Will hesitated at first but then realized it was only a matter of time before he won this challenge and he had
nothing but time and an alternate reality universe to explore, and really, how often does he get to be a
direction kiosk in a game?
"Okay," Will said, "Ill cover your shift, when will you be back?" Apparently the question triggered some auto
response in the guard as she seemed to go into auto pilot for response.
"To encourage realism and player faction interaction, the cities in the World of Supers have guard rotation.
This means at random times throughout the day, some Non-Player characters (NPCs) will not be doing their
normal jobs and could be found elsewhere in the city. These rotations last for an hour but on special events
may last for up to a day."
The guard blinked for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "Oh, I'll be back within the hour."
Will nodded, "Oh, well then that's fine, what do I need to do when covering your shift?"
The guard smiled, "I'm sorry to have to be formal about this but you know the rules. Will you cover my shift?
Please state "I Accept" or "I decline.""
Will, thinking he had made his willingness to cover the shift clear, was confused but said, "I accept but you
didn't tell me what exactly I'm actually supposed....."
A loud voice from nowhere boomed "NPC to NPC transfer initiated. Please stand by!"
Will was suddenly rethinking his acceptance of the offer when a sharp pain shot through his skull. It radiated
through his spine and out to the rest of his body. He screamed out but didn't hear himself over the ringing in
his ears. As quickly as it came the pain was gone and he immediately had his senses back and noticed he was
surrounded by a strange swirling cloud of sparkling something.
He recognized the appearance of that cloud as an in game character transformation, his avatar was about to be
changed, unfortunately HE was the avatar.
Will tried to speak, and move, and run, and scream but couldn't do anything. His eyes could move and he tried
to look above himself for the progress bar but couldn't see it, or move his head to look. He could feel the
changes occurring but couldn't tell what exactly was happening. He did notice when he shrunk three or so
inches and he either got significantly thinner or his clothes grew huge.
A few seconds later the swirls stopped thereby signaling the transformation was complete but he still couldn't
move freely. Suddenly Will spun around three times (counter clockwise for those who care,) and then had
control of his body again.
Looking down he noticed his outfit had changed to that of a guard and he was carrying a gun. He normally would
have given that much attention but he also noticed his legs and torso had doubled in size and his arms had
quadrupled, and it was all muscle. He was all muscle.
Shocked by the transformation he looked above his head at the nameplate floating above his head
Will of City Guard
Level 12
Level 12? Level 12! Will was shocked until he thought about it, the town guard has to be the toughest thing in
the area in order to 'keep the peace' and this area was for level 5-8 characters. Will didn't get the usual
level up 'Advancement' screen but that made sense as he didnt advance but was more so, reprogrammed.
He was now one of the strongest entities in the area, done sending the package, and had time to kill. The
program seemed to have changed who he was to the rest of the game so he doubted he would have any problem with
his former villain status.
Out of nowhere a player was flying up to him full speed, on a hover-scooter. A millisecond before impact the
scooter disappeared and the player hit the ground and stood still with an eerie emotionless look on his face.
Face unchanging the player said, "Um, do you know where the tavern is?"
Beside himself with his near death experience Will went off on the guy for scaring him, "WHAT THE HELL is
WRONG WITH YOU?? You almost Killed me!! You scared the bejebus out of me and all you can say is where is the
Freaking Tavern!?!?!"
Well, that was what Will had intended on saying, really he said, "Ah, yes. The tavern, one of my favorite
places! You can find several taverns in the city. My personal favorite is in the slums district, but you can
also find one near Hero's Hall on the north side of town or by Vigilante Crusher's Corner to the south."
All this while smiling.
The player immediately mounted the hovercraft that appeared again from nothing. Gone as quickly as he came,
Will caught a glimpse of his reflection in a nearby window, he didnt look much like himself at all!
Humongously proportioned, almost comical, and he looked older than before. No longer 20 but more so 35 with
heavy stubble that turned into a goatee. Being 15 all of 2 hours ago he liked what he saw and smiled, he
looked charming. Experimenting with his reflection he glared and actually scared himself as he did not yet
naturally recognize the face as his own.
Not having expected to loose control of his body randomly upon player interaction, maybe this transformation
isn't all THAT great, Will thought to himself as he realized the other guard was gone. Where did she go off to
Will wondered, but that line of thinking was cut short when he realized that he was in the wrong location. He
NEEDED to cross the street and go up a block! He is currently out of formation!
Will's mind went blank as he was called to the task of City Guard...