CH.1

It was near dawn with the sky taking on the slight tone of blue from the approaching sunlight. Shadow Shore had many things to be proud of. Its haunted attractions, mixed architecture, and the air of prosperity and adventures that lingered around every corner of its skyscrapers.

However, like any other city, this one has its vices. One of them was the morning smog that traveled from the many factories, creating a thick fog that fortunately lasted only a brief period.

As it coated alleyways, something was slithering through the hidden back ways. It resembled that of a spider, except it was larger and its shiny skin reflected the street lamps overhead.

The creature made its way to the street, not without first checking for any citizens. Once it was confirmed that a soul wasn't in sight, the spider crawled alongside the buildings, avoiding the sidewalk in case it happened to come across someone.

It didn't take long for it to spot its target destination. Even with the thick smog, it could spot the white interior of the Cyber-Palace, another one of the city's popular locations. The company was built for the advancement of technology, and soon became one of the world's leaders in advanced technological protection.

The creature glared a deep red, its vision obscured with one word. One goal.

Destroy.

It fell to the ground, its mechanical legs catching a footing, before sprinting at rabbit speed towards the building. Two phrases flash rapidly: destroy and liberty. The phrases were soon replaced with a timer that started at 20 but descended fast. Before it could reach the front gates, a street had to be crossed.

The creature was nearly there. Just a few more paces, and just when the timer reaches zero, the illuminated pale lights of the Cyber-palace will be replaced with orange and black.

Before one of its legs could touch the sidewalk, a pair of headlights emerged from the smog.

It was a semi-truck, probably coming from one of the factories, and certainly didn't stop in time to avoid hitting the spider. Pieces of metal broke off as it was sent flying through the air, and landed with a loud crash on top of a car. Luckily, nobody was inside it, as the metal crushed around the bot, trapping it. It squirmed to free itself, but it was of no use. The timer continued counting down, only five seconds away.

It looked around to spot a crowd of people looking onward at the crushed car, taking photos and chatting among themselves. It must have been a morning rush, as the street was busy with cars and people surrounding it. Unfortunately, there wasn't a way to warn them of their fate. Not a single beep could scare them off.

Soon, the counter reached one.

…

At The Cyber-palace, Director Harold Benton was clocking in for work that day, hours before the morning cleanup crew arrived. After having each of his fingerprints scanned, and a sample of his dark hair taken for a quick confirmation, he was allowed entrance into the center. The walls came alive with a navy glare, giving Benton's brown skin a bluish hue as if his skin was consuming the light.

Entering his office, a dark circular room with large, tinted windows showcasing the pre-dawn sky, he took a seat behind his desk and pressed a button under it. His desk lit up with images and files that ranged from data, reports, protocols, and footage of the still deactivated androids from a security camera.

Just as he tapped into the facility's main interface for today's report, a thunder-like sound erupted through the air, followed by an intense shockwave that knocked Benton off his chair. The entire building fumbled and shook, as the intense sensation cracked the fiberglass in the windows. Benton, who was now combatting faint dizziness, stumbled to his feet while using the desk as a clutch.

He had a feeling that the sudden force wasn't an earthquake, as those were certainly rare around that part of the state. His theory was quickly validated as he caught a glimpse out of one of the windows, noticing a large mushroom-shaped cloud of gray and flames behind the shattered shells of buildings. Pieces of charred cars and structures landed outside near the window, even what seemed to be a severed hand hitting it. Benton gagged a bit before bringing metal shutters over the windows with the press of another button.

"Not again..." Benton said dreadfully to himself.

Benton didn't want to think about it, but he knew it wasn't a random explosion. He ran out of the office down the long corridor. Benton spirited through, and alongside the wide hexagonal doors, wasting no time reaching the end of the hallway. Rounding the corner, he reached the elevators, with four of them parallel to each other. He jumped into one, pressing in a code that took him underground into the androids section.

Under the building, there was a cave-like lair built into a large space for the androids to reside while off-duty. It was a wide, rectangular hallway with walls that curved into holding space for each android, some fitting more than one. While the doors were all designed the same, Benton beelined for only one.

Pressing his fingertip into a button to be scanned, the metal door slid open to the dark room, the metal shuddering against the tile floor that ended at the threshold. It was a large chamber, painted a pale blue with a circular ceiling. Despite being living machines, the room was furnished with human comfort and entertainment like a computer, a video game system, and a TV mounted on the wall. Lined against the far wall were three beds, each with a noticeable bump under the blankets.

Benton stepped inside but stopped once he heard a muffled sound from underneath him. He looked to see a half-empty bag of chips under his shoe. This caused him to look around to see other empty bags of chips and junk food scattered around the room. He facepalmed in disgust and annoyance at the state in which the three brought to the room. How could they live in this pigpen? He made a mental note to himself to get to them about it later.

"Boys, hurry! Onto your feet!" Benton commanded.

Out of the three, Montag is the first to awaken with a tired groan. He sat up in bed, letting the blanket fall to reveal his metallic body as he stretched his arms. Tough steel and cable wires were composed together into a muscular frame with only his head, russet in color with an unshaved stubble, being the only human part of him.

The next to wake was Dare, a golden skin android with grey hair and a soul patch, as the simple sound could wake him. However, it didn't ease his annoyance, expressed through his tired grumbling.

Chance, however, didn't remove his Tawny-skinned head with burgundy hair from his pillow, only turning onto his side at the order.

Benton hurried over to the other side of the room, pressing a button that activated the lights. A blast of lights from all around the room blinded the three bots, forcing their eyes to adjust to the new lighting.

"Ahh, too early." Groaned Chance as he finally lifted his head, grabbing his visors from his nightstand to shield his eyes from the overwhelming rays.

"Come on, now, up!" Benton barked, emphasizing by grabbing Chance's blanket.

Dare proceeded to climb out of bed, letting his mechanical joints and muscles power up. Still, he felt exhaustion, not something that he was known to be on the regular.

"Dare would have like five additional minutes of being power down, but now, he needs coffee." He said in a nearly monotone voice.

"There's no time," Benton said, slamming his hand down onto a button that opened part of the wall to reveal a makeshift, walk-in closet. Hanged on the wall were three futuristic suits, each of a different shade of blue. "Come on, boys, get out of bed and put on your synthetic skin suits."

Montag was the only one who was active and aware enough to begin snapping into his pale blue suit. "Thir, what's going on? It ain't like you to be in a hurry." Montag said, his lisp slipping into his words.

"You have been assigned a new mission, and this time, it's urgent."

"Urgent?"

"That's what I said. I'll meet you three in the main office to discuss what's going on. Don't be late." Benton said, exiting the room.

The other two bots managed to build enough energy to slip into their suits: navy blue for Dare, and light blue for Chance. Their hexagonal-shaped screen on their chest, illuminated with energy, powering up their suits and gadgets.

"I hope these morning missions don't become a thing." Chance complained, lacing up his white, heavy boots.

"Well, it would help you get to bed in time,'' Montag said, slipping into his dark, grey trench coat.

"You're the one to talk to. The last time I checked, I wasn't up stuffing my face with junk. That's probably why the room looks a mess."

After finishing putting on his yellow boots and gloves, Dare strides over, catching the attention. "Now, guys, even though I like to see a good cat fight, we have a mission waiting for us. Come on, let's see what's going on."

Montag and Chance followed Dare out of the bedroom, and towards the main entranceway where they knew Benton would be waiting. After traveling up the elevator and through another corridor, the three barged into Benton's office. The robot master sat at his desk, reading a report on his computer desk, his left fingers drumming away on his face.

After hearing the door, Benton raised his head to greet the three. He gestured for them to come forward, and together the three made their way towards the circular desk.

"Alright. We're all here." Montag announced, his face betraying nothing. "What ith that we need to complete without a struggle today?"

Benton enlarged the report he was reading. "Your morning assignment should be easy."

With a swipe of his finger, he handed the report over along with an image to the three to examine. However, Montag skipped over the file to an image of a bombed-out street.

"Sir, what is this?" Chance asked

"The attacks," Benton answered. "Another bombing has just occurred not a few moments ago downtown."

"Again? That's the 3rd time thith year." Montag said.

Benton nodded in agreement. "Yes, and lately we noticed the bots are following a sort of pattern. A pattern that leads a trail straight to us."

"So, the attacks ain't random," Dare answered. "These bombs are meant for us?"

"It seems that way, dreadfully," Benton replied. "But, this is where you three come in; you would need to seek out these terrorist bots and eradicate them. Maybe, we can figure out who's sending them."

"Sounds fun, but how are we going to find these things?" Dare said.

"Easy. Your sensors should alert you of anything nearby with a high-power microchip."

"Should we have a special escort or something? Chance asked.

"Already assigned," Benton said.

Just then, the door opened and a female dressed in a black two-piece suit stepped into the room. Her hair was styled into a bob with long sides, and she carried a clipboard. When she entered, all heads turned towards him.

"Gentlemen," Benton exclaimed dramatically. He then pointed at the lady. "This is Agent Sapphire Baxter. However, you may formally refer to her as Agent Baxter. She is on loan from the C.I.A and will help with any problems that might arise."

"Thank you for your kind introduction, sir," Sapphire responded, lining up next to the trio, keeping her heels together in an upright manner.

"Sweet," Chance said. "What does she do?"

"It's not that much," Sapphire replied with a cocky smirk. "Except, I'm one of the top bomb defusers in my branch. I can take care of any explosive just in a few minutes."

"Whoa, thounds like a blast!" Montag said, chuckling at his poorly-made pun.

"Yep, it's pretty much second nature to me. That's why when I heard about the terrorist bots, and I was assigned to work with actually androids to stop the attacks, I couldn't miss the offer."

"And we thank you for the time you would have with us," Benton said. "However, you should remember our deal: no mention of this case should slip into the public ear. Understand?"

"Oh, don't worry, sir. My mouth is that of a steel trap. I have had it since I was a baby."

"Good, now before you leave," Benton said, reaching under his desk for something. His hand appeared with three brown bags with fresh greased stains. "I know it was too early for you three to eat breakfast, so I'd warm a quick meal before you came up."

The trio grabbed a bag, noticing each had their names written on them. Dare was first to dig through his bag, spotting an apple, sticks of french toast, and a bag of grits.

Dare asked, "Is there any-"

"No, no coffee," Benton answered.

"Damn."

Benton reached under his desk for another button. "Now, hold on tightly. Your exit's going to be a rough one."

The four agents were confused, but after feeling the floor under them give away and sliding down a slippery tube, they understood what he meant.