Sinister Six: Answers

by Rich (Bombman) Kassidy

CHAPTER 2

At first, all that surrounded them was an inky blackness, cold and confining. A feeling of emptiness filled some portions of their minds, memories were conspicuously missing. Soon, they collectively became aware of each other’s presence, but even more important was the feeling that suddenly came to them. Their bodies seemed different somehow. They felt somewhat disconnected from their minds, yet they knew they were in complete control. It was almost like having a prosthetic leg that gave back some feedback as to what it felt. Their eyes fizzled into focus not unlike an old television set being adjusted to get a clearer images as an obviously tired voice began to ring in their ears.

“..H-…-ello…Hello? Are you awake yet?”

The six newly rebirthed young people all turned their heads to the source of the voice. At the foot of their steel beds stood a weathered old man, clad in a starch white laboratory coat, with a neatly pressed white shirt and red tie underneath. The pigment had long vanished from his now silvery hair and beard, which framed the almost pale and slightly wrinkled skin of the old man. His azure blue eyes seemed dried out, but they still held the undeniable look of life in them, with a sense of hope to accompany it.

“What…where are…. Where am I?”, one of them asked.

The old doctor smiled. He had already prepared his answer long before he heard the question.

“Ah, it worked. Hello there, I am Dr Light. You were brought here to undergo a special process, as you volunteered for it. I must say, it looks as though you’re already adjusting to your new bodies.”

“Our ‘new’ bodies? What was wrong with our old ones?”, the stove-pipe-headed robot asked.

“They were…unsuitable to the new lives you have been given. I think you’ll find these much more to your liking.”

At that time, a few of the robots stirred, attempting to sit up. Unfortunately, they were only able to move a few inches before collapsing back onto the cold metal table.

“You’ll probably need at least another half hour before your systems adjust to the motor control servos. Let me occupy that time with the necessary information you’ll need.”

What choice did they have? Perhaps he would explain why they couldn’t remember much about the events leading up to this event.

“The year is 2014. Now, to some of you, this is several years ahead of what you last remembered it to be. Unfortunately, the transfer process took much longer than we had anticipated. Also unfortunate is the apparent memory loss you no doubt have suffered. I doubt any of you even remember why you’re here in the first place. Let me assure you that you are here on your own free will, and that you did indeed volunteer for this task.”

“Doctor…Light, was it? You keep saying that we all volunteered for some kind of task, but I’m still in the dark as to what we’re doing here.”, the largest of the six robots asked quietly.

“That’s a very good question, Erik, and one that I was just about to answer. Despite the fact that you’ve all been displaced by several years, you no doubt know of the Robot Riots of 2008, which were brought on by a mad scientist by the name of Albert Wily. Fortunately, Rockman, whom I built to stop Wily’s actions, pacified the situation. Sadly for us, Wily was able to escape imprisonment, and he still persists in attempting to realize his dream of world domination. A scant six years after his first attempt, Wily has tried three other times, each time using more powerful robots to do his bidding. Rockman has thus far been able to stop the situation from escalating each time, but we may not be able to stave him off forever. That is when we decided to ask for help.

You six are the best of our candidates. You bravely volunteered yourselves to better defend our Earth, and now you have been given the means to do so. You are free from the limitations of your former human bodies, and you now each control the body of one of my first Robot Masters. No doubt you’ll be astounded by the awesome might of your new host bodies, and I’m sure that you’ll do fine with them.”

This explanation, however, left them with a few more questions, and it wasn’t long until the smallest one of the group started asking some.

“Um, no offense doc, but volunteering to have my brain be put inside a walking death machine doesn’t really sound like something I’d do.”

“I assure you Gary, that’s precisely what happened. Granted, the entire process happened rather quickly, and perhaps the heat of the moment swept you up, but I have no doubts as to your honorable intentions at the time. Besides that, your brain isn’t inside that body; just your consciences. Your brains are still safe and sound within your human bodies, which are kept under heavy guard at the Cryogenics Storage Facility in Scotland. When the time comes, you may return your minds back into your bodies, but until then, you’ll be asked to defend our planet from the intentions of evil.”

Hearing that their bodies were still around made them feel a bit easier about this whole situation, but it still irked them. Something about it didn’t seem right. Dr Light seemed honest enough, but it almost felt as if there was something he was intentionally leaving out. Nevertheless, they began to realize the fact that they could realize their childhood dreams of becoming a real life super team, and skepticism soon took the back seat to overactive imaginations and excitement for adventure. That is all except for one of them.

Ben had always been a bit of a pessimist in his former life, and that trait accompanied him into his new robot body. There definitely was something wrong about this whole thing. He knew his memory had been tampered with, he could feel it. He hated the thought of someone screwing with his mind, and he knew he’d never give himself up to something like this. However, he opted to keep his thoughts to himself, and to let things play out for awhile before making any assumptions as he began aquatinting himself to his new teammates.

By this time, Dr Light had stepped out of the room to watch the six Robot Masters become familiar with themselves. He hated having to lie to them like that. It made him physically sick, as it reminded him of something Dr Wily himself would do. Still, he didn’t want to depress the young minds with the knowledge of their deaths, and hopefully he’d be able to make due with recreating their human bodies in secret using cloning technology. It was the least he could do for the new group of soon to be heroes.

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