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

Captain Conduit pulls over, locks his glove box and trunk then puts the keys in the ignition and starts the car idling with the emergency break on. He makes sure only the one car key is in the ignition. "Okay chum, you take it from here." Cap then climbs in the back and ties a coat around his head to cover his eyes. "You better not get in an accident or you owe me a new car."

OOC Nice interaction between the pair of you.

Driving the car like it was borrowed from a cranky aunt without permission a lanky Max Dane has to twist his neck somewhat to fit in behind the wheel.

The scientist is still well out of it and whilst Captain Conduits' Thermal Vision allows him to see heat sources through the coat it won't show details. Added to that it's daylight now and the sun is well up which means everything kind of 'whites out' when he uses it. Just have to go with the flow and trust the chauffeur it seems.

Max finally eases the car down the ramp and steps out to pull a lever that sets motors and chains rattling before he can open the door (as Lightning Bullet) and let the two occupants out. Of course it was worrying that Captain Conduit seemed to have seen his true self but also seemed to know who he was. Of course with his abnormal height and society pages being what they were there might have been an article or two about his escapades - the bored rich need something to do with their time - but it seemed he'd have to trust Captain Conduit.

"Where... where am I?" spluttered Schmidt. He stumbled out of the car and looked around. "Zis seems to be some kind of ... lair?" he looked about. "Are zer any scientific facilities?" he asked, rubbing his glasses clean for a more detailed look.

Before Lightning Bullet could answer that, there was a squawk from the radio which was patched into speakers dotted around the place.

"CALLING ALL CARS!" it crackled. "CODE 2113 ALPHA REPORTED!"

OOC Lightning Bullet Int 5 + Roll(2d12)+0: 2,9,+0 Total:11 (16) vs
OV4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 11,8,+0 Total:19 (23) Failed.

Lightning Bullet frowned. 2113. What was...? He'd have to check in the book he carried around when patrolling/listening to a police scanner in his own car.

Captain Conduit on the other hand...

OOC Int 6 + Roll(2d12)+0: 11,1,+0 Total:12 (18) vs
OV4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,5,+0 Total:11 (15) Success +2 (to Will 6) vs RV4=2 RAPs

1) This is a police code for a Bank Robbery and/or incidental crime.
2-3) The ALPHA part refers to the the threat level, more specifically in this day and age to suggest the bank robbers are extremely dangerous and armed with powerful weapons or - worse - have superhuman abilities!

OOC Some time has elapsed now. You've been up all night (though LB had a short nap) and Ruby City is in the midst of rush hour so the time is 0830-0900. Now this. Plus you have the scientist to consider. Anything of interest Lightning Bullet doesn't want the little fellow looking at?

ooc: Locking up the stairway and the elevators, both at the Think Tank and above ground, so he can't get out unless he has really good lockpicking skills. But as I said, didn't have points to buy any cool super-stuff so just stuff you can buy with money. So I don't think that there is anything he can use. No ... lock up the lab too. It's a basic lab, nothing too fancy.

LB will point out the bare bones bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, living room and meeting room. And strongly suggest Herr Doktor Professor stay in those areas while we go save his family.

“Nice digs. But if the rest of your fortune is at a local bank, you may want to consider a quick withdrawal. The radio says it’s in the process of being robbed by some bad dudes.”

"True, but we also have a family to save.  Which is more important to you," Lightning Bullet replies. "To me, money can be replaced, families can't."

The Scientist considered. "Ze gengsters know I vill try to get beck to my family. Zey can afford to wait. Perhaps some kind of plen to rescue zem may be in order..."

He looked around. "Do you hef... any chemistry supplies? I am an accomplished scientist and may be able to cook something up zet vill help create confusion."

"besides zet, I em tired. I shell rest up und comply viz votever you decide. I owe you my life und I hope zet you vill rescue my family but my be realistic. You are two against... an army!"

"CALLING ALL CARS! RESPOND TO 2113 ALPHA on HAYES STREET. The US National Bank is being robbed! Reports of red clad super humans!!!" squawked the radio.

Red Clad. The Russians?

"Since we don't know where the heck we are, would you mind saying how close that bank is, L.B.? If it's the same guys who ambushed us and our original ambushers at the diner, I think at least one of us aught to check it out."

"We are outside the city limits, beyond that I won't say with Herr Doktor Professor around. By car and with traffic, it could take us a half hour or so to get to the bank," Lightning Bullet replies. "If you can fly or run faster than a car and don't need to follow the roads ... depends on how fast you can go. While I can fly in my current shrunken form, my speed is slower than a running dog's. So unless they are somehow trapped in the bank, they will probably be long gone before we get there. And if they stay there when they could get away, then it is obviously a trap for us."

"So ... how fast can you move and can you take me with you? If we need to drive your car then they will probably be long gone and we can instead work on freeing Herr Doktor Professor's family. As much as I want to smash those Commie So-n-Sos, I think rescuing the family should take priority."


ooc: Just some movement information. A dog's running speed is 4. A normal car's speed is 6. While Lightning Bullet has a flight speed of 6, he can only fly while shrunk by at least 3 APs [size of a dog, his current max shrinking size] and he loses one AP of speed for each AP of shrinking so he really only has a flight speed of 3, which I think is a normal human's running speed or 2 is. So when we finally get some HP to spend, Flight and then shrinking are his two most important areas he wants to spend them on.

"I can fly faster than you and can get some energy if you don't mind me increasing your electric bill, but it's that far, maybe we should sleep and do the hero thing later. Do you have a place for me to crash or shall I doze in my car?"

"I have bedrooms down here with army cots, in case the team I hope to form one day soon needs a place to crash. Kitchen is over there. Bathrooms over there," he replies, pointing out the appropriate doors. "Laundry over there."

He looks over at Captain Conduit, "after Herr Professor Doktor goes to his room to lie down, we need to go to the room you pick out and talk."

"Then I'll pee first." Captain Conduit heads to the bathroom.

The Doctor retires to the allotted room/bunk and is now out of earshot.

Moments later as Lightning Bullet and Captain Conduit hold steaming mugs of coffee, they hear the man snoring quietly. A quick check... he's out of it. He looks like a small man in his fifties but make no mistake - he was a Nazi scientist charged with experimenting on people to mutate them. When/if that proved successful on a mass scale the plan had been to mutate front line soldiers to give them the regeneration capabilities of lizards, the strength of mountain gorillas or elephants, the agility and speed of cats and the senses of whichever animal was best in that particular area.

Sure, his family being held hostage, who have nothing to do with it, is a bad thing. But that's on him...

OOC You are fine to chat and the Doctor is (you've checked) sound asleep and not faking it!

Lightning Bullet makes sure the Nazi Scientist's door is closed and then closes the door to the kitchen so as to not be heard.

"Okay, you seem to know who I am. I want to know who you think I am and why you think that," he says to Captain Conduit.

Captain Conduit grins. "That reminds me, I found a tall lanky guy unconscious in the parking lot of the diner. Can I use your phone to call Conway and ask if he's recovered? Hopefully, he's at a hospital right now getting the medical attention he needs. Or sitting here, having a cup of coffee with me...maybe considering thanking me for saving his life."

Lightning Bullet frowns at being what he feels is a threat. "Just who are you? And why would you think you know who I am?"

"It's so obvious. You probably knew DarkRaven before he got powers. Since you both are freaks now, maybe you guys made a pact to become superheroes when you were younger. I guess you lost touch. Otherwise, you would've been his little sidekick I bet. But now you learn your old friend was DarkRaven. So you put on your pajamas and try to find his killer. It's a touching story really. Hey, can I have the book rights?"

"And would you have also been such a youngster to make such a pact," Lightning Bullet asks, wondering if he had found an old college friend or if he was about to launch himself into a battle against a foe who had found out about such a pact.

"I didn't need a pact. Herr Professor doesn't have a monopoly on scientific interest in improving upon human evolution. But I only ever experimented on myself. Of course, unlike you, I couldn't afford to pay for volunteer subjects or other scientists to help me. Fortunately, studying hard, experimenting, being a jerk and faulty wiring was all I needed." Captain Conduit smirks.

Clues for LB that Captain Conduit is Fred Aster.
1. Fred was one of the group.
2. Fred studied science, but was also a classically trained actor. (A skill he used a couple times in the one day they've been crime-fighting together.)
3. Fred worked as a soda jerk to pay for school. (Specifically, why he used the word "jerk" in that last sentence.)

Lightning Bullet thinks it over. Captain Conduit seems to talk in riddles. He might have a scientific background along with his PI license but he wasn't sure.

"I have no idea what you are dancing around, friend," he says at last. "How about this? You give me your first name and let me see if I can figure it out from there?"

“I’m tired man. Let’s play 20 questions after we’ve gotten some sleep.” Captain Conduit brings his cup to the sink. He didn’t drink any of the coffee, because he doesn’t want to disturb his chances of getting rest. Cap then leaves to go to bed.

Lightning Bullet sits there while the two men sleep, pondering what to do. Captain Conduit was playing games with him, he was sure about it. Games that could lead to his identity being released to the public, which would end his career if not his life.

He could chloroform Captain Conduit while he slept and then put him in a crate bound for South America without any money or id. It would take him weeks if not months to get home from that. But that would just delay the problem and the man had helped him out of a couple of very dangerous situations. So was he an enemy who would try blackmailing him? Was he someone he knew? Someone who really did know who he was or bluffing or some sort of weird mind game? Was he an actual ally or even an old friend?

He decided that this was something too dangerous to continue to be polite to the man, doing what he could to avoid learning his secret Identity. So if he knew Lightning Bullet's secret ID, it was fair for him to learn Captain Conduit's secret ID too. So after making sure that the two men were asleep, he went to Captain Conduit's car and looked for the vehicle registration which would contain all the information he needed.



ooc: Back in those days, a lot of cars had a plastic and/or leather sleeve that was wrapped around the steering column by a couple of stretched out springs to hold the registration form.

ooc: The vehicle registration will have the person's name, address, make and model of vehicle on the form. Don't know about England but you have to have that in the vehicle at all times. Which is why these older vehicles had a plastic holder wrapped around the steering column to hold it. Not sure when they moved to just being in the glove box.

Here's an example:

here's what I'm talking about

Fred locked that stuff up in his glove box before he let you drive. Captain Conduit has the only key. And the car and trunk are locked too.