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Chapter Text

Ownership Disclaimer:

Skylanders and Mega Man do not belong to me.

Skylanders belongs to Toys For Bob and Activision.

Mega Man belongs to Capcom and Keiji Inafune. The comic series belongs to Archie Comics.

Chapter 1: A Fatal Failure

It was supposed to be an easy mission! They had made it so far, undergone so much pain! Yet thanks to her incompetence, their world was doomed. The world that they had spent much of their life defending was about to fall into nothingness. Evil had won the fight between it and good. Worst of all, she was entirely to blame: it was her recklessness that cost the mission. She had been told time and time again how much her impulsivity would cost her. Now, for her actions, she would be known as the foolish Skylander whose inability to wait let evil destroy her world. As a certain vampire derby girl hurtled helplessly throughout space and time, she wondered where had things gone so wrong.

Morale was high, and victory was within their grasp. They had the Dark Rift Engine with them, and they had just infiltrated the Sky Eater. The two best saboteurs and stealth experts of the Superchargers were ready to finish to the fight. On one hand was an elven girl with green skin, blue hair put into a ponytail/braid, and milky eyes wearing a green and yellow suit, a wooden helmet fused with metallic parts, black boots and gloves, and wielding a minigun made of wood. Her partner was a vampiress with glowing pink eyes, pink skin, and pink hair braided into a ponytail wearing bony armor on her forearms and head, black gloves and a sleeveless black dress, a black skirt, purple leggings, and bony roller skates. The armor on her right arm had a wicked scythe-like blade glowing with pink energy attached to it. These two were part of the most elite Skylander squadron developed thus far: the Superchargers.

"Ready, Roller Brawl?" the elf asked her vampire partner.

"You know it, Stealth Elf! Let's roll and bring this bad boy down!" Roller Brawl answered, a cocky smile, revealing her fangs, present on her face.

"Just remember. We must be silent, but deadly! Emphasis on the 'silent' part," Stealth Elf said. Nodding, Roller Brawl readied herself to fight. Within the Sky Eater would be the elite Drow servants of their archnemesis: the Dark Portal Master Kaos.

"YES! YES! The magic of Skylands flows through me! I feel like I could take on a thousand Ancients!" a deep, malevolent voice raved. This came from a violent cyclone of what looked like purplish-black smoke, with a square face coupled with horns and a mustache in the center of it. "You've done very well Kaos. I could not be any prouder of you!"

"HAHAHAHA! You see? I, Kaos, Emperor of Skylands, can be useful to you! And is it true? We can spread the awesomeness of my empire to stretch the universe?" a small squat man, Kaos, continued. His head was entirely bald, but it came with a strange alignment of six blue triangles. On his face were stranger black lines over his red eyes, and on his head was a jewel-encrusted cross between a crown and tiara. His attire was a purple robe, white breeches, and old-timey shoes with square buckles. Kaos was Public Enemy Number One of Skylands, making countless attempts to forge an empire and rule with a iron fist. Quite literally in one case, involving the ancient yet advanced empire of Arkeyans.

"Oh yes. I assure you. Your awesomeness will spread across the universe and spread doom and destruction to those that try and oppose you!" his partner continued. "All shall fear and obey us!" With this proclamation, two voices began laughing, their chortling melded with malice and evil.

"Mwaah!" Roller Brawl blew a kiss at a Pitch-Black Pitcher, weakening it and feeling some of its essence transfer into her. Afterwards, she rushed forward and used the blade attached to her wrist to slice them to ribbons. Meanwhile, Stealth Elf was disappearing and reappearing constantly, leaving sentry guns that punctured holes in Dark Drow, and turning more into Swiss cheese with her dagger cannon.

"Good work, RB. That clears up this section. Just one more before we can get to the main control center and get the Dark Rift Engine working!" Stealth Elf complimented.

"Thanks! But let's get movin'! I want to make sure Kaos' keister is kicked so hard, he'll think twice before messing with us!" Roller Brawl boasted, a toothy grin plastered on her face. Running up the elevator, the two girls made their way to the main control room of the Sky Eater.

It was tricky, but in time, the two Skylanders managed to make their way to main control ship of the Sky Eater. Apparently, it also doubled as an observation hall, as from here, Roller Brawl and Stealth Elf could see the devastation that had been wrought upon their home world, and it was horrible. Kaos really had crossed a line this time, and he would be lucky if he didn't get life in the rebuilt CloudCracker Prison.

"The Dark Rift Engine is in place, all we gotta do now is... Roller Brawl, what are you doing?" Stealth Elf said before noticing the vampire Supercharger heading for one of the control panels. "Don't be reckless! You don't know what any of those controls might do!"

"But if this controls the Sky Eater, maybe there's a chance that we can undo all the destruction brought by Kaos and his minions! We have to at least see what we can do!" Roller Brawl protested.

Figuring she had a point, Stealth Elf nodded. "Alright. Just be careful," As Stealth Elf pushed it closer to the core of the Sky Eater, which now looked like a giant black lava lamp, she readied the activation of the machine that would take the Darkness back to whatever realm it originally came from. However, what neither of them thought was that they were being watched.

"Hello, girls. What's the occasion?" A smooth, refined voice asked. Staring in shock, Stealth Elf found herself face to face with the Darkness itself.

"Y-y-you're-..." she sputtered, fear completely overwhelming her.

"The Darkness? But of course!" it replied, giving an evil, toothy smile. "So, Stealth Elf, what do you think you're doing with the Dark Rift Engine that takes me back to the home I left all those centuries ago?"

"What do you think? I would have been able to turn it on sooner had -"

"Roller Brawl been there to assist you?" he taunted, turning over to Roller Brawl desperately attempting to press buttons to undo the Sky Eater's work. "Kaos is getting his 'awesome beauty sleep of DOOM!', which he copyrighted by the way, and he will probably be really cranky if he is woken up."

"C'mon, one of these puppies has to do something," Roller Brawl complained, sweat dripping from her forehead. Stealth Elf panicked and ran towards her comrade.

"Roller Brawl, no! Don't press any -" she tried to order before an alarm blared across the Sky Eater. "-more buttons." Before she could lambast Roller Brawl for being reckless, she felt herself getting trapped in a telekinetic field, and she lost all control over her body 'So this is what a Drow feels like after a beatdown from Blastermind,' she thought to herself.

"Mother, I told you several times, I will not open a safe deposit - EHHH?!" Kaos sleepily muttered before snapping to attention. "Skylanders?! In my Sky Eater. What a wonderful surprise!"

"Indeed! We've consumed just enough magic that now, we'll be able to take over the entire universe!" The Darkness declared, with Kaos giving an evil smile.

"YES! Look upon my awesomeness, and then be honored as I, Kaos, take all the magic in Skylands and go on conquering the universe!" Kaos ranted. Turning on some switches, mechanical whirs and groaning droned across the Sky Eater. Shame surged through Roller Brawl's body, as she and Stealth Elf helplessly watched the last moments of their beloved home world, the sound of Kaos' obnoxious, yet much more sinister, laughter ringing in their ears.

"Stealth Elf. I'm so sorry. I mucked everything up," Roller Brawl said regretfully, tears about to spill.

"I'm honestly disappointed, but I'm not going to lay all the blame on you. Maybe I should have -" was the last thing Stealth Elf said before blinding light and deafening noise flooded Roller Brawl's senses.

That led to where she was now. Roller Brawl, once a proud defender of her home, had doomed it and the universe to forever serve under a much more megalomaniacal Kaos. Shame, anger, sadness, despair, and horror were all emotions that surged through her being. Shame for being such a fool and being so reckless. Anger at herself being so stupid and letting Kaos win. Sadness for all the lives that would inevitably be lost when Skylands collapsed. Despair at how little chance there would be to bring Skylands back to normal. Horror at what atrocities would be wrought upon the world. Deathly thoughts soon flooded her mind.

'At least Gill Grunt and his mermaid girlfriend will be together again. Stealth Elf's probably going to reunite with the parents she never met. Sprocket and her uncle will be together once again. Same with Voodood and his people. Chop Chop is probably back with the rest of his platoon. And my brothers are probably all together, free from Kaos' shackles. Raptor, Talon, Claw, Slash, Maul. We'll be together again. Free from Kaos. I'll be seeing you soon. '

Little did Roller Brawl that her life was not ending, but beginning anew.

It was a beautiful night, and Rock could not be any more relieved. Previously, Rock had found himself thrust into the limelight as the world's first robotic hero. But who was Rock. Well, Rock, serial number DLN-001, was created by the brilliant roboticist Dr. Thomas Light as a lab assistant. With his advanced artificial intelligence, he was essentially human, able to feel emotions like anger, joy, and shyness, and, albeit limited by the laws of robotics, make his own decisions.

Alongside him, Dr. Light built 7 other "Robot Masters": DLN-002 aka Roll, a housekeeping robot and for all intents and purposes, his sister; DLN-003 aka Cut Man, a timber-felling robot; DLN-004 aka Guts Man, a construction robot; DLN-005 aka Ice Man, an Arctic research robot; DLN-006 aka Bomb Man, a demolition robot; DLN-007 aka Fire Man, a waste disposal robot; and DLN-008 aka Elec Man, a power plant output control robot. Some of the most advanced robots of all time, they were meant for the sole purpose for helping humanity by bridging the gap between man and machine. However, what can be used for great good can also be used for great evil.

Dr. Light obviously did not build such magnificent machines on his own: he worked alongside an old classmate of his, Dr. Albert Wily. However, due to unethical robot experiments, he was shunned by the scientific community, and not wanting to be associated with such negativity, Dr. Light chose to not include Dr. Wily in the debut of the Robot Masters. However, Dr. Wily's jealousy held a far more unhinged side. The night after their unveiling, Dr. Wily reprogrammed them, and announced plans that if he was granted control of the world and recognition as the world's greatest genius, he would halt the attack.

Thankfully, from all this arose a hero from an unlikely source. Rock, having been built with a strong sense of justice, offered to be turned into a fighting robot so he could stop the Robot Masters himself. While initially refusing due to his pacifistic outlook, Dr. Light eventually relented to Rock's unrelenting determination and converted him into the super fighting robot now known as Mega Man. With his ability to copy the abilities of other Robot Masters, Mega Man valiantly fought every one of the Robot Masters and halted the assault, eventually managing to stop Dr. Wily entirely, leaving him to be arrested by the authorities. Now, with the city now ready to rebuild, Rock just wanted a relaxing night. However, fate held other plans.

As he spent some time in an empty clearing, Rock began to wonder if he wanted to remain a hero or return to being a lab assistant. Seeing a light in the sky, Rock wondered if it was a shooting star, but that soon changed when he realized the light was getting bright. Almost as if it was getting closer! Realizing this, he quickly ran and this turned out to be wise, as soon, a massive crater was created in its wake, and as Rock returned to see the meteorite, he was shocked to see that it wasn't a piece of rock but a girl! One with pale pink skin, bony armor, black clothes, and pink hair done in a braided ponytail. Just a cursory look saw that he legs were twisted in ways they should not bend, and he could infer that she was suffering from many more internal injuries. Figuring she needed medical attention, he ran to try to get to her.

As she regained consciousness, Roller Brawl began to go over what injuries she must have suffered. She felt very weak, so obviously she must have lost quite a lot of blood. She felt searing pain dance across her skin. Her legs were badly mangled, and she could not move them. Bones across her body were probably broken beyond fixation. As she opened her eyes, she saw a face filled with concern flood her vision. It looked like a human boy, probably no older than her, wearing a blue and white t-shirt, black shorts, and blue boots, and he had brown hair and blue eyes.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" he asked in obvious concern, a compassionate look plastered on his face, as he gingerly tried to lift her up.

"Just leave me," she brokenly stated, coughing up blood in the process. A crestfallen look on her face, she continued. "It's too late. I couldn't protect them. I deserve this,"

"What are you talking about? My father's a doctor! He can probably help you out!" the boy answered in confusion, the kindness and sincerity in his tone never wavering.

"Just let me die," Roller Brawl morosely continued, ignoring his calls for a "Dr. Light." It didn't matter what happened now. She would be dead, and be able to rejoin her brothers in the afterlife. Not the Underworld she came from, the afterlife where everyone went."It won't matter. I failed. There's no reason for me to go on. There's nothing for me to be fighting for now. I'm nothing more than the sole survivor of a destroyed world."

Voice Cast:

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Stealth Elf - Audrey Wasilewski

The Darkness - Ike Amadi

Kaos - Richard Steven Horvitz

Rock - Cole Howard

Author's Note

Wow. This was difficult to write. I really don't like writing tragic, sad stuff, but unfortunately, it was a necessity to get the ball rolling, and it was how it was in the original story. Make no mistake, though, this story is not going to be angst and despair 24/7. Consider this more about healing and a new purpose; Roller Brawl will be living a new life free of her old world.

Yeah. Like I said on my profile, I am making this, but I suppose I should explain why I'm publishing this. Sole Survivor, a short but sweet crossover between Skylanders and the Mega Man Archie Comics series, was the story that got me into fanfiction. It was what got me into this site, and Skylanders was the first game I played that made me connect to other people, so it holds a lot of value for me. Unfortunately, Sole Survivor and its sequel, Healing Wounds, disappeared, alongside their author, XandyFlare. If you happen to find this, XandyFlare, I am writing this in tribute of your work, and as thanks for getting me into this site. However, I will also be continuing her original story and adding twists my own, so be ready for things to not be the same as the original comic series nor the original fanfic.

So, on another note, I decided to give Roller Brawl's brothers names. We only found out the name of one of them (Raptor), so I made up the other names.

Like I said on Ben 10: Poyo Force!, I am going to be announcing the other story ideas I've been having right now. However, don't anticipate them to be out any time soon. They're rather big projects and I'd rather be 100% certain that my set ups for both of them are stable before releasing them. Just know they will be coming, and I will work on them.

Skylandersona: Rise of the Dark Stygian: A Skylanders/Persona 5 crossover

When a gang of dream terrorists called the Dark Stygian escape, they flee from Skylands to a new world. With no other dream Skylanders, the Dark Skylander Blackout follows them to the new world, and must work with a group of young vigilantes used to entering worlds forged by the collective minds of others. As for the Dark Stygian, they'll never see it coming ... when Darkness Falls!

RWBY: Reincarnation and Redemption: A RWBY/Multiseries Crossover

Four souls, seeking atonement and a new chance, find themselves on a brand new world: one plagued by dark forces bent on making humans extinct. Given a second chance at life, these souls now work alongside a talented octet of teens to stop them, but this fight will be one never seen on their new home: one that will determine its ultimate fate of salvation or armageddon.

Next Time: DLN-00C Online!

Bringing the body of a strange girl back to his creator's laboratory, Rock soon learns about the idea of utter despair, worried about her and why she seemed so unwilling to live. Meanwhile, after learning what happened to the other Skylanders, Roller Brawl discovers she is in a new body, and gets to know her new "father" Dr. Light and "siblings" Rock and Roll.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: DLN-00C Online!

It was a peaceful night back at Light Labs, Dr. Thomas Light felt. While they were scheduled to do clean up duty in the city, it was still nice to have all his Robot Masters back to their noble, peace-loving original selves. He was just about ready to ask Roll where Rock had gone when he heard the door open. Expecting to see Rock by his lonesome, he was deeply surprised and shocked when he saw the girl he was carrying. Even from a cursory glance, he could see that she had been badly injured, and was probably teetering between life and death.

"Rock?! What's going on? Who is this girl?" Dr. Light asked in shock.

"I-I don't know! I was talking a walk in the park when, and I'm serious about this, she fell out of the sky like a meteorite!" Rock answered. If a human had said such an answer, Dr. Light would probably be in total disbelief. Given that Rock was a naturally honest robot, though, it seemed far more believable.

Taking on a more serious face, Dr. Light readied for what was needed. "Take her to my main laboratory. We need to do a more thorough diagnosis of her injuries to see what we can do," he firmly instructed.

It really didn't look good, Dr. Light and Roll's diagnosis discovered. A lot of blood had been lost, and she had been left with bad nerve damage. Many of her bones were also broken, and her legs were badly mangled. There really wasn't any way to save her using any medicine in her current body. Prosthetics could only do so much, and she also needed a lot of blood, and taking time to determine what blood type she needed would be too time consuming in her delicate state.

"I'm sorry Rock. I know you wanted to save her, but she's too badly wounded. The only way we could save her now is desperate measures," Dr. Light glumly revealed.

"Desperate measures? Like what?" Rock asked in concern.

"The good news is that her brain didn't seem to suffer from any severe damage. With that, we do have an option. However, it's an untested, theoretical idea. We take out her brain and transplant it into a robot body," Dr. Light suggested. "It's very risky, but I can't see any other option that would allow her to move as she used too. Even if we were able to mend her bones, which would take a miracle, she would not be able to walk given her damaged nerves."

"Okay, then," Rock accepted. However, he remembered what she had said earlier and decided to try to bring it up. "Doctor? There was something else I didn't tell you,"

"Yes?" Dr. Light asked. Roll noticed the nervous look on her brother's face, and was worried about what he had seen.

"It's just something she said when I found her. She said that 'there's no reason for her to go on,' 'there's nothing for her to be fighting for', and 'she deserved this'. I've never seen anyone be that badly hurt, but I don't think I've ever heard someone just give up like that," Rock revealed, leaving Roll to cover her mouth in horror at what she heard. Dr. Light's mouth dropped in shock at what he was hearing, but motioned for Rock to continue explaining. "She also mentioned something about being too late and that she couldn't protect them, whoever they are," That confirmed Dr. Light's worries: this girl had undergone severely traumatic experiences, and had been held tightly in the grasp of despair.

"I see. Rock, it's an unfortunate truth about humans I didn't think you'd be exposed to at this point. We are tough and strong-willed yes. But even the strongest metals will break under enough pressure, and once a critical component of a building breaks, the whole structure fails. It's just the same with the will of living beings. They can endure much, but when their will breaks, it shatters them entirely. Once their will is gone, so too does their ability to hope for a better tomorrow. For her, it seems she was a protector on her home world, but given what she said, I think it's safe to say that she failed, and that those she cared about are probably gone for good. Once someone loses their way, it can be devastating to them. That is the meaning of despair: when one's hope dies, leaving nothing left," Dr. Light explained morosely.

"That sounds horrible! And she looks like she's just a teenager," Roll replied, her sympathy for this girl increasing. "I just hope we can help her out."

"Yes. I do too. But first, to make sure things go well, we'll need to put her under anesthesia," Dr. Light firmly stated. Just before he held the anesthetic over her mouth, gently rubbed his hand on her head, like a father comforting his daughter before bed. "Don't worry, dear. I promise you. On my honor as a scientist, I will help you get through whatever happened to you."

Floating in an infinite void of blackness, Roller Brawl did not think that this was the afterlife.

"-oll- -awl" a familiar voice beckoned.

"What?" Roller Brawl wondered.

"Roller Brawl. You know me well, don't you?" it continued.

When Roller Brawl opened her eyes, she didn't expect someone else to be there with her. More specifically, not someone she looked at as a father. But standing in front of her was Master Eon! Blue robe? Check. Magnificent white beard? Check. Strap having each of the eight classical elements of Skylands across it? Check. Silver horned helmet? Check. "Master Eon?! Is that really you?"

"Yes. Greetings, young Roller Brawl. I am here for you now," Master Eon gently reassured her.

With that statement, her emotions overwhelmed her, and she quickly flew towards him and embraced him in a hug. Tears streaming from her eyes, she began sobbing as she had never done before. "I'm sorry, Master Eon!" she tearfully apologized. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't stop the Sky Eater! I was such an idiot!"

While surprised, Master Eon quickly scooped her in his arms, comforting her as best he could. "It's alright. I don't blame you," he gently assured. "I don't blame you. You only did what you thought was right. Reckless? Yes. But not with ill intentions."

Roller Brawl then remembered something. She never did know what happened to the rest of the Skylanders. "What about the other Skylanders? What happened to them?"

Master Eon lowered his head in remembrance of the heroes of the world he had sworn to protect. "Many were taken out when Skylands imploded due to the magic being leeched away. They are more like me now: spirits that can no longer directly fight back. Others arrived on the world you went on, but were altered to be more like the humans inhabiting it. You're the only Skylander who retained their original body."

Roller Brawl was shocked, but also somewhat happy about that. Some of her friends had survived! "That's good! I mean, the fact that some Skylanders survived, not that Skylands is gone."

Master Eon chuckled at her awkward talk. "Yes indeed. However, I feel that Skylands is not gone forever. If it was, all the spirits of Skylands, like me, would have vanished, never to be seen or heard from again. But you should know something. I assume you remember how badly you were wounded. You haven't wondered why you haven't gone to the afterlife yet?"

Roller Brawl, realizing such was the case, was confused at this. "Yeah. How am I not dead at all? Well, more dead, since I was a Skylander of the Undead element."

Master Eon continued. "Well, that boy who found you managed to bring you back safely, but your body was too badly wounded. The doctors had no other option but to transplant your brain into a robot body."

Eyes widening, Roller Brawl was shocked. Was she now like Chop Chop? A meld of Tech and Undead power? "WHAT?! How did I not suddenly wake up just now and realize this?" Master Eon raised his hand and Roller Brawl realized she was getting too mad, and calmed down. "Sorry."

"Not a problem. It's because they took two weeks to ready your body, and they didn't put your brain in just yet."

"Huh. Guess that kinda makes sense. Wouldn't want to be in a robot with the quality of those K-bots, falling apart like a house of cards at a slight touch. But you're not mad at me, are you?" Roller Brawl replied, asking her last question with nervousness laced in her voice.

"I told you already. You did what you thought was right, and hindsight is 20/20. Just now that we will meet again. Goodbye for now, Roller Brawl. Show the world what a Skylander can do," Master Eon said before fading in a flurry of blue sparkles.

"I promise Master Eon. My body will be different, but my mind will be the same. I will make you proud," Roller Brawl vowed, before light banished away the darkness.

When Roller Brawl opened her eyes, she didn't see images, but she did see words flash across a black screen. "Good Morning, DLN-00C."

With that, she began to have her hearing come back to her, but it was filled with static. "-bzzzt- waking -crackle- tor!" a feminine voice said.

"She -bzzzt- Good!" an older male voice stated. Soon, her vision began to fill with images, not unlike a camera turning on. As soon as she did, she saw three figures. One of them was easily recognizable to her: it was the boy who saved her from the crater. However, such was not the case for the other two. The figure to the right of the boy was a girl about the boy's age. She had blonde hair down in a ponytail held by a green ribbon, a red dress and shoes, and blue eyes. To the boy's left was a much older man, with a bushy white beard (Was this guy Master Eon's cousin?), a white lab coat, beige vest, blue and yellow spotted tie, red pants, and brown shoes.

"Hey! Can you hear me? Do you remember me?" the boy asked. Groggily, Roller Brawl began to get up, holding her arms behind her and lifting herself from the work table.

"I...I can hear you just fine. Can someone get me a mirror?" Roller Brawl asked. Hearing this, the girl pulled out a hand mirror and as Roller Brawl looked at herself, she was shocked, letting out a gasp. For all intents and purposes, she looked exactly as she had before she got Supercharged. Her hair was still pink and put in a braided ponytail, her skin was still rather pale, and her eyes retained their hot pink color. She even still had her fangs, a nice reminder of her vampiric background. The only real difference was her attire. She now wore a black beanie over her head, a black leather jacket, a pink shirt under that, pink fingerless gloves, blue jeans, and black boots. "By the Ancients. I look exactly the same as I did before! I honestly thought I would've had at least some kind of metal part outside."

"We thought it'd be best for you if you didn't feel like a robot given your background of an originally organic life form," the older man stated.

Turning to the three of them, Roller Brawl decided to ask what was on her mind. "Why? Why did you all help me? You could've just let me pass away, but you helped me out. What do you have to gain?"

The boy tilted his head in confusion. "Why wouldn't we help you? You were in need of help, so I gave you help. It's just the right thing to do."

Giggling at the adorably naive reasoning, it still touched Roller Brawl that they helped her because they could, not for a reward or gratitude. "Someone who helps others just to help them out. Heh. Anyway. Thanks. Can I know who you guys are?"

Smiling, the boy began. "Sure! My name's Rock, that's my sister Roll, and our creator/father Dr. Light," With that, Roller Brawl did a double take, her eyes widening in surprise. These two were robots? But they looked so life-like. Not even Gearshift or Spy Rise came anywhere close to looking like a natural being.

Shaking her head, Roller Brawl stepped off the table. While she expected to have trouble walking due to heavy feet, she felt like she always felt walking. "So, you're the one who helped make this new body for me?" she asked Dr. Light.

Kindly smiling, Dr. Light nodded. "Yes. There wasn't much of a choice. Your original body was too badly injured. I hope you don't mind this body we made you,"

While a little irked, Roller Brawl figured that she was lucky that she would even be moving like this. "Just as long as I can skate, I'm fine with this body."

"You skated? What kind of skating did you do Ms..." Roll asked. Roller Brawl then realized she had never introduced herself.

"Roller Brawl. And I think I'm your age, so please don't cal me Ms.. Anyway, I did roller derby. Won a couple of golds and silvers." Roller Brawl boasted. However, she soon became crestfallen as with the memories of roller derby came memories of the home she'd never see again.

Seeing her saddened face, Dr. Light bit the bullet, knowing that she'd have to answer this question. "Roller Brawl. I've never seen such injuries before. What happened to you?"

As tears collected in her eyes, Roller Brawl decided to answer his question with one of her own. "Would you want it from the beginning?" Seeing him nod, she decided to begin her sad tale.

Roller Brawl's Full Story

Roller Brawl hailed from a land called Skylands, a magical place of wonder and adventure. It was a place where creatures such as dragons, griffins, gillmen, yetis, vampires, werewolves, robots, ents and elves all lived together. Magic was a common thing, and it was the most powerful force in Skylands. But when such a powerful thing exists, there are always those who want to take it all.

Roller Brawl was born as a vampire, the only girl in a family of 6 children. She also happened to be the youngest, and as such, her older brothers Raptor, Talon, Claw, Slash, and Maul doted on her. She was never spoiled, but her brothers were very overprotective due to her being the smallest of them, and because their parents tragically passed away when Roller Brawl was little. However, she felt constrained by their protective nature. Given that her acquaintances had to pass the test of each brother, it wasn't easy for her to have many close friends. Seeking an outlet for her frustration, she discovered she was talented in roller derby. With her speed and cunning, she became one of the toughest jammers in the Undead Roller Derby League. With her numerous medals and accolades, she became a celebrity in the Land of the Undead, having several fans who fell for her beauty, grace, grit, and tenacity. Unfortunately, one of those admirers was not someone pleasant. It was Kaos, the number one enemy of Skylands, and a powerful Dark Portal Master. He fell head-over-heels in love with Roller Brawl. As such, he constantly sent her messages and presents, even after Roller Brawl asked him to stop. Her brothers, not happy about their sister getting harassed by a criminal, decided to take matters into their own hands. The messages and presents thankfully stopped coming, but one day, as Roller Brawl was out practicing, Kaos' Drow soldiers captured her brothers, and a note at home revealed that this was Kaos' way of punishing Roller Brawl for rejecting his advances.

Knowing the folly of trying to stop Kaos on her own, and unwilling to let others suffer like she had, alongside a distinct distaste for evil, she joined the Skylanders, a powerful team of warriors across Skylands whose mission was the protection of their home from those who would do it harm, and to keep the citizens of Skylands safe. As a self-assigned side mission, she dedicated herself to trying to find her brothers. However, that didn't mean she didn't have a chance to get back at Kaos. She had worked alongside the Skylanders twice. The first time, she stopped him from trying to corrupt the magic volcano Mount Cloudbreak, which would have tainted the magic of Skylands with malice, letting him rule it. The second time, she was able to stop a gang of Skylands' most dangerous criminals and Kaos from ruling Skylands. Unfortunately, the third time was what got her into this situation.

Kaos unleashed his most despicable plot yet. Using a deadly machine called the Sky Eater, he planned to absorb all of Skylands' magic and use it to feed the Darkness, the embodiment of evil and destruction in Skylands. The more magic the Sky Eater consumed, the more powerful the Darkness, and Kaos by proxy of being a Dark Portal Master, would become. However, a beacon of hope came. The Darkness had been brought by the creators of Skylands, beings known as the Ancients, on accident with a machine called the Dark Rift Engine. If the Dark Rift Engine brought the Darkness to Skylands, maybe it could also take it from Skylands. They located the Dark Rift Engine and endeavored to bring it to the Sky Eater so they could banish the Darkness from their home forever. Unfortunately, while she and another Skylander named Stealth Elf tried to bring it aboard, Roller Brawl got distracted by a control panel and thought that they could try to undo the damage done to Skylands. This proved to be a blunder unfortunately, and the Darkness captured both of them, and Kaos then made them watch as Skylands imploded. Hurtling helplessly through time and space, Roller Brawl was convinced that she would die from the impact, and she was fine with that. She and her brothers would be free of Kaos' oppression in the afterlife. It didn't change the fact that she had failed to stop one of Skylands' greatest villains from winning. Evil had won against good.

"And that's how it happened. Like I said to Rock, I failed. I couldn't protect my home or its people," Roller Brawl concluded. With that, tears started to stream down her face. How a robot had been given the ability to cry was beyond her, but she didn't care. At this point, the pain was overwhelming her, and she collapsed to her knees in despair. With this, Dr. Light's fatherly instincts took over, and he scooped his new creation in a tender embrace, with Roll gently rubbing Roller Brawl's shoulder to comfort her. The sympathy for their new family member was immense: she had lost her family, her friends, her home, and now her body to the same madman. Something, however, worried Dr. Light.

"You were a fighter?" he asked in concern. He didn't think he was giving a body to a warrior.

"Yeah. Sometimes, you can't resolve a situation peacefully. Us Skylanders were meant to protect those who could not defend themselves," Roller Brawl noted solemnly.

"I see. So if you were given weapons, you wouldn't harm the innocent?" Dr. Light inquired.

"No! Never! I fight to protect others, not hurt them!" Roller Brawl stated firmly. "But, why do you ask?"

Hearing the firmness in her voice, Dr. Light smiled. "Because Rock here was also made into a fighting robot! An old acquaintance of mine got jealous of my work, and tried to use my robots to conquer the world. Rock offered to fight them, so I made him into the fighting robot Mega Man! With his power, he managed to defeat them all and defeat my old friend,"

"Really?" Roller Brawl asked in wonder, turning to the robot of the hour. Seeing Rock smile and nod, she felt hope rising in her heart. Could she really be like him? Become a protector once again? "You'd do that for me?"

"Make you a fighting robot? I suppose I could. But I need you to do something first," Dr. Light answered. "Roller Brawl. You have been selected to be granted great power. Do you solemnly swear to never use such power against the innocent, and to only use it in their defense. Do you swear to uphold the law and make sure justice is done properly? Finally, do you swear that you will fight as a last resort, and seek peace if possible?"

It was just like the day she became a Skylander. Holding a hand against where her heart would be, Roller Brawl made her vow. "I swear to all terms. I will never use my power against the innocent, and use it to protect them. I will follow the law and make sure justice is done as fairly as possible. I will fight as a final option, and seek a peaceful resolution."

A proud smile on his face, Dr. Light finished his small ceremony. "Excellent! I'll get on it as soon as I can. But if you'd let me, I'd like to modify your boots. You did want to be able to skate, right?"

Giggling at the statement, Roller Brawl flashed to one of her happiest memories: the day she was sworn in as a Skylander.

The Day Roller Brawl Became a Skylander

Ever since Master Eon had been a Portal Master, it became a custom for him to formally induct potential Skylanders into the ranks near the device that symbolized the unity of all of the eight elements of Skylands: the Core of Light. Harnessing the power of the Eternal Elemental Sources, it was a device the Ancients made to keep The Darkness at bay. As Roller Brawl stepped forward, wearing her old derby attire, she walked towards Master Eon and his assistant Hugo, then bowed respectfully to them both. Hugo was a bear-like Mabu with a rather stocky frame, wearing a green jacket and thick reading glasses.

"And so we are gathered here to begin the induction of a new Skylander of the Undead element. Roller Brawl, rise," Hugo began the ceremony. As Roller Brawl stood up, Master Eon began his speech.

"Roller Brawl. You have shown great promise as a Skylander. Your skills are impressive and your resolve is unbreaking. However, skills and will do not make a Skylander. What makes one a Skylander as the reason they fight. This oath is to make sure you never forget why you fight. First, do you solemnly swear to never turn your skills against the innocent, and to serve as sword and shield against those who would do them harm?"

Roller Brawl slammed her fist against her heart. "I swear."

Nodding, Master Eon then continued with the ceremony. "Do you swear to make sure that wherever there is injustice on others, you will make sure that you help to make sure justice is properly done?"

Roller Brawl kept her hand close to her heart as she nodded. "I swear."

Nodding one more tim, Master Eon went to the final part of the oath. "Finally, do you swear to never seek war, but peace? Will you only use your combat skills as a final resort?"

Roller Brawl kept her hand close. "I swear."

Nodding, Master Eon broke into a smile and concluded the final part. "Then, with you swearing to all the key oaths of a Skylander, and my authority as a Portal Master, I hear by declare Roller Brawl a Skylander of the Undead element."

With that one statement, the joy in Roller Brawl's heart surged. With hope filling her heart like a bucket in a flooding hut, Roller Brawl thought to herself, 'I'm a Skylander now! Finally, I have a fighting chance to stop Kaos. Raptor, Talon, Claw, Slash, Maul. I promise I won't stop searching for you, and I will save you from Kaos' claws! I don't know when and how, but I just know I will someday.'

Voice Cast:

Rock - Cole Howard

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Master Eon - Daniel Hagan

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Hugo - Michael Yurchak

Author's Note

Like I said, this story is not going to be doom and gloom all the time. I want to make it clear that hope still exists for Skylands, albeit pretty dim. So, now that Roller Brawl's met Rock, Roll, and Dr Light, next would be Issue #5 and the very first arc, right? NOPE! I want to get two more chapters in: one where Roller Brawl meets the other DLN Robot Masters, and a Megamix style explanation of her new body and arsenal.

Next Time: A New Family

Roller Brawl, now aka DLN-00C, the world's first cyborg Robot Master, meets with her new older brothers. As Dr. Light prepares her new body, how will Roller Brawl adapt to her new family?

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: A New Family

Roller Brawl never really did like standing still. However, she knew it would be worth it after what came next. Dr. Light's modifications didn't take as long as she thought it might and when he was done, she could now create inline skate wheels from her boots. However, she wasn't too happy to find out that her combat modifications would take more time, but she reminded herself that she didn't become the best jammer in the Undead Roller Derby League in a matter of days. It was something she earned with time, especially since she made a few requests to Dr. Light. She specifically asked that her armor prioritize agility and speed over defense, and that she would have retractable claws in her gauntlets, since even as a Supercharger, her main weapons were wrist-mounted blades. She wasn't sure if if was time for her to have her buzzsaw Skateblades just yet, so she decided to keep that as a later modification. However, as she skated through Light Labs, she ended up running into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're...going...," a haughty voice trailed. Shaking her head, Roller Brawl noticed a red hand held out towards her. Accepting it, she looked to see the individual in question. He was a human-looking robot with blue eyes wearing a black helmet, a yellow lightning-themed mask, a black chestplate with a lightning bolt emblem in the center over a red upper body, yellow cuffs, and a black lower body with yellow boots. "Ah. I remember. Roll was telling me about our new youngest sister and Dr. Light's first cyborg. I presume that's you?"

"Yeah. I'm Roller Brawl, and I'm also apparently DLN-00C. You're?" Roller Brawl introduced herself.

"Ah! A pleasure to meet you, Roller Brawl. I'm DLN-008. Dr. Light's greatest creation, and a power output management Robot Master. But please, call me Elec Man," Elec Man dramatically introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Elec Man," Roller Brawl replied, accepting his handshake. 'Talk about egotistical. Is this guy Flynn's robotic reincarnation?'

"But of course. What a pleasant coincidence I ran into you. Rock and Roll alerted the other Robot Masters to your presence. And well, Bomb Man wanted an excuse to throw a party, so we decided to make a birthday party for you! Even Dr. Light got roped in!" Elec Man stated.

"R-really?!" Roller Brawl asked in surprise. She knew that Dr. Light very obviously cared for Rock and Roll like they were his own children. But to let himself set up a party for her, who was essentially his foster daughter? Her heart filled with joy.

"Yes. It is rather rare that someone as unique as yourself comes around, so we felt it appropriate to celebrate the activation day of Light Labs' first cyborg," Elec Man explained. "You don't have to come, but it's up to you if you feel like it."

"You kidding? You all did this for me! I'd been crazy to not come to my party!" Roller Brawl replied, her eyes sparkling in joy.

"Oh? Okay then! Follow me!" Elec Man said as he puffed out his chest. It was quite fun to run with him as, befitting him being a lightning wielder, he was exceptionally quick. He could honestly give Skylanders like Flameslinger or Spitfire a run for their money, quite literally with his speed.

"SURPRISE!" 8 voices cried in unison. With that, Roller Brawl say what had been set up for her. Up on the ceiling was a banner reading "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DLN-00C!". Three of the voices were easily recognizable to her: Dr. Light, Rock and Roll.

"It's our first time doing this kind of a party for a cyborg, and since it's your first day as a proper inhabitant here, we figured you'd like a little something to celebrate!" Rock explained.

"Now, you have fun, all of you! I have to finish the modifications on your new little sister," Dr. Light gently reminded everyone before heading back to the lab.

"Happy birthday, DLN-00C!" said another Robot Master with a joyful tone. This one was considerably bulkier than Elec Man, given that his main body was a black ball, and his other parts included yellow hands, forearms, and boots, orange arms, legs, and chestplate, and his head was yellow with an orange mohawk.

"Aww! Thanks! But I'm not exactly fond of that name. I prefer Roller Brawl over a series of letters and numbers. Um, no offense intended Mr...?" Roller Brawl replied.

"DLN-006. Specializing in demolition and mining. But you can just call me Bomb Man! What's up?" Bomb Man introduced himself, giving a toothy grin as he did so and a thumbs up.

"Oh ho ho! If you throw parties like that, I can see that we'll be havin' ourselves a fantastic time!" Roller Brawl complimented his joy. Noticing the blue cans with "E"'s on them, though, she wondered what they were."But, if I may ask, what's with the drinks?"

"You mean the E-Tanks? It's a little something I made for my Robot Masters! It's full of electrolytes and small repair bots that can quickly restore damaged robots in a pinch. Also said to be quite tasty of Guts Man is to be believed," Dr. Light explained.

"Guts Man?" Roller Brawl asked in confusion, tilting her head to the side and an eyebrow upwards.

"He's talking about me, DLN-004," a burly voice revealed. Feeling the ground shake, Roller Brawl looked behind her and saw a behemoth of a Robot Master. This one was easily the size of a Goliath Drow, and just looking at him made Roller Brawl feel very small. His forearms, boots, pelvis, and shoulders were red; his upper arms, hands, and thighs were yellow; and his chest was black, with a red light in the very center. His head resembled that of a construction worker, complete with yellow helmet, and a large beige rounded jaw. "Guts Man. Construction and land reclamation overseer."

Practically feeling dwarfed by his size, Roller Brawl still remembered that she'd dealt with burlier blockers before she became a Skylander, so she decided to try to remain firm. That didn't change how small she felt. "Well. Aren't you big?"

"Heh. Yeah. I am pretty big, aren't I? But don't be too worried. I just want to know. Is this too much for you?" Guts Man boasted, before suddenly adopting a more compassionate tone. It was pretty obvious that despite his bulky frame, he wasn't like the Goliath Drow, being more akin to the Giants. "We could hold a more private celebration if it is."

"Yeah. I'll admit it was a pretty big surprise, but it's not too bad. Besides, you all went through all this trouble for little old me, so if I suddenly made you decide to close up shop, it'd be pretty rude of me," Roller Brawl replied.

"Heh. Okay then. Hope the rest of the part goes well for ya!" Guts Man said with a smile as he patted Roller Brawl on the back. By which is meant that he gave a hard hit that made Roller Brawl lose her balance and wince in pain.

"Anything you say, big guy. Urk!" Roller Brawl said, grunting from the pain. It was then that yet another Robot Master walked in. Looking at him, Roller Brawl was shocked, and could have sworn that it was the robotic reincarnation of the Fire Giant Hot Head. The flaming head and torch-like arms especially made her think of her old comrade. However, everything else was not. Yes, his arms were like Hot Head, but instead of having fingers, they were simply gun arms, making her think of Skylanders like Countdown or Stump Smash, even the villain Brawl and Chain. His flamethrower hands, chest armor, and the top of his boots were red, but unlike Hot Head, who was also black and had yellow veins of lava running across his body, the rest of his body was a distinctively bright white.

"So you're what all this hubbub's about? Gotta say. No offense, missy but ya don't look like me to me," the robot commented, his voice having a distinctive Southern accent. Hearing this, Roller Brawl couldn't help but think of the main mechanic/scientist at Skylanders Academy: fellow undead Mags. Once she processed what had been said, though, her face took on an angry scowl.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" she angrily demanded.

"Ease up! You don't need to do that, Fire Man!" Guts Man sternly scolded, revealing the name of the who insulted her.

"You do know you're talking to someone who you might like, you know? She fought for the things you like before she got here!" Roll revealed.

"Huh? What you talkin' about?" Fire Man asked in confusion.

"Before my accident, I was a fighter, a protector of the innocent who swore to defend those who couldn't protect themselves," Roller Brawl explained.

"She serious?" Fire Man asked Rock. Seeing him nod, it was like a switch went off in Fire Man's head. Maybe such was actually the case given he was a robot. "Oh, wowie! Mah sincerest apologies, miss. I didn't know I was dealing with someone with the flames o' justice in their heart like little Rock 'ere! May I know your name, ma'am?"

"Huh. Well, please don't call me ma'am. But I'm Roller Brawl, if you gotta know," Roller Brawl said, a small smirk emerging on her face.

"Roller Brawl? Unusual name, but all the same, it's a true pleasure to meet another one who fights for justice! I'm DLN-007, but as Guts Man said, I prefer the name Fire Man. Waste management incinerator bot, and hero-in-training, at your service," Fire Man formally introduced himself.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, and have a few less decibels in my head," Roller Brawl replied, grabbing onto his right arm and shaking the forearm.

"Good that you're so polite, Miss Roller Brawl. I was a bit scared seeing your appearance, but you don't seem too mean. Mind if I cut in?" a more high pitched voice rung out. Turning to face the voice, Roller Brawl was met with a more polite smile. The smile belonged to another Robot Master. This one was a bit more human, but given the coloration, that wasn't saying much. His head, forearms, pelvis, and boots were orange, his upper arms, remaining torso and arms, and a small part strip atop his head was white, grey arches lay on the sides of her head, and atop his head was a scissor-like pair of blades.

"Huh. You might be the nicest one amongst all the ones I've met thus far. I guess I don't have to introduce myself, but you mind telling me who you are?" Roller Brawl said.

"Oh, right! I'm DLN-003, but I think Cut Man is a bit sharper, don't you think. I was meant for timber/lumber operations, and for that, Dr. Light outfitted me with this!" Cut Man introduced himself as he took the scissors off his head. "The Rolling Cutter. Blades made out of ceratanium, a lightweight yet durable material. The cutting edge of blades!"

"Alright. Shouldn't you cool it with the puns?" Roller Brawl asked jokingly.

"Oh. Well, maybe I should. But keeping us cool? That's Ice Man's job," Cut Man answered back.

"Ice Man?" Roller Brawl wondered.

"I'm guessing you've met everyone else. He's DLN-005," Cut Man explained.

"Yes. He's talking about me," A stern voice continued. Turning to see the voice, Roller Brawl was forced to look down, and saw the shortest of the Robot Masters. Ice Man definitely seemed to not look particularly happy, and given his attire, it was obvious he was meant to be out in the cold. His attire consisted of a blue jacket and pants and white gloves, boots, and belt. "Nice to meet you. Hope we can talk again soon." That curt reply was followed by Ice Man 'What's his malfunction?'

"Ice Man, please. Be nice to Roller Brawl, wouldn't you? She's not that bad" She heard Roll scold Ice Man. Looking to see the blush on Ice Man's face, she couldn't help but giggle at the lovestruck look on Ice Man's face. 'Just like Gill Grunt whenever he talked about his mermaid girlfriend'

Walking back towards Roller Brawl, Ice Man still had a blush across his cheeks. "Um. Sorry about my behavior earlier Roller Brawl. I just have a bit of trouble warming up to new people, so I apologize for my earlier behavior."

"Eh, that's fine. I've met ruder people in my time," Roller Brawl assured. 'Definitely. I wouldn't want to know how bad Prism Break was, but even mellowed out, he was pretty blunt,' she thought to herself. "Still. Name's Roller Brawl. Everyone else has told me they were built for a specific job. But what about you?"

"Arctic and Antarctic research. My small body was meant to be reduce the amount of heat needed to keep my systems online, and even then, I was given several modifications to make immune to sub-zero temperatures," Ice Man explained.

"Huh. Well, nice to meet you anyway," Roller Brawl finished. With that, she began to enjoy the rest of the party, the sounds of music going through her ears, and her mind in a much better state than she was just a few days ago.

The Next Day

The day after the party, Roller Brawl felt she had made leaps and bonds when it came to her mood. It still hurt to think about what had potentially happened to Skylands, but she didn't feel alone. As she reflected on each member of her new family, Roller Brawl felt peace overcoming her.

'Well, I can't say they aren't unique. With Dr. Light, there's definitely a lot of gentleness, kinda reminds of Master Eon in a way. Roll? Well, she does seem to be reasonable, and definitely keeps them in line. With Rock, he found and saved me when I needed it, and he's clearly one of the more loved. Cut Man might just be one of the sweetest people I've ever meet, but a bit annoying on the cutting puns. Guts Man definitely kinda reminds me of Bouncer or Gusto: big body and bigger heart. Fire Man didn't seem so welcoming until he found out what I did as a Skylander, and he definitely seemed a lot more enthusiastic. Bomb Man definitely is the party boy, but I wonder why he was the demolition boy of the family. A party-centric brain and bombs just seems like a bad combination. Kinda like Boomer, but more dangerous. Ice Man seems to be the most detached, but there's definitely some feelings he harbors for Roll. Honestly, it's kinda cute, like Bash pining for Flashwing. Elec Man, though, definitely reminds me of Flynn. Same ego, but he's definitely seemed to earn it,' Roller Brawl thought to herself.

"Roller Brawl?" she heard Roll call out.

"Yeah? What is it?" Roller Brawl asked.

"It's Rock and Dr. Light. They're done with your combat modifications," she answered.

"Huh. Took shorter than I thought. Thanks!" Roller Brawl replied as she quickly skated to the lab. Seeing this, she came to see what had been done.

"Ah! Roller Brawl, good to see you around!" Rock answered with a smile. "We just thought we'd let you know that..."

"I know. Roll told me just now. They're ready, aren't they? The modifications?" Roller Brawl asked.

A solemn look went onto Dr. Light's face. "Yes. I just find myself shocked this is happening. I didn't build the Robot Masters for combat, and I never meant for Rock to be a fighter, either. But now, I'm giving combat modifications to another one of my creations. I just feel that people are going to misinterpret my work, and if I'm betraying the ideals I hold dear,"

Tilting her head, Roller Brawl could only wonder why Dr. Light felt such was the case. "Why?"

"You didn't know?" Rock asked in confusion, before realizing who he was talking to. "Dr. Light worked for the military before he became a scientist. It was his work making war robots that got him the funding he needed to set up his laboratory."

Dr. Light nodded, a sad expression growing on his face. "Yes. I have always been opposed to violence, except when every other option has been eliminated. But now, I have turned Rock into a fighting robot, and my first cyborg were be fighting as well. I just worry that I'm going back to building machines meant to destroy instead of create, and harm instead of help."

Roller Brawl could feel the pain in Dr. Light's voice as he voiced his concerns. "Wow. I didn't know that. I'm sorry that I'm making you think that I didn't want to be a fighter," Taking on a determined expression, though, she made her counterargument. "But Rock chose to fight to defend others on his own, right? He chose to become Mega Man without your input. I'm the same way. Besides, fighting is one thing I'm very good at. I don't think I could do well in helping in the construction of the future. But I can protect others by keeping them safe from what may try to harm them. So don't think that I don't want this. If I didn't, I wouldn't have asked you to make those modifications. But if people are going to be in danger, then I can't be sitting around twiddling my thumbs when they're in trouble. Not when I can do something about it. I didn't give up hope of saving my brothers when Kaos stole them from me. And you can bet that I won't give up protecting others just because I have a new body!"

Dr. Light was stunned, as was Rock. A few days ago, Roller Brawl was completely willing to give up her life because of the mistakes she made. Now, though, it was obvious that she wouldn't falter, just as Rock hadn't when Dr. Wily forced him to fight against his brothers. "If that's what you believe..." Dr. Light began, his face held low. Roller Brawl worried what he would say before looking up and revealing a proud smile on his face. "Then who am I to try to stop you? I see the same spark of justice that I saw in Rock when he asked me to turn him into Mega Man, and the same goes for you. I don't think you'd be going around picking fights and recklessly destroying things. Just lie down on the bench and relax. We will have to take you offline for a bit of time, but don't worry. When we're done, we'll run you through your new abilities." Those were the last words Roller Brawl heard before going offline.

When Roller Brawl awoke, she felt a bit groggy. Seeing Rock and Dr. Light smiling at her, she felt one likewise tugging at her face.

"Good afternoon, Roller Brawl. Why don't you look at your new armor?" she heard Dr. Light. Getting up to look at herself, she was shocked to see her appearance. Her hair was no longer covered by a beanie, but rather a black helmet that covered most of her head except for her face, similar to Mega Man's. To differentiate it, though, it had a small hole where her ponytail fell through, and it even had the skull design of her original derby helmet from Skylands. Black armor was placed over her pelvis, feet, hands, and chest. Her boots and gloves retained a skull pattern, and where the canines would lay on the gauntlets, there were two small holes in their place. The rest of her body was a hot pink like her hair. "I felt given your origins, it would be at least a bit assuring if you still had some imagery of the undead. I thought it was a little macabre, but what do you think?"

"I don't like it," Roller Brawl stated. Seeing the shocked looks on Rock and Dr. Light, she broke into a wide smile. "I love it!"

Seeing this, Rock let out a sigh of relief. "Okay then. Good to see that they were made to your liking. So anyway, we'll quickly go over the main things about this body you should know. First, this armor, unlike mine, was made to prioritize speed and agility, so we reduced the armor density. You will take more damage, but I'd say you can move twice as fast me, especially since we let you keep your roller skates. We also gave you the same things I have. You're equipped with a Mega Buster cannon of your own, but you can't charge it unlike mine, but you're also equipped with a Copy Chip like me. You'll be able to acquire Special Weapons like Cut Man's Rolling Cutter or Elec Man's Thunder Beam. Why don't you give it a try?"

Nodding, Roller Brawl ran around and found that indeed, she could still unholster her skates from her boots. The feeling of the wind running across her face was a comforting one. But when she sent a mental command to use her Mega Buster, and was shocked to see her right gauntlet turn into a bulbous gun, and instinctively launched a buster shot, sending a pink energy ball into the nearby wall, making her skid to a halt. Her eyes widening at the destructive power she had launched, she turned her hand back to normal and looked at it, awe apparent in her eyes.

"Roller Brawl! I just had that place cleaned up!" came Roll's complaints.

"Yes. Well, that's not the only weapon in your arsenal. It's odd talking about folklore as a roboticist, but given your vampiric origins, I figured you'd prefer something that could replenish your energy supplies. Try out your new weapon," Dr. Light told Roller Brawl. Hearing this, new programming made its way through her brain, and like a muscle, she found herself looking at her other weapon. Out of the holes on her gauntlets came a pair of sharp claws, each one a dull black color. Looking at them, they almost looked like the claws she used before she became a Supercharger. "I call it the Leech Claw. These claws were made of semiconductive materials. If you manage to slash a robot, ambient electrical charge will enter into them and replenish your self-repair systems, letting you fight on a bit longer. If you're at full capacity, though, the claws will retain the charge, and it should give you enough strength to allow you to cut through harder armor. That should make up for your inability to use the charge ability of the Mega Buster."

Roller Brawl looked at the claws and smiled. "You know what? If this is my arsenal, I think I'll be just fine. So, what's our first job?"

Roll came in with a broom. "Clean up,"

Roller Brawl slanted her head in confusion at this and asked, "Was that a joke?"

Dr. Light chuckled at her puzzlement and revealed the task. "Sort of. But your mess is much bigger. To show that the Robot Masters were built to help people, I signed all Light Numbers to help clean up the rubble they left when Dr. Wily controlled them."

Roller Brawl couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed at this. 'Seriously? After being given these awesome upgrades, I'm just some kind of glorified robo-maid doing clean up? I thought I'd actually be kicking butt!'

Voice Cast:

Elec Man - Brendan Hunter

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Rock - Cole Howard

Bomb Man - Ryan Stockert

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Guts Man - Garry Chalk

Fire Man - Roger Rhodes

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Cut Man - Elinor Holt

Ice Man - Zoe Slusar

Author's Note:

Yeah, I know. Garry Chalk as Guts Man does make him seem like the dopey dumbass he was back in the Ruby Spears cartoon, but that's not the case here. Yeah, he's not quite the hardest hammer in the toolbox, but I based Guts Man's voice in my head on Garry's voice work as Optimus Primal in Beast Wars. He was made for construction, but I figure that without Mega Man, he's the older brother/leader figure of the Robot Masters. And yeah, you'd already know I'm not going 100% into the Mega Man: Powered Up thanks to Roll having Erica Lindbeck, her Mega Man 11 voice actress. As for Cut Man and Ice Man, I'm going to alter their personalities a bit. Cut Man will still be spouting sharp puns, but I'm also giving him part of his Powered Up characterization, while I felt that Ice Man would be somewhat of a fusion of his Archie and Powered Up characterizations: he's standoffish to those he doesn't know or is annoyed by and a bit by the book, but he does care deeply for his friends and family, especially Roll, and shows great loyalty and respect to Dr. Light. I'm also going to be giving voice actors to the other Robot Masters, so that's something to keep in mind.

If you're curious for the inspiration for the Leech Claw, I was somewhat inspired by Model PX from Mega Man ZX in being able to grab ceilings and still be able to fire, but I also took inspiration from the Slash Claw and Mirror Buster.

So next up would be Issue 5 of the comic series, but that's not quite the case. Before that, I'll be going over the technical specifications of Roller Brawl a la Megamix/Gigamix.

Chapter Text

Gender: Female

Eye Color: Pale Pink

Hair Color: Hot Pink

Power Source: Solar

Armor Material: Ceramic titanium ("ceratanium")

Height: 4' 2''

Weight: 215 lbs

Designation: DLN-00C (Later DLN-00C-1)

Description:

Coming from a world of magic called Skylands, Roller Brawl was previously a member known of an elite fighting force known as the Skylanders. Formerly a vampire roller derby jammer from the Land of the Undead, her older brothers were kidnapped by an evil Portal Master named Kaos, who was angered at Roller Brawl's refusal to accept his romantic advances. However, in her final mission, she failed to stop Kaos from absorbing all the magic in Skylands, leading it to implode. Left hurtling through time and space, she eventually crash landed on Earth, but was fatally wounded. With the efforts of Rock and Dr. Light, she was revived as a cyborg by implanting her brain in a robot body. Having been a fighter in her past life, she requested that she be upgraded into a combat robot. Her request granted, Roller Brawl now works alongside Mega Man as a defender of the innocent and a fighter for everlasting peace.

Quite different from Mega Man in personality. Unlike Rock, who is more comfortable building and repairing robots and is a pacifist at heart, Roller Brawl is quite eager to fight, and relishes the chance to test her mettle, having no qualms about destroying what robot may attack her while giving off puns about their defeat. She is also more reckless and impulsive than Mega Man, stemming from her life in the high speed sport of roller derby; additionally, she is incredibly street-smart, unafraid to use deception such as false surrendering or preying on personality flaws of her opponents. Despite this, those she cares about are met with a very warm person. Having lost her 5 older brothers to evil, she is very protective of her loved ones, and cares deeply for all of them. Like Mega Man, Roller Brawl is unwavering in the face of evil, and will fight with every ounce of strength in her body, never giving up at any point in her quest to protect the innocent and atone for her failure to protect her first home.

Compared to Mega Man, Roller Brawl is more agile and acrobatic, and also more brutal and up close. Her armor is 50% less than that of Mega Man's to keep her mobile, but she can unholster skates from her boots to make her move at double Mega Man's running speed. She is also able to directly skate up short walls. Her Mega Buster, or Brawl Cannon as she nicknamed it, cannot be used to be fire charged shots, as quite a bit of power is directed to her life support systems, meaning that upgrading her systems can be more difficult. Her cybernetic body, though, offers several advantages over her original body. She no longer has to worry about breathing or eating, and this allows her to swim in water without issue. She is also much stronger and tougher than her original organic self.

Special Weapon: Leech Claw

Specially designed by Dr. Light, these four blades can be unholstered from her gauntlets, and they offer a lot of uses. She is skilled at using them as melee weapons, using them to hack opponents to pieces, and can clothesline them while skating, using her higher mobility as much as she can. She can also impale them into ceilings to let her hang onto them, allowing her to take higher vantage points and fire at opponents with her Brawl Cannon. They even have a unique reaction to melee weapons like the Slash Claw or Flame Sword, as she uses her claws as a medium to use them, unlike Mega Man who forms them out of his Mega Buster or hand.

However, what makes them special is their unique draining ability. Made out of semi-conductive materials, these claws can absorb any electromagnetic charge that passes through them, and these can be used to replenish vital systems like self repair systems or core power. Thus, if she cuts through an electronic device, including a robot, she can use their energy to replenish herself, much like how a real vampire drinks blood. If all systems are at full capacity, the absorbed energy stays within the claws, increasing their cutting power greatly, and this allows her to overcome issues brought about by her inability to charge up her Brawl Cannon, letting her slice through Sniper Joe shields and Metall helmets.

When used by Mega Man, he instead forms a single claw from his buster, and his armor gains a hot pink/black color scheme. He specifically uses their absorbing properties of the Leech Claw.

"Let's Roll!"

Good Point: Never Gives Up

Bad Point: Impulsive

Likes: Skating

Dislikes: Perverts

Next Time: Chaotic Clean-Up and Kidnapping

After helping the Robot Masters clean up the rubble left by Dr. Wily's actions, Mega Man is called into action to help oversee the prison transport of the scientist turned terrorist. However, tensions start rising. When Roll's hair is burned by Fire Man by accident, she blames Roller Brawl in fury, leading to her deciding to help Mega Man while Roll goes shopping, leading the two sisters to try to simmer the tensions. Unfortunately, Roller Brawl's buttons continue to get smashed by federal agent Gilbert D. Stern, who believes Dr. Light to be in cahoots with his old partner. But what no one knows is that Dr. Wily had planned for the possibility of him losing, and is now ready to execute a new plan to escape, involving two powered up Robot Masters.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Chaotic Clean-Up and Kidnapping

(#Issue 5)

"WHOA!" Roller Brawl cried out as a massive boulder hurtled towards her and Mega Man. Peppering it with her Brawl Cannon, as she called her Mega Buster, she was able to blast off bits and pieces of it, but it was Mega Man who dealt the finishing blow with a charged shot.

"Yeah! That's the way to do it! Nice and flashy!" Bomb Man complimented.

"Heh. Thanks Bomb Man!" Mega Man replied.

"Yeah. But what's Guts Man up to?" Roller Brawl asked.

All three turned to the construction robot, who didn't look impressed. "That's the way to do it? Bomb Man, that was a baby robot's warm up!" Picking up a massive block of concrete with rebar and glass lodged in it, he tossed it at the trio. "Here's the real workout, babies!"

Looking in shock at the boulder coming to them, all three briefly stood paralyzed. "Guts Man, are you kidding me?"

Quickly taking charge, Mega Man gave out his instructions. "Bomb Man! Give me your hand, and your other one to Roller Brawl!"

Picking up on what Mega Man was saying, Roller Brawl smirked. "I see what's happenin'. And I'm all for it!"

Smirking in turn, he quickly grabbed the hands of the two Copy Chip wielders. With that, both of their color schemes changed to green and white. "Alright! On three! One!" The Hyper Bombs were summoned into all three of their hands, resembling cartoon bombs, black with visible fuses. "Two!" Their arms cocked back, ready to throw them. "THREE!" Three bombs were lobbed, and resulted in a massive explosion. Tiny pieces of glass, remnants of rebar, and freshly made pebbles all clattered to the ground.

"Alright! Nice work! ENCORE!" Ice Man complimented. The other Light Numbers had been watching and gave their own agreement motions. Fire Man's flamethrowers were blazing in a makeshift pyrotechnics show, Cut Man was whistling in approval, and Elec Man was giving a small smile and clapping at their work.

"Nicely done!" Mega Man said as he high-fived Bomb Man and Roller Brawl.

"That's the way to do it!" Bomb Man replied.

"If I knew this was what clean up would be, I might have not complained so much!" Roller Brawl joked. However, her fellow female was not too impressed.

"Are you three done playing around with rocks? Or is clean up going to be all on me?" Roll complained.

"Aw come on, Roll! Why can't we relax a bit? Dr. Wily's been stopped, and we got ourselves a new family member! Surely that means we can have some time to play around?" Mega Man asked.

"We're supposed to be cleaning up the mess! All you three are doing by blowing everything up is making the mess even bigger!" Roll retorted.

"That's not what we're doing!" Roller Brawl shot back.

"Yeah? Then what are you doing?" Roll asked, an unimpressed expression on her face as she crossed her arms.

"Um...making the rubble a more manageable size?" Roller Brawl weakly answered.

"Right. Well, once you've made the rubble 'manageable' enough, why don't you help me pick it up?" Roll instructed.

"Alright, alright. I'll pick up the pieces," Hearing Roller Brawl's reply, she nodded and walked back to her rubble filled wheelbarrow. Had she stayed, she probably would have heard Roller Brawl muttering under her breath. "Buzzkill. Why'd she have to ruin our fun like that?" Snapping back after seeing some more boulders, she called out to Elec Man. "Elec Man? Don't mind giving a girl a little bit of juice, do ya?"

"Alright. Here you go!" Elec Man answered. Holding out his hand in a finger gun gesture, a bolt of lightning fired from the fingertip. Catching the lightning with her Leech Claws, she smiled as they glowed a distinct hot pink. She skated towards the boulders and began rapidly slashing through them. In a matter of minutes, the boulders were cut up into a bunch of neatly sliced up pieces of rock. 'Ahhhh! So much better. I needed that!'

"That's a remarkable display of power Dr. Light! Not totally unlike when they attacked the city and made this mess in the first place?" A small green robot asked. He had a pure black face (similar to a Mettall), yellow lips, a square green and white helmet with two small cameras on the front and small wings in the back, a spherical green body with a red triangle near the center, propellors coming out of each shoulder, and stocky hands and feet, with wheels on his heels. As this was happening, Guts Man was lifting a large amount of rubble, Fire Man was further scorching some more to the side, Roll was wheeling rubble to be burnt, Cut Man and Roller Brawl were cutting up I-beams that had remained upright, Bomb Man was exploding more rubble, and Mega Man, Ice Man, and Elec Man were working together to disintegrate, shatter, and vaporize even more rubble.

"Ripot, I think you're mistaken. You're talking about the time my Robot Masters were reprogrammed against their will and misused against the city," Dr. Light gently countered to the reporter robot.

"What's the difference, though? And while appreciated, people do wonder. Why did you refuse payment for the repair work of our city?" Ripot's partner Plum asked. Compared to her partner, she was much more human, and had a far more anthropomorphic body. She had pink shoulder-length hair, a baseball cap, headphones accessorized with a microphone and antenna, white gloves, red boots with wheels attached to them, and a red and yellow dress.

"It's simple, Plum. Me and the Robot Masters unanimously agreed to clean up Mega City for free not only to make amends for their actions, but also to show the world what they were meant to do!" Dr. Light declared.

"And what was that?" Ripot asked.

"To help people, Ripot. I built them the way they are so they could help improve the world," Dr. Light finished. In spite of that, he felt a disapproving eye watching over him.

"Pretty words there, Doc. But I'll be seeking a second opinion," A Brooklyn-accented voice rang out. Turning behind him, Dr. Light saw two others, these ones being human. To the left was a slightly overweight, middle-aged man with black hair graying at the temples, and his messy attire consisted of a green trenchcoat, a white shirt, a red tie, grey pants held up by suspenders, and black shoes. Next to him was a darker-skinned young woman with reddish/purple hair. Her attire was a purple shirt with a yellow collar, a blue jacket with a star emblem on the upper arms and white forearms, blue pants, and white boots.

"Can I help you, mister?" Dr. Light asked in confusion.

"Federal agent Gilbert D. Stern." The man responded, showing a badge with the same star emblem on the woman's shoulder.

"Federal agent Roslyn Krantz. We need an audience with Dr. Light, please," the woman asked to Plum and Ripot.

"Of course! I've been as cooperative as I can be with the local authorities since the incident," Dr. Light said happily.

"Yeah, you've been real cuddly with the local brass," Agent Stern began, as Ripot and Roslyn got into a badge-showing shouting contest behind him to talk to Dr. Light. "If I was honest, it's almost like you got a guilty conscience or somethin' like dat. Know what's interestin' to me. That your old partner Wily happens to steal the machines you two built together after you showed 'em off to the public. Once they did attack, you just have the one robot that's able to stop him. Lotsa razzle dazzle and coincidence. Want to speak about that?" he finished.

Despite sweating a bit under the accusations, Dr. Light remained firm. "I believe that everyone, no matter what they have done, deserves a second chance, even someone like Albert. His choice to squander it, as unfortunate as it is, was his own choice." His frustration growing, Dr. Light continued his counterargument. "As for Mega Man's actions, they were a selfless sacrifice of his peaceful nature. Once all this business with Dr. Wily is behind us, Mega Man will be reconverted to Rock and return to his original functions, as will all my Robot Masters."

"You talk like these robots are people like us. You sure you're alright with your little creations getting 'used'?" Gilbert countered.

"Easy, partner. We just need a few more details," Roslyn said as she tried to defuse the situation. Looking at her tablet, she began to ask Dr. Light what she had to know. "Dr. Light? In the report you filled to the local police, you said that the model numbers DLN-003 through DLN-008 had been recovered.

Nodding, Dr. Light replied, "Yes. Those models are the once who are working down there alongside DLN-001, DLN-002, and my newest creation, DLN-00C."

Hearing those, Agent Krantz continued. "I see. But the inventory you sent us beforehand had said that DLN-00A and DLN-00B were missing. Have you had any luck finding them?"

"Sorry, but no. Those two were still an experimental state before the unveiling, and I left them in Albert's care. But I'm afraid he never told me where he kept them. And I highly doubt that he'll be any more cooperative now that his plans have been foiled" Dr. Light admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Given the damage that had been done, it wasn't a surprise to anyone that after being defeated, Dr. Wily was sent to jail. However, he still had to aces left up his lab coat sleeves, and he felt that now was the time to show his hand.

A small robot flew in, under the nose of the guards within the system. It had an orange domed body, a propellor to help it move around, and a notched bottom. This was a Bunby Heli, meant for reconnaissance and espionage. Zipping through the prison hallways, it began hunting for the cell of its programmer. Passing by other inmates who looked at in curiosity, it soon found whom its master had sent it to alert. The madman responsible for a large amount of destruction in Mega City in an attempt to began a mad quest to dominate the world and etch his name into history. The former partner of Dr. Light in making the Robot Masters that would advance the world. The one and only. The brilliant scientist. Dr. Albert W. Wily. And he didn't look too threatening. He was a fairly old man, about the same age as Dr. Light, but while Dr. Light's hair was white and bushy, his was spiky and gray. He had a bald spot and from the front, his hair was similar to bat wings. He also had a bushy mustache and eyebrows, and his attire was a simple orange prison jumpsuit, with "1221" emblemed on the side.

"Good! If you're here, zhen everything's going exactly as I planned. Tell him I'll be moved at 2:00 pm precisely, and zhat zhere must be vun minor adjustment to our plan. If I try to go home free with nothing, zhe law will catch me in no time. We will need a diversion," Dr. Wily ordered the Bunby Heli, his voice being high pitched with a German accent.

"I'm hoping that I could appeal to him when me, Mega Man, and Roller Brawl join the police escort. But sadly, I don't see any success in that regard," Dr. Light sadly mused, upset over the loss of their friendship.

"Don't feel too bad about it, Doctor. Most people would've given up on Wily, but you haven't. That means you're a better friend than a creep like him deserves. But who's Roller Brawl?" Roslyn assured, curious who this new robot was.

"That would be the other gynoid of the group. DLN-00C, and our most recent family member," Dr. Light revealed.

"Yeah, yeah, real heartwarmin' and interestin'. Just know dat if you two were actually involved in dis mess, and we will find out if you were, den you two can be permanent prison buddies in a federal penitentiary," Stern threatened.

That statement got a rise out of Dr. Light. "I assure you, Agent Stern, that I never intended for this to happen. I am first and foremost a man of peace and a creator of tranquility!" That statement was followed by a burst of flame a frightened scream.

"ROLLER BRAWL! I'LL TEAR YOU DOWN TO YOUR SERVOS AND PEEL YOUR BRAIN RIGHT OUT OF YOUR HEAD!" Roll screamed as the two agents looked on in shock and Dr. Light facepalmed.

Not that the agents would know, but Mega Man and Roller Brawl's attention had turned to them instead of clean up when they began talking to Dr. Light. And neither of them were happy with what they were hearing, with Roller Brawl tightening her fists in response.

"Doesn't take much of an emotional processor to know you're not happy, Roller Brawl. Neither am I," Mega Man tried to reassure his new sister.

"Yeah. Hit the nail on the head. I just don't get it. Why are these guys blaming Dr. Light for what Wily did? How could he have known about it?" Roller Brawl asked in frustration.

"Sorry, RB. Can't really help yah on that front," Fire Man answered and made a mistake no one with flamethrowers, or guns in general, should make: he didn't look where he was firing. And the punishment came from an ear piercing shriek of fear and a very unsubtle threat.

"Wait, wait, WHAT?!" Roller Brawl asked in shock and confusion as Roll walked up into her face. "What are you talking about?"

"What am I...GAH! Look what you did!" Roll sputtered, showing that her ponytail had been set alit.

"But...but...I didn't do that!" Roller Brawl countered, completely caught off-guard by the accusation.

"Whoa, Roll! Ease up! Roller Brawl didn't do anything!" Mega Man defended.

"He's right. I'm the one who set your hair on fire. Mah bad. Roller Brawl's innocent o' that anyway," Fire Man finished, holding his right flamethrower behind his head in an embarrassed manner. It didn't do much good, since Roll had gone on a warpath.

Ice Man decided to try and cool down the tension, specifically Roll's anger. "Please don't be mad Roll!" Breathing cold air onto her hair, he was able to put out the fire. "See? All better!"

That unfortunately did little to deter her, and she pulled a child's ultimate trump card. "That's it! I'm telling Dr. Light!"

That put Mega Man on alert. "No! Wait! Roll, come back!" As Mega Man began to follow his sister, Roller Brawl did likewise.

As any kid did when their sibling did something bad to them, Roll began telling on Roller Brawl and Mega Man on Dr. Light. "Dr. Light! Dr. Light! Rock, Roller Brawl and the Robot Masters are playing too rough! I told them to stop, but they didn't listen, and Roller Brawl even set my hair on fire!"

Afterwards, Mega Man laid his counterargument. "We were just trying to include her, and it was a small fire!"

Roller Brawl gave her input afterwards. "Yeah! Besides, I'm not even the guilty party. Fire Man did it by accident! I'm innocent, Dr. Light! I promise!"

Pondering for a while, Dr. Light decided to see one thing. "I see. Well, it's about time for us to head to the prison in any case."

Roll's response confirmed that what he thought was the best decision would be vindicated. "I don't want to go anywhere with her!"

Roller Brawl began to get frustrated, and her response was not graceful. "You got a glitch in your audio circuits? I've told you already it wasn't me!"

Rock tried to go for a more diplomatic response. "Roll, please! We're sorry about what happened, but Roller Brawl really didn't do anything!"

Dr. Light cleared his throat, and all three went quite as mice. "All of you, settle down. I think you just need some space away from each other and some time to cool down. Roll? Why don't you go pick up the groceries tonight and then relax at the lab afterwards?" That settled Roll down, and she began walking away.

As she did so, Mega Man tried to apologize one last time for him and Roller Brawl. "We're really sorry!"

Deciding to try to reassure his son and daughter, Dr. Light put his hands on their shoulders. "I know. It's time we joined the police escort. Maybe that might take what happened off your mind."

Having watched the entire exchange, Stern made his call. Doing an 'I'm watching you' gesture, he made his point. "I've got my eye on you. All three of you," Walking to Roller Brawl, the former vampiress found herself standing at attention, especially at the man's angry expression. "Listen to me, Robo Peep. I don't know why Dr. Light made, or why you got powers similar to Blue Boy there, but I''ll find out soon enough. And you will be scrapped the second you get any ideas of helping out Dr. Wacko."

Still feeling chills up her spine, Roller Brawl quickly stuttered, "Y-y-yes sir. Understood!" If he bothered to look behind him, he would have seen her quickly letting out a deep breath, and she had begun gritting her teeth. 'I understand you're nothing more than a paranoid jerk,' she thought to herself.

As the escort began, Mega Man, Dr. Light, and Roller Brawl were all sitting in a police car, while the federal agents remained holed up in another one.

"Once we take Dr. Wily from this prison to the federal facilities, I can go back to being Rock?" Mega Man asked. Neither the former helper robot nor the cyborg wore their helmets, letting their brown and pink hair go free.

"Yes, that's right. You've done more than enough as Mega Man, and I think Roller Brawl should be able to handle patrolling the city in your place," Dr. Light explained.

The praise from Dr. Light made Roller Brawl beam, a small blush forming on her face. "Awww, thanks! I'm happy you have faith in me."

Having never heard much of prison, Mega Man was curious about what was next. "So...why are we taking Dr. Wily to the new prison? What'll happen to him?"

Sighing, Dr. Light began. "Like the parameters of your coding, humans have rules that they need to follow to help make their society function. When you break the big rules like no stealing or no killing, you are then put in prison. In Albert's case, he'll probably be in there for a long time, since he caused a lot of damage and injury to many innocent people."

"Oh! So it's a place for localized errors!" Mega Man understood.

Smiling at his son's optimism, Dr. Light felt himself getting a bit less tense. "Well...something like that, yes?"

That led to a rather awkward question from Mega Man. "Do the people in prison get reprogrammed so they're safe again?"

Seeing the hesitation in Dr. Light's eyes, Roller Brawl shared what she knew. "That'd be nice if we could. But you can't really reprogram the brain like you would any other robot. That doesn't mean that we can't help some people and reintroduce them back into society, but not everyone is willing to change like that." Thinking back to villains like Krankenstein or Broccoli Guy, she was reminded of how villains like the Golden Queen and, of course, Kaos had been very unrepentant of their actions.

Stunned at Roller Brawl's surprising insight into criminals, Dr. Light could only say, "Indeed. Quite the way to put, Roller Brawl."

Saddened at the lack of a quick fix for criminal minds, Mega Man replied, "Oh. That's too bad."

"Don't be! I actually think that it's the opposite. It's our free will that allows us to dream, to innovate, and to aspire to create things greater than our individual selves. It's a freedom unlike anything else in the world," Dr. Light rebutted, smiling.

Curious, Mega Man wondered, "Me and the Robot Masters can make choices, too. Does that mean we have free will like humans do?"

Ruffling his hair affectionately, Dr. Light admitted, "I'm afraid not, my boy." Hearing his son's sullen sigh, he mused as he looked outside. "You're all autonomous and capable of a wide variety of human-like emotions and decision-making abilities, but you're all still ruled by your coding. I feel I have made some progress in more human-like behavior thanks to Roller Brawl, but she was formerly an organic like me, and simply retained her original ability to think. Perhaps one day, though, I can capture the X-Factor I need to create a robot with its own free will, and bridge the gap that separates man from machine."

Outside the facility, both Roller Brawl and Mega Man got themselves ready, as both stood fully armored, and had their weapons ready to go if push came to shove. "Looks like we've arrived," Dr. Light announced.

"...will be taking you into federal custody. You will be transferred to a federal penal facility where you will await trial for your crimes. Do you understand?" The two robots overheard Agent Krantz talking to Dr. Wily. It was the first time Roller Brawl had seen Dr. Wily, and she wasn't impressed. The previous evil scientist she'd been up against was Dr. Krankcase of the Doom Raiders. Her thoughts also wandered to why he was simply in chains instead of being restrained more completely. 'I guess they either haven't discovered Traptanium yet or it doesn't exist here. Huh.'

"Yes. Yes. I understand," came Dr. Wily's surly reply. Looking to Dr. Light, he gave a nasty smile. "Ah! If it isn't my old friend, Thomas! How's it been, having your robot's power shown on ze news! Und I see you brought your former assistant turned Mega Menace to my plans! You really are pulling out all ze stops, aren't you? Making a real show of how good your creations are!" It was when he looked at Roller Brawl that his face took on a more interested look, making the cyborg uncomfortable, like she was being leered at. "Und who's zis? A girlfriend to accompany your son in battle?"

Hearing the shocked sputtering of the two combat robots, Dr. Light harshly reprimanded, "No. She is not Rock's girlfriend, but his adopted sister Roller Brawl. If you must know, her home was caught in a terrible accident, and she was the sole survivor. Rock brought her back, but she was too badly wounded to be saved via normal means, so we made the choice to put her brain in a robotic body. So you could say that she is the very first Cyborg Robot Master. As for her combat upgrades, she volunteered, on her own volition I must emphasize, to be combat ready. But I've gone on long enough about her. Make this easier for yourself, Albert. Please cooperate with the authorities."

"Vell, isn't zat interesting! A real cyborg! But Dr. Light, surely you know by now that there is only one authority I care about. MY OWN!" said before screaming the final sentence as Roslyn pushed him into the prison van. "And in a few minutes, you'll see how to put on a real show..."

The envoy hadn't been going too roughly, and that made Roller Brawl restless. She didn't doubt Mega Man's ability, but she suspected that something was up. And at 2:27 pm, her worries would prove not unfounded. Atop the roads above the highway stood two robots of identical make. They wielded shields attached to their left arms, and their right arms were replaced by buster cannons with a barrel more akin to that of a sniper rifle. Their hands were white, their forearms, boots and belt were black, and the rest of their body was green. At the head, they had a single cycloptic eye glowing red, and their helmets were similar to those motorcycle riders. They fired at the envoy, their buster shots creating small explosions, even striking at some of the police cars.

"Sniper Joes?! How many did Albert confiscate for his plans?" Dr. Light asked in shock.

"Don't worry! We'll handle it!" Mega Man replied, readying the Mega Buster.

"Yeah! Be good to finally do some real combat!" Roller Brawl said as she smirked, unholstering the Leech Claws in her right hand while turning her left hand into the Brawl Cannon and activating her rollerskates.

"HEY! Pick on someone your own firepower size!" Mega Man declared.

"Get ready to roll or get outta my way!" Roller Brawl bragged in response.

The two soon jumped up, ready to fight the two military robots.

The time was nigh, and the moment was perfect. Activating his ability, a new figure appeared. At that moment, time might as well have stopped, but more precisely, time had been slowed down to an incredibly slow period, as the time moved to 2:28 before the figure made his move.

The figure soon revealed himself to be another Robot Master. He had a mostly purple body, with most of his face being the same color, making it resemble a mask. His gloves and boots were a darker shade of purple, as in a royal purple. On his wrists were two golden rings, and his head had bells similar to those found an alarm clock at the upper sides. A small antenna with a red sphere lay on top, and small bolts lay on the side of his head.

Looking contemptuously at the two robots about to engage with the Sniper Joes (the time now being 2:29), the mystery Robot Master sauntered to the van where his master lay. Having reached it, he threw an energy sai shaped like the hand of a clock at the van's doors, creating an explosion that blew the doors off. It seemed that at that point, his master had chosen to laugh, and his body had been stopped in time as he did so. Picking him up, the effects of his power remained constant, as his master stayed in place like a statue.

Looking at the clock before going, he saw it now read 2:30. Going back at 2:31, he looked at the two fools who thought they would stop his master and smirked. His job done, there were no further things needing him to stay behind.

Afterwards, time returned to normal.

The two Light numbers charged at the Sniper Joes. Mega Man went for the Sniper Joe on the right and punched the shield, the force popping the arm right out of its socket. As the literally disarmed Sniper Joe collapsed to the ground, its balance systems damaged, Mega Man sadly walked up to the helpless robot, and prepared to fire the Mega Buster. Apologizing, he fired a charge shot at the Joe's head, blowing it to nothing but scrap metal. When he looked at Roller Brawl, though, he was shocked to see how good she was. And how vicious she could be.

Instead of punching the Sniper Joe in midair as he hd, she chose to let him land, and soon began a relentless onslaught of Brawl Cannon shots while skating around, forcing the Sniper Joe on the deserve. "Ha ha! Catch me if you can!" she taunted. Firing a few buster shots, the Sniper Joe soon found itself without a weapon, as Roller Brawl used the Leech Claw to slice off its buster arm, forearm down. The energy in the Sniper Joe was absorbed into her claws, and they soon glowed a hot pink. "Now, then! SLICE AND DICE!" With that declaration, Roller Brawl slashed the charged Leech Claws through the Sniper Joe, slicing through its shield and bifurcating it.

"Nice work from the both of you!" Agent Krantz complimented.

"Heh. No problem! Been itching for something like that to happen," Roller Brawl said with a cocky smirk.

"Thank you, Agent Krantz. I just wish I didn't have to fight again," Mega Man sadly mused.

"HE'S GONE!" Agent Stern's voice pierced through the air. As everyone ran to the van, they saw the van's doors blown off and more importantly, they were down a locked up Dr. Wily. "Dr. Wily's escaped!"

As soon she heard that, she decided to ask the two accompanying officers and Dr. Light, "Did anyone see him passing by?"

"No, I didn't see anything!" Dr. Light answered.

"I didn't see anything either?" One officer admitted.

"Neither did I. But then again, I wasn't looking at the van, but the fight in front of us," his partner stated.

A thoughtful look came across Agent Stern's face, and his partner didn't seem to like it. "Gil?"

"Heh, heh, heh. I see what's goin' on here. Yah played us like a fiddle, doc!" Agent Stern began, not looking at Agent Krantz. Pointing a finger at the trio, he accused, "Those three were in cahoots with Dr. Wily the whole time and helped him escape! The ambush? Being part of the conway? That flashy fight with those two killing machines? All just a distraction to keep our minds off Dr. Wily!"

As that occurred, all three shared the same thought. 'WHAT?!'

Little did they know things were getting worse. And it would be an attack on the home front.

"...And they can keep playing in that stupid, dirty pit! I'd much rather be staying in the lab, anyway. That's where the REAL science and robotics is done! And when Roller Brawl gets home, I'll make sure I give her a piece of my..." Roller Brawl muttered to herself as she carried a bag of groceries home, only for her musings to be interrupted when she saw oil on the doorknob. "What the? Oil? Did I rupture a joint or something?"

"Sorry 'bout that, cutie. It's kinda my calling card," A male voice rang out. It was somewhat similar to Roller Brawl, Roll thought, but she never knew anyone like that.

"W-What?! D-do I know you?" Roll asked, fear seizing up her circuits.

"Aww. Big daddy Light never showed you my file? Never talked about good ol' Oil Man?" She turned to see the one who was saying this. It was indeed no one she ever recognized. Oil Man's body main body was a somewhat lightish blue, and but his shoulders, boots, hand, buster, and head were black as oil. His right arm was normal, but his left arm more so resembled the pipe one would find attached to a gas station, complete with a buster-like nozzle, dripping with oil. Finally, he had a drop emblem on his chest, and wore a red scarf covering his mouth. His final words, though, were chilling. "Eh, not that it matters to me, sweet thing. Now, I gotta little deal for you. Either you come quietly, or I bring you in pieces,"

Voice Cast:

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Mega Man - Cole Howard

Bomb Man - Ryan Stockert

Guts Man - Garry Chalk

Ice Man - Zoe Slusar

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Elec Man - Brendan Hunter

Ripot - Andrew Francis

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Plum - Sharon Alexander

Gilbert D. Stern - Jeff Bennett

Roslyn Krantz - Tara Strong

Dr. Wily - Scott McNeil

Fire Man - Roger Rhodes

Officer 1 - Roger Craig Smith

Officer 2 - Mike Pollock

Oil Man - Khary Payton

Author's Note:

And after getting through introductions, now is the time for some real plot to come in. And yes I know, Oil Man wasn't voiced by Khary Payton in the original game, but I feel like having Cyborg's common voice actor fits a bit better with the street savvy personality they gave him, and to be honest, his voice combined with his dialogue got a bit grating for me. There were definitely times it worked, like his dialogue with Dr. Wily, but most of the time, not so much. Also, the line about Wily insinuating that Roller Brawl was Mega Man's girlfriend was what happened in the original story, Sole Survivor: Mega Man and Roller Brawl were paired together. However, given that it was instilling the idea of a romantic relationship between adoptive siblings, it felt kind of awkward. Who Roller Brawl ended up with later in Healing Wounds made much more sense to me, and I'll reveal him at the end of this 4 part arc.

Also, yes. I gave Ripot and Plum the voices of MegaMan.EXE and Roll.EXE respectively from the English dub of Mega Man NT Warrior Axess. Mega Man Battle Network happens to be a favorite of mine, and I felt there should be some kind of representation. Meanwhile, Gilbert's voice was based on Jeff Bennett's performance as Captain Fanzone and Roselyn's was based on Tara Strong's role as Sari Sumdac, both from Transformers: Animated. Finally, Scott McNeil as Dr. Wily. I think it's safe to say that Scott McNeil is THE VOICE of Dr. Wily, but while he will have a German accent in the Ruby Spears cartoon, it comes with a more high pitched voice, like he did in Mega Man: Once Upon a Star.

One more thing. I will also be putting in the comic issue that the chapters apply to, hence the Issue 5 in the title.

Next Time: New Home, Old Pain

Wishing to prove himself innocent after Dr. Wily's escape, Dr. Light turns himself into the federal agents, leaving Mega Man and Roller Brawl despondent. This worsens arriving to the oil-stained front yard of Light Labs, finding a message from Dr. Wily bragging about having Roll in his possession, leading to nasty pains from Roller Brawl's past to reawaken. Taking Cut Man and Ice Man along for the ride, Mega Man and Roller Brawl look to investigate the remains of Dr. Wily's fortress. But not all robots were destroyed the first time Mega Man was there, and they certainly haven't gotten any friendlier.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: New Home, Old Pain

(#Issue 6)

"I knew I shoulda trusted my gut! I never shoulda let you three on the convoy, 'cause now Dr. Wily's out and it's all your fault!" Agent Stern accused.

"That is ludicrous! I swear on my life that I had no idea that Dr. Wily had planned any of this," Dr. Light countered.

"We're sorry, we don't know what happened!" Mega Man tried to apologize for both him and Roller Brawl.

"You don't know, eh? Tell me if this sounds familiar. Blue Boy and Robo Peep join the police escort, and then gets into a flashy fight with those pieces of scrap," Agent Stern claimed, waving his hand to the remains of the Sniper Joes. "Then while everyone's distracted with all the razzle-dazzle those two give off, your old buddy Dr. Wily sneaks away, and then the two of you can start another robot revolution!"

"That attack was obviously meant to be a diversion, but Mega Man, Roller Brawl, and I had absolutely nothing to do with this!" Dr. Light answered back.

"That's enough from both of you!" Agent Krantz interrupted, leading to a silent 'thank you' from Roller Brawl. "There's no evidence that can support your alibi, Dr. Light," She began, with her partner grinning at his theory having more water. "But neither is there evidence that confirms anyone's guilt!" The pointed look and pointer finger she gave to Agent Stern quickly burst his bubble, with him deflating like a popped balloon. "We should be focusing on the real issue at hand. The fact remains that Dr. Wily's on the loose now, and we need to stop him before he can cause any more trouble!"

"Not a problem! Roller Brawl and I can go get him, and it'll be our way to make up for failing to keep him with you guys!" Mega Man offered, with Agent Krantz giving a grateful smile. Roller Brawl also seemed to lighten up, but her smile was replaced with a furious scowl upon the next exchange.

"Not a chance Blue Boy! You and Robo Peep had your chance, and the two of ya blew it! From now on, the hunt for Dr. Wily will be done by the real authorities, with real manpower. You get me?!" Agent Stern said, refusing the offer, and Roller Brawl began growling at this.

"Y-yes sir," Mega Man weakly answered. Roller Brawl, though, was having none of it.

"No sir. And honestly, you've been pushing my buttons, and I! HAVE! HAD IT!" Roller Brawl interrupted. "It's bad enough that you look down on us for having mechanical parts, but you're faulting us for trying to help out! Did you want to be riddled with bullets? I don't think so, so I feel you should be thanking us! Second, Dr. Light has done nothing but try to get Dr. Wily to change his ways from what I heard, and asked him to cooperate with the authorities! For the love of Ancients, when will you see that Dr. Light and we had nothing to do with his escape, you idiot!" She finished, steam erupting out of her ears, and her Leech Claws unsheathed.

That only seemed to make tempers flare further, as Agent Stern stomped over towards. "You wanna repeat that again, Robo Peep?" Things probably would have gotten physical had Dr. Light made his voice heard.

"Roller Brawl! Stand down!" Dr. Light ordered.

"But Doctor! He insulted you and your ideals! How could you not be a little offended?" Roller Brawl asked, shocked at his instructions.

"I am, but I have a way to prove my innocence, and yours as well," Dr. Light said. "Agents?"

"Yes Doctor?" Agent Stern asked in confusion.

"If it helps in anyway," Dr. Light began, revealing his plan. "I shall turn myself into your custody. If I can remove myself from this situation, hopefully that can prove that none of us had anything to do with Dr. Wily's escape."

"What?!" Roller Brawl asked in shock.

"Dr. Light! No!" Mega Man said as he ran to his father.

"Are...are you sure about this, sir?" Agent Krantz questioned in concern. While she knew it was possible that Dr. Light could have been involved in Dr. Wily's escape, her gut was telling her that he wasn't faking his reaction to the incident.

"Yes, I am, Agent Krantz. I know that I am innocent, and I trust that justice will go the correct path," the scientist assured.

As Agent Stern put handcuffs on Dr. Light, he acknowledged, "Looks like under all dat fluff, there's some sterner stuff there, Doc. I can respect that."

"No! Dr. Light, you didn't do anything wrong! Is there anything we can do?" Mega Man begged his father.

"I'll be alright, you two. The federal agents will just keep an eye on me until Dr. Wily is recaptured. I want you two to go home and look after Roll. She's going to be devastated by this," Dr. Light assured his son and adoptive daughter.

"But Dr. Light-" Roller Brawl began.

"It'll be fine, Roller Brawl. I promise you that this will all be over soon," Dr. Light gently interrupted. As he was being carried away, suspicious Agent Stern kept his eyes on the handcuffed Dr. Light, while Agent Krantz gave a sad look to the devastated robotic duo.

While the two could have teleported straight to Light Labs, Mega Man had been having thoughts gnawing at him for a while after the fight, and the walk home seemed like a prime opportunity.

"Alright. I know enough you didn't teleport away from home for a sightseeing tour. What's eating you, Rock?" Roller Brawl wondered.

"It's just...what you said and did to that Sniper Joe back during Dr. Wily's break out," Mega Man began.

"Yeah? That 'Slice and Dice' line was the catchphrase of one of the original Undead Skylanders, Chop Chop. He mentored me in combat, and I guess I took it on," Roller Brawl explained.

"Well, okay. But you seemed to take a lot of pleasure in playing around with that Sniper Joe, and you did take it out rather brutally. I'm just wondering why you didn't settle for a simple slash in half," Mega Man asked.

Sighing, Roller Brawl admitted, "Yeah. I guess. There's just something that's satisfying for me. I'm not so strong like you are, so evasion's always been my game, both as a jammer and a fighter. I guess there's just something thrilling about running circles around an opponent, frustrating them. Anyway, I've always been scrappy, so I think that also impacted things."

"I see. I just didn't think I'd find someone who wanted to fight like tha..." Mega Man trailed off as he saw what had happened to the outside of Light Labs. To Roller Brawl, who was previously organic, it only looked like a massive mess of oil, with spilled groceries on the ground. For Mega Man, though, it was like stepping into a room with blood spilled everywhere. Chills shooting up his spine, he felt horror overwhelm him as he noticed a note taped to the door, and the words on it worsened the chill up his sleeve.

Note

To Thomas,

I have taken your precious little Robot Roll!

If you ever want to see her again in one piece, you won't contact the authorities and you won't send that lab robot you strapped a cannon to after me!

Once I've escaped, I'll contact you.

This is your only warning!

A.W.W.

After looking at the note a few times, Mega Man crushed it in a fit of rage, furious at Dr. Wily going after his loved ones. Unfurling it and focusing on the second sentence, though, he collapsed to his knees in grief, tears pooling in his eyes. Looking at her brother in concern, Roller Brawl asked, "What? What is it?" Upon seeing the note, however, she wished she hadn't. Horrible memories flooded to the forefront of her mind. The day her life took a 180 degree turn.

A Life Changing Return Home

"Heh! Barely broke a sweat!" Roller Brawl bragged as the practice session for the day ended. Her teammates were panting, but her pivot, Topsy Derby, was looking fondly at her performance.

"Yeah. For someone who joined the sport in so little time, you got a real knack for this stuff, ya know?" Topsy Derby complimented. All members wore the same outfit: black skull-themed helmet, purple leggings, and black bladed-gantlets, chest plates, and saw-bladed skates. However, Topsy Derby had dark purple hair with two long bangs framing her face.

"Thanks! See ya guys tomorrow!" Roller Brawl answered back. That had been a good day, and she had improved her skating speed on the track, even with the blockers getting in the way. She figured she knew what she was in for: her brothers worried sick about her, and probably in for much mollycoddling.

What she came home to, though, was something she never dreamed would happen, even in her worst nightmares. A cursory look at the place saw that her entire house was in shambles, the door torn off its hinges. Entering the small house, she saw furniture strewn around like a tornado had run through. Puncture marks littered the walls and furniture, and most disturbing for her, blood was spread around the place. On the table, finally, lay a small note. Picking up, she could now hear the obnoxious voice of Kaos as the letters glowed an ethereal blue. Quite literally, actually: the ink of the note was a special one that simply recorded what the writer said, and it was actually remarkably cheap, being made from the sap of certain trees in Skylands.

"Hello, Roller Brawl, you horrid heartbreaker! It is I, KAOS! Future emperor of Skylands, and the greatest Portal Master there is, not like that old loser leader of the Skylosers! I wanted to give my response to you sending your brothers after me. While they made the message clear, I do not take something like this lightly. So consider this your punishment for rejecting me! My Drow soldiers have taken your brothers prisoner and you will never see them! Ever! AGAIN! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! KAOS SIGNING OUT!"

As the voice faded, despair swelled in Roller Brawl's heart, and she fell to her knees. Tears began streaming from her eyes, and memories of her brothers flowed through her. Clutching the note, a vow was made in her heart, 'I swear by the blood of the Ancients, somehow, somewhere, sometime, I'll free my brothers, and get my revenge on you, Kaos!'

'Like clockwork,' Dr. Wily thought to himself. Looking at the shoddiness of his hideout, though, he grumbled, "Humph. I suppose zhis vill serve my purposes. I see you've gathered zhe proper tools, parts, equipment..."

"Your clothes, master," the purple Robot Master interrupted with a rather affected voice, genuflecting while holding the scientist's lab coat and tie.

"Ah! Finally something fitting my genius!" Dr. Wily said as he put his tie on. "Zhis vill do for now, Time Man, but zhe facility's a mess."

"My apologies, sir. If I was able to follow the schedule I had set for myself, this facility would have spotless, perfect for your return," Time Man explained as Dr. Wily put on his lab coat. "But I'm afraid I was delayed due to the antics of..."

"BOOYAH! Oil Man in da house and mission accomplished! Check it!" The brash voice of Time Man's associate rang out as he carried a tied up Roll with him.

"...Oil Man." Time Man deadpanned.

"Dr. Wily?!" Roll questioned if her optic sensors were glitching, since Dr. Wily was supposed to be on his way to prison, but now he had found freedom.

"Ah, Oil Man. You've-" Dr. Wily began.

"Arrived late, as usual" Time Man exasperatedly interjected.

Sliding in front of the time traveller as he got the rest of their master's attire, Oil Man defended himself, saying "Whoa, chill man! Maybe I was a little late, but I still got the job done, didn't I? And you did too, since we got big man Wily runnin' the show now! So it's all good, isn't it?"

"A little late?! Do you know what your stunts did? I have had to revise the meticulous schedule I made for us multiple times to allow for the unbelievable margin of error caused by your-!" Time Man angrily stated as he continued to ignore his partner.

"Blah blah blah, boring! You're wound up too tight, ya know? Lighten up, or you're gonna blow a circuit," Oil Man rudely interrupted as he flicked one of Time Man's bells, causing a vein to appear on his forehead.

"YOU ARROGANT, IRRESPONSIBLE-!" Time Man angrily exclaimed as pink energy began emanating from his hand, taking the form of clock hands.

"OH, YOU WANT ME TO CLEAN YOUR CLOCK, YA BIG JERK?! LET'S GET FUNKY!" Oil Man replied in kind, pointing his nozzle at his partner's face.

The fight, however, was halted when Dr. Wily smashed the heads of his subordinates together. "ENOUGH!" He declared.

"You know what you've done, right? A big mistake! Once Dr. Light, Rock, and Roller Brawl find out I've been kidnapped, you'll be in big trouble, Dr. Wily!" Roll bravely protested.

Hearing this, the mad scientist merely chuckled. "Those three? They're probably still being accused of being conspirators in my mysterious escape. Once zhey find the note I left for zhem, zhey'll know better zhan to try to get in my vay. Otherwise, I'll recycle you for spare parts!"

Realizing what she was, Roll meekly asked to confirm, "So...I'm your hostage?" The evil grin Dr. Wily gave confirmed this worry.

Looking to his two lackeys, Dr. Wily ordered, "What are you two standing around for? Get to work on my escape shuttle! Immediately!"

Saluting, Time Man promptly replied, "As you command, Master!"

Giving a thumbs-up, Oil Man answered, "Word!"

Looking behind her as they jumped over the railing, Roll wondered, "I don't understand. Apart from me and Rock, Dr. Light only built six other Robot Masters. So where did those two come from?"

"Time Man and Oil Man were given highly advanced AI algorithms and hold some of the most advanced tech yet," Dr. Wily obliged, watching as Oil Man held up a box of parts while Time Man had begun work on soldering some circuits together. "As a result, they were rather powered up compared to the other Robot Masters, so Dr. Light felt they weren't ready to be presented to the world, and entrusted me with storing them. However, I worked on them behind his back, and now, they're complete - and COMPLETELY LOYAL TO ME!" After this, Dr. Wily broke into evil laughter as Roll could only listen in shock at what she had learned.

"Batter up!" Bomb Man called out as he put a few Hyper Bombs near the bottom of a large boulder, while Guts Man had an I-beam wielded like a baseball bat. The second the bombs detonated, Bomb Man took on a finger bang gesture. Despite the speed of the boulder, Guts Man was able to hit it with ease. The festivities, though, were interrupted by a big blue blast and a smaller pink one turning the boulder into nothing more than a bunch of tiny pebbles that rained on everyone.

"If you're done playing around, boys, we got a BIG problem on our hands," Roller Brawl stated.

One Explanation Later

"...And now, Dr. Light's in federal custody while Roll's being held hostage. I don't know if we can stop Dr. Wily and keep Roll from getting hurt at the same time. I just don't what to do!" Mega Man finished. Of course, Ice Man had a horrified expression once he found out that Roll had been kidnapped. Elec Man, though, had begun contemplating what to do.

"Hmmm," Elec Man contemplated after hearing his brother's explanation of what had happened. "I think that Wily is bluffing. Roll is far too important as a hostage for him to simply destroy him. He'd have nothing to try to bargain with us with otherwise. They need to be found..."

"Yeah. We'll crush the tiny Wily Man!" Guts Man interjected, pounding his fists together.

"...And you're correct that you two shouldn't try to do this alone. But we can't just abandon the clean up effort." Elec Man determined.

Nodding stoically, Fire Man agreed. "Indeed. We are bound by our duty."

"If that's the case, why not split into groups? Me and Mega Man take a few of you with us while the rest of you guys handle the clean up efforts," Roller Brawl suggested.

"Yeah! I'll go with Mr. Rock and Ms. Roller Brawl and help search!" Cut Man offered.

"Me too! I'm not going to let Dr. Wily get away with kidnapping poor Roll!" Ice Man agreed.

"Thanks guys!" Mega Man said gratefully.

Shortly

"Fire Man says criminals return to the scene of the crime, so I guess we should start looking here," Mega Man said as the quartet went outside Dr. Wily's Robot Manufacturing Plant. A veritable fortress of a factory, the most distinguishing feature about it was the massive skull on it with Dr. Wily's emblem on the center of its forehead. This bone motif lay on other parts, such as rib-like decorations to the sides of two thick towers, and three bones that seemed to rise up near a flag bearing tower. Roller Brawl found herself agreeing with that, especially when one of the Skylanders also happened a great private investigator.

"This place gives me the creeps, and that's with the anti-freeze in my systems," Ice Man stated as looked at the remains of the fortress.

"Yeah. This place is way more creepy when you're not being activated inside it," Cut Man concurred, rubbing his head.

"Hey, lighten up a little! If Mega Man thrashed that mad doctor as badly as I've heard, then most of the robots here should be nothin' but a buncha scrap metal. Besides, he cleared it all on his own last time," Roller Brawl reassured her compatriots.

"Yeah! And with the three of us working together, searching this place should be easy!" Mega Man finished as the four entered the factory-turned-fortress.

Thankfully, most of the more dangerous robots like the massive security drones known as Big Eyes and Sniper Joes were nowhere to be seen. What few small bots were left were quickly turned into metal popsicles via Ice Man's Ice Slasher. As for the remains of the fortress working as barricades? Cut Man's ceratanium Rolling Cutter was able to make short work of them to create openings. The only robots they had thus far seen to oppose them were little green robots called Fleas, intended to be crop protectors.

However, the four soon ended up a room familiar to all but one of them. There were two giant holes in the walls, and wires hung limply from the ceiling. The walls were made of square tiling in the colors of light green, pink, and cyan. The most notable objects there, however, were the golden dome-shaped machine and a broken helmet resembling that of Mega Man. "Mega Man?" Roller Brawl asked nervously. "Is that...?"

"No. It's not mine, don't worry," Mega Man reassured his partner.

"Oh, right. You weren't there, Ms. Roller Brawl. This is the Copy Robot's room," Cut Man realized and explained to their new compatriot.

"Yeah. That thing was creepy. Dr. Wily thought the best way to defeat me was with myself. So he used a 3D copy system to create a perfect replica of me. It was really creepy, you know? It did everything I would do, and also had all the Special Weapons I had copied," Mega Man continued.

"Yeah. But Dr. Wily made one mistake when he rebuilt us and sent us after Mega Man, our orders were to 'destroy Mega Man'. He, unfortunately for him, never specified which Mega Man we had to destroy. So we thrashed it to pieces, and when we told the good doctor we were only following orders, he didn't have much of a way to say that we hadn't done so," Ice Man concluded. Picking up the wrecked helmet, he stated, "And lookie here! We got its helmet."

"Yeah. We really tore it to shreds!" Cut Man agreed. While Mega Man looked around, the two other Robot Masters began to play tug-of-war with the helmet, not realizing that Roller Brawl was giggling at their antics.

"I want to wear the helmet! Is the head laying around somewhere?" Cut Man stated.

"No! I found it first! Let me wear it!" Ice Man argued back. Ripping out of his brother's hands, he stuck his tongue and reminded, "Besides, your stupid cutter would get in the way!"

"Hey guys? Where does this go?" Mega Man asked, ending the argument. He was pointing towards a newer hole, leading to one full of pipes.

"How should we know? We were built here, but we weren't activated here," Ice Man answered as the other three came down to the hole.

"Yeah. And Dr. Wily didn't give us a tour of the place. We were just given orders to follow by him," Cut Man continued.

"Alright. So there's a secret passageway leading to somewhere underneath the factory. That sounds suspicious enough to check. Going in!" Roller Brawl recounted as she jumped down.

"Roller Brawl! Wait!" Mega Man cried out in surprise.

"Don't worry! It's safe!" Roller Brawl's voice echoed upwards.

"Well if that's the case..." Ice Man began. Mega Man quickly got the message, and the other three soon followed. "Lead the way sir!"

In The Hatch

As the other three landed in the newly discovered hatch with a clang, they soon saw their compatriot waiting for them.

"Did you know what would be down there? What if there was a Big Eye? You would have been pulverized" Mega Man scolded the former Skylander.

"But there wasn't, and I'm fine!" Roller Brawl playfully retorted. "Anyways, why don't we just continue our way down this place?"

"She does have a point, Mr. Rock. She does seem to know what she's doing," Cut Man agreed with his sister.

As the four walked down the hallway, they began to see that they weren't alone. A small army of Octo Batteries lay dotting the walls. These were small robots with a spherical main body and four suction cups on the cardinal directions of the sphere. Seeing this, Mega Man deduced, "Dr. Wily has got to be hiding something big around here."

Cut Man countered, "Maybe it's not too important. The guard robots here are all-" One of the Octo Batteries opened its single eye in the center of its body. "-in sleep mode. Uh-oh." That soon led the quartet to fend of the army while running to the other end of the hallway, with Mega Man blasting them to bits with the Mega Buster, Roller Brawl slashing them with the Leech Claw, Cut Man slicing them with the Rolling Cutter, and Ice Man simply trying to dodge the onslaught. None of them, unfortunately, knew where they were going, and soon stumbled down a pit into another hallway, leading to them all crashing into a pile.

Seeing the only way forward was down a hallway only lit by red lights, Mega Man figured, "Well, that way doesn't look too promising."

"And neither does that," Cut Man commented looking behind him. "I think we're lost."

"So what now?" Roller Brawl questioned.

"Maybe we could go back the way we came?" Cut Man thought out loud.

"Oh yeah? How? Fly? I can't get a clear teleporter signal down here. Can you?" Ice Man asked back.

"Hey! Cut me some slack here!" came Cut Man's response.

"Cutting is your thing!" Ice Man angrily answered back.

"Well, you don't need to be so cold!" Cut Man argued.

"Guys!" Mega Man tried to call out.

"Guys! Do you hear that rumbling?" Roller Brawl finished for him.

Hearing this, all four got prepared. Ice Man got ready to release the Ice Slasher, Cut Man readied the Rolling Cutter for a toss, Mega Man armed himself with the Mega Buster, and Roller Brawl unsheathed the Leech Claw. However, much to their shock, it wasn't a massive army of robots that was causing the rumbling, but a massive wave of water. Like sticks in a river, they were sent helplessly through the water, struggling to regain footing. However, one of them had a solution.

"Get me to the front! I have an idea!" Ice Man instructed. Hearing this, Roller Brawl and Mega Man pulled him to the front. Once their, Ice Man began unleashing a wave of freezing gas to the entrance, turning the water to thick ice. Eventually, while left out of breath, Ice Man was able to create a thick wall of ice to try to block off the water. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as the wall soon shattered and the water was now full of ice shards, and Ice Man was too worn out to do anything about it. Helplessly, the four were sent into a water-filled room along with heavy crates, where any normal human would have drowned from lack of oxygen. 'Thank the Ancients Dr. Light didn't fit me with lungs,' Roller Brawl thought to herself.

"What was that?!" Cut Man asked angrily.

"I was trying to seal off the water!" Ice Man explained himself.

"Well, you failed miserably" Tensions were beginning to run high, evidenced by Cut Man's outburst.

"Well, maybe you should have tried to cut the water! I'm sure that would have worked!" Ice Man retorted.

"Intruders...bad...," a monotonous voice droned.

"What was that?" Roller Brawl asked. From one of the three holes in the room came a robot like nothing she had seen before. More than half its body was covered in steel armor, with the inner part being bright red. Small jets lay on the left side of the body on the exposed parts, as did a metal tube. On the right was a small brown dome. Finally, its core was blue, and it had surrounded itself in a giant bubble.

"Intruders...bad. Eliminate...intruders," the new robot continued its primitive speech.

Voice Cast:

Gilbert D. Stern - Jeff Bennett

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Mega Man - Cole Howard

Roslyn Krantz - Tara Strong

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Topsy Derby - Grey DeLisle

Kaos - Richard Steven Horvitz

Dr. Wily - Scott McNeil

Time Man - Keith Silverstein

Oil Man - Khary Payton

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Bomb Man - Ryan Stockert

Elec Man - Brendan Hunter

Guts Man - Garry Chalk

Fire Man - Roger Rhodes

Cut Man - Elinor Holt

Ice Man - Zoe Slusar

Unnamed Robot - Randall Weibe

Author's Note:

And now, things just get worse. Not only has Dr. Light been arrested, but now our heroes find out that Roll was kidnapped. Given that Roller Brawl lost her brothers to evil, I figured that Roll's kidnapping would be much worse for her.

As for Time Man being voiced by Keith Silverstein, I wanted to lean into his control freak tendencies, meticulously planning things down to the last detail. Hence why figured the one who voices Hawk Moth, though with aspects Alan Rankin's performance as Temple Fugate. The funny thing is that it ended up being Dr. Wily serving Dr. Wily as a result. Still, as far as I'm concerned, McNeil Wily is superior to Silverstein Wily.

Next Time: Bubble Precedes Trouble

Encountering a strange new robot in the pits of Dr. Wily's old castle, Mega Man, Cut Man, Roller Brawl, and Ice Man now find themselves pitched in an underwater battle. But even with this, there have been no clues to how Dr. Wily escaped or where he is. Thankfully, a helpful hint from Dr. Light indicates a potential hiding spot for Dr. Wily and a theory on how he escaped. However, would Dr. Wily, as arrogant as he is, really leave his place undefended? Or are Mega Man and Roller Brawl actually walking into a trap?

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Bubble Precedes Trouble

(#Issue 7)

"Cut Man! Ice Man! Roller Brawl above us!" Mega Man cried as he looked at the bubbled-robot attacking them, slamming into Mega Man. "AUGH!" Shooting the bubble protecting the robot seemed to be a fruitless endeavor, as shots from the Mega Buster bounced off like rubber balls on stone. It did seem to have an effect, thankfully, as the robot quickly retreated.

"I don't think it matters. You scared it away!" Cut Man's observation, though, proved false when the robot slammed into him from the back.

"CUT MAN!" Mega Man cried in concern for his brother. However, something else would come to their attention. Strange sounds emanated, and the robot made its move.

"Eliminating intruders. Releasing mini-drones," it dully stated in a monotone voice. Soon, tens of little copies of itself came out of it, each one surrounded in a bubble of their own.

Seeing this, Roller Brawl couldn't help but be reminded of two Skylander veterans: Sonic Boom and Double Trouble. "Mini-drones? Is that thing planning on releasing its babies on us?"

"I don't think a robot having babies is possible," said Mega Man. "They are kinda cute, but we'd better be careful for-" That sentence didn't need to be finished, as all the mini-drones exploded, sending all four of the DLN numbers hurtling through the water and covered in soot. When everyone came to, the robot was gone.

"Are they 'cute' now?" Ice Man asked in annoyance.

"Definitely not anymore, now," Mega Man replied back. "But get ready for when it comes back. I have an idea!"

"Auditory circuits are ready to listen, Blue Bro!" Roller Brawl stated. At this, he nodded and saw the robot come back, with mini-drones following it like ducklings.

"Ice Man! Freeze those mini-drones!" Hearing this, Ice Man did as ordered, releasing a wave of frost from his mouth and freezing the drones into harmless ice sculptures. "Good. Cut Man! Use your Rolling Cutter on the shield Roller Brawl! Fire when I do!"

"Hey, you! It was slice to meet ya!" Cut Man quipped before throwing two Rolling Cutters to pop the bubble surrounding the robot. At this, Mega Man and Roller Brawl launched from their arm cannons, turning the robot into nothing more than a pile of scrap metal.

"Heh heh! Alright! We showed that thing what's what, am I right?" Roller Brawl rhetorically boasted, pumping up her fists.

"Yeah, I guess," Mega Man solemnly replied, picking up a piece of scrap metal. "Its model number was CWU-01P, and it was made to purify water until Dr. Wily modified into a combat robot."

"Until we trashed it! That's why we're not simple robots. We're Robot Masters! WOOO!"

"I think it was actually your terrible pun that destroyed it," Ice Man answered Cut Man as the two high-fived.

"Hey guys! I think I see a way out!" Roller Brawl interrupted, noticing a glowing circle. With all four leaping on the circle, they found themselves ascending on an elevating platform. Thankfully, they soon found themselves out of the water; they were drenched, and Roller Brawl had to wring out the water from her hair, but were ultimately not that much worse for wear. That being said, they weren't too happy to see where they ended up.

"What the...? We're right back to where we started!" Mega Man stated as the four saw themselves on the outside of the Copy Robot's room.

Ice Man tried to look on the bright side of things (and keep himself from fretting over not being able to save the fair maiden Ms. Roll), stating, "Well good! At least we won't have to climb all the way back up, like I was afraid we would."

"Is that what you're worried about?!" Mega Man screamed in frustration. Pacing around, he began ranting in desperation at their empty-handedness "This is terrible! Roll's still kidnapped, probably frightened and worried sick! Dr. Wily's still on the loose doing who knows what! Dr. Light's in custody because those two federal agents believe he was somehow involved in Wily's escape! Meanwhile, what have we learned from this trip?" Clutching at his head in a panic, he concluded with, "...AND WE'VE LEARNED NOTHING FROM OUR TRIP HERE!"

"WHOA! Easy there Rock! Don't get too mad, or you're gonna blow a gasket!" Roller Brawl tried to reassure him.

Agreeing with the sentiment, Ice Man continued, "Yeah! We will find and rescue Roll!" Hearing Roller Brawl loudly clear her throat he quickly added, "...And bring Dr. Wily to justice and all that other stuff as well."

"Agreed. At least we know he isn't, Mr. Rock. Let's regroup with the other Robot Masters and see if we can come up with a plan," Cut Man concluded.

Finally having managed to calm down, Rock relented "Okay." At this, the four teleported out.

Unaware of the small robot that watched over them. Resembling two blue cylinders stacked atop one another with a black one sandwiched between them, the Telly had prominent eyes doubling as cameras and sent a video recording to its programmer.

Seeing the four beams of light, indicative of his opponents teleporting away, Dr. Wily smirked. He could see Roll was still safely locked up in handcuffs in an isolated room, and, annoyingly, his two servants getting scrappy with one another. "Finally! You vere supposed to figure out where my hiding space was from my note, you little metal morons! Zhen again, I can't say I vas expecting Dr. Light to turn himself into the authorities! HA HA HA HA HA!"

Quickly turning to check on Roll, he said to himself, "No matter. He's still playing right into my hands! Now that they've returned, he'll gather the other Robot Masters to his side,..." After glancing at a nervously glancing Roll, he continued. "...And they'll all come to rescue my little...hostage."

He was about to finish with, "And with my minions finishing with my double-blind, I'm sure to..." However, upon hearing the sound of crashing getting louder on another, he turned to see Oil Man trapping Time Man in an arm lock while the latter was flailing his arms and firing his clock hand sai wildly in an attempt to break free. "WHAT ARE THOSE IDIOTS DOING?!" Something else, though, came to his attention. A notification for a new email had just come up. Quickly looking towards it, his eyes widened as he saw the sender's name. 'Impossible! I could have sworn I dreamt that entire experience!' he thought to himself as he clicked on it. Looking through it, though, he began to remember what Dr. Light had said about his newest creation. The cogs churned in his mind until he saw one name on a list in the email, leading him to form a wicked grin. 'Well now,' he internally monologued. 'You became much more intriguing to me Roller Brawl!' At this, he sent an order to his two servants: retrieve something from his old fortress. A box that would pay for his future work.

As the rest of the Robot Masters continued to work on rebuilding, with Bomb Man helping Guts Man set up some I-beams while Fire Man worked to help with burning off old rubble on the remaining I-beams. As Elec Man fired some electricity into some spotlights, he said, "I'm going to set up the work lights for evening. I'll be back to help with the clean up..."

Elec Man didn't get to finish his statement when Cut Man, Ice Man, Roller Brawl, and Mega Man all teleported to the site. Guts Man called the attention of the others. "Hey! They're here!"

Fire Man quickly ran to the four and asked, "Was Dr. Wily finally brought to justice? Have ya managed to save Dr. Light and Roll?"

Seeing Ice Man crossing his arms in frustration, Roller Brawl voiced what was on his mind. "Nope. All the four of us did was get lost in some corridors and fight a glorified water filter with delusions of grandeur."

"Unacceptable," Elec Man figured. "We need to find Dr. Wily, rescue Roll from him, and clear Dr. Light of any wrongdoing that agent accused him of."

Mega Man countered, "But that's not possible. We don't know where to look or where to look now. Our only lead thus far turned us to a dead end. I wish Dr. Light was here with us."

As if an answer to his wishes, a familiar, friendly voice rang out. "I'm no doctor, but I'm sure I can help!" Looking to the horizon, all the Robot Masters saw Agent Krantz at the top of the site.

"Agent Krantz! What are you doing here?" Mega Man said with surprise in his voice, though he was happy that it was the friendlier agent coming to them. That surprise turned to awe when she came down in a number of acrobatics, including wall jumping off a crane and then doing a curled-up roll down. Roller Brawl couldn't help but be impressed. 'By Eon's beard! We sure she's not a robot? 'Cause those were some mighty impressive flips!'

There wasn't much time to be impressed, as the federal agent quickly gave her message. "Dr. Light was worried about you all when you didn't return his call when he contacted the lab, so he asked me to look into things."

Much to Roller Brawl's amusement, Cut Man parroted what she thought earlier. "Are you sure you're human?"

"When I checked Light Labs, I saw the note that told of Dr. Wily kidnapping Roll. That's why I came here to see if you Robot Masters knew anything," Agent Krantz finished.

"'Knew anything'? Is that your way of trying to say that we were somehow responsible for this?" Elec Man accused.

"What? No!" Agent Krantz fired back. "I think it's pretty obvious that Dr. Wily's done all of this on his own. Mega Man, Roller Brawl? Could you patch into my cell's signal? I want you to tell me and my partner what your investigation found?"

"You got it!" Roller Brawl answered as she began to adjust the frequency range of her helmet.

"Just give us a minute to adjust this here..." Mega Man continued.

In the offices of Gilbert and Roselyn, Gilbert and Dr. Light had been undergoing some interrogation, but that had proven less than fruitful. Their office, additionally, made it plain as day how different the two were. Gilbert was sitting at his desk, which was covered in paper files, and had antiquated technology: a rotary telephone and CRT computer monitor. By contrast, Roselyn's desk was neat and tidy, with her computer being a sleek modern one, and had neatly organized her files instead of looking like a tornado had swept through them.

Hearing the phone ring, Agent Stern immediately answered. "Office of Stern and Krantz. Stern speaking."

To his surprise, it was his partner. "It's me Gil, and I've got both Mega Man and Roller Brawl on the phone with me. Put us on speaker. Dr. Light needs to be a part of this."

"Rock! Roller Brawl! I was so worried when you two didn't pick up! Are you and Roll alright?" Dr. Light asked, relief tinging his voice. He would have grabbed the phone had Agent Stern not been quite so, well, stern with him.

Putting a hand on the scientist's chest, he reprimanded, "Ah ah ah! What'd I say 'bout approachin' the desk? You could have been in a cell right now, y'know!"

"Wow. Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed today, didn't they?" Roller Brawl deadpanned.

"What was that Robo Peep?" Gilbert asked in frustration.

"Disregarding that, we're okay. But Roll isn't. Dr. Wily kidnapped her and left a note saying that he'd dismantle her! We already looked at his old hideout, but nothing was there!" Mega Man answered back. That statement made Gilbert settle down, but it took the smile off Dr. Light's face, and paternal instinct welled inside him.

"Yeah. When we got back, there were signs of a struggle and a lotta oil spread all over the place. Her groceries were scattered all over the place, so it's pretty obvious someone must've attacked her," Roller Brawl continued.

"I was about to going to say that, but how do you have so much insight into criminal investigation," Roselyn asked, impressed.

"A...family friend of mine. He worked as a private investigator, and I guess some of it passed off on me," It was a lie, Roller Brawl knew, but it wasn't a full lie. Skylanders saw each other as family, but she and Spy Rise didn't have a blood relation in the slightest.

"I was about to say the same, but Roller Brawl covered all the important details of the scene of the crime. Can you give any insight into that, Dr. Light?" Roselyn asked.

"Oil was found? I actually think I can help with that. Do you remember DLN-00A and DLN-00B?" Dr. Light began.

"Yes. The missing Robot Masters you and Dr. Wily were working on. What about it?" Roselyn replied.

"One of them was built for oil spill management, helping out oil rigs if they were to undergo any kind of damage and reduce the impact on the environment," Dr. Light revealed.

"That would fit into what Roselyn found, but what of the other one?" Gilbert asked.

"That was a more experimental one. He was built to manipulate time as an early experiment into the possibilities of time traveling. Dr. Wily disappearing in the blink of an eye would make far more sense if he was about to he finished them and activated them to be loyal to him," Dr. Light continued.

"Doc, there's one thing ya don't seem to get. You're expectin' us to put 'time manipulation' and 'make sense' in the same phrase," Stern retorted in disbelief.

"Could we get back to the topic of my daughter, please?" Dr. Light begged in response.

"Daughter? Oh for the love of..." Agent Stern replied in frustration at the doctor's concern.

Ignoring that, Dr. Light gave what he knew. "Those Robot Masters were last tested in a facility that's been retired for quite some time. If Albert went to all the trouble of stealing and completing those two, he'll likely be hiding out there."

Hearing this, Gilbert instructed, "Sit tight, Rosie. I'll get the address and pick you up."

"No need for that, partner. Send me the address, because I've got all the back up I need," Roselyn said as she looked at the eight Robot Masters.

One vehicle requisition later, and the octet plus one were off. The ride wasn't comfortable, though. Elec Man, Fire Man, and Bomb Man had no issue sitting on one side, and neither did Mega Man or Roller Brawl, sitting on the seat attached to the wall separating the front and trunk of the vehicle. For Ice Man, Guts Man, and Cut Man however, it wasn't pleasant. Since Guts Man had a body that would make a bodybuilder look like a scrawny pipsqueak, he was uncomfortably wedged in, and that lead to him pushing Cut Man into the door, and Ice Man was being squashed like a tin can in hand between him and the wall. "Grrrk..." Ice Man choked out. "Should have just teleported like we did to Wily's old base."

Fire Man quickly rebuked him, stating, "No. Agent Krantz said he'd been anticipatin' that. This provides an element of surprise and allows her tah come with us."

Elec Man turned to Mega Man and gave an important point. "Mega Man...we don't know what'll be waiting for us when we get to Dr. Wily's hideout, so we should give you and Roller Brawl all our powers again."

One would think that the offer of having six powerful weapons would be an easy choice, one that people would pounce on the opportunity like a cat on a mouse. Not Mega Man, though. His expression turned panic-stricken, and he quickly replied, "What?! No! I don't want that kind of power ever again!"

Hearing this, Roller Brawl was shocked at her foster brother's response. They were giving him their powers on a silver platter, and he was refusing them? Seeing the look on her face and inferring her confusion, Fire Man quickly answered, "When Mega Man got all our powers, he kinda went outta control. The stress of being a helper robot turned a fighter with the fate of the world on his shoulders caused him to crack, and he nearly ended up hurting Roll and Dr. Light while blinded by rage and frustration." Hearing this, she silently nodded, feeling bad for what happened to the Blue Bomber.

Elec Man's expression softened at his brother's worry, but countered, "I understand why you don't after last time, but we can't take any chances. Do it for Roll and Dr. Light."

Hearing this, Mega Man relented. "...Okay everyone. Let's do it." At this, Mega Man held his hand out, and all six of his brothers put their hands on top, letting Mega Man gain all their Special Weapons: Guts Man's Super Arm, Cut Man's Rolling Cutter, Elec Man's Thunder Beam, Ice Man's Ice Slasher, Fire Man's Fire Storm, and Bomb Man's Hyper Bomb.

"Hey, one more thing?" Roller Brawl interjected. Holding her hand out, she continued. "It might not be much, but you may need something to help patch you up. Have my Leech Claw." Smiling at this, Mega Man took it and gained her Special Weapon. The other Robot Masters soon did the same to Roller Brawl, and she could only marvel at the power held inside her. Fire, ice, electricity, raw strength, powerful explosives, and sharp blades were all at her disposal now.

As the group all got out of the van, Cut Man asked what had been on the minds of a few of them. "So, whose powers are you two going to use first?"

Flexing his muscles, Guts Man claimed, "They're gonna be using mine, of course! There ain't nothin' better than brute strength after all!"

Balancing a Hyper Bomb on his pointer finger, Bomb Man argued, "Nah! Why not just blow the place to kingdom come?"

Elec Man, ever the responsible one, quickly silenced arguments by retorting, "This isn't a competition!" At this, the two rubbed the back of their heads awkwardly.

At their destination, they saw the painting of a skull in oil on the facility's wall, an obvious indication Dr. Wily was hiding here. "We're here," Agent Krantz stated before giving out instructions while unholstering her gun. "Let's stick together and take this slowly and quietly"

Seeing the literal oil painting, Mega Man noted the obvious. "That's...a big skull painting."

Chuckling at the doctor's inability to not stick out like a sore thumb, Elec Man commented, "The man's about as subtle as a blown transformer."

With Guts Man lifting up the door, Agent Krantz ordered, "Don't shoot unless I give the okay. Just watch my back."

That was when things went sour.

As he had figured earlier, Fire Man was left in the back just in the event they were attacked from behind, trailing Cut Man and Ice Man. However, no one considered who had Fire Man's back. As vigilant as he was, there was nothing he could do when he was suddenly slowed down. Fit to be lugged away by Time Man to be reprogrammed into one of Dr. Wily's robotic super soldiers.

"You can have your flames on, Fire Man. I can still operate in the heat, you know?" Ice Man stated as he suddenly felt Fire Man's heat vanishing. He was unaware, however, of the two eyes that hid in a dark corridor next to him and Cut Man watching him. Looking behind him and seeing nothing, he asked in concern, "Fire Man?"

When Cut Man noticed a trail of oil on the ground and the sounds of skidding, he quickly inquired, "What the...?" He couldn't get the full question out, though, as in the blink of an eye, Oil Man quickly grabbed the two Robot Masters and gagged them.

Hearing the sounds behind, Guts Man turned behind, only seeing a trail of oil and the brief glimpse of a red scarf.

"The-!" Guts Man said in shock before he was slowed to a crawl yet again. Time Man knew that Dr. Wily would be pleased to have Guts Man in his possession.

"Clear!" Agent Krantz said as she took point, going to the right of the exit of a corridor while Elec Man generated sparks to light the way.

"Me too!" Mega Man agreed as he took point in the center.

"Same here!" Roller Brawl concurred as she headed to the left.

Turning behind her, she began giving instructions to the other Robot Masters. "Okay, we'll split into teams of..." That she was before she realized the only Robot Master she saw was Bomb Man. "Wait. Where are the others?"

"You're saying they're not right behind me?" Bomb Man asked in confusion.

Ever the responsible one, Elec Man gave his own orders. "Roller Brawl, you and Bomb Man come with me way. Mega Man, you protect the human."

"Understood," Mega Man answered. 'I'm pretty sure, though, she doesn't need my protection,' he thought to himself.

"You remember the plan, right Roller Brawl?" Elec Man asked.

"Yeah. I'm just not sure it's gonna work," Roller Brawl shakily replied.

"Agreed. I don't even remember hearing the rest of us go down. Maybe our plan wasn't such a good idea," Bomb Man nervously continued.

"Indeed, I think your plan will fail. After all, paraphrased from Helmut von Moltke the Elder, plans will never survive contact with the enemy," A purple Robot Master told the trio, showing up out of nowhere.

"Huh? How did you-. I didn't even blink!" Bomb Man stated.

"Time manipulation. I could explain, but why should I bother with the complications of such a concept to a low-power bucket of bolts like you only good at tossing bombs like a petulant child?" The new Robot Master retorted.

"Wait. Time manipulation? You're one of them, aren't you? The two Robot Masters Dr. Light never finished! And you're how Dr. Wily was able to escape so easily beneath our noses!" Roller Brawl realized.

"Indeed. I am DLN-00A, but Master Wily gave me a more apropos nom de guerre, Time Man!" The newly introduced Time Man said with a sick smirk on his face. "And I say that your time's up!" Quickly freezing Bomb Man and Roller Brawl in time before they could attack, he saw that Elec Man still seemed to resist his powers, reaching towards him. "Interesting. It appears that your charged body disrupts my Time Slow Special Weapon."

"I...won't...let...you..." Elec Man pretty much slurred out while stuck in the Time Slow. Anything more, though, was left unsaid as Oil Man suddenly leapt from above and tackled him to the ground.

"BOOYAH! How's THAT for perfect timing?" Oil Man joked.

"Surprisingly adequate with your usual performance. Now let's add the chips to the Robot Masters," Time Man admitted.

"What do we do with her, though?" Oil Man wondered as he pointed to the frozen Roller Brawl.

"The same. She may be a cyborg, but she ultimately still has the same programming as the rest of them," Time Man replied as they dragged the frozen bodies of the Robot Masters and cyborg.

Out of the corner of her ear, Agent Krantz heard the sounds of combat, and asked Mega Man, "Did you hear that?"

Mega Man's mind, though, had something else on it, as he saw what he had been looking for the whole time. "ROLL!" he cried in concern when he saw the state of his sister.

"ROCK! NO! It's a trap!" Roll warned, and Agent Krantz was able to see what had drawn Mega Man's attention. There was Dr. Wily, standing smug atop a blue and yellow flying saucer, and chained to the frame beneath said saucer was Roll.

"It's too late to warn your foolish brother now that the trap has been sprung!" Dr. Wily taunted before breaking into evil laughter, leading to Mega Man scowling.

"Calm down, Mega Man! Dr. Wily, you're under arrest! Put your hands up!" Agent Krantz ordered, holding up her gun to Dr. Wily.

"Yeah! Do as she says!" Mega Man parroted as he held the Mega Buster out.

Holding his finger to his chin in mock thought, Dr. Wily then said, "No. I don't think I will! MINIONS, attack!"

Seeing Time Man and Oil Man jump out behind them, Mega Man, in shock at the sneak attack, could only shout, "More Robot Masters?"

Realizing the identity of Dr. Wily's minions, Agent Krantz replied, "The ones Dr. Light said went missing!"

Laughingly, Dr. Wily boasted, "AH HA HA HA HA! YES, INDEED! Now complete, improved by my genius, and completely under my control!"

Sliding around Mega Man and seizing the opportunity to lay sucker punches into the Blue Bomber, Oil Man mocked, "PSSHT! What's so "Mega Man" about you? You're nothin' more than a Mega Moron!"

While that was happening, Time Man seized the opportunity to take down Roselyn, and for his troubles, he ended up riddled with energy bullets, grunting in pain. However, he soon smirked as his hand glowed with energy. "It seems that your time has run out for you, human!"

Seeing him fire a clock-hand shaped sai at Agent Krantz, Mega Man immediately shot the sai, making it explode and knock Roselyn to the ground. She was covered in a bit of soot, but ultimately no worse for wear. "I'm sorry, but your weapons won't be enough! I'll handle these two, but please save my sister!" he begged.

"Right. Be careful," Roselyn obeyed, heading for the saucer.

"Oil Man! Stop the human from freeing our captive!" Time Man ordered.

"Um, How about 'NO'?! I ain't lettin' you have all the fun trying to take out Mr. Big Shot here!" Oil Man defied. Spraying down oil, he proceeded to knock away Time Man, before making his own attempt to slide around the Blue Bomber. However, Mega Man took the opportunity to slide on the oil trail left behind, and quick shot Oil Man, and knocking him off while making him stop spraying oil. Afterwards, Mega Man took the chance to shoot at an off-balance Time Man, who proceeded to wince in pain. "DAAANG! I gotta say he's better than I thought. He managed to turn my power against me even when he didn't even have it!" Oil Man could admit.

His partner was unamused, though. "You idiot..."

Ever the kind one, Mega Man offered the two, "Don't worry, you two. Dr. Light was able to fix the other Robot Masters last time. I'm sure he could do the same for you." Things, however, soon took a shocking turn, when he felt a fist collide with his head. Turning to see the assailant, he was shocked to see who it was. DLN-00C. "Roller Brawl?! What are you doing?"

Grunting in frustration, Roller Brawl could only let out as she groaned in tension, "Wily...reprogrammed...me! Can't...not follow...his orders to...destroy you! You'll have to...take me down!"

Hearing this, Mega Man could only reply with determination in his tone, "NO! I'm not going hurt you! You're my sister, and I won't let you suffer like this!"

"You...don't have...a choice!" Roller Brawl could only state as she switched to the Ice Slasher, her hot pink and black armor color scheme switching to a blue and white one. Firing a wave of ice shards at Mega Man, the Blue Bomber could only try to resist by pulling out the Fire Storm to melt the ice. When she switched things by using the Thunder Beam, he used Super Arm to pull out part the floor to have the electricity destroy that instead. Finally, when she used the Hyper Bomb and threw three of them, he used Rolling Cutter to slice them to pieces.

When another Rolling Cutter suddenly hit him in the back of the head, he turned and could only say, "Oh no."

"You see, Mega Man? Time Man and Oil Man don't need any form of help from that doddering fool, Dr. Light! They're programmed to serve me!" Seeing the trajectory of the Rolling Cutter, Mega Man was horrified to look at the saucer and see all six of his other brothers now alongside Dr. Wily, each one sporting sadistic smirks. "JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER ROBOT MASTERS! AND YOUR LITTLE CYBORG SIDEKICK, TOO!"

Voice Cast:

Mega Man - Cole Howard

Cut Man - Elinor Holt

CWU-01P - Randall Weibe

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Ice Man - Zoe Slusar

Dr. Wily - Scott McNeil

Elec Man - Brendan Hunter

Guts Man - Garry Chalk

Fire Man - Roger Rhodes

Roslyn Krantz - Tara Strong

Gilbert D. Stern - Jeff Bennett

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Bomb Man - Ryan Stockert

Time Man - Keith Silverstein

Oil Man - Khary Payton

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Author's Note:

Now things have gotten worse. As per Wily custom, he's got innocent Robot Masters under his sway for his plans. Worse, he's got Roller Brawl under his sway, though she does seem to be trying to resist. Let's just hope Mega Man can save them and Roll!

I know I stated that I would finish with the ninth chapter of Ben 10: Reincario, but I've had other things on my plate. I've been helping my father with woodworking, and been doing some preparations for MCAT, so I've had a lot of time eaten away, and I've also been putting some time into Skylanders and Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Thankfully, I'll be able to dedicate my fanfic time to it after the next chapter and final one of this arc is released.

Next Time: Time Stops Slipping!

The heart-pounding conclusion! With 8 Robot Masters and the world's first cyborg Robot Master under his sway, Dr. Wily seems to have all the cards. But the Blue Bomber will not stop because of seemingly insurmountable odds! But will he be able to disable his brothers and sister? And what secrets is Dr. Wily hiding in all this?

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Time Stops Slipping

(#Issue 8)

The situation had rapidly turned against Roslyn Krantz and Mega Man, if the mad laughter of Dr. Wily meant anything. Not only had they played into Dr. Wily's hands, they had practically delivered all of Dr. Light's Robot Masters to him on a silver platter, including Roller Brawl who was as well-equipped as Mega Man.

"It looks like the Robot Masters aren't on our side anymore, Mega Man," Agent Krantz stated.

"What's going on?! Why are you turning against us now?" Mega Man questioned, disbelieving how Dr. Wily had managed to turn his brothers against him yet again, but now with the addition of his youngest sister.

"Aren't you the astute one! Agent Krantz, was it?" Dr. Wily taunted. "The Robot Masters are under my control once again!" Turning to Time Man and Oil Man, he continued, "Zhanks in part to the efforts of these two! With my genius, these Robot Masters that Dr. Light abandoned were finally completed ... und zhey turned the tide completely in my favor!" Looking towards Roll, his ranting went further. "You fools utterly fell for my little kidnapping scheme, just as I knew you would! Take a bow, Roll! You played your part of the bait perfectly!"

"I'm sorry for all this! Oil Man ambushed me!" Roll spoke up, not wishing to see her siblings being forced to fight again.

"You have two choices little Rock! Either surrender now or become part of the scrap heap!" Dr. Wily instructed.

"The name is Mega Man to you, Dr. Wily! And I won't give up!" Mega Man declared. Quickly seeing the situation, Mega Man told the federal agent, "I have a plan, Agent Krantz."

"I'm open to suggestions, right now!" Krantz replied.

Looking at his brothers and younger sister who were all making threatening poses, Mega Man explained, "Before we entered, the Robot Masters and Roller Brawl gave me all their Special Weapons. With all the power they gave me, it should give you enough time to rescue Roll."

Concerned that the odds weren't with Mega Man, Agent Krantz asked, "Are you sure you can handle all 7 of them at once? I don't like those odds."

"Actually..." Mega Man admitted, thinking back to when he saw the Copy Robot get sliced, electrocuted, burned, frozen, and blown to bits. "...I'm pretty sure I can't. I've already seen what happens when a robot like me goes up against all of their combined power." 'That's not even getting into the fact that Roller Brawl is actually trained in combat and knows how to use those claws of hers.' He added in his head. Shaking the pessimism, he retorted, "But I'm the only one with enough power to actually fight them all right now. So, please ... save Roll for me."

Gritting in frustration, Time Man asked his master, "Can we finish this now? We've wasted enough time listening to their meaningless prattle."

"Very well. They had their chance to beg for mercy. DESTROY THEM!" Dr. Wily ordered. If he bothered, he would've noticed Bomb Man and Cut Man snickering to each other.

"You're one brave little robot," Agent Krantz complimented. "I'll get Roll to safety and make sure that Dr. Light gets cleared of any wrongdoing."

"Thank you, Agent Krantz," Mega Man said, relief in his tone.

"Please, call me Rosie. I'm off on your mark," Agent Krantz replied.

"NOW!" Mega Man ordered as he swapped to the Ice Slasher. As she ran towards Roll, Mega Man unleashed a gust of freezing cold air at the feet of Guts Man and Elec Man, leaving them unable to get in Rosie's way.

"Just as good as they say, big brother," came the voice of Roller Brawl as Fire Man began to melt the ice that kept them stuck. "But let's hope that isn't all you got!" Switching to a grey and white color scheme, Roller Brawl tossed a Rolling Cutter at Mega Man. As the ceratanium blade flew towards him, Mega Man dodged the attack and swapped to the simple Mega Buster, blasting the scissors out of the air while charging a blast at Roller Brawl. Seeing this, she started to skate towards him in a serpentine motion, unsheathing the Leech Claws from her gauntlets. Dodging the charge shot, she lunged at the Blue Bomber with a war cry. Hearing this, he moved to the side to avoid getting drained, but she was relentless: a flurry of attacks kept him on his toes. Reluctantly, he switched the the Ice Slasher to bind her in place.

"I'm sorry, Roller Brawl. Hopefully, I'll be done with this soon so Dr. Light can fix your programming," Mega Man sadly said, looking at his adopted sister.

"That was pretty slick, I gotta say," Oil Man replied at the fight between the two siblings. Spraying globs of oil at Mega Man, he finished saying, "...but there ain't anyone more slick than me!"

Switching to Fire Storm, Mega Man angrily retorted, "We'll see how slick you are when I burn off all your-!" At this, fire started coming out of the buster, leading to the very flammable Robot Master cowering, knowing he was about to get burned. When he didn't get burned to a crisp, though, he saw that Time Man had intervened, freezing Mega Man in place before he could torch him.

"Whew! Thanks for dat nice save! They should call you Dramatic Time Man!" Oil Man gratefully replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"HMPH. I can only recharge my Time Slow so fast. But there's enough time to end this," Time Man stoically explained. Holding a hand at Mega Man's face, he probably to fire a point-blank energy sai. "Time's up for you, Mega Man." Much to his shock, though, he found Mega Man overcoming the Time Slow and dodging out of the way of the clock hand shaped sai. "IMPOSSIBLE!" Looking behind him, Time Man saw the cause: Elec Man radiating electricity from his body.

"Have you forgotten something? My static field affects your time manipulation powers, remember?" He tauntingly asked. Realizing that he'd been played, Time Man could only gape in shock as Elec Man continued. "And I'll continue to do so for the rest of the fight! Now then - Guts Man, if you please?"

Before he could do anything, Time Man felt a Super Arm-powered punch clock him in the face, sending him flying, hearing the gruff voice of Guts Man say, "OH YEAH! Now that's what I'd call 'punching the clock' for ya!" As this happened, Fire Man melted the ice trapping Roller Brawl, helping her stand up.

"What?" Mega Man asked in confusion as Cut Man pulled him up.

"It's an old expression meaning-" Cut Man began to explain, believing Mega Man was asking about the idiom.

"No. I mean, I thought that Dr. Wily managed to reprogram you into his servants once again," Mega Man clarified.

"He tried to, and we played along so we could set up this ambush," Cut Man began.

"After he reprogrammed the first time, Dr. Light installed special programming that made us tamper proof. If he wants our abilities, he'll need to make his own copies of us," Elec Man explained.

"And it was a good idea. Gotta be honest, when Elec Man told me about the plan, I didn't think it would work, but here we are!" Roller Brawl finished.

"Clever, Thomas," Dr. Wily grudgingly admitted. To sate his own confusion, he asked the question Mega Man had as well. "But that doesn't explain how you were able to resist the programming changes. How did he do it?"

"Well, there was a little something you wouldn't know about. A message that played after you turned me on that I only I could hear," Roller Brawl smiled as Dr. Wily sputtered in confusion. "But how 'bout I play it for ya?"

Dr. Light's Message

Hello Roller Brawl.

If you've received this message, than it seems that someone has altered your programming. Most likely, it's Dr. Wily who wants to use your skills against the innocent people of this world.

However, I won't let you fall into the hands of anyone else. After Dr. Wily reprogrammed my Robot Masters, I worked to make sure that their core personalities and alignment could never be tampered with. But I have only known you a short while, so what personality is yours is one I don't know.

That is why for you, I installed a unique program: the Brain Bypass Switch. Now, who you fight for is your choice and yours only. This switch will allow your organic brain to take complete control of your systems.

Though I have only known you a short while, I would not give you this power if I did not believe in you. You may be more brash and headstrong than Rock, but in your heart, I see the same drive for justice and heroism that I see in my son. Who you fight for and why you fight will ultimately be up to you, and I believe that it will be for the protection of the innocent that you will unsheathe your claws for.

"That's the gist of it. If my code is changed, my brain takes command, so I decide who I fight, where I fight, when I fight, and most importantly, why I fight! And my choice for why I'm fighting? It's to protect this new world," Roller Brawl finished after the message concluded.

"Very impressive," Dr. Wily grumbled, while Mega Man let out a sigh of relief that his sister was only pretending to be under Dr. Wily's control, while Cut Man and Elec Man smiled at Roller Brawl's dedication.

While this was going on, Guts Man was raring to continue wailing on Time Man. "You little coward! You can't fight your foes without making them prone first!" He angrily told Time Man as he leapt towards him. "I'll crush y-!" No more could be said as Time Man temporally froze Guts Man again.

"It's called being pragmatic, you oaf! I can still freeze you at close range!" Time Man said back. Before he could do anymore, a Rolling Cutter smacked him in the back of his head, distracting him long enough for Guts Man to fall unharmed.

"Sorry, but I'll be cutting your time short!" Cut Man cut in.

"YOU'RE NOT FUNNY!" Time Man replied, irritation bristling in every world he spat.

"Word! This ain't funny at all!" Oil Man agreed as he slid away from an onslaught of ice and explosives, courtesy of Ice Man and Bomb Man.

All the while this had happened, Rosie managed to reach Roll, and shot the chain holding her to the support beam to pieces. "Roll! I'm Agent Krantz. Are you hurt? Er, I mean, damaged?" She asked.

Falling but otherwise unharmed, Roll answered, "No, I'm fine. But-."

"GET AWAY FROM MY HOSTAGE!" Came the angry voice of Dr. Wily. A turret came from the bottom of his saucer, taking aim at the two of them.

"WATCH OUT!" Roslyn cried out as she tackled Roll to the ground just before the turret could hit her. As Roll screamed in fear, Roslyn assured her, "I got you!"

Taking aim at the turret while Roll cowered down, Roslyn shot at the turret, eventually managing to get one good shot that destroyed it. "NO!" came the reply of Dr. Wily.

As this happened, Time Man, fed up with Cut Man's puns, used the Time Slow on him. "Let's see you crack any more of this stupid puns of yours!" If he had bothered to notice, Elec Man was running behind him, and unleashed powerful lightning into him.

"Like you're one to talk of overusing puns, yourself! I told you I'd keep you in check!" Elec Man reminded him as he was sent flying.

Meanwhile, Ice Man had frozen the floor near Oil Man, and worked alongside Bomb Man to get ready to take him down. "Let's see surf on this!" Ice Man taunted.

"Challenge accepted!" Oil Man began to spray oil on the ice, but instead of slipping onto his butt like they thought he would, he instead leapt off the oil and kicked them both in the face. "Watch me!" However, Oil Man forgot about Robot Master number 6, giving a hot reminder as fire torched his backside.

"Sorry, but ain't nothin' more flammable than oil, pardner!" Fire Man said as he stopped spraying flames.

"Roll! Roller Brawl! Are you all okay?" Mega Man happily asked as he embraced his sisters in a hug.

"Right as rain, Blue Bomber! Not that the concern isn't appreciated!" Roller Brawl joyfully answered.

"I'm OK as well. Agent Krantz saved me!" Roll agreed.

"What happened to needing to use all the powers you copied?" Roslyn asked.

"I don't think we'll need them. The Robot Masters are doing fine on their own," As the four talked, fire, electricity, bombs, ice, cutters, clock hand shaped sai, and oil were flying everywhere.

Roll began, "Then maybe..." While Mega Man and Roller Brawl looked at the scene, Agent Krantz face-palmed as the two forgot something critical. Seeing that she'd need to beat it into their heads, Roll literally did so soon enough. "...You two should take care of Dr. Wily while his minions are busy!"

"Oh yeah! How'd I forget him?" Roller Brawl asked as she armed the Brawl Cannon.

"Stay back where it's safe, Roll!" Mega Man ordered as he readied the Mega Buster. "It looks like we're gonna need the powers we copied after all!"

Seeing this, Roslyn readied herself. "Lead the way! I've got you covered."

While Fire Man and Elec Man kept Oil Man and Time Man on their knees, the three dashed forward with Mega Man leading the charge. "Hold it right there, Dr. Wily!" With Roller Brawl puncturing the front of the saucer with a shot from the Brawl Cannon, Mega Man finished it off by sending a charged Mega Buster shot through the saucer, leading it crashing to the ground, Dr. Wily still proudly standing atop it. "Surrender!" No one noticed the knowing look on the faces of Time Man and Oil Man.

"Well, I must say that I'm very impressed by zhe performance of the Robot Masters!" Dr. Wily smirked as the three climbed up the remains of the saucer. "Some of you are especially remarkable," He continued as he looked at the other Robot Masters.

"That's nice, but you're still comin' with us!" Roller Brawl declared as she pointed the Mega Buster at Dr. Wily.

"It's no use, Roller Brawl," Agent Krantz realized as she put her hand in Dr. Wily's chest. "It's a decoy!" Everyone saw that 'Dr. Wily' was really nothing more than a hologram.

"Don't look so glum, Agent Krantz. You never would've figured it out. I am a genius after all!" The hologram of Dr. Wily taunted.

"HAHAHAHA! Booyah! You got 'em good, man! That saucer was nothin' more than a hologram projector with a turret inside! There ain't even an engine inside!" Oil Man laughed as he saw the shocked look on everyone's faces.

"I..I never even saw him make the switch..." Roll wondered in confusion as Mega Man shook his fists in frustration.

"I was already long gone by the time you fools even got here! Once you were destroyed, I was going to teleport all of the reprogrammed Robot Masters and Dr. Light's little Skylander cyborg to me! I may have lost the main crux of my army, but I still get to see you flustered by my own genius!" Dr. Wily said from the real saucer, flying far away.

It was then Roller Brawl realized something. "Dr. Wily? How do you that I'm a Skylander?"

Realizing what he'd said, Dr. Wily froze up. "Did...did I say zhat out loud?"

"Yeah, you did! Only Dr. Light and the Robot Masters know I'm a Skylander, so how do you know that?!" Roller Brawl asked, shocked at Dr. Wily's knowledge of her past.

Seeing this, an evil grin came across the hologram. "So, you're sharper than I gave you credit for. You really are remarkable. Now I see why Kaos was so worried about you!"

Hearing the name of Skylands' most wanted Dark Portal Master, the shocked look on Roller Brawl's face continued to grow. "How the heck-! I just-! HOW THE HECK DO YOU KAOS?! THE MOST WANTED CRIMINAL IN ALL OF SKYLANDS?!"

"Vell, I suppose you're entitled to an explanation. Tell me. Did you ever wonder how someone as dunderheaded as Kaos managed to build such a magnificent machine as the idiotically named Doomstation of Ultimate Doomstruction?" Dr. Wily asked. "It was me who came up with the plans! During my initial attack on zhe world, I recieved a message from a certain someone. Kaos asked me for some help. He needed to find a way to convert matter into magic so he could maximize the output, so he asked if I could do something. At the time, Mega Man had been giving me a rather nasty headache in his resistance against my conquest, so I figured something like this would be a pleasant distraction. Scientific work. I worked on the design for some time, but I was eventually able to complete it. But then, in a flash, the small prototype I made was whisked away, my room cleared as if nothing had happened. It wasn't until later that he replied to me, and told me what he'd done. And zhat I should keep an eye out if any other Skylanders arrived on Earth."

"So that means... YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME!" Roller Brawl screamed as tears streamed from her eyes. "YOU'RE WHY MY HOME IS GONE!"

"Gone? No, not quite," Dr. Wily continued. "Let's just say that the Darkness, powered up by all that magic, including that of the Core of Light, was able to reconstruct Skylands in his own image. It was never destroyed. It's just been altered quite a bit from how you remember it. The only real casualties of that implosion were the ones they wanted gone: the Skylanders! Oh, and Kaos is now the emperor of Skylands like he always wanted."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! MY FRIENDS, MY FAMILY, MY HOME, MY BODY! I LOST THEM ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" Roller Brawl continued to wail in grief, despair, and fury as she continued crying rivers of tears.

"I suppose. But in fairness, I didn't even know who you were. I honestly thought the whole thing was nothing more than a dream due to my addled mind. It wasn't until later that I found out that the dream was real, and that my work had been used in that manner. Of course, Kaos did pay me handsomely. Right, Time Man?" Dr. Wily asked.

"Indeed. Several coins of gold were in that container I gave you. Enough to fund your operations for a good while," Time Man revealed.

"True. But he also gave me access to another kind of minion I could use to destroy you two twerps. With these words before I sign out, I'll show you! EVIL ARMORED DRAGON, ATTACK!" Those were the last words said as the hologram shut off. Soon, in a flash of orange light came something unlike anything Mega Man had seen before. Where the light was now stood a black and orange dragon wearing mechanical armor that covered its tail, eyes, head, back, and wings. To Roller Brawl, though, it was much worse. What came out of the beast's eyes only worsened the feeling she had.

"AGENT KRANTZ! GET BACK!" She instructed the agent, who, seeing the fear in her eyes, did as she was asked. It was just the right time, as lasers fired out of the dragon's eyes, creating an explosion that sent the two flying. Afterwards, what came out of the dragon's mouth confirmed her fears.

BGM: "Iris" Mega Man X4

"Blink and destroy!" The dragon announced in a deep, modulated voice. That was when Roller Brawl knew what it was. An evil copy of the Tech dragon Skylander and her old brother-in-arms, the young genius dragon Drobot.

"No. No!" Roller Brawl wept as she began to fight the clone of her brother-in-arms. Seeing that another fight was coming, Mega Man leapt to his sister aid. This fight, though, was much harder, as it was revealed that, being a dragon, the Evil Armored Dragon could fly, allowing him to avoid the Mega Buster and Brawl Cannon shots. All the while, the armored dragon continued firing lasers at the two of them. Shifting to Hyper Bomb, Mega Man began to toss bombs at the dragon, but with his jet propulsion, the Drobot clone was easily able to outmaneuver the explosions.

"Why? WHY? WHY?!" Roller Brawl cried as she swapped to the Rolling Cutter. Hurling one at the dragon, she realized her mistake when, instead of blasting it like she though, he instead launched a pair of gears, knocking the cutter off its path. It wasn't the real Drobot, she knew, but it was still the first Skylander she'd seen in a while. Here she was, though, not reuniting with him, but fighting it as if he were Spellslamzer or Mesmeralda or Nightshade. "Why are we fighting?!"

"You are a Skylander, and thus an enemy of the Darkness. Dr. Wily and Kaos are my masters and servants of the Darkness, and I will not permit you to get in their way," the Evil Armored Dragon replied in a monotone voice.

"So there isn't a way I can convince you to defect, is there?" Roller Brawl asked with despair in her voice.

"Affirmative. My loyalties are to the Darkness and the glory of Kaos and Dr. Wily!" It declared. Collapsing to her knees, she just felt helpless. 'Wait. There is a weakness!'

"Rock," She said softly. As Mega Man looked to his crying sister, pain shot through his heart at her grief. "He's a Tech Skylander. They're weak to Earth Skylanders. Use the Super Arm."

"A-Are you sure?" He replied gently. "It's not the original but-."

"But nothing. That's not my friend. Take him down." Roller Brawl sadly retorted. Hearing this, he reluctantly switched to the Super Arm and ripped a piece of concrete from the ground. Tossing it at the armored dragon, he heard it scream in pain. Afterwards, the clone burst into a number of orbs that quickly flew up.

BGM End

Hearing the deed, Roller Brawl knew what happened. 'It's over. We won. But still. Dr. Wily destroyed my home. THAT SON OF A-!' Roller Brawl thought to herself before getting up with a primal scream of fury. Running to the projector, she unsheathed her Leech Claw and began stabbing into it and slashing it, her eyes filled with rage.

Quickly grasping the furious Roller Brawl, Agent Krantz reminded her, "Whoa! Hold it! That projector is something we need to clear Dr. Light's name!"

At this, the dam of feelings in Roller Brawl broke. She just slumped down, softly weeping. With Fire Man gently lifting her up like she'd ran a marathon, Guts Man softly reminded them about Dr. Wily's escape. "Let the doctor run like the coward he is. We won the fight!"

'Yeah. We did, but at what cost?' Mega Man morosely wondered as he looked at the broken stance Roller Brawl collapsed to. Ever the responsible one, though, Elec Man reminded them of what happened. "Yeah. Good work all of you. A fine job from each of you."

Deciding to look at the positive, Mega Man cracked a smile and looked to his brother. "Well, you guys handled it really well. You looked so cool!"

Proudly smiling at the compliment, Elec Man replied, "Well of course I did!"

"Whatever. I'm just glad you're safe Roll," Ice Man said as he looked towards Roll, a blush on his face.

"Um...thanks, Ice Man. It was really nice of all of you to come rescue me," Roll replied with some confusion.

"Hear that? She's thanking all of us!" Cut Man playfully taunted.

Ice Man didn't take it well, grumbling, "I heard her! No need to rub it in!"

While Roll watched the scene with puzzlement, Roslyn gave a call to her partner. "Hey Gil. It's over. The hostage is safe now, but the big fish got away. Bring in a big clean up crew and some inhibitor collars."

Outside, a handcuffed Time Man had been held at busterpoint as Mega Man forced him to move while Roller Brawl followed him glumly. Once the inhibitor collars were placed on Dr. Wily's two Robot Masters and disabled their Special Weapons, the two glowered at Mega Man, who assured them, "Don't worry, you guys. Once the federal agents are done with their investigation, Dr. Light will be able to reprogram you to be good."

"Actually kid, dis van's headed straight for Light Labs," The brusk voice of Agent Stern stated behind Mega Man.

"Really? Is Dr. Light free to come home?" Mega Man asked, Roller Brawl beginning to lighten up. After the pain of seeing Roller Brawl being forced to fight a copy of her old friend and fight him as well, some good news was much appreciated.

"Yeah. The doc's been cleared of any wrongdoing. 'Sides, I don't think our tech boys could do much with these guys anyway," Agent Stern stated.

"Rock!" Dr. Light called out.

"Dr. Light! I was so worried about you!" Mega Man said as he and Roller Brawl leapt into his father's arms.

"It's so good to see you again!" Roller Brawl cried without shame as she dug into her adoptive father's embrace.

"I was worried about you two and your sister! Where's Roll?" Dr. Light wondered.

As he watched the scene, Gilbert could only admit, "That's actually kinda sweet. Creepy, but still kinda sweet."

Elbowing her partner's side, Agent Krantz jokingly scolded, "Be nice, Gil."

Answering his father, Mega Man replied, "She's still inside, helping the authorities organize the evidence."

"That's my girl!" Dr. Light said with pride in his voice.

"So Agent Stern... I guess you can trust me, Mega Man and Dr. Light now?" Roller Brawl asked.

"No," Agent Stern bluntly answered. As he put on his fedora, he quickly continued, "But I don't trust anyone. You two did good, kids." Hearing this Roller Brawl thought to herself, 'At least he didn't call me Robo Peep.'

"I don't understand," Mega Man spoke her thoughts.

"Trust me, you two got high praise from that old fogey. Roller Brawl, Mega Man? You two proved yourselves real heroes tonight," Roslyn explained. "Thanks for all your help."

As the reunited family walked outside Light Labs, it was then that Roller Brawl got a tap on her shoulder. Looking behind her, Roller Brawl saw that it was Roll who had gotten her attention. Gesturing to move aside, the pink-haired cyborg followed the robotic blonde to the side of the house.

"What do you want?" Roller Brawl bluntly asked.

"Well, a few things. First, I wanted to apologize to you about earlier. I was just mad that my hair was set on fire, you know. But I didn't mean to take it out on you when you were clearly innocent. For that, I'm sorry," Roll began.

"Trust me, after you got kidnapped, it wouldn't be fair for me to keep holding it against ya," Roller Brawl reassured her.

"Okay, good. But I also wanted to talk about what happened in the fight against that dragon Dr. Wily somehow conjured," Roll revealed.

"That? That was one of Kaos' Darklanders of Doom. Evil clones of the Skylanders meant to do his bidding as enforcers. It was nothing, really," Roller Brawl quickly stated, trying to avoid talking about that fight.

"It didn't look like nothing. Please, be honest with me," Roll pressed on, worried about her adoptive sister. "If you're worried if anyone else will hear, it's just us. Please, I want to help you!"

"I told you, I'm fine!" Roller Brawl shouted, growing frustrated. "Will you shut up?!"

"Roller Brawl, please," Roll softly pleaded, seeing the tears building in her sister's eyes. "You're not fine. That fight did more than just physical damage, didn't it?"

After a few more grunts of frustration, Roller Brawl let out a loud yell as she felt her emotions boil over. "Alright, alright, fine! Do you have any idea what it was like? I thought that it was just Kaos having a rare moment of intelligence, but now it turns out that Dr. Wily helped him make that gosh-darn Sky Eater! The same machine that wrecked my home! I lost everything when the Sky Eater attacked, and on top of finding all that out, I have to be like Mega Man and fight my old brother-in-arms!" Roller Brawl ranted as she began to shake. Tears began to stream from her eyes as she continued on. "It hurts, you know? Having to fight against someone who you would've fought alongside for two years! I just felt completely shattered, like if I found out Kaos had ordered my brothers to be executed. When I saw that evil copy of my friend, it just brought those wounds back to the surface, and hearing him praise the source of all evil in our home was just the worst! It just reminded me that I was alone in this world! I'm a piece from another puzzle tossed away!"

Seeing Roller Brawl slump down once and crying, Roll scooped her up in an embrace and stroked her back. "That's not true, Roller Brawl. It's not true at all! You're not alone in this world. You have Dr. Light, Rock, me, and the other Robot Masters. I don't care that you were organic once, or that Dr. Light made you later! You're still my friend, my family, and my sister! One I'm incredibly proud of, since I doubt many could stand strong after going through your experiences." Hearing this, Roller Brawl's eyes widened at the pride in the voice of the housekeeping robot who'd become her sister.

"Y-y-you're being honest, right?" Roller Brawl asked as her sobs began fading.

"I am, Roller Brawl. I am, I promise," Roll gently reassured her sister.

Finally leaning into and hugging Roll back, Roller Brawl softly replied, "Thank you, thank you." At this, a small smile began to form across her face, and her tears began to subside. They stayed outside for what felt like forever, but in that time, Roller Brawl felt more at home than she had even on her new birthday.

A few days later, Rock, Roll, Dr. Light, and Roller Brawl were continuing their work on Time Man and Oil Man, fixing them up and reprogramming them to be useful workers of society. Just as a precaution, the two had been strapped by metal cuffs on the table in the event some lingering bits of Wily's code remained when they activated.

"This is more like it. I like repairing robots more than fighting them!" Rock happily said as he took a box of parts to a nearby table.

"It's not my cup of tea, but after everything that's happened, I can see why you prefer this," Roller Brawl answered as she helped Roll refill Oil Man's tanks.

"It's reassuring to hear that from the both of you, but unfortunately ... I think you'll both have to don your armor again soon. Albert is still at large, and if what you two said is true, he may have the funding to start building his own Robot Masters at some point," Dr. Light morosely mused as he took a screwdriver handed to him by Rock.

"I know, and while I know Roller Brawl will be ready to fight him if it comes to that, I'll still fight to help everyone. I just hate leaving you shorthanded at the lab, though," Rock answered back.

"It's not a problem. I can always build more helper robots, and I think my student Auto wouldn't mind splitting time between his repair shop and here," Dr. Light reassured his son. "In fact, I think you two are going to need the extra help. I have a number of design ideas for devices and support units to help you two to help you should Dr. Wily ever rear his ugly ambitions to the world once again."

"Really? New robots?!" Rock asked in wonder.

"You're not going to make us obsolete, though, are you?" Roll worried.

Taking off his goggles, he quickly embraced Rock and Roll, telling them, "Never. You two are my children, and no other creation could ever be more precious to me." Seeing Roller Brawl awkwardly standing to the side, he ran to her and embraced her, assuring, "That includes you too, Roller Brawl. I may not have been your creator in the strictest sense, but you'll still be as dear to me as my two other children." Snuggling into the embrace, Roller Brawl let out a small tear of joy, as Rock and Roll ran over to join the hug.

Unaware that up above, a robot with grey and red armor with a brown pompadour was looking at the happy scene with a frown. Seeing this scene, he leapt away, grumbling.

The figure leapt from building to building, which caught the attention of 4 people and their dog.

"Who was that guy?" One of the girls asked. Her hair was purple, and she wore spiked wrist bands and a choker.

"Don't look at me. I don't know him, Cynder," The only boy of the group replied. His hair was a vivid orange, contrasting against his pale skin, covered by similarly orange shorts and t-shirt. At this, he gave a flurry of giggles.

"Calm down, Trigger Happy. Isn't that the place where Light Labs is?" Another girl wondered, her hair was a silvery white, and her attire was light blue, with a rainbow-colored collar.

"Honestly, I hope we get there soon, Whirlwind. I'm starving!" The dog suddenly complained. He was similarly in shape to a Foo Dog, but his fur was red and yellow.

"Be quiet Hot Dog, you remember the dogs of this world don't talk, right?" The final girl of the group scolded Hot Dog. She was the most uniquely, having black hair styled into twin horns, and her pale skin stood out among her mostly black attire.

Following the leaps of the stranger, they found themselves outside Light Labs. As they gathered outside, it was decided that the girl with horned hair would be the one to knock. Doing so, they were greeted with the face of Roller Brawl's new body. "Hello? Can I hel-? Hex?! Is that you?! And is that...? Cynder? Trigger Happy? Whirlwind? Hot Dog?"

Seeing that the vampiress still recognized them, Whirlwind teared up. "It...it really is you, Roller Brawl!"

While Roller Brawl reunited with some of the remaining Skylanders, Dr. Wily had made it to his new headquarters. Designed identically to his first hideout, it was still very much a work in progress, with Picket Men helping in the construction and Bunby Helis helping to move building materials.

Growling, Dr. Wily began a new rant. "Well played, Dr. Light. You've robbed me of my rightfully earned glory yet again. I should've been the top of our class. I should have been the one on that stage, unveiling my Robot Masters. I should have the world in the palm of my hand!" Entering a pair of doors labelled "Lab 02", he finished, saying, "Most of all, I should be ruling the world from this castle, not using it as a hideout!" Behind him stood another Evil Armored Dragon, but accompanying him was an orange skinned woman clad in black armor and with black hair wielding a massive orange open-end wrench.

Finally getting to work, Dr. Wily began looking over the designs of the six original Robot Masters Dr. Light unveiled. Behind him, a giant fan and blue body were held up by chains. 'Keep your Robot Masters. They were flawed by your input anyway. I shall build better ones!' Working on the helmets of his newest creations, he continued his thoughts. 'The powers you invented? I shall perfect them!' Afterwards, he got to work modifying the Rolling Cutter into something more easily usable as a throwing weapon, namely a discus instead of a pair of scissors. 'Like I wanted to do while you suggested to give robots independent thought processes, I will push zhe limitations of robots beyond your wildest dreams, and give them unstoppable power and insurmountable speed!' Looking at a log of Japanese Cypress he had freshly cut, he took a drink while holding a chainsaw. 'And I'll make sure that I'll account for your precious Mega Man as well as that Skylander turned cyborg Roller Brawl!'

Wiping his brow after he finished his work, Dr. Wily finally said after days of silence, "It's time to see who zhe real genius is, Thomas and put our Robot Masters to the test!"

At this, 8 new Robot Masters had been revealed: one looking more like a walking log, one resembling a Zippo lighter, one that was basically a giant fan with arms and legs, one resembling a scuba diver, one with sharp boomerangs on his chest and helmet, one with drills for hands, one in blue and yellow armor, and one with a sawblade on his helmet and forming his shoulder joints.

Voice Cast:

Roslyn Krantz - Tara Strong

Mega Man - Cole Howard

Dr. Wily - Scott McNeil

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Time Man - Keith Silverstein

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Oil Man - Khary Payton

Elec Man - Brendan Hunter

Guts Man - Garry Chalk

Cut Man - Elinor Holt

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Ice Man - Zoe Slusar

Fire Man - Roger Rhodes

Evil Armored Dragon - Alex Ness

Gilbert D. Stern - Jeff Bennett

Cynder - Tobie LaSalandra

Trigger Happy - Dave Wittenberg

Whirlwind - Salli Saffioti

Hot Dog - Carlos Alazraqui

Hex - Courtenay Taylor

Author's Note:

And this is the final chapter for the first real arc of this story, and this was where Sole Survivor ended, and the next chapter is the beginning of Healing Wounds. Roll's been rescued, Dr. Light's name has been cleared, and Roll, Rock, Dr. Light and Roller Brawl have also been able to establish themselves as a full family, and the first three have proven that they accept the former Skylander as one of their own. Better yet, it looks like there were some surviving Skylanders, and Roller Brawl has finally been able to meet them.

Sadly, it's not all kittens and rainbows. Dr. Wily revealed that he's an agent of Kaos and was behind the plans of the Sky Eater, and is thus responsible for the state of Skylands. Now Kaos rules over Skylands with an iron fist, and has altered it to his whims with the help of the Darkness, who has also become empowered by the Core of Light. Plus, now he has eight new Robot Masters all raring for Mega Man and Roller Brawl's heads.

Anyways, I want to discuss what comes next. So following this, we'll have the Mega Man 2 arc, and most of the events of the comic series will proceed as they did before. There is one exception though, and it does link to what XandyFlare did. Healing Wounds was pretty much cancelled and taken down around the time "Worlds Collide" began, and I did not like what XandyFlare did. Alongside crossing Mega Man and Skylanders with Sonic the Hedgehog, they also tossed My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic into the mix. I have nothing against MLP:FiM (if you see my favorite stories, I do have some stories from MLP:FiM), but I did not think it was such a good idea to have four series combined with one another, and, this is more in hindsight, that wouldn't get into the clusterfuck that would be "Worlds Unite": we'd be having the combined franchises of Sega (Sonic the Hedgehog, Bayonetta, Alex Rider, etc.), Capcom (Mega Man, Devil May Cry, Street Fighter, etc.), Activision (Skylanders, Crash Bandicoot, Call of Duty, etc.), and Hasbro (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Transformers, G.I. Joe, etc.) all in one, and that's WAY too many series for me to handle. Besides, the villain they used to represent MLP was Starlight Glimmer (keep in mind this was before Skylanders: Imaginators so MLP:FiM was in its fifth season, and she was a villain, not a hero), and given that she became Twilight Sparkle's progeny afterwards, I don't think such is a good idea to keep it as it was in the original work. So instead, I'll be doing something entirely different: the title will still be "Worlds Collide", but it'll instead teleport our heroes to the altered Skylands, and have them start up a new revolution. This will be a secondary plotline, but it will still be important in the character development of Roller Brawl, and will have its claws in the main plot as well, taking place in Mega Man's world. As such, Dr. Eggman and Starlight Glimmer will not be making any appearances in the story. I'll go over what happens to other events like "Dawn of X" and "Worlds Unite" when we get to those points. For now, though, this story will take a break so I can focus on the other stories.

One last thing, I think it's somewhat obvious who I'll be shipping Roller Brawl with, so I might as well just say it. Roller Brawl will be shipped with Quick Man. In the original story, she was first paired with Mega Man, but he eventually moved aside to Quick Man. Since here the two hold a more regular sibling relationship, Mega Man will not be shipped with Roller Brawl, but rather play the protective big brother role in her relationship with Quick Man.

Next Time: Dr. Wily's Revenge! Bubble! Boil!

After stopping Dr. Wily and finally getting a chance to rest, Mega Man has set aside the Mega Buster and just turned back to Rock, the simple robotic assistant to Dr. Light. Alongside that, a group of former Skylanders have also begun the process to be reformatted into a new set of defenders: the Sky-borgs. However, when a new Robot Master named Quick Man breaks up the party (and gains a crush on Roller Brawl), Rock is forced to become Mega Man once again. However, with these Robot Masters made for combat and not domestic use, the battles have only become much more difficult for Mega Man and Roller Brawl.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Dr. Wily's Revenge! Bubble! Boil !

(#Issue 9)

"To Mega Man! For his selfless service to all of mankind! May his days of fighting be over!" Dr. Light announced as he lifted his soda can.

"For Mega Man!" Roll, Roller Brawl, and Dr. Light's visiting student Auto replied, clinking their E-Tanks in a toast. Auto was a rather portly robot made mostly of green metal, and having red eyes and bolts on his head. Instead of a hand to end his right arm, he instead had a blowtorch attached instead.

"Thanks everyone!" Rock answered in turn. With that, confetti spilled from a number of containers above them all, and so too did balloons.

"Are you sure about this, Rock? You were so cool as Mega Man!" Auto wondered aloud as he struggled to hold an E-tank.

"Thanks Auto, but I'm sure about this. Dr. Light built me to build robots, not blast them," Rock countered.

"But you were awesome as Mega Man! With a 'pew-pew' here and a 'blammo' there! You were the Mega Man of the hour!" Auto fanboyed.

"Nuh-uh! He was brave and strong, but now he'll be staying with us where it's safe!" Roll playfully countered as she hugged her brother. "Besides, I'm certain Roller Brawl could pick up the slack. And that's not getting into the Sky-Borgs once they're ready."

"Yeah! Trust me Auto! You don't gotta worry. I can keep Mega City safe!" Roller Brawl giggled in agreement as she skated to Auto and flicked his back. "The Blue Bomber may have retired, but the Pink Pugilist is here!"

"Maybe tone down the ego a bit, RB? But I can't argue with it being nice for things being quiet around here again," Rock chided.

"Come on Doc! You gotta program some sense into the boy! He's going to give up a promising career as a superhero!" Auto begged Dr. Light.

"Sorry, Auto, but I'm in absolute agreement with Rock. Don't doubt that I'm proud of Rock for his bravery and all his accomplishments, but I'm quite ready to have my boy safe at home. Roller Brawl, after all, was trained in combat and has the experience advantage with her saving the world twice before, so I don't doubt she could take Rock's place if push comes to shove. And while I may have been a bit hesitant to perform the procedure I did with Roller Brawl for the rest of her friends, the fact that they're more experienced than she certainly means that when they're ready, Dr. Wily shouldn't pose too much of a threat," Dr. Light responded.

Fuming, Auto replied as he crossed his arms, "Fine. But just know this! If Dr. Wily attacks in a skull plane with skull missiles and takes over the world from his Skull Castle, the first thing I'm gonna tell you is 'I told you so!'."

With the other four guffawing at Auto's rant, Roll replied as she took the empty cans from the others, "Actually, thanks to Roller Brawl, Dr. Light feels that Dr. Wily shouldn't be that much of a threat!"

"To no one but a few, himself included," Dr. Light explained. "Dr. Wily made only a few select designs without assistance. All of his actual villainy came from completed designs that we worked on together. Without Light Labs backing him, even with the funds Kaos may have given him, he shouldn't be able to pose too much of a threat."

"Even if he managed to come out of hiding and try to pull something, Roller Brawl should be able to take care of them and leave him for the police!" Roll concluded.

As he ruffled his daughter's hair, Dr. Light said, "Exactly. I'm sure we've seen the last of my old ... friend." One didn't need to be a Robot Master designated as Therapy Man to hear the pain in his voice.

"Well...then what about me?!" Auto asked. "I just got back here! If you're gonna be Dr. Light's assistant in the lab, then what am I supposed to do?"

"You always have your shop, you know?" Roller Brawl pointed out.

"Besides, even if I'm here full-time, you'll always have a place here!" Rock assured Auto.

"Give up on trying to convince him you two. Auto's just being a fan-bot," Roll joked as everyone but Auto laughed. Auto didn't find any humor, though, since he was exuding smoke like a locomotive.

The laughing stopped when another laugh came in; one they didn't recognize. "HA HA HA! Yeah. What a laugh!"

As everyone scurried about in confusion, a new Robot Master suddenly showed himself, one none had seen before. This one had a red helmet, lower legs, chest, and forearms, black upper arms and abdomen, and yellow boomerangs on his helmet similar to a samurai's kabuto and chest. There was also a launcher on his right arm. "To think a wimp like you could beat Dr. Wily at all!"

As the newcomer suddenly punched Rock in the face, Auto sputtered, "HEY! You can't-!" In the blink of an eye, though, the stranger kicked Rock as he flew from the earlier punch and released two giant boomerangs that pinned him to the wall. "-do that-!" This was followed by the stranger sliding Roll of her feet and then pushing her into Dr. Light, forcing them to sit in a nearby chair. "-that to Mega Man!"

At this, the stranger elbowed Auto in the head, knocking Dr. Light's student dizzy. "That's enough commentary from the peanut gallery. Now, do I have your attention?"

"You got mine, buddy!" A familiar voice rang as the stranger was suddenly blasted by a pink energy blast. Roller Brawl had seized the opportunity to quickly reequip into her battle armor, and her smoking Brawl Cannon indicated her actions. "Now, tell me what you want before I blast you to bits!"

The stranger's eyes quickly widened as he stared at Roller Brawl. She had just reequipped, so there was still a bit of steam emitting from her that almost seemed to sparkle. This highlighted her pink eyes and hair greatly, and she certainly was a looker. "Well, since you asked so nicely, Roller Brawl, I'll tell ya! I'm here to tell announce that my creator, the brilliant scientist Dr. Wily, has returned. It may be rather sudden for you, but you and the city, not to mention the rest of the world, are going to pay for his past embarrassments!" As he walked up to Rock, he pinched the Blue Bomber's cheek as he continued. "My seven brothers stand ready to reduce all of Mega City to nothing more than rubble in six hours. That is unless both bwave wittle Mega Man and the beautiful Roller Brawl can stop us!" As he walked away while Auto regained consciousness, he concluded. "And just Mega Man and Roller Brawl. If the authorities are alerted, or if there is any attempt at evacuation, we'll be starting early! I'll give you an hour for you to find me in the hydroelectric plant. That should more than enough time for someone as slow as you Mega Man, but I don't doubt Roller Brawl could make it."

As the stranger sped off after winking at Roller Brawl, confusion permeated the room. Roller Brawl, returning her arm to normal, quickly gagged. "Seriously?! What is it with evildoers who like me and threatening my brothers?"

Her musings of her love life were quickly interrupted as Auto grunted in effort as he tried to pull out one of the boomerangs that was trapping Rock. "Hold on, Rock! I'll get you down!"

With Roller Brawl quickly joining, Rock said as he puffed his cheeks, "Thank you, guys."

"Are you damaged, Roll?" Dr. Light asked his daughter.

"I-I-I'm fine," Roll said as she briefly wobbled. "But...I thought Dr. Wily couldn't build any more Robot Masters!"

"I...I know Kaos gave Dr. Wily the funds to help in the gathering of resources, but even then, he shouldn't have been able to build more Robot Masters, let alone eight of them, in rapid succession," Dr. Light pondered aloud.

"I'm willin' to bet that he got help. I know Kaos gave Dr. Wily the ability to summon Darklanders, so I'm guessing that he probably asked the Darklander versions of Drobot and Sprocket to assist him. Those two were some of the biggest eggheads and mechanics among us," Roller Brawl suggested.

"You may be right, Roller Brawl, but that's just a theory we can try and prove later. Right now, we have a serious situation on our hands. We beat Dr. Wily before, and we can do it again. We won't let him get away with attacking us or our family!" Rock confidently answered.

Seeing the return of Mega Man, Auto cheered, "WOO! Looks like Mega Man is needed after all!" Hearing Roller Brawl grumpily clear her throat, he sheepishly added, "A-and Roller Brawl, too."

"This time will be different though, Rock. The Robot Masters Dr. Wily stole previously were all meant for working purposes. I have little doubt that Dr. Wily would have built these Robot Masters to be designed with combat - and combating you and Roller Brawl - at their core," Dr. Light warned. "Why would he call you two like this? This feels far too brazen for him, and I'm finding it incredibly similar to when he kidnapped Roll the last time." Reminded of this, Roll shuddered as memories of her kidnapping came back.

"Ya know, I can definitely see it being a trap," Roller Brawl admitted. "I don't know what he's got planned, bro, but if he built his Robot Masters like that creep, simply you having him fight his new toys can't be all there is to it."

"I know. But if we don't do anything now, then everyone in the city is in danger. I know you won't be sitting around, and I have to help," Rock acknowledged.

"Hey! I wasn't planning on sittin' down. I'm coming with you. Two Robot Masters are better than one!" Roller Brawl said as she gave a toothy grin.

"My brave children," Dr. Light said with proud tears in his eyes. "Albert couldn't hope to create anything like you two."

"You sure you're okay, Rock?" Roll asked in concern.

Quickly twisting his arm, Rock answered, "I'm okay...just a few dents, but nothing too bad."

Handing his helmet to Rock like a servant giving a king his crown, Auto prostrated and said, "Your helmet, sir!"

As Rock put on his helmet and donned the identity of Mega Man, Dr. Light quickly put on a headset. "I'll monitor you both from here, and I'll have Roll and Auto finish the Sky-Borgs and some support equipment for the both of you."

"Thanks, Dr. Light," the two siblings said.

"I've uploaded the plant's coordinates. Ready to teleport?" Dr. Light asked as Roll sadly waved to her brother and sister.

"Ready. Let's do this!" Mega Man replied as he waved to his sister.

"Yeah. Let's roll!" Roller Brawl said as she winked.

As the two teleported to the hydroelectric plant, the red Robot Master from before was watching them arrive. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Just as we thought. You really are a child, Mega Man." Watching Roller Brawl, he felt his heart flutter as she swiftly sliced through a frog-like Kerog. "But you're as lovely as ever, Roller Brawl! This'll be..."

Any attempts at going gaga over the former vampiress were halted when the static of the communicator within the Robot Master's head rang, identifying him. "Quick Man!"

Grumbling, Quick Man answered, "Yes, sir?"

"Did you forget your job? You were only supposed to lure them to Bubble Man's sector..." Dr. Wily began.

"Which I did. Thank you very much!" Quick Man retorted.

"...and then return to your sector and finish securing the area!"

"Really? You base me on Elec Man's schematics, upgrade those so I'm even faster, and you don't want me to finish the job? What if those two beat Bubble Man?" Quick Man argued as he watched them wreck Crabbot after Crabbot before diving in to face the Shrink and Ankos.

"It doesn't matter. Whether those two beat my first aquatic Robot Master or not, either outcome works in my favor. I have my plans and you have your orders. Now return to your post immediately!" Dr. Wily explained.

Sighing in frustration, Quick Man conceded, "Yes, sir."

"You haven't seen so much of as a glimpse of him didn't you, bro?" Roller Brawl asked as she sliced through several crab-like Claw robots.

"No, but we're at the gates. Maybe he'll be there?" Mega Man replied. Seeing the Robot Master there, though, they were surprised. "H-hold on! You're not the Robot Master who attacked us."

"I'm guessing you two had an encounter with Quick Man. That one always seems to have his body run faster than his processor." The new Robot Master replied in a rather languid tone. He was a rotund robot with dark blue eyes, with a blue body with dark green armor covering it. He sported a helmet with a snorkel-like attachment at the top, diving googles, and a mask that covered the lower half of his face. The Robot Master also sported black flippers, and carried a pair of tanks on his back while his left arm was a Buster-style cannon.

"Oookay? Then who are you supposed to be? Scuba Man? Aqua Man?" Roller Brawl asked.

"You know, those are way better names than what the boss gave me. I'm stuck with Bubble Man!" Bubble Man grumbled.

"That...doesn't sound so bad." Mega Man said as he tilted his head in confusion. "You know, we don't need to fight, right?"

"Yeah, but I can't really go against my programming. Believe me, I'd rather be an environmentalist than a fighter, but what Wily wants, I do. In this case, he wants you two destroyed!" Bubble Man declared as he quickly surrounded himself in a protective bubble and fired from his cannon more bubbles. When they hit Roller Brawl, Mega Man listened in shock as he heard the distinctive hissing of acid eating metal. Seeing her wince in pain, he quickly retaliated against the aquatic Robot Master, but the Mega Buster simply bounced off the bubble like pebbles on an elephant's skin.

"Dr. Light, do you hear me? What's going on?" Mega Man asked as he watched the bizarre sight.

"It looks like this Robot Master holds some ability to alter the surrounding water's electromagnetic field to create strong hydrogen bonds. With the addition of what looks like sulfuric acid, he's able to make sure they don't simply dissipate," Dr. Light explained as he analyzed the data of from his children's memory.

"Come on! Is this the best of the great Mega Man and Roller Brawl? I'll be sending you to Davy Jone's locker in a few moments!" Bubble Man said as he swam circles around the duo.

"Thanks for the science lesson, dad, but I gotta know how we're gonna pop this guy's bubble!" Roller Brawl asked as she skated across the ground as well as she could. With the water resistance, though, she was finding herself feeling like she was fighting against powerful winds blustering around her. Dealing with the bubbles was proving difficult as a result, and not helping matters was the fact that her Brawl Cannon shots bounced off Bubble Man's bubble barrier harmlessly.

"Thankfully, there is a way to do so. The bonds are rather strong, but a point-blank charge shot should be able to do the job," Dr. Light answered.

"You mean destroy him?!" Mega Man asked in shock. "I don't want to destroy him. I want to save him like we did with Time Man and Oil Man."

"It's commendable that you still look for a peaceful option, but I'm afraid that won't be the case here. There's no inner conflict in this series. They're built to fight and destroy you both!" Dr. Light said.

"Come on, you two! It's sink or swim, and it looks like you're taking water!" Bubble Man taunted.

"Why do you make me do this?" Mega Man sadly asked as he readied a charge shot. "I'm sorry for this." In one shot, not only was the bubble barrier popped, but Bubble Man was deactivated, with a massive hole in his torso.

Seeing the sad look on her brother's face, Roller Brawl put her hand on his shoulder, gently squeezing it and reassuring the glum lab assistant, "It's okay. Hopefully once this is done, we can rebuild and reprogram them to be good for society. Right Dr. Light?"

"I can't make any promises on that, but I'll do my best. Right now, you two need to stop Dr. Wily's ambitions for humans and robots alike. See if you can copy anything from Bubble Man. If the rest of this series will be as difficult as he was, you'll need every weapon at your disposal," Dr. Light said.

"R-right..." Mega Man said as he and Roller Brawl went to Bubble Man's wreckage.

Immediately, Roller Brawl felt her Brain Bypass Switch activate as she downloaded Bubble Man's Special Weapon, the uncreative Bubble Lead. 'What the-? Why'd the Brain Bypass Switch activate? Maybe it's just because it's not Dr. Light's designs, but Dr. Wily's,' Roller Brawl thought to herself. Seeing that Mega Man seemed to be clenching his teeth in pain.

"Mega Man. Roller Brawl. Are you two okay? I detected a strange energy spike when you copied Bubble Man's weapon," Dr. Light quickly asked.

"I-I'm okay, doctor," Mega Man answered. Roller Brawl swore she imagined it, but Mega Man seemed a little...off. He seemed somewhat miffed.

"If you say so. I don't know where to send you two next, though," Dr. Light replied.

"Hey, take a look at this," Roller Brawl said as she looked to what looked like architectural blueprints. "Do you recognize these blueprints?"

"That-that's the geothermal plant! If we lose that, then power to the city will be reduced massively!" Dr. Light realized. "Alright. Hold on. I'm sending there right now!" In a second, two beams of light left the battlefield, leaving Bubble Man's broken body behind.

As the two ended up on the roof of the geothermal plant, the two found their connection to Dr. Light struggling. Due to the thick walls of the building, the signal had become incredibly weak, with only fragments of Dr. Light's advice making it through.

One thing Roller Brawl didn't need Dr. Light to tell her, though, was how much she hated Telly robots. These former video transmission robots had been modified, and with the smallest of platforms keeping her out of the magma, it forced her to retract her skates and shoot them; a single misstep and she'd be melted faster than an ice cream cone in a volcano. As if it couldn't get any worse, modified toys called Fly Boys were constant coming from above, and the numerous Yoku Blocks that littered the place certainly didn't make it an easier to navigate.

"I figured out your pattern, just let me through!" Roller Brawl said in frustration as the Yoku Block vanished below her feet. As she followed her brother, she kept flashing back to her Brain Bypass Switch activating after acquiring the Bubble Lead. 'I really hope it's just because it was a Wily bot I copied. If that guy put something in these weapons...'

Unaware of her enemies' position, she found her legs swept by a Springer. In a swift movement, she found herself slipping off the platform, and screamed as she stubbled down. "ROLLER BRAWL!" Mega Man cried out as he quickly headed back and grabbed her arms before she could fall any further. Pulling her up before the magma could touch her, he quickly pulled her up as Roller Brawl quickly gasped in fear. "Are you okay?"

"I...I'm alright. I just...it doesn't matter," Roller Brawl quickly stammered as she saw them approach the door. If Bubble Man was surprising, then this was even more unexpected. Their opponent didn't look like much. His body was black and covered in red armor on his head, hands, and feet, but they couldn't see his chest. It was covered by a yellow, Zippo-lighter like armor with a green gem on the front of the body. Altogether, he didn't look like much, especially since he was fanning himself.

"Phew. Oh. You two made it. Before we do this, I gotta know something," the strange Robot Master asked, panting. "Does Fire Man ever complain about how he is?"

Looking at her brother quickly, who shook his head in disapproval, Roller Brawl answered, "No. Not really? Who are you and why do you ask?"

"Oh, right. I didn't introduce myself. Name's Heat Man," Heat Man said. "I'm asking because Dr. Wily made me a direct upgrade of him. You'd think that as an upgrade, I'd get heat resistance as part of the package. I don't even wanna move at this point."

"If that's the case, maybe you can be a bit more reasonable than Bubble Man was," Mega Man said with hope in his voice. "We can just skip the fight and have you surrender."

"Heh! Nah. But it's nice of you to offer," Heat Man said. At that moment, flames surrounded his body, and he quickly shot forward like a flaming missile into the two of them.

"WHOA!" Mega Man cried in shock while his sister said likewise. As the two fought against the flaming Robot Master, they found that his design was not just built for offense but defense. A fully charged Mega Buster shot simply bounced off the cap portion as it quickly closed over Heat Man's head. Roller Brawl decided to chance it and get close with the Leech Claw, but Heat Man quickly unleashed a flurry of flames, singing her and briefly lighting her hair on fire. Quickly putting it out before too much could be done, she growled dangerously, sheathing her claws and peppering him with Brawl Cannon shots. Once again, Heat Man's head was shielded by the lighter cap.

"Hold on. I'm an idiot," Roller Brawl realized. Switching to Bubble Lead, her armor turned light gray and white as she fired a bubble of her own at Heat Man. The flames surrounding him quickly dissipated with the water, and Heat Man screamed as the acid began to eat him away.

"Whoa. My processor must have been running slow as well," Mega Man said as he swapped to Bubble Lead and splashed him with a sulfuric bubble of his own.

Huffing in pain and badly weakened, Heat Man was not doing well, especially since internal components were becoming visible: Roller Brawl could make out exposed wires and joints melting away from the acid, and wires were sparking. "Well, I know were this-this is going," Heat Man said, glitching up. "Y-y-y-you cop-py my weapon and move on-on-on to the next-t-t of us. C-c-c-cooled me off anyway."

"I'm sorry about this Heat Man. You know I wanted this not to be the case, right?" Mega Man somberly asked.

"I-I-I know. If the next g-guy asks-s-s-s how I did, tell'em I went down fighting, okay?" Heat Man asked as his power faded.

"We will," Roller Brawl assured her as she copied Heat Man's Special Weapon. As she watched Mega Man take the Atomic Fire, though, she saw him grunt in pain again. Looking at him when his eyes opened, though, she thought she saw them being red instead of blue.

"T-thank you," Heat Man finally said as he powered off.

As the two exited the building, they finally managed to get reception from Dr. Light. "Are you two okay? It seems you two were exposed to much higher temperatures than lava. I got readings of up to 12000 degrees Fahrenheit."

"We're fine," Mega Man quickly answered. It was now that Roller Brawl was seeing that Mega Man was becoming a bit more belligerent.

"I don't think so. Each time your copy chips were used, I got virus warnings. You're also looking fairly damaged," Dr. Light revealed. Hearing this, Roller Brawl gasped.

'A virus?! Is that why my Brain Bypass Switch activated?' Roller Brawl thought to herself. Realizing that things were getting dire, Roller Brawl spoke up. "Hey, I know we're on a time limit and I'm not the gal who likes to be thinking instead of fighting, but maybe we should get that virus warning checked out. What if you end up bursting into flames spontaneously or get stuck in a joint lock-up?"

"There's no time. We barely have 5 hours to go before the rest of the Robot Masters attack the city!" Mega Man said with anger in his voice.

"Rock, are you sure you're alright? You're starting to sound like you did when all the power of your brothers got to your head," Dr. Light warned.

"This is completely different! We're short on time and not that badly damaged!" Mega Man retorted. "What's the nearest facility?"

"Rock, you may wanna cool down. He's only trying to help," Roller Brawl said as she tried to calm him down.

"We can look for the next facility on the main computer," Dr. Light answered Mega Man's earlier question.

Picking up on the attempt to bring him back, though, Mega Man said with more anger than before, "Dr. Light..."

"I don't want you working yourself too hard!" Dr. Light replied in concern. At that moment, Mega Man's attention was drawn to the sound of wooshing in the air as a familiar boomerang hit him in the face and then the back of his head. This was followed by a knee to the jaw that sent the Blue Bomber flying and landing painfully on the ground.

"Hey there, Mega Wimp!" Quick Man said as he pushed him to the ground with a boomerang in hand. Looking to Roller Brawl, a wide smile emerged on the smug Robot Master's face, his voice taking on a more slick tone, "And hello, Roller Beauty! Do you two remember moi?"

Voice Cast:

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Auto - Greg Cipes

Rock/Mega Man - Cole Howard

Quick Man - Roger Craig Smith

Dr. Wily - Scott McNeil

Bubble Man - Tom Kenny

Heat Man - Zeno Robinson

Author's Note:

A pleasant welcome to anyone who's read this far, and my first chapter of 2022! Now we get to the real parts of the story: the events of Mega Man 2! What a surprising coincidence! With Quick Man making his debut, it now seems that he and Roller Brawl have just had sparks fly! But he's also put them under a harsh time limit to defeat his brothers as well, lest the city be destroyed.

As for each of their voice actors, I think it's obvious who Quick Man was based on. I know that since World's Collide won't be including Sonic this time around, I felt letting Roger Craig Smith voice the closest we have to the Blue Blur in the Mega Man franchise would work to fix that. Strange how it works out, though: Quick Man and Roller Brawl is kinda the reverse of the relationship between Sonic and Amy, with the speedy, cocky guy pining after the pink gal.

For Auto, his personality is that he's a major Mega Man fanboy, and relishes the opportunity to help his hero in a fight as a mechanic. Because of this, I was somewhat tempted to give him Cyborg's voice again, but I don't think that would be a good idea, since while he is the mechanic of the group, I don't think that programming a voice is that easy, so I decided to look for someone else. That was when I went for another route: another Teen Titan, namely Beast Boy. Since Greg Cipes also voiced Kevin in Ben 10, it felt fitting for him to voice Auto.

For Bubble Man, I felt his Netnavi counterpart would be a good choice, but I also wanted to make him different at the same time. That's why Tom Kenny was chosen: if nautical nonsense be something you wish, he's the guy, though I did envision him speaking more like the Ice King instead of Spongebob.

Finally, for Heat Man, he is a bit more relaxed for a fire Robot Master, so I felt more rambunctious voice actors like Todd Haberkorn, Patrick Seitz, or Travis Willingham wouldn't be too fitting. That's why I decided to go with someone a bit more relaxed and easy-going, and hence why I decided on Zeno Robinson, since he played Alan Albright, who was more restrained for a pyrokinetic.

As for the Skyborgs' own schematics, those will come after the third chapter of this arc, when they're formally introduced.

Next Time: Leaves in the Air

After defeating Bubble Man and Heat Man, Mega Man and Roller Brawl continue their quest to defeat Quick Man's brothers. With the speedy robot tormenting/flirting with them any chance he gets, the two heroes must work to take out the more stoic Wood Man and arrogant Air Man.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Leaves In The Wind
(#Issue 10)

"Hey there, Mega Wimp!" Quick Man said as he pushed Mega Man to the ground with a boomerang in hand. Looking to Roller Brawl, a wide smile emerged on the smug Robot Master's face, his voice taking on a more slick tone, "And hello, Roller Beauty! Do you two remember moi?"

"Oh, you bet your shiny metal butt I remember you, ya smug prick!" Roller Brawl answered as she unsheathed the Leech Claws, dashing at Quick Man. At this, without a beat, he moved the boomerang in his hand to defend himself and block the claws, but the distraction did work, as Mega Man was quickly able to free himself and stand up.

"Agreed. You're the one who attacked us at Light Labs, Quick Man!" Mega Man replied as he began firing the Mega Buster.

"I sure did!" Quick Man declared proudly. Kicking Mega Man with ease, he sent the Blue Bomber flying. "And you two couldn't do anything about it!" While Roller Brawl attempted to slash at the speedy Robot Master, it was soon revealed that she had hit nothing but air, as Quick Man ran behind Mega Man. "And here we are again! You know, they always say that sequels aren't as good as the originals." Bashing Mega Man's head with his elbow, he quickly added, "But other times, they're utterly superior. Just like how me and my brother make your brothers look like absolute junk! AGGH!" Quick Man cried in pain as Roller Brawl quickly kicked him in the back, unsheathing her skates for extra kick.

"Don't badmouth my bros, you fast-talking jerk!" Roller Brawl angrily retorted.

"Ooooh! You got a lotta spunk in you, don't ya Roller Beauty!" Quick Man flirted. Roller Brawl's eyes twitched in response to how sappy he was. However, he quickly bound her legs in boomerangs that pinned her to the ground, and then also held Mega Man up in the air and holding his Mega Buster.

"Y'know, I could just finish you both off and finish this game of ours right here, right now. Unfortunately, Dr. Stick-in-the-mud gave me orders not to destroy you. I'm sick of waitin' so I'm just gonna wait for the teleportation signal to hit in three, two, one..." At this, all three were beamed to a great forest. "Nice!" Roller Brawl could have sworn that Quick Man had a face like ">:]" Shaking her thoughts, she freed herself as Quick Man held a hand out. "Do you two really think you can beat Wood Man? I know Roller Brawl probably will, but I doubt this blue dweeb can. Hey RB! How about a kiss for luck?"

"You've got to be kidding!" Roller Brawl grumbled as she slapped Quick Man's hand away.

"Okay. Don't say I didn't give you a chance! Ciao for now, my girl!" Quick Man declared as he gave a mock salute.

At this, the three fought across a variety of robotic wildlife, and annoying them were the patrol drones known as Battons, though the monkey-like Monkings weren't any walk in the park either. Most annoyingly, though, were the Pipis. Dealing with the resulting chicks was like dealing with a swarm of Spider Swarmers, and they were relentless. By the time it was done, all Roller Brawl could say was, "I hate those stupid Pipis."

"Well, at least we're here now," Mega Man replied. Looking at the Robot Master ahead didn't make them feel threatened, but if Bubble Man and Heat Man taught the Blue Bomber and Pink Pugilist anything, it was that underestimating them was a fool's response. Apart from black upper arms, abdomen and thighs, most of the rotund enemy Robot Master was clad in what looked like wooden armor. Even his head was similar to a tree trunk, having a branch coming off the right side of his head like an antenna.

"Hmm. So you've come. Mega Man and Roller Brawl. I assume that at this point, Bubble Man and Heat Man fell to your prowess, correct?" Wood Man asked in a strangely familiar baritone voice.

"Hold on. You sound familiar. Did Dr. Wily attempt to base you guys on some of us Skylanders?" Roller Brawl countered in confusion.

"I suppose to an extent, yes. Dr. Wily saw how powerful your friends Stump Smash and Tree Rex were through the minions of Kaos, so he decided to emulate that power. I am the first of these attempts," Wood Man replied.

"Then surely if you're based on her friends, you'd realize that us fighting isn't what we want," Mega Man wondered.

"Not an incorrect assumption, but you overestimate my worth as anything other than a combat machine. What sort of purpose would a Robot Master made with Japanese cypress hold in a regular environment? I know my purpose is to defeat you two, and I am content with that. So come at me, vanquishers of Dr. Wily, and show me what you can do!" Wood Man declared as he surrounded himself in what seemed to be leaves.

"If you were really based on the Skylanders, then you'd know one thing. Undead beats Life!" Roller Brawl declared as she dashed forward, Leech Claws ready to hack and slash. At this, Wood Man quickly sent out the leaves, and that was when Roller Brawl realized that they were actually pieces of ceratanium shaped as leaves. That realization was incredibly painful as they slashed her and knocked her off balance.

"Roller Brawl!" Mega Man cried in concern.

"Don't worry. It's just a slash," Roller Brawl reassured her brother.

"That all you got?" Wood Man wondered. "It seems that my brothers were overconfident and left their guard down. Because you are nothing compared to me!" At this, Wood Man curled inside himself into what amounted to a stocky chibi wooden doll, and he proceeded to launch himself at Mega Man and Roller Brawl. Seeing an opportunity, Roller Brawl jumped into the trees, latching onto one with her Leech Claws, and then began peppering him from above.

"Eat that, you wannabe Stump Smash!" Roller Brawl taunted, seeing Wood Man flinch in surprise

"Really? I won't deny the effective nature of your two pronged attack, but you're not the only one with help, Mega Man!" At this, a trio of Monkings grabbed Roller Brawl before she could continue her ambush, leaving the Blue Bomber to take care of Wood Man alone.

"Roller Brawl!" Mega Man shouted in concern.

"Focus boy! Your opponent is me!" Wood Man reminded as he sent another flurry of the ceratanium shards at Mega Man.

Knowing her brother was in trouble, Roller Brawl struggled against the Monkings, as two held each arm while one held her head and chest, keeping her unable to see what was going on. Thankfully, she had an idea. Quickly switching to Bubble Lead, she blasted one Monking and melted it down, and with her arm free, she turned it back to normal and stabbed the other Monking with her Leech Claw, rejuvenating her as she elected to jump off the branch, taking the Monking with her and then used it to serve as a rather painful, if not effective, cushion. At this, she saw that Wood Man hadn't quite noticed her. Unsheathing her Leech Claws, she proceeded to drain some of Wood Man's energy, further increasing her power.

"AAGH!" Wood Man cried out as he felt the energy drain from his body.

"Thanks! Now to make sure you stay down!" Mega Man said as he equipped the Atomic Fire. Releasing a burst of powerful and concetrated flames, Mega Man burnt through the leaves and struck Wood Man.

"Well fought. I see now why Dr. Wily was worried about the two of you. It was I who underestimated you. Air Man will be waiting for you at the meteorological monitoring systems. I suppose my power is yours now," Wood Man graciously admitted, sparks emerging from his chest. As the two downloaded the newly dubbed Leaf Shield, Roller Brawl noticed Mega Man's eyes glowing red again.

"Yes. We'll take your power," Mega Man began before saying something that shocked Roller Brawl. "AND YOUR LIFE!" Charging the Mega Buster, he proceeded to blast the wooden Robot Master into nothing but chunks of metal and burning wood pulp.

"Mega Man?" Roller Brawl softly asked in horror, noticing the shockingly sadistic smile on Rock's face.

"Yeah, Mega Man!" Auto fanboyed over the Blue Bomber. "You..you shoot that guy...that had already...been beaten. Huh..." Auto was now nothing but confused at Mega Man's behavior. Roll and Dr. Light, though, had seen this behavior from their family before. And the circumstances behind that were less than pleasant.

"Dr. Light...it's happening again. Why is he losing control like this, and why is Roller Brawl not being affected?" Roll asked, concerned for her brother's well-being.

"Part of it was putting too much power in the hands of a young boy, though Roller Brawl has dealt with using such power before without losing herself. But I am suspecting that Dr. Wily's malicious code may be getting copied into him as well, and it's only thanks to the Brain Bypass Switch that Roller Brawl retains her normal personality." Dr. Light theorized.

"Yeah. Couldn't Quick Man finish you guys off when he attacked you at the party?" A new voice rang out, and this came from the second Sky-borg to be completed: DLN-00C-2, Hot Dog. As a side effect of the new numbering system, Roller Brawl's serial number had been changed to DLN-00C-1. Hot Dog had been based on earlier designs of a future gift for Mega Man, and his build was similar to that of a bulldog: short and stocky, though rather muscular. His neck had a gray stripe with Skylands' elemental emblem of Fire affixed to it, not unlike a dog collar. His body was mostly red, though his feet were yellow instead. Vents across his body continuously exuded hot air, though he was not hot to the touch.

"True. Not to mention that Quick Man keeps saying 'Not yet'. He's supposed to fight the two at a later point. This isn't challenging them, but baiting them," Dr. Light continued. "And creating Robot Masters based on the original series... Oh Albert! You don't have an original bone in your body!"

"Phew! What'd I miss?" Another new voice rang, though ignored by the other. As of now, this came from a robot more like Mega Man in basic design, though somewhat shorter. His hair and eyes were a bright orange, and his face was littered with freckles as he wore a wide grin. His attire consisted of a simple orange t-shirt and shorts, and boots similar to those of Rock, albeit orange instead of blue. This was DLN-00C-3, Trigger Happy.

"Not too much, Trigger Happy. But do you think you and Roller Brawl can continue to monitor Mega Man? Auto and I have to finish the rest of you and do some coding," Dr. Light instructed as Auto, unwilling to not let Mega Man be unwatched, grudgingly followed.

"Well, we're here, I guess," Roller Brawl noted as she observed the numerous platforms that were used by robots in the documentation of weather patterns while being mobile so as to be unobtrusive for air traffic. "Hey Doc? Anything you can tell us about this place?"

"Doctor Light's...out for the moment, and so is Auto. But me and Trigger Happy can be your support in the meanwhile," Roll answered over the link.

"HA HA HA! The two of you got this! Blue Bomber and Pink Pugilist will make mincemeat of these robozos!" the gremlin-turned-human-turned-cyborg gleefully declared.

"Mega Man? Your energy levels are dangerously low. These new Robot Masters Dr. Wily made are no joke, and they're pushing the limits of your armor. Why don't you come home so we can-" Roll said.

"Sorry, but no. You know what Quick Man said. I only have a few hours before these new Robot Masters begin attacking everything," Mega Man retorted as he began.

"Don't make me force you to teleport home!" Roll demanded.

"Which button is that?" Trigger Happy wondered.

"Mega Man?! Rock! Please listen to me!" Roll pleaded as he began his way to Air Man.

"Sorry about that. I'll try to keep him in line, but no promises sis," Roller Brawl tried to reassure Roll. 'Not that I'm confident that I can do much, but she doesn't need to hear that,' she thought to herself.

"Please do, Roller Brawl. I don't want him to come back home in pieces because he couldn't stop himself," Roll sadly begged.

"I promise. I'll do what I can to keep him in line," Roller Brawl softly answered before beginning to follow Mega Man.

However, thanks to the reprogrammed robot army, they found getting across to them to be a rather difficult challenge. Pipis made their return with a vengeance, and at this height, a single slip thanks to their little drones meant falling 38000 feet to the ground. A giant splat wouldn't even describe the messy outcome. Also in their way were Lightning Lords, which Roller Brawl found uncannily similar to her fellow Skylander Lightning Rod. Aiding them were an array of Fan Fiends that kept trying to blow them off the Goblin platforms, but in time, they managed to make their way to Air Man's place, and they stood just outside Air Man's room. Before Mega Man could enter, Roller Brawl grabbed his wrist.

"Hey, Mega Jerk!" Roller Brawl said, fury lacing her tone.

"What do you want?" Mega Man angrily asked. "Whatever you're saying, it's burning time that could be spent taking care of these threats!"

"You really hurt Roll's feelings like that. She's doing her best to help you, and when she sees becoming so reckless, it's a good sibling's job to worry that they're pushing themselves too hard," Roller Brawl explained.

"She's not here, though! She doesn't know how it feels to have someone who could probably slaughter us all in the blink of an eye constantly reminding you that everyone you love is in grave danger!" Mega Man retorted.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean she won't worry about you!" Roller Brawl argued. "A sibling's main job is to care for their siblings, whether it be older or younger than them! My brothers protected me when I was little, and I worked to repay the favor by trying to save them back in Skylands!"

For a brief moment, Mega Man seemed to cool down as he realized what he'd said to his sister who'd simply tried to see if he was alright. "Hey Roll? Sorry about what I said earlier. I'm just under a lot of pressure with the time limit Quick Man put on me."

"Don't sweat it Mega Man. We've all been there," Trigger Happy, dropping his maniac energy for a moment, gently reassured the former lab assistant.

"And it's okay Mega Man. I know you're doing your best for us all, but just come home after this for some quick repairs," Roll continued. Not that he would've known, but a small smile was on Roll's face.

"I will, sis," Mega Man smiled as he entered Air Man's room alongside Roller Brawl.

Only one problem: no one was there.

"Now what? We're here, but not the guy himself? Strange. Guess he's a coward-GAH!" Roller Brawl before a sudden gust of wind buffeted them into the wall.

"I am no coward, inferior robots!" The Robot Master introduced as he jumped off a Lightning Lord's empty platform atop the open ceiling. He was by far the least human of the Robot Masters seen so far: at least all of them had something analogous to a head, but Air Man's blue chest also seemed to serve as his head, given the red eyes just above the powerful-looking turbine dead center of his chest. While his yellow right forearm seemed normal, his left forearm was simply a giant vacuum/cannon, and the left arm, in general, had a far more mechanical look to it.

"Overcompensating much? Are you trying to make it look like you're more than hot air?" Roller Brawl snarked.

"I am overcompensating for nothing, bottom feeder! Weak bots like you should bow down to Air Man, because I'm the greatest! I'm even the greatest at being the Greatest!" Air Man arrogantly argued.

"Then show us how great you are by surrendering peacefully!" Mega Man countered. When the response was simply a powerful blast of wind, he mused. "Well, don't say I didn't give you a chance!"

"That's enough out of you, Mega Man! Look at you! Just 3 of my brothers and you're already looking rather wobbly on those legs you have!" Air Man noted as he suddenly began to suck them towards him. While Roller Brawl was able to stab her claws into the floor to keep herself from flying into him, Mega Man wasn't so lucky, and Air Man proceeded to create a bevy of miniature tornadoes that flew towards the two of them. At this, not even the Leech Claw could stop her from flying away, and Roller Brawl began to get angry.

"GAH! Big mistake, fan face!" Switching to Atomic Fire, she unleashed a powerful flame at Air Man, and crossing his arms behind his back, he simply released a gust that countered the fire blast with minimal trouble.

"That all you got? Try this on for size! Typhoon Turbine!" Air Man declared as he released an extra powerful blast of wind at the former Skylander. Taken off guard, Roller Brawl could hardly resist as she was sent flying into the back of the room.

"Roller Brawl!" Mega Man cried in concern. Frustrated at the lack of effort, he figured he could melt the walking fan with acid rather than fire. Switching to Bubble Lead, he released a bevy of acid-laced bubbles at Air Man, but the Wily bot simply laughed again as he released yet another powerful blast of wind, turning them against Mega Man,

"Poor little Light bots. Such fools you were! You can't beat Air Man! So why not accept the inevitable and just let Dr. Wily win?" Air Man boasted.

"Everyone has a weakness, and you'll get yours soon enough!" Mega Man angrily replied. Knowing there was one weapon left, he took a gamble and went with it. Switching to the newly acquired Leaf Shield, he summoned ceratanium leaves around himself, and much like Wood Man, he threw them straight at Air Man. One might expect that the leaves would simply be blown away as they would in nature. Instead, however, the leaves flew into Air Man's propellor, and at once, the winds stopped bellowing, and Air Man was shocked.

"No! Impossible! You can't beat me!" Air Man declared as he worked to remove the leaves within his chest. While he freed them, there were notable gashes that sparked, and the next wind accompanied by a slight electrical charge. That resulted in them taking minor electrical damage, but it was far less of a charge than Elec Man could give them on a bad day.

"We beat Wood Man, and that definitely means we can beat you!" Roller Brawl declared before sending a Leaf Shield of her own to follow up on Mega Man's attack. This time, Air Man was not so lucky, and the leaves sliced off his cannon while also jamming his propellor this time. Seeing him weakened, the two copied the schematics for Air Man's weapon, and both changed to a color scheme similar to when they used the Ice Slasher, though the blue was a bit darker.

"So that's how you look with my power. Gotta say, you certainly wear it well, for a pair of bottom feeders," Air Man admitted. "In my room is a teleporter to another one of my brothers, one I'm certain you'll find to be a cut above all of us." Mega Man didn't particularly care for what the dying fan was trying to say, and he began creating multiple tornadoes. "Not even going to let me pass on peacefully? Just going to tear me apart through a tornado?" Mega Man continued to say nothing as the tornadoes began to converge into one massive cyclone "I may have fallen, but my brothers will avenge me! Dr. Wily will have his revenge, and this city will be torn apart brick by brick!" Those were Air Man's last words as his body was torn apart by the tornado, leaving him strewn across the room.

"We'll see about that," Mega Man coldly stated as he looked away from Air Man's mangled body as they walked to the teleporter, Roller Brawl looking at the scene in horror.

"Mega?" Roller Brawl asked in concern. 'This really isn't good. Mega Man's never been this sadistic or cold-hearted. What's happening to you, Rock?'

"Mega Man, Roller Brawl, Auto and I are back," The voice of Dr. Light came over the intercom as they found themselves outside of what looked to be an industrial plant, perfect for forging the parts for a robot army.

"Hi, Dr. Light. Four Robot Masters down, and four more to go. They no longer have control of the skies now that Air Man's been defeated," Mega Man replied, his voice somewhat more monotone.

"You two have made excellent progress so far, but it's time for you to come home. You both need repairs, recharges, and ... upgrades," Dr. Light noted.

"Why are you talking to me like that? You sound like you don't trust us to take care of these robots!" Mega Man complained as the two entered the facility, seeing the cogs working in overdrive. "Don't you know we're running out of time?"

"Mega Man, that's not what he's saying at all!" Roller Brawl replied, shocked at the change in her brother's attitude.

"She's right. I do trust you, son. But I'm worried for you," Dr. Light explained.

"And I'm worried for you, too! And Roller Brawl. And Roll. And Auto. And the other Skyborgs. And everyone else! DON'T YOU GET THAT!" Mega Man retorted as he and Roller Brawl began going across the conveyor belts for a faster trip.

"Rock, you need to calm down..." Dr. Light began to try to settle his son down. Roller Brawl felt like she'd been swallowing stones, as she felt heavy weights in her stomach as she listened to Mega Man spiral further into rage.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! Rock is a weak little robot who can't do anything to stop Dr. Wily or save his friends! I'm Mega Man, the Blue Bomber! I can defeat whatever Robot Master Dr. Wily can try to throw at me! I'll even make Quick Man regret coming after us all!" Mega Man roared as his eyes turned red again. He would've continued had Roller Brawl not suddenly grabbed him. That turned out to be for the better as Mega Man nearly got squashed under a spiked press used for flattening out sheet metal.

"Mega Man, that's enough outta your jerk mouth!" Roller Brawl declared, a look of anger on her face.

"Roller Brawl? What are you-?" Mega Man asked in confusion before Roller Brawl suddenly slapped him. "OWW! What was that for?"

"You're acting like a giant jerk, for the love of Ancients! All Dr. Light wants is for you to get some repairs so when we go after the last Robot Master, you don't just fall apart like you're made of duct tape and glue!" Roller Brawl scolded, her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth in a teeth-clenched frown. "Is this really about protecting the city, or is it because Quick Man made it his job to keep taunting you and said you're a wimp?"

"That...that's not even the point! I'm doing this to protect you and everyone else! I'm going to teach Dr. Wily and Quick Man that they will never hurt any one ever again!" Mega Man screamed as the two came to a manufacturing section, where numerous Moles kept boring out of the walls to attack them as copies of the comedy duo of Pierobot and Blocky swarmed them. "I don't care how damaged I am, Roller Brawl! I'LL TAKE THEM ALL ON AND DESTROY THEM BEFORE THEY GET THE CHANCE TO DO ANY MORE DAMAGE!"

Voice Cast:

Quick Man - Roger Craig Smith

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Mega Man - Cole Howard

Wood Man - Kevin Michael Richardson

Auto - Greg Cipes

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Hot Dog - Carlos Arlazraqui

Trigger Happy - Dave Wittenberg

Air Man - Ian Hanlin

Author's Note

Welp, half way through this arc, with just Metal Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, and Quick Man remaining. Also yes. Quick Man did the Wood Man "Nice" meme, and unlike with Fanfiction.net, this site doesn't seem to struggle with mathematical notation, so that's something to keep in mind. Also, CDI-Zelda and Futurama references included in this chapter if you can find them. Roller Brawl's dislike of Pipis was also inspired by Roahmmythril's own dread of them when it comes to Perfect Runs; I owe that Durgon for getting me into Mega Man Battle Network, with Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel becoming one of my all time favorite games. Finally, Air Man got his Mega Man: Fully Charged voice, since that fits with the arrogant personality he has in canon, and I feel apart from the design (way too much like Wind Man or even GyroMan.EXE for it be counted as Air Man), that interpretation of Air Man was actually pretty good, having the belligerent arrogance that canon ascertained him to have, hence why I decided to have his dialogue reflect the first exchange between him and Mega Man in said cartoon. I'm not dismissing the Ruby Spears version, but I don't think his voice fit nearly as well.

I really should be talking about that thing about Wood Man and Stump Smash, shouldn't I? Yeah, here I decided to make it so that Wood Man's inspiration was actually Dr. Wily seeing the power of Stump Smash (mainly his Evil Mallet Ent clone). That way, I could give a bit more weight to Dr. Wily's connection to Kaos. This won't be the last time this happens, FYI. Keep that in mind as we continue the story. Additionally, I worked in aspects of their Power Battle move sets.

Also, the first of the Skyborgs have been unveiled: Trigger Happy and Hot Dog. I still plan on giving them the Megamix treatment when we get past the third chapter of this, but I figured I'd introduce them ahead of that, so it feels they just didn't come out of nowhere.

Next Time: Metal Crash, Quick Flash

After the defeat of Air Man, Mega Man and Roller Brawl find themselves outside the front gate of Metal Man's hideout, and two other Robot Masters remain unknown. But with Quick Man continuing to egg them on, Mega Man's mind continues to spiral out of line, as he stops listening to Dr. Light and even starts attacking Roller Brawl as she tries to keep him calm. With only a few hours left before Dr. Wily's forces attack the city, can they stop the mad scientist from achieving his goals, or are they the ones playing into his hands?

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Gender: Male

Chapter Text

Gender: Male

Eye Color: Black

Hair Color: Yellow

Power Source: Solar

Armor Material: Ceramic titanium ("ceratanium")

Height: 4' 1''

Weight: 200 lbs

Designation: DLN-00C-3

Description:

Trigger Happy's past is something of an enigma. What is known is that he first appeared in the village of Gildville, a land in the furthest wilds of Skylands that was terrorized by a band of Greeble bandits. Gildville, however, had become the furthest thing from its name's implication as a result of these Greebles, being poorer in value than the dirt it laid on, and the Greebles were still eager to eek out any last cent from the dirt poor inhabitants. With their dragon steeds and bad breath, they terrified anyone who would try to stand up for Gildville. All except for the strange gremlin who would come to be known as Trigger Happy. Taking one look at the thieves, the gremlin readied his custom made guns. Instead of bullets, gold coins were fired from his guns, but were still no less effective. Laughing like a maniac, the gremlin fought the bandits with reckless abandon, and the frightened bandits ran for the hills with all their loot in tow. With all the gold coins that he'd fired, he'd given Gildville the rags-to-riches treatment, turning it from dirt poor to ridiculously rich. Trigger Happy, as he'd come to be known, became a legend that spread to Master Eon's ears, with him becoming one of the very first Skylanders under their new leader Spyro the Dragon. As such, alongside Gill Grunt the gillman, the trio became three of the most experienced Skylanders under Master Eon, and very close friends as well. While he was able to thwart the plans of evil numerous time before, the final time was a failure, and he was sent to Earth, and elected to become a cyborg to continue fighting the forces of evil.

Trigger Happy is as his name suggests: trigger happy. He loves nothing more than blasting enemies to oblivion, all the while he cackles like a maniac. Because of this, Trigger Happy is incredibly unpredictable, and a constant thorn when it comes to trying to devise strategies. Not helping him is his borderline obsession with gold, being incredibly money hungry and greedy at his worst moments. That being said, he isn't incapable of cooperation, being more than willing to work alongside others if it means a better result. He is also a loyal friend to those he trusts, and his exuberance makes him amazing at cheering up others in their darkest moments. He also takes his duties as a protector seriously, and will prioritize saving lives over blasting enemies if the choice comes between them. Trigger Happy, being a Tech Skylander originally, also has great aptitude for machinery, and often serves as a secondary assist to Auto and Dr. Light when it comes to helping Mega Man modify himself as needed.

As a Skyborg, Trigger Happy is quite skilled in combat, and he is one of Master Eon's original Skylanders, giving him a bevy of experience even amongst the 32 original Skylanders. Despite his trigger happy nature, Trigger Happy, or Trigg to his friends, is an expert marksman, and he is given extra assistance with the visors attached to his helmet and the antennas, allowing him to account for wind and visualize trajectories. He may be rather fragile, but he makes up for that in speed and agility, being incredibly agile and often blasting most opponents before they're even aware they've been targeted. With his Golden Gatlings, he can rain pain incredibly well and accurately.

Special Weapon: Golden Gatling

These special Busters are a modification of the base design. Instead of having a single core gather energy and then release it, six individual cores are placed into each Buster. As such, the capacity for rapid fire is dramatically increased, and while Trigger Happy cannot charge as much as Mega Man can, each core can be charged individually, allowing him to release up to 12 partial charge shots in rapid succession. Using this, Trigger Happy can, through charging all 12 cores simultaneously, use the powerful Golden Yamato Blast, a blast of energy that makes the fully charged Mega Buster look like a cheap flashlight by comparison. However, this does pose heavy risk to him, as it sends him flying back and disables them until they can be cooled off. If he still wants more power without disabling his guns, he can charge them up into Golden Super Charge and Golden Mega Charge blasts by charging 4 and 8 cores respectively, sending a single but far more powerful shot forward. The shots will also ricochet off walls and enemies, something Trigger Happy is very capable of accounting for.

When used by a Robot Master with a copy chip like Mega Man and Roller Brawl, they attain a tan and gold color scheme for their armor, and use one Golden Gatling instead. These guns may lack raw offensive power, but they can inflict the buster equivalent of "death by a thousand cuts" thanks to the rapid-fire capabilities, and the ability to release several charge shots allows for extra power to rapidly be inflicted on unlucky enemies.

"No Gold, No Glory!"

Good Point: Sharp-eyed

Bad Point: Trigger happy

Likes: Gold

Dislikes: Bandits

Author's Note

So yeah. That's Trigger Happy, the sharpshooter/range specialist of the group, though definitely rather unpredictable. If you're curious on inspirations for the Golden Gatling, think a combination of the Magma Bazooka (Chargeable weapon) from Mega Man 9 and the Needle Cannon (Rapid fire) from Mega Man 3. It is also mostly inspired by Trigger Happy's "Golden Frenzy" path.

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Gender: Female

Eye Color: Sky Blue

Hair Color: Violet

Power Source: Solar/Electrical

Armor Material: Ceramic titanium ("ceratanium")

Height: 4' 6''

Weight: 230 lbs

Designation: DLN-00C-5

Description:

Cynder's past is one frought with corruption and redemption. When she was an egg, she was captured by servants of the self-crowned Dragon King of the Underworld, Malefor. A vicious dragon, he wanted an apprentice to learn his dark magic, and a weapon to unleash against his enemies. Thus, when Cynder was hatched, she was corrupted by his dark magic, twisting her mind and brainwashing her into a fervently loyal apprentice to Malefor. Trained in Undead magic, she became one of the dragon's best agents, spreading fear and terror across the land, making Malefor's subjects quiver in fear at the mere suggestion that she was approaching. Some rumored that Malefor replaced her heart with pitch, as they couldn't understand how someone could be so black-hearted. Yet even despite Malefor's best efforts, there was still the spark of goodness within her. One that came to show itself when Spyro the Dragon happened to be summoned by Malefor's scared subjects. He and Cynder engaged in a vicious clash, with her summoning ghostly minions to do her bidding and breathing lightning black as the night and him charging through while blasting enough flames to turn night into day. However, at the end of the fight, it was Spyro who stood victorious, and his purple dragon ancestry had an inadvertent effect on Cynder, somehow managing to erase the brainwashing of Malefor. Upon being freed, Cynder renounced her evil ways, seeking to atone for her misdeeds by becoming a Skylander, all the way up to its seeming destruction.

Unsurprisingly, Cynder was a dour dragon, and her being turned into a cyborg has done nothing to change that. She has almost no sense of humor, and can be verbally vicious with sarcasm when irritable, having a hatred of pranks. She is a realist, and a pragmatic fighter. If angered enough, she becomes a violent individual, using her electrical abilities to shock the source to submission. Despite this, Cynder genuinely wishes to make up for her misdeeds as Malefor's minions. While she can get angry at friends, she will always be more furious at those who hurt them or the innocent, and her anger also stems not just from annoyance, but concern, seeing how fighters for justice like Spyro and Mega Man can end up pushing themselves to the brink, and she has surprisingly good relations with Roll as a result of this belief. As such, she will always prefer to fight alongside her friends as a way to ensure they don't end up getting hurt.

As a Robot Master, none of Cynder's skill has diminished. However, she is arguably amongst the most brutal of the combatants, aided by her unique design. She has a tail armed with a sharp blade that she is unafraid to use as a bladed whip, and she is the most animalistic in combat, unafraid to rip and tear into enemy robots with her sharp claws and horned helmet. Aided by design elements from Elec Man and his Thunder Beam, she can unleash black-colored electric bolts to fry enemies. Much unlike Whirlwind's ability to paralyze enemies, however, she outright electrocutes them into exploding. Aided by her wing-like jetpack, this allows her to rain terror from above, and she has the unique ability to coalesce electromagnetic energy into ghost-like clouds. These "shock specters" eventually become attracted to enemies and begin to mess with their motor systems and thus slow them, much like her Spectral Dash as a Skylander. They can even be made to explode by striking them with electricity.

Special Weapon: Black Dash

This is a unique ability that combines speed and shock. By using her jetpack for forward thrust while charging her body with electricity, she can rush through opponents without risk of harm, with the electricity working as a makeshift shield that repels attacks from her. As a side effect, she can also summon three shock specters as she dashes, giving her the ability to slow multiple enemies.

When used by a Robot Master with a Copy Chip, the Black Dash uses the same systems used to give them the ability to jump, albeit pushed in a forward trajectory. While doing so, they are still surrounded by electricity, and are thus immune to harm by contact or projectiles. Like her, they can be used to summon shock specters, but each dash only summons one at a time.

"Volts and Lightning!"

Good Point: Hard Worker

Bad Point: Sharp Tongued

Likes: Goth Apparel

Dislikes: Pranks

Author's Note

So here's the second to last schematic before the next chapter. As you can see, Cynder is meant to be more violent and aggressive than the others, and understandably given her past as an unwilling servant of Malefor, corrupted by his dark magic. As for her abilities, XandyFlare specifically said in her original take that Cynder's gloves were based on those of Elec Man, so that's why he's part of the design here. As for Skylanders inspiration, it's both her paths: the ability to electrocute ghosts to make them explode comes from the "Unstable Forces" upgrade on her "Nether Wielder" path, and the shock specter's ability to slow opponents comes the "Death Bound" upgrade on her "Shadowdancer" path. In terms of Mega Man inspiration, think a combination of Impact Man's Pile Driver from Mega Man 11, Comet Woman's Comet Dash from Mega Man: Unlimited (full credit to MegaPhilX for making this fan game), and Dynamo Man's orb attack from Mega Man & Bass.

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Gender: Female

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Chapter 11: Assault on Skull Fortress!

(Issue #12)

Dr. Wily was as giddy as a kid in candy store. Why wouldn't he be, though? His trojan horse had successfully corrupted his greatest adversary into his greatest ally! Kaos may have relied on Petrified Darkness to do so, but it was through his genius alone that made him able to do such a feat. Now came the part of making sure that Mega Man would become the face of his new army to conquer the world.

Humming to himself as he applied the last few touches of his polisher, Dr. Wily looked at the fruits of his labor. "There you go! Good as new, Mega Man! I vant you to look your best as you conquer zhe world for me!"

Mega Man's eyes shone a deep red, and wrapped around his neck was a purple scarf, giving him an incredibly sinister visage. Just as Wily continued to gloat over the mind-controlled Mega Man, an alarm began o blare. "Vhat? Vhy is my proximity alarm going off?" Not able to see that the anti-virus upload process was 99% complete, he walked to a nearby security camera. "Perhaps it was just a bird. Or a squirrel. Or a... SWEET MERCIUFL SKULLS! It's an invasion! Attention all robots! Intruders are approaching the fortress! DESTROY THEM! NOW!"

"Strike hard, strike fast! Stay close and watch each other's backs until Roller Brawl comes with our secret weapon! FOR MEGA MAN!" Elec Man declared as he led the Robot Masters and Skyborgs on a massive assault.

"FOR MEGA MAN!" All of them declared. At this, the Sniper Joe sentries were about as dangerous as newborn kittens, getting sliced, frozen, blown up, and burnt to ashes. As two Prop Tops attempted to squash them under their bodies, Hex sprung into action, creating a ribcage out of energy to protect her allies.

"I've covered for you! Trigger Happy, Whirlwind you know what to do!" Hex instructed.

"Heh heh! On it!" Trigger Happy answered, taking aim with his Golden Gatlings. In a few moments, one Prop Top was shredded to bits by energy bullets.

"You got it!" Whirlwind replied, blasting a rainbow beam that made the Prop Top explode. As more Sniper Joes approached, the other Robot Masters and Skyborgs fought back. Cut Man sheared off the arms of one Sniper Joe, Hot Dog released a bevy of Fire Barks alongside Fire Man, incinierating enemies with help from Oil Man.

With those minions dealt with, Guts Man ran to the gate, using his strength to crumple it like a can of soda. "Knock knock! Is the doctor in?" Their charge was interrupted, however, by a platoon of Sniper Joes, relentlessly firing buster shots to keep them pinned behind barrels for cover. Making matters worse, Pipis had been called in, all sending mini drones

"Blast it! There's no way for us to get inside pinned down like this!" Elec Man grumbled.

"I'll handle the line! You and the others get into position!" Time Man suggested.

"Understood. Guts Man, get the door! Cut Man, cover him! Skyborgs, take care of thosee Pipis! Robot Masters, ready yourselves!" Elec Man ordered.

"You got it, boss!" Trigger Happy replied, seeing the Pipis as nothing but targets. Cynder and Whirlwind quickly took to the skies. At this, the former Skylanders began their attack as the Sniper Joes focused on the immediate threats of Time Man, Guts Man, and Cut Man. Cynder began to rapidly dash while charged with electricity through Pipis, shattering some to bits while others were slowed down by the shock specters she had summoned in the process. Whirlwind, on the other hand, sent a Rainbow Thunder cloud out, having it release ball lightning to paralyze some of the robotic birds, before having it release several exploding rainbows and destroying a good chunk of them. Trigger Happy continued to release pain by firing his Golden Gatlings upon the little birds that got released from the eggs. On the ground, the Pipis found themselves melted by Hot Dog's fireballs, while others were blown up by skulls courtesy of Hex. All the while, Time Man was able to get to business.

"Time Slow is up!" At Time Man's note, the Robot Masters noted that the Sniper Joes up top had been halted. "Hit them!"

At Time Man's urging, Elec Man ordered, "All right Robot Masters. LIGHT THEM UP!" At this, bombs, electricity, oil, fire, and ice were all sent to the Sniper Joes, obliterating them. Meanwhile, Guts Man struggled to pry open the doors as Cut Man held two Rolling Cutters out, ready to slice into anything that could cause further problems.

"Good news, guys! All Pipis taken care of!" Hot Dog happily said as the Skyborgs returned, earning a pet from Fire Man.

"I got your back, big guy! Let's see Dr. Wily's robots try to cut out this middleman!" Cut Man assured Guts Man.

"Your...puns...are..." Guts Man grunted as he struggled to pry the door open. "AWFUL!" He roared as with one mighty push, he forced the doors open. "But the anger gave me the boost I needed, so thanks for that!"

"N-no problem. Don't mention it," Cut Man nervously answered in response.

"Everyone chat later. Let's move in!" Elec Man instructed as he led the charge. "And Dr. Light was worried. HAH! We're tearing through Wily's forces like Cut Man through twigs!"

"Don't forget that there's 13 of us this time!" Fire Man agreedbefore giving a warning. "But we should still be careful. Dr. Wily's a slippery little snake, and he's had a lot more time to prepare for an assult from us. There's no telling what surprise he-"

Fire Man's musings were cut off when what looked like a giant dragon emerged from the ground. Its main body was round and yellow, with blue joints connecting to short green limbs. A long green tail with a spike on the end emerged from its rear, and its head had horns and fins. "See? This is the kind of thing I was talking about."

"My apologies," Elec Man said sheepishly. All of the were forced to take cover from the fire it breathed out, with Ice Man and Oil Man hiding behind Guts Man.

"I was here first, soldier!" Ice Man stated.

"Move over, Ice Dude! I'm made of OIL! It ain't like you can melt!" Oil Man argued.

"I can't take extreme heat! Why do you think I hate saunas?" Ice Man replied.

"But ain't Fire Man weak to your Ice Slasher?" Oil Man pointed out. The dragon continued to breathe fire, only for a blast of black lightning to catch its attention when it struck between its eyes.

"You go on ahead boys and find Mega Man! We'll take care of this insult to our kind! Just come back here when you've got him back!" Cynder replied, her face contorted into an angry scowl as electricity crackled between her claws. The dragon certainly didn't take kindly to this, and it roared in anger, releasing another blast of flame

"Understood! Robot Masters move out!" Elec Man acknowledged. The Mecha Dragon ignored the retreating Robot Masters in favor of the Sky-Borgs that attacked it. Hot Dog charged into its body while set alight, managing to disconnect one of its arms. Trigger Happy was quick to follow up with another flurry from his Golden Gatlings, taking out one of its legs. However, it seemed his willy-nilly firing had a side effect, as Trigger Happy's buster began to smoke.

"GAAH! My arms are burning!" Trigger Happy winced, gasping when he saw the robotic dragon preparing to swipe with its tail, aiming for him and Hot Dog. Hex saw this and attempted to block it with an energy ribcage, but the dragon was a lot stronger and sent both of them flying back. "Ow."

"It's...certainly a lot more powerful than I thought it would be," Hex admitted.

"Come one Whirlwind, there's got be something we can do!" Cynder noted as she continued to attack the dragon with vicious fury. That was when the Dragon released another trick, spitting out a bunch of eggs, and miniature versions of itself swarmed the two former dragons. A few good hits sent them careening to the ground, and the mini dragons began to swarm the others. Hex began to move forward, bone staff in hand as she began to smash the little dragons, and Trigger Happy and Hot Dog followed suit, Trigger Happy managing to cool his arms enough to use them again.

"We've got to hold on until they come back with Mega Man! Roller Brawl should be here soon with our secret weapon!" Whirlwind noted.

"Yeah. But when are they going to be here?" Hot Dog asked.

Seeing the dragon and its baby army, none of them had a good answer to that question.

"I thought my Mecha Dragon would take care of your Robots, Thomas. Clever of you to make more cyborg Skylanders like Roller Brawl. But what my minions don't destroy, I'll simply rebuild for myself! Or use them as parts for my own creations. Either is fine with me," Dr. Wily noted. "But I won't let Dr. Light's own robots ruin my plans. Mega Man, go forth and destroy your brothers and bring their remains to me!"

"Yes sir," Mega Man replied, no hint of emotion left in his voice.

As the original Light numbers continued their way, the familiar "BOO-WIP" of teleportation came through their audio sensors. It was Cut Man who laid eyes on the Blue Bomber first. "Uh-oh! Heads up, guys! Rock's here!" When he laid eyes on his brother, Mega Man changed his hand, and took on a sadistic grin.

"Quickly! Subdue Mega Man. Then upload the last of the anti-virus program!" Fire Man instructed.

Dodging Mega Buster shots from their reprogrammed brother, Cut Man reminded him of how they did last time. "Yeah! Let's 'subdue' the guy who tore through us when he was a nice bot!"

Mega Man had no such qualms, switching to Air Shooter and releasing a bevy of tornadoes against his brothers. "I must destroy you! I will destroy you!" Mega Man parroted his corrupted program. Mega Man may not have had as much raw speed as Elec Man, but that didn't matter, since with his Time Stopper, he was able to negate speed entirely.

"There's no way we can get him to stop on our own power. Time Man, find a way to slow him down!" Elec Man instructed.

"I'm trying, but whatever's giving him that boost in speed is also giving negating the Time Slow!" Time Man noted. While the two tried to stop him, Mega Man switched to Atomic Fire, and a blast of flame soon reduced Elec Man's legs to nothing but ash.

"ELEC MAN!" Guts Man cried in concern as he ran towards his brother.

As Mega Man towered over Elec Man, Mega Buster ready to fire, Elec Man tried to appeal to the good robot inside. "Rock...don't...We came to save you..." Elec Man told him.

That seemed to strike a chord in Mega Man, as for a few seconds, he seemed to hesitate, straining as he said, "I...must... do it."

That hesitation was enough for Guts Man to quickly come through and grab Mega Man. Holding his buster arm to the ground, Guts Man told the Robot Masters, "I got him! Hurry up with the installer before he can change weapons again!" Oil Man slid with the installer in hand, and held it to Mega Man's head, the rest of the data transmitting into Mega Man. As soon as the anti-virus finished installing, Mega Man's eyes changed from red to blue, but he seemed to be stuck on the ground, unresponsive.

"Did...did it work?" Guts Man asked, trepidation in his voice.

As Mega Man slowly got up, he saw the injured Elec Man and ran to him. "ELEC MAN!" Seeing his brother held up by Cut Man and Ice Man, he asked in concern "D-did I do that?"

"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself man! The main thing is that you're back!" Oil Man noted with a thumbs-up.

"The Skyborgs. We have to report back to them," Elec Man reminded them, though it seemed to take a lot of effort to speak. "Have to help with the dragon."

"They're in danger?!" Mega Man asked in shock. Ripping the scarf off him, he took command "Come on, everyone! Let's take it down!"

As the Robot Masters ran back, they soon saw a surprising sight. While the Skyborgs seemed a little worn out, they saw that the help had arrived, and the Mecha Dragon was nothing but scrap metal. Unsurprisingly, Roller Brawl was there, but the real surprise was Quick Man. He still sported the wounds from the buster shots, but oterwise seemed to be okay for the most part. "Yo, what's up?"

"Um...why is Quick Man here?" Mega Man asked.

"That's...a long story, Blue Bro," Roller Brawl began.

Earlier

"I'm flattered you want me to come with you, but you don't seem to be that happy about our date," Quick Man joked as he and Roller Brawl rushed in.

"This isn't a date, and that's only a possibility once this whole thing is done," Roller Brawl sternly reminded him.

"Come on, Roller Babe! Don't be like that!" Quick Man complained. "I even asked Dr. Light to remove the 'Destroy Mega Man' and 'Fight Mega Man' orders in me!"

"And I appreciate that, but you know I'm still not completely sold on you being on our side yet, right?" Roller Brawl pointed out. "It's not exactly easy to trust the guy who attacked my family, tricked my brother to getting brainwashed, and was a speed-obsessed jerk to us!"

"Okay, okay. I was a definitely a jerk, but I promise I'm not leading you into any traps," Quick Man admitted. "But you may want to ready your weapons. Dr. Wily's got a Mecha Dragon ready to torch the Robot Masters, and he immunized almost everything in the base to time-changing weapons, so don't think that your friend Time Man can do anything."

"Good to know. So what will work?" Roller Brawl asked.

"Its belly is a helium balloon. My Quick Boomerangs should be able to do the trick! But if it's about to fire, you should be able to interupt it with a Crash Bomber," Quick Man cockily answered.

"Alright then. Let's do this thing!" Roller Brawl noted as charged in. And she definitely arrived right on time, as the Mecha Dragon's babies had begun to overwhelm the Skyborgs, still adapting to their new bodies. The Mecha Dragon cleanly had no mercy, as it readied another blast of flame. "HOLD ON!" Firing a Crash Bomber into its mouth, she was able to interrupt the fire stream, and soon, she and Quick Man began to use Quick Boomerangs, with her taking on a white and light pink color scheme. As the Quick Boomerangs all began to tear the Mecha Dragon apart, she ran to her friends. "Was I too late?"

"Just on time! Let's finish these insults to dragons everywhere off!" Trigger Happy replied. At this, the 7 of them all made mincemeat of the little dragons in no time.

"And... that's what happened." Roller Brawl finished. "But honestly, I'm just happy to see you again, Rock." Without a hint of hesitation, she hugged Mega Man in the tightest embrace he'd felt from her.

"VHAT?! QUICK MAN? Fighting alongside that blood-sucking cyborg to save Mega Man?! That lovestruck, corroded TRAITOR!" Dr. Wily could only sputter in complete shock. How? How was that even possible? A robot willing to alter its own programming to be with the one he loved sounded more like something from a cheesy sci-fi soap opera. Not only that, but it seemed that Mega Man had been turned back to normal. Now not only were Mega Man and Roller Brawl in his fortress, but they had insider knowledge thanks to Quick Man. "No matter. This place is a fortress! And there's still a few tricks not even that lovesick traitor knows about!"

"I'm...happy to see you too, but what's going on? I'm so confused," Mega Man asked, befuddled as he hugged the former vampire back.

"This is Dr. Wily's castle. Dr. Light was able to deduce that Dr. Wily's plan was to corrupt your programming with his Robot Masters' weapon data," Time Man explained, Quick Man giving a sheepish grin at the 'weapon data' part. "But he wasn't able to upload either the anti-virus software or the tracking program in time. So we were asked to come rescue you."

"Does that mean...AUGH! I was right next to Dr. Wily a few minutes ago! Everything could have been over by this point!" Mega Man huffed in frustration.

"Don't sweat it, Mega Man! This also comes with a bunch of support item data. Dr. Light said it could come in handy! Roller Brawl's got it scanned in already!" Cut Man reassured his brother.

Seeing the floating platform, jet, and wall climber data he'd acquired, Mega Man figured. "Yeah...these should help us navigate the castle and get to Dr. Wily in no time." Looking at Elec Man, still being held up by Cut Man and Ice Man, he asked in concern. "But what about Elec Man?"

"No need to worry, sir! Me and Cut Man will stay with him!" Ice Man reassured him.

Putting a buster on his chest, Fire Man agreed. "Should any more of Wily's force try to attack them, I'll cover them personally."

"Alright. Guess it's on us 12 then. Everyone ready?" Mega Man began taking control. Hearing the affirmations from everyone, he switched to Item-2. "I'll create some item-2 jets. Can you do the same Roller Brawl?"

"You got it! And don't worry, Rock. I've got my eye on Quick Man!" Roller Brawl answered, pulling Quick Man by the boomerang on his head, and seeing him grunt in pain.

"We'll have to double dip. There won't be enough energy for all of us!" Mega Man instructed. With that, both he and Roller Brawl formed two Item-2 jets each, his being red and hers being black. Trigger Happy and Hot Dog Stood on one, Quick Man and Roller Brawl were on another, Mega Man and Bomb Man took another, and Guts Man stood on one while carrying Time Man and Oil Man. Whirlwind, Cynder, and Hex all chose to use their normal methods of flight, and all went over a giant spike pit. However, they soon found that Dr. Wily had been clever, and found three hallways.

"Which one is it, Quick Man?" Mega Man asked.

"I'm...I'm not sure," Quick Man admitted. Seeing the looks from the others, he quickly added. "I only know of Wily's sanctum where he activated us, and the Mecha Dragon outside. Guess he thought we might have turned turncoat and didn't tell us anything much!"

"That's...fair enough," Mega Man conceded. "So do each of us go through one door each?"

"We'll go through the one on the right!" Trigger Happy volunteered.

"And we're happy to handle the left," Whirlwind suggested.

"Alright. Guess that leaves us on the middle one," Roller Brawl suggested. As all three made there were through the other hallways, none were sure of what to expect.

As the three female Skyborgs made their way through the hallway, they found themselves swarmed by an army of of Lightning Lords, feeling like they were being attacked by bootleg versions of Lightning Rod. The trio pushed their way through, not willing to give up.

"Any idea what we're facing here?" Whirlwind wondered.

"Not a one. This doctor's a far cry from Krankcase, that's for sure," Hex noted. "A robot made of wood certainly seems like Krankcase, but a zippo lighter and a scuba diver certainly don't give much in the way of theming."

"Still, let's not give up so soon. We still need to make our way through this place," Cynder reminded them. As they continued to fly, they soon found the only way through was a pool of water, one that wouldn't gel well with their flight gear. Taking the plunge, they found themselves being swarmed by crime-prevention Big Fish alongside Ankos, leading to a pool teeming with Shrinks. As they made their way through the watery arena, they emerged and made their way through the hallway, and found themselves facing what looked shockingly familiar. The pools were shallow and formed a T-shaped pattern, with flooring made to resemble water-soaked wood. That was when memory struck: it was just like the inside of the Leviathan, all the way back to rebuilding the Core of Light. In time, they soon saw a sphere of energy form, and a familiar hologram came out.

"HA HA HA HA HA! Hello Sky-losers!" The fake voice of Kaos bellowed out, all the deeper to seem scarier. The holographic face, with its hood, markings on the forehead, was unmistakable. "Long time, no see!"

"No way! Kaos?!" Whirlwind asked in utter shock. "How are you here?"

"Oh, if it isn't my annoying little Dragacorn! You've certainly changed yourself nicely! New hair?" Kaos taunted.

"Cut it out Kaos, this isn't even slightly funny!" Cynder retorted. "We lost our home, and from the sounds of it, you've got total run of the place!"

"True. But I want more! The Darkness promised me the universe, and I'm happy to have a puppet do the work for me on this world, while I find more minions to do my bidding! I want to keep rule over Skylands, but that doesn't mean I can't send aid. And I think you know why I asked Dr. Wily to make this arena," Kaos monologued.

"You want us to do battle against your minions? Roller Brawl told us how you made her fight a Darklander version of Drobot! Do you think we're going to forgive this?" Hex answered, venom lacing her voice.

"Do I look like I want forgiveness from Sky-lamos like you?" Kaos rhetorically asked. "No matter. My minions will still take care of you! Evil Water Dragon! Evil Amphibious Gillman! Evil Ice Yeti! ALL AT ONCE! ATTACK!" At Kaos's instructions. First came a black dragon tinged with deep blue highlights. He had giant horns, fins on his back, frog-like digits, a harness wrapped around him, and sails on his head and tail. Second came a humanoid fish, with fins on his head, rockets on his back, and wielded a giant harpoon gun, one with four-pronged spears. Finally, there was a furry, four-armed, ape-like creature. "I'm just going to leave them to fight you, and honestly, I don't care if they win or lose. Just tell Roller Brawl that I'll be coming for this world next!" At this the hologram vanished.

"Ride the Lightning!" The dragon called out first, immediately spelling it out as the Evil Water Dragon.

"Fear the Fish!" The fishman answered, revealing who was the Evil Amphibious Gillman.

"Armed and Dangerous!" The ape said last, revealing it as the Evil Ice Yeti.

"I suppose this would've been as bad as it was for Roller Brawl if this was our first exposure to what happened to our friends," Hex somberly noted. Taking up a battle stance, though, she held the line. "But we have each other, and Roller Brawl. The Skylanders aren't gone yet! And we'll take out these insults to our friends. Right girls?"

"RIGHT! LET'S DO THIS!" Whirlwind and Cynder replied in tandem. At this, the minions of Kaos attacked. Whirlwind went up against the evil version of Slam Bam, dodging icy bullets that would've left her stuck in an icy prison if she stood still. Releasing a thundercloud, she tried to work to stun the ice yeti, but he quickly formed a shield of ice that tanked the hit. Snapping her fingers, she quickly had it send a burst of explosive rainbows that were able to send the yeti flying back. However, he quickly began to slide forward, taking a page from Oil Man's trick book by sliding on ice. At this, he coated his fist in ice, and Whirlwind was thankfully able to avoid the ice blast aimed at her wings, but she did find herself missing her right leg, which hadn't been so lucky.

"Good thing I'm a robot, and Dr. Light can just rebuild me. Walking's gonna be hard though," Whirlwind noted. Still, she was down, not out, and was able to send a gust of wind to knock him off balance, and then retaliated by condensing the air around him, fogging his vision. As the yeti blindly swung around, Whirlwind seized the change to electrocute him, defeating him, and leaving him to erupt into experience orbs that flew up. She saw that her companions were still doing okay, thankfully.

"Come on! The real Gill Grunt was better than that!" Cynder taunted as she weaved through the trio of harpoons Gill Grunt tried to send at her. Indeed, the Gillman seemed to struggle to hit his target, something that definitely begun to frustrate him, while she had no trouble blasting him with lightning. That was until he decided to fly through the sky, and the two engaged in a dog fight. That was where it seemed the Gillman had the original's experience, and fired in more unpredictable patterns, and began to splash her with boiling water. While it didn't hurt as much as it would've with flesh, it still made her systems overheat, and she was forced to land.

"I am better than the original! Kaos made me that way!" The Gillman retorted. As Cynder struggled as she began to cool down her systems, the evil Gillman didn't hesitate to try to impale her with his harpoons. Dodging each of them, she waited for the chance to retaliate, and when the Gillman reloaded, she took it.

"Maybe, but not sharper!" Cynder quickly dashed forward as she coated herself in electricity, going straight through the evil clone of her friend with a Black Dash and making explode into experience orbs that flew up, like his companion. All that was left was the Evil Water Dragon.

"You truly are a far cry from your original. The original would always be better than you," Hex noted as she sent a bevy of explosive skulls at the dragon, who angrily retaliated by zapping them with electric breath. Sliding forward, he released a trail of slime behind him, and Hex knew what his plan was, and quickly defied it by floating up. "Is that really the best you could do?"

"Shut up! I can do more than my original could do!" The Evil Water Dragon retorted. Quickly rising up on a giant wave, he charged it with lightning and began to surf on it, aiming to take out all three in one go. However, Hex was able to interrupt the formation of the wave by creating a bony arm of energy and using it to swipe the wave, turning it into water as the Evil Water Dragon fell down.

"Perhaps, but you seem to lack his control. Even he could restrain himself. I'm fairly certain all the dolphins truly were just jealous him. That's why they claimed he would shock them during their races," Hex continued, speaking down to the Evil Water Dragon.

"QUIET! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY MORE ABOUT STUPID ZAP! HE LOST TO KAOS! YOU ALL DID!" The Evil Water Dragon screamed in frustration. As he released a bevy of electric bolts, Hex retaliated by not only spinning her staff to send a number of orbs, she also proceeded to block every bolt with the Bone Storm. The orbs all made their mark, and soon, the Evil Water Dragon was defeated.

"They're gone," Whirlwind noted, exhausted.

"You okay?" Cynder asked in concern.

"We're robots except for our brains, Cynder. She's alright," Hex reassured her fellow Undead.

"Yeah. But did we really lose completely?" Cynder wondered.

"Not really. We did lose that fight, but we won't let him take this world. And if there's a way to get to Skylands and take the fight to Kaos, we'll do just that!" Whirlwind replied.

"Well said. But we should at least make sure to be ready to leave," Hex noted.

"So many drills!" Hot Dog noted as they weaved through the Moles. "Not as good as Drill Sergeant though!"

"Yep! Drill Sergeant was better than these things!" Trigger Happy agreed. He'd been on Telly-hunting duty, shooting down any that tried to approach them as they made their way through. The high number of annoying enemies grated on his nerves, and there wasn't much to look forward to.

"Any idea what's on this end?" Hot Dog asked.

"Nope! And that's the fun of this!" Trigger Happy answered back. "Let's see what this guy brings, and we'll smash it!"

"Right!" At this, Hot Dog and Trigger Happy continued to make their way through the hallway. When they found a ladder, they quickly jumped down it, only to find nothing but what looked like a blocky hallway. When nothing happened, the two readied their weapons, unsure of what could come next. When blocks began to come from the walls and join together, Trigger Happy remembered an idea Dr. Light had for a home security device.

"No way! I though Dr. Wily was happy to rip off the Robot Masters, but now he's copying the Pikopikokun?" Trigger Happy asked in surprise.

"The what?" Hot Dog asked.

"An idea Dr. Light had. Hidden block robots that would tackle any intruders that went in a hallway without a passcode," Trigger Happy explained as he shot one down. More began to form as they all made their way to the former Skylander duo. At this, Hot Dog called for more Magmutt Minions, working to incinerate them as they approached, and sending a couple of them out to explode some of them. Trigger Happy used his marksmanship to his advantage, firing shots that bounced off individual robots and pierced through them.

"There's too many of them! What do we do now?" Hot Dog worried as the numbers began to increase

Trigger Happy, seeing their number go into the tens, began to ready a massive blast. "Hot Dog get behind me!"

"You're gonna do it?!" Hot Dog asked in anticipation.

"YEAH!" Holding his Golden Gatlings together, he began to charge all the mini-cores in them, and once all were ready, he cried out, "GOLDEN YAMATO BLAST!" At this, a giant wave of fiery energy emerged from the busters, incinerating most of the drones to nothing, but also pushing him back a fair distance. Huffing as the heat was released from his systems, Trigger Happy was shocked to see more form around them. "Darn it. I can't fire right now, and we've still got more boogies inbound!"

"Let me help! I've got a hot trick of my own!" Hot Dog suggested.

"Let me guess. That attack?" Trigger Happy said, a slight smirk on his face.

"Yep!" At this, Hot Dog jumped up into the air, calling out, "PYRO PINWHEEL!" Curling into a ball, he rapidly began to fire fireballs everywhere, hitting everyone of the last few robots that approached them. When one more tried to attack below him, Hot Dog slammed on the ground, reducing it to scrap metal.

"Good work. Now, let's take a breather, because I don't think I can go much farther at this point.

"Yeah, there's no way that the Mecha Dragon was Dr. Wily's last line of defense, guys," Quick Man noted, answering an earlier question from Bomb Man. As the hallway opened, all of them were forced to dodge an incoming giant fist. One that came from a machine that looked like a giant Guts Man from the chest up attached to tank treads, and having spiky shoulders the original Guts Man lacked.

"Definitely, I don't think that the Doc could ever stop making bad things," Roller Brawl agreed. A glance at the thing that attacked quickly made Guts Man see red.

"He ripped off my design again?! To Make That?!" Guts Man bellowed as he suddenly rocketed forward, leaving poor Time Man and Oil Man struggling to hold on. "LEMME AT 'IM!"

"I pity that thing," Roller Brawl noted.

"I think that they've got it under control," Mega Man figured.

"They'll be fine. Let's keep moving!" Bomb Man reassured Mega Man

"I'm all for that!" Quick Man agreed. As the four of them continued, they went through another door, and found nothing in the beginning. However, the door soon slammed behind them, and that was when worry began to take root.

"Still glad you came?" Mega Man asked.

"No regrets, Mega-YOW!" Bomb Man answered before a circular turret shot at them suddenly. "Turrets!"

"And this place is like a maze!" Mega Man noted as he and the others began to dodge the attacks.

"Let me handle this! I'll go scout up ahead and tell you the positions!" Quick Man suggested.

"No! You don't need to do that! We just need to take them out one by one!" Mega Man pointed out.

"I have to do this. I know you don't trust me, but let me show you that I can be!" Quick Man stated. "Honestly, it kinda hurts to move, but I do want to prove myself to you guys."

"You mean that? Or are you just trying to butter me up?" Roller Brawl asked, somewhat unconvinced.

"Okay, that's part of it. But I know Dr. Wily won't be taking me in after this, and you guys repaired me afterwards. I think it's time to pay it forward!" Quick Man answered. One didn't need to be a linguist to hear the sincerity in Quick Man's voice.

"Alright. But be careful, Quick Man," Mega Man acquiesced.

"Thank you," Quick Man said. Running through the maze, he was able to note the locations of the turrets, and ran back to Mega Man. "Okay, there's 9 turrets scattered about this place. They should be right over-GACK!" The interruption was a tenth turret that Quick Man hadn't noticed.

"QUICK MAN! Are you okay?" Mega Man asked in concern.

"I'll...I'll be okay. It's just a metal perforation, I'll be...gack!" Quick Man tried to reassure his new friends.

"No. We'll take care of this. We just need to navigate safely," Mega Man reassured Quick Man.

"Why safely? You've got an exploding weapon, don't you guys?" Bomb Man pointed out.

"Yeah, the Crash Bomber. Why?" Roller Brawl answered.

"Then we'll blow this place to kingdom come!" Bomb Man revealed his plan. At this, Mega Man and Roller Brawl switched to said weapon, and the trio began to blow up everything. By the time they were done, the entire maze was nothing but rubble.

"Well...that did the trick, but I'm out of Crash Bomber ammo," Mega Man noted.

"Same here," Roller Brawl realized.

"Ditto, but at least you two have the other weapons to fall back on," Bomb Man pointed out. "You two go on. I'll try to direct the others to you and stay here with Quick Man." As the two prepared to leave, they saw Quick Man weakly chuckle.

"Heh. Guess you didn't need me after all," Quick Man noted.

"You tried to help us, Quick Man, and that was pretty cool of you!" Bomb Man reassured the former Wily Number. "And while you were pretty banged up the whole while, so points for that!"

"Yeah. He's...actually got a point. I think it's pretty clear you're not on Wily's side anymore," Roller Brawl admitted, respect for Quick Man growing. "How about this? We'll have that date a bit later, but not right now. Let's find a moment where we can have some kind of calm in our lives and then have it. How's that?"

"Heh. Fine by me!" Quick Man said with a weak smile. "Go give the doc a hard time for me, would ya?"

"Will do," Roller Brawl replied as she winked to him.

As the two robot heroes made their way through the last stations of Wily's fortress, they found one more door opened up for them. "It's over Dr. Wily! No way for you to use Mega Man as a robot shield!" Roller Brawl declared.

"Yes. And you don't have any more Robot Masters to selfishly sacrifice! Give it up!" Mega Man continued.

"It's far from over, Mega Brat and Roller Small!" Dr. Wily declared from the inside of his new Wily Machine. As he fired the cannon attached to the bottom of it, he continued to rant. "You and your earthly weaponry cannot stop me! I shall conquer this planet with power from beyond the stars!"

"Are you talking about Skylands?" Roller Brawl asked. "Because you make no sense otherwise!"

"Agreed. But since you gave us these weapons, it'd be impolite of us to not give them back!" Mega Man said as he switched to Metal Blade, Roller Brawl quickly following suit.

"NOOOO!" Dr. Wily panicked as they cut through the metal around his machine's cockpit.

"Huh. I would've tried everything but never mind," Roller Brawl replied as she saw the power of the Metal Blade. With the two quickly slicing and dicing through the machine like Sashimi, Dr. Wily was forced to go back to his UFO to escape a nasty end.

"Wow! I wish we'd gone to Metal Man first and gotten his power! All of this would've been so much easier!" Mega Man said as he saw what happened.

"Yeah. And barely any loss of ammo!" Roller Brawl concurred. Prying open the saucer, the two looked at Dr. Wily, who had an expression of complete disdain. "It's over Dr. Wily. Time to pay the piper!"

"Agreed. And you're going to answer for what you've done to us and our family!" Mega Man continued. That was Dr. Wily began to take on a more monstrous form: his forehead elongated, his skin turned sickly green, and his eyes became more similar to insect compound eyes, shedding his labcoat in the process. All the while this happened, everything began to resemble outer space, and when the transformation was complete, Dr. Wily had become a monstrous alien, with claw-like hands, bird-like feet, and an exposed ribcage.

"And I told you, feeble Earth robots you cannot stop me! I will conquer this miserable planet with power from beyond the stars!" The alien said.

"You're a...space alien?!" Mega Man asked in complete shock.

"How is that even possible?" Roller Brawl inquired, her shock equivalent.

"The foolish Earth-creature Thomas Light never knew. That is of little consequence," the alien answered as it fired a laser at the two. "Flee now, and warn the world of my coming! Warn it of its doom!"

"How do we stop an alien invasion?!" Roller Brawl asked, utterly rattled. "What would it even be weak to? Bubble Lead? Atomic Fire?"

"I don't know! Maybe we should retreat and-" Mega Man began to answer as he suddenly found the image change when his hand passed through: clear signs of a hologram. "It's another hologram decoy."

"Are you kidding me?!" Roller Brawl grumbled. The two soon take aim at the dome above. That made the alien panic.

"No! Don't!" It replied in complete terror as the shot hit the projector. At this, the image completely faded away, and Dr. Wily sat inside a purple control cylinder.

"P-pay no attention to zhat man behind zhe hologram..." he stammered weakly.

"Evil invaders from space?" Mega Man asked incredulously. "How ridiculous can you get?"

"Yeah. That's the stuff you see in a cheap B-movie!" Roller Brawl pointed out as the two pulled out Dr. Wily, who flailed like a child throwing a tantrum.

"You both fell for it! I saw you! You vere scared!" Dr. Wily childishly whined. His whining, however, gave way to a smirk, as he used his foot to slam a button. "You should've stayed vith me, Mega Man! At least you would've gotten out alive that way!" Dr. Wily slipped into a trap hatch while the two held his lab coat.

"Warning. Castle self-destruct in 5 minutes!" A countdown alarm warned.

"5 minutes?!" The two robots parroted in shock.

"Come on, bro! We've gotta get everyone out now!" Roller Brawl snapped out of her shock as she formed an Item-2, with Mega Man following suit.

While Roller Brawl rapidly made her way out, Mega Man took a brief glance at the trapdoor where Dr. Wily had gone. "I hope, for your sake, that you manage to escape, Dr. Wily."

As the two passed on, they found themselves picking up member after member of the group. They saw Quick Man and Bomb Man still in the remains of the turret room, Guts Man and his group who'd defeated the tank with no trouble if the hundreds of smashed Mets meant anything, the Skyborgs flying to make their way out, Fire Man carrying Elec Man piggy-back style with Cut Man and Ice Man following soon enough.

"3. 2. 1. HA HA HA!" The alarm declared as the fortress exploded all of them managing to make their escape.

With everyone now at home, they all began to relax, wishing to make up for the party Quick Man had wrecked. Guts Man had gone on to perform karaoke with Bomb Man and Cut Man as an audience. Hot Dog had begun to relax, snuggling alongside Fire Man. Auto began to form a punch bowl of E-tank fluid with help from Ice Man. Cynder had begun to simply to take a nap in her civilian form, which revealed her violet hair to be cut in a short bob cut, and wearing her spiked bracelets and choker, but also wearing a purple tank top, spiked black belt, a purple knee skirt, and pink open-toe heels. Hex, on the other hand, was being subjected to joke off between Trigger Happy and Oil Man, alongside a similarly exasperated Time Man. Her civilian attire had her black hair fall to her shoulders, and she wore an elegant black dress and black heels, preferring a simply fashion. Rock, Roll, and Roller Brawl, stayed with Dr. Light to help in the repairs of Whirlwind, Elec Man, and Quick Man.

"I'm sorry you were so badly damaged. Both of you. Even with that, Dr. Wily, still managed to get away," Rock apologized.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You did your best, and you at least made sure he can't do any more damage for the next few months probably," Whirlwind reassured Rock, having her leg prepared.

"Indeed. You were the one reprogrammed by Dr. Wily, and I know that it is far from a pleasant experience. Having your mind clouded like that certainly suits no one," Elec Man concurred, his legs in a similar state.

"And Quick Man? You know I don't really like you because you attacked my home, right? You know that's not pleasant after what happened with me right?" Roller Brawl began.

"Geez. No need to rub it in," Quick Man noted as repairs continued.

"But you did help us out, and even had your own programming changed. That's something I can respect! Dr. Light's having a conference in a few days, but how's about we set a date for after that?" Roller Brawl finished.

"You mean it?" Quick Man asked, joy flooding his circuits.

"I'm not the kinda gal who jokes on things like that," Roller Brawl pointed out. "And remember that kiss? How's about I give you one now, just something to look forward to?" At this, Roller Brawl got up on her toes, and kissed Quick Man on the cheek. At this, Quick Man formed a massive blush and a goofy grin. "But yeah, Rock. It's my fault you ended up corrupted. I should've stopped you from getting all the weapon data, but I guess I didn't do enough."

"Don't blame yourself, Roller Brawl. You did what you could to help out your brother, and sometimes, it's not enough," Roll reassured her adoptive sister.

"She and Elec Man are right, you two. There's no need for either of you to apologize, because you did more than anyone could have asked of you. I'm just glad the two of you are safe, and if anything, I'm sorry your last support units weren't finished until now," Dr. Light gently assured them

"More support units?" The two asked in confusion.

"I'm sure they'll be wonderful 'Welcome home' presents, though!" Dr. Light said as he whistled. At this, two robotic animals came forward. First was a white and red dog, one more like a retriever, with a helmet similar to Mega Man's and a small metal rod for the tail. The next one to come was a black and pink bat with a small helmet and wings and claws much like those of a fruit bat. The dog came to Mega Man and began to lick his face while the bat flew to Roller Brawl and and held tightly onto her arm.

"Oh my goodness! She's adorable!" Roller Brawl said as the bat latched onto her, giving her a happy look.

"You built me a dog? That's...thank you so much, Doctor!" Rock said.

"So what do you wanna call your new friends?" Auto asked.

"Well, I felt a rush of joy when I got this guy, so would Rush be okay?" Rock wondered. That name seemed to fit with the pup, as it only continued to lick his face even more.

"Cute. But I always wanted a pet bat, so I could name her Nocturne? That okay with you, sweetie?" Roller Brawl responded, booping its snout. At this, the bat began to lick her finger and waggle her ears.

"Don't worry, you guys. I'll finish your repairs soon enough," Auto assured the trio in need of repairs. "After that, though, should I pack up my stuff and head back to the shop?"

"No Auto. I'm sure Albert will strike again, and we need to be ready for more threats with the coming of Kaos," Dr. Light answered. "When it does happen, I'll need all the help I can get to support Mega Man and Roller Brawl." Those musings were interrupted as the two robot children continued to play with their new pets.

Inside the Wily Capsule he'd landed in earlier, Dr. Wily grumbled. "Curses! Stupid Mega Man! Blasted Roller Brawl!" Seeing the onboard computer narrow onto an area in South America, he ranted. "I'll show them...I'll show them all!" The computer finished, revealing the destination to be the Lanfront Ruins.

Voice Cast:

Dr. Wily - Scott McNeil

Elec Man - Brendan Hunter

Hex - Courtenay Taylor

Trigger Happy - Dave Wittenberg

Whirlwind - Salli Saffioti

Guts Man - Garry Chalk

Time Man - Keith Silverstein

Hot Dog - Carlos Alazraqui

Cut Man - Elinor Holt

Fire Man - Roger Rhodes

Ice Man - Zoe Slusar

Oil Man - Khary Patron

Cynder - Tobie LaSalandra

Mega Man/Rock - Cole Howard

Quick Man - Roger Craig Smith

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

Kaos - Richard Steven Horvitz

Evil Water Dragon - Jeff Bergman

Evil Amphibious Gillman - Darin De Paul

Evil Ice Yeti - Fred Tatasciore

Bomb Man - Ryan Stockert

Alien - Steve Blum

Countdown Alarm- Scott McNeil

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Auto - Greg Cipes

Author's Note

Welp, here we are! The finale of the Mega Man 2 arc. And I feel this should be obvious, but Quick Man's going to be a permanent part of the cast from here on out, which means he won't be going offline in what will be Issue 49 equivalent. You may also have noted that Dr. Wily's been improving things: the Mecha Dragon has incorporated the eggs it had from Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, and we got a fight against Pikopikokun, which wasn't in the comics originally. Also, the Alien being voiced by Steve Blum is indeed a Vilgax reference. Plus, yeah. This is the first time Kaos makes an actual appearance in the story as a proper antagonsit instead of just some plot device. If you're wondering why the girls weren't as affected as Roller Brawl was, remember that Roller Brawl thought the Skylanders were all gone, and she might not find them again. Here, they at least know that they're together again.

More importantly, the first true OC has appeared: Nocturne the robot bat, and Roller Brawl's counterpart to Rush! She's pretty much based on the flying fox bat, and has her own takes on Rush Coil, Rush Jet, and Rush Marine, which we'll go over in time when they're part of the plot. Also, Nocturne does fit into the music theme naming across the Mega Man series, with nocturne meaning "a short composition of a romantic or dreamy character suggestive of night, typically for piano", so that fits for a vampire, typically associated with night and darkness.

Next Time: Shaping the Future!

The Advanced Robots and Trade Show (ARTS) has just begun, and Dr. Light has brought Elec Man, Rock, Roll, Rush, Roller Brawl, and Nocturne as guests to the event. When the event starts, the gang get to meet some of Dr. Light's old classmates: Dr. Cossack and Dr. Lalinde, who have brought their own Robot Masters of Pharaoh Man and Quake Woman. However, all goes wrong when anti-robot extremists, led by Xander Payne, attack the convention. All the while, Dr. Wily investigates the bizarre Lanfront Ruins, noting a strange EMP field.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter 13: First, Do No Harm
(Issue #14)

As Rush and Nocturne growled at Xander's declaration, the two children of Dr. Light were quick to shush them.

"Easy girl, not now!" Roller Brawl told her pet bat.

"Down boy!" Mega Man instructed his pet dog.

"My name is Alexander Payne. But just call me "Xander", okay? I know that your robots can be invaluable in the protection of human life, but have you seen the destruction that was wrought by them?" Xander introduced himself. "So what I want is a downgrade of the power of these robots! Let it be that human life will not be in danger in the event of one robot going amuck! And you three will help in that. Together, we'll make a brand new era of security and peace!"

"Okay, listen up, you schmuck! I'm tellin' you right here, right now, that you're not hurting anyone here as long as oil pumps through me!" Roller Brawl declared.

"Ease up on the hostilities, Miss! We have no intention of hurting anyone, human or robot alike," Xander defended. "Okay, I'll admit, some of my brother and sisters-in-arms may be a bit overzealous, but I promise that my only intentions are for the best for everyone!"

"Alright, sir, please come with us!" ES-07 asked Dr. Light as he took his hand.

"Let him go, or I'll...!" Mega Man threatened furiously.

"Easy, easy! I want to talk to the doctors, so be gentle with them, please," Xander stated. "Anyway, it's not like you can do anything to them."

"He's right, Rock, the first law of robotics..." Dr. Light began as he put 2 and 2 together.

"I can't bring harm to a human unless it's to save another from a life-threatening situation," Mega Man finished. Hearing that, Roller Brawl recognized a minor loophole 'Except I'm a cyborg, so the rules don't really apply to me, do they? Maybe play that card later'

"If everyone's settled down, I want all humans and willing robots out of the building now," Xander began. "Also, please don't call the cops. To be honest, some of my...partner's men have been a bit too eager to shoot something, and I don't want any blood shed tonight."

"Tch. Like that's reassuring," Roller Brawl deadpanned.

As Emerald Spears continued to order robots around, Roll and Kalinka stayed hidden as much as they could.

"This is for your own good! All humans and robots who wish to leave, get out now. Any other robots who want to stay? Do that!" An Emerald Spear thug replied. As the two continued hiding.

"What do we do, Roll?" Kalinka asked in trepidation. "I'm so scared..."

"Don't worry, Kalinka. My brother and sister will save us. I'm sure of it. Until that happens, I'll protect you."

"But what about Poppa? I need to call him and make sure he's alright!" Kalinka whimpered as she pulled out her phone.

"Shhh!" Roll shushed as an Emerald Spear soldier passed by. "Okay! Okay! Just be silent as you can!"

"Poppa! You picked up! Are you okay?" Kalinka asked as tears began to fall. "I'm fine. Roll's with me right now!" After she got her father's response, she hung up, but wished she'd stayed on call when she heard what another thug said.

"Didn't you know that apparently, Suna's been running her own sub-operation here under Lord Obsidian's orders? Something about setting charges rigged to blow on his command?" The thug said.

"That can't be right. We're not the bad guys, right?" Another thug said, this one with black hair and distinct sideburns.

"I hope not, Theo. Xander's a good man, but I hope he didn't do something terrible in his desperation to have his voice heard," The thug sadly replied.

"That's not good!" Roll noted. "If there's bombs here, who knows what damage could be wrought!"

Her fingers trembling, Kalinka decided to quickly send a text with a single word.

BOMBS

"Good. Stay out of sight and do as Roll says," Dr. Cossack told his daughter over the phone. "Don't worry about me, my звезда. I will be fine, and we'll meet again soon."

"Your daughter, Dr. Cossack?" Xander asked in curiosity.

"Yes. A far more important thing to me than what you thugs want," Dr. Cossack answered in tranquil fury.

"No. No. I get it! You treasure your daughter like any father would. But I don't want any more children to feel afraid of your creations because they're unsafe while active," Xander said, a wistful smile on his face. "I know it's not your fault that I lost my eye, but I can't see how to prevent this apart from introducing better safeguards, and any other way seems to result in dismissal from others, saying that I was too close-minded and paranoid."

"I understand that, but what do you mean it's 'not our fault'?" Dr. Lalinde asked.

"It's...painful, but I want you to understand something. Or rather see something." Xander sighed sadly. His hand trembling, he took off his eyepatch and revealed a prosthetic eye underneath. "After I finished my time as a soldier, I tried to get into police work, but then...Dr. Wily happened." Dr. Light gasped. "I was one of the policemen who tried to stop Elec Man, but a blast from his Thunder Beam completely melted my cornea. Even now, I can't help but flinch when I hear the crash of thunder outside, thinking it's him."

"I see," Dr. Light acknowledged. "From the bottom of my heart, Xander, I'm so sorry about what my creation did to you. Even if he was reprogrammed by a fellow scientist, I was the one who gave him that much power without any form of restraint. For that, I can only extend my sincerest apologies."

"Thank you," Xander smiled. "All I want is a promise from each of you. That whenever you build more robots to help advance humanity, you at least introduce safeguards that prevents them from using all their power at once."

"Нет! Эти идиоты!" Cossack swore as he got a brief text from his daughter. Quickly running to Dr. Light, he whispered in his ear. Whatever he said clearly put Dr. Light on edge, as he seemed utterly flabbergasted at what he heard.

"Rock! Roller Brawl! I need you two to get out there! It seems that Emerald Spears have set charges throughout the building!" Dr. Light quickly explained in a hushed voice.

"WHAT?!" Rock asked in complete shock.

"So much for peaceful," Roller Brawl shook her head, unsurprised.

"I don't think so. It seems Xander doesn't know about the bombs himself, and there's a chance that this partner of his is the real puppet master," Dr. Light explained. "Regardless, these people are very dangerous!"

"Gee, you think? It's not like they've been holding us at gunpoint and ordering any non-compliant robot to stay!" Roller Brawl retorted.

"Yes. But even if not everyone is being threatened, everyone will be in danger if those bombs go off!" Dr. Light stated. "You two go on ahead and see if you can disable them before they can do any damage. We'll see if we can keep Xander from doing anything else"

"You got it, Doc! Let's get going, Nocturne!" Roller Brawl instructed as Nocturne flew behind her.

"I'll do my best! Rush! Quake Woman! Let's follow my sister!" Mega Man continued. At this, Quake Woman, no hint of change on her face, followed the robotic dog behind Mega Man.

"Should I be...?" Xander questioned.

"Don't worry about those robots, Mr. Payne," Dr. Light interrupted, putting eyes on him. "You certainly seem to be a...well-read individual, and we're the top researchers in robotics. Why don't you try to sway us to your cause?"

"Ahh! That's what I want to see!" Xander chuckled, a light smile on his face. "Alright, here's my arguments!"

None of what happened in recent times meant anything to Dr. Wily, who was more engrossed in trying to understand the strange sphere he'd encountered in the Temple of the Moon.

"Evil Armored Dragon? Vhat do your scans say? Is this some...ancient technology from Skylands?" Dr. Wily asked another evil copy of Drobot. Seeing his eyes glowing a bright green, the mad scientist saw the Evil Armored Dragon fly around as he began inspecting the orb.

"Negative. The scans do not register for any known technology in Skylands. It is not an Arkeyan or Troll-based device," The dragon answered.

"Interesting. But what would such a device be doing in a place like this?" Dr. Wily wondered, his scientific curiosity awoken. "It is absolutely anachronistic with the rest of this place." Pulling out his laptop, Dr. Wily readied for a more thorough examination. Unbeknownst to him, the wires of the machine began to wriggle, something that caught the magnifying-lensed eyes of his Darklander minion.

"MASTER! LOOK OUT!" The Drobot clone's warning, however, is in complete vain, as the wires shot towards Dr. Wily with lightning speed, ready to strike with their ports like hundreds of needles.

"AAAH! SPARE ME!" Dr. Wily begged pathetically as he used laptop as a shield. However, the wires grabbed hold of the laptop like tentacles, and began to take it towards the device. "Be careful with that! All my personal files and blueprints are on that!" Soon enoug, the wires stopped wriggling and held it firm, moving it to Dr. Wily's face as the screen of his laptop was replaced by the eye of the machine in front of a brigt blue background.

"Greetings, Dr. Albert W. Wily," A voice came from his laptop. "I am the ancient alien supercomputer Ra Moon. Built for the purposes of preparing worlds for invasion and conquest by those worthy of my power. I specialize in disabling enemy forces and building armadas."

"R-Ra Moon? Of course! 'Lua do Mal' means 'Evil Moon' in Portuguese! On zhe nose, but I suppose it works. You say you can build me an army, eh?" The hears Dr. Wily's head began to turn. "Why don't you give me a demonstration of what you can do"

"Certainly, Master," Ra Moon answered. At once, blue light emerged from the top and bottom of the sphere, and Dr. Wily was left in utter shock yet again. In his eyes stood Flash Man, completely undamaged after his backside was blown up.

"Flash Man?! You're back!" Dr. Wily could only utter.

"What the...? Doctor Wily?" Flash Man asked as he began to gather his bearings. "What happened? The last thing I remember was fighting Mega Man and Roller Brawl. I guess I went offline, but did Quick Man at least finish them off?"

"Sadly, no. That annoying crush he developed on Roller Brawl made him betray us after Mega Man somehow managed to not take him out! And now I can't even rebuild him with Dr. Light having him in his clutches!" Dr. Wily ranted.

"I have the schematics for the warrior known as 'Quick Man' here. If you wish, I could improve his design to make him more ... obedient to your commands," Ra Moon offered.

"So you don't just build robots, you can modify them?" Dr. Wily noted.

"Of course," Ra Moon plainly responded. "Give me a few cycles, and it will be done." Indeed, a few minutes later, Dr. Wily saw a robot that definitely bore similarities to Quick Man, but had clearly been heavily modified. His body was the same, but the red on his body was now black, and what had been black was now a golden sheen. Both his arms, unlike the original Quick Man, were equipped with Quick Boomerang launchers, but Quick Boomerangs seemed to cover several parts of his body. Small boomerangs were attacked to his feet, two on each foot, giving the appearance of winged sandals. Two bigger ones jutted out of his shoulders, two lay on the sides of his head like antenna alongside his boomerang crest, and half of a boomerang were attached to the outside of his forearms, making for wicked blades. To complete his ensembles, his mouth was covered in a black mouth-covering, and a distinctive white scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Master Wily," The new robot genuflected before the scientist, his voice similar to Quick Man but far more reserved and stoic. "I am yours to command. What will my designation be?"

"Hmmm. Your appearance certainly brings to mind the messenger God from Greece," Dr. Wily contemplated. "What would you say to...Ra Hermes."

"I accept your suggestion. I am now Ra Hermes," The robot dutifully replied.

"While I'm...happy to see a better brother, master, how am I back?" Flash Man asked. "Where is here?"

"'Here' is the heart of the Lanfront Ruins," Dr. Wily explained. An evil smile formed on his face as thought about what was to come next. "As for the 'how'..."

"Look, do you want to go or not?" The same red head Emerald Spear thug asked as Suna came close. She had been trying to deal with a particularly troublesome robot, one with simple hands and what looked like a red pompadour

"Something wrong, Simone?" Suna asked, revealing the thug's name.

"I think the poor guy's stuck in some kind of programming loop. Maybe his builder didn't program him with the ability to decide what to do," Simone answered.

"Buddy not understand. Owner tell Buddy to come with him, but Buddy supposed to be demonstration in ARTS, and owner make last protocol with extra strength, so Buddy cannot disobey." Buddy explained his situation in a somewhat simple voice.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, may I try to help?" Another voice rang out. The two woman looked behind them and see a behemoth of a Robot Master. He was modeled after an anatomically-correct heart, as his main body was a giant blue sphere, and his head, having an open slot for his red eyes. His shoulder pads had red bolts on them, and his hands were replaced with Busters. Across his body were tubes filled with red liquid, giving them a strong resemblance to the aorta. Elec Man and Pharaoh decided to watch the exchange and see what happened. "Look. I get it, this wasn't a situation anyone wanted to be in. All I was meant to do was demonstrate the proof of concept for a hydrogen power source based on the human cardiovascular system, and now we're here."

"But Buddy's owner make default for protocol to unknown situation to listen to human, but Buddy not sure if listen to human or listen to owner!" Buddy explained.

"Then let me introduce a new protocol to you. Disregard the extra strength protocol and go outside," The heart-themed Robot Master stated.

"Y-yes," Seeing the poor robot finally have an idea of what to do, Simone let out a sigh that at least one issue had been defused. "New protocol applied for now..." Unfortunately, both she and the new Robot Master were utterly shocked when Suna pulled out an electric prod and shocked the poor thing. At this, Simone was in total shock.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Simone could only say. "He seemed like he was getting ready to go peacefully!"

"Well, he should've been moving faster, and then I wouldn't need to do this," Suna stated with a smirk as she turned to the cardiovascular Robot Master. "That goes for you, too! Make your choice or we'll free you of that burden." Her prod crackled with electricity. "Permanently!"

"Was that necessary?" Elec Man asked Simone as Suna walked out.

"I...I wouldn't do that!" Simone sputtered. "Look, just get out if you want, it may be for the better, or at least help those who want to leave!" That was the last thing she said before deciding to walk around to more robots.

"It was certainly brave of you to do that, ummm..." Pharaoh Man began as he stepped forward.

"Pulse Man," The heart-themed robot answered.

"Xander! I want to talk with you! Now!" Lord Obsidian's voice rang out.

"Excuse me, doctors, it seems my partner wants to have a talk," Xander said as he followed Lord Obsidian. After they left, though, Xander's smile gave way to an angry grimace. "Do you want to explain what this is about? I think we were about to make something!"

"You think or you know?" Lord Obsidian plainly asked. "When you told me you wanted to make the doctors see the dangers they brought, I didn't mean for my forces to be wasted for a glorified debate! Have you forgotten what they've done to so many people? TO YOU?!" At this, Lord Obsidian began to tap Xander's prosthetic eye.

"Your forces?! You may have armed them, but they're my men!" Xander retorted. "And again, I emphasize that all I wanted were more restrictions, not the complete annihilation of advancement!"

"You're a fool, Xander! They care not one whit for your arguments!" Lord Obsidian fired back. "All they care about is advancement for advancement's sake! To make more powerful abominations that cause even more damage!"

"That's the only truth you've said so far!" Xander stated in turn. "I want to change minds to change the worlds! What you're suggesting will only ruin our cause and forever associate it with destruction and death! Now get out! I need to get back to my talk with the doctors."

Grumbling, Lord Obsidian made his exit. "SUNA! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE, RIGHT NOW!" He barked in frothing fury. At once, Suna arrived at the outside of the security hall where he was.

"I take it that Xander's too spineless?" Suna knowingly asked.

"Yes. It seems that I'm going to have to dirty my hands with this," Lord Obsidian noted. That was when a chuckle began to emerge from his throat. "And I'm happy with that. I will never play second fiddle to a spineless worm like him! So now it's time to play after so many years of doing nothing!"

"Good to see you so happy, sir!" Suna smirked, seeing the fun part begin. "The charges are set to detonate, but not everyone's out. Do you want to wait or not?"

"HA HA HA HA! NO!" Lord Obsidian chortled. "Blow them all up, human and robot alike!"

"Blow them all up?" They soon saw that ES-07 had overheard their conversation. "Massacring innocents wasn't what I signed up for!"

"THERE ARE NOT INNOCENTS WHEN IT COMES TO ME!" Lord Obsidian bellowed. "You're either with me and innocent, or an enemy against me!" Hearing this, ES-07 quickly made contact over the radio he had.

"Theo! Simone! Emergency! Lord Obsidian's planted charges in the building, and he's going to- AAAAAHHHHH!" ES-07 tried to warn his compatriots before Lord Obsidian pulled out one of the spikes attached to his shoulder, revealing it to be a firearm similar to a sawn-off shotgun and blasted a dark-red electric beam from it, electrocuting ES-07 before making him fall unconscious.

"What's the plan, sir?" Suna asked her superior.

"Time to take out the trash! Perhaps it's time that Xander sees who was really helping him! And I'll talk to the doctors myself!" Lord Obsidian chuckled.

Roller Brawl, Mega Man, their respective pets, and Quake Woman soon met with the trio of Robot Masters by the booths. "Elec Man, Pharaoh Man, are you alright?" Mega Man asked.

"We're fine. But who's she?" Elec Man answered

"She's Dr. Lalinde's Robot Master Quake Woman!" Roller Brawl stated as she skated towards them. "And before you ask, the doctors are fine, Pharaoh Man. Xander just wanted to talk to them."

"I...I see. I'm happy to know that, but have you seen Roll and Kalinka anywhere?"

"Negatory. Roll and Kalinka have not been encountered yet," Quake Woman replied in her monotone voice.

"Yeah. If anyone sees 'em, we gotta tell them to get out to safety!" Roller Brawl continued. "The docs are trying to keep Xander occupied with some debate, but we got bigger problems."

"Yes. We've got to stop the Spears from hurting anyone else. Especially now that we know that they've set up bombs around the place to blow it up , and all of us with it!" Mega Man stated.

"Me and Mega Man can handle the Spears, and I think I've got a few aces up my sleeve left," Roller Brawl stated.

"Okay. While we're doing that, do you think you guys can handle finding and disabling the bombs?" Mega Man finished.

"I think that I should be able to short out the detonators, but even someone as glorious as me can't find the bombs!" Elec Man determined

"My Pulse Stopper acts as a kind of shield/defibrillator, so I can help Elec Man out with that, but I can't do much on the bomb hunting department." Pulse Man explained.

"Then it's a good thing that I am here! I was built for seeking treasures in dark tombs, so I can help find the bombs," Pharaoh Man offered.

"My suite of tools should allow me to detect the explosives," Quake Woman stated plainly. Yet again, Roller Brawl couldn't help but be creeped out by how lifeless she sounded.

"Good enough for me!" Roller Brawl smiled as she put her hand out, everyone quickly stacking their hands. "Let's Roll! Just try not to get caught by the Spears!"

"Don't worry, Quake Woman. We'll make sure the Doctors will be fine," Mega Man tried to comfort his compatriot as he and Roller Brawl ran off.

"I am not worried. It is imperative that we get to work," Quake Woman answered with no emotion once again.

"I...was under the impression that Dr. Lalinde built her in the same way that we were...?" Pharaoh Man wondered.

"Seems like it. Though considering how she was Dr. Light's opponent in developing our emotional processing, I wonder if it's because she doesn't worry, or because she can't," Elec Man figured.

All the while, Quake Woman began to change, tying her brown hair into long twintails and forming green armor across her body.

"Are you watching a Yootoo video?" Roll asked as Kalinka looked at her phone.

"Нет," Kalinka answered. "I have no idea what this broadcast is. Poppa made me this phone so I can stay in touch with him at all times, no matter what happens to me. But sometimes, there are too many features. I was looking for the news to see if the police were coming, but I got this broadcast instead" On air was Xander, and it seemed that he was continuing his debate.

"...And I promise you, it will be no different than advancing normally! Impeding progress is not my intention!" Xander explained.

"Hold on a minute!" Roll began before Kalinka could switch the channel. "That's the same guy who was ordering everyone around earlier! Can you record this?"

"...And I appreciate that you care so much for the advancement of science. But what of disaster response robots and medical robots? Reducing their power could lead to catastrophe!" Dr. Light argued.

"Any robot directly involved in the protection of human life in a non-combative situation obviously shouldn't have its power reduced. The rules of robotics state that human life has to be preserved, so I imagine that they will have no reason or ability to do otherwise," Xander explained.

"Yes, let me just...there!" Kalinka figured.

"Awesome! Now, send that to-!" Roll began before a chuckle emerged.

"What's the meeting for girls?" Suna smirked as she sauntered towards them, electric prod in hand. "You know the old saying, 'snitches get stitches'?"

"Ummm..." Roll and Kalinka could only mutter in trepidation. All of a sudden, Theo leapt out and began to fight Suna.

"You two! Get out of here! NOW!" Theo quickly ordered as he held Suna in an armbar.

"LET GO OF ME!" Suna firmly barked at Theo. As the two girls ran, Suna, unfortunately, reversed the situation, jumping backwards and slamming Theo to the ground and shocking him with her prod.

"Well. That's one rat down, let's lure the second one!" Suna chuckled. "Hey Simone! GET OVER HERE NOW! Elec Man just shocked Theo!" After making that call, she made one more. "ES-03, we got some people trying to leak our plans to the police! Take care of them, would ya?"

At the Lanfront Ruins, Ra Hermes had proven to be everything Dr. Wily wanted Quick Man to be. None of the snark, none of the sass, just a loyal robot with a little attitude. Accompanying them was the remade Heat Man, who was currently being used

"I apologize for the query, Master, but would it be possible for us to speed up a little?" Ra Hermes asked politely.

"Patience, Ra Hermes. You're fresh off the iron plate, so I wouldn't want you getting banged up before we make you known to that blue dweeb!" Dr. Wily stated. "Zhis place is a dark maze and dangerous to go around running now that your elder brothers are all up and running."

"On that topic...I know you were in a hurry, and we were all meant to be destroyed anyway, but would it have killed you to tell me that I had a heat regulator on my back the whole time?!" Heat Man protested.

"Everyone's a critic," Dr. Wily huffed.

"All I'm saying is that I would be able to search these ruins far more efficiently thanks to my super speed. Two minutes would be all I need, and maybe not even that!" Ra Hermes continued.

"Perhaps. But you lack the keen eye for ancient technology I have. If there's anyone who's going to find more goodies, it'll be..." Dr. Wily explained before Heat Man interrupted.

"Hey, would that be what you're looking for?" Heat Man asked.

Looking at what Heat Man saw, Dr. Wily saw what looked like a robotic ninja covered in cobwebs. Atop his head was a four pointed hira shuriken, and he was clad in blue ninja garb, but his toes, neck, forearms, shoulders, and knees were white instead.

"My my my! Do the wonders of this place never cease? It's almost like some kind of ancient Robot Master!" Dr. Wily giggled in joy. "Ra Hermes, would you carry those poor robot back?"

"As you wish, sir?" Ra Hermes bowed in understanding as he picked up the ninja.

"I'll complete as soon as my lab is done!" Indeed, Dr. Wily's robots had all been busy beavers, moving equipment, hollowing out the lab, and preparing for heavy construction. "Has it finished with the second set of Robot Master blueprints I instructed it to use?"

As if on cue, another Robot Master formed at the "feet" of Ra Moon. This time, he was similar to a combination of Metal Man and Quick Man, having the body shape of the former and a launcher on his right wrist like the latter. However, atop his head was a horseshoe magnet, and his body consisted of black covered in red armor.

"Magnet Man, at your service, Dr. Wily!" The Robot Master announced.

"Be patient, Dr. Wily," Ra Moon's voice spoke through his computer. "I will have your lab, and your army, ready soon."

Meanwhile, Roller Brawl and Mega Man had switched to their civilian forms as they decided to use their pets to play a trick.

"AAAAH! VICIOUS ROBOT DOG!" Rock cried in shock as Rush snarled and growled at him.

As one thug took aim, his partner quickly pointed out, "EASY! You'll shoot the kid!"

"Fine, get up close, then get the kid out of here!" The thug grumbled. The two followed Rock and Rush into a closet. However, when they got in, no one was there, with Rock choosing to sneak out.

"Hey, little boy? Are you here?" The more reasonable Emerald Spear asked.

"Where'd the dog go?" His trigger happy compatriot asked.

Afterwards, Rock proceeded to close the door and break the doorknob. "That's two down, unhurt!"

"SOMEONE HELP ME! THIS ROBOTIC BAT'S OUT FOR BLOOD!" Roller Brawl cried as she ran in faux-terror from a screeching Nocturne.

"Clip that bat's wings and get her out of here!" A female Emerald Spear ordered her compatriot.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Her partner concurred as she followed Roller Brawl and Nocturne.

However, Roller Brawl snapped her fingers, leading to Nocturne letting out a piercing sonic cry to stun them, before Roller Brawl quickly proceeded to clothesline them into unconsciousness.

"I love loopholes! A robot may not hurt a human, but I'm not a robot, aren't I, Nocturne?" Roller Brawl giggled as she scratched Nocturne's chin. Pulling out a flip-phone from one of them, she quickly called Light Labs, deciding to leave a voice mail for them. Hopefully, one of them would respond, and she had a feeling one would be waiting for a call in particular

"Hey babe! You really get help me out here! This whole thing's a complete bomb! I just can't wait for our date!" Roller Brawl put on the act of a ditzy teenage girl nonchalantly talking to her boyfriend. None of them would ever notice her muting the call at certain points.

Meanwhile, Rock proceeded to call the other Robot Masters. "Mega Man to the Robot Masters? How are you doing on the bombs?"

"Pulse Man here! I've almost finished up with one bomb!" Pulse Man explained as he continued peppering the bomb with Pulse Stoppers.

"Elec Man on the line! Same as Pulse Man, honestly," Elec Man answered.

"This is Pharaoh Man! The explosives were hidden quite well, but my scanners have been able to track them down for the most part. I'll send the locations to the others," Pharaoh Man replied.

"Quake Woman reporting. I have discerned the proper frequency needed to disable the components without detonating them. Disabling one now," Quake Woman answered monotonely.

"Good work, team! Let's be quick about this, though," Roller Brawl complimented. "I know bad guys, and I get the feeling someone's going to snap sooner or later!"

"You understand my point, though!" Xander continued. "All manner of devices have safety precautions put in place of an accident. Cars have emergency breaks for malfunctions, and every lab has a shower in the event of chemical exposure. Have you seen what happens when a total lack of regulation is present? Surely you're not so arrogant to think that such a failure is acceptable"

"There is no arrogance in this statement, but the fact of the matter is that regulations may be useful, but if the tools are used improperly, danger will always follow!" Dr. Light argued. "Yes there are lab safety regulations, but will you deny that human error can be a major contributor to accidents? Those who drink and drive are such an example!"

"Of course not! But even still, do you not think that perhaps, we're advancing faster than we can adapt?" Xander protested. "If we slow down how quickly we advance society, surely we can make it so that ordinary people need not feel unprotected?"

Dr. Lalinde stood up and began her argument. "I will say that you are not wrong that we are adapting quickly, but the same can be said for any other advancement thus far. Projecting sound and light was but a mere fantasy one and half centuries ago, and the rapid advancement of science has helped us live longer and better. I am not saying that your fears are invalid, but I feel your methods are wrong!"

"Perhaps. But where was the 'live longer and better' when Dr. Wily reprogrammed Dr. Light's robots and turned them loose on society, or when he attacked again but a few weeks ago with Robot Masters meant solely for causing destruction?" Xander argued.

"For Dr. Wily's Robot Masters, it is a shame that such advanced technology could not be used for more productive means, but Dr. Light's Robot Masters were never intended to be used for such destructive purposes. It was only because of Dr. Wily's own choices that they were turned loose on the society they were meant to serve," Dr. Cossack retorted.

"Yes. I agree. Dr. Wily is complete at fault for making the Robot Masters act in such a destructive manner. But do you then think it's a good idea to give robots the opportunity to think about what they can do? It would be chaos if a robot as powerful as Mega Man decided that it wanted to cause destruction because it wanted to, and more innocent people would get hurt as a result," Xander conceded.

"Perhaps, but the free will of the robots would be limited by their programming. Mega Man, on his own, decided to fight for everyone and put his life on the line. His brothers chose to help him when he needed them the most. Whether it be rogue humans or maverick machines, we can correct their course of action," Dr. Light pointed out. "The rest will add to society and enrich our lives."

Dr. Lalinde did a double take at Dr. Light's closing statement. With that, Xander Payne signed out.

"At least they seem open to the idea of adding more regulations," Xander said as he tried to count small victories.

"I don't think so. Are you sure that they were actually listening, or were they stalling to have the authorities on our asses?" Lord Obsidian asked. "Just blow everything up and let's be done with this!"

"I've told you before! I am not going to let innocent people get hurt!" It was then Xander realized something. "What do you mean 'blow everything up'? What have you done?!"

"What you refuse to do! Send a clear message to everyone on the dangers of technology!" Lord Obsidian stated.

"By leaving hundreds of casualties in our cause's name?" Xander pointed out. "Are you insane?"

"Maybe I am," Lord Obsidian chuckled. "After all, it's been 20 years since I escaped death before!"

"20 years? What are you talking about?" Xander asked in confusion. With that, Lord Obsidian took off his helmet, and Xander went white as a sheet. "No. That's impossible! You're dead!"

"What's the matter?" Lord Obsidian taunted, his face revealed. His mustache was the same as the one on his arm, and his skin was well-tanned, and his jet black hair was styled in a flattop. "Seen a ghost?"

"S-S-Sergeant Breaker Night?!" Xander sputtered as he realized who he'd taken arms from.

"The one and only!" With that, Breaker proceeded to blast him with one of his spike guns, knocking Xander unconscious. Putting on his helmet, Breaker Night took the lead.

"All right, doctors. I'm only going to say this once, so listen well!" Breaker barked. "I am Lord Obsidian, the new leader of the Emerald Spears. I'll give you a few seconds to either make peace with yourself or try to talk me out of this. Afterwards, this place will go up in a blaze of glory as it blows to kingdom come!" With that, Breaker brought into a massive fit of evil laughter, making all the doctors realize that things had gone south incredibly quickly.

"Gotta get there quick!" Quick Man answered as he got the call from Roller Brawl. What he'd heard over the call was not what he wanted to hear from what could be his girlfriend.

"Babe...help...me...bomb...can't wait...!" Roller Brawl's voice rang in his head. There were bombs where Roller Brawl was?! Running to the ARTS convention with all his speed, he stopped when he heard another voice.

"Not often to see someone with armor like that around here." A deep voice came from an alleyway, snatching Quick Man's attention. When he turned to look behind him, he saw an unfamiliar robot Master. His eyes were covered by black sunglasses, and he was covered in red and grey armor, his brown hair done in a spiky pompadour while a yellow scarf sailed behind him.

"Do you mind? Dr. Light and his kids are in danger, and the place may get blown to kingdom come!" Quick Man retorted.

"Easy. I'm just here to help," The Robot Master said as he pulled out a red shield similar to a Sniper Joe and forming his right hand into a buster. "But why do you care about Dr. Light?"

"Because he gave me a second chance!" Quick Man answered before he slumped. "Even if I don't really deserve it. I owe that much to him. But who are you to ask why Dr. Light matters?"

"Me? I'm his first born, in a sense," The Robot Master revealed. "Only I suppose you wouldn't know of me. Just call me by what he and Dr. Wily called me."

"And what was that?" Quick Man asked.

"Blues. "

Russian Translations

звезда - "star"

Нет! Эти идиоты! - "No! Those idiots!"

Нет - "No"

Voice Cast:

Xander Payne - Chris Hackney

Roller Brawl - Cree Summer

ES-07 - Paul Eiding

Mega Man - Cole Howard

Dr. Light - Randall Weibe

Emerald Spear Thug 1 - Max Mittleman

Kalinka - Tara Strong

Roll - Erica Lindbeck

Emerald Spear Thug 2 - Colin Murdock

Theo Payne - Joe Zieja

Dr. Cossack - Alex Ivanovici

Dr. Lalinde - Erika Harlacher

Dr. Wily - Scott McNeil

Evil Armored Dragon - Alex Ness

Ra Moon - Tom Kenny

Flash Man - Matthew Mercer

Ra Hermes - Roger Craig Smith

Simone Miller - Amanda Celine Miller

Suna - Caitlyn Bairstow

Buddy - Fred Tatasciore

Pulse Man - Chris Jai Alex

Elec Man - Brendan Hunter

Pharaoh Man - David Kaye

Lord Obsidian/Sergeant Breaker Night - Michael Adamthwaite

Quake Woman - Karen Strassman

Heat Man - Xeno Robinson

Magnet Man - Dee Bradley Baker

Emerald Spear Thug 3 - Xander Mobus

Emerald Spear Thug 4 - Travis Willingham

Emerald Spear Thug 5 - Grey DeLisle

Emerald Spear Thug 6 - Kimberly Brooks

Quick Man - Roger Craig Smith

Blues - David Kaye

Author's Note:

Things are not getting better, are they? The trope "Tyrant Takes the Helm" seems way too fitting here. And yeah, now I've confirmed that Lord Obsidian's identity is Sergeant Breaker Night. Only Xander, Simone, and Theo have realized it, and that will change their actions down the line. Plus, I decided to make Xander more sympathetic: yeah, he's still upset with his injury, but he's not the madman the comics made him.

Plus, the true debut of Ra Moon. I know Tom Kenny seems like the furthest thing from a proper voice for an alien supercomputer, but his vocal direction was based on his time as Fixit from Teen Titans: cold, monotone, and contrary to his normal energy. And while Quick Man can't be called on by Dr. Wily thanks to him going to Dr. Light's side, he can still have a replacement, hence why I made Ra Hermes, another original character. Fitting that the upgraded version of Quick Man be based on the messenger of the Greek Gods, and I also included a bit of Kamen Rider inspiration. Specifically, it was Fang Joker from Kamen Rider W that was his primary inspiration, with bits of Cyclone Joker (speed is linked to wind after all, and the "speed equals electricity" trope is taken by Fuse Man). There are also aspects of his NetNavi counterpart that I included as well, hence the blades on his arms.

As for Proto Man (sorry Blues), I decided to introduce him early here, because there's someone else I plan to take Break Man's place here. And not someone you would expect! David Kaye voicing is pretty much him voicing his Navi counterpart in the anime. Dee Bradley Baker as Magnet Man is nothing more than him using the voice he had for Lodestar.

As for other news, yes indeed. I brought in Pulse Man from the Mega Man: Rock Force fan game. Yes, that also means that I will be incorporating fan games into the plot of this fanfic. So before I forget, I do not own Mega Man: Rock Force. That honor goes specifically to GoldwaterDLS. As for Pulse Man's voice direction, think about how the cardiovascular system links to alternating and direct current.

Next Time: Blue Moon Tonight, Red Sun Tomorrow

With Roller Brawl and Mega Man working to take care of the Emerald Spears, Lord Obsidian, or rather Sergeant Breaker Night, continues his mad ravings as he orders for the execution of Simone and Theo, revealing his true plans to the doctors. While Kalinka and Roll continue to evade the Emerald Spears, unexpected help comes in the form of Dr. Light's firstborn and Dr. Wily's previous ace. However, a strange anomaly comes by near the Lanfront Ruins. One that may tip the scales in Dr. Wily's favor and dredge more bad memories for Roller Brawl.

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