Memory Bank

[Proto Man]

The hunt to find Magnet Man was less of a hunt, per se, and more a matter of simply looking at the tallest structure in the complex that just so happened to be emblazoned with a giant, steel ‘W.’ Shaking his head, Proto Man pondered whether the display was rooted more in hubris or just good, old-fashioned lunacy. With a little jump in his step, the prototype passed through the chain gates that portioned off the structure. The giant, overgrown mettaur that patrolled the entryway paid absolutely no attention to the Robot Master as he scaled the fence and dropped down in front of the door.

At the top of the small stoop, Proto Man was faced by a large security grate that concealed the entranceway. Arming his weapon, he advanced on the steel shielding and was startled when it automatically pulled up into the wall, revealing a thin hallway. Moving forward, the prototype advanced a few feet and was once again taken aback when the grate behind him clicked back into place. Up ahead, an identical ‘security’ measure barred access to what lie beyond the cramped walkway. Now that he understood how the drill worked, Proto Man jogged over to the gate and rolled under it before it had a chance to retract all the way.

With his buster arm supported by his other hand, the android scanned his immediate surroundings. The room he’d rolled into was a perfect square—about twenty feet on all sides. Like the hallway, all the flat surfaces were comprised of metal plates and bars interspersed with thick red electrical cables. Across the room, Proto Man watched with just a smidge of delight as Magnet Man dropped down from the ceiling, dropped into an awkward stance, and suddenly tilted his head.

“Proto Man?” At roughly five and a half feet, the master of the industrial park was only a little taller than the average Robot Master. Any physical impressiveness he may have otherwise had was negated by his red bodysuit and the oversized plates of armor that covered his feet, hands, chest, and shoulders. The fact that there was a large magnet mounted to his forehead didn’t help amp up the intimidation factor of the Robot Master, but then again, anything that had been plagued by Dr. Light’s input tended to be utterly goofy. The Gen 1s were shining examples of the ‘creativity’ of the good doctor. “What are you doing here? This is where I’m stationed!” Even behind the guard that masked his nose and mouth, Magnet Man’s partially muffled voice was rife with confusion.

Can’t be too bad on him, this is one variable he isn’t programmed for. With a smirk, Proto Man leveled his buster-arm with the other Robot Master and fired off a concentrated pellet of solar energy.

Unlike the simpler machines, Magnet Man contained enough contingencies to allow him to protect himself from the oncoming attack. Falling down into a squat, the red-black android threw out his arms as the magnet on his head thrummed. Streams of white energy began to waft off the robot’s body, and for a brief instant, Proto Man felt as if he was being tugged. When the pellet came within six inches of Magnet Man, it suddenly and violently reflected off toward the ceiling. Upon relaxing his posture, the field clicked off almost instantaneously and the magnet lost is luminescence.

“Traitor!” The magnetized robot shouted as he threw out his right hand. The appendage flashed and was replaced by a buster arm that terminated with a large magnet instead of the usual circular opening or stylish nozzle. Before Proto Man could throw out a pun, a few bursts of steam erupted out of the other Robot Master’s buster weapon and the magnet came zipping toward him.

Diving to the wayside, the prototype managed to escape from the projectile’s initial trajectory, but as magnets are wont to do, it made a wide u-turn and came right back at him. Mumbling vulgarities beneath his breath, Proto Man quickly swung up his buster-arm, took aim, and blasted the self-propelled magnet out of the air. Pivoting, the android fired three bursts at Magnet Man as the latter casually leapt ten feet into the air and landed behind his opponent.

Turning sharply on his heels, Proto Man got a metal fist to his face, and a beat later, Magnet Man clenched his fists and his eponymous magnet began to glow. At this proximity, the prototype was flung toward the magnetic robot, who began to wail him in the skull and face. It wasn’t until Proto Man was able to angle his buster-arm and shoot his adversary in the chin that he could escape the barrage.

Lifting a hand to his face, the prototype Robot Master pulled away a fissured shard of black hyper-glass. “You broke my visor.” Shrugging his head, Proto Man initiated a command string, and his ruined visor popped off of his helmet, revealing the angular sunglasses the robot wore beneath them.

“You…you wear two pairs of sunglasses?” The blank look in Magnet Man’s eyes revealed that the Wily-Light Robot Master was unable to fathom the notion of wearing extra accessories.

“You wouldn’t understand,” Proto Man scoffed as he backpedaled away from his opponent. “After all, you’re just a robot.”

Magnet Man’s head tilted to the right, but before he could form an inquiry, Proto Man blasted him square in the chest. With a sputtering cough, the magnet-headed machine stumbled backwards a few paces before righting himself and returning fire.

Retreating to the wall, the prototype sucked in a deep breath and dropped down into a crouch just in time for the two magnets to slam right into some of the room’s metal plating. The impact indented the thick steel and caused one the thick support bars to bow outward. Near the middle of the room, Magnet Man dropped into his stance and clenched his fists. Flinging his buster-arm up, Proto Man shot the bowed section of the bar, causing it to separate and swing down. After catching the bar, the prototype gave it a violent jerk to remove it from the floor of the chamber, and just as Magnet Man’s tug kicked in, the scarf-clad android took a step into the magnetic field and hurtled the bar like a javelin.

The Wily-Light Robot Master’s eyes went wide as his own powers turned him into a shish kebab. With a string of incoherent babble and white noise, Magnet Man’s field kicked off and the robot toppled over—spewing sparks and various internal fluids. With a relatively satisfied grin on his face, Proto Man advanced on the twitching ‘corpse’ and grabbed it by the buster arm. A signal flashed briefly in the corner of the android’s internal display, and then his armor, beginning with his hand and moving out across the rest of his body, changed colors. The prototype’s gray bodysuit became a few shades lighter, and the various regions of plating turned a deeper shade of red. I guess he and I did share a slightly similar color design…

Lifting his buster arm up to his face, Proto Man suddenly jerked around and fired a magnet at the wall. The self-propelled projectile slammed into the wall and crashed through the plating, leaving a jagged gap in its surface. Upon lowering his weapon, Proto Man’s body switched back to its normal scheme and the android retreated through the hole he had created. A beat later, he heard the sound of the security grate sliding open and the sound of metallic boots clicking on the steel floor.