Location: Champions Sports Bar.
As the blanket of night fell gently over the great city of Megalopolis, a lone figure weaved his way through its trash covered back alleys towards one its many local bars. This wasn’t just any local bar though; it was The Champions Sports Bar, a local hangout frequented by many of ‘Megalopolis’s Finest’. As he neared the quiet neighborhood tavern; the lone figure moved from the streets to the rooftops, his military body armor and equipment were evidence to all that this trip was not one based around leisure. He jumped from building to building just as easily as any of the ‘great cats’ would move through the jungle. Every muscle beneath his ashen attire preformed like the pistons in a finely tuned machine, his movements had purpose and his determination was obvious. Fueled by an undying appetite for vengeance, this urban predator navigated the city landscape like a beast in search of its prey. Crouched quietly on his shadowy perch across the street from The Champions Sports Bar, Phantom waited patiently for Detective Hill’s arrival.
Inside the bar Wendy asked two of the patrons what they would have to drink. Father Lonnigan introduced the other man that was sitting with him. His name is Sam Jones.
Sam Jones' face was an honest witness to a life that hadn’t exactly been overwhelmed with gentility and refinement. He hadn’t known Father Lonnigan before the story that changed his life. He had heard of the priest though. The priest works with the orphaned children of St. Joseph’s and tried to give them a chance at making a decent life for themselves. He works to help clean up the neighborhood through crime watch organization and other social programs. He lived in the orphanage when he was a child as well. He has grown up in the Foundry. A troubled youth who found a better path, he is a confident to all who live in the Foundry.
Sam had planned of reaching out to Father Lonnigan as a source but that was before the story he broke, broke him. Sam went by a different name before he discovered that Od was considering an alliance with B.A.D., C.R.I.M.E., and the Moonlighters. He was not able to discover when they were meeting but he was able to get enough details to run the story on the forming of this new Cartel. The news story sent the Buzzard, leader of the Moonlighters into hiding. BAD Momma immediately put word out on the street that B.A.D. wasn’t joining forces with anyone. The created a short gang war between B.A.D. and OD’s street gangs. Od prevailed causing B.A.D. to leave the Foundry for Our Fair City.
As payback for destroying their plans Od sent his number one street gang, The Avant Guards, after Sam. Sam was able to avoid them for a while but then C.R.I.M.E. sent Luger after him. Escaping an assassination attempt, he fled into the University campus. The hit man caught him in the Evolutionary Sciences Lab and hurled him into an experimental genetic reactor! In a way he died that day, his old life was gone and now he was Sam Jones.
He was here to find out about the newest killer to prey on the Foundry. He wanted to talk to Detective Hill who was the officer in charge on the Son of James gang slaughter. Sam couldn’t use his police contact to arrange the meeting. Word on the street was that Detective Hill was too good at busting drug gangs, as if he has inside knowledge as opposed to doing good old fashion police work. Sam didn’t know if Hill was crooked or if he just believed the ends justified the means. Either way he had information on the White Widow Maker so Sam needed to talk to him.
It was easy to convince Father Lonnigan to create a chance meeting for him. The priest gladly took him to the Champions Sports Bar.
Father Lonnigan told Wendy that Sam was a reporter doing research on the ‘White Widow Maker’ that had suddenly appeared in the Foundry. Sam said he was glad to meet Wendy. He wanted to know if she had seen this man. He showed her a police sketch of the vigilante that had attacked the Sons of James gang. Wendy looked at it for a moment. She asked if he dressed in all white.
The investigative reporter indicated that witnesses he had interviewed had said he was. Wendy said she thinks she may have seen him recently on a rooftop. He was hassling someone for information. She heard him claiming that it was his town now.
He said idly to Wendy, “That so? How recently? And what rooftop?” His questions were careless. He could have been discussing the weather. Wendy told him what she knew.
As Lonnigan waxed poetic about retribution and the soul, Sam was quiet and his hands grew strangely still as he waited.
Fortunately for the ‘Alabaster Avenger’ his wait wasn’t long; Detective Hill had arrived within a few hours of Phantom’s appearance in the area. As he watched the object of his hunt enter the local gin-mill, Phantom began to go over his plan in his head. It was simple, with the possibility of multiple combatants mixed up within a crowd of non-combatants in such an open and public location he knew he would have to do this quick. The longer he stayed, the greater the possibility that someone that didn’t need to get hurt would get hurt. He needed to rely on confusion, speed, and surprise to make this nights outing a success. After a quick check of his equipment and weapons, Phantom made his way down to street level and waited for a lull in the local automotive and pedestrian traffic before he made his move.
When Hill walked in, Sam watched him for a moment to see if he was alone or meeting others.
Then he’d said,”Scuse me, Father,” and went to Hill.
“Detective, lemme buy you a drink. I’m a reporter. Name’s Sam Jones. I was wondering if you could shed some light on the Foundry’s White Widow Maker for me,” Sam said, smiling with his mouth but not with his eyes.
As an ominous hush swept over the street before him, the ‘Avatar of Vengeance’ walked briskly from his place of concealment in a nearby alley and headed directly for the front door of The Champions Sports Bar. Quickly looking through the bars front windows for Detective Hill; he could hear the music blaring from the juke box as he crossed the street. As he spotted his target amongst the taverns patrons, Phantom donned his gas mask and reached for two tear gas grenades and readied them for use. Without hesitation or fear, he kicked open the front door and rolled both grenades into the building.
The grenades quickly filled the bar with tear gas. The gas was a thick gray haze which clouded the entire bar in a thick fog. Phantom could easily move to his target. There were two men where he had placed Detective Hill to be. His combat senses kicked in. He could tell there were 4 other armed people in the room. Most likely cops, there were 3 bruisers and 5 non-combatants which were 2 women and 3 men. All were bent over struggling to breathe. None had made a move for him or the doors yet.
In the haze Phantom could not tell which of the two men was Hill.
Sam tried to stay as calm as he could but the tear gas was burning his eyes and lungs. He couldn’t catch his breath and his eyes were furiously watering in a vain attempt to clear the irritant from them.
Sam did his best to not cry out as the transformation occurred.
<Due Date: February 18th, Actions? Replies?>
Current Conditions:
Phantom Hit Points: 23 Power Points: 50 Invulnerability: 5
Mossberg 590A1 Combat Shotgun - Flexible Baton Round: 9 Rounds
Ammo band on Shotgun: 9 Flexible Baton Rounds
Left; FN Five-Seven Pistol: 20 Rounds
Right; FN Five-Seven Pistol: 20 Rounds
4 extra magazines: 20 Rounds each
ABC-M7A2 Tear-Gas Grenade: 2
M50 Joint Service General Purpose Mask
Gerber Mark II Combat Knife
---------------------------------------
Man Beast
Hi
Great issues today! Nice work.
I had a name on the final sheet I gave you, but I prefer Sam Jones. Let's go with that. Thanks.
Will review sheet and reply ASAP.
Best,
Jeff
---------------------------------------
GM
Thanks
On the character sheet you had Clark Thomas but also stated the world (with a few exceptions) thought he was dead. So I figured he was using a different name when meeting new people. Glad you like the one I came up with.
Tom
---------------------------------------
Red Hawk
Hey Guys
OOC:
1) Wraith - just my opinion but he's just what that team needs since the loss of Phade and Meltdown. Every balanced team needs a covert oriented hero in my opinion.
2) Phantom - nice soliloquy with the "Angel". Dude you really know how to do "dark". I'm freaking hyped to see some potential NPC's come into the story.
3) Red Hawk - lol, man if I known you we're going to use the psych-eval I'd have prettied her up some. Holy cow I feel like a kid at Christmas - I hate making up names for characters, but I really really like this one.
Man a "blank slate", so many possibilities. Question is where to start?
Awesome set of Issues Tom.
Thanks
John
--------------------------------------
Phantom
Well done, Tom - Loved this last issue of Phantom . Looks like he has his work cut out for him - taking down a dirty cop in front of a priest and a reporter? Man-oh-man, I only see bad things coming this way for Phantom lol
Good to see that Wraith might get his shot at 'The Big Leagues' - that should be a good story.
John / Red Hawk - welcome back - can't wait to check out Red Hawk. Any chance we'll get a peek at his character sheet and costume sometime soon?
- Kev
---------------------------------------
Red Hawk
Hey Patrollers
Totally enjoying Phantom's running a path of vengeance through the night story. I geeked when I saw Ebony Angel. She suppose to be the fem version of you and you brushed her off like a bad prom date. Tom that was so "Cool" deserves a Charisma bonus.
Being the computer kindergarten er here, I imagine Hawk's costume is ... shall we say technically challenging due to his legacy nature and some specific request I asked for - and Tom if it is ,we can leave off the extras that are making it such. I feel like such a dope asking for things I have no clue about what it takes to make happen.
Costume design? .... Thanks Kev. I've been pondering how to start Red Hawk's storyline. He can't very well go running around in a Freedom Eagle costume. Tom hope your up for some back and forth e-mails and maybe a Side Shot #1 of Red Hawk
Later Guys
John
PS: I have to say I love getting to see the Crusader Issue and Wraiths involvement. It's like getting a sneak peek. The cops chattin with the heroes like colleagues instead of opponents was awesome.
---------------------------------------
Phantom
> PHANTOM’S IC RESPONSE <
As the blanket of night fell gently over the great city of Megalopolis, a lone figure weaved his way through its trash covered back alleys towards one its many local bars. This wasn’t just any local bar though; it was The Champions Sports Bar, a local hangout frequented by many of ‘Megalopolis’s Finest’. As he neared the quiet neighborhood tavern; the lone figure moved from the streets to the rooftops, his military body armor and equipment were evidence to all that this trip was not one based around leisure. He jumped from building to building just as easily as any of the ‘great cats’ would move through the jungle. Every muscle beneath his ashen attire preformed like the pistons in a finely tuned machine, his movements had purpose and his determination was obvious. Fueled by an undying appetite for vengeance, this urban predator navigated the city landscape like a beast in search of its prey. Crouched quietly on his shadowy perch across the street from The Champions Sports Bar, Phantom waited patiently for Detective Hill’s arrival.
Fortunately for the ‘Alabaster Avenger’ his wait wasn’t long; Detective Hill had arrived within a few hours of Phantom’s appearance in the area. As he watched the object of his hunt enter the local gin-mill, Phantom began to go over his plan in his head. It was simple, with the possibility of multiple combatants mixed up within a crowd of non-combatants in such an open and public location he knew he would have to do this quick. The longer he stayed, the greater the possibility that someone that didn’t need to get hurt would get hurt. He needed to rely on confusion, speed, and surprise to make this nights outing a success. After a quick check of his equipment and weapons, Phantom made his way down to street level and waited for a lull in the local automotive and pedestrian traffic before he made his move.
As an ominous hush swept over the street before him, the ‘Avatar of Vengeance’ walked briskly from his place of concealment in a nearby alley and headed directly for the front door of The Champions Sports Bar. Quickly looking through the bars front windows for Detective Hill; he could hear the music blaring from the juke box as he crossed the street. As he spotted his target amongst the taverns patrons, Phantom donned his gas mask and reached for two tear gas grenades and readied them for use. Without hesitation or fear, he kicked open the front door and rolled both grenades into the building.
> PHANTOM’S GOAL(S) <
Phantom wants to get in and get out with Detective Hill as fast as he can with as little fighting as possible.
> PHANTOM’S OOC RESPONSE <
I got the impression (for some unknown reason) that I wasn’t going to get as far as kicking in the front door of the bar, but I figured I would add it into my response any way. If he does make it into the bar; the first person that Phantom sees as a threat is going to get the ‘business end’ of his 12 gauge. I’m defining threat to mean anyone that seems to be approaching him in an obviously aggressive fashion. Cops are usually easy to spot in a crowd, especially in a bar (i.e. tight haircuts, Freddie Mercury mustaches, confident / cocky / macho attitude, the way they walk after wearing a gun belt for ‘X’ amount of years, bulge in their pant leg around their ankle, constantly tugging at the back of their shirts which aren’t tucked into their pants, etc.) so he’ll be on the lookout for them especially.
Again he’s not interested in a prolonged fire fight so he’ll make a bee-line for Detective Hill; snatch him up ( throwing the butt end of his shotgun a crossed his grill to subdue him if need be ), and then just drag his cheap suit wear’n ass out into the night.
Talk to you all soon,
- Kev
--------------------------------------
Man Beast
OOC:
Hi Tom,
What is Sam’s relationship with Lonnigan, if any?
What crime faction did I expose, and fall at the hands of?
What, if anything. from his past involvement with the force (or from his Law Enforcement subculture skill), does Sam know about Detective Hill?
Thanks.
IC:
Sam Jones' face was an honest witness to a life that hadn’t exactly been overwhelmed with gentility and refinement.
He said idly to Wendy, “That so? How recently? And what rooftop?” His questions were careless. He could have been discussing the weather.
As Lonnigan waxed poetic about retribution and the soul, Sam was quiet and his hands grew strangely still.
When Hill walked in, Sam watched him for a moment to see if he was alone or meeting others.
Then he’d say,”Scuse me, Father,” and go to Hill.
“Detective, lemme buy you a drink. I’m a reporter. Name’s Sam Jones. I was wondering if you could shed some light on the Foundry’s white widow maker for me,” Sam said, smiling with his mouth but not with his eyes.
--------------------------------------
GM
Since we are past the deadline, I will answer these questions as part of the issue.
I hope that is okay.
Thanks
Tom
--------------------------------------
Man Beast
Of course. My fault that I was late.
---------------------------------------
