Shortfuse the Cybernik

Shortfuse the Cybernik, originally Shorty the Squirrel, is a fictional character created for Egmont Fleetway's Sonic the Comic by Lew Stringer. He is a Badnik character, who manages to regain his own self-awareness and declares his own personal war on Robotnik. His armour is made of Megatal, an indestructible material comparable to the Marvel Universe's adamantium. He first appeared in issue #45 of Sonic the Comic. He has silver body with red and black stripes and black eyes with red pupils.

Freedom Fighter
Originally an idealistic, short tempered young anthropomorphic squirrel, Shorty's life was changed when his friends and neighbors (including his best friend, Hopper) were captured to be turned into Badniks. Shorty attempted to rescue them single-handedly, damaging some equipment in the process, but was captured by Doctor Robotnik. Robotnik decided to use Shorty as the organic battery for Robotnik's prototype new Super-Badnik - the Cybernik, a process that meant Shorty would never be freed from the armour.

However, a combination of the damaged equipment and Shorty's stubborn personality allowed him to resist his Badnik programming. Renaming himself Shortfuse, he decided to use his powers to fight against Robotnik in revenge for trapping him in the suit. From this point on Shortfuse decided to battle alone, declining Sonic's offer to join the Freedom Fighters.

Nevertheless, he did occasionally work alongside the Freedom Fighters, assisting them against foes such as the giant Mekanik and Commander Brutus. He once battled Knuckles over a misunderstanding and, on a separate occasion, was temporarily brainwashed by Robotnik into fighting Sonic, although he managed to recover his wits and continue his one-squirrel war on Robotnik. After one particular solo endeavor, Shortfuse managed to free Tekno the Canary, a former weapons designer for Robotnik (and creator of Megatal), who redesigned his armour and helped him blow up one of Robotnik's factories. The two became close friends and allies.

During the time Sonic spent trapped in the Special Zone, Shortfuse joined the Freedom Fighters to provide the muscle and psychological boost that the group needed. However, his short temper affected the team and occasionally put them in danger; after a mission in which Shorty left Johnny Lightfoot in danger in order to battle rival Cybernik Vermin, Amy booted him from the Freedom Fighters. He later reconciled with them.

After Robotnik
After Robotnik was deposed, Shortfuse was left without a purpose and he had trouble adjusting to civilian life, his Cybernik state getting him fired from job after job. When the alien Insectra Empire contacted Mobius looking for a champion to help them against their evil enemies, he leapt at the chance; unfortunately, the alien war turned out to be a pointless, brutal waste of time and Shortfuse was brainwashed into continuing to help them. Amy and Tekno rescued him, and in the process he gained a program from a friendly alien race that allowed him to exit his suit for the first time. In the same story arc, Vermin broke free from his maximum security jail cell; in order to finally defeat him, Shortfuse was forced to sacrifice his freedom by giving the program to Vermin and then destroying the empty Cybernik armour from the inside.

After a few sporadic battles (such as against Agent X and Colonel Granite), Shortfuse went into his final battle against Robotnik and his attempt to drain Mobius's life energy until the planet suffered environmental collapse. Shortfuse commandeered the alien machine Robotnik was using, stopping him from using Mobius' life energy to give himself powers, and used it to reverse all the damage the villain had done. However, the feedback proved to be too much and destroyed his suit, finally freeing him and giving him his chance to be plain old Shorty the Squirrel.

Sonic the Comic Online
In the online continuation of Sonic the Comic, Tekno designed a new suit for Shorty that could be activated at will via a special control belt. However, an unknown person was able to mentally control him through this suit and he began to kidnap random citizens from the Metropolis City Zone as part of a trap for Tekno. With her trapped, Shortfuse hacked the Eternity Ring and tried to access an unknown dimension. Tekno was able to deactivate his armour and save him, but by accident, the deactivated armour hit the Eternity Ring and caused it to suck the two into a worm-hole. Their current whereabouts are unknown.