2.10

Ronald Robins, the man that went by the name of Copter, was sitting in the basement of his old, rundown home, reflecting on days gone by.

It was a home he and his wife, Francine, had bought when they first got married. A single-storey weatherboard house, it had been their dream style home when they had driven past it a few years prior to getting married.

The house had seemed out of their price range at first, but Ronald had landed a contract with the military in their technology department, so they were able to enjoy his new pay rise.

Ronald had invented his portable copter pack, making for airborne military. The military were ecstatic about this new invention and Ronald was set to possibly work with them for life.

However, tragedy struck the Robins’ household and this blissful bubble couldn’t last. Francine, who was pregnant at the time, was struck by a car.

Ronald developed an addiction to booze, and it helped him spiral into dark places. His destructive behaviour, coupled with constant drunk shows at work and constant accidents with the copter pack, Ronald’s contract was torn to pieces in front of him.

Adding salt to the wound, the alcohol fuelled Ronald’s anger and he lost contact with all the friends he and Francine had made, as well as his own family.

After spending months perfecting his copter pack, Ronald had finally decided to give it a test spin. The recent rise in crime he’d heard about on his wireless ignited his desire to help the heroes and show off his pack.

Unsure of what to use as a weapon, Ronald grabbed his late wife’s favourite frying pan. He was going to stop crime, and even though he didn’t have powers, he had his portable copter.

Ronald flew about Athena City, feeling exhilarated from the freedom his copter pack gave him. He was stopped by a passing flying hero, but Ronald explained what he was doing, and the hero nodded and sped off.

Ronald’s first act as a hero was stopping a purse-snatcher from a lady that reminded him of his late wife. She thanked him and without missing a beat, Ronald asked her out on a date. She accepted and the two hit if off immediately.

However, it wasn’t meant to last. Despite his recent newfound happiness, Ronald wasn’t able to let go of the bottle. It had offered him comfort in the darkest of times and he considered it a close friend. It had kept him warm when all he knew was cold.

It was the constant bottle in his hand and Ronald’s fowl temper that quickly destroyed his new relationship.

An accident occurred one night when Ronald was flying the streets, the line had been crossed with Julia and there was no going back.

Ronald had been flying with a bottle in his hand, singing about his sorrows, when he saw a bank heist unfolding down the street. Armed with his frypan and whiskey, Ronald rocketed down the street, hoping to stop the crime.

With his brain muddled and with a few curious people looking on, Ronald made his fatal mistake.

Dipping down too low to the ground, Ronald tried to grab one of the crooks, but he didn’t account for the blades of the portable copter and he accidentally decapitated the would-be bank robber.

The gore splattered all over Ronald and the other onlookers. A bright flash from a bulb blinded him and Ronald staggered toward the crowd, calling out obscenities.

The screams from the terrified people pierced his ears and Ronald tripped at the gutter and fell forward. His blades cut the arm off of another bystander.

Ronald was taken away by a hero and the next day he was on the front page of thousands of newspapers.

Ronald was sent to prison for eighteen years without a chance of bail. Julia visited him and broke things off between them.

Things didn’t go well in prison. Nobody visited Ronald, he made no friends and was often picked on and even beaten up by the other inmates.

When Ronald got out of prison, he tracked down Julia and learnt she had married and had three children.

Ronald went back to the house he had bought with Francine, and set to work on his next invention, as well as improving the copter pack.

He wasted no time in turning to a life of crime, and for whatever reason, became obsessed with only robbing banks.

Copter was the laughingstock of most of the villain and hero community, but Ronald didn’t care. His being so low on the list of priorities of many heroes, Ronald was able to slip through the cracks almost unnoticed. Ronald grew a considerable amount of wealth from his robberies and lived a life in comfort.

After twenty years of failing his latest invention, Ronald was approached by Cardinal Knight. If he promised to serve her, she would help him finish his element gun.