by Steve Barlow
www.franklinwatts.co.uk
How to be a hero
This book is not like others you have read. This is a choose-your-own-destiny book where YOU are the hero of the adventure.
Each section of this book is numbered. At the end of most sections, you will have to make a choice. Each choice will take you to a different section of the book.
If you choose correctly, you will succeed. But be careful. If you make a bad choice, you may have to start the adventure again. If this happens, make sure you learn from your mistake!
Go to the next page to start your adventure. And remember, don’t be a zero, be a hero!
You are Olympian – a powerful superhero. You were born on Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods. You are a super-strong runner, jumper and hurdler, and an unbelievable gymnast. You can lift massive weights and can throw your magic javelin, hammer and discus huge distances with amazing accuracy.
You have been sent with your sports trainer, Milo, to protect the good people of River City. You have already helped the police to arrest many crooks, criminal gangs and supervillains, but your greatest challenge is yet to come!
Go to 1.
1
You are on the roof of your secret Sanctuary practising archery. Your target is fixed to the mast of the transmitter tower on Prospect Hill, a kilometre away.
You shoot your last arrow. It lands in the gold centre circle, but Milo – looking through high-powered field glasses – shakes his head. “Eleven arrows in the gold, one in the red. Not good enough, Olympian.”
Before you can reply, your wrist communicator flashes red. You are receiving an emergency signal!
“Olympian, this is Detective Keegan of the River City police. We need you down at police HQ straight away. We have reports that there are people all over the city wearing strange metal collars and acting like mindless robots…”
“I bet my old enemy Doctor Robotic is behind this,” you say. “I must get to police HQ.”
“Be careful,” says Milo, “and don’t forget to call on the Flame if you have to.”
You nod. If you are in serious danger, you can call upon the Olympic Flame. It will transport you back to the Sanctuary, but it will also rewind time.
“I’ll call the police,” says Milo. “They’ll send a car for you.”
If you want to go to police HQ in a police car, go to 18.
If you wish to make your own way there, go to 34.
2
The flying terrobots dive-bomb you. Their eyes flash red and laser bolts shoot towards you. Your Olympian skills are barely enough to dodge their attacks.
As the terrobots continue to attack, more crawlers arrive. They surround you and open their pincers. Once you are in their grasp, there will be no escape!
Go to 23.
3
You find a door leading to a stairway, and head down.
You hear the clanking metal feet of robots on the stairs below. The windows darken as crawler robots scuttle up the outside of the building. They spot you and smash the windows to get in.
You fight well, calling your hammer and discus, as well as the javelin to your aid. But you have little room to use your weapons and there are just too many robots to fight. There is only one way out.
Go to 23.
4
You race through the main doors into the entrance hall of the building and skid to a halt. The hall is full of robots!
You run to the doors but the robots are already firing. A dozen stun-ray beams send you crashing to the floor.
The robots close in. Some of them are holding mind-control collars. They reach towards you.
Go to 23.
5
“How did you get that collar?” you ask the prisoner.
The man doesn’t answer. You repeat the question, but again he ignores you.
Suddenly, the door to the room crashes open. Police officers wearing collars swarm in. A sergeant is carrying another collar.
You realise that the other officers are trying to hold you still so that he can fasten it around your neck.
You cannot fight police officers. Your only option is escape.
Go to 23.
6
When you arrive at the tower, you find that it is surrounded by dozens of Doctor Robotic’s machines. Terrobots patrol the skies; crawlers, rhinobot tanks and robots swarm around the buildings.
How are you going to get inside the transmitter tower?
If you want to fight your way in, go to 47.
If you want to try to trick your way in, go to 11.
7
You help the guards by pushing away the people with collars on. But the people keep shoving you – even when you force them away again.
You realise that these people are being controlled. It must be the collars!
Suddenly the three robots who have the Star Diamond attack you.
If you wish to fight the robots, go to 21.
If you decide to try to snatch the Star Diamond, go to 29.
8
“Javelin!” you cry. “To me!”
You hurl the javelin at the nearest rhinobot, but it simply bounces off the rhinobot’s armour. You should have realised that the rhinobots would be much tougher than the terrobots you brought down earlier.
“Time for a new plan,” you tell yourself.
Go to 40.
9
You find yourself standing in front of the gleaming robot captain.
“I am Robot Prime,” it says. “Where is your mind-control collar?”
You ignore his question. “Are you in charge of all the robots?” you say.
“Yes.”
“Then tell me this. Doctor Robotic has started to make humans his mind-slaves. Why do you think he has done that?”
Go to 12.
10
You spot a window up on the wall of the chamber, opening onto a stairway. Your parkour skills enable you to leap up to the window and smash through it. You have escaped from the robots, and now you can get back on Doctor Robotic’s trail.
You race up the stairs and reach the roof, only to meet ranks of crawler robots.
These swarm towards you, clicking their pincers. A quick glance shows you that others are swarming up the outside of the building.
If you decide to fight the crawlers, go to 27.
If you want to avoid them, go to 37.
11
You decide to try to trick your way in. As a mind-slave shuffles past, you step out from your hiding place and put your hands up. The mind-slave sees that you don’t have a collar and shoves you towards the transmitter tower. He’s taking you inside.
Go to 22.
12
The robot’s electronic eyes stare at you. “Explain.”
“Robots are expensive,” you say. “Humans are cheap. With his mind-control collars, Doctor Robotic can create an army of mind-slaves. Then he will not need robots.”
Robot Prime nods. “That is logical. Come with me. We will hear what Doctor Robotic has to say.”
To go with Robot Prime, go to 24.
If you decide to attack it, go to 38.
13
You enter police HQ. You stare around in horror. Every police officer is wearing a control collar!
They grab you and try to fasten a collar around your neck. You cannot fight them, they don’t know what they are doing. There is only one way out.
Go to 23.
14
This is your last chance.
You hurl yourself at Doctor Robotic and run up the front of his suit, treating the exoskeleton like an obstacle in parkour. As you backflip away, Doctor Robotic fires his cannon at you – but you’ve already moved! Instead of hitting you, the cannon-shell blasts the suit’s power-source.
The e
xoskeleton topples over with Doctor Robotic trapped inside. His control is broken. All the robots stop moving. The mind-slaves blink and look around them.
You fold your arms and gaze at Doctor Robotic as he struggles to get out of the ruined suit. “Doctor Robotic, you’re under arrest for crimes against River City – and for giving me a really hard day.”
Go to 50.
15
Using your parkour skills, you climb onto the roof. You find an unguarded doorway and steps that lead down.
You sneak through the corridors, dodging robots and people wearing collars.
You are in an empty corridor when a squad of robots appears. Not wanting to attract their attention, you slip into a room marked “Mailroom”.
Inside, robots are busy unpacking and handing out mind-control collars.
To destroy the collars, go to 41.
If you think you should find out who is controlling the robots, go to 20.
16
You leap from rooftop to rooftop. When you are clear of City Hall, you jump down and pause to think.
You realise that your escape has brought you near the transmitter tower on Prospect Hill. It still has your archery target fixed to the mast that beams TV, radio and mobile phone signals to the whole city.
You are thunderstruck. Why hadn’t you thought of it before? This is the obvious place for Doctor Robotic to send the signals controlling his mind-slave collars!
As you head for the transmitter tower, two of Doctor Robotic’s rhinobot tanks trundle around a corner. You have to make a quick decision!
To use your javelin against the rhinobot tanks, go to 8.
To use your strength, go to 40.
17
You decide to go down fighting. You send your discus skimming towards another robot, but the rest move back to use their stun-ray beams. Bolts of energy blast you, leaving you weak and helpless.
The robots close in. Several are holding mind-control collars.
Go to 23.
18
A police car pulls up just as you reach the kerb. You get in. “Police HQ,” you tell the driver.
As the car moves off, siren blaring, you realise the driver is wearing a metal collar. His eyes in the rear-view mirror are blank and staring.
“Let me out!” You reach for the door handle.
The driver presses a button. Green gas floods your half of the car.
Go to 23.
19
You dodge behind robot after robot. As he tries to hit you, Doctor Robotic blasts more and more of his machines.
But despite your speed, you cannot run faster than a cannon shell. One explodes nearby, knocking you off your feet.
Robots drag you back to face Doctor Robotic.
He raises his cannon to blast you. With the last of your strength, you break free from the robots.
If you want to fight on, go to 28.
If you want to try to get behind Doctor Robotic, go to 48.
20
You find the council chamber and slip inside.
The mayor is tied up in his official seat, guarded by robots. Next to him stands a strange figure: half man, half robot. He reaches into a box of mind-control collars and takes one out.
“Just as I thought,” you mutter. “Doctor Robotic!”
The mayor struggles against his bonds.
Doctor Robotic reaches out to fasten the collar around the mayor’s neck. “These collars will turn River City into Mind-slave City!”
If you want to help the mayor, go to 45.
To wait and see what happens, go to 32.
21
“Hammer! To me!” you cry.
Instantly, the hand-held wrecking ball used in the Olympic hammer-throw is in your hands.
A steel ball weighing more than seven kilograms at the end of a chain 120 centimetres long is an ideal tool for smashing robots! You launch yourself into a spin and send metal body parts flying.
Now there are only two robots. One moves towards you, while the last one runs off down the street. It must have the diamond!
If you want to fight the robot, go to 46.
If you want to get away and follow the robot with the diamond, turn to 43.
22
With the mind-slave pushing you forwards, you walk right past the robots defending the transmitter tower. Your trick seems to be working. You spot a robot that is bigger and better built than the others. You hear it giving orders to the other robots, which salute it. This robot can speak! You guess that it must be the robot captain.
If you wish to attack the robot captain, go to 42.
If you want to speak to it, go to 9.
23
“Flame! To me!” you cry.
The Olympic Flame forms around you in a swirl of light. When the flame dies, you are back in the Sanctuary.
You explain to Milo why you had to call on the Flame to save you.
Milo is angry. “You’ve had a lucky escape,” he growls. “Didn’t I tell you to be always on your guard?”
You know your trainer is right. You have been careless. You will have to start your quest to save River City again.
Go to 49.
24
As Robot Prime beckons you to follow, Doctor Robotic appears. He is wearing a powerful exoskeleton.
Robot Prime steps forward. “This human says you will replace robots with mind-slaves.”
Doctor Robotic glares at you. “You have interfered with my plans for the last time, Olympian!”
He raises his arm cannon and aims it straight at you.
If you want to dodge behind Robot Prime, go to 44.
If you decide to ask Robot Prime to save you, go to 31.
25
Your parkour skills take you swiftly through the city streets. Soon you spot a robot carrying pizza boxes.
“Interesting,” you mutter to yourself. “Robots don’t eat pizza – but Doctor Robotic does…”
Go to 43.
26
You race after Doctor Robotic.
“Robots!” he cries. “Mind-slaves! Protect me!”
By the time you have fought your way clear, Doctor Robotic is far ahead. You follow him out of the building and see him climbing into a rhinobot tank, which heads straight for you. Behind him is an entire robot army!
If you wish to call on the Olympic Flame to save you, go to 23.
If you want to leap up onto the rooftop to escape, go to 16.
27
“Hammer!” you cry. “To me!”
Soon you are smashing the robots to pieces. But what the crawlers lack in strength, they make up for in agility. One seizes you by the ankle. A terrific shock surges through your body. Too late, you realise that each of the crawlers’ pincers contains an electric stun-ray.
Go to 23.
28
Doctor Robotic fires. You jump out of the way of the shell, which explodes harmlessly to one side.
Doctor Robotic is furious. “Stand still!” he snarls.
But you now know you can move faster than Doctor Robotic can aim and fire.
If you want to run for your life, go to 36.
If you want to make one last attempt to defeat Doctor Robotic, go to 14.
29
You leap over the three robots, snatching the diamond from them.
In seconds, you are on a rooftop with the Star Diamond safely in your belt-pouch. The people wearing collars just stand and stare up at you. Two of the robots try to climb after you. They fall and smash as they hit the ground. The last robot walks off down the street away from the mind-slaves.
If you want to follow the robot, go to 43.
If you wish to take the Star Diamond to the police, go to 13.
30
“Javelin! To me!” you cry.
Your javelin appears in your hand. You throw it at the first terrobot. Its point rips through the flying robot. Then it curves round to hit the others.
More terrobots appear in the distance. They haven’t spotted you yet,
but your position on the rooftop is dangerous.
If you want to take shelter inside the building, go to 3.
To escape over the rooftops, go to 16.
31
If a shell from Doctor Robotic’s cannon hits you, you will be toast!
You turn to Robot Prime. “Stop him!”
“I cannot,” says the robot. “He is my master. I must obey his orders.”
Doctor Robotic laughs.
If you want to run for your life, go to 36.
To hide behind Robot Prime, go to 44.
32
Doctor Robotic fastens the collar around the mayor’s neck. “Now you will do anything I tell you!” he laughs.
You decide to steal a collar to find out how it works. But as you step out of hiding, Doctor Robotic spots you. He laughs. “Olympian!”
You point an accusing finger. “Doctor Robotic! You’re under arrest!”
“For what?” he scoffs. “Stealing a diamond? My mind-slaves will do anything I want!” He points at you. “Attack!”
