WWYCD #103 ? Deal with Evil

[Wanderer]

A master villain notorious for being able to grant superpowers (in the CU, he might be Teleios) through either super-science, magic, or cosmic power, approaches your character or team through intermediaries and offers to permanently greately enhance the scope and level of their bodies' physical and mental potential and any extant innate superpowers, and add new ones (in game terms, the characters' point total would be raised by 100-200%, with all new points being invested in Characteristics, Super-Skills, Talents, and Powers). Crippling physiological flaws, such as many kinds of Physical Disadvantages, might also be cured in the process. The catch ? The characters should cooperate in good faith and would be given an absolute, permanent compulsion (a Total Psych Lim) not to harm the giver through action in any significant way. The villain claims he's doing this mostly for the intellectual challenge of it all, and also to neutralize a possible menace down the line, while redirecting it, at greately enhanced effectiveness, against its super-villainous "competition". He offers the characters ample possibility to get proof of the sincerity of his intentions, and to all checks, the offer seems genuine.

 

What your characters do ?

[Chuckg]

Re: WWYCD #103 ? Deal with Evil

 

Starguard -- "No!"

 

(She's already cosmically powerful as is, and while the idea of becoming mega-smart would tempt her a little -- one of her greatest worries is that she's not mentally up to dealing with the great responsibilties of her great powers (although she's actually a bleedin' genius, she doesn't realize it) -- Starguard simply won't morally compromise to this degree.)

 

Dr. Pain -- "Do you think I'm an idiot? Wow, let a supervillain mega-genius rewrite my brain and my DNA. That makes as much sense as the guys on Star Trek all waking up one morning and deciding to sniff Borg nanites."

 

(Leon can be *very* tempted by the idea of great wealth and power. However, counterbalancing that, he's also quite street-smart, and doesn't believe all that crap about 'just for the intellectual challenge' for a second.)

 

Baron von Darien -- this is the sort of conversation that makes the Baron really really want to kill someone. 'Someone' as in 'the fool who's currently talking to him'

 

a) 'Here, take my gift of greatly increased physical prowess and lifespan... but there will be a /few/ side effects...' is a really bad shpiel to give to a vampire. I mean, he fell for it the first time, and his life has been eleven centuries of unliving suck ever since. He's got *issues* about this sort of thing.

 

The Baron is the sort of cunning bastard who will immediately realize that even if he's smart enough to turn this offer down, there's a whole lot of people who *won't* be... and Baron von Darien would much rather murder one supervillain now than sit back and wait for a situation to develop that will probably require him to kill several people he was on friendly terms with when they devolve into some type of raging out-of-control monster.(*)

 

(When you're already one of the eldest surviving vampires on Earth, a master strategist and manipulator on a sort of Ra's Al Ghul level, and physically capable of tearing the spine out of a Greater Wrath Demon with your bare hands, you tend not to feel inadequate either mentally or physically. And when you're already one of the eldest surviving vampires on Earth, you just aren't very trusting.)

 

 

(*) Whether or not they actually will is irrelevant for purposes of this discussion -- what I'm putting down there is what the Baron /expects/ to have happen. Master vampires tend to be 'glass half empty' kind of people, and he's not an exception.

[OddHat]

Re: WWYCD #103 ? Deal with Evil

 

Style- "My magic has required a lifetime of training. I doubt that you could do much to enhance it. Still, I thank you for the offer. Let me consider this for three days." Spends the next three days studying and preparing for a massive assault. Contacts as many trusted allies as he can. This person is obviously insanely dangerous, and will use the knowledge he gathers from any heroes who submit to him to become more so.

 

AnimaeGai - "Mechanon, I am aware that I would benefit from allowing you to upgrade my systems. I am also aware that you will eventually pose an overwhelming threat to humanity, and that the knowledge you would gain from accessing my systems would marginally increase that threat. I must decline your request. Thank you for your interest."

 

Flesh Gordon "You have really good teeth. Have you had some work done? Really, I like your whole look. The hair, the suit. You know, I'm thinking of getting a new look myself. Can't really get my hair cut these days, I'm lucky it doesn't seem to grow out all that much. Mostly I use styling gel."

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

 

"Well, you don't have to fly off like that."

"Hmm. Jet Pack. Groovy."

[Metaphysician]

Re: WWYCD #103 ? Deal with Evil

 

Microman II: Would decline, and probably list several references from Sentinels history on why this is a bad idea. Even assuming he had his teammate Horus-Re confirm the the claim via the dreaded lie sense, sacrificing the ability to ever deal with said villain would be too great a sacrifice, normally. And if this were a desperation situation, he would throw out the obvious logic that Evil Scientist does not want to die, either.

[SKJAM!]

Re: WWYCD #103 ? Deal with Evil

 

The Mask of Justice: Doesn't make deals with the unjust. He'll tail the unsuspecting intermediary back to the villain's lair, and deal with the slimeball appropriately. (Besides, in the Golden Age, massive powerups either turned you into a monster or only lasted one adventure anyway.)

 

Rock Bottom: "I'm fairly sure my agreeing never to oppose a known criminal would be against my contract with the city." He'll be sure to let his teammates know about the villain's offer.

 

Calculus: Would ask to see the paperwork, examine the theory behind the proposed powerups, and reject the offer. If there's anything good there, he'll refine it for his own use.

 

Kira Midori: Will alert her team to the possible location of Dr. Strangeclone (no, really, that was the name of the appropriate character) so they could maybe this time actually capture him.

 

Talion: "Not only no, but heck no. If it actually worked, it would increase *his* powers as well. Besides, do I *really* need to be able to kill even more effectively? I don't think so."

[Zeropoint]

Re: WWYCD #103 ? Deal with Evil

 

Special Agent Trent: "Oh, of COURSE. The last time I got super-powers with side effects, it made my life SO much better. Would you mind waiting while I check to see if you're on a Fedral wanted list?"

 

Zeropoint

[S7Michelle]

Re: WWYCD #103 ? Deal with Evil

 

Cannis: Her expression very tempted, “Could I please look over your documentation first and then have a couple of days discuss your offer with my employer and teammates?†If the documentation is provided and is super-biology, she studies it carefully. If not, she decides whether or not it would be safe and possible to try to steal the information, device, etc. No matter what, she’s not going to trust a stranger to modify her mind and DNA, but she will try to use any information she gathered to suplement her own skills as a biologist and geneticist. With luck, she might be able to use the information to enhance both herself and her teammates, though of course, not at anywhere near the level he was offering.

 

 

Sailor Io: “I appreciate the offer, but one thing that our interactions with Vash taught my friends and myself is that wisdom and maturity are far more important than raw power. And while you might well be able to increase our abilities, only experience and the knowledge gained from it will increase our wisdom. So while I thank you for offering, I think it is best that we allow our abilities to develop naturally.†(Her response might be different if dealing with a friend/ally rather than an enemy. Though the belief that it is wisdom that she really needs, would remain the same.)

[farik]

Re: WWYCD #103 ? Deal with Evil

 

Husky will jump Dr. Noble taking care to not injure him. This is exactly the kind of thing Dr. Noble does which makes him such a threat. While Kenneth respects Dr. Noble's curiousity Husky is simply annoyed by the "projects" he keeps making. Husky is blind to the similarities between Kenneth and Dr. Noble.