Karmacat, the grizzled mercenary with scarred fur and a cybernetic eye glowing red, gripped the controls tightly, his tail lashing in the wind.
He'd chased bounties from neon-lit megacities to forsaken wastelands, always prioritizing profit over principle.
A holographic bounty board flickered on his wrist, listing high-paying marks, but none matched the thrill of the hunt.
Karmacat crested a dune on his hoverbike, skidding to a halt at the edge of the pandemonium.
In the center, Sonichu, once a beacon of heroism now twisted into villainy with jagged yellow quills crackling with dark energy and glowing red eyes, loomed over cowering villagers.
He hurled lightning bolts at fleeing families, laughing maniacally as fires erupted, his muscular form casting a monstrous silhouette against the dying light.
"Pathetic worms! Bow to your new electric overlord, or feel the full shock of Sonichu's wrath! I've traded heroism for true power—now this town pays the price for ignoring me!"
Karmacat dismounted, his claws digging into the sand as he watched a child cry over a collapsed tent.
For the first time, profit felt hollow; these weren't armed fugitives but innocents crushed under tyranny.
His cybernetic eye scanned Sonichu's rampage, calculating risks that screamed loss over gain.
"Damn it... bounties built my life, but this? This electric freak's turning heroes into monsters, preying on the weak. No payout's worth letting that slide—time to end this, even if it costs me everything."
Karmacat crept forward, cloaked in adaptive camouflage, his lithe feline form blending with the shadows.
Sonichu paced triumphantly amid the wreckage, sparks dancing across his quills as he looted supplies.
Villagers' muffled sobs fueled Karmacat's resolve, his paw hovering over a plasma pistol humming with charged energy.
"Stay down, stay quiet—I've taken down worse than you in darker holes. You're not a hero anymore; you're just another bully with a power trip, and I'm the cat who claws back."
Karmacat lunged from cover, firing searing bolts that Sonichu deflected with crackling shields.
Sonichu spun, unleashing a torrent of lightning that scorched the ground, forcing Karmacat to dive behind a boulder.
Claws met quills in a frenzy of slashes and shocks, blood and sparks mingling in the air.
"A mangy cat thinks he can stop me? I was a legend—now I'm a god! Feel the thunder, bounty hunter; your greed ends here in electrified agony!"
"Legends fall, rogue. I've bled for coin my whole life, but watching you terrorize these folks? That's the real villainy. Eat plasma, sparkplug—this one's for the vulnerable you crushed!"
Sonichu[/@ch_2] sprawled amid smoldering debris. Villagers emerge cautiously, cheers rising as they tend to the wounded.]
Karmacat stood panting, pistol smoking, his fur singed but stance unbowed, as Sonichu groaned in defeat.
The cost was steep—his hoverbike wrecked, gear fried—but gratitude shone in the eyes of those he'd saved.
For once, the mercenary felt richer than any bounty.
"It's done. No reward, no glory—just right over wrong. Get up, Sonichu; redeem yourself or rot. Me? Back to the hunt... but now I choose my marks wiser."
