So, Rudy decided to go to school and learn all he can about the future of food, and then after graduating from Platinum City University, he returned to Random Way and began rebuilding it into the farming city of the future. He went around the country and recruited all sorts of farmers who had been put out of business, and invited them to come work in Random Way. He offered to teach them every aspect of hyper-bio-farming, and promised them that they could make a great living doing something they loved in a new way.

And it worked! Before long, Random Way was filled with thousands of farmers from all over the country, working on hundreds of different sorts of biosynthetic crops. Rudy began making deals with supermarket chains and restaurants all over the world, and within a few years of him graduating from college, Random Way had become one of the wealthiest little towns in the world.

But of course, where there is money, there are also people trying to take that money. A crew of hyper-bike bandits came rolling into town one day, and robbed the biggest bank in Random Way. During the ensuing shootout several officers were shot, and the police captain was killed. Rudy was at the bank, conducting some business that day and as he was hiding behind a desk, one of the deputies’ firearms landed near him. He suddenly had the impulse to grab the gun, and open fire on the bandits. He had never fired a gun before in his life – but on that day, he learned that he had an extremely natural, maybe even hyper-natural ability to hit his target, as all 6 bandits were taken down by his accuracy almost immediately.

Rudy was celebrated for his heroic feat, and elected to become the new captain of the police in Random Way. But he declined to take on the title of Captain, and instead reformed the police department into a team of highly trained deputies, whom he would head up as the Sheriff-in-charge. Bandits would continue to harass Random Way, but Rudy and his team kept the town protected and everything in check.

And then things got interesting, when he received a visit from a man by the name of Edgar Lockhart. Edgar was the most successful businessman in the world, and he was looking to add a restaurant to his long list of ventures. He wanted Random Way to be the sole supplier of ingredients for his establishment. Rudy was more than happy to oblige. They worked out a very lucrative deal, and Random Way became even more wealthy. However, their food wasn’t the only thing Edgar was interested in; he’d also heard of Rudy’s shooting skills. Edgar was accompanied by members of his Lockhart Force security and assassination squad, comprised of several of the most deadly gunmen and gunwomen in the world, and he wanted to see how Rudy’s skills matched up against theirs.

They went out into the town, square and set up a series of targets. Edgar introduced Rosko and Doc, who each hit the bulls-eye with incredible precision. Rudy stepped up next, and with almost no effort whatsoever he not only hit the targets, but he was able to curve and boomerang his bullets to hit the back of the targets! Edgar and his gunners had never seen anything like that. He pulled out the contract they had just signed for food distribution, and tore it up. He then had his legal team create an even bigger contract, with the caveat that Rudy would be available to work with the Lockhart Force, when called upon. His mother, Sally did not like the idea of him working as hired gun for a man who seemed to be somewhat morally questionable in his methods. But Rudy could not pass of the opportunity to further provide for the people of Random Way, plus, he had mostly been in his small town his whole life, aside from his years at Platinum City University. He wanted to get out and see the world. He agreed to the terms with Edgar Lockhart, and became a member of the Lockhart Force. Doc jokingly referred to him as “Tumbleweed”, and the name stuck.

Edgar then outfitted Tumbleweed with a collection of high-tech pistols and guns, most of which he used himself, and some of which he handed over to his top deputy, Earley Dey, who would be in charge whenever he was off on a mission with the Lockhart Force. For the next decade, Tumbleweed continued to pull double-duty as sheriff and gun-for-hire. And then came the fall of Edgar Lockhart. Well, it was less of a fall, and more of a fall from grace, as it was revealed to the world by the Alpha Initiative that Mr. Lockhart was not just a ruthless businessman, but also one of the world’s most dangerous mastermind hyper-villains.

Though several of his businesses, including the restaurant, were found to be legit above reproach, it was discovered that Edgar had been using coercion and illegal experimentation, as well as assassinations, to thrive as a warlord. The Alpha Initiative was hot on his tail, and Sally Corvetti was all over Tumbleweed, telling him that he needed to cut ties with Edgar. After a long and heated discussion, Rudy finally agreed with his mother, as he felt he could no longer justify to her some of the questionable things he’d done in the previous decade.

That night, however, Tumbleweed received a call, and was told to come to a location a few miles outside of town – aka, the middle of nowhere. When he arrived, he found Rosko and Doc, along with the other members of the Lockhart Force – Dezzie, Caliber and Chopper – awaiting him. Actually, they were all waiting, as none of them knew exactly what the meeting was about. A few minutes later another car drove up, and out stepped the final member of the Lockhart Force, Brandi Beretta.

She had just come from seeing Edgar Lockhart, who was in the process of handling the fallout from his recent introduction to the world as a mega-villain. With the Alpha Initiative hunting him, and the government investigating his businesses, other crime organizations, hyper-villains, dictators, warlords, and foreign leaders had taken the opportunity to attempt to usurp his position as international public enemy number one. But Edgar, with the help of his cohort, Ramses Hondo, had mobilized their considerable network of hyper-villains and mercenaries, and struck back against anyone who tried to fill his shoes – or to betray him.

But while Lockhart and Hondo’s associates, such as Askari Badru, Qadira Azizi, Fahim Nuru, Shanga, the Blue Zone Killers, (RC Allen, Chaos Kao Kwan, Slasher Vinnatori, Diabla Diaz, and Annihilator Anatoli) and others had been successful in quelling and eviscerating many of the threats against the evil empire, the country of New Arabia was proving to be a defiant and extremely tough shell to crack. The country’s leader, Malika El-Hasheem ruled as a dictator, and had worked within Lockhart’s network for a long time, benefiting from the money and resources gained through the connections it provided. However, in the wake of his fall from grace Malika had cut a deal with the United Nations, and was now providing considerable resources to the efforts to bring Lockhart to justice. It was imperative that Malika and New Arabia be destabilized.

The problem was that El-Hasheem had also developed a nearly unbreakable defense system around the borders of New Arabia, in the form of an army of seemingly indestructible cybernetic troops called “Everlasters”. A number of incursions to that point had failed. However, thanks to the spy Shefali Chisisi, Edgar had discovered that each Everlaster possessed nearly microscopic weak points in their armor. It would take a team of elite sharpshooters to penetrate the defenses, and bring Malika El-Hasheem to heel.

It was an extremely dangerous mission, and yet another questionably moral assignment, so, for a couple of moments, Tumbleweed debated with himself about whether to join the mission, or risk suffering the wrath that could come from refusing Brandi Beretta and, by proxy, Edgar Lockhart. He imagined what would potentially happen to his family, his business, and his beloved town of Random Way; all of the hardworking men and women, who had trusted him and made many sacrifices at the beginning to follow his dream and make Random Way the incredible place it now was. It would be devastating.

And so, Tumbleweed decided to lock and load, gear up, and join the rest of the Lockhart Force.

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