My round 1 entry: MythPunk. Pics used 3,5, 6, and 8. quotes used 1, 2, and 4 Word count: 2178

"And you being a tall, good-looking white man with a shitload of swagger, that has nothing to do with it? You get away with just about anything," the drunk man at the bar slurred as he knocked his beer bottle over.

"Easy, Steve, he's one of them," his friend spoke up from beside him, nodding his head in Robert's direction. "You know, one of the ones that comes from the Big House."

Robert tried not to laugh at the way the man said Big House which was also referred to as the nut house, the looney bin, or the place of freaks. He had heard it all over the years, and never denied it once. The place was a nut house- government funded and genetic engineering. It was the place where the 'freaks' were made. Though now he guessed he was one himself, after volunteering. If he had known what it would have cost him maybe, just maybe, he might have reconsidered.

"I don't care, he's got no right coming in here, acting like he owns the place," the man, Steve, continued on, making a fool out of himself.

"By the power of Grayskull..." his friend mumbled in disbelief. " Hold your tongue, man! He's got a sword."

Robert smirked, "Know what? I think I changed my mind." He looked over to the bartender. " I won't be needing that drink after all." And when everyone had gone back to their business, he pick-pocketed Steve's wallet before leaving the bar, grumbling, "Assholes," as he walked out the door.

Making his way down the city streets lined with parked cars and people ambling about as they carried on with their lives, he noticed a homeless man in old rags up against some random building, and he casually let the wallet drop from his hand, letting fall into the lap of the beggar.

The unfortunate looked up, startled. Seeing the wallet in his lap, he glanced around, spying a man with a cloak that seemed to tango with the wind. "Bless you, sir," he croaked out, his voice hoarse from hard times living on the streets, as the figure disappeared from his sight.

It took a while, but eventually Robert made it home.

"You're late," the guard at the gate said as Robert entered. He hadn't even seen him in the yard or heard him approach. He was getting good, Robert would give him that.

"Sorry, chief, I got held up," Robert spoke cockily, taking in the guard. He remembered when Henry used to be a scrawny little geek. But after several testing and enhancing he had turned into the giant before him. If his size wasn't enough to deter any would be criminals, his long sword or half mechanic face would. Though the skirt on the other hand...

"Letting your girly side out today, Henry?"

"Watch it, Robert," Henry warned. "You might have been one of the ones running the operations, but now you're just one of us."

"Whatever you say, guard dog." He looked at the mansion. The place appeared dark, empty, and rundown. However, appearances can be deceiving. "How's Marian?" Robert asked as he tilted his head to the side, glancing sideways at him.

"Still out of your league," Henry said flatly.

"Now, Henry, that's no way to be. I know you fancy her, too."

"It doesn't matter. She's the Boss's favorite."

Robert didn't say anything else- there was no need to. Marian may be the boss's favorite; they all heard the stories about how he had saved her off of the streets, but that hadn't stopped Henry from kissing ass whenever possible.

He strode rest of the way up the gravel driveway, kicking rocks as he went. He would have thought with the type of power and money his boss had, he would have put in a new driveway by now. Then again, his boss would not have been caught wasting money on something so mundane- it would mean less money for him.

Finding the hidden keypad in the bricks by instinct, he scanned his index finger. The door unlocked when it recognized his print. His dress shoes squeaked on the marble floor as he went inside. Everything was neat, clean, and tidy; sterilized. Fluorescent lighting filled the ceiling, row upon row, leaving no room for shadows. His boss was a bit paranoid; he didn't want to take a chance of anyone hiding in the dark cloves, waiting to steal his ideas.

There was only one person he wanted to speak to, that being his boss. Robert knew exactly where to find him, too. The same place he could always be found; up in his labs. Walking up the stairs to the top floor, he ignored those who were walking about. Some were freaks like him, others were scientists. They wanted to get a word in with him like they always did, hoping he could carry their gratitude or concerns up to the boss. Their boss wasn't the sort to take time to talk to them, to see how they were doing. He was always reading the reports and coming up with new experiments.

"Robert," his boss spoke as he glanced over the rims of his glasses. "Had a good time gallivanting about?"

"You know we could do a lot of good with all the advancements we had made," Robert spoke, getting straight to the point and ignoring the jibe.

"Dammit, not this again," he said annoyed and angry. "How many times are we going to go over this?"

"Richard, you know those people downstairs look up to you. They always have and always will." He made his way around the computers and lab tables, staring down at him. "They are grateful for all that you have given them. But come on, what about the rest of the world? Don't they all deserve a fighting chance? Those fighting against cancer or other diseases!"

"The government funded my research and experiments. It does not fund the expenses it would cost to help all those in need."

"You have money. You could do it yourself," Robert stated, anger and hope mixed in his expression. "Hell, I would give you all the money I have, if you were to do it."

"Robert," Richard sighed. "It's just not going to happen."

"Fuck!" Robert slammed his hands down on the table. "If you would ever just go out there, walk those damn fucking streets, you'd see what I'm talking about. It's not fucking right!"

"This conversation is over." Richard stood up to be face-to-face with him. "I think you should go."

"Far from it," Robert mumbled as he started to leave.

"Oh, and Robert?" Richard said as he sat back down. "Stay away from Marian. I don't need you filling her head up with these ideas of yours."

"Whatever the fuck you say, Boss," he muttered as he paused at another desk in the room. On it lay new data sheets- cloning research on heart regeneration. He glanced at Richard to see if he was looking. Satisfied that he was back into his studies, he snatched up the reports and left.

He made it down the stairs and halfway to the door when he heard a voice.

"Robert!"

He would recognize that voice from anywhere. Robert turned around with a grin. "Marian! How's my favorite girl?"

"Oh come on, Robert. You know that flattery will get you nowhere with me," Marian teased with a smile. "Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to go out for a little bit."

"But you just got in! You're going to leave me so soon? You sure do know a way to a girl's heart," she mocked before getting serious. "You know he won't like that. We aren't allowed to go out after midnight."

"I know." He stared into her dark eyes, regretting the fact he would probably never see her again, not with what he was going to do. "Hey, Marian, look after yourself."

"You too, Robert."

Robert ignored the sadness in her eyes. He knew what he was doing was right, giving the information to others who could use it to make a difference. Walking out the front doors for what he knew to be the last time, he gave a sigh of relief. He was finally doing it, finally going to make a difference. He was at the gate when Henry spoke from behind him.

"I can't let you leave with those papers, Robert."

"Richard knows?" Robert stated more than asked.

"He knows... He'd been waiting for a reason to throw you out for a long time."

"I'm not leaving without them," he said as he reached for his short sword at his waist.

"Then we're going to have to fight."

Henry drew his long blade down on Robert, who had just in time turned around, moving out of it's reach as it came crashing down on the ground.

"Come on, Henry, you can do better than that!" Robert taunted, keeping an eye out for his next move.

"You were always a cocky son of a gun." He raised his sword again for another attack. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Robert sidestep to the left, to avoid the sword, and was coming at him for an undercut with his sword when loose gravel caused him to lose his balance. As he was falling, Henry got on him within seconds, pinning him to the ground.

"Leave the papers and you're free to go so long as you don't come back."

~

Robert sat upon a pole above the paved roads, watching people scramble to and from place to place. As it was a big city, there was always someone about- either working for money or spending money. Some of his crows were perched beside him. With a whistle a few of them flew off, snatching wallets out of men's back pockets.

He jumped down the length of a four-story high building, landing perfectly on his feet after the crowd below had dispersed. That was just one of the many things he guessed he should thank Richard for. It had been several years since he had been kicked out of the house, and in that time he had managed to steal a file or two, giving it to labs at universities and other companies. For a while, he was making a difference; life as a whole was improving for humanity. But there was a catch- that old saying of too much of a good thing. People started evolving, becoming freaks like the ones at the Big House.

One of the crows dropped a wallet in his hand and he took it, heading towards the closest bar.

"A bottle of whiskey," Robert ordered once he had made it to the bar. The place was a mess, as were most places now. Those who have so far received the new treatments thought themselves gods, picking fights and destroying whatever they felt like. They took whatever they wanted, thinking they're near invincible now so no one could stop them.

The bartender was hesitant at first, but after seeing the wad of cash, he handed the whiskey over with an empty cup. Robert took the bottle, ignoring the cup, and took a swig. The burn felt good as it warmed him from the cold of the city streets.

"That's my bottle. I'm not going to let you drink it all just because your daddy didn't hug you much when you were little."

Robert paused with the bottle half raised for another drink. "Marian?" He turned around to face her. Fuck, she had changed. She stood there holding a shotgun like it was the most natural thing for her. And her blond hair that she had always kept short and clipped up was now long, flowing freely over her back. Not to mention her outfit, it was enough to leave any man bulging in his pants. Leather pants that looked like second skin hugged low on her hips with a handgun tucked in. She also sported a leather brazier to match. "New look?"

"A new me," Marian said with a wink. "Do you like?"

"Yeah, I do," he smirked.

"Now if you're done throwing a pity party, why don't we go fix this mess you and Richard started?" She handed him the pistol, keeping the shotgun for herself. "Ready, big boy?"

"Never been readier."

~

"Shit! When did you get to be so reckless?" Robert asked after the explosion. She had cut it close, though he had to admit, she looked sexy as hell with the fire burning behind her. They had just taken out a group of thugs who were out of control, terrorizing the homeless and stealing drugs from the labs.

"When did you get to be such a baby?" Marian replied as a way of an answer.

"But the cars! We could have used them."

"We can get new cars," she muttered. "Don't ya know? People are calling you Robin Hood. I'm sure someone would be willing to give you their car for the greater good."