I'm Not A Kid!

He was so sick of being called a kid. No matter what he his accomplishments were, no matter how many impressive inventions he had crafted with raw talent and hard won experience, no matter how many times he'd kicked around the Hackers, they called him a kid! Hell, even when he saved a group of children when an "adult" inventor failed --and badly-- what did they say?

"Way to go, kid." or "You're a hero, kid." or "Not bad, for a kid."

Oh, it burned him up inside to be called kid, there was such a lack of respect. He was, by all standards more than a kid... he was a teenager, but more than that, he felt he deserved enough respect to be called an adult by now. He sworn to himself while wandering the forest of illusion, during getting himself even more lost, that the next person who called him a kid would pay for it.

As time wore on, he became even more frustrated and angry, mostly with the forest, since it just... kept... repeating... and generally making him take all manner of wrong turns. Finally, he hit a stretch that seemed straight and narrow, and the tension he felt was starting to fade away... that's when he heard it.

"Oh, it's a kid."

That bent him out of shape something fierce. It was a woman who said it, she was looking at him from further ahead on the path. Apparently, he'd made enough noise for her to wonder who was coming, and one look at him made her utter those words. He could barely contain his anger, he felt like he'd just tear into her verbally...

But then he decided to look her over. She wasn't too bad looking, really... blond hair cut short, green earrings that were perhaps a little too big... a short, tight blue dress and matching shoes. Granted, her chest wasn't the biggest he'd ever seen, but she still had more than a handful when it came to him. She was all alone, in the forest... with him.

A smirk came to his lips, he began to plot ways other than verbally to tear into this one.

"So, have you lost your way, kid?"

She asked him, and he twitched slightly.

"No, I'm looking for an old house in this forest."

"You shouldn't be playing here, kid. It's dangerous. You should go on home."

"... Maybe so... could you, maybe come with me? Why, it's so creepy here that I'd feel safer with an adult, like you."

He lied through his teeth, and tried like crazy to not sound sarcastic. She apparently bought it, though, as she shook her head and smiled.

"Well, what can I do... as a famous reporter, it's my duty to the public to find stories and protect children. Well, come on, let's get going."

And so, he joined her,and they walked down the trail, because, well, the two of them had no idea as to where else to go. He took the lead, and she let him, she figured it was just best to let the kid think he was exploring and being brave. Meanwhile, he was plotting and hoping to find a dead end, a nice little area where she would be trapped, with himself and a robot blocking the only way out.

But, as time worn on, it seemed like they were just aimlessly wandering down the same path, over and over, as if in a loop. He didn't want to say anything, but she was getting impatient... to the point of accusing him of having a poor sense of direction, then, well... leaving him to go off on her own.

Some responible adult she was... and he was now without a means of revenge against her. He simply sighed at that and kept on going... despite the looping, he felt like he was getting closer to something.



He could have sworn he heard a voice coming from the room, but upon entering, he was all alone. There were multiple bookcases lining the walls, but there was nothing else, not even a table to sit down at. He figured somebody was playing a joke on him... but then, maybe there was a secret passage! He went to one of the shelves, and was about to grab a book when he heard that voice...

"Well, well, fancy meeting you again, kid."

He twitched again... in more than one place.



He went for the door as she told him... but e had no intention of leaving. Just as he reached it, he looked over hos shoulder and noticed her back was turned to him, as if she expected him to fully comply with her little orders. That was when he went into action, removing two spheres from his pocket, then dropped one right in-front of the door. Instantly, it came to life and changed its form, size growing rapidly until it was in the form of a Humanoid robot, which had a good foot on him in height.

Mint turned and saw the robot, and was about to demand an explanation when he tossed the second over her head. It, too took shape and size. Just as she was about to turn, he gave it a command;

"Hold her."

Instantly, the robot moved, and with far greater speed than her, it grabbed hold of Mint, arms wrapping around her own, holding her in place. She struggled, thrashing about, screaming and insulting the machine, which cared so very little for this noisy biological creature. Her eyes, wild with anger looked right at its master