Location: All across Megalopolis and the World
It had been a long hard two days and the Team was divided. They had gone their separate ways to try to figure out what had happened. Unfortunately for them, the ‘Day of the Star-Devourer’ had placed a few of the team members on the Superhero map. The cable network Capes was dedicating significant air time to the events of ‘The Power Plant Isotope theft’.
In another dimension there was a world without Meta-humans and Superheroes could not be licensed to perform heroics worthy of ancient myth. On this world the two biggest reporting industries was on entertainment stars and sports. Entire magazines, websites, Radio shows, TV programs, and even Networks would be dedicated to reporting, analyzing, and digging up hidden details on their lives. They had names like People, US Weekly, TMZ, Entertainment Tonight, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, and ESPN.
But not on Megalopolis, where the Superheroes are more gorgeous than any singer or actor and more powerful than any athlete these resources are focused on the Meta-human population. The one line they will not cross is exposing a secret identity, the tragedy of the Rook was a lesson the industry learned well. Annually they will run a special on his team “The Rookies” to update everyone on where they are now. The show is still one of highest rate shows on Capes. While commentators will point to the facts that Conductor went insane; Hummingbird, Powerpath, and Sprite are still missing; and mysterious location of the Nest never being revealed as the reason viewer interest level remains high. Poll results still show the viewers’ care about the Rookies because of the betrayal of Rook by the media. It is collective guilt over the “Horror” that was released on the Superheroes and it is clear that no one wants to cross that line again.
Today the hot topic was “The Power Plant Isotope Theft”, new Super Society, whether the heroes of “Day of the Star-Devourer” was a team or not, and DarkStar.
Jessica sat at her desk. She was reviewing the work of the video editors. She had several pieces ready for the special. She glanced over the unaired piece on the heroes attempting to stop the Crushers. It won’t be long and it will be aired. She had promised not to air the interview until after the Crusher Crimewave had been stopped and she would keep that promise.
Jessica remembered the one conversation at the Donor’s Ball she hadn’t recorded. Adamas had said to her, “while an interview might not be as fruitful as you might wish, I'd be happy to fly you around the city for the experience, if you would in turn help me to better understand this world, and it's fascination with death and destruction. It seems that is all the news coverage focuses on.”
A grim smile appeared on her face, “Adamas, I can’t wait to fly with you. While you want to understand this world, I want to escape from it. You are right in your assessment of us but you forgot assigning blame. It is what we are most focused on. Everything can be prevented and nothing bad happens in the world without it being someone’s fault. Oh my alien angel, we are absolutely consumed with death and destruction and whose fault it is.”
She started the first of many video interviews.
Telecom and The Valiants #201109001: Jessica interviewed the Mayor of Soiree Heights. “Mayor, has Telecom and the Valiants disbanded to join the Super Society?”
“No, Jessica, Telecom and the Valiants are still the official Superteam of Soiree Heights. They are still funded and maintained by my office. They are helping with the crisis on hand. We care about all of Megalopolis, not just Soiree Heights.”
“Isn’t true this also make great publicity for your reelection campaign.”
“No comment”, with a severe frown the mayor turned and walked away.
Blitzkrieg #201109002: Jessica interviewed the Ballerina. “I thought Blitzkrieg was a member of the Ubermensch. Do you think he is changing teams and becoming a permanent member of the Super Society?
“He will both. Ubers with the power of trans-travel do this a lot. Whether it is speed based on running, flight, or teleportation, they believe they can be two places once. Traveling from one place to another in matters of instances tricks their minds. This trick is often their downfall.”
Winthrope #201109003: Cameras begin to flash and overhead lighting gets turned on as limousine pulled up to the front entrance to the High Society Museum’s Donors Ball. The door to his limousine was suddenly swamped by paparazzi trying desperately to gets some good photos of one of Megalopolis’s most wealthy and gossip worthy playboys, Jonathan Winthrope III. After shooing away several of the gossip columnists, Mr. Winthrope’s scantily clad female chauffer finally opened his door. As he stepped out, the cameras start flashing in a frenzy as the paparazzi do their best to get his attention. “Hey John, over here,” one shouted, and another asked, “Any idea who you’ll be sleeping with tonight John?” Making his way down the red carpet he paused from time to time, and gave a wide toothy grin as he waved to the horde of gossip hounds nipping at his heels. Midway down the carpet he suddenly stopped and turned towards one of the women in the crowd and said with a cocky grin, “Evening Jessica, any chance I’ll be seeing you inside later?” “Only if you’re giving an interview,” the woman shot back at him in her own snarky little way. John looked away for a second as if pondering the journalists request and then responded,”You got it, I’ll meet you inside.”
Shortly afterwards, Megalopolis’s famed ‘number one superhero reporter’ Jessica Anderson caught up with John inside the museum just as he’s approached by a member of the events wait staff. “Well, well, well . . . I must admit I’m a bit shocked that you offered me an interview Mister Winthrope,” she said to him with a cautious smile. As if she wasn’t even there, John turned to the waiter and in an exasperated tone said, “Oh thank goodness . . . I was beginning to think I was in trouble there for a sec.” The waiter then quickly presented a silver serving tray with a full cocktail glass resting on top it. With a somewhat puzzled look on his face, John lifted the empty glass in his hand up to eye level, tips it over and then deftly swirled his finger around the inside rim, “Its empty, I’m not sure how this happened to be honest . . . this glass must be broken or something, might be this big hole on top of it or something . . . I don’t know.” Swapping the empty glass for the full one resting on the serving tray, he turned to Jessica as if he just noticed her standing there and asked, “Can I get you a drink?” She shot him a polite smile and said in a gentle, but impatient tone, “No . . . thank you.” John then turned towards the waiter and explained in a concerned manner, “The lady seems to be fine, but I expect to see you back here every five to ten minutes or so with a fresh one of these . . . until I pass out of course . . . and then just bring one about every fifteen or twenty minutes or so after that . . . ok?”
As the waiter turned and started to walk away, Jessica started to speak, “Alright . . . well . . . it looks like . . .” Before she can even finish her sentence, John shouted out at the waiter who was now on his way towards another guest, “. . . I’ll miss you!” Turning back to Jessica, he once again asked, “You sure you wouldn’t like a drink or something?” She responded quickly in order to avoid being cut off again, "Actually I think we’re about ready to start, are you ready?" John nodded, took a sip from his glass, and then nodded again, "As I'll ever be." Her camera man flipped on the light mounted above his TV camera and then gave Jessica the ‘thumbs up’. She then started her interview -
"Mister Winthrope,"
"Yes?"
"Let me first say how glad we are that you agreed to do this interview. We know that you've been doing your best to avoid the press ever since . . . well . . . ever since that rumor about you started last week."
John looked a bit nervous, "Rumor? Which one? Because I know there were a few. Are you referring to that thing with the blonde from Stockholm or…"
"No, no… no I was referring to the rumor that you’ve been cut off from the Winthrope family fortune.
John looked a bit relieved, "Huh? Oh . . . oh ok . . . yeah that rumor."
"Yes that one . . ."
John looked even more relieved, "Well . . . yeah, whoo . . . talk about getting off totally on the wrong foot there for a sec, I would have sworn you were asking about . . .” John shook his head, and then takes a sip of his drink,” . . . regardless, my apologizes for any inconvenience that may have been caused by any of these rumors and I would like to officially put them all to bed . . . would you care to join me?"
Jessica looked shocked, “Are you always this forward?
John looked completely serious, “No, only with attractive women.”
“What's the key to being such a successful and wealthy entrepreneur?”
“Delegation and a great tuxedo.”
“We all know Jonathan Winthrope, heir to the Winthrope family fortune. Now perhaps you can tell us more about Jonathan Winthrope, millionaire playboy?"
"Playboy? Wow, that’ll take some getting used to. I mean its one thing to go out every night, get drunk, and then end up in bed with some beautiful Hollywood starlet, but it's another to do it with a label like that."
“Do you think you'll ever just settle down with someone?”
“Whoa . . . is this WCTV or Gossip Weekly?”
“What's the best thing about being rich?”
“Knowing that I now own both WCTV and Gossip Weekly.”
“Do you ever feel guilty for being so wealthy, while most of The Foundry and Winthrope Station’s population lives well below the poverty line?”
John looked slightly insulted but calm at the same time, “No. Do you ever feel guilty for being a puppet of the global media monoculture?”
Jessica looked slightly insulted and angry, but professional . . .
John looked smug as he took another sip from his glass, “Of course not.”
“What are the big growth areas for the Winthrope Foundation and Vanguard Inc.?”
John fought the urge to laugh almost choking on his drink, “Wow! Really? Is this a set-up?”
“You've got a reputation as a superficial playboy and a scandalous cad. Do you think it's deserved?”
John look calm and confident, “Deserved? It’s Earned.”
Jessica looking frustrated but professional . . .
“No, but honestly . . . I’ve never been entirely comfortable with this whole ‘superficial playboy and a scandalous cad’ thing, and I’m sure I never will be. You know how easy it is to get a reputation like that and hard it is to lose? Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not playing victim here . . . you know . . . I’m not complaining, it’s just something that has occurred over time and I unfortunately am forced to bare the brunt of it.”
Jessica in a condescending tone, “You rehearse that much?”
“Every night in the mirror before bed, why, is it stale?”
Jessica looked humorously disgusted, “Wow . . . I can actually picture you doing that.”
“I could show you first hand some time if you’d like.”
“Sorry if I don’t laugh at your jokes, but I haven’t been paid to, like all your employees have Mr. Winthrope.”
With a cocky look on his face, John took another sip from his glass, “Well stick around, you’ll probably be on the payroll soon enough.”
“What makes you see yourself as a business visionary like your grandfather, and not just another spoiled rich kid?”
John nodded his head confidently, “Perspective . . . oh . . . and the mansions, but mostly it’s the perspective.”
“Mr. Winthrope . . .”
“Please, call me John”
“I’m sorry . . . John . . . I was looking for a more serious answer.“
John in a more serious tone, “Ok, you want serious? Here’s serious . . . my grandfather had a philosophy . . . If something needs to get done, you just do it. If you want to drive a nail through a piece of wood you don’t need to do anything fancy, you just smash it with a damn hammer. He wanted to save this city, save it from organized crime and back door politics. He wanted to restore this city to its former beauty and grandeur. He wanted to give jobs to the people that lived here, and drive out the morally corrupt cabal of criminals that pose as our elected officials so that . . . “ John looked confused “ . . . by the way, is this a rhetorical question?” John took another sip of his drink, “No need for a response. Tell me, do you plan on running any pictures of all the millions of people that my families companies have saved over the years by advancing medical technologies when you air this?”
Jessica looked at John in disbelief and amazement, “Wow . . . you really have all of this down don’t you? Have you ever lost an hour of sleep your whole life?”
“I’ve got to tell ya . . . is that thing running?” John pointed to the TV camera.
John looked back at Jessica with mock disappointment, “You know . . . you’re never going get me in the sack with this ‘hard to get’ attitude of yours.”
Jessica looked a bit disgusted and angry, “Well Mr. Winthrope . . . I think we’re done here . . . thank you again for your time"
John looked cocky and half drunk, "You're so very welcome…"
At the same time across the city, John Winthrope thought about the events of the prior night as well.
John remembered . . . elsewhere in Megalopolis, Dr Arcane had been making house calls. He suddenly appeared next to a man riding quietly down a dark city street in the back of his private limousine. Startled by his unexpected visitor, John almost spilled his glass of scotch as the good doctor addressed him, “I have need of you and your powers. Please come to this address tomorrow. The very fate of the world depends on you joining the Quest.” John looked at the address and then looked back at the strange man sitting next to him. He stared at him for almost a minute before he picks up his hand and started to wave it around in the middle of Dr. Arcane’s head. “Neat hologram . . .” he said as he looked around the back of his limousine for a hidden video projector. A moment later John continued, “. . . but I only do business with people face to face, and as much as I would love to meet you somewhere to discuss all this ‘saving the world’ stuff, I have a prior engagement this evening.” Dr. Arcane then nodded his head knowingly and instructed the man to meet him in the Curator's office at the rear of the museum once he arrives. With a blink of brilliant light Dr. Arcane vanished just as abruptly as he appeared. As John sat there in the back seat trying to figure out what just happened, a silly question suddenly popped into his head, “How the heck did he know I was going to the museum?”
Cameras begin to flash and overhead lighting gets turned on as John’s limousine pulled up to the front entrance to the High Society Museum’s Donors Ball … John looked cocky and half drunk, "You're so very welcome…"
As Jessica and her camera man begin to walk away, John looked down at his watch and said to himself, “Well . . . I guess it’s time for me to go meet my mysterious holographic friend.” A familiar voice then unexpectedly broke his train of thought, “Mr. Winthrope?” John turned around to see the waiter he spoke with earlier standing behind him with a fresh drink in his hand. Taking the drink from the waiter John quipped, “Excellent timing, I was actually beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me.” Placing a hundred dollar bill on the serving tray, he asked the waiter, “Tell me . . . where would I find the bathrooms around here?” Pointing towards the back of the museum the waiter responded, “Right over there sir.” Making his way through the sea of people crowded inside the events main area, John finally made it to the back of the museum. Taking a careful look around to make sure that he wasn’t being watch, John slipped through an unguarded door marked ‘museum personnel only’. Within moments he came across the object of his search – the Curator's office. Knocking solidly on the six panel oak door, John waited for a second for a response and then blurted out, “Jehovah Witness . . . have you heard about the Watchtower?” Another second or two passes by and there seems to be no answer at the door; never being the type to not take initiative, John slowly turned the door knob. Finding the door unlocked, he slowly opened the door and peered in . . .
Cameras begin to flash and overhead lighting gets turned on as John’s limousine pulled up to the front entrance to the High Society Museum’s Donors Ball … John looked cocky and half drunk, "You're so very welcome…"
As Jessica and her camera man begin to walk away, John looked down at his watch and said to himself, “Well . . . I guess it’s time for me to go meet my mysterious holographic friend.” A familiar voice then unexpectedly broke his train of thought, “Mr. Winthrope?” John turned around to see the waiter he spoke with earlier standing behind him with a fresh drink in his hand. Taking the drink from the waiter John quipped, “Excellent timing, I was actually beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me.” Placing a hundred dollar bill on the serving tray, he asked the waiter, “Tell me . . . where would I find the bathrooms around here?” Pointing towards the back of the museum the waiter responded, “Right over there sir.” Making his way through the sea of people crowded inside the events main area, John finally made it to the back of the museum. Taking a careful look around to make sure that he wasn’t being watch, John slipped through an unguarded door marked ‘museum personnel only’. Within moments he came across the object of his search – the Curator's office. Knocking solidly on the six panel oak door, John waited for a second for a response and then blurted out, “Jehovah Witness . . . have you heard about the Watchtower?” Another second or two passes by and there seems to be no answer at the door; never being the type to not take initiative, John slowly turned the door knob. Finding the door unlocked, he slowly opened the door and peered in . . .
John and Dr. Avery meet in complete privacy. Dr Avery explained the Quest to protect the six artifacts from the Domain. How the artifacts would greatly aid the Domain in their plans to invade our dimension. He explained how three of artifacts have been safely protected and how he needed John’s help to protect the remaining three. John agreed to join the Quest.
John dismissed his driver for the evening. He signaled to the driver that he met a young lady who will take him home. Once the driver left he walked a few blocks away. He spun in a circle with his arms extended and when he drew his arms into himself he changed into his costume.
Catalyst made his way to Dr. Avery’s Mansion as quickly as possible.
Harvey and Elwood looked around the beautiful mansion and discussed their memories of what had happened the day before. In an alley way, they had been walking and Elwood had a little bit of a swerve in his step. A woman looked out her window to see Elwood talking but she didn’t see Harvey who he was talking to. She thought at first it was a pretty typical scene today. Someone talking into their cell phone blue tooth except for the fact Elwood wasn’t wearing one.
Dr. Arcane appeared in the alley before them. “Harvey now has come the time for you to aid me. This world means as much to you as it does to me. It is time for you to join the Quest.”
After a brief pause, “Yes that means you have to come too, Elwood.”
“Well, it seems you have me at a disadvantage sir. Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Dowd, Elwood P. Here… Here is my card. Now don’t call this number, call the one on this side. The old one doesn’t work anymore. And what may…” Elwood paused as if he had been interrupted, “What’s that Harvey?” Elwood looked up as if he was speaking to someone taller than himself, and looked ready for an immediate response. “Oh.” He looked back to Dr. Arcane, “Well sir, it seems my dear friend Harvey feels that it would be best if we prepare ourselves for a little trip, so I will follow up with you when next we meet. Thank you and have a safe journey.”
“After you Harvey.”
Elwood and Harvey got themselves organized and ready for a short jaunt to parts unknown.
Back at Elwood’s home, Harvey watched Elwood put together a small overnight bag including clothing, a small electric iron, cosmetics and two silver flasks. One filled with scotch and the other with whiskey.
The two took public transportation to Dr. Arcane’s, stopping a few times at watering holes along the way.
Joshua tried to spend about eight hours on a sunny Thailand beach relaxing with Sarrisa and her family. Unfortunately he couldn’t relax. Cybil was forcing him to watch, listen, or read everything there was about the last three days and she wanted him to review her combat analysis. Nigel was in full blown damage control mode. It appeared that Roger and Neville were on a bigger rampage than Bull ever was.
Joshua signaled that Cybil could finally play Roger’s interview with Mr Fritz. “Is it true that Meta-Manpower is really a superhero training academy? Did we witness the graduation of DarkStar’s First Class with the creation of the new Super Society?”
“Roger … sigh … no that is not true at all. Meta-Manpower has nothing to do with super heroics. It is about showing the world that our Meta or Uber Human community wants the same things as everyone else: Home, shelter, meaningful employment and being able to pursue their own happiness. As I would argue the Kardashians do not represent women. Joshua Rose does not represent the Meta Human community as a whole. This is simply a case of Joshua being Joshua”
Roger reported with frustration his repeated attempts to interview the head of StarCorp security was meet with refusal. Megalopolis deserved to know what was so important about that helicopter that would cause DarkStar to abandon the team he created and the one it was hinted at on the “Day of the Star-Devourer”. Roger was now reporting there wasn’t a first team based on DarkStar sending a hired super team instead of his personally helping Adamas and his quote DarkStar had provided to Roger himself. “Roger, honestly I like it, but we’ve only worked with Doctor Arcane that one time. It wouldn’t be very accurate to insinuate he was a regular member of the team.”
“Where is the disclosure? DarkStar!” Roger screamed from every media outlet he could find. “Are you part of a team, a non-team, or are you simply a super consultant. Starting things but never seeing them through to the end!”
Commander Rose shut off all the news feeds that Cybil was providing. He wanted to focus on his work, not a critique of it.
DarkStar received permission to inspect one of the Cyberion Doombots but only at a CHESS facility and he had to sign an agreement that nothing he learned would be used to further any of this companies or personal technology. He wasn’t able to spend long on the inspection but he did determine it was a mix of Russian and Malaia technology.
Joshua lined up the materials needed to construct the SDF fighter’s teleport generators. Currently the research team was having difficulty figuring a way to activate the teleport generator without DarkStar. They were confident they could find a power source that wasn’t Joshua Rose himself and they had a 5 year development plan outlined to achieve it.
He reflected on his efforts to set up a foundation that will fund the new Super Society. The lawyers handled the paperwork. When he met with the team he was shocked with the turn over. Only Blitzkrieg and American Woman were from the High Society Donors Ball. All the other had showed up to rescue the team. They were not very welcoming to DarkStar’s efforts. Fortress had even asked if he planned on renaming them StarSociety. Joshua explained he had no such intentions and he only wanted to help them succeed.
Blitzkrieg claimed everyone down. He explained that he was the leader of the new Super Society and DarkStar was welcome to provide support. Blitzkrieg chose one of the smaller Refuge Islands for their base. DarkStar felt he had found a kindred soul in the German Speedster. They both knew what it felt like to deal with an utterly slow world as they traveled it at speeds faster than others could comprehend.
As Joshua contemplated the fact that Maxima was not at the meeting of the new Super Society. He remembered back to their conversation at the end of the “Power Plant Isotope Theft”
She left Adamas as he stood watching her walk away. She walked past the rest of the New Super Society. She signaled she would meet with them later. She walked up to man who had place a higher priority on Bull than on her. “You’re out another hundred grand, DarkStar. It was a little tougher than we expected. Now after showing me this “grand adventure‟, would you please take me home?”
DarkStar thought, “She’s pissed.” Then spoke, “I’m more than happy to donate to another good cause Maxima. I’d apologize for leaving, but I’d make the same decision again given the same circumstances. I take the safety of every member of my extended family very personal. I know one other person on the planet I’d have trust to stand in my stead to fight at Adamas’ side, and he’s fifty years past his prime. As you saw yourself, he’s a remarkable individual. One of many I’m lucky to have in my life. I’d still like to show you the moons of Mars, but I’d say a shower and change of clothes is in order before anything.”
“Where would you like to go Max?”
Maxima paused, "Oh I'm sorry, and who in your family was under attack? Were they hurt badly? Were you able to prevent them from being further hurt?"
“Okay, take me somewhere we can talk privately. DarkStar, how about your place?”
*Whoump*
Commander Rose and Maxima teleported into his private offices atop StarCorp Tower, the company headquarters housed the various administrative offices required to run the multi-national corporation. He seldom used his office suites, preferring to do his business over the internet or face to face. After asking if there was anything she was hungry for. Joshua showed the princess of power where the shower was and how to use the sonic cleaner to remove the detritus of the evening's battle.
*Whoump* *Whoump*
Teleporting back in with a tray of pastries he had picked up from Lilly's in Paris, Joshua sat in one of the half dozen over-size stuffed chairs some decorated had thought of as "comfortable"
"Max, you asked who in my family was under attack. That's not quite as simple a question as you might think. My dad died in a car accident when I was a kid. It was me, mom and sis, on our own for a lot of lean years. Then mom got cancer, and it was just me and sis."
Locking the diatanium bracers into their display case, Joshua gave Cybil a sub-vocal request to start filing request to assist in the analysis of the Cyberion doom-bots. State of the art technology like that required specific resources. Even if it was overseas it would give them a place to start the hunt for the Destroyers.
"No one adopts a fourteen year old boy and his little sister Max. We bounced around foster homes for a couple years . . . the last couple was pretty cool and I was doing well in school. Started for the varsity football team my freshman year. . . But then in my junior year some strung out meta attacked the house while I was at school. I never knew the destruction metas could cause Max. This guy, he was nothing, barely a meta at all really. He was strong though, and strung out like that, he didn't even feel the shotgun wounds from the cops as he tore the house down on top of my little sister and our guardians."
For a long time the suite was silent. Maxima was confused with how that impacted the events of today.
"Then ... well things happened when I worked for Medusa ... let's just say I find it hard to trust people. Especially people who like power. Most just aren't equipped to handle dealing with metas Max. Either they're arrogant enough to think they know how to handle people like us, or they're just not equipped to. Normal human beings have no business dealing with Metas Max. They're too fragile . . . they die without even realizing the danger they were in, just like my little sister."
As Maxima entered the private conference/living room of the cerulean corporate commander, she saw a look first of anger then sadness cross his face and finally one of confusion.
"I never planned on building StarCorp Max. Some days I think it's some huge joke Kevin's pulling on me and I'm going to wake up and back in Texas working on an oil rig . . . but no, there I am, expected to make decisions that are going to affect the lives of tens of thousands of families. They are my responsibility Max. They're my family. Those men that Bull injured on the street, men injured protecting my company property, those men are my brothers. Their wives are my sisters, their children ... my nieces and nephews."
"They're every bit as much my family as Adamas, or AA, or Doc, or Donnah, or Pietor . . . or you."
The reinforced arms of the chair shattered in Joshua's grip as his anger absently lashed out.
"I'll die fighting to protect them. I'll die fighting to protect the Super Society. No one joined us tonight for the money. They did it because there was a need and that's what heroes do."
Joshua stood up disgustedly looking at the shattered arms of two thousand dollar worth of kindling. Grabbing a pair of blue jeans and black t-shirt he went to the master bath area to take his own shower.
"I did what I had to do to protect my family tonight Max. All of them, and I'd do it again if I had to. I can be in Tokyo in the blink of an eye, but even I can't be everywhere all the time. I'm sorry I left to go capture Bull, but for some reason Mocker is targeting my company more than others. Whether it was suppose to be a trap or an elaborate plot to pull me away from protecting the Isotope doesn't matter. I couldn't let Mocker keep sending Bull out to kill and injure my brothers til I responded. They're humans. Well-trained and well equipped, but human none the less and it's my responsibility to protect them from the likes of Bull and Mocker."
"I'll be damned if I let them think they can use ploys like that to endanger my team mates and friends though. I'll always find a way to beat them. I swear it Max. Tonight I protected the Quest and now we have the birth of a new Super Society. Tomorrow, if the need arises, I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and the Super Society. I swear I will. I swear.
Maxima sat in her chair silently for a moment. “Thank you for sharing with me. None of this was recorded in our histories.” She stood up and walked over to the window. Looking out Max said, “You have a very unique view of the world. My view of the world is different too. I am a 55 year old woman in an artificially grown body. My mind was transferred into this body and I was sent back in time to stop ‘The Day the Bubble Burst’. I was a scientific genius before I became housed in this”. She stretched out her powerful arms for effect.
She took Joshua’s hand, squeezed and then dropped it. She paced around the room. “I am not a leader. I am a scientist and a certified genius. I don’t make decisions. My research data makes the decision. Look through history, the smartest people in the room made the weapons but it was the ‘lesser’ ones that were able to decide when and where to use it most effectively. They frustrated us because they made decisions on hunch and gut feeling but that was where it had to come from. There is no data available which can tell us the right answers for that situation.”
“As scientist we think we can narrow life down to 1 or 2 variables. Once the variables are identified we can then control it, fix it, and predict it. We can even cure it. The joke on us is there are always more variables we can’t control.”
“I lied to Neville. I did not lose my memory from a virus I brought with me. I remember everything. The problem is everything changes.”
“I stopped Prima 1 the first week I was here. I went to bed that night at peace knowing I had accomplished my mission. The next morning when I woke up, it wasn’t Prima 1 that caused the ‘The Day the Bubble Burst’. It was Skynet. It took me a month to stop its creation.”
“I don’t have a memory problem; history changes. I remember the prior history and the new history are laid over each other. That is why I am in Megalopolis now. I have been chasing down the Deathstroke Device. It was created by CyberDoom. He wasn’t able to find a power source for it until the isotope was discovered. He partnered with the Destroyers to acquire it. Together they were going to blackmail the world with it. It had the power to cause any power plant in the world to overload and meltdown. Nuclear powered or not.”
“That is why I accepted your offer. I had to stop the creation of the Deathstroke Device. If my historical data showed that the Super Society capturing the Destroyers would cause ‘The Day of the Bubble Burst’ I would do everything in my power to cause the Super Society to lose. I don’t care about saving people. To me they are already dead. I know the exact date of your death, Commander Joshua Rose, the man who doesn’t think of himself as DarkStar. The irony is the rest of the world does and DarkStar will be the name on your tombstone.”
“As I keep altering the future I have learned how you died in many different ways and at surprisingly different ages. Tomorrow when I wake up, there is a high probably there will be a new way and age.”
“Think of me as cold hearted if you wish but realize I volunteered to travel backwards in time for a reason. It was to destroy the future. I am trying to prevent my life and all the lives of my loved ones in The Covenant from happening. I strive daily to change the future so that instead of waking with a new history in my head I don’t wake at all because Maxima is never needed by the future.”
“I gave you the computer program to scan for me not as bootyware (even though I wish you would use it for that purpose) but for the day I do complete my mission. Because I am Neville’s meal ticket and his source of fame he will never report my disappearance. Neville starts writing reports of my exploring underground civilianization and other hidden societies. So the world will never know I am gone. I want one person to know that I succeeded in my quest to not exist.”
“I will not be a part of the Super Society anymore. All my data analysis shows no connection with them and “Day the Bubble Burst”. The events of today will not change the results.”
Max stopped her pacing and walked to the window. She opened it. She prepared to ‘fly’ away, so powerful were her leaps.
“It was a pleasure meeting you and now I must say goodbye. It is late and I need to get home because tonight all of the future will change as I sleep. Hopefully this time I will not greet the day when it comes.”
As DarkStar finished remembering their conversation, a thought struck him. “If Neville is in love with Maxima and she succeeds? The last time he saw her she was leaving with me. How would he react to losing his love, meal ticket, and celebrity ride all at the same time? Would he blame me?”
DarkStar quickly scanned the first article by Neville.
“Yes, he would.”
Neville wrote about how once again our leaders have failed us. Joshua Rose, financial and super hero leader, shouldn’t be leading Meta and Typical Humans. With his teleportation and super strength he has no idea how fragile the world around him is. He hires typical to protect his personal interests and forces them to engage the likes of Bull. He hires a group of superheroes and christens them the ‘Super Society’ but does not set up a second in command or even tell them they are about to face the Destroyers, which my sources tell me he knew well in advance of their leaving the High Society.”
“What did he leave them for? To protect his financial investment, a prototype helicopter without the pilot or navigator in it. He can say he was protecting people but it was his pocketbook he was really protecting. If he wanted to protect his people he could have told his security team to stand down and not engage the Crushers like Emerson Electronics and Vanguard Inc. did. It did result in Crushers getting everything they wanted from those businesses but all they suffered was the loss of income the sale of the equipment would have brought.”
“While I have discounted that DarkStar is really a whole ‘Blue Man group’ of clones as the Real Truth people speculate. They do show on their DarkStar tracking webpage that he was in New Mexico days ago. Yesterday he was in Soiree Heights, Center City, New Mexico, and the Refuge Islands. Today he is in Thailand. While I personally discount their entry stating that two days ago he was also on Mars but I do admit their premise that there is no way teleportation alone can explain this is very compelling.”
“What are you hiding Ex-Commander Joshua Rose, aka DarkStar? It is time for full disclosure.”
“Who is this mysterious Cybil that DarkStar was talking to? I asked Nigel the PR Agent for DarkStar. He wouldn’t give me a straight answer. It sounded like a sentient hacker virus to me. Should his Superhero codename really be ‘Big Brother’?”
Neville did the talk show circuit to hype the sale of his upcoming book Maxima and the Underground Empire. He took every opportunity to bash DarkStar and state he was the reason Maxima had left for parts unknown. Neville stated he would be leaving soon as well. Maxima always left for missions first and he would follow later to chronicle the events from her narrative retelling of it.
DarkStar knew the results before he requested Cybil to search for Maxima. As the search was being run, he instructed Cybil to delete the program if there were no readings available. DarkStar was positive Max had completed her mission.
“Bio-signature search program deleted based on negative results.”
Agent America listened to Spike and Spike in the Morning as he drove his car. He hated the Meta-human culture of indulgence and its lack of discipline. When Spike the fanboy started trying to defend DarkStar’s action of sending the new Super Society in his place as being similar to the Eagles trading Kolb and keeping Vick. The superspy didn’t even wait to hear Spike the retired Superhero respond that DarkStar is more like Lebron, with his lack of leadership, than Kolb before he turned the radio off.
With nothing but silence surrounding him, his famed willpower could not prevent the memories from crashing down on him.
He remembered yesterday at Center City when he arrived to assist Adamas.
The professional patriot was furious. He watched the Destroyers get away, and he had no transport, metahuman or otherwise, to catch them. Where the hell was Rose?!?
Adamas had nearly been killed because his backup, Rose, failed him, going AWOL just to get revenge on Bull. Rose’s men were no longer in jeopardy. This wasn’t a matter of protecting personnel. It was payback pure and simple. And the personnel Rose was supposed to be protecting (Safeguard, Adamas, the so-called Super Society) paid the price!
America kicked himself that he ever agreed to a plan that made him rely on one of these damned dilettante dabbling amateur capes, who would quit their responsibility to the team on a whim!
Never again!
“DAMN IT!” he shouted to no one in particular as he slowly cut Adamas out of the steely cocoon.
By the time he got Adamas on his feet, America had regained control.
“You did it,” he said, trying his best to sound upbeat. “You stopped them from getting the isotope. You did it, big guy. You’re a hero,” he said to the poor, beaten bastard.
He’d help get the badly injured Adamas to any medical attention he needed. Then he raced to what was left of the “Super Society.” Moving among the burning wreckage, he’d try to help the most injured first.
Then he found Telecom. “God damn it.” He said to himself. Kneeling beside her, he made sure she was still alive. “Medic!” he roared angrily. Telecom had been completely incapacitated but she still lived. It would take a while for the bruises and broken arm to heal but she would be able protect Soiree Heights as she was paid to do.
After helping the injured and assisting the delivery of the isotope, America went to Firewall, the leader of Safeguard. “Look. Sorry how it went down,” he said with sincere regret. “My team screwed up.”
Firewall accepted Agent America apology while maintaining a professional demeanor. “I believe the root cause of the problem is you aren’t a team. You are just powerful individuals whose personal agendas’ happen to intersect. That will be the last time I follow someone else plan without getting full disclosure from the planner first, especially if he is committed to the plan or playing consultant.”
The next time he saw Doc, he exploded. “What the hell is wrong with you?!?! Your team almost got massacred tonight! When are you gonna lead this thing right? Half your team can’t follow a god damned order! This isn’t a game! Get your team under control before somebody gets killed, or count me OUT!!!”
SLAM! Went the door behind him.
He focused his mind on the present; Agent America was visiting the Craftsman. “Stop work on the car, pal. New project. I need aerial transportation. I need hardened protection. I need raw power. I need to never rely on another goddamned cape again ... even if it means becoming one of them.”
Adamas remembered too.
Adamas watched the exchange between AA and Dr. Arcane in silence from the top of the banister, floating silently. As he listened to the obvious rage in his friend’s voice, he reflected to the last advice given him before the Hijack happened, where was the loose and riding the wave in this exchange. Perhaps he had misunderstood, frustrating to say the least. As the door slammed, Adamas thought back over the events of the last week. He was the one that had insisted they stay engaged in the deliverance of the Isotope, and was obviously drawn into trap. This had been the first time he'd ever felt helpless. He flew through the mansion, exiting out the back double doors, and shot into the sky, watching as Agent America left dual streaks of black rubber on the driveway.
He looked to the sky, he needed to talk to someone he trusted, that would understand, He thought of Commander Astro, and headed for the Space Station. He felt a need to be around his own kind.
Looking out the observation deck portal, the Earth floated relatively centered in Adama’s view. Without turning his gaze from the window he spoke, “I feel drawn to this world my brother, and while I appreciate your offer, I really feel no desire to leave.” Commander Astro’s “offer” was to put Adamas in contact with some of the known inhabitants of the Galaxy to help him find someone that might know where he came from.
“I am curious, but at the same time, I just have a feeling that I was floating there for a long time before those astronauts found me. I think any family I might have had is probably long gone. At the same time, I still feel I’m struggling with my new “home.” It seems everything I try to do ends up causing problems. First endangering civilians, and now causing conflicts within my team,” he said glancing to the shadowy reflection of Commander Astro in the thick glass window. “I appreciate the use of your medical bay and exercise equipment. Your facilities here are a little more suited to my unique needs.”
“Anytime you need us, or just want to “hang out,” you are always welcome here,” Commander Astro said, laying his hand on Adamas shoulder. “And don’t worry so much about your friends. One thing you will learn about humans is that they are a resilient race. And while Commander Rose’s physical skin may be thick and hard as his head, I assure you he and Agent America have both been in this game long enough to know how to work together. Seems like a case of too many chief’s and not enough Indians. Let them work it out and don’t blame yourself for everything.”
A short time later Adamas found himself floating freely outside the space station, feeling the cold of space against his skin and looked at the stars. He waved to a technician in a space suit tethered nearby working on some electrical panel and again thought of how fragile these humans were, but how they put themselves at risk to advance their civilization. Dark Star was doing the right things by advancing their technology, and he was glad to be of assistance in any way he could, but for now, his focus needed to be on the Quest laid before them by Dr. Arcane, and he needed to get back to that.
A small smile slid onto his face as he rocketed toward the mansion in the Hallowed Hills. Today we begin another adventure!
Location: Dr. Avery’s Mansion, in the library.
Dr. Avery gathered the remaining members of the Quest in the library. He let out a tired sigh. “Windblown has quit. He said he had more important things in his life he didn’t want to put on hold any longer. I would say our team is coming apart but we never came together as a team to begin with. I blame myself for that. I am too weak to go on missions in person and sending my astral projection drains me of too much of my energy.”
“I should have appointed a team leader in my place instead. I will correct these over sights first. As for a name, I envisioned us to be the Team that saved Megalopolis from the Domain. So that will be our name, “The Team”. I don’t care if it polls well with the media or the people. I don’t care if you like it. It is a reminder of who you are and how you are to work together, AS THE TEAM!”
“I am naming Agent America as team leader. He has the best mental defenses and has the most versatile roll on The Team.”
“Joshua, you are going to have to embrace having some else set your priorities again.”
“Agent America, you are going to have to embrace diversity. I purposely did not assemble a military unit. Conventional forces has never defeated the Domain, it has always been the outcasts and misfits that defeated the Null Masters.”
“I have added three more members to the team. They will be brought to the library shortly. Donnah is entertaining them in the study. I need to explain one of the members to you. It is Harvey. He is a Pooka. Please listen closely as I tell you his story.”
“Queen Mab, a fairy of royal stature had designs on a free spirit and while this spirit returned her interests he was not as dedicated as Mab required. The free spirit was more distracted by the comings and goings of humans and was particularly interested in the actions of poets, wits and drinkers. By way of testing her suitor, Mab gave the spirit the choice of being her royal partner but he would need to swear to refuse all contact with mankind and this was too much sacrifice for the spirit. A furious Mab cast a powerful and irreversible spell on the spirit forever banishing him from the neverseelie realm of the fairies and at the same time she made him almost completely undetectable by humans. Not completely cruel
Mab allowed the spirit to bond with one soul at a time so the spirit would still be able to make contact with a being beside himself.”
“The lonely spirit first connected with a young Irish poet in Dublin where the two would conjure all kinds of playful and sometimes socially dangerous witticisms. Jealous of the joy the spirit found, Mab inspired others at first by way of competing to be wittier but when this was not as effective as she wanted she turned her inspiration to malevolence. The poet was imprisoned and never was the same dyeing shortly afterward and the free spirit was alone.”
“The spirit floated without direction for many years and in that time considered many things but mostly he considered how unjust the worlds - both fairy and earthly - can be. He decided that if and when he next would get a chance to bond with a human he would make it a point to focus at least a part of his energies to being a champion of the common man, perhaps inspiring justice.”
“Elwood P. Dowd was an accountant, and very good one, but not very happy. One fateful day Elwood had been in his drink when a large 6'4" rabbit greeted him. The two became fast friends and they both found new joy that neither had known for many years.”
“Elwood does not fully understand that his new friend, Harvey, is a spirit that not everyone can see, but he does know that Harvey is special. Elwood is special too because he is Harvey’s anchor. If Elwood dies Harvey is banished from Earth until he can find another one to bond with. If Elwood is knocked unconscious, Harvey is so concerned with Elwood’s safety he won’t take any action but to wake Elwood.”
“Elwood has to come with us and we have to protect him.”
Dr. Avery signaled for Catalyst, Harvey, and Elwood to bring to the library. Agent America, Adamas, and DarkStar watched as two people entered the room. Catalyst quickly noted Dr. Avery and Agent America were typicals which he couldn’t affect. DarkStar was a meta-human which he could easily affect and even though Adamas was alien he was humanoid enough that Catalyst could affect him too. It would be a little more tiring {GM Note: PR is +1 for power usage}.
{GM Note: I am not providing Catalyst’s background and power to you. That is up to Catalyst to decide how much he will share with The Team. While I gave Harvey’s history, his powers is up to his deciding to share. Same for Elwood}
Dr. Avery asked Agent America to assemble The Team for a briefing in the study in 30 minutes after they have had a chance to make proper introductions with each other.
{replies?}
Dr. Avery said, “Some months ago, a small golden casket was unearthed at the archeological dig of a 2,000 year old tell in Egypt. With great care, the casket was opened and found to contain five remarkably well-preserved scrolls. The casket itself was placed on display in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Unknown to the Domain and its allies the scrolls were sent to America. One each was sent to five prominent scholars for translation and analysis. I was one of those scholars even though my field of expertise has never been archeology or linguistics but parapsychology and the history of occult science.”
“Since Pietor does have expertise in archeology he has been doing the translation and analysis. It would appear the purpose in sending the scroll to me is for more than to study the fifth scroll, but to guard it and prevent it from falling into evil hands. If what small portion of the scroll Pietor has translated is accurate, then this scroll holds the key to the proper use of the other four, and those four contain long-forgotten secrets of mystic and ancient alchemical transubstantiation which could shake the very foundation of modern science. I believe the Domain destroyed the Golden Casket attempting to get the five scrolls that they thought were inside it.”
“I spent today attempting to contact the other four scholars. Three are missing and the last one is in the hospital. He was hurt in a burglary gone badly. The police did not know all that was stolen from the house but I believe the Domain is behind this. I believe they have acquired the four scrolls and will soon be after the fifth.”
ZZZAABOOM!
A loud peal of lightning sounded outside and it started to rain. It was a very heavy rain. The sky was pitched black from the storm.
“Ahh, Dr. Avery you are so close to being right. The other scrolls have indeed been acquired but not by the Null Masters but by their allies, Lord Noman and his Tarot Masters.”
Everyone in the room was shocked. They all heard the Lord Noman but none hear his voice. It was his thoughts being broadcast in their head. Even Agent America heard the thoughts. His willpower defense was in place but since it was a simple switchboard broadcast, he didn’t sense any attack and allowed himself to hear it.
Looking out the window, The Team saw the decorated columns and spires either disappear into the ground or fly up into the sky. They couldn’t see how far up they went but they didn’t them come back down either.
Across the lawn shadowy figures approached the mansion. They stopped on the lawn as if a negotiations was about to occur instead of a battle. Although it was pitch dark and raining, the figures could be seen because of the light being given off by one of their fliers.
“You are gravely wrong about us coming for the fifth scroll soon; we are coming for it now.”
“You have a choice, give us the fifth scroll and cloak of ambulation to Miss Ellie to bring out or we will come in to get it.”
{GM Note: DarkStar healed 9 Hit Points and all Power Points. He has 73 HP and 110 PP.
Adamas healed 2 Hit Points and all Power Points. He has 7 HP and 73 PP.
Agent America, Catalyst, Harvey & Elwood are full on HP and PP}
<Due Date: October 21st, Actions? Replies?>
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DarkStar: Maxima Downtime: Responses
OOC: Just a quick point of order due to Windblown’s withdrawal from the Quest. Joshua would have offered Maxima the spare communicator before teleporting into Center City with the Super Society. This way she could contact him if the situation became untenable. I had thought about it originally but hadn’t made it SOP for him to have spare communicators. From this point on he will keep two spares near or on his person at all times.
She left Adamas as he stood watching her walk away. She walked past the rest of the New Super Society. She signaled she would meet with them later. She walked up to man who had place a higher priority on Bull than on her. “You’re out another hundred grand, DarkStar. It was a little tougher than we expected. Now after showing me this “grand adventure‟, would you please take me home?”
<DarkStar: IC response> She’s pissed. “I’m more than happy to donate to another good cause Maxima. I’d apologize for leaving, but I’d make the same decision again given the same circumstances. I take the safety of every member of my extended family very personal. I know one other person on the planet I’d have trust to stand in my stead to fight at Adamas’s side, and he’s fifty years past his prime. As you saw yourself, he’s a remarkable individual. One of many I’m lucky to have in my life. I’d still like to show you the moons of Mars, but I’d say a shower and change of clothes is in order before anything. Where would you like to go Max?
(Responses?)
OOC: Tom I was going to take umbrage with Windblown’s comment about DarkStar’s “grand speeches” but I have to admit, I 'might' have a bit of Sentinel in me (lol) different goals but somewhat similar methods. Frustrated wordsmith is probably way too polite.
<DarkStar: IC actions> If she so still desires to get to know Joshua, he will offer Max a StarCorp comm-link and spend time becoming friends. Otherwise, Joshua will spend about eight hours each day on a sunny Thailand beach relaxing with Sarrisa and her family. He’ll also make sure Kyle is getting comfortably settled into his new full-time career. He’ll want to spend some time talking strategy with Doctor Arcane. He wants to know what Doc thinks the chances are they might have to take the fight into the Domain before this is all over.
Some of the time will be spent assisting setting up the foundation that will fund the new Super Society. The lawyers can handle the paperwork. He’ll do his best to address the special needs of any particular member. If they desire, they have a choice between one of the smaller Refuge Islands and the mansion, the top four floors of the Meta-Manpower office building, or the abandoned church building he recently purchased in the Hallows last week.
No inventing this time, but he would like permission to inspect one of the Cyberion Doombots. He’ll leave investigating Bull’s activities to Trisha and the authorities, but thinks a proper analysis (by him) might lead to the whereabouts of their “master”. He could then pass the information along to the Super Society and CHESS. Maybe Adamas would like to assist the “Society” in his downtime? Joshua will also line up the materials needed to construct the SDF fighter’s teleport generators. With a little luck, he hopes to build and install them during his next downtime.
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GM
OOC: Just a quick point of order due to Windblown’s withdrawal from the Quest. Joshua would have offered Maxima the spare communicator before teleporting into Center City with the Super Society. This way she could contact him if the situation became untenable
GM: Joshua didn't see Kyle give Nigel the comm unit. He thought Windblown was staying to protect Dr. Avery and Donnah.
DarkStar doesn't find out that Kyle quit until he returns to the Mansion.
Thanks
Tom
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GM
<DarkStar: IC response> She’s pissed. “I’m more than happy to donate to another good cause Maxima. I’d apologize for leaving, but I’d make the same decision again given the same circumstances. I take the safety of every member of my extended family very personal.
GM: Maxima paused, "Oh I'm sorry, and who in your family was under attack? Were they hurt badly? Were you able to prevent them from being further hurt?"
Thanks
Tom
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DarkStar
Hey Tom
Just rereading the adventures, here's an idea guaranteed to bite DarkStar in the ass someday - well maybe not, with the level advancement.
To transport Invulnerable or high ADR characters like Bull I'd use a stasis chamber similar to the one in the V&V comic book. Needles aren't needed to administer anesthetic if the character needs to breath, just use a gas form. The trick of course is determining proper dosages.
Sans some "power nullifier" I think it's the easiest answer for short term neutralization. I was thinking of a character similar to the Legions Element Lad for Vanguard, but this and similar "stunts" made it a bad ideal probably. Fun but a headache for the GM.
Always looking to cause my own characters trouble
John R
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Agent America
OOC: Another great story, Tom. Thanks!
John, what follows isn't personal, just IC stuff. :)
Best,
Jeff
IC:
Agent America:
The professional patriot was furious. He watched the Destroyers get away, and he had no transport, metahuman or otherwise, to catch them. Where the hell was Rose?!?
Adamas had nearly been killed because his backup, Rose, failed him, going AWOL just to get revenge on Bull. Rose’s men were no longer in jeopardy. This wasn’t a matter of protecting personnel. It was payback pure and simple. And the personnel Rose was supposed to be protecting (Safeguard, Adamas, the so-called Super Society) paid the price!
(OOC: as AA sees it)
America kicked himself that he ever agreed to a plan that made him rely on one of these damned dilettante dabbling amateur capes, who would quit their responsibility to the team on a whim!
Never again!
“DAMN IT!” he shouted to no one in particular as he slowly cut Adamas out of the steely cocoon.
By the time he got Adamas on his feet, America had regained control.
“You did it,” he said, trying his best to sound upbeat. “You stopped them from getting the isotope. You did it, big guy. You’re a hero,” he said to the poor, beaten bastard.
He’d help get the badly injured Adamas to any medical attention he needed. Then he raced to what was left of the “Super Society.” Moving among the burning wreckage, he’d try to help the most injured first.
Then he found Telecom. “God damn it.” He said to himself. Kneeling beside her, he made sure she was still alive. “Medic!” he roared angrily. (OOC: Tom, I want to be clear. AA used protection.)
[Is Telecom ok?]
After helping the injured and assisting the deliver of the isotope, America went to Firewall, the leader of Safeguard. “Look. Sorry how it went down,” he said with sincere regret. “My team screwed up.”
[Reply Firewall, if any]
The next time he saw Doc, he exploded. “What the hell is wrong with you?!?! Your team almost got massacred tonight! When are you gonna lead this thing right? Half your team can’t follow a god damned order! This isn’t a game! Get your team under control before somebody gets killed, or count me OUT!!!”
SLAM! Went the door behind him.
[Reply Doc if any]
During downtime, he visited the Craftsman. “Stop work on the car, pal. New project. I need aerial transportation. I need hardened protection. I need raw power. I need to never rely on another goddamned cape again.
...Even if it means becoming one of them.”
[end]
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DarkStar
*Whoump*
Commander Rose and Maxima teleport into his private offices atop StarCorp Tower. The company headquarters housed the various administrative offices required to run the multi-national corporation. He seldom used his office suites, preferring to do do his business over the internet or face to face. After asking if there was anything she was hungry for. Joshua showed the princess of power where the shower was and how to use the sonic cleaner to remove the detritus of the evening's battle.
*Whoump* *Whoump*
Teleporting back in with a tray of pastries he had picked up from Lilly's in Paris, Joshua sits in one of the half dozen over-size stuffed chairs some decorated had thought of as "comfortable"
"Max. you asked who in my family was under attack. That's not quite as simple a question as you might think. My dad died in a car accident when I was a kid. It was me, mom and sis, on our own for a lot of lean years. Then mom got cancer, and it was just me and sis."
Locking the diatanium bracers into their display case, Joshua gives Cybil a sub-vocal request to start filing request to assist in the analysis of the Cyberion doom-bots. State of the art technology like that required specific resources. Even if it was overseas it would give them a place to start the hunt for the Destroyers.
"No one adopts a fourteen year old boy and his little sister Max. We bounced around foster homes for a couple years . . . the last couple was pretty cool and I was doing well in school. Started for the varsity football team my freshman year . . . but then in my junior year some strung out meta attacked the house while I was at school. I never knew the destruction metas could cause Max. This guy, he was nothing, barely a meta at all really. He was strong though, and strung out like that, he didn't even feel the shotgun wounds from the cops as he tore the house down on top of my little sister and our guardians."
For a long time the suite is silent. Both titans in their own way mourning the loss of their past lives.
"Then ... well things happened when I worked for Medusa ... let's just say I find it hard to trust people. Especially people who like power. Most just aren't equipped to handle dealing with metas Max. Either they're arrogant enough to think they know how to handle people like us, or they're just not equipped to. Normal human beings have no business dealing with Metas Max. They're too fragile . . . they die without even realizing the danger they were in, just like my little sister."
As Maxima enters the private conference slash living room of the cerulean corporate commander, she sees a look first of anger then sadness cross his face and finally one of confusion.
"I never planned on building StarCorp Max. Some days I think it's some huge joke Kevin's pulling on me and I'm going to wake up and back in Texas working on an oil rig . . . but no, there I am, expected to make decisions that are going to affect the lives of tens of thousands of families. Their my responsibility Max. They're my family. Those men that Bull injured on the street, men injured protecting my company property, those men are my brothers. Their wives are my sisters. Their children ... my nieces and nephews."
"They're every bit as much my family as Adamas, or AA, or Doc, or Donnah, or Pietor . . . or you."
The reinforced arms of the chair shatters in Joshua's grip as his anger absently lashes out.
"I'll die fighting to protect them. I'll die fighting to protect the Super Society. No one joined us tonight for the money. They did it because there was a need and that's what heroes do."
Joshua stands up disgustedly looking at the shattered arms of two thousand dollar worth of kindling. Grabbing a pair of blue jeans and black t shirt he heads to the master bath area to take his own shower.
"I did what I had to do to protect my family tonight Max. All of them, and I'd do it again if I had to. I can be in Tokyo in the blink of an eye, but even I can't be everywhere all the time. I'm sorry I left to go capture Bull, but for some reason Mocker is targeting my company more than others. Whether it was suppose to be a trap or an elaborate plot to pull me away from protecting the Isotope doesn't matter. I couldn't let Mocker keep sending Bull out to kill and injure my brothers til I responded. They're humans. Well-trained and well equipped, but human none the less and it's my responsibility to protect them from the likes of Bull and Mocker."
"I'll be damned if I let them think they can use ploys like that to endanger my team mates and friends though. I'll always find a way to beat them. I swear it Max. Tonight I protected the Quest and now we have the birth of a new Super Society. Tomorrow, if the need arises, I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and the Super Society. I swear I will. I swear
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GM
Maxima sat her chair silently for a moment. “Thank you for sharing with me. None of this was recorded in our histories.” She stood up and walked over to the window. Looking out Max said, “You have some very interesting views on the world. My view of the world is different too. I am a 55 year old woman in an artificially grown body. My mind was transferred into this body and I was sent back in time to stop ‘The Day the Bubble Burst’. I was a scientific genius before I became housed in this”. She stretched out her powerful arms for effect.
She took Joshua’s hand, squeezed and then dropped it to pace around the room. “We, you and I, are not leaders. We are scientists and geniuses. We don’t make decisions. Our research data makes the decision. Look through history, the smartest men in the room make the weapons but it is others which decide when and where to use it. They frustrate us because they make decision on hunch and gut feeling but that is where it has to come from. There is no data which can tell us the answer they come up with.
As scientist we think we can narrow life down to 1 or 2 variables. Once the variables are identified we can then control it, fix it, or predict it. We have found the cure. The joke on us is there are always more variables we can’t control.
“I lied to Neville. I did not lose my memory from a virus I brought with me. I remember everything. The problem is everything changes.”
“I stopped Prima 1 the first week I was here. I went to bed that night at peace knowing I had accomplished my mission. The next morning when I woke up, it wasn’t Prima 1 that caused the ‘The Day the Bubble Burst’. It was Skynet. It took me a month to stop its creation.”
“I don’t have a memory problem; history changes. I remember the prior history and the new history is laid over it. That is why I am in Megalopolis now. I have been chasing down the Deathstroke Device. It was created by CyberDoom. He wasn’t able to find a power source for it until the isotope was discovered. He partnered with the Destroyers to acquire it. Together they were going to blackmail the world with it. It had the power to cause any power plant in the world to overload and meltdown. Nuclear powered or not.”
“That is why I accepted your offer. I had to stop the creation of the Deathstroke Device. If my historical data showed that the Super Society capturing the Destroyers would cause ‘The Day of the Bubble Burst’ I would do everything in my power to cause the Super Society to lose. I don’t care about saving people. To me they are already dead. I know the exact date of your death, Commander Joshua Rose, the man who doesn’t think of himself as DarkStar. The irony is the rest of the world does and DarkStar will be the name on your tombstone.”
“As I keep altering the future I have known how you died in each of the different ways and at extremely different ages. Tomorrow when I wake up, there is a high probably there will be a new way.”
“Think of me as cold hearted if you wish but realize I volunteered to travel backwards in time for a reason. It was to destroy the future. I am trying to prevent my life and all the lives of my loved ones in The Covenant from happening. I strive daily to change the future so that instead of waking with a new history in my head I don’t wake at all because Maxima is never needed by the future.”
“I gave you the computer program to scan for me not as bootyware (even though I wish you would use it for that purpose) but for the day I do complete my mission. Because I am Neville’s meal ticket and his source of fame he never reports my disappearance. Neville starts writing reports of my exploring underground civilianization and other hidden societies. So the world will never know I am gone. I want one person to know that I succeeded in my quest to not exist.”
“I will not be a part of the Super Society anymore. All my data analysis shows no connection with them and “Day the Bubble Burst”. The events of today will not change the results.”
Max stopped her pacing and walked to the window. She opened it. She prepared to ‘fly’ away, so powerful were her leaps.
“It was a pleasure meeting you and now I must say goodbye. It is late and I need to get home because tonight all of the future will change as I sleep. Hopefully this time I will not greet the day when it comes.”
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Adamas
OOC: OK, I was expecting an arial battle with Annihilator, possibly Shapeshifter, or both, but not all of the Destroyers on my own... gotta say, that was a bit more than I thought I was biting off. I mean I figured me and Safeguard, at least... and when Rose teleported in the Calvary, I thought things were turning around. I feel like I missed something with the
new group and Maxima... not sure where that came from. Adamas feels like both missions were a success, the Isotope was delivered, and the cloak is safe. Looking back, I'm not sure why DS didn't just teleport the isotope, and we could have focused everyone on the cloak... Like we got it stuck in our heads that we had to move both of them at the same time, I think that was only a suggestion, but maybe I read it wrong. Would have been nice to take on the Destroyers in a stand up fight... I think with our full team, we'd fair well.
new group and Maxima... not sure where that came from. Adamas feels like both missions were a success, the Isotope was delivered, and the cloak is safe. Looking back, I'm not sure why DS didn't just teleport the isotope, and we could have focused everyone on the cloak... Like we got it stuck in our heads that we had to move both of them at the same time, I think that was only a suggestion, but maybe I read it wrong. Would have been nice to take on the Destroyers in a stand up fight... I think with our full team, we'd fair well.
Back to the present, As far as Adamas' downtime goes... Training, I think He's going to focus on Agility for this level. A little more speed could have made a huge difference in the last fight...
IC: Adamas watches the exchange between AA and Dr. Arcane in silence from the top of the bannister, floating silently. As he listens to the obvious rage in his friends voice, he reflects to the last advice given him before the Hijack happened, where was the loose and riding the wave in this exchange. Perhaps he had misunderstood, frustrating to say the least. As the door slammed, Adamas thought back over the events of the last week. He was the one that had insisted they stay engaged in the deliverance of the Isotope, and was obviously drawn into trap. This had been the first time he'd ever felt helpless. He flew through the mansion, exiting out the back double doors, and shot into the sky, watching as Agent America left dual streaks of black rubber on the driveway.
He looked to the sky, he needed to talk to someone he trusted, that would understand, He thought of Commander Astro, and headed for the Space Station. He felt a need to be around his own kind.
Jon H.
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Harvey & Elwood
Tom,
Let me know if I should change any form of my communication:
Goal:
Finish greeting Dr. Arcane,
Prepare for the trip to Dr. Arcane’s location,
Get to Dr. Arcane’s,
Open eyes and ears, ready to learn.
IC:
“Well, it seems you have me at a disadvantage sir. Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Dowd, Elwood P. Here… Here is my card. Now don’t call this number, call the one on this side. The old one doesn’t work anymore. And what may…(pausing as if interrupted) What’s that Harvey? (looking up as if speaking to someone taller than himself, and looking ready for an immediate response) Oh. (looking back to Dr. Arcane) Well sir, it seems my dear friend Harvey feels that it would be best if we prepare ourselves for a little trip, so I will follow up with you when next we meet. Thank you and have a safe journey.
After you Harvey.”
Elwood and Harvey would get themselves organized and ready for a short jaunt to parts unknown.
Back at Elwood’s home, Harvey watches Elwood put together a small overnight bag including clothing a small electric iron, cosmetics and two silver flasks. One filled with scotch and the other with whiskey.
The two take public transportation or walk to Dr. Arcane’s, possibly stopping a few times at watering holes along the way.
OOC:
I intend to have Elwood arrive at Arcane’s a few drinks in, but not intoxicated. If I am not mistaken, his heightened endurance should allow him to drink a bit more than a regular joe.
Since Elwood is the visible character, I will most likely write from his perspective until there is need for action. This is very new to me so let’s figure out the best way to communicate together. In time I will stop apologizing or asking for patience.
If Elwood meets anyone (ever) he will always present a business card which reads simply, Elwood P. Dowd. Two phone numbers appear, but Elwood will usually point out that one is no longer in use. Strangely enough Elwood does not normally carry a cell phone (unless you think it is important for him to do so).
I am comforted by the fact that you already are familiar with the basis for my characters.
Here we go!
Mike
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DarkStar
Hey Mike
Invisible friends huh? Definitely going to fit into the Hallows better than DS or AA.
Cant wait to see AA's reaction Jeff. Hope your raskly "friend" shows up in the IR spectrum or even Cybil's going to think he's nuts. (lol lol)
welcome aboard
John R
PS: Can I guess one of his powers? "Rabbit's Foot" Luck Points usable per day (as per Manta Lad)
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GM
Oh, Harvey is going to drive Cybil absolutely nuts! He doesn't show up on any physical spectrum.
Tom
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DarkStar
lmao
Well that can be useful too. Time we expanded Cybil's personality again anyway
Hey Mr. Hise (lol - yeah I'm sucking up)
Speaking of powers operating in new and unusual ways. I have a what if for using the teleport ability. Might be something Wraith and Phade could use also.
If a teleporter is grappling with another character ... and both are holding that characters weapon/device/etc. ... Can the teleporter jump with said weapon/device/etc. ???
It's either a cheesey power stunt of an inventive use of a movement power, depending how it effects the story and game balance. I betting on one and hoping for the other
Can't wait to see Mike and Kev's characters sheets.
John R
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Harvey & Elwood
Thanks John.
I don't really know what to expect from Harvey myself but I am looking forward to seeing what happens.
I like your rabbit's foot idea.
Take care,
Mike
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Agent America
OOC: John, I hope Doc warns us. :)
Best,
Jeff/AA
Best,
Jeff/AA
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DarkStar
OOC: John, I hope Doc warns us. :)
DarkStar OOC: (LoL) You never know with Doc It's obvious how this turns out right? DS and AA end up beating the crap out of each other and come back from the Himalayas as best buds
(LoL) Hmm ... no that's how this all started in Issue#2. We've grown beyond that ... right?
Off Topic suggestion for Mike
Once again welcome to the weird world of the Quest with "the Team" (Hey guys now with five members maybe we can try and vote on a real team name?) Wow, I just went off topic on my off topic - sorry Mike, I ramble a wee bit sometimes (lol).
You seemed to be asking for assistance how to represent your dialogue with Harvey and Elwood. Thought I'd throw an ideal against the wall and see if it stuck for ya.
I do something similar with DarkStar and Cybil (his AI). I use asterisks to frame her dialogue (i.e. **Meteor impact in 8.76 seconds Joshua**). For DarkStar's inner dialogue I use italics (Has he lost his mind?)
I assume sans a telepath, Elwood is the only one who can hear Harvey speak, so maybe some combination of the above might be able to represent what you're going for. Trick would be to make Harvey's communication distinguishable from Elwood's own internal dialogue.
Just a thought to get you rolling.
John R/DarkStar
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DarkStar
OOC: First the Commander, then Doc, now AA. DS sure has a funny way of making friends. ;)
So which one is the Pet, Harvey or Elwood? :)
I can't access the last issue because I'm traveling. Which one did Doc invite to join the Quest?
Best,
Jeff / AA
So which one is the Pet, Harvey or Elwood? :)
I can't access the last issue because I'm traveling. Which one did Doc invite to join the Quest?
Best,
Jeff / AA
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DarkStar
OOC: well heck I thought Harvey was the rabbit - sorta. Now Im all confused - what else is new
@ Jeff > yeah real charmer and people person that DarkStar guy. I never planned it this way but (IMO) he's starting to come across kinda Bruce Wayne-ish. Heavy on the"ish" I guess, but that's where I'm at with him right now. Not Year One or Dark Knight though, more like in the anime say Batman or JLU
ish
Comics tuesday Tom?
John/DS
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Harvey & Elwood
Thanks for the suggestions John. Asterix and italics seem like good ways to differentiate Harvey's "voice" from Elwood's thoughts. Truth be told I don't expect Elwood to be very internal though appearances may make one think otherwise.
Thanks again.
Mike
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Adamas
IC: Looking out the observation deck portal, the Earth floated relatively centered in Adama’s view. Without turning his gaze from the window he spoke, “I feel drawn to this world my brother, and while I appreciate your offer, I really feel no desire to leave.” Commander Astro’s “offer” was to put Adamas in contact with some of the known inhabitants of the Galaxy to help him find someone that might know where he came from.
“I am curious, but at the same time, I just have a feeling that I was floating there for a long time before those astronauts found me. I think any family I might have had is probably long gone. At the same time, I still feel I’m struggling with my new “home.” It seems everything I try to do ends up causing problems. First endangering civilians, and now causing conflicts within my team,” he said glancing to the shadowy reflection of Commander Astro in the thick glass window. “I appreciate the use of your medical bay and exercise equipment. Your facilities here are a little more suited to my unique needs.”
“Anytime you need us, or just want to “hang out,” you are always welcome here,” Commander Astro said, laying his hand on Adamas shoulder. “And don’t worry so much about your friends. One thing you will learn about humans is that they are a resilient race. And while Commander Rose’s physical skin may be thick and hard as his head, I assure you he and Agent America have both been in this game long enough to know how to work together. Seems like a case of too many chief’s and not enough Indians. Let them work it out and don’t blame yourself for everything.”
A short time later Adamas found himself floating freely outside the space station, feeling the cold of space against his skin and looked at the stars. He waved to a technician in a space suit tethered nearby working on some electrical panel and again thought of how fragile these humans were, but how they put themselves at risk to advance their civilization. Dark Star was doing the right things by advancing their technology, and he was glad to be of assistance in any way he could, but for now, his focus needed to be on the Quest laid before them by Dr. Arcane, and he needed to get back to that.
A small smile slid onto his face as he rocketed toward the mansion in the Hallowed Hills. Today we begin another adventure!
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Agent America
So Doc invited the invisible one to join the Quest, and the visible one tagged along?
That's great.
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DarkStar
Awww crap Jeff !!! Thanks man. Talk about assumptions, I get it now.
OMG I think I'm a bit jealous. I do believe that is one of the coolest character ideals I've seen in ages (I'm so freaking stuck in the 70's and 80's) You realize of course you have just got to back that up with some fine ass RPing now.
BTW: In case no one noticed the "fellowship" has it's invisible character now. I was going to count Cybil but she's more Sam than she is Frodo (Where's Legolas - maybe that guy in Street Patrol - LOL )
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Catalyst
Damn – just realized I never sent in a response for this latest issue of Quest. I’ll get working on it tonight. I apologize for not being able to read everything that’s been happening in the Quest story ( been busy as Hell as I mentioned in my last e-mail ), so I’m just going to need a little bit of info from you to help me out ( sorry – I know you’re busy as well ).
These first few are just to make sure that I know, what I think I know -
1. Dr. Avery and Dr. Arcane are the same person.
2. The group is currently at The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball and Dr. Avery / Dr. Arcane has his office in one of the office areas of that building.
3. I’m heading to Dr. Avery’s office to discuss joining the team with him.
Questions –
1. Do I have to go through The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball to get to Dr. Avery’s / Dr. Arcane’s office?
2. If not, can I anyway? I would go in my secret identity – I’m actually hoping to put together an interview piece with the reporter Jessica Anderson – would that be ok?
3. If all of that is cool so far – what kind of media is Jessica Anderson a reporter for ( TV, newspaper, internet, etc . . . )?
4. What’s the name of the TV station, newspaper, blog, etc. that she reports for?
5. You OK with me changing into my superhero costume with some kind of Wonder Woman spin-around or something like that? I’m just trying to figure out a way to change into costume once I get out of sight of everyone else at The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball.
6. Will the rest of the Quest team be in Dr. Avery’s / Dr. Arcane’s office when I walk in, or will it just be Elwood and Harvey?
7. Do you need or want anything special from me this issue or did you just want to keep it a basic ‘meet and greet’ for the time being?
Talk to you soon,
-Kev
P.S. Will get those new Agent America costumes out to you as soon as I get a chance to re-do them. Being color blind, I have to rely on other people to help me with my designs.
These first few are just to make sure that I know, what I think I know -
1. Dr. Avery and Dr. Arcane are the same person.
2. The group is currently at The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball and Dr. Avery / Dr. Arcane has his office in one of the office areas of that building.
3. I’m heading to Dr. Avery’s office to discuss joining the team with him.
Questions –
1. Do I have to go through The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball to get to Dr. Avery’s / Dr. Arcane’s office?
2. If not, can I anyway? I would go in my secret identity – I’m actually hoping to put together an interview piece with the reporter Jessica Anderson – would that be ok?
3. If all of that is cool so far – what kind of media is Jessica Anderson a reporter for ( TV, newspaper, internet, etc . . . )?
4. What’s the name of the TV station, newspaper, blog, etc. that she reports for?
5. You OK with me changing into my superhero costume with some kind of Wonder Woman spin-around or something like that? I’m just trying to figure out a way to change into costume once I get out of sight of everyone else at The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball.
6. Will the rest of the Quest team be in Dr. Avery’s / Dr. Arcane’s office when I walk in, or will it just be Elwood and Harvey?
7. Do you need or want anything special from me this issue or did you just want to keep it a basic ‘meet and greet’ for the time being?
Talk to you soon,
-Kev
P.S. Will get those new Agent America costumes out to you as soon as I get a chance to re-do them. Being color blind, I have to rely on other people to help me with my designs.
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GM
1. Dr. Avery and Dr. Arcane are the same person. GM: Yes
2. The group is currently at The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball and Dr. Avery / Dr. Arcane has his office in one of the office areas of that building. GM: No, the group is all heading to the Mansion and Dr. Avery borrowed an office in the building but it was only for that night.
3. I’m heading to Dr. Avery’s office to discuss joining the team with him. GM: If you want to discuss joining then do it at his appearance, just as Jeff has restated scenes from prior issue with your reply, I will do the same with Dr. Arcane's appearance to Catalyst. When he heads to the Mansion it is to join the team.
2. The group is currently at The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball and Dr. Avery / Dr. Arcane has his office in one of the office areas of that building. GM: No, the group is all heading to the Mansion and Dr. Avery borrowed an office in the building but it was only for that night.
3. I’m heading to Dr. Avery’s office to discuss joining the team with him. GM: If you want to discuss joining then do it at his appearance, just as Jeff has restated scenes from prior issue with your reply, I will do the same with Dr. Arcane's appearance to Catalyst. When he heads to the Mansion it is to join the team.
Questions –
1. Do I have to go through The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball to get to Dr. Avery’s / Dr. Arcane’s office? GM: No, the address you were given is Dr. Avery's Mansion.
2. If not, can I anyway? I would go in my secret identity – I’m actually hoping to put together an interview piece with the reporter Jessica Anderson – would that be ok? GM: Yes, that would be fine. Since all the heroes have left she would be desperate for a interview. Catalyst would have to go to the Ball immediately from Dr. Arcane's appearance (not going home or elsewhere first). In your reply to Dr. Arcane, state you want to meet in person first (Because of his power, he can tell this is an Astro Projection of Dr. Arcane - no reading as either human or meta-human). He will tell he to come immediately to the High Society. They can use the Curator's office to me.
3. If all of that is cool so far – what kind of media is Jessica Anderson a reporter for ( TV, newspaper, internet, etc . . . )? GM: TV, No 1 reporter on Capes in Megaloloplis.
4. What’s the name of the TV station, newspaper, blog, etc. that she reports for? GM: WCTV
5. You OK with me changing into my superhero costume with some kind of Wonder Woman spin-around or something like that? I’m just trying to figure out a way to change into costume once I get out of sight of everyone else at The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball. GM: That is perfectly fine. To summarize in civvies at the High Society and meeting with Dr. Avery and in costume at the Mansion and meeting with The Team.
6. Will the rest of the Quest team be in Dr. Avery’s / Dr. Arcane’s office when I walk in, or will it just be Elwood and Harvey? GM: none of them. Only Catalyst and Dr. Avery/Dr. Arcane
7. Do you need or want anything special from me this issue or did you just want to keep it a basic ‘meet and greet’ for the time being? GM: Meet and greet is all that is needed.
1. Do I have to go through The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball to get to Dr. Avery’s / Dr. Arcane’s office? GM: No, the address you were given is Dr. Avery's Mansion.
2. If not, can I anyway? I would go in my secret identity – I’m actually hoping to put together an interview piece with the reporter Jessica Anderson – would that be ok? GM: Yes, that would be fine. Since all the heroes have left she would be desperate for a interview. Catalyst would have to go to the Ball immediately from Dr. Arcane's appearance (not going home or elsewhere first). In your reply to Dr. Arcane, state you want to meet in person first (Because of his power, he can tell this is an Astro Projection of Dr. Arcane - no reading as either human or meta-human). He will tell he to come immediately to the High Society. They can use the Curator's office to me.
3. If all of that is cool so far – what kind of media is Jessica Anderson a reporter for ( TV, newspaper, internet, etc . . . )? GM: TV, No 1 reporter on Capes in Megaloloplis.
4. What’s the name of the TV station, newspaper, blog, etc. that she reports for? GM: WCTV
5. You OK with me changing into my superhero costume with some kind of Wonder Woman spin-around or something like that? I’m just trying to figure out a way to change into costume once I get out of sight of everyone else at The High Society Museum’s Donors Ball. GM: That is perfectly fine. To summarize in civvies at the High Society and meeting with Dr. Avery and in costume at the Mansion and meeting with The Team.
6. Will the rest of the Quest team be in Dr. Avery’s / Dr. Arcane’s office when I walk in, or will it just be Elwood and Harvey? GM: none of them. Only Catalyst and Dr. Avery/Dr. Arcane
7. Do you need or want anything special from me this issue or did you just want to keep it a basic ‘meet and greet’ for the time being? GM: Meet and greet is all that is needed.
Thanks
Tom
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Catalyst
Quest: Catalyst’s Introduction
> CATALYST’S IC RESPONSE <
. . . elsewhere in Megalopolis, Dr Arcane had been making house calls. He suddenly appears next to a man riding quietly down a dark city street in the back of his private limousine. Startled by his unexpected visitor, John almost spills his glass of scotch as the good doctor addresses him, “I have need of you and your powers. Please come to this address tomorrow. The very fate of the world depends on you joining the Quest.” John looks at the address and then looks back at the strange man sitting next to him. He stares at him for almost a minute before he picks up his hand starts to wave it around in the middle of Dr. Arcane’s head. “Neat hologram . . .” he says as he looks around the back of his limousine for a hidden video projector. A moment later John continues, “. . . but I only do business with people face to face, and as much as I would love to meet you somewhere to discuss all this ‘saving the world’ stuff, I have a prior engagement this evening.” Dr. Arcane then nods his head knowingly and instructs the man to meet him in the Curator's office at the rear of the museum once he arrives. With a blink of brilliant light Dr. Arcane vanishes just as abruptly as he appeared. As John sits there in the back seat trying to figure out what just happened, a silly question suddenly pops into his head, “How the heck did he know I was going to the museum?”
Cameras begin to flash and overhead lighting gets turned on as John’s limousine pulls up to the front entrance to the High Society Museum’s Donors Ball. The door to his limousine is suddenly swamped by paparazzi trying desperately to gets some good photos of one of Megalopolis’s most wealthy and gossip worthy playboys, Jonathan Winthrope III. After shooing away several of the gossip columnists, Mr. Winthrope’s scantily clad female chauffer finally opens his door. As he steps out, the cameras start flashing in a frenzy as the paparazzi do their best to get his attention. “Hey John, over here,” one shouts, and another asks, “Any idea how you’ll be sleeping with tonight John?” Making his way down the red carpet he pauses from time to time, and gives a wide toothy grin as he waves to the horde of gossip hounds nipping at his heels. Midway down the carpet he suddenly stops and turns towards one of the woman in the crowd and says with a cocky grin, “Evening Jessica, any chance I’ll be seeing you inside later?” “Only if you’re giving an interview,” the woman shoots back at him in her own snarky little way. John looks away for a second as if pondering the journalists request and then responds, ”You got it, I’ll meet you inside.”
Shortly afterwards, Megalopolis’s famed ‘number one superhero reporter’ Jessica Anderson catches up with John inside the museum just as he’s approached by a member of the events wait staff. “Well, well, well . . . I must admit I’m a bit shocked that you offered me an interview Mister Winthrope,” she says to him with a cautious smile. As if she wasn’t even there, John turns to the waiter and in an exasperated tone says, “Oh thank goodness . . . I was beginning to think I was in trouble there for a sec.” The waiter then quickly presents a silver serving tray with a full cocktail glass resting on top it. With a some what puzzled look on his face, John lifts the empty glass in his hand up to eye level, tips it over and then deftly swirls his finger around the inside rim, “Its empty, I’m not sure how this happened to be honest . . . this glass must be broken or something, might be this big hole on top of it or something . . . I don’t know.” Swapping the empty glass for the full one resting on the serving tray, he turns to Jessica as if he just noticed her standing there and asks, “Can I get you a drink?” She shoots him a polite smile and says in a gentle, but impatient tone, “No . . . thank you.” John then turns towards the waiter ands explains in a concerned manner, “The lady seems to be fine, but I expect to see you back here every five to ten minutes or so with a fresh one of these . . . until I pass out of course . . .and then just bring one about every fifteen or twenty minutes or so after that. . . ok?”
As the waiter turns and starts to walk away, Jessica starts to speak, “Alright . . . well . . . it looks like . . .” Before she can even finish her sentence, John shouts out at the waiter who is now on his way towards another guest, “ . . . I’ll miss you!” Turning back to Jessica, he once again asks, “You sure you wouldn’t like a drink or something?” She responds quickly in order to avoid being cut off again, "Actually I think we’re about ready to start, are you ready?" John nods, takes a sip from his glass, and then nods again, "As I'll ever be." Her camera man flips on the light mounted above his TV camera and then gives Jessica the ‘thumbs up’. She then starts her interview -
"Mister Winthrope,"
"Yes?"
"Let me first say how glad we are that you agreed to do this interview. We know that you've been doing your best to avoid the press ever since . . . well . . . ever since that rumor about you started last week."
( John looking a bit nervous ) "Rumor? Which one? Because I know there were a few. Are you referring to that thing with the blonde from Stockholm or…"
"No, no… no I was referring to the rumor that you’ve been cut off from the Winthrope family fortune.
( John looking a bit relieved ) "Huh? Oh . . . oh ok . . . yeah that rumor."
"Yes that one . . ."
( John looking even more relieved ) "Well . . . yeah, whoo . . . talk about getting off totally on the wrong foot there for a sec, I would have sworn you were asking about . . . ( John shakes his head, and then takes a sip of his drink ) . . . regardless, my apologizes for any inconvenience that may have been caused by any of these rumors and I would like to officially put them all to bed . . . would you care to join me?"
( Jessica looking shocked ) Are you always this forward?
( John looking completely serious ) No, only with attractive women.
What's the key to being such a successful and wealthy entrepreneur?
Delegation and a great tuxedo.
We all know Jonathan Winthrope, heir to the Winthrope family fortune. Now perhaps you can tell us more about Jonathan Winthrope, millionaire playboy?"
"Playboy? Wow, that’ll take some getting used to. I mean its one thing to go out every night, get drunk, and then end up in bed with some beautiful Hollywood starlet, but it's another to do it with a label like that."
Do you think you'll ever just settle down with someone?
Whoa . . . is this WCTV or Gossip Weekly?
What's the best thing about being rich?
Knowing that I now own both WCTV and Gossip Weekly.
Do you ever feel guilty for being so wealthy, while most of The Foundry and Winthrope Station’s population lives well below the poverty line?
( John looking slightly insulted but calm at the same time ) No. Do you ever feel guilty for being a puppet of the global media monoculture?
( Jessica looking slightly insulted and angry, but professional ) . . .
( John looking smug as he takes another sip from his glass ) Of course not.
What are the big growth areas for the Winthrope Foundation and Vanguard Inc.?
( John fighting the urge to laugh almost chokes on his drink ) Wow! Really? Is this a set-up?
You've got a reputation as a superficial playboy and a scandalous cad. Do you think it's deserved?
( John looking calm and confident ) Deserved? It’s Earned.
( Jessica looking frustrated but professional ) . . .
No, but honestly . . . I’ve never been entirely comfortable with this whole ‘superficial playboy and a scandalous cad’ thing, and I’m sure I never will be. You know how easy it is to get a reputation like that and hard it is to loose? Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not playing victim here . . . you know . . . I’m not complaining, it’s just something that has occurred over time and I unfortunately am forced to bare the brunt of it.
( Jessica in a condescending tone ) You rehearse that much?
Every night in the mirror before bed, why, is it stale?
( Jessica looking humorously disgusted ) Wow . . . I can actually picture you doing that.
I could show you first hand some time if you’d like.
Sorry if I don’t laugh at your jokes, but I haven’t been paid to like all your employees have Mr. Winthrope.
( With a cocky look on his face, John takes another sip from his glass ) Well stick around, you’ll probably be on the payroll soon enough.
What makes you see yourself as a business visionary like your grandfather, and not just another spoiled rich kid?
( John nods his head confidently ) Perspective . . . oh . . . and the mansions, but mostly it’s the perspective.
Mr. Winthrope . . .
Please, call me John
I’m sorry . . . John . . . I was looking for a more serious answer.
( John in a more serious tone ) Ok, you want serious? Here’s serious . . . my grandfather had a philosophy . . . If something needs to get done, you just do it. If you want to drive a nail through a piece of wood you don’t need to do anything fancy, you just smash it with a damn hammer. He wanted to save this city, save it from organized crime and back door politics. He wanted to restore this city to its former beauty and grandeur. He wanted to give jobs to the people that lived here, and drive out the morally corrupt cabal of criminals that pose as our elected officials so that . . . ( John looking confused ) . . . by the way, is this a rhetorical question? ( John takes another sip of his drink ) No need for a response. Tell me, do you plan on running any pictures of all the millions of people that my families companies have saved over the years by advancing medical technologies when you air this?
( Jessica looking at John in disbelief and amazement ) Wow . . . you really have all of this down don’t you? Have you ever lost an hour of sleep your whole life?
I’ve got to tell ya . . . is that thing running? ( John pointing to the TV camera )
( John looking back at Jessica with mock disappointment ) You know . . . you’re never going get me in the sack with this ‘hard to get’ attitude of yours.
( Jessica looking a bit disgusted and angry ) Well Mr. Winthrope . . . I think we’re done here . . . thank you again for your time"
( John looking cocky and half drunk ) "You're so very welcome…"
As Jessica and her camera man begin to walk away, John looks down at his watch and says to himself, “Well . . . I guess its time for me to go meet my mysterious holographic friend.” A familiar voice then unexpectedly breaks his train of thought, “Mr. Winthrope?” John turns around to see the waiter he spoke with earlier standing behind him with a fresh drink in his hand. Taking the drink from the waiter John quips, “Excellent timing, I was actually beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me.” Placing a hundred dollar bill on the serving tray, he asks the waiter, “Tell me . . . where would I find the bathrooms around here?” Pointing towards the back of the museum the waiter responds, “Right over there sir.” Making his way through the sea of people crowded inside the events main area, John finally makes it to the back of the museum. Taking a careful look around to make sure that he wasn’t being watch, John slips through an unguarded door marked ‘museum personnel only’. With in moments he comes across the object of his search – the Curator's office. Knocking solidly on the six panel oak door, John waits for a second for a response and then blurts out, “Jehovah Witness . . . have you heard about the Watchtower?” Another second or two passes by and there seems to be no answer at the door; never being the type to not take initiative, John slowly turns the door knob. Finding the door unlocked, he slowly opens the door and peers in . . .
*** GM Response needed for the rest ***
> CATALYST’S GOAL(S) <
Catalyst’s only goals in this issue are to make contact with Dr. Arcane at the museum and then meet with him later at his mansion.
> CATALYST’S OOC RESPONSE <
Really sorry about the SUPER late response here guys. Been a really busy few week for me, and I completely forgot that I never sent this out. I’ve been so busy that I’m not even sure if I need to wind my ass or scratch my watch – my apologies for the lateness.
After Dr. Arcane and Catalyst have their dialogue at the museum, Catalyst will dismiss his driver for the evening. He’ll example to the driver that he’s met a young lady who will be taking him home. Once the driver leaves he will walk a few blocks away, do the old “Wonder-Woman-spin-around-costume-change” thing and make his way to Dr. Avery’s Mansion as quickly as possible.
Tom, if you need anything else from me please let me know.
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
NOTE: I took some of the interview material from a variety of sources - mostly it was stuff related to the Tony Stark movie character.
> CATALYST’S IC RESPONSE <
. . . elsewhere in Megalopolis, Dr Arcane had been making house calls. He suddenly appears next to a man riding quietly down a dark city street in the back of his private limousine. Startled by his unexpected visitor, John almost spills his glass of scotch as the good doctor addresses him, “I have need of you and your powers. Please come to this address tomorrow. The very fate of the world depends on you joining the Quest.” John looks at the address and then looks back at the strange man sitting next to him. He stares at him for almost a minute before he picks up his hand starts to wave it around in the middle of Dr. Arcane’s head. “Neat hologram . . .” he says as he looks around the back of his limousine for a hidden video projector. A moment later John continues, “. . . but I only do business with people face to face, and as much as I would love to meet you somewhere to discuss all this ‘saving the world’ stuff, I have a prior engagement this evening.” Dr. Arcane then nods his head knowingly and instructs the man to meet him in the Curator's office at the rear of the museum once he arrives. With a blink of brilliant light Dr. Arcane vanishes just as abruptly as he appeared. As John sits there in the back seat trying to figure out what just happened, a silly question suddenly pops into his head, “How the heck did he know I was going to the museum?”
Cameras begin to flash and overhead lighting gets turned on as John’s limousine pulls up to the front entrance to the High Society Museum’s Donors Ball. The door to his limousine is suddenly swamped by paparazzi trying desperately to gets some good photos of one of Megalopolis’s most wealthy and gossip worthy playboys, Jonathan Winthrope III. After shooing away several of the gossip columnists, Mr. Winthrope’s scantily clad female chauffer finally opens his door. As he steps out, the cameras start flashing in a frenzy as the paparazzi do their best to get his attention. “Hey John, over here,” one shouts, and another asks, “Any idea how you’ll be sleeping with tonight John?” Making his way down the red carpet he pauses from time to time, and gives a wide toothy grin as he waves to the horde of gossip hounds nipping at his heels. Midway down the carpet he suddenly stops and turns towards one of the woman in the crowd and says with a cocky grin, “Evening Jessica, any chance I’ll be seeing you inside later?” “Only if you’re giving an interview,” the woman shoots back at him in her own snarky little way. John looks away for a second as if pondering the journalists request and then responds, ”You got it, I’ll meet you inside.”
Shortly afterwards, Megalopolis’s famed ‘number one superhero reporter’ Jessica Anderson catches up with John inside the museum just as he’s approached by a member of the events wait staff. “Well, well, well . . . I must admit I’m a bit shocked that you offered me an interview Mister Winthrope,” she says to him with a cautious smile. As if she wasn’t even there, John turns to the waiter and in an exasperated tone says, “Oh thank goodness . . . I was beginning to think I was in trouble there for a sec.” The waiter then quickly presents a silver serving tray with a full cocktail glass resting on top it. With a some what puzzled look on his face, John lifts the empty glass in his hand up to eye level, tips it over and then deftly swirls his finger around the inside rim, “Its empty, I’m not sure how this happened to be honest . . . this glass must be broken or something, might be this big hole on top of it or something . . . I don’t know.” Swapping the empty glass for the full one resting on the serving tray, he turns to Jessica as if he just noticed her standing there and asks, “Can I get you a drink?” She shoots him a polite smile and says in a gentle, but impatient tone, “No . . . thank you.” John then turns towards the waiter ands explains in a concerned manner, “The lady seems to be fine, but I expect to see you back here every five to ten minutes or so with a fresh one of these . . . until I pass out of course . . .and then just bring one about every fifteen or twenty minutes or so after that. . . ok?”
As the waiter turns and starts to walk away, Jessica starts to speak, “Alright . . . well . . . it looks like . . .” Before she can even finish her sentence, John shouts out at the waiter who is now on his way towards another guest, “ . . . I’ll miss you!” Turning back to Jessica, he once again asks, “You sure you wouldn’t like a drink or something?” She responds quickly in order to avoid being cut off again, "Actually I think we’re about ready to start, are you ready?" John nods, takes a sip from his glass, and then nods again, "As I'll ever be." Her camera man flips on the light mounted above his TV camera and then gives Jessica the ‘thumbs up’. She then starts her interview -
"Mister Winthrope,"
"Yes?"
"Let me first say how glad we are that you agreed to do this interview. We know that you've been doing your best to avoid the press ever since . . . well . . . ever since that rumor about you started last week."
( John looking a bit nervous ) "Rumor? Which one? Because I know there were a few. Are you referring to that thing with the blonde from Stockholm or…"
"No, no… no I was referring to the rumor that you’ve been cut off from the Winthrope family fortune.
( John looking a bit relieved ) "Huh? Oh . . . oh ok . . . yeah that rumor."
"Yes that one . . ."
( John looking even more relieved ) "Well . . . yeah, whoo . . . talk about getting off totally on the wrong foot there for a sec, I would have sworn you were asking about . . . ( John shakes his head, and then takes a sip of his drink ) . . . regardless, my apologizes for any inconvenience that may have been caused by any of these rumors and I would like to officially put them all to bed . . . would you care to join me?"
( Jessica looking shocked ) Are you always this forward?
( John looking completely serious ) No, only with attractive women.
What's the key to being such a successful and wealthy entrepreneur?
Delegation and a great tuxedo.
We all know Jonathan Winthrope, heir to the Winthrope family fortune. Now perhaps you can tell us more about Jonathan Winthrope, millionaire playboy?"
"Playboy? Wow, that’ll take some getting used to. I mean its one thing to go out every night, get drunk, and then end up in bed with some beautiful Hollywood starlet, but it's another to do it with a label like that."
Do you think you'll ever just settle down with someone?
Whoa . . . is this WCTV or Gossip Weekly?
What's the best thing about being rich?
Knowing that I now own both WCTV and Gossip Weekly.
Do you ever feel guilty for being so wealthy, while most of The Foundry and Winthrope Station’s population lives well below the poverty line?
( John looking slightly insulted but calm at the same time ) No. Do you ever feel guilty for being a puppet of the global media monoculture?
( Jessica looking slightly insulted and angry, but professional ) . . .
( John looking smug as he takes another sip from his glass ) Of course not.
What are the big growth areas for the Winthrope Foundation and Vanguard Inc.?
( John fighting the urge to laugh almost chokes on his drink ) Wow! Really? Is this a set-up?
You've got a reputation as a superficial playboy and a scandalous cad. Do you think it's deserved?
( John looking calm and confident ) Deserved? It’s Earned.
( Jessica looking frustrated but professional ) . . .
No, but honestly . . . I’ve never been entirely comfortable with this whole ‘superficial playboy and a scandalous cad’ thing, and I’m sure I never will be. You know how easy it is to get a reputation like that and hard it is to loose? Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not playing victim here . . . you know . . . I’m not complaining, it’s just something that has occurred over time and I unfortunately am forced to bare the brunt of it.
( Jessica in a condescending tone ) You rehearse that much?
Every night in the mirror before bed, why, is it stale?
( Jessica looking humorously disgusted ) Wow . . . I can actually picture you doing that.
I could show you first hand some time if you’d like.
Sorry if I don’t laugh at your jokes, but I haven’t been paid to like all your employees have Mr. Winthrope.
( With a cocky look on his face, John takes another sip from his glass ) Well stick around, you’ll probably be on the payroll soon enough.
What makes you see yourself as a business visionary like your grandfather, and not just another spoiled rich kid?
( John nods his head confidently ) Perspective . . . oh . . . and the mansions, but mostly it’s the perspective.
Mr. Winthrope . . .
Please, call me John
I’m sorry . . . John . . . I was looking for a more serious answer.
( John in a more serious tone ) Ok, you want serious? Here’s serious . . . my grandfather had a philosophy . . . If something needs to get done, you just do it. If you want to drive a nail through a piece of wood you don’t need to do anything fancy, you just smash it with a damn hammer. He wanted to save this city, save it from organized crime and back door politics. He wanted to restore this city to its former beauty and grandeur. He wanted to give jobs to the people that lived here, and drive out the morally corrupt cabal of criminals that pose as our elected officials so that . . . ( John looking confused ) . . . by the way, is this a rhetorical question? ( John takes another sip of his drink ) No need for a response. Tell me, do you plan on running any pictures of all the millions of people that my families companies have saved over the years by advancing medical technologies when you air this?
( Jessica looking at John in disbelief and amazement ) Wow . . . you really have all of this down don’t you? Have you ever lost an hour of sleep your whole life?
I’ve got to tell ya . . . is that thing running? ( John pointing to the TV camera )
( John looking back at Jessica with mock disappointment ) You know . . . you’re never going get me in the sack with this ‘hard to get’ attitude of yours.
( Jessica looking a bit disgusted and angry ) Well Mr. Winthrope . . . I think we’re done here . . . thank you again for your time"
( John looking cocky and half drunk ) "You're so very welcome…"
As Jessica and her camera man begin to walk away, John looks down at his watch and says to himself, “Well . . . I guess its time for me to go meet my mysterious holographic friend.” A familiar voice then unexpectedly breaks his train of thought, “Mr. Winthrope?” John turns around to see the waiter he spoke with earlier standing behind him with a fresh drink in his hand. Taking the drink from the waiter John quips, “Excellent timing, I was actually beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me.” Placing a hundred dollar bill on the serving tray, he asks the waiter, “Tell me . . . where would I find the bathrooms around here?” Pointing towards the back of the museum the waiter responds, “Right over there sir.” Making his way through the sea of people crowded inside the events main area, John finally makes it to the back of the museum. Taking a careful look around to make sure that he wasn’t being watch, John slips through an unguarded door marked ‘museum personnel only’. With in moments he comes across the object of his search – the Curator's office. Knocking solidly on the six panel oak door, John waits for a second for a response and then blurts out, “Jehovah Witness . . . have you heard about the Watchtower?” Another second or two passes by and there seems to be no answer at the door; never being the type to not take initiative, John slowly turns the door knob. Finding the door unlocked, he slowly opens the door and peers in . . .
*** GM Response needed for the rest ***
> CATALYST’S GOAL(S) <
Catalyst’s only goals in this issue are to make contact with Dr. Arcane at the museum and then meet with him later at his mansion.
> CATALYST’S OOC RESPONSE <
Really sorry about the SUPER late response here guys. Been a really busy few week for me, and I completely forgot that I never sent this out. I’ve been so busy that I’m not even sure if I need to wind my ass or scratch my watch – my apologies for the lateness.
After Dr. Arcane and Catalyst have their dialogue at the museum, Catalyst will dismiss his driver for the evening. He’ll example to the driver that he’s met a young lady who will be taking him home. Once the driver leaves he will walk a few blocks away, do the old “Wonder-Woman-spin-around-costume-change” thing and make his way to Dr. Avery’s Mansion as quickly as possible.
Tom, if you need anything else from me please let me know.
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
NOTE: I took some of the interview material from a variety of sources - mostly it was stuff related to the Tony Stark movie character.
