In Shining Armor

"Alright, Otto, what do you have for us today?" Nova asked as she walked in.

"And make it quick! We gotta get back out in that war as soon as possible! Shuggazoom isn't going to protect itself from that bag of bones." Sprx added.

"I get it!" Otto chuckled. "Well, I was thinking about how dangerous it is to be fighting out there, and also the fact that we almost never keep our torsos protected. So I built…" Otto paused. Then he went to the side and pulled out a rack with 7 things hanging off of it. "TA DA! My new powerful and durable hyper armor! Made to last long and to keep your body safe from almost any attack! I designed them to fit the wearer! See? They're color coded and everything!"

All of the hyper force members looked the armor up and down. Chiro's armor was orange and protected his full body. Jinmay's armor was lightweight, since she was a robot and couldn't get badly injured, just broken. It was pink and covered her arms and legs well. Nova had thick yellow armor that was good for attacking up close, and it was padded so she would be comfortable wearing it while moving around. Sprx's red armor was lightweight because he was usually flying. Antauri's armor was black and gold and kept his arms loose so he could use the power primate. Gibson's dark blue armor was thick and covered his back, which was able to keep him from being injured by any sneak attacks while he was aiming a far off shot with his drills. Otto's armor was thick and a bit heavy, but he was tough enough to wear it.

"Thanks Otto!" Nova put hers on right away.

"Man, you've really outdone yourself this time, Otto." Sprx placed his armor on and grinned, flexing and striking poses.

"This will be very useful in the fight." Antauri nodded and put on his own armor. "Thank you."

Jinmay twirled, really liking her armor's look and color. "This is great! Thanks so much!"

"Aw shucks." Otto blushed.

"Well now that we're done here, let's get ready for the fight." Chiro said. "We're heading out in 10 minutes."

"Alright Chiro!" Everyone said before turning and going to their stations. The teen smiled and turned to the hall so he could get ready.

Everything seemed to be in place. He had one of Otto's anti-formless weapons hooked to a belt on his new orange armor. He was in hyper mode. His communicator was in fit condition. Chiro checked the clock. He was a few minutes early which was good. So he decided to go and wait for the others in the main room. But while he walked through the hall he noticed something. The door to Gibson's room was slightly cracked. The automatic door was probably malfunctioning because of the little damage that the super robot had taken during their battles in the war. Chiro walked over to close it but he heard something. It sounded like heavy breathing.

Before touching the switch to close the door, he peeked inside to see what was going on. Yes, it was wrong to spy. He already knew the consequences from Sprx peeping on Nova once in a while. But maybe Chiro would be lucky and not get caught…or at least not see someone who planned on smacking him upside the head. And besides, heavy breathing wasn't a good sign. What if someone was sick or injured?

Gibson was staring in a mirror on the wall. He took the armor and put it on. It made a little click as it locked in place. He put his hands on his chest, his metal fingers touching the smooth metal surface of the cover Otto built for him. Then he looked in the mirror and frowned. His eyes narrowed as he looked his body up and down. Was something wrong? He seemed angry. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he looked back in the mirror again. He started to shake his head.

"No…no no no… it's not…it's just…" He mumbled to himself and screwed his eyes shut. Then he opened one eye and examined his reflection again. And then he opened the other. His face went from slight anger to fear. He took a step back and tried to rip the armor off. But it was locked on. That was the way the design was. Finally the blue simian remembered it opened with a button on the side. He felt around for it on the left. Then he switched to the right and began to panic. After finding the button by looking down he pressed it. The armor made a beep and a little hissing noise as it opened. He tore it off his body and threw it across the room with a slight grunt. He stood for a moment, staring at the accessory he just slammed against the wall…and then he got down on his knees, panting and gasping for breath.

"Gibson, are you okay?"

The monkey jumped; a bit startled that Chiro had been watching him. He seemed shaky. Then he got up and went over to where the armor was and picked it up.

"Well of course Chiro. Why wouldn't I be?" He faked a smile, which was really obvious. The teen crossed his arms.

"What's wrong?"

"Well nothing's wrong Chiro! I mean, we're just getting ready for war and I was just…testing out the armor…to see if it was really…as strong as Otto…had said…" He stopped his false grin and his face made a cold stare at the armor in his hands. Chiro went over and kneeled next to Gibson.

"Look…if there's really any problem, you can tell me." Chiro said. "We're friends, right?"

"Yes, but really Chiro, there isn't a problem."

"Then why didn't you believe Otto?"

"Huh?! Well of course I believe him! He's the best mechanic on Shuggazoom! Maybe even in the universe!"

"Okay…then tell me why you had to test his armor out…"

"I had to…see it for myself." Gibson polished the armor and made a fake smile again. "See? Not a single scratch!"

Chiro gave a look to Gibson. It said you REALLY think I'm buying this? Gibson frowned again and sighed, looking back at the armor.

"If you don't want it, you don't have to wear it. Otto put a lot of work into it, but I don't think he'll…"

"No! It's not the fact that I don't want to wear the armor…" The blue simian looked back in the mirror. "I-It just…it reminds me too much of…"

"Of what?"

"…of the armor Mandarin used to wear…"

Chiro went wide eyed for a second, and then he turned to a look of concern. After thinking about it for a moment, Gibson's armor looked a lot like the armor their old leader wore. Chiro remembered when Antauri showed the visions of the sixth monkey, and how he changed from a hero to a villain.

Come to think of it, Gibson never talked a lot about Mandarin. Otto mentioned it a lot because they were best friends, Sprx and Nova always thought about the snowbound incident, and Antauri was the second in command. He would once in a while mention how Chiro turned out to be an excellent leader, where Mandarin was flawed, Chiro began to prevail.

Gibson on the other hand hardly ever talked about it.

"Do you miss him?"

"No! Of course not!" Gibson hugged the armor, then paused for a moment and threw it to the side. "I don't want to end up like him…he was cold and cruel…strict…and powerful…and he turned on us. I looked in the face of evil before…I don't want to do it again."

"It's just armor…it won't make you evil…"

"I know…but…" Gibson looked at the garment and then back at Chiro with sad eyes. "…it just looks so familiar…when he was on the team, at first he was rather welcoming…a great warrior and an even better fighter…but after time he wanted to become stronger. He would want to train all the time. When the simulators from the robot weren't enough, he turned to sparring with us. And sometimes things would get out of hand. I'm surprised I don't have any scars from it."

The boy opened his mouth to speak and then stopped.

"It was like being a living punching bag, and each time I would fall down he would push me into the floor…not physically but…he would just scold me and tell me what my flaws were. I would try to improve, only to get knocked down again."

"Gibson…"

"It just feels like…it's part of him…the armor is such a dark color…it's the same shape…and it's so heavy…I felt like he was trying to pull me down with him…" The simian put his hands on his head. "I-It's just stupid of me. It only looks like his armor…I shouldn't be bothering with this…this…"

Chiro grabbed Gibson and pulled him into a hug. The monkey was startled for a second but didn't say anything because of the surprise embrace. Then Chiro let go after a few seconds and grabbed the armor. He put it back onto his friend and then grabbed the communicator off of his white shirt. He put it on the armor's center and smiled.

"What do you think?" The teen asked.

Gibson turned and looked at the mirror. His eyes went to Chiro's communicator, stuck in the middle of the armor and proudly showing the Hyper Force emblem.

"Well it…" Gibson had a small smile.

"You see…under that ugly orange fur ball's armor…"

Gibson chuckled at that.

"…was nothing but evil. From the stories you guys have told me, he was a real jerk. But under your armor, you're a hero. And that communicator should remind you that you'll always be a part of us."

The blue simian grinned and threw his arms around Chiro. Then he drew back quickly and regained his composure.

"U-Um…thanks." Gibson replied softly.

"No problem." Chiro smiled.

There was a little ring over the super robot's speakers.

'Everyone report to the command center! Prepare for battle immediately!'

"I guess we better get going." Chiro got up. "Let's go! I have to get one of the spare communicators!"

Gibson stood up as well and went to follow, but before going back out the door he looked back at the mirror and into his reflection.

He didn't see Mandarin or an evil doer or a traitor.

He saw himself.

A member of the hyper force.

And a hero in shining armor.

Just a Chiro and Gibson centric oneshot. Review please! And thank you for reading! ^^ No, I will not be continuing this.