Continued from previous report
Zarrin’s escape with the B1 prototype robot was reported quickly, but the warnings came too late to stop Masterspy’s cunning plan from unfolding. The dastardly villain wasted no time in putting Doctor Beaker’s latest creation to devious use.
The first target he set his greedy sights on was the high security vault deep within the Franklin Street Bank. At the touch of a few controls, Masterspy and Zarrin had the B1 robot moving through the security perimeter like an electronic marionette on an invisible string of impulses. The robot foiled the guards attempts to impede its process with volleys of stun gas from the projector vent in its mouth grille.
Next, the vault door itself crumbled before the ferocious high powered laser cutter built into the B1’s right arm. With a smirk of wicked satisfaction, Masterspy drew a heavy finger across the control circuit and watched in glee as the B1 hoisted the huge panel out of the centre of the door and hurled it aside as if it was made of cardboard.
Back at police headquarters, the mood was tense. The chief of police was appealing for calm, but in the privacy of his office, he admitted to the Supercar team that he wasn’t sure how the mechanical menace could be stopped.
Mike Mercury suggested an attempt to disable the B1 with a long range explosive projectile of some sort, but Doctor Beaker soon dismissed the idea, noting that the B1’s tough construction would enable it to survive such an assault with ease.
Professor Popkiss suggested an alternative approach, one that targeted the robot’s control system and not the mechanical creation itself. It seemed like the plan with the most chance of success, so taking their leave of the police chief, Mike and the others raced to Supercar to put their plan into operation.
The first phase of their scheme was simple, they needed to find B1 and the villains controlling it. Supercar cruised around the skies above the city, listening to the police waveband for clues. It wasn’t long before there was an alarm call from a jewelers located a few blocks away.
Pointing Supercar in that direction, Mike flew the craft swiftly around a skyscraper and set it into a hover position across the street from the target building. Turning on the Clear View, the dazzling sunlight reflecting off the windows of the store was reduced to barely a glint and the heroic trio could clearly see Masterspy and Zarrin standing inside while the B1 rummaged through cases for the valuable items inside. A pair of frightened-looking clerks stood nervously to one side, evidently unwilling to risk a wrong move.
Masterspy and Zarrin clearly saw their ill-gotten servant as all the defence they needed and considered themselves immune from outside interference, why else would they risk such a robbery in broad daylight? They made ready to leave, not troubling to open the door, but simply having the B1 smash through it.
At that moment, the Supercar Team made their move. Swooping out of the sky, straight towards the criminals below, the craft was barely 10 yards away when it released a high-pitched signal from its transmitter antenna. Mike pulled the craft up quickly and made ready to make a second pass if required, but it looked as though one run had done the trick.
Masterspy was staring in disbelief as B1 lumbered towards him, arms flailing. He shook the control box violently, trying to get a response from the circuits inside, but they were beyond repair. Professor Popkiss had operated a high frequency burst that overloaded the internal mechanism of the control unit and it was now quite useless.
Masterspy turned to Zarrin, intent on blaming him for this failure, but B1 collided with him, knocking the huge man out cold with a blow from its mechanical arm. The Supercar team quickly rounded the two men up and with a little help from Popkiss and Beaker, they were able to bring B1 under control.
Doctor Beaker has confirmed that although this incident may have cast doubt on the B1’s effectiveness, he remains hopeful that a second version may prove more successful.
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