The Unnamed: A Mechanical Maniacs Mini-Novel

By Gauntlet (Shadowman)

Chapter 9

At first Needlegal simply ran from rooftop to rooftop in the failing sunlight crying.

How could they all; be so mean to her? If they had only done what she told them to do…

Needlegal destroyed an air conditioning system located on the roof she was currently standing on in a sudden burst of anger. She didn’t look back as it raised an alarm.

She was one of the oldest members on the team and these …… newbies showed her no respect. It was probably because she was a girl too!

More needles flew by as Needlegal took her anger out on billboards, roof openings, chimneys, anything in sight. It made her feel a little better. But not much. She needed some sort of clue to Wily’s whereabouts.

To her luck she spotted one. An odd green robot flying through the skies and landing in a nondescript building in the warehouse district of Monsteropolis.

Laughing at the cliché, Needlegal ran off after it. If she hurried she would be able to follow it to Wily’s headquarters …. Or to some startled innocent bystander. Still, the robot was of an odd design and seemed suspicious enough to the tired robot.

Needlegal followed the flying green robot into an occupied warehouse. It made Metools and was obviously in good working condition.

Did I make a mistake?

But the green robot was nowhere to be seen. Cautiously Needlegal wandered the bustling factor. Robotic arms were handing hard hats to other robotic arms. The inner workings of the Met were assembled quickly and efficiently. After so long you’d think the Metool would be scrapped. It was pretty annoying when used for world conquest. But they were useful for so many other functions as well.

The factory created many typed of Mets, but Needlegal could not spot any green robots of any sort much less one that looked like it could fly. About to give up, Needlegal turned around and saw tracks on the floor. It looked like tank treads, possibly for a robot to carry large amounts of material from one area to another. However they led into a far off wall.

Needlegal knew the drill. There was something behind that wall. There was probably a secret switch or a code or something to open some sort of door.

No time for any of that. Using her powerful Needle Cannon, Needlegal shot a series of sharp needles to destroy whatever door was there!

No good.

“Man, that’s a strong door,” Needle muttered to herself in amazement. The crease were now evident, however the door was still sealed.

Alarms sounded throughout the building. Apparently her powers had tripped whatever alarms were set in place. The robotic arms never stopped doing what they do, however several guard robots were activated and they quickly surrounded the female robot.

Guard robots were designed to appear much more intimidating than conventional police officers to assuage the fear in their owners that the public would still fear them. Although this was true they were still weaker.

In a metallic voice the chief guard bot spoke to the blue intruder, “Stand down! Surrender and await the proper authorities!”

And end up a talking head? No thanks.

With a quick motion the guard-bots disappeared into scraps of metal as Needlegal shot them with a spray of needles. However, that didn’t help her as even more guards came swarming in. Needles flying from the cannons formed from her arms Needlegal deftly shot down every guard that came close. As guards jumped in from above, she angled her blasts to mow them down before they landed. As the rounded a corner her needles were there to greet them. Silver and blue metal bits littered the floor as more robot guards came at her until there were finally no more guards left.

Needlegal stood in the carnage and felt a slight twinge of guilt. These were robots like her and she mercilessly destroyed them all. However, these robots were not particularly intelligent. No more than walking calculators following their programs.

Reflections could come later. Right now there was a problem at hand.

That door.

It was battered even more during the confusion. And yet it remained closed.

With a sigh Needlegal leaned against the wall. She felt something (a brink perhaps) move inwards as her weight was pressed against it. As that happened the door easily slid open.

Needlegal smacked her head. It would be that simple.

***********

The hall was dark with only dim Florissant lights to guide Needlegal thought he tunnels that ran behind (and beneath) the factory. The hall was not unguarded.

Needlegal was surrounded by a group of Sniper Joes. Humanoid robots in green jumpsuits carrying square shields and wearing a green helmet with one glowing red eye they had her cornered. Or so they thought.

Without warning the needles at the top of her head launched at a Joe and dragged him towards Needle. Using the robot’s body as a shield, Needlegal was able to block most of the other Joe’s shots. From behind the cover of the now-destroyed Sniper Joe she used as a shield she fired back with her own Needle Cannon leveling a good portion of the green robot guards.

Not enough. More shot at her from behind. She flung the destroyed robotic Joe she was using at her pursuers hoping it would slow them down for a second. It worked and Needlegal once more lung the needles on her head at the Joes following her. It ripped open two Joes on impact. Needlegal whipped it back and forth, using it as a mace to destroy the rest of the Joes.

That’s the last of them. I think.

Needlegal strode past the mess that used to be a mass of Sniper Joes towards the end of the hallway. She fought past Mets, Screws, and so many types of robots she couldn’t identify. Her robot body was battered and worn. The battles weren’t hard, but the sheer amount of them took their toll.

Before entering the room through the garage like doors before her, Needlegal paused to consume an energy tank that had been dropped by a small robot. Suddenly she felt refreshed and energized. Although her armor would need a few hours of polishing before it looked pretty again.

At a touch the door rose with a clatter of metal banging on metal. She strode into a dark room.

Great. More dark rooms.

Needlegal had scarcely time to form that though when the door behind her cam crashing down and spotlights shone directly on Needlegal. Squinting in the extreme light Needle was barely able to get a measure of her surroundings.

The room didn’t have much. Electrical cables ran the length of the walls. There was another door at the far end, but it looked like it was locked. The spotlights came from all directions on the ceiling. Adjusting her robotic eyes she was able to make out the silhouette of a man standing on a platform near the ceiling of the room. A rather diminutive man. A familiar man.

Wily!

And then Needlegal was knocked off her feet by someone … something moving at an incredible speed. Needlegal barely had time to get up when she was blasted away by a force in the air. She looked up to see a huge robot flying near the ceiling.

That green robot I was following! This was a setup!

No longer surprised, Needlegal fired at the huge robot hovering above her. The robot seemed to assess the situation and said in a drone, monotonous voice indicative of a simple mind, “Analysis: small, sharp projectiles being fired at unit Barrageman. Damage: minimal. Continue attack.”

Barrageman. So that’s it’s name.

A large, lumbering behemoth, Barrageman was twice the size of Needlegal. His green armor was thick, designed to take even the most powerful plasma blasts. He had an odd face which bore a lunatic grin. Perhaps it was made to fight in wars. Obviously reprogrammed by Doctor Wily to guard his base of operations.

More powerful Ion Blasts rained down on Needlegal, but she dodged them all. Using her powerful jumping ability, she was able to grab a hold of the enormous green robot’s left arm.

“Unit Barrageman under physical attack. Commencing physical battle procedures!”

Well, this ought to be good. Old metalmind doesn’t even have any hands, what the Hell is he planning to do?

Needlegal’s question was answered as Barrageman began to pick up speed. G-forces pressed Needle close to Barrageman as his acceleration grew. Finally it stopped as Barrageman slammed Needlegal into the wall with all the speed he could muster. The impact caused deep cracks to form in the cement wall and flecks of dust fell to the floor. As Barrageman withdrew Needlegal instinctively gasped for breath. A human reflex programmed into her.

Again Barrageman slammed into the cement wall. The cracks deepened and this time chunks of the wall fell to the floor. Needlegal wasn’t made for this kind of physical damage and she could feel her body grow weak while it tired to repair the fractures forming in her joints.

What a stupid strategy ….. I’m pretty damaged, but the impact hasn’t done wonders for Barrageman either. His arm is pretty damaged. In fact ….

Barrageman began to accelerate again, but Needlegal was ready. She fired her Needle Cannon at close range into the robot’s shoulder socket. Her powerful needles ripped the weakened joint apart. Wires crossed in the torn joint and the resulting electrical explosion threw Needlegal into the nearby cement wall. She fell hard, but so did Barrageman. The huge green behemoth had been destroyed.

Breathing a sigh of relief the battered blue robot got to her feet. Great. Now she was all dinged and scratched up. Looking above her, Needlegal could see Wily was still there watching the fight.

Needlegal was getting ready for another leap when she was knocked off the ground again. Needlegal looked around in confusion, but no one was there besides the hunk of scrap that was Barrageman. Wait. Something just ran into her field of view. A sleek purple and orange robot. It looked oddly advanced with details everywhere. With purple “fins” on its head, arms, hips, and legs it looked like it could have been an advanced Sharkman, but Sharkman never moved so fast.

“Wimp. Nobody can mess with Expressman!”

A human would have smirked, but this robot only had a facemask. Nevertheless, Needlegal; could detect Expressman’s attitude just from his voice. With quick movements Expressman leveled an arm at Needlegal and began to fire solar bullets at Needlegal in rapid succession. With her weakened joints Needlegal couldn’t dodge very well and was hit many times. Still, determination bit into her. She would not be beaten by some loser newbie!

“You think yer fast, American Express? How about dodging the original rapid fire weapon?” A slight exaggeration. Flashman and Metalman both possessed rapid fire weapons before Needlegal did, but she wasn’t about to be a stickler for accuracy. She began to fire Needles at the cocky upstart. Unfortunately Expressman lived up to his name and took only minimal damage from the sharp projectile weapons. Meanwhile cracks began to appear on Needlegal’s armor as the stress of the battle was catching up to her.

Needlegal shivered as another robot entered the room through the far off doors ahead of her. This robot was big, but not as huge as Barrageman. It was mostly blue with orange highlights. It has odd glowing red yes and an eerie mechanistic mouth unlike any other robot model she had ever seen. Spherical in shape it appeared built for physical combat.

“Don’t hog the trespassers, guys. Save some for me,” said the new arrival.

“Sorry, Multiman. Have a go!” said Needle’s speedy tormentor.

“Gladly.”

Multiman used rockets on his feet to lunge himself at Needlegal. She was tired of getting beaten around by nobodies. She was after Wily!

Using the fast-approaching Multiman as a stepping-stone Needlegal jumped up towards the high platform.

“I finally got you Wi – uh?” Needlegal’s jaw dropped as she finally got good look at her tormentor.

That’s not Wily!

Metal blades tore through Needlegal and she crashed into the ground far below her. Her energy was drained and she was no longer able to fight.

The figure began speaking in an oddly primitive mechanical voice. “Good work, guys. Master will be pleased! Oh, he’ll be so happy!”

Expressman made a coughing sound. “I dunno, Barrageman seems to be in bad shape.”

“No problem. I can fix it! I can fix it!”

With the last of her energy Needlegal was able to form a question. “Who …. The Hell …. Are you?”

The odd robot looked down on her.

“My name is Doc Robot. And you’ll pay for what you did to Master!”