DC Villains #6: Crime on the Wing!
Dec. 20th, 2020 11:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jkcarrierDC Villains
Episode 6:
"Crime on the Wing!"
(Partly inspired by Batman #155, "The Return of the Penguin!" by Bill Finger)
Roll Call: Bucky, Captain Republican, Chemical Lad, Mr. Roboto
Feeling nostalgic, the Penguin decided to send his crew on a series of bird-themed robberies, just like he used to do back in the day.
First on the list was the annual banquet thrown by the "Friends of Birds Society". On display in the meeting hall were several original paintings by famed nature artist John Audubon. "Those would look lovely hanging in my bathroom," the Penguin declared. The villains arrived on the scene, thinking it would be easy pickings, but it turned out that a number of the party attendees were actually superheroes in their civilian identities: Native American heroine Owlwoman, bickering brothers Hawk and Dove, and scientist-turned-monstrosity Man-Bat. The combatants were fairly evenly matched -- Owlwoman's enhanced vision allowed her to easily detect the invisible Bucky, Hawk traded punches with Captain Republican, Dove managed to deftly turn Mr. Roboto's vibration blasts back at him, and Man-Bat uses his sonic screech to attack Chemical Lad from a distance. But in the end, the Penguin's crew was victorious, and the Audubon paintings were acquired.
The next target was eccentric billionaire John Thompkins, who'd turned his penthouse home (dubbed "The Eagle's Nest") into a hydroponic garden, where he grew exotic plants that could be used to create valuable medicines. The Penguin ordered his men to take whatever plants they could carry, and burn the rest, so he could corner the market. However, the garden was defended: little extra-dimensional sprites called Dryads dwelled among the trees and flowers, using their magic to wrap the invaders in restricting vines. Despite their efforts, the Dryads were small and vulnerable, and the villains tore through them at a rapid pace. The last few remaining creatures cast a spell to summon help in the form of the swamp creature Solomon Grundy. This summoned avatar was not quite as powerful as the original Grundy, and, despite its enormous strength and resilience, was eventually taken down by Penguin's men. The plant samples were acquired, and the Eagle's Nest was put to the torch.
Finally, the Penguin turned his crew's attention to a small Buddhist temple in Gotham's Chinatown district. The temple featured a large dragon statue, with two valuable rubies for eyes, which the Penguin coveted (a dragon is not a bird, but it had wings, which was close enough in his book). The caretaker of the temple, a frail-looking old man named I-Ching, turned out to be more than he appeared -- his elderly frame held considerable martial arts skills. He was joined by a trio of Chinese defectors that the temple was providing asylum to. They had originally been part of the Chinese government's "Sino-Superman" program, an attempt to create copies of familiar Western superheroes, before fleeing the country to seek a better life in America. "Supergirl"'s colorful costume hid body armor and an exo-skeleton that enhanced her strength. "Green Lantern" was equipped with a powerful laser gun and matching emerald force field. And "Flash"'s suit enable him to run and act at superhuman speed, as well as fire powerful bursts of wind. The battle was a punishing one on both sides, but the villains managed to triumph.
However, when they removed the rubies from the dragon statue, the sculpture came to life, breathing fire on those who dared to defile it. The Penguin's crew was severely beaten down by this point, but they persevered, and eventually pounded the dragon into submission, causing it to return to statue form. The rubies were theirs, and the Penguin's crime-spree was a success.
(The player characters earned 3 character points each, giving them a total of 118.)
Episode 6:
"Crime on the Wing!"
(Partly inspired by Batman #155, "The Return of the Penguin!" by Bill Finger)
Roll Call: Bucky, Captain Republican, Chemical Lad, Mr. Roboto
Feeling nostalgic, the Penguin decided to send his crew on a series of bird-themed robberies, just like he used to do back in the day.
First on the list was the annual banquet thrown by the "Friends of Birds Society". On display in the meeting hall were several original paintings by famed nature artist John Audubon. "Those would look lovely hanging in my bathroom," the Penguin declared. The villains arrived on the scene, thinking it would be easy pickings, but it turned out that a number of the party attendees were actually superheroes in their civilian identities: Native American heroine Owlwoman, bickering brothers Hawk and Dove, and scientist-turned-monstrosity Man-Bat. The combatants were fairly evenly matched -- Owlwoman's enhanced vision allowed her to easily detect the invisible Bucky, Hawk traded punches with Captain Republican, Dove managed to deftly turn Mr. Roboto's vibration blasts back at him, and Man-Bat uses his sonic screech to attack Chemical Lad from a distance. But in the end, the Penguin's crew was victorious, and the Audubon paintings were acquired.
The next target was eccentric billionaire John Thompkins, who'd turned his penthouse home (dubbed "The Eagle's Nest") into a hydroponic garden, where he grew exotic plants that could be used to create valuable medicines. The Penguin ordered his men to take whatever plants they could carry, and burn the rest, so he could corner the market. However, the garden was defended: little extra-dimensional sprites called Dryads dwelled among the trees and flowers, using their magic to wrap the invaders in restricting vines. Despite their efforts, the Dryads were small and vulnerable, and the villains tore through them at a rapid pace. The last few remaining creatures cast a spell to summon help in the form of the swamp creature Solomon Grundy. This summoned avatar was not quite as powerful as the original Grundy, and, despite its enormous strength and resilience, was eventually taken down by Penguin's men. The plant samples were acquired, and the Eagle's Nest was put to the torch.
Finally, the Penguin turned his crew's attention to a small Buddhist temple in Gotham's Chinatown district. The temple featured a large dragon statue, with two valuable rubies for eyes, which the Penguin coveted (a dragon is not a bird, but it had wings, which was close enough in his book). The caretaker of the temple, a frail-looking old man named I-Ching, turned out to be more than he appeared -- his elderly frame held considerable martial arts skills. He was joined by a trio of Chinese defectors that the temple was providing asylum to. They had originally been part of the Chinese government's "Sino-Superman" program, an attempt to create copies of familiar Western superheroes, before fleeing the country to seek a better life in America. "Supergirl"'s colorful costume hid body armor and an exo-skeleton that enhanced her strength. "Green Lantern" was equipped with a powerful laser gun and matching emerald force field. And "Flash"'s suit enable him to run and act at superhuman speed, as well as fire powerful bursts of wind. The battle was a punishing one on both sides, but the villains managed to triumph.
However, when they removed the rubies from the dragon statue, the sculpture came to life, breathing fire on those who dared to defile it. The Penguin's crew was severely beaten down by this point, but they persevered, and eventually pounded the dragon into submission, causing it to return to statue form. The rubies were theirs, and the Penguin's crime-spree was a success.
(The player characters earned 3 character points each, giving them a total of 118.)
