A quick and deadly panic sliced through me as the mayor began to drone on about the benefits of the new automated police force. I tried to focus, but found myself drifting away from the present as I pictured every reason why the robots were almost a mirror image of my nemesis.

My nemesis. Those two words were often used to describe him, and fit who the Automaton was, yet still fell short of defining just who dangerous he could be. A nemesis, the inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall, a long standing rival, an archenemy. He was all of those, yet not just to me. He was the city's nemesis, and maybe even the worlds.

“You’re shutting down again.” My grandfather whispered in my ear, as he shifted closer. “Do you need to be excused to retire early?”

I knew he wasn’t really referring to me returning home, as I often went on patrol after such occasions, yet still the thought of leaving these people alone with the drones was unfathomable, even if I might return in uniform.

“No. Not this time.” I answered back, as I stood a bit straighter and watched the stage intently. 

   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite my instincts which were never once wrong, nothing had happened. The metal menaces had stood and done absolutely nothing, they hadn’t even turned on. As usual, my grandfather had told me to look on the bright side.

The only brightside I could find was that we now knew where the Automaton was getting his equipment from. Even though that was actually a bad thing considering where he was getting them from.

Darwin Devices has been, and still is a very peaceful company. Yes they had made security bots and even robotic police officers, but I’d still be surprised if they gave one even something as simple as a sharp edge. So the fact that they were supplying him with weapons was not a good sign.

I was, if fact, so deep in my thoughts that I almost missed what the radio was talking about.

“We seem to have an odd one hear folks. That's right, Box-Man has been rumored to have been seen making deals with the crime family of Johnsons who have as far as we know, been involved in multiple major crimes that took place last year.

This itself isn’t that strange as they have been negotiating for quite some time now, but that seems not to be the case this time.”

“-ou ready-.....-no, more tha-.................-ine, have it ready th-”

I shot to attention, my muscles so tense I almost ripped my jacket in two. The voice, my voice, or at least the one my suit made we talk like, had just said something which I hadn’t said at any of my negotiations with the Johnsons. And the way I said it, it sounded like I was ordering them around. Despite the fact that I was almost guaranteed to beat them if we ended up throwing fists, I would never have acted even rude to them purely on the fact that they could hold the entire city hostage if it came down to it.

That, combined with the fact that someone had supposedly seen me with them on a day that I hadn’t been anywhere near them could only mean one thing.

Someone was trying to frame me.