Ooh, action-filled part.
Cool. I like it. I hope Noob isn't going to actually become Heroic.....
@Unthing ... Mostly on Union.
Nice, as good if not better than the rest 
[ QUOTE ]
He was now the man with no fear and he had work to do.
[/ QUOTE ]Yeah, right! 
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
A day late thanks largely to the nearby pub hosting a special event coupled with them not refusing to sell me beer.
But here it is. Enjoy.
Part 5
The sun was low enough in the sky to be shining on the Atlas statue through the western barrier and gave one side of the monument a dancing blue tinge that sharply contrasted its more usual grey. Beneath him heroes were beginning to congregate, to compare notes about the days crime fighting, make plan for the evenings evil-quelling. Sometime they came to meet people, to show off their powers or costumes and sometimes theyd come simply to dance to bad music with the volume set high enough to annoy everyone in a quarter mile radius.
N00b, despite being close by in the car park noticed none of this. His attention was fixed on two things. The first being the three thugs less than thirty yards away who were attempting to steel a car with what appeared to be a hammer and chisel. The second thing, which was occupying the majority of his brains processing power was keeping the rising tide of panic at bay.
With the second part his mother was helping. Her face swam through his mind, twisted in a mask of disgust he would barely have recognised if hadnt been for the moustache.
What would your father think? she demanded. Youre going to find him and when you do, you want him to know youre a coward and a failure?
N00b wasnt stupid, he realised this was just his mind playing tricks on him, but he wondered why it chose his father as a motivator. Hed never met the man, hed left for Paragon long before he was born and had only stopped at his mothers farm (then his Grandfathers farm) to do some odd jobs to earn money. According to his mother theyd fallen in love and he would have stayed if it werent for his heroic sense of duty. He was a hero and he had to go where he were needed the most, regardless of the personal cost.
Think of your father, came his mothers voice. A paragon hero! Its his footstep youre following in. Do you want him to be so ashamed that he refuses to acknowledge youre his son?
No, replied N00b silently.
No, his mothers voice agreed. We want him to know and be proud of his son and to see the fine man you grew into and proudly recognise you as his flesh and blood. And the moment he does, BAM! We nail the ******* for eighteen years of child support!
N00b eyed the three thugs and edged a little closer. They seemed totally absorbed in the task of chiselling the tire off for reasons that were unclear, but it allowed N00b, his resolve now set, to launch a surprise attack.
He charged in and with his full weight behind the blow he thumped the nearest thug on the back of the head. Instead of sending him reeling as N00b had hoped he turned and regarded N00b with contempt and menace. His two companions stopped what they were doing and turned to face the inexpert hero.
Get the cape, growled the first thug.
N00bs knees quivered and threatened to buckle as the first blow came in, not from the blow itself, which was surprisingly weak, but just from fear. Another blow, then another found its mark. N00b tried to shield himself but realised he didnt need to. There was surprisingly little pain. The blows sounded strong enough but appeared to be largely ineffectual against his hide.
With his confidence growing N00b loosed a ferocious jab at the nearest and smallest thug who reeled from the force of the blow. Emboldened N00b pressed forward raining down blow after merciless blow with almost no resistance. Victory seemed at hand when the lead thug stepped forward and did something N00b would later consider unforgivable.
From the recesses of his waistcoat the lead thug produced a four-foot long mallet and swung it overhand as if hammering in a peg. The blow connected with the top of N00bs head with so much force the concrete beneath his feet cracked. Then his knees really did buckle and N00b found himself on his back with his three foes approaching. He scrambled frantically to his feet and took to his heels. Behind him he could hear guns being drawn and a moment later gunfire split the air.
He leapt to his right, slipped, regained his footing and bounced to his left and tried to shield his head as more gunfire sounded. He stumbled again, almost caught himself but slipped at the last moment and succeeded in launching himself head first into the side of car.
He dithered on the edge of consciousness but the dim realisation that large shapes were moving around him brought him reluctantly to something distantly related to alertness. With Herculean effort he managed to bring the three figures into focus. N00b looked up at them blankly until the muzzles of their guns, hovering inches from his face, brought recognition.
Oh N00b managed.
The world became very bright and noisy and then very dark and quiet.
An unidentified ping was the first thing N00b became aware of next, then the gentle whine of electric motors as something passed upwards through his field of vision. A well turned out young man in a white coat came into view.
Mr N00b?
?
The man smiled and looked down at a clipboard.
Ah, your first time I see, yes, dont worry, youre safe and sound. Im Dr Young. Youre in the Atlas park medical facility.
What happened? I thought I was dead.
Technically you were, agreed the Doctor.
I dont understand.
Confusion is to be expected, but youll get used to after youve been here a few times and may come to enjoy it, at least, thats what the Blappers tell me.
Am I all right?
Youre perfectly fine, and ready to take to the streets again, said Young and with a professional smile left N00b and turned his attention to the lower half of a nearby nurse
N00b gave himself a quick once over just to be sure but found nothing untoward. He was whole and healthy. Hed been defeated by three viscous thugs and instead of spending weeks in hospital with parts of himself held on by stitches or even a considerably longer period in box he was ready to go out and fight again.
His second worst all-time fear had been realised and now he knew there was nothing to worry about. A considerably different experience from his second worst all-time fear, which hed been confronted with eight month earlier when his mother found his extensive porn collection the consequences of which still gave him nightmares.
He passed through the hospital, barely aware of his surroundings too wrapped up in the miracle that had just happened and its ultimate meaning. The ramifications were literally mind-blowing and it was a very different N00b that stepped out the door of the hospital and into the darkening streets of Atlas.
The old fearful N00b was dead. Those thugs may not have killed his body but a part of him had died, a part that he loathed and wouldnt miss. There would be no more running, no more hiding in dumpsters, there would only be indefatigable justice, N00bs justice.
He was now the man with no fear and he had work to do.
(\_/)
(O.O) Bunny: Our time is coming
(> <)