The Unnamed: A Mechanical Maniacs Mini-Novel

By Gauntlet (Shadowman)

Prologue

"They're not so great."

The red robot tossed his glass of liquid energon to the floor in disgust.

"They think they're so tough. Everyone thinks they're so ...... damn...... OFFICIAL! It makes me SICK!" The red robot slammed his fist into the table, rattling an array of mugs. Everyone at the bar was looking at him now. Staring. With their eyes.

"Listen, Joe," said the bartender, "I know yer feeling low, but throwing a fit's not the way to go!" It was bad enough that he had to suffer unending defeats, but now ...... to be forced to drink at this so called "Autobar"..... Served by some rhyming twit....... It was almost more than Torchman could bear.

Slumping back into his seat, angry but not wanting to be thrown out again, the red robot muttered apologies and ordered another drink. By now everyone was used to his personality. Torchman considered himself a fallen warrior. With red and grey armor he remembered his glorious battles with Megaman. Then he, and several other industrial robots, had been reprogrammed by the nefarious Doctor Wily. He himself had set up his base in the sewers underneath suburbs where he placed a city in turmoil. Everyone feared he would randomly destroy homes and families - and with good reason. Those miserable people didn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things.

"There I was.....," Torchman began, speaking mostly to himself than anyone at the bar, "Just waiting for the little blue dweeb to show his face. The city was quaking in fear I tell you! Under Crorq's guidance I and my fellow robot masters prepared to take the entire world by force! None could stop us! None would dare ...... except Megaman. He destroyed all the traps I lay out for him and we met in a glorious battle!

As the battle began I leapt high into the air! Stunned, Megaman was unprepared as I dove down on top of him! Not to let my advantage go, I leapt forth again and again landed on my prey! Megaman couldn't help but stare up in disbelief at my awesome power! Unable to think, unable to act, Megaman was helpless before my onslaught! "Torchman took another gulp from a mug of energon the bartender had poured as he was ranting.

"Finally," Torchman continued, "Megaman regained his wits enough to roll out of the way! However, the damage to his systems was great. Already half his energy had been depleted by my furious attacks! Knowing this I pressed on. Megaman gasped for breath as I - TORCHMAN! - bounded after the coward as he ran from me! The water made it difficult for him to move quick enough and I was ready to pummel him into the scrap heap until he looked down at the water ...... and surmised my one weakness......."

For dramatic effect Torchman looked to the ground somberly. The words felt bitter in his mouth. "Water. He had previously beaten my brother in crime, Waveman (not to be confused with that name-stealing upstart Wily built afterwards! Oh no, this was the one TRUE Waveman!) and thusly acquired his weapon..... the water shooter! Knocked back by the barrage of water, Megaman couldn't help but gloat. 'Looks like you're all washed up,' he said as he always does. Confident in himself and his stolen weapons. Too confident! It was then that I unleashed my mighty weapon! The mightiest of all fire weapons! My Torch Arm!"

Now, Torchman was standing tall. Fully immersed in his story, his voice grew louder as he grew more confident. "The torch arm is capable of firing a searing ball of fire! Superheated and unstoppable it is unlike any fire weapon ever seen and unlike anything ever to be seen again. It's awesome heat can easily melt the densest of alloys. It's tremendous power once set an entire forest aflame in a single shot! As the ball of fire erupted from my mighty cannon the sewer water evaporated because of the unbelievable heat. Upon hitting Megaman it melted right through his blue metal skin! Shrieking in pain, he begged me for mercy! I was unmoved. Advancing forward I said, 'You who are without mercy now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff, Megaman!' And that was when -"

"When Hot Rod stopped you from finishing off Megatron?" said a tough looking robot in red, yellow, and black armor. Gutsman. "What about those Mechanical Maniacs? I thought they were your greatest enemies?"

"The Mechanical Maniacs," Torchman began, "are upstarts! They are not true warriors! They steal all they have! They have never had their own base. They've had to steal their bases from either Shredder or the Autobots. They claim they are heroes, yet they relentlessly pursue the innocent!"

"You mean, like you?" Gutsman asked. If his face could smile, it would have.

"Yes," Torchman spat. "Yes, like me. I and the other Sinister Six are the victims here. Shadowman and his Mechanical Maniacs are terrorists! All I have ever wanted was to aid the city. I tried and tried to become the hero -"

"Hero??" Gutsman interrupted. "Weren't you just bragging about how you held a suburb for ransom?"

Torchman pretended not to hear this. "We tried ignoring them! We even tried helping them! Lord only knows how many legions of our followers were ready to destroy those Mechs for us, however we stopped them! We felt the Mech's hostility would show through and the people would side with us! However, we didn't count on Shadowman's cunning. Using his lies he convinced everyone - even our good friend Iceman -"

"Iceman was never your friend!" Interrupted Gutsman. Gutsman served on the Sinister Six - that is to say the actual Sinister Six, the team who's name Torchman stole - with Iceman, and Guts knew for a fact that Torchman was making all this up as he went along. "In fact everyone was pretty pissed you'd steal the Sinister Six name!"

"You see! You see! You see the lies Shadowman has planted within you! All of you! Because of him no one believes in the inner nobility of the true Sinister Six! It is because of him and his damned Mechs that I am forced into this exile. It is because of him that I had once died! However, I miraculously came back to life! He cannot keep me down! No one can beat me! I am TORCHMAN!"

The bar erupted into laughter. Taken aback, Torchman fell silent. He noted all the laughing faces. One by one his electronic eye took note of them. Torchman slumped into his chair at the bar and drank deeply from his energon.

One day they would all pay. Megaman. The Mechanical Maniacs. He will see them all burn.