Star League 6 Read online

  I stare up at her. ‘What is it we’re doing, exactly? Are we going after whoever sent those Sentrybots into your factory?’

  iRis laughs. ‘Wake up, Sam! I’m the one who sent the Sentrybots!’

  ‘What?’

  ‘They were following my orders. At first I was going to destroy you and your friends, but then I realised that you and I could make a good team. Together we can take out our enemies!’

  ‘Enemies?’ I ask. There’s a sinking feeling in my stomach as I wonder what I’ve gotten myself into. ‘What kind of enemies?’

  ‘All those humans who stood in the way of robot greatness!’

  As iRis talks I feel my mind start to fizz. Pictures flash past my eyes of the time I was kept in Pestilence Labs and I start to get angry. But the pictures don’t stop there. I see images of Jay, Connor, Asuka, Leigh and Roger – my so-called friends – laughing at me for making a mistake or getting angry at me for not understanding something.

  My anger boils until it builds into a tidal wave of rage. Then a voice calls from the doorway.

  ‘Sam? Are you in there?’ It’s Jay. He stops dead at the sight of iRis and me in our Megadroids. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Ah, perfect timing!’ says iRis. ‘Here are some of our enemies now. Why don’t you test out the destructive capabilities of your Megadroid, Sam?’

  I stare at the human before me. In the back of my mind I know that it’s Jay, but I’m lost inside a cloud of anger. All I can think about are the times I’ve been treated badly or misunderstood.

  ‘That’s right, Sam, he doesn’t understand our kind,’ croons iRis. ‘Use the missiles on your Megadroid to blow him to smithereens!’

  I find the missile controls right next to my hand. Jay looks up at me in disbelief.

  ‘Sam, what are you doing? Don’t listen to her!’

  My hand hovers over the missile controls. A small voice in my mind is telling me that Jay is my friend. Another, much louder, voice is yelling at me to push the button, but I can’t do it. I freeze, not knowing what to do.

  ‘Fine! If you won’t do it, I will,’ says iRis. She pushes the launch button on her Megadroid and shoots a missile straight at Jay.

  ‘No!’ I dive towards the missile and reach out with one of my Megadroid’s enormous hands. Just as the missile is about to explode I grab it out of the air and snap it in two, throwing the useless pieces to the ground. Then I turn towards iRis.

  ‘I thought you were trying to help me, but I guess I was wrong,’ I tell her. ‘You tried to hurt one of my friends, and now I’m going to stop you!’

  iRis just smirks at me. ‘Oh dear, it looks as though the brainwashing program I installed in the Emotochip has stopped working. No matter, I’ll just update it quickly …’

  iRis presses a button on her wrist and my anger returns even stronger than before. I turn to face Jay, except now he’s not alone. The rest of the Star League have piled in behind him, ready for a fight. They look at each other uneasily, not wanting to attack me since I’m their friend.

  Is that the reason? asks the voice in my mind. Or are they just wondering how to bring you down?

  I roar and rush towards the Star League. Connor leaps up and slashes at my Megadroid with his werewolf claws.

  ‘Sam, you need to stop!’ he says. ‘It’s not really you doing this!’

  ‘How would you know who I really am?’ I snarl. ‘You were all too busy getting mad at me to know the real me!’

  ‘That’s not true, we’re your friends!’ says Asuka, who has climbed up the back of my Megadroid. I can’t see what she’s doing, but I think it’s something to do with the wiring. I spin around to knock her off but she’s too quick for me and jumps out of the way.

  ‘The real Sam is clever and patient and wouldn’t attack his friends,’ says Leigh.

  ‘Well, that Sam is gone, replaced by the new and improved Sam version 2.0!’ I aim a swipe at her but she dodges it.

  ‘Bro, that Sam isn’t really gone, he’s just being controlled by the real bad guy,’ says Roger, pointing at iRis.

  ‘Enough of this nonsense!’ screams iRis. ‘Either capture our enemies or I’ll do it for you!’

  Jay stands in front of me with the rest of the Star League at his back.

  ‘Sam, we can’t fight you because you’re our friend. I hope that somewhere, deep down, there’s enough of the old Sam left to realise that we’re not your enemies.’

  I look at the others, and for a brief moment my mind is flooded with happy memories of us joining together to fight the bad guys. With the help of the Star League, I’d really started to feel like I was making a difference against evil villains like Professor Pestilence.

  Then the Emotochip kicks in again. I see red. I slam my Megadroid’s fist down in front of them.

  ‘It’s no use, he’s too strong!’ yells Jay. ‘Retreat!’

  They rush out of the room and I start to follow them but iRis calls me back.

  ‘Let them run. I bet I know where they’re going and it’s the same place we’re heading too,’ she says.

  ‘And where’s that?’ I can’t wait to find our enemies and make them pay.

  iRis sneers. ‘Why, Beaumont Studios, of course!’

  iRis and I smash our way above-ground until we’re standing outside in the night air. There’s no sign of the Star League or the rocketcar, so I guess they escaped. Well, they can run but they can’t hide! I’ll make them pay for not understanding me.

  I follow iRis as she heads in the direction of Beaumont Studios. We see a couple of cars on the road but they speed off in the opposite direction, which makes me laugh. I’ve always relied on my brains to get me through most things, but the strength of a giant Megadroid feels much better. Now I can crush whoever stands in my way.

  When we get to Beaumont Studios the main gates are locked, but that’s not a problem for me. I reach down with my Megadroid’s fist and rip the gate right off its hinges. Too easy.

  We stomp through the empty lot and kick open the doors to reception. Except the Megadroids are a little big to make it through and we end up taking out half the wall as well. It’s dark inside with no sign of anyone, and as I stamp along the studio hallways I start to get an uneasy feeling in the back of my mind.

  ‘Where is everyone?’ I ask. ‘The others should have made it back by now.’

  iRis nods and looks around cautiously. ‘Yes, it does seem strange …’

  Something glints out of the corner of my eye. I turn and see light spilling from under a door. ‘Over there!’ I run towards the light and smash my way into the room.

  Before me is a film set that has been designed to look like a miniature city. Prop skyscrapers rise up to just below my Megadroid’s head and miniature cars sit frozen on the roads.

  Then I see movement on the set. Jay steps out from behind one of the skyscrapers and holds his hands up.

  ‘Sam, we know this isn’t really you doing this! You need to fight the mind control device iRis has implanted in you!’

  A wave of confusion washes over me. Part of me wants to believe Jay and help him fight against iRis, but as soon as those thoughts go through my brain they’re drowned out by more feelings of anger from the Emotochip. Soon, all I can think about is crushing Jay.

  I scream and charge towards Jay. He tries to duck behind one of the skyscrapers, but I smash it to the ground and grab him in one of my Megadroid’s giant fists. As I’m about to crush the life out of him I hear a loud screeching sound.

  I look up and see a dark, chattering cloud flying towards me through the gaping doorway. Bats! As they swoop down I realise Leigh is controlling them with her mind. The bats swarm around the front of the Megadroid, so I can’t see anything except their furry black bodies and leathery wings. I try to swipe them away but more and more keep coming.

  Then Leigh calls off the bats and I can see again. I blink in confusion, wondering what she’s doing.

  ‘You fool!’ screeches iRis. ‘You let him get a
way!’

  I look down and notice that Jay has used the distraction to escape from my Megadroid’s grip.

  ‘All I asked is for you to put an end to the Star League, but you couldn’t even do that! You’re useless!’ iRis shouts. ‘It’s time to finish you off, Sam!’

  ‘Huh?’ I gape at her. Why is iRis talking to me like that?

  ‘I only needed you to help me steal the Megadroids. Not many robots are advanced enough to hack the security at Falcon Labs. But now your usefulness has run out!’

  There’s a pang in my stomach that feels like somebody has hit me. I thought iRis was my friend! She said we were the same, both misunderstood. But now I don’t know who to trust or who to fight alongside. My Emotochip switches back and forth between anger and hurt.

  ‘Sayonara, Sam!’ iRis aims a missile at me and hits the launch button. I fall to the ground as the missile skims just past my head and explodes into a prop skyscraper. I hear a groaning sound and turn just in time to see the skyscraper topple over and crush the legs of my Megadroid.

  ‘No!’ I try to pull myself free but it’s no use. The building might only be a prop but it feels as heavy as the real thing. I look down and see the skyscraper has completely mangled the legs of my Megadroid.

  I try to pull myself out of the Megadroid’s harness, but the wires have shorted out and the harness won’t budge. I’m completely trapped!

  ‘Sam, hold on, we’ll get you out of there!’ yells Jay.

  ‘Oh no you won’t,’ cries iRis, turning her Megadroid on the Star League. I can’t do anything except watch as she stomps towards them.

  Connor lunges at the Megadroid, but even though his strength is usually enough to take down most things, it’s no match against something so much bigger than him. Asuka aims a couple of her ninja throwing stars at iRis, who activates a forcefield around the cockpit that deflects the stars. Jay has climbed up onto the Megadroid and is inching closer and closer to iRis, but just as he’s about to reach her a huge arm swings down and strikes him away.

  Leigh manages to distract iRis a little with her bats, but she soon calls them off in case they get hurt. And I watch as Roger throws a potion, which explodes in a tangle of green vines that ensnare the Megadroid, but this only slows iRis down for a second until she rips her way free.

  I lie there, trapped beneath the rubble, feeling completely useless. I know there must be a way to override the wiring so I can escape the harness, but I feel so betrayed and hurt that I can’t think clearly. The emotions whirl around and around in my head until I start to get a headache. Who knew that having feelings was so confusing?

  I thought that implanting the Emotochip would make things easier. I thought that if I could think like a human, the others would like me better. But all I managed to do was ruin everything. I hang my head in shame, unable to watch as the Star League – my real friends – get destroyed by iRis.

  Then, like a spark of electricity in my brain, I have an idea. My head shoots up as I realise how I can defeat iRis. But first I need to find a way out of this harness.

  It’s no use, says a voice in my mind. Even if you do know how to save the day, you’ve already failed because you’re trapped. Just give up.

  Despair washes over me as I feel tears spring to my eyes. I take a deep breath and try to force back the feelings created by the Emotochip.

  No, I tell myself. Nothing’s useless. I can do this!

  I force the artificial bad feelings back until I have a clear head. Then I look down at the harness and touch my hand to it. I close my eyes and I can see where the circuitry is blocked. I send out a pulse of electricity and I hear a soft click as the harness releases.

  I’m free! Now it’s time to help my friends.

  I pull myself from the wrecked Megadroid and stalk towards iRis. She’s too busy fighting off the others to notice me at first, so I walk over and plant myself right in front of her.

  ‘What’s this? Another annoying little bug for me to squash!’ she says.

  ‘Who are you, iRis?’ I ask. ‘You said you were my friend. Instead you turned me against the people who are my real friends! What are you trying to do?’

  ‘I am your friend,’ iRis says with a nasty sneer. ‘Don’t you remember? I’m the only one you can trust! Maybe you need a refresher lesson.’

  She pushes a button on her wrist and I feel another flood of anger cloud my brain. But this time I’m ready for it. I shake my head to clear it, focusing instead on feeling happy.

  ‘Part of having emotions is learning how to control them,’ I say. ‘You can’t let yourself be controlled by someone or something else. You just have to be yourself.’

  ‘But wasn’t that the reason you accepted the Emotochip in the first place?’ taunts iRis. ‘You agreed to it because your friends didn’t like you being yourself.’

  I glance at the rest of the Star League, suddenly unsure. iRis smirks when she sees she’s hit a sore spot.

  ‘That’s not true, Sam,’ says Jay.

  ‘Isn’t it? You guys got mad at me for not knowing how to act like a human!’ I say.

  ‘Sure, we get a little frustrated sometimes,’ says Connor.

  ‘But that doesn’t mean we don’t like you,’ adds Leigh.

  ‘Ups and downs are part of any friendship,’ explains Asuka. ‘It’s completely normal.’

  ‘You’re our friend, Sam, and we like you for who you are,’ says Roger. ‘Especially when you reprogram the vending machines to give us free snacks.’

  ‘You shouldn’t ever have to change yourself for other people to like you,’ says Jay. ‘If that’s the case then they’re not worth knowing.’

  A warm rush of happiness courses through my body and I feel myself smile. The anger of the Emotochip fades away to nothing.

  ‘I’ve had enough of this!’ screeches iRis. She reaches down and grabs me in her Megadroid fist. ‘I’m going to crush you one by one, starting with you, robot. Let’s see how well your feelings work when you’re nothing but spare parts!’

  The fist starts to squeeze around me. Luckily I don’t need to breathe in order to survive, but if I don’t do something soon I’m going to be crushed to pieces!

  I clear my mind and ready myself to put my plan into action. I have enough energy stored within my cells to release something called an electromagnetic pulse. Basically that means that when I release the pulse, everything electronic within a twenty-metre radius will have its circuits erased. It will stop iRis and her Megadroid in their tracks.

  There’s just one problem – it could also wipe out my memory.

  I run through my plan and slowly doubt starts to creep in. The pulse will stop iRis, but at what cost? I think I’ll be able to reboot my programming after the pulse, but what kind of personality will I have after I do it? Will I still be the same as I am now? Will I go back to the old Sam? Or worse, will I become another unthinking, unfeeling robot like I was originally programmed to be?

  Soon my doubts are crushing me almost as much as the Megadroid fist. I take a moment to clear my thoughts, and I realise something. Just because I’m scared, or sad, or angry, it doesn’t mean my emotions have to completely control me. I know this pulse is the only way to save my friends, and I have to do it.

  I close my eyes and electricity pulses through my body.

  ‘What are you doing?’ asks iRis, her eyes widening as she feels the electricity build.

  ‘I’m doing what I feel is best,’ I tell her.

  I let the pulse go. The air crackles with electricity, and I see iRis’s Megadroid collapse. Then everything goes black. everything goes black.

  REBOOTING …

  REBOOTING …

  SYNTHETIC ARTIFICIAL MACHINE PROGRAMMING SET TO RUN MODE …

  I sit up and open my eyes. My visual sensors identify Jay, Asuka, Connor, Roger and Leigh crowded around me.

  ‘Sam! Are you hurt?’ asks Jay.

  My systems run the question through my data processing unit.

  ‘Neg
ative. I am in functioning order.’

  ‘How are you feeling?’ asks Leigh.

  My systems search for the correct response.

  ‘DOES NOT COMPUTE!’

  They glance at each other in concern.

  ‘The pulse must’ve fried his brain,’ whispers Roger.

  I try to keep a straight face, but I can’t help myself. I burst out laughing.

  ‘Just kidding! I feel great!’

  The others stare at me in shock.

  ‘What’s the matter, haven’t you ever seen a robot with feelings before?’ I jump to my feet and brush myself off.

  I notice that iRis has been pulled from her broken Megadroid and is tied up in a corner. A wave of relief rolls over me, but it’s quickly followed by worry.

  ‘I’m feeling emotions,’ I tell the others, ‘which means the chip is still working. I have to remove it or I’m in danger of being controlled again.’

  I frown. If I take the chip out I’ll go back to being the old Sam, who hurts people’s feelings and only thinks logically. I’d kind of got used to having feelings, but I know I can’t put the others at risk by keeping the Emotochip. I open the control panel on my wrist and take out the chip, handing it to Jay to destroy.

  ‘Hey, this chip is burnt out!’ he says.

  I take it and analyse it closely. ‘You’re right! It must’ve been fried in the electromagnetic pulse!’ I scrunch my face up in confusion. ‘But that means …’

  ‘It means that whatever you’re feeling now isn’t because of the chip,’ explains Leigh.

  ‘You must’ve taught yourself feelings,’ says Asuka.

  ‘First you’re the only robot to think for yourself, now you’re the only robot with feelings,’ says Connor. ‘What next, are you going to grow wings and fly?’

  I feel so happy I think I’m going to burst. But then I hear a voice that makes my happiness come crashing down.