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

"Did you see anything when he opened the door to come in here," Lightning Bullet asks the other two heroes.

"I was keeping hidden." said DarkRaven as he pops into the room out of sight from the adjoining room and speaking quietly.

"However, I will find Conway and let him know to be ready. I may be gone some minutes. I will have to keep out of sight of the snipers. A truck may be normal for deliveries and such to a hotel like this but someone in a dark costume and a cape might stand out more..."

"Unless there is anything else, I shall take my leave and return as soon as I can. You may wish to wait until that time."

It seemed DarkRaven was speaking differently. In the same voice (from behind the full face mask) but... colder.

"If the crooks are mostly gathered in the other room, then the family should be nearby, other side of that room or across the hall or something," Lightning Bullet reasoned. "Did you see anything that might give us a better idea, Captain Conduit?"

He waved for Dark Raven to wait until CC had his say, that information might be of use to their ally outside.

"I saw a load of armed mobsters with doors behind them. DarkRaven is right. I gotta get out of this monkey suit. I bet if I'm dressed like a bellboy and carting in drinks, they won't even pay attention to me. Help me find a change of clothes around here, will ya? Or if you want to fly around all small like and look through windows, may be you can find the family for us. But don't get spotted." Captain Conduit starts looking around for something he can change into.

"I'll check the windows when it gets a bit darker," Lightning Bullet decides. "harder for the guy on the roof to see me."

DarkRaven considered, chin in hand. "I'll be back in a moment or two."

pop

The pair of heroes glanced at each other, then heard laughter and walking around in the room adjacent. The card game was hotting up but it seemed the booze wouldn't last much longer...

A minute or two ticked past...

pop

DarkRaven appeared on the ledge outside the window, risked a look in then pop he was inside the room.

"A couple of jumps around to the back of the hotel where deliveries and such are made. Easy enough to nip in." he held over a white jacket and pair of trousers. "Had to guess at your size. They may, uh, be a bit smelly."

Lightning Bullet held up the jacket. There was a wine stain on the front.

"The laundry basket was easy to get to. Not so much the kitchen and laundry areas which had staff hard at work. I kind of stand out." rasped DarkRaven.

"I also saw Conway. He's waiting at the back near the deliveries entrance in the truck. I think I scared a few years of life out of him unfortunately..." he chuckled. "Once he'd finished swearing he said he'd turn on the walkie talkie and wait for our call. He said, and I quote 'don't mess up or it's my ass that will be gettin' chewed out, just before it gets kicked with me outta th' force'."

"it's fair to say he's going out on a limb to trust us." admitted DarkRaven.

ooc: How close are we to sundown?

Captain Conduit takes off his cowl and give it to DarkRaven. For the first time his old friend can see his face. He's a bit older, but definitely Fred Aster. The other guy would have no reason to recognize him, unless he went through the original DarkRaven's photo album. He hands DarkRaven his cape and cowl. "I'll need that to fly, but it'll spoil my cover. Any chance we can get a room service cart with drinks on it and a place to stash the cape and the pint sized hero under the table, blocked from sight by a tablecloth?"

OOC Call it evening now, it's dusk/dark outside.

DarkRaven was impassive as he took the cape and cowl from Captain Conduit. "You have my word I shall not reveal who you are Captain Conduit."

"I can pop back down to the service area and see if I can return with a cart." said DarkRaven. "Tablecloth, possibly another waiters uniform, drinks." he said as if checking off on a list. "Anything else?"

"QUIET BACK THERE!" yelled a voice from the adjoining room. The trio of heroes stopped whispering and ducked down, but the voice continued. "ANY MORE OUTTA YOU AN' YOU'LL GET WHAT'S COMIN' TO YA! Remember... if dat scientist guy don't get back here soon... let's just say it ain't gonna go well fer you!"

"He's speaking to the hostages." whispered DarkRaven. "We may be running out of time."

OOC Lightning Bullet has a thought...

Int 5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 4,5,+0 Total:9 (14) vs
OV3 + Roll(2d12)+0: 2,4,+0 Total:6 (9)
Success +3
(to Will 6) vs RV3=3 RAPs

1) These goons work for the same guy Lightning Bullet encountered in the mansion in the hills.
2-3) Entrusted as they are with guarding the family of the 'golden goose' so to speak, the man who is able to enhance and boost their abilities with animal attributes, there is a chance some or all of them have near superhuman abilities to call upon. A fight in this confined space may not be straightforward. Throw firearms into the mix and the real possibility of serious injury or death is a concern...

Captain Conduit whispers to Lightning Bullet. "Here's a plan. I go in with drinks for the guards and bread for the hostages. While in there, I slip them the note. DarkRaven needs to see where he's porting, but he can't fly. Can you get him to outside the window of the door I enter? Then he ports hostages down to the van until he can get us out too. What am I missing?"

"They won't let you see the hostages," Lightning Bullet replies. "And some of the guards may have powers as well as guns so any possible battle could get them killed. Better to wait a bit for it to get just a bit darker and then have us carry Dark Raven outside and have him peek into windows to try and find the hostages. Once we know where they are and if anyone else is in the room with them, then we can figure out a plan. You walking in among the crooks, even in disguise is too dangerous to the hostages."

"If we can teleport them out without the guards even suspecting we are here, is the best way to do this. I know you want to get in there and mix it up with the crooks, but hostages free first then take them on."

"Well bud, I'm going in there to serve them drinks unless you and DR are able to act first. Because if I don't bring the drinks to them, then they're coming out here to us."

Lightning Bullet shrugs, Captain Conduit has his plan and he has his own. Teamwork is something they will obviously have to work on.

"Okay, you do your thing and we will go and peek through the windows here on this side of the floor and see if we can find the hostages. If we do and there is no one else in the room with them, you teleport them out Dark Raven and down to our police friend. I will stay in their room as back-up if Captain Conduit needs it."

"IF there is someone in the room with them, we will figure out what to do then."

Dressing himself as a waiter and frowning as the waistcoat comes up too short, Fred Aster casts glances at the door to the room adjacent.

The mobsters had - it seemed - exhausted the supply of booze and probably weren't coming in here except to use the toilet. DarkRaven had 'popped' away and returned a short time later with a trolley, uniform and several hastily grabbed bottles of booze. "I didn't have time to inspect the various brands so I hope we have something they want." said the fledgling hero, holding up a bottle to his featureless full face mask and seeming to frown underneath it.

"Before you go in there." whispered DarkRaven with a tipped head trying to decide if Fred Asters' disguise looked convincing. "There may be one other option."

"Maybe if one of us pulls the fire alarm?" he suggested. "That would create confusion and a distraction and we'd have less gun toting goons to deal with. Chances are that the hostages may have a guard or two in the room with them, we just don't know. Might be easier for us if we can thin out the herd, so to speak..."

Lightning Bullet explained his plan to carry DarkRaven around the outside of the building to inspect this floor and check all the windows to find the hostages and see what was required, maybe even teleport them out without a fight.

"I like the plan to go in there with the drinks. We'll get a good look at how many are in there and where their weapons are. I like the plan where we fly around the outside and look in the windows. I also think the fire alarm plan has merit." he admitted. "I'll leave it to you two to decide what we do. I'm still getting used to these powers and you two make this look easy."

"Only problem with the fire alarm gag is that it might cause some of the crooks to head into the rooms with the captives right away instead of running around confused for a minute or two. But honestly, all these plans have a large bit of danger to them. Not so much worried about danger to us as the family. Want to minimize their danger while getting them out."

Lightning Bullet scratches his head and thinks.

"How about we do both Captain Conduit's and my plan? He brings drinks and looks over the situation. Once he knocks on the door, we two go outside and peek in the nearby windows to see if we can see the family and if anyone else is in the room with them."

Fred looks up at the ceiling to see if there are any fire sprinklers. They were invented in the 1870s, so it's worth a shot. One zap to them should set off an alarm. "I like the fire alarm backup plan. good thinkin' kid." Fred looks at the new clothes and tries to dress appropriately before wheeling the drinks in.

DarkRaven seems encouraged by Captain Conduits' words and nods respectfully to Lightning Bullets' heads up.

"So, outside then." he said and 'popped' onto the window ledge, waiting for Lightning Bullet to climb out and carry him.

Then something occurs to DarkRaven (OOC and the GM!) "I'd better 'pop' you outside the room. It wouldn't do for you to enter their lounge from the side room with no logical way to explain how the waiter and a drinks trolley appeared here!"

Moments later he appears after vanishing and nods - the corridor is clear. With a final muttered "Good luck!" DarkRaven vanishes again.

Fred Aster summons up a breath then pastes on a smile and knocks at the door.

=========

"If we hear gunshots I can get us back into the side room instantly." said DarkRaven. "Though I hope our friend will be alright. I've seen what can happen to superheroes under a hail of gunfire."

Lightning Bullet with vast superhuman strength takes hold of DarkRavens' hands and carries him from ledge to ledge. Others the dark clad hero can 'pop' to. With some caution, checking every window on this floor takes time, and some are shuttered with curtains, preventing viewing...

=========

"Finally!" growled a suited goon as he snarled, chomping on a cigar as he opened the door and waved the way in for the waiter.

"What happened to da broad? The blonde? Send her up next time!" shouted one of the men around the table.

The room was very large, a sprawling lounge type area with couches and a large table set up in the middle. There were half a dozen chairs around it and the table was covered with poker chips, cards and piles of money. Nestled in amongst it were overflowing ashtrays, plates, empty bottles and cups... tobacco smoke hung in the air and the place stank of bad breath, booze, farts and B.O.

Fred Aster could see several doors off this room including the one where they'd been hiding out and which leads to one of the suites' toilets. There were six goons in here and a side door slightly ajar revealed a snoring goon on a bed with a hat over his face. There was other movement in that room but it seemed careful, timid, so as not to disturb the sleeping goon.

"Clear up this mess!" snarled one of the goons. "Look at it! Whadda pigsty! What kinda service do ya call dis?" said another, grabbing an empty bottle and considering taking a drink until he saw the cigarette butts floating in the bottle. He tossed it onto the carpeted floor and muttered "Get dis cleaned up!"

The others laughed and stood, stretching. One hairy/angry looking fellow pointed a finger in Fred's face. "Don't disturb the game. Kapeesh?" he said with a reference to the cards and the piles of chips and money.

OOC Captain Conduit Perception Check

Int 6 + Roll(2d12)+0: 8,5,+0 Total:13 (19) vs
OV4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,2,+0 Total:8 (12)
Success +4 (to 8 Will) vs RV4=4 RAPs

1) All of the goons are wearing holstered pistols. There are a stack of pump action type shotguns against a wall with coats draped over them. A member of hotel staff would not have been sharp eyed enough to spot this.
2-3) All of the goons are in good-great physical shape, suggesting intense regular physical exercise and a disciplined dietary regime. A glance at the table and the piles of discarded plates and nature of the 'junk' food (fries and roasted chicken, pizza and so on) are at odds with the condition of the mobsters. In appropriate garb these slobbish, surly, ill kempt mobsters would blend in perfectly as peak condition Olympic Athletes.
4-6) On the arm of one of the goons, revealed by a rolled up sleeve, Fred Aster spots several red dots suggesting multiple injections. Coupled with the condition these 'slobs' were in and their 'twitchy' animal like behaviour and high levels of aggression, it seems a certainty that all of these men have been enhanced in some fashion by Schmidts' science. Captain Conduit knew - for certain - that any of these men presented a dangerous adversary and at a guess they possessed enhanced reflexes, strength, endurance and durability. Talk about walking into the lions' den!

"More food too! What the...? Get more booze dammit!" roared an angry Mobster as he roughly moved Fred aside to check the trolley out. He held out a few bottles and shook his head. "Dis ain't gonna last us!" he spat with a snarling look at Fred.

Fred glanced about. The sheer number of bottles, stacks of plates, mounds of mostly finished food and mess in this place suggested these men had been eating and drinking - hard - for hours if not days. All should be spark out, exhausted, sleeping it off. Whatever was inside them kept them active, 'wired', angry and dangerous!

=========

Outside the pair of heroes moved from window to window...

OOC Lightning Bullet Perception check

Int 5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 8,9,+0 Total:17 (22) vs
OV4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,3,+0 Total:9 (13)
Success +4 (to Will 7) vs RV4=3 RAPs

1) Very few of the side rooms - sleeping areas and bedrooms - seem to have been slept in.
2-3) The rooms with curtains drawn reveal little but, finally, as Fred Asters gathers empty bottles and stacks of plates in the main room, Lightning Bullet and DarkRaven peer into the gap of a curtain to see a room where several beds have been roughly gathered. Schmidts' family are in here, frightened. There are two children - a boy and a girl, a woman of middle age and an aged woman probably in her mid seventies or so. The children were quietly playing with discarded bottles as cars or such and chided occasionally by the mother figure to keep quiet. She casts terrified glances at a bed where a big (mid six foot) bulky mobster sleeps on a bed. The door to the room is open a crack revealing some of the large gaming room/lounge beyond and the hostages are terrified about making any sound or movement that might get them noticed. There are at least a dozen empty bottles of strong spirits discarded around the bed of the sleeping mobster as well plates of half eaten food and ashtrays overflowing. Everything suggests the man should be a walking heart attack waiting to happen, but his physical condition - what can be seen of it - is superb, akin to a heavyweight boxing champion.

"Can you teleport all of them in one go," Lightning Bullet asks Dark Raven. "Pop us in next to the sleeping guard, which I will try to knock out with my electric touch, while you grab everyone and pop them to safety? If we do it fast enough, we can get surprise and in and out faster than anyone can react."

"Yes, sir. Right away sir. As you wish sir." Fred asks super meek around these guys, letting them laugh at him while he cleans up after them. He starts emptying the trash cans and goes into the adjacent rooms to collect the trash and return it to the cart. He starts with the rooms with open doors, then goes to the room they came from and then finally goes to collect trash from the other rooms. (Please let me know when/if someone tries to stop him from cleaning up.)

DarkRaven 'looked' doubtful, as much as someone could with a featureless full face mask.

"The problem, I find, is that the 'surprise' factor is something of a problem. To put it bluntly, appearing in the midst of people dressed all in black makes it very tricky to persuade someone not to panic. And..." he glances at the elderly woman in the room "... the risk of a heart attack is high. Teleporting a dead person to the back of a truck might not be on Conways' list of what constitutes a 'good job'."

"I can teleport you in the room to avoid the sounds of breaking glass but they will cry out. If we can get that door shut and be very persuasive, there may not be the outcry and general panic that my appearance normally elicits." he admitted.

Glancing up and down at Lightning Bullet he adds "You are marginally less terrifying than me to civilians. My intention when taking on this mantel was to instil fear in wrong doers. It doesn't endear me to ordinary folk much though."

=========

Captain Conduit/Fred Aster/The waiter moved through the room, smiling and being as deferential as he could as he busied about, loading plates onto the trolley and tipping rubbish into a bag hanging on the side.

The place stank. Thankfully his super powers did not include olfactory enhancement so he moved from stack to stack of dirty plates and waste food. A glance around revealed not much of a dent was made. He'd need to be back.

At least three times.

Steering himself to the door to the bedroom where Schmidts' family were held he suddenly heard a voice call out. "Hey! HEY! Get back from there!"

Fred felt rather than saw a hulking form of a mobster behind him. He turned and ... were the mans' eyes cat like? He blinked, averting his gaze and the mobster snarled. "Mind yer business. Get cleaned up in here. Then we need more food n booze. Kapeesh?"

Fred wasn't a little guy. He was in great physical shape and comfortably fell into the 'elite athlete' category but this guy was straining the shirt and pants from every angle!

"Yo Johnny! Cool it man!" said one of the others. "you wanna walk round in rags like Denny had ta?"

There were chuckles from that and 'Johnny' turned, chuckling, before he looked back at Fred, eyes no longer cat like and the shirt loosening slightly.

Fred figured that this guy and whatever was inside him was triggered by adrenaline or negative emotions. He looked around the room. If things kicked off he might be surrounded by animal attribute enhanced goons and killers!

With a glance back at the bedroom he caught the eye of Schmidts' wife. She was a woman in her late forties/early fifties and was trying not to look terrified. The old woman sat on the couch dare not move, whilst the kids played with the cups and food debris. A mobster snored on the couch.

Then he caught a glimpse of DarkRaven and Lightning Bullet at the window. They were in position, probably just needed some kind of distraction to get the family out...

Fred wants to slip the family the note, but cat eyes is making that difficult. It's time for Plan B. They want this place cleaned up, well there's cigarette ash on the floor and that has to be vacuumed up. He looks about for a vacuum and brings it to an outlet near the hostage room, but not too close to it. Then right after he plugs in the vacuum, he tries to blow out a fuse in the wall using his lightning power. That should put the light out giving his friends at the window the distraction they need.

Should he be successful, Fred will call attention to himself as an inept hotel worker. "Oh, no! Was the vacuum switched on before I plugged it in? Did I just stick it in wrong? I'm so sorry! So, so, sorry. I'll get the electrician immediately. And food, you'll all get free food and drinks on the house. So, so sorry! We'll make this up to you. I promise!" He then makes for the exit with the cart of trash.

OOC As luck would have it... hey I don't screw the players over all the time...

"Hey Johnny! I think you scared dis guy outta ten years!" laughed one of the goons.

The others joined in, and even Johnny cracked a smile as Fred Aster scurried around trying to clean the place up and found a vacuum cleaner in a closet.

After he'd set it up and plugged it in, Fred glanced about and reached a finger to turn it on...

It started... and a spark from his finger promptly stopped it - and tripped the lights, the music, everything electrical in the place!

The room was plunged into darkness with much shouting and snarling!

Fred's eyes immediately adjusted to see all the heat sources in the room which was more or less pitch black save for the light from outside coming from the room the family were held in, and even then just barely through a crack in the curtains.

He also saw something else. The goons were getting hotter. An ordinary wouldn't - of course - be able to spot this sort of thing but Fred's superhuman vision saw an intensifying of heat in the core of the body of most - not all - of the goons and some of their eyes started to 'burn' brighter.

Fred wasn't the only one who could see in the dark it seemed.

Immediately he lay it on thick with his acting ability and 'took' a cuff to the back of the head which sent him sprawling. It would have been powerful enough to make an ordinary persons' head spin but Fred had to make it look good so ended up on his belly, groaning.

"Awww nice one Johnny! Who's gonna clean dis place up and turn da lights on now, eh? EH?" roared one of the goons.

Another yelled out "Musta tripped da whole floor. Phone ain't workin."

"Well dats just swell. Clean dat guy up. We don't want the cops sniffin round."

"Yeah? Bring 'em on! I'm itchin fer a fight!"

"Cool it Frankie. I swear, if you go all Rhino on us I'm gonna shoot ya myself!"

"Wouldn't hurt! You heard dat science guy! Strong n tough as a Rhino!" said Frankie. "Someone got a lighter?" he added. "I can't see nuthin!"

The goons continued to argue as rough hands lifted Fred up, dusting him down.

"You're alright." said one, stuffing a ten in Fred's pocket. "Get th' power on, dis place cleaned up an' more food n booze, kapeesh? Not a word, an dere is anudder ten in it fer you." said the goon with a light slap to Fred's face and a cup of his chin in a grimy hand.

Fred was helped to the door and heard it close behind him in the corridor.

=========

Whilst that was going on...

"What the?" spluttered DarkRaven with a glance at Lightning Bullet.

The main room with the gathered goons had gone dark - as had the entire floor of the hotel judging from the lights having winked off!

The heroes turned and saw the guy on the bed groan, rise, rub his eyes and yell out "Yous guys! What the..?" With a scowl the man rose and turned to the family, petrified now and moving away as the goon stood and pointed a threatening finger at each of the women, then down at the kids. The message was clear. Try anything and the kids suffer.

"Lousy crumb!" muttered DarkRaven as he started forward, but a hand from Lightning Bullet held him back. The goon from the couch left the room and closed the door behind. Sounded like a lot of shouting going on.

"Now's our chance!" said Lightning Bullet!

The pair 'popped' into the room near the door and the women... gasped in terror, though their mouths were covered with their hands as they tried to obey the 'not a peep!' order from the Mobster moments before. They were absolutely terrified though, and on the verge of screaming!

The kids, with backs to the heroes, played on, oblivious.

The heroes had moments before the bad guy came back in here, they figured...

OOC Fred Aster may take a while to reset the power, get the place cleaned, get food and drink and so on. He doesn't know his comrades are in the room now with the hostages but knows Max Dane is a smart guy so can hope Lightning Bullet uses the opportunity.

Lightning Bullet and DarkRaven may have to persuade the family that they are the good guys, or take their chances and 'pop' them out. The old lady already looks at her wits' end... You don't have long before that goon gets back in here...

Whilst that was going on...

"What the?" spluttered DarkRaven with a glance at Lightning Bullet.

The main room with the gathered goons had gone dark - as had the entire floor of the hotel judging from the lights having winked off!

The heroes turned and saw the guy on the bed groan, rise, rub his eyes and yell out "Yous guys! What the..?" With a scowl the man rose and turned to the family, petrified now and moving away as the goon stood and pointed a threatening finger at each of the women, then down at the kids. The message was clear. Try anything and the kids suffer.

"Lousy crumb!" muttered DarkRaven as he started forward, but a hand from Lightning Bullet held him back. The goon from the couch left the room and closed the door behind. Sounded like a lot of shouting going on.

"Now's our chance!" said Lightning Bullet!

The pair 'popped' into the room near the door and the women... gasped in terror, though their mouths were covered with their hands as they tried to obey the 'not a peep!' order from the Mobster moments before. They were absolutely terrified though, and on the verge of screaming!

The kids, with backs to the heroes, played on, oblivious.

The heroes had moments before the bad guy came back in here, they figured...

OOC Fred Aster may take a while to reset the power, get the place cleaned, get food and drink and so on. He doesn't know his comrades are in the room now with the hostages but knows Max Dane is a smart guy so can hope Lightning Bullet uses the opportunity.

Lightning Bullet and DarkRaven may have to persuade the family that they are the good guys, or take their chances and 'pop' them out. The old lady already looks at her wits' end... You don't have long before that goon gets back in here...



"We're American Superheroes," Lightning Bullet said quickly and quietly. "We're here to save you! Everyone, hold onto each other tightly and we will get you out of here and back to Herr Professor Doktor!"

'This is Dark Raven. He will get you to safety. Just hold hands and close your eyes and you will be safe by the count of 10! Promise!"

"Dark Raven, get them out. I will hover outside and see if Captain Conduit needs help getting out of there."

ooc: In his excitement, Lightning Bullet forgot that they may not speak English well.

Fred plays the part of the docile hotel worker, appreciative of the $10 and eager to earn another, until the door is closed on him and he's able reach the stairwell. Then he promptly heads out of there, hoping his job is done and he hustles to where the getaway car is parked. Once he spots the vehicle he pulls his mask over his face and bolts for where their cop friend is waiting.