HF RPG 2.5

IC: Wilhelm Gorn- Jade's ship

Gorn's attempt at reassurance seemed to have only made things worse. He now remembered why he usually avoided social interaction. Thankfully, Render decided changed the subject.

"Of course. What a battle, that was. Sometimes, I wonder how I made it out of there alive."

IC: Morphos

Morphos decided that he did not like Rotor and Xplode.  He thought about replying, but this argument would go nowhere and it was already creating more division than there should be.  There were better chances of walking out of this alive with his money if he shut up now and did not point out that XPlode had said nothing about 'visiting establishments'.

IC: Flynn Flames

I stood to attention as the dropship landed, brimming with anticipation for the mission ahead. Jason Ferros comment on the place rang in my head. Yeah this was probably a nice place, but who knew what villains could be hiding here?

IC: Cobra Shard - Antropolis... Again

Shard double checked all his equipment quickly as the ship came to rest. Coolant good, Quaza good, all systems green, visor at full power.

He took a deep breath, cycling the stale dropship air out of his system and inhaling a fresh gust of Antropolis's sea-scented wind. Time for round two.

IC: Gabriel Bliss - Antropolis

Bliss flew the Cor Solis into a gentle loop before pulling smoothly into place beside Gyro's dropship and climbing out. 

IC: Rotor and XPlode - Villain Friend Ship

Rotor started to bring the ship in to land proper. "Looks clear. Might not wanna prance out or nothin', but it should do."

"Thank you, old friend," XPlode smiled. He said to the others, "It's showtime. And remember: if you're caught, you have nothing to do with the rest of us."

~

IC: Ken Render - Jade's Ship

"Ayuh. I was there fer th'end, same as Mara here. Couple'a teammates were right at the forefront, you mighta met 'em. Was one heck of a ride, eh? Reminds me of th' time I lost my hat." Render's smile turned wistful. "That sure was a good hat."

IC: Wilbur Flood and NPC Security - Arena, Backstage

 

The newer guard frowned. "Sure. And my guess is your 'important business' is autographs or something, right?"

 

"Hold on, Bill," the older guard said. He looked to Flood. "You're Flood, right?"

 

"Yes, I am. If I'm not mistaken, you are Rick, correct? I believe I met you last time we had to collect our friend for Hero business."

 

Rick clicked his fingers in realisation. "That's where I saw you! That team leader of yours didn't come this time?"

 

"Quark was held up with something at the Hero Factory, unfortunately. That's why we're here."

 

"Sure." Rick turned and knocked on the door. "La Puño? Flood and, uh... His friend? They're here to see you."

 

From inside the room came Thumper's cheery voice. "La Puño just left, but I'll talk to them."

 

Flood sometimes felt that the hubbub that went into the whole luchador alter ego thing was a bit much, and he didn't see much of a point when everyone knew who the alter ego was anyway (as was the case for most of the luchadores), but it was rarely a big inconvenience, and he knew it meant a lot to Thumper- he'd even seen her put her mask on to take phone calls to La Puño. Rick held the door open for him and Wolfe to pass through.

 

Thumper waved from the other side, grinning brightly despite the massive dent in her jaw. "Hey, guys! Thank you for coming to see my match! I didn't know you were coming, too, Wolfe; I would've gotten you a seat reserved!"

IC Wolfe - Arena Locker Rooms:

"Aw, no worries, kid," he replied with a smile as he squished passed the the guards. "It was nice to be able to get out and see one of your matches. Those were some impressive moves back there -- you'll be a world champ' in no time!"

He glanced at Flood then, his expression changing to one of worry. "'Fraid we have some high-priority business to attend to, though," he said, lowering his voice. "We got a distress call from a ship called the S.S. Star Whale a little while ago, and Zib is sending teams out to locate it before any villains do. If you're ready to go, we can fill you in on the details on the way to the Tower."

OOC: Feel free to time-skip if you like, Zippy.

IC: Wilhelm Gorn- Jade's ship

"Indeed. It was as if every villain in our database and then some had been gathered and set loose on us all at once... When did you lose your hat? During the breakout?"

The breakout was the only event Gorn could remember off the top of his head that was comparable to the Mechna incident in terms of scale.

IC: Jason Ferro- Gyromobile

As the dropship doors opened, Ferro began to make his way out, only to immediately trip on the end of the walkway. He quickly got to his feet and tried to act like no one saw.

OOC: I completely forgot Wolfe's post D:

IC: Eloise Thumper and Wilbur Flood - Arena, Backstage

Thumper's eyebrows raised in surprise. "A distress call?! Let me just fix this..."

Flood gestured out the door. "We can patch you up on the way, I am sure. They have Heroes on the way already, but it did sound rather urgent."

"Ah! Sure, Flood!" She grabbed her bag, absent-mindedly poking the corner of a familiar costume inside it, and followed Flood out, hastily saying goodbye and thanking the guards as she did so.

OOC: I'm happy for a timeskip!

~

IC: Ken Render - Jade's Ship

"Yeah," Render said, thinking about his hat fondly. "Was a good ol' Wild West kinda cowboy hat. Got it from a friend as a joke, but heck if it weren't comfortable. Was chasin' a good-fer-nothin' across this planet with big ol' sand worms, and wouldn't y'know it, wunna them varmints snapped up my hat. Ate it in one big gulp. No other hat's felt th'same since."

IC: Flynn Flames

I followed after Jason as he ingeniously checked the ground outside the ship for landmines. I strode up outside the ship.

"To the space port we go!"

IC: Michael Barrier - Jade's ship

I checked the ammo in my shotgun, and prepared to get out when the ship landed.

GM IC: Black Phantom/Corroder - Mekron City.

"We got heroes!" Corroder chittered, pointing at something out the window. Sure enough, a Hero Factory issue dropship was in the process of landing, right outside the Mekron City police station. 

"They're probably here for the same reason we are," Black Phantom sounded unconcerned, not even bothering to glance out the viewport, "They have a history here; it makes sense that they would go to Chief Drax for help." He brought the ship in for landing at the public spaceport, choosing a grimy berth sandwiched between two bulky freighters. 

"Alright, we're here," as if it needed announcing. Black Phantom turned towards Corroder and Night Stalker, "Now, I'm sure you two realise that I haven't brought you along for your conversational skills or good looks. I have need of your other talents." 

__________________________________________________________________________

GM IC: Nex/Bulk - Antropolis City.

Bulk waited until the other heroes had stopped goofing around before following them off the ship. Nex's ship had landed nearby, both ships parked in the shadow of one of Antropolis' multitude of excessively shiny skyscrapers. "Okay team," Nex closed up his dropship and joined the group, "I suppose you're all wondering what the plan is?"  

__________________________________________________________________________

GM IC: Stormer/Stringer - Mekron City.

Stormer's dropship made landfall right outside the entrance to the Mekron City police station, quickly garnering the attention of several nearby officers, one of whom rushed off inside, presumably to find Chief Drax. Stormer stomped off of the ship, gathering up his equipment and idly wondering where Jade's ship had wound up. 

IC: Night Stalker

Night Stalker looked out the window at the dropship, then over the rest of Mekron City just before it disappeared behind the freighters. "Last time I was here I blew up part of the police station, killed a couple a cops and civilians, and took out a building. My face would have been all over the news, and I would bet at least 99% of Mekron City knows who I am. Whatever you want me to do, for your sake I hope it's nowhere with people. I'd bring down every cop in the city plus the heroes on our heads."

IC: Cobra Shard - Round Two

Satisfied that he was in top condition for a return to this fateful city, Shard walked off of the dropship and started eyeing his surroundings. Nothing terribly unusual, but he wasn't taking anything for granted. "Right behind you guys," he muttered to Flames and Ferro (who he had not seen trip).

IC: Gabriel Bliss - Antropolis

Bliss set the Cor Solis to lockdown mode and checked his HUD for the other Heroes. Good, they weren't far off.

He took of at a light jog to catch up with the group.

IC: Flynn Flames

Upon hearing Bulk's question I responded immediately.

"Yes sir, I am wondering what the plan is!"

IC Jade- landing:

The gunship touched down, followed closely by Stormer's ship. She opened the rear door.

"Alright, folks, ride's over, go do your jobs!"

IC: Michael Barrier and Isaac Rider

The pair got out quickly, Michael pumping his shotgun and Claws floating behind them both.

IC: Ken Render and Mara Quiver - Mekron

"Sounds like we're up," Render remarked, pushing himself up from the seat. Quiver stuck close to him as they climbed off the ship and joined the group of Heroes waiting outside. "Howdy, y'all."

~

IC: Timothy Gyro - Antropolis

He got free of the pilot's seat more gracefully than he had entered it and left the ship, tucking the keys into a compartment in his armour. He stood a few paces away from the others so he could give his wings a good stretch with a quick hover a metre above the ground, and then returned to the group.

"We're finding information, right?" he asked. "About the runaway ship."

~

IC: Rotor and XPlode - Antropolis

Rotor brought the ship to touch down in an area sheltered between two warehouses, away from prying eyes, and it could be seen from the open doors that there was no one about. XPlode stood, took a cloak from within a cabinet, and threw it across his shoulders with a flourish, his spines retracting as he did so. "Very good, Rotor. Stay with the ship, now; hopefully, we shan't be long."

Rotor frowned and took a digital tablet from the ship's glove compartment. He set his feet up and started flicking through games saved on the device, looking annoyed still.

XPlode led the way out, flipping his hood up as he did so. He waited outside patiently for his other companions.

IC: Ruby

Ruby rolled her neck and shoulders, popping her joints as she stood up and slung her scythe onto her back.  She followed the others out of the ship, half hoping there would be villains to beat down.

IC: Morphos

Morphos made sure he was in average civillian form, checked the ammo in his weapons (both were full), and followed Xplode out of the ship.

IC: Wilhelm Gorn- Mekron City

Gorn joined his fellow heroes outside of the Mekron police station. Despite having been a hero for some time, Gorn had never actually been on a mission in Mekron City before. He supposed that that was a good thing, considering the type of missions he was usually sent on.

IC: Blink - Antropolis Villain Gang

Blink followed Xplode out of the ship and was immediately stuck by how nice Antropolis was. It was like the polar opposite of the Grunge District on Mechna, or, well, how the Grunge District on Mechna had been before the incident. The buildings were clean and shiny, the breeze was refreshing and salty, and there were actually spots of green where trees or grass had been planted.

Maybe once she'd found her alternate self, she'd come live here.

"Where do we start?" she asked Xplode. This place was nice, but it was also huge.

IC: Gabriel Bliss - Antropolis Hero Gang

Bliss was close enough to be able to see Nex's group by now.

OOC: Only just now realized I sent all of my characters to Antropolis and none to Mekron. *facepalm*

IC: Whipcrack (Antropolis)

Whipcrack coughs loudly, and follows the others out of the ship.

IC: Night Stalker

"Last time I was here I blew up part of the police station, killed a couple a cops and civilians, and took out a building. My face would have been all over the news, and I would bet at least 99% of Mekron City knows who I am. Whatever you want me to do, for your sake I hope it's nowhere with people. I'd bring down every cop in the city plus the heroes on our heads."

GM IC: Black Phantom/Corroder - Mekron City Spaceport.

"Oh, but that's exactly why you're here," Black Phantom grinned, "We know the heroes are here, which means they're hunting the same quarry we are. We need to slow them down a bit, give our team time to play catchup."

Corroder chuckled, clearly knowing what was going to come next.

"So I want you two to go out there, make a mess, and get the heroes' attention."  

IC: Flynn Flames

Upon hearing Bulk's question I responded immediately.

"Yes sir, I am wondering what the plan is!"

IC: Timothy Gyro - Antropolis

"We're finding information, right?" he asked. "About the runaway ship."

GM IC: Nex/Bulk - Antropolis. 

It was Nex, not Bulk, who had originally spoken, and it was Nex who answered. "We're going to split up," he declared, "Some of you can tag along with me, while I try to use my patented communication skills to charm some intel out of the ship owners (and get them to add me on HeroBook) while the rest of you go with Bulk, and, uh... what were you doing again?"

Bulk sighed, "Those of you who go with me will be scouring the spaceport and other nearby establishments, asking around for any additional information on the missing ship."  

IC: Blink - Antropolis Villain Gang

"Where do we start?" she asked Xplode. This place was nice, but it was also huge.

GM IC: Exposition & Description - Antropolis Spaceport. 

Huge was right. The spaceport of Antropolis city was a huge, sprawling, multilevel maze of docking bays, loading docks, shops, eateries and bars, with the occasional bathroom, lounge, and recharging station. Short of breaking into the security station or hacking a security feed, there was no easy way to navigate the place to find information on the mission ship, except to blunder around and hope they eventually bumped into someone who knew something useful. 

And as if the task weren't difficult enough, somewhere in that mess was Nex and Bulk's group of heroes, who would likely be doing much the same thing the villains were... 

IC: Night Stalker

Night Stalker growls, "Your plan sucks.  The last time I did that it was as a distraction, and if I do it again they're going to assume it's another distraction.  The heroes will be able to pull up everything they know on me and use that to get a small group, no more than 3 or 4, that will deal with me while the rest go on ultra high alert.  A moron could figure out that the people I'm drawing attention away from is looking for the Starwhale and they'll have every place related to it covered immediately."

GM IC: Black Phantom/Corroder - Mekron City Spaceport.

"Oh, ye of little faith," the dastardly villain chuckled, "You've been stuck in a prison since the Mechna Incident, how would you know? Speaking of which, I got you out of that prison, so now you're going to do this for me. Let me worry about the finer details." 

OOC: Heh, forgot Nex was with us for this mission. My bad.

IC: Flynn Flames

As awesome as Nex was, standing around while he sweet talked captains seemed kinda dull. It would be better to hit the streets with Bulk and explore Antropolis.

"I would prefer to scour the spaceport and surrounding establishments sir's!"

IC: Night Stalker

"It's the second to last thing I want to do," Night Stalker said.  "But lucky for you, the last thing I want to do is go back to prison.  Where do you want me to lead them away from and where do I meet you when you're done?"  

Night Stalker had nearly made up his mind about his future, about whether or not he wanted to continue in his life of crime.  Black Phantom certainly wasn't making it difficult to choose, and it looked like it was about to bite him in the butt.

GM IC: Black Phantom/Corroder - Mekron City Spaceport.

"Just go with Corroder, pick a target, and make a mess," Black Phantom waved his hand dismissively, "Assuming you don't just cut and run, I'll pick you two up once I'm finished getting the Intel we need." 

IC: Night Stalker

"I didn't realize I was getting back up. That's a little better. Last time I picked the police station because they were all occupied when I got there. This time it's right where the heroes parked, so somewhere far away from the police station would be best."

IC: Gabriel Bliss and Cobra Shard - Antropolis Hero Gang

Shard decided he'd stick with his new buddy Flames a while longer so he said "Uh, me too!" after the other rookie finished speaking. (This decision totally had nothing to do with his experience with Nex last visit to Antropolis...)

Bliss shook his head. These rookies all seemed to love Bulk for some reason. Nex was cool too, right? "I'm with you," he told Nex. "You'll need someone to back you up."

IC: Timothy Gyro: Antropolis Hero Huddle, Nex and Bulk Edition

Gyro considered the two options he had. Nex seemed to have everything sorted on his side of things, if he just needed people to watch him do networking. He said, "I might tag along with Bulk on this one. I'd probably mess up your flow or something."

~

IC: XPlode - Antropolis

He answered Blink, "Perhaps a local bar? Anywhere there's people, there's information."

~

IC: Mara Quiver and Ken Render - Mekron

"U-Uh," Quiver said quietly, having spotted Stormer's receding form.

At Render's quizzical look, she pointed. Render raised his eyebrows. "Shoot, junebug, looks like we should be over there, 'steada here."

To the Heroes he greeted, he said, "I'll leave y'to it, y'all."

He and Quiver quickly caught up to the Heroes heading into the police station. Render greeted them cheerfully. "Howdy. Mind if we tag along, pardner?"

IC: Blink - Antropolis Villain Gang

She eased a little. Bars were her specialty. "Alright. I'll be back here once of I've got something then," she said, before heading into the deep black heart of Antropolis.

GM IC: Stormer/Stringer - Mekron Police Station.

"Hey there," Stringer nodded to the heroes who'd already made their way over to where he'd landed, "What did you want us to do again, Stormer?"

"Just stay here and keep the rookies entertained while I go tell Drax he can stop panicking." 

"Sure thing bos-Wait, why would would he be doing that?"

"Because every time we've sent heroes to this plant recently, it's ended badly for this police station."

"Oh yeah," Stringer conceded, "Good point. Have fun with that." Given that Stormer had already wandered off into the station by that point, he probably didn't even hear him. 

____________________________________________________

GM IC: Bulk/Nex - Antropolis Spaceport.

"Alright, I want my team (the cool team) to stick together, watch each other's back, and all that stuff," Nex announced, beginning to walk off towards a nearby stairwell, "We'll be heading up to the top level to talk to the representative for the company that sent the ship."

"Those of you staying with me," Bulk spoke up, "Fan out, but try to stay in groups of at least two or three. If you see, hear, or find out anything, radio the rest of us immediately." 

____________________________________________________

GM IC: Black Phantom/Corroder - Mekron Spaceport.

"Have fun you two," Black Phantom waved, stomping off the ship and vanishing into an alleyway. He hadn't explained where he was going, or what he hoped to find when he got there, but he'd seemed confident that he would get the information he needed. 

"So," Corroder turned to Night Stalker, "What do you want to blow up first?" 

IC: Night Stalker

"I vote obvious landmark. Every city has tons of them and they usually fall spectacularly."

IC: Timothy Gyro - With Bulk

"Sure," he said. "I doubt you'll need much aerial coverage of this part of the mission, anyway."

~

IC: Ken Render and Mara Quiver - Mekron

Render, ignored by Stormer, shrugged. "Huh. Guess he's busy, junebug."

"Sh-Shuh-Should we...?"

"Go after him?" Render considered it, but shook his head. "Nah. He's just findin' that there sheriff, pardner. We ain't gonna be much use with that."

She nodded uncertainly, and they rejoined the group. Render asked Stringer, "Guessin' th' sheriff here ain't a fan. Heard what happened here from my team leader; she was one of the Heroes on th' team sent to help. Nasty turnabout, eh?"

Quiver shrunk down a little, staring at the ground.

GM IC: Corroder - Mekron City Streets.

"Lead the way then," Corroder grinned, "You know this city better than I do." 

IC: Night Stalker

Night Stalker though for  few seconds, deciding which famous building would be best, then headed off in a direction opposite from Black Phantom, activating his camo as he did so.  "If anyone sees me especially we're done for, so stay close or you'll lose me."

OOC: I don't think we have any canon buildings in Mekron aside from the police station, so should I make one up?

IC: Flynn Flames - Antropolis - Bulk Group

I had a choice between Cobra's depression and potential for massive bad luck, and the much more successful Gyro. Gyro seemed like the better choice, but it would be remiss of me to turn down a hero who will inevitably need of help (judging by his his track record), and heroes were there to help the public, and each other. Besides, fire and ice was always a cool combination. I guess I'll let them decide.

"So who wants to hit the streets with me Cobra? Gyro?"

OOC: Yeah, for for it. 

GM IC: Corroder - Mekron City.

Chuckling quietly, Corroder slunk off behind Night Stalker, sticking to the shadows. 

IC: Cobra Shard - Antropolis Hero Gang

"I'll go with you if you want," he said, although after his story, he wasn't sure if Flames would want him coming along. Even if Flames decided on Gyro though, he'd still get to travel with Bulk, which was just as awesome.

IC: Blink - Deep Black Heart of Antropolis

It took her a minute or two, but she finally found the seedy part of town where they kept all the cheapest bars and motels and such. After surveying her options, unimpressed, for a few moments, she decided on a distinctly low-class establishment called "The Rusty Jug" and headed in. Now, who to ask first?

IC: Timothy Gyro - With Bulk Crew

"I ain't picky about who goes with me," Gyro shrugged. "This is your first mission, anyway. It's important you feel comfortable with your teammates, so I reckon you should decide who you go with."