The Congress Avenue Bridge collapsed as a gleaming titan of metal and wiring walked straight through it, unfazed by the chaos and carnage around it. A massive horde of bats rose up from the remains of their roost, all screeching in panic. The man-made beast that had crushed their home lashed out, dual beams of concentrated light whipping out from its arms. The twin lasers slashed through the colony of terrified bats, killing a huge number of the charming creatures. Electronic eyes swimming with a distinctively animalistic bloodlust, the mechanical juggernaut let a scratchy, recorded roar escape its silver jaws.

This murderous march began almost a day ago in Houston, where something huge emerged from the city's bay. It was Godzilla, King of the Monster. But before the atomic menace could wreak too much destruction, Japan's Anti-Megalosaurus Force swiftly launched their greatest weapon: Kiryu. The mechanical giant, built around the recovered skeleton of the original Godzilla, was airlifted to the aid of the hapless city, its pilot’s intent not only on defending innocent lives, but ending Godzilla's ever-present threat once and for all. The silver dragon never got the chance. Immediately upon arrival, Godzilla's unearthly shriek awakened the savage consciousness of his predecessor in Kiryu's biologic computer, the robot's glowing eyes taking on a crimson hue. Going berserk, the machine of peace transformed into a harvester of death, turning on and destroying the White Herons- the aircraft that were used to control the “Mechagodzilla”- and assaulting the city it came to defend with its formidable arsenal. The countless prayers that had only just been wiling Kiryu to finally slay Godzilla now begged the Monsters King to destroy the multi-million-dollar weapon. But as if mocking Mankind's attempts to repel him with a metallic mirror image of himself, Godzilla simply left, the echoes of his parting roar ringing across Huston like a death bell. Adopting his inspiration's rolling cry as its own, Kiryu began a great trek across Texas, unleashing his firepower on everything in its path. Any and all military movements to stop the rogue machine were obliterated just as soundly. The berserk mecha paid no attention to human life, trampling whole crowds and crushing countless more under rubble. The AMF tried to calm the frantic citizens of the Lone Star State by reminding them that Kiryu would lose power within two hours. They were proven wrong. Instead of letting itself power down, the robotic dragon forcefully drained electricity wirelessly from the nearby city, gaining an almost unlimited supply of energy. With no answers or weapon mighty enough to defeat their own pride and joy, the AMF was just as helpless as the rest of the world.

Well, the world minus Goro Ibuki.

Working independently with his own time and resources, the brilliant scientist had spent most of his adult life constructing a revolutionary robot. While Kiryu was certainly an incredible achievement, Ibuki doubted it could match his own machine. His creation, which his kid brother had named Jet Jaguar, wasn't heavily armed like Kiryu. Its real strength was in its adaptability. Jet Jaguar could learn and change to better suit any situation he encountered. The rogue Kiryu was now exhibiting similar traits, which greatly intrigued Ibuki. Although his chief concern was saving lives and property, Ibuki also wanted to learn the secrets behind Kiryu's free will. As far as he knew, his robot was the only machine in existence that was purposely given personality. But it seemed Kiryu had come into possession of it on his own terms. It fascinated Ibuki. From his home-based lab, the great inventor had order Jet Jaguar to take flight and make a beeline for Kiryu. He wasn't quite sure how his man-sized creation could handle the titanic mecha, but he had full confidence in Jet Jaguar. And after many hours of travel, the sentient’s machine had finally arrived to confront its berserk brethren in Austin.

Kiryu smashed through another building, Godzilla's unmistakable roar escaping its metallic jaws. The crippled structure collapsed. Several citizens- who had been unable to evacuate in time- fled as the building crumbled, debris raining down on them. A small child tripped and was sent sprawling across the ground. The boy was suddenly engulfed by the shadow of a large piece of concrete. He shrieked in fear and covered his head in some futile idea of protecting himself, squeezing his eyes shut. But before he could be crushed, a silver blur swooped down and snatched him up. The child opened his eyes.

He was flying.

Below, the devastated landscape flew by at an incredible speed. Despite his amazement, the child realized something smooth and cool was cradling him. The boy peered at his rescuer, eyes still wide and fearful. It was a robot, humanoid and colorful. Its grinning face peered back, something in its deep, lens-less eyes suggesting it was more than a machine. The boy couldn't help but smile back. Setting lightly down, Jet Jaguar placed the child a few feet from his panicking mother and flashed a quick thumbs up. Taking off, he sped after Kiryu. The boy waved goodbye. Jet Jaguar spun to fly with his back facing down and waved back, a sharp cry issuing a confident promise of success. Righting himself, Jet straightened his arms in front of him and increased his velocity, determined to stop the rampaging Kiryu.

Kiryu loosed his rockets on a large mall in his path, explosions tearing the shopping complex to bit with a series of deafening booms! Circling around his head at a blinding speed, a small, gleaming shape caught his attention. The steel titan paused, taking in the new arrival with biological curiosity. The tiny object landed before him, stretching its arms out in a gesture that obviously meant 'stop'. Kiryu tensed up, an electronic growl rising in its throat. The object moved its arms in a new pattern, motioning for Kiryu to retreat. The glow of Kiryu's red eyes intensified. Screeching, the former tool of Man prepared to end the little annoyance with a flash of its mouth-mounted masers. But a blinding flash of light from what appeared to be the miniscule object's eyes made him pause, not out of pain, but of surprise. In that moment of hesitation, Jet Jaguar did something incredible.

He grew.

Half way across the globe, Goro Ibuki smiled broadly. His miraculous creation had managed to program itself to change size at will. Wonderful! Mass becoming many thousands of times greater with a whining buzz, Jet Jaguar increased in size to match Kiryu. The Mechagodzilla stepped back in surprise. Striking a battle pose, Jet Jaguar issued a challenge, fingers folding back in a message that could only be read one way.

Bring it!

Kiryu advanced, Godzilla's voice announcing its intentions to attack first. The great machine raised its arms and opened fire with an electronic chattering. Laser blasts cut through the air, all trained on Jet Jaguar. Jet acted swiftly, half-jumping and half-flying straight up and over the beams of light. Curling his legs to his body, the metallic warrior flipped over Kiryu's head and landed neatly on his feet. Wheeling around, Jet slammed his opened hand into the back of the Mechagodzilla’s head with a loud, vibrating clang! The powerful chop sent Kiryu reeling forward, its motion system jumbled by the blow. Regaining control, the silver dragon spun around and managed to sweep Jet Jaguar's legs out from beneath him with its long, segmented tail. Crying out, Jet fell flat on his back, cracking the street below. A scratchy roar escaping its artificial jaws, Kiryu fired its maser guns, the two jagged, yellowish beams streaking from its open maw and toward Jet Jaguar. Sensing the danger of the electromagnetic rays, Jet rolled out of their path. As the maser harmlessly dispersed across the ground, the humanoid robot jumped to his feet and charged. Kiryu tried to counter the other mecha's assault, but Jet Jaguar was too fast for the slower cyborg. Barging into the larger steel titan, Jet unleashed a barrage of chops, punches, and kicks, downing Kiryu within a few seconds. The Mechagodzilla toppled backward, screeching. But as it fell, Kiryu discharged its masers. The forceful surges of electricity hit Jet's shoulder, sending him jerking back. The sentient machine gave a small spasm, its wiring crippled. Jet's survival program quickly went to work and began repairs.

But that left him vulnerable.

Rising to its feet, Kiryu marched forward, crimson eyes promising death. A large, broad blade flashed forward from the rogue anti-kaiju mecha's arm, a dangerous twinkle bouncing off it. With a metallic roar, the gigantic fighting machine swung at Jet Jaguar. The blade hacked into Jet's chest, making a long gash in his metal plating. The recuperating robot was thrown back, sparks flying from his damaged body. Kiryu took another swipe. This time, the blade flashed to life with electricity. Alarm registered in Jet Jaguar's main computer. Full control over his limbs restored just in time, the thinking robot returned to action. Ducking under the glowing blade as it zipped overhead, Jet drove his cylindrical cranium into Kiryu, forcing the berserk machine back. Rearing back up with an almost cheerful cry, Jet lashed out, driving one of his feet into Kiryu's. The Mechagodzilla was nearly knocked over, stumbling backward, a large dent in its armor. Steadying itself, Kiryu lunged at Jet, aiming its blade for the humanoid robot's head. Jet sidestepped with a jolt of motion, snapping off the blade with a quick chop and forcing Kiryu back with another. Striding forward confidently, Jet Jaguar brought Kiryu to his knees by smashing a fist down on his shoulder. He then socked the metallic dragon across the face, the barking sound of gnashing metal rising to the heavens. Kiryu's head whipped to the side, its armor plating scratched and worn, and the machine collapsed, only catching itself with his arms. Godzilla's bellow ripped from the fallen robot's jaws. Arm swinging out to meet Jet's ankle, Kiryu fired its lasers. The arcing columns of light cleanly sliced off the sentient machine's foot.

Almost crumbling to the ground, Jet Jaguar struggled to balance himself on his stump of a foot, arms cartwheeling frantically. Oil and other fluids were leaking onto the street, making it even harder to stay standing. As Jet stumbled about, Kiryu was back on his feet and ready to destroy. The Mechagodzilla’s lasers came alive. The energy 'bullets' pierced Jet Jaguar's side, punching holes into his torso. Sparks showered down from the metal warrior as he collided with a building, crushing it under his weight and crashing to the ground. Jet knew he was in trouble. With only one foot to speak of and severe damage to his inner workings, he couldn't last much longer. He needed to find a way to end this, and soon. Suddenly, he was heaved up by Kiryu's metallic claws. The silver dragon screeched in his face and shoved him away. Jet Jaguar almost fell again, but managed to stop himself, the smooth stump of his damaged leg grinding against the cement with a horrible screech. Meanwhile, Kiryu's held his arms aloft as its chest opened up, four panels folding out from it. With a pulse of golden essence, pale blue light began gathering in the open compartment, the air around the anti-kaiju cyborg rapidly chilling. A low, ominous cry escaped the Mechagodzilla as it readied its most potent weapon-

The Absolute Zero Canon.

An orb of subzero energy soon formed, Kiryu's metal armor actually frosting over. Jet Jaguar realized he had to act soon or perish. But not now. He had to wait until the very last second, so that Kiryu couldn't stop or redirect the attack. The strain of launching such a powerful attack would give him a temporary edge over the rogue robot. The sphere of light was now huge and still growing, a cold current of air curling around Jet. With an echo of Godzilla's screech ringing out from Kiryu, the AZC system was launched. The mass of freezing energy exploded from the berserk machine's chest, rushing at Jet Jaguar. The glowing orb raced through the city, leaving a vaporous trail in its wake. Just before the bright sphere struck him, Jet Jaguar took off, leaving the ground in a split second. The -273.3-degree blast hit one of the few remaining buildings instead, instantly freezing it. Kiryu cried out in outrage, but the massive amount of energy required to operate the AZC system had taken its toll, slowing the machine. Making a large loop, Jet swooped down and grazed Kiryu as he zoomed by, knocking the cyborg off its feet. The wild robot hit the ground hard, the tremendous vibrations rendering the frozen building to a fine, icy powder. Thrashing to get back up, the Mechagodzilla fired a large volley of missiles. The war machine had been purposely avoiding using it remaining missiles, as most of them were fired during his rampage, but now wasn't the time to hold back. It was time to end this.

The missiles locked onto Jet Jaguar, swarming after him like a cloud of super-sized bees. Jet pulled several tricky aerial maneuvers, his aerodynamic shape spinning and diving and twisting through the sky. But the missiles were unaffected and continued to advance, slowly drawing closer with their continuous bellow of impending doom. Jet let out a cry of frustration, clenching a fist in a very human gesture. Angling himself down sharply, he flew low, dipping below the building. The missiles followed, one of them clipping on human structure and detonating with booming death screams. Several more exploded in response. A large fireball arose behind the synthetic warrior. Jet twisted to fly on his back, hoping that all the missiles had been destroyed in the blast. But most of the other projectiles had survived, barreling through the smoke and closing in. Flipping back to fly upright, Jet Jaguar was almost knocked out of the sky by a sudden, burning impact. Kiryu was on his feet and had fired its lasers, shredding Jet's chest cavity. The sentient robot's vision flickered, his motor control almost wrecked as he made a lopsided dive for the ground. There was no way he could keep fighting.

But he could still defeat Kiryu.

Jet Jaguar soared on a collision course with the rogue mecha, altitude decreasing. The missiles were still following him. Kiryu seemed to realize the robotic warrior's plan and let loose its masers. The javelins of electromagnetic might speared into Jet's chest, completely frying his circuits. By the laws of science and engineering, the machine should have stopped functioning right there and then. But he didn't. He flew on, hellbent on ending Kiryu. The Mechagodzilla cried out in surprise. How could the cursed thing keep going?

It was compassion.

Somewhere in his wiring and programing, Jet Jaguar had gained compassion for life. His creator, Goro Ibuki, had given him intelligence and personality, but compassion was something that was birthed independently. Jet Jaguar had gone beyond what modern science could provide him and developed a heart. He wanted to save lives. And he wasn't going to let anything stop him from doing so. Closing the distance, Jet Jaguar tackled Kiryu. The two machines- both miracles of robotics- grappled, Kiryu trying to escape Jet and Jet trying to hold Kiryu. The missiles- still locked on Jet Jaguar- approached, making weaving tails of smoke. Wrapping an arm firmly around the cybernetic dragon's neck, Jet put Kiryu in a headlock. The Mechagodzilla struggled, beating at Jet with its claws fruitlessly. One of the combat mecha's hand began to rotate, faster and faster, claws squeezing together and compacting into a drill. Kiryu plunged the drill into Jet's chest with a vengeful cry, boring into the other fighting machine's inner workings. Spark rained from the metal warrior and oil poured down his battered frame, but Jet refused to let go. Above them, the missiles closed in. Even as he was about to be destroyed, Jet noticed something with his keen gaze- the little boy he had saved earlier. The child was standing with a small group of people, watching the clash with the upmost attention. A deep-set frown was carved into the boy's face and tears ran down his cheeks as he realized his savior wasn't going to survive. It must have been a trick of the light, but it almost looked like Jet Jaguar's grin grew broader as he gave one last thumbs-up to the child, the missile roaring in to meet their mark...

Goro Ibuki flipped off the small television monitor he had been watched the duel on. A tiny, sad smile graced his face. Today, Jet Jaguar had proven himself- and his maker- to the world. But at what cost?