What Would You Do? #13: Captured

[Wormhole]

During a raid on a VIPER nest that went sideways, you and your teammates were knocked into "GM Option" (evil snicker) and wake up in holding cells equiped to contain "Metas" (supers), plus any obvious foci have been taken away. During a shift change, a guard does a double take after looking into your cell- like you seem familiar to him. Later, when he returns for another shift, he's carrying a covered tray. He waits until he's sure no one else is around to see and raises his visor. You're shocked when you recognize him as an old friend of yours from high school/college/whatever that you haven't heard from in years. He slips the tray into your cell via the little slot in the door. When you open it up you find the code key to your cell and floor plans of the facility. He then makes a rather startling request of you: "Knock me out before you leave. Considering what the organization does to traitors, I'd rather have my bosses think you got the better of me than find out I aided you in escape."

[Chuckg]

Starguard -- seeing as she's currently amnesiac, and can't remember who or what the hell she is, the guard would first have to *tell* me that he was an old school friend.

 

At which point, of course, she's going to beg him for at least the two-minute lecture on who she is, where she's from, who and where her family is, why is this guy stuck in VIPER, is there anything she can do to help, etc etc. She'd need a lot of persuading not to just take the guy *with* her.

 

Especially since there is no way that VIPER would believe that she ever overpowered a trained VIPER agent *without* her powers, much less found a way out of her cell without being given the guy. (Starguard is 18 years old, has absolutely no superhero or martial arts training as of yet, and bereft of her Power Cosmic has STR 10.)

 

(*) Starguard is also a 750-point character with an 80-point Cosmic Power Pool.. and a Susceptibility that allows you to take her powers away just by putting her in any cell screened vs. cosmic energy. However, her cosmic powers /return/ with similar speed as soon as she's back outside the containment field... and at that point, good luck keeping her confined without calling out Dragon Branch or a small army.

 

 

Dr. Pain -- takes the guy up on the offer, and says that he owes him a big one. And given that sans superpowers Dr. Pain is *still* six-feet-eight and 300+ pounds of former pro wrestling champion, in this case the old school buddy will have *NO* problem explaining how he ended up unconscious...

 

 

Baron von Darien -- couldn't possibly be in such a scenario, seeing as how he's long since outlived pretty much every mortal friend he's ever had... and those few of his *non*-mortal friends aren't in VIPER.

 

Edit -- not to mention that anybody who captures him would be well advised to keep him in a vault, not a cell... a mystically warded vault. If they want to *KEEP* him there, that is...

[Mightybec]

Crusher would knock out the guard and promptly report him to his supervisor. Nobody likes a turncoat.

[Blue]

Uncle Slam would consider it, and then he'd decline. "I appreciate your effort, my friend. But I can't leave this place without knowing what is going on. And if these are the terms of my freedom then I must decline." Hopefully the guy will see it his way and assist (He's got lots of PRE). But he couldn't take the key because he'd be obligated to follow the rules given.

 

Anthem would do exactly what she was asked to do. She knows how vile Viper are and she'd need to get out and get help. She's such a low-power hero that she could take on a group of agents, but more than a couple villains would be trouble for her alone; and a nest is out of the question.

 

Audra Blue has no friends outside her team. She just doesn't let anyone get close.

[Marcus Impudite]

I'd do what he asks, and say "sorry," in advance before I K.O. him.

[Chuckg]

The friend of mine who plays Horus-Re asked me to pencil this one in...

 

"Horus-Re would be damn confused at meeting 'an old friend from his youth', because the only other entity currently walking the planet who was around during his youth is Takofanes the Undying."

 

 

Not to mention that if VIPER ever captured him, he'd be in a huge vault... spread-eagled and restrained with Questionite chains large enough to serve as anchor chains for Imperial Star Destroyers, bathed in the continuous radiation of two dozen separate, indepedently-wired, redundantly-powered and fully-hardened STR Drain and SPD Drain devices, and surrounded at all times by a shift of two dozen Golden Serpent agents armed with everything short of nuclear weapons.

 

With Viperia standing by on five-minute call.

 

(When you're an immortal champion of the ancient Turakian/Valdorian sun god, the campaign world's equivalent of Superman, and have been occupying Nama's personal shit list since at least the Fall of Atlantis, you do *not* get locked in an ordinary cell and have your meal runs done by a single Basic Combat Agent.

 

AAMOF, when you have Total Life Support, you don't even get meal runs.)

[Farkling]

FlameJet:: "Well, fancy meeting you here Martin, and to think Mr. Salt said you'd never amount to anything."

At which point our favorite playboy of the press would choke the guard unconscious (he's not too strong). Jet would leave a small roll of hundreds on the floor like it was dropped during the struggle. Just to add to the story. (he's not too bright either). AS soon as his Plasma effects came back to power, he'd start rocketing through the base to rescue his friends, causing as much collateral damage as he could (melting walls, labs, power conduits....)

 

Lightnin':: "Good god !! What on earth has kept you so young? And so far down on your luck that VIPER has you? Jesus! Let's make a break for it and discuss history and old times...I have very few friends left from the old days. I can set you up with a safe identity somewhere in Australia. Let's get my acquauntances and get moving. No time to wait for superspeed...it'll come back."

 

(Lightning and his pals were captured by a maniac when he was a young lawbreaking mutant. The fellow shot them all full of an experimental supersoldier serum. Lightning lived and his powers changed and went into an overdrive. He's been around for 50 years, and should last at least 200 more, longer if he can ever slow down his metabolic rate. His wife died a lingering 6 month death, his best friend...well...exploded.)

[The Watcher]

Warp: He'll make the guy a counter-offer to take him with him and offer protection against Viper. If he doesn't take it, then he'll abide by his wishes and knock him out, then try and free his teammates. Also, his Secret ID is now effectively screwed since he was obviously unmasked since this guy recognized him. Being a famous billionaire, this means Viper knows who he is also, and that he might as well make a public announcement to beat them to the punch of exposing it. Good bye Secret ID, hello Public ID.

 

Spectrum: Offers the guy the chance to defect. If not, he knocks him out and tries to rescue his teammates, while broadcasting the Nest's location to his superiors.

 

Mystic: Offers to send the friend to another dimesnion where Viper can't reach him. Then uses his magic to find and free the team.

 

Proteus: Considering the fact that he was raised in an automated lab until a group of superheroes found him, would be wondering how this guy knew him. Knocks him out, but makes note to track him down later and find out what he knows. Goes on to free his teammates.

[Vondy]

Anthem - would accept his offer, and consider that he might make a good confidential informant for future use. Maybe a deal for amnestly in return for information or some such. Then again, Anthem graduated from law school in 1913 so he might have some other questions for him... then again whether Anthem would just leave is a question in of itself. Loose in the evil one's headquarters yet again!

 

Midnight - "I went to college or was in the military?" On a more serious note - comply. If possible, proceed with mission.

 

Pinstripe - thank him and instead of knocking him out kill him.

 

Doc Micro - find something heavy, like a bowling ball, to roll onto the guys head - and then proceed with his mission.

[Tim]

(Finally one I can answer in character.)

 

ALL American II: A super-patriot who absorbs physical (kinetic) energy and redirects it thru his punch. He would first try and get him to come with him, then, when that didn't work, do as he asked. Then free his teammates.

 

Cortex: A mentalist whose origin is similar to "Lawnmower man" (ie: a mentlly retarded individual given mental powers when given an experimental drug treatment.) Would have trouble doing so, as he starts losing his power and intellegence when he can't be given a stabilizing drug every 12 hours.

He would try though, then proceed to fry every other agents mind in the base.

[Lord Mhoram]

Blackcat would nod with the serinity of a true martial arts master, then her fist would launch with such speed it could not be seen, and hit the guy with a nerve strike that would knock him out, but not be too painful when he awoke. She would then break out her teammates, and make a point of buzzing the base, until they send out a squad with her old friend in it, and take them out, and "capture" him, so he could start his life anew.

 

Ballistic would just ask "Head or gut?" and oblige. Then use the key, regain his connection to his mystical powers, teleport the guy out of the base, summon his supersuit and teach VIPER not to mess with a guy named Ballistic.... named so for his temper.

[zornwil]

Blazing Arrow would simply take the code and knock out his old friend, as he requested it. Then he'd drag him along to take him out if at all possible.

[farik]

Since Husky claims to be an alien publicly and his true form Kenneth Clarke is still in High School where he is ridiculed and shunned. I'll assume this must be someone he saved in the past. Husky will happily do as requested and try to make the agent a future Contact.