Dead Bang chapter 7

[Dragonflight]

I recall Epsilon saying on several occasions that his game notes for one of his games was a half-sheet of paper with some character names scribbled on them. The plot started simple, then he just sat back with a smiling poker face and took ideas the PC's created while trying to figure out his plot, stringing the best ones together.
Some of these ideas are natural evolutions of what I've written, but stuff I haven't planned that far forward. It's really good, stuff though. So don't stop, by any means. I'll just prune the most useful stuff and run with it.
Kate is definitely standing on a shifting tower of cards. A multinational corporation responsible for over half of the world's economy created for the sole purpose of engineering supervillains is going to take a lifetime to turn around. Assuming it's even possible. By the time she gets it down to something manageable, it's bound to have spawned off new supervillain organizations. I could also argue that was part of the point, because unless Quincy found a way to live forever (and he was clearly trying), he'd want his creation to succeed even if he wasn't around to see it. Possibly the last act of a dying Quincy would be to clear the slate of any powerful executive assistants like Mason and Madigan, so that the executives would rip the company apart into multiple smaller villain organizations.
As for Magic, my only exposure to it was a grudging purchase when my best friends were Magic addicts. Even then, I found a store that had taken random packs of cards and put them in dime-store vending machines. I picked up a totally arbitrary deck of a couple hundred cards for about five bucks. It could only win 1 time in 20, though.
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

[Bob Schroeck]

while Lisa is the only one now

No, she isn't. Check the very last epilogue of DW2.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Disruptor]

There is something that has been absorbing the belief of children for decades and it is on top of a huge mana node: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. That car of Linna's is the actual car they used in the movie and it might be the next magical superhero(sort-of) to awaken due to manifest belief and being insanely close to such things as Loon Enterprises and Lisa Vanette. It would give ADPolice headaches on what to do with a sentient car flying around.
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Tom Mathews aka Disruptor

[Dragonflight]

Consider what a vehicle gaining awareness might be. Unlike a Boomer AI developing awareness or something more or less human in nature, a car has totally alien concepts of what it might want to do with itself. Especially since a car, by definition, fulfills its purpose when it's carrying people. I doubt a car which evolved awareness without a human perspective would be fighting crime, for instance. KITT, by contrast, was a human-programmed AI which accepted human values. An "awakened" car might be a totally different animal entirely.
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

[Necratoid]

No, she isn't. Check the very last epilogue of [i][i][i]DW2[/i][/i][/i].

That was specific to magical girls, not magic user Bob.  You reminded us on like page two I think.  Just to be specific, I'm using magical girl as a image template here.  Typically, I'd assign magical girl to someone that has constant soul manipulation magic involved.  So technically those two kids would have to a better chance at fitting the template than Lisa seen from that angle.  Not that I don't think Lisa with have to deal with that eventually... but Doug is the only one to actually do anything in that field so far, with the possibly of Hex' descrambler kiss.  Using first exposure as a talent influencer (Lisa is rather good with TK), those kids are likely to end up shaman or healers.
Anyway, I was using magical girl as a template... in short new mutants or mages are going to emulate things they know at first.  Particularly the young.meaning females clad in fuku and cosplay... and randoms coping of things seen in Genome brand comics.  I can't see Quincy not running (secretly or otherwise) lots and lots of the type of comics he saw as inspirational in his youth.  Remember that Quincy wasn't spawning villany for nothing... he was trying to spawn heroes.  I'm expecting the comic book/webcomic industry is absolutely rampant as a subculture.  I also wouldn't doubt that he has a complex full of boomers that do nothing, but write a single character.
As for CCBB... if your doing that I'd save it for after the wannabe SSJ goes boom.  That way its a result of role percentage level chaos... of course that means enchantment by drunkan commity... picking targets from darts tossed blindly, backwards over the shoulder.  CCBB is going to be a target for human interest stories anyway... its both buzzed the Tower and had Leon show up in it for the ADP headquarters take over.  The public will get informed and the movie will be played on the air again as a ratings grab.

[Disruptor]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang... From one of the stories I read about CCBB when I was a kid, the car acts like a very loyal dog(intellegent, but the personality...). It chased someone up a tree and opened its hood and revealed very pointed teeth like a dog to protect its family. At the begining of the story the teeth were not there as the owner was checking the engine(the teeth can vanish and appear as Chitty feels like it).

Imagining Chitty follows Linna to Loon Ent. and senses that bomber and then chases him up a lamppost snapping and snarling for threating his owner. ADPolice would have a headache filling out that report.
--------------------
Tom Mathews aka Disruptor

[Bob Schroeck]

That was specific to magical girls, not magic user Bob.

Okay, I got confused about the antecedent. Never mind, carry on.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Norgarth]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang... From one of the stories I read about CCBB when I was a kid, the car acts like a very loyal dog(intellegent, but the personality...). It chased someone up a tree and opened its hood and revealed very pointed teeth like a dog to protect its family. At the begining of the story the teeth were not there as the owner was checking the engine(the teeth can vanish and appear as Chitty feels like it).  

Which brings to mind The Luggage from Diskworld.
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[itsune9tl]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang... From one of the stories I read about CCBB when I was a kid, the car acts like a very loyal dog(intellegent, but the personality...). It chased someone up a tree and opened its hood and revealed very pointed teeth like a dog to protect its family. At the begining of the story the teeth were not there as the owner was checking the engine(the teeth can vanish and appear as Chitty feels like it).  

Which brings to mind The Luggage from Diskworld.

The prototype had to come from somewhere.

[Disruptor]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is older than Diskworld. As matter of fact, the only thing I have of Diskworld is the animated series Wyrd Sisters. I have never read a single book.

Chitty could do many things from the few stories I read(children books like 'Green Eggs and Ham', 'Disney's Magic Gringer', or 'Cat in the Hat'):

Could go across water like a boat, but not under like a submaraine

Drive straight up the side of a cliff

Could go up wide stairs

Fly(obvious)

self-aware and intelligent, but the personality of a large and loyal dog

Bring the teeth out to threaten somebody and then make them vanish

It was the ultimate ATV in stories for a while.

Linna might also have to get a liscence to drive a boat if the movie-prop she owns becomes magically infused and becomes Chitty for real.

Linna is going to get a bit more noteriety with Chitty as one of her cars: the one she uses for her days off and relxation.
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Tom Mathews aka Disruptor

[Ebony]

As the CEO of a company claiming to possess bleeding-edge technology to clean up the environment, called Loon Enterprises, I believe she's already got plenty of notoriety, especially since there have been two attempt to put her out of business. CCBB is just tabloid fodder. At least at this point. If the car actually does anything besides fly, it might gain its own notoriety, especially since the idea of a semi-sentient car would be well received in MegaTokyo. (The Gryphon is probably still in the public memory.)
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Necratoid]

Considering that Linna bought the Griffon's garage... questions will arise.

[Bob Schroeck]

Correction: Linna bought the Griffon. Doug had the Griffon's garage.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Necratoid]

Okay, my bad... though that just means that the Griffon is apparently contagious instead of it being a magical garage... and now I'm going to have to go back and see if I miss read that scene with Roger or if I have a memory writing error.

[Dragonflight]

Actually, I may have fumbled that scene a bit. I thought Linna had both the car and the garage. Since she doesn't have the garage, it's technically an error, but I don't specifically say so, just that it's the same building. So it still hangs together, despite the error.
As for the Griffon... if Chitty develops semi-sentience as a result of its history, and fan appreciation, it's possible proximity to Chitty might make the Griffon reactivate. It was rebuilt for one thing only, and had a boomer brain shoehorned into it when Raven wouldn't give Gibson a more "stable" AI core. So it might pull a Christine and go on another rampage.
It makes for an interesting Omake, actually. The Griffon goes postal - again, and Chitty has to go out and stop it, getting it back into the garage before Linna realizes they've gone out for a spin without her.
I suddenly have a post-rampage image, of Linna stepping into her garage after hearing some highly suspicious police reports about a pair of cars on a deserted overpass... only to find both cars still in their bays, the Griffon up on blocks with no wheels and Chitty sitting idle in the main show area. She gives them both a long look, then leaves, at which point the Griffon's radio switches on, and plays music as the scene fades.
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

[Ebony]

I doubt that the Griffon will reactivate because of CCBB. It's not Christine; it's a boomer. Plus, the sheer bashing it took in Revenge Road makes it a hunk of inanimate junk, not including whatever the ADP did to it after they stopped it. (If I were Leon, I would be putting an Earthshaker round through the engine block after it crashed, just to make sure.) It might wake back up if the Leon-A virus went to work on it, but it'd still have to repair itself from a total trashing. I don't think it's a project of reclamation for Linna, but rather a kind of trophy and/or memorial, in a form that goes with her gearhead sensitivities. But given the damage that the Griffon did, and the news that it probably made, it would be considered a little eccentric to own it.
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Proginoskes]

As for Magic, my only exposure to it was a grudging purchase when my best friends were Magic addicts. Even then, I found a store that had taken random packs of cards and put them in dime-store vending machines. I picked up a totally arbitrary deck of a couple hundred cards for about five bucks. It could only win 1 time in 20, though.

I have to point out that depending on what your play group was like, winning one game in twenty as a grudging player with a random deck (especially one bigger than around 70 cards or so) might be very impressive. (This also depends on exactly how "random" the deck was, but there are enough dissertations on card choices around already.)

Spoiler

People who play Magic regularly generally try to make a deck as close as possible to the agreed-upon minimum size, usually 60 or 100 cards; the theory is that you're more likely to draw whatever card you happen to need right now instead of Awesome But Impractical Card #153 if there are fewer cards in the deck.

[Dragonflight]

Started writing Dead Bang Ch 8 today. A few ideas plinking around. Superpowers are due to start showing up, now, so this is a snippet I've thrown together about a totally unexpected Origin during the cleanup of the AD Police tower. Tell me what you think.
============
The medic shook his head and muttered something which sounded
suspiciously like, "Damn comic-book drama queens," and stepped up to the
door. Bending down, he set one hand on the bottom of the door, and the
other at the base of the window. Then he gripped.
A quiet cracking sound was the only sound as the glass shattered, giving
his upper hand a grip on the car door. The medic paused, jaw open as he
saw the hole he'd made in the window. Pulling his hand out, he looked it
over, expecting to see multiple lacerations and bleeding. Instead, it
looked whole and unharmed. "What the...?"
Leon pointed to the door. "Keep trying. Let's see where this goes."
The medic swallowed again, and set himself. Gingerly placing his hand
inside the hole in the window again, he placed the other hand on the
bottom, and tried to force his hand into the metal.
A moment later, the door let loose with a horrendous shearing sound as
the medic pulled it clean away from the car, hinges tearing loose from
the door, as secondary electric cabling broke and hung loosely down from
the frame. The medic held the car door in his hands and looked out at
the other assembled people with an expression of shock.
================
Opinions?
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Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

[Necratoid]

Well played Leon, well played.  I love how the medic is mocking people with super powers and then randomly gains them through force of irony.  I'm actually wondering if people are baffled how Leon pulled that off so well without wearing mirror shades... then at the end, I can see the rest of the people there torn between not laughing at the medic with super strength... or gaping at mirror shadeless Leon.
The one thing I'd change it making sure the glass is emphatically bullet proof glass... at least from the medics view point.  Maybe I'm channeling a dose of ''Viewers are Idiots', but the internal freak out is better with that detail involved.

[Dragonflight]

Hmm. Certainly possible. It is one of the cars damaged by Sniper Yoshida, and it would make sense if the cop cars were at least partially bulletproof.
I might modify that scene to put Leon in shades. He does wear them on occasion. The scene right before he nails the Griffon is a great example of "unflappable Leon" in action.
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

[ECSNorway]

Hmm. Certainly possible. It is one of the cars damaged by Sniper Yoshida, and it would make sense if the cop cars were at least partially bulletproof.
I might modify that scene to put Leon in shades. He does wear them on occasion. The scene right before he nails the Griffon is a great example of "unflappable Leon" in action.

Do Eet. Leon needs the Shades Of Utter Cool +3.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Necratoid]

Strictly speaking Leon does not need the shades... he has them and uses them, but he doesn't need them.  Its more accurate to say the shades are mentoring under Leon.
I don't think that people realize that Leon has his own prequel to BGC... In DnD terms, Leon starts BCC in the mid teen levels.  He started off in a campaign with the description:  Okay first the boomeriods and do detective type stuff... Leon lived long enough to annoy the DM, the campaign couldn't end with Leon alive.  So abruptly the description changed to Okay, everything is 10 levels above you and your equipment can only hurt them on a critical.  Eat prototype, military combat boomer Leon!  So Leon did and everyone else had to role new character 3 or 4 times in each combat... then Daily wouldn't die and they just ran the power armored mercenaries campaign on the Leon show.  At some point in between one of the player characters managed to wheedle their way into the game as a dispatcher... who got hired by the mercenary troop.  The DM laughed as Leon got no exp as the Knight Sabers killed everything.  Leon only got to level again when he head shots Largo.
Okay I'm done now.

[Dragonflight]

Maybe Leon's like Batman. A group of us here maintain that in Marvel game terms, Batman has the most unfair superpower of all. The moment combat starts, he takes half of all his opponents' Karma, and can do with it as he chooses.
It's like Captain America, who's real power is that his Karma pool is the entire USA, which he can spend however he wants.
---
Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.

[Necratoid]

Having looked up what Karma means there:  He is  the [expletive deleted] Batman... though following that line of reasoning it looks like the reason he lets the cops hunt him is so they keep initiating combat with him and its heroic to avoid said combat with good aligned characters.  Add in the aura of fear thing he propagates of the cowardly and superstitious criminal element... and eventually waking up in the morning will count as mental combat with his mythos, which is a meta character of its own.  So the reason he has so many psychos as reoccuring villians is because they are practically the only ones that can ignore that effect gain any EXP... though I think some of them are leaching fear based Karma removal with their own mythos... though I think that proves that the Scarecrow is a PC.  Its half his character concept.
Leon I think is more of the synergy and moral bonus abusing type... just being ranked in the ADP means he gets trained in all the 'new' army surplus gear he gets as bonus feats... which likely means he can get synergy between knowing the new and old models.  So every retraining he keeps a portion of the old bonus feats bonuses.
I also think he has some feat that gives him some moral based modifiers verses boomers... I think one of those bonuses is a moral bonus to his AC equal to the square root of ADP offices he was friends with that he has seen die.  Has to be something in the 15-18 to AC range by the opening of BGC.  Probably a +1 favored enemy bonus for every 10 dead in this manner.

[Dragonflight]

Heh. Well, I'm going to address the AD Police's chronic lack of reliable technology in this chapter, actually. With Madigan not running GENOM like she's trying to create supervillains (although as someone pointed out, she's probably having to step on them fairly frequently,) it's to her benefit to stop forcing the advanced SWAT forces to make do with substandard tech. And while the ADP's budget won't change, it just means they'll get creative now that they have all this new freedom to play with.
Give Leon a loosening of the political restraints, throw in one crisis which threatens the ADP, and let cook for a chapter or so. Then sit back and enjoy.
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Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.