Heavy Metal: Tapping the side of the truck, I yell. "It's loaded. Drive!" As the master's servant-bot drives away, I turn around to see the police lining up. They get out from behind the covers and pull out their blasters. "Surrender," a police captain with a megaphone yells. "You're surrounded and outnumbered. Give up peacefully." "Your blasters will do nothing against my steel skin," I say, walking back into the courtyard. Walking up to some supplies under a roof, I grab one of the roof's supports and rip it from the ground. "Open fire," the police captain yells. The officers shooting their blasters, their attacks bounce off my iron skin. They hit the ground, hit some other supports, and a few even hit the cars the officers are hiding behind. "Watch out," an officer shouts, dropping to his knees as a car's window breaks. "Hold fire," the police captain screams. "Hold fire! Everyone! Hold fire! That is an order!" The officers withdraw, they all watch me as I walk toward them
SpeedBlade: "Where are you," I say, looking everywhere. "Where are you? Where are you?" Despite my best efforts, despite crawling on my knees, despite my begging, I still can't find my sword anywhere. It's like it just disappears. "SpeedBlade," someone yells, grabbing my focus. I look up to see Ms. Justice jumping over the metal man's punch. The metal man hits the ground instead. Ms. Justice then tries to hit him with JumpStart's stun batons but he swings his arm and knocks her back. While the batons drop to the ground, Ms. Justice is sliding along the ground. Pushing herself up, she sees Metal-Man standing over her. Raising his foot, he stomps on Ms. Justice. "Hey," I scream, using my super speed to run toward the metal man. "I don't have my sword, so I must fight without it." Jumping and wrapping my arms around the metal man's neck, he screams and tries to pull me off but I hang on. I punch him over and over on the head, trying to knock him out, but I can't. His metal skin is
SpeedBlade:Screaming as I push myself off the ground, I jump into the air and pull back JumpStart's stun batons. Heavy Metal blocks his arm, he tries to punch me but using my speed, I run out of the way."Oh no," I say, tapping the batons against each other. "Something is wrong. They're not working. Wait, what did my brother tell me? Something about switching and buttons."I examine the batons, but I don't see anything like switches or buttons."How do I use these?"As I search all over for anything, I feel the ground shaking. Looking up, I see Heavy Metal He running toward me. Pulling back his arm, he sent it flying forward.Barely dodging his giant metal fist, I turn around, and that's when I see his other arm. Swinging it, it hits me and sent me flying through the air. I sail through the air before falling onto a roof."I am very thankful I have armor," I say as I push myself up. Thankfully, despite being hit and
SpeedBlade: I roll around and around, trying to get some sleep but I can’t. I give it some more time but after a while, I give up and look up at the ceiling. As I stare at the ceiling of my room, I start to think back to the fight against Heavy-Metal. “Time has changed,” my brother said, “But some things do stay the same.” “I still can’t believe it,” I think, “I saw my brother. My actual brother. I don’t get it though. I haven’t seen my brother in nearly two years, and then, out of nowhere, he appeared right before me. How? And where did my brother go afterward?” Shortly after the police officers arrested Heavy Metal and left, I run back to the courtyard and searched for my brother. I run around the whole place, looking for him, but I can’t find him anywhere. Most likely, I would have spent the whole night looking for him if the others had not come and gotten me. I push myself up and sit. “Could I have been seeing things? No, that can’t be right. My brother gave me JumpStart’s ba
Silent:I watch with crossed arms as the infamous Dr. Kolohe Cho uses her technological power to complete the suit of armor.“The Iron Fist armor is nearly ready,” Dr. Cho says while looking at a metal claw. Her eyes and head glowing a blueish-green color, the claw starts to turn by itself. It grabs a massive iron hand and screws it into the wrist of the armor. Dr. Cho thanks the claw machine while it spins around.“How much longer before it’s ready,” I say, looking the armor over. Despite the dim light in the workshop, the Iron Fist armor is still shining. Easily towering over both the doctor and myself, most of the armor seems to be done. In fact, the only things that seem to be missing are the left arm and the head. Also, the chest plate is open with dozens and dozens of wires coming out of it.“Only a few more hours,” Dr. Cho starts, “As I’ve said, it’s nearly ready. The head
QuickShot: “Anything,” I ask, looking at JumpStart as he types away at the OutCast’s computer. “Are you finished with that list of names?” JumpStart stops typing. He lets out a sigh before turning around. “No, I am not done,” JumpStart says. “I wasn’t done when you asked me a little while ago. I wasn't done when you asked me a while ago. I wasn’t even done when you asked me a long while ago. By the way, that long while ago was not a long while ago. When I am done, I will tell you. Please leave me alone until then. I work better when there aren’t people looking over my shoulder.” “How can you not be done? I thought the list of names would be short. I mean, you said how few people know about Dr. Cho.” “Yes, but as it turns out, those few people who know Dr. Cho apparently are all high-ranking officials. Their information is secured. It’s not going to be easy for me to break through. Even with my skills.” “So many names do you have?” “Uhh. None. I’m still working on my first.” “W
QuickShot: Watching as SpeedBlade falls to the ground, I look back at Silent as he aims the blaster on his wrist at me. I move as fast as I can. With an arrow already in my bow, I pull back the bowstring but Silent fires first. Silent fires his blaster and hits me, knocking the arrow from my bow and me to the ground. “I salute your effort,” Silent says, “But I’d recommend you and your friends stop now. I spent months researching and developing this suit of armor. Besides the reinforced metal, it is equipped with an arsenal of weaponry, as you have clearly seen." "Yeah," I say, pushing myself up. "Well, as I have clearly seen, it's going to take more than just some blasters and some tasers to stop us." "Believe me. I do have more. I'm just trying to be civil." "The villain in the giant iron suit is trying to be civil," I repeat, "Are your speakers broken, or did I hit my head too hard?" "You and your friends, the OutCas
Draven Ines:I put down my cup of coffee and return to reading the new proposal.“This can’t be right,” I think as I keep reading. “If this is passed, then medical clinics all over the city will lose funding and hospital will be overflowing with patients. No.”I slam the proposal close and throw it into my trashcan. Grabbing my cup, I practically swallow the whole thing before also throwing it into the trash as well.Once I do, I get up and leave my office. Entering the hallway, I nod my head toward my friends and colleagues.“Hello, Councilman Draven," one of my friends says as he passes me."Hello, Gavin," I say with a nod of my head. I walk past him and toward Councilman Dolon's office. I enter his office and slam the door shut."Councilman Draven," Councilman Dolon says, smiling as he spreads out his arms and lends back. "How can I help you today?"Noticing piles of paper
Homeless Man: Dragging my cart behind me, I stop at a dumpster. Pushing open the lid, I dig in. I push past all the empty containers and wrappers before finally finding it. "Yes," I cry, smiling as I jump and grab it. Pulling out from the dumpster a box of expired candy bars, I immediately eat one while throwing the box into my cart. "Well, now that I've found dinner, I can go back home." I smile and sing to myself as I chew and savor the oh-so-ever sweet, sweet taste of chocolate and nuts. It's late into the night when I make my way back home. Parking my cart at the side of my home, I climb into my box and snuggle up with my blanket. Sleep comes quickly, and I feel myself about to drift away when, out of nowhere, I hear a boom. "Wha the--," I shout. I throw my blanket to the side and climb out of my box. Pushing myself up, I look around for where that boom could have come from. It sounded so close as if it was right in this alley, but I didn't see anything. Feeling nervous, I run
SpeedBlade: Screaming as the cannon fires, all four of us are thrown into the air. I hit the floor hard as I land. Landing on my front, I push myself over and up. Rubbing my head as I push myself up, I wave the smoke away. "Justice? QuickShot? JumpStart! Where are you guys? Hello?" With every step I take, I hunch over in pain. My hip hurts. My leg is aching. I am limping, not walking. "Hello? Can you guys hear me? Hello!" "SpeedBlade," someone yells. As soon as I hear my own name, I feel the pain eases a little. "Hello?" Still limping, I limp up and down as I try to pinpoint the source of the voice in all this smoke. "SpeedBlade," someone else shouts. "SpeedBlade, is that you?" "Yes," I answer. "Yes! It's me! Who are you?" "Ms. Justice," Ms. Justice shouts back. "Wait, where are you?" "Ms. Justice," a third voice says. "JumpStart? I can hear you guys but I can't see any o
QuickShot:Fighting through the headache as I push myself up, I hear Dr. Cho's voice."Fire," she shouts, "Fire and bring this whole place down!"I hear the sound of the energy cannon going off and look. A red blast is heading for a crumbling ceiling."If it hits," I tell myself, "If it hits, and the ceiling comes falling down."I look at Ms. Justice as I picture the ceiling coming down. I imagine her being crushed, and as I do, I feel something building up inside of me."No," I scream, shooting out my hand. As I shoot out my hand, it glows a bright red. I feel my power flowing out, only it feels different from before. It doesn't feel like I'm losing energy. If anything, it feels like I'm gaining more energy. Like I'm powering up myself.Using my newfound energy, I focus a barrier around the blast. I watch with a smile as the blast with a barrier hits the ceiling. My barrier is more than able to absorb the full power
SpeedBlade: I unleash my mightiest battle cry as I charge toward the Iron Fist armor. Swinging my sword, the Iron First blocks it, sparks flying off of its arms and I attack it over and over again. The Iron Fist throws its massive metal arm but I use my speed to run out of the way. Running around the armor, I rush forward and thrust my sword into the back of the armor. However, the armor withstood my sword. My blade slips and slides to the side. Hearing Dr. Cho, I look at her as her eyes glow. She raises her arm before sending it back. Turning back to the armor, I see its elbow heading right for me. Hitting and knocking me back, I hold my head and shake it. "Your sword is no match for my Iron Fist armor," Dr. Cho says, laughing as the Iron Fist turns around. "Do yourself a favor and just run. Run away, you old, old knight in dented armor." "I will run," I say, holding my sword with both my hands. "But I will not run away!"
JumpStart: "No. No. No. No. No! Ahh!" I scream as I stomp my fists against the table. "Where is that program? Where is it? I searched this whole computer but still can't find it! What if Silent is right? What if the water destroys it? If the water did destroy the program, then does that mean the end for my friends? QuickShot. Ms. Justice. SpeedBlade. No! I won't give up! I can't. They're depending on me! I have to find it! And if I can't, then I will make one myself!" I restart the search, going through every single folder once more. QuickShot: Pulling back the bowstring, I close one eye and aim at the target. "Dr. Cho," I shout. Dr. Cho turns toward me. "Watch out." I let go of the bowstring and watch as my arrows fly toward Dr. Cho. Seeing this, she quickly hides behind the chair. The arrows hit the chair and stick to it. "You miss," Dr. Cho shouts, "Shouldn't have given me a
Silent: As the four of us enter my throne room, I see a single light turn on right above my chair. The rest of the lights and even the monitors are turned off so it's only my chair in the spotlight. "Hello," Dr. Cho says, standing up and turning around. She eyes me the second she sees me. "I guess I was right all along. People, humans, will never stay loyal." "Loyal," I repeat, " You're the one that betrayed me. You kicked me out of my own armor after taking control of it! You then tried to use it to harm innocent people! People that never did anything!" "They destroyed my friends," Dr. Cho shouts back. "My only friends! I built these machines myself! From nothing more than leftover gears and wires! They talk! They sang! There were more friends with me than any other humans in my life! And what did the company do to them after finding them? They destroyed them! They called them creepy and scary-looking and destroyed them!" "En
Silent: I wipe the water from my mask as I guide the OutCasts through the flooded hallways of my hideout. "How's your courageous leader," I ask. I stop and check inside a room. "It's clear. No trap. Only wet, soggy, robots." I kick one of the scrap metal robots in its head. It sparks and shakes but it doesn't move. "I'm fine," QuickShot says. She pushes herself up and off her bow/walking stick. She then wipes the water from her eyes. "How much longer until we reach Dr. Cho's workshop?" "Not much further," I answer. "Should only be a few more doors. Are you all ready to get beaten up?" "No," SpeedBlade answers. "I've been searching these pathways for my sword but I haven't found it yet. Where could it be?" "Who knows? Who cares? Just run around the evil doctor and draw her attention. QuickShot, Justice, and I will do the same. Meanwhile, JumpStart will upload the shut-off program into the Iron Fist Armor. That's
QuickShot: I see all the sharp and shining teeth of the little robots as they jump into the air. It's like they're showing them off as they attack us. With no time to spare, I throw down my bow and focus my power. I feel myself building up with the red energy, the power flowing throughout my body. My mind becomes more focused, and when I open my eyes, I spread out my hands and the red energy shoots out. It turns into a red barrier that shields all of us. Even Silent. The robots that jump are knocked back. They fall onto the other robots and knock them down as well. The other robots nearby that aren't knocked down start attacking the barrier. They bite and bump their heads against the barrier. Despite being in the barrier, I can still feel every bite and every single bump. It's become too much for me to handle. I drop to my knees a few seconds later. "QuickShot," Ms. Justice says, turning toward me. She kneels down in front of
Silent: "Be careful," I say to the OutCasts as the five of us approach the doorway to my hidden base. "Why," QuickShot asks with a scoff. "Is it booby-trapped?" I stop and turn to face the archer. "Yes," I firmly answer. "My front door is booby-trapped with automatic turrets. Unlike you four, I plan to keep people out of my home." I see the elf crosses his arms but I ignore it. "Stay back," I order, putting up my hand. "As I said, there are automatic turrets. I'll deactivate them so wait here." "Okay," Ms. Justice says, raising her arms to stop the knight from approaching. I move forward by myself, deeper into the forgotten subway tunnel. Coming up to a reinforced set of iron doors, I look at a part of the wall beside the doors. Pushing a hidden button, a keypad flips open and I enter the code. "Strange," I think as the light on the keypad goes green. "Dr. Cho didn't change the passcode." I hear