MEGA MAN 2 (F.X. Nine)
CHAPTER 1

"Welcome, welcome," said Dr. Light, smiling as he opened the door for Mega Man.

The lab looked pretty much the same as it always had. Beakers bubbled over as they boiled away on flaming burners. Bubbles rose through clear pipes, pushing red, yellow, and green liquids through a network of crazy plumbing.

Huge machines covered with lights pulsed and beeped as information sped through their circuits. Reams of paper were being spewed out, each page covered with numbers, letters, graphs, and formulas. Dr. Light was always working on a hundred different things at once.

"Mega Man," said Dr. Light. "I hate to have to tell you this news, but-"

"I know, I know," said Mega Man. "I saw it on the news-beam. Doctor Wily is back. I thought we had destroyed him, but I guess he's even stronger than we had imagined."

Dr. Light nodded. "And this time he's created eight of the most terrible robots ever built. Anyone who wants to capture Doctor Wiley has to get past each of those robots first." He looked at Mega Man. "You have fought many battles, Mega Man, and you have won them all. You may be invincible. You are the finest superrobot I have ever built."

Mega Man would have blushed if his circuits had been programmed for that activity.

"But I don't know if you would be able to fight your way to Dr. Wily alone," continued the doctor. "From what I understand, these robots are capable of the highest level of fighting ever imagined. And even if you do make it past them, you still have to fight your way into Doctor Wily's castle, and who knows what creatures he's created to protect him there!"

Mega Man nodded. He didn't look afraid. As he waited to hear what Dr. Light would say next, he thought about the past.

A few hours earlier he had been back in his comfortable little home sweet home, in the tiny village nestled high in a mountain valley. He had been watching the news-beam when his permanently attached proton beeper had gone off.

Its red light flashed as it beeped. That meant that Dr. Light was trying to reach him! Mega Man had tuned in the Doctor on his video screen.

"Mega Man, please report at once to my laboratory!" Dr. Light had said urgently.

Mega Man had looked around at his comfortable home and paused for a moment. There was no choice. He was a robot. He had to obey his creator.

Dr. Light was just as smart as Dr. Wily, but he used his genius for good, not for evil. He had vowed long ago to do everything in his power to protect the universe from destruction. Dr. Wily had become his main enemy.

When Dr. Light first created Mega Man, he hadn't intended to make a superhero. Mega Man was originally created as a tool-using robot. He was small, but he was the best tool-using robot ever made.

He would be able to fix anything, using any kind of tool ever invented. He was programmed so that any tool put into his hands would automatically be used in the most effective and efficient way possible.

But soon after Mega Man was built, Dr. Light began to fear the universe. Much evil was at work, all stemming from the mind of the fiendish Dr. Wily. Quickly, Dr. Light made some changes in his robot.

First, he programmed him to think of nothing but pure good, to seek out evildoers and to always fight on the side of truth and justice. Next, he upgraded Mega Man's tool-using capabilities to include all existing -- and all imaginable -- weapons.

Mega Man, the superrobot, had been created.

And what a robot he was. He'd fought every villain he'd come up against, fought them all to the finish. Or so he'd thought.

Now it looked like Dr. Wily had come back to life, and this time he was more evil than ever.

Mega Man turned his attention back to Dr. Light.

"And so, Mega Man," said the doctor, "I have decided to clone you. To copy your circuits and create another Mega Man. Two of you together ought to be able to get the job done."

Mega Man nodded. He wasn't sure if this idea would work, but he was a robot. He had to obey his creator. "Okay, Doctor Light," he said. "How do we do it?"

Dr. Light gestured toward the back of the laboratory. Mega man saw a huge, freestanding box with open doors. A control panel one its side was blinking madly, flashing red and yellow lights.

"My latest invention," he said proudly. "The Robo-Transometer XZ-4000, with Cloning Capability." He led Mega Man to the door. "Please step inside," he said. "This won't hurt a bit. And when I open the door, there'll be two of you."

Mega Man walked into the box, and Dr. Light shut the door behind him. It was dark in there. And then the box began to shake. Mega Man reached out and tried to hold onto the walls as the quaking increased.

Then there was a series of loud booming sounds, followed by a crash of metal on metal. Something screeched, and a bell rang. Sirens sounded, whooping wildly in the total darkness. Mega Man fell to the shaking floor and was still.

Adventure! Excitement! And plenty more instances of Dr. Light and Mega Man nodding!

Please send $2.99 US / $3.95 CAN in postmarked envelope to Scholastic INC. today! RUSH DELIVERY AVAILABLE!!! ACT SOON!!!