{Location: Everglades Florida}
When the heroes arrived in the Indian Village,
they attracted a great deal of attention. It was very uncommon to find
superheroes in the middle of a swamp. This wasn’t Megalopolis where a superhero
could be seen on the streets, running across roof tops, or flying in the sky
daily. The first tribesmen they meet gave them directions to the Shaman’s home.
The Shaman was commonly known as Rolock to all the villages and any visitors.
At the Shaman’s house they found a very friendly
and receptive old man. He would not shake hands with any of the heroes or
touch, or allow himself to be touched in anyway. He offered the heroes a seat
and did all those things normally expected of a gracious host.
When asked if any visitors with injuries had
recently come to the village, he said no. Shaman did say if there were any
outsiders looking to hide in the swamp it would be easy for them to avoid the
village and not be seen by them. There was an old ‘swamp goat’ who seemed to
know about everything that happened in the swamp region, especially if someone
wanted to keep it secret. He could give the heroes directions to the fishing
hole where he can always be found if they liked.
When talking to Shaman, The Black Orchid agreed
to get the location of the fishing hole. "What is this gentleman's
name?"
Rolock replied, “I don’t know. Some call him
Coot. We call him “swamp goat” because that is how bad he smells and his
attitude is ever worse.”
When asked about the authorities having seen the
Indians sneaking around lately, he calmly replied that they have had problems
with a black panther roaming at night and that they have had to take actions to
stop the depredations of this creature. He informed that that because the
village is not in Park territory, they have the right to take care of this
threat as they wish, though they intend to only capture the beast and return it
to the park. They would never harm a protected species. The officials, Shaman
said, must have seen the Seminoles hunting for the panther at night for it
sleeps during the day and cannot be found other than in time of darkness.
Adamas looked for the individuals he saw watching
them near the base. When he saw one of
them, he struck up a conversation regarding what he was doing. The villager
told explained he had been sent to track a panther. They had tried at night
several times and failed. This time they were trying to follow its tracks to
its lair.
Black Orchid said, “I think we should talk to
Karen Morgan. She might have stirred up some trouble with the locals and may or
may not be aware of it."
Afterwards they found that the archeologist,
Karen Morgan was in the village. She said she was here because of her interest
in Indian artifacts. She confirmed there had been a panther prowling nearby.
Karen did not believe she had stirred up any trouble. All the areas she had
explored the Shaman had allowed her to enter. Her current exploration site is
Shaman approved and the villagers are helping her with the work.
The Black Orchid talked discreetly to the others.
"I know it is probably innocent enough, but someone who is 'smitten' can
often do things they wouldn't otherwise do. I don't know if it makes sense, but
maybe we should still keep an eye on both her and Gunny."
Manta Man and the others agreed.
While at the village, The Black Orchid kept an
eye open for any technology that was inappropriate for being outside of a
military installation and certainly in a small reservation. She did not see
anything that was inappropriate.
The heroes were able to meet with Doctor Dean Nay
in the Medical Center. Dr Nay told the heroes that he had treated a young boy
and an older woman for injuries caused by some large, clawed animal. He offered
to show the heroes his records if they would like to see them. Dr. Nay said he
had not treated any outsiders for injuries in the two months he has been back.
The Black Orchid asked to see the records of the
two who were attacked. Dr. Nay provided the medical records for the two
patients. Black Orchid made sure Skink saw them. "Do you see anything
odd?"
The Skink discretely signaled the injuries were
not made by a panther. She did not share
with the doctor Skink's observation.
"Dr. Nay, can we talk to the two who were
attacked by the panther?" Black Orchid asked.
“No problem,” he replied. Dr. Nay escorted them
to both the older woman and young boy. Both told how they had been out in the
swamp and were attacked by a panther.
StrikeForce said, "I would prefer to ask the
swamp guy if he has seen anything unusual." While it was not in line with
the chemical theft, StrikeForce was willing to help with the panther problem, capturing;
not killing, if the heroes came across it in the pursuit of the chemicals, or
afterward if they did not.
Black Orchid said "StrikeForce, I can help
you to try and capture this panther or whatever it is.
StrikeForce replied, "Sure Black Orchid
sounds good."
In the village, the Skink used his zoology skills
to see if he could spot if it is indeed a panther we're dealing with here. He's
a pro at claw marks and claw ids, and tried to see if that helps. "Man,
Florida, right?” he said, comparing a giant animal print/track to his tiny
fingertip claws... after a minute he was confused. He looked harder and
followed the trail further along to see if it was true. After 30 minutes he was
sure, these tracks were fakes, excellent fakes, but fakes never the less. There
wasn't a panther at all. They were being lied to.
When he got a chance, the “sleuthful” Skink told
Manta Man what he's found, on the down low. "MM, those tracks are bogus. I
don’t know what kind of scam these guys are running here, but those aren’t from
a panther."
Manta Man thanked the Shaman and the others for
their hospitality. “It is time we visit this ‘swamp goat’ that we were told
about. I have arranged for a boat to be at our disposal at the local marina.”
"Brb, MM, I think I dropped my phone out
there..."
The Skink instead made his own tracks, and made a
sprint search of the village perimeter, looking for anything missed with his
Thermo Vision and rapid climbing (and leaving claw marks on) a few of the
larger trees on the village edge...
Skink did not see anything out of the ordinary.
He saw several footpaths that lead to what appear to be their burial grounds
and a different path leading to an earthen mound. Skink saw no panther tracks
on any of the paths. Or anywhere else for the matter, they were only where the
Villagers had showed him.
Detective Nash drove them 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”?
"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.”
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.}
<Turns
and Actions due May 29th >
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As they talk, Adamas is always scanning the
area looking for anything/anyone that’s out of place. It seems odd that village's 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 he listened to his teammates grilling the
swamp goat, he'd like to know if he had seen anything unusual recently.
When he gets a few minutes, he'd like to
reach 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.
Thanks,
Jon
------------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce will remain 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 thinks to
himself.
"Sir, we were wondering if you would be
able to help us by answering some questions. Your help would be greatly
appreciated."
StrikeForce will inquire about any suspicious
activity he has seen around here.
OOC: StrikeForce will keep his escrima sticks
in their holsters, but will keep his sensors active.
Jamey
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Brb, MM, I think I dropped my phone out
there..."
The Skink instead makes his own tracks, and
makes a sprint search of the village perimeter, looking for anything missed
with his Thermo Vision and rapid climbing (and leaving claw marks on) a few of
the larger trees on the village edge...
Chuck
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Black Orchid talks discreetly to the
others. "I know it is probably innocent enough, but someone who is
'smitten' can often do things they wouldn't otherwise do. I don't know if it
makes sense, but maybe we should still keep an eye on both her and Gunny."
----------------------
The Black Orchid is 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?"
--------------------
Afterwards, The Black Orchid says, "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."
Marc
------------------------------------------------------------------------
