| The silver sentinel pointed his gun at the newcomer's face. Metal stared with a hateful glare. He spat his words at this new person. "What do you mean where is this? It's Area 51, doofus!" Then he helpfully pointed at a nearby sign with his free hand. His deep grumbling could be heard buzzing from his mouthpiece.
It's one of those fancy-pants Knight people I've been hearing about. Too good to just warp from place to place, they insist upon 'respecting' the flow of time. Hmph. I guess it's my lucky day. If I kill him, the Dread Coachman might just give me amnesty.
Amrick the Time Knight tried to avert an immediate fight, but Metal Man squeezed his gun and fed a bullet into the chamber. The old pistol was now ready it for use. Amrick backed off, slowly raising his hands. He was trying to keep the Man of Steel from shooting him. At least, before he could hit the Man of Steel first.
But Metal Man was in no mood for diplomacy. "You made almost as big a mistake as I did by coming here. I'm sure your fancy little system brought you here, and I'm just as sure your superiors will be horrified to know that THE TIME BANDIT killed you, but that's enough t--" Mid-sentence, the metallic madman clicked his trigger. Then there was a sound of thunder.
Of course, Amrick was no fool; he ducked away. The bullet only grazed his shoulder. He saw Metal Man eject the clip onto the floor with a CLUNK, and took cover. But Metal Man's in-visor systems deftly tracked Amrick with laser-guided precision. The Man of Steel stood and thought angrily to himself. Those fancy little s#$%s... thinking they're better than everybody else. Just wait until the news gets out about little old me taking one down! He chuckled to himself and slammed in a new, special clip. So special, the clip had a nice skull and crossbones warning on it. No sane people used these ones, apparently.
But Metal Man wasn't going to play any blasphemous heavy metal music with this gun. No... he aimed to the left of Amrick and fired a more progressive instrument.
The Time Knight saw this shot. He knew immediately Metal was trying to lead him into the bullet's path. So instead he leaped aside in the opposite direction.
But... much to his surprise, the bullet was not a bullet! It hit some sort of alien coffee table and, instead of making a dull thud, it created a massive explosion. The Time Knight froze with horror as he saw the explosion propel the fancy table sideways into the air. It was with such force it smashed into Amrick with a satisfying CRACK and threw him into the wall, then it shattered on Amrick, piercing him with shrapnel and making a hideous mess.
"How d'ya like that one, Mr. I'm-better-than-you?" Metal Man's face took on a sort of hateful glare, one he hadn't used often. It wasn't madness this time; just annoyance, RAGE at those who had put down his 'pedestrian' organization. The small fires from the explosion eerily reflected on his visor, making him seem even more creepy... and consumed by an unseen fire.
But Amrick had no clue why this wacko was so mad at him. He also had no clue what those blue spinny alarm things going off were, or why people with guns were manning the door to the room they were both in. Indeed, when the PA went off about 'intruders in Bay 5' he realized... it was as if he had been warped into the middle of a battle. A battle between this metallic man and the base's security. He tried to ask another question to sate his curiosity. "Who are you, and wh--"
But all he got was a wheezy response. "I don't tell TIME PRESERVATIONISTS that kind of info!" The Metal Man let the other bullets in his cartridge loose, causing seven more giant explosions. Although Amrick dodged most of them, the shots reduced the area around the Time Knight to rubble. This left him a bit more vulnerable to Metal Man's close-range whims. It also turned the otherwise boring gray bunker-warehouse into a cool-looking burning debris field.
The Man of Steel began lumbering towards Amrick, slowly, as he put away his gun. A look of raging hatred, perhaps mixed with some envy, had plastered itself onto his face... and it only looked worse when Amrick compared the man's pock-marked face with his reflection in the man's visor. There was no more time for reasoning with this man. If he gave him even an inch more, he might just rip his head off and play pachinko with it. The Time Knight stiffened, readying for battle.
Metal's blue eyes searched the area like ghostly search lights. He was calculating... yes. Amrick... would be his pachinko ball to bounce around the room.
But he hadn't planned for what Amrick was going to do next. |