DC Villains #30: Seven Soldiers pt. 2

[jkcarrier]

DC Villains
Episode 30:
"Seven Soldiers" part 2
[Inspired by:
Justice League of America #100-102 by Len Wein
Seven Soldiers mini-series by Grant Morrison]
[Special thanks to Stephen Bissette, who turned me on to the many weird and wonderful villains to be found in the pages of Tomahawk.]

Roll Call:
Bucky
Captain Republican
Chemical Lad
Mr. Roboto

Continuing through the branching tunnels of the time anomaly, the Secret Society found themselves in Giza, Egypt c.2500 BC. They saw an army of slaves building a massive pyramid. One slave did more work than the rest put together: the 7' tall, stitched-together creature known as Frankenstein's Monster (hereafter "Frankenstein"). The monster was bound by glowing chains, apparently keeping him docile and obedient.

The Society stepped up and announced they were here for Frankenstein, causing the slave overseer to flee in panic. They tried to remove the chains, but they were insubstantial when touched, and nothing affected them. As they pondered their next move, the slave overseer returned with the Pharaoh and his entourage:

Black Adam, usurper pharaoh with the powers of the gods
[Armor, Flight, Linked Transformation and Electrical Bolt]
Eye of Horus, floating icon of power
[Emotion Control (Rage), Flight, Force Field, Power Blast, Size Change: Larger (12')]
Khalis the living mummy
[Chemical Body, Natural Weaponry, Regeneration]
Osira, alien exile seeking an empire on Earth
[Force Bolt, Force Field, Ice Blast (Solid energy instead of Ice)]
Serpenhotep, wizard and snake-charmer
[Heightened Defense, Mental Blast, Companion (Snakes)]

Captain Republican used the tornado magic he'd acquired from Tezcatlipoca to batter the Egyptians (almost immediately wiping out Serpenhotep's pet snakes). The rest of the Society ganged up on each one in turn -- starting with Black Adam, whom they correctly pegged as the toughest, and ending with the Eye of Horus, which tried to float up out of melee range, only to have Cap and Bucky leap up to bash it anyway.

Mother Box scanned Frankenstein, and determined that they needed one of the electrodes from his neck to help power the weapon they sought. Still subdued by the magical chains that Osira had placed on him, Frankenstein was helpless to stop them, and the villains chucked him into the time warp back to the 21st century once they were done with him.

[Loot Drops: Khalis' Bandages (Chemical Body), Serpenhotep's Skullcap (Mental Blast)]

Next stop was Nottingham, England c.1190. Upon entering Sherwood Forest, the Society was immediately confronted by members of the legendary band of outlaws, the Merrie Men:

Little John
Will Scarlet
Friar Tuck
Maid Marian

After some tense discussion, the two groups realized their goal was the same: Prince John's castle, where Robin Hood was being held prisoner, and the missing time traveler would most likely be found. As they neared the castle grounds, they found themselves face-to-face with Prince John, his troops, and his new ally the Black Wizard. The Wizard had summoned powerful creatures and handed out magical weapons to make Nottingham a force to be reckoned with.

Prince John
[Force Field, Laser, Mind Control]
Sheriff of Nottingham
[Heightened Senses (Infrared), Invulnerability (Kinetic), Special Weapon (Sword with Disintegration Ray Carrier Attack)]
Black Wizard
[Armor, Electrical Bolt, Non-Corporealness, Teleportation]
Dragon
[Density Increase, Flame Blast, Flight, Size Change: Larger (30')]
Iron Knight
[Density Increase, Size Change: Larger (38'), Sonic Blast (Area Effect, to represent a giant foot-stomp)]
Nottingham Soldiers
[Armor, Experience Levels, Special Weapons: Bow and Sword]

The Society targeted the Wizard's two giant monsters first. A lucky shot left a sizeable hole in the Iron Knight's steel hide, leaving it vulnerable to further attack [a Critical Hit disabled its Density power, reducing its Strength and Protection]. The Dragon fell next, despite trying to hover above the fray -- the mighty leaps of Bucky and Captain Republican allowed them to land on its back and pummel it into submission. Prince John proved fairly frail once his force field had been penetrated, and the Black Wizard himself fared no better, despite his constantly teleporting around the field of battle and slipping into and out of intangibility. The Sheriff, seeing the handwriting on the wall, surrendered soon afterwards.

Just as they were about to enter the castle, Robin Hood stepped out, apparently unharmed.

Only it wasn't Robin Hood; he dropped his illusion to reveal his true form, Mister Miracle (or as he put it, "Shilo Norman, World's Greatest Escape Artist. No autographs, please").

He revealed that he had seen a wounded Robin Hood being chased by the Prince's men, and volunteered to take his place, allowing himself to be captured so Robin could get away. The real Robin was hiding out and recuperating in an abandoned church nearby.

Mister Miracle looked askance at Chemical Lad, having detected the Mother Box in his back pocket. He advised them that the device was "bad mojo", and urged them to get rid of it. Mother Box in turn complained that the circuitry in his costume was preventing her from scanning his mind for the information they needed. In a truly dazzling display of B.S. [He rolled a 2 on his Cool save], Chemical Lad convinced Mister Miracle that they were trying to *stop* the Seven Soldiers' weapon from being reconstructed, and they needed his knowledge of the weapon to do it. Miracle consented to share his info, and then made a theatrical exit in a puff of smoke.

[Loot Drops: Black Wizard's Wand (Electrical Bolt, Non-Corporealness, Teleportation), Prince John's Medallion (Laser)]

Next on the time agenda was America, c.1600, in the region that would one day become Ohio, but was then part of the Iroquois Confederacy. A large number of Iroquois had gathered, apparently bent on executing a young boy (and his cat!) by burning them at the stake. The Society, surmising that the lad was their quarry, moved in to intercede. Powerful Iroquois warriors from across the country had gathered for this occasion, and rose to the challenge:

Super-Chief, powered by the meteoric Manitou Stone
[Heightened Senses (Hearing), Invulnerability (Kinetic), Super-Speed]
Chief Cobweb, master of giant insects
[Grapnel, Special Weapon (Stinger Gun), Companion (Giant Spider)]
Gator God, mutated lizard-man
[Laser, Poison/Venom (Ability Field), Size Change: Larger (19')]
Totem Pole, mystic pillar brought to life
[Armor, Devitalization Ray, Electrical Bolt, Sonic Blast, Size Change: Larger (17')]
Walking Sun, a chemist far ahead of his time
[Darkness Control, Flame Aura, Flame Blast, Special Weapon (Expanding rocks)]

The Society was mostly able to shrug off the webs fired from Chief Cobweb's pistol, and made short work of him. His giant spider steed took a bit more work, but eventually fell as well. Walking Sun fired his flamethrower from inside a concealing cloud of smoke, but the villains eventually zeroed in on him and knocked him out. Super-Chief's sheer physical toughness kept him in the fight longer than most, but could not stand indefinitely against the four determined super-villains. With no one left to direct it, the near-mindless Gator God lost its will to fight and fled back into the wilderness.

Freed from the stake, the youngster introduced himself as Klarion (and his kitty Teekl). The Iroquois shaman had told him that their spirits had warned that if Klarion was not killed, other "pale-skins" would one day come and steal their land and kill all their buffalo. "Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?" Mr. Roboto pointed out that, historically, that's pretty much what happened.

Nonetheless, Klarion was grateful, and needed no persuasion to share information about the magic spells he had contributed to the construction of the weapon. Fascinated by Mother Box ("Ooh, I love toys!"), he typed the information into her memory himself. The Society pointed him towards the time warp back to the present, as they prepared to go further into the anomaly...

[To Be Continued]

[Loot Drops: Super-Chief's Stone (Super-Speed), Totem Pole's Tongue (Devitalization Ray)]

[The player characters earned 3 character points each, giving them a total of 190.]