Shortfuse the Cybernik is a super-Badnik from Sonic the Comic, designed by Doctor Robotnik. Unlike most Badniks however, Shortfuse retained his own mind during the conversion process and devoted himself to trying to defeat Robotnik in an act of revenge. He is one of the comic's most popular original characters, though his habit of retelling his backstory with every appearance for the benefit of new readers has become a running joke among fans.
History[]
He first appeared as Shorty the Squirrel, a brash, hot-tempered resident of Emerald Hill Zone. When Shorty's friends were kidnapped by Robotnik, Shorty took it upon himself to try and rescue them, and even managed to damage some of Robotnik's equipment before being captured himself. He was thus selected to become the first of Robotnik's new Cyberniks. Shorty stubbornly resisted the brainwashing process and liberated his friends, who had since been turned into Badniks, though he could not break out of his own armour. Some time afterwards, he rescued Tekno the Canary from a Badnik Processing Plant, who upgraded his armour and weapons and helped him destroy one of Robotnik's factories.
While never an official Freedom Fighter, Shortfuse worked with them on a number of occasions, and even joined them while Sonic was stranded in the Special Zone, providing the team with extra muscle and connections to Tekno. The alliance didn't last long however, as Shortfuse acquired a rival in this time, in the form of Vermin the Cybernik, and his recklessness and need to defeat Vermin almost resulted in Johnny Lightfoot being killed. After his departure, Shortfuse continued his vigilante work until the EMP which ended Robotnik's reign caused his power to cut out while he flew over the Lava Loch Zone. Only his emergency backup power and Megatel armour saved him. After crawling onto the Loch's shore, he was found by Amy, Tekno and Johnny, who told him what he'd missed. Depressed at having failed to beat Robotnik himself, Shortfuse left in a rage and tried unsuccessfully to adapt to civilian life, before being called to aid the Insectra Empire in an interplanetary war. The war proved to be meaningless however, and Shortfuse was brainwashed to continue fighting, until he was rescued by Amy and Tekno.
After spending some time on the homeworld of the friendly Kaamdarn people, Shortfuse returned to Mobius, with a new friend, Amber. After spending Christmas with Shortfuse and the girls, Amber returned home but left Shortfuse with an exit code, so he could leave his armour for the first time. This was short-lived however, as Vermin broke out of prison and went on a rampage. In order to bring Vermin down, Shorty re-entered the suit and allowed his rival to drain his power, and with it, the exit code. This defeated Vermin, but left Shorty trapped in his armour again. Shortfuse continued his vigilante work and the occasional mission with Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, but his last battle came when Robotnik began draining the planet's life force, causing a total environmental collapse. Shortfuse wired himself up to the machine and reversed the effects, winning the day, and finally breaking out of his armour, the sheer power being too much for the suit to take.
Tekno later built Shorty a new suit of armour, one he could activate and de-activate at will, giving him the best of both worlds. This was not to last however, as the armour was hijacked on his first flight by an old foe of Tekno's: the false Egyptian God, Set. Under Set's control, Shortfuse kidnapped several people and hooked them up to a biological computer, which was in turn linked up to the Eternity Ring, which later transported Tekno and Shorty to the technologically devoid world of Solstice. After their last battle with Set, which seemed to finish him off, Tekno and Short returned to Mobius to find a war had broken out. Whether or not Shorty will become Shortfuse again is unknown, but his relationship with Tekno is now damaged beyond repair.
Abilities[]
Shortfuse's armour was built to last, made out of the near-indestructible Megatel created by Tekno, and equipped with a reserve power supply in case of emergencies. He is capable of high speed flight and is armed with a powerful wrist-mounted laser. As a Cybernik, however, he is open to more unorthodox methods of attack, such as having a control disc implanted onto his back, or even having a computer virus injected into his system, as demonstrated in his first encounter with Vermin.