Yes I remember that contest and that story. It was awesome stroy then and still is now.
Yep, there's a reason that was a winning story.
--NT
They all laughed at me when I said I wanted to be a comedian.
But I showed them, and nobody's laughing at me now!
If I became a red name, I would be all "and what would you mere mortals like to entertain me with today, mu hu ha ha ha!" ~Arcanaville
Some time back (over a year ago), our esteemed hosts (NcSoft/Cryptic) held a short story contest. The following story was one of the winning entries. It is available somewhere on the CoH web site but I am posting it here in it's entirety. I don't remember who the author was.
The hero ID was still fresh in my hands when I got the call to help with an outbreak in a remote part of the city. Surely I was too untested for such a large and important task, but I vowed to do my best. The city had assigned several competent officers to guide hero efforts in the area, and they proved invaluable. Soon I had recovered the formula needed to produce an antidote and I left it in the very capable hands of Coyote.
Although I found satisfaction in helping the city with this problem, something was missing. Was this truly the way for me? After speaking briefly with Miss Liberty, I decided to wander the streets for a time and contemplate my path.
Rounding the corner of the local Mighty Mart, I saw three thugs attempting to steal a woman's purse. I called for them to stop, but they only laughed and pushed the woman onto the ground. Some spark lit within me then, a call for justice that could not be denied.
My face tightened with resolve as sparks began to dance around my hands. One of the crooks carried a bat, and the other two had knives. They advanced upon me quickly, confident in their numbers. I noted that the woman had run across the street, and that she had managed to retrieve her purse while they had focused on me.
Seeing that she was out of harms way, I released a bolt of charged energy at the punk with the bat, followed by a powerful lightning blast. He fell to the ground groaning, and I gave my attention to the other two. They had tried to flank me, but weren't expecting their comrade to fall so quickly. I turned just as the nearest struck with his blade. It was only a glancing blow, and the blade barely scratched my shoulder. I won't lie, it hurt, but I tried not to show it as I punched the thug in the gut, and then hit him with a blast of lightning while he was disoriented. One more punch and he was down.
I turned toward the third, only to see him running away. Grabbing a mini-grenade from a belt pouch, I tossed it in a high arc. It popped just over his head, releasing quick drying glue and stopping him in his tracks. As he struggled to get free I let loose a couple of quick bolts and he too was out.
I gathered the three of them in a pile and used my comm unit to call a police drone to port them to jail. After it had done its job, I began to walk away when I felt a timid hand upon my shoulder. It was the woman with the purse. She smiled shyly and offered her thanks. I will never forget her words.
'Ive never met a hero before.'
A hero? I nodded and smiled. Thanks to her, I sure felt like one.