Chapter 1

“Stygian!” I said. “This time you’re going down.”

“Oh, I seriously doubt that,” replied Stygian. “You may have a few upgrades, but your skills probably haven’t improved at all. As expected, from a mere Class 5 model like you.”

I drew my sword and crouched slightly, ready to pounce. It was true he was a superior model, but he failed to take into account something extremely important.

My brain was more human than his. Rather than analyzing an opponent’s strategy and being able to adapt accordingly like his brain, I simply had the gift to think on my feet.

It was a skill that meant the difference between functionality and the scrapheap.

It was the difference twixt life and death.

I blinked to draw his attack, and faster than the human eye could register, he pulled his sword and charged.

My sword fighting and martial arts styles weren’t learned from years of training under masters. Lord no. I’m only fourteen years old; to have fully learned each and every aspect of every sword fighting style the traditional way, I’d be well into my late fifties.

All the information needed on that subject was uploaded into my CPU. That’s one of the reasons machines are superior; what can manually be done in weeks can be done by machines in hours. A project that takes years can be done in months. When machines are entered into the equation, productivity multiplies several times instantly.

Along with the styles, my CPU also showed the weaknesses and strengths of each style. From that, I developed a few moves that let me gradually switch from style to style. That makes me dangerous. A person can expect to fight against Confundo, but I can change so gradually from Confundo to another style that trumps theirs that they wouldn’t even notice until my blade pierced them.

Now, here’s the problem in my particular situation. He has the same move set as me, meaning he has the same fighting skills that I possess. Plus, Stygian’s highly sophisticated brain allows him to detect certain changes like my style-changing moves, and mine can’t. It means he has a leg up over me. It’s that advantage that constantly forces me in the defensive. And when he sees I’m defending, he’ll start hammering until he overloads my defense and makes me lose one of two things: my weapon, or my arm.

Once our blades met, I identified his style as Intendo, judging from his two-handed, widespread stance. I pushed away and went into Confundo. I noted the surprise on his face. It was understandable, given Intendo is Confundo’s natural deterrent. He kept his style and charged again, bringing his blade back for the thrust. Once I was in range, he brought his blade forward.

Imagine his shock when I countered his thrust with an Occurro parry, causing him to stumble several feet. By the time he regained his balance, I was already all over him, letting loose my fury in the form of several Saevio slashes.

Once he regained his focus, he locked his blade with mine, putting us in a stalemate. “Bad form, NG-5!” he spat. “Where are your adaptation skills? I know you have them; I have them too!”

I smirked. “Beyond belief, isn’t it? Here’s the 411; you’re programmed to notice gradual changes in my form, as well as change your form in the same way to trip me up. It means you’re completely unprepared if the change is immediate!”

“But where’s the finesse?”

“It’s the same place you’re going; the recycling bin!” With that, I slipped into an Occurro parry, causing him to stumble again. Exploiting his moment of weakness and the close proximity, I slammed my knee into his back. The impact forced him to the ground.

Before he climbed to his feet, he stopped as he felt my blade’s tip against his back. “Or you would be, if I had no sportsmanship. Yield?”

He turned back, with a spiteful smirk on his face. “Beware. Someday, your sportsmanship will bite you on the recharge socket, bro. I yield.”

The force field around our arena dropped and several scientists ran over to observe us. As they poked and prodded to find any faults in our systems, the chief science officer and a general walked towards us, conversing silently. I assumed with the grin on the general’s face, he was impressed by our performance.

The scientists fled like a flock of pigeons when they approached. The general said to me, “You’re called NG-5, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

He looked me over. “It’s incredible! You look almost completely human! It was only when you pulled off that fine display of skill that I realized you were a robot.”

“Well, I can’t take all the credit,” I modestly replied. “Dr. Admin put me in existence and put in the programs: I just execute them.”

I cast a cocky glance at Stygian and added, “Thank goodness that’s the only thing I execute, eh?”

Stygian stuck his tongue out in response.

The general laughed. “Seriously, if I didn’t know better, I’d almost mistake you for a human.” He turned to the scientist and said, “Dr. Widget, I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong.”

Widget grinned and shifted his glasses. “Ah, so you now see the weapons value of my research?”

“I certainly do. Let’s get to work on a contract immediately!”

“Splendid. Right this way, please.”

Once they were no longer in an earshot Stygian said, “So, you’ve found a way to use my programming against me. Nice job, but I wouldn’t rely on it. Remember Widgetech’s motto.”

“I know. ‘The next model is always better.’ But that’s not entirely true. I’m the best thing they ever created.”

Stygian crossed his arms. “Now, cut that out. You don’t wear arrogance well. I’ll catch you later.” He turned on his heels and walked away, leaving me alone in that room.

I strolled down Widgetech’s hallways, deep in thought about the robot fighting tournament coming up. I didn’t need to look up; having strolled down the hallways for years, I knew the paths by heart. I contemplated my strategy.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I was extremely confident I would win. Yes, the other robots had some clever designers. But I was created by Widgetech, the leader of all technology in America. I wasn’t built in some garage with parts from Radioshack ™. I was constructed by PhD-holding technicians with the best equipment money can buy.

There’s only one thing I’m really concerned about.

Will I wear red on black, or visa versa?

I nearly reached my decision when I arrived at my apartment door. I opened up and called out, “Dr. Admin, I’m home!”

Dr. Admin looked up from her book and said, “Welcome back! How did it go?”

“It went super! Your plan worked like a charm. And the general was so impressed he agreed to sign a contract with Widgetech!”

“That’s fantastic, Loki! You should be very proud.”

“I am, but I have to know: How did you know he’d stall for a full second after a complete style change?”

She gave a modest shrug. “Well, that’s the benefit of working on robots: you always know how to stop them.”

“I’m glad I’m completely at your mercy, mom.”

“You don’t have to keep calling me that,” she insisted. “You know I’m not your mom.”

“True, but I’ve known you longer than my birth mother. Besides, you’re the one who turned me into a robot in the first place; you threw the ‘on’ switch; you’re the first sight I saw when I opened my eyes.”

“Which is why you changed your real last name to Admin,” she said.

She got up and knelt in front of me, putting her hand on my shoulder. “Make no mistake; I do love you, Loki. But I took an oath when I joined: my loyalty is to Widgetech, and not my robots. You belong to Widgetech. If they want to experiment on you, or even if they want to dismantle you, I can’t help you at all. You shouldn’t rely on me like I was your mother, because I can’t protect you as if I was.”

I smiled slightly. “I know. But I never relied on my real mother to protect me anyway. As far as I’m concerned, you’re more like a mom than you give yourself credit for.”

She gave a pretend sigh and said, “Ok, I give up. So, have you been practicing for the robot tournament? I know you’ve been very excited about it.”

“I sure have. But the need to practice seems to be irrelevant. One of the most dangerous things I’ve seen from sneak previews is a flamethrower with legs. It’s heavy enough so I can’t lift it, but one good strike with the sword will dismantle it like all the others.”

“I’m very glad to hear it. Now, go get some sleep, Loki. You have a big day tomorrow.”

I bowed and said, “Goodnight, mom.”

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Chapter 2

I set my internal alarm clock early to get a head start. I eventually decided my wardrobe would be a red shirt, with a black vest and pants. Afterwards, I proceeded straight out of Widgetech to the park, to await a friend of mine.

While I waited, I decided to warm up. Hey, even computers take a while to be up and running. But I suppose anyone who uses dial-up access already knew that. I completed my practice routine three and a half times before he arrived. “Reeves!”

AJ Reeves was an old friend of mine. He was one of the few people I knew outside of Widgetech. He’s almost a full year my junior. I met him when he took a field trip to Widgetech.

“Sorry I’m late, bud. You know us humans; we gotta shower, eat, and all that maintenance stuff that you can just skip.”

A little jealous, maybe?

I handed him a Widgetech lab coat. “You remember the story?”

“Yeah, I signed us up on the tournament spreadsheet accordingly,” he said as he slipped the coat on. “I’m a Widgetech intern, who was given the task of showcasing a new robot prototype: NG-5.”

Then he frowned. “I still have a moral dilemma.”

“I hate those.”

“The guidelines stipulate that we actually have to build our robots, and the only time I actually laid a hand on you is when we shook hands.”

“What’s the matter?” I got in close to his face. “Chicken?”

Reeves gave a nervous chuckle. “Me? Chicken? Never! Let’s go, we have a tournament to win!”

I may be a robot, but I know how to push people’s buttons.

“Welcome to the fifth annual Warbot Battle Royale!” yelled the announcer over the roar of the fans. That was the only part of the speech I really listened to. Having watched the previous year, I knew he said nothing important. We all stood in a row, with the announcer letting the operatives giving a commentary.

He came to Reeves and said, “A Widgetech robot? Are you sure it’s not really a human?”

I answered his question by popping my arm out of the socket and handing it to the announcer. It then proceeded to crawl all over the man at my command. It had the desired effect; the announcer turned as white as a ghost. He quickly handed my arm back, and I reattached it as if nothing happened.

Reeves smirked and said, “I don’t know a lot of humans that can do that.”

I kept a straight face throughout, but I was seriously tempted to laugh. As he scurried over to the next one, I took a look at the flamethrower with legs I mentioned earlier. I admit that the Dragon – for Twas its name – looked much more dangerous fully constructed.

After about five minutes of boring speech later, the contest began. My first opponent was against a robot called Shogun. It was a bit smaller than I was, and carried a heavy sword that I probably couldn’t lift. It looked like a samurai, but the lower half of its body as a series of wheels with caterpillar treads.

It made the first move, lifting the sword in an overhead swing. I raised my sword in defense, holding it with the blade angling to the floor. When his sword came down, my right leg buckled a little from the impact. The sword slid off mine and crashed into the floor next to me.

I used the time it used to recover to charge the robot and chop its block off. I slashed with such precision that the head seemed to stay attached, bringing relief to the other operator.

Then his smile dropped as I lifted up his robot’s head. I took a few steps away from the robot and tossed the head into the air. Once the head fell to waist level, I kicked it back at Shogun, knocking its functionless body over. The crowd went absolutely nuts at my finishing move.

The announcer cried out, “Shogun’s immobilized! The winner is NG-5!”

I walked back to Reeves and gave him a high five. “One down and five to go,” I said.

“Don’t get too cocky,” warned Reeves. “That’ll trip you up.”

Regardless, my winning streak continued. A gun-wielding robot named Arsenal followed Shogun. He got a few shots in, but I chopped off the hand, took the gun, and unloaded the clip into the robot’s head.

Afterwards was Speed Demon. He lived up to his name, traveling at a speed that was three times faster than mine. Too bad for him I kept a sensor lock on him before the fight started, so I could follow him easily. When he got close enough, I cut off one of his legs, tripping him up. Then I kicked the head off.

Next was the Dragon. I used the gun I took from Arsenal and shot the gas tank on his back, creating an explosion that completely decimated the robot, as well as singe me fairly well. Luckily there was a force field around us to save the operators from harm. By the next fight, my Automatic Repair System completely repaired me.

Then there was Madame Butterfly, who seemed to have an ARS that was much better than mine. I almost hesitated; she and her operator (also a girl) were actually kind of cute. Then Madame Butterfly pulled out four guns with her four arms, and my peaceful thoughts ended.

Knowing I wouldn’t win a fire fight with her, I readied my sword for a direct attack. She let loose a laser light show that left me dazed. Without my sensor lock, I’d have been fighting completely blind. I zigzagged, only able to see the target, getting struck by several plasma bolts. With one final effort, I leapt forward and cut two arms and a wing off.

The light show ended and I was able to see Madame Butterfly in pain, clutching the gaps where her two arms and wing used to be. I pointed my sword at her head and she sunk to the ground, awaiting my final judgment. I looked at her in pity, having thought myself to be the only robot who could feel pain. Then I looked at the operator, who I’m sure didn’t want her precious creation to be mercilessly torn apart.

I sighed, sheathed my sword, and walked away as the announcer broadcasted my victory.

“Why didn’t you finish her?” asked Reeves when I came back.

I smiled sadly. “Whenever I see an operator’s eyes when I prepare to finish their robot, I see pure fury. It’s fury at me for breaking their toy, and their toy for not being strong enough. This time, I saw sorrow. If you saw her pain, you’d have done the same in my place.”

Reeves examined me. “Hmm…maybe not. You’re pretty battered up from your last battle. I don’t think your ARS will be able to fully repair damages for the final round.”

“That’s ok. Even at 50% capacity, I can make an interesting fight.”

The following fight wasn’t interesting at all. The opponent called himself Ninja, and created several holographic images of himself that were identical to him in every detail. Well, except for one.

He had the sensor lock.

They all jumped me at once. I thrust my sword into the one with the lock. The illusions disappeared, and the Ninja was slain. It took ten seconds to conclude the fight, which I ended in one move. It wasn’t the finale I hoped for.

Bummer.

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Chapter 3

In spite of the lame finale, I still got the cash prize, which I equally split with Reeves, my home-boy. “$1000, split down the middle. That should provide enough funds for your card collecting for a while, hmm?”

“Don’t bet on it,” said Reeves. “I’m blowing it all at once. What about you?”

“Good question.” I thought about it for a minute. “I suppose I’ll buy Dr. Admin a super birthday present this year; maybe a sauna treatment or something?”

Reeves suddenly raised his eyebrow. “You know, it’s weird. I have a sudden craving for a hot dog.”

“Why?”

“I dunno. I guess it’s the smell of barbeque in the air.”

I sniffed the air and frowned. “I don’t smell barbeque. That’s just smoke. It must be pretty strong, as it’s coming from the west, about…” Then I froze as realization swept over me.

“What is it?” asked Reeves.

“It’s…it’s coming from Widgetech!”

I wouldn’t blame Reeves for being late, since he was only human. By the time he was about a quarter of the way there, I had already crashed through one of the Widgetech building’s windows. The glass didn’t bother me at all; I was too worried about the fire.

Widgetech has one of the most sophisticated security and disaster prevention systems in existence. It’s filled with fire retardants, heat-resistant coating, vacuum shields, and lots of other things that would automatically kick in during the improbable event of a fire, which would extinguish the fire in five seconds on a bad day. If I could see the smoke from half a mile away, I knew there was something dreadfully wrong.

Throwing caution to the wind, I dashed full speed to my apartment, praying that it wasn’t the source of the fire. My fear increased because I went too fast. Somehow, the containment doors failed to open. Thoughts of whether it was a systems failure at a very inappropriate time or it was somehow hacked would be the source of nightmares for a while.

But at that moment, those thoughts were the furthest thing from my mind. The person I cared for most in the world could’ve been in grave danger, and I needed to do everything possible to save her!

As I entered the final corridor, everything pieced together in a matter of seconds. The fire was caused by a missile from outside. Tragically, it made too much sense, considering that such catastrophic accidents simply didn’t occur. And the target was…

My god…

The corridor seemed to be twice as long that day. Every running step took an hour to complete. I knew my optical system couldn’t have been damaged. Perhaps it was my human mind’s way of telling me the truth I already knew, but refused to accept.

My room was an inferno. I frantically searched the room. “Mom! MOM! Where are you!? MOM!” The roar of the flames didn’t even exist to me, for my hearing sensors filtered it out. But even with that enhancement, I just couldn’t hear the one sound I wanted to hear.

However, it let me hear the bullet well enough so I could dodge it. I turned to the source and saw a man in a mask. I don’t know who he was. I didn’t care, either. Before he knew it, I had him by the collar.

“WHERE’S…MY…MOM?!!” I demanded.

I saw hatred in that man’s eye. He hated me, but not because I was in an easy position to kill him. It was because he hated my cybernetic self. He spit in me face and called me some derogatory name that I couldn’t quite catch.

But I learned enough. It seemed plainly obvious that he did it because he hated her research. I don’t know why people like him oppose artificiality. I reasoned it was because he was afraid of what we might do someday.

I held his face close to mine and snarled, “Die, you bastard!”

Now clutching him by the neck, I pulled him over to a flame-covered wall and held him against it. I felt the pain too, though my fake skin was fire resistant. He, on the other hand, wasn’t.

I watched him scream in agony as the flames covered his body. It was like watching him sink into orange-colored water, or watching fire ants swarm over a pool of honey. Other times, I would’ve cringed at such a horrid sight.

At that point, I was somebody else.

I was the captain of a firing squad, who happened to be a relative of the victim killed by the one being executed. I’m sure a racist like him didn’t consider me a relative since I wasn’t human, and therefore he couldn’t appreciate the irony.

I was the director of a tragedy, and the man in flames was the star. I knew the ending for I had planned it out, so I wouldn’t even blink when his time came.

The man, however, didn’t seem to like his role as a toasted marshmallow. I kind of felt his pain, since I eventually became numbly aware of the pain in my hand. I groaned and tossed him as hard as I could, out the gap in the window created by the missile.

Though I knew he wouldn’t likely survive through the night, I actually wished he would survive. If he survived, he’d feel agony beyond his wildest nightmares. He’d receive scars that would never heal, and pain that would likely never fade away. It’d be pain that only sleep would relieve, though it would be so horrible he’d never be able sleep anyway.

Then he’d know how I’d feel on the inside.

Forever.

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Chapter 4

I never received an invitation to the funeral. I understood why. After all, if she hadn’t joined Widgetech, she wouldn’t have died. Since I was a product of her research, it was only natural that her husband wanted me dismantled.

But I wasn’t happy about it. I didn’t get a last chance to say goodbye. I wanted to preserve what remained of her room as a memorial, but the chief scientist refused to listen. The very next day, repair crews worked around the clock to build a new room.

Their lack of sympathy was appalling. I had enough.

Once all the employees were asleep, I had Reeves sneak in and remove my tracking device, so I could sneak it onto one of the guard bots. Once it was gone, I was able to freely leave the complex without setting off alarms.

He was sweet enough to offer condolences and let me stay at his house that night. I readily accepted his offer. It meant I had to sleep in the closet so his mother wouldn’t find me, but since I could automatically shut myself down, comfort wasn’t an issue.

My dreams were plagued by images of that day. I looked upon that man’s cold-blooded murder with absolute horror. I tried to deny I was the one who did it; that something possessed me to do it.

But then a demonic version of me said, “Liar! You did it because you enjoyed it! I know, because I’m you; the real you!”

“No, it’s not true! I’m nothing like you!”

“You love the scent of blood in your olfactory system, don’t you? You squeal with delight whenever you bash a poor robot’s head in! You’re a barbarian, and you’re too cowardly to admit it! Monster! Monster!”

I awoke with a start. I told myself those dreams were only dreams, but I knew they weren’t. I started to open the door, but quickly realized it was locked. “Huh? Reeves, did you lock me in?”

“No, I locked mom out. Besides, I’m changing, and I don’t want you to walk in on that.”

I nodded. “Nor do I want to walk in on that.”

After a few minutes of silence, he unlocked the door. “So, how are you holding up?”

“Well…I’m not emotionally crippled,” I said as I exited the closet. “But it feels like a piece of my life’s gone missing. I doubt you’ve ever known someone for years, and suddenly they just disappear. Not even a body was found; complete vaporization.”

“No, I really don’t,” admitted Reeves. “When I moved here from merry old England, I left behind several friends. If I go back after all these years, we probably won’t recognize each other. But…no, I couldn’t possibly feel your pain.”

“AJ!” We both froze and looked at the door.

“Crap, it’s mom!” Reeves pushed me into the closet and locked it behind me, leaving me in darkness.

“Why haven’t you come down for breakfast?” I heard her ask after she entered. “The bus is coming in five minutes! Where’s your backpack?”

“Um, I’m sure it’s downstairs!”

“No, you always leave your things in your closet. Let me have a look-”

“No, that’s ok!”

“What? Let me look in there!” With that, she threw open the doors. “…My god!”

“M-mom, I can explain-”

“This closet is a mess! You’re lucky your backpack is right on top.” She grabbed the backpack and handed it to Reeves. “You’d better get this closet cleaned the first minute you come home, or you’re grounded.”

“…Yes, mom.” After she walked out, Reeves addressed me. “I’ll see you later, Loki.” And a few seconds later, I was alone again.

Now, I’ll explain my disappearing act. First I pulled all the clothes off the hangers and threw them over me as I lay down. Then I remained perfectly still. …Ok, so it wasn’t so impressive.

Once everyone left the house, I decided to pass the time by playing Reeves’ videogames. And I played them over and over again. Something about beating people up made me feel better about what happened that day.

After about two hours my internal proximity alarm kicked in. It was a light buzz that activated to inform me when there was someone within ten feet of me that couldn’t normally be seen. I noted the window was open slightly further than I made it. I calmly pressed pause and walked towards it.

Then I spun around, drew my sword and blocked high! The shock that ran up my opponent’s arm was enough to disable the cloaking device. Surprise was written all over his now visible face. “Hello,” I snarled. “AJ isn’t home right now. If you’d like to leave a message after the beep and turn yourself in for housebreaking, I’m sure he’ll get back to you. Beep!” With that, I tossed him against the wall.

The man was stunned, but got back on his feet rather quickly. “That was a lucky shot, and not one that I will allow you to get away with. Why have you entered AJ’s house?”

“If you must know, he invited me. Why have you entered his house?”

“Because you triggered a silent alarm.”

“I don’t see how. I entered through the door, and haven’t left his…” Then I quickly glanced at the window. “Duh. It was when I opened the window for some fresh air.”

“Oh, how convenient.” The man drew another sword and went into a defensive stance. “You are coming with me.”

“You realize that using a second sword actually makes you more vulnerable, don’t you? I’ll fight you, but I don’t want to damage any of AJ’s valuables. Let’s take this outside.” With that, I jumped out the window. He followed. “After you.”

I soon learned a valuable lesson about two swords. They can be very effective if the person wielding them is much faster than me. He rocketed towards me, wildly slashing in a style I was completely unfamiliar with, forcing me to counter with Occurro. If it wasn’t for my very good reflexes, I would’ve been chopped to pieces.

After a while he suddenly broke off his assault. “Are you some sort of robot? There are few humans can keep up with me.”

“I’d ask you the same.”

“No, I am all human. I am just very highly trained.”

“Trained to fight? Or trained to assassinate AJ’s house guests?”

He seemed annoyed by that remark. “Why do you continue to lie? I cannot see you gaining anything more by denying it.”

“I tire of this banter. You may not be a robot, but I can still shut you down as if you were!”

I went on the attack this time. His surprise let me knock away his left sword. It was easier to keep him on the defensive now, since he seemed to be a southpaw. After a few exchanges, his other sword had fallen ten feet away.

“You may have been trained to fight, but you still can’t beat me in a fair contest.” Then I felt something hit me in the back, which sent an electrical shock through my system. “Cheating…is another story,” I managed to say before I collapsed.

The last thing I remembered was the twin-swordsman arguing with somebody about meddling before the world turned black.

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Chapter 5

Another surge of electricity turned me back on. It took a few seconds for my optics to focus. The first thing I noticed was that my arms and legs were bound to some metal structure. The restraints that held me were connected to wires that flowed into some sort of machine, the purpose of which I quickly managed to figure out. Then I noted there was some big guy sitting on a chair, holding what was probably the activator switch.

“Awake, huh? You’d better be smart enough to answer the question that you failed to answer earlier.”

“If I don’t?” I challenged. He responded by hitting the button, which caused the machine to zap me. “What? You’ll give me a massage?”

“Why were you in AJ Reeves’ apartment?”

“If you didn’t accept my first answer, chances are you won’t accept my second one.” He responded by zapping me again. “You think you have the power, don’t you? But what would happen if the machine shut down?”

He growled and zapped me again. “Why were you in AJ Reeves’ apartment?!”

“If it shut down, you’d be defenseless. I’d concoct a punishment so horrible you’d wish you were in my place right now.”

The man fiddled with the controller a second before pressing the button, sending a stronger pulse throughout. “Not so defiant now, are you?”

I replied by breaking the restraints. “I’m twice as defiant, actually. And you?”

The man stumbled out of his seat and drew a pair of nasty looking guns, firing them rapidly. I ran circles around him as he fired, and he didn’t hit once. Once I started hearing clicks from his guns, I charged him.

My first punch struck his gut. The next one hit him in the chin. There was no need for another punch, for he already collapsed in a daze. I opened the door leading from the room…

…only to find myself surrounded by three armed goons. One of them I recognized as the twin swordsman. I didn’t know, nor did I care, who the other two were.

“It looks as though I’ll have to get my hands dirty,” I noted. “Ok, show me what you got.”

“STOP!” We all looked down the hall do find Reeves running towards us. “He’s not an intruder! He’s my friend!”

The three lowered their weapons. I scoffed. “Sure. When I say it, you’re all slashing, sneak attacks, and electrocution. When he says it, we all grovel like good little slaves.”

“Sorry about that,” said Reeves with a sad smile. “I forgot to tell them. Let me explain what’s going on-”

“No, you cannot!” exclaimed the twin swordsman. “If he is still ignorant, we can just-”

I grabbed him by the shirt and said, “To answer one of your earlier questions, yes, I’m some kind of robot. I’m a very inquisitive robot. If I don’t receive an explanation in five seconds, I’ll remove your brain and analyze it for information. Along with inquisitive, I’m also incredibly pissed off.”

“The Shadow Brigade?” I asked. “You mean like the bounty hunter group?”

“It’s not like the bounty hunter group,” replied Reeves. “We are the bounty hunter group.”

“I think I liked you better when I thought you weren’t paired with a group of backstabbing housebreakers.”

“For the last time,” growled Diemo, for Twas the name of the twin swordsman, “I AM SORRY!”

“I don’t accept your apology.” I turned back to Reeves. “And you. Why have you kept me in the dark? I can’t be trusted?”

“That’s not the case at all,” insisted Reeves. “I just didn’t want you to know about all the dangerous stuff I was doing. You’d want to join in. And you know that everything you do used to be recorded through your eyes before I removed the camera.”

“Ok, fair enough. Of course, you don’t need to worry about me joining you now. I don’t like breaking into houses and stabbing people in the back.”

“We look out for each other, that’s all. But I’ve talked to long; I have to get to class.”

“It’s just as well. I need to show me out of this place. I have this feeling I’m about to get stabbed in the back.”

“I’m not apologizing again,” said a boy named Rod, whom I’ve learned was the one who did that sneak attack.

“All the same, I’m still not in an accepting mood.”

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Chapter 6

“It’s a shame you guys didn’t really hit it off,” said Reeves when he came back from school. “I think you would’ve had a lot in common.”

“Whatever. So, how did you get in? They didn’t put some advert in the paper, did they?”

“Not exactly. It was for a detective agency, with no age preference. But the agency was just a cover-up for the Shadow Brigade.”

“Interesting.” I lay back on the bed. “But, god, what a bunch of jerks. I have this urge to bash their heads in.”

“I guess you have every right to. …So, what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you can’t just live in my room forever. Not that it isn’t a thrill to have you here, but I’d kind of like my privacy if I get a girlfriend. Besides, someone once said ‘Hell is other people.’”

“That was Jean-Paul Sartre, if memory serves. But if Hell is other people, then why get a girlfriend?”

“How to put this in a way you’ll understand…? It’s either that or jerking off.”

“Well, there is that. Ok, I’ll need to find an apartment. But how shall I afford it? What job is there for an artificially intelligent drone?”

Reeves smirked. “There are hundreds of jobs for stoned teens, but enough about them.”

“True. I’m sure there are thousands of job opportunities for me. You just watch out, Reeves. I’m going where the action is!”

Five hours later…

Reeves looked at me with complete pity. “How could you do such a dirty, degrading job? You’ll never get to robot heaven now.”

“What’s so wrong with working as a lawyer? You speak as if I became a male prostitute.”

“Sure, compare yourself to prostitutes. Both of their jobs involve lying in one form or another.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll remember this conversation the next time you get sued.” Then I grinned. “By the way, you owe me a hundred dollars for legal consultation.”

Our conversation was interrupted as we heard a card skid, and then gunshots being fired. We looked around the corner and saw some thugs shooting it out with the police, behind the safety of their cars.

I grinned and drew my gun. “I’ll bet you with one clear shot, I could easily dispatch all the goons.”

Reeves grabbed my arm and said, “No, Loki, leave this to the cops. You don’t need any enemies.”

“There’s an understated need for enemies, Reeves. Without enemies, life becomes too easy.” With that, I put an ion bullet in the fuel tank of the bad guys’ car, blowing their cover and blowing their asses up.

“Ok, you proved your point!” exclaimed Reeves. “Now let’s get out of here before someone recognizes you!”

As I let him pull me along I said, “I enjoyed that. I should become a mercenary. That way, I’d get paid for it!”

“You know, the Shadow Brigade accepts a lot of jobs like that. You should join!”

“But I don’t like the company there.”

Once we were a block away he said, “I shouldn’t tell you this – secrecy issues, you know – but you remember Madame Butterfly, the robot you battled in the tournament? Her operator’s in our crew.”

“You what? Then why didn’t you say anything when we mixed it up?”

“I told you, secrecy issues. I’ll bet she’d agree to go out with you if you joined.”

I made a smirk as if I looked down on him. “Do you honestly think I’d join just to get a date with a cute girl?”

“Will you?”

“…Damn my programming, or lack thereof.”

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Chapter 7

“Well, well,” said Rod as we entered. “Look who’s-”

I gripped him up before he could finish. “I want a job cause I like to fight and cause trouble. My references are all at the junkyard, since my opponents ended up there after my fights. Do I have the job, or shall I rotate your limbs until you’re coming and going simultaneously?”

“Ok, you got a job! There’s no need to be rude.” I dropped him. “Come along and I’ll show you the armory.”

He walked over to a wall with a mirror. It swung outward, revealing a keypad. How cliché. He punched in a few numbers and the wall opened up, revealing a large selection of weapons.

I grinned like a kid in a candy store as I stepped inside. “I gotta admit you guys have the coolest toys!” Suspicion set in and I turned to Rod. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch. Normally we’d hold an initiation, telling you to find a certain item in the city. But anyone who can disarm Diemo is obviously skilled enough to hang with us.”

“The samurai,” I noted with vague interest. “So, which weapons can I use?”

“Any you like, but you’re responsible for them. If you lose ‘em, you have to pay for them.”

“Then I’d better not lose ‘em,” I said as I picked out a nice, heavy gun. Then I picked up and examined a rod-shaped device. “What’s this? A telescope?”

Reeves dashed over and took it from me. “Don’t put your eye to the hole, or you may lose it.” He pressed a button, and a sword made of red light popped out of it. “Cool, isn’t it?”

“A lightsaber? Copyright infringement much?”

“Rod built this himself, after seeing the movies. It creates a laser, and generates a force field around it so it doesn’t keep going. Both the laser and the field come from the same power source, so they just melt together.” He pressed the button again and put it back down. “It can even deflect ion bolts like in the movies.”

“At least tell me it has an original name.”

Dead silence.

“In that case, I’ll give it one.” I picked it up and said, “From hereon, it’s my weapon, known as…Isabelle. It’s easier to conceal than a regular sword, anyway.”

“Isabelle?” asked Rod as I clipped it to my belt. “It sounds absolutely fearsome.” He pulled out a cell phone and handed it to me. “You have 1500 free minutes, but calling other members is free. Just don’t forget to charge it between uses.”

“Awesome. So, what’s my first assignment?”

“Whoa. Who said you had an assignment?”

I put my right hand on my hip and frowned. “Well, that’s a letdown. You show me all the cool gadgets like you’re Q, and I don’t have a chance to use them.”

“If you want a job, then you can go check on Naomi Avalon.”

I glanced at AJ, hoping he’d tell me if it was the girl at the tournament. He nodded, responding to my unspoken question. “Explain.”

“She’s one of us. She called in sick, saying she caught a cold. I called earlier to check up on her, but her phone’s turned off. I don’t want to leave the base for too long, and you want something to do, so you go check on her.”

“Alright, I’ll go. What’s her address?”

Once he told me, I headed off. But first, I made a slight detour; there’s a vendor I frequented that made great chicken soup.

I was rather nervous, and I don't know why. It wasn't like I was going on my first date; I was only checking up on a sick ally of mine, with an offering of chicken soup. Chances were it wasn't going to lead to anything. And yet, no matter how many times I told myself that, it didn't make me any less nervous. I probably stood in front of her door for a full five minutes before I worked up the nerve to ring her doorbell.

A car's horn snapped me out of my stupor, and I rang the bell. I waited a minute for an answer, but nobody came. I frowned and rang again. Once again, no answer. I stepped away from the door and saw the lights were on, so I was sure somebody was home.

I tried the door, and it swung open without protest. Now I was starting to worry. Somebody was home: if not Naomi, then who? Conversely: if Naomi, then why couldn't she answer?

I cautiously crept up the stairs, where I heard voices coming from one of the doors. As I inched my way to the door, I heard some gruff, adult voices.

"This was one of the easiest pulls yet!"

"Yeah, but what are we going to do with her?"

"That's easy. You know the old phrase, 'Dead broads tell no tales.'"

Then I heard some panicked whimpering, most likely from a girl, probably Naomi.

Well, duh.

"Wait, I heard something in the hall." I froze, a little panicked myself. I was sure I hadn't made a noise since I arrived. If I had, my ears couldn't pick it up. It probably meant one of them was a robot that was a lot more sophisticated than me.

"Well, go check it out, dimwit!" I slowly put down the soup and readied my gun, pointing it at the door. I probably couldn't beat whatever came out, but I'd be damned if I'd let it get the first strike.

"Alright, I'm going, I'm going." I heard several footsteps, and I loaded my gun as silently as I could, so he wouldn't know I was waiting. Then I heard the door creak open.

That's when I sprung. I kicked the door in and fired.

But my target had already disappeared. On closer inspection, Naomi and I were the only ones in the room. She didn't seem to be in any danger at all, but she seemed pretty pissed to see me. Then I heard a few gunshots, and I realized they came from the television she was watching, with the volume increased to a disturbing amount.

There was an awkward silence between us as we let what just occurred sink in. Then I lowered my gun and smiled. She started to giggle. Then I started to chuckle. Within a few seconds, we were engulfed with laughter.

If you don't get it, here's what happened. It wasn't that she could answer the door. She just couldn't hear the doorbell because the TV volume was too high. The voices I heard were just from her TV show. She worked out what happened too, which is why she was also laughing.

If the soup didn't help her cold, at least we had laughter to medicate.

"It's a small world," she said after we introduced ourselves. I sat on the bed beside her. "I never would've thought the only robot who defeated Madame Butterfly would be our latest recruit. So, Loki, what are you doing here?"

I handed her the thermos of soup and said, "Rod told me you had a cold, so I thought I'd give you some soup as a goodwill gesture and a way to formally introduce myself. Also, he was worried when you turned off your phone. But, to be frank, you seem perfectly fine."

Naomi blushed and scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, about that. I just didn't feel like going to work today, so I faked a cold. Sorry I made you come out for nothing."

"Well, not for nothing. I did a good job making an ass of myself, huh?"

Naomi giggled again. "Yeah, it was an interesting first impression you made, kicking my door down and shooting my window in an attempt to save me from a voice you heard on the TV. But it's the thought that counts."

Now it was my turn to blush. "Underdog, eat your heart out. Too bad I can't blame this on my programming."

She leaned forward and asked, "I've been meaning to ask about that. Why do you seem so human?"

"Are you sure you want to know? It's kind of a disgusting story."

"Tell."

I leaned back a little. "Would you believe I used to be human?"

"Not really," she replied with a shrug.

"Well, I was. My heart was replaced with an artificial heart; don't mistake it for a pace maker; this is a heart that can fool X-ray scans. Over the course of weeks, it gradually replaced the red and white blood cells with nanobots, and the blood itself with special coolant so the little guys don't overheat.

"Then the scientists did something similar to my brain." I turned my head and shifted my hair slightly. She gasped as she saw the hidden USB port. "With the miracle of techno-organics, I think and learn the same with a robotic brain, but information can also be stored in my brain with the use of computers. In a matter of seconds, I learned all the words in the English language, became a superlative mathematician, and learned hundreds of sword fighting and martial arts techniques.

"And to compliment the processing power of my noggin, they also tinkered with my eyes, ears, nose, and tongue. My eyes have heat sensors, my ears can filter sounds to my will, my nose can smell from miles away, and my taste buds can tell me all the ingredients in my food, as well as let me determine if it was cooked correctly."

Naomi was silent as she processed the information I gave her. Eventually she said, "And instead of using your heat sensors, you just barged into my room and started shooting."

"I'm still kind of human!" I blurted. "I panicked! I thought there was a situation where you were in trouble, and was worried."

"And that's very sweet of you," she said with a gentle smile. "Or at least I think it was. Tell me, are you really that caring, or are you programmed to be caring?"

"I care," I said, leaning close. "It's an issue that the scientists are banging their heads on the tables about; they can never change the soul."

There was an awkward silence between us. We were in an awkward position, and we didn't know how to address it. I decided that until she told me to stop, I'd stay where I was, admiring her beautiful face.

Then, to my surprise, she leant forward and kissed me. Her eyes widened a second later, and she pulled back before I could really get into it. "I'm sorry," she quickly said.

"It's ok." I realized how lame that was. "I mean, please. Let me..." I slowly went closer, and she didn't back away. "...taste," I whispered. And we kissed again, this time longer. I was kind of scarred, but I excited at the same time. Her lips had a unique taste that I was glad to experience.

After about a minute, we pulled away and were silent. My mind raced, trying to analyze what just happened. I started to develop feelings for her since I saw her at the tournament, but I wasn't sure what they were. They were as strong as the feelings I had for Dr. Admin, but they weren't the quite same kinds of feelings.

I started to wonder if it was love. I loved Dr. Admin, but that was developed over months of kindness and TLC. This is the first time I actually exchanged words Naomi, so I thought it was something different than love. Unless...

Could it have been love at first sight? I didn't think it was possible. I knew it was possible to take a look at someone and consider them to be beautiful. But to instantly develop feelings on the basis of a first encounter – and a wordless one at that – seemed peculiar. The only recorded evidence I was exposed to happened to be a few fantasy books I read.

"We...we can't tell anyone about this, can we?" I naively asked.

"No, I don't think so," she replied. "Not until we're sure of what we feel." I couldn't have put it better.

Suddenly, my phone rang. "Um, excuse me." I climbed off Naomi's bed and answered. "Talk to me."

“Loki,” said Rod, “how’s Naomi?”

“She’s very good.” I slapped myself in the head. “I meant, she looks good.” Naomi pressed her hand against her mouth to muffle the laughter. “…She looks healthy, but she’s still feeling under the weather.”

“Oh, I see. Well, wish her the best for me. By the way, we have a mission for you, Diemo and AJ. Meet them at the corner of 4^th and Main.”

“Roger.” I hung up and said to Naomi, “Mission stuff. I gotta go. Chance that we may pick up where we left off?”

“Someday. I...enjoyed that a lot. Maybe we can try using tongues next time, but only if you do one thing first.”

“Anything.”

“Take your foot out first,” she said with a smile.

I blushed. “That’s…that’s very amusing. Ciao.” After I left her house, I imagined critical version of me walking by my side saying, “‘She’s very good,’ Loki? She’s right about your foot.”

“Shut up,” I snapped. “I know it was a stupid thing to say, so don’t rub it in.”

“Why don’t you just admit you like her? It seems as though she likes you.”

“Well, that’s the keyword, isn’t it?” I pointed out. “It seems as though she likes me. I don’t want to put myself too far out on the line. Besides, I’m not sure how much I like her.”

“True, but you certainly like her at least a little, or we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”

“What makes you think I like her?”

“Let’s be perfectly honest here for a second. I’m all in your head. You’re having this entire conversation with yourself.”

I sighed and nodded. I can never win an argument with myself. Of course, I technically can’t lose an argument either. But I consider the arguments to be a loss, because it usually means admitting I’m wrong.