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Maya got her martial arts gi on and walked into the training room. The teenage girl had short, black hair, brown skin, and dark brown eyes. She stared down at the deactivated NBB training robot built by her dad.
"Activate training mode!" Maya called out, and the robot's eyes turned red. She got into a half body stance as the robot got into the same stance. The robot ran up to her, but Maya moved out of the way before grabbing the robot's arm and used it's momentum to throw it onto the ground. The robot quickly got up, and pounced towards the young teenager. She managed to duck and roll to avoid the attack before roundhouse kicking the robot in the head.
After many minutes of training, both Maya and the robot were on the floor. Maya sat back up, sore and exhausted from training.
"Deactivate training mode." Maya exhaustedly said, which caused the robot to shut off.
Maya got up and stretched before walking out of the training room and changed back into her casual wear. After changing, she walked to the robotic building section of the basement. Her dad was busy at the work table, working on a new version of the NBD training robot. She quickly got some tools from the upper shelf and walked over to the table to help her dad.
"When did you say the training bot needed to be ready?" Maya asked as she worked on adding the fingers of robot's claws.
"About a week dear." Morgan replied as he was busy building the energy core of the robot. Maya made sure to pay attention to how her dad built the core in case the robot ever needed a replacement since it was the reason the training robot could become invisible.
Once her father finished the energy core, he moved on to working on the head. Maya soon finished adding the fingers to the claws, and moved onto working on the hand cannon which would be transformed from the right hand and would be able to blast sonic energy. Since the NBD training robot was going to be shown off at an expo in a week and a half, it was important that Maya help her dad to get the robot finished faster.
.
To say Maya Ducard lived an interesting life would be an understatement. She was the daughter of a pair of Afro-Latin Americans who were named Elanore, and Morgan, who was a robotics genius. Due to her father's success with making medical and training robots, they were a rather wealthy family. Unlike other millionaires, they live in a rather quant, isolated house instead of a giant mansion. Her father was a rather humble man who didn't really like having a bunch of cameras in his face and wanted to keep his personal life private. He even kept his wife and daughter secret for their safety.
Maya didn't really have any friends to talk to due to her mom homeschooling her, and the fact her father is constantly worrying about Maya being taken for ransom by a rival millionaire. Morgan had a couple rivals in robotics like Niles Caulder and Wayne Franklin, but none was a bigger rival to Maya's father than Anthony Ivo.
Morgan and Anthony have always had a fiery rivalry ever since Morgan got successful after his prototype NB08 prosthetic arm made waves. Then again, rivalry was too soft of a word for the dynamic of these two. Ivo despied Morgan, and always strived to be more popular than him. Maya remembers eavesdropping on her father having a virtual meeting where he and Ivo argued a couple times. It would usually end with Ivo angrily leaving the meeting after a while.
All of the venom Ivo felt for Morgan was one of the reasons he worried about his family. That was also why he kept his family life away from the public eye. He knew that his family would get involved with his feuds eventually.
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Maya didn't really think the day after her father's conference where he showed off the NBD training bot would be very interesting. She thought it would be like usual with her dad relaxing with his family after a big event while making little additions to his inventions.
She remembered the beginning of the day being somewhat mundane. Maya went through her normal morning routine. Eating breakfast, brushing her hair, doing some tinkering on some inventions, etcetera. She was excited since her dad was taking her a drive around the woods as a relaxing breather. Her mom was staying at home, so the drive was mainly a father daughter thing.
While her father was driving, Maya remembered looking at the scenic nature outside of the passenger seat window before deciding to relax and take a nap. The rest of that day was rather fuzzy mainly due to her still in the nap. She vaguely remembered crashing sounds while she was asleep and pure blackness. Little did she know what would happen after that.
Maya slowly opened her eyes and noticed she was staring at a lamp. She was confused as her eyes adjusted to the light. She then heard footsteps walking towards her and she looked over to see it was her father. He had his hands over his mouth and looked somewhat teary eyed, which confused Maya.
"Thank goodness you're alive!" Morgan sighed in relief.
"Uggh...Alive?" Maya grumbled in confusion. She looked around her surroundings, only to be shocked when she saw that what was supposed to be her arms were robotic. Maya groaned as she tried to sit up to get a better look at herself before her father came to her aid to help her sit up.
"Should I just tell you or show you?" Morgan nervously asked his daughter, not sure how to explain to Maya what had happened to her.
Maya sighed softly. "Just help me up so I can see what happened to me." She was impatient and wasn't in the mood for her dad trying to sugar coat what happened. Morgan helped her daughter get up from the worktable, and let Maya stand on her own.
As Maya stood up, she looked down only to see that it wasn't her arm that was robotic. She was shocked to see that her entire body was robotic, from her hands to her feet. Maya didn't even say anything as she just silently wondered what had happened to her while she was napping..
"Wha..? Huh..?" Maya managed to mutter out as she was still processing her new look. She looked at her father as a sign to explain things.
Morgan looked at Maya, and sighed softly before telling his daughter what had happened. "While you were taking a nap in the car... there was another car that was tailing us. I tried throwing them off but.." he choked up a little. Maya patiently waited for her father to continue.
Morgan calmed himself after a little bit before continuing. "They made sure we were alone before driving into us which…"
Maya knew her father wouldn't be able to finish the sentence, so she decided to finish for him. "They crashed our car...?" She asked Morgan solemnly, and was surprised when he hugged her tightly.
"I was fine but you were-" Morgan began, but Maya knew her father was gonna have a hard time saying how bad she was hurt in the crash.
"Dad, you don't have to explain how badly I got injured. You can skip that." She interrupted Morgan while reassuringly hugged back.
"I was able to rush you back home, and used the parts of the NBD to make you a cyborg." Morgan told Maya as he slowly let go of the hug. When her father let go, she also let go from the hug and stared at her hands, in awe at the fact that she's a cyborg. Her thoughts went immediately to how cool this was, but then she had the realization about the fact that the NDB training robot was sacrificed in order for her to even be a cyborg.
"You tore up the NBD?! But you worked so hard on it!" She exclaimed, feeling bad for the fact her dad had to destroy the robot he just presented yesterday for her.
"I still have the blueprints for the training robot. It can be replaced and rebuilt, but you can't.." Morgan reassured Maya. She still felt bad, but Maya knew she had to accept it.
Morgan turned his head as he heard a knock on the door, and walked over to see who it was. He opened the door to see that his wife was on the other side.
Maya walked over to where her parents were, and waited for them to stop talking to each other. She wasn't sure what they were specifically talking about since her parents were talking in Spanish, which she wasn't too fluent in, but she assumed they were talking about her from the few bits of Spanish she understood. She heard some worried mumblings about how the crash might have been done on purpose by one of Ivo's men but she simply shrugged it off for now. Once they were done talking, Elanore tightly hugged Maya.
"I'm so glad you're safe Maya." She rejoiced in relief as she held her daughter close. Maya hugged her mom back tightly as well.
She wasn't sure what was going to happen next in her life after this sudden shift, but Maya thought she was prepared for everything. Life would prove her wrong however.
.
For the next week, Maya had been training herself to get adjusted to her new skillset. Said skillset included the sonic arm cannon, and the ability to become invisible. Maya was disappointed how she could only be invisible for 5 minutes at a time. She wasn't very surprised that her very much non robotic head wasn't affected by the invisibility. During the second day of training, Maya decided to fix this, and asked her dad if she could retool the head of the NBD into a helmet that could be in sync with her body's invisibility.
Morgan was currently helping his daughter disassemble the head of the NBD, and an idea popped up in his head.
"Have you ever thought of being a hero?" He asked as he handed his daughter pliers.
Maya was surprised by the sudden question, and looked at her father after she got the pliers. "Where'd you get that idea dad?' She curiously asked as she started to use the pliers.
"Well, you were given these powers by an accident, kinda like other superheros. Besides, we're already making a helmet for you, might as well use it to hide your identity if you're going to be a superhero." Morgan explained to his daughter as she was busy disassembling the robotic head.
"You really think I have what it takes to be a hero?" Maya curiously asked her dad. On the one hand, she was a good person who knew some martial arts and was now a cyborg, but on the other hand, she had just gotten these powers and wasn't sure if she could handle them.
Morgan smiled softly at his daughter. "Of course I think so. You're the most talented, pure hearted girl I've ever met." He said before playfully ruffling his daughters hair. Maya giggled softly before playfully shooing her father's arm away so she could work.
As the week went on, Maya started to get more comfortable with her powers. Her training with the NBB training robot helped refine her skills by sneak attacking using her invisibility, and combining her martial arts skills with her enhanced strength. She did have to make some adjustments on the arm cannon, and gave it a dial to control how powerful the sonic blasts were.
Once her week of training was over, Maya noticed her dad heading out of the basement in his business suit while she put the finishing touches on the helmet. She quickly finished her work, and walked over to Morgan.
"Hey dad, the next business meeting isn't until 3 weeks from now. Why are you heading out?" Maya asked her father, wanting to know where he was heading off to.
"Well, I have to make an emergency announcement about the NBD being delayed heavily. Can't leave the buyers wondering why the training robot has stopped being shown." Morgan explained to his daughter as he walked up the stairs, letting Maya follow him.
Maya handed her father his coat as he walked over to the house door. She hugged her dad after he put on his coat. "Take care dad."
Morgan smiled softly as he hugged Maya back. Elanore walked over to Morgan and kissed him on the cheek as a little goodbye. Maya and her mother watched as Morgan waved goodbye before walking out of the door, and driving his new car to his destination.
A little while after Morgan left, Maya was trying to get dressed in "casual clothes" to go shopping with her mom. She decided to wear a hoodie with long pockets, baggy jeans, and regular tennis shoes. She walked downstairs while putting her hands in her pocket. "I'm ready mom."
Elanore and her daughter walked over to a grocery store 15 minutes away from their house. Maya kept her head down, and avoided eye contact with people who passed them by. Maya's mother looked at her.
"There's no need to be embarrassed, barely anyone knows us." Elanore reassuredly whispered to Maya, which helped her feel way less tense around people.
The two soon entered the grocery store, and as Elanore got herself a shopping cart, Maya looked around, and felt a little jealous about how everyone else was rather normal. Sure, her being a cyborg gives her cool powers and such, but she would really like to not hide her cyborg body in public. As Maya walked behind her mom, who was busy walking through the aisle, a question popped up in her head.
"Hey mom, if I were to be a hero, what would my name be?" She asked Elanore, since she's a little more sure about the prospect of being a hero.
"Hmm... Well, maybe you could name yourself after your powers, or one of Morgie's inventions." Elanore suggested to her daughter as she was busy finding the stuff she needed in the produce aisle.
Maya started to think about possible names for herself as a hero. She started to think about all the inventions her dad made along with her powers. Her mind went to the NBD robot which was the source of her robotic body, and she internally listed her powers.
Maya's face lit up when she got a name idea and looked over at her mom. "What about Nobody?" she asked her mother.
"Nobody? What inspired you to come up with that name?" Elanore curiously asked, intrigued by the unique name Maya had chosen for herself.
"Well, the word nobody kinda reminds me of the NBD bot, and my powers of invisibility will make it look like nobody's there when in actuality I'm there." Maya casually explained to her mom.
Elanore smiled softly as she started to walk out of the produce aisle, making sure Maya was following her. "That's actually rather clever. Aren't you a smart cookie?" She playfully said to her daughter. Maya simply chuckled softly at her mother's remark as she helped her mom with groceries.
A little while later, the mother and daughter walked out of the store. Maya felt a little more confident since there weren't as many people walking past them, and decided to get her hands out of her pocket and carried one of the heavier bags for her mom. She, of course, carried the bag with ease due to her enhanced strength.
Maya opened the door for her mom, and walked in after Elanore put down her grocery bags onto the kitchen table. Maya set down the bag she was carrying next to her moms, and sat down on the couch to relax. "Hey mom, mind if I turn on the tv?" She asked her mom while getting comfy on the couch.
"Sure dear." Elanore said as she was busy putting the groceries away in the kitchen. Maya started to flicker through channels as she started to worry about why her dad wasn't back yet. She simply shrugged it off, thinking Morgan was just dealing with bad traffic.
While she was busy flicking through channels, her phone on the living room table started to buzz. Maya quickly got it, and was relieved to see it was a voice-mail from her dad. She quickly answered it, and put the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"
"Maya, Elanore, whoever is hearing this, this voice-mail is pre recorded in case I die." The voice recording of Morgan started. Maya's eyes widened in shock. Her mother also stopped what she was doing since she could also hear the voice-mai from the kitchen.
"I just want to say, thank you. Thank you for being close friends with me. Thank you for encouraging me with my projects. Thank you Elanore for being the sweetest woman in the world, and for being a wonderful wife and mother. And thank you Maya, for being the light in my life whenever I was down, and for being the best daughter a parent could ask for…" The voice-mail ended with a beep before silence.
She was speechless as her mind started to frantically wander to what just happened, and what might have happened to her dad.
"Maybe dad must have sent this on accident. Yeah, that must be it. He's completely fine." Maya thought, trying to convince herself that her father was fine. Deep down she knew her it was just wishful thinking.
"Check the news channel." Elanore spoke up as she nervously sat next to her daughter, scared of what happened to her husband. Maya got the remote, and flipped through channels until she got to the news channel. Both her and her mother were worried sick as they watched the news for a while, waiting for the news about Morgan to air. The breaking news came on, and confirmed Maya and Elanore's worst fear.
"This just in, famous robotic genius Morgan Ducard has been found dead at a car crash site. Autopsy revealed he had been shot twice in the chest, and the authorities suspect foul play." The news reporter stated before moving onto the next news story.
Maya and Elanore were both saddened, and silent. Maya couldn't believe her father was possibly murdered just like that. She was shaking with grief, too shocked to even cry.
"W-why? Who would even kill dad? He didn't even do anything wrong." Maya said to herself as she felt tears start to well up in her eyes. Her dad was really gone, and for what?
"Ivo.." Elanore mumbled to herself. When Maya heard this, she quickly turned her head to her mom. "Anthony Ivo?" She quickly asked, to which Elanore nodded.
"When me and your father were talking to each other when you became a cyborg, he mentioned how he thought the car crash seemed deliberate. Him and I both thought Ivo or one of his men might have done it, considering he doesn't really play nice with Morgan anyways. He seems like the only one to have at least ordered the death." Elanore solemnly explained while holding her daughter's hands to comfort her.
Maya's sadness transformed into anger. She was fuming about how one man's petty hatred for a business rival led to her father's murder. She slowly pulled her hands away from her mother's, and looked at her.
"Mom, I'm going to Gotham." She stated frankly.
"What?! Why?" Elanore exclaimed in shock.
Maya slowly stood up with her mom. "If I don't get
Ivo and his men behind bars, no one else will. Who is even gonna prosecute him? He's richer than rich, and could easily bribe any normal joe who could prosecute him." She explained as before running off into the basement. She grabbed the completed helmet from the work table. As Maya was heading up the stairs, her mother was standing outside the door.
"I'm worried about you going on your own. What if you get torn apart?" Elanore asked with a voice full of concern.
"I'll be fine mom. My week of training has me somewhat adjusted to my powers. Even if they try to spot me, I have invisibility powers, even if they're limited." Maya assured her mother, somewhat confident about her decision.
Elanore sighed softly and pulled her daughter into a tight hug, still a little scared to lose her. "Please stay safe." She said softly to her daughter.
Maya hugged her mother back, and smiled softly. "I promise to come back in one piece mom." She told her mom, slowly pulling away from the hug.
As the two finished hugging, Maya put on the helmet and walked back to the living room, and made her way to the door. She looked back at her mom one last time.
"Take care mija." Elanore told her daughter as she waved goodbye to Maya. Even if she was cautious about Maya going out on her own, she knew nothing she could do to stop her from her decision.
Maya soon walked out of the house before closing the door. She looked at her surroundings, and was ready to head out to Gotham. The teenage cyborg looked around, making sure no one was nearby.
"Invisibility mode, activate." She mumbled under her breath, which turned her completely invisible. She pressed a button on her helmet to turn off the glowing eyes. Maya then ran off in the distance.
She knew that Gotham City was an hour away from where she lived, and that this wasn't going to be easy. Yet, she was dead set on avenging her father. Nothing was going to stop her.
No one is going to stop Nobody.