Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ D.A.R.Y.L. ❯ This boy; This robot. ( Chapter 1 )

This Boy; This Robot

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I own all original characters that appear in DARYL, except the cross-over characters who will appear in future chapters. Those are the creations of Butch Hartman and Man of Action.

 

 

“It won't stabilize!” Yelled one of the scientists. He was blonde and wore a pair of glasses. He wore a white lab coat with his nametag pinned on the pocket. His pants were brown and he wore a pair of high tops.

 

“Well don't just stand there honey, kill the power!” Said a female scientist. She had long black hair and wore an outfit like her husband's only she had high heels.

 

The third and final scientist stepped in. He had beady eyes and messy red hair. Unlike his colleagues, he wore a black suit and tie and had shiny black shoes. His nametag read `Nano'.

 

“What in the name of all things good in the world is going on here Dr. Chasler?” Dr. Nano asked. Both scientists began talking at the same time. “I meant Leslie.” He added. The male Dr. Chasler turned back to his work.

 

“Well,” Leslie began. “Apparently what we're doing has spread out. Someone snuck in here and sabotaged our project.” She pointed towards three large cylinders that were on the walls. Inside each cylinder was a pale blob that was slowly growing. One of the cylinders exploded, revealing what the blobs were becoming: An infant.

 

Dr. Nano grabbed the newly formed infant in the second cylinder. “Paul! Leslie! Take project three! We need to make sure the enemy doesn't capture them.” He ordered. Paul ran over to a button and pushed it. An alarm went off and red lights began flashing.

 

As the three scientists ran, the building collapsed. “I think it's safe to assume they're in the building!” Paul yelled. Suddenly, a metal beam fell on Dr. Nano's arm. He let out a wail in despair. Paul turned back and lifted the beam off his friend's arm.

 

The three made it out alive. Dr. Nano frowned. “We're the only survivors. You two escaped without a scratch.” He said. He clutched his arm. “But I won't be able to use this arm.”

 

Paul frowned. “I think it be easier if we raised them separately. We can't let the enemy find them.” He said. Dr. Nano smiled. “That may be the only good idea you'll ever have.” He said smugly. Paul frowned in offense to the only part. “You two can handle one more kid.” Dr. Nano said.

 

Leslie and Paul nodded. They already had a two year old at home. They could handle another kid. “Then it's decided.” Dr. Nano said. And with that, he left.

 

 

 

“I'm gonna be late! I'm gonna be late! I'm gonna be late!” Daryl said as he ran through the kitchen, grabbing an apple on his way out. Daryl had messy black hair and tan skin. He wore a blue t-shirt with a flaming D on it. He had made it himself at an amusement park.

 

His brother Mikey began walking next to Daryl. “Relax bro. It's school! When is it important?” Daryl looked at Mikey like he was an idiot. Winch he was. Mikey had even messier hair then Daryl and was two years older. He wore sunglasses everywhere, which was strange considering he also always wore a jacket that was way too big for him.

 

Daryl frowned. “Dude. It may be the first day of school, but it's still summer. Why are you always wearing that?” He asked. Mikey looked offended. “It's not just a jacket Daryl. It's a way of life.” He stated. Daryl just looked at his brother like ha was insane.

 

“Where are mom and dad?” Asked Daryl. Mikey shrugged. “They're inventing some kind of new energy source. That's why dad's been radioactive for the last few weeks.” Mikey said. Daryl frowned. For some reason, his dad didn't believe in using heat shields on himself.

 

Daryl slammed the front door to the house shut. On his way out he saw his next-door neighbor and best friend, Joey Robinson. Joey was only four feet seven inches tall. He was black and had to where really thick glasses. He had a blue backpack and a smiley face shirt. His hair was always neat and his pants were way too long for him.

 

Joey smiled as Daryl and Mikey walked up the driveway. Mikey reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Hey Joey, did I show you my new driver's license?” Joey sighed. “Only seven-hundred-thousand-eight-hundred-twenty-six times. But who's counting?” Joey said. His voice cracked. Daryl couldn't remember a time Joey's voice didn't crack. It had even cracked in preschool.

 

The three friends stopped in their tracks when they sniffed the air. “Oh great,” Daryl said. “Eustace is wearing new cologne.” Three kids walked up. Two of the kids were three feet tall. The third was normal sized and smelled like he had dumped a whole bottle of cologne on him.

 

It was obviously Eustace by the way he dressed. His hair was blonde and in a bowl cut. He wore a blue t-shirt that said, “If I had a million dollars… Oh wait, I do have a million dollars!” He wore long blue jeans and green hi-tops.

 

The second kid was a mini-Eustace. It was his little brother, Eustace McDougal VI. Every son in the McDougal family was named Eustace. Also, everyone whose last name was McDougal was a genius in money.

 

The third kid was definitely not a McDougal. His hair covered most of his face, his sleeves had been ripped off his shirt, and he had an electric guitar strapped to his back. Mikey smiled at his friends. He leaned down to the mini-Eustace.

 

“Hey Eustace, you ready for your first year of second grade?” He asked. Mini-Eustace looked angrily at Mikey. “Are you ready for your second year of tenth grade?” He asked in a mocking voice.

 

Daryl bust up at mini-Eustace's remark. “He got you there, Mikey.” A voice said. Everyone turned to see Victoria, the only girl in the group. Her long, dark hair was in a ponytail. She had a tank top and khaki jeans on.

 

She frowned at the group. “Any particular reason we decided to miss the bus on the first day of school?” She asked. Everyone looked at each other. Joey gasped. “But, but, it's my first day of eleventh grade! I didn't skip 9th grade to be late!”

 

Daryl smiled. “Relax guys, the school's only a couple of blocks from here.” Everyone nodded and started walking.

 

The grade school, middle school, and high school were all in the same building. Most of the people in town called it an academy, but it wasn't a boarding school. It was one of the largest schools in America.

 

Everyone stopped at the crossroad. Mikey smiled and began walking, not even bothering for the light to turn green. Daryl frowned. “Whoever said ignorance is bliss, never met my brother.” He thought.

 

Everyone (Except Mikey) turned to see a huge tuck heading towards Mikey. Daryl did what any good brother would do. He pushed Mikey away from the truck. Now it was headed for Daryl. “This bites.” He thought. Then everything went black.

 

 

 

Daryl woke up in a hospital room. He looked at himself in a nearby mirror. “No scratches. No bandages. How long have I been asleep?” He turned to see his friends and family gathered around him. “How long was I out?” Daryl asked. His dad smiled. “About two hours.” He said.

 

The doctor walked in. He was bald and had wrinkles on his forehead. His doctor's outfit had no nametag.

 

“Which one of you is Dr. Chasler?” He asked. Both of Daryl's parents stood up. “Dr. Leslie Chasler?” He stated. Daryl's dad sat back down.

 

The two doctors began talking about scientific stuff. Daryl turned to his dad. “Why aren't I all banged up? Isn't being hit by a car a bad thing?” He asked. “Well,” His dad stated. “In some cultures being hit by a car is a passage into adulthood.” Daryl looked at his dad sarcastically. “Name one.” He said. “I can't!” Daryl's dad said, in a hurt voice.

 

Mikey smiled. “It was freaky!” He said. “The truck's in more damage then you!” Daryl looked worried. Questions were racing through his mind. “Am I some sort of freak? Why am I completely unharmed? Is getting hit by a car really a passage into adulthood? Who the heck is Rosebud?”

 

The doctor walked in holding an x-ray. “My name is Dr. Cavarkian.” He said. Everyone gasped. The doctor smiled. “No, not Cavorkian. Cavarkian. With an A.” He said it as if he got that a lot.

 

“These x-rays show no bone damage whatsoever. In fact, they're the healthiest I've ever seen. Except for this one.” He said as he pointed to a bone with a small hole in it. “It's as if that piece of bone never existed!”

 

Daryl looked at where the bone was. It was right underneath the birthmark on his left arm. Daryl rubbed the back of his neck. What was going on?

 

 

 

After a car ride to school, Daryl tried to find his classes. He ran to his mythology class. If he got there in time, he might be able to get a seat as far away from the three kids he hated.

 

But it was too late. By the time he got there, the only seat was next to Andrew Onan. Andrew was the only kid in the school richer than Eustace. He was also a total jerk, whom hardly ever smiled.

 

He had spiky red hair and always wore a red suit and tie. His eyes were just pupils, and if you stared into them too long, you'd feel like running home to mommy. That's why he didn't have too many friends.

 

Daryl reluctantly took his set next to Andrew. Andrew shot a nasty look at Daryl. “You're late, whelp.” His voice was cold and unforgiving. Exactly the last kind of voice you'd expect from a 9th grader.

 

Daryl frowned. “Look, I ran into a bit of trouble on the way here. So shoot me.” Daryl said. Andrew smirked. “I'd love to, but murder's against the law. Besides, killing you'd be a waste of precious time.” He said smugly.

 

Daryl frowned. “Well,” He said. “You can take your time and shove it up your…” The teacher slapped the desk with his ruler. “I expect more from you Mr. Chasler.” He said. “And Andrew, I expect…” Andrew cut him off mid-sentence. “I expect you to shut up so I can study.”

 

 

 

Daryl and Joey were walking to science class. “Did you see how angry the random teacher got at Andrew?” Joey asked. Daryl nodded enthusiastically. “Good thing rich boy's got after school activities with his dad, or he'd have detention for life!” Daryl said.

 

Daryl stopped near his locker. “And speaking of detention for life…” The two friends saw the school bully, Bruno Godfrey, right next to Daryl's locker.

 

Bruno hardly had any hair. A big chunk of his left ear was missing. His face was covered in zits, and he wore a leather jacket over a t-shirt with the word pain on it. His pants were sagging and he wore blue polka dotted boxers.

 

Bruno smiled at the sight of Joey. “Joseph,” He said, taking out a PDA. “Oh here you are, I have you scheduled for insult and injury before 7th period. Says here, you're extremely sensitive near the waist, so that's where I should punch you.” That's the way Bruno was. Brains and brawns.

 

Daryl looked angrily looked at Bruno while trying to open his locker. “You know what stinks about you Bruno?” He asked. “You'll pick on anyone smaller than you.” Bruno looked at Daryl. “Chasler...Chasler…Oh here you are!” He said, looking at his PDA. “I don't have to mock you till next Tuesday.”

 

Daryl tried to pull his locker open. Stupid thing had been getting stuck all day. “Look,” Daryl said angrily. “I've already put up with Andrew. I don't want to have to deal with…” He stopped right there. Daryl's locker was now open. Problem was, he had ripped the door of its hinges.

 

Bruno's eyes lit up with terror. First this kid survived being hit by a car, now this? What was going on? Bruno ran as fast as he could.

 

 

 

Daryl opened the door to his house. He shut it before Mikey could even enter the house. “Hey D?” He yelled. “Let me in! Can I at least have some pudding?”

 

Daryl went down the stairs to the basement/home lab. He was sure his parents were there because that's where they spent most of their time. They had bought the extensions to the basement and brought in a bunch of equipment from a project they worked on 17 years ago.

 

When he found them, they were standing in front of a group of monitors. Each one showed a different picture of a large rock with data surrounding it. But one screen didn't show the rock. It showed a timer. And according to the timer, there were three hours, forty-five minutes, 12 seconds, and fifty-six nanoseconds until something happened.

 

Daryl's dad turned around and saw Daryl. He gave a nervous grin, the kind you give when you're about to tell someone named Chuck he's really a girl and from now on is to be called “My Little Rosie”. Daryl really hoped his parents didn't tell him that.

 

“Daryl,” He said. “We need to tell you something. I don't really know how to tell a person they're a new breed of super robot designed to stop an asteroid that's hurtling to earth. What do you know? I just told you!”

 

Daryl's mouth hung open. “A-a robot?” He managed to stutter. He began looking around. “This is a joke right? You've got a hidden video camera somewhere in the lab.” He lifted a small metal block on a table, hoping to find a camera. Daryl's mom frowned. “If we were joking how do you explain that metal block you just lifted was 500 tons?” She asked. Daryl dropped the block on the table. (Or rather through the table, as it crashed right through it.)

 

Daryl's dad frowned. “Let me explain,” He started. “Every 18 years, the Solomon Asteroid passes by earth, gathering radiation and getting closer. 18 years ago, the asteroid got so close; scientists came up with a startling discovery. The next time the asteroid came around, it would strike the earth.”

 

“How big is this asteroid?” Daryl asked. His mom frowned. “My guess is… about twice Earth's size.” She said.

 

“If I can continue…” His dad said, obviously angered by the interruption. A certain… organization run by the government recruited the best and brightest scientists to stop the asteroid. That's where your mom and I come in. You see, the scientists all knew that most normal asteroid defense systems wouldn't work on Solomon. There was only one option: Someone had to go up and destroy it.

 

“Most of the scientists wanted to build a robot. Others wanted to make a super clone. So we compromised.” His dad smiled. “And thus we began the construction of D.A.R.Y.L.s 1-3. D.A.R.Y.L. stands for Data Analyzing Robotic Youth Life form. We got the name from a movie. There were 500 scientists. 497 of them died in mysterious accidents, leaving only me, your mother, and my college friend Dr. Nano Tek.” Daryl snickered at the name.

 

Daryl's dad went on. “We started out with one cell for each of the three D.A.R.Y.L.s. We had inserted special programs that would turn all of your cells into robotic parts. We called it Biocell. Unfortunately some… people whom wanted the asteroid to collide with earth found our secret lab and set off an advanced bomb that was designed to destroy anything nonliving. So the building collapsed, resulting in casualties. One casualty was D.A.R.Y.L. 2.

 

“Nano and I decided to take D.A.R.Y.L.s 1 and 3 with us to pass off life as ordinary kids.” His dad said, “Knowing that eventually they'd have to go up and destroy the asteroid. We lost contact with Nano the next day.”

 

Daryl was playing his game boy advance. He looked up like he hadn't heard any of it. “Sorry, you were just taking so long. According to that timer you were talking for one hour, fifty minutes and ten seconds.” He said.

 

Both the doctors turned around alarmingly at the timer. “Well,” Leslie said. “Thanks for eating up time until the asteroid hits earth.” Paul shrugged.

 

“Daryl,” Leslie said, “We need to start teaching you to use your powers. You've already discovered your bionic abilities. But now you need to learn the rest.” She picked up Daryl's arm and reached for his large birthmark. She peeled it off with ease.

 

Daryl stared in horror at what was there. A small scrap of metal was attached to his arm. The metal slowly began covering his body. The metal went over his clothes and shoes, stopping at his neck. The metal then shot up, covering his neck. A long metal strip shot up the back of his head until it reached opposite his eyes. Then metal shot around his face, leaving only slits for his eyes. But a strong red glass soon covered the slits.

 

Daryl looked at his parents. “You know,” He said. He noticed his voice was still the same. “I always thought that if this kind of thing ever happened it would be slightly more disturbing.”

 

Mikey popped up next to Daryl. “I heard the whole thing!” He said. Daryl tried to scratch his head in confusion but then remembered he was in two-inch thick metal. “How'd you get in here?” Mikey shrugged as if even he didn't know the answer.

 

Paul had a serious look in his eyes. “Now's not the time to swim in my end of the gene pool.” He said. “We have a limited amount of time. Now we need to teach.”

 

 

 

Daryl stood outside under the starlit sky. He was in his human form but that didn't last long. The metal covered his body once again. He thought he saw a bright light in the bushes for a second.

 

Mikey was eating a cup of pudding. “Remember,” He said, “Once you pound the asteroid thingy be sure to go to the moon and bring me some cheese.” Daryl laughed. “You do know the moon isn't really made out of cheese, right?” He asked. Mikey just gave the kind of smile you give someone who just answered the million dollar question wrong.

 

Daryl's feet began rising off the ground. “Gravity's for suckers.” He said as he rose. Mikey frowned. “You're going pretty slow.” He said. “Maybe you should diet.”

 

Daryl began flying faster. He passed the clouds and the birds and an airplane pilot named Ted. Unfortunately, seeing a flying robot caused Ted to crash the pain, resulting in miner injuries.

 

Daryl passed the earth's atmosphere. A voice was in his head. “Daryl, I've activated a two way communicating system.” It was Joey.

 

“How'd you find out about this?” Daryl asked. “I had a bug put in Mikey's ear canal. Me and the other guys thought it would be a hoot to listen in on what he was doing and heard the conversation. By the time we got there you were flying off.” The voice said.

 

Daryl smiled underneath the metal. Then, he saw the asteroid. His mom had made a slight miscalculation. It wasn't twice earth's size. It was about the size of a boulder.

 

Suddenly he heard another voice. “Daryl it's your mom.” It said. “The asteroid is smaller isn't it? I can't tell from this view screen. Any way, it still can't reach earth. That much radioactivity could result in nuclear winter!” “Way to take the pressure off mom.” Daryl thought.

 

He tried to remember what he'd been taught. He could transfer raw energy to his head, arms, legs, or torso. If he concentrated on his hands that's where the power would go. He really wished he had a manual.

 

As soon as he concentrated on his hands his legs started surging with electricity. “That's not right.” He thought. A small red ball appeared on his foot. He bounced it around on his feet fearful it might explode. But it just grew. Not heavier, just bigger.

 

Daryl kicked the ball at the asteroid. The ball seemed to go inside of it. Suddenly, though not surprisingly, the asteroid exploded. Thousands of tiny fragments were sent flying towards earth. Daryl took no notice and went home.

 

 

 

The reporter, Camil Leonawitz, ran down an alleyway. A press cap covered his black hair and he wore an overcoat with photos inside every pocket. A camera hung around his neck.

 

A young man stepped out in front of him. It was Andrew Onan. Camil smiled. “Kid! You know any one who runs a newspaper?” He asked. Andrew shrugged.

 

Camil took that as a yes. “Great! I've been fired from every Newspaper in this city, but they'll see! I saw a robot boy! I took photos! If you want I'll split the profits with you!” Camil went on and on. He didn't notice Andrew's fist coming at him.

 

Camil was unconscious. Andrew bent down and put a small computer chip on his head. “This'll erase the last fifteen minutes of your memory.” He said. He pulled out several pictures of Daryl and smiled. “The world's not ready to learn about you yet Daryl…” He said. “Not yet.

 

 

Next time: The Power of MIB!