Symphony of Destruction

It was a cool, quiet night in San Francisco. The lights from every large building lit up the entire city, giving the area an inviting glow. In the center of the city, WAL Tower stood glimmering in the ocean of light. But there was another set of lights shining off into the distance. In that direction was a high security military base. There was nearly no motion outside the high metal fence, except for a few guards on patrol. Inside though, there was one lone figure moving along the complex.

A man in his mid-40s moved swiftly in the shadows of the buildings, taking great caution to avoid being seen. When he reached the building in the center of the complex, he reached into his filthy lab coat and pulled out his ID card. He ran it through the card scanner and walked inside. As soon as he stepped in, the lights in the room lit up to reveal a high tech laboratory. Super computers lined the walls; weapons lied on tables with tools next to them. But the man ignored those things and continued through the room until he arrived in front of his target.

The man stood in front of an unmoving teenager dressed in body armor. His arms and legs were restrained in a device that looked something like DaVinci’s circle of anatomy. His top of the teen’s head was covered with a helmet, with a black visor covering his eyes. The head itself hung down at an angle that allowed the man to look directly into its face.

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he looked right into the teen’s face. He tried his best to keep them in, but a lone tear escaped his eyes and traveled down his stubble. He reached out with his left hand and gently stoked its face. He then reached into his pockets and pulled out a small computer chip. Seeing it brought great pain as the memories flowed through him.

The man was sitting in a chair next to a hospital bed. The man was clean shaven and his lab coat was a pure white. The teenager lay in the bed, his face pale and hollow. The only sign of life from him was the rise and fall of his chest and the steady beep of the heart monitor. On the teen’s head was a strange helmet, with a series of wires connected to the man’s laptop. The teen was unaware of what the man was doing as the man typed a series of codes into the laptop. With the final tap of the keys, the lights on the helmet began to light up. They covered the entire room with a bright red light as a bar on the computer screen began to fill. It took only minutes before the bar was full and the lights died. The man then pulled a small computer chip from a slot in the laptop and took the helmet off the teen’s head. Put the chip in his pocket and walked out of the room. A week later, the man stood in front of a coffin, looking right into the teen’s face with tears rolling down his cheeks.

The man set the chip down on the nearest table and then reached out to the teen’s helmet. He removed it to reveal the brown hair underneath. He then placed his middle fingers on the teen’s temples and lifted the top of his head open to reveal what looked like a mechanical brain. Picking up the chip, the man grabbed it and placed it in a small opening in the right side of the metal brain. He was just about to put the lid back down when two arms grabbed him and pulled him away from the teen.

Two muscular MPs held onto the man’s arms and held him as he struggled to break free. They then spun him around so that he was facing the door. In front of the door was a man in his 50s dressed in an olive green suit. His left shoulder was covered in medals that declared him a general. On top of his head was a matching green hat with a shining black brim. He walked up to the restrained man and looked him straight in the eyes. “Trying to sabotage your creation, Doctor Smeltzer?”

Dr. Smeltzer continued to struggle in the MPs’ grip. “Let go of me! I have to…” he began before the general interrupted him. “I don’t have to do anything. I don’t care if you’re the world’s leading expert in robotics, I won’t let you tamper with government equipment Thaddeus. As of this moment, you are under arrest for attempted treason against the U.S Government.” Just then, Dr. Smeltzer broke free and attempted to run towards the teen. A gunshot rang through the room as Dr. Smeltzer dropped to the ground. As he lay on the ground, a pool of blood began to from around him and a blood stain began to appear in his back where his heart was.

The general then holstered his gun and turned his attention to the MPs. “Get rid of the body, and clean up the blood. Doctor Piek…” The general turned to look at a man in a white lab coat. Dr. Piek was a man in his mid-70s, large coke bottle glasses enlarging his bright blue eyes. Dr. Piek walked up to the teen and looked into his brain, looking for something out of the ordinary. “Did Dr. Smeltzer do anything to it?” “No, you stopped him just before he could do anything. But what are you going to do General Krelboyne?” said Dr. Piek as he closed the teen’s head and put the helmet back on. “Dr. Smeltzer was supposed give a special demonstration to the WAL tomorrow. They’ll be suspicious if he’s not there.”

“We’ll tell them the truth. Dr. Smeltzer was caught trying to destroy government property and resisted arrest. As for the demonstration, I’ll be the one to give it. If this demonstration goes off without a hitch, U.N. will approve mass production of these things,” said Krelboyne was he gestured to the teen. “Soon Earth will have the most powerful army the galaxy has ever seen.” With that, the general and Dr. Piek, and the MPs walked out of the room, leaving the teen all alone.    

Sideslash sneered at the very thought of another weapons company delivering a presentation to WAL. Surely the billionaire Anton Larrin, which was his civilian identity, should have dibs on selling WAL any and all weapons. Sure Io, that insane Russian had been ordered to sit quietly, but he sure as hell hadn't. And if he had anything to do with it, even the smallest flaw would be exposed. He was in fact trying to be peaceful and at balance. Considering he was stood one footed on his katana, which was placed so the handle touched the ground, his physical balance could not be denied. But his mental balance? With WAL he'd seen some freaky stuff, and the fact that some other company was now trying to sell We Are Legend weapons that weren't from his company, people wouldn't have blamed him if he went off the deep end. He was seriously considering it too. People like Cly got all the hype because he was the leader, and Io got all the "security escorts" because he blew stuff up all the time.
 
He wasn't angry, quite the contrary. He simply thought people should notice him more. He jumped down and snarled at the punching bag in the corner as if it had done something wrong. He went down to the garage, passing all kinds of exotic cars, Jaguars, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and the like. He flicked on a light and the silver Mercedes S600 Guard stood there, looking innocent compared to the blood-red Enzo beside it.. Missile-proof glass in the windows, four thousand pounds of body armour, it was protected better than a SWAT van. He had tested its durability. With Io to help. The thing had taken a beating from a 75 ton punch with a bomb strapped to the knuckles and hadn't even taken a large dent. Experience told him he would need it.
 
And he liked to flaunt the best part of half a million dollars as well.

Boarding a Boeing 747, over four hundred people slowly made their way into uncomfortable seats. The amount of noise from the passengers was enough to cause anyone riding to have a headache. The mixed smells from the people getting in from hot weather outside made some people plug their noses. Minutes later, all went silent as the voice over the speakers told them about the safety measures. Oxygen masks, inflatable seats, emergency escape routes, and what not. After that was finished, the pilot said, "Estimated flight time from Seattle to Los Angeles, one hour, forty five minutes." As he finished his sentence, the air conditioning turned on, and everyone aboard breathed a sigh of relief. That is, all except for one person. Not able to sit still for more than ten seconds, he periodically glanced down the aisles, then would go back to reading a small, worn book. A white American, somewhere in his mid-thirties, he closed his eyes and began to settle down. But it was short lived. He unbuckled his seat beat, stood up in the aisle, and walked towards the nearest restroom. In his right hand he carried a small carry on bag. Looking at the sign above the restroom door, he read: No Smoking. The man entered inside the restroom and closed the door. A few rows in the aisle, from the restroom, a figure with a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes looked up. Inside the restroom stall, the man unzipped his carrying on bag, and pulled some some wires, a remote trigger, and a plastic explosive. Sweating heavily, he began to fasten it to the wall nearest the pilot.
 
Pierce! The tip of a very sharp object stabbed through the door by the lock, and cut around it. Swing! Unable to be locked, the door swung open, revealing the young man with the baseball cap standing outside the door. A sword was in his right hand. Whack! His fist met the side of the man's head in a moment, the terrorist falling down to the floor. The young man removed his hat, revealing himself to be the Dragon Rider Cly. He looked at the bomb, and didn't see a timer. His eyes widened as he saw that the unconscious man had the trigger in his hand and his finger was about to let go of it. Quickly and carefully, Cly held the button down with his left hand, and grabbed the remote from the man. Removing the explosive from the wall, he took his sword and cut a hole in the floor, then dropped the bomb down through. Beneath the airplane, flying at the same velocity, was the Dragon Esmeralda. She say the object falling down and opened her mouth to catch it. Crunch! KABOOM! Inside her mouth, the plastic explosive blew up. She spat it out, >>Ewww...low quality.<< Back on the plane, the Knight placed a piece of the door over the hole. He took a step out of the bathroom and watched as all the eyes on the rows that could see the bathroom were upon him. An older man called out, "What's with the sword?" A teenage girl said, "Are you gay? There was another man in there!" A young boy said, "Cool Mom! I want one of those swords for Christmas!" Cly smiled and grabbed the unconscious man, after sheathing his sword. "I carry a sword because I'm the superhero Cly, the Dragon Rider. I'm from Seattle you know, but I work in Los Angeles." The old man shook his head side to side, "Kids, always reading too many comic books." The Rider laughed, and pointed to the window. Outside, Esmeralda flew alongside the airplane. The old man was stunned. "A...real...flying...lizard." Cly turned spoke towards the teenage girl. "No, I'm not gay. You see, this man was...uh...injecting himself with an illegal drug, and I happened to notice, so I knocked him out. You see?" She crossed her arms. "Oh, so now you are a liar and are gay." Cly shrugged his shoulders, and spoke to the kid. "Sorry kid, this sword is one of a kind. But you could ask for a Nerf sword for Christmas, and if you like swordplay enough, maybe get yourself into some fencing lessons." His face looked sad, then it lit up with happiness. "Could you teach me!?" He scratched the side of his head. "Well, if you practice a lot, come see me in a few years, and I'll teach you some moves."
 
Talking the situation over with the pilot and crew, Cly was able to pilot the plane a little, and didn't do half bad. An hour later, the plane touched down on the ground, and Cly exited. It was ten o'clock at night, and time for them to head home to the WAL tower and catch some shut eye. He jumped on Esmeralda's back, and they were off. >>So what did the passengers think of your performance?<< Cly swept his right hand through his short, dark hair, and said, "They had...mixed opinions." She shifted her wings from horizontal to vertical as the passed between two closely spaced buildings. >>Tomorrow is the weapons show for WAL, remember?<< Tapping on his head, the Knight drew a blank. "Oh yeah, they have swords and knives right!?" She looked back at him with her glowing yellow eyes. >>I do not believe so.<< Looking a bit sad, Cly's emotions quickly rose when they saw the We Are Legend tower. "We are home!"

When the sun rose the next morning, General Krelboyne and Dr. Piek stood in the lobby of the security office, waiting. Soon the doors opened up and the WAL walked in. There was Cly and his dragon, the demon Sideslash, the Wanderer, and the crazy Russian Io. Krelboyne and Piek walked right up to the heroes. “Welcome, members of WAL,” said the general. “My name is General Anthony Krelboyne, the man next to me is Doctor Cornelius Piek. We will be giving you the demonstration in place of Dr. Smeltzer.” Holding out his hand, Krelboyne handed each of them a security pass on a metal bead necklace. “These security passes will allow you to get in the base for the demonstration. Now, if you’ll all follow me.” Walking through the door behind him, Krelboyne and Piek lead the WAL into the base.

“For nearly five years, we have been developing a special machine for the purpose of war with any forces on and beyond Earth,” said the general as they made their way across the grounds. “It is a weapon that no one has ever seen. It holds thousands of weapons, ranging from the simple sword to the most advanced laser weaponry in existence, and it’s only the size of a human being.” They walked up to a large dome-shaped building. Going towards one of the doors, Dr. Piek ran his card through a scanner and punched in a code on the key pad. When he finished, he opened the door and gestured for everyone to enter.

Inside was a massive lab, with super computers lining the walls on the right. On the left was a large window facing a spacious dome. In front of the window was a set of seats, one for everyone. General Krelboyne led them past these seats to the other side of the room. There, a male teenager in battle armor hung lifeless in a frame based off DaVinci’s circle of anatomy. The light from the room gleamed from its shiny blue helmet and chest plate. Its eyes were covered by a small black visor “This is the Generation 3 Armored Robotic Officer, or G3ARO for short,” said the general as he gestured towards the teenager. “This is just a prototype. The others we’ll create will look like adults, if this demonstration is successful.” With a nod from General Krelboyne, Dr. Piek proceeded to type some things into the computer next to the frame. Suddenly, the teen’s head jerked up and two bright lights shined from where its eyes were. The frame then released its arms and legs and it dropped to the floor, its feet and right hand landing square on the ground. Standing up, the teen was about 5 foot 9. “G3ARO, go out into the dome and activate your demonstration programing,” ordered the general. “Yes, General Krelboyne,” said the G3ARO. Its voice sounded completely human, but monotonic and mechanical. It moved from the frame towards a door located next to the window. Pressing a button next to the door, it opened the door and walked out into the dome. As the door shut, General Krelboyne turned his attention back to the WAL. “Please, sit down. Enjoy the demonstration.”

Once everyone had sat down, the general looked at Dr. Piek for the signal to start. Piek gave him a thumbs up and turned his attention back to the computer. “Send in the tank,” said Krelboyne as he looked out the window. From a trap door on the teen’s right, a large tank was lifted into sight. The muzzle moved to the left and adjusted its height so that it was aimed right at the teen. “Fire!” The tank fired its round straight at the teen, engulfing it in flames. As the flames and smoke cleared, G3ARO stood with its left arm extended towards the tank. Smoke drifted off the teen and there were no signs of damage. “This unit is made of a new metal substance we call smart steel,” said Piek. “It has the special properties of changing its density to that of nearly every metal in existence. This, coupled with the servos allows this unit to lift well over 100 tons. The only way to destroy it is by sending out a special sonic frequency.”

“Bring out the missiles and turrets,” said Krelboyne. All along the dome’s edge, small turrets began to pop up and take aim at the teen. Metal panels on the walls slid away to reveal hidden rocket tubes. The teen looked around the entire room, analyzing where everything was. Soon the turrets began to fire and the missiles launched themselves at the G3ARO. The teen leapt into the air with amazing grace and agility. While in the air, the teen’s hands began to shift and change until they were two large blasters. While continually moving with a speed and agility beyond that of a human, the G3ARO fired at each of the turrets and missile tubes. Each shot hit its mark and destroyed it. By the time the last turret was destroyed, the dome was in ruins and the teen stood unharmed. “The G3ARO has the most advanced targeting system in existence. It can strike a single pea from over 100 miles away,” said Piek. “It is also programed with the moves from nearly every form of martial arts and the grace of the greatest acrobatics.” As Piek spoke, General Krelboyne reached over to the printer next to him and grabbed the message it had printed. “I hope you enjoyed this little demonstration,” said the general after reading the paper, “because the president also saw the G3ARO in action and has decided to fund for more of them.” As Krelboyne spoke, he held out the printed piece of paper as proof.“And as of today, by order of the President, WAL is hereby disbanded. You are to be replaced by the G3ARO.”

While that was going on, the G3ARO stood in the middle of the destroyed room, waiting for its orders. Above it, a damaged electric cable dangled from a strip of metal. The metal strip gave way and the electric cable fell from the ceiling. The live cable landed right on the teen’s head, causing a massive amount of electricity to flow into its body. It jerk and shook wildly as the electricity poured through it. Noticing the light coming from the room, everyone watched in shock as the G3ARO was electrocuted. “Shut off the power, do it now!” screamed Krelboyne at Piek as the doctor typed furiously into the computer.

Soon all the power was shut down and the emergency lights went on. Smoke rose from the teen’s body and the light from the eyes was off. Dr. Piek typed furiously into the computer, pulling up a diagnostics reading from the teen. “Good news Gerneral Krelboyne, the G3ARO remains undamaged.” “Good,” said the general as he reached over to the microphone. “G3ARO, please return to the main room immediately.” The robot remained unmoving. “G3ARO, return to the main room,” said Krelboyne in an annoyed tone,“That’s an order.” Still the teen did not move. “I thought you said the unit was undamaged,” said the general to Piek. “It is,” said Piek, “But the power surge caused it to reboot. It will start up again in just a moment.” As the doctor spoke, the teen’s eyes lit up again. The general let out a sigh of relief as he picked up the microphone again. “G3ARO, return to the main room immediately.”

The teen woke up in a daze as he came to. As his eyes opened, fear began to fill up inside him as he saw the destruction around him “Where am I?” he thought as he looked around the destroyed room. “How did I get here? What’s going on?!” “G3ARO, return to the main room immediately.” The teen looked around for the source of the sound. “Hello,” said the teen as he searched around the room.

“Why isn’t he responding?” yelled Krelboyne as he glared at Piek. “The power surge must have disoriented the unit,” said Piek as he typed into his computer. “Just great,” said the general in an annoyed tone. “Activate the sonic cannons. Set them on low. We want it in one piece,” said Krelboyne.

All around him, strange satellite dishes began to sprout from the walls and the ceiling. “What are those?” he thought. Suddenly, one of them fired the started to fire at the teen. Then they all began to fire at him. The teen’s mind was completely blank from fear. His body began to act on its own as he ran towards the nearest wall. His eyes were completely closed as he ran across the dome at incredible speeds, eventually colliding with the wall and breaking through. He didn’t stop running though. He ran straight across the military base grounds, through the metal chain-linked fence, and beyond.

“Son of a B*%#@!” yelled the general as he threw the microphone across the room. “Where is it going?” “Well General,” began Piek, “Judging by the direction it was going, it looks like it’s heading for San Francisco.” The general tossed the desk over, destroying the computer screen on top. It was then that he remembered that the WAL was still there. “Listen up, your final mission as members of WAL is to recapture or destroy the G3ARO. Only destroy it when capture seems impossible. Now move out!”

When the teen finally opened his eyes, he saw a large city near the ocean. “It’s San Francisco. My old home is there. Maybe Dad’s there and can tell me what’s going on.” It was then that he started running again towards the city, but at the speed of a normal human.

Sideslash walked right up to the thing hanging on the circle and looked at the robotic officer. "If you think," Sideslash said slowly, "that this 'G3ARO' can handle the kinds of things I face, well then General, you are wrong." He turned away from the Generation 3 Armoured Robotic Officer and pointed a finger at the soldier. "Dead wrong." The general told them to sit down, he snorted. "Thanks anyway, but I'll stand." His hand hovered near his katana and he was ready for anything to go wrong. He scowled at the robot's excellent performance, not pleased that he hadn't yet found a flaw. "The G3ARO is a robot. Robots can malfunction." He said without even a hint of feeling. "Nearly every form of martial arts? That bucket of bolts wouldn't last ten seconds against me!" His voice became angrier with each passing moment.
 
Experience told him that if something bad was going to happen, it would happen soon. "WAL? Disbanded?!" Anton's face twitched once. "YOU CAN'T DISBAND US!!!" His hand closed around the katana, and he pulled it from it's scabbard. The general, Krelboyne or something, levelled a pistol at him. He whirled around and slashed the barrel off the gun. "Give me a reason. One reason why I shouldn't gut you right now!!!" The katana was not anywhere near the general, but he eyed it uneasily. The demon sheathed it as the general turned away. The sparks caught Anton's eye. He did some quick calculations. "Estimated voltage...current...conductivity..." His eyes opened slyly. "I guess that your little experiment ran away. Literally." He smirked at the massive hole the teen robot busted in the wall.
 
"Listen up, your final mission as members of WAL is to recapture or destroy the G3ARO. Only destroy when capture seems impossible. Now move out!" Sideslash turned to the general and pulled his fist back. "Don't. Give me orders." He lowered his clenched fist and jumped into the dome G3ARO had been demonstrating in. He eyed the cable, but knew the power was off. He sprinted through the hole, but didn't see the target anywhere. Words drifted to him from back inside the room. He had caught the unit's thought "voice", unemotional and blank. He turned in the air, and was back in the viewing area. "Touch my car." He said to everyone in the room, emphasizing his point by punching a large hole in the wall and pointing at the Mercedes. "And I'll break your neck."  
 
He jumped again, and was suddenly in a street in San Francisco. "Look, that guy just popped out of nowhere."Said a female voice. Sideslash flashed her a winning smile, and began to jog. "He's got a sword!"He stopped. "Will everyone just calm. The f**k. Down?!" There was silence. "I'm Sideslash of We Are Legend, from L.A. I am in pursuit of a...an escaped prisoner and I have reason to believe he may be in the area. So, don't worry, the rest of W.A.L will be here shortly, and we will try and defuse the situation with as little destruction as possible. The best thing you can do is go about your daily routines, and not panic." He went to walk away, before he turned back, "And if you happen to see a guy in a blue armoured suit, don't panic. He won't hurt anyone." Not if I've got any say in it. Yeah I'll bring him back. But my first duty is to the people of Earth. If that threat to my job hurts someone, and it sure as hell can, I'm going to find a box to take it back in. He strolled down the streets, hand on katana, ready to release his Devil's Trigger at any moment.

Finishing off a double patty barbecue burger and onion rings for breakfast, Cly wiped his mouth with his ever present napkin (his shirt), and met up with Esmeralda. They waited for the other available WAL members, then went with them. Standing in front of doors outside the base with Wando, Io, and Sideslash, he remembered when the team had been larger and more active. He forgot about that thought as the doors opened. Past the doors, the group moved towards a dome shaped building. Inside was a massive computer lab, and Cly couldn't withhold himself. At the keyboard of a supercomputer, he pulled up Notepad, and input the text:          @ECHO off        :Begin          msg * A fatal error has occurred. Do not click ok.          msg * You had to click it, didn't you?          msg * This computer will get the Blue Screen of Death in five seconds.          msg * Got ya!          GOTO BEGIN         And with that code, the rider saved the file with the extension .bat, and then opened the file. Smiling, he walked away and rejoined with the rest of the group. Cly listened as the general spoke. “This is the Generation 3 Armored Robotic Officer, or G3ARO for short,” said the general as he gestured towards the teenager. “This is just a prototype. The others we’ll create will look like adults, if this demonstration is successful.” The Rider liked the sound of the name, except the E was backwards and looked like a 3. He shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch as the demonstration began. Taking a seat on top of his Dragon's head, Cly had been prepared. In a small bag slung over his right shoulder, he pulled out a bag of tortilla chips and salsa. "Anyone?" They all looked at him, then looked back toward the demonstration. "Don't all get up at once." He smiled. "Esmeralda, want some chips and salsa?" She looked up at him with her glowing yellow eyes. >>We've been through this, I eat meat, not vegetables.<< "Right." He pulled out a foot long summer sausage out of his small bag and tossed it up in the air. She moved her head back slightly, and caught the meat in her mouth. >>Yum!<< 
 
Both of them turned their attention back towards the action. A tank had been brought out in front of the robot, this G3ARO. The tank fired at the robot, and after the smoke cleared, the robot had no apparent damage. This continued on, showing how tough the robot was. The Knight began to zone out, when he heard the words, "As of today, by order of the President, WAL is hereby disbanded. You are now being replaced by the G3ARO." Cly felt a knife through his heart at the words (and he knew what that actually felt like). Wiping a tear from his right eye, he said to Esmeralda, "I can't believe they are shutting down the team for this." She ruffled her wings. >>Yes, sad news this is. What will we do now?<< Cly's emotions changed from sad to happy in a moment. He reached in his small bag and pulled out a mask. "I thought this might happen, so I planned for the worst..." She looked shocked, >>You did?<< And then, like dominoes, the rest of the former team of WAL each said, "You did?" Surprised by the same response from everyone, he laughed, "That's right." He pulled the mask over his head. The mask was red with black lines on the mask, and had white eye pieces. "I'm Spiderman!" Everyone started to laugh, even the general. >>Peter Parker would so sue you for copyright.<<
 
Shock! The robot was caught in the surge of electricity. It was announced that it was undamaged, but Cly could tell right away that something had changed. The robot was not responding to commands, and the workers attempted to weaken and capture the robot. Hitting the robot with low level sound waves, it appeared as though they would have a successful capture. Everything changed in the blink of an eye. The robot ran, through a wall, and continued on, until it was out of sight. The general spoke again, “Listen up, your final mission as members of WAL is to recapture or destroy the G3ARO. Only destroy it when capture seems impossible. Now move out!” Cly took off his mask, and let it fall to the floor. "I'm Spiderman...no more." Sliding down Esmeralda's neck onto her back on the sides of his bare feet, he said to the general, "You can count on me sir!" Esmeralda walked past the general and swung the end of her tail less than an inch from his face, whether or purpose or not, the Knight could not tell. The Dragon left the building, and she took to the skies, searching for the robot.