First Player/School Daze

Somewhere underneath Kings Row...

"Alright, what's on the agenda for today, Roger?" The Rapid Operating Guidance Entity & Resource (or R.O.G.E.R for short) was an A.I. Miles built during his time at Brightware.

"You don't have an agenda."

"Well you don't have to be snooty about it..."

Twenty-one year old Miles Benedict mumbled and glanced around. Miles had converted this abandonded bunker into a tricked out "lair" for himself shortly after arriving in the city. A high-tech, wi-fi enabled safehouse.

Currently, the room was a bit dim, lit only by the many flickering console lights, glowing panels and screens. Much of the north wall was obscured, nineteen inch HD computer screens hung across the wall in rows. It was there, in front of his wall of monitors that Miles sat, leaned back in his plush leather throne like some sort of gaming king. Old cartoons were playing on each monitor. Everything from Tom & Jerry to Mighty Mouse to Johnny Quest.

"Clear my schedule anyways, Rog." Miles continued as he balanced a large bowl of fruity pebbles in one hand and adjusted his backwards baseball cap with the other hand.

"Have you considered my proposal yet?"

"What? Going back to school, are you kidding me?"

"It was merely a suggestion."

"Billy Madison style?"

"I'm not familiar with Billy Madison."

"Early Adam Sandler movie? Look it up."

The hovering drone whizzed and whirred for a moment. "Oh. I prefer his recent works."

"...Are you kidding me, Rog? And I thought I knew you..."

The small robot dipped in the air in a gesture that Miles could only assume was meant to simulate a shrug. "You have a lot of free time on your hands. And a college degree would certainly improve legitimate job placement options."

"A lot of free time on my hands? I'm a superhero! I can't save lives when I'm stuck in a classroom."

"Yes, because you're terribly busy right now." Roger pointed out. "I've already taken the liberty of enrolling you in one of their winter programs."

Miles arched a brow. "Wha- On your own? Without my permission? And what's wrong with taking courses online?"

"Attending classes on campus might improve your... social skills."

"...What's wrong with my social skills?"

Roger glossed over his question. "Founders Falls University has an excellent Robotics program."

"Don't try and charm me, Roger- Wait... an actual robotics program?"

One week later

The college campus was always busy the first week of school. What with new students getting adjusted, running around trying to find their classes, old students basking in their superiority, the campus made for a difficult field to navigate. Miles Benedict however, had no trouble finding his way.

He shifted his navy green backpack, his strides long as he hurried through the courtyard of Founders Falls University. He glanced around while he adjusted his wireless earphones. They were linked to Roger, who was hidden in the backpack.

"I still don't understand why you brought me along." The synthesized voice whined. "You could've easily remained in contact had I been left at home.

"If I have to endure this, so do you. Besides. I could use the moral support. Nuclear physics? Seriously?"

"There were limited options and few slots left." Roger justified. Miles entered the main lobby and turned down a corridor. "Eight o' clock in the morning, I haven't been up this early in-" He cut himself off mid-sentence as passing students noticed him talking to himself. He played it off by humming to himself. "Social skills, Miles." Roger chided.

Finally, Miles reached his classroom. It was a large room, seating anywhere from forty to fifty students. There were already a few people seated by the time he entered. Miles picked a spot near the back as he noticed many of the students had started setting their notes up before the professor got in. Students in front of him seemed dazed and confused, sketching out complex graphs and solving advanced equations. The class hadn't even started yet.

"Roger, are you sure today's the first day of class?"

"Absolutely, Miles."

Then the professor entered. A rotund, balding man who looked to be in his late forties introduced himself. "Maximum effort..." Miles sighed and settled in his seat as the professor began his lecture.

  Three Days Later

8:15 brought most of the college students flocking to campus for 8:30 classes. Those lucky few who didn't have class until later were still asleep. Unfortunately, that group did not include Miles. He stretched his arms lazily, the blaring of his alarm clock piercing through his right ear and scrambling inside his brain. His right hand slammed on the "off" button. Miles meandered to his closet and got dressed.

"Bring the McFly around Roger?"

The drone whirred to life and floated off his dresser. "Will do, Miles."

He skipped breakfast as he shoved all his textbooks in his backpack and exited the apartment along with Roger. "Don't forget, there's an exciting lecture on artificial intelligence on campus this afternoon." He reminded Miles.

"Goin' to skip that, Rog. Pretty sure I know all I need to know about A.I. don't you think?"

"There's always more to learn, Miles." The robot reasoned as he floated along behind Miles, who'd reached the stairs to the roof. He hurried up them and out onto the rooftop over his apartment building in Kings Row. His hoverboard, humming lightly and idly hovering a foot off the ground, was waiting for him. Miles opened his backpack and turned to face the floating robot. "Alrighty, you know the drill."

"Yeah, yeah..." The synthesized voice droned. With a pneumatic hiss, the robot ceased hovering and dropped into the backpack. Miles zipped it up and stepped up onto his hoverboard, settling his feet into the restraints. He slid his wireless earphones in his ears and spoke. "How much time have we got, Rog?"

"Thirteen minutes and seven seconds."

Miles cursed under his breath as he took off into the air. "Oh boy."

  Ten minutes later

Miles made it into Founders Falls with three minutes to spare. He set down in an alley between two buildings adjacent in order to avoid suspicion. Secret identity and all that. Miles patted his hoverboard, "Park it up top, Rog. And keep it quiet this time."

"That incident was not my fault. I did not anticipate anyone already occupying the rooftop."

"Don't worry, just-" Miles was interrupted by the shrill ringing of an alarm. It sounded as if it were coming from down the block. Immediately, Miles unzipped his backpack and Roger zipped upwards into the air and out of the alley. Seconds later, he returned "A storage building two alleys over is being robbed, Miles. Perhaps you should-"

This time Miles interrupted Roger. He held his hand up, "Already on it." He slid his visor on and pulled his Joystick, a hi-tech collapsible staff, from his backpack as well. He hopped back onto his hoverboard and flew up and out of the alley across the street and into the next one as Roger swiftly followed. The board carried Miles as he surveyed the area from the top of the adjacent building. Two teens were moving boxes out of a storage container and into a moving truck while two other men were guarding the entrance.

"Roger, how about a little misdirection?"

"What if they have guns?"

"You're made out of impervium, now buck up. Fear does not exist in this dojo."

Roger made a whirring sound (that sounded a lot like a sigh) and whizzed downwards into the alley towards the thieves. He dropped out of the air and landed in front of the two guarding the entrance, rolling across the pavement idly until he reached their truck. He lay prone at his spot and as intended the watchmen followed.

Miles hovered downwards until he was above the loading bay door. He unlatched it and it dropped with a loud 'clang' sound, essentially trapping the two teens inside. The noise startled the guardsmen who whipped around in an odd jerking motion as they pulled automatic handguns from the insides of their jackets.

Miles lept off the Mcfly down into the alley, brandishing his staff. He tucked and rolled into one of the thieves, catching him in the stomach with the butt of his Joystick. Miles scrambled around the side of the truck as the second guard fired off round after round at him. He bent over, peering underneath the truck to keep track of the thugs' movements. Miles climbed onto the hood of the truck, then up onto the top before leaping off again, spinning his staff until he, and it, hit the ground, the head of his Joystick releasing a massive shockwave of energy that knocked the two guards off their feet and back into the brick wall of the building. They didn't get up.

"Well done, Miles." Roger congratulated as he whirred to life and ascended into the air again. Miles heard banging from the inside of the storage container. "Relax, guys, your ride will be here in a sec." He chuckled as he heard sirens in the distance. He kicked the dropped guns underneath the truck. "Now let's see what they were trying to lift."

Roger beat him to it however, scanning the contents of the many boxes inside the truck. "Advanced technology, Miles. Telescopic Concealers, Negation-Amps, Solar Sonic Shielding."

"Any idea what they're trying to build?"

"I haven't a clue."

Miles moved across the alley to examine the two thieves. "These guys are definitely not scientists. I doubt they even know what those things are..." He trailed off as he caught sight of something interesting. "Roger."

The men were clearly unconscious, except their eyes were wide open. They sported vacant looks across their faces as well. "This look odd to you?"

He followed Miles, hovering over his shoulder. Miles tapped a few buttons on the side of his visor. "Getting strange readouts on their vitals."

"Brain activity is irregular."

"They got knocked out, that's understandable."

"No, Miles. There isn't any. If my calculations are correct, they've been asleep for literally three days. I highly doubt they weren't acting on their own volition. I believe these men were hypnotized."

"Hah. Seriously? Hypnotism? That's a new one."

"I believe so."

Miles rubbed his chin. "The plot thickens."

One hour later

Miles had missed his class. He was currently on his way out, with his earphones in plugged into his backpack.

"Roger, do me a favor and run a scan. Villains whose M.O. fit hypnosis."

Almost instantaneously, Roger delivered his findings. "Fifty-three known criminals within the city limits are skilled in hypnosis, twelve of which are super-villains. They are all currently imprisoned, however."

"Damn." Miles cursed. He passed a records office when he heard something that made him pause.

"They were always such nice boys." A woman sighed. Miles stopped outside the door and peered in. A few professors were speaking with one another. "They weren't in any of my classes, but I'm aware both were actively involved in campus activities." Another professor replied, this one a man.

"And then there was Susan Holst!" Another woman added. "She was caught breaking and entering too."

"I heard a whole fraternity raided a Crey office building after hours too." The man interjected.

"Do you think it might have been drugs?" The first woman asked . "The arresting officer did say they looked spacey."

That was all Miles needed to hear. He left, exiting the building and stepping out into the courtyard while shielding his eyes from the sunlight.

Somewhere underneath Kings Row...

"The two kids in the storage bay, huh?" Miles questioned as he connected Roger to his mainframe. He'd stopped by his base of operations to run a quick intel check.

"Timothy Hill and Patrick Rice. Both Honor Society members." Roger acknowledged.

Miles sank back into his chair. He always liked playing Batman. Even if it was Roger who did most of the detective work. And Susan Holst?"

"Not as active as Timothy and Patrick, however, she was a straight 'A' student."

"So what would make the all these students turn to crime? Besides hypnosis obviously."

Perhaps crime sought them out." Roger replied. Miles arched a brow in response.

"You think someone's preying on college kids?"

"It is a possibility."

"Awesome. As if this semester didn't suck enough. Have you got the identities of the two other thugs yet?"

The monitors on the wall lit up as mugshots of the gentlemen in question were displayed almost instantly. "Murdoc Wells and Lyle Maynard. Both have records. Armed robbery, breaking and entering, etc."

"So cliche." Miles sighed. "Any gang affiliations? They ever work under anyone before?"   "Negative. Both are well known for their self-reliant attitudes."

"Hmm. Alright. We should head back on campus. See if we can find out anything else."

"Perhaps you should attend the robotics lecture as well." Roger suggested. A noteworth professor was visiting the campus to deliver a speech on artificial intelligence within robotics. Roger had been bugging him about it.

Miles threw is hands into the air as he stood. "Fine, fine."

"The backpack again?" Roger queried. Miles nodded.

"The backpack again."

Thirty minutes later

Twenty minutes into the lecture, it was quite clear Roger had been misled and was more eager to leave than Miles. It turned out that the professor was actively campaigning against the study of articificial intelligence and warning against it. Roger was offended. He spent the majority of the time poking holes through the professors arguments to no one but Miles. Eventually, Miles humored Roger and decided to leave.

Before he could, there was a loud popping sound that echoed through the auditorium from the stage, interrupting the speaking professor. With the sudden appearance of a cloud of smoke, the auditorium erupted into chaos. Two men stormed the stage from behind the curtain. Strapped to their backs were machine guns and they were each carrying what looked like miniature fans.

Miles stood, ignoring the panic around him. Those weren't fans. Students crowded to the back of the room and rushed the doors, which were of course, securely latched. As the cloud dissipated, Miles squinted to see a third man appear on stage. he was wearing a business suit, but atop his head, he wore a helmet that resembled the head of a sphinx. Then a blaring, ear-piercing sound erupted into the air. Miles grabbed his ears and bent over in pain. There were shouts and screams and then the room fell silent.

"Oh, awesome." Miles groaned. He looked towards the stage again and the two armed thugs moved towards the fans and Miles realized what they were. Sonic inducers, tuned to emit low-level hypnotic suggestions. And he knew what was coming next. There was a soft hum as the machines powered on and a low ringing began. Miles felt his mind swim, and the world started going fuzzy around him. "Maximum effort." He clenched his teeth, hurrying to unzip his backpack. Roger sprang out and Miles snagged his earbuds, slipping them in before shouting. "ROGER, SLEIGH BELLS, LOUD."

Roger took the hint and a second later, Treats blasted through his earphones. The music drowned out the hypnotic sound waves and Miles was able to think clearly again. He ducked down behind the seats and clutched his backpack before they noticed he had overcame the hypnosis. He'd only brought his visor and his laser pistol. He made a mental note - be better prepared in the future.

At this point, everyone else in the auditorium stood frozen in place. Miles poked his head up over the seats for a second before speaking aloud to Roger "The lunatic in the helmet. Can you identify him?"

"Ten years ago, there was a crime boss who used the alias 'Mister Sphinx' and wore a similar helmet. Police reports filed state that he was overthrown and killed by his own foot soldiers, however."

"Looks like someone's taken up the mantle, then..." Miles shouted. Halfway through his sentence, the armed thugs shut the machines off, and Miles' voice broke the silence. "Whoops."

He slid on his visor and stood slowly. The men on stage were taken aback. His helmet hid his facial features, but judging from his body language, this new 'Mister Sphinx' was surprised as well. He clearly didn't expect anyone to resist his hypnosis machines. The two thugs aimed their machine guns at Miles.

"Hah. Look at that, boys." Sphinx shouted. His voice wasn't muffled by the helmet at all. "A challenger approaches. Resistant to my hypnosis devices?"

Miles gripped his pistol tightly - thankfully, their view of it was blocked by the seats in front of him. "Something like that. Taking control of the entire student body? Really aiming for the stars there, huh?"

Mister Sphinx waved a hand. "Who better than the youths of Paragon to carry out my misdeeds?"

"So you're brainwashing college kids to what? Rob convenience stores?" Miles snorted. He actually had a good idea what Sphinx was planning. But he needed to be sure.

"Hah! For distractions, maybe. No, when my disciples are finished collecting the final pieces of the puzzle, it'll be more than just the pride of Paragon under my control."

That explained the dead looks from the students in his classes and the targeted robberies. "So you're planning on brainwashing the entire city. Got it. Thanks for monologuing, amateur hour." Miles shouted before leaping into action. He tucked and rolled back under the seats as Sphinx's goons opened fire while Roger followed suit. Miles heard the sonic inducers being clicked back on and Sphinx shouting over them. "You're only postponing the inevitable, Hero! Everyone attack the dissenter!" He shouted. And Miles felt everyone in the room move at once, until a wave of students from the opposite side of the room staggered towards him, literally climbing over each other to get to him. As everyone in the room closed in on him, Miles looked towards Roger, "Bring her in. And fast!"

The auditorium doors splintered apart as his hoverboard burst through, careening up and over the dazed students and faculty. His eagerness to escape the lecture in the first place had paid off. The board slowed to a stop towards him before he leaped onto it, grabbing his pistol and rising into the air above the crowd. "Set phasers to stun, Roger! Don't hurt the students."

Miles did so too, winding down a dial on his laser pistol and turning his attention to the armed men on the stage - they were priority number one. Well, priority one and two. They opened fire as Miles zig-zagged up and around. The auditorium was only so large - he couldn't dodge them forever. But as their attention was focused on Miles, Roger whizzed through the air, firing lasers at them both. The surprised thugs dropped their weapons as the beams singed their hands. Miles took advantage, turning towards the stage and shooting them both. They were unconscious before they even hit the ground. Roger followed suit, firing at the two hypnosis machines. They burned out with a loud hiss and the room was silent again. The brainwashed students all fell to the ground but Roger scanned them quickly, "Only asleep." He assured.

On his hoverboard, Miles idled in the air in front of the stage, "Give it up Sphinx. You lose this round. Game over, pal."

"Oh no, I'm not finished yet!" Sphinx growled, whipping out two automatic pistols from the insides of his suit jacket. Miles fired at him before he could get a shot off and he slumped to the ground, his helmet clanging against the wooden stage loudly. Miles spun his pistol around his finger victoriously, "Quickest shot in all the land, Roger."

"So humble." Roger chided. "Best to make an exit before the student body awakens. The authorities are on their way."

"Right-O. Hey, it's a good thing I decided to go back to school, huh?"

"You decided?" Roger questioned.