Mega Man 5 takes place during the 21st century, about two months after the events of Mega Man 4, when the mad scientist Dr. Wily once again attempted to take over the world.[3] Proto Man, secret brother and once ally to the world's greatest hero Mega Man, leads an army of robots in a series of destructive attacks on the world.[9] To cripple the world's defenders, he kidnaps his own creator, the genius scientist Dr. Light.[10] Mega Man wonders why Proto Man is doing this, but with little choice left, he sets out to stop him, assisted by Beat, a robot bird gifted to him by Dr. Cossack.