Several months had gone by since the last big battle (I figure my hero needs a break every now and then), and things were rather quiet. No major crimes in the city other than occasional muggings, robberies, and petty thefts, but the police had those under control.
During the time, Mason attended all of his classes without incident and continued to write for the newspaper. However since nothing major was going on, his articles mostly covered events at the college, sales at various stores, and smaller holidays. Fortunately, his boss didn't seem to mind, considering they were a small paper and bigger stories usually also meant bigger danger.
The upcoming event was the spring festival, which covered the entire weekend. The city fairgrounds was covered with carnival rides, games, and various exhibits. Mason's job was to cover the chocolate chip cookie baking contest, which meant he got to sample the products (lucky duck!)
The night before however, Mason got a text from Ashby; "Another break-in at the lab. Same items stolen."
Knowing this could mean another attack, Mason wore his Vyper gear under sweatpants, a loose-fitting pullover, and an oversize jacket. He carried a backpack which held his notebook and camera, but also his mask and gloves.
Time to set the scene.
(Q) Is it morning? (Likely) X-Yes
The festival hadn't started yet; people were still setting up. Attendants tested the rides. The baking contest wouldn't start for a few hours. Still, it was nice out so Mason wandered around the place.
(Q) Does Mason see anything out of the ordinary? (Likely, because I want to get this moving) No
The place was quiet. Even the police seemed pretty calm. Still, Mason kept his eyes on the outskirts of the fairgrounds, in case anyone arrived for less than friendly reasons.
(Q) Are a lot of people there yet? (Unlikely) Yes.
Apparently the spring festival was quite popular because people showed up even before it started, gathering in various groups to talk and laugh.
(Q - Description) What does Mason see when he looks around? "Full," "Rustic."
Apparently the horseback riding circle was already opened because kids stood excitedly in line. The horses seemed calm, which meant no danger yet. Mason's eyes then lifted as he glanced at the areas just past the fairgrounds.
(Q) Are there any buildings just outside the fairgrounds (Likely) No.
Outside the fairgrounds were nothing but clearings.
(Q) Is there anyplace nearby where someone could launch an ambush? (Likely) No.
Mason noticed that the openness of the fairgrounds made ambushes rather difficult.
(Ugh, I need to figure out how to jump-start this session.)
(Q) Has the festival started yet? (50/50) Yes
After a little while, the festival officially started. People gathered to jump on the rides while others sampled the various foods. Still others just conversed in groups.
(At this point I'm just going to ask a bunch of questions, hoping to trigger a random event.)
(Q) Has the cookie baking contest started? (Likely) No.
Mason glanced at his phone. He still had some time before the baking contest began. Logging online, he checked to see if anything suspicious was taking place in other parts of the city.
(Q) Is anything suspicious taking place somewhere else but still nearby? (unlikely) No.
The news apps were all quiet. Maybe the lab thieves were lying low. He sent a text to Ashby. "Did the police check any of the warehouses?"
(Q) Well did they? (I'll say Likely because I can't see why they'd ignore them.) No.
He got a reply a few minutes later. "No, they think the thieves left town because they can't find a trace of them."
With a shrug, Mason continued wandering around the festival.
(Q) Does Mason see any of his classmates? (Very Likely) No.
Oddly, he suddenly noticed that none of the people he knew from the college had attended the festival, at least those he knew on a first name basis.
(Q) Is anyone else from the newspaper covering the festival? (Likely) Yes.
(Q) Is it more than one person? (50/50) Yes.
Mason did see a few people from the newspaper taking pictures and conducting interviews. No one he talked to on a regular basis but people he recognized. At least he got to taste some delicious cookies and earn his paycheck with his pictures and notes.
(Q) Are Mason's classmates being fashionably late (Very Likely) X-Yes.
Hmm, the Exceptional part is odd.
(Q) Did they show up at the very end in the evening? (Likely) No - Random Event.
YES! Finally!
(Random) "Information," "Create."
(Q) Do they have information about the thieves? (Likely) No. (UGH! Come on, work with me!)
(Description) What is the information? "Help," "Cold." Random!
(Random) "Official," "Good."
Hmm, maybe that winged guy has something to do with this.
Mason got another text from Ashby: "The guy who calls himself Wing Guard found the crooks."
Well that was quick. Mason texted him back. "Did they get away?"
(Q) Did the crooks get away? (Likely, so they could cause more trouble later) No.
"I don't know," Ashby replied.
"Where did he find them?"
(Description) "Rough," "Healthy."
"On the rooftop of a building on the corner of Smith and Rose."
Mason nodded, though then remembering Ashby couldn't see him. "On it."
Sneaking behind a tent, Mason changed into his gear. Stuffing his clothes into his backpack, he slung it over his shoulders and took off to find the location Ashby mentioned.
I'm going to make an Ability check to see if Mason successfully flies away. His Heart is +2, but he gets a -1 Penalty for flying while invisible.
(Q) Does Vyper succeed in flying while invisible? (+2 means Very Likely) X-Yes.
Mason, now in his Vyper gear, cloaked himself in a field and took off away from the festival. On the way, he stopped and dropped his backpack on the patio of his apartment. Then he continued on his way.
(Q) Are the police headed in the same direction? (Very Likely) X-No - Random!
Far below, Vyper noticed police cars parked in front of an alley. A number of officers walked carefully in and out of the alley.
Hmm, maybe they just found the crooks. But first . . .
(Random) "NPC," "Danger."
(Q) Are the NPC's the crooks? (50/50; either them or the cops) Yes.
(Q) Are they injured? (Likely, if they're in danger) X-Yes.
Uh Oh.
(Q) Are all 3 dead? (Unlikely, since Vyper himself struggled with them) Yes.
As Vyper lowered himself to the rooftop, he gazed down into the alley. The cops surrounded the bodies of the three Vyper had fought months ago.
(Q) Did they look like they were killed by physical means? (50/50) Yes.
The three lay in the alley at bizarre and unnatural angles. Although he was too far away to hear the entire conversation, Vyper thought he heard the phrase "broken neck."
So now we know why they didn't get away. Problem is the Wing dork didn't seem to be that violent. Time to confront him and find out.
Flying up higher, Vyper tried to spot Wing Guard.
(Q) Does Vyper see Wing Guard? (I'm going with Likely to push the story forward). Yes.
(Q) Is he fleeing the scene? (50/50) No.
(Q) Is he flying towards the lab? (Likely) Yes.
Vyper decided to continue to where he had been directed. Reaching the street corner, he found himself atop a gym that had recently closed down. Looking around, he spotted something flying slowly in the direction of the labs. He set off to intercept him.
This is not a chase, so I'm only giving Vyper a slight penalty to catch up.
(Q) Does Vyper catch up to Wing Guard? (+2 means Very Likely) No - Random Event.
(Random) "Distant," "Object."
(Q) Did Wing Guard drop something from the lab? (Very Likely) Yes.
Vyper saw something shiny fall and land on a rooftop. Changing his course, he landed and picked it up. It looked like a piece of DeBreeze's fan.
(Q) Does wing Guard notice he dropped it? (Very Likely) Yes.
"I'll take that, citizen."
Vyper looked up to see Wing Guard landing before him on the rooftop. The nerve of this guy, caring more about the equipment than the three people he killed. Maybe there was more to this.
"Why don't I just hand this over to the police? They're not far away."
(Q) Does Wing Guard go along with that? (50/50) No - Random Event.
(Random) "Start," "Fears."
"That's not necessary." Wing Guard's voice faltered slightly.
Vyper caught onto that quickly. "But they are the law. Wouldn't the correction act be to - "
"I said," Wing Guard moved closer, "that I'll take it from here."
Now things are getting interesting.
"You know what?" Vyper said. "I don't think anyone should have this." And he smashed the fan against the concrete.
(Q) Does Wing Guard react to this with hostility? (Very Likely) Yes - Random Event.
(Random) "Attain," "Conflict."
"NO!" Wing Guard lunged forward throwing a kick directly at Vyper's face.
I'll use Wing Guard's Agility +2 to attack and damage since he's making a diving strike. This is versus Vyper's Agility 0 as Vyper is just trying to get out of the way.
(Clash) Does Vyper avoid Wing Guard's attack? (-2 means Very Unlikely) X-No.
OUCH!
For Damage, it's Wing Guard's +2 versus Vyper's 0 Body, +1 for the Exceptional result. Meaning Vyper immediately suffers -3 RS.
The kick caught Vyper right in the jaw, and he fell to the ground, his head spinning.
(Incap) Is Vyper Incapacitated? (Certain) No.
Vyper rolled to the side and shook his head to try and clear it. Seeing another attack coming his way, he threw up a force field.
This time, Vyper is using his Heart, which is +3. Unfortunately, he suffers -3 RS from the previous strike, but I'm also spending his Hero Token (I prefer that to Hero Points), reducing it to -2 RS. This gives him a +1 versus Wing Guard's +2. In addition, he's also using his force field as Damage to counter the flying strike.
(Clash) Does Vyper win the Clash? (-1 means Unlikely) X-Yes.
Vyper's +1 Heart (from -3 RS but with the Hero Token) is less than Wing Guard's Agility, but because it's an Exceptional result, it counts anyway. Wing Guard suffers a -1 to his Agility.
Vyper threw his force field up, slamming it into Wing Guard, who bounced off it and fell to the ground, stunned.
That's it for Vyper's Hero Tokens, so unless he scores another Exceptional result, he isn't causing anymore damage. Instead, he's going for a result.
Spotting the broken fan on the ground, Vyper got an idea. As Wing Guard charged again, Vyper threw a force field arround him
The purpose of this is to neutralize Wing Guard without causing damage. It'll be Vyper's 0 Heart (+3 but with the -3 from earlier) versus Wing Guard's +1 for a -1 total.
(Clash) Does Vyper win the Clash? (-1 means Unlikely) Yes.
Vyper caught Wing Guard in the force field and held him in place. Then he slowly drained the air from it, not trying to kill the other man, just trying to weaken him.
This'll be another Effect roll, but with Vyper performing 2 separate Effects (holding his opponent and weakening him), so he suffers another -1 RS for a -1 Heart. Fortunately, Wing Guard already has a -1 Heart, and with the -1 RS it becomes -2. This actually gives Vyper a +1 to his roll.
(Clash) Does Vyper win the Clash? (+1 means Likely) Yes.
Wing Guard pounded frantically against the walls of the force field, but Vyper held it in place. After several minutes, though, he slowed his punches and dropped to a sitting position.
"Why are these items so important to you?" Vyper asked him. "What's really going on?"
Vyper is performing a Questioning, which I'm treating as another Clash. Vyper has a Talk +1 with an additional +1 for his Question Skill. I'm also granting him an additional +1 RS for trapping his opponent. Unfortunately, he still suffers a -3 RS from injury, bringing him to Talk 0. Wing Guard has Talk +1, but with -1 RS, it's also a 0.
(Clash) Does Vyper win the Clash? (0 means 50/50) Yes - Random Event.
(Random) "Conflict," "Benefit."
Hmm, I wonder.
(Q) Were Wing Guard and the other 3 working together? (Very Likely) Yes.
(Q) Was Charles Willard paying them? (Likely) Yes.
"He paid us!" Wing Guard finally blurted out.
Vyper dropped the force field. "Willard?"
Wing Guard, gasping for air and struggling to sit up, nodded. "He dropped the security so Chell, Hank, and Bob would steal the stuff. Then I'd show up and bring it back."
Vyper leaned closer. "Why?"
"To test it," Wing guard answered.
The voice sounds familiar, Vyper thought, so he tore off the man's mask.
(Q) Does Mason recognize him? (Very Likely) Yes.
Vyper saw the face of one of his classmates but fought the urge to blurt out the name as he wasn't supposed to know it. "So then you killed your friends to take all the money?"
(Q) Is that what happened? (Likely) X-No. (No?)
The young man slowly looked up. "What? They're dead?"
Vyper was taken by surprise. "They're found by police in the alley. You didn't do that?"
He shook his head, covering his face as tears started to stream. "I retrieved the gear and started back to the lab. They were supposed to run and hide."
Vyper stood up, hearing approaching sirens. "Someone probably saw us. You're on your own if they catch you."
Nodding, the young man took off for the door to downstairs.
Staring at the remaining gear, Vyper decided it should not be returned.
I was going to have Vyper lift the stuff up and drop it all, but he's already pretty tired. Instead, I'll have him just push it all off the ledge. I'll make it a Body roll, with a -3. and although he won't get hurt for failing. After the third try, I'll see if the police arrive.
(Ability) Does Vyper succeed? (-3 means Nearly Impossible) X-No.
Okay I'll take that to mean I'll check for the police after the next roll.
(Ability) Same attempt: No.
(Q) Do the police arrive? (We'll start with 50/50) X-No.
Down below, he heard shouting. "Hands up, now!" The police apparently caught the kid. That should delay them a few minutes.
(Q) Same attempt: No.
(Q) Again: X-No.
Crap. Hearing footsteps approaching from stairs, Vyper flew off.
(Ability) Does Vyper turn invisible and fly away? (-1 means Unlikely) Yes.
The next day, Mason sat in his apartment, nursing his wounds as Ashby talked with him
The older man handed him an ice pack. "I'm glad you're not hurt. Maybe you should focus on little on getting in better shape."
"Agreed." Mason took the pack and applied it to his head. "What'd the guy say?"
"He told the police everything he told you," Ashby said, "along with his fight with Vyper."
"So Willard let them steal the stuff so they could return it?" Mason shook his head. "Am I missing something."
Ashby leaned back in the chair. "My guess is Charles Willard wanted them to test the equipment. If they succeeded, the wing kid would return it. If they failed and got injured, or worse, Charles wouldn't have to pay them anything because they stole the items from him."
"But then he sent someone to make sure they didn't talk." Mason glanced out the window.
Ashby nodded. "I heard they all had their necks and some of their limbs broken."
"But who could do all that when facing three opponents?" Mason asked. "And if it was someone incredibly strong, wouldn't the damage be worse?"
"Possibly," Ashby answered. "This sounds like calculated strikes, especially considered nothing else in the alley was damaged. So that rules out brute force."
"But that does mean," Mason said, "that Charles Willard has a brand new weapon."
"And he could be aiming it right in Vyper direction." Asby's eyes went wide as Mason's face went white.
Well that session went in a completely different direction. I originally planned on, as the title suggests, a rematch between the 3 and Vyper. Instead we have a new threat. And going back over a supers rpg from years ago, I have just the guy. And he even gave me nightmares!
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