The Scramble [Complete]

[Proto Man]

The atmosphere was still tense, but the arrival of the two opposed forces had shed some light on the situation. From the looks of it, the Omniverse was contested between the four men standing across from one another at the base of the fountain. One on end stood an older man dressed like a mideval knight, and at his side, there was a hulking green individual who was also dressed for a bygone era. They were opposed by the one-eyed man, who carried himself like a statesman. Next to him was someone garbed in what seemed to be a heavily reinforced police uniform. A large gun was visible on the man’s waist, but all of his features save his nose and grizzled chin were hidden behind a helmet similar to the android’s own headgear.

Proto Man heard a light splashing in the fountain, but he ignored it, his hidden eyes glued on the four individuals. Despite the cordial agreement they had just struck over the recent arrivals, their tense posture and the group of armed troops behind them seemed to indicate that this was a powder keg just waiting for that fatal spark. In the distance, Proto Man saw that the green woman with the tusks was lost in her thoughts. The robot wondered if she shared any kin with Aragorn’s equally green-skinned partner.

From further away, Proto Man caught a glimpse of the woman with the knives as she slipped off toward one of the gates that adorned the horizon. He wondered if she had made the smart choice to avoid the drama and slip away unseen. If he had known this was going to happen, he would have made a beeline for any of those gates before this diplomatic standoff had started.

Someone he hadn’t previously noticed glided forward like a wraith and joined the one-eyed man and the helmeted officer. Was this what would happen? Would each of them pick a side like a game of football on a playground? He’d never partaken in such activities, but Proto Man had spent more afternoons than he could remember watching the ‘normal’ kids play sports outside their schools. It still pained him that he’d never worked up the courage to go introduce himself. The fear that had forced him from home had made it hard for him to connect to anyone.

Either way, he knew that neither side was the right or wrong answer. Dr. Light had labeled his former friend and partner a madman, but the ‘good doctor’ was guilty of his own fair share of tainted decisions. Proto Man placed a hand on his chest and scowled at the memory of the pain he’d felt for years because Light had rushed his power core to compete against Wily for some prize.

Stepping away from the fountain, Proto Man felt more than a few sets of eyes on him as he walked over to the one-eyed politician, the samurai, and the helmeted man. The red robot, shield in one hand and a gun for the other, stood in front of the officer and looked up at him.

Although there had been some chatter amongst the others, everyone fell silent as the two helmeted individuals stared silently at one another—one of them nearly two feet taller than the other.

“I like your helmet, Mister…” Proto Man remarked before trailing off, prompting the man’s thin lips to twist into a scowl.

“Judge Dredd.” The helmeted soldier replied in his gravelly voice as one of his hands apathetically waved away the battered-looking preteen. Despite only seeing the bottom half of the man’s face, the robot knew he’d already been dismissed.

“What do you do?” Proto Man asked, who was now simultaneously irritated and unwilling to just back away.

“I am a Judge. I hunt down criminals and judge them for their crimes. I keep the filth from overtaking the streets of Corusant. Now this discussion has little to do with a child, regardless of whether or not you may be a Prime.”

Proto Man already knew that he hated this man, both for the casual manner in which he described his job as a glorified murderer and for his continually patronizing tone. From the corner of his eye, the android saw one that one of Dredd’s armored lackeys had dismounted from his bike and was standing a few feet away, his attention obviously diverted to one of the attractive women at the fountain.

With a smile, Proto Man twisted his torso and leveled his gun arm with the bike. A few flashes of light spilled out from the cannon as it sucked in a whoosh of air before releasing a charged bolt of energy. The blast struck the idle hover bike and blew it apart, throwing the nearby storm trooper to the ground and startling his nearby comrades, who scrambled to draw weapons Before they could make a rash decision, their Judge threw up a gloved hand, and their years of conditioning halted them dead in their tracks.

The robot preteen looked back at Dredd’s visor-concealed countenance. Although the soldier’s other hand now hovered over his gun, his stance and facial expression betrayed little of anything.

“This is not our jurisdiction…yet.” He spoke loud enough for his troops (and anyone else nearby for that matter) to hear. “But in the future, you may want to look both ways when walking the streets of Corusant.” To Dredd’s right, the one-eyed politician wore an amused look on his face, whilst the samurai clutched his fingers around the hilt of his blade.

Proto Man smiled, understanding the veiled threat in the Judge’s caustic yet chill tone. “I’ll make sure I do,” the robot muttered without tearing his own concealed eyes from the helmeted soldier.