Mouse Compatible is a complete Chaotix story appearing in Issue 264 of Sonic the Comic Online.
Staff[]
- Story: Jamie J
- Art and Letters: Mike Corker
Story[]
In their search for Ichneumon, the mysterious user maintaining the digital Shadow, Chaotix have resorted to breaking and entering the only apartment in Metropolis Zone under his name. Espio finds nothing but 'kids stuff' in the apartment itself while Vector finds a generator and several extension cables in the basement, which he starts following. Meanwhile online, Shadow is preparing to take down a terminal, freeing another sector from Robotnik's propaganda. While Espio investigates the child's room, Vector radios in, revealing he's found Ichneumon: A teenage hacker. Also answering to 'Iggy', she reveals that Kintobor created the program, but she came up with a patch to make it resemble Shadow after she hacked into the Death Carrier and caught a glimpse of the original, while his successor gets to work. She also reveals that Shadow 2 doesn't really have any sense of loyalty except to himself. Espio finds this funny, learning that the only reason Shadow 2 is unlikeable and aloof is because he's been effectively designed based on what a teenage girl deems as cool, but Vector senses danger. That kind of moral ambiguity in the hands of a fighter like Shadow could be a mistake, and indeed, Shadow has come face to face with a vision of Robotnik. The dictator sees Shadow's potential and dismisses his rudeness, offering Shadow a chance to leave the digital realm. Chaotix try to convince Iggy to reprogram Shadow so he'll be more willing to cooperate in the war effort, but his program is too complex. It cannot be altered without rewriting the whole thing, but Iggy reveals that the best way to gain Shadow's allegiance without reprogramming him is to simply find out what he wants and offer it to him. Unfortunately, Shadow is very intrigued by Robotnik's proposal, his ideas including downloading Shadow into a Metallix chassis, or contacting his people in another dimension who've made progress on living android bodies. All Robotnik wants is Shadow's allegiance to his empire. Shadow flees to escape the destruction of the terminal from a bomb he planted earlier, but is very intrigued by the dictator's offer of becoming a physical being. At the same time, Espio is faced with a difficult decision. As he's the only one who's physically met Shadow 2, it's his call as to whether or not they try to get Shadow on their side....
Trivia[]
- Iggy's bookshelf contains books with names like A Game Of Rings, a dual reference to real-world epic fantasy series The Lord Of The Rings and A Song Of Ice And Fire, adapted for TV as Game Of Thrones.
- Iggy's toys include a talking Mr Blobnik figure and a Tails Doll, fortunately with the gem removed.
Timeline[]
The previous Chaotix story was Rage Inside The Machine. This is the current story.