DC Villains #3: Early Bird
Nov. 22nd, 2020 10:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jkcarrierDC Villains
Episode 3:
"Early Bird"
(Partly inspired by Batman #374 & Detective Comics #541 by Doug Moench)
Two more villains joined the Penguin's squad this session:
Bucky: Energy, Heightened Strength, Invisibility, Siphon (Hit Points), Weakness: Low Self-Control.
Chemical Lad: Chemical Abilities, Experience Levels, Heightened Defense, Physical Ability (Protected Brain), Weaknesses: Distinctive, Lowered Intelligence.
The top news story of the day was the imminent arrest of journalist Bill Modell. Modell had uncovered a stash of top secret Pentagon files dating back to the Cold War, containing weapons designs that were planned, but (in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union) never built. The government was very interested to find out how Modell obtained those files, but so far he had refused to reveal his sources. Modell had been hiding out in Switzerland, but was now being extradited to the U.S. The United Nations had gotten involved, and was sending an escort to accompany Modell back to the States and ensure he was given fair treatment.
The Penguin very much wanted to get hold of these files, particularly a rumored defense system known as "Early Bird". He knew they could fetch a high price on the international market. So he sent his henchmen Captain Republican, Bucky, Mr. Roboto, and Chemical Lad to intercept Modell at the Gotham International Airport and bring him in for interrogation before the authorities could.
Modell's U.N. escort turned out to be members of the Global Guardians: Bushmaster of Venezuela, Icemaiden of Sweeden, Godiva of England, and Impala of South Africa. The international heroes and the home-grown villains fought a pitched battle, while airport security and the local police hovered on the sidelines, unsure if they even had jurisdiction to interfere. In the end, the Global Guardians found themselves overpowered, and the villains made off with Modell.
After some "friendly persuasion", Modell was convinced to reveal the current location of the secret files: They were in the custody of one of his colleagues, Hub City journalist Vic Sage. The villains broke into Sage's apartment, but instead of a mild-mannered reporter, they found the faceless vigilante known as The Question. He'd been expecting them, he said, after hearing about Modell's kidnapping, and brought some backup: The acrobatic Blue Beetle, pistol-packing Peacemaker, and the shadowy Nightshade (Nightshade was, in fact, the original leaker of the top secret files, having obtained them via her father, Senator Warren Eden). The Question and friends fought valiantly, but in the end, the villains triumphed and made off with the vintage data disks containing the weapons designs.
The Penguin was most pleased with their haul. "Early Bird" turned out to be a sophisticated computer algorhythm that could allegedly predict enemy attacks before they were launched, allowing the U.S. to make pre-emptive strikes before their opponents even got started. Problematic from a moral (and public relations) standpoint, the system was never deployed, but the Penguin knew that certain international actors would not be so constrained, and began putting out feelers for potential buyers.
The Russian government put in the highest bid, so the Penguin arranged for the exchange. The deal was set to take place at a remote Russian weather station in the Antarctic. The villains expected an easy trade-off, but the Russians had brought some muscle of their own: Power-blasting Anti-Man, the living energy-being Negative Woman, an armored Rocket Red soldier, and the super-strong Starfire. They unilaterally decided that the price for the data disk should be zero. The villains, naturally, objected.
Captain Republican and Bucky double-teamed Starfire, exchanging powerful punches, while Rocket Red hovered and sniped at them from the sidelines. Negative Woman used her electrified touch to good effect on Mr. Roboto, while Anti-Man and Chemical Lad fired energy and acid at each other. It was a closely-matched battle -- both the Captain and Bucky were knocked out at one point, and the other villains were on their last legs when the final Russian enemy went down. They returned to Penguin in triumph, with both the payment and the data disks, which could now be sold again, provided another buyer could be found...
(This is a "Low Power" (100 Character Points) campaign, but I give out 3 CPs per session, instead of the recommended 2, for slightly faster levelling. So after three sessions, the PCs are now up to 109 CPs.)
Episode 3:
"Early Bird"
(Partly inspired by Batman #374 & Detective Comics #541 by Doug Moench)
Two more villains joined the Penguin's squad this session:
Bucky: Energy, Heightened Strength, Invisibility, Siphon (Hit Points), Weakness: Low Self-Control.
Chemical Lad: Chemical Abilities, Experience Levels, Heightened Defense, Physical Ability (Protected Brain), Weaknesses: Distinctive, Lowered Intelligence.
The top news story of the day was the imminent arrest of journalist Bill Modell. Modell had uncovered a stash of top secret Pentagon files dating back to the Cold War, containing weapons designs that were planned, but (in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union) never built. The government was very interested to find out how Modell obtained those files, but so far he had refused to reveal his sources. Modell had been hiding out in Switzerland, but was now being extradited to the U.S. The United Nations had gotten involved, and was sending an escort to accompany Modell back to the States and ensure he was given fair treatment.
The Penguin very much wanted to get hold of these files, particularly a rumored defense system known as "Early Bird". He knew they could fetch a high price on the international market. So he sent his henchmen Captain Republican, Bucky, Mr. Roboto, and Chemical Lad to intercept Modell at the Gotham International Airport and bring him in for interrogation before the authorities could.
Modell's U.N. escort turned out to be members of the Global Guardians: Bushmaster of Venezuela, Icemaiden of Sweeden, Godiva of England, and Impala of South Africa. The international heroes and the home-grown villains fought a pitched battle, while airport security and the local police hovered on the sidelines, unsure if they even had jurisdiction to interfere. In the end, the Global Guardians found themselves overpowered, and the villains made off with Modell.
After some "friendly persuasion", Modell was convinced to reveal the current location of the secret files: They were in the custody of one of his colleagues, Hub City journalist Vic Sage. The villains broke into Sage's apartment, but instead of a mild-mannered reporter, they found the faceless vigilante known as The Question. He'd been expecting them, he said, after hearing about Modell's kidnapping, and brought some backup: The acrobatic Blue Beetle, pistol-packing Peacemaker, and the shadowy Nightshade (Nightshade was, in fact, the original leaker of the top secret files, having obtained them via her father, Senator Warren Eden). The Question and friends fought valiantly, but in the end, the villains triumphed and made off with the vintage data disks containing the weapons designs.
The Penguin was most pleased with their haul. "Early Bird" turned out to be a sophisticated computer algorhythm that could allegedly predict enemy attacks before they were launched, allowing the U.S. to make pre-emptive strikes before their opponents even got started. Problematic from a moral (and public relations) standpoint, the system was never deployed, but the Penguin knew that certain international actors would not be so constrained, and began putting out feelers for potential buyers.
The Russian government put in the highest bid, so the Penguin arranged for the exchange. The deal was set to take place at a remote Russian weather station in the Antarctic. The villains expected an easy trade-off, but the Russians had brought some muscle of their own: Power-blasting Anti-Man, the living energy-being Negative Woman, an armored Rocket Red soldier, and the super-strong Starfire. They unilaterally decided that the price for the data disk should be zero. The villains, naturally, objected.
Captain Republican and Bucky double-teamed Starfire, exchanging powerful punches, while Rocket Red hovered and sniped at them from the sidelines. Negative Woman used her electrified touch to good effect on Mr. Roboto, while Anti-Man and Chemical Lad fired energy and acid at each other. It was a closely-matched battle -- both the Captain and Bucky were knocked out at one point, and the other villains were on their last legs when the final Russian enemy went down. They returned to Penguin in triumph, with both the payment and the data disks, which could now be sold again, provided another buyer could be found...
(This is a "Low Power" (100 Character Points) campaign, but I give out 3 CPs per session, instead of the recommended 2, for slightly faster levelling. So after three sessions, the PCs are now up to 109 CPs.)
