RUBY CITY DEFENDERS! Issue #2 - Caught between a Hammer, a Sickle... and a hard case!

RUBY CITY DEFENDERS Issue #2

OOC Andy if you want to tweak CC or add anything (new powers/skills are costly so at best you could maybe get a super sense at low level as it's 10x base cost for new stuff) it's no problem for you to take your time and have a think on that. In the meantime I'll kick things off with issue #2 a week or more after I'd originally intended to post!



Everything went dark!

Captain Conduit/Fred Aster (in disguise) glanced about. Everything was pitch black! Confused calls and shouts from goons and civilians in the all encompassing darkness came from all directions. The hero held up a hand in front of his face... and couldn't see it! The last thing he had seen was Lightning Bullet being struck by Sickle, the Russian with lightning fast reflexes and hands that cut like blades! his companion Hammer was not only bullet proof but ultra strong and had brought most of the diner down with a single blow!

Schmidt is on the verge of panicking whilst Conway snarls "What gives?!?! I can't see nuthin!"

Suddenly a gravelly voice hissed a whisper from somewhere above - or behind - where Fred Aster (disguised), Conway and Schmidt were huddled! "If you want to live, you have to listen to me. And trust me!"

OOC Lightning Bullet will be 'out' for 8 minutes before he can make a recovery check, which is due to his Regeneration 3 (otherwise it would be an hour). However you can spend 15HP (of your 38HP) to make a 'desperation recovery' check instantly to get back on your feet. PCs can make this check. NPCs cannot.

"Yes, I must live for the sake of science," Fred whispers to the voice from the darkness, while reaching out his hands to find Schmidt and Conway. "Plus, I think these two diners also want to live, despite their poor dietary decisions." Captain Conduit then lets the voice talk, while he listens. Trusting though... well, maybe with a grain of salt and a healthy dose of skepticism.

ooc: Gonna hold off on the recovery check for LB. I think I'm gonna need those points more later on.

OOC Sorry for the delay. DIY stuff dragging me away (or driving trains) but *should* be ok for next couple of days. Today's revelation - there is a tiny gas leak on the property but within legal tolerances/limits and my oven has cooked it's last meal (it's knackered, I was wondering why they left it in the property but didn't list it on the contents). Looks like a microwave dinner tonight. On the plus side the shelving I'm putting up the garage means I can actually see the garage floor now! I would file a description of my life as 'needs to do more fun things' but I'm getting there. Slowly.

"I'll try to get as many people out of here as I can." said the voice in the darkness. "Hold on to each other."

There was a 'pop' and the four of them appeared on a hillside overlooking the freeway and the diner some half a mile away!

The dark clad figure stood as the trio (Conway, Schmidt and CC) rose to their feet.

"I am DarkRaven!" declared the black clad figure. "Reports of my demise have been exaggerated, but it suited my purpose!"

"Yeah? Well you got powers, I admit, but what about dat poor schmuck Henry Burrows we got in da morgue?" drawls Conway, who fished about for a cigarette with a shaking hand. He probably thought he'd seen the last of war zone type shooting galleries until just a few minutes ago!

"Henry... was well meaning but should not have posed as me." said the vigilante. "I mourn his death and will find those responsible and bring them to justice!" he said, pulling out what could only be described as a pistol the size of a sawn off shotgun from a jet black side holster under his cape!

OOC If I recall the 30s and 40s saw good guys killing bad guys but the 50s saw a change in approach in the comics that meant they arrested criminals rather than send them to the morgue as judge, jury and executioner. You guys probably know more about that than me (at least I'm pretty sure David does). It seems that DarkRaven considers fighting fire with fire and is intent on going back down to the diner to give the bad guys a taste of their own medicine!

"Stay here, or better yet, find somewhere to hide. I will vanish and reappear in the diner to rescue more civilians but may have to fight my way out. Between the mobsters looking for you" he looked at Fred Aster/CC whom he believed to be the scientist they sought "and those Russian Super Agents, it seems you are hot property indeed. Officer, I suggest you find a payphone to call for back up but warn your colleagues that their bullets may be ineffectual! Mine, however, pack more of a punch." he said, raising the shotgun/pistol up and clicking both hammers back.

"Dis is why I hate dealin with capes!" growled Conway. "How am I supposed ta arrest those chumps when bullets ping off their chests?"

"Ve need to get away from here! My family is in grave danger! Zey need rescuing!" wailed the German Scientist.

"One problem at a time sir." said DarkRaven, though he stared at the scientist and his thick germanic accent.

"Who was the other fellow down there?" asked DarkRaven. "He was small, but in proportion, as though exposed to some... shrinking ray! he held his own against those Russkies until one struck him with a lucky blow. It seemed he was flying about, and lightning followed him as he moved from foe to foe like... like a Lightning Bullet!"

OOC With Lightning Bullet out of it for a while it seems CC/Fred Aster may need to step into the fray!

"I know someone who can fire zee lightning like a bullet from his hands. Please teleport me back to just outside of zee lot, und I vill summon him with zee science I have in my trunk. Togethair, you and the Captain Conduit vill be able to save zee lightning bullet."

Laying on the accent with Artist (Acting) so he can still pass as the scientist, while hinting he may be something more in an attempt to persuade Dark Raven to take him to his suit, so he can fly.

OOC: Do I have enough Hero Points to add some protection against bullets to Captain Conduit's costume?

OOC Inherent powers wouldn't be a problem to come up with in game. We see that sort of thing all the time in the comics, but adding something to his costume would have to be done 'out of the field' so to speak in the downtime between adventures. It's much cheaper to use gadgets (half cost or 1/4 if they are taken away in combat easily) but the flipside is they sometimes break and you'd need access to a lab, a pile of cash, a big brain and time. Always made me laugh to see the older comics with Tony Stark hard at work on his transistor powered armour. The panel would show him welding or soldering something then the next one shows him reaching for the sky with his new doohickey and flying out to beat the bad guys. Even assuming he's the fastest builder ever that had me eye rolling when the rest of the characters could fire laser beams, fly and toss buildings and I never batted an eyelid at that.

DarkRaven stares with that impassive mask and mutters "I think that's a bad idea."

Conway glances between the pair. "Nah!" he says. "Dis guy is on the level. I'll make sure this little fella - his, uh, assistant - can get clear and you two head back there. If you see dat little fella on the floor be sure ta fish him out the firing line. And make sure he knows I suggested it! Always handy ta have a cape owe ya one."

DarkRaven seemed to consider then sighed. "There's no time to debate this! My stun guns fire nonlethal rounds that still pack a punch but I'm just one man. To break that mess up I may need help. At the first sign of trouble, you keep your head down and hope you don't get peppered by bullets." he said to Fred Aster/CC. Checking his ammo he placed a hand on Aster's shoulder...

...and the pair reappeared at the back of the parking lot! They were behind where the two Russians were thrashing about in the bubble of darkness which was still maintained and confused shouts were heard from gangsters and civilians alike! The problem started when the odd shot rang out!

"When my zone of darkness is cancelled out the fighting will start up again. I can see perfectly fine in it but anyone else will struggle without special means. Be sure to tell this ally of yours not to be caught up in it!" growled the vigilante. He checked his pistols and then nodded. "Remember what I said. Any trouble, keep your head down. They are after you. I hope you know what you're doing!"

OOC He's going to 'pop' away into the zone of darkness which covers most of the diner and those within. You have a chance to say something/act before DarkRaven does so.

"I vill radio zee ubermensch. Good luck mein freund!" Fred says in his best German accent, before using the darkness to cover his approach to his car, where he can don his Captain Conduit costume at last! (And take off the itchy beard he glued to his face.)

Stripping his clothes off carefully but as quickly as he can, Captain Conduit looks up at the large sphere of darkness encapsulating almost all of the diner.

With a look around he reaches for the mask/helmet. He could hears shouts, cries, sounds of rage, smashing and gunfire from within the dark sphere.

Also that jet black spooky guy who might or not be what he said. Captain Conduit could hear his voice intermixed with the other noises and he seemed to be threatening the Russians then it would go silent.

CC looked about. What was... there!

A distant dot, about a quarter, half mile away? Black clad, cloak... stepping back. People getting to their feet. The diners?

DarkRaven was seemingly true to his word, rescuing the diners.

Just then a red clad Russian leapt from the jet black bubble and soared into the air, flying fifty feet up!

He pulled on his pants, fished about with a boot. Glove... glove... Mask. Settle the cape in place.

The flying Russian was shouting to his comrade inside the bubble. Flying about the sphere... but reluctant to go back in.

Captain Conduit was fully clothed and ready to go. He was still on his own against two powerful Russians and a dozen or so mobsters so he'd need to be... hmmm. He glanced back to where the group of people were running towards the freeway. DarkRaven had vanished, presumably back into the darkness to rescue more people!

OOC Assuming CC was careful to dress and make sure he'd not left anything to reveal his identity on show, we're still looking at 6-7 minutes before LB is back on his feet...

Fred looks in his trunk to see if he brought that prototype night vision device his company is working on for a government contract.

[OOC: In order to make Gadgetry and Genius not a worthless waste of Hero Points, I'm hoping we can play it that Captain Conduit may have worked on a gadget in the past. so he may have one in his car's trunk. Nothing ridiculous like shark repellant, but here I'm looking for something that helps Fred to see in the dark. (Like before I was looking for a working walkie talkie system.) Will you allow this?]

As Fred dresses himself, he ponders over the problem of the darkness before him. Maybe he could brighten things up with a spark of electricity, but that would make him an obvious target. He wants to get in there, fetch the little hero guy and not get shot in the process.

It looks like that darkness has taken out all visible light, but has it nullified all spectrums of the electromagnetic spectrum? As Captain Conduit, Fred has a modicum of control over electricity. He sees it more clearly. If he focusses on the infrared or the ultra violet, maybe he can see what's in that inky darkness. It doesn't seem to be freezing anything, so there's gotta be heat. Captain Conduit finishes dressing and then focusses on the infrared to try to see what the heck is going on in there.

[OOC: I decided to take your advice and buy a power... Thermal Vision linked to his INT if I can afford it. Fortunately Lightning Bullet is smaller than the other body-shaped heat signatures, so I should be able to make him out no problem. this can also be useful if we need to detect something invisible, which ultra vision can't do. Plus the electromagnetic spectrum explanation makes some sense with Captain Conduit's power set.

I'll take advantage of the trunk of stuff for sure, but this need seems to be suited for an electricity-based power.]

Squinting at the darkness and trying to see different wavelengths of light inside of it, Captain Conduit wonders if this will even work!

OOC Let's see. The Darkness is at 5APs (with a volume of 10) and effectively reduces the physical AV/OV of all inside by 5 points as they blunder about. To be able to see through it Captain Conduit must use his Thermal Vision (also 5 points, all he can afford and leaving him with 8 HP left over - I've updated the character sheet in the Who's Who section). against it...

Thermal Vision 5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 5,12,+0 Total:17 (22) vs
Darkness 5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 4,5,+0 Total:9 (14) +4 (to 9 EV) vs RV5=4 RAPs. He can see almost all the way through it and can certainly make out heat signatures of those inside!

One of those isn't a diminutive figure unfortunately. There is, however, a long, tall lanky figure on the ground lying prone! The others he can see are the (presumed) mobsters who are caught up in the globe of absolute darkness and the hulking Russian who doesn't seem to mind he can't see too well and is smashing up anything that comes within reach, like cars, mobsters, the diner... and getting close to the tall lanky figure!

The other Russian is swooping high over the battlefield and seems to have seen something of interest as he swoops down towards the diner - presumably the all in black vigilante!

The massive Russian is only a few bone crunching steps away from the prone tall/lanky figure!

Captain Conduit figures that either the tall guy was the short guy or he was either a crook or a diner. In any case, Feed can't stomach seeing a helpless guy get smooshed, even if it is just with his thermal vision or whatever. The big ruskie is a different story though. Captain Conduit mind seing him get what he's owed. And it's time for him to pay.

Dice Action: Blasting lightning at the big Russian superdude before he can crush the lanky guy. (If I can sacrifice some aim for power, I'll do that. Assuming the guy is a sitting duck in the dark.)

Move Action: Moving stealthfully to a new position, near the lanky guy, as quiet as he can. He wants the Russian super to charge at where he was, not where he is. IF the Russian is still conscious after the blast.

CAPTAIN CONDUIT

Taking careful aim at the hulking Russian brute stumbling through the stygian darkness CC hopes to let him know he can't have things all his own way!

OOC the Russian HAMMER is affected by the darkness. You want to sacrifice accuracy for damage so that's a CRITICAL BLOW.

Lightning 8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 10,12,+0 Total:22 (30) vs
OV7 - Darkness 5 + range 2 + crit Blow 4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 5,9,+0 Total:14 (22) Hit +4 (to 12EV) vs RV14 - Crit Blow 6 (RV8)=4 RAPs.

HAMMER is on Body 3/7

Hearing a scream inside the dark bubble Captain Conduit knows his somewhat less accurate blast than usual has hit anyway and he moves to a position where the Russian might not expect him to be given he's just fired from it. He's close now to the fallen basketball size player.

The other Russian, SICKLE is shouting in his native tongue and the big man finally seems to take notice. He flies - straight up - and breaks free of the dark bubble to hover some 100 feet in the air overlooking the battlefield!

Instantly the remaining mobsters in the parking lot take aim and open fire, though at 100' range and their erratic tommy guns, chances of hitting are minimal, chances of doing any damage? None.

Captain Conduit considers his options. The tall man is only twenty feet or so away now but he'd have to enter the black bubble and... It's black again. He'll have to try to pierce the darkness once more with his heat sensing vision (OOC Which would be your dice action next round). He has a bigger problem though - the Russians have conferred and one swooping around to the left, the other to the right in a classic 'pincer' movement!

They might not be able to see CC right now because of the burning cars, smoke and debris from the mostly smashed up diner but they will soon!

OOC Ok, to see through the darkness will need a Dice roll for Thermal vision. To be stealthy and not be seen by the Russians would need a stealth check (CC doesn't have Stealth so this would be unskilled with a penalty). However, smart guy that he is, CC knows that the Russians might not be able to see him if he ducks into the dark bubble! or he can take a blast at one of the two Russkies, or both if he is feeling lucky.

Whatever you to decide to do, initiative is...

Roll(3d12)+0:
4 CC (22),7 Hammer (23) ,2 Sickle (20) Hammer waits to act at the same time as Sickle. Both are looking for Captain Conduit this round unless he attacks, then they'll know where he is. So, you're up first.

Since the tall prone man is in the darkness, that is where Captain Conduit needs to be. While the bufoons are looking for him, hopefully he can get to the poor prone figure and check on him. all this assumes he can see where he is going.

Dice Action: Thermal Vision
Movement: Stealthfully approaching the prone figure in the dark bubble.

CAPTAIN CONDUIT

Using his vision again, Captain Conduit plunges into the jet black globe!

OOC Thermal Vision 5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,11,+0 Total:17 (22) vs
Darkness 5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 9,5,+0 Total:14 (19) +2 (tp 7EV) vs RV5=2 RAPs

The hero can *just* make out the lanky form! if not for his thermal vision he wouldn't even be able to see his hand in front of his face! Hoping the darkness impairs the vision of the two Russians as well, Captain Conduit drops down on a knee next to the long gangly man. he can't make out details - only heat sources - but sees enough movement on the body mass to suggest breathing so whoever this was wasn't in any immediate danger. His diminutive partner might be somewhere around here but in the globe of darkness it was hard to tell. Darkraven could - presumably - remove the darkness but that would cause more problems than it solved! The people inside it were relatively safe so long as they stayed inside because the Russians didn't seem to have any special means of seeing in it. Of course up until a few moments ago CC himself couldn't see in it! That presented a problem - if he were to gather up this gangly guy and leave the globe of darkness they'd be attacked!

OOC you are next to the long gangly basketball type build guy inside the darkness but will need to keep passing thermal vision checks to see. If he passes the vision check his sight is not impaired and he will not suffer a reduction of AV/OV from the darkness power.

Since this guy's stable, Captain Conduit decides he'd be best put to use if he teams up with the Darkcrow guy, who presumably can see perfectly fine in this black pea soup. Since he can see for the moment Fred decides to look and listen for where that blackbird guy might be and head toward him. Hopefully, his alter ego's notice that he would call for help and the lack of a communist symbol on his chest, should let the other hero know that Captain Conduit is on the side of the righteous... sort of.

CAPTAIN CONDUIT

(OOC Welcome back, glad to hear you are on the mend )

Conduit turns and sees... THERE!

Still encapsulated in the near total darkness he sees DarkRaven pulling groups of frightened diners together by leaning in and hissing in their ears. After their initial start they seem happy for him to lead them to a part of the room where he is gathering others and... he and they vanish!

CC stifles a curse. This darkness seemed to fight against his vision and he knew it would only be a matter of time before he was as blind as everyone else in it! That meant he'd have to leave it and he'd be at the mercy of...

"Where's the other guy? The little fellow?" hissed a voice in his ear.

Captain Conduit spun about and just a foot away or so saw DarkRaven crouched near him. "In this darkness I can see but not only that. I know who is in it, where they are and what they are doing. It is a living thing. Part of me."

He added "Those two Russians are too tough to take on alone. I can see them, floating about, looking, ready to pounce for when the darkness lifts." as he looked up. "They can both fly. Impressive. Not quite as impressive as you being able to see in here. I thought I was the only one who could do that. You are full of surprises, sir."

"So what do you suggest, and how about we team up to take the Russkies down? Assuming we can find that pocket dynamo. I only have that tall guy over there to retrieve. Everyone else - aside from the mobsters - is out of here thankfully, and in a safe place."

Captain Conduit whispers, "Don't know where shorty is. I thought maybe he got knocked out and reverted to normal size. I'd have to feel sorry for the twerp if his body parts are always that small. Anyway, I'm up for a team-up. Call me Captain Conduit. I can see energy, like I can absorb it and emit it, like a conduit, but can ya help make this stuff a little thinner in my range of vision? I can see some, but it ain't easy. And I can also fly, but it takes some of my juice to do so. I'll do a better job electrocuting these punks if I'm grounded."

DarkRaven shrugged "That seems like a good idea. I can't modulate my darkness to make it easier to see through. I can see just fine." He looked up.

"They are still there waiting for us to come out. Hmmm. How about I retrieve that big guy on the floor and we all escape, take the citizens and leave these two to face off against the gangsters?" he rasped.

Then more quietly he admitted "I am new to this. The previous DarkRaven hadn't been at it long when he bought the farm. I took this mantle up to honour him, and to take down those that murdered him."

He sounded a lot less sure of himself than he'd been when he turned up at the place. All those bullets zinging around and Russians who could toss cars about were apparently enough to take the wind out of his sails...

"If you are dead set on fighting those Reds we need to be smarter about it. Find the little fellow for one, then double or triple team them I guess, like taking down the opposition linebacker who everyone else bounced off. If you can't do it fair, do it dirty, but win! That's what my coach used to say." he looked up. "Still there. Uh oh. One is floating down to ground level, he's... he's picking up a car!"

"I am not dead set on being dead. If this guy's the last non-combatant, lets get him out of here...and us too."


Captain Conduit prepares to dodge a car if Dark Raven is too slow about it.

DarkRaven nods, barely visible even to Captain Conduit in the stygian darkness. "if I teleport us away and cancel the darkness, maybe that Russkie won't toss the car at the diner. I feel bad for the owner."

With that he moved to the 'basketball players' side and placed a hand on his shoulder, offering a hand out to Captain Conduit.

As soon as he touched it the Captain fell his stomach lurch... then he appeared maybe half a mile away on a hillside amidst trees looking at the diner from afar!

There were dazed patrons milling about, some of which were doubled over and retching, including the Chef.

"I would say the Dinner needs a new chef but the transportational effects of the space time displacement leave some with an upset stomach." rasped DarkRaven through the full face mask.

The pair looked at the diner as the Russian - suddenly enraged that his prey appeared to have vanished - tossed the car at the diner anyway! There was a huge crash then moments later an explosion as the gas in the tank went off thanks to a spark in the ruins of the diner and the place started burning with a fierce fire!

"There are some injuries. I need to get them to the hospital which may take some jumps." said DarkRaven. "The rest of these people need to talk to the police about what they've seen."

"They HAVE spoken to th' police. Me!" growled Conway as he marched over with the Scientist in tow, dragged along by his collar. "I threw up my coffee thanks to that stunt you pulled! An' besides, ain't you supposed to be dead?"

"That was someone else who wore the mantle." growled DarkRaven. "I took it up to honour him."

He turned to the people from the diner. "Anyone who needs transportation to the city hospital gather around. Anyone who wants to go down there and grab their car? I'd wait till the police and fire service show up. It's not safe."

Immediately a dozen people started shouting and asking questions at once and Conway shook his head. "QUIET!" he bellowed. "I'm a cop. I'M in charge! Everyone who needs help, over to the left. Everyone else to the right. No one is goin' anywhere till I got statements! The paperwork fer this mess is gonna give me ulcers fer a month!" he roared. "Now pipe down while I sort it out!" he roared in his best Sergeants' ex marine corp voice.

He turned to DarkRaven and Conduit. "This ain't finished. DarkRaven, you wanna get in my good graces, you show up tonight at the precinct, or near. Conduit, wherever your little friend went, I need him on side to. We got a bigger problem it seems." he glanced at the Scientist in his grasp and then at the burning diner. All eyes saw the distant red clad dots as they took to the air and flew off in the direction of the city at high speed!

"Commies. Nazi Scientists. The mob. Guys in capes flying around an' zappin' stuff. All I need now is a giant ape swingin' off a buildin' ta make my day." he growled.

Captain Conduit looked about. He couldn't see Lightning Bullet, had no idea what had happened to his new comrade in arms after that blow which had taken him out. DarkRaven listened patiently to Conway's ranting then spoke up "I'm getting people to the hospital who need it. Then I'll meet you tonight. Say... 10PM. Opposite the precinct house. I know where you work Conway."

"Yeah, I'm a popular kinda guy. Get outta here." snarled Conway.

As DarkRaven nodded to Captain Conduit and started to walk away, Conway added "Hey kid." DarkRaven stopped and turned. "Good work down there. You an' fancy britches saved lives. Whatever else happened, dat's da main thing."

The speed with which the Russians took off, and the head start they had, meant there was little chance of Captain Conduit catching them up. Lightning Bullet was another problem. Where had he gone?

The sound of distant sirens showed that the authorities had been alerted and police and emergency services were heading to the diner.

OOC A few minutes had passed by now, to get David back in the game, conveniently...

CC noticed the tall lanky guy had started to stir, groaning where he lay on the ground ten feet away...

ooc: Well, Nertz! Didn't plan on growing when unconscious, much like the Atom and Doll Man remained shrunk when unconscious. Oh well. And his costume disappears when he grows so he is now in civilian ID, which our buddy Captain Conduit will recognize as his ole college buddy - Dr. "Max" Dane. One of a group of folks who vowed to become superheroes and fight crime together.

OOC Well, especially with most of his weaknesses/points tied up to his shrinking/height he can't stay in shrunk form all the time (otherwise they aren't weaknesses) and powers are only active when turned on/maintained aside from certain *truly* automatic powers like Regeneration or Sealed Systems or Danger Sense. They just... work, no need to activate.

Moving closer to the lanky form Captain Conduit realises something...

That was Max! Max Dane from college! He was always tall but hadn't stopped growing it seems.

What, how, was he here? And where was Lightning Bullet? Back in the diner which was now burning?

Lightning Bullet vanishes... and his old buddy Max Dane appears. What could that mean?

Fred checks that his mask is on good and uses his electrical powers and acting ability to disguise his voice even more than usual after seeing Max Dane. He then turns to DarkRaven, before the gut splits to ask him. "New Dark Raven, did you know Henry Burrows?"