WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

[SKJAM!]

Okay, this one is aimed primarily at street level characters, though as usual anyone may answer.

 

Your character is approached by Power Fist, who said character will probably remember as the hometown superhero of Cesspool City until he disappeared a few years back. He meets any inquiries about that disappearance with the words "secret identity stuff, don't ask" and moves on to why he's here.

 

He sketches in some background: Cesspool City has been a disaster area for decades, rife with corruption and crime. Initially, Power Fist tried to clean it up all by himself, and failed miserably. Every time he put a crook away, their place was just taken by another, usually worse.

 

Then Power Fist made contact with the Upright Brotherhood. While still criminals, they had something of a code of honor, and seemed genuinely interested in civic improvement. That, and Power Fist fell in love with the leader's sister. He allied with the gang, eliminating their competition, and quietly helping them take control of Cesspool City's underworld.

 

Once the Brotherhood was firmly in charge, the city seemed to be working better, and Power Fist was able to take care of his "secret identity stuff."

 

However, in the last six months, a new gang, the Rats, have moved in on Cesspool City. They've brought in high-powered talent and massive amounts of money and drugs, and succeeded in unseating the Brotherhood as leaders of the underworld. The Brotherhood's leader and his sister are MIA and feared dead, half the Brotherhood's membership is in the hospital or morgue, and the few honest officials of Cesspool City are under political or criminal attack.

 

So, Power Fist is back in action. But after a quick recon foray, he's aware he can't handle the situation himself and is looking for an ally. What may make this problematic is that his plan is to kill off the Rats and reinstall the Upright Brotherhood. He's only interested in an alliance with your character if things are handled "my way."

 

What would your character do?

SKJAM!

[Blue]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Anthem would never condone murder of criminals. She'd go so far as to tell him if she hears about one of the Rats dying that she'll be the one to haul him in personally.

 

Lectures about choosing a lesser evil are lost on guys like this, so she wouldn't bother with that. This guy is going to do what he wants. And she's going to be there to foil any attempts at murder, even going so far as to follow him if necessary. She'd try and work the streets and find out information same way he would, although she'd have a tougher time with no contacts in that city.

[Whitewings]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Except for Ika, who wouldn't even understand the request, all of my characters would think about it, and say no. This is nothing more nor less than the gang wars of 1920s Chicago come back.

[Trebuchet]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Justicar is a Catholic priest in his Secret ID, and there's no way he'd tolerate Power Fist bumping off gangsters. He'd just see Power Fist as a costumed hit man working for another gang. He'd probably bust Power Fist and then get back to work fighting the mob in his usual fashion.

 

Zl'f probably wouldn't understand what Power Fist is proposing (being the exact opposite of streetwise), but once she did she'd take him down and turn him over to the authorities.

[SKJAM!]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Anthem would never condone murder of criminals. She'd go so far as to tell him if she hears about one of the Rats dying that she'll be the one to haul him in personally.

 

 

"You will do you must. But if you are not part of the solution, then you will become part of the problem. If you come to my city with that attitude, things will only get worse."

[assault]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

So' date=' Power Fist is back in action. But after a quick recon foray, he's aware he can't handle the situation himself and is looking for an ally. What may make this problematic is that his plan is to kill off the Rats and reinstall the Upright Brotherhood. He's only interested in an alliance with your character if things are handled "my way."[/quote']

 

No deal. Power Fist is essentially just another gangster.

 

Of course, Assault doesn't usually operate at this level anyway. He's no friend of the cops, but he doesn't feel the need to do their job for them either.

 

As for Boomerang, leader of The World's Greatest Superhero Team!, well... he's definitely more interested in street level stuff (at least when he's not saving the world), and would be more likely than Assault to get involved. I can't see him making a deal with Power Fist, though.

[McCoy]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Millennium "The lesser of two evils is still evil. You were a hero once, you can be again. Don't the children deserve a better role model than a gangster?"

 

Cheeta "I don't always follow the rules, but I'm not that stupid. If you're going to put the civilians at risk with a gang war, let's get rid of both sides."

 

Iron Will TK's a computer printout to Power Fist hand. "Here's the times and locations of the Rat's next three drug shipments. Feel free to stop them, but the Upright Brotherhood is going out of business as well. The next Rat you kill, you, your girlfriend, and her brother are all getting audited by the IRS."

 

Snow Leopard Inhales, obviously. "I'm a romantic. I'll help you find your girlfriend before you turn yourself in. By the way, I have your scent now, so if you plan to hide in your Secret ID I can probably find you faster in that than I can if you stay in uniform."

 

Dolphin "Killing leads to more killing. To balance your karma, those who you kill in this incarnation may kill you in future incarnations. The cycle can be broken, but only if decide to step off the wheel."

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Blackcat would beat him senseless, and put him in a hole somewhere, with the admonission "You crossed the line, you became like them. Let me show you how it is done"

 

She then moves to Cesspool city and cleans it up (possibly calling in help from her old team), to show him how to do it without killing. Her significant other is a reformed martial arts villian, so she understands his plight about his lady, and does her dangdest to find said woman.

[Guest HeroPink!]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Okay, this one is aimed primarily at street level characters, though as usual anyone may answer.

 

Your character is approached by Power Fist, who said character will probably remember as the hometown superhero of Cesspool City until he disappeared a few years back. He meets any inquiries about that disappearance with the words "secret identity stuff, don't ask" and moves on to why he's here.

 

He sketches in some background: Cesspool City has been a disaster area for decades, rife with corruption and crime. Initially, Power Fist tried to clean it up all by himself, and failed miserably. Every time he put a crook away, their place was just taken by another, usually worse.

 

Then Power Fist made contact with the Upright Brotherhood. While still criminals, they had something of a code of honor, and seemed genuinely interested in civic improvement. That, and Power Fist fell in love with the leader's sister. He allied with the gang, eliminating their competition, and quietly helping them take control of Cesspool City's underworld.

 

Once the Brotherhood was firmly in charge, the city seemed to be working better, and Power Fist was able to take care of his "secret identity stuff."

 

However, in the last six months, a new gang, the Rats, have moved in on Cesspool City. They've brought in high-powered talent and massive amounts of money and drugs, and succeeded in unseating the Brotherhood as leaders of the underworld. The Brotherhood's leader and his sister are MIA and feared dead, half the Brotherhood's membership is in the hospital or morgue, and the few honest officials of Cesspool City are under political or criminal attack.

 

So, Power Fist is back in action. But after a quick recon foray, he's aware he can't handle the situation himself and is looking for an ally. What may make this problematic is that his plan is to kill off the Rats and reinstall the Upright Brotherhood. He's only interested in an alliance with your character if things are handled "my way."

 

What would your character do?

SKJAM!

 

Glarg: I'd love to RP PowerJerk trying to explain all this bumf to Glarg.

 

Panweesio: With control of perception and "perceivables"; when Paweesio asks questions, PowerJerk answers. Drain him of everything he knows re. the Uptights and the Rots, and (dis)honest cops, DAs, etc. When PowerJerk is dry, send useful info to the the honest authorities in C. City, and both gangs go down hard.

 

Thena: Brush him off, then tell everything she knows to cops in her town, let them forward the info to C. City.

 

Lana van Hoom: Look at PowerJerk like he's nuts; maybe remind him she's the worlds best known "super under the thumb of her national govt." Tell everything to her FBI "handler" (mostly cause she figures 80%+ chance it's a set up to test her "loyalty").

[Duke Bushido]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

All characters:

 

Do what they can to prevent Power Fist from aligning himself with any criminal group, and undertake to stop both the Rats and the Brotherhood.

 

I do not have any heroes that condone killing or accept a 'lesser of evils' as a solution to anything. Even if forced to accept such a thing, they would spend their lives trying to solve it.

[SKJAM!]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Millennium "The lesser of two evils is still evil. You were a hero once' date=' you can be again. Don't the children deserve a better role model than a gangster?"[/quote']

 

"Certainly. Once one can be found. It'll be lots easier once there's peace in the city again."

 

Cheeta "I don't always follow the rules, but I'm not that stupid. If you're going to put the civilians at risk with a gang war, let's get rid of both sides."

 

"And return the city to the open warfare among dozens of gangs I found it in? That seems like a step backwards."

 

Iron Will TK's a computer printout to Power Fist hand. "Here's the times and locations of the Rat's next three drug shipments. Feel free to stop them, but the Upright Brotherhood is going out of business as well. The next Rat you kill, you, your girlfriend, and her brother are all getting audited by the IRS."

 

"Hmm...since in order to audit them properly, the IRS will have to locate them, this might be a worthwhile bargain."

 

Snow Leopard Inhales, obviously. "I'm a romantic. I'll help you find your girlfriend before you turn yourself in. By the way, I have your scent now, so if you plan to hide in your Secret ID I can probably find you faster in that than I can if you stay in uniform."

 

"Oh, you have a good nose too?" (Is basing Power Fist on a manga character from Fist of the Blue Sky, for what it matters.) "And I'm certainly not turning myself in until the city is safe."

 

Dolphin "Killing leads to more killing. To balance your karma, those who you kill in this incarnation may kill you in future incarnations. The cycle can be broken, but only if decide to step off the wheel."

 

"That is a problem for my next incarnation."

[Chuckg]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Starguard would not even be approached with such an offer unless the other guy was either certifiably crackers or more ignorant than rocks. Her CvK is legend.

 

Dr. Pain would go along with the gag just long enough to check out his suspicion that Power Fist had been seduced by the opulent lifestyle of a crime boss, and was only rationalizing that he was still one of the good guys. Note that 'just long enough' equals 'before somebody dies'.

 

Should his suspicion (or any other suspicions) pan out, time to drop the Pain Injection on somebody's face. Should the guy actually be sincere, well, here's the # of a really good lawyer (Dr. Pain's) and have you considered that the best solution to your problem is to invite more superheroes to your city, not escalating to mass murder? There's more than a few independents out there on the road who might be interested...

 

Baron von Darien has no moral qualms that would interfere here, but is far too busy with his own quest against supernatural evil and other things that go bump in the fragile walls of reality between Assiah and Yetzirah, Briah, etc, etc. to start another full-time crusade vs. gangsters. OTOH, he'd hand Power Fist some useful advice re: long obsessive quests involving lots of guilty people dying, the Baron being a longtime professional in such matters.

[Blue]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

"You will do you must. But if you are not part of the solution' date=' then you will become part of the problem. If you come to my city with that attitude, things will only get worse."[/quote']

"It's not your city; You're merely a guardian. Protecting people isn't supposed to be a matter of taking the easy way out. There are plenty of dictatorships in the world that rare harsh on crime. And I've been threatened by bigger than you."

[dbsousa]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Bouncer "Clearly, you and I disagree about how to fight crime. So why don't we skip the part where we fight and I knock you out, and go right to the part where you learn a valuable lesson and change your ways?"

 

Toreador "Mi amigo, you have become that which you despise... I cannot abide a bully merely because he believes he is right. All bullies believe they are right. Prepeare to be subdued..."

 

Golden Eagle"I have taken the liberty of sending a video and audio broadcast of our conversation to the police and channel 5. If you surrender now, you can avoid a scene."

 

Revenant"We share an approach and an enemy. Perhaps you would like to join our Midnight Syndicate..."

[Publius]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Jack Malleus would want to see a picture of the girlfriend, preferrably a boudoir picture, before committing himself fully. Okay, maybe he would do it anyway but getting a look at the broad that seduced Power Fist over to the grey side would be a bonus. He would say...

 

"I understand what you are trying to do better than you do yourself Kid. Why do you need someone else to do the job you see needs doing yourself though? Tell you what, first let's gas up the dingy and take the Rats out to see Alfredo, then we'll talk..."

 

Jack is one of those long-lived types who has gone through good and bad cycles in the past (a la Shade without the psychosis), so he has actually been a Criminal Mastermind (he will feature in some of my Pulp Hero games if I can ever get one off the ground), as well as being the head of a criminal organization which more or less performed the same function as the Upright Brotherhood as well as a hero and an "Average Joe Private Dick". Presently he isn;t finished playing the hero. Thus he would go along and try to convince Power Fist to do the dirty work himself rather than prop up someone else that are more or less outside of control (I realize that 'Secret ID stuff will probably prvent him from doing this but Jack will try anyway). If things go bad, Jack will think (whether accurate or not) that he can always kill Power Fist/Upright Brotherhood/Next Guy later. Or outlive 'em. I hear that Brazil is nice this time of year, and those Brazilian chics melt in your mouth like bonbons.

[McCoy]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Bouncer "Clearly' date=' you and I disagree about how to fight crime. So why don't we skip the part where we fight and I knock you out, and go right to the part where you learn a valuable lesson and change your ways?"[/quote']

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to dbsousa again."

 

Millennium so has to steal, um, borrow that!

[Zed-F]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Soulbarb is going to want to know just how Power Fist tracked her down before she does anything else. She's not really in a position to be able to help him anyway, seeing as she can't really leave her home town. Best she can do is give him some advice. She's pragmatic enough to know that you can never get rid of all the scum, but you can certainly try to keep a lid on things so they don't get out of hand.

 

"Well, here we have the usual mess of gangs and so far I haven't had too much trouble with them. I think it helps if you keep tabs on the leadership of each of them and make sure they're led by guys who know that the most successful parasites are the ones that don't kill their hosts, ya know? One of them gets too rough on the people in his turf, I'd bust in on the head guy, pick him up and drop him off with the cops, kind of a surgical strike, ok? That usually forces them to lay low and reorganize for a bit, and keep a lower profile next time. The smart gang leaders tend not to gamble with their own personal power, and keep the lid on. In your case, part of the problem is that you let the Upright Brotherhood get so powerful to begin with, only another really powerful gang could possibly take them on. That makes it harder for you to deal with the problem now that the Rats are getting too big for their britches. Still, if you can sneak in and arrange to pick up their leadership without having to fight the whole gang at once, things might disorganize enough that the Upright Brotherhood and other gangs can stake some claims, which will break the problem up into more manageable chunks. Where you go from there is up to you, but if you let the Upright Brotherhood take the whole pie again you're risking someone like the Rats making a move on the whole shooting match at once again.

 

Now, if the local cops are all corrupt, you might want to think about calling PRIMUS in. I dunno about your area but around here they seem to be pretty good at making sure the guys I take off the street stay off the street. One thing I can tell you that if you start popping guys left right and center, then you're gonna get labelled as a mass murderer pretty quick, and you won't be able to get any help from the feds -- instead they'll be tracking you down, and that will make it a lot harder to clean up your town, not easier. You might be able to get away with killing one guy, or a few, but anyone who kills and keeps on killing eventually gets caught. So, while I can appreciate you want revenge for sending your girlfriend into hiding, personally I think the whole killing angle is only going to hurt your efforts."

 

Basically she'll try and persuade him to moderate his efforts not by telling him that it's wrong, but by telling him it's impractical.

 

Cerulean doesn't usually work at the street level, but he certainly would not be happy about Power Fist's plan to kill the Rats. If he can't persuade Power Fist to abandon that approach, he'll be forced to restrain him, take him back to the Spire, and bring the matter to the attention of the local Silver Avenger.

[ghost-angel]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Jessica - "What? Did you go stupid? No, don't answer that, you probably started that way. Look, I'm all for munching on the cattle, but really it's not right. And we should be taking the high road here. Setting an example and all that. Go patrol somewhere before I get made and hurt you. Sheeh, AND DON'T KILL ANYONE. It's easier to break down the organization and send the ring leaders to prison you know. The kids, the little guys out there don't give a crap about the whole thing. To them it's just a big pack. Now, shoo."

 

Silence - Never kills, and now knowing that he wishes to kill can't let him go. She will simply shake her head and then subdue him, starting with a nice surprise attack. When he wakes up a note pinned to his chest will be politely explaining that if he does kill anyone she will be back and will be dragging him off in chains if needed, and that possibly he may wish to look for a more peaceful resolution.

[McCoy]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

"Hmm...since in order to audit them properly' date=' the IRS will have to locate them, this might be a worthwhile bargain."[/quote']

Actually I don't think they do, they just send notification to the last know address. But Iron Will has been practicing with clairvoyance a lot lately, he will be willing to look for them.

[Chuckg]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

"You will do you must. But if you are not part of the solution' date=' then you will become part of the problem. If you come to my city with that attitude, things will only get worse."[/quote']

 

Starguard -- "Do you say the same things to people who live in your city? Or to the police? Or to, well, anyone? You're caring so much that you're hurting yourself and everybody else. Please, stop before you finish becoming a supervillain."

 

Dr. Pain -- "Say what? OK, Power Trip. It's on."

 

Baron von Darien -- *a dry snapping sound, as of a human neck breaking... and not the Baron's*

 

... yes, he really did just kill the person he was talking to. It's been known to happen occasionally.

[CBikle]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Enigma: "Lets try and find your sister first and that might be easier if we don't leave a trail of dead Rats gangmembers."

[Lethosos]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Queen of Spades: "You what? Look, I'm pretty busy with Vibora Bay, but if you're looking to break a few necks, I may have to break yours. That's not the way the system works, buddy. I'm willing to overlook your past assocation with those honor-bound criminals, but I would drop them like a hot potato right here, right now. Since you're fighting a one-man war, you'll lose the battle of consience very easily. I would suggest weeding the ethics garden and go hunt for independants to start your own little team. Then look out for each other, and you'll find yourself a better man in the long run.

 

You got the word, hear?"

[SKJAM!]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

 

Dr. Pain would go along with the gag just long enough to check out his suspicion that Power Fist had been seduced by the opulent lifestyle of a crime boss, and was only rationalizing that he was still one of the good guys. Note that 'just long enough' equals 'before somebody dies'.

 

Should his suspicion (or any other suspicions) pan out, time to drop the Pain Injection on somebody's face. Should the guy actually be sincere, well, here's the # of a really good lawyer (Dr. Pain's) and have you considered that the best solution to your problem is to invite more superheroes to your city, not escalating to mass murder? There's more than a few independents out there on the road who might be interested...

 

If followed around Cesspool City, Power Fist appears to be a fairly ascetic fellow who doesn't indulge in the pleasures of the flesh. He's also prone to smacking around members of the Brotherhood he finds commiting crimes that go against their "code of honor." PF is, however, far too trusting, and will let Dr. Pain get in the first shot, having turned his back when about to kill one of the Rats' leaders.

[SKJAM!]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Bouncer "Clearly, you and I disagree about how to fight crime. So why don't we skip the part where we fight and I knock you out, and go right to the part where you learn a valuable lesson and change your ways?"

 

"I believe it would be better if we skip to the part where I cross you off my list and leave town."

 

Toreador "Mi amigo, you have become that which you despise... I cannot abide a bully merely because he believes he is right. All bullies believe they are right. Prepeare to be subdued..."

 

"While I am angered by your insults, I do not believe that beating you up would serve any purpose."

 

Golden Eagle"I have taken the liberty of sending a video and audio broadcast of our conversation to the police and channel 5. If you surrender now, you can avoid a scene."

 

"Why would I want to avoid a scene? But I will be leaving, as being arrested will not help."

 

Revenant"We share an approach and an enemy. Perhaps you would like to join our Midnight Syndicate..."

 

"Tell me more."

[SKJAM!]

Re: WWYCD: The Return of Power Fist

 

Jack Malleus would want to see a picture of the girlfriend, preferrably a boudoir picture, before committing himself fully. Okay, maybe he would do it anyway but getting a look at the broad that seduced Power Fist over to the grey side would be a bonus. He would say...

 

"I understand what you are trying to do better than you do yourself Kid. Why do you need someone else to do the job you see needs doing yourself though? Tell you what, first let's gas up the dingy and take the Rats out to see Alfredo, then we'll talk..."

 

The girlfriend is pretty, but looks a bit too much of a hothouse flower for many people's taste.

 

As for the "why does Power Fist need an ally" question: "I can take any one of (names half a dozen nasty mercenary villains) but if they manage to all be in one place with me....mostly I need someone capable of watching my back while I take care of business."