((This is an excerpt of the first story in the old City of Heroes MMO that I joined. I can’t thank everyone in that game enough.  They showed me how much fun a cooperative game is.))

“OK”, said Flash-Over, “Plan B”. “What’s that?”, I said. Jack just tackled me and screamed “‘Kickers down!” Then the whole world went up. My legs, where Jack hadn’t been able to cover me with the tackle, felt like they had just been dipped in molten lava. I screamed as the pain hit me. A pulse of heat-generated pressure hammered the breath out of me.

I panicked and Jack just held me down for a few moments more, then got off me and I got a chance to look around. Most of the Tsoo were down with second and third degree burns, and a lot of the crates looked worse off than the Tsoo did. Hyper-Man was the first off the ground and he cut loose on the lone remaining sorcerer and hammered him flat. “Anybody else want a shot!” Hyper-Man called out. Groans and dropping weapons eloquently answered his question. This fight was over.

“Listen, pledge, this was a rough introduction to the team, but we are glad to have you. Err, by the way, your pants are smoking. “Uh…..thanks”, I said, still dazed from the blast. I looked around at all the scorched and burned people and crates. “What was that?” “That was Flash-Over, and ‘Plan B’ means find cover ’cause its gonna get hot.” “Does she do that often?” “No, just when she gets pissed at something, or we’re in it deep.” I looked around again and spotted a forklift that had been near me when the blast happened. The forks were sagged and looked like they had been halfway melted, which they had. “Remind me to stay on her good side.”