In a spotless white laboratory, a mechanical hand grasps a bright red crystal. The titanite shard is inserted vertically in Death Metal's chest chamber, causing a red glow to shine through every gap in the armor. Raymond stares at his reflection in the helmet's visor, until it vanishes in the bright, red light. "Sir, another crystal is complete." "How many does that make?" "Twelve, sir." As the sharply dressed CEO makes his way to the lab tables, he asks, "And how many cases?" Metal fingers grasp the crystal from the glass container and neatly place it in the last empty spot in a suitcase. "Ten, sir." "One hundred and twenty titanite power cells. If the energy didn't get consumed so fast, I'd have enough to test the prototype."
*Clunk!* The tenth case of Titanite is stacked on top of the others next to a reinforced steel door. "Incoming high priority email, sir." "From who?" "ChesterTheBester@coolmail.com." Raymond turns in confusion; even Iris seems to lag for a moment before reading the email's content. "He and his three friends wish to have a tour of the facility for their summer school project." Now it clicks. With a weak grin, Raymond steps over to the steel door. "The kids want to search Klank Skyscraper for Miss Steel...Allow it. I'll make sure they get a warm welcome." The CEO slides the window of the door to look inside, spotting the unconscious Armstrong with a helmet-like device on his head.
________________________________________________________________
Compared to surrounding skyscrapers of Phoenix, Klank Robotics' business headquarters stands tallest. A small cell tower sits atop the building, making it appear even higher. "Wooooow," said Chester from the sidewalk below, "It's even taller in person!" The spiky-haired boy stands among his friends staring straight up with his mouth open. Amy pulls his focus back down to Earth by pulling him down by the jaw. "Stay focused, Chester. We're here for a reason." "Our school project," says Lajon with a wink, "We're studying the engineering of prosthetics and how far they've come thanks to Klank Robotics." Chester and Amy nod in agreement, then all turn to Vee. The baseball cap wearing girl in a red flannel and jeans adjusts her collar to hide her Lil' Miss Steel uniform underneath. She tugs on her backpack straps, full of her gadgets and belt. "I'm ready."
All together, the band enters through the revolving door of Klank Skyscraper. Inside their eyes open wide in wonder. Only four human employees stand behind the front desks. Every guest is guided by robotic tour guides on wheels to several sights. Glass encased prosthetic limbs, a colorful robot juggling five balls in front of children, and a shiny, red muscle car. "This is Mr. Klank's first self b-b-built prosthetic arm," one tourbot says to a group of guests. Vee hears this and whispers to Lajon, "Death Metal could detach his left arm." "I remember that," he adds.
At last the band are met with a robot guide of their own. "G-G-Greetings g-g-group number 17. You have arrived on time and without incident." One of its thick, cable arms extends and clasps its 'C' shaped hand over Vee's wrist. Left behind is a thin plastic band with a blinking, red light. The other teens obtain bands as well, and the machine explains, "Your g-g-guest IDs have been assigned." Before the tourbot can start its pre-programmed route, a man's voice says, "Unit 219, return to post." "Yes, sir. Have a g-g-great day."
In walks Raymond in his usual black coat, slacks and yellow tie. Despite Vee's expectation of an evil man, he wears a smile and speaks in a friendly manner. "Sorry about that one. It has trouble with G's." With the robot gone, Raymond begins his tour. "Well, just in case my face being plastered all over the building wasn't obvious enough, I am Raymond Klank. Summer school project, right?" The band nods at different speeds. "Great! If someone's going to do any writing about me, I want to make sure what they hear comes straight from the source, and pleases investors. Follow me." As the teens trail behind him, Lajon whispers back to Chester and Amy, "Remember, act interested in his work, not his crimes."
Raymond stops in front of a glass display case holding his first prosthetic arm on a spinning pedestal. The "arm" is merely a bundle of sticks tied together by string. "My career began when I was five. As a child, I was bullied for being born without my left arm, so I built one out of sticks and yarn." "What about this!?" asks Chester with genuine excitement. Somehow the spiky-haired teen had snuck out of the group and over to a spotless, red muscle car. "Don't touch that!" warns Raymond, dashing over and slapping his wrist with his metal hand. "Ow!"
Chester waves his hurt hand and shows it to Amy, as if to kiss it and make it better. Ignoring her friend, Vee speaks to the CEO, "You must really like that car." Raymond rubs the roof of the vehicle with his human hand. "The red Shevelle you see here belonged to my mother. I keep it to remember her when I walk through the front door every day."
The CEO seemed to forget he was doing a tour for a moment. "Right, I know you kids want to see the rest of the facility, so let's get a lift." Chester rubs his wrist with a pouting lip; Amy finally kisses it and pushes him forward. Elevator doors beside the front desk open, and all step inside. Once shut, a British male's voice asks, "What floor, sir?" "Alfonse, take us to my lab, slowly." "Going up, sir." Vee raises an eyebrow. "Alfonse?" "Artificial intelligence, developed by myself of course. He only listens to me." I thought it was Iris, she wonders.
Through the glass walls of the elevator, the band is shown dozens of floors of the massive skyscraper. Between office floors appear automated assembly lines building a variety of devices. Engineers in hard hats and white coats observe a mounted rifle firing pin point accurate bullets at a target in bursts of three. Five floors above, a speeding car crashes into a reinforced wall. "Still working out the kinks of autopilot vehicles," says Raymond, speeding up the elevator to skip this floor. The next twenty-six floors blurred together. It was too much info all at once for the teens to fully take in.
At last the elevator reached it's highest floor, Raymond's personal lab. "And high above the rest of Phoenix, is my lab. Go ahead, take in the view. It's one-way glass." One by one the teens enter awestruck. At this point Chester was no longer acting interested and pressed his excited face against the window. "Wicked! How many stories is this place?" "Thirty-two," Raymond says while approaching his desk and bulky laptop, "So what was your project about?"
All four bandmates freeze for a moment. In the span of fifteen minutes, the tour of amazing machinery caused them to forget the reason they gave in the email. Vee, Lajon, Amy and Chester give their answers, all at once. "Robotics." "Engineering." "Green tech." "Fast cars!" Sweat drops fall as they glance at each other. Raymond's expression seems unimpressed. "That's what I thought you'd say. Alfonse, give our guests a proper welcome."
Four square tiles shift open on the walls. At incredible speed and precision, each teen finds their band wearing wrists wrapped up by mechanical tentacles. Vee is pulled back by the arm and slammed against the spotless wall like her friends, and three more tentacles detain her limbs. "What's going on!?" Lajon asks, wrapped several times from his chest to his knees. With clacking shoes, Raymond calmly steps over to his prisoners. "Your email was suspicious the moment I read the address. Seriously? 'ChestertheBester@coolmail.com?'" The other teens glare at their friend, who is the only one wrapped upside down. "Uh, sorry?"
Comments (0)
See all