13 Tales 2012: The Ninth Tale

Thirteen Tales
Tale Nine: The Tale of the Watch's Secret

The City of Metro Land!

A giant robot bipedal robot with a snake's head crashes through a skyscraper as it crumbles into ruins. Citizens of the city run and scream in terror at the attack as the giant robotic snake headed monstrosity tears down buildings, collapses bridges and causes three hour traffic backups! This is a city in danger, a city of little hope. This is a city that needs a hero.

Meanwhile, at the local high school.

A teacher in his late twenties walks towards the school building. He's dressed in slacks and a button up shirt and his hair is wild mess. He looks like the type of person where everyone in life has taken turns holding him down and beating him up. He was slowly muttering to himself as he walked towards the school from the parking lot.

"Okay, today is going to be my day. Today is the day I stop letting life shove me around. I'm a good person, I'm nice, and gosh darn it people." The teacher was cut off at as a giant snake headed robot rampaged across the school directly in front of him. The source of his employment and only passion in life had just been flattened. As if to add insult to injury, a few seconds later and a large chunk of the school's roof fell from the sky and landed on the teacher's car. "Gosh darn it." His shoulders sank.

"MR MANGUS!" It was a female student from his class that shouted as she ran up to him. Actually, he didn't know too much about her. She had recently moved here from Japan and just been transferred. The strange thing was she seemed to only be transferred to his science classes. None of the other teachers had ever seen her show up in any class that Mangus himself was not teaching. "Thank goodness I found you!"

"Oh hi Sako." Mr. Mangus greeted. "Class is cancelled today on account of a rampaging robot."

"That is exactly what I need to talk to you about!" Sako explained. "Mr. Mangus, I'm not actually here to study under you! I've been monitoring you at the request of a friend I studied under in Japan. You see, I worked for Professor Randall Mangus!"

"Daddy?" Mangus recognized the name immediately; it was his father who had vanished over twenty years ago. His only memories of him were in photographs that his mother owned. "Wait, I don't think I understand."

"Well you see Mr. Mangus!" The student started to explain. "Your father had to leave you and your mom a long time ago, on account that he was on the run from the Viper Syndicate. He was a top secret researcher for a counter terrorist organization.  His identity had been risked so he cut off all ties and vanished to protect you. I knew him when I worked with him in Japan, I studied under him until the day that he died."

"My father is dead?" Mangus asked. "I didn't even know he was alive and now he's already dead!?"

"His dying wish was that I watch over you, which I swore to do should the Viper Syndicate ever find out your location. That's why I resigned as a general to transfer here!" She explained.

"Wait, you're a general!? But aren't you like 16?" Mangus asked a perfectly reasonable question.

"You can advance in the military very quickly in Japan if you're willing to wear miniskirts and capable of drop kicking a tank." Sako explained. "Anyway, there will be time for explanations now. The leader of the Viper Syndicate is here. He doesn't know who you are, only that you're here, and he'll stamp out any offspring he can find of his old nemesis out of fear that they may one day come to avenge their father! And you can, you can avenge him, you see your father did not leave you without protection. You have a watch, the only belonging he left to you yes? You can use that to defeat Lord Viper and save your city!"

"I can fight him... With a watch?" Mangus blinked a few times. "Wait, you said you drop kicked a tank! Why don't you fight him?"

"Unfortunately, as I have a back-story firmly establishing me as a highly skilled fighter beyond measure the universe will not allow me to be victor in this fight; it would see only that I call so that I could be avenged by a less badass but easy to relate to hero."

"Say what?" Mangus blinked a few times.

"I told you there are no time for explanations!" Sako shouted. "That watch is the most powerful Anti-Viper weapon in the known universe! You must turn the dial three times, strike your right arm that wears the watch out to your left, then diagonal down to the right and then hold it straight up in the air before shouting Herpestidae Activate!" Sako explained.

"But I don't think." Mangus started.

"Just do it!" She shouted back.

Mangus gave a sigh before striking the required poses and giving a shout.

"HERPESTIDAE ACTIVATE!"

The watch shone with a bright light as it changed its appearance. The old worn watch slowly gave way revealing a strange device with a digital interface and several buttons. Light erupted from it and surrounded Mangus. As it did brown fur sprouted over his entire body and a tail grew out from him. His ears moved up to the side of his head and become large and round. HIs clothing changed as well. A jumpsuit covered most of his body but a cloak trailed off the back of it. The sleeves had been ripped off and a pair of brightly colored gloves and boots appeared on him. Lastly there was a small domino mask that appeared on his face.

"I feel... fuzzy." For the first time in a long time Mangus felt himself smile.

"The Mongoose Transformation has transformed you into a living weapon." Sako explained. "You can fly, fire bolds of energy from your hands, have super strength, reflexes, endurance and you can do a headstand. With these powers you can stop Lord Viper once and for all, now go fight the robot!"

"Um.. Okay." The now mongoosefied Mangus floated into the air and after the robot. He floated up to be eye level with the rampaging robot and waved at it. "Excuse me. I've turned into a mongoose, so could you stop attacking our town now, k?"

"AHA!" A voice shouted from the robot. "SO THE SON OF THE FAMOUS PROFESSOR RANDALL MANGUS APPEARS AT LAST! SOON YOU SHALL TASTE DESTRUCTIO BY MY HAND! I AM LORD VIPER AND YOU CAN NOT OPPOSE MY VIPER BOT!"

"So... it's a snake robot?" Mangus asked.

"OF COURSE!" Lord Viper answered from within the safety of his robot.

"Then why does it have legs?"

As if to respond the robot snake head butted the mongoose sending him flying into a nearby building.

"VICTORY!" Lord viper gave a cry.

"That wasn't very nice." Mangus slowly floated out of the wreckage of the building. He was slightly bruised, but alright. "If you're done throwing a temper tantrum are you ready to go home?"

"A TEMPER TANTRUM!? I AM THE LEADER OF A GREAT TERRORIST SYNDICATE! YOU WILL BOW AND TREMBLE BEFORE ME!" Lord Viper shouted back.

"I teach tenth graders." Mangus explained. "I don't really scare from common bullies.

"I AM NOT A COMMON BULLY!" Lord Viper explained. "AND YOU THINK SOME THIRD RATE TEACHER CAN OPPOSE ME!? I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN LIKE YOUR STUDENT'S TEST SCORES ON A STANDARIZED TEST!"

At that very moment, something snapped.

"THOSE TEST ARE  JUNK!" Mangus shouted and flew straight into the robot delivering a powerful kick that hurled the robot into the air.

"What?" Lord Viper was unsure how to respond at the sudden turnaround.

"They have nothing to do with our curriculum!" In a flash he was in the air above the robot, and cupped both his fist together hitting it in the head and sent it flying straight down to the ground. "We have no books to cover the material on them!" He dove straight down from the sky landing in the chest of the robot and going straight through it leaving a huge gaping hole. "Then they take away our funding because we couldn't prepare our students properly!" He lifted the robot up from underneath it and then threw it into the air. "AND THEN THEY SAY IT'S BECAUSE WE FAILED AS TEACHER!" Mangus held out his paws facing the robot as an enormous beam of energy erupted from his hands and flew straight up at the airborne robot.

"In my last moments." Lord Viper muttered to himself as he saw the beam of energy coming. "I regret not sleeping in today." These were the last words of Lord Viper as the robot was enveloped in the beam of energy and moments later exploded.

A few hours later Mangus was sitting in a small diner. He was still a mongoose but now he was dressed just in a pair of shorts and looking at a menu. Sako was sitting next to him.

"Um, great job with Lord Viper and all." Sako started. "But, now that it's over, you're aware you can use the watch to change back, right?"

"I have a tail and it makes me happy." Mangus continued to stare at the menu, he felt refreshed, like a brand new man.

"But if you walk around like this all the time, people will recognize you, aren't you worried that could have repercussions on if you have to fight as a hero again?" Sako asked.

"Nah, I've got a mask to protect my identity." Mangus explained.

"But, that doesn't hide! I mean it..." Sako sighed. "You know what, whatever. Fine. Sure."