The Tale of Instant Karma

[Zed-F]

Fight club: soloed!



Of course, Instant Karma did have to wait to level 20 to do it. His first attempt at level 18 didn't go so well.



Nevertheless, the deed is done!

(For anyone who doesn't play the game, fight club is ostensibly a 3-person mission. People with strong builds solo it all the time, but Instant Karma has anything but a strong build.)

[Zed-F]

Part 4:

Unh. Hurts. Hurts everywhere. I don't want to wake up, especially not to this kind of pain, but it seems my mind has other ideas.

My body, on the other hand, seems perfectly happy to remain largely unresponsive. It's an enormous effort just to open my eyes a fraction. What happened? Where am I?

A blurry room, mostly white. I'm lying down in a bed. Covered in bandages. Surrounded by some kind of equipment. I manage a feeble groan.

"Oh good, you're awake!" A voice from the end of the bed. A perky, female voice. "This should help you feel better, for a while at least," she continues. I can barely feel the prick of a needle, lost amidst all the other pain my shrieking nerves are bombarding my brain with. It just doesn't register in comparison.

But she's right, the injection does help. The pain recedes to a dull ache, and I feel more alert. I manage to open my eyes and look up at her.

She's a young woman. Blonde, good looks, well dressed in a fashionable business suit. The very picture of a young corporate executive on her way up. Her name tag reads 'Mandy'. But it's the letters emblazoned on her jacket that tell me what I need to know -- she's from WCOC. My sponsors, at least after a fashion.

"I feel like I've been run over. Anyone catch the plate on the truck that hit me?" I ask, trying to make light of the situation to cover my unease. A quick glance around the room confirms I am in a hospital, but there's no sign of any doctor or nurse in the room.

Just Mandy. She smiles, full of false good cheer. "Someone sure did. It was R-E-T-C-O-N. And though it might not seem like it right now, it wasn't entirely a bad thing for you that it did."

Whatever was in that shot Mandy gave me, I still don't have the energy to do more than listen at this point. If I had, I might have started freaking out, asking a million questions. Like "how did this happen," or "where exactly am I," or "why isn't the doctor here," or "how could this not be a bad thing." Instead I just stare at her, waiting for her to explain what she can, or will.

Mandy sits on the edge of the bed. "I know you're in a lot of pain right now. But things could be worse. You could be dead, couldn't you? But you're not. And this tragic accident could have some benefits you perhaps haven't yet considered. For one, you know your ratings have been slipping for the past several months, right? You've been getting overshadowed by newer, younger, sexier heroes and heroines. But we can use this accident to help catapult you back into the spotlight, show how you're a real survivor! If you do your part, it will get your career back on track, I can practically guarantee it."

I want to interject, "what do you mean, if I do my part," but she moves on before I can get a word in edgewise. "And there's another thing. The damage was pretty severe. But when life gives us lemons, we make lemonade, right? Fixing you up meant practically reconstructing your body. We took the opportunity to fit you out with some improvements."

I feel my hair wanting to stand on end. Given that I am wrapped head to toe in bandages, that would have been quite a feat if I could have managed it. "Wha.." I manage to stammer before Mandy continues.

"Oh, nothing too extreme. We didn't want anything too bleeding edge; top-of-the-line mods tend to have more side effects. And be much costlier too. To be honest, even with a fairly standard package, you owe us more than enough already. Wired reflexes; your reaction speed and accuracy will be much improved now. Targeting computer in your skull so you can track enemies more easily, pinpoint their weak spots, and anticipate their return fire. It'll also give your nervous system a bit of a boost when you're stunned or concussed. Oh, and since you won't be able to use those old rocket boots anymore, we added the optional AG pulse generators in your legs. You can use those to hover in mid-air or leap tall buildings in a single bound, just as you used to, only they are activated your nervous impulses to your leg muscles, rather than by a switch."

My mind, wrapped in a cocoon of pain and drugs, struggles to keep up. The best I can manage is to latch onto part of one sentence. "Why can't I use my rocket boots?"

Mandy sighs. "Even the standard packages don't entirely avoid side effects all the time. It seems you're one of those rare cases that has a reaction. Those bandages aren't all from the accident. Your skin has developed a violent allergy to all kinds of common fabrics and materials. You won't need that image transducer any longer for your looks to match your heroic persona. But we have identified a few more exotic types of cloth and plastics that won't cause your skin to melt off like wax, so it's not unmanageable. There might be a few minor alterations to your costume, but nothing substantial. Oh, and you have been keeping up with those night courses on arms manufacture, right?" she queries, with a penetrating glance.

"Uh, yeah," I reply muzzily. I'm pretty sure I had been, anyway, before... whatever had happened had happened. I couldn't really have been hit by a truck, could I? "I'm not really that great at it though. I can at least take care of my own weapons and make basic stuff from pre-fashioned parts, but anytime I try anything really advanced, it comes apart on me."

Mandy sniffs. "Well you'd better keep practicing, then. You're going to have to make your own arsenal from now on, since you won't be able to keep using stuff you bum off your defeated foes. Just as well anyway, if you ask me; that wasn't helping your image any. All those mystic gewgaws. You're not supposed to be some techno-mage, you know! Give the public what they expect, and they'll love you all the more for it," she advises.

"Well, I think that about covers it," Mandy concludes, standing. "So rest up, get better, and I'm sure you'll be out of here in no time." She favours me with a final brilliant smile, before turning to go. "It's been a real treat for me to help you get through this. I always love it when I get a chance to observe life imitating art." And with that, she turns and walks briskly from the room, closing the door behind her.

I lie back, mind whirling. I have, apparently, been fundamentally altered, and I still don't really know how, or why. I only know that I used to be a normal person trapped in a superhero's job. Now I'm not sure what I am, or how I feel about it. One thing's for certain. I still don't feel very super-heroic.

[Zed-F]

Instant Karma's original concept was a badass normal without any of the badassery. He used conventional guns, i.e. Pure Munitions, and had no Talents or Superstats. Since Munitions didn't have a block enhancer, a useful heal, or a passive, he had none of those things, plus he had the challenge of lacking superstats and having low stats in general.

Nevertheless, I managed to get him to his low 20s on the strength of Two Gun Mojo, Shotgun, and Smoke Grenade, before I tired of CO and allowed my subscription to lapse. In the interim, a difficulty setting option has been added, so that any character can experience a certain amount of additional challenge. Instant Karma might never have been created if this had been available at the time.

Still, with the launch of F2P, I have had the opportunity to revive the character, but he will have to be an archetype. Clearly Soldier fits best, but it does alter the character's dynamic quite a bit. Soldier does have a block enhancer, a passive slotted offense, and a passive energy return power, and is forced to have superstats. Soldier also has quite a few extra attack powers that Instant Karma hadn't yet picked up.

So, I've had to change the rules a little in order to keep the same feel of base challenge for the character, on top of what the difficulty slider provides.

Instant Karma is now specced as a Soldier archetype, with the following restrictions:
- Must craft all his own gear.
- Cannot use Talents or Advantages.

So far he is level 22, in the Desert and dealing with Viper there. I also plan to run him through Demonflame in the near future to see how he fares there. Hopefully it'll be fun!

[FrankL]

Bummer of a cape symbol dude!

I had the same thought!