DC Villains #37: Ride or Die

[jkcarrier]

DC Villains
Episode 37:
"Ride Or Die"

Roll Call:
Bucky
Captain Republican
Chemical Lad
Mr. Roboto

Manhunter informed the Secret Society that Darkseid was eyeing a trio of special vehicles to bolster his army's capabilities. All three were being publicly displayed, easy pickings for the Lord of Apokolips' hired mercenaries. But the Secret Society was on the job...

The first target was in Washington, DC: the brand-new Themiscyran Embassy, representing the Amazons of Paradise Island. For their opening gala, they were displaying numerous Amazonian historical artifacts, including an early model of one of their famous Invisible Planes. Of course, since it was invisible, it could only be "seen" by touch, which was allowed and encouraged. But Darkseid's hired thugs wanted to do far more than touch:

Angle Man
[Disintegration Ray, Force Field, Heightened Senses, Teleportation]

Crimson Centipede
[Ambidexterity (x8), Extra Limbs (x16), Heightened Defense, Physical Ability (Wall-Crawling), Size Change (17' Tall), Special Weapon (Pistol, Multitudes x8)]

Fireworks Man
[Flame Aura, Flight, Laser (Area Effect)]

Inversion
[Disintegration Ray, Life Support, Transmutation (Invert, causes loss of HP and PP)]

Mouse Man
[Devitalization Ray, Heightened Defense, Size Change (3" Tall), Summoning (Mice, Multitudes x4)]

Red Fang
[Natural Weaponry, Regeneration, Willpower (Fortitude)]

Angle Man's interdimensional weapon, the "Angler", gave him multi-dimensional senses that allowed him to easily target the invisible Bucky. That turned out to be his downfall, however, and Bucky and his partner Captain Republican immediately targeted him for counter-attack, and he fell quickly.

The Crimson Centipede, with his ability to fire off 8 guns simultaneously, was likewise considered a high-priority threat; he peppered the battlefield with gunfire for a few rounds before getting knocked out.

Mouse Man's mice minions proved to be a minor annoyance, but his "Sleep Gun" [Devitalization Ray] was more effective. His tiny size made him a difficult target, but eventually Captain Republican scored a knockout punch (the mice then all turned against Cap, but couldn't manage to gnaw through his armor).

With their ranks diminishing, Fireworks Man threw caution to the winds and began firing off blasts in all directions, including at his own remaining allies, confident that it would hurt the Secret Society more. That turned out to be the case, but the team rallied and took him out before he could repeat the strategy.

Red Fang's martial arts skills and ability to regenerate kept him in the fight for a while, but once the whole team turned on him, he couldn't heal fast enough to avoid unconsciousness.

Inversion made several attempts to turn the Society members inside-out with his Inversion Ray, but the ex-villains were simply too hardy [kept making their Endurance Saves], and his hazmat suit couldn't stop their counter-attack for long.

[Loot Drops: Mouse Man's Pistol (Devitalization Ray), Red Fang's Medallion (Regeneration)]

Next on the list was Smallville, Kansas, where the Superboy Museum was exhibiting souvenirs from various eras of Superboy/Superman's life, including the obscure "Supermobile", which the Man of Steel had used on a couple of occasions when he had lost his powers. A flying tank with the abilities of Superman was an irresistible target, and Darkseid had sent a team to acquire it:

Annihilator
[Heightened Attack, Invulnerability (Kinetic)]

Black Zero
[Force Field, Invulnerability (Psychic), Non-Corporealness, Poison/Venom]

Blackrock
[Electrical Field, Paralysis Ray, Sonic Blast, Teleportation]

Karb-Brak
[Armor, Flame Aura, Transmutation (Distort, reduces Agility)]

NRG-X
[Armor, Absorption (Energy damage adds to Power Points), Flight, Power Blast]

Zha-Vam
[Arsenal (12 Options, 24 Slots), Size Change (8' Tall)]

Karb-Brak's red-hot skin [Flame Aura] both made it dangerous to touch (or be touched by) him, so Mr. Roboto and Chemical Lad used their ranged attacks to take him out from a distance.

Using a scanner he'd confiscated from a previous opponent, Captain Republican discovered that NRG-X was a being of pure energy, held together by his containment suit. Cap correctly deduced that blowing a hole in the suit would cause him to disperse, but the resulting explosion dealt heavy damage to friends and foes alike.

Zha-Vam, the giant blessed with the powers of the gods, kept pulling out different abilities from his magic belt, everything from the lightning bolts of Zeus to the invisibility cap of Pluto to the sword of Mars. But the shield of Orion melted quickly under the assault of Chemical Lad, and he was eventually whittled down to size.

Blackrock, with his deafening static rays [Sonic Blast], and Black Zero, with his ability to manifest toxic projectiles [Poison/Venom], scored some hits, but pretty soon the Black boys were Black and Blue instead.

THe massively-strong Annihilator lasted the longest, but once the entire Society was turned against him, he inevitably fell.

[Loot Drops: Black Zero's Cape (Invulnerability to Psychic), Zha-Vam's Belt (Arsenal)]

Last on Darkseid's list was the so-called Flying Batcave, a massive flying ship that Batman had occasionally used as a mobile headquarters. It was on display as part of a Gotham City Police Department charity event, and predictably, a team of thugs appeared to try and steal it:

Bouncer
[Absorption (Kinetic damage adds to Speed), Natural Weaponry, Plasticity, Speed]

Calculator
[Force Bolt, Force Field, Gear Control, Weakness Detection]

Doctor Phosphorus
[Disintegration Field, Laser, Invulnerability (Energy)]

Kite-Man
[Armor, Arsenal (3 Options, 24 Slots), Flight, Special Weapon (Pistol)]

Molder
[Armor, Flame Blast (Melted Plastic), Ice Blast (Plastic Cocoon)]

Star-Man
[Force Bolt, Force Field, Gravity Decrease, Gravity Increase]

Kite-Man soared around the ceiling of the spacious exhibit hall, dropping gas bombs and setting off blinding flashes, but he soon found out that he was within jumping distance of Captain Republican's pounding fists, and was soon brought down to earth.

The Molder sprayed molten plastic around the battlefield, immobilizing Mr. Roboto and scalding a few others. His plastic armor, however, was less effective, and he was defeated before long.

Star-Man used his gravity powers to pin Chemical Lad to the ground, and suspend Captain Republican in mid-air. His energy-field protected him for a time, but the team pounded through it eventually.

Calculator's ability to pinpoint his enemies' weak spots gave his solid-energy attacks an extra boost, and he also used his computerized keyboard to shut down some of Cap's equipment, but once his protective force field was exhausted, he didn't last much longer.

The radioactive Doctor Phosphorus kept his opponents at a distance, but Mr. Roboto's vibration blasts and Chemical Lad's acid spray worked to bring him down.

The Bouncer, surprisingly, turned out to be the most dangerous of all -- his rubberized suit allowed him to ricochet around the battlefield, ramming his opponents while taking little damage himself, and every blow just increased his velocity. Cap and Bucky, with their impact-based attacks, were stymied. However, once Bouncer's allies had all fallen, and he was staring down the barrel of Chemical Lad's acid, which he had no defense against, he opted to surrender rather than risk his precious suit being damaged.

[Loot Drops: Calculator's Keyboard (Weakness Detection), Kite-Man's Helmet (Armor)]

The day was saved -- for now. But the threat of Darkseid loomed ever closer...

[The player characters earned 3 character points each, giving them a total of 211.]