text: What follows is a short story I wrote for a school assignment. My family said this was extremely good, so I'm posting it here to see if all of you like it. I hope you enjoy. Also, I apologize if I'm using the wrong tag, as I wasn't sure which was more fitting. Please let me know if one works better. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ It was a rather pleasant day at the mountain. Sure, the sky was filled with clouds, but what could've been rain was instead a light drizzle. A calm breeze was blowing throughout the range, and golden beams of light peeked from the plentiful masses of water vapor, creating a beautiful, serene atmosphere that was completely ignored by a robed woman scaling the towering mountain. The person's name was Malice, an agent and co-conspirator for an empire as mysterious as it is deadly. Malice's glorious, 100%-perfect boss had personally assigned her to take care of the matters regarding a certain scientist known for her unorthodox, yet extremely effective machines, specifically of the robot kind. Malice had the task of working with the scientist on a special project, one that would solve her empire's very agile problem. After about an hour, the woman had finally arrived near the top of the mountain, where a giant metal door awaited her. Upon stepping near the door, the sound of microphone feedback rung throughout the area, just as ear-piercing as you would expect. Some speakers, though not visible, began broadcasting a voice. A child-like voice filled with an aggravating amount of sass played. "Step closer to the door, you forgetful fool. How many times do I have to tell you this?" the voice said. Malice simply sighed. She stepped so close to the door that if the door were a window, there'd be quite the foggy spot. Grids of synced lasers popped from unknown areas, scanning Malice's person. "Ok, you don't have anything on you, you're good", the voice said, right before the metal doors screeched open, revealing a rather dimly lit lab area....one where a girl who was rather short and child-shaped stood. "Greetings, Malice", the little girl said, squinting. "Hello, Agatha", Malice returned. Agatha motioned for Malice to enter, but started walking before she even knew Malice accepted. "I assume you're here to check on Project Copy?", she said lowly. Malice scowled. "Mistress is getting very impatient. It's been a month already, and the thorn in our side grows more powerful the longer you hesitate." Agatha didn't like that statement very much. She spun around **anomalously** quickly, and snapped at Malice. "You think genius just happens? You think it's easy to program something complicated like this? You think it's fun having all of you breathing down my neck, rushing the only thing saving you from that nuisance?! Just....just.....," the girl caught herself, and calmed down. "Just, follow me and observe my progress." As they walked through the halls, surrounded by metallic clangs and the beep-booping of countless computers, Agatha went on her usual rant filled with technological jargon. Malice never understood anything in those, but didn't care about missing anything either. What is a "superhydraulic lythium exportion redactor" anyways? Eventually, they arrived at a huge computer console, large enough to make a jumbo-tron feel jealous. "As you can see, Project Copy is coming along swimmingly. I'm at 80% completion. Would y-," Agatha was cut off by Malice, who seemed to get instantly angry. "You were at 75% last week. What could you possibly be doing?!" she said, speaking slightly above inside-voice. Agatha crossed her arms, turning and giving, "I had to go off the grid for a bit. \*She\* was on the loose, and where would we both be if she had invaded my lab?" Malice glared at the scientist with the intensity of a divorced mother who's been told the buffet ran out of double-chocolate pie. Agatha knew that glare all too well, and didn't even wait two seconds before replying with enough sass to make your hair pull itself out. "If you're done ogling someone a third of your size, would you like to see the model?" Malice begrudgingly accepted. Agatha pressed a button on the keyboard, and with a hiss and a sizzle, a large, red tube emerged from behind the console. Inside it was a rather human-looking android, fixated with wires, pipes, and a big black dress, for decency's sake. The body was obviously incomplete, with an arm and both legs missing, and a big hole in its chest. "'80%' is relative. The code is almost complete. It's just the model that needs work." Malice stared at the creation. She started trembling, clenching her fist with enough grip to crush a small rodent with just her hand. It wasn't long before she snapped, letting out an absolute anger-filled assault of hatred. "What in the world is this? We asked you to build a machine that could level the entirety of Nepturiine..." Agatha tried to get a few words in. "I know what it looks like, but this ca-" "ENOUGH EXCUSES! The mistress wants a DEATH weapon, not a cosplay prop!" Agatha gained an equally loud expression. "Well you never told me any of that! How was I supposed to know?! Your 'boss' is just some clueless, selfish moron that couldn't give competent instructions if she had the creator of the universe on her side!" Agatha clenched her fist, and somehow got even louder. "If you're seriously threatened by a pre-teen, and you felt the need to rush ME for your idiocy, perhaps bathing in fire ants would be a better use of your time! Now leave me ALONE!" the child said as she stomped her feet so hard it caused enough vibration to knock over a nearby vase. Malice looked at Agatha. She gave the child such a hateful, spiteful glare that it would send a military general to tears. She gritted her teeth with such force that they visibly cracked. However, instead of absolutely letting loose on the girl, she turned her back, started walking, and said, "You're fired". Agatha's expression didn't drop. She had enough as well. She wasn't angry. In fact, she was ecstatic. As soon as Malice lept back into the golden mountain range, Agatha gave a wicked smile that would put a kitten on edge. "Finally," she said, " now I can actually get things done." She turned to her left, snapped her fingers, and yelled "METAL!", causing a pair of neon yellow eyes to flash open in the darkness. "How do you feel about stretching your wires for a bit? You know what to do." The eyes did a nodding motion. A blazing jet fire lit up behind and below the eyes, causing the sleek, gray-black body of this 'Metal' to become just barely visible. The figure dashed past the scientist and out the door with such speed that it was merely a blur. Agatha turned to the console and began pressing buttons. "What an opportunity you just threw away, my dear Malice....your world view, just like your world itself, is primitive and unrefined." Agatha brought up a mysterious window on the console screen. "You know what they say..." Agatha flipped a lever. "Out with the old..." A small pillar rose out of a hole on the console. On it held a small diamond-cut gem, cracked and radiating an ominous, black glow. Agatha grinned at the crystal. "...and in with the new.