FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

MMU: MD-01 Accidents Happen

While visiting New York City with his parents so he could shop for an important costume for an upcoming masquerade ball at the school, our hero to be meets Dr. Light and is offered a tour of the Light Laboratory. Within a nearly forgotten closet, the young man finds what looks like a mock up prototype of a robot dog designed to be humanoid. Fearing that Dr. Light wouldn't let him use it for the school dance, he secretly borrows it with the intention of returning it later and has an encounter with Dr. Wily where the young man manages to save Megaman from a trap. Removing the suit later turns out problematic which prompts him to return to Dr. Light for help to remove the costume.

Aside from the canon Megaman characters who will be guest starring in various episodes, other more unique allies will be appearing. Dr. Jewel is a female scientist whom Dr. Light enlists to aid the young man in his new heroic career; Paulie "Spike" Burnston is normally the high school bully but when he sees the costumed Felix in action later he chooses to help the hero as often as possible; and Angeline Wick is a girl whom Felix knows little about although being a practicing witch with real magical powers is always helpful.

Felix Smythe (our hero) is a young teenager of below average height (if Rush could stand up like a man, he would be taller than Felix.) He has spiky brown hair, green eyes, and fair skin. He normally wore a Red and Forest Green striped tee shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. When wearing the dogbot suit, he stands a bit taller (almost making him eye to eye with Megaman) and he has a Black, Silver, and Gold armored suit with a canine like helmet. As Mega Dog, his suit is a lot like Megaman's except for the helmeted dog head and tail. He uses a transformation device provided to him for his use by Dr. Jewel so he can change between his human form and his hero form. Rush likes Mega Dog a LOT!

================================================================================ a Megaman universe fan fiction Megaman, Rock, Roll, Rush, Dr. Light, Dr. Wily, Protoman, and all other canon characters of the genre is owned by Capcom. They are used here as guest stars only. I am not challenging the copyrights of stated characters in any way, shape, nor form. All rights are reserved.

Mega Dog Episode One: Accidents Happen Started on February 2nd, 2013 by Darrel "Lord Pouchlaw" Vanwinkle

Starring: Felix Smythe

Guest Starring: Megaman Rush Roll Dr. Light

Guest Villains: Dr. Wily Protoman

Chapter One: Sold Out.

"Sorry, kid," said the store clerk. "We're all sold out. We don't have a single costume left to sell of any sort. The high schoolers from eight local schools wiped us out yesterday. You could try G. H. Billings over on Madison but I wouldn't keep your hopes up. Like I said, the teenagers went crazy the moment the masquerade ball was announced. I wish I did have a costume to sell you."

The young teenager slowly exited the store not really paying much attention to where he was going. His parents were still inside the store so he had time, he figured, to kill doing... what? There wasn't a single costume to be bought in the whole city. He couldn't go to the dance without one.

At that moment, he felt himself collide with someone bigger than himself. When he lifted his head to look at the person, a glimmer of recognition crossed his face.

"Sorry... um... aren't you Dr. Light?"

The good doctor smiled and said, "Why yes I am, young lad. You look a little sad. Want to tell me what the problem is?"

So the young man told the famous doctor what was happening. "...and my parents brought me to the city so I could get a costume, except all of the stores are totally sold out. You can't even get into the dance without a costume and everyone will know if I don't show up in time for the unmasking."

"How would you like to see my labs, young man?" asked Dr. Light. "I might have something there that I could let you have to wear to the costume ball. Megaman has a few spare sets of armor he doesn't use all the time. You could go to the dance as Megaman. How does that sound?"

"Really?" said the young teenager. "Won't he miss his armor? I wouldn't want him to catch a cold."

"Megaman and Roll are both off somewhere, but you could meet Rush. By the way, young man... what is your name? I got so busy talking with you that I forgot to ask."

"Felix Smythe from Brookton, sir," he said. "Rush is the coolest robot dog ever. If he came to the dance with me, then everyone there would think I was Megaman for sure. Um, as long as he doesn't have to answer any emergency alerts with the real Megaman. Right?" He made a sheepish grin.

Dr. Light hummed. "My old colleague Dr. Jewel lives in Brookton. I haven't seen her in a very long time. I wonder if she is still building security devices? Anyway, let us get your parents' permission and then we'll head over to the labs where you can meet and shake paws with Rush, the coolest robot dog ever, you said."

Felix was all perked up now. He was going to get to meet Rush. Fortunately, his parents knew who Dr. Light was and they trusted him, and soon, the two were arriving at the laboratories of Dr. Light; the home of Megaman and Rush, specifically. They had barely gotten inside the door when Rush darted in and licked the good doctor's face.

"Ruff! Ruff!"

Chuckling, Dr. Light said, "I'm glad to see you, too, Rush. But listen to me... this is Felix Smythe. I want you to smell him and memorize his scent." Then in a whisper to the robot dog he added, "He thinks you are the coolest robot dog ever, his own words."

Rush was now immediately all over Felix, who just giggled and petted the robot dog in return.

"Hi Rush! You're totally awesome! Even greater looking in person!"

"Ruff! Ruff!" followed by a thorough sniffing of the young man. "Ra-ruff!"

Dr. Light then said, "Felix, why don't you and Rush explore the lab while I go find you some of Megaman's older armor for you to wear. And with a good polishing job, it will look as good as new."

Some time later in the far back of the labs, Rush and Felix were walking along a stack of barrels which were against one wall when something caught the boy's eye through the crevice between the barrels.

"Say Rush? There's a door behind these barrels. Do you know what's in there?"

Rush shook his head and then helped to move two barrel stacks aside to reveal the unmarked door. Once they had access to the door, Felix opened it up and laid out on a table in the dim lighting of the room beyond was what appeared to be an old prototype for a cybernetic suit of armor. It was too small for an adult to wear, but... it could fit Felix as he walked in to look at the suit close up. The only thing that seemed out of place for the suit was the dog shaped head and robotic tail, like Rush's tail. Aside from that, it looked a lot like an earlier unused version of Megaman.

"This is amazing, Rush," he said in a near whisper. "What do you think? Do you think this suit of armor would fit me?"

Rush came into the room and sniffed over the strange robot like canine suit and head. "Ruh-rah-ruh-ruff." He then measured Felix with a tape measure he pulled out of a place that was anyone's guess then he said, "Ruff!" and shook his head 'Yes'.

End of Chapter One.

Chapter Two: Cover For Me, Rush.

Felix and Rush spent the next hour cleaning all the dust out of the armor and giving it a highly necessary polishing and imbued recoloring job. It was now primarily dark green over the black mesh with gold trim. The dog's head was the same color as Rush's muzzle, although the helmet was dark green with gold trim. All in all, they had done a fantastic job on making the suit look brand new.

Felix then boxed up the suit and carried the box with Rush's help outside of the labs to curb where a delivery van was waiting. Felix paid to have the box shipped to his home address in Brookton. After the delivery truck departed, he and Rush returned to the lab where Dr. Light was emerging from Megaman's chambers.

"There you boys are," he said. "I really thought I had a spare suit of Megaman's armor in storage but I couldn't find it. I'll have to ask Roll when she returns if she knows where it went. She is all the time messing with her brother's stuff. I apologize that I didn't get you a costume, Felix."

Felix smiled. "Are you kidding? I had a blast with Rush! But to make it up to me... could Rush come to the dance with me in Brookton tomorrow night? We are supposed to bring partners and I don't have anyone to go with."

Dr. Light nodded his head with a smile. "I think I can allow that. I'll make sure Rush is nice and polished for his outing. I just hope Megaman doesn't end up needing him for a fight against Dr. Wily and Protoman."

Then Felix's parents arrived and Felix waved goodbye to Dr. Light and Rush (after giving the robot dog a big hug) and then he got in the family car and they pulled away to return to their home in Brookton.

The next afternoon in Brookton, Felix had just gotten home from school when he saw the delivery truck in front of the house. "Hey! Don't leave! Did you bring a box for me? I'm Felix Smythe!"

The delivery woman said, "Good thing you showed up, Felix. No one seemed to be home and I was running late anyway. Don't know what you have ordered, but it's slightly heavy. Sign here, if you will."

He took the clipboard and signed his name on the electronic field. "Thanks. I had to special order a costume for the masquerade ball tonight. And Dr. Light is sending Rush over to be my escort for tonight. This is going to be so exciting. Thanks again." He handed the clipboard back, picked up the box, and headed into his house. Going straight to his room, he opened the box and began unpacking the polished cybernetic dog suit, except... something seemed a bit off about it.

"Strange," he said as he looked it over. "I don't recall there being an open mini hatch on the wrists." Looking inside the openings, he saw space for what looked like pen batteries. "Hey! I have batteries that will fit this! I think it would be cool if the suit lit up at the dance!" And he opened a desk drawer and found the batteries he was looking for and placed them into the slots. He then closed the hatches and began to put on the armored suit. Well, he tried to...

"That's weird... I can't get it on with my pants and shirt on. I'm going to have to strip down and put on a skin tight wet suit before putting this on." He went and got the kid sized wet suit out of his dad's swimming gear. He then stripped down until he was naked, then he put on the wet suit. "Now let's see if the armor fits." He returned to his room and tried to put on the armor once again. This time he managed to get it on, but only barely. It was a snug and tight fit, although slightly constricting somewhat around his wrists, neck, waist, and ankles. Then he picked up the head and looked into the hole. "Hey, this is coated in rubber. Smells like tar though... oh well, at least it should fit." And he began to pull the helmet down over his head although it was resisting against his hair and ears. But then it fully went on with an audible 'Pop' sound. He now put on the armored gloves not noticing the click, followed by the boots with the same click, and finally, he attached the robotic dog tail with an audible click.

Felix now looked at himself in the mirror, turning around in a circle, before facing forward once again. And when he spoke, the jaws and muzzle of the dog head moved. "Not a bad fit. Hey! The mouth moves when I talk! This is totally awesome! Wait until Rush and I hit the dance!"

One hour later, Rush did indeed show up and Felix gave him a fond hug. "You look great, Rush! Ready to go show off to the high school kids?"

Rush nodded his head. "Ruh-Ruh-Ruff!" And then he slurped the dog head before stopping and making an odd look at Felix. "Ruff?"

"Its the rubber in the head, Rush," replied Felix. "Extra padding like a football helmet. Anyway, let's get going. We'll be back later, mom!" And he went out the door with Rush as his escort.

When they arrived at the dance auditorium, Felix presented himself and Rush to Superintendent Macintosh (yes, like the computer; oh the jokes he got usually.) "Hi Mr. Macintosh. Its me, Felix. And you surely know my escort for the night. Rush, best friend of Megaman."

"Ruh-Ruh-Ruff!" said Rush with a smile and a tail wag.

The superintendent smiled. "Glad you could find a costume, Felix. You may both go right on inside. Although... Megaman and Roll are already here. They are helping the live band for the dance itself." He then saw the look of surprise on Rush. "You didn't know that, did you? Don't ask me why they came; all I know is that they are here."

Felix and Rush glanced to look at each other before heading on into the dance together.

End of Chapter Two.

Chapter Three: Proto Proposal.

"Why do you think they are here, Rush?" asked Felix as he danced with Rush out on the dance floor getting more than a few looks from his fellow high school chums. Most were curious as to who was wearing the robot dog costume.

Rush pointed a paw at himself. "Rah-ruh-ruff. Ruff."

"So you think they showed up to keep an eye on you since they don't know about me," he replied as he steered the dancing toward the refreshment table. "What I am worried about is if Dr. Wily finds out that everyone of Megaman's team is at this masquerade ball and comes here to find out why."

Rush made a growling sound then he pointed a paw at Felix. "Ruh-roo rit."

Felix wanted to arch an eye but the gooey rubber made it hard to do that. "You want me to try growling like you did?"

The robot dog nodded his head up and down, waiting for Felix to try it.

He wasn't sure if he could make his mouth into the snarl that Rush was able to manage, but it was worth a try. He gritted his teeth and tried to wrinkle his robot muzzle into the proper position that Rush had done and then he made his growl sound.

Rush chuckled and slurped Felix's muzzle again. "Ruh'll ret rit."

Felix was getting better at totally understanding Rush's language, or so he thought. He would be surprised later to learn what was really going on.

As they danced past a window curtain, Protoman stepped out from the back of the curtain and grabbed one of Felix's shoulders, yanking him around in a pose to punch him in the face. But he stopped when he realized that it wasn't Megaman. "You're not Megaman. Just who are you anyway?"

Felix was in a bit of a spot but he was thinking fast as an idea hit him like a rock sailing through shattering glass. "Why I'm Mega Dog, of course! A new project Dr. Light was working on for keeping Rush company when Megaman was off on solo missions! You must be that handsome and smart robot, Protoman; the metallic genius who is too brilliant to be taking real orders from Dr. Wily!"

Protoman was taken aback at how the humanoid robot dog was talking. Then he saw Rush with that snarling look on his muzzle. "I'm just looking for Megaman. You and Rush stay out of my way and I won't have to fight you guys. Just tell me where Megaman is and I'll be out of here."

Both Felix and Rush pivoted their heads upward as if to look at something up high and behind Protoman. And when he turned his head around to look, Felix and Rush both leaped up and kicked Protoman out of the open window of the auditorium where he fell 20 feet and hit the ground below. Then both Felix and Rush made a break for it. They had to find Megaman before Protoman returned madder than a hornet. And he was just picking himself up from the sudden surprise of the attack landed on him.

"Lucky shot," he muttered as he stood up. "I won't fall for that twice. Buttering up my ego so I'd let my guard down." He then activated his communicator. "Dr. Wily? This is Protoman. Dr. Light invented a new humanoid robot that looks like a dog man. And he speaks clear English. He calls himself Mega Dog and he is supposed to be a companion for Rush. Let me describe this robot dog to you." And he did.

Dr. Wily hummed. "That sounds like an old project I created back when I worked for Dr. Light in the old days. I kept the prototype robot in a hidden room in the far back of the labs so Dr. Light wouldn't see it. When we had our falling out, I forgot all about it. But you just described a cleaned up version of that robotic suit. And if its the same one... then I can push a button which will make whoever is wearing it wish they had never found it. Let me find the remote control and you continue with your mission to find Megaman. Just look for Roll; she is supposed to be with him tonight. And you know how much of a klutz she is. Wily out."

Back inside the auditorium, Felix and Rush did find Megaman and Roll first. "...and that's what happened when Protoman turned his attention away from us. He's probably madder than ever now. I'm sorry I stole the suit out of Dr. Light's lab, Megaman. But I didn't have a costume for the dance and I intended to return it as soon as the dance ended. Although..." He shifted his stance in the suit. "...it's been making me feel weird while I've been wearing it."

Megaman couldn't be upset since Rush was in on the scam. "Well, as long as you stay with Rush, we'll help you smooth things over with Dr. Light later on. With Protoman around looking for me, I should go outside so he can find me. Rush, you stay in here and guard Mega Dog." He made a face. "I can't believe you invented that name for this costume. But it did distract Protoman long enough for you to and Rush to get away from him. Come on, Roll. Let's go see what Protoman wants."

Roll stopped Megaman quickly. "What if Protoman told Dr. Wily about Mega Dog? Do you think Rush can handle Wily and the other robots by himself?"

"Hmm... that's a good point, Roll," he said. "You stay here with Rush and help protect Felix. And get word to Dr. Light about what's going down. We may need him." Megaman then left the backstage area and headed out of the auditorium to locate Protoman.

Roll now examined Felix's robotic suit. "You and Rush really cleaned this up. It looks like a new superhero all by itself." And then she placed the call to Dr. Light.

Felix looked at Rush once again. "Dr. Light is going to spank me for taking this suit without permission." But that was to be the least of his worries.

End of Chapter Three.

Chapter Four: The Dance of Pain.

Surprisingly, Dr. Light was more understanding than Felix gave him credit for. But he did say, "You really should have allowed me to examine that suit before you put it on, Felix. Despite what you believe, I didn't build it. I've never seen that suit before in all my life. And that means you could be wearing something that Dr. Wily made. And if that is the case, you should try to get it off of you as soon as possible. And if you cannot, then have Rush bring you back to my labs immediately."

Felix was now getting scared as he looked at Rush and Roll, both having heard what the good doctor had said. "It was hard to get on, guys. Help me remove it, please."

The next few moments was a rather comedic display of both Rush and Roll attempting to remove parts of Felix's armored suit, all to no avail. "Don't give up, guys! OW! Stop! Stop! When you pull on the gloves, boots, and head it feels like my wrists, neck, waist, and ankles are tightening painfully. You better get me back to Dr. Light. Pronto."

At that moment, unfortunately, Dr. Wily appeared in the only exit. "So... it IS the cybernetic dog suit that I created! Interesting colors. Rush's input, no doubt," he added with a sneer.

Rush was again growling, at the evil doctor this time.

Felix was really scared now. Dr. Wily DID create the suit and that made him want it off all the more.

"Since you like that suit so much, allow me to activate its full potential so you can learn what its like to be Rush. Although the first time you change like he does... it will likely kill you. What a pity." And he lifted one hand and activated the remote before Roll could attempt to stop him. "A shame you inserted those batteries that enabled the remote control protocol. Now you will learn why you never trust Dr. Wily."

Felix screamed when he felt the electrical shock surge throughout his body which was followed by an indescribable pain which caused him to black out as the robotic suit began its attempt to contort and change like a robot dog could.

Just then, Megaman was there as he smashed the remote control that Dr. Wily had been holding. "Rush! Transport mode! Now! We got to get Mega Dog back to Dr. Light!"

Rush immediately transformed into the rocket sled and with Megaman holding Felix in his arms and Roll hanging on behind, the team rocketed out of the auditorium.

Protoman then said from the side, "Want me to go after them?"

"No; we will let Dr. Light attempt to unlock that suit. But without the keys..." He was holding up two electronic key devices in his hand. "...it won't do much good. Even if they get their hands on just one of the two, the suit won't come off. Besides, that shock should be altering that boy's body right about... now. He wanted to be a Mega Man wannabe; now he can live like one." And he laughed evilly as he and Protoman departed the auditorium.

Back at Dr. Light's labs in New York City, Roll explained what had happened and what Dr. Wily admitted before he activated that remote which caused something bad to happen to Felix. "Can't you do something for him, sir? Felix doesn't deserve this at all."

Rush was staying right by the boy's armored side the whole time. He felt responsible since he should have known better than to let Felix take the suit.

Megaman came in with the tools that Dr. Light had asked for. "Is there anything else I can do for Felix?"

"Not at the moment," the good doctor said as he began his examination. "Pray I can get this suit off of him. I managed to remove the pen light batteries from the gloves, but the damage has been done. We won't know the results until we remove the suit from his body."

Roll was now looking at the x-ray results with Dr. Light, Megaman, and Rush. "He wasn't wearing any clothes under the suit. No wonder he was in such pain. All there is present is whatever that strange rubbery substance is that is grafted and melted all over his entire body. Dr. Wily will pay for this."

At that moment, the big screen came on and it was indeed Dr. Wily. "By now, old colleague, you have discovered that you cannot remove the suit. However... if you want to save that poor boy, have Rush bring the boy to me, alone, and I will use my electronic keys to unlock the joints so the suit can be removed. But if you don't send Rush and the boy in one hour, I will drop these keys into this metal grinder and then the boy will be stuck forever. One hour." And the screen went black.

Megaman said, "We can't just turn Felix over to Wily, sir. There is no telling what he would do to the boy. He might even force Felix to commit crimes under the promise that he would remove the suit."

"I know, my lad, but don't worry. I called up my old friend from Brookton, Dr. Jewel, to come in and help with this situation. She designs and creates security systems. She reportedly has an electronic lock opener. I just hope it can work on a suit this old."

"The Dr. Jewel, sir?" asked Roll. "I thought she hated New York City."

Dr. Light tilted his head up and closed his eyes. "The city brings back painful memories for her. But this was an emergency."

End of Chapter Four.

Chapter Five: Jewel Rider.

When the motorcycle with side car arrived at the labs, everyone saw a woman with a build and stance of Carmen San Diego step to the curb except she wore black with gold trim instead of red with black trim. Otherwise, the overall outfit was identical. She grabbed her black bag out of the side car and walked up and inside the labs.

"Where is he, Light?" she asked with a small bit of annoyance. "The quicker I do this, the sooner I can get back to Brookton. I hate New York."

"Ah, Dr. Jewel. He's in here. We've done all we can for him since he passed out. The boy is actually from Brookton himself and he didn't know this would happen to him. Therefore, if you help him, then you might gain a local friend whom you can associate with. I know how much you don't like this city and I apologize for calling you to come here. The boy's name is Felix Smythe but he was calling himself Mega Dog while he wore the armored suit."

Dr. Jewel stopped when she saw the prone form of the suit lying on the table. "Give me some privacy." And she walk on inside alone. And although she had asked for privacy, Rush refused to leave Felix's side. So she permitted the robotic dog to stay while she began work on the cybernetic system.

"Ah, clever usage of the electronic keys, Wily," she muttered as she worked. "which is why I brought my electronic lock picks. Let's see what this does, shall we..."

A few minutes later, she was rewarded with the sound of the tail part detaching from the armored suit. But when she began to remove it from the suit, she saw something that caught the breath in her throat: just under the armored tail was another tail. It seemed metallic yet had a natural coloration. "Oh no. What have you done, Wily? I need to get the rest of this off of the boy." And she redoubled her efforts to remove the rest of the armored suit.

An hour after that, Jewel had Light and the others back in the chamber where she was having trouble removing the full dog helmet from the boy's head. "I just don't understand any of this, Dr. Light. Why would Wily transform Felix into a robotic dog man like this? And if the hands, feet, and tail are any indication of the results, then we can expect his head to have the same treatment. I don't know of any way to reverse this at the moment."

Megaman said, "Will he still be Felix on the inside? And what about his finishing high school?"

Dr. Light hummed. "I may have the plans for a way he can resume his human form, but if it is how I believe they are set up, he would only be able to hold that form for a set length of time. He would still be Mega Dog on the inside while appearing human. A secret identity, as it were, but instead of his changing from a boy into a superhero, he would be a superhero who changed into a boy. Let me locate those plans for the wrist transformer and we'll see what else we can do for Felix."

At that moment, Roll who had been using the precision laser said, "Got it, Doctors. I got the dog head cut open finally. Now let's separate it and pull it free to see what has been done to Felix."

Removing the two sections of the robotic canine head revealed... a perfectly formed likeness of the canine's head only as metallic as the hands, pawed feet, and the tail were. In fact, his entire body had the metallic dog man appearance, albeit naked without the suit. And in Rush's opinion... Felix was hotter than ever!

"Uhnn." It sounded as if Felix was starting to come around. Dr. Light had just found the wrist transformer plans and was crafting the device when he heard the boy moan.

"We'll know how this goes in just a moment," he said. "Megaman, Rush... search the lab for new armor pieces for Mega Dog to wear. If he is to be this heroic figure, he is going to need something to wear in his canine form."

While Megaman and Rush gathered the new armored equipment, Jewel assisted Light in the creation of the transformation device since it required security system know-how to make it work. In the end, Dr. Jewel took over the device project, having Dr. Light go create the armored suit for Felix to wear.

Finally, the new armored suit was constructed, colored, polished, and was being assembled on Felix's Mega Dog body and head. His new suit was a lot like Megaman's except for the helmeted dog head and tail. The new armored suit was Black with a Silver under layer and had a series of grid like patterns that would glow with a Golden light when he was at full power. His new head gear was a canine like helmet which perfectly fit on top of his metallic dog head which had the capital letters of M and D centered just above his eyes. Embedded into his left wrist was the new transformation device created by Dr. Jewel which would blend in with the armor and double as a communicator between himself, Megaman, and especially Rush.

Rush liked the new Mega Dog even more than before. And he excitedly displayed it. "Ruff! Ruff! Ree's rot!"

Megaman smiled. "I agree with Rush, Dr. Light. Felix is a lot hotter looking than he was as the old Mega Dog. I just hope the transformation device helps him in the right way."

Dr. Jewel replied, "I added a timer to the device so when he is in his human form, it will alert him for when he is about to transform back into Mega Dog. That way he can get himself off to a private location to make the change. I just wish we could make his time jaunts as human longer. But there is only so much of a charge we can put into the transformation device. As a human, he will be as strong and as powerful as Mega Dog, so he will need to be careful. And I'll be around to help him with that. I will make it my duty to assist Mega Dog from my own labs in Brookton."

"Ohhh... my head... what happened? Is Rush okay? Dr. Light will kill me if Rush got damaged." Felix was more concerned for Megaman's best friend than for himself at the moment and that gave a warm butterflies sort of feeling in Dr. Jewel's heart.

End of Chapter Five.

Chapter Six: The Debut of Mega Dog.

It was a few days later in Brookton, New York, when a warehouse robbery occurred and the alarms sounded to life. The police were already en route to the scene as Dr. Wily's robots smashed their way in through the steel security doors. As they picked up the crates and turned around to leave, in the opening they just made was Mega Dog. Just behind him at their vehicles were the police department.

"Going somewhere, tin cans?" he said with a grin. "I'll need to see some ID."

Crushman retorted, "There are two of us and only one of you! You're not Megaman!"

But then stepping around the canine hero was Megaman and Rush, as the former said, "We got your signal, Mega Dog. And it looks like some robots chose the wrong town to make a warehouse strike on. Shall we take them?"

"You know it, Megaman!" And then he snarled at the robots in the way that Rush had taught him before leaping to the attack.

Moments after the fight and the two robots were down and captured, Megaman smiled at Mega Dog. "I thought you weren't going to make your public appearance until this Saturday. Or did Dr. Jewel have other ideas?"

"It is this Saturday," replied Mega Dog with a grin. "Dr. Jewel suggested I give the police a helping paw whenever a robot incident occurred in the city. And since these two chose to hit my turf, the police needed my help to take them. I wisely sent the signal to Rush's transceiver and you both arrived pretty quick. You guys are going to be there when I get presented in front of City Hall, won't you?"

"We sure will. You're our friend. And I know Rush will be there even if he has to stop time to get there. Won't you, Rush?"

"Ruff! Reah!" exclaimed the robotic canine companion.

Mega Dog smiled again. "I really appreciate it, guys. Dr. Jewel has some new ideas she would like to try out in association to my powers and abilities. So I might end up even more awesome. But I'd never be more awesome than you are, Rush. You are the greatest robot dog ever. And don't you ever forget it." He then checked his watch. "I need to get going, Megaman. Curfew and all that. Until next time..." And he took off at a run, not as fast as a speeding blue hedgehog, but for a cybernetic dog, he wasn't that bad.

At Dr. Jewel's lab, Mega Dog came in and stopped short when he saw his parents next to the female doctor. "Um... What's going on?"

Mrs. Smythe was the first to speak. "Felix, why didn't you just tell your father and I that you had this accident?"

Mega Dog sighed as he slowly approached the adults. "I wanted to... but... I was afraid. I was afraid you would send me off to doctors who would make things worse. Dr. Light and Dr. Jewel helped me through the really bad parts. I almost lost my life because of Dr. Wily's old prototype suit. After I got changed into Mega Dog, I wasn't sure how to tell you that I could only change into Felix for only 8 hours per charge. I'm sorry. I should have told you guys sooner."

Mr. Smythe nodded his head and placed an arm around Mega Dog. "We're your parents, Felix. We love you. Dr. Jewel chose to bring us in so we would know about the police work you would end up doing. And that would mean our removing your curfew so you could do these jobs. And with Dr. Wily sending his robots to Brookton now... the city will need Mega Dog even more. Just make sure we get to meet Rush, okay?"

"He will be back on Saturday during my public debut, dad. I'll make sure you guys get to meet him. He really is cool. Rush taught me how to growl at bad guys."

Dr. Jewel then said, "It is for the best that your parents know about your secret identity, Mega Dog. They can help cover for you when 'Felix' has to disappear during those moments when his time limit is about to expire."

Mrs. Smythe then said, "We were just discussing another problem you might have forgotten about... those two high school bullies who love to pick on Felix. Herbert and Fredrico. As Felix, you can't tense up with your Mega Dog strength or else you might cause them both serious injuries they couldn't recover from. But at the same time, we get tired of hearing how they've roughed you up at school. We were thinking about enrolling you with a martial arts instructor. But then this happened."

Mega Dog hummed. "The only problem with a martial arts instructor is that he would find out my secret."

Mr. Smythe chuckled. "Not necessarily, Felix. I used to teach martial arts back during my air force days. I can give you lessons in secret and then no one will know."

That Saturday, the mayor of Brookton met with Mega Dog in front of city hall where a crowd of both spectators and reporters were on hand to welcome the city's newest superhero. "...and it gives me great pleasure upon the recommendation from Dr. Light himself to welcome Mega Dog into our city as our new super watch dog. And since he is such good friends with Megaman and Rush, we might even get to see them teaming up with our hero from time to time as well." He then shook hands with Mega Dog as the camera flashes went off. This was sure to make the front page of the Brookton Flash newspaper.

And then came the barrage of questions (which Dr. Jewel had coached Felix in how to answer in case certain inappropriate questions were asked.)

End of Chapter Six.

Chapter Seven: Eight Hour Life.

Felix in his human identity wanted to continue with his high school classes. He had his plan down perfectly: Mega Dog would make a patrol past the school and then disappear, just as Felix was seen entering the school as himself. Then he had only eight hours to complete the school day before his early warning timer went off and he reverted to Mega Dog. Having only an eight hour charge on the transformation device was pretty much the same as having curfew. Only if he got caught changing, everyone would know that he was Mega Dog and then there would be no way he could continue his education at that school.

Today, however, he had an extra plan on how to deal with the morning version of being picked on by the bullies. He had a thin sheet of metal sewn into the lining of his jacket so that when Herbert came up behind him and slapped him on the shoulder as hard as he could in passing, Herbert would end up hurting himself on the metal rather than breaking his hand against Mega Dog's nearly invulnerable exoskeleton.

And so it went.

BANG! "OW! My hand! Damn that stings! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Felix pretended not to notice as he finished getting his books out of his locker and then headed off to his first class. In truth, he thought it was funny.

During lunch hour, the other bully (Fredrico) made his rounds. He grabbed up Felix's cellphone and went to sabotage it. But the moment he pushed one of the buttons, Dr. Jewel's voice was heard saying, "Authorization denied. I hope you have insurance, you crook." And in the next instant, the bully had an electronic shock course through his hand, his arm, and before it could reach his chest, he dropped the cellphone and was on the floor writhing in agony while holding his one arm.

Fredrico was taken off to the school nurse to be checked out.

After dealing with the two bullies without the usage of Mega Dog, Felix's popularity in high school went up quite a bit. Now even the upper class members were beginning to talk to him. Apparently dealing with people no one in school liked was one of the ways to break the ice among his fellow students. As he was putting books into his locker at the end of the day, and being very aware of the time, he heard a girl's voice behind him.

"Felix?" And when he turned around, she continued. "Um, thank you for dealing with those two for us. Uh... you probably don't know me, but I'm Angeline Wick. I live with my aunts just outside of town." And then she gave Felix a kiss on the mouth before retreating. "See you later, Felix."

And the moment she left, his early warning beeper went off. Now he had one minute to get to a private spot for the return change into Mega Dog.

He ran out of the school and inside a ground keeper's shed where he thought it would be private. "Just barely made it. Here it comes..." And in the next brilliant transforming instant, Felix was replaced by Mega Dog. "Too close for comfort, Felix. A little later and everyone would have learned our secret. Let's get back on patrol. This eight hour charge sucks." And Mega Dog exited the shed and resumed his patrol.

But moments after he departed, a lone figure who had been in the shed in a back corner slowly stood up. "Oh my god. Felix Smythe is Mega Dog. No one will ever believe me." Then he paused as an idea came to his mind. "Mega Dog is the coolest thing to hit Brookton in a long time. If I go out and help Mega Dog, then I'll be cool too. Or my name isn't Paulie Burnston, or to the other students, Spike. Hanging out with Mega Dog is sure to help me straighten up my life. I can't go home because my dad would beat the hell out of me... again. I'll just help Mega Dog. Then I'll be somebody."

As Mega Dog ran down the street on his patrol, high above hidden by the clouds was a pretty girl sitting on a broom along with her black cat. "Mega Dog is so wonderful, Istanbul. But not nearly as wonderful as Felix Smythe is. He handled two of the lesser bullies in school today."

The black cat with shining green eyes, Istanbul, yawned and said with an old English accent, "You must like the boy if you think so highly of him. Is he to be your next frog?" The cat had apparently heard what had happened to other potential boyfriends.

"No, he isn't to be a frog. I just like him. I've already given him a kiss."

"So he's to be a companion for me then. A witch's kiss is how they make people into familiar cats, you know."

"I didn't place any hex on him. Stop being so negative. Anyway, we need to get home." And off she flew through the clouds toward her home.

As Mega Dog was stopped at a street corner speaking to a police officer, his communicator activated. "Mega Dog here."

The voice which came through was someone he had hoped he wouldn't see again. "It's Protoman. Listen and listen good, you mechanical mutt... I'm coming to Brookton to find you and when I do, I am going to deliver some payback on you for what you did to me at the high school dance. Kicking me out a window wasn't very nice. So watch your back. I'm coming right now." And the signal ended.

The police officer who was called Dave said, "That sounds like trouble, Mega Dog. You better call Megaman and let him know what's about to happen."

Mega Dog had already started the call, "Way ahead of you, Dave. Like minds and all." He winked with a smile.

End of Chapter Seven.

Chapter Eight: Revenge Isn't as Sweet as it Sounds.

When Protoman arrived in Brookton that night, he quickly found Mega Dog in Victory Square which had been made over to look like a wrestling ring. And the canine hero of the hour was standing in the center of the ring with a humored grin on his muzzle. "I am going to wipe that grin off your helmet, you mangy mutt!"

There was a crowd around the ring and TV cameras and reporters on hand. "Let's make this sporting, shall we?" explained Mega Dog still smiling. "We're going to televise our fight for all to see. Then if you beat me, everyone back in New York will see how bad you really are to go pick on a small town hero instead of beating Megaman instead. I had more respect for you, Protoman, yet you come here to fight me instead. There are no rules aside from that you have to keep the fight in the ring. If you have no problem with that, we can get this bout started. But expect me to fight like a dog; I haven't had dinner yet."

"You are a glutton for punishment, Mega Dog," replied Protoman as he landed in the ring. "Okay, we'll play by your rules since we're in your home town. We confine the fight to the ring. And when I beat you, no one will think you are so heroic any more."

"We'll see." Mega Dog put up his fists and nodded his muzzle. "Ready?"

Protoman did the same. "Ready."

And then someone rang the bell just outside of the ring and the fight began.

Protoman threw the first punch which missed then Mega Dog threw his punch and connected although the hit did little. Almost as if he was pulling his punches.

"You call that a punch? If you let me train you, then you would really know how to fight!"

And that's when the robot got punched hard in the mouth which sent him to the mat. "I respect you, Protoman. But everyone knows that if you trained me, it would be to commit crimes. And I don't chase mail men on that side of the street. But if you're pitching me a sincere no crime training offer, I might be interested."

Protoman slowly got to his feet. "That hit was more like it. So that's what it takes... insulting your fighting abilities?" He paused. "Or maybe better, insult your choice of girlfriends."

Mega Dog started growling loudly at that remark, but before he got to do a thing, a powerful lightning bolt fell out of the sky and slammed Protoman down once again on the mat, almost destroying him. "What in the world? Who did that?"

High up in the clouds aboard the broom express... Istanbul remarked, "Did you have to use a lightning bolt?"

Angeline replied, "He insulted me. Besides, my aunts have been after me for weeks to throw a lightning bolt at someone and now I have."

"But he insulted Mega Dog's girlfriends," stated the cat. "You've never even been near that dog. I thought you liked that Felix Smythe boy."

"Who do you think is wearing the Mega Dog armor?" countered the young with with a wink. "While I didn't place a hex on Felix, I did place a location marker on him so I could find him whenever I wanted to. When we heard that Mega Dog was going to be fighting Protoman, I activated the location marker and it pointed at Mega Dog. So I know that Felix is Mega Dog. There is no other explanation."

"Your aunts are going to flip when they learn that you helped a hero."

"So don't tell them; this is my business, not theirs. As long as I cast the spells my aunts ask me to cast, who cares what they think?"

"The pupil surpasses the masters," stated Istanbul with a sly smile. "You are going to make a fine witch. So what do we do now?"

"Megaman can handle the clean up. I see him and Rush arriving just below us. We need to return home; I can see Felix tomorrow in school and try to get to know him better. And maybe give him another kiss for thinking so highly of his girlfriends." She giggled.

The black cat smiled. "Perhaps I can get to know him better, too. I have a better chance at that than you do being an animal."

Megaman and Rush arrived at the ring where they saw Mega Dog holding a very damaged Protoman in his arms. "What have you done, Mega Dog?"

"It wasn't me! We were fighting and a lightning bolt hit him! He had just insulted me when it happened!"

Just then, Protoman floated up out of Mega Dog's arms by a tractor beam and into a flying ship. It was Dr. Wily. "He's telling the truth, Megaman! I have to repair Protoman so he's able to fight you again another day! I told him NOT to come up here! I don't know what's gotten into him!" And he flew off.

Mega Dog grinned as he petted Rush on the head. "Fleas, most likely. Right Rush?" And then everybody laughed as the ending credits began scrolling through the scene.

End of Chapter Eight. End of Episode One: Accidents Happen.

Stay tuned for the next episode, Mascot and Magica.