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Fiction, Short Fiction, Science Fiction
Karma Will Come
by: Digital Scribbler
The rocket launcher felt heavy in her hands but she wouldn't have to carry it much longer. There was only one rocket left. After that it would be useless. She would have to start using her fists. And Karma hadn't been trained for hand-to-hand combat.
Much of the city had been leveled and rubble lay everywhere. Karma came to a skyscraper, which now lay on its side, and had to turn back to find another route to the action. She had shot her grappling hook into Ratkiller earlier and had never thought to retrieve it.
Karma heard a large explosion as she turned down a side street. It was followed by what sounded like a building falling. She tried not to think of the innocent people that would have died in such a collapse. Thinking about those that were already lost would not help matters any. There were still others that needed to be saved.
The explosion was enough to draw Karma's attention long enough for Sludge Man to get the drop on her. Sludge Man was hard to fight because, as his name suggested, he was made of sludge. But Sludge Man's strength was also his weakness. He couldn't be hurt but he also couldn't really do any damage. He was only here to slow Karma down.
Sludge Man grabbed Karma and tried to hold her. But unsuccessfully. He kept grabbing Karma and she kept pulling free. At the rate she was going the battle would be well over before she got there.
She needed to use her rocket launcher. That was her only hope. But if Karma used the rocket launcher on Sludge Man, who was relatively harmless, she be in trouble when she was fighting with a powerful supervillain. There had to be another way.
An odor came to Karma's nose. It took her a moment to realize it was coming from Sludge Man and another moment to realize it was gasoline.
Karma had given up smoking months earlier, but still carried her lighter in case she ever decided to start again. Now she reached into her pocket and pulled the lighter out.
It was amazing how quick Sludge Man became consumed in flames. Karma had suffered a few minor burns before she could get away from him. If those were the only injuries she would suffer today then she was very lucky.
Karma had already seen much destruction, but nothing prepared her for what she saw after reaching the heart of the battle zone. The buildings were all destroyed. Except for the debris where they had once stood, it appeared that the giant skyscrapers had never existed. Bodies of villains, innocents, and her fellow heroes littered the ground. Although there were many dead on the ground there were still several battling. Karma now knew what Armageddon looked like.
Now Karma saw what had made the crash that she had thought was a building earlier. Morigu, a fifty foot tall giant with bony protrusions all over it's body, lay on the ground. He was bleeding a river and if he hadn't been breathing Karma would have thought he was dead. He might live but she wouldn't have to worry about him today. Morigu was in no shape to be fighting.
Reldar was fighting Bloody Shrapnel and Pagan Angel. He was greatly outmatched and Karma moved to help him.
A blow to the back of her head stopped her quick. Karma fell to the ground and was stunned for a moment. The pain from the blow had caused her vision to blur, but she was back up and ready to fight before it was clear again. She didn't have time to wait for it to correct itself.
The blur swung his fist at Karma and she ducked aside. She could see well enough to shoot it with her rocket, but she still didn't know if it was worth using her last ammunition. Until she could see who she was fighting, Karma would just have to stay on the defensive.
After dodging a few more blows, Karma's vision had cleared enough to realize she would not be wasting her last rocket on this villain. Before her stood Technophobe. He was the most powerful of all the villains.
Karma raised her launcher, but before she could fire the rocket, Technophobe was on her. He knocked away the launcher and punched Karma in the jaw in one stroke. Technophobe had moved so fast that Karma had not even seen him move.
After flying ten feet into a pile of rubble, Karma felt her jaw. It was broken. If she could survive this encounter and only have to drink through a straw for a few months she would be lucky. Technophobe had killed stronger heroes than she many times before. He wouldn't hesitate to kill someone just because they were weaker.
"Don't you ever watch where you're going?" Technophobe walked toward her. His metal lined knuckles flashed in the sunlight. Technophobe would have no problem killing her with those, and he had other ways to cause pain, too.
He's just playing with me, Karma thought. If he wanted to kill her, he could do it with one blow. If he wanted to, he could kill her without even getting his hands dirty. But Karma was not going to give up. If she could just get her rocket launcher back she had a chance.
Technophobe jumped and delivered a crushing blow to the rubble Karma had been laying in just seconds after she rolled out of the way. Karma gave a kick to his kneecap and, when that failed to even make him flinch, she ran in the direction she thought the rocket launcher had flown.
After spotting the rocket launcher she ran to it as fast as she could. Technophobe was faster than she was but he wasn't moving fast at all. Technophobe knew Karma was no match for him and he was enjoying his game too much to chase after her with all his speed. The longer it took him to catch her the longer he would have to think of an enjoyable way to kill her.
As Karma picked up the rocket launcher, her eye was caught by Reldar. He lay on the ground, bleeding and helpless as Bloody Shrapnel stood over him with his shrapnel gun. Pagan Angel lay on the ground near them, apparently dead.
Karma forgot about Technophobe and took aim on Bloody Shrapnel. After being struck by the rocket, Bloody Shrapnel lived up to his name. His upper body exploded and his bones became projectile objects.
Once again Karma felt a blow to the back of the head. This one was not quite so powerful. Karma stayed on her feet and quickly turned, delivering a kick to the side of Technophobe's head.
Again Technophobe seemed to feel nothing. He laughed and swung at Karma. His right missed but the left connected and Karma felt her ribs break.
Karma didn't let this affect her and quickly followed with punches of her own. A right fist to the face. A left to the abdomen. A kick to the groin. Still Technophobe seemed to be uninjured. In fact, his laughter never ceased.
Technophobe levitated a metal rod and hurled it at Karma with his mind. The rod pierced her right leg and the bone broke. Karma fell to the ground suppressing a cry. She wouldn't give Technophobe the satisfaction of hearing her scream.
"Leave her alone." Bio-man said as he flew toward Technophobe. His body oozed deadly toxins. One touch could kill most things. Bio-man's only hope was that Technophobe wasn't immune. If he was immune, there was no hope that Bio-man would end up victorious. But he had to take a chance. Otherwise Karma was finished.
Technophobe never gave Bio-man a chance to test his toxins. He grinned and raised his hand at Bio-man. Karma watched horrified as Bio-man's bones shattered and his body fell lifelessly to the ground. Another hero was gone and Karma had a feeling she was next.
Karma tried to think of some way to stop him, but it looked hopeless. She didn't think there would be anyone else trying to help her. The battle seemed to have ended. All was quiet. One side had won and if any of her friends were still alive they would be helping her right now. That didn't mean that the good guys had lost. Perhaps they had all killed each other and only she and Technophobe remained.
But doesn't that mean the bad guys are going to win? Karma thought it looked that way. She had no way of stopping Technophobe. Healthy she was no match for him and now she was far from healthy.
Technophobe reached down and grabbed the metal rod in Karma's leg. He then placed his foot on her upper leg. Technophobe twisted the rod in Karma's leg and she felt the most astonishing pain she had ever felt.
This time Karma couldn't help but scream. When she looked down she saw that the lower half of her leg was no longer attached. As bad as this was, Karma thought the worst was yet to come.
"Tough little bitch aren't you?" Technophobe laughed and threw the bloody rod away. Then he grabbed Karma by her hair and lifted her so he could look her in the eyes. "But not tough enough."
Almost by reflex, Karma jabbed her middle and forefingers into Technophobe's eyes. Her long manicured fingernails pierced the eyeballs easily.
Technophobe let out a shriek and tried to throw Karma away from him but she grabbed his head. Still holding Technophobe's head with her left arm, Karma probed even farther into his right eye socket with her fingers.
Slowly walking in circles, Technophobe pounded at Karma's back. She felt it shatter but did not stop what she was doing. If Karma was going to die, she planned on taking Technophobe with her.
Karma began to pierce Technophobe's brain. It didn't take long for the villain to fall. Karma lay beneath the lifeless body and waited for the darkness to take her. When it finally did, she welcomed it.
#
She still couldn't talk (her jaw was wired shut) but Karma was beginning to heal. When her bones had healed, Karma would be fitted with a mechanical leg. The doctors had told her that the limp would even go away eventually. Though many of the bones in her body had been broken, she had been lucky enough not to have suffered any spinal injuries.
The rest of her fellow heroes had not been so lucky. They had all died. Luckily so had all the villains.
Karma lay in her hospital bed drinking her lunch through a straw and staring at the ceiling. She had suffered much but the world was now at peace. At least for now. Hopefully it would last long enough for her to recover. More heroes would come along eventually, but for now she was the only one.
The hero closed her eyes and slept.
~Fin~
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