Orchestrated By C.M. Rich (Magnetman)
By Gauntlet, Raijin, Lennon, Hardman
Scenario A
Participants:
Mechanical Maniacs (RPD)(L)
Sinister Six PC (RPD)
Constance (L)
General Cutman (SA)
Chimeraman (SA)
Artilleryman (SA)
Location: Desert Gultch
SA Infantry: 5077
RPD Units: 2151
Wily Bots: 860
“We’re holding up as well as we can,” said Gag over the communicator.
Hardman grinned.
“Ya look like hell, kid.”
Gag shrugged. “When I woke up from that nap I saw Scissor Joes
all over me. At first I thought it was my boyish good looks, but
it turns out they were rounding up all the police bots for scrap.”
“That’s th' Scissor Army fer ya.”
Hardman felt glad. His bar was trashed (again), but Gag survived.
He had been really worried about that.
“I’ve rounded up some of the bots that escaped the scrap heap.
We have a few humans too, even some former Watchers. We have Pharon
helping us out and even your old pals, Cleaveman and Boomerang!”
Hardman groaned. “Those guys! Aw, you’ve fallen in with a bad crowd.”
There was some silence as the two made their goodbyes. Hardman
tried not to mention his encounter with Cassandra. Or Constance.
Whatever she chose to call herself. When he woke up he saw her
… for the first time in months. She looked worn out. She was dressed
in police riot gear (which looked new) mixed in with some Joe equipment.
She smiled and they hugged.
She explained that she had been out to find Dr. Light and to put
an end to the War. That she’d met up with Topman, and later Protoman.
And that she had changed. She tried to contain it as best she could,
but she couldn’t hide her unease.
“The old Seignema’am personality has emerged. It’s smarter now.
She’s taken to calling herself Constance.”
Hardman looked at her in confusion and she explained that it had
awoken inexplicably when the War began. It had started as random
blackouts at first, however Constance had grown more accustomed
to their body as time went on. Now she did most of the fighting
… and Cassandra had done most of the strategizing.
“We’ve gotten to be a pretty good team.”
Hardman had hugged her again after hearing that. “Don’t worry,
Cass,” he reassured her, “After all this is over we’ll take out
that parasite and get you back to normal!”
Cassandra had pushed away from him then and looked him squarely
in the eye. There he didn’t see his old friend, but a stranger.
“If you so much as touch me, I’ll kill you.”
Hardman was taken aback. He couldn’t even speak as Cassandra …
Constance turned her back on him and walked off. Hardman couldn’t
help but think that he had lost the best friend he had.
--------------------
Snakeman flexed his arms in satisfaction. “I really missed this!” He picked up his new piece of ordinance – a crystal shard gun. Since Amatista had his old rifle, he wanted to try out something new. This gun worked a lot like a rifle and shot sharp, dense, crystal shards at enemies from a long distance.--------------------
Topman sat alone in his room at RPD HQ. It was a long, hard road, but they were all together now, except for Magnetman. He should have felt good about it. Without the Shutdown Code there was nothing keeping them from being friends again.--------------------
The London meeting room seemed cramped compared to their facilities in Monsteropolis. Here there was no added accommodations for Hardman, who was forced to sit awkwardly on the floor. Crorq, Amatista, Needlegal, Shadowman, and Geminiman all stood at the front. Apparently they had all worked together on the strategy.--------------------
Amatista was silent during the meeting. It was a solid plan and they had only to do it. But her place wasn’t with them, out there. The Shutdown Code was finished and with it her time as Watcher. But even now she didn’t dare head off to Desert Gulch. The forces there were overwhelming … it was no place for a human like her. She couldn’t fathom what possessed Cassandra to follow in the footsteps of the Mechanical Maniacs … she’d actually tried to talk her out of it. She received a sad smile in response and nothing else.--------------------
General Cutman sat in his office, angrily looking over the world map as he noted down the areas in which the newly restored RPD had begun their attacks. He had won the War, he had ended his game, but due to a short moment of weakness he had been presented with an ‘extra stage’ in his twisted game of conquest, a stage he was not pleased with. Even though he had now sent a force to all the central HQs of his remaining opposition he felt that frustrated at his need to do so, after all, victory should have been his.--------------------
Hardman stood in front of the rest of the team which had now been outfitted with Special Forces armor, looking out at the Desert Gulch in the distance.--------------------
Chimeraman surveyed the battle from the air. The old mining town had lain abandoned for years … and even when the Scissor Army moved in it was left untouched due to its secretive nature. But now the town was being devastated by the battle below. The Scissor Army far outnumbered the Robot Police troops, but Chimeraman knew that these pawns didn’t matter. It was the COs that mattered. His old friends.--------------------
A heavy steel door opened to a dark room behind Cutman's office. The annoyed General flicked on the lights and began to browse through his small personal laboratory to contemplate which of the scattered unfinished projects would need a sudden field test. Cutman was disappointed it had come to this - an enemy invasion on his own cozy desert hideout. He had invisioned a small band of worthy survivors arriving for an invited final showdown, but that option was reserved for a War that had played out as it was written, an option that disappeared mere days ago with the very unwelcome resurrection of the RPD forces.--------------------
Chimeraman tore through the robot policemen with his hands and kicked them with his feet. His tail chopped the heads off those who didn’t get the message. Most of the Scissor Army had learned of the unusual styles of their commanding officers and long ago figured out it was advantageous not to get in their way when they had their eyes on the prize.--------------------
Chimeraman dodged the bursts of electricity expertly. His wings gave him agility … much more agility than these Mechs could handle, especially with their bulky SF outfits. He delivered a devastating head butt to Spark Chan’s Special Forces shell.--------------------
Within the cold steel corridors of the Desert Gulch, six figures teleported into the facility dressed in full RPD trooper armor and proceeded to stealthily move around the dark and desolate area.--------------------
Chimeraman burned through the Special Forces armour Snakeman wore. Of course it wasn’t really Snakeman. Chimeraman knew it was one of the Sinister Six buffoons. He had exploded from underneath Torchman in a burst of anger. He could hardly have believed it. The Sinister Six had kept him out here … while the ‘Maniacs were probably infiltrating Desert Gulch at the very moment! Those losers had actually succeeded in distracting him! The General had his contingency plans, but it stung that he should be out here while the real fighting was going on inside. He finally got a good look inside of the Special Forces Unit.--------------------
The ‘Maniacs stepped back when they heard the coming of their new enemies. Shoryu didn’t seem to notice.--------------------
Hardman chased Cassandra as far as he could, but Joes kept getting in his way. When he tore one apart another came to challenge him. The RPD forces were fighting as well as they could. With little numbers, and on the enemy’s level terrain, they had held much of their strength in reserve. It was a last gasp from them. If they failed at this moment then the entire war was for nothing. They had the General cornered and Hardman knew that. He knew that the RPD officers needed more direction – from him – if they could hope for a victory.--------------------
Chimeraman used his strength to pound Needlegal’s head into the body of her armour. And again. And again! Each time he did it brought Chimeraman a little more satisfaction. He gripped the hold and used all his strength to pull the armour apart. Needle was not helpless in this. She tried to grip Chimeraman with her strong arms, but Chimera let loose a torrent of blue fire into the hole he had made. Needle’s body gave a few wild movements before the armour finally gave way! Chimeraman let loose a triumphant laugh.--------------------
Elecman was the first to strike, sending a large burst of electricity towards the Maniacs forcing them to disperse outwards to the edge of the chamber. By the time they all regained their bearings Gutsman had already lifted up a large piece of debris and hurled it at the smallest of the Mechs.--------------------
Waveman was torn from his Topman disguise as it finally succumbed to the damage inflicted on it by the overwhelming Scissor Army presence. The black and pink robot heaved a heavy sigh and began to attack the surrounding forces with his water-based weaponry. It was nice to have some enthusiasm, even if it was thanks to a shell program. Waveman looked towards the fight with Chimera and wondered how his friends were doing.--------------------
The armour on Hardman’s wrist finally gave out as Artilleryman hit him with another missile. The massive robot didn’t like where this was headed. And not Cassandra … or was it Constance now? … whoever she considered herself, she was definitely gone. Hardman couldn’t believe it. Artilleryman laughed.--------------------
Shadowman was driven from his spot on the wall as the General kicked the ninja to the ground. Without waiting a moment the General followed it up with a surgically precise kick to the stomach Shadowman wheezed and coughed.--------------------
Torchman finally shut up. Chimeraman grinned in satisfaction. It looked unnatural on his goat-inspired face. He was breathing heavily now … the Sinister Six had received quite a bit of upgrades.--------------------
“I have to admit, your team fascinates me,” said the General as he cut apart a small frog-like robot that was attacking him. Using a Cutter he blocked a Shadowblade. “The Shadowman of my world was a strategist. But even he never put a genius chip into his head. And, also …”--------------------
Topman flew across the ground as the Fire Storm attack hit him. His head was spinning but he did see the maniacal robot catch Shadowman’s Shadow Blade and throw it at Spark Chan. Shadowman swore and flew into an attack.--------------------
Skeletal fingers dug into the floor, dragging the dying husk behind them. The spider robot tried helpfully to push him along, but the fight against the loss of his legs and the utter uselessness of his other arm was still making progress a dismal affair.--------------------