The end of the world as we know it...

[zornwil]

...well maybe not, just depends on exactly when the heroes arrive and what happens In theory they could stop anything bad but I don't think that's possible now. I alluded to a seriously major event in Von D-Man's Washington nuke thread.

 

Known scenario - Jean Gray (known as Phoenix already, I liked the name better than Marvel Girl so she's always gone by Phoenix) has just disappeared from Professor X' "New School for the Gifted" - along with Rogue. What makes this more troubling is it occurs so close to the attacks of an android who swears to eliminate all mutant life - he's known as Vision (and yes, modelled after a combo of Vision and Mechanon). Currently the PCs are at the New School still investigating. One of them, Nexus, is able to travel to different dimensions. This picks up just after his research on what might be happening based on other dimensions and probabilities, both his reports and the foreshadowing I've added.

 

(from his reports first)

 

After looking over the various locations at the School for Mutants, Nexus lets the group know that he needs two hours to get a feel for what actually happened. He casts a spell and steps through a gateway into an unidentified dimension (Though the soft smell of the ocean does waft into the room, and, for a brief moment, everyone feels a bit more at ease.)

 

Two hours later, he re-appears (and, if anyone is still where the gateway was, Sihn is visibly shaken.) He calls the group together. "I spent the last two hours checking dimensional nexi to get a feel for what happened here, what could have happened, and what likely will happen. It doesn't look good."

 

"It looks to me as if Phoenix kidnapped Rogue. This is the most likely scenario, and it the one that best fits what we have observed here. It is also likely that Phoenix is in league with Magneto. This probably means that Magneto is intending on grabbing the powers of another super who is not in league with him. My own powers could be potentially dangerous, but without the study of magic, they would be difficult to wield. Suzanne's powers are prodigious, but Magneto already has Phoenix, and she has similar powers. Sammy's powers are subtle, but we have ways of seeing through his deceptions. Hamlet, on the other hand, I shudder at the thought of what would happen if Magneto gets a clone of your powers at his command. Magneto has been particularly solicitious of your attention over the last few months. You need to be on your guard. Beyond this group, there is the possibility that Magneto's eyes are set on The Captain - though he would have to have Rogue thoroughly brainwashed to make full use of this.

 

There also another troubling matter. If Magneto isn't mixed up with this, Vison seems to be. There is some possibility of some kind of cross-association between Magneto and Vision. We need to be careful to look for links between them. The more we know about the Vision, the better.

 

Finally, in the scenarios I saw in which we battled Phoenix, the outlook did not look good. Sammy in particular seemed to have some vulnerability to Phoenix. Fighting her now could very well result in Sammy's death. We'll need to look further into this before we fight her.

 

For this reason, I am not ready to track them down. I fear that if we find them before we are ready, we will be handily defeated. I will gather some samples of DNA from Phoenix and Rogue and see what I come up with in my lab.

 

One other thing. I spent the second hour attempting to gain some insight into Vision's next attack. Most llikely, it will be in Detroit, and if it is in >Detroit, most likely it will be someone we know (though it is not likely to be one of us). Buffy, Willow, The Flaming Carrot, and Wilting Rose are at particular risk. Suzanne, you should warn them at your earliest convenience. If this does not come to pass, there is a strong danger that the Vision will turn up in New York City and begin slaughtering normals.

 

I think the Vision is still our first priority, but we need to be ready for a hostile move by Magneto. Magneto knows a lot more about us than we do about him. We need to find a way to turn this against him."

 

(end of Nexus' communication to the group)

 

This puts the clock at about 5 AM, at this point. Cat-naps are the best sleep anyone has had.

 

Professor X also has bad news - Jean either is more powerful than he is when combined with Cerebro - or whoever has is. Either way, that means either someone has a device as powerful a Cerebro, which he knows exists but has almost never run into, or someone is just that more powerful and that's just plain bad news at the moment.

 

The New School for the Gifted now looks like a sort of paramilitary supers base. The gates have now been raised and the entire cmoplex is covered in a metallic grid with a sparkling energy shield. All pretense of it being a normal school has been dropped. Younger and less capable students have been locked down in a bunker, the older and what is apparently a sort of "X-Men Auxiliary" is being deployed, with Collossus, Wolverine, and others suited up. Professor X is consulting with Cyclops on weaponry - inbetween various calls to and from the government.

 

The government has just issued a Red Alert (terrorist attack imminent) to the nation this hour. Remember, it's only 3 months after 9/11. In major cities there is a consideration of shutting down work, even though the government has not released at all the suspected origin of this attack or that it's metahuman related.

 

Both government officials and superheroes "in the know" are frightened of what this portends, and it shows. Throughout the New School, there is little talk or humor. Even the Imperial Falcon is unusually quiet.

 

All at once each member of the Justice Squad's cell phones ring, whoever has them on, although in the New School they no longer reach outside, so only Spectrum's goes off as she is either asleep or on patrol. So she gets the call; Professor X has left a single mental channel open, and that is used by Spectrum when she's allowed "air time". She can relay Jonas' message, which is simply that he's aware something big and bad is up, that the Magneto organization has deployed in Los Angeles and New York for "something" and that "the fate of the world" is at stake. He also adds, "I think the Justice Squad is in danger, the odds in Vegas of a Justice Squad battle went down to 1:1 today - and I hate to tell you this, but the odds of a Justice Squad death are now being taken at 4:1. Odds of an X-Men death just got shot down to 1:1. The bettors know something, I'm trying to find out who's trying to cash in."

 

Then Nexus has done his investigation. By 7 AM he's returned and the group is briefed with this:

 

A holographic project occupies a large portion of the New School Auditorium.

 

In broad daylight, just above the Empire State Building (now NYC's largest building again, post-9/11), the Blackbird approaches. Visible on the top of the building are Magneto and Phoenix. The Blackbird is sent plummeting into the bay, but apparently was a diversion as teleporting onto the top of the building are the Jusitce Squad and some of the X-Men. And coming from the sky all around are the X-Men and a few other supers, including Nightshade and Necromancer of the NY-based Outsiders. And just as suddenly arise Magneto's confederates, some recognizable such as Nightstalker and Lizard King, some new, and other unexpected but major supers including the Anarchist and Red Amazon also appear by his side (as Nexus explains, these confederates change greatly in different views of the battle).

 

The battle is quickly joined. Phoenix lifts the entire roof of the building telekinetically and sends it hurtling down into the street below, sending non-flying Justice Squad members into the mode of finding a place to go, killing several less fortunate supers and apparently bystanders below. Now the battle is only in the sky. Nightshade calls to Sammy for help, then, apparently mind-controlled, sucks away some of Sammy's soul. Laughton is down below in the Empire State Building and disappears from view. You can only see and hear things, so it's unclear what mental communication is taking place among the JS.

 

Spectrum encompasses Phoenix in a barrier of steel as Neumann steam-heats it up. Nexus engages Magneto and places a massive entangling force wall around him. Other supers battle around them. The Lizard King jumps from one of his flying confederates onto Sammy and they fight, Sammy sending the Lizard King hurtling downward.

 

Phoenix' mental powers are undeterred by her predicament it appears and Sammy is seen struck unconscious by a Phoenix mental blast, he starts to fall but is saved by Spectrum.

 

Spectrum is then hit by Magneto who penetrates Nexus' force wall as Nightcrawler teleports him out. She is stunned and loses hold of Sammy. Then Red Amazon comes from behind Nexus, bludgeoning him and stunning him, though his cape keeps him resting in midair.

 

Neumann reaches out with his tentacle-like cabling but is shocked to find that as he catches Sammy, Phoenix delivers a fatal mental blow, frying Sammy's brain. He rests limp in Neumann's arms.

 

Neumann, loooking around, fires a srange-looking weapon at Magneto. A strange gold-blue circles Magneto and he suddenly starts to fall. He laughs and suddenly a strange whirring is heard and a blast of crimson shoots out from the Empire State Building. Magneto is restored to his power.

 

Spectrum though has come to and aids Nexus, getting him up. Just then Nightshade hits Nexus with a crippling vampiric blow, Nexus is seen recoiling in agony as his life-force is stolen violently, causing pain.

 

Spectrum then looks at Nexus wordlessly and disappears - so does Nexus, just as Magneto hits him with what looks like a horrifying blow as the hazy glow seen in the battle with The Captain hits Nexus. Neumann disappears at the same time. They see The Captain coming over the horizon as this battle scene fades.

[Lamrok]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

As I was writing the "Nexus" parts above, I was humming the title of this thread. That cannot be good. Zornwil, let me know if I should bug out.

 

Lamrok

aka Nexus/Prof. Sihn

[lemming]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Just to let you know, I read the first sentence and that's it.

 

edit: Hmm, now that I see Lamrok, maybe it's safe to read. Good to see JT back. And it's what I already read in email.

[Lamrok]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Just to let you know, I read the first sentence and that's it.

 

edit: Hmm, now that I see Lamrok, maybe it's safe to read. Good to see JT back. And it's what I already read in email.

 

I'm around fairly often. I just don't have much to say.

 

So, what are you doing here? You need to answer that email!

[lemming]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

I'm around fairly often. I just don't have much to say.

 

So, what are you doing here? You need to answer that email!

I read it maybe ten minutes before. I'm still mulling it over.

 

edit: Ok, sent a partial. Will followup later tonight with something that can be posted.

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

I've only revealed what's public knowledge, so no worries, thanks for checking.

 

PS - and I'm rushing posts inbetween work and about to leave to grab the bus momentarily, will respond to your last couple e-mails when I'm home, look for them in about an hour.

[lemming]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Yep. Got those and for some reason, I got the direct email well after the yahoo mail. wierd.

 

Anyway, I sent you a private email about the extra stuff.

 

Suzanne is going to be in a disadvantage pretty soon. She's running on Magic & Caffiene at this point. Once she talks with Nightshade & has her talk with herself, she'll probably go to sleep.

[OddHat]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Very interesting and intense scenario Zornwil. Thanks for sharing it.

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Thanks OddHat, I enjoy poking through others' stuff so figured I'd offer this up. Plus I figured with the various Marvel figures it might be of interest.

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Picking up from the hologram of a possible battle future:

 

 

 

Sammy throws another handful of popcorn in his mouth and crunches away as he is watching the holo-movie. Many thoughts go through his head as he drops his popcorn in awe.... he wonders what loosing one's soul would feels like, why the Lizard King and Nightshade would be so mean, given that they are friends. Finally, he has thoughts of trying some drugs given that his brain is going to fry anyway.

 

All this wondering has definitely made Sammy hungry... It would be a real shame if he missed his last meal... everyone deserves a last meal, right?

 

 

Geee... all these depressing thoughts are definitely making me more hungry... this is a fight we do not want to happen -- think of all the Turkey Dinners we would miss if we allowed these events to pass...

 

Sammy asks Suzanne if she would like to do some mental training exercises.

 

Turning to Sihn... Sammy asks Sihn what the meaning of all those disappearances are? Could they be from teleporters like the one Prof X is proposing? Perhaps the group is being saved from certain death by friendly teleporters in Detroit? Or perhaps there is a traitor teleporting the good guys out of the scene to create chaos in the battle...

 

Do either of these scenarios fit your visions Daddy Sihn?

 

 

 

(you all might want to know right now, Sammy is a naive young non-human being under Nexus AKA Dr. Sihn's care)

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Laughton watches the scene with a look of pensive thought. He is

uncharacteristicly silent for the brunt of the battle, refraining from

making any of his pithy comments.

 

"Elliot, what makes you certian that this posibility is the most likely

to happen here in our dimension?

 

"Charles, do you have any studies of Rogue's power set, say a scan of one

of the students here, then a scan of Rogue with that students powers?

 

"Suzanne, in Origin, you managed to control The Captain. What is the

possible range that you can do such again? Do you think its even possible

these days? What about concerted efforts with Stephen?"

 

"I am convinced something is up with Erik, but I don't believe that he was

behind the dissappearance of Rogue and Jean."

 

Hamlet pauses, a myriad thoughts racing through his mind.

 

"I need to do some futher investigation, just some brief computer time, and

a few phone calls. I have some ideas......."

 

Laughton trails off as he heads for the nearest computer terminal.

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Sihn responding to Sammy:

 

"This is as far as I can see for now, Sammy. The main

point I wanted you to see is that these people want to

hurt you badly. I don't want to see that happen. I

want you to be ready for them."

 

Sihn responding to Laughton:

 

"There are many, many scenarios, Hamlet. All of them

are different. This one will not happen the way you

saw it happen - the very fact that we witnessed it

ensures that our actions will be different.

 

Sammy dies in an unusually large number of them,

though. That's the point I want to make to Sammy, who

needs to be careful, and to Suzanne, who will

hopefully be able to help Sammy defend against the

attack that is meant to kill him.

 

Another trend that shows up a lot is that people we

trust turn on us in the fight - usually this

precipitates Sammy's death. Jonas Hell called with

some information about someone running up odds in Las

Vegas predicting the death of a Justice Squad member.

If you want to follow a trail, that might be a good

place to start. Keep in mind that we heard earlier

that there is probably a super-powerful mind

controller out there and that he or she is probably

mixed up in this one way or another.

 

Most scenarios show that some sort of cataclysm is

fated to happen today. Other scenerios suggest that

the way to stop it was to move against Magneto

earlier. Our best chance is behind us now, and we

must play the hand we still have the best way we can.

 

 

I've been entirely straight with you Hamlet. [Note to

GM - Nexus intends to be entirely truthful, if I left

out something important, let me know so I can correct

it] Now I have a question for you. Why are you so

certain that Magneto is not behind the kidnapping?"

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Spectrum:

 

 

Spectrum assures Sammy she'll do what she can, but needs to take care of

some stuff. She'll maintain a passive contact with Nexus. Anymore maybe

stretching it with her sleep state.

 

She did scan Rogue and didn't find anything. Someone could of mind

controlled her though to take Phoenix. In how many of the scenarios

that Nexus looked at was Rogue there?

 

Afterward she's off on her errands, Spectrum contacts Nexus with the

news that Wilting Rose & Flaming Carrot have been briefed on Vision &

Magneto. She's also talked to Willow.

 

A little later she mentions she's talked with Dr. Strange and

Nightshade. The Outsiders can be summoned if needed (Nexus has

Necromancer's card).

 

Red Amazon was warned as well. Suzanne mentions Red has sympathies for

Eric's ideas, but not so much the group.

 

She also mentions we might be able to setup a network in Detroit, New

York, and LA of people that can warn us. With Nexus we can be there

quickly.

 

Whenever she gets through with that, she's going to sleep for a bit.

(Darn human limitations!) She's at Nightshade's at that point.

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Nexus' response to Spectrum:

 

"The most common scenario was one in which Phoenix

kidnaps rogue and takes her to a magneticly powered

getaway vehicle. The next most common was a scenario

in which Rogue and Phoenix meet and decide that it is

time to go join Magneto. After that is a scenario in

which Magneto violently attacks them. On down the

line were scenarios in which they are attacks by

Vision, or Phoenix chats with Vision. There are a few

scenarios in which nothing happens, but those were

rare. The best fit with what we saw was the first

scenario in which Phoenix kidnaps Rogue.

 

We still haven't really accounted for the psychic

warning we received, though. I have a lot of doubts

about how this is being caused - despite my general

distrust of Magneto. We need to be especially on our

guard for some sort of mentalist trick. I'd feel a

lot better about today if we could remove the

possibility of a puppetmaster from the mix."

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Far away from the New School, in a darkened room, a lone figure sits in a

moment of respite, watching the rays of the new day break into the room.

The figure intones to itself, "Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

And laughs...

 

(PS - this could also be construed as "the GM shouldn't take time off from

work...")

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Sammy's latest:

 

Daddy Sihn confided in me that he is worried about Suzzane and perhaps me a little. As it is possible Sammy is a primary target... Sammy is going to be a bit stealthy...

 

Sammy and Jane are going to make themselves scarce.. Neither one is going to appear as they normally do.. Sammy is going to keep things a bit low key.... and appear as a secondary X-men student in a seach of a good fit. Sammy will pick a tank type student that isnt particularly remarkable.. and Jane will make like his pet cat, who will stay home when Sammy is out.

 

 

(Jane is Sammy's girlfriend/in HERO terms a Follower)

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Meanwhile, during this time, Spectrum is communicating with other supers and patrolling New England and New York. Sihn/Nexus is studying opponents, working with Professor X, and working with some extra-dimensional support that he can Summon. Laughton is doing a lot of computer and social research. Based on Sammy's desire to look like a lower-tier X-Man, he's assuming the role of "Sturdy Boy", a brick who's very hard to knock back but has few other real powers besides a 30 STR and a few brick tricks. For a brick, he's hurt somewhat easily. Professor X has asked Sturdy Boy to stay at home and Sammy will take his place.

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

About this time, 7:15am, Hamlet returns from his research.

 

"First, we can probably thank Kietersling for putting out the word

that there will be a death of someone in the Justice Squad. That's

not to say that he is involved in any of this, but I would not put it

past his influences to be at least privvy to some of what's happening.

 

"Second, I'm fairly certain that I have located the most likely

location of Phoenix and Rogue...It's a place out by Long Island, Point

o'Woods, a private resort on Fire Island-- the oceanic barrier to Long

Island. The hover car was tracked there, and after reviewing and

tracing the calls I made to Magneto, I've determined that he is in the

greater New York City area maybe near Connecticut, not Los Angeles as

he wanted me to believe. My guess is that Magneto is a step closer to

Rogue and Phoenix for what ever reason. Los Angeles is an elaborate

ruse in my opinion, merely to split up forces.

 

"Suzanne, I'd like to ask you to scan for Kurt, it's very likely he is

in that area as well. Erik may not be completely innocent, but I

still have my doubts that he is wholely behind what's happening.

There is too much evidence pointing to my artificial pal DEXTER.

Scoff all you want about my theories, I have gathered significant data

to reveal DEXTER as being behind much that is nefarious and the

control of ABC Corp.

 

"What do we know about the abilities of Kierersling? I know that he

is powerful, and he postures himself as being Odin, or even the basis

for the mythology centered around Odin/Wotan. He has made a number of

unfulfilled threats toward us in the past, and is just the kind of guy

to put something like this together. It would certianly add some

credibility to the EU having an active interest in the Justice Squad

if Mr. K was one of the behind the scenes guys. We don't have the

luxury of time for me to spend more effort on this, but my hunch is

telling me that there are connections to ABC from the EU's 'Logistics

and Support' organization. That I suspect Kietersling is involved and

all that implies, is one of the main reasons I do not think that

Magneto is behind this. Erik is clever, but he has a tendency to be

bone headed to the point of manipulation. There are many many

dominoes in this picture, with too many subtle influences to be his

work alone, as well there are too many things that were done with

extra effort to "be close" without them being "exactly correct".

 

"Something we need are allies we can trust enough to either act as

information relays or even join us in battle. Off the top of my head:

 

China Left

Fox Force 5

Wombat

Comet

Lucretia Jones

Daredevil

 

"I am comfortable with my understanding of their motives and likely

actions with all these people that I belive even if they can't be

trusted, they can be manipulated to do what we want them to do in a

highly predictable manner."

 

"Elliot, what are your thoughts on the absense of my presence in many

of the scenarios?"

 

Laughton pauses for Elliot to answer, before revealing anything more.

 

To Sammy, "I know you emjoy being the center of attention Sammy, but

perhaps this time it might be better if you served the role of

support. There are forms I can have you take on that will offer both

a useful tool as well as be a defense against your greatest weakness."

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

(I hope some find this entertaining or useful. There won't be too many posts at this point, this is capturing the PBEM until we get F2F, there'll be a pause shortly as its about time to take this F2F and that probably won't happen for 1-3 weeks)

 

(and good night!)

 

(PS - comments and questions are welcome, this thread is not intended to be "pure", it's intended to be open to discussion; the actual story will be written up with everything else on the site, under the issues indexed at http://www.realschluss.org/x-champions/x-champions_issues/index.html - still behind by 3 issues, sorry, so you won't see the actual lead-in to this yet)

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...Well, the world is indeed changing...Side note first - Condi Rice contacted Laughton, one of the PCs, with a special appeal...asking him to go easy on Magneto. He's long been known for unofficially dealing with Magneto, sort of playing a go-between role between Magneto and the Justice Squad (one not appreciated by Nexus, see below), and it turns out, as she reveals, that Rice is actually Mystique! She's convinced that Magneto is not himself, probably controlled somehow, as his communications with her fell off atypically.As it turned out (the long story short version), Phoenix had indeed gone evil. With her mental powers rapidly growing, she began to extend into other people's minds, picking up contacts, information, ideas, and slowly going mad. She was sympathetic to Magneto and his organization to a degree, anyway, but her madness drove her overboard and she began to hook up with him. She betrayed the X-Men on a couple of occassions, giving away info, but as she grew more powerful and more mad, she resolved to take over Magneto's organization and become a ruler of mutants. Getting ideas from, among others, the brains of one of the PCs even, she crafted a way to (similar to the movie) grab Rogue and, using a device, use her special, odd DNA to broadcast a virus throughout the New York area forcing people to mutate.They struck the AM that the preceding posts discuss, first with blinding lights triggered from the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, primarily as distractions, though they actually set up hasty missile bases there and held hostages (media reporters) at the Statue of Liberty (it had been closed post-9/11 but this was ostensibly a media tour). The PCs arrived near the docks of southern Manhattan, taking a little time to mobilize. Other supers convened in other areas, but many other supers had joined the PCs, as they were prepared for a mega-brawl out of their league. They took a little time and saw (using specially designed glasses) mutated people in the area, and followed to a source, which turned out to be the Flat-iron building in downtown Manhattan. There they saw Dark Phoenix, Magneto, and several others. A strange haze surrounded the area as the DNA-virus, geared to affect only unmutated humans, seeped quickly throughout the entire city. It had already been going a few minutes.I'll write up the battle on my site, but basically they managed to locate Rogue, encased in a massive Force Wall of Dark Phoenix' which covered the entire upper floor and when disengaged threatened to bring down the top of the building. They rescued her, in part with the betrayal of Nightcrawler against his own Magneto (this was due to the PC's relations with Nightcrawler, they had cultivated his friendship and thus the result as he couldn't stomach this). Rogue was being literally torn asunder as a strange device mined her DNA and spread it, but she was saved in time from dying. The team managed to stop Dark Phoenix as well, first releasing Magneto from her control as the team mentalist, Spectrum (lemming's character), figured out that out and triggering his release with her mental abilities. There was another wild-card in the battle as The Captain, a Superman type, might have complicated things with his anti-Magneto vendetta, but after being briefly mind-controlled by Dark Phoenix and as a result killing several innocents while going after Spectrum, he was shocked (going against his psych lims) into just going after Phoenix and then helping the people of NYC.Magneto did much the same, chastened by the experience. The Justice Squad (the PC group) managed to stun the distracted Phoenix and finish her off, ending up exiling her to a pocket dimension where Professor X and Nexus (one of the PCs, a friend of the X-Men and graduate of X' "New School for the Gifted") hope to somehow reform her, having stripped her of her powers.Nexus immediately founded BOOM! And the results in NYC are also chronicled below.From Nexus (lamrok on these boards):Shortly after the incident in New York, full page advertisements appear in all the major New York Newspapers announcing the formation of a new Organization, "The Benevolent Organization Of Mutants." Days later, similar advertisements appear in major newspapers around the world.BOOM will be fashioned in a manner similar to the Doctors Without Borders. The group will be run by a "Constitution" that sets out that the point of the organization is to provide humanitarian aid wherever aid is needed. BOOM will help with rebuilding after disasters, keeping famines in check, and easing suffering wherever it has been wrought. If possible, BOOM will seek to avert some natural disasters before they happen, but they will never engage in any sort of combat, unless they must defend themselves during a mission.BOOM will have a secondary aim of providing a degree of political leverage for mutants. BOOM will actively pursue gaining rights for mutants, lobbying for or against laws that affect mutants, and supporting candidates who are friendly to this agenda. In pursuit of this, BOOM will sponsor events that will give the public a greater exposure to the good that mutants can do - One of the first examples of this will be a Mutant-oriented traveling show ("circus" has a slightly negative connotation for a group that is already looked upon as freaks), allowing people around the world to witness incredible feats firsthand. The show will, of course, treat mutants in a very respectful manner.Disaster Response will always be the first priority of the organization, though. BOOM will assemble lists of volunteers and their specialties in order to be able to quickly assemble strike teams to deal with problems. BOOM will provide small stipends for mutants on extended missions, and will probably keep certain mutants on as permanent on-call staff (healers, agricultural specialists, etc.)At the outset, the acting executive officer will be Bob Rogers. Once the group gets going, Sihn and Rogers hope that BOOM will be able to put together an elected board and choose its own officers. Sihn will provide the initial funding, and he will volunteer his time in helping out with emergencies.New York City seems like the best place for headquarters, so Rogers will move there, at least for the next few months. Once there, he'll start looking for recruiters and screeners, and putting together a staff that can run a large non-profit. He'll also start booking appearances on various TV shows in order to get the word out about the organization and to explain its goals and motives.He'll be requesting help from the Laughton Agency for some background checks, and perhaps from Suzanne to help in screening some of the more important staff members.************************************The situation also had dramatic follow-up in the team itself. One of the PCs, Sammy, an affable and child-like being similar to Odo of Deep Space Nine (basically), had long been friendly to Magneto, not really appreciating the difference. He also was confused by Nexus' transformation from the darker sometimes nearly anti-hero Troll into his more good-guy current form. Nexus decided that, after the horror of events in NYC and Magneto's continued war on him and the X-Men and others, he needed to distance himself from Sammy, who in the meantime himself was not very good at heping maintain security (having started to dig a tunnel from Nexus' house to the Justice Squad base, thus endangering the whole family) and disobeying Nexus' requirements in living with him. So Nexus banned Sammy from his house, particularly as he has a new-born baby and refuses to see any danger unnecessarily visited with them, and feeling that Sammy's continued attraction to Magneto and his continual disobeyal constitute a major risk to his family. Sammy is crushed, and feels betrayed. It's hard to say when/if the characters will rapproach.***************************************As to NYC, itself, and some reactions to BOOM:Re BOOM, most reactions are of course positive. Still, some see it as a cheap ploy, predictably the likes of J. Jonah Jameson. Magneto issues a statement calling it "a positive development" and lending his emotional support even if "for obvious reasons" he cannot directly contribute. His statement, however, is seen as a sort of lame duck comment, a sort of "me-too" ism by a leader in question, because......one of the bigger stories post "the incident" as it continues to be called, is that Magneto is washed up. The general spin on the events are that a rebellious, more extreme, faction in his loose organization took over and he was either captive or going along for the ride. He's seen as having lost his grip, and voices are being heard, not just in the regular media but the pro-mutant one, that he's "irrelevant", a vestige of older days, representing a militancy that has since polarized into terrorism and more-mainstream mutant factions, he inhabiting a space no longer meaningful or with a following. How much this is a "du jour" interpretation and really representative remains to be seen, of course. But what is being heard is that even though Lizard King, the purported (and gladly accepting of the title) ring-leader of the internal revolt, has been imprisoned, a hardcore faction is officially splitting from Magneto, donning the name "January Victory".Meanwhile NYC is being seen as becoming what Origin was intended to be, as mutants from around the country have begun to flock there. Magneto has praised the results and seems to be attempting to gain a following in NYC, often sighted there, apparently hoping to rebuild his credibility from the very ashes of where it was lost. In any event, NYC has become a strange city indeed. Many of the more pitiable mutant cases have been rectified by direct gene therapy with the help of Nexus, Dr. Strange, and others, but this requires the hands-on abilities of these people and/or extremely epxensive and slow medical processes. The population of NYC is estimated to be entirely mutated to one degree or another aside from those rescued, with the mutations varying from trivial (wiggling ears or such) to massive (there's the new being crossed between Hulk and a lizard being called Grond after an obscure character in an RPG, and a new hero modeling himself after the pre-superhero comic book on Captain America). But mostly, within NYC, it's quite notable. Mostly those indoors felt less of the brunt, while anyone exposed outdoors felt it more greatly, thus the homeless population was most acutely affected, making some's lot far worse while for others actually affording abilities that are commercially viable.But in fact it's not just NYC. Stretching across state lines, for just over 60 km from the center of the Incident, people were mutated. The degree of mutation around 40-60 km is very slight, with around half the people unaffected entirely and most of the remainder not greatly affected. But the degree expands greatly within the 40 km radius. See the attached graphic, the outer green-ish zone is the weak mutation area, the inner yellow-ish zone has pronounced/significant mutation occurrence, and the large red-ish circle inside that indicates where the major mutations occurred, and most people are mutated to one degree or another in that zone.As stated, NYC has become a mutant magnet, and the city is struggling to cope. Famous for its ethnic diversity, this new diversity is not coming easily. While Giuliani had hoped to redesign his city's relations with mutants to mirror Detroit's, this proves to be overwhelming as medical and emergency services are stretched to the limit, as is law enforcement as crime bloats. The National Guard has been called in to maintain order and a curfew has been imposed on the "city that never sleeps". Some mutants and sympathizers maintain a defiant vigil in Times Square and are allowed to peacefully encamp there, but the situation is explosive. The Outsiders seem to be a fixed feature in Manhattan as they struggle to keep an uneasy peace, keeping the Guard from making mistakes as they are the more lawless and/or desperate mutants. The economy, already struggling, has collapsed essentially in NYC and the repercussions are being felt nationally as the recession deepens. The federal government has set up an emergency registration system in NYC and surrounding areas, but it's widely citicized as ineffective - there isn't much the government can do, though, as the mere size of the job makes the task impossible in any short order. The Census Bureau is being consulted with the OMB to determine a way to mass canvass and register.Meanwhile, the little-understood attack has prompted a wave of national hysteria and curfews in many areas of the US. Flights are barely moving as security has become extreme, and even roadblocks have been set up in seemingly random stops on the highways. Throughout the nation, "suspect locations" are being hastily searched with sweeping "regional" warrants issued, as both local and federal law enforcement gets tough on finding anyplace that might be housing the kind of activity preceding the Incident in NYC. During this sweep, several mutant underground clubs have been discovered and closed, while even a few legitimate supers' hideouts have been discovered. Daredevil's lair in Chicago has been found, as has the Comet's in Miami.In Detroit, there is talk of sweeping the salt mines, long suspected as a hideout. There is also talk of sending teams onto Belle Isle to sweep the more isolated parts of the island.While the Patriot Act is already being revised with more sweeping search-and-seizure powers, there is little direct action regarding mutants in general. The strange event has highlighted that anyone can be a mutant, so bigoted reactions are more muted than might be expected. A few more extreme politicians and groups have called for the incarceration of all mutants to prevent such an event, but the very fact that most of NYC and the surrounding area is mutated makes that both impractical and generally unsupported.However, the ranks of NME, the vigilante anti-mutant organization, have swelled and they're suspected of ramping up their paramilitary organization. The government seems to be less active in pursuing this and accusations are bandied about on both sides.The Bush Administration has called in the major supers of the nation, including the Justice Squad, for a special consultation. Condoleeza Rice meets with them, the president being kept away for unstated but obvious security reasons. She makes a brief statement, and answers questions. It goes as:"We'd like to thank you for coming. We're gratified by the solid response and interest you've all shown. And we understand you have connections to some who have refused to cooperate; you are encouraged to spread what we have to say to them."These are...trying times. We are all concerned about the possibility of violence, particularly in the New York area, and we want to impress upon everyone here that the government is doing everything it can to maintain a balanced and fair atmosphere, not just with appropriate laws and actions, but by encouraging an openness in discussion, and a tolerance for all."You who are here are among those who have wisely chosen to help the government, you are the ones who understand that we're all in this together, mutant and non-mutant alike. We applaud your actions - and we respect That you have put an enormous trust in us, one that is of your own volition and that we cannot simply coerce, even if we so attempted. Now we come to you to ask you for the greatest task that we can - in the spirit of "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," we ask that you endeavor to set a sterling example of mutant and non-mutant cooperation. We ask that you further talk to those who are not so trusting as you are and that you do everything you can to convince them that we MUST work together. Ladies and gentlemen, we have seen the disruption that radical action creates. I think we all know there has to be a better way. Ask your friends, 'is this really how you want things to change?' Ask them - what kind of future do they want for their children? Yes, mistakes have been made in the past. Mistakes will probably be made again. But I stand here as an African-American woman holding the chief security job in this nation and I tell you that things WILL change and things WILL be different - IF WE WORK TOGETHER."This administration has the greatest record of any of working proactively with gifted people of all stripes. We have recognized your talents, and given you the kind of access to the White House that none of yuor community have had. In fact, we had a personal counsel with the Justice Squad just a few months ago here, the President himself meeting with them."So we come to you with credibility. And we ask that you help not just the administration, but the United States of Amerrica - the great bastion of democracy and the world's shining hope to a better future. We need you, ladies and gentlemen, so that we can take these recent tragedies and turn them into a positive turning point. Join us, not just with your muscles and energy beams, but your hearts and minds. Thank you."As she finishes her prepared speech, her body language becomes less rigid, less formal, and she looks around the room, asking "Any questions?">From Detroit, the Justice Squad are joined by Buffy, who has finally relented and met with Weed, Wilting Rose, the Flaming Carrot, and the Metal Men. From Boston Nite Owl is there, as well as the nearby entire X-Men group (without the auxiliary members Collossus and Wolverine, and of course without Phoenix). The Outsiders are not directly present as they are staying in NYC, but are videoconferenced in. Dr. Strange is there, though. The LA supers Red Tornado, the Human Flame, and the Great and Powerful Turtle (for whom special accomodations had to be made as he never leaves his large shell) are there. Spiderman, the Fly, and Daredevil are there from Chicago. Jaguar, from New Mexico, is also there, taking a break from hunting the Hulk. The Archer from Seattle stands passively by. Terminator Jones from the Atlanta area is also present, looking dapper if in a bit of an '80s way with his white suit and scarf. Luke Cage, rarely allowed into the "better parts" of DC is present, looking menacing. The Comet from Miami is present as well, rounding out the group.Luke Cage is the first to ask a question, loudly speaking up as he says, "Yeah, Condi, I got a question. When you gonna let the mutants in prison for no other reason than bein' mutants out? I play ball with you people - like these other folks here - and I always hear "later, later." Well I think "later" is getting to be pretty soon. And I think you want us to step it up - well maybe the US better step it up, too."His question is met by a few enthusiastic mutters, most noticably from Desperado, the Human Flame, and the Fly. Terminator Jones scowls dismissively.Rice answers, "Luke," making it clear they're truly on a first name basis, "you know this moment that's a lot trickier an issue than it normally even is. And I will restate the government does not house any mutants in detention who should not be there. We recognize that registration reform and threat assessment reform are necessary, and I assure you this administration will make that a higher priority as we address the situation in New York. Anyone else?"(this was where it left off for questions by the Justice Squad, as this bit was presented in e-mail just now post-F2F session)Hope there's been some enjoyment and possible reuse for other games.Indicated (as mentioned above) is the graphic of the NY mutation radius.

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

I feel a little guilty with my own private thread, but anyway, as an interesting fall-out, a heart-felt conversation among the team is drawing them together. And rather than darker, things are getting brighter in some ways, as Nexus has reached out, due to prodding from Sammy and to some degree ongoing from the team, one "last" time to Magneto, given Magneto's new weakness and uncertainty. Magneto is touched and moreover realizes the grimness of how things are going and the monster he is in danger of becoming; he is reconsidering his tactics seriously. I think he'll stay as a vigilante fighting the government excesses, and therefore still deemed a terrorist, but he will be more focused in this and eschew the larger fighting and contained role he deemed for humans before. I think he's going to join in on the more mainstream superhero mutants' side, as well, in advocating for a simpler liberty for all. But he'll always be on the fringe, like (for different reason) the Punisher (and Wrath and Wombat, two other anti-heroes who kill bad guys, in Wombat's case mainly child molesters and rapists and the like).

 

I had thought things would get darker, but the tone of the PCs and the closing ranks among various mutants as this has played out means it will probably be a good bit brighter, actually, pretty interesting.

[OddHat]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Just wanted you to know that I've been enjoying the thread. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Thanks, I had kind of reached the end of this so wasn't planning to necessarily update, but will gladly do as there's anything I think is interesting. I have full write-ups on the campaign at http://www.realschluss.org/x-champions/x-champions_issues/index.html , not yet updated for this last issue.

[lemming]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Thanks' date=' I had kind of reached the end of this so wasn't planning to necessarily update, but will gladly do as there's anything I think is interesting. I have full write-ups on the campaign at http://www.realschluss.org/x-champions/x-champions_issues/index.html , not yet updated for this last issue.[/quote']

Good luck with that. At least with the latest thread. I'm looking over the vast volume that Miq & JT produced and with your info.

[zornwil]

Re: The end of the world as we know it...

 

Good luck with that. At least with the latest thread. I'm looking over the vast volume that Miq & JT produced and with your info.

Yeah, it'll be LONG...this will probably get done next week as I'm home from work and intend to get all the write-ups caught up then, hoping that Miq and I can also wrap up his sideline investigation into the Catholic Church/DEXTER-related stuff, it was very close to completion anyway so that should happen.