Kessie's Short Stories

[MNo9] Let It Rain

Originally published 8/20/2019

Being a week old meant that you had go through a performance check. Today Mighty Number 9, Beck was a week old and -as such- had to go through a performance check.

So far, Beck had completed his cognitive tests, along with several fine motor and gross motor skill tests. What remained now were some of the smaller tests that were made specifically for Beck. Doctor White looked over the list with a still expression.

"Beck," the robotist instructed, "Renounce your armor."

For a moment, the little robot blinked. "I can do that?" he innocently asked. Dr. White looked up at him as if Beck had forgotten something important.

"Why yes." he finally said with a small nod. "You're the only one of the Mighty Numbers to completely do so. Were you not aware of this, Number Nine?"

"I... I guess not..."

"I suppose it is to be expected." Dr. White then said, mostly to himself than Beck. "You are only a week old, and we haven't gone over all your protocols yet... But still, it should be considered muscle memory..."

Interrupting his thoughts, a phone started to ring near them. It rang for a few minutes before automatically being picked up.

"Doctor White, are you there?" the booming voice of Doctor Soichiro Sanda said from over the testing room's intercom system.

"Yes Doctor Sanda." Doctor White agreed. "How can I help you?"

"There's a small issue here." Sanda informed him. "I believe that you can fix it, but I don't know if you were busy or..."

"I'm in the middle of Beck's first week check up. But we can visit for a quick moment."

"Thank you Will. See you soon."

"Likewise Sanda." Doctor White agreed before ending the line. To Beck he said, "We will have to put the tests on hold. But this would be an excellent time to see how your 'average' appearance operates in a real world environment."

Beck gave a nod, not knowing what White was talking about directly, but still had some idea on the matter.

"And get an umbrella Beck." the robotist added as he gathered his things together. "I heard that rain is in the forecast."

. . .

The rain had yet to start, but you could feel it in the sweltering heat. Beck could feel the heat and worse of all he could see how hot his internal temperatures were becoming. This was something to be expected, Doctor White had told him, as it was a feature of having his armor removed; for all intents and purposes, Beck was human at the moment and no one would have thought any less of him.

What Beck did not know was at that very moment, a certain raindrop was taking form- it got so big that it started to fall from the cloud it was created in. The raindrop started its descent down to earth, falling so fast that its speed was almost unmatched by anything Earth could otherwise produce. When that drop of rain hit Beck on the shoulder, and he nearly screamed.

Doctor White noticed far too quickly, and turned to the youngest Mighty Number in curiosity. "Are you alright Number Nine?" Doctor White questioned with a small raise of his eyebrow.

"I-I'm fine... Professor." Beck agreed with a nod. He debated on whether to dare his creator that he had been surprised, but ultimately decided against it. Doctor White stared at his creation a bit longer -as if he expected Beck to say something further- before shrugging it off.

"Then let's hurry." he told him. "Doctor Sanda is waiting for us."

"R... right." Beck agreed as he followed the robotist. But Beck's mind was nowhere near thinking about Doctor Sanda as the rain started to come down harder and in greater multitude.