Having spent the first few hours after midnight insuring he had truly alluded the agents of CHESS and MEDUSA, Daniel finally made his way back to his bike and the civilian clothing he had awaiting his return. No longer bleeding but in a weakened state, he takes every caution making his way along the city's wet blackened streets. He reflected on the night's events.
**What was I thinking? I spent entirely too much time with Craftsman, and not near enough scouting escape routes from the Docks. It was sheer luck I escaped the net that tactical team was using. If they
had been properly manned, I'd be in custody instead of making my way back to the Warehouse. I can't let this happen again. I have to step up my training ... especially when taking on multiple opponents. The Master was right. I still had much to learn. I wasn't ready for the forces I would face on this Mission. I didn't choose this though, it chose me**
Pulling his bike into a parking garage a dozen blocks from Craftsman's Warehouse, Daniel makes his way to the roof. Looking out across the city the young man uses his special awareness to sense the movement of the city around him. It's the quite time, only a few hours before dawn.
Daniel takes a great amount of effort to avoid observation from anyone outside the Warehouse than from those within. Taking care to remain silent as the night, Archer purposefully trips the first alarm he comes across, so that Craftsman is aware of his presence, if he's even here. Quietly focusing his spatial awareness to it's greatest range, Daniel makes sure the coast is clear before making his way through the Warehouse and into Craftsman's lair. The darkness being no deterrent to the bloodied bowman, Daniel drops his gear on a nearby workbench. Careful not to disturb any of his benefactor's projects, the weary warrior falls asleep in a cold corner.
Quickly the morning comes to Megalopolis
David wakes up. He is sore but feeling better. Sitting at a work bench nearby is the Craftsman. He works silently on a project. David sat up. He removes the target points from his quiver He will replace them with blunt arrows later.
Craftsman turned on the Megalopolis news. The lead anchor speaks, “we take you to the opening of the Dragon Kai dojo in Megalopolis Chinatown district. It is a state of the art Martial Arts training facility. It teaches the classic arts not the hybrid MMA which is popular today.” A video is played showing the school and its students as they do their exercises and display their skills for the T.V. crew.
Jessica Anderson reports on gang violence at the docks. “A bow wielding gangster killed a member of the Nicotines. The Nicotines are one of the oldest biker gangs in the city. It appears this is the result of a new upstart gang that attempted to rob the Nicotines of their drugs. The Megalopolis PD spokesman would not comment on the rumor that a new Asian gang is trying to muscle into Nicotines turf”.
The T.V. turns off. Craftsman spoke, “Rough first mission? They never go exactly as planned. It is always messier than expected. Only sparring matches are neat affairs. It is because they are a controlled environment."
“If you want to talk I will be here to listen. If you need to think about it first don’t go somewhere private. Go where people are celebrating. It will remind you why you do what you do or let you know if the price is too high. Why don’t you go to ‘The Hunter and Its Prey’ Festival.”
“While you are gone, I will attempt to create a new arrow which will give you a tactical advantage. Think about what you are wanting. I can make an explosive arrow, a taser arrow, or an acid arrow.”
David nodded and gathered his stuff. He contacted Tommy to see if he wanted to go to the Festival with him. Tommy agreed to meet him there.
Tommy has a great time teaching David ‘how to pick up babes”. David can’t decide if Tommy was a good teacher or not but it was fun to watch.
Near the pavilion area, David stopped in his tracks. “Spot a hot one?” Tommy asked. It wasn’t a woman. It was something blocking his spatial awareness. It shouldn’t be blocking him like it is.
He wasn’t paying attention when this man walked behind the pavilion and started walking toward the woods. He left David’s visual sight but was still in his spatial awareness. At the same time he had heard a WHOUMP sound; a huge man suddenly appeared in his awareness blocking the other man. But for the large man to block his awareness like this he would have to be made out of metal. Before David could focus his spatial awareness to figure out what the man was and what he was made up of, he heard a WHOUMP sound again and the giant man was gone.
David thought the other man had disappeared with him but then he saw the man walking back to the pavilion. “How did he get back here so fast? How did he slip around my awareness?” David thought
Tommy studied David’s face. “No that is not the look of a guy who has spotted ‘his prey’. Tommy laughed at his own joke. With a big smile, Tommy says, “I know! You saw the Prankster! He appeared and disappeared right before your eyes right?”
David responded by asking, “Who?”
Tommy lets out a huge laugh, “really, you don’t know the capes that defend the Refuge Islands? Boy, if they don’t act all Kung Fu Master like you just don’t know them.”
“C’mon on man your killing me here. Okay, maybe you know them by a different name. How about?”
“Prankster and Wonder Boy?”
“The Delightful Duo?”
“The Caped Comic and the Boy Genius?”
“I give up. How about we go to the archery range? The person in charge looks really cute and I know you like archery, right?”
You both walked down to the range. It is closest to the river. It is away from the other events. They have set it up where the arrows that miss the target will land near the riverbank and a really bad miss would go into the river. This prevents a stray arrow from landing among the Festival attendees. The area is roped off with heavy poles and stakes setting up the parameters.
Tommy enjoyed waiting in line. The person in charge of tickets was showing interest in Tommy. Whenever the Archery lanes were full and the participants were taking their five shots she would leave her station to talk to Tommy.
She hinted she has a friend that would like David, if he was interested.
David looked at the river toward the Winthrope Bridge as she talked to them. He started to get a massive headache. Something was messing with his spatial awareness. At first he thought it might the giant again but this felt different.
The air and water started to shimmer. He has seen this in a desert once. It was heat waves creating the water effect. This was similar but it was coming from heat.
Suddenly there was a purple flash in front of him. It wasn’t blinding but it revealed a large … worm? He had never seen anything like it before and that was the best description he could come up. He only had time for that single thought before the wave of water washed over the entire archery area. Desperately David searched for something to grab a hold of as he was submerged and thrown by the moving wall of water.
He found the archery parameter rope and grabbed it. As the wave reseeded, he was brought above the water line and could breathe again. Fortunately the parameter roping was secure and did not give away. David saw that Tommy and others were also hanging onto it.
David noticed a Sailboat flying above him. Looking up, he saw it was not a product of the wave but that a man wearing yellow and white with a cape was carrying it. It a blur of movement, the man bashes the monster with the Sailboat.
KaBOOm! Wood and metal pieces fly across the river and into the festival. Tommy yells, “David!” He is pointing to where a man is holding onto the rope. He was hit by a fragment. He hangs on to the rope but loses the grip he had on his 9 year old daughter. The girl is dragged by the undertow of the water as it moves back toward the river. The dad is hurt and can’t move. The girl is 5 feet from David and 20 feet from the river.
David hears a woman scream.
“Someone save my Katie!”
< Due Date: May 7th, Actions, Goal, Replies>
Current Conditions:
Archer Hit Points: 44 Power Points: 75
Blunt Head Arrows: 0
Target Point Arrows: 0
Broad Head Arrows: 0
Holy Pigs in a Poke
Tom that was so cool. I could feel my guts tighen as the MEDUSA squad started tightening the noose. Thought for sure I was either going to have to fight my way through the Feds or turn myself in.
That was a lot of information/plot twist all at once. Mind if I get things straight in my head before we take the next step. I think I got it right but much of it had me a bit confused - just like you like it I'm guessing! BTW I like how you use his first name sometimes - I mean really - you'd have to be a bit off in the head to refer to yourself as "Arsenal" when thinking to yourself.
First - if even the Feds are a bit confused about it then I take a bit of pride in having them and the Nicotines entertaining the possibility they had been double crossed.
Second - Wow great :( Now they have DNA and a voice print for Archer.
Third - I'm a bit fuzzy on the Criminal Welfare thing. Are they starting with the good stuff and then slipping in an alternate drug after they've cornered the market?
Fourth - the Informant - is Invulnero? Okay now thats a twister. So Invulnero called "back-up" when the Nicotines started going down? SoB sure didnt mind putting some slugs in Daniel did he? He sounds awfully well connected to the good guys for someone whose a drunk and gives unreliable info - great I couldn't even take out a drunk (lol) :)
Fifth - Sooo ..... just how hard is it to hotwire a Skycycle :)
Note to self - Celestial Garden - weapon sales okay but what constitutes a military action?
Archer slips from his hiding spot. Unseen he enters the nearby the building to enter the sewer system. In a few minutes he is on his motorcycle and leaves the docks behind him.
Current Conditions:
Archer Hit Points: 41
At the moment I'm a bit stumped what direction i want to take it from here. The obvious play is to go for the Celestial Garden. Given his first outing I'm not quite sure Daniel is ready to beard the lion in his den (recurring metaphor today) just yet.
<Archer: OOC first actions> I think Daniel will take a very circuitous route and make his way back to the Warehouse. Take Craftsman through an after action report, asking for advice on what he could have done better (maybe some better medical aid - not sure bothering Tommy's mom would be too smart) and slap an ideal or two around about the possibility of a "specialty arrowhead"
Great Stuff Tom - had a blast reading it
John R
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First - if even the Feds are a bit confused about it then I take a bit of pride in having them and the Nicotines entertaining the possibility they had been double crossed. Nicotines were fooled. The Feds, it depends, CHESS and MEDUSA on the other hand don’t believe that is what happened. That makes more sense considering the whole Invulnero thing.
Second - Wow great :( Now they have DNA and a voice print for Archer. And depending how careful he was in handling his arrows they might even has his fingerprints too. I think his Forensic studies would have him taking all the possible precautions to avoid that kind of thing, including possibly his mask altering his voice, but that might be a bit revisionist I think
Third - I'm a bit fuzzy on the Criminal Welfare thing. Are they starting with the good stuff and then slipping in an alternate drug after they've cornered the market? The Talon’s provide everything they need. All they have to do is follow orders and will make money. Soon the Talon’s are the only contacts they have and their only connection to money, drugs, weapons, housing (yes they provide safe houses and gang HQ), and protection. If someone leaves they are totally out in the cold with nothing. Okay that's even simpler than I was thinking - seems a bit expensive, but hey, I guess you gotta spend money to make money.
Fourth - the Informant - is Invulnero? Okay now that's a twister. So Invulnero called "back-up" when the Nicotines started going down? SoB sure didn't mind putting some slugs in Daniel did he? He sounds awfully well connected to the good guys for someone whose a drunk and gives unreliable info - great I couldn't even take out a drunk (lol) :) Yeah, winning the birth lottery of being younger brother of Megalopolis Police Chief Douglas Ravage has helped him a lot. Big Brother even got him into CHESS. It helped he wasn’t a drunk then. It was after a failed mission that he became a drunk. Sorta his own personal Khyber Pass event. Awww now your just trying to make feel sorry for the poor guy uhm no
Fifth - Sooo ..... just how hard is it to hot wire a Skycycle :) Not to hard but disabling their personal version of Lo-Jack is on the level of DarkStar lol - yeah that's what I figured on. Oh well a poor asian kid can dream can't he.
Note to self - Celestial Garden - weapon sales okay but what constitutes a military action? What I attempted to say was Drug Sale okay, selling military weapons would generate a response from MEDUSA. Other military actions – Assassinations, Political Kidnapping, Invasion or Theft of Military Property/Intelligence. My bad on that one. I think I got hurried/tired/confused by the time I was making that part of the post.
Thanks for the clarifications. All the CHESS and MEDUSA stuff has put a really cool twist in the story I wasn't expecting. Makes not running into Lightning Fist a lot less disappointing. I thought for sure with the Oracle info, he'd have made an appearance - I'm still digging the scene with the Medusa tactical squad. Awesome story right up
New Business
Actually the write up was so good I'm a bit stuck what direction to go at the moment. I know I want Archer to carefully make his way back to the Warehouse get patched up and bounce some ideals around with Craftsman, talk about a possible "specialty arrow" but beyond that I'm a bit blocked.
After the alley, I'm not sure about taking on the "Celestial Garden" right away. Seems he need some more experience before baiting that lion in his den??? Not worried about Genghis as much as the possibility of running into multiple skilled opponents - a definite possibility given the Talons organization. Combine that with the appearance of CHESS and MEDUSA I think Daniel could really use some advice from Craftsman.
Also ... he's killed a guy, even if it was by accident, and he's not comfortable with that. I think I'll try to address that at the same time his physical injuries are healing. I want this to be something that effects him as much as it might have Matt Murdoch when he was a college student. Peter Parker maybe but less four-color more grey in tone.
Think I'll have him check his e-mail while he's healing up also. see if Oracle has anything to say.
So how do you want to proceed from here. A dialogue scene at the Warehouse? Extemporize the story through that and jump into something else? Some third option?
Thanks for the great storyline
John R
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Hey Tom
Sounds like a good time for character development. How about I do an Archer: Side Shot #1 and then you pick up the conversation with Craftsman from there. If at all possible, I'd still like him to make a cameo appearance on the Damned Bridge snapping some shots into the Dhole Demon. I envision him and Craftsman's conversation winding up when they see the information on the news or the hero hotline ... something Inspired by conversation about his dad, the guilt from killing Marlboro, he heads out in an alternate, maybe makeshift costume, to either distract the creature til the "real heroes show up or save a few lives on the bridge - cameo stuff.
How about we do the Patriarch conversation during a meal he has promised to have with the rest of the family on a weekly basis. This big stuff. A character's lair defines him in many ways. You know I sat here for a bit thinking about it, and while a warehouse is kinda copycatting Craftsman, it's a great ideal. Other than a restaurant, or small factory nothing else remotely makes much sense for a private owner, especially with her background. I look forward to developing that part of his storyline. I can see it being the subject of a couple Side Shots as he cleans up, renovates and customizes it to his needs - hmm maybe I should have went after Genghis and the money after all
I'm going to deal with part of this in the Archer: Side Shot #1, and I'm sure you've either thought of it, or going to make me pay for bringing it to your attention We talked about a potential voice print and the DNA evidence from blood on the roof, but it occurred to me it could get worse. If they decide to do a detailed DNA analysis, I'm sure comic book forensic experts for CHESS or MEDUSA could find Asian and Caucasian DNA markers from his blood. This could potentially re-enforce the Talon double-cross story. Alternatively if agent DNA is on file a deep search could possibly mark the Archer Alley Ambusher as a blood relative to the Enforcer!
Just had to roll a 1 didnya
John R
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Believe that I will have cross-overs but I want it to be significant and meaningful. None of this "Lets put Wolverine of the cover because it will sale more" Marvel style antics.
LMAO - Not a fan of that myself. LOL - was actually picturing some comic ages ago. I think Byrne was retro-working the FF. Galactus was setting up shop in Manhattan and all the street level heroes like Spider-Man Daredevil and oddly eough Doctor Strange I think all realized this was a fight they had no place in and mostly sat on the sidelines helping the odd citizen while the Avengers and Fantastic Four did the heavy lifting.
I'm excited about writing this Side Shot its a great place for me to work throught the psych aspect of Archer dealing with Marlboro's death. I'm not going all Peter Parker with it but feel Iron Fist and Daredevil would go through similiar regret, and Archer being so young is going to fall somewhere between the two - I think
Thanks Kimosabe
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The early morning brings a cool wet rain with the ebbing of the moon, as a bandaged bowman's bike makes it's way through dark streets and alleys of the Factory. Having spent the first few hours after midnight insuring he had truly alluded the agents of CHESS and MEDUSA, Daniel finally made his way back to his bike and the civilian clothing he had awaiting his return. No longer bleeding but in a weakened state, he takes every caution making his way along the city's wet blackened streets. Reflecting on the night's events.
**What was I thinking? I spent entirely too much time with Craftsman, and not near enough scouting escape routes from the Docks. It was sheer luck I escaped the net that tactical team was using. If they
had been properly manned, I'd be in custody instead of making my way back to the Warehouse. I can't let this happen again. I have to step up my training ... especially when taking on multiple opponents. The Master was right. I still had much to learn. I wasn't ready for the forces I would face on this Mission. I didn't choose this though, it chose me**
Pulling his bike into a parking garage a dozen blocks from Craftsman's Warehouse, Daniel makes his way to the roof. Looking out across the city the young man uses his special awareness to sense the
movement of the city around him. It's the quite time, only a few hours before dawn. No traffic on the streets, no sirens in the distance, not even the skycycles of CHESS disturb the early morning. It's almost as if the whole city were holding it's breath ... waiting for ... something? Sighing with a heavy sense of duty, Daniel starts to make his way over the rooftops, using every once of energy and skill he has to move as a shadow, almost afraid to disturb the stillness of the night.
**Mom, I'm sorry. I don't know if this is what you would have wanted me to do. I'm sure you would want me safe, with a nice girl and steady job. Everything you never had a chance for** A grim smile slide over the avenging archer. **Or maybe not. Between you and my unknown father, adventure may run through my veins. I can promise you one thing. I promise to make myself the best I can be. I promise to fight the evil that would force a young mother to sacrifice herself and abandon her child in the foothills of a mountain to save his life.
I promise to break the back of the Talons of the Jade Emperor, and that promise starts here in Megalopolis. Craftsman going to kill me**
Although loathe to awaken Craftsman if he's asleep, Daniel takes a great amount of effort to avoid observation from anyone outside the Warehouse than from those within. Taking care to remain silent as the night, Archer purposefully trips the first alarm he comes across, so that Craftsman is aware of his presence, if he's even here. Quitely focusing his spatial awareness to it's greatest range, Daniel makes sure the coast is clear before making his way through the Warehouse and into Craftsman's lair. The darkness being no deterrent to the
bloodied bowman, Daniel drops his gear on a nearby workbench. Careful not to disturb any of his benefactor's projects. The weary warrior falls asleep in a cold corner.
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Cool then,
Looking forward to starting Downtime. I love the character development stuff every much as any combat issue - too bad there's not an XP system for non-combat stuff
I starting to think how inheriting the warehouse is going to affect Daniel's action/decisions. Use as a warehouse, start a dojo, let lay fallow and abandoned? I'm not use to thinking with subterfuge in mind. going to be an interesting. that and I'm waiting for your next damn curve ball
Thanks
John R
