Bastion, the nearest comparisons that could relate to him, are in the world of fiction: Superman and All Might. In many ways, the three of them are similar. All of them could move mountains with a single step. All can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Their strength is unparalleled in this world of cardboard. When evil strikes terror into the hearts of men, they are the first to appear. When they arrive, the spotlight is on them alone.
Nicky could go on with the similarities, but a few things did separate Bastion from Superman and All Might. The most prominent example of the differences was the mechanized gauntlets Bastion wore. These metal gauntlets on his command would extend to interlock with each other to form a shield. They've helped him endure many situations unscathed. What metal could withstand extreme temperatures without melting or freezing? What metal has the endurance to remain whole after being hit with the force of a nuclear blast? Their origins were unknown to the public. Did Bastion create them, are they an alien artifact, or something else? Why is he a hero? Bastion hasn't given any answers about the questions that surround him. However, despite the mysteries that cover him, Bastion stays in the public's good graces with his actions.
"Is anyone hurt?" Bastion's confident voice spoke out, clearly audible amid the chaos of the coming sirens, and traffic noises.
Nicky looked around at the shaken passengers of the involved vehicles, from what he knew everyone made it out okay. No one was critically wounded. On the surface, they only had some scratches and bruises. Underneath, Nicky figured they were dealing with shock. Any ordinary person would after what just transpired in their lives. You survive a car accident to see an emblem of international hope. Nicky, too was in awe at seeing Bastion.
After a moment of silence, Nicky's eyes reverted to Bastion as the man spoke once more as he walked towards the once two arguing drivers. The man's voice deafened the sound of the shifting glass that was underneath his footsteps.
"Which one of you is responsible for this?"
The driver on the right looked down sheepishly and raised his hand in acknowledgment. Bastion nodded to the gesture.
"Now, I expect you to cooperate with the authorities when they come. If you excuse me." Bastion once again spoke.
He then bent down then with an unparalleled force sprang into the air and flew away towards the heart of town. Bastion's exit marked the end of the situation; now, it just had to be resolved by the proper authorities. There are heroes in this world that would have stayed to claim fame, but then heroes such as Bastion leave once the crisis was averted to only go to the next. Nicky thought of himself as the latter. He never cared for the limelight. The satisfaction he received from being Pixel was enough.
In that spirit of mindset, Nicky discreetly left the accident. Meanwhile, the victims of the incident waited for the authorities that just turned the corner a block away. Nicky felt that he no longer needed to be there. He didn't see the moment of impact, so he wasn't a witness. Bastion was the one who saved the child, separated the cars, and straightened out the story. Nicky was an average person who tried to help. Like Bastion's, Nicky's role was over. He had other things he needed to do, such as getting a better inspection of last night's prize. He was only able to skim the blueprint during his escape. He needed to find out leads that could help expose the true intentions of Project Maximus. There was differently more to it than "just a security system" that MegaCom claimed it to be. Without the evidence, Pixel would remain a wanted criminal. Nicky refused to live with that societal lie. He had to clear his other name, no matter the cost. As he walked around a corner, his phone vibrated with multiple instances of breaking news.
"Thunderstorm Saves Orphanage in Charlotte."
"High-Speed Stops Bank Robbers in Queens."
"Lady Dawn Foils the Plot of Sinister Witch Cable."
"Villainous Organization Stopped by Dazzling Star."
"Colorado has a New Hero Group!"
"Ežerinis calms an unnatural storm in the Mediterranean Sea."
"Cinderwood, still at large!"
He dismissed each one as they had no relevance to him. The involvement of superheroes was always in the headlines at least four to five times a day. Ever since an alien invasion first occurred in Rhode Island two years ago, the world changed. There was something about the alien's technology that opened the door to fantasy. Suddenly, superheroes and their origins were no longer limited to comic books. People were waking up with powers that they never knew existed in themselves. Accidents at science fairs did cause people to gain abilities. Inventors were inspired to create wondrous devices. More aliens came to help combat the invaders. There were even rumors of gods walking among the streets. The light of heroism grew as more and more heroes came into existence. It eventually repelled the initial invaders; however, the damage that the aliens did was irreversible. The world could no longer go back to an idle state.
When the invaders left new threats, rose to fill the void. Villains. Not all people who received power were virtuous. Some went to find criminal organizations, infiltrate governments, and create fear. There were rumors of a set of Atlantic islands solely ran by a criminal organization. It was a mere rumor, but in this age of heroes, anything was believable. The U.N. created a collection of rules in regards to heroes. It created an organization tilted Guardian to act as an international peacekeeping force to aid Heroes in the battle against the forces of evil. Guardian mainly handled the grunt work for counteracting the multiple villain organizations that started to run amok. The heroes dealt with the impending threats that could lead to world destruction in some way, shape, or form. Some heroes like Bastion had listened to the call to become registered with the governments of the world. Others, like Nicky, chose to remain unchained from society. In Nicky's mind, the morality of the crowd was feeble. It could change in an instant to force someone to fight a hypocritical battle. He would not allow the whims of fickle sheep to determine for him what was right and what was evil. He would follow his own path to the end — no matter where it takes him.
Nicky rolled his eyes; it was this kind of thinking that landed him in his current problem. He took the initiative against MegaCom. The public only praises the upstart company, unaware of the shadier side of the business. There was a record of "coincidental" disappearances of unlucky clients that did manage to find it. His friend, Shawn, was such an example on the list. Several weeks ago, Shawn dug too deep in his Z-Phone's system data caches. He unintentional found out that MegaCom was using its product as spyware. The company was taking personal information without permission to submit it to something called Project: Maximus. He told Nicky and some others before he went missing. Shawn was able to be found following a statewide search. Unfortunately, he was found dead in an abandoned amusement park south of Pittsburgh. The color of his skin was gone, the melanin had entirely faded away. His corpse was only a ghost of his former self.
Even in a world of heroes, tragedies still happen. Humans sill have their individual choices. There will always be someone who will feel the consequences of their actions. Heroes can't save everyone. No matter how super they are, they can't do everything. They do have their limits. Nicky included himself in this generalization. If Bastion did not show up at the accident earlier, the crying child would have burned to death inside the car. Nicky had lacked the physical strength to rescue the child. The firefighters would arrive too late to prevent the vehicle from being engulfed in the mechanical fire. He sighed in gratitude as he walked down the driveway that leads to his little apartment. After sidestepping the landlord's pack of chickens, Nicky reached the front door.
He attempted to open the door. It was locked. He proceeded to get the key from his left jean pocket and then tried again after unlocking the door. Haley rocketed out of his pocket as he stepped into the uncrowded living room. Her face was red with multiple expressions on it. Nicky held up a pointer finger to keep her silent as he closed the door behind him.
"It appears no one else is here," Nicky retracted his finger, "What's on your mind?"
"That was reckless of you!" Haley scorned him as she hovers in front of his face.
"I know," Nicky replied as he raised his right hand to give her a place to stand.
"Then what were you thinking?"
"I thought I had to help them somehow. Pixel or not."
Haley sighed in frustration. Nicky knew she could see his perspective due to her programming,
"Fine, just don't be so reckless next time." She said, folding her arms.
"I can't promise that. You ready to get a good look at the blueprint?" Nicky said, moving his hand next to his left shoulder. Haley then stepped off his hand and onto his shoulder.
"hmmm, please be more careful in the future." She spoke before sitting down on his blue jacket.
....
The duo meticulously looked over the document that they had pulled from under Nicky's bed on the small kitchen table. Haley glided about the image of the death machine. Nicky was continually shifting the paper about trying to find a clue about where the physical manifestation would be. He grew more and more worried as time passed. The only fact that he was able to learn so far from the blueprint was: it was outdated. There was a small label in the blueprint's corner that read Alpha Build 1.0.1. The current version must be in a separate facility that was working on it at this very moment. The statistics of this A.I would require a massive amount of power to give it life. The A.I must be somewhere off the primary power grid. It would draw to much suspicion otherwise. MegaCom was never careless when it came to security measures or keeping secrets for that matter. There had to be something on this document that could point him in the right direction. Nicky vigilantly kept up his search in the light of the afternoon. He only broke his focus from the blueprint when he had texted Kayla every so often.
Eventually, the sun had left the sky to lay behind the hills that surrounded Rivendale. The last sunbeam faded from the naked eye. Nicky and Haley remained in the darkness that took its place. Haley's light blue radiance provided a little lumination around the blueprint. Nicky put down the diagram to rub the bridge of his nose. He had been at this for hours. He wasn't any closer to solving the puzzle it presented.
"You need to relax. You'll find something eventually," Haley said as she pushed up on the light switch of the room.
"I know, it's just taking longer than I thought it would," He said in a breath before attending to the latest text message from Annabeth.
He put his phone down to an echoing growling sound emanating throughout the room.
"Humanity never fails to be an inconvenience," he says, looking at his stomach before going back to the puzzle at hand.
After hearing a few more growls, Haley flew back over to the narrow-minded investigator. She hovered next to his head until he looked up at her.
"What?" He inquired of her.
Haley then proceeded to flick his forehead.
"Ouch! What was that for?" He asked putting down the diagram
"You haven't eaten all day. You need to eat something," She harassing him further by pulling his jacket.
He brushed her off "I'll eat once I find something," then fixed his jacket.
"No, you won't. You need to eat something; I'm tired of hearing your stomach growl!" She spoke once again, attempting to pull him by his jacket.
He went to brush her off again; this time, she was ready for him and released a micro-energy blast when his hand got close to her.
"Fine, I eat something!" He said, relenting to her request.
He gave a shake to his right hand to provide it with some feeling. Haley's energy blast had numbed it. Nicky returned the blueprint to its case before he got up from his seat at the table.