The Other Heroes

[Eosin]

Last night we started the Unity mini-campaign based on a Green Ronin product. It will only last 2-3 sessions while the primary campaign is on hiatus. Here is how the first night went.

 

With all the "big leaguers" off planet during the Skrull-Kree-Shi'ar War, D-Man and Quicksilver were the only Avengers planet-side monitoring the Avengers headquarters. They received a call from a young man (approx 8 years old) in the mid-sized suburb known as Union City about someone taking his dad. The town is named in honor of the United Aerospace Chemical - a big chemical plant owned by Roxxon that employs most of the townsfolk.

 

Jarvis (the Avengers Computer) analyzed the call and routed it to local authorities. He continued to monitor the situation but became concerned when police and 911 calls fell off dramatically the next day.

 

D-Man and Quicksilver were sent to investigate. They never returned and their communications devices were disabled. Jarvis placed a distress call to all inactive and reserve members.

 

The Captain, Spiderman, Daredevil, and the Beast answered the summons to the Avengers mansion. *USAgent has the Captain America title right now mainly because we needed an excuse why Captain America would not be involved.

 

After being briefed, and learning the location of the pay phone used to make the initial call, our impromptu team hopped into The Captains van and drove to Union City. Upon crossing the city limits they were almost immediately pulled over. The confrontation with the police officer did not go well with The Captain expecting his fame to smooth things over. At one point the officer threatened to search the van -- explaining that he was fairly confident that he could find something to bring them up on weapons charges. He advised the motley group of heroes that they were unneeded in "these parts."

 

The team heeds the warning and hightails it out of town. Dr McCoy uses the advanced computer tech in the van to access Union City's computer data base and GPS. While the team procures some image inducers to disguise themselves. Pretty soon the team successfully infiltrates Union City and makes it to "The Pay Phone."

 

The Phone is across the street from a park and just down the road from Truman Elementary School. Daredevil decides to check out the phone booth using his enhanced senses to see if anything was left behind. He hangs out around the park after finding nothing - he is hoping to be able to pick the child’s voice out of the crowd of children who will be leaving school in the next 10 minutes.

 

Before the children are released he is accosted by a drunk. The man - Mike according to the label on his mechanics uniform - tells the disguised Daredevil "You aren't like us. You should leave before they make you like me... Us."

 

The drunken conversation is difficult to understand and even harder to direct.

 

Spiderman assists Daredevil as they escort Mike to the van where they can ask him some more direct questions. When Spiderman helps the man up he is assaulted by a *thousand voices swimming in a soothing sea. The voices are calling for him to join them in a bright light. Spiderman thinks that the feeling is something like what an infant must feel like when they are in the womb. Thankfully, his Spider Sense saves him more than a brief contact.

 

*Sticky Mental Transform

 

Mike is hustled to the van as several men start to approach. The disguised Spiderman and the men have words while the school bell rings and the children are dismissed. The elementary children file out of the school in a single line without talking or running or rough housing. They march like little army ants separating as needed to go to their homes. All except for two kids who come barreling out of the school.

 

Some of the children are beginning to gather around the men. Beast notes that all of the city police cars have begun to converge on their location as well via the low-jack GPS system. The team scrambles with Daredevil and Spiderman snatching up the kids while Captain and Beast evade and draw off the police.

 

Spiderman and Beast are making their way through town but notice heads popping out of windows like gophers. It will be dang hard to hide with so many eyes watching them.

 

The Captain and Beast have an easy time shaking off pursuit. The police may have radios but the van is tracking the squad cars in real time.

 

Daredevil is swinging through an intersection when his swing line is cut and he falls to the ground. The boy is hurt in the fall but not badly.

 

Spiderman and Daredevil find themselves facing Quicksilver, Demolition Man, and Bullseye. The battle is hot an mobile with Quicksilver immediately jumping on Daredevil until Spiderman can double back to join the fight.

 

The injured Daredevil finds himself facing a calm and uncharacteristic Bullseye -- at range. The fight is one of poetic beauty with DD and Bullseye dancing around each other for the better part of a turn before DD takes a shot that stuns him.

 

Meanwhile, Spiderman tries to web Quicksilver several times while the speedster buzzes between buildings and obstacles. He gets lucky and webs a doorway just as Quicksilver enters it. The speedster running at full tilt nearly tears the webbing in half but doesn't quite make it. The impact leaves him senseless and reeling.

 

Demolition Man is advancing on Daredevil when Spiderman manages to snag him with his webbing. Rather than restrain the monster, Spiderman swings him about several times like a shot put before throwing him as far from the melee as he can.

 

Bullseye has not had time to grab Daredevil nor even take him completely out of the fight when Captain America shows up with the van. Meanwhile, hundreds of people gather zombie-like advancing on the fight. The injured boy is pulled into the crowd as Spiderman tries to save him but the effort could well cost the boy his life so Spiderman retreats to the boy he webbed up on the building.

 

The heroes escape with one of the children and the now restrained drunk.

 

They head for the Avengers mansion.

 

It is quickly determined that the Avengers Mansion is compromised - two members belong to whatever is controlling the people of Union City. Jarvis changes all the security protocols.

 

Beast and Captain America speak with the boy at length - Derek and Tommy Malloy were involved in a motor vehicle accident with their mother. When they came home their father was "different." His touch carried voices and scary things but they were able to resist. They called Captain America but it was policemen who showed up. The policemen talked with their dad for awhile but then they seemed different as well.

 

Dad is a chemical engineer for United Aerospace Chemicals.

 

Beast and Captain feel that the boys are protected because they had a head injury during the accident. Such a theory might also explain why the drunk man was able to resist the control.

 

Blood is drawn from Mike (the drunk) and from Spiderman - who has had contact with the "voices" but still seems to be himself.

 

The drunk begins to wake but his demeanor is entirely changed. "We are unity. Why have you captured us?"

 

There are a number of wisecracks and such with the Unity creature but none of our heroes try to engage it in meaningful dialogue before Dr McCoy gives it a sedative. The few things it does find out is that the Unity is a hive mind already numbering in the tens of thousands. It considers each drone to be expendable. When Beast suggests that they give it Sodium Penathol it appeals to Captain America - stating that such action is a gross violation of its rights and against the law. The Unity was not threatening but did seem confident that it would "win." It offered each of the team a place inside the Union.

 

At this point, the team stalled.

 

Spiderman went to check on Mary Jane and Aunt May. Mary Jane was fine at the apartment but Aunt May had gone shopping at a massive sales event .... at the Union City Mall (DNPC 8- Activated).

 

Spiderman paced around the Avengers mansion saying, "I gotta go get her."

 

Beast placed a call to Moira McTaggert in Scotland. Moira offered some suggestions such as contacting a telepath for help - unfortunately all of them are off planet. Moira suggested that Emma Frost might be on planet (the games Emma remains a member of the Hellfire Club and is strictly a telepath). Some calls are made before Beast locates her in Cairo. They offer to pick her up in the Quinjet. Round trip will take 8 hours. Moira also recommends that the children be evaluated better rather than assuming that the head trauma is the source of their immunity. A quick scan reveals them to be mutants.

 

Captain America remains at the Avengers Mansion while Beast goes to Cairo to pick up Emma Frost.

 

Daredevil notes that Union City abuts Hell's Kitchen so he begs out saying that he needs to look after his people. Spiderman is gone - presumably he went into Union City alone to find Aunt May.

[Eosin]

Re: The Other Heroes

 

In Two weeks we will pick up with Emma returning to the Avengers Mansion. Players have the opportunity to play any "second string" characters we have made up - they do not have to play the same characters. Right now Nightcrawler looks to be coming in for Daredevil and Batman may be coming in for Spiderman, who has joined the Unity.

 

*Second string character - this is a term used to refer to characters who fall somewhere between supers and street level. Players cannot pick characters like Thor, Vision, Professor X, Phoenix, Storm, or Sue Richards. Spiderman barely fits within the criteria and in many ways is a bit too powerful for the game but he worked well.

 

You might have noticed that Batman was included.... The world is Marvel and the scale is our own house scale but we have adapted a number of DC characters who can play easily with the Marvel folks.

[HawksmoorSD]

Re: The Other Heroes

 

Just wanted to say I'm digging the story!!!