Episode 2

Mysterious Warrior Wyn

A stray laser shot tore through the treetops, sending pigeons—birds that were used to the park being a peaceful haven to relax during the day—flying frantically into the air. A young teenager fell to the concrete path. He could feel the heat from the robot’s propulsion jets that kept it hovering in the air nipping at his feet.

“You cannot escape from me, Guardian,” the robot said in its cold mechanical voice. “Give up your Guardian power while you are still breathing.”

The boy glared back at the sinister figure. Robotroids were fairly simple-looking Creturians, some of the few robotic monsters he had ever seen in his travels. But if there was one thing he learned in all his encounters, it was that the simplistic Creturians were oftentimes no less dangerous than the complex. “Fat chance, pal. I’ve disposed of monsters far worse than you.”

“Let us see you stop me, then.” Robotroid's left laser cannon began to glow a dull yellow. “Laser Blast!” A blinding laser blast tore from the blaster. The boy scrambled away as pieces of concrete whizzed over his head.

“Oh, that’s the way you wanna play it, huh?” He stood up in a fighting pose. “Dimensional Guardians, power up!” After being shrouded by a bright light, he was covered in a thin layer of futuristic armor.

“The Guardian power reveals itself,” Robotroid said. “Show me this power you have, Guardian.”

The boy smiled. He had been waiting for that. “You got it.” He jumped over another one of Robotroid's blasts and gave it a firm kick between its fiberglass eyes. Quickly recovering, the robot shot off another blast, which the boy rolled away from. He countered with a blast of his own: “Guardian Punch!” As he extended his fist, a bright red aura formed around it and flew at Robotroid, striking it square in its eye.

Taken aback, the bot wailed its status: “Warning! Left optical unit offline!”

“What’s the matter?” the boy asked with a smug grin. “Can’t beat me with just one eye?”

In a rage, Robotroid let him have it with both barrels. He disappeared in the blast, but jumped out of the smoke unscathed. With only one of its eyes working, it was unable to accurately track his movements.

Crunch! The boy shattered Robotroid's right eye with another kick. “Danger! Danger! Both optical units offline!” the robot said, its panicked voice in stark contrast to its stone still position.

“You sure are whiny, aren’t you?” the boy commented. “I’d advise you to get out of here while you’re still able.”

While Robotroid wasn’t able to show it with its broken eyes, the boy knew it wasn’t happy. “Very well, Guardian. But do not think the result will be the same the next time we meet.” In the blink of an eye, it had disappeared in a flash of light, teleporting to parts unknown.

“Hmph. Promises, promises.” The boy looked around at the stupefied crowd that had been watching the fight. He noted with a sigh that the Creturians never failed to attack when there were a lot of witnesses around. “Filming a movie here, folks. Just go about your business.” As he looked towards the towering skyscrapers of the city ahead and began walking off as nonchalantly as he could manage, he thought to himself, Well, so much for acting casual. It’d be nice if I could just get through one city without a fight. I’d better make my way through before that bozo comes back for round two.

---

Rob rose up out of bed and gasped. “Oh no! I overslept!” In a panic, he grabbed his alarm clock to see just how long he had slept in. “Oh. Wait…” His panicked face quickly turned into one of pleasure. “It’s summer now. Heh heh.”

As he peered around his room, his eyes set on the bracelet sitting on his desk across the room. “Aw, man, I forgot all about that thing.” The events of the previous night were still fresh in his mind, as vivid as when they actually happened. That is, if they actually happened. “But…it had to be a dream. There’s no other logical explanation.” He had had some crazy dreams before, but none that felt quite so real. “Maybe my imagination's kicking into overdrive in an attempt to relieve me of boredom.”

His head still swimming with thoughts, Rob took off into the city streets on his skateboard to clear it. Ah, summer, he thought to himself as he sniffed the morning air. I’d better enjoy it while I can; I’ll probably be bored to tears after a few more days of this.

---

As the mysterious boy strode down the city streets, he continued gazing at the soaring skyscrapers. A nice city, to be sure. He had been through his share of bad ones. The streets were clean and the people were friendly. It'd be a shame to have anything bad befall the town or its citizens.

And as long as he was there, he knew the chances of bad things occurring were significantly higher. Creturians didn't have set times to appear and cause chaos, and in his experience, they always seemed to attack him when he least expected it. The quicker he got out of town, the better.

But still, he usually walked a bit faster than he was currently. It was as if some unseen force was slowing him down. As if something was keeping him there.

As if he had a reason to be there.

His period of deep thought was broken as his ears caught the last few words of a blaring news report: “--monster has yet to be found.” He immediately stopped in his tracks and noticed a TV display in a window. He stared at the TV as the reporter continued his story: “The creature, as previously reported, attacked Cecile‘s, a local clothing store. Nobody was injured in the attack, but curiously, the creature was seen fleeing with a piece of jewelry in its mouth. Scientists are still in disagreement at exactly what kind of creature it was. Contact was made with the local zoo, who reported that all of it’s animals are present and accounted for. Eyewitnesses describe the creature as catlike, four-legged with—odd as it sounds—three tails. Local police highly advise citizens to be on their guard at all times when out and about, as the creature is considered very dangerous. If you have any information on this creature, please contact the police department. This is Bob Baskins with Channel 3 news.”

The boy pulled his jaw off the ground. A Creturian? In this town? Yesterday? In all his travels he had never heard of Creturians appearing in a place where he wasn't at. Why would--?

He looked down at the bracelet attached to his arm. “A piece of jewelry..?” Now things were starting to make some sense. Every Creturian he had ever encountered was after one thing, and one thing only—his bracelet. But...had the Creturians found another one?

Well, whatever the situation was, he couldn't let any Creturians run loose, whether they were after him or not.

---

Robotroid returned sooner than he had expected. The streets filled with pandemonium as the newly-repaired robot slowly hovered through the city, firing deadly laser bolts at anything that stood in its way. “Scanning for Guardian signature…signature detected…location: 5 miles southwest.”

It paused. “…error! Additional Guardian signature detected 8 miles north. Does not compute.

“Reprogramming mission data. Must eliminate all Guardian signatures. Signature in nearer proximity…priority one.”

With that, it was off to find Rob.

---

Rob watched curiously as five police cars zoomed past him with their sirens blaring. Whatever was going on must've been big to require so many policemen. “Ooh, maybe today won’t be such a dull day after all,” he said to himself. “Let’s see what’s up.”

Down the road a moderate distance, a blockade was set up. The police cars screeched to a halt in front of it, and the officers quickly got out with their guns tightly in hand and grouped together. “Anyone happen to know exactly what we’re surrounding here?” one officer asked as he crouched down.

“Well, I know they aren’t filming a movie out here,” said another, “so whatever wacky thing it is causing all the explosions downtown, I can bet ya it ain’t good.”

The police chief hesitantly pulled out his megaphone as he saw the massive robot appear around a building and fly towards them slowly. “Um…whoever is controlling the giant…robot…come out with your hands up!”

“We don’t get paid enough for this.” muttered one officer to another.

Robotroid paused and glared at the useless blockade that had been formed in front of it. “I have orders from my master to eliminate the Dimensional Guardians. Stand down now, or face the consequences.”

While he was certainly surprised to hear the robot itself respond instead of a human controller, the chief bellowed: “We will not give in to your threats. This is your last chance: land now or we will have no choice but to force you down.”

“I will not be subdued by the likes of you,” the robot responded.

The chief turned to his men. “All right men, prepare to fire!” They aimed their guns directly at Robotroid and fired, to no avail; the bullets did little more than dent the robot’s armor. Robotroid retaliated by blasting several of the police cars into piles of flaming metal, causing the police to quickly dive behind whatever shelter they could find. One of them scrambled for a working communicator. “Attention, HQ! The automaton has gotten through the barricade and is heading southwest towards downtown. Our weapons have been rendered ineffective. We need some serious firepower to take this thing down.”

“Okay, the job description said nothing about fighting giant robots!” a policeman said. “I wonder if I could be transferred…”

The sound of the explosions were quick to get the boy's attention. He jumped from building to building, his eyes fixed on the piles of smoke rising from above the faraway buildings. “That robot is on the warpath! But the question is, is it after me, or…someone else…?”

Rob knew something bad was going down, but as he saw a wave of people running down the road in a panic, he realized it was something big.

An appropriate choice of words, he thought, as he saw Robotroid appear around the corner. “Whoa, boy! I sure hope they’re just filming a movie.”

The robot stopped moving forward and hovered in place, as if contemplating something. “Guardian signature located,” Robotroid said. “Commencing attack!”

Rob did little more than watch the blast streak towards him. “…huh. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was aiming that blast right…at…me…”

A soldier who had just arrived on the scene yelled: “Hey, kid! Get away from there! Now!”

With mere moments to spare, Rob dove out of the road as the laser crashed into the ground. “Okay, so it’s not a movie!” He glanced over at the soldier. A soldier? In Feldnaut City? This week just kept getting weirder and weirder.

“Get these people to safety,” another soldier ordered, a giant bazooka tucked firmly under his arm. “Squad one, prepare to attack!”

Soldiers with bazookas? As weird as it was to see military men fighting a giant robot with bazookas in his town...it was strangely awesome at the same time.

“Are you okay?” the soldier from before asked, placing his hand on Rob's shoulder.

“I-I’m fine,” he responded, not knowing what else to say.

“Good. Now head on out of here!” He nudged him away.

“Squad one, fire weapons!” ordered the commander. The squad of soldiers fired their bazookas. Unlike the bullets, the rockets were enough to penetrate Robotroid's metal down to the circuitry. Still, the robot hovered as normal.

“Good job, men,” the commander said, elated that they were making some headway against the menace. “Squad two, prepare to fire!”
Robotroid was quick on the draw. “All sectors at 20% damage. Commence counterattack. Laser Blast!” With both barrels, Robotroid was able to obliterate the next wave of fire and send the soldiers flying through the air. “Guardian!” it called out.

Rob froze as a throng of frightened people pushed their way past him. “It…can’t be. Not again…”

“The automaton is escaping!” a soldier yelled at the top of his voice. “We’ve got to do something!”

“Everyone, please seek shelter immediately!” boomed a voice over a loudspeaker attached to the top of one of the police cars. “Get into the nearest building you can find.”

Hoping to escape in the throng of fleeing citizens, Rob made a mad dash down the road. But somehow, the robot managed to single him out. Robotroid jetted in front of Rob, causing many of the passerbys to turn around and rush the other way. “Halt, Guardian!” Robotroid said.

“Hey, man, what do you want from me?” Rob asked innocently. “I’m just minding my own business here.”

“I believe you know quite well what I want,” Robotroid replied. “My name is Robotroid. Surrender your Guardian power to me, or be destroyed.”

“W-What are you talking about?” Rob said. “Did that tail guy tell you about me? Do you guys know each other? Because I think he's a fine, fine...whatever he is. You have good taste in friends--”

“Silence!” Robotroid said. “Give me your Guardian power.”

“Hey, I'd like to, man, but, uh, I don't have it with me. Do you want me to go home and get it, or...”

Robotroid stared at Rob for a moment before answering. “That will not be necessary, human. My sensors indicate that your DNA has bonded with the Guardian power. Thus, you are also a threat and must be terminated.”

Rob groaned. “Man, why do you guys have to make everything so difficult, huh?” Rob's tirade was cut short as another laser shot sliced past him. He ran into a narrow alleyway in the hopes of Robotroid being unable to pursue him. Thankfully, the police were too busy trying to get everyone to safety to notice that he was the one Robotroid was after, which would have only added to his list of worries.

First that cat thing, now a decked out robot, he thought as he pushed over a trash can in frustration. I'm like a freak magnet.

Finally, the top of Robotroid's head came into the boy's view over the edge of a building. “What is Robotroid doing? It looks like its trying to get something out of that alleyway...”

Rob continued running. He had no idea exactly where he was going to escape to, especially if the robot was able to sense his energy—or whatever it was it did. “First that cat thingy tries to kill me because I have that stupid bracelet, and now that robot thingy is trying to kill me because I don't have it? I can't win here.”

Suddenly, he bumped into the boy, who was running in the other direction. “Hey, pal, a little dangerous running down a dark alley, huh?” the boy said.

“As if you have room to talk,” Rob retorted. “Anyway, I’d wager I’m safer in the dark than I would be out there.”

“You're only delaying the inevitable, Guardian!” Robotroid called down the alleyway.

Guardian? the boy thought. Surely Robotroid was referring to him, not that other Robotroid didn't know he was here...did he?

And if not, then that could only mean...

No, best not to jump to conclusions. “Get to safety. That robot out there means business.”

Rob shot the stranger a quizzical look. He didn't look like he was from around there. Torn green shirt, dirty brown pants, and tall blond hair that shot into the air, effectively defying all laws of gravity. He had a strange air about him, but Rob couldn't put his finger on it. “And what do you know about that robot that I don't?” Rob asked.

“Plenty,” he said simply. “Now get out of here.”

Rob glanced back at him one more time, then walked slowly down the alleyway. Oh, no. He wasn't going anywhere. That boy was hiding something.

He turned around quickly as he heard a familiar phrase ring through the alley: “Dimensional Guardians, power up!”

Rob's eyes grew as big as dinner plates. But as soon as the brilliant light had cleared, the mysterious boy was nowhere to be seen.

The boy wasted no time; he jumped out into the sunlight and gave Robotroid a firm uppercut. “Hey, there, tin man. Short time, no punch.”
Robotroid growled as it recovered. “Guardian! My sensors did detect you!”

“Congratulations. You ready for round 2?”

“I shall make this quick. Laser Blast!” The boy jumped over the blast, but was then smacked into a building by Robotroid’s arm.

Rob peeked out from the alley to get a good look. “You gotta me kidding me. How—what--?”

The boy tumbled to the ground. “Hmph. I’ll give you that one. Savor it while you’re able.”

“Empty taunts, Guardian. Laser Blast!”

“Guardian Punch!” The two blasts met, but the boy’s managed to break through and crash into Robotroid.

“This guy’s pretty good,” Rob commented, mouth agape.

“Nice try, Guardian,” said Robotroid in as mocking a tone as its robotic voice could manage, “but I’ve upgraded my armor since last we met. Your punches cannot penetrate it.”

“We’ll see about that.“ With a powerful leap, the boy landed on the top of Robotroid's cylindrical body. “You have to have a weak point somewhere.”

Robotroid struggled to shake him off. “You shall not live to find out. Be gone with you!”

The boy raised his fist. “Let’s just try right--whoa!” He tried to hold on as Robotroid flew top-first towards a building. He jumped off as it smashed into it, sending glass flying. “Okay, I’m off. Hope you’re happy.”

Suddenly, another blast shot out of the dust, catching him off guard. He landed in a heap as Robotroid made its way towards him. “Clever tactic, Guardian, but not quite clever enough.”

“It looks like that robot's not going to give up very easily,” Rob said to himself. “I'd like to even the odds, but what can I do without my bracelet?” He glanced helplessly at his bare arm.

He heard the boy yelp. Robotroid smacked into him with one of its cannons, sending him crashing into the nearby building. The boy was tough, but was he tough enough? Rob wasn't so sure.

He calculated in his head how quickly it would take him to rush home and get his bracelet. It wasn't that long of a distance, if he didn't slow down. The bigger question was whether the boy could last long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

He couldn't waste time thinking about it. Anything was better than standing around and watching.

Bound and determined, he made a dash for home.

He nearly tripped over his feet as he plowed into his room and grabbed the bracelet off of his desk. He took a moment to catch his breath before bolting back out the door.

Meanwhile, the policemen couldn't take their eyes off of the intense battle they were witnessing. The majority of them had experience in breaking up fights, but this was one fight they had no desire to get in the middle of.

Wyn launched a flurry of punches, hoping to overwhelm Robotroid. But Robotroid stood firm, despite the minor dents in its armor. Where was the blasted thing's weakness?

He deflected another one of Robotroid's blasts as he ran a circle around it. He could hold up long enough to find a weak point as long as he kept his guard up.

Using a series of shortcuts, Rob managed to make his way back to the battlefield faster than he had left, and thankfully, without drawing any unwanted attention to himself. Gasping for breath as he plodded to the edge of the alleyway, he slapped on his bracelet. “Now...what was it that guy said? Dimension Power! Dimensional Guardian power!”

Nothing.

“Uh...go-go Guardian power?”

“Your time is up, Guardian!” he overheard Robotroid say.

“Up...up...that was it!” Confidently, he yelled out, “Dimensional Guardians, power up!” In a flash, he was wearing his battle armor once more. “Awesome, it works! Let’s see if I can remember how to do this…” He pressed a button, and a laser shot out of his arm cannon with incredible force. “Yow! I remember.”

Both Wyn and Robotroid stopped and turned toward the direction of the sound. Another shot sailed out of the alley and hit Robotroid with little effect. “Ah yes, the other Guardian,” it said calmly.

“Forgot about me, huh? I'm hurt,” Rob said.

So that guy was Robotroid's original target! Wyn shook off all of the questions that were forming in his mind. No time to get distracted now. “What are you doing out here?” he said to Rob. “I told you to stay where it’s safe. I can handle this!”

“Hey, this guy owes me for trying to kill me!” Rob shot back. “Oh, and for stealing my attack name, while we're at it.”

“Allow me to finish the job,” Robotroid said. “Laser Blast!”

“Just try it! Laser Blast!”

Robotroid and Rob's lasers canceled each other out.

“Not bad,” said Robotroid. “Let’s see how well you fare against both barrels.”

Both combatants fired their weapons again. This time, Robotroid's two blasts easily overwhelmed Rob's one. With no way to avoid the massive stream of energy, Rob clenched his eyes shut and braced for impact…

...and popped his eyes back open when he heard the mysterious boy wailing in pain directly in front of him, then falling to his knees. “Hey! Are you okay?” Rob exclaimed as he helped pull him up off the ground. He was surprised the boy was even able to stand after getting hit by that.

“You…idiot…” Wyn said through clenched teeth. “Obviously you have no clue what you’re doing…get out of here…”

“No way,” Rob said. “You’re hurt. You need my--”

“No, I don’t! That attack was nothing. Get out of here now, or you’ll end up in far worse shape than I am.”

“Cmon! I--”

“I said go!” In a rage, he delivered a powerful punch to Rob's midsection, sending him sailing into a building.

“Let’s finish this!” Robotroid said impatiently. “Laser Blast!”

The boy dodged and backflipped underneath the robot. There, at its bottom edge, was a gaping hole the bazooka blasts had ripped open earlier.

Bingo.

“Sounds like a plan. Guardian Punch!” His attack tore through Robotroid's circuits, and the robot exploded in a giant ball of flame.

Rob rubbed his head as the weary boy walked towards him. “Man, what was that for?” Rob moaned.

“Your own good, that’s what,” Wyn replied. “You can’t just mindlessly rush into battle like that. You’ll be destroyed in an instant.”

“…says the pot to the kettle.”

“Hey, I’ve been fighting for a long time. I’m a born warrior. I highly doubt the same can be said about you.”

Rob huffed.

“Anyway,” Wyn continued, “we need to look at the big picture here. It’s obvious the city is at great risk as long as you’re in possession of the Guardian power. And that means that the monster attacks will keep on coming.”

“Well, it’s not like I asked to be a superhero,” Rob said. “…although I have to admit it is pretty cool.”

“Nor did I. But it doesn’t matter. The power has bonded with your DNA. Like it or not, you’re stuck with it.”

Rob's stomach immediately tied in a knot. That idea would take some time to stomach.

“No doubt you have plenty of questions for me,” Wyn added. “I know I do for you. But this isn’t the time or place, seeing as how this place will be swarming with more cops soon, and I’m not really in a Q&A mood anymore.” He began to walk off. “I’ll be sticking around this city for a while, so we’ll have an opportunity to sort stuff out later.”

“Wait!” Rob called out. “Can you at least tell me your name?”

“My name is Wyn,” he said as he continued walking. “Wyn Locke.”

“Wyn, huh? I’m Rob.”

“Well, Rob, I suggest you lift some weights or something before tackling another monster. Oh, and you might want to make yourself scarce before you wind up on the evening news.”

Rob watched as Wyn leaped atop a building and vainished from sight. “Man, talk about an attitude problem.”

But even so, Rob knew Wyn had the answers that he wanted.

Wyn certainly does have a lot on the ball, doesn’t he? Will he and Rob find the answers they seek? Keep reading Dimension Heroes to find out!

TO BE CONTINUED...