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One of these gangs is the Black Vampires. Based in the Chicago area, its officials are as wealthy as they are vile. The Black Vampires have taken many victims over the years, and few stand to oppose them.
Robert Malone is one of those few people. He was a middle-level official in the Black Vampires when his brother was murdered. He was killed by Black Vampire thugs when he refused to pay protection money for his business. Robert vowed that he would get revenge for his brother, even if itmight cost him his life. He went to the Attorney General and revealed extensive and damaging information about the Black Vampires.
The next day, the leaders of the Black Vampires were arrested and charged with many heinous crimes. A grand jury quickly indicted them and the stage was set for a historic trial.
The Maggia was not going to let its reputation be tainted, however. It purchased the services of several villains to find and kidnap Robert Malone. On the night before Malone was to appear in court and give essential prosecution testimony, villains broke into a supposedly secret safe house and kidnapped him. From the vast destruction inflicted on the safe house, it is apparent that these villains were not ordinary. It is believed that Malone is probably still alive. The Maggia probably will not kill him until they learn exactly what he has told the authorities.
This is where your group, The Investigators, enters the drama. After a direct appeal from the Attorney General, Shade (the group's leader) called the membership together.
It is now 10 p.m. and the trial is over at noon tomorrow (it resumes at 8 a.m.). Unless Robert Malone is located and rescued before noon, the Black Vampires will win a victory in court. Your mission is to rescue Malone and deliver him to the courthouse, intact, so that he can give his testimony. It's a sure bet that the Maggia will employ super villains in an attempt to stop you.
Robert Malone was last seen at the safe house. After a quick look at his police file, the Investigators leave for the safe house - "Conklin Cleaners."
The super villains who located and kidnapped Robert Malone were the Absorbing Man, Blizzard, Mauler, Sabertooth, and Whirlwind. The Maggia was not taking any chances. The adventure starts in downtown Chicago.
Only one police officer survived the onslaught. He is in critical condition, with deep claw wounds on his body. He is barely conscious and cannot give the characters any information.
The disaster happened about one hour ago. The supervillain, Sabertooth, used his super sense of smell to track down Mr. Malone. It was the Mauler who blew open the wall. The ice and the high winds were courtesy of Blizzard and Whirlwind.
The kidnappers left few clues to the whereabouts of Malone. The heroes cannot proceed any further with the adventure until they try to find eye witnesses.
When the heroes try to find eye witnesses they will meet with some success. They will encounter Joe Bernard and Kelly James. Bernard is a 16-year old runaway who survives on charity, a part time job, and the occasional theft. He is streetwise and will not be intimidated by the heroes. Joe saw the entire event and he will tell the story for a price ($50). Joe saw Malone captured and loaded into a van. On the side of the van were the words "Globe Press." Shade is the only one carrying any money, but he should be hesitant to pay the boy. This is a situation where a lot of group interaction could take place.
Kelly James is a young nurse who was driving by the store when the villains hit it. She saw only the Mauler, Sabertooth and Blizzard. Read the following when the heroes question Kelly: "This young woman seems to be a bit breathless, either because of your presence or because of what she saw here. I was driving home from the hospital when I heard a crash. I slowed down to look and saw a man in a cat outfit standing next to the hole in the wall, I think he was the villain Sabertooth. Anyway, he saw the car and shouted to somebody inside. Two men wearing armor looked out through the hole, one of them looked like he was covered with frost or something, and the other shot a beam of light at me from his arm, so I punched the gas and drove away. I came back here because I thought what I saw might be important."
Kelly didn't have time to see anything else. If Graylord questions her, however, she will try very hard to remember other details; she will eventually be able to furnish fairly complete descriptions of all three villains.
The referee should feel free to invent any new NPC's he feels appropriate, but characters should have even less information than Joe and Kelly.
The building is made of brick and is rather new. Its walls and doors are made of GD material. Remote control video cameras are located in many spots outside the structure. If the heroes are careful they can get within one area of the building without being seen from inside. Shade may move freely about and remain unseen as long as he does not stand directly under a street light. The cameras are connected to monitors in the office section (the light area in the building's lower left hand corner).
When the heroes arrive they will see the van parked in the parking area. No one saw the van arrive.
Read the following when the players reach the lighted office: "This large but spartan room houses many video monitors. The exterior of the building is being shown on them. From out of the shadows step three costumed men. You recognize them as the Mauler, Blizzard, and Sabertooth."
This room is where Malone was taken. He is not here now, however, as he was taken below through a trap door in the middle of the room. The heroes will not notice it until the fight is over (see Aftermath). When the villains arrived, the Absorbing Man and Whirlwind proceeded through the trap door with Malone, telling their three associates to wait here for their payment and to watch for pursuit.
By using the monitors and his super senses, Sabertooth knew when the Investigators entered the building. He, the Mauler and Blizzard are ready for a fight.
Allow the heroes an Intuition Feat roll to avoid being surprised by the villains. The villains will fight to zero health points. Their battle tactics are up to the Judge, but they will do their best to defeat the heroes. If captured they will not discuss their mission, or reveal anything about Malone. Even these villains respect the Maggia.
Aftermath: The heroes will find the trap door if they search the office. A ladder leads downward to a tunnel. Opening the trap door and descending the ladder takes the heroes directly to chapter 3.
Read the following: "The tunnel abruptly ends in a gray, steel door, featureless except for a gleaming brass rectangle bolted to its right edge, about chest high. The plate's cold surface gleams ruddily in the dim red light cast by a single dirty bulb set in the ceiling."
This is a normal steel door, the heroes can open it simply by pushing on it. The judge should do nothing to allay any fears or anxieties the players might have about the door.
When opened, the door reveals an ordinary parking garage. Hundreds of cars litter the place. The heroes can visit the exit gate and inquire about any strange events. A worker there, Orville Johnson, will remember the limousine that carried Malone out of here. The man who paid the ticket was a very large, bald, evil-looking man (the Absorbing Man). The car's license plate number is written on a ticket stub.
The heroes will have problems obtaining information from Orville, however. He is pushing his 70's and he is losing some of his hearing. Although he likes to pretend to be dim-witted, he is very sharp. He will try to get the heroes to agree to attend his grandchild's birthday party next week. If they agree, he will tell them all he knows.
When the heroes approach Orville, he will be mumbling angrily about something. Orville holds the ticket stub while talking to the heroes, if he does not show it to them, Oracle can read the license number with his Gramarye spell.
The license plate number can be easily traced with a simple phone call. The limousine belongs to Theodore Tyler a regional official of the Maggia. He lives in a small country estate just outside the city. By using Shadowstreak, or a police helicopter, the Investigators can be there in 20 minutes.
If the heroes wait a few moments, they will see a guard with two guard dogs patrolling the yard. He will pass near the heroes every five minutes. He has a shotgun and will use it if he sees the heroes. The shots will alert everyone in the house.
GUARD
F- EX
A- EX
S- GD
E- GD
R- TY
I- TY
P- TY
H- 60
K- 18
The two guard dogs will attack the heroes immediately after they are released. They will avoid Shade and Mole.
GUARD DOGS (p. 59 Judge's Book)
Eventually, the heroes will find their way into the home by stealth or by force. When they do, it is time for chapter 5.
Absorbing Man - conference room
Whirlwind - conference room
Theodore Tyler - conference room
Mrs. Tyler (harmless) - bedroom #3
3 thugs (use guard stats) - patio
Mr. Malone - conference room
If the guard was able to warn the villains, the judge must decide where the villains are located. They will set up an ambush if they have time to do so.
The house's exterior walls and doors are made of steel sliding over hardwood and fiberglas insulation (EX material strength). The interior walls and doors are made of hardwood paneling over light steel panels (GD material strength). The conference room has steel doors and solid stone walls (IN material strength).
Read the following if the Investigators have successfully breached the conference room without warning the villains: "This large room is no doubt a conference room. A large wooden table with many chairs takes up most of the space. You can see the Absorbing Man, Whirlwind, Theodore Tyler and a healthy, defiant Mr. Malone sitting at the far end of the table."
The villains actions are left to the judge. When formulating a plan, remember that the Absorbing Man will be looking for a strong material like the stone walls to absorb. If threatened, Mr. Tyler will use his pistol to hold Mr. Malone as a hostage and when it appears that the heroes are going to win he will attempt to kill him.
Theodore Tyler
F- GD
A- TY
S- GD
E- GD
R- EX
I- TY
P- TY
H- 36
K- 32
Equipment: Pistol
Robert Malone
F- TY
A- TY
S- GD
E- TY
R- EX
I- GD
P- GD
H- 28
K- 40
GM's note: if the Absorbing Man absorbs the properties of stone or earth, Mole's earth controlling powers will work on him. Mole will need to make a Red Feat roll for them to work on him. Creel will be able to break the control by absorbing the properties of something else or by making a Yellow Psyche feat roll.
Aftermath: if the heroes recover Mr. Malone then they will have accomplished their first goal. It is still another five hours until the trial resumes. A lot can happen in five hours. Furthermore, Mr. Malone has some news for the heroes: "The object of your quest clears his throat nervously, coughs into his fist, then speaks. I hate to appear ungrateful or demanding but we have a problem that you should know about. When I was brought here, I was forced to swallow a small metallic object. Mr. Tyler boasted afterwards that now I couldn't hide anywhere even if I did manage to escape. I think the Maggia will know it if I leave this house as anything but a corpse! I think I'd better call the Attorney General."
Maggia agents are monitoring the transmitter and will know it the minute Mr. Malone leaves the house. Malone will insist that someone calls the Attorney General if not him. He will want to talk to Shade when he hears about the transmitter. "Look Shade, this explains a lot of things. The whole countryside is crawling with super villains! The Maggia must have put a price on Malone's head just in case he escaped. It's 3 a.m. now and the trial resumes at eight. It's about one hour from where you are to the courthouse. So you'll have to move Malone by seven. I suggest you stay put, maybe the Maggia will figure that Malone never swallowed that transmitter. I'll send an unmarked police van to get Malone at seven."
Neither the Attorney General nor any of the other authorities will agree to take custody of Malone any sooner than 8 a.m., the risk of super villain interference is too great. They are already pressed to make the courtroom secure, and they simply can't handle Malone's early arrival. In the same vein, the authorities will not send reinforcements to the house that could attract too much attention. If the heroes insist on moving Malone before 7 a.m., the authorities will appeal to the governor of Illinois, who will order them to hold Malone at the house until 7.
If the heroes leave the house anyway, they will encounter the Wrecking Crew immediately. After defeating the Wrecking Crew, they encounter Jeff Sanders stopped at the side of a road reading a map. Next, Volcana ambushes them. Finally, Scorpion, Beetle, and the Radioactive Man attack them just as they reach the courthouse.
The villains will fight until they are reduced to about 5 health. At that time, they will flee outside and try to make their get-away in their car.
Aftermath: If captured, the Wrecking Crew members will tell the Investigators about the bounty on Malone's head. They also will tell them that electronic sensors detected the heroes when they stormed the house. The Maggia knows about their rescue, and that is the reason behind the bounty.
All of this is true. After the Wrecking Crew has been missing for a while, the Maggia wil know something is up.
The object in the truck is an old V8 engine Jeff uses to give him traction. If Shade looks at it with his infravision, he will notice a nobby projection jutting out of the top (the carburetor, the air cleaner is gone), and some thick wires hanging from one edge (the spark plug leads), but he won't recognize it as an engine at first glance.
If the heroes accept the pizza, they owe $14.70. If they refuse, Jeff asks to use the phone so he can figure out where to deliver it.
The villains will fight to zero health, there is a lot of money at stake. They will not talk after the fight should they lose. The heroes should know that they are in for a dangerous morning.
The van has a finely tuned engine, a heavy duty suspension and a reinforced body, but no special equipment. The drive is Federal Marshal Clinton Stoddard. Stoddard is a matter of fact no nonsense man. He wants to load Malone and the Investigators into the van and hit the road. He has an efficient and courteous manner and won't waste time making small talk.
Clinton Stoddard
F- EX
A- TY
S- GD
E- GD
R- TY
I- TY
P- TY
H- 46
K- 18
Equipment: Sub-Machine gun
Trouble for the heroes in the form of Volcana lies in wait on the road. Read the following: "Straight ahead of you on the road you see the super villain Volcana. She is under a railroad over-pass. A small, wooden water tower and a signal box are next to her. With a wave of her arm, a thermal bolt lashes out at your van. The front of the van is destroyed and the crippled van comes to a rest a short distance in front of Volcana."
Volcana will try to fry the heroes and then capture Malone. If they douse her with water from the tower, she will revert to human form briefly.
Aftermath: By saving Malone once again, the Investigators are able to deliver him to the trial. His testimony is very damaging and the Black Vampires are found guilty and sentenced to life. The Investigators are given a special citation from the state of Illinois, their fame and popularity rises again. What's more, the side of truth and justice has won again.
