in the Read-Only Room

[a1enzo]

The Read-Only Room's main window is littered with packets of microchips: empty, full, and spilled across its surface. Several cups are similarly disposed, except (fortunately) for the spillage. On another window - this one vertically oriented - is playing a more-or-less accurate but otherwise flat-out embarrassing reenactment of the adventures of

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[command_dot_com]

And right behind him, Hack starts bawling like a beta-version sprite into a hanky. Slash is quiet and just has this 'i'm not crying. yet.' look on his dome.

[a1enzo]

Enzo and Frisket glance back at them with similar expressions of disdain. If Enzo, as the film's subject, can take it in stride, these two have no excuse.

It occurs to Enzo, not for the first time, that when Bob beat Clash and the original bot fell apart, Scuzzy got the brain.

[command_dot_com]

"Aw now you got me goin'!" The blue bot pulled out a hankie from User knows where and started wiping at his eyes, only to have it snatched away as Hack blew his... nose? into noisily.

"That little fellow is stuck in the game! Oh, the humanity!" He made a grab to take back his hankie, which has a suspicious amount of lace on it. "Gimme back my hankie!"

"I fell sorry for d-d-d-Dooot." He covered his face again and started crying anew.

[a1enzo]

"Yeah. But everything turned out okay. I turned into Matrix, remember?" This, Enzo considers, would seem to be the key point that everyone keeps missing.

[command_dot_com]

"Hey!" Hack blinked surprised.

"Hey." Less surprised, more sotto.

"That is right!" Hack nodded. Lookit the bobbly head!

"Yeah. And he saved Mainframe and got rid of Megaby--"

Hack was on Slash in a pico, holding one hand over the other's voicelight. "Shhh! Don't mention that name!"

"Who, Megaby--" His voice got muffled again by Hack's hand.

"Huh - huh - wh - what'd I - wh - what'd I say?"

"You deh doh mehmeh Mebabeh." Slash really wasn't getting this.

"That's right." He shoved Slash away. "So don't!"

"Your hand smells." The other bot muttered in de sotto.

[nofileext]

Phong rolls in, intending to keep an eye on the little sprite as instructed.

"Ah, young Enzo. Hard at work, I see." Heh, heh. Library humour.

[a1enzo]

... Something in Enzo reaches the breaking point. Part of it's the emphasis on 'young' - again, they always feel the need to add that now, this Enzo's just a little kid, thanks for rubbing it in, everyone - but part of it's Phong's little joke. Work? What work? THEY WON'T LET HIM DO ANYTHING!

He kicks the table-window away angrily and stands. "Young Enzo, young Enzo! Everybody says 'young Enzo' this or 'little Enzo' that! Well, it's gonna stop."

[nofileext]

"My child, what is the matter?" asks Phong in astonishment.

[a1enzo]

All the simmering frustration and jealousy - jealous of himself, and how random is that? - is finally boiling over.

"I've just watched all the things I've done." All the things Matrix has done. People respect Matrix. Matrix helps people. "I'm a Guardian now," a renegade, no one stops a renegade from helping, a renegade doesn't have to listen to anyone, even other Guardians, "and I'm big, with a cool gun and a babe for a girlfriend! No one's gonna call me 'little Enzo' ever again!"

He snatches his icon off his cap and smacks it onto his left shoulder, then clicks it hard enough to give himself a bruise but he doesn't care, if they won't let little Enzo help then he just won't be little Enzo and thanks, Bar, your cute little joke is back and it's just gotten a bit more serious.

[nofileext]

"Oh dear."

[a1enzo]

"No," he declares, standing proudly in Bar's Mardi Gras gift. "From now on, you can call me 'little Matrix'!"