Fanfic / Limitless Potential

Limitless Potential is a Mega Man X fanfic written by RockmanGurlX, that acts as a retelling of the original Mega Man X, set to be the first installment in the "Variables" series.

While the story is set to closely follow the X series, it has one major change: "What If? Roll's original body was found along with X, and she was given a new one in the X era?". It also delves further into X's life between his discovery and his joining of the Maverick Hunters to face the menace of Sigma. It also includes characters from both X and Classic series, both from videogames and other materials such as manga, light novels, the Archie comics and more.

The story can be found on Archive of Our Own here and on FanFiction.Net here. A Spanish translation is also in progress on both sites.

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This fanfic contains examples of:

• Abled in the Adaptation: Zigzagged with Dr. Cain. Chapter 22 starts adapting the Day of Sigma OVA from Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X, where he was shown to be in life support. In the fic, however, it's implied he's still in good health, as he appeared in X2 and X3 later on.
• Action Survivor: Roll, despite not being designed for combat, manages to handle herself quite well in dangerous situations. Case in point, in Chapter 26 she gets caught in the middle when Boomer Kuwanger and Gravity Beetle try to kidnap Chiyo. She manages to escape them, even jumping from one train to another while still on the move and all the while keeping Chiyo unharmed until Storm Eagle appears to allow them to escape.
• Adaptational Badass: Downplayed example, but X actually has the upper hand against Vile for most of their battle at the Central Highway, by targetting his Ride Armor's joints in order to disable it gradually. He only loses because he ends up hesitating about finishing Vile off, giving him the chance to grab him in a hold.
• Adaptational Context Change: In Maverick Hunter X, the scene when X and Zero discover Sigma's betrayal, Sigma is more interested in bringing out X's potential. In the fic, however, he's instead focused on bringing back Zero to his former (Maverick) self, even giving him a We Can Rule Together offer.
• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • One of the Maverick Hunters shown in Chapter 12, Firefly, is clearly based on X2's Green Biker Dude.
  • Lifesaver, the medic of the Maverick Hunters, appears in Chapter 17. Signas also has a brief appearance in Chapter 22. Both occur way before the events of X5 (their first appearances in canon).
  • The eight Maverick bosses of X1 are given an early introduction in Chapter 22, with Spark Mandrill and Flame Mammoth even taking part in the rogue mechaniloid incident.
  • Some bosses from X2 and X3 appear in Chapter 25. Gravity Beetle is shown training with his brother Boomer Kuwanger, and later Roll meets briefly Overdrive Ostrich, Bubble Crab and Wheel Gator.
  • Chapter 42 features Alia and Gate while they're still working as part of a reploid research team (apparently under Fujiwara).
  • For a non-character example, in Chapter 50 X finds the capsule containing the Hadouken, which in the games doesn't appear until he's collected every other single power up, shortly after defeating Armored Armadillo.
• Adaptation Origin Connection: Chapter 42 reveals that Alia and Gate were involved in the creation of Boomer Kuwanger and Gravity Beetle while still working as reploid researchers.
• Adaptation Personality Change: The Thunder Slimer, unlike the games, is capable of speaking and given actual personality, displaying loyalty to those he respects. This is explained by Fujiwara deciding to give him a more advanced AI despite being a Mechaniloid.
• Adaptational Non Sapience: Downplayed with the Mole Borer in Armored Armadillo's stage. In the game it seemed to be a fully autonomous mechaniloid, capable of acting on its own. In the story, it's a vehicle that needs to be controlled by a driver.
• Adaptational Sympathy: Chill Penguin, compared to his portrayal in the games, is given a Freudian Excuse of being treated without respect by several of his fellow Maverick Hunters (like Flame Mammoth), as well as Sigma playing up on his insecurities to sway him to his side.
• Adaptational Villainy: In this story, Sigma shows some signs of resentment towards the human council, feeling that they doubt his capacities, even before his battle against Zero (and thus getting infected with the Maverick Virus), showing that he wasn't exactly completely "good" at the time.
• Adaptation Expansion:
  • The story delves a lot more into X's life since his discovery by Dr. Cain and prior to his joining of the Maverick Hunters. It also shows the creation of Sigma as the first reploid (not counting X and Roll, who are given that title retroactively), and the creation of the Maverick Hunters.
  • Chapter 13 shows the the Gamma Unit of the Maverick Hunters in the prelude to them being wiped out by Zero and the end of said confrontation.
  • Once the story reaches the timeframe of The Day of Sigma, many scenes are added or extended to show more interactions of the Maverick Hunters as they try to solve the case regarding the rogue mechaniloids, as well as some foreshadowing of the events of the game proper.
  • Chapter 30 shows how and where Vile obtains his Ride Armor before heading on the airship towards the Central Highway.
  • Chapter 33 explains why Dr. Light's capsules are found in the boss stages. They were originally found by Dr. Cain along with X, and given to Fujiwara for study, but they were never able to use them because they would only respond to X himself and nobody else. Sigma and his men kept them for themselves in the meantime, guarding them so that X won't find them and receive his upgrades.
  • A lot of Zero's activities while X is clearing the missions of the videogame's stages are shown in-between scenes.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In canon, X was not shown to have interactions with Sigma prior to joining the Maverick Hunters. In this story, they actually meet shortly after Sigma is activated, and X even downloads his combat data into Sigma so as to make him battle ready before the creation of the Maverick Hunters.
• Ambition Is Evil: Dr. Fujiwara seems to crave for recognition at all costs, this being his primary drive in helping Cain with X's tests and later the development of reploids as a whole. It gets to the point he's willing to assist Sigma in his rebellion in exchange for gaining control of Abel City.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Ai seemingly felt this way about A-1. However, during the riot in the Maverick Hunters HQ she asks Trinity to keep him safe, showing that deep down she cares for him.
• Armor-Piercing Question: In Chapter 45, Vile asks Samantha, one of the reploid workers who are being held hostage in the mines, why she and the others are so hellbent on trying to protect humans when they're more concerned about saving themselves than reploids. Samantha barely replies that she does because it's a directive, but can't go any further than that, and Vile's words clearly leave her shaken.
• Ascended Extra:
  • Dr. Cain's role in the videogames is very small (if somewhat important). This story shows him interacting more with X, sometimes acting as a Parental Substitute of sorts.
  • The Green Biker Dude, named Firefly in this story, is part of the supporting cast among the Maverick Hunters.
• Attack Its Weakpoint: X brings down the Bee Blader on the Central Highway by shooting its whirling blades, causing it to crash down on the road. Later, he starts targetting the joints in Vile's Ride Armor to incapacitate it, and almost wins if it wasn't because he hesitated to deliver the final blow, giving Vile the opening to counterattack.
• Badass Biker: Firefly, who shows up on his Ride Chaser in Chapter 12.
• Badass in Distress: X and Zero remain captive in the Missile Base from Chapter 26 to Chapter 28, until they're rescued by Firefly and A-1.
• Bait-and-Switch: In Chapter 48, when they're trying to get inside the mines to rescue the hostages, Samantha pretends she was trying to sneak Zero inside a mine cart covered with a tarp. Turns out she didn't: Zero was just waiting for the guards to get distracted and knock them out while they were checking the cart.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Dr. Fujiwara believes he's in full control of the Operation: Independence Day. Little does he know, he's only being played by Sigma, who promptly disposes of him when the time comes.
• Big Blackout: Most of Abel City's electric power is cut off after the Power Plant is taken over by Spark Mandrill.
• Big Sister Instinct: Fumiko towards her brother Kenichi, to the point she stays behind after pushing him into the shelter's entrance so the Gun Volt doesn't follow after him:
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Chapter 14 shows some scenes from the perspective of Zero, who seemingly is unable to tell the difference between right and wrong and doesn't understand why everyone is out to get him. Similarly, he apparently refuses to hurt humans as he had the chance to kill Chiyo when he broke into her house and left her alone.
• Boom, Headshot!: How Vile kills Pierrot in Chapter 12. Technically also applies when X blasts a Mechaniloid's brain in self-defense when Fujiwara is testing his combat capacities.
• Bridal Carry: Twice in Chapter 31. Firefly carries an injured Ai as he walks down the stairs towards the shelter, while X does so to Chiyo after saving her from falling from the Central Highway into the sea.
• Broad Strokes: The story takes events and characters from several sources aside from the games, including the mangas and the Irregulars Report novelization.
• Call a Human a "Meatbag": Or a flesh bag, in Flame Mammoth's case, as he uses it to refer to Chiyo during the riot in the Maverick Hunter HQ.
• Call-Forward: Zero briefly uses a Laser Blade he takes from a member of the Skull Quartet during their scuffle, and later tests another on Fujiwara's orders for a training simulation.
• Close-Call Haircut: Samantha, the reploid mine worker, suffers one when some Dig Labors throw pickaxes at her and Zero, who pulls her into a corner to get her to safety.
• Cool Big Sis: Roll clearly wants to be this to X, while the latter has none of it because he considers himself the "older". To an extent she fills this role for Chiyo.
• Damsel in Distress:
  • Roll in Chapter 14 is taken away by Zero when he raids the camp site of Cain's digging crew.
  • Chiyo in Chapter 31 has to be rescued by X from a Bee Blader when she falls behind during her escape through the Central Highway.
• Deadly Disc:
  • In Chapter 19, Andrey is capable of throwing his bladed fans this way by spinning them.
  • The Axe Max mechaniloids send out discs at X when he arrives to the Polar Region, by swinging their axes.
• Deadly Dodging: In Chapter 34, X dodges a Spiky's mechaniloid, causing it to crash into a group of the Armored Soldiers surrounding him.
• Do Androids Dream?: In Chapter 14, X has a dream of what's implied to be the last moments of Proto Man and Mega Man before they were killed by Zero. Later in Chapter 32, he dreams of what could be a possible future, where Mavericks wipe out humanity and Reploids, as told by a young kid who's all but stated to be the original Rock/Mega Man.
• Do Not Adjust Your Set: In Chapter 27, Sigma hijacks every screen, monitor and any other audiovisual device in Abel City to broadcast his New Era Speech (it's implied he does this via the Telecomunications Tower).
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Chiyo comments that Zero's appearance, with his long hair, made her think he was a female reploid.
• Ear Ache: Roll does this to X in Chapter 6, after he calls her old.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Dr. Fujiwara, for all his neglect of her, seems to still hold deep down some affection for his daughter Chiyo, as he planned to keep her out of Abel City once the Operation: Independence Day took place, and he says her name right before Sigma kills him.
• Everyone Has Standards: While Zero is a lot more ruthless than X when it comes to battle, he's appalled when Vile considers them to be living weapons made for destruction.
• Evil-Detecting Dog: When Zero breaks into Chiyo's home at night, the normally mild Patarche starts growling angrily at the intruder, trying to protect his owner. Later in Chapter 21, the dog no longer seems to regard Zero as a threat.
• Eye Scream: Zero punches Sting Chameleon in the eye hard enough to break it, sending out crystal splinters flying.
• Fingore: Zero disables Andrey's hand by cutting off his fingers, and with the latter's own spinner.
• Fire-Forged Friends:
  • In Chapter 21, X saves Zero and Vile during a Maverick incident. While the latter is outraged, the former feels grateful and the two start understanding each other, having gone through similar experiences after their respective awakenings.
  • Zero later gains Roll's trust after saving her from Sting Chameleon in Chapter 30 during the riot in the HQ.
• Foil: X and Sigma are this to each other. While both are super advanced robots, X is content with working as an assistant and despite his combat capacities and weaponry, dislikes violence and fighting, refusing to join the Maverick Hunters until he was basically forced into it. Sigma on the other hand is more than ready to engage in combat when necessary and eager to prove his superiority, even remarking that he volunteered to join the Maverick Hunters on his own will. X is also more emotionally-driven while Sigma tends to let logic dictate his actions and decisions. The contrast becomes even greater after Sigma pulls his Face–Heel Turn, as he wants to prove the superiority of reploids as a whole by conquering humanity, while X continues to abide to the Three Laws and fights to protect humans and reploids alike.
• For Want Of A Nail: The story's main premise is basically "The X series if Roll continued to exist in it".
• Half the Man He Used to Be:
  • Maverick Hunter Gamma ends up getting his legs and lower torso severed by Zero in Chapter 13, before being grabbed by the neck and finished off.
  • The Hunter who gets taken hostage by the rogue mechaniloid apparently suffers this fate as well, when Sigma decides to step in. Word of God is that he survives, though.
• Heel Realization: Chill Penguin seems to have one right before X finishes him off, mentally questioning if he was actually right in his actions.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • Realizing he's going to die anyway when his core gives out, Marth uses his last bit of strength to hold Chill Penguin in place so X can take a shot and finish the mission.
  • In Chapter 39, it's revealed that Fumiko pushed her brother Kenichi into the shelter's entrance, as there was only enough space for him, and immediately shut it close before a Gun Volt fired explosives at her.
• "Hey, You!" Haymaker: Zero gives one to Sting Chameleon in Chapter 30, tapping him on the shoulder before punching him in the eye to rescue Roll from his grip.
• Hostage Situation:
  • X finds himself as the hostage in Chapter 12, when Pierrot pulls an I Surrender, Suckers on him.
  • In Chapter 46, Armored Armadillo decides to negociate for the sake of the human and reploid workers that are being held in the Zalts Mines against their will. In exchange for fighting one-on-one against X, he will give Zero the chance to save the hostages, and with little choice in their hands, they ultimately agree to it.
• Human Popsicle: Or Reploid popsicle in this case. In Chapter 33, Chill Penguin plans to freeze X and keep him like a statue trophy, just like he did to several other Hunters who apparently laughed at him (one of which is still alive and wishing for someone to finish the job for him).
• I Die Free: Once he's defeated by X, the Thunder Slimer accepts his fate, seeing it as his way to be free after spending most of his existence locked up and unable to see the sun.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: Sting Chameleon clearly has the hots for Roll, and was enjoying having her captive during the riot at the HQ. Thankfully for her, Zero showed up to rescue her in the nick of time.
• I Have Your Wife: Sigma was planning on invoking this using Chiyo as a bargaining chip to get Dr. Fujiwara to cooperate. It didn't work out and, judging them as a liability, he decides to just dispose of both.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: On Chapter 27, Sigma decides to show what's gonna happen to those who oppose him by impaling Dr. Fujiwara in the chest with his saber, on live broadcast for everyone in Abel City to see.
• In Spite of a Nail: Despite the Hunters' efforts to stop it, the missile strike on Abel City still happens, destroying it completely.
• I've Come Too Far: Despite starting to have second thoughts about his actions during his fight with X, Chill Penguin decides he's too far gone to back off now and fights to the bitter end.
• I Want Them Alive!:
  • When Vile's about to finish off Pierrot, Ai reminds him that they needed him alive for questioning. Also, when Zero is located, orders are to bring him in alive, as he's needed to learn the cause of the Maverick Virus.
  • In Chapter 26, when Sigma finally reveals his betrayal, he orders his cronies to keep X and Zero alive instead of killing them. Vile however decides it's not worth it and tries to kill X, before Zero shows up to save him.
• Jerkass to One: While not outright a jerkass, Roll maintains a rather cold attitude towards Zero (even refusing to refer to him by name) and does not like to see him get close to X. Even after ten years she hasn't forgotten about the time he kidnapped her and is barely able to talk to him in a civil manner, though she displays concern for him during Chapter 31 after he saves her from Sting Chameleon.
• Just a Machine: Chiyo's general dislike for Reploids stems from the fact that she doesn't consider them that different from Mechaniloids, only having more room for complex functions. The only exceptions are X and Roll, with whom she interacted prior to the mass-production because she does not consider them Reploids. She does seem to rethink this mindset a bit when she sees Blu die in front of her, as well as when a medical reploid ends up taking several attacks for her, though.
• Just Think of the Potential!: Dr. Fujiwara seemingly lives by this trope, seeing X as well as Reploids mostly for their potential military capacities than anything else, much to Cain's changrin.
• Kick Them While They're Down: Chill Penguin does it to X during their fight in a fit of rage.
• Killer Rabbit: The first enemy X encounters in the Polar Region is a Ray Bit mechaniloid, which is shaped like a rabbit and attacks anything it sees.
• Lecherous Licking: Sting Chameleon seems to love doing this with his long tongue.
• Ma'am Shock: A variation. When X and Roll argue over who is the "older" sibling, she gets angry when X called her "an old woman" by her admission of her being much older than him, and grabs him by the audio receptor in retaliation.
• Make an Example of Them: Once Sigma reveals his true colors, he decides to use Dr. Fujiwara as an example of what will happen to those who oppose him, and executes him personally for everyone to see via his broadcast.
• Meaningful Name: "X", as in canon is an unknown variable, referring to his limitless potential. Sigma receives the same treatment, as in mathematics the Greek letter Σ refers to a sum of many terms (him being the result of the sum of the combined efforts of Cain, Fujiwara, and the scientists assigned by the Council).
• Mercy Lead: Unlike in Maverick Hunter X, Sigma chooses not to fire the missiles on Abel City at once, instead deciding to give the inhabitants some time to try and escape before they launch. However, given that his forces are scattered around the city already, this won't be an easy task.
• Missing Mom: Chiyo's mother Hinako died sometime prior to the discovery of X, causing Dr. Fujiwara to bury himself into his work, seemingly to cope.
• Monster Clown: Pierrot, the Maverick who appears in Chapter 12, has this appearance.
• Mook Lieutenant:
  • An Armor Soldier named Boxer acts as the troops' field leader under Chill Penguin's command in the Polar Region base, acting essentially as a mini-boss that wasn't in the original game.
  • Similarly, a Dig Labour named Gold Miner also seems to serve as Armored Armadillo's second-in-command in the Energen Mines.
• More Expendable Than You: During the riot at the Maverick Hunters' HQ, the reploids who still abide by the Three Laws continue to take priority on protecting Chiyo's life over theirs, which makes her reconsider her previous opinion of them as being just machines. Also, Ai's reasoning for staying behind to hold off the enemies to allow Chiyo, Roll and Trinity to escape is that Trinity is a more advanced model than her.
• More than Mind Control: The Maverick Virus (which in this story is explicitly sentient) appeals to Sigma's inherent feelings of resentment towards the human council to goad him into betraying his creators, instead of just infecting him.
• Mythology Gag: The reploids who exhibit abnormal behavior that causes them to go violent are first labeled as "Irregulars" before the council settles on "Maverick" as the definitive term to define them.
• Named by the Adaptation:
  • The Green Biker Dude appears among the first members of the Maverick Hunters in Chapter 12, and he's given the name "Firefly".
  • The two Hunters watching the lab where Zero hides are given the names Ray and Glenn, after two characters from Armored Warriors (another Capcom arcade game).
  • The nameless pink-haired navigator from Maverick Hunter X is called Trinity.
• Necessary Drawback: Explained and justified in-story. When Fujiwara designed the reploids who'd become Sigma's top lieutenants, he intentionally equipped them with weapon chips that X would be able to obtain and use by himself, as well as with specific built-in weaknesses to certain weapons to be taken advantage of.
• Neck Lift:
  • Flame Mammoth does it to Chiyo in Chapter 29 during the riot at the HQ. She only gets saved by Firefly's timely intervention.
  • Like in the games, Vile does it to X with his Ride Armor, and almost kills him before Zero shows up to save him.
  • Chill Penguin briefly does it to X in Chapter 35, though he quickly tosses X aside.
• New Era Speech: In Chapter 27, Sigma delivers one, stating that humans are no longer worthy of ruling the planet, and the age of Reploids has begun.
• Noodle Incident: Apparently, something related to Dr. Wily's disappearance/possible death caused a permanent ban on super-advanced AI for robots, meaning that X's whole existence was against the law.
• Not Enough to Bury: Fumiko was killed by a Gun Volt after she pushed Kenichi into the shelter's entrance. A-1 later explains to Chiyo that they came across a few remains of her clothes and nothing more, possibly incinerated by the missiles or what came after.
• "Not So Different" Remark: In Chapter 21, Zero finally starts to understand X when the latter tells him of what he went through since his awakening, how people seemed to fear and want to destroy him just like they did Zero. This seems to mark the beginning of the two becoming friends with each other.
• Not Worth Killing: This seems to be the reason why Zero doesn't kill Roll despite having multiple chances to, since she lacks armaments and is made out of cheap materials.
• Parental Neglect: Dr. Fujiwara pays little to no attention to his daughter Chiyo, often leaving her in the care of Cecilia and, eventually, Roll. By the time of Chapter 22 (ten years after the discovery of X), their relationship is implied to be heavily strained because of this.
• Police Brutality: Vile can be considered the Maverick Hunter equivalent of this, as he's all too eager to finish off Pierrot. Ai chides him for this as they needed him alive for questioning.
• Power Copying: X was made with the capacity to take his enemies' weapon chips to integrate them into himself just like Mega Man before him. It's later revealed that this was done intentionally by Fujiwara when he designed the Maverick Hunters who'd later go rogue into Sigma's rebellion, making their weapon chips compatible with X's systems.
• Off with His Head!: How Sigma executes Dr. Fujiwara, even after mortally stabbing him in the chest with his saber.
• Oh, Crap!: Goldminer's reaction to finding out that Zero is in the mines, and Vile has essentially left him to deal with him since he plans to go after X.
• Original Character:
  • Dr. Sho Fujiwara, a robotics expert who is Dr. Cain's main partner in the development of the reploids and gives the resources and lab in order to test X. His daughter Chiyo as well.
  • Ai, one of the early members of the Maverick Hunters, albeit she's based on a concept art of a female reploid for the first game.
• Reluctant Warrior: Like in canon, X does not like to use his Buster, and is extremely mortified when he's forced to fire it (first to destroy a mechaniloid that attacks him during a combat test, and later when a construction reploid goes Maverick and he's forced to blast his head off before he can kill someone).
• Remember When You Blew Up a Sun?: In Chapter 32, to try and cheer up X, Zero reminds him of their first encounter, when X challenged the (at the time) Maverick Zero to save Roll.
• Rocket Punch: Pierrot has this capacity, with his arms having chains to retrieve his hands after firing them out.
• Robot Maid: This is still Roll's primary function, acting as a substitute housekeeper for Dr. Fujiwara. Fumiko's family gets also one with a Meido motif named Mimi.
• Robosexual: Implied although not outright confirmed with Fumiko's father, whose wife seems pretty jealous of him being too fond of his reploid maid, Mimi. Fumiko herself also seems to consider some of the most human-looking reploids like X and Zero to be good-looking.
• Sacrificial Lamb:
  • Gamma and his entire unit are introduced and killed off in Chapter 13 by Zero.
  • In Chapter 28, several Maverick Hunters are killed during the riot in the HQ, among them Blu, one of the female navigators.
  • Chapter 39 confirms that Chiyo's friend Fumiko was killed shortly before the missile impact.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Cecilia, the housekeeper of the Fujiwara home, seemingly decided to quit to "wanting to explore other opportunities", but Chiyo suspects there's more to it than that. It's hinted she may have been the one to blow the whistle on Fujiwara and Cain about the research they were doing on X and Roll, sending them to trial before the council, and ten years later Chiyo still suspects that this was the case.
• She Is All Grown Up: Invoked when Roll is given a new body to transfer her memory files and personality. She is given a more adult-looking and developed body as opposed to the one of a pre-teen girl she had in the Classic series.
• Shiny New Australia: Fujiwara decides to willingly help Sigma with his rebellion, on the deal of being given control of Abel City. Of course, the deal falls through when Sigma decides Fujiwara is too much of a liability and has already served his purpose.
• Shoot the Hostage: Just like in the Day of Sigma OVA, when X hesitates to shoot the rogue mechaniloid out of fear of hurting the hostage Hunter, Sigma steps in and attacks it, cutting the Hunter in the process as well.
• Shout-Out Theme Naming: Many characters are named in references to Capcom games or staff.
  • Dr. Sho Fujiwara is named after Sho Tsuge and Tokuro Fujiwara, designer and producer of the first X series game.
  • Ray and Glenn get their names from Armored Warriors.
  • The Shitapper Pirates are named after members of the Mad Gear Gang from the first Final Fight game.
• Sibling Seniority Squabble: A variation happens between X and Roll, each one of them wanting to be considered by the other as the "older" sibling. X defends that, since her current body was recently built and activated, that makes him the older "physically". Roll on the other hand says that, since she has years more memories and experience from her previous life than X (plus her original body being built first), that makes her the older "emotionally".
• Single Tear: X sheds one upon learning that Dr. Light is long dead.
• Sins of Our Fathers: Chiyo is understandably worried that people will lash out on her after her father's plans were exposed, to the point she ended up leaving the shelter and wandering around the streets before being found by Roll and Zero.
• Sky Pirates: In Chapter 24, the Shitapper pirates attack the cargo airship escorted by Zero, Storm Eagle and Teal. In truth, they were just a bunch of dock workers who were convinced to do this.
• Smooch of Victory: Ai gives a kiss to Firefly in Chapter 42, as thanks for saving her little brother.
• Spared by the Adaptation: Zigzagged with Abel City. While Sigma did launch the missile strike on the city, he apparently didn't fire them all at once and left a few areas intact, at least for the time being.
• Supreme Chef: Roll's cooking is so good, Chiyo tries to make a buck with it by selling it to her classmates at school.
• Take Care of the Kids: Ai's final request to Trinity, Roll and Chiyo before heading off to try and stall Sting Chameleon is that Trinity keeps A-1 (her "younger brother") safe.
• Taking the Bullet:
  • In Chapter 23, Patarche jumps to shield Chiyo from a plasma shot from Vile, who's trying to shoot a Maverick Reploid without a care of her getting hurt.
  • In Chapter 29, the medical reploid who was trying to escape the HQ with Roll, Chiyo and the navigators, ends up taking several shots from Sting Chameleon to protect Chiyo.
• Three Laws-Compliant:
  • Like in canon, X is an aversion as he is aware of the Three Laws, but could defy them should he chose to. This is the reason why Dr. Light left him in the capsule in order to test his morality for thirty years so he wouldn't go rogue.
  • Armored Armadillo expands on this in Chapter 47, pointing out that all reploids could possibly defy the laws, but they all can choose whether they do so or not. He also cites how Proto Man and the original Mega Man were able to push the limits of their programming, the former by running away from his creator and wandering on his own, and the former when he tried to kill Wily (as it happened at the end of Mega Man 7).
• Time Skip: There's a 10-year gap between Chapter 21 and 22, with the latter finally catching up to the canon timeframe.
• Unable to Cry: Unlike X, Roll's new body wasn't built with the capacity to shed tears, much to her despair when she's left in shock about her current situation and she finds herself wishing she could cry. Justified since Fujiwara saw no need to give her this.
• We Can Rule Together: Once Sigma has completed his Face–Heel Turn, he offers Zero the chance to become his second in command. Zero naturally has none of it.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?:
  • Chiyo at first seems to regard all reploids as machines (the only exceptions being X and Roll) instead of living beings. Getting caught in the middle of the riot at the Maverick Hunters HQ and seeing them suffer and die while trying to protect her makes her start rethinking her mindset, though.
  • Some reploids don't seem to regard animal lives the same way as they do human lives, like Ai who doesn't understand why Chiyo would be so attached to her dog.
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: When Vile introduces himself to her, Roll is left wondering whose idea was to name a reploid who was supposed to be a peacekeeper like that.
• Who's Laughing Now?: This is Chill Penguin's attitude, as one of the main drives for him to follow Sigma was to take revenge on everyone who made fun of him one way or another.
• Why Am I Ticking?: The Shitapper Pirates realize too late that their upgrades are about to explode, killing them all. The next scene implies that Dr. Fujiwara had triggered the detonators just a while ago, once they'd served their purpose.
• Workaholic: Dr. Fujiwara is constantly buried in his job, to the point he neglects his daughter. It's implied this is his way to cope with his wife's death.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: When Zero breaks into Fujiwara's house, he runs into Chiyo but refuses to hurt her. Later, he saves Fumiko from being hit and possibly killed by a stray car during a crash in the streets of Arcadia.
• Would Not Shoot a Civilian: Vile defying this trope is what gets him decommissioned from the Maverick Hunters and arrested, when his actions result in injuring Chiyo and killing Patarche.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: In Chapter 32, X still feels down over hesitating when he was fighting Vile, thus allowing the latter to get the upper hand on him. Zero tells him that, despite his hesitance, he's still very powerful and has the potential to become a great Hunter, even reminding him of their first encounter when X challenged Zero to save Roll.
• You Are in Command Now: By Chapter 32, Zero has been appointed as the new commander of the remaining Maverick Hunters.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
  • After the Shitapper Pirates serve their purpose, Dr. Fujiwara triggers some self-destruct devices in their upgrades.
  • Once Sigma announces openly his intent to exterminate the human race to make way for the Reploids, he executes Fujiwara publically by impaling and then beheading him, even after acknowledging that he served his cause well.
• You Will Be Spared:
  • When Boomer Kuwanger and Gravity Beetle storm into Chiyo's home to take her in custody, they claim she'll be "one of the few humans spared" in their new order. Though given what happens to her father shortly afterwards, it casts into doubt whether they'd follow through or not.
  • Dr. Cain is kept alive even after Fujiwara's execution, with Sigma claiming that it's because he still holds some fondness for him, though that's subject to change if he steps out of line.