Post by Ambassador Torkie on Nov 5, 2015 20:16:41 GMT -5
((Couldn't find a story section. This is as close as I could find. This thread and others may very well be temporary.))
—————————————————
{CHAPTER I: PURPOSE}
I am DWN – 012.
My name is Quickman, but everyone in town calls me “Speedy”. That’s right… in town. You see, I didn’t stick around in that experimental firing range; I went to town and became a legend. But in order for this to make sense, I should start from the beginning…
I was built by a man called Dr. Wily. I’m not sure if that was his real name, but that’s what they say it is. I have my doubts about the man because he was a bit… well, crazy, you could say. Very moody and not very nice. I tried to avoid talking to him, to be honest.
My first memory was being booted up for the first time…
-*-*-*-
Sound System… Functional
“Come on now… come on… work…!
Tactile Senses… Functional
I could feel wires attached to me. Something was holding me down. I wanted it off.
Visual Sensors… Online
Light flooded into my face. I squinted and groaned.
“Ah! At last!
Starting Artificial Intelligence and Awareness… Now
Speed.
I was suddenly hit with a strong desire. I felt the need for speed.
Imprinting Serial Number… Now
A burning sensation in my shoulder.
“AAUGH!”
I struggled against the bonds as I was engraved with hot, sharp metal against my cold, steely skin.
“Hold still, child.”
Serial Number imprinted. DWN- 012 Online and ready to receive directives.
“What…?”
The light was turned off, and the rest of the room faded into view. Standing over me was… a man. He looked stern, but his eyes held a hint of excitement. “Number twelve… yes… zero-one-two. Quite sequential. I trust you will like up to my expectations.”
I was quite confused. “…Hi?”
The man rolled his eyes and shook his head. He placed a hand on one of the things holding me down. “I will let you off the table, but you will stay still as information is placed into your memory.”
“What?”
Starting Information Transfer Sequence… Now
My world became dizzy as I felt information flood into my information banks. Numbed by the sheer volume of information, I tamely laid still as the stuff holding me down was taken off.
A flood of information. Words. Names. Places. Adjectives. Languages. Faces.
I tilted my head as eleven names and faces were flashed by me. “…Metal…man?”
“Mmm… yes… your oldest living brother.”
“Living? Brother?”
“You two were built be the same man… by me. Ah, but I have built others before him… sadly, they were killed.”
“Killed…”
Murdered. Destroyed. Eliminated.
“Murdered…”
“Yes… exactly. And so I built all of you.”
“You built me?”
“Yes. I am Dr. Wily. You… were made for a purpose.”
“I have a purpose?”
In the back of my head, I heard the mysterious voice.
Starting Beta Program: Emotions… Emotions Online. Status: Permanently Activated.
A purpose! I had a purpose!
This made me very happy for some reason. “What is my purpose?”
Dr. Wily smiled. But it was more of a smirk than anything else. “You, my boy, were built for speed.”
Speed.
I was built to run.
He started unhooking me from the wires. “Come now. Meet your older brothers.”
-*-*-
He led me out of the small room to a large area. There were three other robots there, one of them in a large pool. The other two were practicing on targets.
“Boys… meet your newest brother.”
“This thin little squirt?” The one that looked like a fan said.
“Airman…”
“Yeah, that’s my name. Why did you build him, Doctor?”
“He does look a bit… brittle,” noted the other one, twirling saw blades in his hands.
I took a step back. Saw blades. Dangerous.
“Now now. He just has a different purpose. He was built for running at high speeds.”
“So all he can do is run? How lame…”
“No. Now then…” He held my arm straight. For the first time, I noticed something curious on my wrist. It looked like a small box of some sort. Taking my other hand, he placed it on the box. “Run your fighting program.”
My what?
Something inside me recognized the command, though. I heard the voice speak again.
Initiating Battle Tactical sequences now. Status: Permanently Activated.
Suddenly, I knew what to do. And I felt a little annoyed at Airman for calling me lame.
“Show him what you can do.”
I placed my hand on my launcher and aimed at a target. I fired!
BANG!
I fired again in rapid succession, dashing around the room! I fired at all different angles, dashing as if to avoid incoming fire. I bounced off the walls, full of energy.
When I finally came to an abrupt stop, there was dead silence. The target fell over, full of small, sharp metal boomerangs.
Dr. Wily gave a grin. I felt happy. I had done something right.
“Well well well,” Metalman said softly, slightly impressed. “Perhaps he is good for something after all.”
-*-*-*-
I spent the next few days training, for the most part. I learned to dodge things being thrown at me. I read books about the world, learning even more about plants and animals and people. I learned about the large stretches of flat, empty land in the West, where you could go miles and miles without seeing anyone. More than anything, I wanted to go there and just run. Run as fast as I could. I heard rumors of me being given an assignment and being let out soon. I could hardly wait.
-*-*-*-
The day finally came where I would get my assignment and my official name. I eagerly but slowly walked into the lab where Dr. Wily was. Taking in a deep breath, I put my hands behind my back and recited the line Metalman had told me to say. “DWN-012 reporting to receive prerogative commands.”
“Ah, good. You know… you can’t just keep saying that. You need your name still, don’t you? You are Quickman.”
Quickman. …What a cool name. I liked it.
“You are to infiltrate an experimental weapons factory in the Midwest.”
Wait, what? A weapon factory?
“Uh…?”
“Once you secure it, you will wait there for further instructions.”
I honestly felt a little disappointed. I didn’t really want to go do this. “…Yes sir.”
I was given the coordinates. “Stop anyone who gets in your way.”
“How?”
“You have the launcher, boy. Use that.”
I frowned. Something about this didn’t seem quite right.
“…Well? What are you waiting for? You have your orders, now run along.” He turned back to the table, where he was building another robot. “I’m a bit busy.”
For some reason, this made me really upset. But something inside me somehow knew that angering the Doctor by disobeying orders would be a terrible idea. So I just sighed. “Fine.”
With that, I carefully walked out of the lab. Once I was out of the range of sensitive equipment, I took off as fast as I could.
-*-*-
As I was making my way to the coordinates, I felt a great thrill racing across the world. I raced over all kinds of terrain, only slowing down for the forests. I raced across open land, where the sky was endless and you could really feel alive. I raced down highways, easily overtaking cars and outrunning ones with loud sirens. It was great to be able to really run. I was a red and yellow blur! The lightning menace! The speed demon! The velocity king! I was SPEED!
Since my orders were only to get there but didn’t detail when, I spent a long time exploring the world around me. Having been let loose with minimal guidance, I just cruised right along, doing whatever I felt like. Which mostly involved running.
Incredible as it sounds, I did eventually get bored of that after a while. There was only so much I could do by myself, as fun as it was. I decided I should at least check the factory out. So, I got up from my hideout in the Arizona desert and raced for Kansas.
-*-*-
Trouble began only a mile and a half away from my target. I was racing along the roads to the facility when I noticed fighter jets coming to intercept me. I found this a bit odd; I knew what they were from my first information download, but I had never seen them up close. Coming to a halt, I looked up in the sky to see the planes coming my way.
To my surprise, bullets started raining from the sky.
I was startled out of my wits. Speeding back, I ran backwards and fired with my wrist launcher at the guns, trying to take them out.
Warning: Hostile threat. Danger of destruction. Locking in… Now.
My sight locked into their guns and I fired.
To my surprise, my boomerangs actually did damage. While I was thrilled and relieved, I was also frightened as I realized just how dangerous they had to have been for this to happen. I was dangerous.
I couldn’t think on it long, though. I was still being shot at.
The “battle” was thrilling, full of speed and life-threatening danger. If I were human, I would say it really had my adrenaline running. In any case, it was exciting and scary.
The planes eventually had to fly off back to their base in Missouri, and I returned to my objective of securing the firing range. Only I had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be easy.
-*-*-
Boy, was I right. I raced along but was halted by a barricade of armored cars and humans with guns that fired at me as I came racing along. I locked in on the guns and fired, not stopping in my charge. When I came to the barricade, I simply leaped onto and then over the cars, running right past them.
Sirens began to sound and the cars chased me. Now… even though I’m faster than anything else (except maybe the fighter jets), I don’t like being chased. It’s the principle of the thing, you see. I got pretty annoyed as the sirens stared going off. People kept coming to intercept me, but I outran them all. I could see cars trying to leave. I didn’t bother them, but soon I was distracted by a blockade right in front of the building.
It was quickly becoming apparent that these weren’t normal humans. They were fiercely protecting something in that facility. To get it, something had to give.
-*-*-
Now… Metalman had once told me about a curious quality humans have. When they’re cut or punctured, they leak. They leak a thick red liquid that the call “blood”. And that if they lose enough, they get very sick and power down forever, with no way to be revived. Death. He went into quite the gory detail about it. I didn’t particularly want to get involved with that sort of thing. It sounded… kinda creepy and really disgusting. I had decided long ago that I didn’t want to get involved in something like that, and I wasn’t about to change my mind. Not even for orders.
Because with orders, there was another way to do it. If you couldn’t force your way in from the outside, then you just had to force them out from the inside. I was going to need to get at their system.
And that’s just what I did. I doubled back, zigzagging across the premises as I ran in order to avoid getting shot in the back. Using my wrist launcher, I destroyed a section of the fence and escaped far out into the wild, flat countryside. With high speeds such as mine, they had no hope of keeping up. I very soon lost any signs of pursuit.
-*-*-
I knew this time, I had to be cautious. I wasn’t going to get anywhere near the facility itself, not without killing people in my way. I was going to have to hack my way in.
I was eventually able to do this, though it took a few months. Having driven them out by setting the lasers on at night, preventing them from entering, I waited until I was sure they were gone before entering myself.
I made my way to an empty room at the bottom of the factory. And there I waited.
I waited and waited. I waited a long time. Pacing in my room, running around the factory… nothing. Nothing to do, confined in a building.
…I waited there for three months, give or take a week. Having still not received any orders, I decided to hightail it out of there. Dodging lasers on my way out, I reminded myself that I had only received orders to wait there, not to stay there.
-*-*-
I spent the next while racing around the countryside. I don’t know how long it was. I didn’t need to eat or sleep, so the days all blended together for me. I couldn’t tell you for sure how long I was out there alone.
One day, though, I began to feel a bit strange. Kind of sluggish, but on the inside. I was near a town at the time, so I decided to go there and see if I could find someone who could help me. I didn’t want it to continue for much longer; I was afraid I might not be able to run as well anymore.
-*-*-
I walked into town that day. I got a lot of strange looks from people as I walked by. Looking around the area for the first time, I realized how much I stood out. While the people were tanned and the land and buildings brown, I was bright red and yellow. I stuck out like a cardinal in the middle of winter, and I felt just as lost.
A man came out of one of the buildings, a stern look on his face. He crossed his arms and looked right at me. “Hullo now,” he said in a gruff voice, “What do we have here? Who are you?”
I blinked. “Uh… hi. My name is Quickman. Do you guys have some oil around here I could use?”
“Well… I suppose you could buy some from the auto store, if you needed it.” He tilted his head, looking at me curiously. “Did your car break down, son?”
I blinked. “Um. No, I came here on foot. The oil is for me.”
“Goodness gracious. How did you end up all the way out here on foot?”
I smiled. “I ran,” I replied proudly.
By this time, a few other people had stepped out. One of them pulled a hat over his eyes with a scowl. “Yeah right,” he snorted. “No human can come all the way out here without a car or at least a horse.”
“It’s okay, everyone’s car breaks down once in a while. No need to be ashamed about it.”
“But I’m not. I didn’t come by car. I ran here. My name is Quickman, and I run fast,” I said simply.
They looked between each other. One of the men stepped forward. “So you say you can run as fast as a car?”
“Faster, actually. But I don’t feel well right now—”
“Aw, c’mon, Pops, he’s just lyin’.”
“I’m not lying! I’ll prove it to you!”
“Yeah, sure. And if you do, I’ll pay for the oil myself!”
“Now, now, Tom,” the older man scolded. “I’m going to have to hold you to that.”
“Sure, and it’ll snow here in July before that happens.”
I looked up at the sky for a moment briefly before returning my gaze to the humans. “Alright. I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“You crazy?”
“Oh, give it a rest, Tom. Let the poor boy race.”
-*-*-
We gathered together at the outset of town a few hours later. The man was in a car of some sort, and I shifted stance next to him. I wanted the oil right that second, but I knew that I didn’t have any money. This was probably going to be my only way to get it.
The older man came up to us. “Alright now. There is someone about an hour or so down the road. We have it temporarily blocked off for the race. He’s got a camera and a phone, so we’ll have proof. He can call back if someone reaches it significantly earlier than the other. You ready, boys?”
“Sure am, Pops.”
“Uh… yes. Sir.”
“Alright then.” He took a step back. “On your mark! Get set! GO!”
I took off, becoming a red and yellow blur. The sound of surprised people and the roar of the car engine soon fell far behind me.
I ran down the road, passing the finishing mark easily. I backtracked, stopping in front of a very startled human. “…So can I have the oil now?”
“I-I… y-you… this isn’t possible…!”
I frowned. “…Um. How long until the other guy gets here?”
“It… It’ll probably be about half an hour or something…”
“Oh, okay. I’ll wait back in town.”
“Wait—”
But I was already gone. I sped back, passing the car on the way. I came back into town with a halt, holding a piece of cloth from the car at the finish line.
People gathered around me, amazed.
“He did it!”
“He really IS faster than a car!”
“Heck, he’s faster than a plane!”
The older man came over, quite surprised. “Well now, son… that’s… that’s incredible!”
I sat down. “Yeah. So can I have the oil now?”
“You should probably go wait back at the finish line, just to be safe. It’s more sporting that way.”
“More… sporting?”
“Why sure. You always want to be fair to people.”
I thought on this for a moment, puzzled. “…Alright.” I decided I would ask later. I nodded and took off.
-*-*-
I raced back to the finish line, where I waited. Before too long, the other man showed up. He was very surprised and his face looked skeptical. “…Well I’ll be. I guess you really are faster.”
I walked up to the car. “Thanks. You’ll buy the oil, right?”
He scowled, looking annoyed. “Well, I guess I gotta. Pops will hold me to it, anyhow. You need a ride back?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ll be faster on foot.” I didn’t add that I was still a bit wary.
“Alright then. See you there, Quickman.”
I nodded and took off, heading back to town.
-*-*-
A short while later, I returned to the main square after replacing my oil. I felt much better. I smiled at the man who had bought it for me. “Thanks. I feel much better.”
The older man walked over. “So… are you some sort of superhero or something?”
I was taken aback at this question. A superhero? I had read about them, but the thought that I might be one…
“I… I-I don’t know,” I confessed. “I… I was made for speed.”
“… Made?”
I turned, showing the engraving on the back of my right shoulder. “Yeah. Made.”
“… DWN- 012? What does that mean?”
“Is that some sort of tattoo?”
“A secret code, maybe?”
“No, it’s my serial number,” I explained. “I was the twelfth one the Doctor made.”
“There are more of you?”
“Well, not exactly like me. I’m the only Quickman. That I know of anyway. My brothers have different powers than I do.”
“So what is it that you were made for? And what are you?”
I paused to think on this. “…I was made for speed.”
“So… are you a superhero? Or some kinda alien?” one of the other men asked.
“Um… I’m… I’m a robot.”
People took a step back.
“…Is something wrong?”
“…Who built you, son?” asked one of the men, a very tough looking official.
I shook my head. “I don’t know his name,” I answered. He said it was Wily, but I don’t know that for sure.
The men looked at one another, puzzled. One of the ladies walked up to me. “So what are you going to do now? What were you made for?”
I frowned. “Um. I was built for speed,” I repeated. “I don’t really have anything I need to do, or any orders to follow.” After all, I had completed those. “So I guess I’ll just run around.”
“By yourself?”
“No one can catch up to me… so yeah, probably by myself.”
One of the woman looked at me before pulling the man with a weapon at his belt to the side. They talked in hushed whispers. Curious, I increased my sensitivity to sound.
“This is some sort of miracle. We always are having trouble catching things that run off…”
“He can’t be trusted, Sarah.”
“Come on now. Can we let his talents go to waste?”
“We can’t afford to give him too much power.”
“Give the boy a chance. Give him a chance before you turn him down, Sheriff!”
“Alright. Small steps.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder. “You okay there, Speedy? You’re staring off into space.”
I looked up to see the older man from earlier. “Huh? Oh.” I decreased my sensitivity and turned to face him. “I was just thinking on what to do next.”
“You have a home?”
I thought back to the labs; the one I had been built in and the one I had infiltrated. I didn’t particularly feel like going back to either of them. “…No. I don’t have a home. I just run around the country.”
“What about the man who built you?”
I put my hands behind my head with a slight smile. “When I left, he was busy with my brothers. I probably have at least one additional younger brother by now. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want me bothering him.”
“Ah. Busy man, eh?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“So if you have nowhere to stay and nothing to do, how do you fill the days? You can’t run all the time. It’ll wear you out.”
I scuffed my boot on the dry ground. “I know. I haven’t really thought on what to do.”
“Well, if you like, you could stay in town.”
I looked up, surprised. “Really?”
“Well sure. You could get a job and stay here.”
I thought back to the man and the woman talking to one another earlier. “But people don’t trust me.”
“Well, you’re an outsider, and you’re different. People are afraid of what they don’t understand. Give them time to understand you.”
I thought on this. “I guess,” I said after a while. “It would be nice to get out of the rain, anyway.”
“You don’t rust?”
“No, I was made not to,” I explained. “Also not to break if I run into something at high speed.” I thought back on what else I was made to do. Supposedly, I was programmed to self-destruct if I was injured badly enough to power down, but I didn’t like thinking on that. It seemed morbid. “That and speed… that’s mostly it.”
“Got any place to stay tonight?”
I looked to the sky with a slight frown. “…Yeah,” I replied after a while. It wasn’t much, but I had somewhere to stay. And after all, I had to be cautious. The last time I had interacted with humans, there had been trouble.
“Will you come back tomorrow?”
I hesitated. “I’ll think about it.”
-*-*-
I left town with much hesitation, returning to my little hideout many miles away. Closing my eyes to concentrate, I thought on what had happened that day.
The people there had seemed happy to see me. I didn’t quite trust them and they didn’t quite trust me, but the both of us seemed to want to get to know each other better. It was the first time I had truly felt wanted. It was a curious feeling. Perhaps… just maybe, I could be both useful and appreciated. If I got to run as part of the deal, then… I just couldn’t pass that up.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
{CHAPTER II: DREAMS}
I returned to town the next day early in the morning. I entered cautiously, looking around. People were already out and about working. Curious, I spent most of my time looking around the town at the various buildings before I ended up at one where there seemed to be a lot of people gathered. I swung open the double doors and stepped inside.
The people inside looked up as I walked in. There was a man at the bar, the older man who had spoken to me the day before.
“Well I’ll be.”
“Hey Pops! It’s that robot!”
“Hey there, Quickman.”
“What are you up to today, son?”
“I don’t know yet,” I replied honestly. “I just came here and was seeing what it was like.”
“Come, sit down at the bar. Care for a drink?”
I sat down. “No thanks, sir. I don’t have any money, and also I don’t need to eat or drink anything.”
“So how do you get your energy?”
I thought on this. In addition to the important circuitry in my chest, there was some sort of highly powerful energy core. It was supposed to last many decades; it was very powerful, but also very dangerous. The output of the core was what determined my powers, or something to that effect. What I knew for sure was that it was set to explode if I was ever injured so greatly that I would start to power down.
I frowned. “Uh. That’s… that’s a secret.”
People laughed. Thankfully, someone changed the subject.
“So, Speedy… are you planning on staying?”
“Well, right now I’m just visiting. I don’t have a place to stay and I don’t have any money,” I explained. “I’ve never needed it before.”
“You could save some up and get a place here,” someone noted, taking a drink. “Sure would be swell, having a real robot in town.”
“Well, I… I don’t have a bank account or anything. I don’t need one. Just a place to stay out of the rain, really.”
“And somethin’ to do.”
“Yeah.”
The man at the bar rubbed his face, scratching his beard. “Well, son… I guess you could get a small place for yourself here if you earned up enough. You could work it off doing odd jobs until you found something permanent.”
“But where would I start?”
“Hey Speedy!” someone shouted. “Ever raced a train?”
-*-*-
“So let me get this straight. You want me to race a train.”
“Yeah, it’ll be great! A train is faster than a car. How fast can you go, anyway?”
“I don’t know. But I’m not sure I want to go to a place where there would be a lot of people.”
“Aw, come on! I’m sure you can do it. It’ll be fun. Besides. You mentioned there being other robots, right? Maybe you could look up news on them.”
I blinked. Well, I do want to find out what happened to them, I thought grudgingly. “Alright. I guess.”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll take the next one to the city. You can run alongside it, right?”
“Assuming I don’t get ahead of it!” I said with a grin.
They laughed, and one of them clapped me on the back. “Alright, Speedy, let’s get to it.”
-*-*-
We cruised over to the nearest train station, which was a few miles away. I felt a slight thrill. I was getting along well them so far. Had I really found a place to stay?
I thought on all the stories I had read where the hero got accepted by the community, finally finding a place to call home. Was I going to get the same?
My thoughts were interrupted as I saw the man boarding the train. I waited out of sight, the coordinates of the train’s destination firmly in my mind.
Finally, the train slowly started taking off. Looking left and right, I darted near the tracks and took off.
Unsure of what the terrain was going to be like, I hopped onto the tracks themselves after passing the train. With the train far behind me, I sped along and looked at the world around me.
As always, it was a beautiful place. Full of colors, light and darkness. Life in plants and animals of all shapes and sizes. I grinned. This was so much better than the labs I had been confined in.
“EAT MY DUUUUUUUUUUUUST!” I laughed, taking off like a rocket.
-*-*-
I got off of the tracks as I neared the next station, going off at an angle to approach the city from a different direction. I slowed down as I approached it, making my way through less-frequently used areas to reach the station without being spotted by too many people. After arriving at the station, I waited for the train to arrive.
I had a while to wait, so I read a newspaper as I waited. I finished it before long, and after what felt like forever, the train finally arrived.
When the man from town got off the train, I walked over to him. “You took forever,” I complained, teasing.
He smiled. “Well shoot. I guess you really can run! What’s next? Ever raced a plane?”
I thought back to the time I had run for my life from fighter jets. “…Yes. I didn’t like it very much.”
He laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. “Well, you can’t beat ‘em all, I guess.”
I decided it would be less dangerous to let him think like that than for me to correct him. “So now what?”
“I have a bit of business in the city, so that’s why I came here.” He wrote out a note and handed it to me. “You can go look up about your brothers in the library or somethin’ if you want. You think you can make it back on your own?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I guess I’ll see you there,” I said, holding onto the note.
He nodded and walked off, leaving me alone.
I decided to find the library and see what my brothers had been up to.
-*-*-
When I got to the library, I continued to get odd looks from people. I was beginning to understand just how much I stood out. It made me feel uncomfortable. Thankfully, I was left alone in peace after I got access to a computer. Using my skills with computers, I managed to get it to connect to the database holding information about my brothers and me.
Searching… Robot Master Database
DLN – 000
DLN – 001
DLN – 002
DLN – 003
DLN – 004
DLN – 005
DLN – 006
DLN – 007
DLN – 008
-*-*-
-*-*-
DWN – 009
DWN – 010
DWN – 011
DWN – 012
DWN – 013
DWN – 014
DWN – 015
Next to each location were the exact coordinates where they were located. I entered them into my memory. For the most part, we were spread out over the Western and Midwestern states. Shaking my head, I returned the computer to normal and walked off. After leaving the library, I sped off in the direction of town.
-*-*-
I had several new younger brothers, and apparently one in the making. But there was something strange about the list. Why were the earlier entries listed as a DLN series? Who were the restricted entries? Who had destroyed all my older brothers?
More importantly, should I return to town, or head back to base? Apparently something had gone wrong, if they were unsure as to if I was alive or not. Regardless of that, should I go see my brothers or not? Now that I knew where they lived and all.
-*-*-
I arrived back in town still conflicted. I walked back into the bar and sat down.
“How did it go?”
“Huh?”
“Didja win?”
“
That. Yeah.” I placed the note down. “This is his signature saying it for sure.”
People crowded around to look at it. I just rested my chin on my hand with a frown.
“Something on your mind?”
I glanced over at the bartender. “You could say that. I learned I have several younger brothers now.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No… it’s just… some of the other things I learned bothered me.” I thought back on what I had read in the database. Six of my brothers had been destroyed. It was something Wily had mentioned to me a long time ago… my brothers had been killed. The two questions about them from earlier buzzed in my mind. “Now I know where my brothers are, but I don’t know if I should go visit them.”
“Why’s that?”
I hesitated. Explaining that my brothers were a bit cruel probably wouldn’t go over well. “I’m not sure if they would want to see me,” I answered carefully, “and I’m not sure I want to be leaving here so soon. I mean… it’s the first place I ever really felt even the least bit accepted.”
“Understandable. You know, you really stand out… maybe if you wore some clothes, you would fit in better.”
I looked down at myself with a frown. “…I don’t need to, but I guess I can see your point. It would be useful to have pockets, anyway. But I don’t have any money.”
“Mmm. Well, maybe you can run errands for the tailor to earn it. Any idea what you would like your clothes to be like?”
I can’t really explain it, but at that moment, I got a picture in my mind. It was me, dressed as a cowboy from the Old West. A poncho covering my chest, shoulders, and back. A belt with two holsters and a pouch. And a hat with slits so I could put it on over the boomerang welded onto my forehead.
I smiled. “Yeah, I have an idea.”
-*-*-
“…And that’s what I’d like, sir.”
“Well, I admit I’ve never fitted for a robot before. Perhaps I am the first tailor to do so….”
“I can, uh… run errands for you or something, sir.”
“Hmm.” He pursed his lips together in thought. “Well… how far can you travel?”
“Anywhere in the country, sir. Except Alaska and Hawaii. I… don’t have any papers, so I don’t want to go through Canada, and I’m not sure I can run across the ocean. Not safely, anyway.”
“Hmm. Well… I suppose, if you could deliver some packages for me,” he said hesitantly. “Mr. Gonzales seems to have faith in you, so I will trust in his judgment.”
“Mr. Gonzales?”
“The bartender. A lot of the younger men in town call him ‘Pops’. He’s not the Mayor, but he is a very important person.”
“Where would you like me to deliver the packages? If you give me an address…”
“No no, that will never do. Going out without clothes will only draw attention to yourself. I’ll make them for you; you have to be presentable, after all. You can work them off, but I’ll hold you to it.”
I held back a grin. I was really going to get that outfit! “Yes sir!”
-*-*-
I left town that night for my shelter, but I was happy. I was going to have an outfit of my own. There were people who cared about me, at least somewhat. Was I living a dream?
My smile faded as I thought on my brothers again. Now that I was in debt, I wouldn’t be able to go look for them until I had worked it off. Not only that, but I was still bothered by my six older brothers who had been destroyed. Something about that seemed… ominous. Sighing, I put myself into standby mode for ten hours to wait the night out.
-*-*-
I woke up the next morning from an odd dream. I didn’t remember it much, only the sound of something being fired at me.
“Mmm,” I muttered, putting a hand to my chest over my energy core. “[Darn] planes…”
Although… something about the sound didn’t seem right. Not quite like the fire from fighter jets… something just as powerful, but much smaller…
“Just a dream. An odd compilation of memory fragments and information files,” I told myself sternly.
I ran a self-diagnostic to ensure all systems were fully functional, and then I took off for town.
-*-*-
I arrived in town as the sun was just getting fully visible over the horizon. I spent much of the day at the Mayor’s office, waiting for an appointment to see her. I finally got the opportunity, and walked into the office.
The suspicious man I had seen the first day, the Sheriff, was with her.
“Hello, Quickman. Please sit down.”
It felt a little weird, but I did so.
“Are you seeking to become a resident of town?”
I blinked at this. I hadn’t thought this far ahead. “…I suppose.”
She turned to the Sheriff. “I don’t think we can tax robots.”
“I ‘spose not. Got any papers, boy?”
“No sir. I… I was just built, that’s all. I’m not sure where the lab is.”
They glanced at one another. Then the woman turned to me. “You can’t leave the country, then.”
“I don’t really have any intention to.”
“What is your intention?” the Sheriff asked.
“Well… I have a debt to pay off to the tailor, so I’ll be doing that. And then after that… I don’t know? I like to run. I’m faster than anything,” I added, proud.
“So… do you obey any orders?”
I was taken aback at this. “Uh… no, ma’am. I wasn’t built to take orders from anyone other than my creator.”
The Sheriff scowled. “Do you know what laws are, son?”
“Yeah, I’ve read about them. They’re rules people follow.”
“And I expect you to follow those rules when you’re in town. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
They looked at one another again.
“…Ma’am?”
“Yes?”
“What is this town doing here?”
That was something that had bothered me. It seemed like an odd place for a town. It was so far away from everything else (for a human, anyway) that it didn’t seem worth the bother.
“Why, we’re here as a stop on the way to the city. People from all around come here for business or on the way to the larger towns. In the right time of year you see a lot of cattle and horses being transported. Things like that.”
“What could there be for someone like me?”
“Well now, I’m sure you’ll think of a good way to put your speed to use here,” she said kindly. “There’s plenty of errands to be run.”
I thought on this. I definitely needed a better place to keep out of the rain; and it would be nice to have a place I knew was safe. The people around here were friendly, even when wary. I didn’t really have any other place to go at the moment, so I nodded. “Alright. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stay, but I’ll at least pay off my debt. After that… I’m not sure.”
“Good enough for me,” the Sheriff muttered.
The Mayor nodded. “Alright. You go see Mr. John; he’s probably got at least part of your outfit ready by now.”
-*-*-
“Well, how does it fit?”
I looked in the mirror, moving the hat on my head. It had a nice, wide brim that I could pull down to cover my eyes. There were slits in the top so my boomerang could poke through, allowing me to adjust the hat freely without it getting torn. The belt at my side fit snugly; slightly magnetic, it rested comfortably at my hips. There were two empty holsters and a pouch, just like I had asked for. There were places to put tools as well, though I couldn’t see myself using those just yet.
“It’s great. Thank you very much.”
“Ah, no problem. It was simple enough. I shall be finished with your poncho in a few days.”
“Is there anything I can do to help in the meantime?” I asked, shifting from one foot to the other. I wasn’t very patient, and I felt uneasy waiting or holding still.
“Well, I suppose. The post in the town over delivers much faster than the one here. If you could put some fliers in the post there over the next few days, I would appreciate it.”
“I can do that.”
“What kept you today, by the way?”
“Oh. Uh… I had a meeting with the Mayor.” I frowned, remembering how it had gone. “…I had to wait a while to see her, sorry.”
“Understandable.” He held up some cloth to my skin to compare color. “Tell me, have you ever considered repainting yourself?”
“Not particularly. I mean… the paint would wear down and such, and I’d flake. I kind of like my color scheme as it is, anyway.”
“Even though it makes you stand out so much?”
This took me aback. For the first time, I understood that the odd stares I had been getting were due to my bright colors. Not just suspected, but understood.
I pulled the brim of my hat over my eyes the way I had seen one of the men in town do. “I… yeah, even so. It’s part of who I am. I don’t find fault with it; at least I was given a human form.”
“I see… that is very deep of you.” He turned away, writing down measurements. “I suggest you keep good hold of your convictions. There will be others who will want you to change to fit their whims.”
This made me uneasy. I was once again wary. “Okay. Thanks for the advice.”
“Not a problem. You are, after all, a rather unique customer. Though if you want some real advice, I would speak to Mr. Gonzales.”
I nodded. “I think I just might.”
-*-*-
“…and now I’m not sure what to do.”
The bartender, Mr. Gonzales, scratched his beard and squinted thoughtfully. “Well now, quite a predicament you have there. One does have to pay off their debts, but I would ask this; are you happy with the idea of staying here?”
I shifted uneasily. “I like the idea, but I don’t want to draw attention to myself.” I thought back to the time the other humans had shot at me. “There are a lot of people who DON’T like robots… if there was news that I was around here, they might come after me. That’s the reason I roamed around alone.”
“Aw, Speedy, if that’s what has you worried, we’ll protect you! It’s a crime to discriminate an’ all. People ‘round here know how to keep their mouths shut if it’s important.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the bar. “Tell you what. I’ll speak to the head of the press tomorrow about not letting it into the news. That should help keep you safe.”
I smiled despite myself. I could hardly believe it. “R…really? You’d do that for me?”
“Of course.”
I tilted my head, perplexed. “…I have to ask, Mr. Gonzales…”
“You can call me ‘Pops’. All the young men in town do.”
“…why are you doing all of this for me?”
He closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought. It was a while before he spoke again, and his voice was weary and gentle. “A long time ago, I came into town, much like you did. Not much with me, and very different from everyone here. I was as bright-eyed and cheery as you, and ready to make a name for myself in America.” He sighed. “But people gave me a hard time for being different. It’s not easy when you stand out, when people judge you at fist sight without letting yourself prove who you are and what you stand for.” He looked up calmly right into my eyes. “It was a long time before I was able to prove myself. It took a lot of hard work to get to be where I am today. I decided I would try and give everyone a chance to prove themselves. And that includes you. So far you’ve shown to be a decent fellow. I see no reason that I shouldn’t do the small things to help you out so that you’re able to work your way here as well.”
I sat in stunned silence for a while as I took this all in. There was so much more to people than I had realized. “…I… I had no idea that there might be humans… like… like me.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to see that you’re not alone. And people are all different. Sometimes what you see isn’t what’s really there. Always keep that in mind. ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover,’ so they say. It works both ways.”
“Alright. Thank you, sir.” I stood, adjusting my hat again. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
-*-*-
Adding new Profile… Now
-*-*-
—————————————————
{CHAPTER I: PURPOSE}
CHAPTER I: PURPOSE
I am DWN – 012.
My name is Quickman, but everyone in town calls me “Speedy”. That’s right… in town. You see, I didn’t stick around in that experimental firing range; I went to town and became a legend. But in order for this to make sense, I should start from the beginning…
I was built by a man called Dr. Wily. I’m not sure if that was his real name, but that’s what they say it is. I have my doubts about the man because he was a bit… well, crazy, you could say. Very moody and not very nice. I tried to avoid talking to him, to be honest.
My first memory was being booted up for the first time…
-*-*-*-
Sound System… Functional
“Come on now… come on… work…!
Tactile Senses… Functional
I could feel wires attached to me. Something was holding me down. I wanted it off.
Visual Sensors… Online
Light flooded into my face. I squinted and groaned.
“Ah! At last!
Starting Artificial Intelligence and Awareness… Now
Speed.
I was suddenly hit with a strong desire. I felt the need for speed.
Imprinting Serial Number… Now
A burning sensation in my shoulder.
“AAUGH!”
I struggled against the bonds as I was engraved with hot, sharp metal against my cold, steely skin.
“Hold still, child.”
Serial Number imprinted. DWN- 012 Online and ready to receive directives.
“What…?”
The light was turned off, and the rest of the room faded into view. Standing over me was… a man. He looked stern, but his eyes held a hint of excitement. “Number twelve… yes… zero-one-two. Quite sequential. I trust you will like up to my expectations.”
I was quite confused. “…Hi?”
The man rolled his eyes and shook his head. He placed a hand on one of the things holding me down. “I will let you off the table, but you will stay still as information is placed into your memory.”
“What?”
Starting Information Transfer Sequence… Now
My world became dizzy as I felt information flood into my information banks. Numbed by the sheer volume of information, I tamely laid still as the stuff holding me down was taken off.
A flood of information. Words. Names. Places. Adjectives. Languages. Faces.
I tilted my head as eleven names and faces were flashed by me. “…Metal…man?”
“Mmm… yes… your oldest living brother.”
“Living? Brother?”
“You two were built be the same man… by me. Ah, but I have built others before him… sadly, they were killed.”
“Killed…”
Murdered. Destroyed. Eliminated.
“Murdered…”
“Yes… exactly. And so I built all of you.”
“You built me?”
“Yes. I am Dr. Wily. You… were made for a purpose.”
“I have a purpose?”
In the back of my head, I heard the mysterious voice.
Starting Beta Program: Emotions… Emotions Online. Status: Permanently Activated.
A purpose! I had a purpose!
This made me very happy for some reason. “What is my purpose?”
Dr. Wily smiled. But it was more of a smirk than anything else. “You, my boy, were built for speed.”
Speed.
I was built to run.
He started unhooking me from the wires. “Come now. Meet your older brothers.”
-*-*-
He led me out of the small room to a large area. There were three other robots there, one of them in a large pool. The other two were practicing on targets.
“Boys… meet your newest brother.”
“This thin little squirt?” The one that looked like a fan said.
“Airman…”
“Yeah, that’s my name. Why did you build him, Doctor?”
“He does look a bit… brittle,” noted the other one, twirling saw blades in his hands.
I took a step back. Saw blades. Dangerous.
“Now now. He just has a different purpose. He was built for running at high speeds.”
“So all he can do is run? How lame…”
“No. Now then…” He held my arm straight. For the first time, I noticed something curious on my wrist. It looked like a small box of some sort. Taking my other hand, he placed it on the box. “Run your fighting program.”
My what?
Something inside me recognized the command, though. I heard the voice speak again.
Initiating Battle Tactical sequences now. Status: Permanently Activated.
Suddenly, I knew what to do. And I felt a little annoyed at Airman for calling me lame.
“Show him what you can do.”
I placed my hand on my launcher and aimed at a target. I fired!
BANG!
I fired again in rapid succession, dashing around the room! I fired at all different angles, dashing as if to avoid incoming fire. I bounced off the walls, full of energy.
When I finally came to an abrupt stop, there was dead silence. The target fell over, full of small, sharp metal boomerangs.
Dr. Wily gave a grin. I felt happy. I had done something right.
“Well well well,” Metalman said softly, slightly impressed. “Perhaps he is good for something after all.”
-*-*-*-
I spent the next few days training, for the most part. I learned to dodge things being thrown at me. I read books about the world, learning even more about plants and animals and people. I learned about the large stretches of flat, empty land in the West, where you could go miles and miles without seeing anyone. More than anything, I wanted to go there and just run. Run as fast as I could. I heard rumors of me being given an assignment and being let out soon. I could hardly wait.
-*-*-*-
The day finally came where I would get my assignment and my official name. I eagerly but slowly walked into the lab where Dr. Wily was. Taking in a deep breath, I put my hands behind my back and recited the line Metalman had told me to say. “DWN-012 reporting to receive prerogative commands.”
“Ah, good. You know… you can’t just keep saying that. You need your name still, don’t you? You are Quickman.”
Quickman. …What a cool name. I liked it.
“You are to infiltrate an experimental weapons factory in the Midwest.”
Wait, what? A weapon factory?
“Uh…?”
“Once you secure it, you will wait there for further instructions.”
I honestly felt a little disappointed. I didn’t really want to go do this. “…Yes sir.”
I was given the coordinates. “Stop anyone who gets in your way.”
“How?”
“You have the launcher, boy. Use that.”
I frowned. Something about this didn’t seem quite right.
“…Well? What are you waiting for? You have your orders, now run along.” He turned back to the table, where he was building another robot. “I’m a bit busy.”
For some reason, this made me really upset. But something inside me somehow knew that angering the Doctor by disobeying orders would be a terrible idea. So I just sighed. “Fine.”
With that, I carefully walked out of the lab. Once I was out of the range of sensitive equipment, I took off as fast as I could.
-*-*-
As I was making my way to the coordinates, I felt a great thrill racing across the world. I raced over all kinds of terrain, only slowing down for the forests. I raced across open land, where the sky was endless and you could really feel alive. I raced down highways, easily overtaking cars and outrunning ones with loud sirens. It was great to be able to really run. I was a red and yellow blur! The lightning menace! The speed demon! The velocity king! I was SPEED!
Since my orders were only to get there but didn’t detail when, I spent a long time exploring the world around me. Having been let loose with minimal guidance, I just cruised right along, doing whatever I felt like. Which mostly involved running.
Incredible as it sounds, I did eventually get bored of that after a while. There was only so much I could do by myself, as fun as it was. I decided I should at least check the factory out. So, I got up from my hideout in the Arizona desert and raced for Kansas.
-*-*-
Trouble began only a mile and a half away from my target. I was racing along the roads to the facility when I noticed fighter jets coming to intercept me. I found this a bit odd; I knew what they were from my first information download, but I had never seen them up close. Coming to a halt, I looked up in the sky to see the planes coming my way.
To my surprise, bullets started raining from the sky.
I was startled out of my wits. Speeding back, I ran backwards and fired with my wrist launcher at the guns, trying to take them out.
Warning: Hostile threat. Danger of destruction. Locking in… Now.
My sight locked into their guns and I fired.
To my surprise, my boomerangs actually did damage. While I was thrilled and relieved, I was also frightened as I realized just how dangerous they had to have been for this to happen. I was dangerous.
I couldn’t think on it long, though. I was still being shot at.
The “battle” was thrilling, full of speed and life-threatening danger. If I were human, I would say it really had my adrenaline running. In any case, it was exciting and scary.
The planes eventually had to fly off back to their base in Missouri, and I returned to my objective of securing the firing range. Only I had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be easy.
-*-*-
Boy, was I right. I raced along but was halted by a barricade of armored cars and humans with guns that fired at me as I came racing along. I locked in on the guns and fired, not stopping in my charge. When I came to the barricade, I simply leaped onto and then over the cars, running right past them.
Sirens began to sound and the cars chased me. Now… even though I’m faster than anything else (except maybe the fighter jets), I don’t like being chased. It’s the principle of the thing, you see. I got pretty annoyed as the sirens stared going off. People kept coming to intercept me, but I outran them all. I could see cars trying to leave. I didn’t bother them, but soon I was distracted by a blockade right in front of the building.
It was quickly becoming apparent that these weren’t normal humans. They were fiercely protecting something in that facility. To get it, something had to give.
-*-*-
Now… Metalman had once told me about a curious quality humans have. When they’re cut or punctured, they leak. They leak a thick red liquid that the call “blood”. And that if they lose enough, they get very sick and power down forever, with no way to be revived. Death. He went into quite the gory detail about it. I didn’t particularly want to get involved with that sort of thing. It sounded… kinda creepy and really disgusting. I had decided long ago that I didn’t want to get involved in something like that, and I wasn’t about to change my mind. Not even for orders.
Because with orders, there was another way to do it. If you couldn’t force your way in from the outside, then you just had to force them out from the inside. I was going to need to get at their system.
And that’s just what I did. I doubled back, zigzagging across the premises as I ran in order to avoid getting shot in the back. Using my wrist launcher, I destroyed a section of the fence and escaped far out into the wild, flat countryside. With high speeds such as mine, they had no hope of keeping up. I very soon lost any signs of pursuit.
-*-*-
I knew this time, I had to be cautious. I wasn’t going to get anywhere near the facility itself, not without killing people in my way. I was going to have to hack my way in.
I was eventually able to do this, though it took a few months. Having driven them out by setting the lasers on at night, preventing them from entering, I waited until I was sure they were gone before entering myself.
I made my way to an empty room at the bottom of the factory. And there I waited.
I waited and waited. I waited a long time. Pacing in my room, running around the factory… nothing. Nothing to do, confined in a building.
…I waited there for three months, give or take a week. Having still not received any orders, I decided to hightail it out of there. Dodging lasers on my way out, I reminded myself that I had only received orders to wait there, not to stay there.
-*-*-
I spent the next while racing around the countryside. I don’t know how long it was. I didn’t need to eat or sleep, so the days all blended together for me. I couldn’t tell you for sure how long I was out there alone.
One day, though, I began to feel a bit strange. Kind of sluggish, but on the inside. I was near a town at the time, so I decided to go there and see if I could find someone who could help me. I didn’t want it to continue for much longer; I was afraid I might not be able to run as well anymore.
-*-*-
I walked into town that day. I got a lot of strange looks from people as I walked by. Looking around the area for the first time, I realized how much I stood out. While the people were tanned and the land and buildings brown, I was bright red and yellow. I stuck out like a cardinal in the middle of winter, and I felt just as lost.
A man came out of one of the buildings, a stern look on his face. He crossed his arms and looked right at me. “Hullo now,” he said in a gruff voice, “What do we have here? Who are you?”
I blinked. “Uh… hi. My name is Quickman. Do you guys have some oil around here I could use?”
“Well… I suppose you could buy some from the auto store, if you needed it.” He tilted his head, looking at me curiously. “Did your car break down, son?”
I blinked. “Um. No, I came here on foot. The oil is for me.”
“Goodness gracious. How did you end up all the way out here on foot?”
I smiled. “I ran,” I replied proudly.
By this time, a few other people had stepped out. One of them pulled a hat over his eyes with a scowl. “Yeah right,” he snorted. “No human can come all the way out here without a car or at least a horse.”
“It’s okay, everyone’s car breaks down once in a while. No need to be ashamed about it.”
“But I’m not. I didn’t come by car. I ran here. My name is Quickman, and I run fast,” I said simply.
They looked between each other. One of the men stepped forward. “So you say you can run as fast as a car?”
“Faster, actually. But I don’t feel well right now—”
“Aw, c’mon, Pops, he’s just lyin’.”
“I’m not lying! I’ll prove it to you!”
“Yeah, sure. And if you do, I’ll pay for the oil myself!”
“Now, now, Tom,” the older man scolded. “I’m going to have to hold you to that.”
“Sure, and it’ll snow here in July before that happens.”
I looked up at the sky for a moment briefly before returning my gaze to the humans. “Alright. I’ll take you up on that offer.”
“You crazy?”
“Oh, give it a rest, Tom. Let the poor boy race.”
-*-*-
We gathered together at the outset of town a few hours later. The man was in a car of some sort, and I shifted stance next to him. I wanted the oil right that second, but I knew that I didn’t have any money. This was probably going to be my only way to get it.
The older man came up to us. “Alright now. There is someone about an hour or so down the road. We have it temporarily blocked off for the race. He’s got a camera and a phone, so we’ll have proof. He can call back if someone reaches it significantly earlier than the other. You ready, boys?”
“Sure am, Pops.”
“Uh… yes. Sir.”
“Alright then.” He took a step back. “On your mark! Get set! GO!”
I took off, becoming a red and yellow blur. The sound of surprised people and the roar of the car engine soon fell far behind me.
I ran down the road, passing the finishing mark easily. I backtracked, stopping in front of a very startled human. “…So can I have the oil now?”
“I-I… y-you… this isn’t possible…!”
I frowned. “…Um. How long until the other guy gets here?”
“It… It’ll probably be about half an hour or something…”
“Oh, okay. I’ll wait back in town.”
“Wait—”
But I was already gone. I sped back, passing the car on the way. I came back into town with a halt, holding a piece of cloth from the car at the finish line.
People gathered around me, amazed.
“He did it!”
“He really IS faster than a car!”
“Heck, he’s faster than a plane!”
The older man came over, quite surprised. “Well now, son… that’s… that’s incredible!”
I sat down. “Yeah. So can I have the oil now?”
“You should probably go wait back at the finish line, just to be safe. It’s more sporting that way.”
“More… sporting?”
“Why sure. You always want to be fair to people.”
I thought on this for a moment, puzzled. “…Alright.” I decided I would ask later. I nodded and took off.
-*-*-
I raced back to the finish line, where I waited. Before too long, the other man showed up. He was very surprised and his face looked skeptical. “…Well I’ll be. I guess you really are faster.”
I walked up to the car. “Thanks. You’ll buy the oil, right?”
He scowled, looking annoyed. “Well, I guess I gotta. Pops will hold me to it, anyhow. You need a ride back?”
I shook my head. “No. I’ll be faster on foot.” I didn’t add that I was still a bit wary.
“Alright then. See you there, Quickman.”
I nodded and took off, heading back to town.
-*-*-
A short while later, I returned to the main square after replacing my oil. I felt much better. I smiled at the man who had bought it for me. “Thanks. I feel much better.”
The older man walked over. “So… are you some sort of superhero or something?”
I was taken aback at this question. A superhero? I had read about them, but the thought that I might be one…
“I… I-I don’t know,” I confessed. “I… I was made for speed.”
“… Made?”
I turned, showing the engraving on the back of my right shoulder. “Yeah. Made.”
“… DWN- 012? What does that mean?”
“Is that some sort of tattoo?”
“A secret code, maybe?”
“No, it’s my serial number,” I explained. “I was the twelfth one the Doctor made.”
“There are more of you?”
“Well, not exactly like me. I’m the only Quickman. That I know of anyway. My brothers have different powers than I do.”
“So what is it that you were made for? And what are you?”
I paused to think on this. “…I was made for speed.”
“So… are you a superhero? Or some kinda alien?” one of the other men asked.
“Um… I’m… I’m a robot.”
People took a step back.
“…Is something wrong?”
“…Who built you, son?” asked one of the men, a very tough looking official.
I shook my head. “I don’t know his name,” I answered. He said it was Wily, but I don’t know that for sure.
The men looked at one another, puzzled. One of the ladies walked up to me. “So what are you going to do now? What were you made for?”
I frowned. “Um. I was built for speed,” I repeated. “I don’t really have anything I need to do, or any orders to follow.” After all, I had completed those. “So I guess I’ll just run around.”
“By yourself?”
“No one can catch up to me… so yeah, probably by myself.”
One of the woman looked at me before pulling the man with a weapon at his belt to the side. They talked in hushed whispers. Curious, I increased my sensitivity to sound.
“This is some sort of miracle. We always are having trouble catching things that run off…”
“He can’t be trusted, Sarah.”
“Come on now. Can we let his talents go to waste?”
“We can’t afford to give him too much power.”
“Give the boy a chance. Give him a chance before you turn him down, Sheriff!”
“Alright. Small steps.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder. “You okay there, Speedy? You’re staring off into space.”
I looked up to see the older man from earlier. “Huh? Oh.” I decreased my sensitivity and turned to face him. “I was just thinking on what to do next.”
“You have a home?”
I thought back to the labs; the one I had been built in and the one I had infiltrated. I didn’t particularly feel like going back to either of them. “…No. I don’t have a home. I just run around the country.”
“What about the man who built you?”
I put my hands behind my head with a slight smile. “When I left, he was busy with my brothers. I probably have at least one additional younger brother by now. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want me bothering him.”
“Ah. Busy man, eh?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“So if you have nowhere to stay and nothing to do, how do you fill the days? You can’t run all the time. It’ll wear you out.”
I scuffed my boot on the dry ground. “I know. I haven’t really thought on what to do.”
“Well, if you like, you could stay in town.”
I looked up, surprised. “Really?”
“Well sure. You could get a job and stay here.”
I thought back to the man and the woman talking to one another earlier. “But people don’t trust me.”
“Well, you’re an outsider, and you’re different. People are afraid of what they don’t understand. Give them time to understand you.”
I thought on this. “I guess,” I said after a while. “It would be nice to get out of the rain, anyway.”
“You don’t rust?”
“No, I was made not to,” I explained. “Also not to break if I run into something at high speed.” I thought back on what else I was made to do. Supposedly, I was programmed to self-destruct if I was injured badly enough to power down, but I didn’t like thinking on that. It seemed morbid. “That and speed… that’s mostly it.”
“Got any place to stay tonight?”
I looked to the sky with a slight frown. “…Yeah,” I replied after a while. It wasn’t much, but I had somewhere to stay. And after all, I had to be cautious. The last time I had interacted with humans, there had been trouble.
“Will you come back tomorrow?”
I hesitated. “I’ll think about it.”
-*-*-
I left town with much hesitation, returning to my little hideout many miles away. Closing my eyes to concentrate, I thought on what had happened that day.
The people there had seemed happy to see me. I didn’t quite trust them and they didn’t quite trust me, but the both of us seemed to want to get to know each other better. It was the first time I had truly felt wanted. It was a curious feeling. Perhaps… just maybe, I could be both useful and appreciated. If I got to run as part of the deal, then… I just couldn’t pass that up.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
{CHAPTER II: DREAMS}
CHAPTER II: DREAMS
I returned to town the next day early in the morning. I entered cautiously, looking around. People were already out and about working. Curious, I spent most of my time looking around the town at the various buildings before I ended up at one where there seemed to be a lot of people gathered. I swung open the double doors and stepped inside.
The people inside looked up as I walked in. There was a man at the bar, the older man who had spoken to me the day before.
“Well I’ll be.”
“Hey Pops! It’s that robot!”
“Hey there, Quickman.”
“What are you up to today, son?”
“I don’t know yet,” I replied honestly. “I just came here and was seeing what it was like.”
“Come, sit down at the bar. Care for a drink?”
I sat down. “No thanks, sir. I don’t have any money, and also I don’t need to eat or drink anything.”
“So how do you get your energy?”
I thought on this. In addition to the important circuitry in my chest, there was some sort of highly powerful energy core. It was supposed to last many decades; it was very powerful, but also very dangerous. The output of the core was what determined my powers, or something to that effect. What I knew for sure was that it was set to explode if I was ever injured so greatly that I would start to power down.
I frowned. “Uh. That’s… that’s a secret.”
People laughed. Thankfully, someone changed the subject.
“So, Speedy… are you planning on staying?”
“Well, right now I’m just visiting. I don’t have a place to stay and I don’t have any money,” I explained. “I’ve never needed it before.”
“You could save some up and get a place here,” someone noted, taking a drink. “Sure would be swell, having a real robot in town.”
“Well, I… I don’t have a bank account or anything. I don’t need one. Just a place to stay out of the rain, really.”
“And somethin’ to do.”
“Yeah.”
The man at the bar rubbed his face, scratching his beard. “Well, son… I guess you could get a small place for yourself here if you earned up enough. You could work it off doing odd jobs until you found something permanent.”
“But where would I start?”
“Hey Speedy!” someone shouted. “Ever raced a train?”
-*-*-
“So let me get this straight. You want me to race a train.”
“Yeah, it’ll be great! A train is faster than a car. How fast can you go, anyway?”
“I don’t know. But I’m not sure I want to go to a place where there would be a lot of people.”
“Aw, come on! I’m sure you can do it. It’ll be fun. Besides. You mentioned there being other robots, right? Maybe you could look up news on them.”
I blinked. Well, I do want to find out what happened to them, I thought grudgingly. “Alright. I guess.”
“Then it’s settled. We’ll take the next one to the city. You can run alongside it, right?”
“Assuming I don’t get ahead of it!” I said with a grin.
They laughed, and one of them clapped me on the back. “Alright, Speedy, let’s get to it.”
-*-*-
We cruised over to the nearest train station, which was a few miles away. I felt a slight thrill. I was getting along well them so far. Had I really found a place to stay?
I thought on all the stories I had read where the hero got accepted by the community, finally finding a place to call home. Was I going to get the same?
My thoughts were interrupted as I saw the man boarding the train. I waited out of sight, the coordinates of the train’s destination firmly in my mind.
Finally, the train slowly started taking off. Looking left and right, I darted near the tracks and took off.
Unsure of what the terrain was going to be like, I hopped onto the tracks themselves after passing the train. With the train far behind me, I sped along and looked at the world around me.
As always, it was a beautiful place. Full of colors, light and darkness. Life in plants and animals of all shapes and sizes. I grinned. This was so much better than the labs I had been confined in.
“EAT MY DUUUUUUUUUUUUST!” I laughed, taking off like a rocket.
-*-*-
I got off of the tracks as I neared the next station, going off at an angle to approach the city from a different direction. I slowed down as I approached it, making my way through less-frequently used areas to reach the station without being spotted by too many people. After arriving at the station, I waited for the train to arrive.
I had a while to wait, so I read a newspaper as I waited. I finished it before long, and after what felt like forever, the train finally arrived.
When the man from town got off the train, I walked over to him. “You took forever,” I complained, teasing.
He smiled. “Well shoot. I guess you really can run! What’s next? Ever raced a plane?”
I thought back to the time I had run for my life from fighter jets. “…Yes. I didn’t like it very much.”
He laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. “Well, you can’t beat ‘em all, I guess.”
I decided it would be less dangerous to let him think like that than for me to correct him. “So now what?”
“I have a bit of business in the city, so that’s why I came here.” He wrote out a note and handed it to me. “You can go look up about your brothers in the library or somethin’ if you want. You think you can make it back on your own?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I guess I’ll see you there,” I said, holding onto the note.
He nodded and walked off, leaving me alone.
I decided to find the library and see what my brothers had been up to.
-*-*-
When I got to the library, I continued to get odd looks from people. I was beginning to understand just how much I stood out. It made me feel uncomfortable. Thankfully, I was left alone in peace after I got access to a computer. Using my skills with computers, I managed to get it to connect to the database holding information about my brothers and me.
Searching… Robot Master Database
DLN – 000
- Name: Restricted
- Status: Restricted
- Location: Restricted
DLN – 001
- Name: Restricted
- Status: Restricted
- Location: Restricted
DLN – 002
- Name: Restricted
- Status: Restricted
- Location: Restricted
DLN – 003
- Name: Cutman
- Status: Destroyed
- Location: N/A
DLN – 004
- Name: Gutsman
- Status: Destroyed
- Location: N/A
DLN – 005
- Name: Iceman
- Status: Destroyed
- Location: N/A
DLN – 006
- Name: Bombman
- Status: Destroyed
- Location: N/A
DLN – 007
- Name: Fireman
- Status: Destroyed
- Location: N/A
DLN – 008
- Name: Elecman
- Status: Destroyed
- Location: N/A
-*-*-
-*-*-
DWN – 009
- Name: Metalman
- Status: Activated
- Location: Sawblade factory
DWN – 010
- Name: Airman
- Status: Activated
- Location: City in the Sky
DWN – 011
- Name: Bubbleman
- Status: Activated
- Location: Underwater cave
DWN – 012
- Name: Quickman
- Status: Unknown
- Location: Last seen at Experimental Weapons Lab
DWN – 013
- Name: Crashman
- Status: Activated
- Location: Mobile: Construction sites in the Midwest
DWN – 014
- Name: Flashman
- Status: Activated
- Location: Ice cavern
DWN – 015
- Name: N/A
- Status: Under Construction
- Location: N/A
Next to each location were the exact coordinates where they were located. I entered them into my memory. For the most part, we were spread out over the Western and Midwestern states. Shaking my head, I returned the computer to normal and walked off. After leaving the library, I sped off in the direction of town.
-*-*-
I had several new younger brothers, and apparently one in the making. But there was something strange about the list. Why were the earlier entries listed as a DLN series? Who were the restricted entries? Who had destroyed all my older brothers?
More importantly, should I return to town, or head back to base? Apparently something had gone wrong, if they were unsure as to if I was alive or not. Regardless of that, should I go see my brothers or not? Now that I knew where they lived and all.
-*-*-
I arrived back in town still conflicted. I walked back into the bar and sat down.
“How did it go?”
“Huh?”
“Didja win?”
“
That. Yeah.” I placed the note down. “This is his signature saying it for sure.”People crowded around to look at it. I just rested my chin on my hand with a frown.
“Something on your mind?”
I glanced over at the bartender. “You could say that. I learned I have several younger brothers now.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No… it’s just… some of the other things I learned bothered me.” I thought back on what I had read in the database. Six of my brothers had been destroyed. It was something Wily had mentioned to me a long time ago… my brothers had been killed. The two questions about them from earlier buzzed in my mind. “Now I know where my brothers are, but I don’t know if I should go visit them.”
“Why’s that?”
I hesitated. Explaining that my brothers were a bit cruel probably wouldn’t go over well. “I’m not sure if they would want to see me,” I answered carefully, “and I’m not sure I want to be leaving here so soon. I mean… it’s the first place I ever really felt even the least bit accepted.”
“Understandable. You know, you really stand out… maybe if you wore some clothes, you would fit in better.”
I looked down at myself with a frown. “…I don’t need to, but I guess I can see your point. It would be useful to have pockets, anyway. But I don’t have any money.”
“Mmm. Well, maybe you can run errands for the tailor to earn it. Any idea what you would like your clothes to be like?”
I can’t really explain it, but at that moment, I got a picture in my mind. It was me, dressed as a cowboy from the Old West. A poncho covering my chest, shoulders, and back. A belt with two holsters and a pouch. And a hat with slits so I could put it on over the boomerang welded onto my forehead.
I smiled. “Yeah, I have an idea.”
-*-*-
“…And that’s what I’d like, sir.”
“Well, I admit I’ve never fitted for a robot before. Perhaps I am the first tailor to do so….”
“I can, uh… run errands for you or something, sir.”
“Hmm.” He pursed his lips together in thought. “Well… how far can you travel?”
“Anywhere in the country, sir. Except Alaska and Hawaii. I… don’t have any papers, so I don’t want to go through Canada, and I’m not sure I can run across the ocean. Not safely, anyway.”
“Hmm. Well… I suppose, if you could deliver some packages for me,” he said hesitantly. “Mr. Gonzales seems to have faith in you, so I will trust in his judgment.”
“Mr. Gonzales?”
“The bartender. A lot of the younger men in town call him ‘Pops’. He’s not the Mayor, but he is a very important person.”
“Where would you like me to deliver the packages? If you give me an address…”
“No no, that will never do. Going out without clothes will only draw attention to yourself. I’ll make them for you; you have to be presentable, after all. You can work them off, but I’ll hold you to it.”
I held back a grin. I was really going to get that outfit! “Yes sir!”
-*-*-
I left town that night for my shelter, but I was happy. I was going to have an outfit of my own. There were people who cared about me, at least somewhat. Was I living a dream?
My smile faded as I thought on my brothers again. Now that I was in debt, I wouldn’t be able to go look for them until I had worked it off. Not only that, but I was still bothered by my six older brothers who had been destroyed. Something about that seemed… ominous. Sighing, I put myself into standby mode for ten hours to wait the night out.
-*-*-
I woke up the next morning from an odd dream. I didn’t remember it much, only the sound of something being fired at me.
“Mmm,” I muttered, putting a hand to my chest over my energy core. “[Darn] planes…”
Although… something about the sound didn’t seem right. Not quite like the fire from fighter jets… something just as powerful, but much smaller…
“Just a dream. An odd compilation of memory fragments and information files,” I told myself sternly.
I ran a self-diagnostic to ensure all systems were fully functional, and then I took off for town.
-*-*-
I arrived in town as the sun was just getting fully visible over the horizon. I spent much of the day at the Mayor’s office, waiting for an appointment to see her. I finally got the opportunity, and walked into the office.
The suspicious man I had seen the first day, the Sheriff, was with her.
“Hello, Quickman. Please sit down.”
It felt a little weird, but I did so.
“Are you seeking to become a resident of town?”
I blinked at this. I hadn’t thought this far ahead. “…I suppose.”
She turned to the Sheriff. “I don’t think we can tax robots.”
“I ‘spose not. Got any papers, boy?”
“No sir. I… I was just built, that’s all. I’m not sure where the lab is.”
They glanced at one another. Then the woman turned to me. “You can’t leave the country, then.”
“I don’t really have any intention to.”
“What is your intention?” the Sheriff asked.
“Well… I have a debt to pay off to the tailor, so I’ll be doing that. And then after that… I don’t know? I like to run. I’m faster than anything,” I added, proud.
“So… do you obey any orders?”
I was taken aback at this. “Uh… no, ma’am. I wasn’t built to take orders from anyone other than my creator.”
The Sheriff scowled. “Do you know what laws are, son?”
“Yeah, I’ve read about them. They’re rules people follow.”
“And I expect you to follow those rules when you’re in town. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
They looked at one another again.
“…Ma’am?”
“Yes?”
“What is this town doing here?”
That was something that had bothered me. It seemed like an odd place for a town. It was so far away from everything else (for a human, anyway) that it didn’t seem worth the bother.
“Why, we’re here as a stop on the way to the city. People from all around come here for business or on the way to the larger towns. In the right time of year you see a lot of cattle and horses being transported. Things like that.”
“What could there be for someone like me?”
“Well now, I’m sure you’ll think of a good way to put your speed to use here,” she said kindly. “There’s plenty of errands to be run.”
I thought on this. I definitely needed a better place to keep out of the rain; and it would be nice to have a place I knew was safe. The people around here were friendly, even when wary. I didn’t really have any other place to go at the moment, so I nodded. “Alright. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stay, but I’ll at least pay off my debt. After that… I’m not sure.”
“Good enough for me,” the Sheriff muttered.
The Mayor nodded. “Alright. You go see Mr. John; he’s probably got at least part of your outfit ready by now.”
-*-*-
“Well, how does it fit?”
I looked in the mirror, moving the hat on my head. It had a nice, wide brim that I could pull down to cover my eyes. There were slits in the top so my boomerang could poke through, allowing me to adjust the hat freely without it getting torn. The belt at my side fit snugly; slightly magnetic, it rested comfortably at my hips. There were two empty holsters and a pouch, just like I had asked for. There were places to put tools as well, though I couldn’t see myself using those just yet.
“It’s great. Thank you very much.”
“Ah, no problem. It was simple enough. I shall be finished with your poncho in a few days.”
“Is there anything I can do to help in the meantime?” I asked, shifting from one foot to the other. I wasn’t very patient, and I felt uneasy waiting or holding still.
“Well, I suppose. The post in the town over delivers much faster than the one here. If you could put some fliers in the post there over the next few days, I would appreciate it.”
“I can do that.”
“What kept you today, by the way?”
“Oh. Uh… I had a meeting with the Mayor.” I frowned, remembering how it had gone. “…I had to wait a while to see her, sorry.”
“Understandable.” He held up some cloth to my skin to compare color. “Tell me, have you ever considered repainting yourself?”
“Not particularly. I mean… the paint would wear down and such, and I’d flake. I kind of like my color scheme as it is, anyway.”
“Even though it makes you stand out so much?”
This took me aback. For the first time, I understood that the odd stares I had been getting were due to my bright colors. Not just suspected, but understood.
I pulled the brim of my hat over my eyes the way I had seen one of the men in town do. “I… yeah, even so. It’s part of who I am. I don’t find fault with it; at least I was given a human form.”
“I see… that is very deep of you.” He turned away, writing down measurements. “I suggest you keep good hold of your convictions. There will be others who will want you to change to fit their whims.”
This made me uneasy. I was once again wary. “Okay. Thanks for the advice.”
“Not a problem. You are, after all, a rather unique customer. Though if you want some real advice, I would speak to Mr. Gonzales.”
I nodded. “I think I just might.”
-*-*-
“…and now I’m not sure what to do.”
The bartender, Mr. Gonzales, scratched his beard and squinted thoughtfully. “Well now, quite a predicament you have there. One does have to pay off their debts, but I would ask this; are you happy with the idea of staying here?”
I shifted uneasily. “I like the idea, but I don’t want to draw attention to myself.” I thought back to the time the other humans had shot at me. “There are a lot of people who DON’T like robots… if there was news that I was around here, they might come after me. That’s the reason I roamed around alone.”
“Aw, Speedy, if that’s what has you worried, we’ll protect you! It’s a crime to discriminate an’ all. People ‘round here know how to keep their mouths shut if it’s important.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the bar. “Tell you what. I’ll speak to the head of the press tomorrow about not letting it into the news. That should help keep you safe.”
I smiled despite myself. I could hardly believe it. “R…really? You’d do that for me?”
“Of course.”
I tilted my head, perplexed. “…I have to ask, Mr. Gonzales…”
“You can call me ‘Pops’. All the young men in town do.”
“…why are you doing all of this for me?”
He closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought. It was a while before he spoke again, and his voice was weary and gentle. “A long time ago, I came into town, much like you did. Not much with me, and very different from everyone here. I was as bright-eyed and cheery as you, and ready to make a name for myself in America.” He sighed. “But people gave me a hard time for being different. It’s not easy when you stand out, when people judge you at fist sight without letting yourself prove who you are and what you stand for.” He looked up calmly right into my eyes. “It was a long time before I was able to prove myself. It took a lot of hard work to get to be where I am today. I decided I would try and give everyone a chance to prove themselves. And that includes you. So far you’ve shown to be a decent fellow. I see no reason that I shouldn’t do the small things to help you out so that you’re able to work your way here as well.”
I sat in stunned silence for a while as I took this all in. There was so much more to people than I had realized. “…I… I had no idea that there might be humans… like… like me.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to see that you’re not alone. And people are all different. Sometimes what you see isn’t what’s really there. Always keep that in mind. ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover,’ so they say. It works both ways.”
“Alright. Thank you, sir.” I stood, adjusting my hat again. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
-*-*-
Adding new Profile… Now
- Name: Mr. Gonzales
- Called: “Pops”
- Status: Friend
-*-*-
. I forgot that people rarely bother with two-way.