New Orleans
// 11pm
Ikku pulled the
thick blankets on Amy Seaward's bed around himself
and reached out with one hand for the warm body that
had, a moment earlier, been laying next to him.
There was nothing
there - aside from him, the bed was empty. He closed
his eyes, yawned, and then reached out again; but
still, there was nothing for his hand to touch,
except for the soft sheets where Amy had been laying.
He yawned again, rolled onto his back, opened his
eyes and scanned the room.
She wasn't there.
"Amy?" he
called out. He stood and pulled one of the blankets
off the bed and around his body. He walked out of the
bedroom and into the hallway beyond, then down a
narrow, winding staircase which led to the living
room and kitchen of Amy's flat.
"Amy?" he
called again - and then he saw her, relaxing in one
of two black armchairs, staring at the glowing
television set in front of her. He didn't like what
she was watching; what she watched every night
at 11pm.
It was the local news
- but not just any news. It was -
" -- RoboWatch,
with Wayne Rogers," the television
announcer's voice blared through the speakers on
either side of the wide plasma screen.
"Thanks,
Barry," Wayne Rogers said as his face appeared
on the screen. In Ikku's mind, the man could not have
looked more smug or full of himself if he tried - his
short blonde hair was so perfectly combed and placed
that it may as well have been a wig, and he had the
perfectly-straight, brilliantly-white teeth of a
stereotypical used car salesman, televangelist or
infomercial host.
But none of that was
why he didn't like the show, or that Amy was watching
it.
"Welcome to RoboWatch,"
Rogers went on, "where you can hear all the news
that's fit to be aired about our local, colourful
adventurers, the Robomen.
"On tonight's
program we consider the question: Robomen - Heroes of
Villains? Since their appearance in New Orleans
several weeks ago, the city has been under siege from
all sorts of threats, ranging from invasions by the
Black Battalion to giant tortoises and, most
recently, giant robots.
"In every case,
our city has been saved by the Robomen - but
never without significant damage. That makes me
wonder: clearly, the Robomen want to keep New Orleans
from being destroyed, but why? It has only
been in danger due to their presence here, for which
we have all paid the price. I can't be the only one
who has noticed the mass exodus of our brave
citizens.
"Email us at
the address displayed on your screen for your views
on this matter. Later in the program we will look at
your feedback when I am joined by a discussion panel
including - "
"Geez,
Amy," Ikku said. "How can you watch this
crap?"
Amy craned her neck
to look back at Ikku.
"Maybe you should
watch it," she said. "This Rogers guy has
come pretty close to exposing your friends more than
once. I don't think it's a bad idea to keep an eye on
what your enemies are saying about you."
"He shouldn't
even be an enemy," Ikku mumbled as he
sat on the arm of the chair and moved his blanket to
cover Amy as well. "We saved him from Musen Robo
last week. He should be cheering for us!"
Amy raised an
eyebrow.
"'We'?
'Us'?" she repeated. "Does that mean you're
a Roboman again?"
Ikku shook his head.
"No, of course
n - what's that? How did they...?"
He pointed at the
television screen and Amy quickly looked at what had
caught his attention: RoboWatch was showing
footage of Ikku in the altered costume Amy had made
for him, clambering over a rooftop in the middle of
the night.
"... program,
Alicia Walters will talk about what appears to be a
new figure on the hero scene, who was caught on film
two nights ago - " Wayne Rogers' voice drawled
on.
"Haha, you're a
hero!" Amy laughed. "And you don't even
have a codename, since you're not Red Robo
anymore!"
"Adaptex,"
Ikku said. "That's my new codename. I thought it
suited my powers, since I can use kenez energy to
adapt to just about anything - or at least I will
be able to do that, when I get some more
practice."
Amy nodded.
"Adaptex.
Sounds nice. Very superhero-y," she remarked.
"Now that you've got a codename and a
costume, I guess you have no reason to go back to the
Robomen at all."
"That's the
second time you've mentioned me rejoining the
team," he said. "Do you want me to
leave?"
Amy shook her head.
"No! Of course
not! I told you you're welcome here as long as you
like..."
"But?"
"... but I
don't like lying to Kiko every day, and when I said
you could stay I expected wild, passionate,
at-least-three-times-a-day sex out of you, and that
just hasn't happened. You spend all night out as
Adaptex, and you sleep all day. I never get to see
you, let alone bask in your hotness."
Ikku smiled. Slowly,
he pulled the blanket away and slid down into Amy's
lap. He was still wearing his Adaptex costume, all
but the mask, and Amy smiled back at him as she ran
her hand along his cheek and lightly touched the pale
red 'tattoos' on his chest.
Ikku leaned forward
and pressed his forehead against hers, so that their
eyes were only a few centimetres apart.
"You really
like me, don't you?" he whispered.
"I do,"
Amy whispered back.
"Good."
Ikku pulled his face
away from hers and placed his hands against her hips.
Then, he leaned forward again and brushed his lips
gently across her nose, her cheek, and then her
mouth. He closed his eyes and felt her lips part and
did everything he could to fight the instinct to
close his own mouth before she made another move.
A second later, her
tongue flicked against his teeth before reaching
further back, twisting itself around his own tongue.
He held her hips more tightly and pressed his body
forward, until he could even feel her heart beat
through her top and his modified robosuit. Her hands
slid across his back and thighs - and immediately,
his body tensed and he pulled himself away.
"Sorry,"
he said. He was blushing, and his cheeks were almost
as red as his robosuit. "I - "
"Oh my god you
are such a doofus!" Amy snapped. She pushed him
away and he fell backwards, landing flat on his back
on the soft, carpeted floor. "Don't. Move."
Amy lifted herself
from the chair and kneeled with one leg on each side
of Ikku's torso. She slowly lifted his arms above his
head and stroked the sides of his chest before
leaning forward and laying against his chest.
"Your heart's
pounding!" she said. "And you're... sweaty."
She lifted her head and stared down at his face. His
eyes were closed tight, and he wasn't moving.
"You're really nervous."
Ikku nodded slowly.
"Sorry,"
he said again.
"Sweaty's
good," she said as she hooked her finger through
the loop which held the 'x'-shaped straps across his
chest together. "I like to get we - you're really
tense. Don't tell me you haven't...?"
Ikku's eyes shot
open.
"Oh, no, no!"
he cried. "Of course I have. I just
don't..." He arrowed his eyebrows as he tried to
come up with the right way to answer. "I dont -
did you hear that?"
"Don't change
the subject!" Amy told him.
"No, I'm
serious - the TV! Listen!"
" ... -
breaking news!" Wayne Rogers seemed to be almost
shouting the announcement. "Two robots have been
sighted near the site of last week's massive robot
battle, in which this station was attacked by the
menacing mechanoid! Will the Robomen investigate this
latest sighting? Remember, NOTA is offering an award
of $10,000 for information exposing the identity of -
klik!"
The TV switched off,
and the image quickly faded to black.
Ikku blinked, looked
around the room and saw Amy standing behind the black
armchair. She dangled his thin red mask from one
finger and held the television remote in her other
hand.
"Go on..."
Amy sighed and Ikku
clambered to his feet and snatched the mask from her.
He placed it overs his eyes and wrapped in around his
head, tying it beneath his thick, dark blonde hair.
He leaned forward and kissed Amy on the cheek before
heading for the door.
"Amy?" he
called over his shoulder. "I haven't forgotten
where we left off. I promise, when I get
back...!"
Amy nodded and
smiled at Ikku as he passed through the door and let
it slam shut behind him. She sighed again and glanced
around the empty flat.
I thought I had
him that time... she thought to herself, but
I guess he isn't the one.
She strolled into
the kitchen and picked up the handset of a cordless
phone, the base of which was mounted on the kitchen
wall. She pressed one of the speed dial buttons and
listened to the whirs and clicks of the phone line as
her call was connected.
"Hello, welcome
to 'Hey, Pizza!'" a cheery voice greeted her on
the other end of the phone. "My name's Kageki!
How can I help you?"
Ikku hurried through
the dark and nearly deserted streets of New Orleans,
completely oblivious to everything around him. For
two weeks, he had had only a single objective - to
find out if his father was still alive and, if he
was, to rescue him and bring him home. He spent every
night as Adaptex, perched on rooftops all over the
city searching for any sign that Doctor Nagura, or
his robots, were still somewhere in the city; in
those two weeks, he'd found nothing, except
for the giant Musen Robo he helped his friends
destroy a week earlier.
If robots had been
seen in the city, that meant - at least in Ikku's
mind - that his father was somewhere controlling
them... and if he could capture those
robots, maybe he could find out where his father was.
Despite the ten
thousand dollar reward promised by Wayne Rogers,
there were very few people walking the streets that
night. The population of New Orleans had rapidly
decreased in the two months that the Robomen had
lived in the city, with too many people fearing
injury or death as robots, monsters and pixies
swamped the city in their efforts to destroy the
colourfully-garbed heroes.
Maybe Rogers is
right, Ikku thought as he ran as quickly as he
could to the site of the Robomen's battle with Musen
Robo. Ranma Robo destroyed half the mall trying
to capture me and Katrina could have destroyed the
entire city. If Kageki hadn't destroyed it when he
did - !
Ikku stopped running
and took in a deep breath which he released as a long
sigh.
Kageki... he
repeated silently to himself. I was so hard on
him because he almost killed my father and might have
driven away any chance I had of seeing him again...
but he did the right thing. If he hadn't destroyed
Katrina, and Sei wasn't able to teleport my father to
safety, the entire city would have been flattened!
He caught his breath
and started running again. He had entered an area of
the city he didn't know very well - it was, to him, a
maze of narrow side streets and cluttered alleyways,
but it was the also the most direct route from Amy's
flat to NOTA headquarters.
If there are
robots around here, I don't want them to know I'm
coming, he thought. He decided to cling to the
buildings on each side of the street, where he hoped
that even in the dim light that shone from inside the
windows of stores that had closed for the night he
could avoid being seen - it was better, he knew, that
continuing on down the middle of the road.
I'm nearly
there, he realised as he passed the opening of
an alleyway, and there's a fire escape. If I can
get up onto that roof I should be able to see
everything in the area, including any robots!
He ran to a nearby
building and stared up at the metal stairs attached
to its side. Above him, just out of reach of his
outstretched fingers, was the final rung of a metal
ladder. He jumped and wrapped his fingers around the
cold bar and felt the ladders slide down as he fell
back toward the ground. He quickly climbed the ladder
and ascended the metal steps of the fire escape,
trying to be as quiet as possible while not giving up
his speed.
A moment later he
was at the top of the fire escape - and even without
making the difficult climb to the top of the building
he could see some distance in each direction... which
did him no good at all.
It's too dark, he
realised, and there are no lights in the alleys,
which is where I'd be if I was a robot that probably
didn't want anyone to see me. I'll get back down to
ground level and -
He turned around and
found himself face to face with a figure that looked
like it was trying to celebrate Hallowe'en six months
early. It was clearly a man, slightly taller than
Ikku, and he seemed to be wearing a black leotard -
but his body was covered with thick black fur. The
fur was thinner on his face and neck, so Ikku could
make out the man's dark brown eyes and sharp nose. He
almost looked familar.
"Who are
you?" Ikku asked.
"I am the
Warwolf," the man snarled. His voice was deep,
guttural and even. It reminded Ikku of someone
practicing English, and going to great lengths to
give equal attention to each syllable to avoid any
mistakes.
"That's...
great," Ikku replied, "and that's a really
great werewolf costume, but I need you to get out -
"
"I am the
Warwolf!" the man snarled again, and as
Ikku watched his nose seemed to lengthen until it
looked like a wolf's fur-covered snout. He bared his
teeth and, amid a pale purple glow, Ikku saw the
man's canine teeth extend and sharpen until they were
genuine fangs. The man's hands and feet also
seemed to change - long, sharp nails emerged from
each fingertip and toe.
Purple
energy...? Ikku thought. What the - ?
"ROWR!"
the man snarled.
He swung one
talon-like hand at Ikku's face, but Ikku was fast.
"Chaos
Sword!" he
shouted. Bright blue raido energy flared
around his right hand and he felt his familiar weapon
become solid in his hand. He gripped the black hilt
of the translucent-red bladed weapon and quickly
raised it; the other man's slash hit the flat of the
blade and he quickly pulled his hand away.
"Let's make
this easy, Warwolf," Ikku said. "I don't
want to hurt you?"
"You? Hurt me?"
The man seemed to speak more easily and fluidly, and
despite the necessary snarling caused by the man's
snout and longer-than-human teeth, Ikku thought his
voice seemed familiar - like his appearance, before
he turned into a monster. "Don't make me laugh,
human."
Ikku tilted the
weapon so that the sharp edge of the blade was
pointed at his opponent before he spoke again.
"Human?"
he repeated. "Don't you think you're taking this
a bit too - "
The man slashed with
his left hand and again, Ikku maneuvered the Chaos
Sword to block the blow. The man raised his right
hand and Ikku carefully moved the Chaos Sword for the
third time - then the man's left hand moved again.
His fingers came together to form a fist... a first
bathed in purple light.
"Bakemono
Madoi!" the
man snarled. As his clenched fist approached Ikku's
face, his finger suddenly spread again and he hooked
the glowing digits beneath one of the many straps of
Ikku's costume.
Without any obvious
strain the man lifted Ikku several feet off the
ground and stared into his mask-covered eyes for a
moment before his eyes fell on the bulky Alert Bracer
strapped to the Roboman's right wrist. Without even
thinking about it, the man looked at his own arm, and
Ikku followed his gaze. Through the fur, he saw
something glint, reflecting the purple glow which
emanated from the man's claw-like hand.
"You're - aaaaahhhh!"
Ikku tried to speak, but his words were overwhelmed
by the desperate scream which welled up through his
throat as the man through him high into the air and
over the edge of the fire escape.
His strength is
unbelievable! Ikku thought. He threw me so -
oh, wait, there's the ground -
"Let's
go, Robo!"
Time seemed to slow
to a crawl around Ikku as he dropped his weapon and
the circuitry embedded beneath his skin came to life.
Bright lights sparked along thin wires and paused at
various points. Where the lights paused thick, jagged
pieces of silver-grey metal passed through Ikku's
skin and pierced the porous fabric of his robosuit to
form a thick chestplate, gloves, boots and a helmet
which covered his entire head only a second before he
hit the ground, hard.
Ikku looked down at
his body as the world span around him. His Roboman
armour, especially his chestplate, had not formed
correctly - the straps and buckles sewn into his
robosuit by Amy had blocked the metal in several
places as it tried to pass through the fabric;
elsewhere, the straps had snapped and his robosuit
had torn. The metal quickly disappeared from view
entirely along with everything else around Ikku as
unconscious took over...
... and, suddenly,
Ikku was back at the top of the fire escape.
"What...?"
he wondered.
He stood up and
looked around. There was no sign of the Warwolf and
he still held the Chaos Sword in his right hand. The
broken straps and shreds of his red robosuit were
completely repaired. As far as he could tell the
Warwolf had never touched him, let alone thrown him
over the edge of the fire escape.
Purple energy...
he remembered. Probably some sort of eternity
energy.
Ikku relaxed and the
Chaos Sword immediately vanished. He looked down into
the street below, but he could see no sign of the
Warwolf. He glanced at his Alert Bracer and saw the
time displayed on its small LCD display - 12:32am.
That was weird,
but I'm out here for a reason - I've got to find
those robots!
Ranma Robo and
Denshi Robo stepped into the dark alleyway, sticking
to the shadows to avoid being seen. They were so
well-hidden that they could barely see each other,
despite the light of the full moon illuminating part
of the alley in which they stood.
What they could see
was the broken, defeated form of their former ally,
the one who had called them to the alley -
Jigenseisokuka Robo.
"Sorceress Miko
did this?" Denshi Robo asked in its monotonous,
mechanical voice.
"Jigenseisokuka
Robo's artificial intelligence chip has been
removed," Ranma Robo said calmly.
"Then it cannot
help us capture our prey?"
Ranma Robo shook its
head.
"Not directly,
but it does not need intelligence to help us. Ranma
Noborizaka!"
Ranma Robo placed
its palm flat against Jigenseisokuka Robo's chest and
bright red kenez energy flooded from its
body and into the broken robot. A moment later
Jigenseisokuka Robo's remaining eye opened and it
stared at the other two robots.
"Jigenseisokuka
Robo activated," it said mechanically.
"Without its
artificial intelligence chip Jigenseisokuka Robo can
still perform the directives of its basic
programming," Ranma Robo explained. "It
lacks the intelligence to determine strategy, but
Jigenseisokuka Robo was not the most creative of
Doctor Nagura's creations."
It looked straight
into the half-face that Jigenseisokuka Robo still
posessed.
"Our mission to
capture Sorceress Miko remains," it said.
"Do you understand?" Jigenseisokuka Robo's
head bobbed up and down slowly. "You will help
us lure her out."
Ranma Robo pointed
across the street, to a man standing at the top of a
fire escape - it was Ikku, in his bright red
robosuit. Jigenseisokuka Robo turned its head and saw
where Ranma Robo was pointing.
"That is your
target," Ranma Robo told it. "Destroy that
and occupy the Robomen. Denshi and I will locate and
destroy Sorceress Miko."
Jigenseisokuka
Robo's head turned again and it stared blankly at
Ranma Robo.
"They can
destroy Jigenseisokuka Robo with Gattai Robo,"
Denshi Robo pointed out.
Ranma Robo nodded.
"I am prepared.
Jigenseisokuka, Hardware Upgrade!"
More kenez
energy poured from its hands and into the
barely-functioning robot - and suddenly, it began to
grow. After a moment it had doubled in size; a few
seconds later it was close to five hundred feet tall,
and its massive feet crushed the two buildings which
lined the alley.
"Destroy the
Robomen," Ranma Robo said again as it and Denshi
Robo vanished into the darkness.
