JumpMan yelps as metal hands grip the scruff of his uniform. He flails his feet, his hover shoes purring as he moves frantically…
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“Hey, hey! King! Let’s talk about this, yeah? Let’s just—”
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King raises his hand, ready to land another blow, until—
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A voice blares loudly. Yellow lights flash violently. Someone’s infiltrated the database.
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King drops JumpMan, protocol kicking in. The robot shuffles to one of the technicians. “…Do I need to go anywhere?”
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The technicians reply, “No, no. It seems to be a digital probe…but if you want to be safe…”
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King nods, before activating security droids, little robots that walk around everywhere he isn’t.
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“I will stop the intruders. In any way I can.”
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“If we plug you in now, your update will start automatically. We won’t have enough time, and your systems are weakened, could you even handle it?”
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“…JM-01. You have perfectly working fingers, yes?”
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JumpMan flexes his hand. “Uh…Sure. I hope they’re working…”
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“Then you will go to the servers and manually remove them. I will remain here and continue the update.” King steps onto the platform as wires snake into his ports.
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“Wh—? Me? I can’t do security work! I’m the ‘speed’ guy!”
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“Exactly my point. You are the fastest and most precise asset. Intruders do not wait.”
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“…If I die again, I’m gonna haunt you specifically, King.” JumpMan holds up his hand. “Gimme the key. I’ll see what I can do.”
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King gives JumpMan one last glare before shutting down. While his faceplate doesn’t show much but ‘anger’, JumpMan could sense a smidge of respect. One of the technicians produces a small key to the server room. “Don’t lose it.”
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“Got it.” JumpMan zooms off, leaving a blue streak behind. He pushes past the security droids and down the lower levels of the facility.
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A lot of the more dangerous projects happen down here. Military-grade stuff. Things not even he knows.
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And then there’s the reactor, the stunning white beacon of Ouroboros Corporation. The glow as he passes the room causes him to pause.
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Four years earlier, October 13, 2084
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He was just a normal guy. Brown hair, fair skin, brown eyes. Easily excitable. You probably wouldn’t be able to pick him out of a normal crowd, much less a crowd of faceless scientists.
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Only twenty-three years old and a science intern looking to get his start in cybernetic engineering (but being forced to work as a maintenance man), he had so much to look forward to at Ouroboros Corporation. To life, even.
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So where did it go wrong?
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Loud alarms. Quick, stomping footsteps. Frantic commands.
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“Check the reactor!”
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“Hurry, before the entire thing goes into meltdown!”
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He ran to the reactor room, tool bag in hand and already winded from the stress. “I got it! I got it!” The heat presses against his face before he can even get close enough. The shoes on his feet switch to rollerblades, letting him zip through the panicking crowd as they attempt to make a path for him. “Out of the way! Maintenance coming through!”
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He clambers up the ladder meant for maintenance, over to the stabilizers, almost tripping over a step.
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The pipes almost glow white with the reactor’s energy. They tremble and cry out, letting out stray arcs. He just has to tighten the bolts and then put the entire reactor on low power mode. He’s quick. He can do this.
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He wipes the cascades of sweat off his forehead, the stress and heat getting to him more than he thought. He quickly goes around the entire ring of bolts, tightening them in as little pumps as possible…
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BZZT! One of the discharges hit him in the arm, as if lashing him for getting too close.
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“Ghk—agh!” He gasps, the burn beginning to swell and redden. “N-No…almost there…” He tries to power through the pain as he tightens the last loose bolt. “Come on…”
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Metal squeaks.
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Once. Twice.
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The bolt stops moving. The reactor’s been held back. For now. He zooms back to the control panel, frantically tapping screens and putting in maintenance codes…
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“Okay,” he mutters to the thing as it loads the override commands, “don’t fail me now…”
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A whoosh hits the entire building. All the lights go dim. Alarms stop blaring.
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…A nervous chuckle escapes his throat. Then a loud laugh of relief. His grin nearly splits his face in two. “Ha! I did it! I did—”
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A notification hits the panel. He looks back down to read it.
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Override Error.
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His grin fades. His heart stops fluttering and starts sinking.
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The heat returns almost instantly. He barely has time to react before—
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BLAM! The reactor explodes. Not completely, thanks to his work.
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But it’s just enough to catch him in the blast.
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There’s sweltering heat, blistering pain, blinding light, deafening noise…and then silence. Darkness.
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Present Day
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JumpMan blinks slowly, frozen. Right. It’ll be…five years soon. The reactor glows a bright white.
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For a second, he can feel the heat of the blast. The force of it.
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Suddenly, JumpMan shakes his head, tapping a fist against his temple. “Focus. Focus! Server room!”
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JumpMan zooms off again before he can think about it any further, his hair trailing jaggedly behind him. When he gets to the door, he presses the keycard against reader, swinging the door open as soon as he hears the ‘beep’.
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It’s dark, the only light coming from massive amount of servers…and the main computer.
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He slides up, looking at text scroll on and off the glowing screen. “Alright, what am I looking for?”
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A transmission comes in. “You’re looking for an unfamiliar connection. Most likely something Aether related…”
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“Aether related…” he repeats in a mutter, as he scans through the activity logs. He carefully, precisely taps around on the large metallic keys, until he comes across a download currently in progress.
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They’re downloading the entire JM-01 project. His blueprints. His schematics, everything.
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“Crap,” he swears. He tries to click buttons faster, trying to intercept.
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"JumpMan, status?” a transmission interrupts.
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He screams back, too frantic to answer quickly. “They’re trying to steal my files! Just give me a—”
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But it’s too late. The download completes, and the connection is terminated.
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“...Did you stop them?”
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“Nope...they’re gone. It doesn’t look like they were after anything else, though.”
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“...Understood. You can come back up. We’ll get King to follow up. He might be able to figure out where the connection came from.”
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JumpMan pulls away from the computer slowly, eyes locked on the screen, wary that the mysterious intruder might come back for more. “Alright.” He replies, before turning away fully and back up to the upper levels.
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JumpMan returns just as King is focusing his attention on damage control. The droids are powered down around the room, almost protecting the robot in a huddle while his updated AI is linked to the computer.
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“Oof...” JumpMan exhales, his pupils semi-circles; his version of exhaustion. “Never. Send me on emergency security work again, King. Stressful as hell...”
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King doesn’t respond instantly, taking his AI from the monitor in front of him. “I have found the source of the intrusion.”
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“Yeah?” JumpMan raises a digital eyebrow. “Is it the same thing I’m thinking…or?”
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“Aether Corporation.”
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JumpMan’s jaw clenches. “Yep…thought so.” He slinks up next to King. “…What are you doing now, big guy?”
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King straightens to his full height. “I will block this connection and make it harder for new ones to intrude.”
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“…What do you think they’re gonna do with that stuff?”
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“It is in your best interest to stay calm. Aether Corporation does not have the proper intel to create another ‘JumpMan’.”
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King steps away fully from the computer, ready to leave the room. Once JumpMan hears the fading footfalls of the mechanical giant, he mutters a final quip.
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“Easy for you to say…you don’t have cortisol running through your veins…”
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and then Add to home screen.