DC Villains #26: Assault on Cadmus

[jkcarrier]

DC Villains
Episode 26:
"Assault on Cadmus!"
[Inspired by:
Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133-135 by Jack Kirby
Superman Family #192-194 by Tom Defalco]

Roll Call:
Bucky
Captain Republican
Chemical Lad
Mr. Roboto


Manhunter gathered the members of the Secret Society of Super-Villains together for a briefing. Their anonymous benefactor had set their sights on the Cadmus Project, a secretive laboratory doing advanced genetic research. The Society's mission was to invade Cadmus, acquire their research data, and then destroy the facility. To that end, Manhunter handed them a small computer, which he called "Mother". "And if you're in trouble," he added, "ask Mother nicely and she may help you out".

Cadmus was located in a wooded region near Metropolis called the Wild Area. The outer perimeter of the Wild Area was bounded by an abandoned road project called the Zoomway, home of a biker gang called the Outsiders. Loosely aligned with Cadmus, the bikers moved quickly to try and repel the invaders:

Flek, armed with a lasso [Grapnel].
Gandy, shooting Poisoned darts from a blowpipe.
Iron Mask, with an energy-draining gun [Devitalization Ray].
Vudu and his voodoo doll [Transmutation > Reduced Agility].
Yango, the leader, wielding a Paralyzing ray gun.

The Outsiders fought fiercely, but in the end were no match for the superhuman Society.

[Loot Drops: Gandy's Fur Coat (Armor), Yango's Pistol (Paralysis Ray).]

Moving further into the Wild Area, the villains reached the Cadmus grounds. Apparently, word of their approach had reached the facility, as much of the personnel had already been evacuated, leaving only the guards:

An army of clones of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, armed with Lightning cannons strapped to their arms [Lightning Control: Electrical Bolt].
A platoon of miniature troopers cloned from Scrapper of the Newsboy Legion, carrying Cryogenic Guns [Ice Blast].

The sheer numbers gave the Society a hard time, especially as the Scrapper Troopers kept coating them in ice, restricting their movements and making them easier to hit (they had to work overtime to keep Chemical Lad frosted, as his acidic skin kept melting through). But the villains slowly wore their numbers down, and finally fought their way through to the main Cadmus labs.

[Loot Drops: Olsen Trooper's Jumpsuit (Experience Levels), Scrapper Trooper's Cryo Gun (Ice Blast).]

Deep inside the complex, they found the chamber holding "Adam's Brain", the giant organic computer used to store their data. Guarding it were the last defenders of Cadmus, the cream of their genetic experimentation, the so-called DNAliens:

The monstrous, sharp-fanged Angry Charlie.
Arin, with armored skin and Gravity powers.
The psychic Dubbilex.
The shield-slinging Guardian.
And a group of tiny clones of the Justice League:
Aquaman [Special Weapon: Trident]
Batman [Emotion Control: Fear]
Flash [Vibratory Blast]
Green Arrow [Special Weapon: Bow]
Green Lantern [Force Bolt]
Martian Manhunter [Mental Abilities: Mental Blast]
Superman [Light Control: Laser]
Wonder Woman [Grapnel]

Always leery of psychic powers, Captain Republican and Bucky targeted Dubbilex first; his telekinetic force field protected him for a time, but his determined foes eventually broke through. Meanwhile, Arin used his ability to control gravity to pin Mr. Roboto to the floor, but he took little damage in the process. Roboto's vibration blasts (along with Chemical Lad's acid spray) finally broke through Arin's resilient hide and took him out.

The Guardian leaped to Dubbilex's defense, but even his legendary shield could not withstand repeated poundings from Captain Republican. Even disarmed, he continued trading blows with him for a time before succumbing. Angry Charlie, who's enormous eyes could easily penetrate Bucky's invisibility, tore into him with gusto. Bucky countered with a device that rendered him resistant to physical attacks [Invulnerability to Kinetic], and Charlie reluctantly turned to other targets, and the Society worked together to bring him down.

The miniature JLA proved to be more of an annoyance than a real hazard (a tiny Batman, striking a dramatic pose and declaring, in his Mickey Mouse-like voice, that "I am the night!" did not quite have the desired effect). Still, they were persistent, and it took some time to finally swat them all down.

As instructed, the Society members brought "Mother" within close proximity to Adam's Brain. In moments, they saw the huge brain convulse and the fluid around it start to boil. The brain seems to almost deflate, collapsing as Mother drained the information from its cells. The computer spoke: "Adam was a naughty boy. He tried to keep secrets from Mother. Mother doesn't like that."

The villains planted explosives and destroyed the complex. Cadmus was no more.

[Loot Drops: Arin's Hand (Gravity Increase), Guardian's Shield (Shield), Mother Box (random buffs and debuffs).]

[The player characters earned 3 character points each, giving them a total of 178.]