{Location: Everglades Florida}
Detective Nash drove the New Crusaders to the
marina.
On the way Manta Man informed the rest of the
team what Skink had told him about the panther tracks being fake. “It appears
we are dealing with a hoax but the question is who is it being pulled on us or
the village?”
As they talk, Adamas was always scanning the area
looking for anything/anyone that’s out of place. It seemed odd that villagers would think they
had been injured, even treated by an M.D. for those injuries if it was a hoax,
or there was no such animal.
As Adamas discussed his thoughts with the others,
StrikeForce mentioned that Animated Servant, Illusions, Magic, Mind Control,
and Shapeshifting are all known superpowers that could pull off a mass hoax of
this scale. StrikeForce stated that if this is happening as a result of
superpowers then it must be someone new because Dr. Velo doesn’t have any of
these powers; and none of the members of the Inhuman League that were part of
their activities over a year ago.
The Crusaders followed the directions that Rolock
gave them. They were able to easily find the fishing hole frequented by the
“swamp goat”. When the heroes approved the “swamp goat”, he appeared not to
hear them as he continued to fish. The only things he had with him are a tackle
box and fishing rod, and a paper bag with the topped curled like a lunch bag.
There was a rowboat grounded a few feet away from
him.
Manta Man introduced himself and asked the “swamp
goat” not to be alarmed. “I am Manta Man and these are the Crusaders with me”.
He showed his superhero license to the fisherman.
“Swamp Goat” asked Manta Man to speak up as he
was hard of hearing. Manta Man repeated everything again a little louder this
time.
Manta Man finished with, “Mind if we ask you a
few questions”?
“Sure, fancy suit. Ask your questions as long as
I can continue fishing. I have to quit at sundown so I can’t afford to stop and
jaw with some out-of-towners.”
"Sir, we were wondering if you would be able to help us by answering some questions. Your help would be greatly appreciated." StrikeForce said. The old fisherman waved his hand signaling for them to ask away as he cast his fishing line back into the water.
The Black Orchid was intrigued by his comment
about the night. "Why do you have to stop fishing by nightfall? Is it just
that the fish don't bite?"
The Swamp Goat replied, “There is a black panther
that has been terrorizing the local Indians. I don’t hear well so I don’t want
to be out in the dark in case it decides to bother me next.”
StrikeForce
inquired about any suspicious activity he had seen around here.
The old fisherman scratched his beard, “Well, I
ain’t seen anything but I did hear others talking about a robbery at the base.
They thought the robbery might have been an inside job.
StrikeForce kept his escrima sticks in their
holsters, but had his sensors active.
He remained a respectful distance while talking
to the swamp hermit. "Generally people who live away from civilization do
not like to be crowded." The Bionic Battler thought to himself.
As Adamas listened to his teammates grilling the
swamp goat, he'd like to know if he had seen anything unusual recently.
The Swamp Goat stretched and scratched his beard,
“Well, I did see something unusual a week back. It was before all this panther
business. I was out at night at this fishing hole. When a white heron, a rarity
in the swamp, fluttered down to my side and seemed to beckon for me to follow.
I did so in my rowboat, and was led to a shack. I would have investigated it
except that there was a commotion about and I figured they were up to no good,
so I left.”
“I bet it was them chemical thiefers getting
ready to pull their heist. I bet that is where the missing chemicals are being
hidden.”
“Since then, the white heron has returned every
night. I saw it arriving as I was leaving. I bet if you come back it will be
here tonight as well.”
Manta Man thanked the old coot for the
information and being so helpful. He led the Crusaders away from the old
fisherman so they could talk privately.
“It would appear we have several choices. We
could return tonight and follow the bird to the shack, is one choice.”
Afterwards, The Black Orchid said, "It might
be a good idea to catch up with those folks trying to track the panther to its
lair. They're either on to something or they might get themselves hurt. Either
way, we should keep an eye on them. Also, do we have a plan ourselves? I could
easily use myself as bait. I could look helpless even though you all of course
know better."
Manta Man agreed that watching the villagers was another
of their choices.
He wasn’t sure using Black Orchid as bait would
accomplish anything. “I think this scam is a misdirection of some sort. I can’t
believe they are using it as an excuse to attack people. The panther tracks
were never found on base but were used as a cover of why some of the Indian
Braves would be near the base. I believe we would be baiting a trap that would
never be sprung.”
The Black Orchid nodded, pursed her lips and
replied to Manta Man, "You're probably right. I'm better at finding
information that's difficult. I guess I'm not quite so good at determining when
there's some sort of deception."
When Adamas had a few minutes, he reached out to
his contacts on the space station to see if they might be able to identify any
changes in topography in the area, looking for any recent construction. SirrianDor
of HaBath VII reported from the space station that there were several
excavation sites near the village. Other than that there was no recent
construction.
Manta Man reminded everyone that there was the
plan to keep an eye on Karen Morgan and the Gunny to see what they might be up
to. “Maybe we need to determine their current whereabouts before we can think
about this choice.”
Black Orchid asked Adamas to use his super vision
to check on Karen Morgan activities. Karen was at one of the excavation sites.
StrikeForce attempted to use his sensor to locate
the Gunny. As he focused on the Gunny he remembered his previous online
searches. There was something familiar about the soldier.
As he continued to scan for the Gunny without
success he realized something but had to verify it first.
He activated his blue tooth ear piece to his
phone and called Master Sergeant Josh Stevens at the base. If StrikeForce
remembered correctly at this time Josh would not be on duty in the Ground
Pounder Super Suit. Josh answered the base phone. StrikeForce placed an
emergency request for the photo of Gunnery Sgt. Leo McAlister from his
personnel file and for it to be sent to his Cybernetic Implant over the secure
satellite channel the military had temporarily provide him as part this
mission.
Once he downloaded he compared the photo to the
saved online searches and he was right.
StrikeForce informed Manta Man and the rest of
the Crusaders that Gunnery Sgt. McAlister was, in fact, Tank Gunner of the
Inhuman League.
{GM Note: I rolled several Detect Hidden and Skill Save rolls
this issue. Several were successful and the resulting information is in these
pages. Congratulations on a very successful issue.}
To the group and away from anyone else StrikeForce
said. "I think that we should check out this location that
"Coot" is talking about. We can run a full scan on it before ever
having to get near it. What are your
thoughts on this?"
Adamas stated he will go along with what the team
decided. “I'll support taking on Tank Gunner to get answers, or following the
crane.”
StrikeForce replied to Adamas. "Since you've
been doing this for a longer time, if you want to go after Tank Gunner, then I
say go with that."
Manta Man asked Skink and Black Orchid what they
thought, it appeared the team was split one vote for each.
The Skink said “Follow the crane!”
"Hmm... Do we want to go directly after Tank
Gunner now or do we want to go back and put more pressure on Karen. That might
alert Tank Gunner and he might bolt as a result. If you think he's jumpy, we
should go directly after him." Black Orchid replied.
Manta Man gestured “We don’t know if he’s jumpy
or not” with his shoulders and arms.
As the New Crusaders talked Adamas envisioned himself
ripping the hatch off Tank Gunner’s tank and dragging him out of it.
"MM, Tank Gunner is that nut from the mid
90s that was tank rampaging left and right... The professor had a file on that
guy. Whats he doin layin low like this? Where's his tank?" Skink asked.
"Yes, I believe you are right Skink",
Manta Man said. "After the rampage, Spyder freed him from jail and
recruited him to join the Inhuman League."
"Where is his tank? Now that is a very good
question"
Skink asked "Spyder is still in a Supermax,
right? They got him? Champions? Crusaders?"
"No, he is still at large." replied Manta
Man. “That’s gives us more than enough to worry about. Everyone prepare
yourself as we will follow the crane.”
When the New Crusaders return to the water hole
late that night, a white hero was wading in the water. “Swamp Goat” was not
anywhere in sight. At the shore near the fishing hole, the white hero took
flight. It flew deep into the swamp where she finally began to circle the
island. When the heroes landed (or hovered above it if they could fly) the
white heron flew away, after giving an ominous nod of approval to the heroes.
As the New Crusaders scanned the shack and
island, they discovered the island was deserted. No human life registered on
either their scanners or senses.
The shack showed it had been lived in recently
but was empty now. It was sitting on 5 poles. All the same height but one large
pole was larger in diameter and in the center and 4 smaller diameter poles were
at each corner of the hut. This was a familiar design for huts in the swamp
where seasonal flooding was a possibility. There was a ramp walk way up the
front that led to the porch of the house.
Manta Man said, “What next heroes, do we scout
the island more or check out the hut? I don’t believe we will learn anything
more unless we get near it, maybe even enter it.”
<Turns
and Actions due June 26th>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Awesome issue! Now we're getting somewhere!
The Black Orchid nods, purses her lips and
replies to Manta Man, "You're probably right. I'm better at finding
information that's difficult. I guess I'm not quite so good at determining when
there's some sort of deception."
Marc
------------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce uses his satellite link up to
gather as much information on The Inhuman league as possible.
To the group and away from anyone else he
says. "I think that we should check out this location that
"Coot" is talking about. We can run a full scan on it before ever
having to get near it. What are your
thoughts on this?"
Jamey
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry for the delay.
Adamas will go along with the team.
He'll support taking on Tank Gunner to get
answers, or following the crane.
Ooc: I think the panther maybe a red herring.
J
Jon
------------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce replies to Adamas. "Since
you've been doing this for a longer time, if you want to go after Tank Gunner,
then I say go with that."
Jamey
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay now I need a tie breaker. Marc and Chuck
what are your votes.
Follow the crane
Go after Tank Gunner
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow the crane!
Chuck
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hmm... Do we want to go directly after
Tank Gunner now or do we want to go back and put more pressure on Karen. That
might alert Tank Gunner and he might bolt as a result. If you think he's jumpy,
we should go directly after him."
OOC: Not an answer I know!
Marc
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm open, I can envision Adamas ripping the
hatch off his tank and dragging him out of it.
Jon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"MM, Tank Gunner is that nut from the
mid 90s that was tank rampaging left and right... The professor had a file on
that guy.. Whats he doin layin low like this? Where's his tank?"
Chuck
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Yes, I believe you are right
Skink", Manta Man said. "After the rampage, Spyder freed him from
jail and recruited him to join the Inhuman League."
"Where is his tank? Now that is a very
good question"
Regards
Tom
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Spyder is still in a Supermax, right?
They got him? Champions? Crusaders?"
Chuck
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"No, he is still at large." replied
Manta Man.
Tom
------------------------------------------------------------------------
