DC Villains #32: No Man Shall I Call Master

[jkcarrier]

DC Villains
Episode 32:
"No Man Shall I Call Master"
[Inspired by: Secret Society of Super-Villains #2 by Gerry Conway and David Anthony Kraft]

Roll Call:
Bucky
Captain Republican
Chemical Lad
Mr. Roboto

The Society received a note from Manhunter, asking them to meet him in Golden Gate Park (with a P.S. to NOT bring Mother Box along). At the park, a tired and defeated-looking Manhunter revealed to them that the mysterious benefactor of the Secret Society was none other than Darkseid, the cosmic tyrant of Apokalips. Darkseid had told Manhunter that his goal was to conquer Earth, and that the Society would have high positions in the New World Order. But Manhunter had learned his true plans -- Darkseid's goal was to transform the Earth into a gigantic bomb, and use it to destroy his enemies on the world of New Genesis. He was no hero, but he couldn't stand by and let that happen, and he hoped the rest of the Society felt the same.

No sooner had the villains agreed to help thwart Darkseid's plans, than a thundering "Boom Tube" opened up in the middle of the park, delivering the Female Furies to the scene. Eager for a rematch against the Earthmen who had previously defeated them [see episode #13]. They were egged on by Mother Box, who expressed disappointment that "her boys" had turned against her.

Bernadeth
[Special Weapon (Knife) with Flame Blast Carrier Attack]

Lashina
[Armor, Grapnel, Special Weapon (Lash)]

Mad Harriet
[Natural Weaponry with Paralytic Poison Contact Attack]

Stompa
[Density Increase, Physical Ability: Super-Leap, Vibratory Blast Area Effect]

The Furies had grown more powerful since their last battle, but so too had the Society, and the results were much the same. The Apokoliptan ladies inflicted heavy damage, but ultimately fell once more to the Earth villains. While this was going on, Manhunter stealthily swiped Mother Box from Lashina's pocket, and proceeded to stab her repeatedly with his Bundi Dagger.

Chemical Lad: "I don't think he understands how computers work."
Manhunter: "Mother Boxes aren't ordinary computers. They're alive. Well, not this one anymore."

[Loot Drops: Bernadeth's Knife (Flame Blast Carrier that can be added to any attack), Stompa's Boots (Vibratory Blast with Area Effect)]

Manhunter had learned that part of Darkseid's plans to weaponize the Earth involved creating large energy-sources called Fire-Pits. The first one was going to be constructed in the mountains near Happy Harbor, Rhode Island...in a cavern that was formerly the headquarters of the Justice League of America. "Apparently, the mystical signficance of a location is part of what makes the Fire-Pits work. Or maybe Darkseid's just being a dick."

In either case, the Society rushed to the site, and found it infested with Darkseid's minions, including a large number of Parademons:

Virman Vundabar
[Experience Levels (Area Effect, Selective, Usable on Others), Special Weapon (Rifle with Auto-Fire)]

Infernus
[Flame Blast, Flame Aura, Flight]

Mantis
[Absorption (Energy), Death Touch, Disintegration Ray, Force Field]

Titan
[Armor, Size Change (10' Tall), Special Weapon (Rune Rod), Willpower (Fortitude)]

Parademons
[Flight, Heightened Defense, Natural Weaponry, Light Control: Laser]

When the Society realized how Virman's leadership was multiplying the effectiveness of his allies, they ganged up on him, and the brilliant but puny tactician was first to fall. On the opposite end of the size scale, the massive Titan dished out heavy damage with his oversized Rune Rod, but he too ultimately fell under the combined assault of the villains. Captain Republican accidentally gave the energy-absorbing Mantis a boost by stabbing him with Bernadeth's Fahren-Knife, but quickly learned his lesson and switched to bare-knuckle brawling, which proved more effective. Between Bucky's enervating attacks, Chemical Lad's acid spray, and Mr. Roboto's vibration beams, Infernus was quickly subdued as well. With their leaders taken out, the Parademons fled back through their Boom Tube to fight another day.

Darkseid's plans were thwarted...for the moment. But the War had just begun.

[Loot Drops: Infernus' Armor (Flame Aura), Titan's Helmet (Willpower: Fortitude)]

[I had also prepared a couple of alternate scenarios, in case the PCs decided they wanted to remain in Darkseid's service. Since we had some time left at the end of the evening, we decided to go ahead and run one of those for funsies. In this version, they would have been sent to the JLA's old headquarters to help construct the Fire-Pit, only to find it occupied by the obscure team known as the Justice Foundation (Mr. Roboto: "So, they're basically the Great Lakes Avengers?"):]

Extrano
[Force Field, Grapnel, Mental Abilities: Mental Blast, Transmutation (Inaccurate: -2 penalty to Hit)]

Freedom Beast
[Regeneration, Summoning (Coyote-Hawks)}

Insight
[Armor, Disintegration Ray (Touch Range "Energy Sword"), Flight, Lightning Control: Gear Control]

Strange Visitor
[Electrical Bolt, Electrical Field, Flight, Non-Corporealness]

Insight managed to use his nanites to shut down Captain Republican's defensive items. This turned out to be a tactical error, as the enraged Cap and Bucky teamed up to pound through his armor and take him out first. Freedom Beast used his power to morph animals together to merge some nearby coyotes and hawks into surprisingly effective flying predators. But despite that, and his fast-healing abilities, Chemical Lad and Mr. Roboto worked together to knock him into unconsciousness. At that point, the hybridized animals returned to normal and fled the scene in confusion. Extrano's mystical shields protected him for a time, while he sniped at the villains with psychic blasts. But once he had the team's undivided attention, he was soon overwhelmed ("I'll admit, this isn't the first time I've had four buff guys ganging up on me...")

[By this point, it was getting late. Strange Visitor was still standing, but was unlikely to take out the team by herself, so I declared it a win for the villains and we called it a night.]

[Loot Drops: Extrano's Earring (Force Field), Freedom Beast's Coyote-Hawk (Companion)]

[The player characters earned 3 character points each, giving them a total of 196.]