PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

[RDU Neil]

Post 1

 

This thread is to post a side/solo adventure I ran that would get a new player going with his character, and link into the larger Maverick's story I'm re-printing here. This was kept separate from the others, and this might be the first time Storn et al, would have seen this side story that would eventually tie with the larger campaign.

 

 

 

From GM:

The Coming Of Impetus

 

Note: (This character is already maxing out the power levels of the Mavericks. It's been a solid but not hugely powerful group. Just so you know, this is no Vanguard type of thing. Throwing around 14 dice is pretty powerful for the Mavs, especially when you have to live in the city after the fight is over.)

 

>>>From the booth of an all night cafe you stare out the front window, and contemplate the damage. Onyx' Gym. A local business run by a local hero. A big, strong man with a magic baseball bat. A controversial man, Onyx calls Harlem his turf, and he moves on the streets like he owns them. Most people around here love him. Ask any of them and you are likely to hear about how he's driven out the drug dealers, shut down the crack houses and even put the cops on notice about harassing folks for no reason. Harlem has straightened up... a lot. Small businesses are thriving, and crime is down. Onyx runs his gym as sort of a halfway house for bangers who have given up the life. All in all, he's done a lot for the community, and even folks outside of Harlem (not including Mayor Guiliani or some cops) think he's good for New York in general.

Unfortunately, all the notoriety seems to have drawn the wrong kind of attention. Just two days ago, a group of paranormals smashed it's way into his gym in the middle of the afternoon. Five or six of them went after Onyx, and no one knows why. Busted up a couple of his employees and then nearly beat the man himself to death. He took out one of them... some gray shambling guy that fell into dust after he went down... but the others were vicious. Beat him down, and kept on... until the Mavericks showed up.

 

The fight was a brutal one according to many of the witnesses. Some guy called Maul and a wacko white chick were beating up on Arcsilver. Messed him up big time. Maul went down though, taken out by Wild Heart and the cops. They also brought out a guy on a stretcher who looked dead. Name of Brian Fury or something. The gym building and the street all bear signs of the battle. A huge hole in the front wall, now blocked by plywood, divots and skid marks all over the street... black scorch marks and shattered windows up and down the street. You are sorry you missed it, but it definitely emphasizes the need for you to make a move.

 

You think back. It's been... what... a little over a month since you first decided to use your powers? Weird. It's almost hard to remember what it was like when you didn't have them. Then, well, there are certainly places where Onyx hasn't cleaned out the bad guys and you figured they were due to be taken down a few notches. Your old homies were still up to their tricks, but now, Impetus was giving them something to think about.

 

Your reverie is broken as a police car cruises by. You instinctively hunker down some, feeling more than a little pissed off. Bad enough a black man has to watch out for any cop with a beef, but now the gangs have pinned the name Impetus like some rival gang leader. Just what you don't need is a cop drawing down on you thinking you're some kind of perp.

The cruiser moves on past though. Just a routine patrol... and that's when you see it... in one of the upstairs windows of the gym. As the police car moves out of sight there is a flicker of light and movement in one of the windows. The place has been closed down as a crime scene. There shouldn't be anyone in there.<<<

 

Note: (Does this guy have a costume, or is just modified street clothes for now? Where would he get a costume, and what would it look like if he did have one?)

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 2

 

From Bill/Impetus:

Notes:

 

Impetus does indeed have a costume, but fortunately the standard black gangbanger trenchcoat covers it... which doesn't really solve his problems. It's basically a green vest slit in a "V" down the center of his chest and a massive iron belt, with the rest of it showing off his jet-black (well, not JET-black, but as dark as a black guy goes) skin and bulging muscles. He got the uniform himself, and it's made from some kind of stretchy fabric he managed to get from some garish shops he found. Not terribly durable, though. As for a mask, he wears a green domino mask, which he keeps glued to his face via a low-grade gravitational field, but he really wishes he didn't have to. He hates it. He also shaved his headful of dreadlocks for the occasion, claiming that he had to because "the Man" was cracking down on him at work, so now he's bald and kind of fierce-looking.

 

If the power level is too much, I can change it. I figured that Thermal started with 13d6, and went a little stronger from there. However, he is going to miss a lot, which should be fun.

 

One of the things I did, and just so you know because I couldn't really figure out the right game mechanic to use, is that the Flight isn't for flying at all and in fact won't lift him more than a good foot above the ground. Basically the Flight is so he can hover just above wooden floors and such, and not smash through them because of his density weight; he keeps it on during the day and has a reinforced bed he can sleep in at night. (You DID notice I took "Always On" as a limitation, didn't you?) I want to keep that a low-grade power, and 7 points was the lowest I could find -- although it also allows him to creep up walls slowly, which I also see in character. If you've got a more efficient way of doing it, let me know.

 

Game:

 

Probably if it's anywhere close to home, Impetus would have had a membership at the gym in his civilian ID, as he had to work out a LOT to be beefed up enough to avoid gang encounters -- and a gang-free gym (or as close as it gets, anyway) would have been an incentive to travel. He might have even known Onyx briefly, in passing, and looked on him as some kind of distant mentor. Not that they ever spoke. In fact, I'd guess he might be watching the gym as sort of a prelude to figure out what to do next -- Onyx getting the crap beaten out of him means that the local gangs have joined up to swat two birds with one stone. Onyx might not have even been hurt if he hadn't started, which doesn't necessarily pain him but it does inspire a twinge of guilt. But fuck it, if that's what it takes to get these bumboclaats outa de city, den dat what it take.

 

The light goes on in the window. Moving as quietly as possible, he pays the check, slips into whatever shadows may be nearby (and there are ALWAYS shadows in Harlem), pops on the mask, and Superleaps up to the window, hovering outside. What does he see?

 

Also, just to keep the show moving along:

 

Impetus knows enough about the local superheroes to have a decent understanding of them -- he reads the New York POST every morning (which is the trashy newspaper wih headlines like "HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR", in case you're not familiar, but it IS news) on the way to work. So when he sneaks up (assuming he does), he'll look them over very closely and see if they're anyone he remembers.

 

If they're heroes, he knocks on the window and says whassup, asks them what the hell they doing here at this time of night. He stops short of asking if they need help, as that would be kind of wussy -- but if they offer, he'll gladly help out.

 

If there's a criminal there or someone he doesn't know, he activates his forcefield, opens the window (should be a 0-phase action with his strength) and says, "You better have a good reason for being here... and you got ten seconds to provide an explanation, chump." He does stay OUTSIDE the window, however; he doesn't expect to get Knocked Back, the window will provide partial cover, and he'd prefer to take any fights outside to minimize damage to the gym.

 

If it's a group of criminals or people he doesn't know about, he watches long enough to see who's the quickest and does the same thing as he did before, except he throws an Armcrusher (his Entangle) on the quickest and says the same thing.

 

-----

 

From GM:

Note: (Power level is fine, but 14d6 against criminals and agents will be huge. This is a lot more "crime fighting" as well as "super heroics" Yes, you will likely miss, quite often. I like the flight concept, as well. In fact, I like the idea that he has dreads, but it could be a wig, like part of his costume. That would actually make him look pretty cool, IMO. Just an idea.)

 

>>>Well, you aren't sure why Onyx was targeted, but you really hope it isn't the gangs who did it. While they may have a serious grudge against him, you can't imagine them having the money or the contacts to hire serious paranormal muscle.

You consider the ramifications of that idea as you slip outside, and move to a darkened doorway. There are a few people out on the street, and traffic is steady. If you fly over to the window, you will be easily spotted, but you don't see many other options. Maintaining your concentration, you stride forward, each step taking you up further into the air as you cross over the street and to the window. Your coat billows out in the cold, wet wind (It's late Feb. 1999), and you make it nearly all the way over before you hear some voices below and behind you exclaiming, "Shit! You see that! Who the hell is it? Somebody else gonna bust up Onyx' place? Damn!"

Ignoring them for the moment, you step up to the window, keeping an oblique angle, so you minimize the shadows you might throw. It's dark out, but there are plenty of street lights and neon around. Just inside it is nearly pitch black, but your eyes quickly adjust, and you see a figure, dark clothing, crouched on the floor inside the room. You only catch sight because there is a brief flicker of light, like a penlight, that plays across the floor. You watch for a few seconds and the person, a man it looks like, is pulling something up and out of the floor but it's impossible to see what it is.

After another fifteen seconds of this, he begins to stand up, pulling a small bundle of wire in his hand. You see this only because his penlight plays directly on it, and you figure that's enough. You reach for the window, and dig your fingers into the frame to get a grip. The figure spins at the sound, a small Mag-light falling from his mouth as he sees you. You throw up the window, as he exclaims "Shit!", and he begins to back away from you, as you point and growl out, "You better have a good reason for being here... and you got ten seconds to provide an explanation, chump." His eyes were covered in high tech goggles, and his cowl covers all but the lower part of his face. His mouth is open in surprise.

He doesn't say anything more, but just moves... very quickly. Before you can bring your powers to bare, he simply shoves the bundle of wires into a pouch at his waste while turning and lunging for the door out of the room across from where you hover. You can see now that he is dressed in a skin tight, black suit with web gear, pouches and possibly a holster under one arm. Raising your hand, you start coalescing the energy needed to hold him, but he gracefully rolls out the door giving you no immediate target.<<<

 

Note (He initiatized faster, but you still have a half phase if you want to follow him or do something else.)

 

Next initiative: Impetus, man-in-black

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 3

 

From B/Impetus:

((((Note: (Power level is fine, but 14d6 against criminals and agents will

be

huge. ))))

 

That's what the 9d6 indirect attack and the Armcrusher is for. I knew I'd

have to be pulling punches right and left otherwise.

 

Game:

 

Feeling the gravitic force bursting out behind him, Impetus leaps across the

room and through the door to follow the cat burglar, making note of where

the guy was looking. He lands in the hallway, trying to figure out which

way the guy went -- and more importantly, is there any pile of loose objects

around that he can throw back in his face as he runs away?

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>You move across the room and out into the hallway, looking both ways. As you pass the area, it looks like he has pealed up some floor boards and had pulled out some wiring, but you can catch no details. Outside the office it's a narrow, but clean strip of checked linoleum with simple carpet runners. Old steam heaters are along the walls. There is a drinking fountain, as well as a number of doors. These are like dorm rooms, similar to a YMCA. Onyx lets guys live here for short periods of time in exchange for work and community service. It's all been closed and evacuated since the battle, but it's clean and neat, with nothing to throw or toss around.

At the end of the hall, to your left, you catch sight of the fleeing figure. He is skidding to a stop in front of another door, and scrambling to open it. He is muttering to himself... and you catch something like, "Man oh man... who the hell is this guy? Nobody told me Onyx had a rasta brother..."<<<

 

Next initiative: Impetus, burglar

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 4

 

From B/Impetus:

Impetus leaps down the hallway (if necessary, he Superleaps, but frankly I

don't want to use the END if I can avoid it, and the hall shouldn't be that

big anyway) and lands right next to the guy. "I can chase you all day,

mothafucka," he says, throwing out another Armcrusher, "Gimme whatever it

was you took and ain't no one get hurt."

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>Note: (What is the special effect of your entangle? I'm assuming that is what your "Armcrusher" is. If it is different than I describe below, just let me know.)

 

You gesture and force ripples out your arm. The air warps between you and your target and his eyes bulge as he sees the wave hurtling toward him. A vortex of shimmering air! Inside it, dust motes scatter, suddenly dropping to the ground like stones or are frozen like flies in amber. Kicking off from the door and throwing himself to the side, the thief manages to avoid the force beam, and stares openly as a nearly invisible but shimmering globe of force wraps itself around the door. There is a creak of compressed wood and faint cracking from the frosted glass panes as your energy compresses the old oak frame.

Gasping and starting to back away the man holds out a hand, open palm and fingers splayed, saying, "Hold it. Hold it! I don't know who you are man, but this isn't what it looks like. Who do you work for, anyway, man?" (You attacked, he dodged.)<<<

 

Next initiative: him, you

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 5

 

From B/Impetus:

"You stop runnin', I stop chasin'," he says casually, dropping into a ready

position to either chase or blast, and pointing an arm both at him and at

the doorway -- but holding back unless he sees him make a sudden move. A

purple nimbus of soft, ethereal energy wraps around his fingertips. "I work

for..." and then he kind of stops, realizing he doesn't work for anybody,

really. "I'm a friend of Onyx's, even if the brother doesn't know me yet.

Now tell me what it is and what you doin'. I ain't even brought out my big

guns yet."

 

If he doesn't move, I'll continue to talk, holding an action. If he does

start to move, Armcrusher again, crying, "You quick, but eventually I get

you -- and when I do, I be MAD!"

 

I assume he's not going to attack, but if he does I'll soak it up.

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>Still maintaining his defensive, "Please don't hit me," stance, he looks you up and down, considering what you said. After a second or two, he shakes his head slightly, saying quietly, "Shit. Too many wildcards in this game..." Then he looks up at you and cautiously reaches for his belt, talking all the while. "Not going for a weapon, just hold it, look, here..." he reaches into the larger pouch at his belt, and pulls out a twisted bundle of scorched and blackened wiring. "This is what I was pulling out. It's..." he pauses, trying to think of what to say. He puzzles for a second, then, "Look, I'm not saying you aren't a tough guy..." he shrugs, "...you obviously are a Class Six, and I don't want to mess with you no matter what your TL rating is... but you are stepping into something I don't think you understand. I'm just a bit player myself, but it is kind of essential that I pull out most or all of that wiring back there. It's all the same stuff, and if you want a piece, no problem. But I really need to get that stuff, and get out of here." He looks away, sort of a disbelieving chuckle. "Never thought I'd say this, but... lives depend on it... mine not in the least." Finally, he adds, "I'm sorry about Onyx. I wasn't part of that, and..." he stops shaking his head, "... anyway... it's important. What do you say?" He smiles in a friendly, half hoping manner.<<<

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 6

 

From B/Impetus:

Impetus cocks his head to one side curiously, trying to decide what to make

of this egghead. Eventually he furrows his dark brow in what looks like

irritation... and breaks out in laughter. His grin is wide, and looks

somehow incongruous when compared against his boxer's face.

 

"Man, you crazy," he says, still chuckling, dropping out of his combat

stance. "Maybe I don't understand. So answer my questions and then

maybe -- if we have the same goals -- I got ways to help you out.

 

Assuming that there's any kind of positive response, he says:

 

"First, and most important," he says, carefully pulling a piece of wiring

out of the guy's hand and looking at it, "What's so badass about the wiring?

Who the hell's gonna die -- and why -- unless you pull it outta here in

time?

 

"Secondly... Class Six? On a scale of WHAT? And TL?

 

"And thirdly, who DO you work for? 'Cuz I'm gonna assume it's the gangs

unless you tell me otherwise, because you sure ran scared when I showed

up... and you said you didn't have anything to do with Onyx, but you didn't

say you didn't know about it, either. You workin' rogue, here? And what

the hell is your name, anyway?"

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>The man in black nods at your queries, and squeezes the bridge of his nose like he has a headache. "Why do these things always happen to me?" he mutters. Then, when you've finished, he nods, glancing at a funky matte black watch. "Real quickly, or it just won't matter. First, I ran because a giant, flying rastafarian showed up outside the window and scared the shit out of me." He gestures, hands up like "who wouldn't run?" "Now, I don't know you from Adam, but if you think I'm in a gang," he chuckles, "then either there are some gangs with some high tech connections and money I'm not aware of, or you're a little fixated. I'm a solo operator, and I've been hired by someone I can't reveal. It isn't the gangs, that's for sure."

Lifting up the bundle of wires from where it trails on the ground, he splays it in his hand. "This stuff is what was put in here by the person who ordered the hit on Onyx. It was a sophisticated miniature surveillance system." He indicates small blobs of plastic at certain intervals on the wire. "Used to be cameras. I was... hired to retrieve it, so that it might be traced, but it's been destroyed. Some kind of..."

You cut him off, "Fire Wire. Yeah. I seen this stuff befo', but it ain't cheap. Magnesium strips with electro-chemical trigga'. Can be used as det-cord, but usually it's precision demolitions, y'know. Whole thing looks t'been wired wit it. Quick signal, and phhffft." (You do have Demolitions...!)

The man looks at you in surprise, then fingers the wires. "Wow. That's cool. I had no idea what happened to it. Actually..." he pauses, thinking, "That makes sense. He'd definitely be prepared for any eventuality."

Looking back at you he extends his hand, "Call me Sneakers." He raises a foot to show off all black, canvas high tops. "Best shoe in the world. Anyway, I'm on a short time limit here and unless I'm back where I need to be and soon, a whole lot of undercover work is going to be shot, and the next time something happens, there won't be any chance of warning. The man is dangerous, and..." He stops. Noticing your "What man?" look, he steps in, saying, "You don't know who I'm talking about? Shit, you really don't know what's going on." He looks around, like someone would be listening, then whispers "The Warlord. That's all you need to know. Be careful where you go, man. He's dangerous, and he's got people everywhere."

Then, taking back the wire, he threads it through his hand and then breaks off a piece. "Here you go. If you can find out anything about this, go ahead, but do it quietly and carefully." Tucking the rest of the wire back in his pouch, he says, "Now, I've got to get going and hope nobody noticed you coming in here. Though I doubt I was that lucky."

He turns to leave, then looks back, saying, "And the scale is the Kirby/Ellis MH II. It classifies and rates metahuman abilities. Adopted by NATO countries and most other governments and military. Look it up at the library." After a second, he says, "Can I go now?"<<<

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 7

 

From B/Impetus:

>>> I ran because

a giant, flying Rastafarian showed up outside the window and scared the shit

out of me." He gestures, hands up, like "who wouldn't run?"<<<

 

****Impetus just nods.

 

"It isn't the gangs, that's for sure."

 

***"Awright. But you ain't seen some of the stuff I seen gangs throw at me.

I assume yo a friend of Onyx, too."

 

>>> He looks around, like someone would be listening,

then whispers "The Warlord. That's all you need to know. Be careful where

you go, man. He's dangerous, and he's got people everywhere."<<<

 

***"But why would he have been WATCHIN Onyx? What the hell was O up to that

the Lord needed to surveil the guy? You tellin me that Onyx was up to

somethin' deeper than just rehabilitating the neighborhood?"

 

"Now, I've got to get going, and hope nobody

noticed you coming in here. Though I doubt I was that lucky."<<<

 

***"You ain't. I trieda be quiet, but they saw me, so you betta run. But

befo you do, gimme your email address. I might wanna get in touch witchoo."

 

 

****After which, he'll go back and take a look at the wiring to see if he

can get more info, as well as looking around (quickly) to see whether there

were any other observation areas that the Warlord would have left. Assuming

all is still quiet, he'll grab another sample and go home, then spend an

hour or two looking at the evidence and seeing if there's anything HE can

get from it. When he wakes up in the morning, he'll go to work and hit the

library on his lunch break, looking up both this scale Sneaks was talkin

about and further trying to research the wires.

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>Sneakers heads out with a last couple of comments, saying, "I don't know what the Warlord wanted with Onyx, but he seemed to consider him a threat. I don't really know, though I'm trying to find out. As for contacting me, that isn't really possible, where I'm going, but if you really need to contact someone about this, all I can say is try this in any Internet search engine, "Find: Gabriel.help" I can't guarantee you'll get anything, but it's the best I can give you."

With that, he's out an office window like a shadow.

 

You head back to where you originally saw him, and check out the floor. It seems most of wire had been pulled out, and you could actually replace the floor board pretty easily, to make it look like no one was there. Nothing else seems out of place, but you hear talking outside, and what sounds like a police radio, then somebody saying, "Yeah. He went through that busted window right up there. He seemed to be shouting at someone, but it's been quiet for a minute or two." Then there is clearly the garbled voice of a cop calling something in over his radio.

There are no shouts or sirens or anything, but it does sound like somebody flagged down a cruiser or called in a sighting of a flying guy around the gym. There are many other exits from the building, or you can fly right back out over the busy street.<<<

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 8

 

From B/Impetus:

Impetus wipes his fingerprints off, puts the board back well, finds a back door and slips out, checking first to see there's not cop hanging around somewhere. If not, he superleaps to the top of a neighboring building and waits up to an hour for everyone to go away. If there are people watching, he'll just take one huge nomcombat superleap cross-town and then take the subway back home.

 

If there are cops in the back or an alleyway, too (which is doubtful, but you never know) he'll walk out the front door brazenly and inform the cops that there was some kids who broke in here to try to steal some freeweight equipment while Onyx was gone. "I chased 'em away, though. Little fuckers were wandering around seeing what the man had. If you wanna tell me where Onyx is, I'll send the man some money for his window."

 

-----

 

From GM:

Note: (By the way, what does Geoff want to play? Does he want to do Silencer stuff? He never responded to something I sent him months ago. Haven't heard from him since.)

 

>>>Impetus: You work quickly, and get things put back. It sounds like there is only one cop car out front, but as you leave the office and move to the back of the building, you think you hear the cops checking the place out downstairs. If the people outside identified you as a paranormal.... "Some flying guy" would be enough... then you can bet that reinforcements are on the way.

Looking out a rear window you see no one. Quietly opening the sill, you squeeze outside and leap to the next building, landing and ducking out of sight. A number of minutes pass as you watch the building and a couple more police cars do pull up. You beat a hasty retreat as you spot a helicopter coming in from the south, it's spotlight tracking along. Luckily, rooftops are low and easy access in Harlem, and you quickly make your get away.

 

Once at home, you grab something to drink and set about studying the burnt out wiring. It's been pretty well fried. A full forensics lab could probably do a chemical analysis and figure out it's base components, but you don't have access to anything like that. What you can tell is that it is certainly custom work. This kind of high tech miniaturization ain't available through catalogs. It's definitely too sophisticated for the gangs. They may occasionally get their hands on heavy ordinance, even a hot VIPER blaster on the black market once in a while, but they don't do work like this. They are tough, dangerous, violent kids. Even the OGs don't go for the James Bond stuff. No way they hire some outside white guy like Sneakers, either.

You hit the sack, wondering what all this Warlord stuff is, and just what you stepped into. Onyx got himself on the wrong side of somebody tough enough to take him out, and that doesn't bode well. Where do the Mavericks fit into this, too? Onyx was friendly with 'em, but not one of them. You fall asleep with no answers.

 

The next morning, you head to work (construction, right?) and it's nothing special. Long meeting planning for some bedrock demolition in Tribeca, to make a foundation for new lofts. You take a late lunch, and head to the library. Once there, a quick Internet search brings up the Kirby/Ellis MH II. You print out a copy, and take a look. There are a variety of variations, but the basics are straight forward. (See attached) That afternoon, you finish up with requisition paperwork, and filling out permit requests, before heading home. Scarfing down some Mac & Cheese, you try to figure out what your next move will be.<<<

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 9

 

From B/Impetus:

a) I knew what the Kirby-Ellis scale is (I myself still have a copy), but

it's that ol' "My character doesn't, but I do" thang.

 

While he is at the library, he'll borrow their computer (I don't see

Impetus as being rich enough to own a computer, but I do see him having a

hotmail account or something similiar) and do a couple of searches for what

Sneakers told him to look for. He'll try Altavista, Google, Yahoo!, and

AskJeeves. Anything that comes up that he can't remember, he'll pay to

print. (It did cost in NYC, last I checked.)

 

c) He'll also do a search on "The Warlord", "New York" through some local

news articles to see what comes up. If anything. I assume there are

superhero databases he can search through, if only minor ones like the

superhero tabloid equivalent of TheStar.com and NationalEnquirer.com.

 

d) After that, he'll get the number to the Mavericks... but hold off on

calling them. They are, after all, a form of authority, and he's not

entirely sure how they'll react. He will instead drop them an email telling

them that there was some form of wire in the baseboard, and he may get in

contact with them later.

 

e) After that, he'll grab a brew and a burger at a local joint, then go

find a couple of local crackhouses/gang hideouts and start bashing heads,

asking who the hell knows what happened to Onyx. (He is NOT fool enough to

start crashing around asking about The Warlord, who evidently took Onyx down

without a hitch, but if the name comes up he'll start digging in for more

information.)

 

------

 

From GM:

>>>Looking into the Mavericks, Impetus realizes that he never paid much attention to them, and isn't sure what to make of them. In many ways they are an open group, on good terms with the police, and even politically active with Mutant Rights, Community Activism like Neighborhood Watches, and even a couple of endorsements. On the other hand, nobody is sure why they do what they do. They don't have a headquarters that anyone knows about. They don't have an official roster, though most of the members are well known. They definitely don't have a "hotline" that public has access to. They do have a few different e-mail addresses, though, which are hotmail like accounts. Fan websites as well. There is no way to tell if they even read them, really. You blitz off a quick e-mail, anyway. Maybe they'll respond, maybe they won't. They definitely have an air of mystery around them.

Your search for "Find: Gabriel.help" as well, and come up with a strange little website. It simply says, "Gabriel is listening..." on a white screen, in a black and gold font. Below that is a text box where you can type a message. A small gold and black Send button finishes the page. Nothing more.

 

Later, you find yourself in a seedy run between Harlem and the Upper West side. A few blocks in either direction and you find comfortable middle income housing of the black community, or the artsy fartsy brownstones of New York's intellectuals. Here though, the crime and poverty is open to see, and no urban renaissance has touched these streets. Onyx' reach never made it this far. Crack whores and junkies are the only apparent people on the street. No families to clean the place up and the cops only come through here in pairs and in a hurry. A half soaked newspaper crawls over your foot in the evening breeze. Across the street on a stoop, is a kid no more than twelve, bundled in a puffy black coat with a hood. He's the lookout, and inside the broken looking shell of a building is a small fortress of guns and drugs and reinforced concrete. As you've watched, two skanky, emaciated women stumbled out the door, cackling loudly. They turn, heading up the street, high as kites. Briefly you catch sight of a banger just inside the door, sitting on a chair like a guard and watching a small TV. You see a shotgun standing against his thigh. Then the door shuts and it's dark again.<<<

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 10

 

From B/Impetus:

A small gold and black Send button finishes the page.

Nothing more. )))

 

Type in: "Looking for information on The Warlord, specifically regarding

his involvment with Onyx, The Mavericks, and possibly Impetus." Hit Send.

 

 

Later at the crack house...

Impetus walks up to the kid; "Yo, man, I need a jumbo. I got fi'dolla."

 

If the kid just waves me in, I'll go in, power up and Armcrush the guy with

the shotgun before looking around for other threats.

 

If he looks at me suspiciously, I'll Armcrush him and leap into the

crackhouse, kicking the door down and shouting, "Impetus is in the house!

Put yo'shit down before I'ma get mad atcha!"

 

If he tries to sell me anything himself, I will hand over the money, take

the crack, then power up softly and say: "Get out now and get off of this

shit before it kills you. This house is coming down tonight. You yell, you

goin' home without yo'dick."

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>Shrugging against the wind, you stride across the street, coming out of the shadows like a ghost. The little kid sees you half way across the street and stands up fast.

"Yo, man, I need a jumbo. I got fi'dolla." you say, and it halts his immediate flight back up the stairs.

Staring back at you through his hood, he is clearly suspicious but he watches your hands, and then stares at your face. Just as you hit the side walk, his eyes go wide and he turns to run, saying, "You ain't no junkie! King Busta! Five-O! Fi... Huuhhrrg!!"

The kid gasps, falling to the ground... a purplish sphere of energy wrapped about him and driving the air out of his lungs. You leap up the stairs. Going for the heavy, probably armored door as fast as you can. Raising your leg you bring down your dense limb hard, heel impacting just below the knob. There is a splintering of wood, the rending of steel, and the slab of a door pops the steel braced lock and swings wide with a crash.

No one is standing there, as you thought might happen. There is a small, filthy foyer with a small desk and tv and another heavy door six feet further in. As you watch the tv wobbles on the edge of the desk then falls with a crash to the floor just as the damaged door starts to swing back at you.

Catching the door with your hand, you step inside to watch as the body of the guard you had spotted, falls to the floor, groaning, from behind the door. You realize he must have been standing there, looking out the view slot, when you kicked open the door, slamming him back into the wall. He groans and twitches. The shotgun lying behind him.

Shouts come from further back in the building, and a larger face plate opens in the door ahead of you and red rimmed eyes look at you in surprise. "Who th' fuck a' you?" the man shouts, and a pistol barrel sticks through the opening at you.<<<

 

Initiative: Him, you

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 11

 

and a pistol barrel sticks through

the opening at you.<<<)))

 

I just hold perfectly still and say, "SHOOT if you gonna, mothafucka! You

ain't got no balls anyhow!" I give him a second to fire (knowing that the

average pistol is just going to bounce), then I straightarm the door back

(using a lot less strength this time -- say, 10d6), and stand in the middle

of the room waiting for people to come out. Assuming there's time and

furniture, I throw something heavy in front of the door to block them from

leaving.

 

"I'm Impetus! This house is comin' down tonight, no matter WHAT the hell

you do! And ally'all are gonna be in BIG trouble unless I get some info on

who clocked Onyx and why!"

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>"Fuck you!" yells the man behind the door, and he fires. Twice the gun roars... deafening in the small room. At the same time as a round strikes you in the chest, pinging away without effect, the second flies past your head, and then the gun clicks dead with a third pull of the trigger. Through the haze of smoke, you see the gang member pulling back his gun and looking confused at the jam (rolled an 18).

You step up, and with a wry grin, straight arm the door, palm flat. Wood splinters, and the metal lock pops, but the door barely opens a half inch. A metal brace on the other side is hanging by a screw, just barely. Behind the door, the banger jumps back, yelling, "Damn! It's a fuckin' super!!" he shouts, and some incoherent shouts come back, as well as the sounds of many people running.

With a shrug, you bust on through the doorway, into a long, filthy hallway full of trash. Open doorways line the way back toward stairs and nearly a dozen people are piling out. As you bellow your warning, the man who fired at you is running into the crowds as three other bangers with stocking caps pulled low over frightened eyes, step out raising weapons. Two have shotguns, and a third has a large revolver, probably a magnum.<<<

 

Initiatives: You, them.

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 12

 

From B/Impetus:

step out, raising weapons.

Two have shotguns, and a third has a large revolver, probably a

magnum.<<<)))

 

Impetus raises his hand, and the trash around him immediately flattens in a

three-foot semicircle as the power ripples out towards them. "You think you

bad? YOU THINK GUNS MAKE YOU BAD, YA STINKIN BUMBACLAATS? YOU THINK YOU

GONNA KEEP US DOWN FOREVER? TELL ME WHO GOT ONYX!" And I fire.

 

(Spread blast across the hallway for 11d6, assuming it goes off. With my

usual luck, this is when the whole thing shorts out.)

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>In the split second that they hesitate you gesture, almost like grabbing a handful of the palpable energy around you and hurling it at them. The power thrums through you, and then arcs out in a purplish wave, slamming into all three of them nearly simultaneously. All three go down hard, the first and third flying backward into the crowds of people. You clearly hear some bones crack. The punk in the middle takes it worse, though. The power seems to wrap around him, crushing him to the ground. Ribs and shoulder break loudly, and his face turns purple as blood is forced from his mouth. He collapses in a heap.

Ahead of you people scream in terror, running in panic back toward the stairs and perhaps a back exit, but you can't tell for sure. The smell of cordite, blood and burning chemicals fills the air. Then from a side room, pants about his ankles but an Ingram in each hand, a fifth lean muscular and rabid looking banger springs out in to the hallway. Fire and lead erupt from both barrels. .45 caliber bullets shred the air around you as well as ripping through your coat. One round slams into you, but pings away ineffectually.

 

(Damn! you've got great defenses. These guys are SO hosed.)<<<

 

Initiatives: You, him.

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

This thread is now continuing this short thread that introduced Speedball. If you haven't, read this thread before continuing here. Kinda confusing, I know... sorry.

 

From G/Speedball:

Running at top speed towards the youth with the shotgun, Speedball takes out

a couple of his juggling balls and gets ready to perform the unskilled

equivalent of a move-through: whack the guy on the head with one of the

balls and grab his shotgun when he's either stunned or knocked out cold.

After I get the gun, I'll go ahead and empty the shells out.

If the Suburban speeds off, I'll let it--I'm assuming I know where to find

Tieng, as he's my regular dealer. If it does indeed stop to check out

what's going on, I'll take out the Tieng and his thugs, keeping an eye on

the briefcase--if the opportunity arises, I'll be liberating it at the end

of the fracas.

So, if the Suburban takes off or after I've dealt with them, I'll head

inside. When I get closer to the action, I'll go desolid if I think I'm in

danger of getting myself shot at.

My objectives once in the building, in order of importance: 1) try not to

get shot 2) try and keep anyone else from getting shot 3) find the junk 4)

figure out what's going on...

 

From B/Impetus:

NOTE: I purposely made him damn near invulnerable to gunfire, as that's the

thing he'd run into the most often. Energy he's a little less sure of, but

I figured he'd be running into people with machine guns QUITE often, and he

needed something to defend against 2d6 RKA autofires.

 

Impetus gestures carelessly, even disdainfully. "Oh, you think you a man

now?" He flings out an Armcrusher around the guy, saying, "You shoot

defenseless people; I take out morons with guns."

 

-----

 

From GM:

Note: (Ok, guys, you've come together at last. I post each of your actions/perspectives individually, but at this point you'll now be able to read the other guy's perspective as well. Yes, the player will know things that the character doesn't, but I trust you both to role play accordingly. Below my post will be both of your latest posts, but please copy everyone, when you post. Eventually there could be as many as six people (five players plus me) on this, so coordinating is tough.)

 

>>>Impetus: You reach out with your hand, and clench your fist. The energy field around you coalesces, and then solidifies around the punk, crushing his arms to his sides, driving the gun barrels down, and causing him to gasp and collapse on the floor, wrapped in a violet glow.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" he cries, trying to get his breath, and staring at you wildly. "Wha' th' fuck you cryin' 'bout, man? Onyx 'n' shit? Wha' th' fuck I know about tha' big n*****!?!?" he asks, as you step toward him.

Most of the other people are piling out the back of the house at this point, except for the three guys you laid out who are sprawled in the hallway. The noise level drops, though your ears are still ringing from the gun fire.

 

Speedball: You kick it and go, sprinting for the door and feeling the juice flow. The street blurs as you race past Tieng's SUV and then past the small crowd gathering on the sidewalk. Five people blink and jump as you kick up wind around them. Then you are up the stairs. The punk you are going for already looks dazed and doesn't even see you coming. As you zip past him, to skid into the open doorway, your hand lashes out and you hard dribble one of your yellowing cue balls against his chest. (Move by, w/HtH attack)

The kid gasps, clutching his chest and staggering, falling to his butt with a choking sound. You are pretty sure you hear ribs crack, as well. You stop in a small foyer between two smashed doors, the external and internal armored doors. Before you can reach for the shotgun dropped by the gangster you hit, you spot a really large black man with dreads and a heavy overcoat, standing with his back to you. His overcoat looks to have been shot up, with tears and bullet holes. Strangely, the man himself seems to have a purplish glow about him and you can see that he is floating about two inches off the floor. He is engaged in yelling at somebody on the floor in front of him, but you are blocked from seeing who by his large frame. He doesn't seem to have any idea you are there.<<<

 

Initiatives for the next round: Speedball (1st), Impetus, badguys, Speedball (2nd)

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 14

 

From B/Impetus:

I grab the punk by the chest and drag his immobile body closer: "I think

you BETTA know, 'cuz I'm gonna question you -- and every other dealer in

this neighborhood -- until I get an answer on who waxed Onyx. Either way,

the biz in the town is gonna dip drastically, 'cuz I'm shutting down ALL the

labs until I get ansas. You hear?" And I'll look around; if I see the

crack lab hanging around (you mentioned the smell of burning chemicals, so I

assume there's one nearby), and there's nobody near it, I'll blast down at

it with a full-force beam. If not, I spend the rest of my phase looking for

it, also taking a look at the kid to see how badly he's hurt.

 

If someone, say, chooses to interrupt me, then I'm just going to ignore him

unless I take a body. At this point, Impetus is going for effect, and

casually ignoring any threats is only going to add to his appeal. Of

course, whatever Speedball chooses to do on his second action may change

that.

 

From G/Speedball:

I'll go ahead and follow through with my idea to pick up the shotgun and

pump out the shells. Next, I'll attract the attention of the big guy in the

doorway--I'm thinking its Onyx, but not certain (since I don't think I've

heard that he hovers...), so I'll just go desolid again and say "is this is

private party, or can anyone join in?" and wait for him to respond, cue ball

in one hand, shotgun in the other.

(Point of clarification--did the SUV drive off? If not,then I'll want to

keep an eye on them.)

 

 

From B/Impetus:

Wanna do me a favor and tell me exactly what it is I see when I turn around?

You've already got the basic gist of Impetus; huge, imposing black guy in a

trenchcoat, with a purple nimbus of energy playing around him.

 

From G/Speedball:

When you turn around you see a man in an old Columbia sweatshirt, plain

black mask and gloves, and black windbreaker-type running pants. You also

notice he's holding a shotgun in his left hand and is tossing what appears

to be a cueball up into the air from his right hand, like the old-time

gangsters used to toss a quarter.

 

-----

 

From GM: (Note, from the above descriptions, I think the players were hoping for a "when heroes first meet, they must fight!" scenario! )

 

Note: (I'll throw in description that might be lacking at times, but feel free to describe your selves as well. Just describe your own actions, and I'll fill in anything I think was left missing. Now, onward...)

 

>>>Speedball: With rapid fire motions you jack the shells of the shotgun out and onto the steps. At the same time, you turn glancing back, over the group crowded on the sidewalk, toward Tieng's SUV. You see that it is pulling slowly past, side windows are down, halfway, and surprised eyes watch the scene. Around you, shells "pok!" and "tak!" as they hit the ground and spin down the steps. You look back to see the big guy haul an obvious gang banger in front of him, and start bellowing questions at him.

 

Impetus: The punk is scared, but trying to tough it out. He just shakes his head, saying "Dunno nuthin' Onyx got hit by summin' else. We didn' do shit. Jus' try an' stay away from th' mutha. Tha's all." All your shaking and threatening doesn't get any more out of him. It's likely he doesn't know anything at all.

From behind then, you realize someone just called out to you. There is no obvious threat or clear crack lab in the immediate area, so you look back, and see the gentleman described below. His voice hums, and it's hard to see details. Looks like some kind of street punk with a shotgun, but he seems to be... vibrating... as well. He's hazy, and shaky. Blurred to your sight. He sounds like a white guy though.

 

Speedball: Concentrating, you burn more juice (and you burn a LOT of juice going desolid. You can't do it forever.) vibrating your self to intangibility. It takes more concentration to hold onto object and vibrate them as well. If the object is too big, you can't do it, and it drops out of your hands. T

The big man finally turns toward you, glaring through his dreads he watches you for a moment, but continues looking around the hallway, and the couple of rooms close by. At his feet are three other gang members, one of them looking really badly hurt, with blood coming out his mouth. Other than that, he seems to be waiting on what action you will take.<<<

 

Initiatives: Speedball, Impetus

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 15

 

From B/Impetus:

I'm assuming that we can talk at any time and don't have to wait for

initiative, so:

 

Impetus shrugs his massive shoulders and turns around, a faint haze of

violet streaming off of him. He drops the punk casually to the floor, the

'bangers arms still glued to his sides by a solid band of glimmering purple,

and says, jerking his head towards the injured guy: "Yeah. You know

medicine? This guy needs some serious help. If not, then tell me what

'choo here faw."

 

I'll walk towards him, eyeing him casually, waiting to see which way he

jumps. Not necessarily threatening, but then again Impetus kind of exudes a

glowering menace at the best of times. If the guy leaves the room, he'll

assume that he's seen (or knows) something that Impetus doesn't, and will

follow.

 

From G/Speedball:

Going solid (assuming by now Tieng's SUV has rolled off--they aren't likely

to want to get involved with a couple of paranormals just for a drug deal) I

say "I'm probably here for the same reasons you are, big guy--I don't like

dealers." Addressing the punk, Speedball says "who's in charge here and

where's the junk he's holding? There's a lot of it--a suitcase-full at

least. Tell me or I let my friend here bounce you off the walls for fun."

If the punk gives up the info, I take off at top speed (still solid) to

where he says it is, telling the big guy to follow me and try not to kill

anyone on the way up.

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>Speedball: The punk looks at you, scared for a second, then says, "Th' shits down stai's" and sort of nods toward the back of the building. Immediately, you sprint off down the hallway, sidestepping the big glowing guy, and hopping over the sprawled thugs. At the back of the building, stairs go up and down, banisters barely held into the floor. Skidding hard, you turn and spin down stairs, nearly tripping as you pull up before running into another sealed door. The acrid smell of burning chemicals is really strong here. Most likely there is a crack lab beyond the door. Upstairs you hear the crunch of doors being opened and the floor creaks like a constant pressure is being put on it.

 

Impetus: The guy suddenly snaps into clearer view, still looking like a strung out street punk himself, though his face is covered by a hooded sweatshirt. He yells questions at the gangster in your hands, who directs him downstairs for the crack lab.

Suddenly he is past you, moving faster than anyone you've ever seen, shooting down the hallway toward the stairs. As he goes, he yells something at you, like, "Followmeandtrynottokillanyoneontheway!!!!" before disappearing down the stairs in the back. Cautiously you begin to move after him, pushing open a couple of the closed doors around you. The rooms are scummy smoking rooms with ratty mattresses. One has a woman, unconscious or dead, lying in the corner. Smells of piss and vomit rankle your nose. At the end of the hallway, you see the two sets of stairs going up and down. Past them is a door, probably leading to a back way out. For the moment it is quiet, though you think you hear movement upstairs as well.<<<

 

Impetus has half action still, then next round initiative: Speedball, Impetus, Speedball

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 16

 

From B/Impetus:

Impetus nails the punk with a furious look and says, "You go call an

ambulance fo yo' friend here -- 'cuz if he dies, I will hunt you down and do

far worse to you than I did to him. I can make yo' heart collapse without

even skippin' a breath, beeyotch." And without saying another word, I

dissolve the bonds that hold him and set him free.

 

Neil: What I'd like to do is just stomp on the floor and go straight down

to the basement, but I want to do it without collapsing the whole damn place

in or instantly killing anyone who's underneath me. Can I make a

Demolitions roll to do that relatively safely, or is there something else

going on? I assume I know there's some sort of basement underneath my feet,

as generally NYC basements (and particularly tenement basements) are spread

across the entire building's surface. That'd be my last half-action.

 

If I can't do that, then I'll just Superleap down the stairs. Sigh. I'll

decide what I do when I see what's down there.

 

From G/Speedball:

Speedball, knowing he's lost the element of surprise due to all the noise,

decides to forget about subtlety. He goes desolid just long enough to get

through the door and moves to take out anyone in the room behind it. I'm

assuming that Captain Dreadlocks will be opening the door behind me and will

act as reinforcements if I encounter too many guys to take care of

myself--I'm feeling cocky and I can't let the opportunity to score a whole

of shit pass me by when I'm low myself. If taking out whomever is in the

room takes less than the two actions, I'll begin checking the area for junk.

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>Impetus: Judging the support walls, and the older design of the building, you shift from the center of the hallway to the edges, and let your gravitational field dissipate, settling your massive form to the floor, which causes a painful 'CCRRREEEAAKKKK!!!" through the wood and plaster. Gingerly, for a superhuman, you scuff the floor with your boots, causing the building to shake, and dust to rain down from the ceiling. With that slight kick, your heel cracks the old tile floor, and send pieces scattering. You realize that it won't take much to demolish the interior walls, though the external facade is strong and dense.

 

Speedball: Just as you start to vibrate up again to go through the door, the building shakes and creaks, with dust jetting from cracks in the ceiling and walls. Quickly, you get up to speed, and step through the door. Inside is a hazy, stink filled room. It's difficult to see, though right in front of you are two men in rubber aprons, filtered masks, and goggles, staring at you in surprise. One has a mini-Uzi in hand, and the other some test tubes and glass ware. The basement is wide and low, extending beyond your immediate sight, but you get the impression that there are others in here.

The banger levels the UZI at you, just as you snap solid. Your nostrils and eyes start to burn almost immediately but in the blink of time it takes him to begin to pull the trigger you shoot forward the six feet, and with a wide swinging motion, slam the butt of the shotgun across the guys face. He drops to the ground, clutching his nose and dropping the gun with clatter. The guy behind him you see begin backing away, dropping glass vials which shatter on the floor. Behind you, outside the door, there is a horrendous crash and the whole building shakes, again.

 

Impetus: Feeling that you have a good chance of collapsing the floor if you continue to put your weight on it, you move to the stairwell, and casually step through the decaying banister, and drop to the concrete steps below. You see no sign of anyone but a closed door is at the bottom. You land with a huge impact, your mass nearly pulverizing the stairs you land on, and causing cracks to 'star' up each side of the concrete stairwell. Adjusting to the unsure footing and brushing the dust from your eyes you suddenly hear "Ting!" "clink" "kchunk", "rrtttlclunk" as something drops from above to land right at your feet. Glancing down you see it is a hand grenade with the pin pulled. Glancing up, you see a dark face looking down from an upstairs railing and then jerking back out of view. After a second, the grenade goes off! Fire and shrapnel tear around you, shredding your coat completely, but the impact is nothing more than a kick. (You almost lose your dreads, though.) (after all defenses, you take 3 stun)

 

Speedball: An even bigger crash, this time more like an explosion, throws you off balance, and again shakes the building. The door you just came through buckles but doesn't' break. The punk in front of you goes to one knee. Shouts come from deeper in to the room. Immediately around you there is no evidence of drugs and definitely no sign of what you are looking for.<<<

 

Initiatives: Speedball second action still, then Speedball (1st), Impetus, Speedball (2nd)

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 17

 

From B/Impetus:

Neil: Did the kid actually seem to listen and/or leave, or did he just

stand there dumbly? I do need to know. If the kid who threw the grenade

was the kid I just spoke to, I'm going back after him.

 

Push through the door (which should be weakened enough to just push open,

for me) and step through. Depending on the people:

 

1) If there's a crowd of punks, I spread the blast and weaken it (this time

to 10d6) and fire where I can do the most damage. (I know there's no chem

lab, at least not that I can see, but if I DO notice one I blast it full

force.)

 

2) If there's one or two punks too spread out to really grab, I'll Armcrush

one and shrug off the other's attack. Ain't nothing I can do, because I

don't want to kill.

 

3) If Speedball says anything vaguely coherent like, "The lab's not down

here," then I'll leap back upstairs and look for the kid with the grenade.

HE knows where the shit is.

 

Anything else, I may have to wing it.

 

From G/Speedball:

"Impetus! Don't blow anything up--the police will need it as evidence!"

 

Getting up as much speed as possible in this enclosed space, Speedball takes

a a quick tour of the basement to see who and what is here. Anyone with a

gun is my first target--the others I'll leave be for now unless they try to

leave (which will be difficult, since they'll have to go through Impetus).

I'll go ahead using the shotgun in the same manner as I did on the first

thug.

I am growing near desperate to find what I came for. If my Streetwise skill

might give me any idea where the heroin might be, I'll follow my hunch. I'd

probably be looking for an office where Tieng was heading to make the deal.

If no glimmer of hope appears as to the whereabouts of the heroin, I'll use

a combination of my persuasion and good, old fashioned threats to get as

much info out of one of the scientist-types as possible.

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>Speedball: You start tearing around the basement, and quickly realize that it is bigger than you first thought. Walls have been busted out to extend the area into surrounding basements. And through the haze and dust, you see a number of people. Coming up between two tables which hold measuring trays and empty glass vials, a banger with a heavy caliber pistol is turning back from shoving something in his pockets, and doesn't even see you coming. The gun butt cracks across the back of his skull, and his face goes down onto the table, before bouncing sideways and down. From his pocket spill a number of full crack vials.

Continuing around a thick stone support beam, you come into an open area lit by neon lights. This is clearly the actual lab area of the underground. Unfortunately, this seems to be the place where some of the gang members decided to make a stand. At least six weapons are leveled at the doorway. You can't stop moving, so you jerk down low, continuing heading forward as shouts and swears go up. Then a roar of automatic gunfire fills the air. A wall of lead rips toward you. (Remaining 1/2 action move by, half move run, DODGE! As badguys have held action fire!)

 

Impetus: When you left the first punk, you saw him just stare after you, and then lean over his hurt buddy as you leapt down stairs. The face of the one who dropped the grenade was another guy, and it came from the 2nd or 3rd floor, not just above you.

Ears still ringing from the explosion, you step forward and kick the door open. It had survived the explosion rather well, but slams open under your foot. You nearly clip another guy as it crashes into the wall. Immediately, the acrid burn of a drug lab hits your nose. The tables immediately in front of you are empty, but the work must be going on farther back inside. The punk cringing away from you is wearing the rubber apron, gloves and mask of someone who works with chemicals.

At that point you realize that the ringing sound is not just in your ears, but is the sound of multiple gunshots coming from farther inside off to your left. There are no immediate targets except for the guy nearby, who is making no violent actions. You casually wrap him in violet energy, and he collapses under the pressure, bug eyed and scared.

 

Speedball: The hail of lead blasts past you as you tuck low, for a brief moment it's almost as if you can see the bullets coming, and for a millisecond you think you might be too slow... you catch the high pitched humming of a bullet so near your ear you think you feel the heat of it's passing...

... and then you are under them all and coming up fast and hard toward the nearest gunman. With his arms out stretched, bracing the .45 Colt like a target shooter, he almost doesn't see you before you spin the shotgun like a baton and come hard across his temple. He spins away, dropping like dead weight, the gun flying from his hand. Around you, guns are still going off in rapid fire, but you are now in the middle of them and they haven't adjusted to try and track you, yet. There are five others, and beyond them lots of chemical equipment and what looks like some make shift desks beyond that. <<<

 

Initiatives: Speedball (1st), Impetus (1st), Badguys, Speedball (2nd), Impetus (2nd)

[RDU Neil]

Re: PBEM - RDU: The Mavericks - IMPETUS TIE IN

 

Post 18

 

From G/Speedball:

Keeping in the middle of the thugs as much as possible (to confuse them and

increase the chances that their fire will hit the other thugs) Speedball

decides to kick some old school, comic book-style ass, using the shotgun

butt to knock some sense into these guys. Speedball isn't much for fancy

karate moves, so the shotgun will have to do for now. If the shotgun gets

bent out of shape or is otherwise made unusable, I'll use my trusty

cueballs.

I'm assuming that it'll take me at least two phases to put these guys on hte

floor and in a state where they're more likely to tell me what i need to

know. I'll hold the questions until i know they're no threat to me.

Still trying to keep an eye out for the stuff. I don't give a shit about

the crack; I need my horse!

 

From B/Impetus:

This one's simple: Impetus strides into the room off to the left and begins

kicking ass himself. The first punk who points a gun at him will

immediately be slammed from behind by a hail of crack vials (my 9d6 Indirect

blast, which needs some sort of rubble or loose stuff around -- this should

do nicely).

 

-----

 

From GM:

>>>Speedball: Ducking in close to the nearest punk, you ram the gun butt into his stomach, then slam the barrel up and into his forehead as he doubles over. His head snaps back, and he flies back a couple of meters to sprawl on the ground. Next to him, his buddy is only just registering that you are next to him, and not in front. He's still firing wildly back the way you came. Behind you though, the three other punks are swinging around toward you. One of them has a AR-15, fully automatic assault rifle.

 

Impetus: Charging around the corner you try to focus through the dust and smoke, trying as well to figure out exactly where the roar of gunfire is coming from. The basement is bigger than you first assumed, but the muzzle flashes ahead of you send you charging toward them. You brush tables aside, as you can't leap without slamming into the low, concrete slab ceiling. Just at the end of your run you kick down some cheap plywood partition, and stride right into a hail of gunfire. One slug careens off your shoulder and you barely notice. Ten feet away, through the actual crack lab itself, three guys are blazing away with a handgun, a mini-Uzi, and an AR-15. Just to the left, caught in the hail of bullets is the weird fast guy and a gang punk who is ducking and screaming for his mother!

 

Speedball: Two things happen. Five feet to your left, the big rasta guy from upstairs suddenly comes smashing through a plywood wall, walking into a hail of gunfire like it was a summer rain. At the same moment something impacts HARD right in your back, and you are slammed to the ground with a burning sensation taking your breath away. One of those sumbitches actually hit you! It hurts, too! (10 Body, 30 Stun, you take 4 Body, and 19 Stun, not CON stunned at least.)

Next to you, the punk you were about to take out is ducking and cowering and screaming, "Oh SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT!! Motha! I'm gonna DIE!" As bullets slam into the wall around him. Miraculously none hit him, as he crouches next to you. In pain, you lash out with your fist , a cueball clenched in your fingers. Two rabbit punches to the nose (special effect, you really only hit him once) and he rolls over on his back stunned and clutching his face.

 

Impetus: The fast punk is down, but not out. He just slugged the banger on the ground, but you see a bullet hole in the back of his sweat shirt. Another round smacks your chest, also bouncing off to bury itself in a table top. You fight back a sneeze as drug powder dust and gun smoke swirls around you. You wave your hand as if in contempt, and suddenly crack vials, shell casings, and various chemical lab implements fling themselves at the man with the assault rifle. The impact doubles him over backwards, and carries him up and over the table to slam him into the stone post next to you. He drops to the floor like a sack of wet cement. Pieces of glass and metal are imbedded in and ugly shotgun pattern in his back. The other two punks have stopped shooting, and gape in surprise, looking behind them for the source of the attack.<<<

 

Initiative: Speedball (1st), Impetus, bad guys, Speedball (2nd)