RUBY CITY DEFENDERS! Issue #3 - Calm before the storm...

OOC: I was in a play and that took a lot of my free time. The last show was Sunday, so I'll be able to post more regularly now.

"The Doc's under house arrest of sorts. We can argue about that later if you want, but first let's save some lives." Captain Conduit tells Conway. "I share your concern about the air barrage, but I don't want some trigger happy kid to decide to shoot the weird flying man either. Also, we may need them to do their thing if we can't find a cure for giant ape in this place. What is it? Where are we? And how can being on this roof or inside with those keys help us soothe that savage beast?"

LIGHTNING BULLET

OOC PLANNED KNOCKBACK, DEVASTATING ATTACK

AV7+2D Martial Arts + 4d12+0 7,11,4,11+0 = 22 DOUBLE plus 2d12+0 4,2+0 = 28 (35)
OV8 (Dev attack) + 2d12+0 12,8+0 = 20 (28)
Success +4
EV9 +4 (EV13) vs RV15 - 12 (Dev Attack) (RV3)=10 RAPs failed but...

The Giant Ape weighs around fifty tons (give or take) which is 12APs. You don't actually knock the Ape back any distance but what you do is counteract the fall just enough to divert it so...

The Ape, from falling forwards, suddenly tilts to the side and crashes onto the street, crushing a truck, several cars and some street furniture (lamp, bench and a mail box).

The bystanders who'd evacuated their vehicles to run in fear moments ago gaped as the huge creature lay still, then started snoring, its fetid breath and gale force wind enough to have people moving further away.

One guy moved forward and removed his cap, rubbing his thinning hair. "Oh man, how'm I ever gonna explain this to the boss?" he said as he looked at the flattened truck with boxes of goods - looked like canned and packet food - spilled out onto the street.

The people who'd been in danger of being flattened were still in shock but one pointed out "Look! The little fellow! He did it! He SAVED us!"

As people saw the diminutive hero zipping about they started to clap and cheer!

Lightning Bullet had another problem - the air force was closing in and the jets sounded awfully close now! They wouldn't open fire on the downed ape - and possibly risk the people in the street - would they?

OOC Don't worry about real life constraints Andy - I've more than enough going on (and it's been that way for over a year now) to keep me away more than I'd like. Just post when you can and I'll do likewise. At some point the sea will flatten out. I hope...

CAPTAIN CONDUIT

"Up here we can better see the mess the city is in" growled Conway, shaking his head. "We got power lines down, traffic lights snarled up and fender benders blocking every street from miles around. The people are panicked, a giant ape is on the loose and..."

"Oh no. You gotta be kiddin me!"

He pointed a fair distance down the street to where people were running. A different direction from where the ape had come from. In fact, keep going that way and it would lead to the zoo. Captain Conduit shielded his eyes from the suns glare and saw...

A giant spider, a scorpion and dozens of ants?

Whilst nowhere near the 100' high or so of the Giant ape the insects had been grown to be ten to twenty feet high and the effect on the populace was startling! People screamed, running in panic and falling over each other to get away as the giant insects moved about the cars and twitched in the way insects do as if selecting - or hunting - prey. The ants were smaller - between six and ten feet in height - but faster and more dangerous it seemed. Captain Conduit could see a man being carried in the mandibles of an ant, to who knew where!

"Gotta be comin' from the zoo!" said Conway. "Man, we gotta get there, fast, see if we can stop it! Can you..." he looked as if chewing on something unsavoury - "can you gimme a lift, then sort those things out?"

Lightning Bullet quickly looked around to see if everyone had gotten away safely. The diminutive hero was worried that if the aircraft did strafe the giant ape that there would be people along the street who were in the line of fire, so he check both ends of the street.

ooc: IF he doesn't spot anyone, he will zoom up into the air and try to flag down the jets. They are way faster than he is, I think. So spotting a glowing tiny flying man might be a problem. If he does spot people along the street in the possible strafing zone, he will zoom over and get the into a building or alleyway out of the strafe zone.

Admin wrote:LIGHTNING BULLET

OOC PLANNED KNOCKBACK, DEVASTATING ATTACK

AV7+2D Martial Arts + 4d12+0 7,11,4,11+0 = 22 DOUBLE plus 2d12+0 4,2+0 = 28 (35)
OV8 (Dev attack) + 2d12+0 12,8+0 = 20 (28)
Success +4
EV9 +4 (EV13) vs RV15 - 12 (Dev Attack) (RV3)=10 RAPs failed but...

The Giant Ape weighs around fifty tons (give or take) which is 12APs. You don't actually knock the Ape back any distance but what you do is counteract the fall just enough to divert it so...

The Ape, from falling forwards, suddenly tilts to the side and crashes onto the street, crushing a truck, several cars and some street furniture (lamp, bench and a mail box).

The bystanders who'd evacuated their vehicles to run in fear moments ago gaped as the huge creature lay still, then started snoring, its fetid breath and gale force wind enough to have people moving further away.

One guy moved forward and removed his cap, rubbing his thinning hair. "Oh man, how'm I ever gonna explain this to the boss?" he said as he looked at the flattened truck with boxes of goods - looked like canned and packet food - spilled out onto the street.

The people who'd been in danger of being flattened were still in shock but one pointed out "Look! The little fellow! He did it! He SAVED us!"

As people saw the diminutive hero zipping about they started to clap and cheer!

Lightning Bullet had another problem - the air force was closing in and the jets sounded awfully close now! They wouldn't open fire on the downed ape - and possibly risk the people in the street - would they?

LIGHTNING BULLET

The problem with being a doll sized superhuman who flew and glowed was that people were too astounded to obey simple instructions whilst they waited for their brains to catch up and comprehend just what it was they were seeing!

So it was that a guy in his car who was gaping at the ape gaped at the flying man, his cigarette falling from nerveless lips. Another fellow in a truck just shook his head muttering "They ain't never gonna believe me!"

Lightning Bullet zipped about trying to get people off the street and the roar of the jets got louder. Flicking from the people in the street to the pair of jets in the air he flew up, trying to flag them down. This would be a disaster they'd never see him and... huh?

They pulled up and banked away. Had they seen him?

Glancing back he... wait. Where had the Ape gone? It was as big as a football field and had filled a big section of the street! It couldn't just get up and... no. Wait. There.

Lying on the hood of a once car (now squashed and flattened pile of scrap) was an 'ordinary' Gorilla. Still six hundred pounds of hair and muscle but an ordinary Gorilla. It'd shrunk to what appeared to be its normal size, and so to the pilots had seemed to vanish! Without knowing what to look for they were unable to pick the Gorilla out from the squashed cars and the animal didn't move either. With that in mind they'd pulled up, hard and were heading back to base it seemed.

Lightning Bullet glanced back at the street. People were moving in, looking at the slumbering beast. A cop, emboldened, pulled out his pistol and took aim...

Captain Conduit grabs the officer and says, "This might tingle a bit," before lifting him into the sky, riding on waves of electromagnetic energy. He flies straight toward the poor sap in the ant's mandibles, dropping Conway off before electro-shocking the bug in it's butt. His hope that will shock only the ant and cause it to let go of the man in its clutches.

CAPTAIN CONDUIT and Detective Conway

"Wai.... Whaaaaaaaa!" wailed Conway and he clung as hard as he could, legs wiggling and gaping at the street below. "What the...?" he spluttered, hanging on. "This is gonna play havoc with my ulcers!"

He sets Conway down who stumbles and reaches for a streetlamp to steady himself then flies over to the giant ant, around it and keeps pace, taking real careful aim.

OOC Pulling Punch (+4 RV)

Lightning 8 + Range 0 (floating up in the air and behind the ant as it scuttles along with the screaming fellow in its mandibles) + 2d12+0 1,2+0 = 3 FUMBLE (in the house rules using D12s upped the Fumble to 3 or less instead of simple double 1).

Something happened, went wrong, didn't work as planned. Whatever it was, the bright flash of light spooked the ant which took off, speeding along the street and weaving between cars, people screaming and rushing left and right to scramble away!

Where were...?

The ant - one of a small group - scuttled towards a manhole that had been uncovered. One squeezed in, then another... If that ant got in the sewer with the unfortunate fellow then rescuing him would be an awful lot harder - and smellier!

Conway called out "Hey! Where you goin?" Captain Conduit glanced in the cops direction... and saw in the shadows of an alleyway a Giant Spider, a Tarantula, towering above the cop and standing about fifteen feet high and twice as wide, all legs, hair and bad intentions! The cop hadn't seen it and the Spider was about to pounce!

"CONWAY. DUCK!!!" Captain Conduit doesn't pull his punch this time, he blasts the arachnid behind the detective and hopes he doesn't fumble this one.

"An ant took a man into the sewers. I've gotta save him!"

CAPTAIN CONDUIT and CONWAY

"Wha?" spluttered the ex USMC Sergeant... He hit the deck with his hands over his ears, flashbacks from several years ago in the Pacific campaign.

Captain Conduit couldn't miss this - the Spider was coming right at Conway!

OOC Lightning 8 + 2d12+0 11,4+0 = 15 (23) vs
OV4 + range 3 + 2d12+0 11,3+0 = 14 (21)
Success +2
EV8 +2 (EV10) vs RV5=5 RAPs. SPIDER GOES DOWN

The Spider shrieks, lighting up and falling back, legs twitching!

As the Cop turns whilst on the floor and the hero watches, the Spider shrinks down to its ordinary size!

Conway gets to his feet, dusting himself off. He gives the Spider a nudge with his foot and shakes his head. "Worlds goin ta hell in a blasted handcart." he muttered. Turning to Captain Conway he gives a thumbs up "I owe ya one kid! Get after that ant!"

With that the Cop starts shouting at people to clear the streets whilst blowing on a whistle he fishes from a pocket full of parking tickets and fluff.

Captain Conduit turns to the manhole cover. A pair of ants are there, standing guard?

No sign of the fellow though his cries are fading - he's in the tunnel!

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!," yells out the 18" high hero as he flies up. "Don't go shooting the beast! It's probably from the Zoo and they will want it back. Get everybody back, officer. Who knows how long it will be unconscious. Have someone call the Zoo and have them come collect their gorilla."

Admin wrote:LIGHTNING BULLET

The problem with being a doll sized superhuman who flew and glowed was that people were too astounded to obey simple instructions whilst they waited for their brains to catch up and comprehend just what it was they were seeing!

So it was that a guy in his car who was gaping at the ape gaped at the flying man, his cigarette falling from nerveless lips. Another fellow in a truck just shook his head muttering "They ain't never gonna believe me!"

Lightning Bullet zipped about trying to get people off the street and the roar of the jets got louder. Flicking from the people in the street to the pair of jets in the air he flew up, trying to flag them down. This would be a disaster they'd never see him and... huh?

They pulled up and banked away. Had they seen him?

Glancing back he... wait. Where had the Ape gone? It was as big as a football field and had filled a big section of the street! It couldn't just get up and... no. Wait. There.

Lying on the hood of a once car (now squashed and flattened pile of scrap) was an 'ordinary' Gorilla. Still six hundred pounds of hair and muscle but an ordinary Gorilla. It'd shrunk to what appeared to be its normal size, and so to the pilots had seemed to vanish! Without knowing what to look for they were unable to pick the Gorilla out from the squashed cars and the animal didn't move either. With that in mind they'd pulled up, hard and were heading back to base it seemed.

Lightning Bullet glanced back at the street. People were moving in, looking at the slumbering beast. A cop, emboldened, pulled out his pistol and took aim...

LIGHTNING BULLET

The cops look confused...

"Who .. What are you?" one splutters, as the cops turn guns on Lightning Bullet!

"Chief says any cape is ta be arrested! Any resistance... shoot on sight!" said another.

"You two cool it!" shouted an older cop. Same rank, but grizzled, with greying hair and a world weary look. "This guy just dropped a giant ape an' you wanna shoot 'im? Good luck with that... Hudson, go call it in. Get someone from the zoo down here. Jackson! Lower that gun before you hurt someone!"

"Who are you to..."

The older cop steps over. Though he stands an inch or so shorter he leans in, face to face. "You will lower that gun NOW mister!" he barks in his best parade ground shout.

The younger cop stumbles back and lowers his pistol, fumbling with the holster. "Alright, alright Murphy! Just hope you know th' Chief will be hearin' bout this!"

"That guy saved us!" shouted a guy from behind a car. "I watched it all! So small but he packs a punch that could flatten a mountain!"

"Yeah! He's a hero!" said a truck driver from beside his lorry.

"He saved all our lives!" cried a housewife with a pram and cradling a child in her arms.

"Who are you, tiny masked man?" called out another guy. He was stood near a crushed car - presumably his own - but despite that he was alive still and thankful that the Ape had been stopped.

The older cop - Murphy - turned to the tiny hero. "Sorry about that mister. Just want ya ta know not all us flatfoots are so dumb as ta see you're on th' side o th' angels. Let the Chief rant n rave n throw papers around. He ain't out here riskin' his skin with guns that fire bullets which bounce off the skin of bad guys!"

Captain Conduit wonders if his electricity will shrink the ants too. He gives it a try, trying to blast both of them so he can rush down the manhole/anthole.

Dice Action: Lightning to hit two targets (both ants blocking his path).
Move Action: Run to the manhole and scamper down as soon as the ants are shocked, shrink or run away.

CAPTAIN CONDUIT and CONWAY

Buoyed by the success of his blast the hero takes aim at the two ants, moving a little closer with hands raised so as to minimise the chances of a miss...

OOC Still about 20 feet away (1AP) but that shouldn't be much of an issue...

Lightning 8 + 2d12+0 3,11+0 = 14 (22) vs
OV4 + Range 1 + Multi Attack on two (+2) (OV7) + 2d12+0 9,3+0 = 12 (21)

Success +1

EV8 +1 (EV9) vs RV4 + Multi attack on two (+2) (RV6)=3 RAPs

Whilst the blast didn't take the two ants down, it was enough to discourage them!

One turned and popped down the hole into the sewer whilst the other ran off... towards Conway!

The Cop growled, pulling out his police service revolver and taking aim...

OOC Dex 3 + Weaponry 2 (2D) + 4d12+0 6,8,6,11+0 = 12 DOUBLE plus 2d12+0 7,12+0 = 19 (36) vs
OV4 + Range 2 + 2d12+11,10+0 = 21 (27)

Success +4

EV4 + 4 (EV8) vs RV4=4 RAPs

The Ant goes down... and shrinks to its normal (tiny) size!

Conway blinks away sweat and holsters his weapon whilst onlookers are broken from their terrified gazes by the sounds of gunshots. Women scream, men run for cover!

Conway jogs over. "Go get 'em kid!" he growls. "I'll keep an eye out up here..."

Captain Conduit moves the rest of the way to the manhole cover and applies the least amount of electricity to his fingers... there's nothing down there waiting for him that he can see....

He drops down the manhole cover splashing into the water of the sewer. He can't quite stand and has to crouch but his eyes automatically adjust to the darkness to reveal shades of blue (cold) and heat (the footsteps of the ants, which are really moving considering one of them has a full grown man in its mandibles). The curve of the tunnel obscures them from sight but they can't be too far ahead!

Sloshing through the water Fred Aster cringes at the cleaning he'll have to do to make his pristine costume presentable again.

He turns the corner... and sees the ants ahead! The man is kicking at a pair of them, trying to fend them off! he's not wasting effort or time trying to call for help. The ants are blocking the view of the man but they dart in and back, trying to get to him! Captain Conduit is about twenty feet away and can shoot at them from behind... BUT if he missed he might strike the citizen!

OOC Toying with putting OOC stuff in quotes to make it separate from the text. Slightly quicker than what I usually do. let me know if it's a big no-no or ok...

I'm good with the quotes for OOC.

Captain Conduit knows that electricity and water don't mix. Fortunately, he can fly. Captain Conduit blasts off down the tunnel toward the man, shouting, "Once free of these ants, hold on and I'll fly you out of here." Approaching the ants, he tries to wrestle the man free of the mandibles. Ten once the human gets a good grip on him, Captain Conduit will fly them away from the ants and back up through the manhole they came in through.

Move Action: Flight

Dice Action: Free the man from the mandibles.

Free Action: Tell the man to hold onto him, so Captain Conduit can just focus on flying them out of there with whatever flight movement he might have remaining.

FYI: My daughter just got some 'biscuits' and marmalade from England as a birthday gift from my mom and brother. Cheerio!

CAPTAIN CONDUIT

The hero hovers above the floor then 'drifts' in a crouch towards the ants, his back (and cape) scraping against the grime covered ceiling.

Maybe Lightning Bullet had a decent washing machine back at his place...

Coming up behind the ants the hero lands on ones back and grabs the mandibles to prize them open!

OOC Captain Conduit is on the cusp of superhuman strength (5APs to me IS superhuman with a range of 751-1500lbs. Batmans strength of 5 is nonsense in the write ups!) so we have:

AV4 (Strength) plus 2d12+0 7,12+0 = 19 (23) vs
AV4 (ant strength) + 2d12+0 4,2+0 = 6 (10)

Success +5

EV4 + 5 (EV9) vs RV4=5 RAPs

Success!

Despite the ant having terrific strength and the insect being renowned for being one of the animal kingdoms strongest in proportion to its size, the hero is more than capable enough of pulling those jaws open!

The citizen splashes into the water, gasping for breath and scrambles to the side as both ants turn on Captain Conduit! he's on the back of one and the other lunges at the hero!

OOC

AV4 + 2d12+0 8,9+0 = 17 (21) vs
AV6 +3D Acrobatics + 5d12+0 5,9,7,10,11+0 = 21 (27)

With lightning reflexes the hero leans back to avoid those mandibles and still manages to hang onto the ant he's riding!

Hearing the huffing and puffing of the Citizen who is slipping and stumbling through the knee deep water of the sewer, the hero knows he has to buy time for the fellow to get away. He's also smart enough to know that his electrical power might stun or harm the citizen whose still scrambling to the ladder, daylight and safety!

OOC I will automatically apply the extra dice from Acrobatics when you are avoiding blows. If you had Martial Artist then you can use those dice OR acrobatics or a blend of the two, but not at full value. So if you had 3 dice of Martial Artist and 3 Dice of Acrobatics you could choose to use all 3 on one or the other or a split, say 2 for Martial Arts and 1 for Acrobatics, for example. Without an Attack skill (like Accuracy or Martial Artist) it's easy to work out the dice use.

Captain Conduit wins initiative. The ants are bigger than usual, faster and stronger than most humans, but are still ants ...

Captain Conduit sighs. He told that guy to hold onto him. Alright, being attacked by giant ants is a good excuse for going into fight or flight mode. Speaking of flight...

Captain Conduit flies off the ant, coming mere inches from the sewer ceiling. "I'm coming to fly you out of here, buddy." The hero then scoops up the man, as he flies toward the exit and out of the sewers!

Move Action: Flight to get away.

Dice Action: Pick up the man. Hopefully, it is not a contested grapple check.

OOC Whichever way you look at it, Dex 6 vs Dex 2 isn;t much of a contest. The fellow is panicking though (probably understandable) so...

Dex 6 + 2d12+0 11,9+0 = 20 (26) vs
Dex 2 + 2d12+0 8,5+0 = 13 (15)

Success +5

EV 6 + 5 (EV11) vs RV2=9 RAPs

Easy success.

Despite the man flailing his arms about Captain Conduit calmly scooped the fellow up and swooped to the manhole cover, slowing to raise out and floating up over the street before depositing him on the sidewalk on the other side.

Those ants were down there but it would be a real bug hunt to flush them out. Make a change from alligators at any rate.

Conway ran over then pulled a face, wafting a hand in front of his nose "Phew eeh!" he exclaimed. "Not so bright and presentable now kid, but good job! You!" he said to the Citizen who looked about, dazed and wondering what had happened.

"Get home if I were you. You seem all in one piece. A stiff drink and a bath will sort you out. Man up! Coulda been worse!" he growled.

The fellow wiped sludge from his face, glancing about with wild eyes then seemed to recover some decorum. "Th... thank you! You saved my life!" he spluttered. With that he stumbled away.

"Get that manhole cover on kid an we need ta get ta th' Zoo, see where all this stuff is comin' from an' put a stop to it!" said Conway.

Captain Conduit asks Conway, "Do you want me to fly you there? Or can you 'requisition' a vehicle to get us to the zoo just as fast?"

CONWAY laughs!

"Ha! Vehicle.I'll swallow my pride if you give me a lift. Try and keep it dignified if you can." he growls.

The pair turn and see the traffic all snarled up in every direction. This would take hours to sort out.

Any attempt to fix things would be thrown into turmoil the next time some super sized insect or gigantic animal turned up and would be undone in moments.

The fact that buildings and the ground itself wasn't shaking suggests that Lightning Bullet has, somehow, taken out the Giant Ape that was causing chaos with every step. Now just remained the need to find out who was causing all this and put a stop to them!

"The name's Lightning Bullet," the doll-sized hero replies. [dolls where between 10 and 15 inches back then.] "When I was a kid, I was inspired by all the great heroes of World War Two and the few that showed up around the time of the Korean War. I'm trying to follow in their footsteps. I got a partner who calls himself Captain Conduit so you will be seeing us around more if the need arises. Those Commies villains haven't left town yet either, so I am hoping to get a good fight with them soon."

"Anybody have any clue as to how and why a giant gorilla, one that escaped from either a nearby zoo or a circus, got into downtown? Someone see where he came from?"

Admin wrote:LIGHTNING BULLET

The cops look confused...

"Who .. What are you?" one splutters, as the cops turn guns on Lightning Bullet!

"Chief says any cape is ta be arrested! Any resistance... shoot on sight!" said another.

"You two cool it!" shouted an older cop. Same rank, but grizzled, with greying hair and a world weary look. "This guy just dropped a giant ape an' you wanna shoot 'im? Good luck with that... Hudson, go call it in. Get someone from the zoo down here. Jackson! Lower that gun before you hurt someone!"

"Who are you to..."

The older cop steps over. Though he stands an inch or so shorter he leans in, face to face. "You will lower that gun NOW mister!" he barks in his best parade ground shout.

The younger cop stumbles back and lowers his pistol, fumbling with the holster. "Alright, alright Murphy! Just hope you know th' Chief will be hearin' bout this!"

"That guy saved us!" shouted a guy from behind a car. "I watched it all! So small but he packs a punch that could flatten a mountain!"

"Yeah! He's a hero!" said a truck driver from beside his lorry.

"He saved all our lives!" cried a housewife with a pram and cradling a child in her arms.

"Who are you, tiny masked man?" called out another guy. He was stood near a crushed car - presumably his own - but despite that he was alive still and thankful that the Ape had been stopped.

The older cop - Murphy - turned to the tiny hero. "Sorry about that mister. Just want ya ta know not all us flatfoots are so dumb as ta see you're on th' side o th' angels. Let the Chief rant n rave n throw papers around. He ain't out here riskin' his skin with guns that fire bullets which bounce off the skin of bad guys!"

Lightning Bullet

A woman holding a baby, the pram on its side a few feet away, called out. "I saw it mister Buellt. Was comin' from that a way..." she said, pointing back the way the Ape had come from.

Which, if you followed for some distance, would lead logically to the City Zoo.

"Why did it come THIS way then? I mean, we all heard on the news about flying mystery men and women and here you are large as... uh. Anyway, what does an Ape want downtown? Only thing down here is offices an' banks. What does an Ape need with money?" asks Murphy the police officer.

"Anyhow, I can't stand chattin round." the cop mutters. "I'm already gonna catch heat fer not opening fire on ya. Mayor has a stick up his butt about due process an' law an' order an' vigilantes. Says we need ta set an example, show who's in charge."

He turned, and Lightning Bullet followed his gaze.

Burning, trampled, overturned cars, fender benders, people wandering around the streets dazed. Shop fronts smashed, buildings missing chunks , fire hydrants spraying into the air, snarled up traffic for as far as the eye could see.

"If the Mayor wants ta come down here an' take charge o all this, he's welcome to it!" said the Cop, throwing up his hands in frustration as a dozen people at once crowded him with complaints about who's car bumped whose or who was gonna pay for all this and who's gonna explain to my boss/wife/husband about what happened and so on...

"You might want to tell the Mayor that it's not illegal to wear a mask in public," Lightning Bullet says a bit distractedly as he ponders what he heard. "Nor is it illegal to help out folks in danger or trouble. Nor is it illegal to have superpowers. Now, if I was robbing banks ...."

His tiny eyes widen at that.

"Could it be? Someone used this ape to be a distraction while they robbed some banks or jewelry stores?"

He looks around to see what banks or jewelry stores might be in or near where the ape went ... ape.

LIGHTNING BULLET

The mighty mite takes to the air as people gasp and point and flies down the street. The traffic carnage is everywhere. Even though the ape hadn't got as far as the centre of the City people had panicked or gotten out of their cars to gape. Fender benders were all over the place and he winced at the mess and who would sort all this out. Doubtless the Mayor would find some way to twist this so as to blame 'supers' on his personal crusade against them.

Continuing through the air he moved over people fifty feet below, some of whom couldn't believe their eyes when he flew over. The hero was focused on getting to where all the major banks were and hovered as he looked down.

Here the street was moving normally and cars trickled around in traffic. No alarms. People going in and out, seemed normal. Parked cars, patrons using the banks and shops going about their daily business.. with the Ape not achieving its supposed goal of getting down here there might be someone in those parked cars - dozens of them on the street where he hovered - who was waiting for the Ape and would continue to do so. Unless he wanted to spend the time watching the place or checking every car, there was always the City zoo to check out, which must be the source of the animals, albeit no Zoo he ever heard of had hundred foot apes in a cages!

"Let's see if Captain Conduit has any information that might be of use," Lightning Bullet said while hovering in the air. "Now ... where is he?"

He looks around trying to figure where his partner is currently.

andyman wrote:"LB! It seems this thing can't touch you. Can you stay with it while I go check out the source of where this thing came from? Maybe I'll find a clue as to how to make this thing regular ape sized again."

Captain Conduit then heads to where the gorilla came from. He guesses it was the zoo, but he'll follow the trail back to be sure.

As he flies toward the zoo with Conway, Captain Conduit recalls how he told Lightning Bullet where he was going, so that pint sized here should have little trouble catching up.