Megamatrix Hero Within Read Online Free
Author: Phil Hester, Jon S. Lewis, Shannon Eric Denton, Jake Bell
a harsh whisper, but nobody answered. Even if they’d heard him, it was unlikely they could have found him. The weeds were now towering above his head.
He pressed against the ground to try to free himself from the sinkhole, but rather than support him, the dirt only followed his leg down into the earth.
The more he pushed to free himself, the less he had to push against. Fletcher could feel the panic rising and his hips began to slide into the sinkhole. He desperately clawed at the weeds, trying to wrap them around his wrists.
Unfortunately, when the rest of the ground gave way, the weeds did nothing to stop him. He plummeted twenty feet or more before he hit a stone slope beneath him. He tumbled down the slope, cartwheeling head over heels—and banging his head, heels, and various other body parts against the stone floor and walls as he went—until he finally came to a stop.
"Hello?" he shouted back toward the way he'd come. He no longer cared if he was discovered. "Can anybody hear me?"
Something beeped, as if replying. Fletcher spun around, not sure where the noise had come from. Did bats beep? Or rats? Or some other horrible creature that lived in caves and feasted on human flesh?
Suddenly, the cave was illuminated in a dim blue light as a gigantic computer monitor flickered to life. Fletcher shielded his eyes as the long dormant computer went through the process of booting up. He scanned the room, looking for an exit. He didn't know where he was, but he knew it was somewhere he didn't belong and he wanted to get away before the people who did belong there showed up.
"Welcome," said a calm electronic voice. "You have accessed the Megamatrix of the Global Defenders." A hologram of a human-shaped... thing with metallic looking skin appeared in the middle of the room. "I am Android 7," it said, "and the fact that you are here indicates we have failed in our stated mission of defending the globe."
The hologram reached out a welcoming hand to Fletcher.
"You may be humanity's only hope."
CHAPTER 5
Fletcher didn't say anything.
"I am sure you have many questions," the hologram of Android 7 prompted.
"Are you talking to me?" Fletcher asked, looking around the room as though he thought someone else might have slipped in when he wasn’t looking. "I thought you were just a recording."
"Before my final battle with a supervillain named Technein, I downloaded a copy of my memories into this computer. I have been left in charge of the Megamatrix and charged with the guidance of those who will inherit its powers."
"Huh?" Fletcher grunted. "Powers?"
"Years ago, the Global Defenders fought a losing battle against evil. It seemed inevitable that supervillains would defeat us and take control of the world."
"Yeah, you figured that out all by yourselves, huh?" Fletcher grumbled.
"In light of this potential danger, Dr. Arnold Slater, known to many as the superhero Max Molecule, suggested we store our powers in order to pass them on if any of us should die. He invented the Megamatrix, a machine capable of replicating, storing, and passing superpowers to a new generation of superheroes capable of succeeding where we failed."
Fletcher stepped out of the corner and examined the computer. "Are you saying this thing can give me superpowers?"
"You and the others. That was our intention when we left the series of clues that led you here. Only by coming together with others and sharing the clues you each found would you ever be able to find this place. Where are the others?”
Fletcher hadn’t found any clues. But somehow he got the impression that if he told this hologram that all he’d done was fall through a sinkhole, he might not get to have any superpowers.
"Yeah, maybe," he replied. "How does this thing work?"
A pillar of glass and metal rose from a hatch in the center of the floor. As it powered up, it glowed blue. A small panel on its side slid open, revealing a line of small electronic devices. "Take one of
He pressed against the ground to try to free himself from the sinkhole, but rather than support him, the dirt only followed his leg down into the earth.
The more he pushed to free himself, the less he had to push against. Fletcher could feel the panic rising and his hips began to slide into the sinkhole. He desperately clawed at the weeds, trying to wrap them around his wrists.
Unfortunately, when the rest of the ground gave way, the weeds did nothing to stop him. He plummeted twenty feet or more before he hit a stone slope beneath him. He tumbled down the slope, cartwheeling head over heels—and banging his head, heels, and various other body parts against the stone floor and walls as he went—until he finally came to a stop.
"Hello?" he shouted back toward the way he'd come. He no longer cared if he was discovered. "Can anybody hear me?"
Something beeped, as if replying. Fletcher spun around, not sure where the noise had come from. Did bats beep? Or rats? Or some other horrible creature that lived in caves and feasted on human flesh?
Suddenly, the cave was illuminated in a dim blue light as a gigantic computer monitor flickered to life. Fletcher shielded his eyes as the long dormant computer went through the process of booting up. He scanned the room, looking for an exit. He didn't know where he was, but he knew it was somewhere he didn't belong and he wanted to get away before the people who did belong there showed up.
"Welcome," said a calm electronic voice. "You have accessed the Megamatrix of the Global Defenders." A hologram of a human-shaped... thing with metallic looking skin appeared in the middle of the room. "I am Android 7," it said, "and the fact that you are here indicates we have failed in our stated mission of defending the globe."
The hologram reached out a welcoming hand to Fletcher.
"You may be humanity's only hope."
CHAPTER 5
Fletcher didn't say anything.
"I am sure you have many questions," the hologram of Android 7 prompted.
"Are you talking to me?" Fletcher asked, looking around the room as though he thought someone else might have slipped in when he wasn’t looking. "I thought you were just a recording."
"Before my final battle with a supervillain named Technein, I downloaded a copy of my memories into this computer. I have been left in charge of the Megamatrix and charged with the guidance of those who will inherit its powers."
"Huh?" Fletcher grunted. "Powers?"
"Years ago, the Global Defenders fought a losing battle against evil. It seemed inevitable that supervillains would defeat us and take control of the world."
"Yeah, you figured that out all by yourselves, huh?" Fletcher grumbled.
"In light of this potential danger, Dr. Arnold Slater, known to many as the superhero Max Molecule, suggested we store our powers in order to pass them on if any of us should die. He invented the Megamatrix, a machine capable of replicating, storing, and passing superpowers to a new generation of superheroes capable of succeeding where we failed."
Fletcher stepped out of the corner and examined the computer. "Are you saying this thing can give me superpowers?"
"You and the others. That was our intention when we left the series of clues that led you here. Only by coming together with others and sharing the clues you each found would you ever be able to find this place. Where are the others?”
Fletcher hadn’t found any clues. But somehow he got the impression that if he told this hologram that all he’d done was fall through a sinkhole, he might not get to have any superpowers.
"Yeah, maybe," he replied. "How does this thing work?"
A pillar of glass and metal rose from a hatch in the center of the floor. As it powered up, it glowed blue. A small panel on its side slid open, revealing a line of small electronic devices. "Take one of
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