WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

[AdamLeisemann]

The local media presents a new influential person in your city, a minister who exposes the beleif that superpowers from a non-technological source are the work of Satan in an attempt to withdraw souls from the side of God and Jesus. Here are some things he's actually presented:

 

Magic powers: "Those kinds of powers could only come from a Satanic pact!"

 

Divine Powers: "Only Jesus Christ can have the powers of God and walk this Earth."

 

Powered Armor: "The powers of science have no connections with the powers of Satan."

 

Robots: "Robots have no souls. They are nothing but tools. They cannot be damned, nor can they be saved."

 

Mutants and aliens: "Nowadays, 'Mutant' and 'Alien' are just euphamisms for Satan's Spawn."

 

People who do not look human yet are not robotic (this includes birth deformities) are automatically equated to supers, regardless of whether or not they have powers.

 

The scary part is that people are now taking a shine to this hateful preacher's word and some of his followers are actually hunting down supers and killing them. When confronted, he simply says, "I have no responsibility over the actions of an unstable few. I do not condone their actions, but I do not have the means to stop them."

 

What would your character do?

[jkwleisemann]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Void: Start looking for dirt. Find what he can to discredit the jerk before MARS (think IMAGE with a more psychotic leader) hears about him and comes to have some Very Stern Words. Taking a twit like that off the air with his dirty laundry is an added bonus.

 

Also, start looking for connections with the Purity League and Department M, but unfortunately there are more than enough people without such connections who have opinions like his.

 

Huntress: Being a power-armor jockey, she wouldn't be affected directly by him. Working for/with multiple mutants and one mage who actively summons pagan deities to use her spells.... She's smart enough to realize that her skills are best used protecting the victims of his deranged 'followers,' and the people taking advantage of his message to target folks they don't like.

 

Darkchild: Already out of the broom closet in her world, she wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on against the fundy right-wingers who refuse to acknowledge that non-Christians can be good people too - can't argue with somebody who'll simply say "Nope, it's Satan's word, it's a lie."

 

However, to try and argue publicly, she'd shift her focus from 'normal' heroism to an even greater focus on 'PR heroism' - healing, shifting weather patterns to end droughts, that sort of thing. Careful about it, but she'd be more public than ever, and making the folks who won't argue that healing somebody is evil if it wasn't an act of science or their particular God think twice before buying into the rhetoric.

[incrdbil]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

 

The scary part is that people are now taking a shine to this hateful preacher's word and some of his followers are actually hunting down supers and killing them. When confronted, he simply says, "I have no responsibility over the actions of an unstable few. I do not condone their actions, but I do not have the means to stop them."

 

What would your character do?

 

His followers (garden joe bigots) are killing supers?

 

Ok--researching just how they killed them would be rea lyt influence further actions. Are they getting super weapons? Is this a guy a front for some technical villain, group, or Mechanon? Examining the street nut for some type of powers himself would be on the agenda.

 

(If he had such powers, here is where things would split off)

 

Hornet would act to nuetralize those powers if they were present. Being a techno-hero himself, he's still disgusted by this moronic bigot. Those of his followers taking to kill supers would be arrested and examined again for how they managed their attacks, and if they have bene controlled. A press offensive against this bigot and figure of discrimination would be coordinated with about every cooperative agency and team.

 

Schaister would infiltrate the organization, pretend to be a follower, get involved with the accounting, swindle him, and bankrupt hsi operation then set up the illusion this has guys some minor, non offensive (or protective) powers. Visible ones. In front of a group of his most zealous followers. He'd save the film footage for later to eat with popcorn.

 

Ranger does the covert surveillance, investigation bit. If he's feeling particualry grumpy (or if a super he really knew well died), this guy just disappears on a dark and stormy night. Otherwise, he finds this fanatics connection with the murders and takes him down.

 

Demon..well, he best just stay out of this. He'd really only help the guys ranting by showing up.

[nexus]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

The local media presents a new influential person in your city, a minister who exposes the beleif that superpowers from a non-technological source are the work of Satan in an attempt to withdraw souls from the side of God and Jesus. Here are some things he's actually presented:

 

Magic powers: "Those kinds of powers could only come from a Satanic pact!"

 

Divine Powers: "Only Jesus Christ can have the powers of God and walk this Earth."

 

Powered Armor: "The powers of science have no connections with the powers of Satan."

 

Robots: "Robots have no souls. They are nothing but tools. They cannot be damned, nor can they be saved."

 

Mutants and aliens: "Nowadays, 'Mutant' and 'Alien' are just euphamisms for Satan's Spawn."

 

People who do not look human yet are not robotic (this includes birth deformities) are automatically equated to supers, regardless of whether or not they have powers.

 

The scary part is that people are now taking a shine to this hateful preacher's word and some of his followers are actually hunting down supers and killing them. When confronted, he simply says, "I have no responsibility over the actions of an unstable few. I do not condone their actions, but I do not have the means to stop them."

 

What would your character do?

 

Tao: Public opinion is meaningless. Her research has shown such things come and go, her mission remains unaltered. The idea that these ordinary humans are succesfully assasinated supers is worthy of investigation though...

 

Eve would be sad. God says that everyone should love and help each other and she does too have a soul! Her daddy said so. She can even show it you, something must humans can't even do. So there!

 

Ivy: WOuld roll her eyes and change the channel. She has real problems to deal with. If this guy started swaying public opinion to the point it threatened her maintaining custody of her children, then she'd get involved until then: "Another con man using religion, hate and fear to get air time. Film at 11." Any of his "flock' that she ran across or that threatened her would be dealt with like any other criminals.

 

Shidoku's world doesn't have non tech supers per se. Altering the scenario a bit to make the guy's target costumed vigilelantes, she'd probably be assigned to infiltate the group, find out as much as possible to bring him down. Her instincts would tell her to just terminate the guy, but intellectually she'd understand that would just make him a martyr.

[Lethosos]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Queen of Spades would roll her eyes behind her darkened visor, think "Jack Thompson all over again", and hunts up some people who owe her a few Favors. She's well aware of the nature of the City of Shadows, and while she doesn't like it, she knows well enough to leave it alone long enough to do the job. A ranting nutcase with a silver tongue always has something to hide...

 

In the meantime, those followers are still breaking the law in the name of "purity." She's not gonna go easy on them...

[AdamLeisemann]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

It's been brought to my attention that the idea of normal folks going out and killing actual supers would not be as realistic. So here's a change to the situation:

 

Media reports say that at least half of the victims in the killings are actually normal people mistaken to be supers, according to their genetic and government profiles.

[Alverant]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Some supers can be killed by normal people under the right circumstances. For instance like they were caught by surprise. You can't have your mystic force field up all the time. Or if they have a CvK then backed into a corner when attacked by a mob of angry fanatics. Unless they have desolid or persistant resistant PD, a hail of gunfire will eventually bring them down.

 

As for how my characters would deal with it. Well there's legal action. Leaders of hate groups have been convicted under similar circumstances. You can get him labeled a terrorist then appeal to patriotism to get people to ignore him.

 

But I think the best solution is to do what Mel Brooks did to Hitler. Humiliate the jerk! Show him as a hyprocrite. Arrange for a public display of his own innate powers. Have a little deformed girl, someone who he called Satan's Spawn, on TV asking "Why does my Daddy hate me so much?" Set up a counter priest claiming the first is executing a Satanic plot by having God-fearing people sacrifice the innocent. Play his game, but play dirtier.

[incrdbil]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

It's been brought to my attention that the idea of normal folks going out and killing actual supers would not be as realistic. So here's a change to the situation:

 

Media reports say that at least half of the victims in the killings are actually normal people mistaken to be supers, according to their genetic and government profiles.

 

Ok, I'm assuming the supers that are killed are killed my normals who take advantage of a situation crane operator drops a wrecking ball on him, or street level guy gets ambushed and shot in the back of the head.

 

Ok, less worries about seacret assasains, powers, or supertech--but more urgency in checking for some form of compulsion, stopping the followers and taking out the bigot.

[Lord Mhoram]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Blackcat would have a long talk with the guy. She has died, and come back from the dead, and has "miraculous powers" of healing and other things. She had a cult spring up around her once that she put down. She would also try and get people to not act in hate - believe what they want, but don't physcially hurt people. As she can use her ch'i to booster her precence into the 70s or so, she can be very persuasive.

She'd also make sure that this isn't a VIPER front using Fundimentalism as a front, or that the guy is trying to foster difficulties for a greater reason. But both he and his followers have a right to believe and act as thier concinsience demands, as long as the law isn't broken.

 

Ballistic has already been on religious "hit lists" before - he's a supermage. He'd ignore it, and stop any direct action agaisnt people.

Angelfire has a simliar problem - half angel, half demon and dresses like a 90's bad girl superhero - doesn't act like one, but she looks like one.

Terminal Velocity would be flummexed (if you find that coming up a lot in these, it's because he's a confused teenager), and go to his teammates for advice, and follow thier lead.

 

Meeb wouldn't care. He'd just keep doing what he does, and like Ballistic would stop action if he came on it, but not really worry about it elsewise.

[Hermit]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Aquatic: His concern would be for the meta kids in the town who might indeed be vulnerable to attacks. He'd probably b**ch a lot to his team mates and liason about it, and ask Mimic to spy on this guy to dig up something.

 

Banner: Would be happy to put all his skill levels in oratory and match this guy in a battle of appealing to the public.

 

Gaze: Would check for mental manipulation, if that was occuring, this guy wouldn't have long in the city of Vegas. Gaze would be happy to undo his work and expose it. Beyond that, however, Gaze would have to go looking for other secret criminal ties or activity. If the man had none, Gaze would respect his right to be an ***.

 

There are others i have, but I'd need longer to think of their reactions

[Robyn]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Magic powers: "Those kinds of powers could only come from a Satanic pact!"

 

Kaja: "Satanism only came about as a direct rejection of Christianity. Our faith predates your Savior, and so do our abilities."

 

Then he'd begin spending more time spreading his own faith, offering an alternative for the people this minister was targeting. He'd explain that his own abilities were nothing more than humanity was capable of, but that their ancestors had grown in the wrong directions long ago, and he could teach them how to follow the ancient ways, and ensure that their own descendants would be able to access their full potential.

[Kristopher]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Saviel (War Angel) - Saviel refuses to allow anyone to worship her, so she's stuck between that, and her loathing of religious bigotry and hipocracy. Why? Well, if she manifests her powers, she is obviously and pretty much undeniably an angel, so if she gets fed up enough with the guy, she could simply descend from out of the clouds and float down onto the stage at one of this person's outdoor events, and simply say to him, in front of the crowd, "Do you deny what I am? What right have you to stand in judgement?"

[Trebuchet]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

As the nominal leader of Earth's most powerful and respected superhero team, as well as being openly christian, Zl'f would speak out loudly against such wrongheaded thinking and call on christians to pray for this misguided leader to renounce his advocacy of violence.

[Guest WhammeWhamme]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

 

Eve would be sad. God says that everyone should love and help each other and she does too have a soul! Her daddy said so. She can even show it you, something must humans can't even do. So there!

 

.....sorry?

 

Details? Please?

[DEFCON Clown]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Gregory Cauldron: Gregory's code of honor would force him to confront this man. He'd demand an apology and for him to renounce what he's been saying. If he didn't then Gregory would cast his truth spell on him and ask if he ordered the attacks, did he suggest them...ect. Then he'd turn him into a newt for about a month. Honor satisfied.

 

Weaver: He'd search for a dimension where this guy uses magic or is a mutant and then bring him to ours and have them meet face to face.

[Koshka]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Falcon's a gadgeteer, so isn't directly affected ... but two of her teammates are mages. One gypsy sorceress and one servant of Marduk. She'd go after him to protect her teammates. As for how, I can guarantee any ministers who publicly challenge this idiot's teachings will suddenly have a much easier time paying the radio airtime bill (15 points Wealth). And while that's going on she'd be investigating this guy back to his birth to see what's really going on here.

[SKJAM!]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Kira Midori: An active and open Christian, she'd be checking for mind control and the like, while politely quoting Scripture towards her own point of view. And as a police officer, any criminal she meets is getting arrested, normal or super.

 

The Mask of Justice: Exposes yet another of the Faceless One's fiendish plots by arranging for his disguise to melt in public.

 

Talion: Already fought this guy, known in his world as Reverend Word. His sonic-based Mind Control hit Talion, and thus backfired on him, tipping off TV viewers that the demagogue was not as he seemed.

[Powerhouse]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Lady Silver: she would be one of the foremost opponents and critics of this preacher. Heck, it might even sell tickets as left winger vs right winger! Anyway, she would make some speeches and press conferences refuting this hate and intolerance. An actual debate would be quite likely as well although facts often fail to sway fanatics.

 

As a well known mage, she would be a prime target no doubt. Her response, in addition to above, is to note that her actions speak very loudly of her good intentions.

 

Nova: be bewildered, but not surprised, at such a lack of logic on Earth. She'd also be a prime target as an obvious alien. She would need to be kept on a short leash given her short temper and tendency to lash out.

 

Sentinel: would mutter that yet again, his job has gotten tougher (ie babysitting the spandex crew). In public statements, he would note that the Silver Knights are sanctioned by the government to be a law enforcement group (among other things) and all were rigorously screened. He would also note that he respects the preacher's freedom to believe as he does although the Knights have a stellar reputation (the last he'd have to try REALLY hard to deliver with a straight face).

 

Within the team, he would drill them to stay on their toes to not get sucker punched and everyone, ESPECIALLY Nova, need to keep themselves in check.

 

Tyr: Norse god of law and justice, he would find this beneath contempt and state rather loudly that he felt this fool's rhetoric is pure folly and devoid of any reason or logic. Goodness is not limited to one religious POV. Also, he would note that the law makes the preacher quite possibly liable for acts that his followers carried out based on old KKK cases. It would depend in part on whether he either directly exhorted them to violence or lead them on a path to that.

 

He would also note that he would see that those who committed such henious acts as killing heroes (or those mistaken as such) were tracked down and brought to true justice. Sentinel would at this point double up on his antacid.

 

Starknight: would blow the whole thing off except to state that she doesn't give a flying f*** about religious bigots and if they want some, come get some... and Sentinel is now overdosing on antacids.

[David Johnston]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Some supers can be killed by normal people under the right circumstances.

 

Some supers are just plain wimps. It's a mistake to think that just because someone has a superpower that they are necessarily going to be able to laugh off a normal with a handgun or hunting rifle. Consider comic book character Rahne Sinclair. She sucks. She isn't bulletproof or exceptionally agile. The ability to track by scent isn't going to save her versus someone who knows what she is. For every potential member of the Avengers out there, there have to be a dozen people who not given the chance to deliberately design their powers on a big budget can just telekinese small objects, change their sex, or grow a coat of fur unless you have some kind of specific singular power source that carries specific power templates with them.

[jkwleisemann]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

For every potential member of the Avengers out there' date=' there have to be a dozen people who not given the chance to deliberately design their powers on a big budget can just telekinese small objects, change their sex, or grow a coat of fur unless you have some kind of specific singular power source that carries specific power templates with them.[/quote']

 

Or, as I once heard it put:

 

For every guy out there who gets bitten by a radioactive spider, there's nine guys out there with the devastating mutant ability to make their farts smell like cinnamon toast.

 

Yeah - lot of supers out there who'd be watching out for this guy. Strength 30 counts as superhuman, after all, and substantially so... but if that's all ya got, then any two or three drunks can probably take you down, let alone some guy with a .22.

[dbsousa]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Golden Eagle would realise that DexCorp doesn't own a television network, and rectify that omission in his portfolio. He would fund an investigative show like 60 Minutes called The Good Guys that would get to work on the preacher.

 

Toreador would likely be targetted by this group, as a street level crimefighter with a magic cape and sword, and enhanced abilities granted by a totem animal. He is a gifted martial artist without his foci, though, and might infiltrate the group to find out if the preacher is brainwashing people or if he has a sinister master plan.

 

Bouncer will knock them down like bowling pins when they show up to hurt someone, but otherwise ignore them.

[OddHat]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Style - Would perform a divination or two in order to see how much of a danger this man was and what type. Depending on the answers, he'd either ignore the preacher or investigate. Any illegal actions the preacher was taking would be brought to the attention of the public and the authorities. If the preacher could be positively linked to organized violence, that would be that. If the preacher is actually a tool of DEMON or the Dragon, Style's reaction would be harsher.

 

Flesh Gordon - Does the preacher have an attractive daughter over 18?

[Zed-F]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Soulbarb would stick to the shadows more determinedly than ever, especially if this guy didn't live in her city. If he did operate out of her city, then she'd certainly be interested in digging up dirt on this guy, but she'd probably try to do it more in her normal ID than in her heroic ID. Fortunately, enough of her powers still work in normal ID that she could be reasonably effective at doing so -- and she's a competent detective in either form. If the guy's got something to hide, she's got a good shot at finding out about it.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

As a robot, War Wolf isn't quite as hosed as other people.

 

The answer, of course, is to call on the team's relative abundance of sneakiness and deviousness and find a way to give the guy super-powers, or at least fake them well enough in 'mid-sermon' to completely discredit him.

[TheRavenIs]

Re: WWYCD: Fundamentalist against non-tech supers.

 

Well Crossfire is a techno/mystical/ninja, so he semi-qualifies as a tech based hero. He'd do what he does best. Find out everything possiable about the Preacher, if he finds dirt he gives it to a team mate, a mystical Spiderman type who happens to be a publisher of a major magazine. If no criminal info, he'll make some up. Gimmick a device that gives the guy a real superpower, the origin might be tech in nature, but the power will look like it is natural.

 

Then hope like heck the leader of he's team doesn't scream at him for a few weeks after he figures out what Crossfire did.