“Now, you can have anything,” Robin said as the homeless men and women laughed and cheered. The homeless man that had yelled at him earlier approached him, tears in his eyes.
“Who are you?” The man asked, fighting back tears of joy. Robin removed a grapple gun from his belt and fired at the under carriage of his car, a hook at the end of a rope launching out and attaching to a rail underneath the car. Robin tested the rope to ensure it would hold his weight.
“I’m Robin Hood, and this city belongs to you now," he said, allowing the grapple gun to lift him off the ground and up to his car. Robin climbed around and jumped into the driver side of the car, flying away from the barrens as the once homeless cheered and showered themselves in the money he had provided.
Robin guided the jet car towards the forest that surrounded the city. He let out a sigh as he flew over skyscrapers and holographic neon advertisements. There was so much more to do, but he was making a difference. He could feel it.
Chapter seven: Bearer of bad news
When Robin returned to what had become a village in the trees of Sherwood Forest, his men had gathered in a ring. Robin exited the car which hovered just above the ground and strode over to the circle of men that were gathered around Will Scarlet. Will looked at Robin, seeming quite dishevelled as Robin threw back his hood and peeled off his ski mask.
“It’s far worse than we thought, Loxley! The sheriff has built a mechanical army! There are thousands of mechanical soldiers lying in wait beneath the castle of Nottingham. The sheriff has subjected himself to a body-altering experiment! I don’t know why but he’s turning himself into some kind of monster, part man... part machine. We are hilariously outnumbered! This plan of yours is going to get us all killed! We can not fight an army that size, we are but a hundred men! This is folly,” Will said, wiping sweat from his brow.
Robin nodded, remaining calm. He looked around at his men and smiled.
“You say we are but a hundred men like you have already given up, Will Scarlet. In truth, we are a hundred men! Not a hundred cowards. You say we are outnumbered, I call bullshit. I fought machines in the crusades. Machines that had no emotions, no families... no feelings of any kind. They think only because they are programmed to. They are nought but metal shells with wires and circuitry for brains. They know nothing that we do not know ourselves. We can be faster. We can outsmart them, and by God we will. We have patience. We can hide in plain sight, blend in and disappear. When they come for us, we will be ready. We have weapons... arrows that can explode, arrows that can blind their sensors and disable their circuits. The sheriff will send his armies of metal and we will defeat them with our wit and cunning. Do not spread fear through my men. Do not take away their hope. Hopelessness makes men weak. I need soldiers, not scarecrows” Robin said turning his back on Will, who went to strike Robin while his back was turned.
In a move so fast no one could see it coming, Robin had spun around, drawing his bow loaded with an electrified arrow He’d pulled from his quiver and it was aimed at Will's heart. Will froze, stunned as he stared down at the arrow tip which glowed with electrical energy.
“You’re fast, Loxley! I’ve never seen a man move so fast. But you talk of fighting a war, and that is more than any of us signed up for!” Will exclaimed and Robin’s serious expression remained calm.
“War comes without warning whenever a man rises against the system. The system has crumbled, Will. Homeless people are having their lives stripped from them piece by piece while men like the sheriff get fat from the taxes he raises with no warning! My city is dying because the rich want to be powerful, while the poor suffer and die on the streets. I saw a starving child beg for food today, Will. Beg! Not in my city! Not on my watch! If my actions lead to war, then it’s a war worth fighting. You don’t like the stakes? Cash in your chips now!” Robin said, lowering his bow.
“We will die if we stand against the army of Nottingham, Loxley! I promise you, we will die," Will insisted.
“Then we die for freedom. My conscience is clear. How is yours?” Robin replied and Will shook his head.
“You never said anything about war, Loxley. I won’t die for this," Will said, turning to walk away. Robin placed a hand on his shoulder, turning Will back to face him.
“If Nottingham continues down this path, these people are all dead. People like you, Will. Like John and Tuck. Do they deserve to die because a cowardly king deems them not rich enough to live?” Robin asked.
Will looked at John, who was clearly standing with Robin on this. He let out a sigh.
“How? How can we defeat them?” Will asked and Robin let out a brief sigh, slapping Will on the back.
“With courage, Will Scarlet. Something no machine will ever have," Robin said, stepping out of the circle and walking towards the ladder that would take him up into the houses in the tall trees of the forest.
John
