Family of Steel [Exemplary]

[Proto Man]

Quick Man sneered as the Prodigal was ushered into the Community Center. The reinforced structure, with its steel walls, titanium fences, and armored marine was the closest thing to a fortress on this tier, even if its advertised function was that of a settlement house. Some of the local mercenaries, bandits, and smugglers had impressive hideouts, but nothing compare to the ‘Community Center.’ Quick Man had heard rumors that there were missile systems and automatic turrets hidden in and on the facade of the building. It was possible that those were just rumors or stories told by defeated mercenaries, but even if they were false, Quick Man wouldn’t want to risk a pitched confrontation with the place solely because of the marine.

Just because he was smart enough to avoid such activities, that didn’t mean that others shared his thoughts. The place came under siege on an almost hourly basis. Most of the time it was just a few exchanges of gun- or laser-fire. Explosives were common, but mostly it just seemed like an attempt to keep the guard on edge. Quick Man had actually figured the hulking, steel-clad behemoth for a machine, until he saw its helmet unfurl to reveal a man within the suit. Behind the robot, something--a glass bottle perhaps--tipped over and cracked on the rooftop.

“I heard you back there,” Quick Man shouted without turning to face the source of the noise. “The Prodigal has found the Light children…” While he had wanted to remain stone-faced for his colleague, the boomerang-wielding Robot master knew they’d have a thorn in their side if Proto Man sided with DLN-002 and her doting brothers.

“You wouldn’t have won him to your side anyway,” a whispery voice responded.

Quick Man spun, boomerangs drawn, and deflected the shuriken away just inches before it found its mark on his cheek. Following the path of the projectile and source of the noise led his gaze to Shadow Man, one of the Hybrids. “It would appear that I am quicker on the draw,” the red-black Robot Master said through a sneer.

Shadow Man smiled. “Or I simply didn’t attempt to bring an end to your functions.” The ninja-themed android had no visible weapons and seemed oddly relaxed, but Quick Man didn’t trust him. The DWN-series machine had been destroyed before the Hybrids were created, so he had no idea how they fared in physical conflict.

Undoubtedly inferior… The thought, however vain, brought another smirk to the robot’s face as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared across the roof at the other machine. “Have you reconsidered our offer to join with us?”

The ninja android shook his head. “If you fight against Proto Man, you will lose. The First Son was more than capable of besting Mega Man in singles combat. You and your brothers failed against the latter, so I doubt you are capable of defeating the former.”

“My brothers and I returned from the dead less than two weeks ago.” Quick Man held up his hands as if to point out the foreign landscape around them. “This isn’t Monsteropolis. We’re thinking the skies the limit, and there’s nothing that will stand in our way. Why are the eight of you still lurking around in the darkness, anyway?”

“Your bomb-fisted brother’s antics have marked us all as dangerous elements, and the only way out of the city is that guarded gate on the first level.”

“Well you better buckle down, Hybrid, because we haven’t even gotten to the good part.”

“Is that a threat, Quick Man?” One of Shadow Man’s hands drifted to the kunai belted around his metal waist. The other robot’s hand risted atop one of his own signature weapons likewise holstered in a belt.

“You are either with us or you are against us,Hybrid. There is no gray in this equation. Once we begin,there will be no stopping us. We will conquer these two ghettos and then work our way up from the rotten core of his mega city until only steel and ash remain.”

“Then it seems like I have no choice in this matter.” With a sudden flick of his wrist, Shadow Man hurtled the kunai at the sneering visage of the other machine. Quick Man twisted and threw his boomerang from the hip. The ninja responded by erupting in a poor of black smoke as the kunai spun harmlessly spaced the side of his foe’s face.

With a scowl as his own weapon passed through air, Quick Man drew two more boomerangs and stepped away from the edge of his overlook. There rooftop was only covered in scattered garbage, so the only shadows came from the taller structure across the alley. As he scanned the shadowed portion of the area, his fingers tensed around his weapons.

The strike and the android behind it came from the blackness, but not fast enough to nail its target. Quick Man threw up a boomerang to intercept the kunai a foot above his head. Shadow Man smiled and jumped back into the darkness, his figure vanishing the moment it was wholly shrouded in the blackness

Quick Man fell back and ducked as the blade sliced at his neck from the opposing direction. The robot spun and swung his boomerang at the ninja’s face. Shadow Man evaded the strike and sent a shuriken at his foe, who used his other boomerang to deflect the projectile.

Seeing that he had momentarily unbalanced his foe, Quick Man stabbed with one of his weapons, but instead of punching through steel, it cleaved harmlessly through black smoke. Shadow Man reappeared behind Quick Man and hooked his arms up and around the other robot’s shoulders, lacing them behind his neck.

“You are apparently not quick enough to fight shadows.”

The boomerang-themed android scowled as he tried to escape the full nelson. “But unlike you, Hybrid, I exist solely to fight and destroy!” With a grunt, Quick Man hopped up and threw all his weight forward, tugging his surprised assailant with him. As Shadow Man lurched forward in an effort to maintain his hold, Quick Man took the lapse in the grip to hurtle both of his boomerangs down at the other machine.

Seeing the attack, Shadow Man released his grip, but not before one of the projectiles sunk into his right shoulder. The ninja grimaced as sparks sprayed out from the injury, but before he could assess the injury, Quick Man sun and swung at him with another boomerang.

The ninja quickly pulled his kunai free from its sheath and batted away the oncoming weapon. As he did, he gracelessly lunged shoulder-first into his foe. The awkward offensive succeeded in catching Quick Man off guard, and with a swift, upward slice, Shadow Man caught the other Robot Master across the face with his kunai. The red and black android let out a shout and grabbed at his injured visage, leaving himself open for a thunderous kick to the gut that sent him across the rooftop.

“Embrace the oncoming oblivion,” Shadow Man whispered as he stalked across the roof toward the prone, twitching robot.

“Hey, Hybrid.” Shadow Man heard the voice just a beat before what sounded like a jet engine firing up to full power. He found the speaker to be another robot with a massive turbine in his chest. “Hope you can fly.”

Before Shadow Man could offer a response or even a defensive maneuver, a sonic wave burst from Air Man’s turbine chest. The ninja was swallowed up in the horizontal tornado and carried with it over nearly an entire city block before it petered out and dropped him down between a few structures. A sigh escaped Quick Man as he dropped to a knee and continued to clasp a hand around his injury.

A few yards away, the walking wind machine’s turbines died down, the the stout machine jogged over to his comrade. “Are you okay, Quick Man? Were you injured grievously?”

The boomerang-themed Robot Master shook his head. “Only my pride, Air Man…only my pride.”