a whole month since the incident on Gear
Drive, and the Sinister Six were now undergoing routine
training drills to make sure they were up to the challenge
that would soon surface. Erik had his muscle systems
updated with the latest in high tension wire, which
essentially is much like a body builder bulking up for
a strongman competition. He could now surely lift a
Boeing 747 well over his head with little effort. His
speed also benefited greatly from this, and was almost
able to keep up with the fast paced Gary, who wasn’t
one of the fastest members of the team, but still quick
in his own right.
Gary, like Erik, had also undergone some changes to
his structure. The bottle that was mounted to his back
was now able to carry twice as much N2O as before, which
is essential to him being able to perform his signature
Ice Slasher attack. What’s more important is the level
of effectiveness of this attack; it could now freeze
even Dr Light’s signature Light Ceramic-Titanium Alloy
to a bitter –100 degrees F, and could be shatter with
as little force as a punch from the Arctic research
android.
Fushidane, on the other hand, actually became slower.
Not because of a lack of training, but because of the
addition of a solid extra inch of armor, which would
enable her to survive a force of 10 kilotons of explosives
without batting an eyebrow. The purpose of this, in
her eyes, was to be able to get up close and personal
with her already lethal Hyper Bombs and possibly end
the situation quicker than anyone else. The only question
was if she could get close enough to actually use this
bizarre method of kamikaze style fighting.
Ben and Odin, on the other hand, preferred to sharpen
their natural skills even more, rather than upgrade
them. Both of them had been studying hand to hand combat
techniques extensively, and with their abilities as
robots to absorb knowledge with the ease of simply reading
it once or twice, they had both become deadly artists
in the form of well over a dozen martial arts.
All of them knew that the key to victory would be
besting Cutman at his own game: close quarters combat.
Cut-Chan had always been possibly the best at getting
up close and personal when fighting her foes, so they
all figured that this Cutman would be no different,
given the nearly identical builds of the two Cut models.
All of them trained and prepared…except for one.
Britt had sunk into a deep depression by this time,
getting harder and harder to talk to as the weeks wore
on. She now spent almost all of her time in her private
quarters doing nothing but contemplating the meaning
of it all. From time to time, the rest of them team
would try to snap her out of it, but it never seemed
to be of any use. Britt just lay there staring straight
up at the ceiling, her thoughts her own. Nobody had
given up on her, but they knew that Britt would be the
only one who could snap herself out of this funk. They
knew that they might have to relay on just the five
of them when it came time.
The distress call rang out early the next morning.
A frantic call, translated from Italian by the Six’s
super computer, had wildly stated another robbery of
another industrial supply company, and further adding
to the tension was a blurry photo of a lab coat donning
robot making his entrance into the complex. The Six
knew they had mere minutes to get to the coordinates
displayed on the enormous screen of their war room.
All except for Cut-Chan, who remained in her room. The
remaining five Robot Masters disappeared in the telltale
flurry of electric haze that signaled a teleportation
device at work as they went to meet their long lost
brother.
They arrived just outside the building, already looking
grim with the expressions of business painted on their
faces. They all knew that none of what would happen
inside this building today would be easy. Could they
possibly match wits with this supposed genius?
Deciding not to split up, they all knew that teamwork
would be their greatest ally in this battle. Cutman
may be one of the greatest fighters and planners known
to robot kind, but there was no way he could take on
all five of his brethren at once. It was simple mathematics,
really. They all knew, however, that he still posed
a great threat.
They traversed into the now desecrated factory/warehouse,
alert to every noise about them. The electricity had
been cut off, so the only light within the building
was given from windows placed far back in the halls
of the building, and the flames that danced upon random
desks and work stations. The shadows cast upon the brick
walls bobbed up and down, almost mocking the small group
as they forged ahead. Their grim expressions began to
fade into looks of shock as they set their eyes on what
lay ahead in the distance.
The entire line of assembly workers lay in a mound
at the back of the room, bloody and torn. Limbs lay
strewn about the room and fragments of human tissue
were thrown about all over the place, splattering on
anything that happened to be nearby. Not one was breathing,
either; all were killed within seconds of seeing their
assailant. It was ghastly and obscene, and a true marker
for the horrors of this murderous robot. They could
do nothing at this point but forge on and hope these
were the only casualties.
The vault lay a few feet ahead of the mound of mutilated
corpses, where surely Cutman would find what he had
been looking for. The Six still had no idea what it
was he took from the last outing of his, seeing as the
factory refused to say what it was. All they put out
was a generic “classified” statement, not even filling
in the S6 who tried to stop the robbery. Needless to
say, Roll would have more hacking to do if she could
ever get past her job of hacking through Wily’s old
encrypted files.
The vault door lay on the ground within the vault
itself, its hinges chopped clean away from their mounting
surface. Inside, the small vault room was pitch black,
due to the electricity being out. The six heroes, however,
knew their target was still inside, as the tell tale
rustling of parts and small metallic bits were still
plainly heard from within. This time, however, Erik
wouldn’t let out a warning like last time. If they still
had the element of surprise, they intended to keep it
until Cutman emerged from the room.
However, the rustling stopped quite suddenly, leaving
the Six peering into the dark chamber even closer. Suddenly,
bursting through the darkness came the familiar silver
flash, quicker than ever before. It spin and whipped
through the air so furiously, the vacuum left in its
wake was audible. The blades came within a fraction
of an inch from shearing off Odin’s nose, who just barely
managed to step aside in time, even though he was the
quickest of the elite fighting force. The left the lightning
user visibly shaken; how could he catch him off guard?
The only other robot to ever come close to doing so
was his “cousin” Quickman, and even he barely managed
to beat him.
The blades returned to their master as quickly as
they were loosed. Standing atop the fallen vault door
was the lab coat brandishing Cutman, who had filled
his burlap knapsack with whatever it was he came for.
He had the same nasty sneer smattered across his grimy
face as before, not the least bit concerned with being
out numbered by his “brothers”.
“You
know,” He began his taunt, “I was wondering when you
would show up. I was afraid I’d get away scot-free.
I wouldn’t be able to call you ‘crime-fighters’ then,
would I?”
“Enough
of the crap already, you walking scrap heap! We want
to know what it is that so damn important that you felt
it was necessary enough to kill whatever human stood
in your way, and we want to know now.” Ben threatened
in a menacing growl. The sudden out burst unnerved a
few of his own, even. None of them wanted to start hurling
insults without first trying to reason with him.
Cutman began to tisk his verbal assailant.
“Now,
now Fire old boy. Sticks and stones. You’ll all find
out exactly what I’m up to in good time. That is, if
you make it out of Italy alive, of course.”
With that, Cutman dropped his knapsack gently beside
him and cracked his neck in a circular motion. It was
clear to the S6 that Cutman had no intention of negotiations
at this point, so they had no choice but to brace themselves
for the onslaught that was sure to ensue. It was no
surprise to anyone that Ben made the first move, however.
Fireman dashed forward with speed that perhaps rivaled
Odin himself, while simultaneously sinking his hands
into his forearms, readying his arm cannons in an instant.
Within a fraction of a second, he was a mere meter away
from his target, and unleashed a hellish blaze of iron
melting heat at a lethal range. Cutman, however, was
less than impressed with this new found speed as Ben
found him with his back to his opponent even quicker
than he could have seen.
“Hm…still
too slow. I hope your fellow ‘heroes’ can do better
than that.”
Cutman clutched the back of Ben’s bright red armor plate
and whirled around twice before releasing him, sending
him hurtling towards Fushi who had almost no time to
block. The two tumbled together across the expansive
room and lay in a heap far and away from the remaining
fighters. The filthy orange robot next turned his attention
on his awestricken opponents. “Anyone still brave enough
to try me again? I do have work to do.”
“Like
hell!” Odin screamed as he charged up strands of electricity
between his fingers.
“Ah,
I have a special surprise just for you then, thunder
wielder.” Cutman stated as he reached behind his back.
Odin burst forward like a bullet shot from a pistol,
holding out his outstretched hands for an attack with
his all powerful Thunder Beam. Possibly the most deadly
weapon among the group, it had the power to completely
disrupt the electrical systems of most robots, and was
certainly something to be feared. Cutman, however, was
well aware of this ahead of time and made special preparations
for his encounter with Odin.
Odin stopped dead in his tracks to look at what had
happened to his hands. He felt his power slip away from
him almost immediately as he saw the liquid splash onto
him.
“What…what
is this?” He questioned with anger erupting in his voice.
“It’s
a small momento from the Yellow Devil.” Cutman said
with the same evil smirk crossing his face. “ All I
did was replace the element that monster is most well
known for, namely gold, with a synthetic rubber substitute.
What I wound up with was a wonderful instant insulator
that I just knew you’d love.”
“Fine
then! I don’t need my powers to beat you anyway!” Odin
screamed as he began his charge yet again. He had hoped
his newfound close range skill would be enough to give
this bastard a run for the money.
Odin whirled around in front of Cutman, extending his
left leg in a near perfect crescent kick, aimed directly
toward his foe’s midsection. Cutman, however, was ready
with a counter of his own as he shifted his weight as
soon as Odin’s foot made contact with his awaiting hands.
Using advanced judo, he flipped Odin to the ground effortlessly,
kicking him in the stomach as he fell, sending him careening
across the floor next to Gary. Odin’s fluid delivery
system began washing oil and coolant up his intake tube,
causing his “blood” to seep out his mouth.
Erik and Gary knew at this point that the two of them
would have to work in perfect harmony to have a shot
at putting an end to this in a favorable way. They both
circled around their target, communicating to each other
with their eyes as Cutman simply grinned and looked
at the downed Odin.
“You’re
kidding, right? Surely, you both realize just how outclassed
you really are by now.”
“You
never know until you try!” Erik bellowed as he swung
with his massive arm. His fist, however quick and wide,
missed its target entirely, as Cutman was literally
on top of him no sooner than after he had swung. He
stood atop his yellow helmeted cranium, staring directly
at Gary. Erik, barely able to understand exactly what
had happened, began shaking his massive torso in an
effort to unbalance Cutman, who gracefully landed on
the floor just ahead of him. Erik looked down just in
time to catch an orange boot to his large lantern jaw.
Normally, a kick from anyone wouldn’t do much more than
tickle the giant, but this kick was so precise in its
aim that it jammed his jaws locking joints back deep
into their frames, effectively breaking his jaw.
Before his pain sensors even registered the event, Cut
wasted no time in delivering a similar kick squarely
in the back of his neck. Had it not been for Dr Light’s
super high tensile strength muscle cables, Gutsman would
have been decapitated. Instead, he found himself rendered
unconscious, mercifully.
Gary, who had been searching for the correct time to
land an Ice Slasher on the orange menace, could now
unleash a volley of his famed freezing attack now that
the large Erik was down and out. Cutman knew he’d be
under an attack of these as soon as he dispatched Gutsman,
and performed a handstand-to-back flip to avoid the
deadly ice. The Ice Slashers crashed into the pillar
behind him, creating a shattering sound as if someone
broke a plate glass window with a sledgehammer. Cutman
retaliated with a projectile of his own as soon as he
was level with the ground again.
The giant set of shears whirled past Gary’s face, missing
him by inches. Surprised by this, Gary knew this would
be the perfect opportunity to ready another set of Ice
Slashers.
“Hyuuu-“
Gary inhaled, but he was stopped short quite suddenly.
Cutman had missed Gary on purpose! Upon its return,
the blade hit it’s actual target: the tube that connected
the nitrogen canister to the back of Iceman’s head.
The deadly freezing agent sprayed wildly out the severed
tube, nearly knocking Gary over. He had no choice but
to eject the canister from its position upon his back.
Grinning even more madly than before, the tangerine
terror’s eyes widened as he realized victory over his
fellow Robot Masters.
“You
just didn’t understand, did you? I am right in my revenge!
I will not be denied, not by you, and not by that graying
fool Wily!” As the blades returned to his awaiting hand.
“The only thing that could have made this victory any
sweeter would have been if I could have destroyed that
damned copy of me right here in front of you.”
Gary’s eyes grew cloudy and angry. He began shaking
with rage at the thought of this maniac hurting his
beloved Britt.
“Ah
well”, Cutman reasoned,” You’ll be seeing each other
again soon enough.”
Cutman reared back his hand for the killing toss of
the cutters. However, Gary had a small surprise of his
own.
“Gkkkt!
GYahaayAAHHH!!” Cutman screamed as he watched his left
arm shatter in front of his eyes. The Cutters dropped
to the floor in front of him as he dropped to his knees
in agony, clutching his ravaged arm at the elbow. Dark
lubricant shot out of his open wound, creating a rapidly
growing puddle beside him before his internal systems
cut off circulation to his severed arm.
“Y-you…how?
Your damned s-supply line was c-cut!!”
Gary allowed himself a small smirk of his own.
“I
managed to inhale just enough nitrogen just before it
was cut and I managed to keep it from spilling out.”
“H-hehhhh….very
l-lucky for you then…” Cutman said with a half cocked
grin, “However, don’t think this is over just yet!”
Cutman reached for his shears and slowly rose to his
feet, now with an even more serious look adorning his
oil spattered face. No sooner had he risen, however,
than he was grabbed from behind by a now recovered Fushi.
“I
can blow us both to high hell if I need to, but I won’t
have to if you drop those shears of yours.”
Cutman released his grip on his prized weapon, letting
it tumble to the broken concrete floor.
“Now,
kick ‘em towards Gary. Slowly!” Bomb chick demanded
forcefully.
Cutman obliged and let his boot nudge the blades across
the floor. Gary, just watched them slide towards him
and stop. He was much too wary by now to pick them up.
“Cut,
listen. I know you’ve been through a lot, but it doesn’t
have to be like this. I don’t want you as an enemy!
Why don’t you just come back with us and let Dr Light
fix you back up?” Gary pleaded.
“Fix
me back up?” Cutman slowly retorted,” Why? I’m in much
better condition that I was when I was in his care!
Look at me! I just held my own against the five of you!
If anything, you should join me; I’ll soon be ruler
of this pathetic little mudball of a planet anyways,
so you may as well switch sides while the offer is on
the table.”
“You
just don’t get it, do ya? We’re the good guys here,
and its by our own saving grace that we don’t end you
right here and now! We certainly are within our rights.”
Fushi claimed as she reminded herself of this fact by
glancing at the still wet pile of corpses.
“Oh?”
Cutman sneered with a growing sound of doom in his voice,
“I thought…THAT IT WAS THE OTHER WAY AROUND!!”
Cutman whipped his entire body a full one hundred degrees,
taking Fushi along for the ride. They were now standing
directly opposite of how they were before, with their
backs to Gary. As he was twirling, he activated the
return magnet atop his head, which called for his shears
to return to their home. The shears responded by skittering
across the floor briefly before becoming airborne. Standing
in between their home atop their master’s head was an
unfortunately placed Fushidane.
“Gyaaaaahhh—accckt!!”
Fushi yelled with a mix of shock and pain as the shears
easily drilled through her chest cavity, sending many
types of internal fluids spraying onto the back of Cutman,
who reveled in her agony.
“Now,
if you’ll excuse me, I have a long night of work ahead
of me, thanks to you” Cutman sneered at Gary as he raised
his stub, implying his discontent with the Eskimo. With
inhuman speed, Cutman snatched up his burlap bag and
disappeared in an orange blaze, leaving Gary in a state
of confusion and shock. He didn’t know if he should
chase down the bastard or stay and help his fallen friends.
This didn’t last very long, however, as he ran over
beside the now unconscious Fushi.
Unfortunately, the Six’s problems within the warehouse
were not over just yet. Almost as soon as the orange
haze of Cutman’s teleportation trail settled, the earth
below them shook with tremendous force. Looking around,
Gary soon realized that this was no earthquake. Around
the edges of the room, the signs of some sort of plasma-type
force field made it’s presence know as it left a trail
of empty earth behind it. It drew itself closer towards
the group, seemingly taking its time in getting to them.
The Sinister Six, so it seemed, were about to be compacted
into dust by this energy compactor.
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