Canon Fodder

“I am pleased to announce the new mayor of Basin City, Weston Walker,” the speaker said from the podium. The man stepped back, clapping as he retreated from center stage. The crowd went wild as I walked out from the curtain. I was wearing a black suit, a golden tie, expensive cuff links, and sporting a $1,000 haircut. Camera lights flashed as I stepped out.

My hands grasping the podium I continued to smile brightly at those gathered in front of me. Hundreds of people were there, all trying to show their support for me, and I couldn’t let them down. I refused to in this world of sin and corruption.

“Thank you,” I said, the speakers at my feet projecting my voice. The people’s applause began to subside, but I could feel their hope. It was like a white ray of abundance that they all felt as they stared in rapt attention at me.

“I know you all worked hard for this day, and I thank you for that,” I said. More applause, I waited and once that died down, I continued again.

“I know we have been all been through a crazy few months,” I said. There were some ‘amens’ and ‘hell yeahs’ yelled out, leading to a few laughs. “As you all know, I was homeless less than six months ago.”

Which was true, and one of many points that put my running in the average person’s favor. People nodded, agreeing with the hardships. “I had lost my way, as many of you had. Gambling it all, losing myself in this city that was rightfully called the City of Sin. But here we are. I come here today to let you all know all this trouble was worth it. All this anguish is just a stepping stone for what we can become. No more will our people be corrupted. No more will children have to drag their parents out of casinos or gutters. No more will they have to be subjected to the drugs that riddle the Projects. No more, no more, no more.”

People cheered and applauded more. Many didn’t believe it would happen. I could feel their haki wasn’t fully convinced, but I knew I could do it.

“What about Bastard?” Someone from the crowd yelled.

“He will be no more as well,” I said with a nod. “The vigilante must be stopped, and I will make it my first priority when I take office. No more will his presence be needed.”

That quieted them all. I gave them a wry smile. “Come on, people. You know as well as I do, that he was a product of this city. All the rape, murder, drugs, and corruption. The Bastard was the light in the darkness. Having killed the Magliozzi Crime Family, wiped out the corruption in the BCPD, and eliminated the sick and twisted farm of the Roark’s.” They were all quiet now.

“You all saw it. This city was an infestation of all the bad in this country, and The Bastard put a stop to the worst of the worst.” A cough rang out, everyone too nervous to say what I was. Though the Bastard had wiped them all out, people still feared these names. As if saying them would someone the few remnants The Bastard hadn’t gotten to yet.

“No more,” I whispered into the mic like a promise. “No more will those that ruined this city be allowed to roam free. This I promise. So ignore all of them. Continue to do the work that is needed to keep our home safe. One day at a time we will bring this city back to it’s former glory.” I raised my hands and people cheered. I spoke more, thanking certain people that had helped me along the way. Eventually my spokesman stepped up, making more announcements so I could leave the stage.

“Congratulations,” one of the techies backstage said.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, but was already on my way. Heading out the back I could feel only a few people watching me. Running down the alley when I was out of their line of sight I took flight. Soaring through the air I wanted to make this quick.

It didn’t take me long to get to Town Hall. The mayor’s office the only light on in the upper floors, I let myself in a window and walked through the hall until I got to the mayor’s door. Knocking politely a gruff voice answered back, “Go away.”

Rather than listen to the old man, I let myself in. It was as I remembered a few months ago. The mayor’s office was large. Golden souvenirs sitting on bookcases, thick books etched in gold, expensive paintings mounted on the walls, the man liked to show off the bribes he got.

“Mayor Lossen,” I said with a nod. He was a fat man with a thick gray beard and shaved head. A whiskey in one hand a thick cigar was nestled between the fingers of the other. He sneered as I stepped in.

“Come to gloat?” He asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Something like that,” I said as I sat in the shorter chair opposite his desk. He took a drag from his cigar, chuckling as he leaned further back in his chair. Trusting the screws that held it together far too much.

“Fucking hell,” he said. “How did you do it?” He asked. “I looked into you, you were a nobody before-”

“Before you almost killed me,” I spat.

“What?” He asked, surprised.

I smiled wider, happy to know I was a minor foot note in his legacy as mayor. “Almost six months ago now. I was living on the street. Your driver ran me over.” I chuckled. “Do you remember? It was snowing, downtown, I was in rags at that time.” I remembered it vividly. Old me had been ran over, and I jumped to the world as he was dying. As my World Lasting Physique kicked in, the near-deadly wounds became nothing more than scratches.

As I studied the mayor I saw that he did remember. “You told your driver to keep going. I wasn’t worth your time.”

“That can’t…” He paused, realizing I was telling the truth. I nodded, pulling a knife from my sleeve.

“Now you should know,” I stood up. Three Sparks left me, destroying the three hidden cameras in the room. His eyes widened in fear, as I drew closer to him. My dagger shining in the dim light of the room I rushed forward, stabbing his hand. As I did, my new Ability, Reap, activated.

Memories flashed before my eyes. But rather than my own like a Memory Meld, they were the mayor’s memories. First was skimming a few dollars off the top at his parent’s store. Minor in the grand scheme of things, but merely the start of his corruption. Next was the bribing of a cop, he had been drinking, and didn’t want to get a DUI. Next was an affair he had with a colleague, and the subsequent abortion he forced her to have.

That was when his life of crime started to heat up. As his law firm became bigger he helped terrible people get away with heinous crimes. All worse than the next as he made Saul Goodman look like the good guy. From drug lords, to pimps, to hiding murders, he did all of it. And when he made a push for the mayor’s office he had plenty of help.

I watched it all in a flash and as I did the mayor began to convulse. The pain he felt from the wound I gave him increasing ten fold as he sins added more pain, a mere fraction of what he had put others through. His sins playing through in my mind I knew I was just in killing him.

No longer able to take the pain from my Reap skill, he withdrew a gun. Crying out as he pointed it at me. Rushing forward, I twisted the gun in his hands so it pointed at him.

“You know you had this coming,” I said as I moved his finger to pull the trigger. A bang rang out and a bullet pierced his forehead. The man convulsed, the death throws making him spasm. As he did I walked away. Content with hopefully the last bit of business The Bastard had to take care of for a while.

—

The door I entered after 300 world didn’t bring me to Sin City, but rather The Walking Dead. In that world I had been part of a group of survivors fending off zombies a few weeks after the outbreak. After coming to and taking charge of the compound thanks to my otherworldly strength, I made our haven safe from zombies and set out to find the cause of the zombie virus. It had never really been explained in the original canon, or at least if it had I didn’t see it.

Either way I set out and eventually came to a leftover group of scientists trying to figure it out. After a lot of weeks spent flying around the world to get different samples of the undead, I eventually stumbled upon the source. A black glowing rock in the middle of a crater. The rock had caused any normal person that got near it to turn into a zombie. Luckily thanks to my Viltrumite form I was mostly immune.

After a lot more flying around I found many rocks such as this around the world. Each one causing an outbreak of zombies. But even though I found the source, the canon still didn’t end. Eventually someone had the bright idea to check the moon. Perhaps a zombie asteroid had struck there and we could study it since Earth’s atmosphere had mostly destroyed the zombiefying rocks as they landed.

Since I was part Viltrumite I finally tried the true gains of the form. Venturing out into space I eventually got to the moon. But I didn’t find any rocks there, rather some aliens. These aliens were hidden away and asleep on a ship. After some slight shaking and minor threats I got a lot of information out of them.

Apparently they were a race of aliens that found worlds to replace their own. When they did find livable worlds they tended to prefer no neighbors so they killed inhabitants off with a good old fashioned undead plague. Allowing them to move right in after a few decades.

I didn’t think their method was so nice, but after I took charge of them and brought them back to Earth, they decided helping me was the best method to stay alive. My own scientists working on a cure with them for the zombie virus, and a nice big stronghold setup thanks to my strength, the canon ended.

I got some nice rewards after only a few weeks, and I decided to stick it out. Rather than go back to Marvel or figure out other worlds, I went to the 11 o’clock door. Which turned out to be the neo-noir mystery novel of a world known only as Sin City.

I wasn’t lying before about being run over by the mayor. I came to and healed, and though the Sin City comic didn’t have an end, I decided it was best to try to figure out my own ending. Since Sin City was one of the few comics out there without super heroes, I decided to add one. My vigilante persona of The Bastard quickly made appearances all over the city.

Killing the worst of the worst, my day persona happened to save an heir to one of the many rich families in the city. With their backing I began a tough on crime stance and began my run for mayor. Though there were many hiccups along the way, thanks to The Bastard, a lot of hidden information came to light about my counterpart. Practically making me a shoe in for the role since no one else had wanted to risk going against the old mayor.

Of course there were a lot of shenanigans along the way. Women throwing themselves at me, some genuine, some plants by the mayor and his cronies to get dirt on me. I was also involved in a blackmail scheme and gambling arc with my mayoral race on the line. All in all it was rather fun.

Due to my rather bloody vigilantism I had awoken a new ability in this world as well. Reap. This skill increased the damage of my attacks based on the sins of those I hurt. The dirtier the person, the more pain they felt. And as an added bonus I was now able to see some of those sins. Though they were dark, I often felt better after killing them because I knew I was justified in doing so.

Now a few days after my mayoral win, and the untimely suicide of the old mayor, I was living it up. Going to parties in the dark world that had a lot more color than the comic had shown.

“Can I join you?” A woman’s voice asked. I turned to see her walking onto the balcony. Behind her was yet another party the elite had thrown in my honor. An orchestra band playing inside, the people in suits and gowns danced, ignoring me out on the balcony. But the woman had her eyes focused on me.

Shorter than me she wore a deep red gown and bright red lipstick. Golden hair shining in the night she was rather skinny for my tastes, but I waved her over. “Sure,” I mumbled, looking back down onto the city. A police car drove past, its sirens on.

“You’re the most powerful man in the city now,” the girl said. Quickly showing her true colors. “Why are you alone tonight?”

“I’m not,” I said. “My dates in there some-” I stopped as I received another notification.

Sin City World Complete

Congratulations on finishing the world. Rewards increased for taking

the world in a direction not seen before. This update is available on novｅlfire.net

Rewards:

Challenger Ability Slot x 1

Challenger Item Slot x 1

Challenger Bonus Slot x 2

Due to the canon finishing, you will no longer be able

to earn challenger slots.

You may still be given quests to continue the story for the Sin City World.

“New direction, eh?” I mumbled. Happy that I had actually finished the canon. For a while now I wondered if there really was an end. But with the changes I had set in place I knew the city wouldn’t be known as Sin City any longer. More like Bad Deeds City. Because no matter what I could do, this place would still probably be the worst of the worst.

“That’s too bad,” the girl said, her voice low as she tried to squeeze her breasts together. I eyed her, nodding as I put it together.

“Another assassin?” I asked her.

“What?” She asked, caught off guard.

“Look lady, you’re not my first one in the last few days. Just run along and I won’t-”

“I’m not an-”

“I don’t give a shit. Seriously, like its a given, there are going to be people like you hired to kill me. But it’s getting rather old, don’t you think?” I asked. Her haki was plain to see, I knew an assassin when I saw one. “If you don’t want an excruciating-”

She lunged for me. Rolling my eyes I swiped and knocked her off the balcony handrail. She didn’t hardly scream, but reached up at me in slow motion. I frowned as she landed on the concrete below. Turning back to the party I was getting sick of the same old thing. Shaking my head I moved to walk back in but said, “World Escape.”

I was in the Red Room once more. Turning around I noticed the three doors behind me had green lights over them now. “Finally,” I said as I received a notification.

Congratulations on clearing 3 Doors

Rewards:

Dual Processing

10 day vacation

“Oh right, I forgot about the vacation,” I said as I read the reward. “I…don’t need one,” I admitted. In all honestly the last 6 or 7 months in Walking Dead and Sin City had been a vacation. There weren’t overly strong people to face, and I breezed through it all. Of course I seduced quite a few women in both worlds. In Walking Dead I killed zombies in the hundreds to keep people safe, and Sin City I was the potential mayor for a corrupt city where prostitution was basically legal. I had a lot of fun, and it was time to review the gains.

Name:	Weston Walker
Current Quest:
World 1:	Marvel
World 1 Quest:
World 2:	Invincible
World 2 Quest:
Passive Skills:	Memory Meld
	Dead Man Walking
	Handicap
	Gemini
	World Lasting Physique
	Dual Processing
Pet:	Tabi - Level 7	Summon
1 Challenger Slot
Forms:	Viltrumite Physiology	10%
Usable Abilities:	Status Screen
8 Challenger Slots	World Escape
	Conqueror's Haki
	Berserker Mode*
	Nen*
	Tremor Devil Fruit
	Spark*
	Union
	Fusion*
	Timeflow
	Reap*
Bonuses:	Hardened Organs
11 Challenger Slots	Major Psychic Resistance
	Medium Identity Theft Resistance
	Cerebral Fortitude
	Fertility Control
	Medium Body Modification Resistance
	Adaptability+
	Radiation Resistance
	Serendipity
	Medium Panacea
Items:	Keychain
4 Challenger Slots	Hardened Gantz Armor	Stored (25)
	Capsule - Home	Stored
	Item Choice
	Bonus Copy
	Hero Costume	Stored
	Bonus Upgrade
	Door Fragment	(1/4)
	10-Day Vacation
Currency:	Gold	12,777
1 Challenger Slot	USD	$492,554

I had received quite a few Challenger Slots. No Form one yet though, so apparently I needed harder quests to keep my Viltrumite Form. For my Abilities I had my Reap that was upgraded to allow me to see the sins of those I struck. But the majority of my gains were in my bonuses.

My Mental and Illusion Resistance combined and upgraded to Cerebral Fortitude. Somehow different than Psychic Resistance, I guessed anything not psychic would have trouble affecting me. My other resistances had taken huge leaps and even my Adaptability skill had upgraded. In Walking Dead and Sin City I was also able to increase my funds. So all in all the last few months had been well worth it.

“How much time do I have left?” I mumbled. Trying to guesstimate how many days I had been in the Comic Worlds I guessed about a year and a half. “About 500 days or so, I’m half way there.” With a boat load of challenger slots I knew I would be able to use everything I needed for the next challenge, rather than picking and choosing which could help me.

“Time to get back to-” I stopped, recalling the other factor in my plans. I brought up the Keychain.

Keychain Inventory:
Door Key	6
Hall Key	0

I still hadn’t found a Hall Door Key. But I did have enough Keys to open the rest of the doors in this hall. “Let’s not open them all,” I decided on. My eyes glancing from Marvel to Invincible, they landed on the 4 o’clock door. I walked up to it. The light above it red I mumbled, “You have to be The Boys, or DC.” I nodded, believing full well I had chosen one of those doors. My hand going for the doorknob I walked in, ready to keep my powerleveling going.