A small congregation of various reporters and scientists stood in a warehouse in North California. As they crowded about a large object on a stage, covered by a tarp, murmurs of confusion were heard among them. They had been invited to partake in the reveal of the great Doctor Victor Varron’s latest creation. Not much information had been given about the invention, other than that it would apparently “Change the way that we thought of transportation.” 

After about 20 minutes of standing about and being told by the doctors assistants that it would only be a few more minutes, Doctor Varron finally arrived. A stocky, older man, he had the look of someone who had once been quite physically imposing, but as the years caught up on him, made him lose his touch. He stood up on the stage and grabbed the microphone, observing the audience.

“I would like to thank you all for coming to this demonstration.” Doctor Varron said. “I’m sure you are all very curious as to what you came here to see exactly is, so I won’t waste any more time.” Varron quickly walked over to the tarp covered object and slowly pulled the cover off. As he had desired, the audience were certainly surprised at what they saw.

A large, 10-foot tall suit stood there, black and metallic. It resembled a large gorilla like mech, with a hatch in the top for entering. It had short, bended legs with clawed, metal feet, made to easily attach to rough surfaces. It’s waist was a large ring of metal connecting the legs to the torso. Its stomach held the majority of the the suits machinery, and was shielded the most.

The chest had been painted black, with the large insignia of Varron Corp, a black hexagon with 6 angled triangles in the center. representing the six branches of the company. Its arms were high on its sides, long metal appendages that went down to its knees. Its padded hands had magnets embedded into its palms to attach to surfaces. Its neck was curved up to a ridge, where a large hatch was, big enough a grown man to fit in.

The suit overall had an ape-like resemblance, with the long arms, short legs, and stocky torso. It was designed to be as sturdy and yet agile as possible, and was made by the best scientists Varron Corp. had. The investors had spent of lot of money, and were eager to see the results.

Varron observed the room. They seemed generally unsure about the product, but he was sure he could change their minds. He strode to the mic and and, looking at the audience, spoke. “I see you are all quick to hesitation.” he addressed. “That is, of course, to be expected. I doubt any of you’ve ever seen anything like this.” “This suit is designed to be stronger, tougher, and more agile than any man.”

The crowd nodded in acknowledgement as he continued. “Now I know that there are currently several different projects surrounding the idea of mech suits, but this model has a little extra something that makes it special.” he said, visibly proud. He motioned towards the side of the stage, where three men stood. One of these men was Leo Bullard, a British tank operator requested to assist in the suits reveal.

As Leo strode over to Dr. Varron, the other two men watched. They were Marcus and Kastor, Victor’s sons. They had been told to stand to the side as Leo and their father were making their presentation. The brothers had two very different looks too them. The older, Kastor, seemed quite happy at the prospect of his fathers creation to be a success with the public, and was slightly smiling as he observed his father reveal his latest invention. 

Kastor was a tall man, with a lean but strong build. He was obviously an active man, to a reasonable amount. Short, light blonde hair, pointed forward topped his angled head. With a somewhat handsome face, he wouldn’t look out of place on the cover of a checkout line magazine advertising hair products. Ironically, he hated that sort of magazine, and anyone to do with them.

The younger man, Marcus, was the complete opposite of Kastor, at least above the neck. He had longer, shoulder-length dark blonde hair that he smoothed back to point down. He was around the same build as Kastor, if a bit shorter. At 24, he was 4 years younger than Kastor. He obviously took care of himself, at least more than his brother. He had a large scar on his bottom lip to his lower jaw from an unfortunate accident involving one of Kastors motorcycles a few years ago. Unlike his brother, Marcus seemed more irritated at the presentation than pleased.

“And here we are again.” huffed Marcus. He had been in this situation a few too many times. Kastor looked over at him in mock surprise. “What? My baby brother isn’t absolutely thrilled at the chance to stun an audience? What a surprise.” Kastor smiled as his brother glared at him. “I don’t know about you, but I’m quite excited.” Marcus sighed and returned his gaze back to the stage. He caught his father's eye as Leo was talking. Victor gave a proud smile to his son, who nodded in response.

Leo and Victor had finished speaking to the crowd, and were ready to begin. Leo walked over to the suit and climbed onto its back. Opening the top hatch with a clunk, he gently lowered himself inside. Inside, he flipped several switches and buttons, while Varron turned to the crowd. “As I mentioned earlier, this prototype is designed with a special ability, never before seen in the field of robotics.”

Leo gave the confirmation as Victor stood off to the far left of the suit. Leo did a final systems check as Victor made one final address. “Now, all please observe the Environmental Assessment Relocation and Terraformation Hull,” aka the E.A.R.T.H.!

At first nothing happened. The crowd looked confused, as a couple skeptics scoffed in the far back. Then, slowly, the noise of grinding gears and circuitry filled the warehouse. The suit started to fidget violently, and the audience quickly backed away from the stage. The suit continued this for a moment, and, just as the noise was reaching its peak,  a large puff of steam arose from the stage, blocking their vision. As Marcus and Kastor covered their faces from the eruption, they realised the noise had died. As they lowered their hands, they saw that the suit had disappeared.

           Anxious murmurs spread around the crowd as the Doctor walked over to the mic on stage. “Now I’m certain you’re all wondering where it went. Well, let me tell you.” Marcus wondered what the hell his father was doing. Kastor had a curious smile on his lips, pondering what their dad had planned.

Victor proceeded to turn on a large screen on the stage, which then connected to a distant feed. The call loaded for a moment, until the face of a smiling Leo showed up. “Hello?” asked Varron. “Hey, Doctor. I’m currently in New York City. Lovely weather.” The screen turned to show a view of The Empire State Building. The E.A.R.T.H. could be seen in the foreground, as well as several technicians.

The crowd erupted into a surge of noise as reporters and scientists alike rushed forwards to the stage. The brothers stood stupefied as Victor, with a proud smile, strode to the mic at the center of the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, you have all just witnessed the incredible power of the world’s newest technological marvel, the E.A.R.T.H!”