Tabloidia the garish tasteless clown prince of vigilantes was following them, snapping her with his otherworldly x-ray camera (just for his own spankbank). Tabloidia was a trash journalist who found a strange artifact that became his alien camera and granted his strength, flight, teleport and x-ray vision powers.
Meanwhile the new hero Transmission was in his computer store faking his inventory to find who was knocking off computer parts in River City. Having been an ex consultant for government spooks he had returned from Nepal where he had learned exotic meditation skills and gained his danger sense power, superior mental stats and incredible agility. Having built his crime lab armoured van and web shooter wrist gun he was ready to be a hero wit his white suit, cape and mask. Had been faking inventory to attract a computer crime wave to his shop.
As he was online at his desk fluro punk haired cyberpunk gangbangers with mirrorshades came in with a SMG and shut the door. Ordered him to open the back door where more Neon gang members waited with a van. Being impressively fast he pressed the duress alarm calling the cops then bolted into his crime truck.
Sparrow spotted suspicious gangsters outside shop and told his big sister. He sat atop building watching while she flew over the buildings to check the alley. Tabloidia hung back snapping photos of her form hugging meldsuit. One ganger tried bashing the armoured truck with a shotgun stock while rest loaded loot into a unmarked van. Transmission popped out the underside hatch through a manhole and ran down the drain to another opening and sneaked up on the alleyway. Stormwing lifted the van and blocked the rear shop door and Transmission took the chance to step out and web one on the goons arms to his body. A gangster tried to climb over the van while sparrow held the front of the store door shut with his TK powers. Stormwing moved the car so gangsters couldn't escape so several smashed out front store window and into street. They saw sparrow and shot at him with no effect in his alien meldsuit while he held door closed.
Transmission webbed the one crook who got on the van roof. Stormwing waved at the new hero and went around block to intercept the goons shooting at her bro. One crook tried to run with his arms bound in web so transmission chased him and webbed him to the ground.
Sparrow pulled a gun from a crook and tried to chase him with the gun announcing that crime never pays. The four remaining crooks fled into an underground carpark. Tabloidia saw them and tried to port in but concrete threw him a bit and he appeared in entrance way to see two try to steal a getaway car. Meanwhile of two that didn't quite make it into garage, one was struck by a forcebolt from Stormwing and crashed face first into asphalt with a horrible crack. Sparrow flew down to help and used the gun he was controlling to hit another fleeing crook.
Tabloidia tried to port into car but missed so he tried to lift the car with his bulging muscles. He also had a few bullets bounce off his new kevlar suit, Then his suit tore open with armour plate grown from his chest camera covered him all over - a new power stunt. The car squealed to escape and he tore off the bumper bar. Sparrow delivered first aid and rounded up the webbed crooks while Storm wing held onto the car steering wheel causing it to almost crash. Tabloidia teleported in front of it and it managed to stop. Transmission arrived and spooged his webbing over the windscreen while Stormwing lifted the whole car. Tabloidia tried to tear seats out through the bottom but just tore holes.
The crooks surrendered and police arrived. Tabloidia told them off and was a jerk. Police asked if Tabloidia or Transmission needed to be arrested as they were pretty much unknown. Stormwing explained all to cops and heroes agreed to meet later at the rendezvous point - a top floor of a derelict hotel he used just for meeting heroes in. They looked for missing shop owner and couldn't find him but Transmission said he was ok. He went on to talk to gang member. When Transmission saw Stormwing send upset car owner to a garage for free, he asked if the shop window might be fixed too. Tabloidia's armour began to disappear and left him naked without his kevlar suit so he left.
Heroes met later in the old hotel. Place is a mess with just filthy old mattresses. Tabloidia in his old spandex suit offered to give sparrow some wrestling lessons on the mattresses. Sparrow thought this was legit but Stormwing chastised him and said never never ever go anywhere with Tabloidia alone. Tablodia said team should spy on Mayor who must be a crook. Transmission denied having any powers except being smart and explained he knew some gang members from his teen hacker years. Some gangers said they were getting computers for some guy in drains who also gave them the guns. He had tracked the meeting point to being beneath Hermes chemicals, owned by a rich Greek family from oldtown. Family head who owned factory had disappeared 7 years ago at same time hero Mercury vanished.
Party spied on family home to see Greek family drama with nothing strange. Transmission found the home had genius security also 7 years out of date. Followed link to Hermes corporation HQ in CBD and discovered business had boomed last 7 years since experimental research lab had closed in factory with no more demands for weird chemicals. Factory also made chemicals in huge quantity to stop alien insects a decade ago for government once. Brother of Mercury was about to inherit everything which made them suspicious.
Party found storm drain connected house to factory and found vault entry to house. Transmission used his clairvoyance to probe secret room under house but found nothing especially suspicious. Followed drain to factory and and found sealed door. Tabloidia was going to smash but just x-ray looked at tumblers and dialed up the right code. Went up ramp into huge basement with huge vats of acid and volatile chemicals and a weird lab.
Searched about and Transmission got bad vibe from one vat and and more less bad vibes from a cylinder of mercury next to a human sized pod with a man shaped palette inside. He went on to play with computer to find lab has been working on something bad. Sparrow opened a barrel with his TK and it had a partially dissolved caped corpse in liquid. Tabloidia found three more. Also found caduceus staff made from strange metal and tech in a trunk. Mercury had owned it and the cylinder of mercury bubbled when scepter near. Transmission found Mercury's plans to recruit new heroes into a team. Tabloidia had to leave as his girlfriend wanted him to go to the bottle shop for some grog.
Meanwhile a tap opened and green slime poured out into form of a large fat naked man made of slime. Transmission's senses tingled and he saw the thing approach them and warned his buddies. He told them he was to join them in his team. Stormwing berated him for doing something to poor Mercury who only wanted some friends. Stormwing saw man gesture with his fingers while man said he was former forgotten hero Dr.Acid, now he was just Sludge. Transmission sensed something wrong and turned to see barrels open and zombie superheroes with tattered capes and cowls crawl out. Transmission called out and the fight was on.
Heroes were still inexperienced at fighting capes. Four Zombie heroes lumbered forth muttering smash, burn, hit, blast! The black one was Shadowstrike a strong guy. Green was Emerald Mantis with two sticks he waved about, a shadow of his past martial finesse. Orange was Flamesong a pyro and the last one was Purple Helmet a psychic flyer. All minor forgotten AWOL heroes of the city from years ago. Heroes hid behind a force field from Stormwing while he backed off. Sparrow tried to TK grab the purple flyer who zapped him with a mindbolt. Fire, fists, sticks and Sludge's acid bolts bounced off. Stormwing dropped the shield and fired at Sludge as he directed his super zombies to attack in unison to break the shell. Stormwing fired a bolt that accidentally shattered a tank of hyper solvent. Transmission foolishly charged and took some blows and partly webbed the purple zombie. The zombie mindblasted poor sparrow again and he resisted.
The more experienced Stormwing pulled back to use range and zapped Sludge back, knocking him about 50 yards. He lifted Transmission above the living dead to protect him but exposed himself to ranged hits. Zombies jumped at Transmission and missed but Stormwing had to drop him. Transmission took a few blows from the black and green zombies before realizing he could move faster. back off and shoot. Poor Sparrow was blasted repeatably and threw Purple helmet's zombie into the hypersolvent but too little too late, he was down and dieing. The flame caster and Sludge hunted Stormwing While the hand to hand ones lumbered after Transmission who battered got the hang of keeping just out of the way.
Transmission and Stormwing now fighting well started to win. Kept webbing zombies to ground while Stormwing force bolted them. At a crucial moment the Purple Helmet was webbed and spent all his effort to escape. Shadowstrike's zombie wandered confused in circles trying to reach heroes while Emerald Mantis was trapped and the growing pool of hyper solvent began to eat him. Stormwing bolted Sludge into Flamesong hurting both and Sludge fled the battle but was taken down by another bolt. Flamesong freed one foot with a blast, then another from the web then finished off Stormwing with fire. Strangely the zombie Purple Helmet healed Sparrow saving him as zombies ordered to capture alive. Transmission was zapped by flame and blacked out.
Guys awoke in cylinders with villains cackling. Zombie Shadowstrike held the caduceus which was agitating the silver cylinder next to the similar ones thew were trapped in. As fluid began filling the the heroes tubes, Sludge explained his plan to release zombie gas over industrial sector during the heaviest shift and to gas any heroes that came to stop them, Laughing about his victory he left them as a strange liquid began to fill the tubes. Purple helmet and Flamesong went with him leaving the hand to hand zombies in charge. Stormwing and sparrow were badly hurt requiring hospital care.
In Marvel villains earn Karma by putting heroes in deathtraps, gloating about plans and leaving them to die.
Stormwing was badly hurt, her power barely working and could not break the tube. Vile fluid in the tank was now up to knee high. Transmission spotted the tubes weak spot and directed Stormwing on what to do. His web gun was on the villains workbench. Stormwing managed to break her tube open and start to struggle out. As zombies came to investigate, fluid reached the other two tubes trapped heroes groins. Transmission saw the mercury tube boil near the caduceus and told his telekinetic pal. She threw the Shadowstrike zombie holding the caduceus into the tube breaking it.
The chrome fluid poured out and formed the missing hero Mercury. He took his staff back and hurled the zombie into a tank of rocket fuel then broke open Sparrows pod. Transmission gulped in extra air before fluid covered his face. Stormwing tried to pull some electrical wires in fuel spill but her brain spasmed and her power died. Mercury freed Transmission who went for his gun. While Stormwing helped Sparrow, Mercury taking Stormwings idea, tore up a fuel pump power lines and exploded half the underground base. Battered heroes exited via stairs that Mercury showed them and onto the factory floor above. He sealed the underground base and flooded it with freon gas. He healed the others with his wand.
Of course the super zombie thugs were blown into the storm drains. Mercury told sad story of how he was betrayed by Dr Acid (Sludge) and was put in tube. Transmission helped him repair the base which had machinery Mercury used to turn human. Then he could confront his family. He found by telepathy his brother had been hooked on drugs by his enemy Sludge. Mercury healed him and renewed his family bonds and recovered his wealth. Offered to aid Transmission and Stormwing but wary of being in a team again and needing to spend time with family and business. He had to go back to making his business lose money supporting a superhero on the side. Transmission looking at Mercury's tech concluded that it was seemingly bullshit. His code was a mix of alchemy and ancient Greek he could decrypt given time and his remarkable reasoning powers. Mercury told them all he was sent to Earth by his dad Zeus which others concluded must be crap. Still he was a nice guy.
Mercury mentioned his old pal Terra, a four armed powerhouse with earth shifting powers who nowadays just ruled the street he was born on in the ghetto with his street gang. He kept all other gangs and drug dealers out and lived like king.
A fun session they had many tense moments in battle. Players having never lost a fight were unsure as to what would happen if the villains won. Starting to get idea game is not about killing to win. Was just a fill game in club but proving very flexible with gamers popping in and out. I can see strange things happening in months to come. History of other missing and fallen heroes will be an ongoing theme as River City has a way of dragging many a paladin into its corrupt mess.
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