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File: henchman.png (1.31 MB, 900x1560)
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Your name is Sean Clayton, aka Gunsmoke. Last time, you recruited a few defectors from the local crime syndicate, bagged yourself a hell of a hunting trophy, and had a last bit of fun with your gang of misfits and oddities.

Now, you’re giving Pandion the chance to perish valiantly in the heat in battle; an honor denied to him in a long-ago past.

> Hello everyone, and welcome back to another issue of DC: Henchman Quest! As always, I’m AxisQM. Rules are simple but flexible: 20-30 minutes to vote / roll what I say, rolls count even if you (or I) mess up the modifier, crit successes override, write-ins encouraged. If rolls / votes are slow to come in, I’ll do my best to adjust for it. Our cover art still puts a goofy smile on my face, and I’m eternally grateful for it.

Pastebin (Still updating per player request): https://pastebin.com/RwY7nc3S

Link to Previous Thread: http://thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5666638/

Link to Archive: http://thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Henchman
>>
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>>5705822

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2HqUFozkcY

Despite Pandion’s claim that he’s steadily growing weaker, he still hits like a damned freight train.

Overall, you’ve got him beat in terms of agility and raw strength, and he’s got you outmatched when it comes to experience and technique.

You’re no slouch when it comes to Pankration or your other fighting styles, but Pandion’s been doing this for a lot longer than you have; not to mention the fact that he’s been instrumental in the development of your martial pursuits.

In any case, he’s already managed to draw first blood.

In theory, the only thing that truly matters is being the one to draw last blood; though you’d rather avoid things getting that close to the wire.

To that end, you’re going to have to fall back on your patented blend of subterfuge mixed with a careful application of brute force.

Per the terms of your informal agreement, so long as no magic enters the mix, anything is fair game.

Like the old saying goes; if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.

The first prong of the gambit requires a dash of misdirection.

While maintaining an eagle-eye on Pandion in case he makes a sudden move, you fake a bout of dizziness and fall to one knee.

Once you’re in that position, you covertly gather a handful of coarse sand in your left hand.

Next, you’ll need an environmental advantage, something to knock Pandion off his game.

A particularly rocky patch of shoreline should do nicely.

As you “force” yourself back to your feet, Pandion strikes like a viper, and you go on the defensive; gently backpedaling in the face of his assault so as to coax him to his defeat.
>>
>>5705823

Upon luring him to your chosen arena, you feint like you’re about to throw a straight punch before tossing the sand in Pandion’s face.

To Pandion’s credit, he dodges the flung sand with contemptible ease, yet fails to maintain a view of the larger picture.

His hasty movement on such uneven footing causes him to momentarily lose his center of gravity.

It’s only a slight over-correction in his posture, but it’s the opening you need.

You roar and press forward, slamming into Pandion and locking him into a clinch.

The both of you strain and heave, trying to gain a measure of leverage over the other.

To your horror, you find that your strength is slowly ebbing in the face of Pandion’s determined defense.

Before you can lose the lockup, you manage to drive a knee right into his breadbasket.

It barely even winds him, but that wasn’t your primary objective; it just buys you enough space and time to pull your head back.

Before Pandion can counter, you go for a bone-breaker of a headbutt.

There’s a satisfying crunch as you slam the top of your head directly into the bridge of his nose in a maneuver that’d get you ejected from any civilized boxing match.

Despite the slight ringing in your ears, you can’t help but give a bloody grin at your success.

The immediate results are plain to see; Pandion’s grip has slackened momentarily, it’s still enough for him to maintain the clinch, but with nowhere near the same amount of zeal.

The stubborn bastard refuses to go down easily, just as you knew he would.

Still, it’s only a matter of time now.

Seeing as how the momentum has shifted in your favor, what’s your next move?

You…

> Try to manhandle him into position for a standing guillotine choke. If you can pull it off correctly, you may be able to pull off a victory via strangulation.

> Put him ass over teakettle with a takedown, then beat him into a bloody pulp with a barrage of strikes. It won’t be pretty, but it’ll get the job done.

> Pull back slightly to get a bit of space to build momentum, then slam your boot into into his kneecap. If you can double him over, you’ll be in the perfect spot to do some real damage.

> Drive your knee into his privates, then nail him in the throat with a rising uppercut. Should put him down for the count and then some.

> Other?
>>
>>5705824
>> Pull back slightly to get a bit of space to build momentum, then slam your boot into into his kneecap. If you can double him over, you’ll be in the perfect spot to do some real damage.
>>
>>5705824
> Pull back slightly to get a bit of space to build momentum, then slam your boot into into his kneecap. If you can double him over, you’ll be in the perfect spot to do some real damage.
Then the beatdown combo for the finish.
>>
>>5705824
> Pull back slightly to get a bit of space to build momentum, then slam your boot into into his kneecap. If you can double him over, you’ll be in the perfect spot to do some real damage.
>>
Rolled 95, 35 + 70 = 200 (2d100 + 70)

>>5705829
>>5705834
>>5705843

Go ahead and give me some 1d100+80

> DC to be determined.
>>
Rolled 50 + 80 (1d100 + 80)

>>5705848
goddamn
>>
Rolled 3 + 80 (1d100 + 80)

>>5705848
Oh ffs

I HAVE A FEELING
>>
>>5705851
Dammit, it didn't work...
>>
Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>5705848
>>
>>5705850
>>5705851
>>5705868

That's a failure, would you like to use Roll the Die / Luck Drain?

It goes against the spirit of the duel, but honor generally pales in comparison to not dying.

> No, take the failure.

> Yes, activate Luck Drain. (If that still isn't enough, I'll ask again about using Roll the Die.)
>>
>>5705869
> No, take the failure.
Nah not yet.
>>
>>5705869
> No, take the failure.
I'll laugh if Pandion kills us
>>
Rolled 60, 50 + 45 = 155 (2d100 + 45)

>>5705873
>>5705875

Alright, give me some 1d100+50

> DC to be determined.
>>
Rolled 45 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>5705882
>>
Rolled 1 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>5705882
>>
Rolled 51 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>5705882
Rolla-
>>
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>>5705887
>>
>>5705885
>>5705887
>>5705888

Well, it was bound to happen sometime.

That's a critical failure.

Would you like to cheat and use Roll the Die for another chance?

> Yes, give it another go.

> No, take the critfail.
>>
>>5705890
> No, take the critfail.
I'd rather die than cheat Pandion
>>
>>5705890
> No, take the critfail.

>>5705893
You better roll well then.
>>
Hi anons! I hope everyone is having a gooooooooood .... SHIT.

>>5705851
>>5705868
>>5705887
>>
Rolled 56, 94 + 45 = 195 (2d100 + 45)

>>5705893
>>5705896

So be it.

Give me a round of 1d100+40

> DC to be determined.
>>
Rolled 46 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5705908
Oh, this is some bullshit. Without Luck drain we need a 99 or a 100 to beat this.
>>
Rolled 80 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5705908
You gotta be fucking kidding.
>>
Rolled 64 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5705908
Guess we're going to Hell
>>
>>5705913
>>5705915
>>5705916

Some truly unfortunate rolls tonight.

I'm guessing you all know the score by now.

Would you like to switch on Luck Drain for a chance at turning this around?

> No, take the failure.

> Yes, activate Luck Drain. (If that still isn't enough, I'll ask again about using Roll the Die.)
>>
>>5705919
How close are we to dying? I would've liked to do another pocket sand like trick before all this bullshit unfolded.
>>
>>5705919
>> Yes, activate Luck Drain. (If that still isn't enough, I'll ask again about using Roll the Die.)
>>
>>5705921

After this failure, you won't be on your last legs, but you'll definitely be in pretty rough shape.

Pandion already got a few licks in last thread, plus the critfail.
>>
>>5705919
> No, take the failure.

We do this right. Worse case we just set ourselves on fire and heal.
>>
>>5705919
> No, take the failure.
>>
>>5705919
>>5705923
Fine, I'll take the failure then.
>>
>>5705924
>>5705926
>>5705927

Very well, writing.

Gotta admit, I didn't foresee this chain of events coming to pass.

Such as the will of the dice gods.
>>
>>5705928

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjwttGizNEs

You give a small amount of ground, so that you can better pivot and drive your leg into Pandion’s knee.

Once he’s temporarily immobilized, you’ll have a bevy of options at your disposal.

However, when you proceed with your attack, something odd occurs.

Rather than the expected crunch of bone being pulverized, the sensation is more akin to the meaty thwack of meeting flesh.

You glance downwards, and your blood runs cold.

In a stunning reversal, Pandion managed to slip out of the clinch just in time to catch the underside of your dominant leg.

Before you can manage to wriggle out of this dangerous development, Pandion wrenches hard; ruining your balance and sending you face-first into the sandy rocks.

And before he releases that death grip on your leg, he twists it in a direction it was never meant to go.

SNAP

The pain almost makes you black out.
>>
>>5705951

Something important is definitely broken or out of joint; you’re just glad that no bone is poking through the skin.

You try to recover, to adopt some semblance of a defensive strategy, but Pandion methodically beats seven shades of shit out of you; ruining your frantic attempts at escape.

A lot of the punishment is centered in your torso and appendages; though you catch a few shots in the kidneys as well.

Chances are, you’ll be pissing blood later. If there is a later.

Part of you wants to just curl up into a ball and hide, but you know well enough that you’d just be handing him a blank check to brutalize you further.

Pandion’s merciless beatdown culminates in a punishing kick to the back of your skull that rattles your head against the hard ground.

Might as well add a concussion to your ever-expanding list of maladies.

Thankfully, Pandion backs off to catch his breath, too experienced to risk doing so within easy reach of a foe.

A prudent measure, but one that gives you an opportunity for recovery.

You laboriously force yourself back up into an unsteady combat stance.

Your senses are sluggish, distracted by the myriad wounds and aches plaguing your abused form. Still, you have no option but to soldier on.

This went from a sure thing to a goddamn slobberknocker in one fell swoop.

You’re not done for yet, but a few more hits like that, and you may as well dig your own grave.

Gotta handle this carefully; otherwise you’re not going to be walking away from this one at all.

How do you plan on turning this one around?

You will…

> Palm a chunk of rock, and smash Pandion in the face with it when you get an opportunity. It’s crude and ill-thought out, but it’s the best you’ve got.

> Feign a serious weakness, and lure Pandion in for another attack. If you can make him overextend and counter properly, you’ll be in a position of strength.

> Provoke him into sloppiness by making crude comments about his lineage, sons, and failures. It’s among the lowest of blows, but you’re long past caring about such sensibilities.

> Expend the last of your willpower and energy to try and bulldoze him into the rocks. This’ll be it; no redos or takebacks, do or die time.

> Other?
>>
>>5705952
>> Feign a serious weakness, and lure Pandion in for another attack. If you can make him overextend and counter properly, you’ll be in a position of strength.
>>
>>5705952
> Feign a serious weakness, and lure Pandion in for another attack. If you can make him overextend and counter properly, you’ll be in a position of strength.
Perhaps feign running away only to bounce off a tree to roundhouse kick him in the face.
>>
>>5705952
>>5705957
Actually, better to use our arms given what he did to our leg
>>
Rolled 23, 89 + 10 = 122 (2d100 + 10)

>>5705953
>>5705957

Alright, give me some 1d100+25

> DC to be determined.
>>
Rolled 22 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5705972
holy fuck how are you doing this
>>
Rolled 19 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5705972
Can we have your loaded dice Axis?
>>
Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>5705974

Guess I better go and play the lotto tonight.

Quick test roll.
>>
>>5705976
I don't think you've gotten below a 50 this entire encounter.
>>
Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>5705980

It's bound to happen eventually.
>>
>>5705981
The dice gods seem to disagree.
>>
We're going to die before we don't keep our Word to Pandion. IF WE DIE HERE, WE FUCKING DIE, AND I'M HAPPY THIS IS THE END OF SEAN.
>>
>>5705988
Then roll anon and see it through.
>>
Still need one more roll.
>>
Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>5705992
Aw shit, I thought we we're done with the rolls

Yolo
>>
Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>5705972
Watch me roll another 1
>>
>>5705999
Sweet, not a critfail
>>
Rolled 1, 75 + 60 = 136 (2d100 + 60)

>>5705974
>>5705975
>>5705999

That's a success, go ahead and give me some 1d100+80 for the attack itself.

> DC to be determined

inb4 double crit
>>
Rolled 9 + 80 (1d100 + 80)

>>5705999
God bless

>>5706002
15 second delay...

>>5706006
YEEEEEESSSSSSS
>>
Rolled 77 + 80 (1d100 + 80)

>>5706006
HAHAHAHA!!!
>>
>>5705887
>>5706005
>>5705976
>>5706014

Are you feeling lucky Axis? Because I just rolled double 7s after two 90+ rolls last thread.
>>
>>5706006
>>5706017
Only a 100 would make it better.
>>
Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>5706006
>crit
Gotcha
>>
>>5706017

Luck be an ever fickle mistress, I did predict a crit after all.

Guess I should've been a little more specific.

>>5706018

I'd be over the moon if that were to happen again.
>>
>>5706019
Damn, I was really close
>>
>>5706019
>>5706020
So close but so far...
>>
Rolled 66, 31 + 50 = 147 (2d100 + 50)

>>5706008
>>5706014
>>5706019

That is a critical failure for me, go ahead and gimme another set of 1d100+80.

> DC to be determined.
>>
Rolled 5 + 80 (1d100 + 80)

>>5706025
Is this what people who like watching sports feel like? I almost feel lightheaded.
>>
Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>5706025
NOW, GIVE ME MY CRIT SUCESS, GODDAMMIT, GIVE IT TO ME
>>
Rolled 86 + 80 (1d100 + 80)

>>5706025
>>
Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>5706027
>>5706031
>>5706033

That's a success.

Now, to see if that's enough to put Pandion down and out.

No need to roll for this one, this'll be all me.

DC: 95
>>
>>5706035

Welp, looks like you've managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

I've only got one last question for you.

How would you like to finish Pandion off?

> ???
>>
Normally I'm just here to lurk but what the fuck is with the dice today
>>
>>5706025
>>5706033
Even if I'm trapped in the past and mourn the
future

A piece of dust, an inevitability that does not allow miscalculation

The dream that spreads to "infinity" and the future we draw

Vanity rights granted to us

To cruel promises and choices

Hacking to the Gate
>>
>>5706038
With his own wresting style followed by dedicating this victory to Hestia. The alternative is finishing this with Hestia's Blade to the chest.
>>
>>5706038
Choke hold first, and say

"For a rusty old man with his soul trapped on a stupid glove, you still got it. Either way this would have ended, I would be happy, and I hope this last battle was as you expected it."

And while he's giving out, a quick and clean snap on the neck. Maybe not say word by word my write-in, but just wanted to show our respect before we finish Pandion.
>>
Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>5706038

(That'll be all for tonight, anons. Been a hell of a run, haven't gotten my blood pumping like that for a long while.

There's a hint of narrative irony there.

Anyhow, the vote on Pandion's finishing move is open until Sunday night.

As always, thanks for playing! We'll pick back up on Wednesday at 5:00 PM EST.

On an unrelated note, I'm pretty sure this is the closest you've gotten to dying for quite some time. Other than the first brawl with the General.

Wasn't anticipating this to to turn into such a knockdown dragout, but that's the beauty of the dice. Just need to get one more roll for the road.)
>>
>>5706038
A trade of blows followed by a decisive and final cross-counter, feels appropriate and matches with the dice.

The other suggestions also have merit.
>>
>>5706044
Nah, no victory to the gods. This battle it's a battle of two brothers, father and son, Master and disciple. The gods can watch all what they want like cucks, but this victory it's only for Us and Pandion, on a foreing land, on a last stand
>>
"I want you to know this was all me. I held nothing back and used no tricks."
>>
Interestingly enough, I just quickly crunched a few numbers, and my overall average for tonight (including the joke rolls) came out to be 56.

For only being marginally better than average on paper, it sure took its toll where it counted.
>>
>>5706054
Btw Axis how are you doing with the prologues? It's always a joy to read all that stuff going on the background while Sean is bullying the mobster next door.

Also, talking about stuff on the background: How it's Gotham doing? How much did we fuck Lok over while crashing his last operation? It's Bats still thinking 24/7 about Gunsmoke?
>>
What a fucking session. I'm honestly more happy we didn't cheat than that we survived.
>>
Crazy stuff
>>
>>5706059

I'm still at the brainstorming stage, but I've got a general idea as to the direction I want it to Gotham.

Gotham's managed to recover from the Penguin v. Bane war, and things have been mercifully quiet for the average citizen as of late. Perhaps a bit too quiet...

Like a true government stooge, Lok has a black belt in the art of covering his own ass. I mentioned it a bit in the interlude, but he's managed to offload the lion's share of the blame on the now deceased General and some other patsies. He's under a bit more of a microscope, but his position is still relatively secure.

Gunsmoke is a concern that's solidly on Batman's radar, but you're definitely not a priority compared to his more obvious and destructive rogues gallery.
>>
>>5706082
>Gotham's managed to recover from the Penguin v. Bane war, and things have been mercifully quiet for the average citizen as of late. Perhaps a bit too quiet...
I'm gonna poop my pants just seeing what are you cooking up for Joker with how quiet he was on all this quest, specially on how much you've mentioned it before.

>Like a true government stooge, Lok has a black belt in the art of covering his own ass. I mentioned it a bit in the interlude, but he's managed to offload the lion's share of the blame on the now deceased General and some other patsies. He's under a bit more of a microscope, but his position is still relatively secure.
Now this is a genuine question that I have: Where's Waller? In Cancún drinking some piña colada while talking with a handsome man named Ricardo? Because if Lok it's a pain on the Ass I don't want to imagine Waller taking the reigns again, which will surely happen once we fuck things up on the jail.

>Gunsmoke is a concern that's solidly on Batman's radar, but you're definitely not a priority compared to his more obvious and destructive rogues gallery.
Yeah, makes sense. I really wanna come back and see in what kind of troubles we get into with Jonah Thema
>>
>>5706038
>How would you like to finish Pandion off?
Powerbomb. Back of skull, meet Mother Earth.
>>
>>5706089

I've laid a breadcrumb or two about that in Lok's interlude, as well as in another place.

I'm afraid that's all I can say, unfortunately.
>>
>>5706038
Chokehold. His last view will be of the beautiful sky.
>"I want you to know this was all me. I held nothing back and used no tricks."
>>
>>5706082
>>5706099
Joker arc coming along?
>>
>>5706091
this
>>
>>5706677
I like this

>>5706678
>Joker arc coming along?

>Joker fuse his soul with Ghostdad's.
>If we kill them, Ghostdad can have his long rest, but Joker become demon and the JL go after Sean.
>If we don't kill them, Ghostdad lost his chance to die forever, and later on Joker corrupt him.
>>
>>5707648
in that circumstance i get the feeling sean would happily kill jokerdad, then fuck off to venezuela with his diplomatic immunity as he proceeds to build up his PMC.
>>
>>5706038
I'll change >>5706049 to chokehold, staring at the stars.
>>
We still have that get-out-of-jail-free card in our back pocket
>>
>>5708502
Is it a get-out-of-Hall-of-Justice-cell card too?
>>
>>5708514
It probably isn't, and frankly at this point it's a little superfluous as an asset since common police officers don't really have a way to contain Sean properly at this point. Still better to have it and not need it.
I only hope that if we DO end up having to use it, it will happen in Gotham and *right* under Batman's nose!
>>
>>5708514
Yes, and they also have to give you a "World's #1 Supervillain" coffee mug.
>>
>>5708527
we could always use it on our civvie persona, maybe if a Jonah case gets out of hand and we just surrender to the police to prevent a fight?
>>
>>5708514
>>5708527
If Marshall, Carter & Dark can mess with GoI's like The Foundation then there's no doubt that they could get someone out of such a place. The question is, would they fulfill their promise? It's questionable that they would get a return for their effort so obligation to their word would have to be enough of a motive.
>>
>>5708611
Its simply bad business to go back on an agreement
It would damage their reputation
>>
>>5708514
I think it'd probably work on any jail that operates through legal means, like how we didn't use it in TFX because they wipe their ass with common law. Since the JL are moralfags, we can probably use it.
>>
>>5708637
It would be fun if we make it look like one of our other identities is rooting for Sean for some unknown reason. And after the trial we hire some bad guys or our enemies to try to kill us when we go out on the streets.
>>
>>5708752
>make a whole shadow gang war
>It's just Sean targeting Sean and Sean is defending Sean
We're getting sent straight to Arkham at this rate anon
>>
>>5709023
Speaking of such things, Should Adjutant Tango hire Gunsmoke as part of the Steel Wolves? That way we can keep A.T. as the "clean" Big Boss and give Gunsmoke some access to our Venezuela resources. Now that we have extra Apok suits from bullying Intergang, we can also probably make a Gunsmoke-specific suit if we acquire more Xenothium with our substantial personal and warchest funds. Might not be a bad idea to boost our Heavy Hitters with superior equipment as well.

We could also try to bring our Gene Tech and Alien Tech contacts onto the Steel Wolves payroll and get them out of Gotham with proper facilities, Gunsmoke could let them know A.T. is hiring.
>>
>>5709453
I think they should be seperate
We really dont want batman looking at two blurry photos of gunsmoke and adjutant tango before jumping into the batmobile
>>
>>5709453
Eh, a pro of our Gunsmoke identity is the freelance bit. I feel like tying him permanently to the Steel Wolves would put a damper on his operations. Doing a couple jobs as Gunsmoke under the 'orders' of Adjutant Tango is a neat idea, though.
>>
>>5709460
>>5709464

Maybe as a hiring incentive then. Here's a nice suit if you join us, but keep it if you don't. We don't want Gunsmoke interfering in our Steel Wolves business if he won't join it and a nice gift will convince him to keep him away.

It would be nice not having to worry about wearing our Heavy Armor giving us away.
>>
>>5709023
>>
>>5709467
>>5709467
That only works if a bunch of other notable B tiers get suits
>>
>>5709739
Dont we have a lot of suits from intergang raids?
Either way i support distancing our personas away from each other
Next thing you know we end up as playboy billionaire philanthropist with dead parents that happens to supply gunsmoke, jonah thema, and adjutant tango with resources and gadgets
Would it be funny to meet bruce wayne at a Gala and batman at the same Gala event?
Yes
>>
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>>5709645

Had a good chuckle, thanks anon.

Gave an idea for my own little shitpost.
>>
>>5709800
Lol

I am sure Waller write that shit, and put a micro and a chip in every copy.
>>
>>5706047

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh51m6glEHo

Your best chance to survive this is to play possum and wait for an opportunity to strike.

Hard-fought experience has taught you that even seasoned warriors can cultivate the bad habit of getting complacent when they believe a foe is beaten.

Hell, you’ve got the scars and scrapes to prove as much; not to mention the fact that you arguably committed the same mistake earlier in this very fight.

Pride goeth before the fall and all.

In the end, it’s not overly difficult to fake a severely debilitating injury, what with the punishment you’ve been dealt thus far. You probably look like you’ve gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson and a sledgehammer.

When you shoot a surreptitious glance to see how your ruse is being taken, you can tell from the mixture of pity and disappointment in Pandion’s eyes that he’s swallowed the bait.

You force yourself to stand still as he approaches, relying on the crunching of sand and rocks to gauge his speed.

When you’re certain that he’s committed to his strike, you disengage without looking and leap around his coup de grace; a truly monstrous haymaker that could’ve cracked something vital.

Your injured leg screams in dissent, but you do your damndest to keep focused before the strain can force you to reconsider.

Playing it safe is no longer an option; another solid hit has an uncomfortably high chance of putting you down for good.

Bold action is the only path that offers a chance of victory; you’ll either win or die based on the success of this maneuver.

Focusing on that clarity of purpose goes a long way in blocking out the pain.

In this state of heightened perception, you become acutely aware of a glaring sloppiness in Pandion’s thrown haymaker.

It could be due to fatigue, surprise, hastiness, or any number of factors; all you care is that’s the chance for an equalizer.

The one that you had been praying for.

You catch his arm while its still fully extended, and yank him forward with all of the force you can muster.

While still holding onto Pandion’s limb as he struggles to regain his balance, you deliver a vicious punch right into the separation between arm and elbow.

A blow of such force to an already hyperextended joint is enough to render the arm functionally useless, much like the treatment your leg received.

It’s a start, but there’s still more work to be done.

Now that his offensive capabilities have been severely crippled, you lay into him with a veritable barrage of strikes.

Pandion manages to get a few licks in, but your retaliation cannot be denied.

For every punch or kick that slips through your guard, you deliver four or five more in return; an unrelenting hurricane of ferocious blows that heavily taxes your already depleted stamina.

When your counter-attack is complete, you’ve beaten the fight entirely out of Pandion; his body is simply incapable of reprisal, even if the spirit is willing.
>>
>>5710604

Panting from the exertion, you stare him in his bruised and blackened eyes.

“Were I a younger man, this fight could’ve ended much differently.” Pandion croaks out, before wheezing from the iron grip you’re careful to maintain.

> “It just might’ve. For a rusty old soul trapped in a glorified bronze glove, you’ve still got it. So, did you get your money’s worth?”

Pandion can’t quite laugh, what with the stranglehold and all, but he manages a slight chuckle.

“It was everything I could’ve hoped for.”

> “I just wanted you to know, this was all me; no tricks of any kind. Well, no magical ones at least.” You blurt out.

“I know. I wouldn’t have had this any other way.” He quietly murmurs while tilting his head upwards to better watch the stars glimmering in the night sky.

> “Are you sure you really want me to do this?” You ask, a little surprised at yourself for your hesitance.

“Πρέπει να θυμόμαστε ότι ένας άνθρωπος είναι σχεδόν ίδιος με τον άλλον και ότι είναι καλύτερος αυτός που έχει εκπαιδευτεί στο πιο αυστηρό σχολείο.” He forces out slowly, almost chiding you for such a question; never looking away from the constellations.

The translation springs unbidden into your mind.

We should remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the severest school.

The words fill you with a last burst of strength, and you fulfill Pandion’s wish with a bone-shattering squeeze.

He goes slack in an instant, and your blood shamefully roars with victory.

You use the few remaining drops of energy you have left to gently lower Pandion’s body to the ground; offering him one last glimpse of the ethereal blackness of the cosmos.

Utterly spent, you slump against a rock and collapse as all of the fatigue and pain that adrenaline had been fending off returns at once.

You just need to close your eyes for a minute and regain your strength.

The last thing you see before you slip into a blissful unconsciousness is Pandion’s body slowing fading away as if it were never truly there.

> Go ahead and give me some 1d100 for a little bonus; DC 80
>>
Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>5710605
see you soon, teach
>>
Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>5710605
A grand fight, and a grand man.
>>
Rolled 48 (1d100)

>>5710605
Time to go home.
>>
>>5710610
>>5710611
>>5710613

Alright, since you managed to win your fight fair and square, you'll still got a consolation prize.

Go ahead and pick out a spell from your arsenal for a free upgrade.

We'll decide on the details once the spell itself has been selected.

> ???
>>
Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>5710605
True to the end.
>>
>>5710615
>Avatar of Disorder
our trump card
>>
>>5710615
>Roll the Die
>>
>>5710615
>Twister
We need some better AOE options.
>>
>>5710615
>Spirit Detector
Awareness is essential to defense and intelligence gathering.
>>
>>5710615
>Twister
Invest in Hurricane Coin!
>>
>>5710626
>>5710630

Calling it for Twister, give me a few moments to get some options typed up.
>>
>>5710631

Your options are:

> Generate a small tornado within your general area. Capable of throwing large objects and severely buffeting an average human.

> Generate several small tornadoes within your general area. Capable of throwing small objects and moderately buffeting an average human.

> Generate a small tornado within your general area. Capable of throwing small objects, moderately buffeting an average human, or denying anything caught inside of oxygen.

> Generate a small tornado within your general area or a moderate distance. Capable of throwing small objects and moderately buffeting an average human.
>>
>>5710635
>> Generate a small tornado within your general area. Capable of throwing large objects and severely buffeting an average human.
>>
>>5710635
> Generate a small tornado within your general area. Capable of throwing large objects and severely buffeting an average human.
>>
>>5710635
> Generate a small tornado within your general area. Capable of throwing large objects and severely buffeting an average human.
>>
>>5710635
>Generate a small tornado within your general area. Capable of throwing large objects and severely buffeting an average human.

Got to make this better than base level.
>>
>>5710635
>Generate a small tornado within your general area. Capable of throwing small objects, moderately buffeting an average human, or denying anything caught inside of oxygen.
>>
>>5710638
>>5710639
>>5710644
>>5710649

Noted; remind me to update the spell description in the pastebin if I happen to forget.

Speaking of which, per the vote last thread, it's time to figure out how you'd like to spend your well-earned rewards from Venezuela.

As a reminder, you've got ten million dollars to play with. As such, coming up with a price sheet isn't quite feasible when you can toss that kind of moolah around.

Therefore, I figure that it makes more sense for me to identify broad categories that you can spend dosh on.

For instance, if 1 million was allocated to "Weaponry", the next vote would be for specific weapons systems / functions.

That sound fair to everyone?
>>
>>5710653
Sounds fine.
>>
>>5710653
sure
>>
>>5710653
Alright I cast a vote on a budget of 1 million for a butler or maid
>>
>>5710654
>>5710657
>>5710661

Alright, here are the categories that I've thought up; I'm not going to open the voting for an hour or so. That way, folks have time to make a recommendation about any other categories that may need to be included.

- Weaponry (Small arms, explosives, protective gear, heavy weapons, etc.)

- Vehicles (Planes, tanks, trains, armored cars, etc.)

- Mansion Improvements

- Investment (Real estate, front businesses, actual investments, etc.)

- Technology

- Charity

- Personal (Luxury items for yourself)
>>
>>5710666
My 2 cents on this:
>>5710666
>Vehicles (Planes, tanks, trains, armored cars, etc.)
Steel Wolves need proper transportation if we want them to have any semblance of effectiveness.
>Investment: Architecture/construction
There's money to be made here people, considering the amount of shit that goes on in major cities with any kind of metahuman activity. Gotham alone needs some kind of construction constantly, I think.
>>
>>5710666
>>5710674
>Get Heavy Weapons, Armored Cars, and Tanks
> Invest in Construction Company
>Cause massive damage on job, then get hired by the city to repair the massive damage
Its a Win-Win.
>>
>>5710680
I gotta wonder if Penguin got the reconstruction of the Icebeg Lounge started yet...
>>
>>5710666
- Vehicles (Planes, tanks, trains, armored cars, etc.)
More the Planes and Helicopters, maybe a VTOL. Land vehicles can be modified commercial cars since they're cheaper, lighter and more discreet.

- Investment (Real estate, front businesses, actual investments, etc.)
Discreet businesses for the Venezuela economy that can later branch out internationally. Architecture/Construction, Transport, Mining, Farming, Refineries. There's a lot of markets to corner before foreign competition arrives.

I'd also like to invest in the soon to be HQ at our island.
>>
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Thinking further... here are some more ideas:
>>5710666
- Weaponry (Small arms, explosives, protective gear, heavy weapons, etc.)
Enough to equip our incoming recruits up to standard.

- Technology
Buying the specialized equipment required to perform maintenance on all our stuff. Buying the servers and computers necessary to store, manage and use all data we're gonna have our hands on.

- Personal (Luxury items for yourself)
Wolfdog puppies and a crate of cigars.
>>
Voting will now begin; since this is a pretty important decision, I'm going to leave it open until our session Friday at 5:00 PM EST.

Just pick out whichever categories you'd like to spend money on, and include the amount for that category (i.e. Investment: $5,000,000)

> Weaponry
> Vehicles
> Mansion Improvements
> Investment
> Technology
> Charity
> Personal

(I'll be hanging around for a while in case of questions; as always, thanks for playing! Apologies for this one being a bit slow.)
>>
>>5710729
>Weaponry-Basic: 1,000,000
Seems like a small amount to invest, but just kitting our men out with standard weaponry shouldn't be too costly, since we don't need anything specialized yet and we aren't too large. Right?

>Vehicles- Combat & Transport: 2,000,000
Our reach is pretty low right now considering we have no way to move troops beyond the region. Even if it's simple large boats or aircraft, it'd be a huge help

>Mansion Improvements- Renovation: 500,000
Just enough to renovate the place a bit. I feel like any defenses should be subtle or subtly magical in nature.

>Investment- Venezuelan Businesses: 750,000
A little goes a long way, here. Especially when one US dollar is worth over two million Bolivares. Maybe we could even throw a little towards arms manufacturers?

>Charity- Venezuelan Schools: 750,000
Not needed, just seemed like a nice thing to do. Maybe it'll help deepen our positive image over there? I dunno, just wanted to be nice.

>Investment/Technology- Fortifying the Island: 2,000,000
Our little island is going to be our main HQ for the Steel Wolves for a bit, so it should definitely be protected since it's such an obvious target. Physical defenses, technological defenses, magical ones, etc.

So, if my numbers are right, that leaves us with two million. It does seem like a lot, but we had a good amount of dosh anyway, and I always considered the ten million to be SW funds anyhow. Hope I formatted this right.
>>
>>5710740

No need to worry anon, couldn't have structured it better myself.
>>
>>5710741
Maybe I'm misremembering, but didn't we also have a Steel Wolves War chest fund set aside? If so I don't remember what it was spoken for.
>>
>>5710749

You are correct, anon.

The Steel Wolves do have a sizable war chest; this is more for personal use, if that makes sense.

Think of it as a personal account versus a company account.

You can still use personal funds to bolster the Steel Wolves, but it's not required.

Good question.
>>
>>5710740
+1 to this.
>>
>>5710740
>+1
>>
>>5710740
I support this
seems like a good use of our funds
>>
>Weapons
$1,000,000
P365 with a drop in threaded barrel and suppressor for pocket carry for us.
Snakebite tactical cloaks for thermal and visual avoidance.
A collection of bump cap liners for powercaps, ultrathin concealable soft armor, and low profile plate carriers with ultrathin ceramic plates.
A bunch of oversized thin, front zip hoodies, button up shirts and cargo pants, and some water resistant backpacks.
IFAKs, trauma bandages, and tourniquets.
Compact nightvision gear.
Stores of Sig P365s with threaded barrels and suppressors, AR-15 11.5" Short Barreled Rifles in 300blk with ACOGs and suppressors, and 16" AR-10s in 6.5Grendel with bipods and good Long Range Scopes.
A good store of ammo.

>Technology
$1,000,000 total
Focus on RFID tech, rugged tech, easy to use warez, faraday bags, burner phones, office equipment both digital and analog, and communications and listening equipment like scanners and shortwave encrypted handheld radios.

>Venezuelan Charity: Freeware Worx
$1,000,000 total
U.S. based charity provides coding jobs for Venezuelans building freeware security programs and open source business programs for Linux and takes in internet donations globally. Can pull from this pool of talent to code for us.

>Mansion Improvements- Renovation:
$500,000 total
Just enough to renovate the place a bit. I feel like any defenses should be subtle or subtly magical in nature.

>Venezuelan Businesses
$2,000,000 total
Masterforge CNC
Manufacturing Business
$250,000
Can trickle out full auto 50 cal guns, Anti-aircraft guns, mortars tubes and empty shells, and other bespoke stuff as needed. Might be able to work with Freeware Worx to build Autoguns eventually.
Industrial Demolitions Solutions
Small Chemical Manufacturer
$500,000
Billed as producing explosives for demolition. They'll take what comes out of masterforge and turn it into workable weapons like mortar shells, LAW launchers, and Antitank mines. In addition they should be able to supply semtex.
Coastal Reconstructive Practice
Small Private Cosmetic/Trauma Surgeon
$750,000
A private cosmetic/trauma surgeon and their nurses whose practice you will front in exchange for discreet access to their services. They'll ask for more to set up shop outside of Venezuela.

Page 1/2
>>
Transportation
$1,500,000 total
6 Dirt Bikes
$125,000
For the island.
6 Jet Skis
$125,000
For the island.
3 Ballistic Armored 4 Wheel Drive Conversion Vans
$250,000
Store one in Venezula, one in Gotham, and one on you island.
5 Bluewater Capable Sailboats
$500,000
High-end ocean and intercontinental travel capable sailboats meant for 1-4 people each. Comes with sinkable waterproof containers and SCUBA gear.
3 Patrol boats
$500,000
Ocean capable high-speed tugboats with a mounted 50 cal automatic gun.

I considered a cargo ship which is doable at 3.5 mil but it'd get made and be pretty useless thereafter. We pretty much gotta steal a cargo ship every time we want to transport troops into a country's waters without getting attacked.

Personal
$250,000
Gym equipment.
Extensive library.
Garden full of fresh herbs and vegetables.
Fruit tree orchards.
Coop full of chickens.
Crate full of cigars.
Custom made ballistic resistant suit.
Fun stuff for the private island, outdoor kitchen, bonfire area, and range.

>Investment/Technology- Fortifying the Island:
Total 2,000,000
Our little island is going to be our main HQ for the Steel Wolves for a bit, so it should definitely be protected since it's such an obvious target. Physical defenses, technological defenses, magical ones, etc.
Definitely need anti-aircraft guns.

Page 2/2

Yeah probably getting way ahead of things with the deeper suggesstions but never too early for suggestions I figure.
>>
>>5710740
Supporting this.
>>
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>>5710740
>>Charity- Venezuelan Schools: 750,000
>Not needed, just seemed like a nice thing to do. Maybe it'll help deepen our positive image over there? I dunno, just wanted to be nice.

Time to choose the school name fellow anons
>>
>>5710729
This list >>5710740 has gained too much strength so I'd just like to make so small mofications to it.

>Vehicles - Combat & Transport: 2,000,000
Helicopters, planes and modified commercial cars. Maybe a speedboat pr two. These are the vehicles we can most get use of.

> Charity - Venezuelan Shelters: 750,000
Instead of just schooling, it's a more involved kind of institution. It has gardens, music lessons, martial arts lessons, computer lab, chemical lab, kitchen, library, workshop... with the intent to give the children there useful life skills that can double up as skills that maintain this home they live and the relationships they form with each other. I know I may be getting in the weeds here but I like this type of charity and prefer it to the give and forget kind of charity that I see everywhere. Maybe Axis can even make it a plotpoint instead of just fluff.

>Technology: 500,000
We already have communications systems from the insurgency so this is for any extra stuff we will need to start managing our data.

> Personal: 250,000
Gymnasium equipment.
Extensive library.
Crate full of cigars.
Custom made ballistic resistant suit.
Gardens, Orchards and Chicken coops.
Litter of wolfdog pups. (Please anons, Sean needs a doggo)
>>
>>5711355
I support this addition.
>>
>>5711355
Boko No My Revolutionary Supervillian Academia Desu
>>
>>5710729
>>5711355
Sure. I'll back it.
>>
>>5711503
Our brave soldiers.

Behold them and despair.
>>
Is it too late to add a lifetime supply of Rip Its?
>>
>>5711355
I'll support these additions. I like the shelter idea better than donating to schools and having a dog or two to look after and train would probably be good for Sean.
>>
>>5711592
One Rip It is a lifetime supply if you're unlucky.
>>
>>5711627
I won't touch Bang, personally. Shit. Maybe thats the business we need. Hmm think of it. Adjutant Tango energy drink... Tango Mango, Tango Tangerine, Tango Tangy Fruit Punch, Tango Tamerind...
>>
>>5711635
I don't know if they sell them in Venezuela, but there is a brand of juice called Tang in the area of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
>>
>>5710740
>weapons
I'd throw another 1m at weaponry for night vision, supressors. NODs are going to be expensive and we need it. Suppressors are kinda cheap but hard to get.
>vehicles
+1
>mansion
Kinda large amount of cash to throw at it but sure
>businesses
+1, might even throw our other spare million at this. Construction company sounds like a good idea
>charity
+1
>Island fortification
+1. Could buy (or more likely steal) some good air defense systems and dig a bunker.
>>
>>5711671
>>5710740
Nevermind actually with the business extra 1 million I suggested, I instead suggest to put it into weapons. Reason being is I just really want to doll out our mercs. Gonna do a little brainstorming on the per trooper kit
>clothes, backpack, plate carrier, camelbak, boots, gloves(misc clothing and field equipment)
Price varies per item. Call it 2k. Now anon, you say, 2k sounds like a lot. Yeah, it is, consider it a grab bag category, you can consider a tent, a sleeping bag, etc covered under this category.
>plates, front and back, ceramic level IV, (stops rifle rounds, does not weigh) + ballistic bump helmet (make sure they're rated for pistol rounds, have night vision rail slots, and are of the bump pattern so one can wear electronic ear protection with them.)
Around 2k
>Night vision goggles
Ranges from about 7-10k per person for normal night vision to about 40k per set for the quad tube panoramics. Quad tube just recently went for civvie sale within the last 3-4 years so it could even be more if we need to pose as a government agency to buy them/bribe someone, but panos are very fucking worth it
>Radio, electronic ear protection
Buy some cheap Baofengs, just make sure they have encryption. Talk to Gremlin about this to make sure we don't get shafted regarding jammability, etc. Comtac III headset, call it 1k for both, Chinese radios are cheap.
>Main rifle
This is its own discussion regarding doctrine so I'm going to stick to price instead of what specific pattern we get. The rifle itself should not go above 2k.
>Optics/accessories
1-6x variable scope, around 4-5k, depends on if we buy chinesium or from a good manufacturer (what we should probably get, but depends on doctrine. Urban vs field combat, etc)
Holographic sight, 2k at the most, again, chinesium can take you lower
Vis/IR Laser aiming module, about 1k, Need IR lasers if we get night vision. Can be less expensive for just visual lasers, or more if you get the extra strength non civ lasers.
Supressor, artificially induced scarcity regarding price and government registration, could pay a shady machine shop to crank a bunch of these out at maybe 500 per, upwards of 1k otherwise.
>sidearm
500 bucks, add a supressor, a light, and a RMR, and you can go north of 1.5k.
Total, for what I'd like to go for, is about 50k per trooper if we do the most expensive night vision option. If we go for the less expensive night vision option, that's around 20k, if we lose the night vision, that's around 9k (no need to buy laser aiming module)
Prices mostly pulled out of my ass, etc etc
>>
>>5711977
Holy shit a million dollars only outfits 20 guys like I wanted
>>
>>5711977
>>5711982
Ok, how about this
1,000,000 towards a platoon of 20 guys, including us, with the Gucci operator shit.
2,000,000 towards getting ~200 of our guys with pretty much the same kit, but no panoramic night vision or infrared nods.
Caveat: I don't want to touch doctrine or weapon selection yet as that deserves its own vote as to if we give our guys rifles like I've suggested, smgs, both(?!) Etc
>>
>>5711987
If you really want to outfit a ton of dudes you want to either get a proper private line going with a corporation OR you want to get a local business that'll work with you for cheaper. It's cheaper to attain the license to produce stuff and then run it locally than to buy from source unless you've got an in. Which is the exact opposite of what most people would expect.

So throwing a couple mil at a startup or just local arms manufacturing to have a "domestic" group on lockdown would save us money in the long run. And besides, fuck buying name brand, we'll just make our own knockoffs. It works for China. Well, when everything isn't exploding from non-existent quality control and assurances, of course.
>>
>>5711990
I agree, with you regarding clothes and rifles, this is a good strategy to reduce cost, and its cheap to buy some camo fabric and pay someone to crabk out a bunch of whatever. but optics? Night vision? I don't think we can easily set up local production of these things without raiding a company for their trade secrets or something, and those are the items that are really kicking the price (and theoretical combat effectiveness) up.
>>
>>5711996
>I don't think we can easily set up local production of these things without raiding a company for their trade secrets or something
You just buy the license. You go to the company that makes them and say "Hey I'd like to make a domestic version of this, how much do I gotta pay you for the blueprints?". And then you have to argue with them over why you should be allowed to instead of just buying their product. Which usually comes down to "We won't let you have any industry whatsoever in our nation if you don't." which doesn't sound like much of a threat but with a new market opening up with a nation in flux is a pretty big deal.

And THEN you steal the trade secrets so you don't have to keep paying them for the license.
>>
Evening, anons.

Give me a few moments to tally everything up and get the numbers sorted.
>>
>>571200
If you want to do that with good stuff though you have to ask the government is the issue, which is why I jumped to crime
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Traffic_in_Arms_Regulations
>>
Okay, I think I've got the numbers crunched.

Weaponry: 1,000,000
Vehicles: 2,000,000
Mansion Improvements: 500,000
Investment: 750,000
Charity: 750,000
Technology: 2,000,000

That leaves you with an cool $3,000,000 in the bank.

The only real numerical difference between the most popular options is whether or not to fork over $250,000 on some stuff for yourself.

We'll settle that real quick; would you like to allocate that funding?

> No, it feels a tad wasteful. Better to keep it in case you need it later.

> Yes, you've earned the right to live a little. It's a drop in the bucket compared to your earning potential.
>>
>>5712019
> Yes, you've earned the right to live a little. It's a drop in the bucket compared to your earning potential

Im even preferable to spending even more money
>>
>>5712019
> Yes, you've earned the right to live a little. It's a drop in the bucket compared to your earning potential.

>>5712024
So am I, those investments seem too small.
>>
>>5712019
>> Yes, you've earned the right to live a little. It's a drop in the bucket compared to your earning potential.
>>
>>5712019
> Yes, you've earned the right to live a little. It's a drop in the bucket compared to your earning potential.

Doing stuff for your self is important
>>
>>5712019
> Yes, you've earned the right to live a little. It's a drop in the bucket compared to your earning potential.
>>
>>5712024
>>5712027
>>5712032
>>5712036
>>5712040

Alright, looks like we've got a budget picked out.

By popular demand, it'll be spent in accordance in the manner that >>5710740 and >>5711355 laid out; if there are any additions that could reasonably fit within the established limits, feel free to pitch them.

I'll give about an hour or so for any stragglers to get their say.

I apologize in advance for this being another slow one, but it's the last bit of groundwork before we get back into the action.
>>
>>5712043
Still would like to throw at least another mil at personal arms and equipment
>>
>>5712045
we dont even have that many recruits, isnt it just gonna sit there?
>>
>>5712043
I don't know if it fits within the budget but I want the island to be a scaled up version of the shelter idea. Various hacienda style houses both for staff and for soldiers and buildings dedicated to the learning and practice of various skills. I imagine it looking like a rustic island town at a glance but at a more thorough inspection you see SAMs, radar towers, helicopters, planes, armed soldiers and machine guns mounted on vehicles. I could go into more detail if you want more clarity on the idea
>>
>>5712043
I want to invest 2 mil in govt infastructure
Build me some roads and water treatment facilities
>>
>>5712051
Oh and I forgot mention the gardens, orchards and coops again but they're also important. Really want to instill that self reliant and hardy type of country side psychology. It's great at making good men and good soldiers.

>>5712055
Govt infastructure? Why?
>>
>>5712046
It's not going to just sit there, it's going to get spent on proper night vision goggles.
See >>5711977 for napkin math on how much this stuff costs. At the bare minimum I want to get everyone dual tube goggles.
>>
>>5711987
I mean, we can give our second line guys Nightfox Swift setups with the skullcrusher head mount and Carson NV-200 Minis to slip in their pockets for covert work, but its short range gear with infrared illuminators that'd we'd have to disable, really more fit for low light than total darkness. It's kind of an insult though, really good way to make someone feel expendable, bad for morale.

Maybe we need to heist some nightvision gear, instead?

Honestly between AR-15s, suppressors, 50 cal machine guns, and shit we'd have to source ammo for like anti-air guns and mortars....
I think we should take a second look at that CNC Machine Shop idea. Invest maybe $500k and wait for this stuff to trickle out. We can get way more than our money's worth over time and have the business on top of that.
>>
>>5712059
I like clean water and smooth roads
I guess it doesn't have to be govt
>>
>>5712061
If we were being super budget we'd buy the intensifier tubes in bulk then fab housing and stuff for them in house. I'd rather just buy some PVS-14s though, but whatever. I'd be down for throwing some dosh at a machine shop though, CNC machine maybe.
>>
>>5712063
So do I, but I fail to see that as reason enough to spend 2 mil on it.

>>5712061
Hear hear. Go off /k/ing.
>>
>>5712059
Fresh fruits and vegetable and chicken make for a good diet. That, and if we are called upon by the Venezuelan gov't for disaster relief, we'll be good for more than security and help farmers recover. I like it.
>>
>>5712078
Don't forget the seafood and the chicken eggs.
>>
It appears that there's a fair bit more debate on the topic than I had anticipated.

The money already spent is ironclad, but if there are any further designs on the 2.75 mil leftover, this is the place for it.

Would you like to spend more of your ill-gotten gains?

> Yes, I'd like to spend money on... (insert details and amount)

> No, I'm satisfied with our current purchases.


(Unfortunately, I need to call things early tonight; gotta handle some unexpected IRL happenings. Vote'll be open until Sunday evening to hammer out any last issues, and then we'll be moving on.)
>>
>>5712082
Beats the pants of MREs.

So... with the weapon budget, anybody else think shifting $500k to a CNC and manufacturing business in Venezuela is a good idea or would like to give input on that idea, perhaps improve it somehow?
>>
>>5712084
Strike that.

> Yes, I'd like to spend money on investing $500k from the $2.75 million into the CNC and manufacturing business.
>>
>>5712083
>>5712084
If the ideas I mentioned fit within the 2 mil island budget than all that's left is the investments. I agree with the proposed manufacturing business.
>>
>>5712083
+1 to the 500k to manufacturing
Still want to throw another mil at arms for night vision but no one else seems to
>>
>>5712090
Well we just free'd up a bunch of money we'd spend on AR-15 rifles and suppressors, those can get cranked out at light speed with the proper tools. Maybe we put some time in ourselves. The rest will take a while to get put together and working correctly alongside other legit business to keep the place afloat.
>>
>>5712083
> Yes, I'd like to spend money on investing $500k from the $2.75 million into the CNC and manufacturing business.
Seems like a good idea, getting our armaments from a stable and cheap source.
>>5712090
We could probably dip into the war chest for any extra equipment needed, including future specialized squads and such.
>>
Actually, after more thought I'd be up for another $500k for weapons though if it means everyone gets a PVS-14 or something similiar.

The only other thing that wouldn't be entirely bad would be maybe $500k for a water purification plant, maybe we do a matching grant thing with the Venezuelan gov't. I want to hear more about what everybody thinks first, though.
>>
>>5712094
>> Yes, I'd like to spend money on investing $500k from the $2.75 million into Weapons, specifically Nightvision.
>>
>>5712094
I don't see the point of a water purification plant? Is it charity?

>>5712083

Anyway I'll make a collage of the edits of anons and a final one from myself:
-500k on Weapons Manufactory
-500k on Nightvision Equipment
-750k on Oil Extraction and Refining

That leaves us with 500k left over. Let me make a brief breakdown of the final budget:
-2mil on our own fleet of vehicles (Planes, helicopters, armored cars and boats)
-2mil on island development and defense (Various expenses described previously and AA measures, both detection and defense)
-2mil on business investments (Construction, Arms Manufacturing and Oil Extraction and Refining)
-1,5 mil on new weapons and equipment
-750k on shelters for Venezuelan children
-500k on renovating Jack's mansion
-500k on technological equipment to store and use the data required to manage all this shit
-250k on personal expenses

9,5mil spent. 500k left over and an undefined amount still remains in the war chest.

This good? Correct me if I made any mistakes.
>>
>>5712119
Not sure how the other anon who suggestted it intended it but charity and logistics. I'm lukewarm on the idea but intrigued.
>>
>>5712119
Yeah. We just can't afford the water treatment plant. I'm sure we've got ample water storage, especially considering our agricultural needs.
>>
>>5712122
>>5712124
In case of logistics, I don't think an entire plant is needed. The required facilities to sustain the relatively small population can just use and store rainwater and, if the island is big enough, groundwater too.
>>
>>5712126
I concur.
>>
>>
>>5712205
Still better equipment than 9 out of 10 DC Henchmen. lol
>>
>>5712227
>this gun can't hit anything
>9/10 dc henchmen swear by it
>"I've been henching for twenty years, the only thing I've ever hit is the wall next to my target, best purchase I ever made"
>get yours today half off for only $1.50
>>
Guys what about the Paranormal Business with Bobo? Don't we need some money there to help start it up?
>>
>>5712273
Shouldn't cost much given the limites scope of the business, 250k should be more than enough. Though I do think we should dip into the warchest to pay for those new weapons and equipment, can still have an extra 1,5 mil in reserve that way.
>>
>>5712273
It's not like it would take millions to do so, a neat little building in an out of the way part of Gotham would likely be enough, which we definitely have enough for outside of this.

God bless the criminals of Gotham, lowering the property value!
>>
>>5712119

Should we be spending anything on getting an onsite trauma surgeon on the island(or on the mainland close to the island) or is that something we can take out of the warchest or someone we can recruit?
>>
>>5712404
First aid equipment, trauma equipment and sufficient medicine should fit within the current budget though I'd be willing to spend funds if it doesn't. I'd prefer if the on site doctor be one of the wolves since field medicine is an important subject to be taught around for use during missions but we could hire a doctor as a staff member temporarily if none of the boys can fill the role.

We treat minor injuries and stabilize traumatic ones, anything else gets an airlift to the nearest hospital.
>>
$2,000,000 Transportation Budget (just for fun)

A thought experiment with cost estimates. What could we get for IRL vehicles with this amount? Upgrades are factored into cost.

Unused $200k used for fuel, storage, maintenance, and repair.


>Air
(NOT TECHNICALLY A JET BUT WILL STILL GET US THERE)
$500k
Intercontinental Transport
(used)Commander 690 A/B Turboprop Aircraft
Fit with covert flares wired to a panic button. Always carry a full set of parachutes. Install an extra emergency fuel tank for an additional 200 mile range.

(SINGLE PERSON KIT HELICOPTERS TURNED INTO MEDIVAC DRONES)
$50k each $200k
Single Person Airborne Scout and Extraction with Water Landing Pontoons
x4 (new)Composite-FX XE 290
Install a shortwave or cell network capable remote control, auto land if disconnected feature, and cameras to turn it into a drone. Install plate carrier pockets under the seat cushion and floormat of the vehicle. Install system for securely attaching a stretcher beneath it to use for medivac purposes.


>Water

(CHEAP FISHING BOATS)
$5k each $50k
Aluminum Brownwater and Coastal Fishing Boats 20'
x10 (used)Alumacraft V-Series
Equipped with gas motor for power and electric motor for quiet running. Add flare gun, life jackets, bailing bucket, cooler, net, cupholders, and pole holders.

(VIETNAM ERA SWIFTBOATS MADE BY CHINA)
$75k each $300k
Bluewater/Brownwater Patrol Boats
x4 (new)Aluminum Patrol Craft Fast 30'
Fitted with radios, a stowable folding swivel mount 50 Cal M-2 machine gun, radar, standard GPS and navigation gear, repair kit, and standard safety gear.


>Land

(WARLORD'S DELIGHT)
$25k each $300k
4WD Technical Truck
x12 (used)Toyota Tacoma
With a stowable folding swivel mount 50 Cal M-2 machine gun, steel brush gaurd, behind seat and underseat and inside door plate carriers, ballistic glass, and runflat tires.

(LOWEST PROFILE APC)
$100k each $300k
4WD Van with Covert Armor
x3 (new)Ford 250 Transit
With titanium ballistic top side and bottom panels, titanium brush gaurd, behind seat and underseat and inside door plate carriers, ballistic glass, 2 low profile side peepholes and side gun ports, aftermarket suspension to deal with increased weight, and offroad runflat tires.

(STEALTH AND MOBILITY)
$12.5k each $150k
Offroad and Scout Dirt Bike
x12 (new)Honda CRF205R
Quieter aftermarket muffler, runflat tires, headlight that can switch bewteen on/off/infrared, and anti-stall clutch.


Looks like can only really field 100 guys at a time(assuming everything is working) but of course this is real world prices and cutting corners on armoring(especially bulletproof glass, SO expensive) could get us more vehicles.
>>
>>5712238
Reminds me, maybe we should use to the goon boards to shitpost recruit goons on order to have more of a presence in Gotham. But instead of crime they are ghost-buster interns. Could also start a paranormal academy for troubled persons, but then im getting ahead of myself.
>>
>>5712462
I think we should start a henchmans association in gotham
Like a union but we strike for stuff like batman insurance and no more random killings from the boss for no reason
>>
>>5712570
Imagine the reaction of the JL when a Gotham-wide protest is pull by armed goons shouting, "WE NEED BATCARE!" "GOONS ARENT GOODS!" "GOON RIGHTS!".

Now these poor souls might mowed down by the loyalist and cops alike but damm it they tried.
>>
>>5713339
>Now these poor souls might mowed down by the loyalist and cops alike but damm it they tried.

>Implying that the police will not join the march.
This is gotham. I wouldn't be surprised if the city administration doesn't look at gang fighting in the same way that it looks at school policies.
>>
>>5713492
>the cops unionize stating that "if the mooks can do it, why can't we?"
>now they both only use lethal measures against supers, heroic or villainous
Saving this city one really weird uncontrollable butterfly effect at a time.
>>
>>5713580
>Saving
>Gotham

The city will burn while cops and gangers go to the streets like one to shot down anything that make them mad.

Which would not have been very different from what would have happened if there were no marches.

Gotham is cursed and nothing will change that.
>>
>>5713620
Cursed you say? That sounds like something a supernatural detective might be able to fix.
>>
>>5713637
You'd need like, the power of multiple gods or something.
>>
>>5712205
You mock me but anyone remember when we blew up the Iceberg lounge? We blow away a good 20 or so people by having magic ass thermal vision, a supressed mp5, and spooky shadow powers? Our mooks will die like the Penguin's mooks did against any force that has night vision if we do not. I cannot express how important I think it is for us to buy the most advanced night vision systems possible for our mooks.
>>
>>5713868
The best stuff is terribly expensive, but dual tube stuff for everybody seems reasonable.
>>
>>5713868
Sounds like we need to shrines to Set(maybe a massive waterslide too?) and Hestia(we haven't met her properly yet, have we?) and invest in turning our island into a little Hogwarts. Maybe after our next big score.
>>
>>5714246
I doubt Set and Hestia are going to start giving all our guys magic.
>>
>>5714251
I'm not at all familiar with DC Comic magic. Is it more of a born with it, or learned skill, or the gods jailbreak your magic ability but you got to learn it, or is it a wildly inconsistent mix of stuff?
>>
>>5714257
We are talking about capeshit here so...

>wildly inconsistent

There are people that are born with it and know it, people that are born with it and don't know it (Sean), people that meet something or someone(Set) magical and that give them some specific powers (Set's and Hestia's blessings) and people that walk in the wrong place at the best time and get hit by the "Now you are a wizard" magic ray.
>>
>>5714263
I thought Set's mark was the only reason Sean can use magic.
>>
>>5714266
Sean always was 100% pure wizard but never know it. He awake his magic when the Claw choose him.

Set give him some special magics, but he have his own magic too.
>>
>>5714257
It tends to come with bad luck as a cosmological thing. No such thing as a free lunch and all that.
>>
>>5712083
I hope we get to see the reaction from the group about how we went into the woods with Pandion and then came back alone and beat to shit. Also the travel back home, some inner monologue from Sean and meeting our insurgency friends again.

Speaking of insurgency, two things I forgot to mention about the budgets. First one being that the boys should be willing to pitch in parts of their own wealth to the budget, especially the accomodations and equipment, giving they'll be living and using the place. Second thing is that as part of the deal with the junta they are obligated to provide:
- Funding and logistical support for construction and maintenance of operational facilities.
which should massively cut down on costs for us.
>>
>>5715740
>First one being that the boys should be willing to pitch in parts of their own wealth to the budget, especially the accomodations and equipment, giving they'll be living and using the place

>tfw your job tells you it's lifting some of your paycheck to build a new break room
bruh
>>
>>5715990
I think being a part of the Steel Wolves will be a lot more than just a "job", more like a lifestyle now that I think about it.
>>
>>5715990
Makes me think of Project Mayhem from Fight Club. The guys barely brought anything, just burial money and some clothes.
>>
>>5715740
>own money
Like they even have money. We are dealing with some broke boys who want to make lots of money doing dangerous things and then maybe they will be indoctrinated.

We mainly need our men to be working, training, learning new skills and recruiting.

At the end of the day should this be a capitalist company or a cpmmunist dictatorship?
>>
>>5716005
>>5716097

We should divide our troops into squads of 10 soldiers with their own rooms and work zones. Those 10 soldiers will act like a party in a role-playing game, where they decide where they want to invest their money and resources in.

Some squads will invest more than others in the base, but in general no one wants to be the squad that has to use a cardboard box as a table to eat white rice while another squad next door organizes a barbecue.

In this way we give them the freedom to choose how to invest their money while at the same time we make them compete subtly to improve the base without forcing them to do anything.
>>
>>5716097
They do have their own money, they got it from the payout of the Venezuela job remember?

>>5716147
Wait, did I give the impression that it was a demand for them to give money? That was not my intention at all. It was a request which they had no obligation to fulfill.
>>
>>5716207
>Wait, did I give the impression that it was a demand for them to give money? That was not my intention at all. It was a request which they had no obligation to fulfill.

Yeah but you will need an incentive aside from the obvious "You live here" for them to invest in the base.

Let's treat this as a gacha mobile game about busty elves.

You don't need to pay $50 to get a Snow 5 Star SSS, but it would help you a lot.

You don't need the Swimsuit version that is at $123, but you already spent $50, why don't you spend more?
>>
>>5716264
Your example didn't make it any more clear but this whole thing is proving to be more difficult than I initially imagined anyway. Better to scratch the whole thing and only let them spend money umprompted, the deal we cut with the junta is already more than great. No need to jew as hard as possible as I did.
>>
>>5716147
>>5716264
>No see it's YOUR fault that the office looks like a shithole, you aren't doing enough to make your cubicle fun
bruh

All y'all motherfuckers need to chill.
>>
>>5716396
But what about company scip,
Seans venezuelan fun bucks
>>
We don't need our men to invest in the base if they don't want to, we'll earn enough money doing things.
>>
Hey anons, it's taking me longer than anticipated to get the next update ready, but I've prepared a contingency of sorts to tide things over until Friday.

Namely, picking out the last intel gathering job under Jack's umbrella. It's a moderately important choice, so giving it some extra voting time feels right.
>>
>>5716507

The first job plays right to your strengths; an undisclosed client needs some above-average muscle to play babysitter during an undoubtedly criminal endeavor. Anyone or anything shows up to make trouble, you’ll be the one tasked with putting it down. Sounds easy enough, but there’s a big catch. You’ll have no clue who you’ll be backing, what they’ll be up to, or even what the damned target is until zero hour rolls in. Could be anything from a simple exchange or heist to a gangland slaying in the making.

Call you paranoid, but these kind of question marks have the feel of coffin nails being pounded into the proverbial pine box.

The only morsel you’ve been provided confirms that you won’t be backing up run-of-the-mill thugs on a milk run, the team itself is comprised of some handpicked local talent. The brief doesn’t name anyone of course, but it’s definitely a factor worth considering.


The second job is a little more straightforward, but not by much. An undisclosed client needs an experienced point-man for a VIP snatch-and-grab being conducted at some high society gala party. You’ll be embedded as the resident heavy hitter and target snatcher; first through the door, and last to leave. It’s a bit high-profile for your tastes, but work is work. And of course, in the name of discretion, the client refuses to disclose the identity of the target until the time comes to pull the trigger on the op.

Again, could be a major curveball in there. Target could be a corporate stooge who made deals with the wrong type of people. Or some unlucky asshole that went pissed off somebody with deep enough pockets to make the lesson stick.

Or it could be an attack on the goddamned mayor or something. Unlike the previous job, there are no indications of any specialized talent. Looks like you’ll be rolling out with a cadre of non-powered hooligans watching your six; could be good or bad, depending on your estimation of the local criminal element.


The third job offers a bit more information up-front, but the insight doesn’t make you feel any better. Unlike the others, this one is a plain solo job. Undisclosed client needs someone capable of breaking into Arkham Asylum’s security control room to slot a flash drive containing a virus that’ll wipe specific inmate records.

The brief doesn’t go into details as to why; your money is on somebody trying to wipe their slate clean in the eyes of the authorities.

Normally, you’d consider tapping Gremlin to see if this could be handled from long-range, but the briefing nixes the idea when it confirms that everything on loony-bin island is locally air-gapped; no remote workarounds to be found. Only way you’ll be getting that virus into the computer systems is the old-fashioned way.

Arkham fucking Asylum. Where the real freaks go. Almost makes you glad you only got time in a federal hole.
>>
>>5716509

Put bluntly, all of these jobs reek; but it’s not like you have much of an option. You’ve carried Jack’s water plenty of times before, just need to clear this one last hurdle.

There is one other detail of note that catches your attention.

None of these requests were open calls; your Gunsmoke handle was requested specifically as a potential candidate.

Doubt you were the only name on their list, but it’s a sign that you’ve managed to built a decent enough rep.

That development gives you mixed feelings. It’s nice to have your work recognized, but the bigger the name; the bigger the splash when you make moves.

But that’s a future concern; for now, you just need to grit your teeth and get soldier through it.

So, which job do you plan on signing up for?

> The first job. If all you need to do is keep things chugging along, that takes a lot of the pressure off. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and everything will go so smoothly that your talents won’t be needed.

> The second job. With the element of surprise on your side, it shouldn’t be too hard to roll through any private security embedded at the event. You’ve taken out fortified strongpoints manned by professional soldiers, knocking over rent-a-cops in tuxes will be a cakewalk.

> The third job. If you’re being honest with yourself, you’ve always done your best work as a solo act; working with complete strangers leaves a bad pit in your stomach when you’re this close to the finish line. And on the off-chance that you’re ever collared and tossed into the madhouse, it could pay to be familiar with the joint.
>>
>>5716510
> The first job. If all you need to do is keep things chugging along, that takes a lot of the pressure off. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and everything will go so smoothly that your talents won’t be needed.

Feels like this one is the easiest to book it from
If things go south
>>
>>5716510
>> The first job. If all you need to do is keep things chugging along, that takes a lot of the pressure off. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and everything will go so smoothly that your talents won’t be needed.
this has the highest chance of being a justice league sting operation and I'm all for it
>>
>>5716510
> The first job. If all you need to do is keep things chugging along, that takes a lot of the pressure off. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and everything will go so smoothly that your talents won’t be needed.
All of these sound like stings, but I agree with the other guy: easier to run from
>>
>>5716510
> The first job. If all you need to do is keep things chugging along, that takes a lot of the pressure off. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and everything will go so smoothly that your talents won’t be needed.
>>
>>5716510
> The first job. If all you need to do is keep things chugging along, that takes a lot of the pressure off. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and everything will go so smoothly that your talents won’t be needed.

Yuuup.
>>
>>5716510
> The first job. If all you need to do is keep things chugging along, that takes a lot of the pressure off. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and everything will go so smoothly that your talents won’t be needed.
>>
>>5716510
>> The first job. If all you need to do is keep things chugging along, that takes a lot of the pressure off. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and everything will go so smoothly that your talents won’t be needed.
this if gonna go horribly wrong
>>
Pfft. What could go wrong?
>>
>>5716510
> The second job
I'm going to be a contrarian and go with this one. I'm pretty sure we'd be kidnapping Bruce during some charity thing, which would be funny. Even funnier if our employer turns out to be Joker.
>>
>>5716644
I read the second one and my first thought was "we're kidnapping Bruce Wayne, right?"
>>
>>5716660
>tfw it's actually oliver queen holding a function in gotham while his buddy bruce wayne is on a business meeting out of town
Those two normal playboy billionaire philanthropists are pretty good friends, they must talk on the phone a lot since they don't really get seen in person together than often.
>>
>>5716705

I would want it to be Oliver Queen just so that if he gets aggressive we could say with cheek "yes Queen, Slay Queen. Get that fierceness out of you Queen. rawr."
>>
>>5716711
>"yes Queen, Slay Queen. Get that fierceness out of you Queen. rawr."
I feel that saying this aloud is a ticket to a arkham asylum's cell.

AKAWM
>>
>>5716705
As long as its not Lois Lane, on assignment.
>>
Howdy, anons.

I've been grappling with a bit of writers block lately, and am still working on getting the next update done.

I probably won't be finished by our normal time tomorrow, just wanted to give the heads-up in advance.

As always, your patience is greatly appreciated. Work's been burning me out something fierce lately, which has unfortunately impacted my ability to put pen-to-paper.

The Intergang interlude is halfway done, I'll have more time to focus on that when I can force myself to knuckle down and finish the damned update.
>>
>>5717378

Its all good Axis. I'd rather have you (and i hope many anons agree) at your best than give a second rate performance. Hope work gets easier for you.
>>
>>5717378
It sounds like a particularly complex update. The devil is in the details, I imagine. No worries.
>>
>>5717691
>>5717715

Thanks, anons.

As warned, I'm still knee-deep in the update. I'll try it have it all done and dusted by Monday, that way we can get the bulk of the prepwork done in time for the normal session on Wednesday.
>>
>>5717748
Fair enough and good luck
>>
>>5716510
> The third job. If you’re being honest with yourself, you’ve always done your best work as a solo act; working with complete strangers leaves a bad pit in your stomach when you’re this close to the finish line. And on the off-chance that you’re ever collared and tossed into the madhouse, it could pay to be familiar with the joint.
Oh come on. A job at Arkham Asylum? I'm not gonna pass up the chance to actually meet The Bat.
>>
>>5717979
>Oh come on. A job at Arkham Asylum? I'm not gonna pass up the chance to actually meet The Bat.

What ID are we using for this again? It would be funny if we get arrested, meet batman, and then fuck off with the help of Ghostdad. Or maybe we could use the back door.
>>
>>5716510
> The third job. If you’re being honest with yourself, you’ve always done your best work as a solo act; working with complete strangers leaves a bad pit in your stomach when you’re this close to the finish line. And on the off-chance that you’re ever collared and tossed into the madhouse, it could pay to be familiar with the joint.
I want to shoot babs in the knees again
>>
>>5718010
They're asking specifically for Gunsmoke.

>>5718043
>go to quickdraw her knees for the third (fourth?) time
>batman drops down and kicks the gun out of our hand
>boss health bar appears
What I think is great is that despite how surprisingly busted Sean is, if we don't use our full kit to the absolute we have zero chance of beating Batman. Every single thing we have going for us he has faced in others and won. He has an answer for everything we have. The thing he is least prepared for is magic but even then.

And if we're trying to keep our identities and abilities hidden we can't really use magic as Gunsmoke. We'd be in a pickle if that terror in the night showed up for sure.

but I agree it has been too long since we've bullied the batgirl
>>
>>5718043
Ah shit no wait let's do the second one it does sound like we'll be kidnapping Bruce Wayne from the description and that would be a lot funnier
>changing from option 3 to option 2
>>5716510
>>
Actually, the possibility of Bruce being the VIP does beg the question. Are we smart enough to figure out Bruce=Batman? I mean, it sure is strange that Bruce returns just as Batman pops up, and someone's funding all those fancy toys. And every time Batman gets beat to shit or disappears for a while Mr Wayne takes a convenient holiday. Or the Bat Family immediately appearing on the scene when Bruce gets into trouble. Sure is strange...
>>
>>5718125
Nah. Total cognative blind spot. Lol.
>>
>>5718125
>>5718259
>Do detective things with Bobo
>Increase detective-ing skills from a couple crits
>Doodle devil horns on a picture of our last client, Bruce Wayne
>"Haha that looks like-"
>HMM.jpeg
>
>>
>>5718284
>"Wait a minute, that jawline..."
>>
>>5718125
It's like how no one realizes Superman is Clark Kent. They're so different, and more importantly it's so unbelievable that a normal man could be either of those larger than life figures that your brain actually does mental gymnastics to keep them apart conceptually.

It'd be like meeting Jesus on the road. Even if it was him you'd be telling yourself "Man, that guy looked a lot like Jesus, neat.".
>>
>>5718125
>We see alfred with both the batman and bruce wayne.
>we go undercover as a butler and delve into the butler society
>>
File: The Realization.png (1.37 MB, 960x1620)
1.37 MB
1.37 MB PNG
>>5718287

Pic related.
>>
>>5718317
Lol

>Batman is Bruce
>But if Bruce is the one who buys all of JL's super expensive stuff, does he pay taxes as an american citizen?
>>
>>5718295
Well yeah, but Superman's an invincible alien that just happens to look human. There's no reason to think he's got anything to do with Clark other than the fact they both share a girlfriend, and hey man, I'm not gonna judge. But Bruce's secret identity relies on everyone being retarded and ignoring a truckload of really obvious coincidences, like the fact that whenever Mr Wayne adopts a kid a new member of the batfamily just so happens to turn up. Maybe Waynetech is putting chemicals in the water.
>>
>>5718621
>Maybe Waynetech is putting chemicals in the water.
This is gotham. I wouldn't be surprised if the government or the Joker put a Retard chemical distillery in the water supply.
>>
>>5718631
*turn on the tap*
*its pink and bubbly*
*sigh because it keeps changing every few weeks*
*run a finger through it and taste it*
"It's... it's just bubblegum flavor soda, what the fuuuu?"
>>
>>5718621
Yeah sure, but Batman works really, REALLY hard to seem like a superhuman menace to criminals. Pretty much every crook in Gotham is afraid of him. Terrified even. Even most of the super powered ones are cagey about him even if they won't admit it. So what it winds up being is saying "The Boogeyman is real and he lives on my block.". You can put down all the evidence you want but at the end of the day there's just no way the scariest motherfucker in Gotham is just some pretty rich boy.

Mental gymnastics, anon. It doesn't make sense because it's irrational. And in a place mired in superstition and general bad vibes like Gotham it just compounds. It's obvious to us because we're not pissing our pants and checking under the bed for him every night.
>>
>>5718706
Batman is like Gotham's bigfoot or slenderman in a way, huh? Every loony has a story where they totally encountered him and he was 12 feet tall and had four arms and could teleport through walls.
>>
>>5718766
Everyone has forearms, anon. :^)
>>
>>5718766
I totally believe TMZ has a blurry photo of Bruce wayne, naked, in the forest walking amongst the trees
>>
>>5719082
>Bruce Wayne, man, myth, hairy? Exclusive story inside.
>>
>>5719557
>Exclusive photos of Bruce Wayne swimming naked in a waterfall.
>Is this a family ritual to increase his sexual powers, or is Gotham's prince training to catch and adopt more orphans on the beach next summer?
>>
>>5719557
>NEXT UP ON TMZ! Bruce Wayne caught on camera sprinting buck naked down a dark alleyway while screaming at the top of his lungs.

>"What's really wierd about this footage Harvey is how he is glistening. It kinda looks like he is covered in petroleum jelly."

>"Must've had a bad trip. Wonder when we'll see him on Rogan?"
>>
>>5719625
>"Must've had a bad trip. Wonder when we'll see him on Rogan?"

Big question Axie, does Rogan have a podcast in this universe?

Can we show up as paranoid lunatic to ramble about demons, the whole gotham's owl thing and the suicide squad?
>>
>>5719637
+1 this would be hilarious
>>
>>5719637
>"So you're saying these owl people - and they aren't like actual owls right? They're just cult dudes or something, yeah? - these owl people they're like, pulling the strings in Gotham and doing all sorts of shady shit? Summoning fuckin' demons? That's crazy, man. And you've seen the demons? No fucking way, you FOUGHT the demons? A buddy of mine took some pictures in the woods of this demon he saw - Jaime pull up the pictures, yeah that one that skinwalker looking thing. Check that shit out, could rip your arms off with its bare hands, thing is fucking strong looking. And you fought something like this? That's fucking crazy."
>>
>>5719637

I mean, you still owe the Venezuelan government a televised interview...
>>
Also, random question for the crowd.

One of your personal purchases is a custom ballistic suit; I’ve got a couple of ideas about how it’ll look / be integrated, but it makes more sense to let you all choose.

Feel free to include a pic of what you’d like it to look like, this’ll most likely take the place of your regular body armor whenever you’re not in the Apokoliptian armor.

You want your ballistic suit to be…

> Sleek. The understated design and the economy of motion it affords is unparalleled. Like wearing a second skin that can stop a burst of gunfire.

> Futuristic. Jam in as much tech and electronics as you can fit in. A robust cyber-warfare and communications suite could mean the difference between life and death.

> Sturdy. Eschew any pageantry in favor in slapping on as much armor on as you can. It’ll be a bit cumbersome to haul around, but the protection it’ll offer will only be second to your alien tech.

> Other?
>>
>>5719896
>> Futuristic. Jam in as much tech and electronics as you can fit in. A robust cyber-warfare and communications suite could mean the difference between life and death.
>>
>>5719896
> Sleek. The understated design and the economy of motion it affords is unparalleled. Like wearing a second skin that can stop a burst of gunfire.
The bullet-proof body-condom seems the most useful
>>
>>5719890
>venezuelan state tv comes on.
>adjutant tango in only a mask and military pants shows up
>smoking a hand rolled cigar
>cuts a promo like 90s wwe addressing all his enemies
>finish with him doing an RKO on a fake pedraza
>join the steel wolves today.

In other news, a local man is raising money for his three legged dog
>>
>>5719896
> Sleek. The understated design and the economy of motion it affords is unparalleled. Like wearing a second skin that can stop a burst of gunfire.

Its almost like im wearing nothing at all
>>
>>5719896
> Sleek. The understated design and the economy of motion it affords is unparalleled. Like wearing a second skin that can stop a burst of gunfire.
I'll assume this makes it more comfortable which automatically makes it the best.
>>
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>>5719896
> Sleek. The understated design and the economy of motion it affords is unparalleled. Like wearing a second skin that can stop a burst of gunfire.
Does it have to look gay or can we cosplay as JC Denton?
>>
>>5719896
>> Sleek. The understated design and the economy of motion it affords is unparalleled. Like wearing a second skin that can stop a burst of gunfire.
If we're going with regular armor stuff, gotta take a page out of Army Of Two. Dudes were stylish as hell despite being kitted out. Whether you're picking the light option or the heavy options. Very Operator.
>>
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>>5719908
I was thinking more of a officers uniform myself, the marines might eat crayons for sustenance but they sure know how look good while doing so.
>>
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>>5719896
> Other: A literal business suit like a Brooks Brothers made of high quality ballistic fabrics and fitted with low profile pockets for what would normally be thin side plates over each side of your chest area and a multicurve plate in the back. Great for infiltration or a business meeting that might end up in shall we say "aggressive negotiations."
>>
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>>5719908
>>5719924
Though maybe we can steal Joshua Graham's look if we want a more all purpose fit. Make some changes so it's less beat up and it will look real nice in most situations.
>>
>>5719925
Kind of a real thing: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2488175/Garrison-Bespoke-creates-bullet-proof-suit-businessmen-live-dangerous-lives.html
>>
>>5719896
>> Futuristic. Jam in as much tech and electronics as you can fit in. A robust cyber-warfare and communications suite could mean the difference between life and death.
>>
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>>5719896
>> Sleek. The understated design and the economy of motion it affords is unparalleled. Like wearing a second skin that can stop a burst of gunfire.
>>
>>5719942
Damn I completely forgot about Snake. An excellent choice anon, very broad appeal in it's aesthetic.
>>
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>>5719925
>You like watching John Wick, don't you Squidward?
>>
>>5719896
>Sleek
I like the Denton cosplay and the bulletproof suit idea for how it ends up looking.
>>
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>>5719954
>If I'm being honest? The first one was good but the rest of them dragged on could have been cut and condensed into one movie. Think Kill Bill. Also the bulletproof suit, while cool in concept was too OP in execution."
>>
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>>5719957
Ballistic carcoat or walker coat instead of suit jacket? We /fa/ now.
>>
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>>5719908
Um, *akshually* JC Denton is cosplaying as Blade, but the suit does look cool regardless of who's wearing it.
>>
>>5719896
Honestly it depends on who it's for.

Adjunct Tango could make much more use of a Futuristic suit given the caliber of situations he's in. Additional capabilities is extremely useful where magic will fail.

Plus it makes us that much more Dr. Doom.
>>
>>5719965
I like the walker, it seems more professional. I guess we could maybe get the same result wearing a shirt and tie with the car though, but the collar on the walker seems to sell it. I'd probably go with the car coat normally but the walker if we had to be fancy.
>>
>>5720035
I never noticed the resemblance but now I can never unsee it. Holy smokes.
>>
Rolled 10 (1d100)

How marked will our butt and dick be in the Sleek armor, dice?

WJRPHX
>>
>>5720085
Excellent, no one will try to rape Sean anytime soon.
>>
>>5719896
> Sleek. The understated design and the economy of motion it affords is unparalleled. Like wearing a second skin that can stop a burst of gunfire.

stealth suit
>>
>>5719896

>sleek. The understated design and the economy of motion it affords is unparalleled. Like wearing a second skin that can stop a burst of gunfire.

Yes, if you can make it look like the Blade one or the JC denton one >>5719908
>>5720035

It would probably be the best. Or something mixed out of here with the ARMY of TWO. as >>5719922 mentioned.
>>
>>5720325

Especially the face masks from Army of Two. Almost all of them looked pretty cool.
>>
So, it looks like the Sleek style wins, with an emphasis on a mixture between Army of Two and the classic JC "hewasagoodman.whatarottenwaytodie" Denton coat.

And now that Armor of Two has been mentioned, I'm obliged to ask if you want any kind of custom paintjob for the mask.
>>
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>>5721394
Maybe something like this? It's uninspired but it still looks cool.
>>
>>5721394
>>
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Sorry I dont read the post
>>
Good news, anons.

Finally managed to finishing touches on the update, we should be good to begin the session at 5:00 as planned.

Apologies in advance for the wall of text, it's a pretty long one.
>>
>>5721394
>I'm obliged to ask if you want any kind of custom paintjob for the mask.
Flames at the bottom and smoke curling up the top half. Classic.
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0s2dg1fFTo

You’re jolted out of your fatigue-induced shutdown by a peculiar sensation brought about during Pandion’s absorption back into the Claw; kinda like pins and needles dancing across your body from head to toe. It’s not as explosive as your first contact with the Claw of Horus, but you’re confident enough in your knowledge of the subject matter to pronounce it as the same magic.

The process isn’t painful, more decidedly uncomfortable. Thankfully, the sensation passes as quickly as it began, yet leaves an odd wellspring of power in its wake. Overall, it’s a difficult feeling to accurately quantify, but it’s left you feeling like you’ve gotten a minor boost of sorts.

Could be worth checking out later when you’re not battered and exhausted.

Plus, you have more immediate priorities.

> “Pandion? You in there, pal?” You tentatively query, slightly worried that something may’ve gone haywire.

As you force yourself back to your feet while shaking off the customary stiffness and aches, you’re greeted by a gruff voice that’s colored with more than a little pride.

“You won’t get rid of me so easily, Sean. Someone needs to ensure that your form doesn’t get sloppy.”

> “2-0, old man.” You retort, while limping your way back to camp.

You could call Jack with your sigil, but you’d prefer to avoid worrying him or souring the mood. These are the last few fleeting moments of the vacation after all, best to end things on a lighter note.

Besides, your wounds are nothing serious anyhow, just need to pilfer a few items from the first aid kit and you’ll be right as rain. And once you get the chance to immerse yourself in fire, your regenerative magic should do the rest.

Granted, you make a point of not taking hits like that too often, tends to lead to a drastically lowered life expectancy if you get knocked around like a piñata on the regular.

As if reading your thoughts, Pandion chimes in.

“It was a glorious defeat, Sean. I hope I haven’t caused any permanent damage.

> “No hard feelings, big guy. Didn’t give me nothing that won’t buff out with a little TLC.”

With your injuries, it takes twice as long to limp back to camp when compared to your initial departure.

Any hope of flying under the radar are bloodily quashed in an instant when Bobo spots you.

He seems shocked to see you in such battered condition, probably because he recently witnessed you tear through Mafiya goons like a hot knife through butter. You can almost see the wheels spinning in his head when he notices that Pandion isn’t accompanying you.

Thoth is relatively impassive about the whole thing, though he does proffer some foul-smelling ointment as a disinfectant. An ancient herbal remedy or some shit; you’d normally dismiss that kind of thing as new-age hippie bullshit, but if anyone is telling the truth there, it'd be him.
>>
>>5721450

Nessie mostly just whines and gently nuzzles at your wounds, almost like a worried dog. You assure her that you’re fine and there’s nothing to worry about, but she still keeps you within eyesight at all times.

Jack knows you well enough to give you your space, but you know that it has him a little rattled. More than anything else, he seems to be in the same boat as Bobo; obvious surprise at the level of your injuries.

You get where he’s coming from though; he knows conceptually that you risk your life on a regular basis, but this is the first time that he’s actually seen you take a beating that you can’t just laugh off. It’s a little ironic that this reminder of your own mortality is more of a gut-punch to your friends, then it is to you; not quite sure why, throwing yourself into the fight is just kind of a given for you at this point.

Surprisingly, Set is annoyingly insistent on tending to your wounds. The attention makes you somewhat uncomfortable, but you grin and bear through his less than tender bedside manner. To his credit, Set must have some kind of healing mojo that intersects with your own, because you’re back in tip-top shape within only a couple of hours. Not even a single scar or bruise from the ordeal.

Must’ve been pretty magically intensive though, seeing as how the exertion leaves Set looking haggard and drained like he just ran a back-to-back trio of marathons.

In fact, it was so taxing that he actually had to return Nessie to her original size, just to regain a bit of spent magical energy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOvYGQtFBNM

> “Hey, everyone gather round! It’s time for one last picture!”

Right by the shoreline, with the sun on your backs, one final snapshot of your band of outcasts and rebels is taken; marking the end of your vacation.

Now, you just need to see your friends, compatriots, and assorted animalistic pals off.

You start with Nessie, approaching the colossal aquatic beast to make your goodbyes.

> “Hey, Nessie. Promise me that you’ll keep safe, you hear? Anyone tries to harpoon you or something, you show em that those teeth aren’t for show.”

She roars in something that sounds like assent.

> “That’s my girl. Gonna miss you-“

Your train of thought is interrupted by a rough tongue the size of a skateboard smacking you in the face and leaving a thick trail of gunk in its wake.

As you sputter, Nessie makes a throaty clicking that sounds an awful lot like laughter.

As she swims away, she performs one last leap above the waves before being enveloped by the inky blackness of the Pacific Ocean.
>>
>>5721451

Thoth is as impassive and disinterested as always, but you can detect the slightest hint of wistful regret in his otherwise stoic features.

> “Hope you had a good time. Things tend to get a little out of hand sometimes, but that’s all part of the charm.”

“It was….interesting. I now understand why Set has taken such an interest in the matters of the modern world.”

He hesitates for a moment, before sighing deeply.

“If another of these...expeditions were to be organized, I would not necessarily decline an invitation.”

From Thoth, that may as well be begging to come along on the next one.

You give him a bright grin and clap him on the shoulder.

> “I’m sure there’ll always be a spot in the Set-Mobile for you.”

He sighs as the corner of his mouth tugs upwards in amusement, waving you away as he returns to his library.


Set looks bone-tired, but he’s got an almost manic grin on his face.

> “Thanks for everything, Set. Been a hell of a ride.”

“Don’t mention it, kid. You needed the break, and I’ve had a lot of fun along the way. We’ll have to do this again sometime.

Set glances around to make sure that nobody is watching before pulling you in for a brief hug. The sudden move takes you by great surprise, and he lets go before you even consider reciprocating.

“Stay safe out there, Sean. I might just miss you.” He says, shooting you a two-finger salute as he vanishes into the fading light.


Bobo looks like death warmed over, but has an unclouded sharpness in his eyes.

> “Thanks for all your help, Bobo. Give what I said some thought. You’ve always done good by me, my door is always open if you need something.”

“I know. Good luck out there, Sean.”

He shakes your hand before Jack teleports him back to Gotham and jumps back.


Now that you’re done with the goodbyes and well-wishes, Jack gently lays a hand on your shoulder; in the blink of an eye, you’re back home at the mansion.

You spend the evening unloading your stuff and finding a place to store your various souvenirs and loot. Gaius’ aquila goes in pride of place in your bedroom, the rest is stored amongst your stored belongings.

Once that’s done, you settle into the parlor to make a bunch of calls and place some orders on a bevy of online black market bazaars. The Internet is truly a glorious thing; the United Nations and its arms embargoes can eat their chickenshit hearts out.

Your savings take a sharp hit, but you’ve still got plenty of liquid capital to douse any potential fires that spring up for the foreseeable future.

Honestly, the whole idea almost feels surreal. There was a time not that long ago when you had no clue where your next meal would be coming from; now you’re sitting on more money than you would’ve ever earned in your entire career as a footslogging grunt.

While taking a short moment to rest by the crackling fire, Jack enters with a sheaf of papers.
>>
>>5721453

“Ah, there you are, Sean. I hate to interrupt, but business is an insatiable mistress. I’ve had to leverage the last of my accrued favors to negotiate our latest opportunity, but it is influence well-spent. Once complete, we will have all the information required to locate the last artifact required to accrue the power necessary to perform my ritual.

The contracts on tap are a bit more rickety than either of us would prefer, but I’m afraid that this is the best I could secure on short notice.

I’ve taken the liberty of preparing a few dossiers detailing what I’ve managed to throw together, feel free to peruse them while I pop out and put the kettle on.”

There’s an undertone of stress to Jack’s voice that you recognize immediately, though he disguises it well. Can’t blame him much, he’s approaching the end of decades if not centuries of work.

Jack floats away to the kitchen, leaving you mull over the accrued documentation.

You’ve never been much of a tea guy but you don’t have the heart to turn him down, especially considering that…

You shake your head to stop that train of though well in its tracks. The world ain’t gonna stop turning just because you wish things could be different.

By the time Jack returns with some impeccably prepared mugs of black tea with milk and sugar, you’ve already decide on your choice of assignment.

> “I’ll be going with the first job.”

“Out of curiosity, why that one in particular?”

You take a sip of your tea and sigh.

> “To be blunt, I wouldn’t touch any of these jobs with a ten-foot barge pole in normal circumstances.”

“Neither would I. But…”

> “But, if things go so badly that I need to pull an Irish goodbye and make a hasty escape; the first job offers the greatest chance that I can successfully cut bait. Kidnapping can be a messy business at the best of times, especially when the job calls for hitting a semi-public venue. That’s going to bring a lot of heat that I’d rather not have on my head. And Arkham Asylum’s the kind of place to be frothing at the mouth with bad juju, meaning that I’ll be on my own for the infil and exfil. And if anything goes sideways, I’ll be stuck in that madhouse on my lonesome. Don’t quite like those odds.”

“The contract mentions that you may be supporting a team of other criminals.”

> “I’m not overjoyed at the idea of working with unknown elements, but I can handle it.”

“That’s not quite what I mean. It’s been a while since we’ve had any new guests, perhaps this would be a good chance to forge new bonds of camaraderie. Perhaps even make the acquaintance of a lady friend.”

> “Need I remind you of how the last few attempts panned out?”

“Practice makes perfect, you’ll never know unless you keep trying.”

Alright, now you know that he’s fucking with you.

The uplift in tone lets you know that you’ve managed to break through the dark cloud marring his thoughts.

Still, you can’t resist needling him just a little.
>>
>>5721455

> “Oh, you know me. The very soul of cheer and goodwill towards all. What could possibly go wrong?”

When Jack affixes you with a withering glance for your tempting of fate, you can’t help but chuckle.

It’s a bit premature, but you can’t help but feel a faint rekindling of something that has lain dormant within you for what feels like an eternity.

Hope.

For the longest time, you’ve grappled with the crippling fear that as soon as Jack passed on, you’d be all on your own again; a lone soul facing the coldness of an unfeeling world.

But maybe not. You’ve cultivated friends and allies that have proven their loyalty to you and vice versa. Should you call, they will answer.

And even if the worst should come to pass, you’ll have the comfort of knowing that you already managed to build yourself back up from nothing once before. Nothing stopping you from doing it again.

But onto more practical matters; what equipment would you like to take on your job? The details are a bit sketchy, but you’re reasonably certain that it probably won’t be heavily reliant on stealth.

Armor:
> Apokoliptian Armor (Can tank all kinds of damage, but the distinct profile is memorable)
> Ballistic Armor (Not as tough, but may raise fewer red flags) (Feel free to mention what you want the new mask to look like.)

Primary Weapon:
> Apokoliptian Carbine (Volatile Intergang tech, capable of putting a hole through damn near anything)
> MP5 SMG (Well-suited for ambush tactics and stealthily engagements) (Silenced)
> M4 Carbine (All-around performer, includes grenade launcher)
> Dragunov Sniper Rifle (Excellent at long-range, poorly suited for close-quarter engagements)
> Benelli Shotgun (Excellent at close-quarter engagements, suffers at range)

Secondary Weapon:
> Colt 1911 (Reliable and hardy) (Silenced)
> .44 Magnum (Hits hard)
> Beretta M9 (Easy to conceal) (Silenced)

Melee Weapon: (Not including the Blade of Flame)
> Spatha (Great for brawling, poor for stealth)
> Fairbairn-Sykes knife (Good for stealth)
> KABAR (Decent for both stealth / brawling)
> Knuckle trench knife (Good for brawling)

Explosives: (4 maximum)
> Fragmentation
> Smoke
> Flashbang
> Incendiary
> Thermite
>>
>>5721456
>> Apokoliptian Armor (Can tank all kinds of damage, but the distinct profile is memorable)
> Dragunov Sniper Rifle (Excellent at long-range, poorly suited for close-quarter engagements)
> .44 Magnum (Hits hard)
> Knuckle trench knife (Good for brawling)
>3 Fragmentation
>1 Smoke
>>
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>>5721394
Gotta go with the classic
>>
>>5721462
+1
>>
>>5721456
That 'memorable' bit is worrying, but wearing our trench coat over it as Gunsmoke has been enough so far.
>>5721462
>+1
>>
Rolled 1 (1d4)

>>5721462
>>5721464
>>5721468

Alright, that's your gear picked out.

Writing. Pay not attention to this roll.


1 = KM
2 = AN
3 = FF
4 = RC
>>
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>>5721470
OH SHIT GUYS ITS KILLER MOTH
>>
>>5721470
>>5721475

We shall bond over our shared distaste for Batgirl.
>>
>>5721475
No dude, it's "Kiss Me". Axie is feeling romantical.
>>
>>5721470
>>5721475
According to his wiki his rep was destroyed and he suffered from repeated defeats. We can recruit him and we may bond over both of us being down on our luck. I am curious what those other options are.
>>
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>>5721470

When Jack formally accepts the contract, things start to move fast; the job is only a couple of hours away.

Your anonymous employers provide you with a rendezvous point and a time, tucked away in Old Gotham. There’s…not a lot of targets in that area that’d be worth the effort of having you babysit, but some people are paranoid.

And the fact that they still needed a hitter this close to the operation means that their timetable must be all kinds of fucked up.

Still, that’s not really your concern, you’re just along for the ride.

If you’re gonna be a-wandering into the unknown, it’d be best to do it while sporting the heaviest armor you’ve got. And in that vein of caution, you’ll bring your Dragunov; just in case a spot of overwatch becomes necessary. You also bring your mule-kicker of a .44, as well as a knuckle-trench knife for a little CQC spice. Lastly, you top off with three frag grenades and a smoke grenade. Hopefully you won’t need to use any of your weapons, but you’re not really the optimistic type.

Jack drops you off on a rooftop near the rendezvous point, around twenty minutes early; gives you time to do a recce. Everything seems on the level, so when a van belonging to Gotham City Water & Power cruises around the corner and comes to an idling stop at the pre-arranged time, you know you’re good to go.

When you approach, the driver gives you a nod and gestures for you to approach the side door.

You lightly knock on the side to alert its occupants to your presence.

“Who is it?” The voice is impatient, but the vitriol in his voice doesn’t seem to be directed at you.

> “Gunsmoke.”

The door panel slides open, revealing the speaker; a tall man dressed in potentially the most outlandish outfit you’ve ever seen. It’s got the color scheme of a glorified circus tent; how on earth is orange and purple suitable for a night operation?

It’s certainly a…unique ensemble, yet he somehow manages to make it work.

“Killer Moth. Get in, we don’t have time to waste.” He says, offering a hand to help pull you up.

When you’re able to peer more closely into the van, you only just barely manage to stop yourself from going for your revolver. Besides Killer Moth, the van is stuffed to the gills with Penguin’s men.

The only thing keeping you from carving a swathe through em is the thought of bungling the contract and that none of them seem inclined to make an overtly hostile acts. If anything, they don’t seem to recognize you at all.

As the van takes off into the night, you decide to…

> Attempt to engage Killer Moth in conversation. Maybe you’ll glean some insight as to the team’s objectives.

> Make idle conversation with some of the Penguin goons. Might be able to figure out their motivations a little more clearly.

> Keep silent and go over your gear one last time. You’re not here to make friends, you’re here to be a human battering ram.

> Other?
>>
>>5721487
> Attempt to engage Killer Moth in conversation. Maybe you’ll glean some insight as to the team’s objectives.
Can we get to know what we're actually doing now?
>>
>>5721487
>>Attempt to engage Killer Moth in conversation. Maybe you’ll glean some insight as to the team’s objectives.

>penguin goons
>Killer Moth
Oh, we're the target for this mission, aren't we? On the bright side, we met Killer Moth!
>>
>>5721487
>> Attempt to engage Killer Moth in conversation. Maybe you’ll glean some insight as to the team’s objectives.
Hey man, the fuck's going on anyway?
>>
>>5721455
>Perhaps even make the acquaintance of a lady friend.”
> “Need I remind you of how the last few attempts panned out?”
>“Practice makes perfect, you’ll never know unless you keep trying.”

Jack still believes in us
>>
>>5721487
> Attempt to engage Killer Moth in conversation. Maybe you’ll glean some insight as to the team’s objectives.
>>
>>5721488
>>5721503
>>5721505

Go ahead and give me some 1d100+25

DC: 80 / 100 / 120
>>
Rolled 51 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5721514
Lets get it.
>>
>>5721508
>tfw he sets us up with a cute librarian girl
>>
Rolled 81 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5721514
>>
Rolled 16 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5721514
Luck drain?
>>
Rolled 44 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5721514
Be a shame to get a nat 1 here.
>>
Rolled 7 + 5 (1d15 + 5)

>>5721524

Thanks for the reminder, anon.

Rolling for Luck Drain.
>>
>>5721516
>>5721519
>>5721524

Alright, that's an excellent success.

There any topics you'd like to bring up beyond an overall sitrep?
>>
>>5721529
Can't think of anything.
>>
>>5721529
>...So, why a moth?
>Any extra information you'd find interesting or useful?
>>
>>5721529
So whats the pay like working for the penguin? Any benefits?
If it goes well
I want to estimate how good these penguin goons are. If they are just gutter trash street punks, I have half a mind to blow up this van
>>
>>5721537
>>5721538
>>5721541

Roger.

Go ahead and give me some 1d100+40 to see what you pick up from the Penguin goons.

DC: 80 / 95 / 120
>>
Rolled 25 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5721543
>>
Rolled 81 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5721543
>>
Rolled 77 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5721543
Get
>>
>>5721546
>>5721547
>>5721549

That's an excellent success, writing.
>>
>>5721547
>>5721519
good rolls guys
>>
>>5721550

> “So, what’s our plan?”

“The first thing we’ll do is meet up with the rest of the team and lock the surrounding area down.

Once we know that nobody is comin’ or goin’, we push through the front, start taking hostages and lock the place down before the pigs can arrive.

Since you’ve got that rifle, I’m putting you on sniper duty. I’ll have the driver drop you off by a spot with a decent line-of-sight; get up there and cover us when we make our way in. I’ll send a couple of the boys up with you as backup.”

> “And, uh, what exactly is our target exactly?”

Killer Moth gives you a hard stare, but it softens after a moment when he realizes that you genuinely don’t know.

“You’ll know it when you see it. Our job is to storm the place and make a ton of fucking noise; get the cops to congregate in force.

Just do as you’re told and everything will go fine. I’ve been told you’re good in a fight and even if you’re not, the GCPD folds like a wet paper bag.”

> “So, what’s it like working for the Penguin?”

He looks at you like you’re stupid.

“Penguin’s not fronting this job. Our employer paid these guys off to give us a little extra kick if you turned out to be a dud.”

Killer Moth turns away to begin fiddling with some kind of cocoon-gun, which likely means that any chance of further discussion is over.

Now that the well of conversation has dried up, you find your attention being redirected to the other occupants of the van; the Penguin goons.

At a glance, you can tell that these aren’t your average street punks. They’ve got the wild eyes and twitchy reflexes of the certifiably dangerous. These are the kind of men you have on speed-dial when you want something truly heinous to happen.

And yet, none of them seem to harbor any specific hostility or interest for you, which doesn’t seem quite right. If they’re moonlighting as hired guns for a bit of extra money, that’s one thing; they should be positively salivating at the chance to serve you up to the Penguin.

During your pondering, you notice that he goon nearest you has a few slight flecks of white paint around one of his eyes. In fact, now that you’re looking for it, you can tell that almost all of the Penguin goons have slight splotches of white or red paint on their face.

It’s a strange commonality, but you’re not quite sure what it means.
>>
>>5721582

Lastly, a couple of the stockier looking ones are handling bulky duffle bags. One of them is slightly unzipped, revealing an unmarked green canister of some kind. No clues as to its contents, your money is on blowtorch fuel or something.

The van comes to a screeching halt in front of an old clocktower, and Killer Moth gestures for you to leave; a half-dozen of the goons move to accompany you.

When you reach the top and begin surveying for likely targets, you finally spot it; and everything suddenly clicks into place.

The sniper perch you’ve been assigned gives you a perfect overview of City Hall.

What the fuck have you gotten yourself into here?

This is going to cause so much fucking heat that it’s not even funny.

In the heat of the moment, you decide to…

> Proceed with the plan regardless. In for a penny, in for a pound; just do it for Jack.

> Deal with your escort, then bail out on this gig. You’re pulling the emergency stop while you’ve still got a chance.

> Other?
>>
>>5721583
> Proceed with the plan regardless. In for a penny, in for a pound; just do it for Jack.
Don't see a reason to back out just yet, we already knew this job was gonna be some stupid bullshit.
>>
>>5721583
>> Proceed with the plan regardless. In for a penny, in for a pound; just do it for Jack.
it'll be fiiiiiine
>>
>>5721582
>>5721583
Unless this white and red paint on the goons' faces plus the green canister mean something extra stupid.
>>
>>5721583
> Proceed with the plan regardless. In for a penny, in for a pound; just do it for Jack.

Sniper spot means easier exfil so I reckon we will be fine
>>
>>5721583
> Proceed with the plan regardless. In for a penny, in for a pound; just do it for Jack.

No collateral damage. Maximum professionalism.
>>
>>5721583
>> Proceed with the plan regardless. In for a penny, in for a pound; just do it for Jack.

For now, we can still pull out if it gets weird. Is our money on Scarecrow or the Joker?
>>
>>5721587
I swear if this is fear toxin or even worse joker laughing gas this shit is fucked. I really hope these guys are not joker goons who got the idea to dress up as penguin goons.
>>
>>5721583
> Proceed with the plan regardless. In for a penny, in for a pound; just do it for Jack.
Waiting for the shoe to drop
>>
>>5721585
>>5721586
>>5721589
>>5721590
>>5721591
>>5721593

Alright, looks like we're proceeding forward.

Go ahead and give me some 1d100+20 to see how well your overwatch goes.

DC: 50 / 75 / 100
>>
>>5721583
>> Proceed with the plan regardless. In for a penny, in for a pound; just do it for Jack.
>>
Rolled 11 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5721594
>>
Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>5721594
https://youtu.be/wy9r2qeouiQ
>>
Rolled 25 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5721594
>>
Rolled 37 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5721594
>>
>>5721596
>>5721597
>>5721599

That's a regular success, writing.

We'll pack back up from here on Friday at 5:00 PM EST.

As always, thanks for playing! Hope to see you all next time.

I'll be hanging around for a little while in case of questions or the like.
>>
>>5721604
How hard will it be for sean to get with wonder womans mum?
>>
>>5721604
Can we get a picture of City Hall?
>>
>>5721604
>Questions
Is the foreboding sense of dread and doom warranted?
>>
>>5721604
How's Barbra doing?
>>
>>5721604
Would it be possible to improve our fire healing so as to heal others?
>>
>>5721594
I leave for A FEW HOURS AND WE'RE ABOUT TO FUCK UP CITY HALL?

This has Joker written on it.

You know, we can Sigil Jack. We have the sigil still. It does communicate. Saying 'something seems wrong' is probably a valid move.
>>
>>5721618
We will be fine anon.
Besides how could we not fuck up city hall at least once?
>>
File: City Hall.png (2.62 MB, 1920x1080)
2.62 MB
2.62 MB PNG
>>5721607

It would require a Rube Goldberg machine of decisions and consequences that would irreparably ruin the time-space continuum.

>>5721608

It was surprisingly hard to find a not-shit picture, please ignore the fact that its from mediocre vidya.

>>5721609

It always is. Paranoia is your most reliable friend, anon.

>>5721612

Everyone is doing fine, especially Barbara. For now.[/spoiler

>>5721614

I won't nix the idea out of turn, but it'd require quite a bit of experimentation and investment to get even a basic version of that going.

>>5721618

Hey, it could be worse. I won't describe how, but it could!
>>
>>5721620
Ill take that as we have a 50/50 chance
>>
>>5721607
>>5721622
If we don't try it will be 0.

We have to do it.
>>
>>5721620
>it could be worse.
Sure, Clark Kent might be in town interviewing Bruce Wayne at a special gala dinner at city hall. With our luck it's just going to be Batgirl and some friends.
>>
>>5721622
I'm afraid this is where our paths will have to split, comrade. But I wish you good fortune in your endeavors. May the best ship win.
>>
>>5721620
Perhaps it would be easier to eventually buy a Tome of Healing Magic.
>>
>>5721618
We really should sigil Jack. That face paint was probably the remains of Joker style face paint and that gas is very likely joker gas.
>>
>>5721667
exactly
>>
>>5721783
Naturally. But I don't know if Sean knows Joker has goons that can actually do anything with more thought than "Let's go hit stuff with sticks". I wouldn't put it past these morons to try and dome us once we're up there doing our thing, honestly. Psychos, the lot of em.
>>
>>5721711
best of luck to you as well
>>
>>5721804
He usually doesn't. Also, we brought no termite or incindiary grenades we could heal ourselves with. Ooof.
>>
Nobody going to mention how Nessie stole our first kiss?
>>
>>5721824
>Nessie is the endgame waifu
Can't believe it. To unlock her romance route, she's gonna need about tree fiddy
>>
>>5721820
This actually made me think, if we master the tornado spell enough, do ya think we could use it to fly? Just speaking of magic. We tend to use most of our spells in non-standard ways barring the blaster magic. Though using lightning bolts to jumpstart a generator or car is certainly an idea.

>>5721841
I hope Aquaman shits his pants when he sees a genuine dinosaur in the seas. And she tells him we're cool as hell.
>>
>>5721854
I got to thinking some more about the price of magic tomes vs. aircraft and I'm starting to wonder if it wouldn't be a really smart investment to eventually learn to Teleport or Fly. Probably want to wear a parachute for that in case we critfail but still there is a ton of utility.
>>
>>5721870
It would certainly save us gas money. And even if it was only one way, save us half the time to do whatever.
>>
>>5721594
I feel like we should find some way to stop this or tip the police/ Batman about it. This is a terrorist attack on city hall with a chemical weapon, run by joker goons (they don’t recognize us and the paint). Batman will show up regardless, it’s better that we don’t end up in the crossfire
>>
>>5722115
we already voted to stick with the job, you are too late anon.
>>
>>5722115
Well we still do need to succeed so we can keep Jack's plan going. I'm fine with thwarting the mass killing and terror bullshit but we gotta do it in a way that still gets us what we need. Making this a tightrope act.
>>
>>5721583
>splotches of white or red paint on their face.
>twitchy
this is such a joker job oh man
>>
>>5722115
This is a good idea.
>>
>>5721470
>1 = KM > KILLER MOTH
>2 = AN > ??? (Anus Nemesis)
>3 = FF > ??? (Fatal Fish)
>4 = RC > ??? (Round Cunt)
>>
>>5721783
My thought is just that we let him know this job might be a LOT hotter than expected. This is for him, after all.

And if it goes out of control, do we break merc professionalism and go antihero? We're gonna be shooting at 'good cops', not just security. Real innocents are gonna have one bad day when shit kicks off.

This is gonna be a batman level event. Do we play ball with him?
>>
>>5722237
again, we are already in too deep, just shoot at their legs and hope for the best
>>
>>5722250
I mean, we only know how hot this is gonna get from a meta perspective.

Sean just knows something's off, but might just be a robbery of something specific from the City Hall.
>>
>>5722257
I guess what we need to ask ourselves is how far is too far. We've never really done anything atrocious yet, and made sure that innocents are out of the line of fire. This, when the gas starts going, will go against all of our actions up to this point. At what point do we start helping the cops or running? If I was around during the vote I'd want to run at this point
>>
>>5722217
Definitely feels like Axis baited us by having the worst job seem the least dangerous up front. If that's the case then well played.
>>
>>5722424
>he doesn't know that every single contract led to this place right here with three different sets of goons doing stupid shit at the same time
The mind games are real.
>>
>>5722432
INVISIBLE RAILS

AAAAAAAAAA
>>
>>5722424

Give me some credit, anon.

They're each awful in their own special ways.
>>
>>5722459
Yeah I definitely knew that the first one was gonna be the worst. But I gotta hand it to you on the presentation of it. Pretty good job.
>>
>>5722459
I hope you explain how those missions could have ended either once this mission it's over or in the future when knowing isn't going to be some important information...
>>
>>5722479

Thanks, anon.

>>5722494

I probably will once all is said and done. At the very least, if there are specific questions at that time, I'll be more than happy to field them.

Gotta admit, I'm a tad surprised at the lack of speculation as to the identities of the potential contacts besides Killer Moth.

Though it does warm my shriveled heart to see all the shadowrun-esque paranoia.
>>
>>5722500
Going to take a stab that FF is firefly?
>>
>>5722500
>Gotta admit, I'm a tad surprised at the lack of speculation as to the identities of the potential contacts besides Killer Moth.
i was hoping someone else would know cuz for the life of me i cant figure them out
>>
>>5722308
We could always go full professional, murder the goons if they step out of line, i.e start gassing innocents. What are they gonna do, gas us back? We finish the job, but if it's only about killing innocents we bail. If it's a distraction, then we can handle that but not so long as it goes against how we work.

>>5722500
I'm guessing that all 3 are under the same Joker umbrella and the 2 we didn't accept are being carried out by someone else?
>>
>>5722522
I hope our armor is CBRN rated to a degree, they really could gas us back.
>>
>>5721583
Also: Look for another fucking overwatch the perfect ones have countersnipers or worse
>>
>>5722534
Always pick the second best option. The best option is always already accounted for.
>>
>>5722522
What if they're all interconnected to one larger op?
>>
>>5722598
Joker's making a grand return from his staycation in Arkham, perhaps?
>>
>>5722598
What if batmans hiring all the criminals to collaborate and do very public crimes as a training exercise for the bat family or the jla.
Like a final exam for sidekicks to see if they can go out on their own and deal with crises on a local level
I fear gunsmoking barbara again and having batman appear from the shadows behind us
>>
>>5722747
>Batman Shadow War.

>Killer moth was arrested a week ago, the person we saw is Bruce in a batman suit in a killer moth suit.
>The other goons are low level members of the JLA.
>A good number of crimes are orchestrated by superheroes these days to avoid unforeseen variables or too much risk to civilians.
>That's why most villains' plans are stupid.

J0KD0
>>
>>5722752
>waller to batman: perhaps we're not so different, you and i
The dark knight sure is glowing.
>>
>>5721604

So, your sniping goes well enough, but roll me some 1d100+40 to see if you notice anything interesting.

DC: 80 / 105 / 130
>>
Rolled 38 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723013
>>
Rolled 1 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723014
>>
>>5723016

A portent of things to come, I suppose.
>>
Rolled 28 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723013

>>5723014
Well with luck drain we pa-

>>5723016
fuck
>>
>>5723016
AAAAAAAAQAAAAA
>>
>>5723014
>>5723016
>>5723018

That's a critical failure, would you like to burn Roll the Die for another crack at it?

> Yes, use the re-roll.

> No, take the critfail.
>>
>>5723022
Well how bad is the consequence of this roll? Will it have repercussions for the rest of the op? Cause if so then
> Yes, use the re-roll.
>>
>>5723022
> Yes, use the re-roll.
I'd argue not rolling a one on this op is important enough
>>
>>5723016
This is a sign that we should have bailed.

>>5723022
> Yes, use the re-roll.
The "anything interesting" is Batman, isn't it?
>>
>>5723024

I can't delve into that without spoiling it, unfortunately. Crits are usually quite strong whether it be for good or ill.
>>
>>5723031
I'll just go yes then.
>>
>>5723024
>>5723025
>>5723027

Alright, give me another set of 1d100+40

Same DC as before.

inb4 100
>>
Rolled 81 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723036
Inb4 another 1.
>>
Rolled 45 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723036
1 and I neck myself
>>
Rolled 47 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723036

>>5723039
Don't worry homie, I'll do it for you.
>>
>>5723036
>>5723038
With luck drain this is an excellent success yeah?
>>
>>5723038
>>5723039
>>5723040

Looks like you turn it around; that's an excellent success.

Writing.

I'm assuming that your ROE is still to keep things non-lethal when it comes to cops and the like; just let me know if I ever need to pivot.
>>
>>5723042
Would also like to sigil Jack and give him a rundown on the situation.
>>
>>5723044

No problem, I'll fold that in.
>>
>>5723044
>JACK
>MY BULLSHIT SENSORS ARE TINGLING
>>
File: Lunatic.png (135 KB, 249x499)
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>>5723042

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXFJOhLCGIQ

As you adjust your scope and get a feel for the distance and wind speed, your niggling doubts implore you to quickly send Jack a status report via sigil. You decide to keep it short and sweet to avoid from getting overly distracted, the vans could make their move at any moment.

> “Something’s really off about this job, Jack. Need you on standby in case this goes as badly as I think it’s gonna.”

“Understood. I trust your intuition, Sean. Let me know if you need me, and I’ll help however I can.”

With that matter settled, you continue your hasty bout of reconnaissance.

Hmm…look like there’s a pretty solid concentration of uniformed officers positioned near the entrance to City Hall. Seems like they must’ve gotten a tipoff that some trouble was headed their way.

However, the fact that nobody is carrying anything nastier than their service weapon tells you that the warning wasn’t credible enough to warrant a decisive response. Sounds like somebody is getting sacked in the morning.

Still, their negligence is your gain. Doesn’t look like they have any counter-snipers deployed, which is a blessing. Guess SWAT must be busy elsewhere.

One of the goons approaches, and provides you with a radio tuned to some kind of police frequency.

He seems almost confused when you mutter a gruff word of thanks, as he and his buddies ready their own weapons for the inevitable firefight.

When the squealing of tires breaks through the silence of the night, you instinctively know that it’s go time.

You focus on your first target, a relatively fresh-faced patrolman, and put a round right in his arm; sending him spinning to the ground. Don’t think you nicked an artery, he should be fine with a bit of physical therapy. Might not ever play the piano again, but that’s the cost of doing business.

After your shot, the goons open fire as well; albeit far less accurately.

Keeping your ROE in mind, your shots are either close-misses to deter anyone trying to poke their heads out of cover; or non-lethal, but painful shots that’ll put the recipient in traction for a while. Still, it’s better than the morgue.

The radio lights up with the inevitable request for reinforcements.

“Shots fired, shots fired! Requesting immediate backup at Gotham City Hall; under fire by unknown sharpshooters and-SHIT!”

When the van doors slide open and disgorge their hooting occupants, that’s when the troubles really begin for the defenders.

A few figures distinguish themselves amongst the fray; like the insane bastard sporting a jet pack and a flamethrower who comes out of nowhere and torches a trio of officers before taking flight once more. Despite the distance, you can almost make out his gleeful cackles over the lapping of the flames and the hoarse screams of his victims. Christ, what a lunatic.
>>
File: Punk.jpg (990 KB, 1920x2716)
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>>5723079

Another figure that catches your eye is some punk dressed in red hoodie of all things. It looks to be armored somewhat, but it’s still no substitute for the real thing. Despite being reedier and more bookish than the meatheads he’s charging into the fray with, he’s no slouch; manages to beat the absolute shit out a pair of police officers that try to block his path.

Your last observation of note involves some freak in a bizarre breathing apparatus skulking near the side of City Hall. Can’t make out a lot of details from this range, but what you do see must be a trick of the light, because he looks to be covered in rats.

You rub at your eyes and look again, but by then he’s gone.

The policemen are utterly overwhelmed by the furious assault, and are quickly driven inside. In short order, the goons bash down the doors and stream into the building, gunshots still echoing in and around the premises.

For a moment, you lower your Dragunov and catch a quick breather as one of the goons approaches; your hand moves surreptitiously towards your revolver in the case of any funny business.

“Moth has a message for you.” He says, tossing you an earpiece that you covertly inspect before placing it over your ear.

“Good shooting, that was almost too easy. Now that we’re inside; a few teams are fanning out on special jobs. You seem to have your head on straight, so I’ll let you choose where you go.

I’ve got a demolitions team wiring the place and a couple of the hostages to blow as leverage to keep the cops at bay.

Got another team hacking into the local computer network, might be able to do some real damage there.

I’ve also got a team hunting down anybody trying to hide. Can’t afford to let prospective hostages get away.

I’m busy rounding up hostages and keeping them under control, could use the help if you’re up to it.

Or you can stay up there and be my eyes and ears when the pigs make their move.

Pick your poison.”

You’ll…

> Assist with the demolition team.

> Assist with the hunt for any remaining holdouts.

> Assist with crowd control.

> Assist the hackers.

> Hold your position as a lookout.

> Other?
>>
File: Freak.jpg (51 KB, 400x400)
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>>5723080
>>
>>5723080
> Hold your position as a lookout.

Seems unnecessary to move
>>
>>5723080
This is a tough choice...
> Assist with crowd control.
I have a feeling we're gonna get ambushed if we stay up on this perch and I'd like to protect the hostages from these lunatics.
>>
>>5723080
>> Assist the hackers.
HACKERMAN
>>
>Anarky
>Firefly
>Rat Catcher
>Killer Moth
Somehow, the noir larper merc is the most normal one here. Huh.

>>5723079
>He seems almost confused when you mutter a gruff word of thanks
Hearts and minds, guys, hearts and minds.

>>5723080
>Hold your position as a lookout.
>...but be prepared to assist if needed
It'd be good not to tie ourselves up just yet
>>
>>5723080
>Hold your position as a lookout
Keep an eye out for anything that might interfere. Could our thermal sight help out here?
>>
>>5723080
> Hold your position as a lookout.

>>5723090
Sean's probably one of the few bad guys in Gotham who isn't a deranged psychopath or malformed freak.
>>
>>5723080
>> Hold your position as a lookout.
>>
>>5723080
>>5723088
I'll change to
> Hold your position as a lookout.
to move this along.
>>
>>5723080
> Hold your position as a lookout
>>
Rolled 4 (1d4)

>>5723090
>>5723094
>>5723096
>>5723098
>>5723103
>>5723104

Alright, looks like you're going to maintain your overwatch position at the clocktower.

Pay no attention to this roll.
>>
>>5723110
oh fuck we got 4 heros incoming
>>
>>5723110
>>5723112
Is that the quantity or is it the selection like >>5721470 was?
>>
Rolled 19, 87 + 75 = 181 (2d100 + 75)

>>5723110

Okay, give me some 1d100+40

> DC to be determined.
>>
Rolled 73 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723114
fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck
>>
Rolled 79 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723114
>That modifier
Fucking hell.
>>
>>5723113

It's a little of both.
>>
Rolled 93 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723114
>>
roll already you little bitches
>>
Rolled 53 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5723114
numbers
>>
Rolled 49, 20 + 80 = 149 (2d100 + 80)

>>5723116
>>5723117
>>5723121

That's a failure, but not by much.

Go ahead and throw me some 1d100+60

> DC to be determined.
>>
>>5723114
Can the goons we have next to us help?
>>
Rolled 24 + 60 (1d100 + 60)

>>5723124
>>
Rolled 37 + 60 (1d100 + 60)

>>5723124
>>
>>5723125

That was a perception roll; if you missed it, they certainly did.

In combat though, they can do their best to help.
>>
Rolled 96 + 60 (1d100 + 60)

>>5723124
Bobo was able to contribute I mean.
>>
>>5723131
thank fucking god
>>
>>5723130
Fair enough.

>>5723131
Damn, wish I rolled like that every time.
>>
>>5723131
Clutch
>>
>>5723128
>>5723129
>>5723131

Success, writing.
>>
>>5723137

> “I’ll hold my position up here, at least for now.”

“Suit yourself. More fun for the rest of us. You see anything weird, just give me a shout.”

The earpiece falls silent as you continue watching the perimeter.

After about ten minutes or so, the fuzz have the surrounding areas barricaded and cordoned off; looks like the district is totally boxed in.

A couple cop cars try to circle around City Hall proper, but a few warning shots send them scurrying with their tails between their legs.


All of a sudden, there’s a flicker of movement in your peripheral vision, but it’s gone when you turn to focus on it.

Just to be safe, you give the area a once-over with Thermal Sight, but only spot a bunch of pigeons. Damned flying rats, not even gunfire manages to spook em off.

Guess it must’ve been the wind playing tricks on you, or your nerves making you a bit jumpy.

Something about this whole operation has you twisted in knots.

Like there’s an invisible thread of connections linking the facts together for a purpose you can’t quite figure out.

Before you know it, there’s a faint wooshing noise that triggers your fight-or-flight instinct. Operating on pure reflex, you dive away from your sniper perch, narrowly avoiding a savage aerial courtesy of a cloaked figure. The goons go to open fire, but they’re all disarmed by a flurry of thrown projectiles.

A glimmer of moonlight washes across your assailant, revealing their costumed form.

Well, looks like you’ve gone and stepped in it now.
>>
>>5723161

It’s Robin.

You’ve beaten him before, but there’s no way he’s here alone. Still, that’s a problem for later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Z96WwZrL0

“Well, what have we got here? Looks like you’ve found some new friends, Gunsmoke. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to hang out with the wrong type of crowd?”

> “How clever. How’s the face doing? Glad to see that the doctors to stitch that mug of yours back together.”

“You got a lucky shot it. It won’t happen again.”

> “Call it whatever you’d like, it ended with me kicking the shit out of you. I’m busy tonight, why don’t you run along before I have to ruin all of their hard work.”

He glowers at your jab, probably realizing that you’re just trying to get him off his game.

“The real question is; what are you doing here? You’re a little bush league for a job like this, don’t you think?”

> “Do you honestly expect me to answer that?”

“It was worth a shot. Guess I’ll just have to make you talk.”

> “Standing right here, Batboy. Make my night, I could use the hazard pay.”

Your backup is chomping at the bit to join in, but there could be value in keeping them back for now. It wouldn’t shock you to know that the Bats know all sorts of ways to use the strength of numbers against their opponents.

Alternatively, you could dogpile him if you coordinate things well enough.

Decisions, decisions.

In the end, you…

> Handle Robin on your lonesome and keep the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.

> Gang up on Robin with the aid of the goons. If somebody calls it a cheap shot, that’s just because it’s effective.

> Other?
>>
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>>5723165

(Forgot my pic)
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>>5723165
>> Gang up on Robin with the aid of the goons. If somebody calls it a cheap shot, that’s just because it’s effective.
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>>5723165
> Handle Robin mostly on your lonesome and keep the majority of the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.
Have most of them keep a lookout but have two form a triangle with us with Robin at the center. I think this will work better than every one trying to dogpile and blocking each other's attacks.
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>>5723165
>Handle Robin on your lonesome and keep the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.
Have them report that the bat family is on the premises to KM and then either leave to reinforce another squad or just get out while the gettings good. We'll keep at least one locked down as long as we can plus we have Jack to bail us out if things go south.
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>>5723165
>Handle Robin on your lonesome and keep the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.
Thinking like a bat, they've likely split to cover multiple bases. Robin is likely alone, you don't put heavy-hitters on overwatch so there shouldn't have been much risk for him.

We're working on limited time. Let's make the most of it!
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>>5723165
> Handle Robin mostly on your lonesome and keep the majority of the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.

And additionally, extend luck drain to them to boost like there's no tomorrow.
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>>5723165
> Handle Robin on your lonesome and keep the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.
>Activate luck drain.
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>>5723161
>>5723165
Also wtf happened to Robin? I don't remember his modifiers being so high.
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>>5723165
>> Handle Robin on your lonesome and keep the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.
>>5723192
hes been training to get us anon
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>>5723193
I gathered that but up to +75 and +80? I want his training regimen.
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>>5723195
we've been splitting our training between physical and magical, what did you expect?
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>>5723192
>>5723195

Keep in mind, he also had the drop on you. That goes a long way.
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>>5723196
A slight increase? He's been around for a long time right? If he got this much better since we last fought then shouldn't he have been at Batman level?
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>>5723198
Fair enough. Though that would mean it will decrease significantly yeah?
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>>5723200
>>5723196
thats what happens when we take a vacation.
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>>5723202

Yeah, quite a bit. He's not gonna be a pushover or anything, but he's already blown his best opportunity to get his licks in.
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>>5723165
> Handle Robin mostly on your lonesome and keep the majority of the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.
>>
That's all for tonight, anons. I'll tally the votes in a little while, need to leave the computer for a while. As always, thanks for playing! We'll pick up from here on Wednesday at 5:00 PM EST.
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>>5723202
I think when it comes to physicals we'll be ever so slightly stronger, but he'll be significantly more agile. Just cause he's younger and Sean's actually pretty built. That is if we aren't subtly getting juiced by the Claw. In which case we can manhandle him. His hand to hand skill is probably still better than ours in a technical sense, too.

The batfamily take their gym days very seriously.
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>>5723165

> Handle Robin on your lonesome and keep the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.

Also give a sit-rep to killer moth. Unable to provide overwatch as Bat-Family is currently engaged. Big Boss likely already in building, sending goons down to you. Fighting Robin, will be unable to answer.

Goons will likely only get in the way more for Gunsmoke than Robin, as he won't go all out if the Goons are likely to get hurt. Tying up Robin Mano-A-Mano is the most effective use of resources at this stage and we do not need to win against him, merely buy time.

But were gonna win anyway, and he could be used as a hostage against Bat Prime.
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>>5723216
After this job i want to look like a baki the grappler character.
We need to workout with bane
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>>5723231
Personally, I'd like Sean to look like this dapper unit of a man. Natty /fit/ all the way.
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>>5723231
Working out with Bane would probably actually be great. He knows his stuff. But we'd need to shave off like 95% of whatever our bodyfat is to look like a Baki character.

Exercise routine with Bane, mobility training with Catwoman, business lessons with Peng- shit.

>>5723236
Honestly, that's like a classic comic character look, too. What a lad.
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We should alert everyone else that the batfamily is hot on our ass, if they dont know already. Also, bush league? Us? Really?
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>>5723280
It's just some pre-fight bants. He feels the need to do so because we just juked him despite not knowing he was there. Has to soothe his ego. It didn't work because you can't out-shittalk a marine, even if he's being kid-friendly with it.
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>>5723165
>> Handle Robin on your lonesome and keep the Penguin goons in reserve for now. They’ll just get in your way.

We can do it!

>If we fight alone, Batman's spirit possesses Dick's body, they break our faces and we end up arrested.
>>
Just remember, he's standing between us and burning Belle Reve to the ground.
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>>5723313
>In a swamp.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, my fellow anon.
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>>5723313
We should probably get onto that soon actually. Don't want to leave everyone hanging because we were too busy escaping from Arkham instead.
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>>5723335
If it's hot enough, even wet terrain won't stop the blaze. Just get stronger fire.

That being said, this reminded me of Killer Croc. We should invite him to work at the detective agency with Bobo and us. Then we could call ourselves Croc, Bobo and Thema Investigators, C.B.T. Investigators for short.
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>>5723346
>Killer Croc become a hero saving prisoners while we fight.
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>>5723345
I figured the 'agenda' was
>Get Jack his rest
>Build up Steel Wolves
>Detective Agency with Bobo
>Use acquired capital and power to destroy the glowies behind Task Force X
>Find a way to fix our luck with women
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>>5723362
>>Reach Godhood to find a way to fix our luck with women
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>>5723362
We did promise Shade to come back and give him a chance to cap some fools at the joint. We have to go back and blow up the walls eventually.

Also
>use acquired capital and power to destroy the glowies behind TFX
Bruh we ain't toppling the U.S. fucking government like that. And we all know that feds won't let other feds get their just desserts. We'd have to bring down the entire gubmint to do it that way. Better to just ice some dudes, liberate some buds, and get the hell outta dodge.
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>>5723368
>We'd have to bring down the entire gubmint to do it that way.
I FUCKING LOVE WAR, I LOVE KILLING PEOPLE AND DESTROYING HISTORY AND CULTURE

kek, but you get what I mean. Somehow shit on TFX very hard. Maybe drop something to the presses eventually.
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>>5723375
>All I'm saying is; Give war a chance! - a man very in touch with his inner child
We could drop some stuff to the press, but we could also drop it directly to the blue boyscout. Batman might be able to turn a blind eye while trying to dismantle Waller's shitshow subtly, but Supes will probably be a bit more direct in asking the people in charge to cut it out. Maybe even GL. He's hotheaded enough most of the time.

We still have to give him shit for being in the chairforce by the by.
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>>5723362
I figure the best way to build up the Steel Wolves is to recruit a bunch of people straight out of Task Force X. Or we could use the Steel Wolves to help break them out. Either way is good.

>>5723391
>Get Jonah Thema recruited into the JL.
>Use our criminal connections to blow the whistle on a bunch of bad guys we don't like
>Use our JL connections to get early warning when they come for our alter-egos
Perfect plan that won't ever go wrong.
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>>5723395
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>>5723335
Napalm sticks to gmen
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>>5723362
Knock out two birds with one stone, ask that librarian gal out on a date.
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>>5723417
>anon's long-shot to-do list

>date batgirl
>help croc become a functioning member of distant society
>get jinx to call us dad by mistake
>give batman an aneurysm with superb disguise game
>get thoth some bitches
>become an alternative (and better) SHAZAM
>conquer sean's depression
>meet krypto with bobo
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>>5723424
Totally do-able list man. You forgot the paranormal investigation firm with bobo we got to start up.
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>>5723463
That's not a long shot though. No pipe dream is it. It is a certainty. We're not going to let our great ape down. And honestly it's more that we're putting a name down so that people can't try to bullshit him in any way. Lots of laws suppose a -human- as subject unless specified. And plenty of people will just try to shrug off a chimp detective as a sideshow cash grab spectacle instead of a reputable investigative source.

But having a hugh man be the face pretty much bypasses all of that. And Sean flat out has the guts to tell people who don't want to pay that he'll break their fucking knees which helps. No one wants to bullshit someone with THAT kind of a look in their eye, you know?
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>>5723395
I think it would be really funny to have clayface pretend to be gunsmoke or adjutant tango and commit silver age crimes like stealing cakes from a bakery
Just to keep batman on his toes
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>>5723488
>So he stole some cake, so what?
>It was FORTY CAKES, Robin. That's as many as four tens, and that's horrible.
I wonder if Clayface would actually be down for just doing what amount to nuisances or practical jokes. Obviously if you paid him enough, but just as a general rule if he'd get a kick out of doing something low key for funsies like that.

>How did you know I wasn't the real Gunsmoke?
>You didn't shoot me in the knees.
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>>5723424
>date batgirl
I need this to happen
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>>5723424
Remember that spirit from the tomb with the scrolls of Hercleum? Can we get that guy a computer and some internet and a phone so he can become a power-editor on Wikipedia? Maybe teach him to hack?
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>>5723753
Pretty sure we already did that.
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>>5723755
We did? Good!
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>>5723493

Reading your post has given me a pretty good idea.

>hire clayface to do a job for us, has to look like us fully armed and armored.
>hire a bunch of guys to go with him.
>have a bunch of shit loaded up in the back of a van.
>visible green canisters.
>have him go to the biggest orphanage in the city and have them take it over and take control.
>have the head of the place call in the cops.
>Bait the bat family out, orphanage under siege by criminal gangs!!!

Bat family shows up, takes down the goons, confronts clayface. Bonus if clayface looks like the Joker when he walks in and does the classic Joker laugh when the head of the place calls the cops.

>turns out the goons were actors who were hired to act like gang members.
>turns out the stuff in the van was for a donation to the orphanage of food, money, party supplies, game consoles, etc.
>Turns out clayface was hired to entertain the kids while it looked like the siege was going on outside.
>Turns out the head of the Orphanage was in on it, asked to dial 911 to help out the scene.

I'm pretty sure we could set it up in such a way that Clayface was hired to do an acting job, the head of the orphanage was instructed not to tell the staff/anyone else to sell the scene due to an eccentric filmmaker, and that the call to the cops was to help sell the shot. Meanwhile, we can record the entire confrontation from the roof of a building/apartment to study how Batman and his family attack compounds like this as well as record Gotham PD and their response times.

Meanwhile, we steal the big thing we needed to steal from somewhere within gotham (bank, weapons, ammo, etc.) while this is happening.
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>>5723926

In all, we would have to spend maybe $50k to sell a distraction, or $100k to do it along with donations to an orphanage and we can walk away with a massive bank robbery or whatever else and intel on how the Bat family operate (like Bane did in his first comic appearance).
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>>5723926
Why we would have to pay and plan for all this shit when it happen for free every two weeks?
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>>5723956
For the satisfaction of course.
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>>5724020
Is that you Bruce? Or Lock?
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>>5723424
>long shot
Anon we've got a decent chance, we just have to chat her up as Jonah Thema. and pray she doesn't remember us from anywhere
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>>5724050
Giving kids an early Christmas is way too nice to be glowville. Now, if he said murdering a few kids to further our goals you'd be 100% right.

>>5724054
>that trench coat.. so familiar
>Oh hey, I'm going to a uh, costume party. It's gangster themed. Nyeh see?
>That's why it's familiar, I was watching old detective movies recently!
The smoothest of moves requires the sauciest of spaghettis.
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I know I probably have no ground what so ever in this, but my fellow anons, consider Martian Woman. One of my personal favorites from the old show.
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>>5724129
Dude we set her on fire.
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>>5724129
She is really cute, but just being near her is a danger as long as we don't have a competent mental shield.

Alien Cosplay girlfriend is worth of the training tho.
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>>5724166
We do like our women hot, also she hurt our bro and we cant simply let that slide.
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>>5724129
>>5724166
To be fair we should probably have even less of a chance with Batgirl given we kneecapped her like twice or something. That being said, MM is still a big no because of the mind reading bullshit, and because I will accept no one other than Babs.
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>>5724270
I propose a deal, bag Miss Martian and get her to fuse minds with batgirl. We can both get what we want.
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>>5724296
The wacky silly fun times have stopped.
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>>5724312
For now, never say never man. Sean needs more wacky and light hearted stuff, even if we just got off vacation.
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>>5724319
Nah I mean that shit was weirdly sinister kek like real supervillain hours type shit.
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>>5724322
Reading it back, yeah it takes a different type of special to type that out and say, "yeah this is totally light hearted and non-malicious."
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>>5724327
It's all good man. You're just the Gunsmoke in Sean's head.
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>>5724333
if you think about it, every single PC on qst is a schizo
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>>5724554
It's an epidemic. A true tragedy.
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I would say we should train more into mental barriers for MM, but because Sean doesn't know about those psych powers it's just a matter of time that after we take Babs on a date, her misterious best friend just come to say hi, look at us scared as fuck, take babs to talk, and after they hastly say goodbye just around the corner a bunch of kids just comes out of nowhere dive kicking us
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>>5724887
i've already suggested it and we figured that our defenses worked just fine last time, we were just pissed.
First things first, I wanna train fully on Enhanced Perception and get more detective lessons with Bobo, never getting jumped by boy blunder again,
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>>5724901
We should really start putting the Bat family out of business while we are at it. Stop crime and snatch up some recruits to start establishing a base of real power in Gothem.
Whats he gonna gonna do? Beat us for being better at his job? While turning around lives to boot.
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>>5724901
Imagine robin on top of a building and sean sneaks up on him brooding and hits him with an RKO.
I think mental barriers help us with several things like magical stuff and demons so I don't think its too out there to study on it.
Maybe one day we will do the batman training and study with monks
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>>5724907
I don't think we can truly fix Gotham. The best we can do is get rid of the more chaotic criminal elements and leave the ones that actually know how to keep their shit organized instead. All while poaching good recruits and taking them out of a life of crime. But we can't really fix the city. Short of killing just about everyone in it of course.

>>5724908
Yeah, after Bitchmade McGeee the boy who sold his soul to the devil was dropping bombs about Hell coming to get us, looking into getting some anti-brain tricks is a given. Everyone knows Satan gets in your head and fucks with you. So getting some method of fortitude to tell the demons to fuck off is a no-brainer. That and the stunning regularity in which Sean gets pulled into psycho-worlds full of wacky shit. It just makes sense.

We should ask Thoth about it sometime.
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>>5724912
>get rid of the more chaotic criminal elements
You got a list?
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>>5724921
Probably Joker, Two Face, Scarecrown... The unpredictable and/or terroristic lot.
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>>5724921
>>5724925
Yeah, dudes like that. The fanatics and stuff, too. Penguin is a little prick, but he's still only in it for the money and ego boost. Bane is a bit of a might is right psycho, but he's still disciplined and rational. Mr. Freeze isn't actually a bad dude, just an extremely driven one. They cause trouble but they don't go out on killing sprees just because it's the third wednesday of the month. And they mostly just butt heads. We can leave them alone.

But cats like Zsasz have got to go. And probably Ra's and the like, too, honestly. Those world domination types tend to get a lot of people killed for no reason.

But we shouldn't go out killing all the rogues, anon. We'll run out pretty quick. I mean look at what we did to half the squad's heavy hitters on a single op. Poor Killer Frost, she was hot for being so cold.
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>>5724912
Yeah, I see your point. No fixing what is fundamentally broken, though assassinations on various rouges does sound like fun. Also kinda fits with Bobo wanting us to do more heroics. Should probably ask his option on that given the chance.

>>5724940
Cutting up Gotham between the various rational factions also sounds like a good plotline.
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>>5725023
"So Bobo, remember how you said you wanted me to do more heroics"

Sean comes in with a bag of villain heads

"What do you mean not like that?"
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>>5725023
>No fixing what is fundamentally broken, though assassinations on various rouges does sound like fun. Also kinda fits with Bobo wanting us to do more heroics.

>Also kinda fits with Bobo wanting us to do more heroics.
>kinda

This is not the middle ages, anon. The standards to be a hero here are very specific.
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Sorry for namefagging
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>>5725077
I think bobo should only see the bad guys we put in jail. Lets dissappear all the psychos and mass murderers
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>>5725655
Tfw red hood gets pissed
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>>5726062
Red Hood would probably ask where he can sign up.
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>>5726591
>In his quest to kill Batman, the Arkham Knight assembled an army of mercenaries of various origin, trained to defeat Batman - one training site was located in Venezuela
Huh.
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>>5726618
Now I'm just picturing that Cap and Bucky fight against Iron Man but it's Sean and Red Hood tag teaming Batman.
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>>5726618
You know, I wouldn't be surprised if RH came looking for Gunsmoke specifically despite him being a criminal because so far he hasn't killed any innocent people. But he has killed some killers.
>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ptON-N7k0Q

Given a well-coordinated squad, you’d organize a bit of fancy footwork to avoid a crossfire; use em to box Robin in.

However, all you’ve got to work with tonight are a gang of twitchy hatchet-men.

Best to shuffle them out of the rotation before things get too dicey, it’d be a waste of manpower and may even worsen your chances for victory.

Without taking your eyes off of Robin, you address your backup.

> “I’ll handle this, get out of here and link up with the others. Warn em that we’ve got company and that I’ll report in soon.”

“Bu-“

> “I’m not going to repeat myself. You have your orders; I’ll catch up when I’m done here.”

Your tone becomes frigid, as it is wont to do when faced with any manner of insubordination from those under your command.

> ”Dismissed.”

Robin maintains his staredown with you as the goons reluctantly begin to pull back.

He’s practically itching to stop them, but he knows that if he breaks focus to target one, he’ll be leaving himself open for a counterblow from you.

So, he just waits, spending the time by trying to pick apart holes in your form. At least, that’s what you’re doing.

Suddenly, he speaks.

“Well, you’re certainly one of the more confident thugs I’ve met.”

While it’s phrased like a joking insult, you can detect a distinct note of confusion and wariness.

> “Eh, maybe I’m just in a generous mood. Or maybe I don’t want you to have any excuses to lean on when I put you back in the hospital.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to reflect on it in your cell at Blackgate.”

Under the helmet, your lips curl into a faint snarl.

> “Spoken like a true flunky. We gonna do this or what? My dinner’s getting cold.”

“You could just come quietly and save yourself the trouble.”

> “And you could fuck off back into the night and leave me alone. Think I saw a cat struck in a tree a few blocks from here. Might be a bit much for you, but we all start somewhere.”

Oh, he didn’t like that one.

Guess the time for banter and chit-chat are over.

What’s your play?

You….

> Throw your Dragunov at him, and move in close for a bit of CQC. He’s fast, but he’s done for if you can get a solid enough rhythm going.

> Say something that’ll get him off his game. He’s got a temper, and you’ve got firsthand experience of the situations that can put you in; just need to find the right button to press. (Include a topic / general outline of comment)

> Quickdraw your revolver and nail him someplace sensitive. We’ll see how cocky he is after a Dirty Harry special.

> Toss a frag grenade at his feet. His fancy armor should be able to handle it.

> Cast a spell. Might be tipping your hand early, but you can’t afford to waste time. (Specify.)

> Other?
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>>5727281
> Throw your Dragunov at him, and move in close for a bit of CQC. He’s fast, but he’s done for if you can get a solid enough rhythm going.
Beat his ass
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>>5727281
>Try to go for a quick shot with the Draugonov. Probably won't hit, but if it does, it'll really ruin his day.
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>>5727281
> Quickdraw your revolver and nail him someplace sensitive. We’ll see how cocky he is after a Dirty Harry special.
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>>5727281
Can we throw the dragunov at him and then Quickdraw to shoot wherever he dodges to?
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>>5727294

I'm fine with that.
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>>5727281
> Say something that’ll get him off his game. He’s got a temper, and you’ve got firsthand experience of the situations that can put you in; just need to find the right button to press. (Include a topic / general outline of comment)
>"So why do they have you up here? Did they think you weren't strong enough to fight the big dogs?"
Or something like that. Take advantage of his insecurity!
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>>5727281
> Throw your Dragunov at him, and move in close for a bit of CQC. He’s fast, but he’s done for if you can get a solid enough rhythm going.

Tasty.
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Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5727288
>>5727297

Move in for CQC.

>>5727292
>>5727294

Quickdraw.

Rolling a tiebreaker, 1 = CQC; 2 = GUN
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Rolled 35, 5 + 45 = 85 (2d100 + 45)

Okay, give me some 1d100+20

> DC to be determined.
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Rolled 22 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5727302
Hahahahahahaha!
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Rolled 16 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5727302
AIM FOR THE KNEES
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>>5727304
I guess the joke was on me.
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Rolled 49 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5727302
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>>5727305
And on you. Somebody save this!
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>>5727308
And with luck drain that's a pass!
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Rolled 66, 39 + 50 = 155 (2d100 + 50)

>>5727304
>>5727305
>>5727308

Looks like Luck Drain squeaked it into a success.

Give me a set of 1d100+40

> DC to be determined.

(No Luck Drain bonus on this one, for reasons that will be made clear)
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Rolled 59 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5727312
>>
Rolled 80 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5727312
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>>5727312
QM always picking the most soild OSTs.
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Rolled 96 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5727317
Messed up the command
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>>5727317

Always had a soft spot for Furi. Especially this particular boss fight.
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Rolled 92 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5727312
Go forth.
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>>5727320
The Beat was my favorite but this comes close second. Gotta try 100% that game.
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>>5727312
tfw Zattana is involved
inb4 everything goes to proper shit with a city hall heist turning into a proper gotham-wide shitshow with the whole gallery
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>>5727315
>>5727316
>>5727319

Well rolled, that's a success.

Luck Drain is now back in effect; how would you like to counter Robin's failed attempt at another ambush?

> Intercept his attack with a tackle of your own; take him to the ground and drive your elbow into his throat. If he’s off his feet, he’s done for.

> Grab him mid-jump and bash him against the internal mechanisms of the clocktower. There’s a joke to made here about ringing his bell.

> Let his attack connect, but soldier through it and lock him in a clinch. Then, crack him directly in the face with potentially the most savage headbutt you’ve ever unleashed.

> Wait until he closes the gap, then nail him square in the jaw with the brass knuckles of your trench knife. He should count himself lucky that you’re not eager to use the business end.

> Other?
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>>5727332
> Grab him mid-jump and bash him against the internal mechanisms of the clocktower. There’s a joke to made here about ringing his bell.
Tie boywonder in his own cape while we are at it, didnt he watch incredibles?
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>>5727332
>> Wait until he closes the gap, then nail him square in the jaw with the brass knuckles of your trench knife. He should count himself lucky that you’re not eager to use the business end.

Going for the non-lethal when we could've gone for the lethal should throw him off a bit more
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>>5727332
> Grab him mid-jump and bash him against the internal mechanisms of the clocktower. There’s a joke to made here about ringing his bell.
BOY BLUNDER
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>>5727332
>> Grab him mid-jump and bash him against the internal mechanisms of the clocktower. There’s a joke to made here about ringing his bell.
You know the worst thing about jumping at someone? The momentum.
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>>5727332
>> Grab him mid-jump and bash him against the internal mechanisms of the clocktower. There’s a joke to made here about ringing his bell.
>>
>>5727335
It really shouldn't. For all the shit we've done, the bat computer has logged we don't go for kill moves with innocents/heros. We've had plenty of opportunities to kill heros/cops but haven't.

Our lethal attacks are more in terms of using what's available.

>>5727332
> Grab him mid-jump and bash him against the internal mechanisms of the clocktower. There’s a joke to made here about ringing his bell.

Tbh, if his cape gets stuck and jams into the clock tower it'd be pretty funny.

Also we might be able to transition back into talking for only a bit. IE: we have no idea what this job is and the big hitters are coming out of the woodwork for it. The fuck is going on?
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>>5727332
> Grab him mid-jump and bash him against the internal mechanisms of the clocktower. There’s a joke to made here about ringing his bell.
BEAT. HIS. ASS.
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>>5727344
+1, also for the bit spooked about heavy hitters
>>
>>5727332
>> Grab him mid-jump and bash him against the internal mechanisms of the clocktower. There’s a joke to made here about ringing his bell.
>>
Rolled 31, 44 + 40 = 115 (2d100 + 40)

>>5727334
>>5727336
>>5727339
>>5727342
>>5727344
>>5727345
>>5727353
>>5727364

Alright, give me some 1d100+30

> DC to be determined.
>>
Rolled 90 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>5727365
>>
Rolled 65 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>5727365
Why are his modifiers always higher than ours? Wasn't our CQC modifier +60?
>>
Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>5727365

Man, I am jobbing tonight.

This is just a test roll to get the bad luck out.
>>
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>>5727366
>>
Rolled 4 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>5727365
>>
>>5727369
Its not you, simply in blunders nature to job to us.
>>
>>5727368
No it wasn't it's 35. What the fuck am I on about?
>>
>>5727369
the dice balanced itself after the beating Pandion gave to us
>>
>>5727369
>>5727368
>>5727366
LMAO BELL IS RUNG
>>
RIP Tim Drake's self-esteem
>>
>>5727369
Looks like you got the good luck out instead kek
>>
Rolled 85 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

Probably not needed, but just to see how badly we hurt his feelings.
>>
>>5727374
I see now, looking at the Pandion fight it goes all over the place. from +30 to +80, I want to know how this works. Is it just the values from the different styles stacking depending on the move?
>>
>>5727368
check the pastebin, we get different cqc modifiers depending on our fighting style and actions. for striking we got +80, for grappling we got +35 and for this throw we got +30
>>
Rolled 85, 98 + 10 = 193 (2d100 + 10)

>>5727366
>>5727368
>>5727371

That's quite the embarrassing failure for Robin.

Go ahead and give me some 1d100+20 to really make it sting with a bit of humor at his expense.

Feel free to offer a punchline if'n you so choose.

> DC to be determined.
>>5727368

I was counting this as an environmental attack, hence the MCMAP bonus.

In terms of modifier stuff, I'm keeping a fair few things in mind. He's got a decent wound, and you've caught him lacking. However, he is still a very well-trained martial artist and you're doing this without any of your aces.
>>
Rolled 17 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5727385
>>
Rolled 60 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5727385
There's that Axis luck again!
>>
Rolled 94 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5727385
>Think the Bat's gonna put you on suicide watch after this?
>>
Rolled 97 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5727385
>>
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>>5727389
Yes, yes he will.
>>
Rolled 44 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5727385
Shit.

I'll be real, I find it hard to keep track of boni. There's a lot of individual ones. Like here, I have no idea what gives us 20.

>>5727389
>"He sent the little bird to fly, but he crashed instead."
>>
>>5727385
>TIME TO GET YOUR BELL RUNG
or something along those lines. TWELVE BONGS
>>
>>5727385
>>5727389
Wow! At least you have a future as a punching bag!
Or
Time for a robin to fall from the nest!
>>
>>5727385
>>5727389
>You've got a bird theme but you fight like a bitch
>>
>>5727385
Don't stick him with a punchline or anything, just offer constructive criticism to what he's doing wrong. I think we did this sometime else and it was funny.
>>
Honestly this is such a shitshow for Robin. Not only did he get no-sold IN HIS ELEMENT, he then got shellacked after trying to get back into his wheelhouse, and on top of that he's getting slapped so easily that the guy he's fighting has time to crack jokes at his expense.

Total Ego death imminent.
>>
>>5727399
>Rule number 1, lose the cape
>Rule number 2, dont throw attacks you cant recover from
>Rule number 3, focus on the fight not your grudge

>Didnt Batman train you better then this? I almost feel bad, ought send you right back to boot camp.
>>
At this point just sit down and have this as a serious conversation like >>5727399 said. Better then any one liner. Getting coached by the enemy.
>>
>>5727385
If we actually manage to stick him to the clock mechanisms

"Guess you really are just a child stuck in time boy blunder"

Follow up with critiques on having a cape, being overly aggressive, and fighting conservatively vs moves that can't be recovered.

Really would wanna get an opportunity to get some info on what the current situation is without severely injuring him.
>>
>>5727387
>>5727388
>>5727389

And despite all of his rage, he was still but a Bat in a cage.

Man, this is going exceedingly poorly for him.

Now that he's been goaded into doing something stupid, how would you like to conclude your bout?

> Shoot him in the leg and pistol-whip him. It'll hurt like a motherfucker, but lessons need to sting for them to stick.

> Give him a old-fashioned boot to the face. He'll definitely be feeling that in the morning; might even rough up his face again.

> Bulldoze him into the safety railing. It'll definitely leave one heck of a bruise.

> Pick him up, and physically throw him off the clocktower. He'll probably be fine if you aim for something to cushion the fall.

> Other?


>>5727394

"When no one was looking, Gunsmoke gave Robin twelve bongs. He gave 12 bongs. That's as much as four threes. And that's terrible."


>>5727399

To be fair, that was a critfail for speaking. And it was so obnoxious that it resulted in the recipient trying to murderize you.
>>
For reference, him getting stuck in the clock mechanism entirely would've taken a crit of some kind.

Unless that's the write-in for the finishing move, in which case I'll allow it.
>>
>>5727409
> Bulldoze him into the safety railing. It'll definitely leave one heck of a bruise.
>>
>>5727409
> Pick him up, and physically throw him off the clocktower. He'll probably be fine if you aim for something to cushion the fall.
>’Looks like you’re outta time Kid’
>>
>>5727409
>>5727410
Beyond the clockwork takedown, the idea of snatching his own weapons and beating him down with them does come to mind.
>Grab a few batrangs and stick them in his knees.
>>
>>5727409
>> Shoot him in the leg and pistol-whip him. It'll hurt like a motherfucker, but lessons need to sting for them to stick.
I like our leg finisher.
>>
>>5727409
> Shoot him in the leg and pistol-whip him. It'll hurt like a motherfucker, but lessons need to sting for them to stick.
I'd like to have the opportunity to talk to him for a bit.
>>
We should have had a grunt say behind to record this beatdown. Another one for future recruit propaganda.
>>
>>5727409
> Shoot him in the leg and pistol-whip him. It'll hurt like a motherfucker, but lessons need to sting for them to stick.
It's kinda our shtick, innit?
>>5727409
Critfail for speaking for us or for him?
>>
>>5727416
A good pistol whip usually doesn't leave people up to having a good conversation, you know? I mean I guess we could tie him up with his own grapnel or cape or something after til he wakes up or isn't so groggy. But still.
>>
>>5727409
> Bulldoze him into the safety railing. It'll definitely leave one heck of a bruise.

>>5727418
We got a double crit, it was wild.
>>
>>5727414
We really don't need to KO him. Our job is overwatch, and Robin's a hero.

He should have restraints on him that we can tie him up/lock him up with. Just stick him to the clock mechanism and 'interrogate' him.

Not enhanced interrogation; just talk to him a bit.
Most of these moves would hurt him much more than we need and could get batman on our ass. It'd also deprive us of the ability to ask him the fuck's going on given he'd be in incredible pain at the least.
>>
>>5727421
Of course, but the other options lead to no conversation at all.
>>
>>5727409
>Actually get him stuck in the clock tower. Then secure his hands and legs for good measure.
Whoops, forgot to vote. I want to string him up for the rest of the family to find.
>>
>>5727418

If I recall, you were attempting to calm her down or something.

And critfailed, leading to a very detailed critique of her weapons, operational posture, tactics, etc.

This led to a fight where you ended up whacking her.

Sean has unironically fumbled the spaghetti like a fiend in his last three-ish convos with a woman.
>>
>>5727409
>Actually get him stuck in the clock tower. Then secure his hands and legs for good measure.
I'd vote for this if it got enough support.
>>
>>5727409
Kek
> Shoot him in the leg and pistol-whip him. It'll hurt like a motherfucker, but lessons need to sting for them to stick.
WHEN WILL YOU LEARN
THAT YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES?
>>
>>5727423
If y'all wanna brutalize him AFTER getting info, then sure I guess. But this is an ez time to get info on what the situation really is. Why remove the ability to get something when it costs nothing?

Getting him stuck with the mechanism/tying him up doesn't stop us from shooting him in the leg after so he can't run after us when he breaks out of it.
>>
>>5727432
Yeah thats fair,
>>5727413
Changing to >> >Actually get him stuck in the clock tower. Then secure his hands and legs for good measure.
>>
>>5727409
>>5727432
>>5727434
It's 3 for 3 between the Bab Special and the Edna Mode.
>>
>>5727430
>>5727409
I've been convinced, I'd like to change my vote to
>Actually get him stuck in the clock tower. Then secure his hands and legs for good measure.
>>
>>5727426
it'd be beautiful if we left him KO'd hanging upside down tied up arkham style to the clocktower hand...

But there's a real chance the joker goons will start using him there as target practice, so not really a valid move
>>
Alright, give me a moment to tally things up.

I want to say that the "CAPE STUCK, CAPE STUCK. PLEASE I BEG YOU" option was the victor, but my ability to count on the fly is notoriously bad.
>>
>>5727409
> Give him a old-fashioned boot to the face. He'll definitely be feeling that in the morning; might even rough up his face again.

Babs get kneecaps thunder, boyblunder gets a facelift wonder!
>>
>>5727444
It is the victor with anon's >>5727439 change of choice.
>>
>>5727444
Please jack his phone and change its ringtone to that of a bell. Or just record the bell hes tied to and set that as his ringtone!
>>
>>5727444
Please include cape stuck
>>
>>5727443
They probably wouldn't even notice him. Goons are notoriously bad at spotting things.
>>
Rolled 75, 95 + 10 = 180 (2d100 + 10)

>>5727444

Okay, looks like you'll be attempting to teach Robin the value of tangle-free outfit design.

Roll me some 1d100+30

> DC to be determined.
>>
>>5727409
> Other: Grab his hair and slam his head into the railing. After he's unconcious, steal his shoes.
>>
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Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>5727451
>95
jesus this guy
>>
Rolled 9 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>5727451
Axis luck strikes again.
>>
Rolled 13 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>5727451
>>
Rolled 27 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>5727451
Damn. He really doesn't want to get stuck. What a shame. Hopefully luck drain can help us clutch this out.
>>
>>5727451
Real fight? +40 mods?

40s

+10 small chance of getting out?
90s

>>5727457
I mean this is us trying to be as merciful as possible
>>
>>5727451
>>5727453
By my calculation, we just barely passed.
93 vs 93
>>
>>5727453
>>5727454
>>5727455

In another bout of causality conflicting with reality, it would appear that you've rolled the exact minimum number necessary to succeed.

51 + 30 + 12 = 93
95 + 10 - 12 = 93

Another close shave, writing.

I've got a long-ish update ahead of me, so I'll go ahead and call it a little early tonight so I can get started.

Please include any questions you'd like to pose to your captive audience.

We'll pick back up from here on Friday at 5:00 PM EST.

As always, thanks for playing! Hope to see you all there.

One shudders to imagine the memes that will result from this.
>>
>>5727458
We can always push his teeth in with our forehead if he struggles too much.

>>5727462
Based luck drain at it again.
>>
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>>5727466
Memes? I've got a filename one.
>>
>>5727468

I just occurred to me that Nightwing is around

And he doesn't have a cape

How embarrassing for Lil' timmy
>>
>>5727466
Ask him if he knows what the fuck is up with this job and who might be behind it. Maybe tell him about the fake penguin goons and the gas canisters too.
>>
>>5727466
>Please include any questions you'd like to pose to your captive audience.
>"Okay broken wing, what's got you all up in fits tonight? Everyone else too busy to help you keep your pride intact?"
>"I'm honestly a little insulted they thought you could handle me alone, even if you've done a little cardio since last time."
>"The hell do you guys always fly around up here anyway? Can't you just take the train like everyone else? It would sure save you a few concussions from landing on the wrong rooftop. Like this one."
>"You're not afraid of heights, are you?"
>"Your suit's pretty tough though. What's it made out of? Batnium? Batlar?"
>"Ever think about getting a gun? I don't think the pool noodle is working for you."
That being said, we should take his grapple gun and chuck it if we see it. He don't need that shit right now. This is my random bullshit line of questioning. Feel free to ignore it.
>>
>>5727466
Ask if batgirl has recovered from her leg injuries. And ask for him to apologize to Miss martian for us, we forgot that her clothes were apart of her.

Also ask what the hell is up with the job since he might know something.
>>
>>5727479
We should keep the grapple gun as a trophy, or give it to one of our goons.
>>
>>5727481
> And ask for him to apologize to Miss martian for us, we forgot that her clothes were apart of her.

Do we actually know that last part in character?
>>
>>5727481
We don't know about Miss Martian's shenanigans at all.
It should be easy enough just to find out if the ones we injured are alright.
>>
>>5727479
>we should take his grapple gun and chuck it if we see it

Motherfucker, why chuck it when we can use it.

Probably has GPS in it or something so it can be retrieved if it falls or something.

Maybe just pass it over to a goon and watch them do something stupid with it like try to 'jump' with it without training
>>
>>5727485
Also just occured to me as I wrote that we sent off the goons. We can even play it off as a full on plan to have this conversation... which is probably even more insulting all things considered.
>>
>>5727483
>>5727484
I thought we realized it on our own, or through the television or something.
>>
>>5727492
Knowing martians have a fire weakness is not super well known.

It was a thermite charge, so asking if she's okay in general is a valid question.
>>
>>5727466
>>Please include any questions you'd like to pose to your captive audience.

Some important ones would be
>Where are the others? I know you can't be alone in this.
>Ask what information they have on this job
>Why did Batman give a kid a stick and tell him to fight criminals anyway? Y'know, they call US a bad guy, but...

Also, if we can
>Steal all of his things
We can dump em if we suspect trackers.

I'd argue against asking if MM and Wonder Woman Junior(tm) are okay, we didn't straight up maim them or anything and le time is short. Plus one of them hurt Genghis :(
>>
>>5727466
Can we say this as a cheezy one liner?
>>5727445
>>
>>5727482
>>5727485
The potential GPS is exactly why I wouldn't want to keep it. It's more just to insult him. But giving it to a goon would be hilarious if they came back.
>>
>>5727501
What if we gave it to one of joker or one of his goons? Bet we can use it to get us out of a jam with the joker.
>>
>>5727506
Trying to have an in with that madman is like trying to fuck a honey badger. It's not going to end well no matter why you do.
>>
Better yet, empty out his utility belt and fill it with a bunch of little kid toys and candy.
>>
>>5727493
true, Im too tired to crawl the archives, so a general question is alright.
>>
>>5727508
>Got you a happy meal, boy blunder. Got hungry and ate it though. You can still have the toy.
Oof.
>>
>How did you find me?
>What has you swinging by?
>How's Bestgi- uh, Batgirl doing?
>>
>>5727508
>>5727510
lmao
>>
>>5727508
Brutal. Love it.
>>
>>5727511
>>How's Bestgi- uh, Batgirl doing?
>>
>>5727507
I'd rather use it to literally escape or buy us time.

Better yet use it as a lure to cause batfamily and joker forces to collide or sell it on some undergrounds market to the highest bidder.
>>
>>5727508
Take a selfie with him while we are at, tell him we'll have it standing on our bedside table to remember good times, and brave those lowly nights/
>>
>>5727516
>put robin's tracking pin on a joker goon
>drop him off at an orphanage
>feel a little bad because that's kind of dark
There's an idea there. I don't know if it's worth doing or if we'll have the time to do it. But it's certainly an idea. I'm just leery about keeping shit of theirs around. Looking at it or even taking it apart and trying to memorize it to reverse engineer it at the scrapyard might be neat.
>>
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>>5727511
>>5727515
love it
>>
>>5727519
Wrap it in multiple layers of tinfoil and get it looked at, they aren't gonna move on the item even if its tracked, they'll watch its movement and where it will end up. We can even flush it into the sewers just to make their life suck because they will probably have to slog through the Gotham sewers to at least find it, robin will have to at the bare minimum go down there.

>>5727510
Find a fast food restaurant that has lil stickers they put on the food bags and get a bunch specifically for a kids happy meal. Get a disposable phone to record his face covered him in kids happy meal stickers while putting clown makeup on his face to look happy while we force feed him like a lil baby.
>>
So if my suggestion to ask where the others are goes through, where do you guys think they'll be? My money is on Batman securing the hostages.
>>
>>5727532
Batman is 100% going to be where the most danger is. Batgirl is probably chasing flyboy and Nightwing is after Mothdork. Jim Gordon is currently beating the shit out of AnCapilad, all is right in the world.
>>
>>5727532
What if he's not here and its a kids night out? That or he's probably dancing with Mothman or taking care of the gas, batgirl probably dealing with hostages.

That's just how DC tends to do things...
>>
>>5727466
>"Okay Boy Wonder, I'm kinda drawing a blank here and you got more experience on the matter so bear with me. I get an offer to do grunt work with some local freaks while left completely in the dark. Twentythree hours at the meeting place I'm greeted by this Teletubbies colored asshole calling himself Killer Moth and he's got these Penguin thugs that I could swear I've seen in some dingy docks back when I rolled with Bane and, get this, they don't recognize me at all, they are twitchy like crackheads on withdrawal and they all have leftover makeup for some reason? They carry some gas tanks to the city hall, Moth takes hostages, I shoot some cops, there's a pyromaniac, some red punk and a vermin covered weirdo, you turn around, the rest is history. Help me out here, what the fuck did I get into?"
>>
>>5727540
>+1

I like it, it's on character for Gunsmoke to be somewhat nonchalant and confident on trash talking and getting people annoyed/anxious on how relaxed most of the time he is.

And if our guess is correct, we go.
>Look, I don't like the clown, you know that's not my style. Let's make a little deal: I just untie one of your hands, you talk to the team on what I just told you, and save the day of the next terrorist attack of the Joker while I just go. I make it look like I escaped from you after you "beat me" and I still get my check, what do ya think?
>>
>>5727551
I could get behind this.
>>
I think my favorite thing about this encounter was the start.

>A man with a gun stands before you, will he
>A. try to shoot you
>B. try to make distance and stall for time
>C. immediately flee
>nah he's going to bean you with the rifle and then punch you in the face
Robin couldn't have been prepared for it.
>>
>>5727540
make sure to emphasize we shot some cops in the arms, otherwise totally +1 this
>>
>>5727596
We "winged" them one may say.
>>
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>>5727605
>>
>>5727613
If we hit him with enough puns he may need to spend a day or two in Arkham to sort himself out.
>>
>>5727551
Things I forgot that paranoid Sean probably wouldn't

The bat family almost certainly has come. Our conversation may very well be broadcast to them.

They may have an overwatch coordinator, so his loss might be immediately noted meaning batman might divert

Robin might have a distress beacon he might go for when he's tied up. Should probably address it from the get go. Sooner we make sure everyone knows he's safe the more time we probably have. Technically he's done his job if we're no longer on sniper overwatch.

Removing his grapple at least makes it harder for him to rejoin everyone, but there's no way a bunch of heroes don't have countermeasures for people using their stuff.

If the situation is too hot, we can offer to use their comms to effectively spy for them when we return with Robin's grapple to let people know he was knocked out. If they ask why we didn't kill him, the answer "the batman" is probably good enough.
>>
>>5727899
I considered all those things and figured we are gonna bail anyways
>>
I think we should pitch our services to Robin. We can be hired to help clean up Gotham. I don't understand why the good guys don't ever think about that, since they are constantly outmanned and outgunned.

He could even discuss Rules of Engagement and hazard pay.
>>
>>5727910
So stick a business card in his boyshorts?
>>
>>5727910
>We don't hire violent thugs
>Okay, well, what violence have I committed that you guys haven't?
>You kill people
>Sure, the bad ones.
>Murder is murder
>And yet there's less of it when I'm done.
Anon pls don't try and negotiate a contract with the child soldier who is impressionable.

I'm still waiting for Babs to approach Jonah and ask him for help tracking Gunsmoke. Truly a laugh riot.
>>
>>5727925
All we have to do is wait for robin to light a gunsmoke signal at night
>>
>>5727910
I do like the idea, but I honestly think it will end with the justice league making a sting op to gang up on Gunsmoke. The batfamily and JJL especially
>>
>>5727910
>implying we wouldn't be immediately arrested and our identity revealed
>>
The only real way I can see this working is if we commit to the hero bit, OR get really good at hiding our fatalities.
>>
>>5727944
what if we make another identity
>>
>>5727956
>Implying Jonah Thema isn't already our heroic identity
Really if you view Jonah in a vacuum Like the Justice League, he's a pretty good guy
>>
>>5727910
For regular crime fighting? No. For if things are going too crazy in Gotham and they need a criminal in? Sure.

As far as they know, Gunsmoke has special skills and no better way to use them. He's not exactly going after continuous big paydays. He's not trying to become powerful given he disappeared for a while. The idea Gunsmoke is trying to make lemonade out of Lemons isn't a bad move. He's good at fighting people and wouldn't make a good cop. And he has his reasons for not joining the military or joining some government program (though even hinting that may give the bat family some real leads)

He has to live off the grid, and he has to get certain things done within a timeframe. And he's not going to jail when there's so much more he has to get done with the time he has left on earth.

Dunno, what does a good Gunsmoke backstory/motivation sound like that separates every other identity from him?
Feds are aware of a possible gunsmoke/defcon link right? Is a crusade against the suicide squad a reasonable motivation? Is tipping the bat family off about it reasonable?
>>
>>5727928
Has Sean killed anyone who wasn't trying to kill him first/an opposing "militaryesque" force?
>>
>>5727968
That could work, however if shit does go really south in Gothem doesn't Batman basically have a task-force of backup already established?
>>5727967
Not that I can immediately recall besides the first thread with the heist for the gauntlet.
>>
>>5727968
I don't think so. But he probably would, if he had to. Or if you put the right person in front of him. But to moral absolutists like the Batfamily it wouldn't really matter.
>>
>>5727967
I think so far, from the interludes the Bats believe
>Gunsmoke has been trained by someone
>Gunsmoke is attached to his teammates
>Gunsmoke is merciful to law enforcement and heroes
And according to Wally/Kid Flash
>Gunsmoke is possibly motivated for a reason beyond money, possibly a fanatic

Honestly I'm against giving them much more. Our only identity that I'd put close to any heroes is Jonah.
>>
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>>5727977
>But to moral absolutists like the Batfamily it wouldn't really matter.
>Jason todd

We can always tell them they can't really give us that much shit for killing those trying to kill us when they have better tech for not killing people/severely injuring them.

It's not like half the criminals they've put away didn't need months of hospitalization either. Bullet in the leg, 20 broken bones, not much difference.
>>
>>5727938
Hmmm, no. Too easy for him, we'll make him send us a smoke signal using his cape over a oil fire with used tires thrown in.

>>5727956
>Breathing intensifies.
M-maybe a few more wouldn't hurt.
>>
>>5728000

Instead of spilling his spaghetti the next time he talks to a girl he spills his rolodex of business cards.
>>
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>>5727996
He doesn't count. He died. As we all know, dying is a get out of batfam free card. Rarely redeemed.

>I don't kill people
>meanwhile, the fifty new sufferers of CTD who will live brief lives wracked by seizures and mental illness
>>
>>5728000
We are kind of missing a civilian identity that could influence politicians and businessmen more easily.
Maybe we could run a security service, we got soldiers, some hackers
>>
>>5728021
We'd need to steal an identity first to do that.

The civ identity would effectively be created by a criminal one by virtue of that. We'd have to be really thorough on documents/hacking to make it believable. And if they start with anything of value, they'd be found out pretty fast given nobody's heard of em
>>
>>5728021
Why would you want to do that, anyway? Besides, criminal elements already influence politicians and corporations enough, we don't need a clean persona for that. We didn't go through all of that trouble to unperson ourselves just to person ourselves again. Also because we wouldn't be able to go around masked up and shady and shit so it'd be pretty obvious to anyone in the know that Jonah and this new guy are the same person. May as well just use Jonah persona as the entire public "face".
>>
>>5728021
>"Tonight here on Gotham By Night, we're doing an special interview with a new face here on our beautiful city, one that came out of thin air and started to grasp the atenttion of all of us".
>"He's from much more on the South, from Latin America. He's a young, sexy and dashing multimillionaire from Venezuela, that decided to came here not only for a new life but for investment from that fastly growing country after Pedraza's coup."
>"The only son of a couple, with a tragic end for most of his family on his hometown for Pedraza's Regime, but he turned his situation and came here to not only for a brighter future, but also for the betterment of Gotham."
>"Take a step aside, Bruce Wayne, because the "Young Billionaire" title it's for tonight's guest!"
>"Please, let's give a warming welcome to Samuel Del Valle!."
>It's just sean with a light tan, painted his hair black and a moustache
>>
>>5728032
... you know... Bringing a nobody from Venezuela and puppeting him to affect gotham via Defcon isn't thee worst idea

Hard part is getting a visa for the dude and so forth. He'd have to be as 'legit' as possible looking for investment. His actions would all have to be clean because every agency would be monitoring the fuck out of him.
>>
>>5728034
No offense my guy but that is a terrible idea. That would put a common string between personas. Even if vague, people could follow it. And people like Batman or Question would. To say nothing of people with huge intelligence agencies and no scruples like Waller.

I'll give you a run down
>big coup with guy who won't reveal himself
>rando dude shows up from said nation, with dubious backing and great means
>very suspicious timing
>probably related if not the same person
>also looks exactly like this other guy we've seen on CCTV around gotham
By the by, we gotta kill Lok, because he already knows too much.
>>
>>5728037
I don't mean actually BEING the dude from Venezuela. I mean looking to influence certain things from the perspective of DEFCON in terms of finding out/trying to fight task force X "legally".

IE: busineesses/bait for spooks to get involved and have a foothold if we start trying pulling the suicide squad into the public eye.

It also provides a thruway for gotham goons/Gunsmoke/etc to get hired for bodyguard/dirty work via DEFCONs pockets and goals.
>>
>>5728040
Oh shit my bad bro. I really did read that as "Being" and not "Bringing". Yeah that's totally legit. Still kinda shifty getting work between personas but hey, it's doable.
>>
>>5728005
Yes I agree we must start carrying half a kilo of raw spaghetti in our loadouts into battle from now on.

>>5728021
Well it seems that we tried to do that we ended up turning the alias into a "character".

Frankly, it would just be better to act through proxies or hire people like a actual lobbyist to do things for us professionally and not eat up our time.

Kinda like having our own Saul Goodman.
>>
>>5728037
Just do what the big villans do, pay some guys to do your dirty work, put out some contracts.
What was that name of the company we did jobs for and scrubbed our records as a favor? I bet they do tons of lobbying and public relations themselves and have the right smoozers that are good at doing it on payroll or contacts.
>>
>>5728048
>"It's not corruption, it's 'lobbying'."
Just redefine things until you're the good guy. Classic.

>>5728049
I can't remember off of the top of my head. It was a bunch of names I think. Marshall something or other. Or maybe it was the other one.
>>
>>5728051
we hired some nameless freelance hacker to do it, Marshall, Carter and Dark had nothing to do with it
>>
>>5728053
We didn't hire him through them? Actually I thought Gremlin scrubbed our record.
>>
>>5728059
http://thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2022/5116237/
>To round out your shopping spree, you put out some feelers and find a hacker willing to wipe your federal prison records. You could’ve gone to Gremlin with this, but you’re not quite ready for him to learn about your real identity.
>>
>>5728061
Ah that explains it. Thank you.
>>
Given we have been handling Robin alright, what's the current equivalent match up for the current identities?

DEFCON is definitely high up there but prob still bodied by core JLL and mercs like slade (who definitely is getting a gov contract on defcon sooner than later)

Gunsmoke has regularly beaten the B listers at this point, but nightwing hasn't dueled us yet. Just a matter of time before he starts having issues with other Gotham main gallery villains as well though. Way things are going might end up a joker, Gunsmoke, batman stand off a la red hood.

Jonah thema as pure magic can reasonably use a gun but leaning on fighting skills is just asking for questions too... hard to tell where the magic talent stacks up though.
>>
>>5728104
>Jonah thema as pure magic can reasonably use a gun but leaning on fighting skills is just asking for questions too... hard to tell where the magic talent stacks up though.
he did beat the shit out of croc tho
>>
>>5728106
It turns out inhuman strength and a big boot works on just about everything. And the electrocution. And cursing with seven years bad luck condensed into seven minutes.

Hex bolt is pretty great, actually.
>>
>>5728104
Hes suppose to be a frat boy type so perhaps we can add knows "greek wrestling" back from his fraternity days.

Also we should start trying to enhance our weapons or guns with magic and xenotech if possible.
>>
>>5728117
Jonah's magic 1911 when? What we would even try to enchant it with? Firebolts so they poof into big incendiaries on impact? We should stop by a church and ask a priest to give our bullets a baptism some time, too.
>>
>>5728125
firebolt? nah, bigger on the inside. make the 40mm glock a reality
>>
>>5728130

Potato Gun with plastic easter eggs filled with different types of water/powders for exorcisms.

Really hammer home the DIY magician.
>>
>>5728154

Upgrading in the future to a grenade launcher with plastic formed bullets of the same type when it seems like the gumshoe business is kicking off.
>>
>>5728125
We can also literally do the Harry Dresden thing and ask a priest to bless several 55 gallon drums of water into holy water. Holy water balloons anyone?
>>
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>>5728160
>babs after jonah is seen struggling to lift a recently-blessed drum barrel full of water into a dingy pickup truck
>>
>>5728156
If we can figure out spell scrolls or seals, slap an abyssal shield on one of the eggs for magical artillery or cover cheap. Cut tanks in half and provide battlefield care like no commander ever would.
>>
>>5728125
Well... we still have that magic scythe from that 500 year old catacoooooomber . Maybe we could melt that down and turn it into a pistol or transfer the enchantment but we'd need to research first to make sure the mojo in that scythe is safe to use.
>>
>>5728125
>>5728130
>>5728160
>>5728205
Don't forget the Ace of Winchesters anons. It'd be great as Jonah's primary in his loadout.
>>
>>5728213
Does that need magic bullets or is the gun itself all it needs?
>>
>>5728218
The magic is in the gun itself, no magic bullets needed.
>>
>>5728125
Expanding hammerspace multiwarhead imploding bullets.

>>5728219
>>5728218
But what if we combined magic BULLETS with the Magic Gun?
>>
>>5728221
Seems like a disaster waiting to happen. If recall correctly magic doesnt like to necessarily play nice when mixed. (Avatar Of Discord)
>>
>>5728221
>>5728224
What if the magic just makes the bullets become tracers? and not Black hole bullets?
>>
>>5728221
>>5728219

Personally, I think it would be pretty bitchin to Tattoo on ourselves a series of magical tattoo's and make ourselves a walking grimoire.

Also, every wizard needs a staff. I would vote for Saruman's staff from LOTR certified replica but made to be an actual staff. That thing looked dope as hell. And gloves that also cover the fingers ( like a nazgul looking thing) that we can also engrave with runes.

Feel free to ignore if necessary. Just rewatched LOTR and man was it great.
>>
>>5728205
Yeah, we should really check that thing out. Maybe ask Thoth or Set if they know what it's about. Or the Caretaker.

>>5728213
I figure something's going to happen to it from the ritual, so I'm going to err on the side of caution and have a backup. It'll probably get diminished or straight up yoinked after the ritual, knowing how things usually go.

>>5728221
>Okay DM, so I have this design for a bullet that has a bag of holding in it, and when it impacts it opens another bag of holding and throws it into the other.
Anon that's too much power.

>>5728227
I think it's more a matter of "Magic A and Magic B are not the same Magic, therefore they want to kill eachother" rather than something being too complicated. You have to combine complimentary magics. Or get really good at forcing the issue without exploding.

>>5728230
I wouldn't mind magic tats. Bonus points if we can will them to disappear/turn invisible on command.
>>
>>5728230
The downside of magic tats is getting flayed by people trying to steal our magic
At that point its already over but i like having skin
>>
>>5728232
>Yeah, we should really check that thing out.
we really should check all the shit we got from the vacation, like the android
>I figure something's going to happen to it from the ritual, so I'm going to err on the side of caution and have a backup
its supposed to be part of our inheritance and it's already in our pastebin, I don't think axis would take away something that took us like five threads of work to obtain
>>
>>5728230
Our first tat should be from Set. Only seems right plus he might pull something funny while he's at it.
>Sean checks out the tattoo on his back to is that is a bunch of runes that spell out "Friendship Is Magic!"
>>
>>5728246
I am paranoid, anon. I will always assume the worst. A demon from hell also known as cunt-face Hawkman is going to take it.
>>
I wonder if Jack can teach us how to teleport before he goes. Jack or Set but I think I want Jack to try to teach us first because of the accidents Sets mentioned. I could have sworn we've asked him to do this before maybe.
>>5728205
I wouldn't mind melting the scythe down and trying our hand at making a magic gun, sounds like a fun time. Might have to track down the notes of Texas man who made the Ace
>>5728252
I'm pretty sure Set already tatted us when we became his Avatar
>>
>>5728257
Then I guess next up is Jack, then Thoth.
>>
>>5728307
>Jack
again, already did
>>
>>5728307
>>5728309
Technically it's a 'sigil', which is like a tattoo but cooler
>>
>>5728309
>>5728312
Seems like it's time for me to reread the quest again.
>>
>>5728257
Of course the question is... DO we do another gun like a pistol or do we craft a sword or some shit.
>>
>>5728104
Could we send Slade after Lok. How much would that cost ya think?
>>
>>5728362
Why pay that piece of shit to kill Lok when we can do it ourselves?
>>
>>5728358
I think we're pretty well specced into art of the gun at this point, but a knife might be good since I think some of our martial arts work with knives.
>>
>>5728373
You know what we should spend time doing? Trying to see if we can make a flamenado by combining magic. Just because that's pretty rad. Then make it arc with lightning. Some serious apocalypse shit. Really cool. Even if we fuck up when trying it'll be okay because we don't take damage from fire or electricity.

Which is actually a little busted. We could make it so our armor is overclocked and has essentially zero precautions for heat and grounding now. Think of how much more shit we could cram into it if we took out silly stuff like "basic safety measures". The only real concern is keeping it within tolerances to not break the suit or its mechanisms. Granted, that'd make us fucking glow on thermals and various spectrograms but I think our suit already does anyway.
>>
>>5728397
We... already can actually. With Hestia's Blade at least, doesn't have lightning though but we haven't really used its nature that much what with being zapped like 3 times, we only have one spell on it while the other natures have 3

also wouldn't that be kinda bad for our other equipment, and our allies if we have to make physical contact?
>>
>>5728400
That's using a tool instead of our raw abilities though. It's not quite the same. It's also good practice for merging magics.

>also wouldn't that be kinda bad for our other equipment, and our allies if we have to make physical contact?
Yes. Just as dangerous for our foes as well. But our gear would probably be fine since it would have its own insulation. This is more food for thought though.
>>
>>5728397
Remember that girl that awakened Solomon Grundy? Maybe she's had time to settle down and we could recruit her. School her on arcane knowledge and buy her some books on healing and wards or crafting magic stuff? Maybe bribe her with a full ride college scholarship?
>>
>>5727967
We can pretend to be a mobster from the 40s who time travelled to modern Gotham. Or a ghost, would give us an excuse to use a little magic. Hell, maybe Gentleman Ghostdad even got a little lonely and summoned a minion to help him out.
>>
>>5728424
That is if she hadn't had plenty enough excitement dealing with a spooky swamp. A baleful bayou. A murderous marsh. If she really got into magic after that dalliance of novelty with the tome, it probably would suit her better to do something a bit less occult and a bit more constructive. No more bringing people back from the dead for her.

Since she found that book randomly in a library somewhere, maybe we should ask a librarian if there are any more weird books floating around. Maybe they'd be down for magic as well. And hey we just happen to have met one once. I hope she liked her coffee.
>>
>>5728438
She wouldn't be bringing people back from the dead. Just... back from the MOSTLY dead.
>>
>>5728429
I do like this idea, it explains the noir aesthetic and our ties to Ghostdad
>>
I live how the level of Robin beating was so thorough everyone is still hype
>>
>>5728516
She went to medical school. She's a doctor. She fixes people. She just practices alternative medicine.

>>5728669
Do we really need to explain any of that though? I mean is it really necessary? It's not like we need an excuse to dress up. And we aren't exactly telling anyone a life story to necessitate such details.
>>
Hey Axis when you are calling for rolls would it be possible to put in the total modifier for the action in the option selection, like a (+30 grappling) or something? I think it would help a lot of new players understand the Tempo/nuances of Sean's fighting style and would be a great shorthand to see where we need to work on our game.

Also whats the modifier for a guys like Batman/Deathstroke/Raz al Ghul/Bane.
>>
>>5728696
>Also whats the modifier for a guys like Batman/Deathstroke/Raz al Ghul/Bane.
Higher than Snoop on Hitler's birthday.
>>
>>5728696
Given our #s? +100s all over
What's Bobo's investigation ability vs batman? Minus all the bat gadgets.
>>
Howdy, anons.

I'm still slogging through the next update, haven't quite gotten it in a state that I'm happy with. As such, I'm afraid that I've gotta cancel our session tonight.

As recompense (and because I enjoy writing them), feel free to pitch ideas for the next interlude.

I've been making steady progress on the Intergang one; this would go right after it on my docket.

As always, I appreciate your patience.


>>5728696

Sure, I can give that a shot. Just bonk me over the head if I forget to do so in the future.
>>
>>5728715
>feel free to pitch ideas for the next interlude.
we never got to see Sean's vengeance after his squad got wiped out, that could be something
>>
>>5728715
Is cool. Next one wed?

The bat family right before heading out on this operation?
More task force X stuff?
New daily life in Venezuela from the perspective of a low level steel wolf officer?
>>
>>5728719

Yep, my bad. Wednesday at 5:00 PM EST.
>>
>>5728715
I want more batman, bat family and Jla stuff
>>
>>5728715

Hey thanks for responding. And sure I'll try to remind you but I do miss threads sometimes.

>>5728719
>Daily life in Venezuela from the perspective of a low level steel wolf officer.

I would really like to see this one. Maybe even about Venezuela in general after the General's took power.

The JLA one would be cool as well.
>>
>>5728818
>Maybe even about Venezuela in general after the General's took power.

>Ay ever since the junta took over we haven't had to deal with those cartel assholes sweeping over from Columbia. The tax man shows up on time now but at least he ain't tryin' to cut my head off for American gore websites. And work is finally letting me have my vacation hours.
Dollars to doughnuts life has improved. I hope people are having fun at public parks without worrying about some inked up fucknut rolling by to "recruit" their kids or shoot their cousin. Shame they still have so many commies running around but at least they're the "farmer" type commies and not the "gulag" type. I hope they don't cause too many problems.
>>
>>5728715
>>5728719
>>5728818
>>5728837
It'd be interesting to see it from the perspective of one of the people that became part of our staff.

Like, you're living your life as a normal person and you end up finding this new guerrila group led by this gringo and they look like they've got something nice going so you decide to join. You get to know and interact with both the guerrilas and other staff but then things kind of go to shit when some big mission goes wrong and the gringo gets taken down. Morale is low but his guys manage to keep the group together. Suddenly, it gets found out that the boss is alive and that one of the lieutenants is a traitor. He gets away and the boss gets back and then shortly after that he manages to overthrow the entire fucking government of Venezuela.

That's a hell of a wildride to spectate.
>>
>>5728854
>tfw everyone thought the foreigner was in it for money until he got double crossed then he came back with a vengeance and now he's a national hero
Makes you wonder what kinda stories they'll be telling.

>I heard he turned into a giant demon to fight that big ugly gringo
>no way, he had to have the power of God on his side, that was an angel helping him fight, they all look weird anyway right?
>You're both stupid, he is an alien. Didn't you see the laser gun?
>>
>>5728860
All things considered it turned out well. Kinds wish we had taken a slightly larger share of the cash but what DID happen was super cool too because there are dozens of millionaires who probably are business owners now and friendly to us all over Venezuela.
>>
>>5728861
The public sentiment towards the Wolves will probably offset any extra monetary gain we could have had. It's like walking down the street and a shop owner comes out to give you some free shit as you go unprompted. A solid all around morale boost for everyone involved. And if any of them wind up making a really big business that grows to national acclaim and we have an in with them it'll pay dividends. Imagine if somewhere like Wal-Mart was propping up a paramilitary organization. Shit would be wild.
>>
>>5728863
Walmart sponsored paramilitary, you say?
That's fun to think about for sure.
>>
Ideas:

>Program the Tyr0ne robot to be a normal guy, convince him to go to law school and become our lawyer.
>Find a way to link the Ace to our identity as Jonah in a convincing way.
>Develop our power as chosen of Hestia and search for more holy spells.

The war with the demons is coming and I would like to have something other than the Ace to fight against the darkness.

Speaking of which... Axie, does hellfire heal us like normal, or does it hurt us?
>>
>>5728983
Good question about hellfire, anon.
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>>5728901
>Steel Wolves fighting insurrectionists/foreign mercs/whatever
>Air drop paper stacks on the opposing forces
>Enemies laugh at Steel Wolves' WW2 era propaganda tactics
>It's just Walmart advertisement and coupons
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>>5729068
That made me think about the UN with their goofy ass bright helmets. Slap a brand logo on the side of it. There we go.

On one side, a crudely penned "Born to kill" and next to it "S.C. Johnson, a family company!" sticker.
>>
>>5728983

Y'know, I actually thought about that.

While it would definitely heal you, it's important to note that doing so would expose you to the less savory magics inherent to hellfire.

Which could lead to...interesting discoveries.
>>
>>5730698
Damn, after getting the good heat we'll need to pray the gay away. What a pain in the ass. Forced to grow a tail or horns, take your pick, everyone.

In that same vein, do other, strange forms of fire also heal us? So long as it is sufficient heat it should trigger the healing effect then? Like say some -thing- from beyond space and time hits us with a phantasmal anti-science fire?
>>
>>5730700

>>5730700

The fire part, yes.

Any other nastiness contained within, not so much.

I like to equate it with getting shot with incendiary rounds. The fire won't hurt you, but you're still taking a bullet.
>>
>>5730703
Rad. We should hurl ourselves into the goblet of fire. Get wizard powers. More wizard powers.
>>
>>5730738
SEAN DID YOU THROW YOURSELF INTO THE GOBLET OF FIRE? Gentleman Ghost said, calmly.
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>>5730703
Would setting ourselves on fire or napalm be an effective preparation for a fist fight?
>>
>>5730741
This has the same energy as the "sneeze on your fist" tactic but we can actually make it work.
>>
>>5730741
>Firefly: "YEEEAH, TAKE THAT GUNSMOKE, YOU FRICK, THIS IS FOR THE PENGUIN"
>"HAHAHAHAHAHa... Haha... Wait wait, why aren't you screaming?"
>"H-Hey hey! The fuck is going on?! Stay back"
>"SHITSHLTSHIT, HELP, THIS MOTHERFUCKER WON'T DIE, HELP ME MR. PENGUIIINNNNN"
>>
>>5730703
Ok, there's Hellfire and I guess Holy Fire. Knowing that we're apparently something like the champion of Hestia, does she or the Greek Gods have an special magical fire? Like, the normal Demon Hellfire is the same as the Hellfire from Greek Underworld?
>>
>>5730773
I wish I could find that old meme of the stuntman or motorcyclist on fire. Perfect application.

>>5730774
Greek Hell doesn't have fire though, it has cold. As far as I am aware. Or at least, it doesn't have special fire. It has regular fire. Just dimmer. Or something. It's been a long time since I looked into Greek myth.
>>
>>5730774
Greek fire was a legendary "ancient napalm".

Plus nobody can grab us if we're on fire.

Heck it can be another of our identities. Just be in a stunt suit and set ourselves on fire.
>>
>>5730774
The Greek underworld has Phlegethon, the river of fire. Not described as special fire in Greek myths (as far as I remember) but according to Dante's Inferno violent sinners burn in it.
>>
>>5731089
In Dante's Inferno it isn't fire at all, but boiling blood. Which is pretty fucking metal actually.
>>
Good evening, anons.

I'm still working through the next update; hit a bit of a creative rough patch, but I'm doing what I can to power through.

Just wanted to give folks advance notice that I may have to postpone again.

Apologies for the inconvenience; the day job has a remarkable ability to drain me of all inclination to do anything beyond the most basic functions required for my continued survival.

Not my proudest of excuses, but it is what it is.
>>
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>>5731561
we'll be here when you ready
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>>5731561
Take care.
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It is what it is
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>>5731561

You are a cruel one Axis. All hope has fled from my heart, and my eyes are shrouded in darkness. Joy finds no purchase in the barren wastes of my soul, and my speech is marred with silent agonies.

It is the equivalent of ordering chicken nuggets and getting shorted one or two, or having to buy a store brand TV because the one you want is sold out. The equivalent of a check engine light constantly blinking on your car, or stubbing your little toe on the coffee table. Or the silent cringe when your girlfriend wants to "talk" because you said her friend was hotter than her. Or your run in project zomboid ending because you fell off a roof and broke your lef.
>>
Howdy, anons.

As anticipated, I'm still trapped in the quagmire and am not in a good position to run today.

It's a bit unorthodox, but I'm going to keep chiseling away and hopefully have the finished product done on Sunday; that way we can proceed without issue.

It's not ideal, but this update is giving me a run for my money. Not even sure why, I generally like writing action scenes.
>>
>>5731561
>>5732007
ForgottenQM is gonna send you a Cease & Desist at this rate.
>>
>>5732007
Maybe downsize a bit. You may just be getting in your own head.
>>
>>5732007
You CAN do it in segments. It doesn't have to be in innate detail.

Skeletonizing it and then filling it out from there is a way I handle some of those moments when I art/write.
>>
>>5732007
Fair enough Axis
Good luck with the writing
>>
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:)
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Good afternoon, anons.

I managed to get in a good groove and get a solid chunk of writing done; don't think I'll have everything finished but I'll have a good portion of it posted at 10:00 tonight.
>>
>>5735208
Rock on, Axis!
>>
>>5735208
Nice, looking forward to it!
>>
>>5735208

That's great axis. I have a question regarding the nuts and guts of Sean's unarmed bonus when fighting. We have three different fighting styles (pankration, silat, MCMAP) each giving various bonuses to either strikes, grappling, etc.

Now, all three add combat bonus to unarmed strikes. Are those additive or do you choose best of? For example: Silat gives +15 to strike, MCMAP +30, and Pankration +35. So if we decided to strike Robin with our fists or kick him would we have gotten a best of (+35) to our combat rolls or a (+80) considering all three add to our unarmed strikes modifier?

And if its the case that we have a +80 to our combat rolls when unarmed it is definitely leaving Batman and the others with a false sense of security as to Sean's combat ability since every time they fought him they fought him when he was always holding a weapon.
>>
>>5735286

Good question, anon.

I generally add them together, unless there is some kind of mitigating factor involved (i.e. if it's a practice bout for a specific style).

In my mind, you've got a sort of bastardized style cobbled together from the basis of your military training and refined from the myriad tricks you've tacked on along the way.
>>
>>5735292

Ah thank you then. We really need to shore up Sean's firearm practice and knifework. Considering that he is a former Marine it is literally the worst combat modifier bonus he has.

Really looking forward to that update. Great quest and you should feel great.
>>
>>5735292
Jesus fucking Christ, if you add them all together then what's Batman's modifier? That man spent like 7 years learning martial arts.
>>
>>5735467
>What's your modifier?
>+300
>oookay wow so-
>and then +100 for physical exertion thanks to extreme familiarity with my body
>.. right so-
>oh and +200 because I can add my mental stats to my attack rolls

Nah man, not only did he spend a good portion of his life learning and mastering tons of styles, he also actually put them into practice and has been actively using and honing those skills in combat for years as well. I wouldn't be surprised if he has well over several hundo in boni. If Superman is a walking stat check, Batman is the skill check.

We should hope if we ever have to confront the B-man he's in a talking mood first.
>>
>>5735485
We lucked out getting the boy blunder instead of the Bat. I reckon we could take Nightwing though.
>>
>>5735485
If he was that unstoppable then none of his villains would ever pose a threat in a fight, didn't Bane even manage to break his spine? I think he's very strong, stronger than us, but not THAT strong.
>>
>>5735492
I think Nightwing is the absolute limit of who we could take if we weren't trying to kill him.

>>5735498
To be fair, most of Batman's rogues are super powered in some way, or they don't fight him directly. And Bane broke Batman's back after making him run a gauntlet of a bunch of his other rogues. And then he ambushed him. On top of the fact that Bane is superhumanly strong and a surprisingly technical and skilled fighter. Bane is a fucking monster because people think he's just a meathead. Keeping in mind that in the rematch, Batman kicked Bane's ass.
>>
>>5735507
The point stands. If he had like a 200+ modifier and 3 dice then he would've breezed through that gauntlet and then beaten the shit out of Bane no problem.
>>
>>5735508
Bold of you to assume Bane doesn't also have a multi-hundred modifier. And fatigue still happens even if you stomp someone. Doing a single push up still puts a small amount of strain on your body even if you can do 100 of them on the spot.
>>
Quick status update, anons.

Still haven't gotten everything written that I'd like, but I'm in the backyard of about 9000 characters.

Should definitely be able to meet the 10:00 posting time that I promised earlier.

Apologies in advance for any potential grammar mistakes, sorta ended up writing a big chunk of it in one frenzied sitting.
>>
>>5735510
Oh no anon

Don't give axis ideas about fatigue modifiers!
>>
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>>5735533
>9000 characters.
Got dang boah

>>5735537
>tfw we already have an MP bar
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>>5735533
My body is ready
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO3l6qNA2Q4

You begin to subtly unsling the Dragunov from over your shoulder, fully intending for the movement to draw Robin’s eye.

In one fluid motion, you chuck the rifle towards him; gambling on the hope that it’ll buy you just enough time to make a move.

He dodges your throw with ease, probably expecting something of that sort, but the stutter-step he takes to avoid it gives you a window of opportunity.

As your sniper rifle clatters onto the ground, he’s already lunging towards you; intent on making this a purely physical fight.

Regrettably for him, the half-second of distraction you purchased with the temporary loss of your rifle gives you an edge.

It comes down to the wire but you’re a smidge quicker to the finish line.

Your revolver flies out of its holster and barks thrice in short succession; nailing Robin squarely in his heavily-armored chestplate.

At close-range, that’s gotta sting something fierce.

Were you dealing with anybody else, you’d figure it for a killing blow; but your aim was deliberately non-lethal.

It wasn’t easy to clamp down on the instinctual urge to focus on the throat or head, but that’s not your style; at least when it comes to folks on the right side of the law.

Besides, that impact might’ve managed to break a rib or two. And if not, he’s probably got more bruises than the average cop’s wife.

Wisely, Robin immediately backs off; dropping some kind of smoke bomb to cover his hasty retreat and hamper your visibility.

It’s a reasonable idea, but your Thermal Sight proves to be an immediate counter.

And now that you’re fully cognizant of his presence, you’re determined not to let him get the drop on you again so easily.

Thanks to your natural paranoia and earlier recon, you’ve already constructed a mental map of nearby points that offer a good line-of-sight on your current position.

That preparation, coupled by keeping your head on a swivel, allows you to catch a glimpse of a human-sized splotch of red in the distance.

Upon registering his ambush position, you purposefully face away from it to better sell the illusion that you’ve been bamboozled and are a mark ripe for the taking.

Sure enough, Robin makes his move when he’s certain that you’re completely oblivious.

You can feel, rather than see, his rapid approach.

He gets points for effort, but you’ve done enough backbiting in your day to know quite a few of the tricks.

In one economical motion, you wheel around and prepare to intercept.

By the look of it, he had used some kind of staff to pole-vault over the gap between building; planning to use that momentum to careen into you with a viciously aimed flying kick.

There’s a moment of unmitigated shock in his eyes as you bat his leg aside and grab him by the throat with your free hand; the momentum sending his staff tumbling onto the ground.
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>>5735649

He does his damndest to wriggle out of your vice-like grasp; but it’s no use; you’ve got a death-grip that will only relent when you’re good and ready.

Before he can launch another futile attempt to escape your clutches, you opt for a slight change of venue.

You pivot and release in one movement, sending him crashing through a window that leads deeper into the guts of the clocktower.

After climbing through the broken window, you find Robin still recovering from his unanticipated defenestration.

He’s still groaning when you approach, your footfalls further fracturing shards of shattered glass. Out of the fear of his playing possum, you maintain a respectful distance for the time being.

Looks like the old clocktower still has a small living quarters of sorts, nothing too fancy. Dusty bed, desk, old CRT TV, that kind of thing.

Kinda like something fit for an old-school lighthouse keeper.

Noticing your slight distraction, Robin springs to his feet for another round, but you put a stop to his aspirations quickly; rewarding him for his ingenuity via a flurry of elbow strikes to the face.

While he’s concussed from this latest beating, you drag him by the hair over to the bell and throw him at it.

When he makes contact, the bell produces a rich, melancholic chime that seems to last forever.

After about the fifth time you ram him into it, Robin finally manages to catch you in the breadbasket with a back-kick.

The hit stings a tad, but does little else besides push you back and break your hold.

His eyes flicker towards the various potential exits, and you can practically see the gears turning within his concussed head.

Batman’s probably drilled him for this kind of scenario, and he’s most likely about to flee.

Part of you really wants to just cut bait and let him go; you’re not even really getting paid for this job, and you’ve done more than your fair share of grunt work already by even the most demanding of metrics.

Still, you need to at least make an effort to get Robin off the board for the rest of the night. Otherwise, he might show up later at the worst possible time.

Trouble is, he needs to come to you; otherwise you risk spooking him off.

> “That’s it, run on back to your sugar daddy and have him kiss your booboos. Or do I need to ring your bell a bit more?”

Judging from the way his fists just clenched, your offhand remark managed to find purchase.

In a monumentally stupid move, he bull-rushes you without a shred of self-awareness.

And much like a matador, you easily sidestep and catch him by the cape; quickly jamming it into the myriad gears of the clockwork. Within moments, Robin’s tugged towards the small gears, and while he’s at no risk of being crushed or anything of the like, he’s practically glued against the wall.

Ironically, the cape’s hardiness proves to be his undoing; were it weaker, he could potentially snap it and escape.

But as it stands, he’s going nowhere fast.
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>>5735651

There’s probably some kind of built-in mechanism to detach the cape from his frame, but the whole thing is so completely snarled up that it wouldn’t work even if he could access it.

As Robin continues to struggle fruitlessly against his consequence of his latest blunder, you watch with something akin to pity.

> “Well, that was a disappointment. You know why you lost this fight? Pride. The stupid kind. You could’ve pulled a runner, linked up with reinforcements, and came back for another round; on your terms. That way, you would’ve at least had a reasonable chance of hauling me in. I’m no lawman, but I do know that engaging hard targets without backup is a great way of getting yourself killed.”

He opens his mouth to interrupt, but you continue unabated.

> “Instead, you got sloppy and emotional; let me goad into a situation you had little chance of winning. And look what it got you. Wedged in place like a rat caught in a trap. If I were some kind of psycho, your bullet-ridden corpse would already be dangling from the roof. Guess it’s your good fortune that I’m such a soft touch. Consider it a lesson for the future about the value of playing things smart. That, and not wearing a goddamned cape.”

You pull out an old chair from the desk and take a seat, groaning in contentment as you do so.

Robin watches you with a mixture of anger, confusion, and a carefully hidden twinge of fear.

> “Now that that's been sorted, we’re going to have a little chat. Just you and me. Sound good?”

He says nothing, instead glaring at you like he’s capable of shooting lasers from his eyes like Superman.

> “Eh, suit yourself. I’ve been told that I’ve got a big mouth, wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to carry on a one-sided conversation. And the only way you’re gonna get me to shut up is by being a good sport and playing along.”

(TO BE CONTINUED)
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>>5735652

(That's all I've got prepped at the moment, anons. I've got a couple thousand more characters cooking, but I haven't quite finished arranging things in a way that I'd like. Managed to finish this section a bit early, so hope you enjoy.

Session on Wednesday per usual. And now, I shall sleep.)
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>>5735653
Nice work axis. Also, No capes!
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>>5735651
>When he makes contact, the bell produces a rich, melancholic chime that seems to last forever.
>After about the fifth time you ram him into it
Heh....heheh...hehehehehehhahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Fun update, here's hoping we can get some good info on Wednesday. Bet the bats thought taking out overwatch would be easy.
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>>5735667
I imagine any time Batman hears Gunsmoke is on a mission he is both stressed and relieved. Because so far that's a guarantee one of his brats is getting spanked, but not killed.
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>>5735652

>Look at you. You came at me all piss and vinegar. Now all you got left is the vinegar cause the piss got whipped out of you.

Really enjoy the update Axis. Thanks.
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>>5735716
kek that one's pretty good
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>>5735652
Chad energy.
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>>5735652
good shit axis
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>>5735664
>>5735667
>>5735716
>>5735763
>>5735812

Thanks, anons.

By the way, had a funny thought the other day. Was shuffling through my old notes for the the Venezuelan report interlude, and it suddenly struck me that the new government I had described felt oddly familiar in some way. After a bit of digging, a lot of its core tenets seem to arguably match with Peronism of all things.

Or a Latin American flavor of Ba'athism, which definitely has a layer or two of irony if you peel it back far enough.

Wasn't my intent, but it's funny to see how things can evolve like that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peronism#Per%C3%B3n's_policies

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba%27athism
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>>5735865
>Venezuela es Peronista
It's all going to go to hell

And somehow that is still better than the current Venezuela
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>>5735865
Latin American Ba’athism? Neat a new rabbit hole to research.
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>>5735865
>Or a Latin American flavor of Ba'athism, which definitely has a layer or two of irony if you peel it back far enough.
It would seem part of the sandbox really did leave that hellhole with Sean.
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>>5735865
We do a little re-Ba'athification
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>>5735865
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i07VumuIag

here is the peronist march if anyone is interested in listening to it
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>>5735865
That's if we don't end up dr dooming that shit if the government corrupts too fast
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>>5735865
> Peronism
> Ba'athism
They better change course soon before they end up like Pedraza in more ways than one.
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>>5736089
Good thing they're already considering that outcome... They don't know why Sean was there and helped with taking on Pedraza, they don't know we went there and we needed a magical weapon, and we thought taking out the scumbag dictador was a good option because we get help in doing so, mask our actual objective and make something good all in a single swoop.

They don't have a clue of our true intentions, and they certainly don't know if we're just a random mercenary that was paid by someone else, because of course the Junta didn't paid us to do all that. Seas is just a gigant guillotine hanging over their heads, and if they aren't careful, it might came down on them.
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Rolled 841 (1d1000)

I was thinking. Sean has a golden opportunity to see the loadout of the bat family as of right now. We know he has state-of-the-art body armor to take three hits from a point blank revolver, but we can go through his utility belt, gloves, boots, etc and find out exactly what the bat family is packing on average to see their loadout to better prepare for further conflicts with them.

We know they usually have a breath filtration system, smoke bombs, batarangs, grappling hook. We have seen them use it. The point is how many bullets do they have in that gun and what kind of bullets? Sean has a loadout that no-one knows the extent of because he has to A.) use it and B.) the person has to be alive to record it. We can better plan for what they have when we next encounter them in the wild.

I would also like to make a recommendation of the list of things Robin did wrong as a "teachable" moment.

>Go through his utility belt, find out what he has. If there is a bunch of things that are for a variety of different situations mock him for his lack of fore-thought. It was obvious that he knew about the situation before-hand or had a pretty good idea of what was happening. Thus, he should have come better prepared.
>Mock him for his lack of weight management on his belt. Too much weight on one side gives him a lop-sided gait which probably is the reason why he stumbled.
>Secondly, if he came running because he just heard about it why doesn't he have safe-stashes throughout the city to change loadouts when necessary?
>He is what ~150 pounds soaking wet? There is no way he should be in stand-up fights with grown men a full 100 pounds heavier than him. There is a reason people developed weapons. He should have been using that staff like a mexican mother uses a wooden spoon.
>The second the ambush failed he should have ran. The second it happened per above. In fact, he should have counter-sniped from a distance before even closing.
>Made too many assumptions about the skill level of his opponent. You think maybe a guy in full body armor carrying a $5k rifle might be a tough cookie to crack? Especially one with skill enough to wound and not kill enemies?
>Flying kick. Really? Take this seriously bruce lee.
>Should have metal/Lead lining on his boots to help hit harder.
>should have built in knuckle dusters on his gloves to help hit harder.
>No capes.
>Start training in full loadout more to get used to the weight. Its obvious that you move well but not well enough under load and not under pristine combat conditions. IE, you train in the Gym too much and not in difficult environments.
>finally. You are too young to be doing this. The only reason why a lot of thugs probably haven't ended you is cause nobody wants to go in the slammer for crippling a kid. Everyone is more than likely pulling their punches when fighting you. Go to school. Be a doctor.

That's all i got. Rolling a d1000 to see success.
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>>5736185
>Specifically no capes because you can hear the fabric snap in the wind when running/jumping, among other things.
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>>5736185
Let's not waste all of our time lecturing him. We do still have a job to do.
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>>5736185
Are you really implying the bat family DOESN'T have incapacitation traps on their utility belts? The containers are probably 'puzzle boxes' just to make it harder to open for those not in the know.

You aint shadowrunning hard enough m8
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Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>5736185
We dont have the whole night to talk him down

Also half of the stuff there is explosive or sharp. If we fuck up we will destroy our id network.

Rolling to be smart
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>>5736316
Congratulations Yogi, you're smarter than the average bear.
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Howdy, anons.

Hope you're all having a pleasant evening.

Just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I'm still sanding out some rough edges for the second half of the next update. I'll hopefully have the majority of it done by Wednesday, but I've still got a fair bit of polishing left.

To compound matters, my relief called out sick and I've been scheduled for a double shift tomorrow; as such, I may be dead on my feet by the time I get home.

Apologies for the recent trend towards flakiness, but my work-life balance has grown a bit more skewed than I would otherwise prefer.
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>>5737154
Concentrating on essentials beats burning out or questing turning into a second or third job. Thanks for periodically checking in.
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>>5737154
Completely understandable, thanks for the update and check-ins! I hope the balance starts to even out for you, but don’t let the quest take over your free life. I think most anons would understand a slower update schedule.
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>>5737154
Dont worry about it Axis run when you can
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>>5737154
tfw Axis has been killed by doubleshift
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>>5737154
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>>5738148
>>5738170

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I would've posted a message earlier, but I pretty much stumbled in the front door and collapsed into bed.

We should be good for Friday at 5:00 PM EST.
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>>5738782
>Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I would've posted a message earlier, but I pretty much stumbled in the front door and collapsed into bed.

>but I pretty much stumbled in the front door and collapsed into bed.
>stumbled in the front door
>collapsed into bed.

THAT'S NOT YOUR HOUSE, IT'S A MIMIC

RUN AXIS
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>>5738859
Nah G we fuck mimics out here.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC3j-9K0pHU

Your half-hearted attempt at defusing the obvious tension with a little bit of humor falls dramatically flat as Robin maintains the same stony silence as before.

Eventually, you get a little irritated at his refusal to play ball.

> “Christ, what’s got your panties in a wad? If it’s about me roughing you up, I promise that I tried to keep it primarily to love taps. Wouldn’t want to risk stressing your delicate constitution again.”

Your words light a fire in him; clearly striking an exposed nerve.

“You’re attacking City Hall and putting innocent lives at risk! You’re a violent criminal shooting at police officers!”

> “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been keeping it to flesh wounds and near misses.”

“I’m sure that will be of great comfort to their families.”

> “Better the trauma ward than the morgue. Would’ve figured you’d appreciate that. Besides, it’s not like everyone can afford your ritzy bulletproof armor. What’s the stuff made of anyhow? Batnium? Kevlarobin?”

“Something like that. I’ll spare you the finer details; you probably wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

> “How generous. Whatever it may be, it’s probably a bit too rich for my blood. Ever try not getting shot? That’s generally been my strategy, seems to have worked out well so far.”

His eyes narrow, and you can see him taking in the finer details of your own custom armor. Judging from the mixture of confusion and wariness in his gaze, he clearly wasn’t expecting you to be sporting such quality gear.

“That’s quite the getup for a low-rent thug. Where’d you happen to steal that little number?”

> “You meet lots of interesting people in my line of work. Never know what you may find after greasing the right palms. Before I forget to ask, why do you insist on the rooftop hopping and gliding around? I get that it’s probably handle for urban evasion and the like, but it seems like a great way to get pasted against the wall.”

He shrugs as much as his self-inflicted bonds will allow.

“Most people don’t look up.”

> “Guess I must not be most people then. Did you happen to know that you were coming to fight me specifically, or was it more of a ‘handle those guys on the roof’ kind of deal?”

“What does that matter?”

> “Just need to know if I should feel insulted or not. It’d hurt my confidence to know that I only warrant the scraps from the kid’s table.” You add a bit of purposeful mocking to the second sentence.

“I’ll be sure to let Batman know.” He says, masking his anger behind dry wit.

> “You do that. And while you’re talking with your boss, maybe ask him to show you how guns work. In all seriousness, have you actually ever considered packing some heat when you go on your nightly crusades? Non-lethals are all well and good, but sometimes you need an option with a bit more stopping power than that glorified pogo stick of yours. No offense.”
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>>5739594

“Guns are a crutch for cowards; one that the world would be better off without.”

Even though he practically spits it like an insult, his sanctimonious tone only serves to genuinely crack you up.

The bout of laughter it inspires almost induces tears, but you manage to eventually compose yourself.

> “Oh man, I needed that. I’m contractually obligated to point out that I use guns on a regular basis and still manage to smack you around like you owe me money. And lots of people use guns, y’know. Like the cops. And the feds. And the military. They all cowards too, just because they don’t do kung-fu in tight spandex?”

And just like that, you’re back to the irritated silence. Ever the diplomat, as always.

Still, you’re already in for a penny; might as well try to rile him up again. Might not be the most endearing of stratagems, but at least it reliably gets him talking.

> “Speaking of crutches, how’s Batgirl doing? She still sore about the hiding I gave her and her gal-pals back at S.T.A.R. Labs?”

Somehow his glare grows even more infuriated at your casual tone. Still, you continue to plow through the awkwardness.

> “And, uh, sorry for setting that one green chick on fire. Was just trying to give her a scare, didn’t mean to cause any serious injuries.”

“Are you serious?”

> “As a heart attack. Contrary to what you may think, I don’t enjoy hurting people that don’t deserve a beating.”

“What about Wonder Girl?”

> “Who?”

“Blonde hair, lasso. She was present at the heist as well; according to the reports, you hurt her pretty bad.”

> “Oh, her. Well, seeing as how she nearly put a friend of mine in the ICU; she’s lucky that I left it at kicking her teeth in.”

“Really? You do realize that she’s Wonder Woman’s protégé, right?”

> “Is that supposed to mean something to me? I’m happy to play a friendly game of cops-and-robbers if the job demands it, but she stepped over the line. So, I booted her ass right back across it. You ought to be thanking me, maybe she’ll keep that in mind the next time she thinks of biting off more than she chew. And if the JLA wants to make something of it, then maybe they ought to come and handle business themselves instead of throwing kids at a man’s job.”

During your retort, Robin intently listens to your words with a hint of amazement.

“Batgirl was right, you are crazy.”

> “I prefer the term ’driven’.’ But no, of course you’re right. I should just roll over and let your merry band of vigilantes truss me up and pitch me into a GCPD holding cell. Then once the cops are done getting their pound of flesh outta me, they’ll fling me in Blackgate where I’ll last the night before Penguin has me shivved in the shower. That makes much more sense, thanks for finally setting me straight. I’ll be sure to turn myself in within the hour.”

Your tone grows more heavy with caustic sarcasm as you outline the reality of the situation, before it rebounds back to casual indifference.
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>>5739596

> “Besides, anybody else would’ve already ventilated you and been on their merry way. Could’ve just pistol-whipped you until you were seeing stars; instead, I’m taking a chance on a little heart-to-heart chat."

“And why exactly would you do that?”

You shrug.

> “Good question. Maybe I’m lazy and need an excuse for a breather. Maybe I’m just bored and looking for a way to fill the dead air. Or maybe I just don’t like collateral damage. Especially the kind of collateral damage that runs the risk of me earning an extrajudicial asskicking and a long stretch in a government hotel.” So…how’ve things been in the world of Robin?”

“You’ve got to be joking.“

> “Not in the slightest. I’m not expecting you to tell me anything about your personal life; I’m just trying to make polite conversation. Shit, I don’t think I’ve said more than a handful of words to you hero types before tonight. Besides smack-talk, but that doesn’t really count. The constant back-and-forth can get more than a little tiring, right?”

He takes your words under consideration and reluctantly acquiesces.

“After Bane and the Penguin finished their gang war, I had been hoping for a few months of relative quiet to unwind.”

You nod your head in commiseration.

> “Heard all about that. Sounded like a nasty bit of business.”

“Yeah, one that I’m sure you had nothing to do with.”

> “Hey, I was out of town when all that went down. Getting killed is bad for business. Where are the rest of the caped crusaders, anyhow? Don’t try to tell me that they sent you out here without backup.”

“You’ll find out eventually.”

> “How ominous. But fine, be that way. Speaking of; I realize this is a bit of a longshot, but just humor me. You know anything about what’s going down tonight?

Now it’s Robin’s turn to chuckle at your ignorance.

> “As I keep trying to remind you, I’m just the hired help here. I’m getting a weird feeling in my gut that things are going to end badly, and I’d rather not be at ground zero when it happens.

“And why should I reveal the details of an active investigation to a known criminal?”

> “Because whenever I take a bullet in the back, I tend to get angry. And when I get angry, things and people tend to get broken. If I’m walking into the lion’s den, I’d appreciate a warning before things go down.”

He sighs.

“We don’t know much besides the main suspects on the scene; namely you, Anarky, Ratcatcher, Firefly, and Killer Moth. That’s all I’m comfortable with discussing.”

> “I understand, thanks for the tip. If you don’t mind me asking….what’s the appeal to the whole hero schtick anyhow? It’s gotta get old, right? Laying it all on the line for a bunch of faceless strangers that criticize your every mistake.”

Robin pointedly dodges the question and parrots your words right back at you.
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>>5739598

“As opposed to the rewarding lifestyle of being mindless muscle for hire?”

You just shrug your shoulders.

> “Gotta put food on the table somehow. Besides, we all have our talents, and I happen to be good at fighting for money. Guess it’s just in my blood.”

Robin cocks an eyebrow at that statement.

“How do you mean?”

You chuckle a little before you answer.

> “Give me a little credit here; I know a fishing expedition when I see one. All you’ll get from me is that I’d rather have my head blown off in a gunfight than work a 9-5 like the rest of the joes in the rat race.”

“Mercenary work doesn’t have much in the way of a future.”

> “Better to fight for something than live for nothing. But that’s enough philosophizin’ from me tonight. How’d you find me and the boys up here, anyhow?”

He raises an eyebrow.

“The gunfire tends to make it pretty obvious.”

> “Fair enough, smartass.”

There’s a moment of silence as you struggle to think up another topic. You’ve still got a couple of minutes to kill before you’re due to report to Killer Moth, but you’re completely out of ideas.

Suddenly, Robin tosses his metaphorical hat into the ring.

“Cole Thompson.”

The name scratches at a memory that you can’t quite put your finger on.

> “Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“He’s a junior GCPD analyst and forensic accountant that had been assigned to a detail investigating money laundering operations connected to organized crime.”

> “Good for him. What’s that got to do with me; do I look like the kind of guy that spends his time cooking the books?”

“He had been kidnapped from his apartment and tortured in a back room of the Iceberg Lounge. During your attack on the building, you rescued him, despite knowing that he was affiliated with the GCPD…”

> “Allegedly attacked down the Iceberg Lounge.” You correct, with a hint of amusement in your voice.

Robin ignores your half-hearted attempt at derailing his train of thought.

“You saved his life. Why?” He asks, completely bereft of any actual hostility.

What’s your response?

> Evade his question with a line of bullshit about being a former cop. Who knows, he might just buy it.

> Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.

> Deflect the question back at him. What were you supposed to do; let a cop die? Chances are, the boys in blue would’ve just found some way to pin it on you.

> Ignore his question entirely. He’s just trying to get in your head, don’t bother playing along with this line of questioning.

> Other?
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>>5739599

(Apologies for the wall of text, this'n ran away with me a little bit. Hope it was worth the wait.)
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>>5739599
> Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.
Give me a little more credit than that. Leaving that uninvolved dude to get blown up? That kind of thing doesn't sit right with me.
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>>5739599
> Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.

Welcome back :)
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>>5739599
> Answer his question semi-honestly. You don't kill people for no reason, and fuck Penguin.
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>>5739599
> Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.

If you don't come at me with lethal intent, neither will I. Simple as.
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>>5739599
> Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.
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>>5739599

> Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.

Good to have you back Axis.
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>>5739599
>"Hmmm, pity mostly. Seems to me the guy gets his nose where he shouldn't too often. Kinda like you."
>"Yeah, I'd seen him before. Go ask him, I'll just shoot him in the head."
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>>5739599
> Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.
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>>5739599
Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.

He is simply a man trying to do what is right by his civil duites, doing what he is TOLD. He shouldnt be put in the ground for that.
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>>5739599
> Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.
>>
>>5739599
>> Answer his question honestly. You don’t play hardball unless your opposition either deserves it, or you’re pushed into a corner.
Just a man with a drive following his orders to the best of his ability. Which got him captured. Fuck penguin.
>>
>>5739602
God bless you axis.
>>
>>5739602
It was
>>
>>5739602
Really fucking was worth the wait.
>>
>>5739608
>>5739609
>>5739613
>>5739614
>>5739620
>>5739621
>>5739623
>>5739624
>>5739626
>>5739627

Alright, go ahead and give me some 1d100+20 to see if he buys it.

DC: 45

(No Luck Drain bonus for this one)
>>
Rolled 52 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5739640
>>
Rolled 10 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5739640
>>
Rolled 58 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5739640

Gonna play some Sade with the results of this dice roll.
>>
Rolled 44 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5739640
>>
Rolled 24 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5739640
CAptcha pulling teeth
>>
>>5739641
>>5739642
>>5739643

That's a success, looks like your words ring true.

Now that you've had the chance to bandy words with Robin, what would you like to do next?

> Knock him out, and rifle through his belongings. To the victor goes the spoils.

> Knock him out, and leave it at that. Can't risk him wiggling out of his bonds until the job is done.

> Just leave him be and report in to Killer Moth. Robin isn't going anywhere for the duration.

> Other?
>>
>>5739640
Honestly I love this.
>"Why'd you save him?"
>"Why not? Can't I do good things too?"
Flabbergasting the boy.
>>
>>5739651
>> Knock him out, and rifle through his belongings. To the victor goes the spoils.
>>
>>5739651
> Other?
Ask him about the gas containers, then
>Mr. Sandman
>>
>>5739651
> Knock him out, and rifle through his belongings. To the victor goes the spoils
>Leave 60 bucks and a note saying to go get him and his friends a happy meal.
>>
>>5739651
> Knock him out, and leave it at that. Can't risk him wiggling out of his bonds until the job is done
Pin a note on his knee saying batman owes him one
>>
>>5739651
I'd rather not pull out bat-tech with tracking functions.

> Knock him out, and leave it at that. Can't risk him wiggling out of his bonds until the job is done.
>>
>>5739651
>> Knock him out, and leave it at that. Can't risk him wiggling out of his bonds until the job is done.
>>
>>5739651
For the knock him out and leave it at that voters: can we rifle through his things to get an idea as to what the bat family has in their kit? Don't need to take it.
>>
>>5739651
We can always ask him how he wants to be knocked out. He knows we can't let him wiggle out of the bonds.

We also can say something's off with the hired help. Penguin's men should've attacked us... there's something still fishy about that.

Plus there's no way robin doesn't have a radio on himself. The choice to ask the bats about something feeling off is still on the table. As long as we're "doing our job" and not actively stopping the operation, it shouldn't bite us in the ass.

>>5739667
belt is obviously trapped, it's the bat family. I'd barely do it with a long stick.
>>
>>5739671
ie: we still haven't mentioned the makeup and what looked like fuel cans.
As far as we're concerned they're cutting through to something... but it's still bothering us the penguin goons aren't holding anything against us.
>>
>>5739674
Yeah I really want to ask about this
>>
>>5739680
Can we really not play up the idea that it's not that we're against being a hero... but it doesn't pay the kinda 'bills' that we need to pay. And not necessarily the cash kind.

We also can use this moment to tip off the bat family about Task force X and Belle Reve.
If they want to help do something good, someone needs to do some detective work about it. And information flowing between a stonecold killer and the bat family in this way is something almost nobody beyond the bat family can trace.

Only issue is it does touch on another identity... but that might only be obvious after Belle Reve falls. which is not the worst note for the great deception to fall.
>>
>>5739682
>Tipping off the heroes in an alternate ego
You're going to collapse our house of cards anon. Also, we've got a personal score against the spooks to settle
>>
Naw we made a promise to burn it to the grounds, Bats will bitch about the scorched earth policy and up our danger rank.
>>
>>5739661
>>5739662
>>5739665

Looks like you'll be knocking him out and leaving the matter to rest.

Before we move on; I'll hold a quick vote since I've seen a fair amount of interest in it.

Would you like to leak any intel to Robin?

> Reveal your misgivings about the current job. Might help to insulate you from any potential blowback.

> Reveal your misgivings about the current job, and lay a bread trail leading towards Task Force X. Maybe it'll help keep Lok busy until you're able to strike.

> Don't reveal anything. Casual conversation is one thing, this'd be a whole other ballgame. If anybody ever found out, you'd never be able to find a reliable contract again.

> Other?
>>
>>5739683
Half the problem is the bat family are probably the only ones who can get the ball rolling on Belle Reve from the other side. Every bit of pressure on that place counts.

Also a final showdown between batman and Sean in the middle of a burning Belle Reve would be a poignant moment if it got to that.

>>5739684
We don't have to talk about burning it to the ground. Just tip somehow that it exists. Gunsmoke being a former 'secret agent/another peacemaker' as a backstory who can't stomach what the law has done doesn't necessarily compromise DEFCON/Tango.
>>
>>5739686
>> Reveal your misgivings about the current job. Might help to insulate you from any potential blowback.
>>
>>5739686
> Reveal your misgivings about the current job, and lay a bread trail leading towards Task Force X. Maybe it'll help keep Lok busy until you're able to strike.

Fuck you Lok, get batman'd
>>
>>5739686
> Reveal your misgivings about the current job. Might help to insulate you from any potential blowback
Surely Batman knows something about discretion
>>
>>5739686
> Reveal your misgivings about the current job, and lay a bread trail leading towards Task Force X. Maybe it'll help keep Lok busy until you're able to strike.

I vote we knock him out then spray paint/write Task Force X on his chest. Just to fuck with Batman. It would be hilarious.
>>
>>5739686
> Reveal your misgivings about the current job. Might help to insulate you from any potential blowback.
>>
>>5739686
> Reveal your misgivings about the current job, and lay a bread trail leading towards Task Force X. Maybe it'll help keep Lok busy until you're able to strike.

>>5739687
Alright, lets hope he pulls through.
>>
File: the joke.jpg (31 KB, 640x362)
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>>5739696
something like this
>>
>>5739686
> Reveal your misgivings about the current job, and lay a bread trail leading towards Task Force X. Maybe it'll help keep Lok busy until you're able to strike.
>>
>>5739686
> Reveal your misgivings about the current job. Might help to insulate you from any potential blowback.
I want to deal with Lok on our own. Bats can come clean up the scraps after we're done.
>>
>>5739686
>> Reveal your misgivings about the current job, and lay a bread trail leading towards Task Force X. Maybe it'll help keep Lok busy until you're able to strike.

Maybe all this is a gov plot to get more money and power.
>>
>>5739687
Also there's the very real chance Batman already knows about Task Force X by this point... but a crusade against Belle Reve is a 'valid' motivation and fits a lot of puzzle pieces for bat man that gives him the wrong solution.

This guy's background is a government supersoldier project
There's no files on him because the government never made any files for him/removed anything relevant
He's off radar because he can't get caught by the government
He's in gotham because there's so much going on there it's possible to hide in the USA there
He takes heist jobs because it leaves him almost entirely untracked while leveraging a specific skillset
He's not taking super big jobs generally because he's trying to keep somewhat under alphabet agency radar.
He's staying in the USA because it's where he might be able to do something about it.
He might be 'redeemed'. He's obviously trying to walk a line.
>>
Sorry i forgot
>>
Alright, closing the vote.

Give me one moment to tally everything up.
>>
>>5739692
>>5739696
>>5739698
>>5739700
>>5739708

From my count, it would appear that you'll be including a few hints about Task Force X when you covertly spill the beans.

Writing.
>>
>>5739719

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVTk7im6okc

Honesty is generally the best policy, especially when the act in question is one that paints you in an undeniably positive light.

> “Just because I’m on the clock doesn’t mean that I can’t do a good deed or two. It’s not binary; some people deserve a helping hand, others deserve a bullet in the head. Thompson was a cop; just another working man doing what he can to make things safer for everybody else. He never did nothing to me. I mean, If he had tried to take me in or something stupid like that, I probably would’ve just punched him out; but I still would’ve carted him out of there.”

Robin hangs on to your every word, obviously looking for a trace of deception, and is visibly shaken when he can’t find one.

“How do you do that? Just talking about killing people like it’s nothing?”

> “Practice makes perfect, I guess. You ever had to kill somebody?”

He shakes his head.

> “When you kill a man, you take everything from him; past, present, and future. Way I see it, so long as there’s a chance that things can work out without resorting to that option, then it should be pursued. But if somebody takes a shot at me, a real shot; one with the intention to take my life? Then all bets are off and all measures are authorized. Like that old saying, those that live by the sword, die by the sword.”

Confused, but with a dawning understanding, Robin processes your words.

A sense of rare uncertainty swells within your gullet, but you harden your resolve and force the words out nonetheless.

> “You got a radio or some kind of comms device?”

He twitches, which is all the answer you need.

> “I’m guessing that you’ve had it switched on this whole time, am I right? That’s what I’d have done. Is it on a secure frequency?”

Robin nods once again, still processing your motives.

> “Something’s fishy about this job. When I was picked up, it was by a bunch of Penguin men. And despite their boss wanting to have me gutted like a trout, none of them seemed to have any issues with being alone with me. Not just that, they’ve got some weird gas canisters with them. I thought at first that it was for cutting torches, but I’m not so sure anymore. You didn’t hear any of this from me, got it? I just don’t want this place to become a bloodbath.”

Fuck it, you’ve already crossed the Rubicon; what’s the harm in getting your feet a little more wet?

> “And while I’m spilling my guts; you ever hear of Task Force X? Secret government program that handles the blackest of ops; coerces violent criminals into suicide missions to give America a geopolitical leg-up. I’ve seen it in action, and they’re the kind of bastards that deserve to fill a shallow grave.”

At this moment, Robin finally manages to discover his voice.
>>
>>5739746

“Might I ask why you’re trusting us with this information?”

> “Because you might actually be able to do something about it.”

“What about-“

> “Nope, that’s all you get. Thanks for listening, confession is officially over.” You say, as you crack him over the head with the butt of your revolver and send him into the waiting embrace of Morpheus.

After heading back out of the broken window into the cool night air, you ring up Killer Moth.

> “Gunsmoke, reporting in. Managed to drive Robin away, don’t think he’ll be coming back around any time soon.”

“If you’re in trouble, just say ‘all’s good’, if you’re not, say ‘bad trouble.’

> “Bad trouble, over.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic news. You still up in that clocktower?”

> “Affirmative.”

“Good. I’ll have a zipline deployed in a minute or two; need you over here, pronto. The demolitions team has gone dark, and nobody I’ve sent to re-establish contact has reported in. You up for it?”

You…

> Comply with Killer Moth’s request to connect with the demolitions team.

> Insist on being embedded with the hacker team.

> Insist on being embedded with the crowd control team.

> Insist on being embedded with the holdout hunter team.

> Other?
>>
>>5739749
> Comply with Killer Moth’s request to connect with the demolitions team.
Take the gamble, be fully prepared to get outta dodge if it feels like a trap
>>
>>5739749
>> Comply with Killer Moth’s request to connect with the demolitions team.
>>
>>5739749
> Comply with Killer Moth’s request to connect with the demolitions team.
While being close to what may be joker gas seems like a bad idea, Im just too damm curious to see how this goes up close.
>>
>>5739749
> Comply with Killer Moth’s request to connect with the demolitions team
I want to be in the thick of it.
>>
>>5739749
>Tell Killer Moth that there is something wrong with the demolition team.
>Ask him for a place to see what they are up to, but with a way to escape for us if they have something planed for us.
>>
>>5739757
We could probably send in a spider or two beforehand, sorta like a canary in a coalmine
>>
>>5739761
My brother in terrorism, he is sending us because he knows something is wrong
>>
>>5739751
>>5739755
>>5739757
>>5739758
>>5739761

Alright, give me some 1d100+20

DC: 75 / 95

(No Luck Drain bonus, for reasons that will become evident.)
>>
Rolled 14 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5739770
>>
>>5739749
>> Comply with Killer Moth’s request to connect with the demolitions team.
>>5739764
+1 to spider scouts
>>
Rolled 7 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5739770
>>
Rolled 12 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5739770
>>
Rolled 79 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5739770

Come on lets go
>>
>>5739749
>> Comply with Killer Moth’s request to connect with the demolitions team

This is getting REALdicey. HOO BOY!
>>
Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>5739770
>>
>>5739772
>>5739776
>>5739778
shit
>>
>>5739772
>>5739776
>>5739778
Shieeeet
>>
>>5739772
>>5739776
>>5739778

Some very unlucky rolls, it would seem.

Go ahead and give me some 1d100+40 to see if you notice anything amiss.

DC: 100
>>
Rolled 13 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5739788
Oh boy.
>>
Rolled 31 + 40 (1d100 + 40)

>>5739788
>>
Rolled 75 (1d100)

Looks like Joker has premium gas with those rolls.
>You know Batman,*smacks lips* did I ever tell you about the military society?
>>
>>5739788

Forgot to mention, still no Luck Drain on this one.
>>
File: mfw.jpg (24 KB, 739x415)
24 KB
24 KB JPG
>>5739791
Saved, thank you for the clutch.
>>
>>5739791
75+30=105

Sean once again on the edge of "bad things happen and he scrapes by via the skin of his teeth"
>>
>>5739791
CLUTCH
>>
The dice seem to love bad jokes.
>>
>>5739789
>>5739790
>>5739791

Well done, anons.

That's a success, writing.

I'm going to go ahead and call it here for tonight while I start plugging away on the update.

Not to worry, I doubt it'll take as long as the previous one.

We'll pick up from here on Wednesday at 5:00 PM EST.

I figure it'll be about time for a new thread at that time, so I'll link it if this'n is still alive.

As always, thanks for playing!

I'll be hanging around for a little while to handle questions and comments, or just shoot the shit.
>>
>>5739802
Will Batman ever cut us some form slack for not turning his child soilders into glorified pulled pork. Would like to avoid the possible arkham series beatdown.
>>
>>5739802
I hope the demo team is the one with the gas. Don't really think it could be anything else.
>>
>>5739806

Unless it's an extreme situation, he'll still probably take you down hard; but given your general lack of violent neuroses, there'd probably be wiggle room to cut some kind of deal. Would you enjoy it? Probably not.
>>
>>5739802
Pretty neat session Axis. I'm worried we spilled too much to Robin, I know it doesn't seem like much but it's all going straight to Batman.
Speaking of the interrogation, it seems like the difficulty in putting it out was due to the amount of content. In the future it'd probably be best to limit the amount of things we can ask or skim from the most voted, so putting it together won't be as much of a chore.
>>
>>5739812
not really worried about Tango/Defcon/Gunsmoke being related, but Thema? If the government has a mugshot (and of course they would) that's all of our identities laid bare. Not too unhappy about that, it's bound to happen sometime, but it's probably the worst case scenario.
>>
>>5739818
>>5739812
Oh shoot voice print analysis
>>
>>5739812

True, I kinda fell into that vicious cycle of adding more stuff that I felt would be neat, and then needing to polish it all / make it gel.

IMO, most of the stuff you disclosed was mostly personality; not so much background. Granted, one may connect to the other, but not as a 1:1. Definitely a lot more fodder for the psych profile now.
>>
>>5739818
They already do from that handoff at the fair remember? Thema is a much riskier identity now.
>>
Why not just imply we met someone in TF X instead of indicating we were likely in it....
>>
>>5739819
bruh we never got a voice scrambler did we.
>>
File: REEEEEEEEEE.jpg (36 KB, 500x500)
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>>5739821
>>5739818
Here is my expert opinion.
>>
>>5739828
Or that silicon mask, a body double, and how to make magical dopplegangers!

Maybe we can pretend we were speaking with a bit of a British accent ever since we got back from our long travels.
>>
>>5739828
Batman doesn't have a voice scrambler. He just speaks deeper.

I always just assumed we used different voices with different identities. Seems like the kinda thing you do when you do that.
>>
>>5739836
Do we not talk a bit like Columbo as GunSmoke? If not, why not?
>>
>>5739836
Well if that's all it took then that solves things some things easily.

I mean why wouldn't it work for us if it works for The Batman.
>>
>>5739836
So far Axis has been pretty nice with not instantly fucking us for little things like that. Like when we got Babs that coffee. He could have punished us for it, but he just brushed it off. I assume so long as we don't do anything too egregious he won't just let le Plotman win.

Granted, it IS only a matter of time until Batman does pick us apart. Or if not him, Question since he's probably eyeballing a changing government as crackpots tend to do. And he'll absolutely roll with the wild body double theories and shit just to be ready.
>>
>>5739838
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgCkmUS1IYI
>>
>>5739848
Lawl.
>>
Why did people vote to tell them about TFX? Now I'm worried that the JLA will show up when we assault Belle Reve.
>>
>>5739873
Mote likely it sets off DC Civil War.
>>
>>5739873
Imagine if Batman already knew and Red robin over there realizes Batman just lets that happen
>>
>>5739873
Because plot? Maybe its to force us into a new story arc....
>>
>>5739873
Waller or the current stooge running the place will probably call up Batman or JLA to deal with us when we hit the Belle Reve and then hand us over to the "authorities" resulting us back in TFX under harsher and inhumane conditions.

I wonder if we have enough plot points to take out Waller.
>>
>>5739962
Killing Waller is effectively the same heat level as killing the president or Lex Luthor or some shit. We'd effectively become target #1 everywhere. Possibly off earth too and in magic shit as well.

As is hell wants us.
>>
>>5739986
Need moar points then!

But seriously, that biyatch sounds more protected than most members of the JLA baring the founding members.
>>
>>5739821
I can't wait for the psych update to the batcomputer. What's Batman going to think about this? What about Batgirl?
>>
>>5740160
>Batcomputer On
>Gunsmoke Profile Notes Loaded

>I think he's just messing with us at this point.

>It's working.
>>
>>5740160
>What about Batgirl?
>"He was asking about me? What an asshole. I'm gonna kick his ass."
>>
>>5740380
>>"He was asking about me? What an asshole. I'm gonna kick his ass."

>Write ten pages in her private diary about the speech she is going to give us when she defeats us.
>>
Now we need to do something utterly ruthless in the mode of Thema and Babs will start to put two and two together.
>>
>>5740646
Thema's shit generally doesn't put him in a position where he's going tacticool.

He's more detective and occult fighting than clearing buildings
>>
>>5740646
If Batgirl can connect the dots, Batman has already done a thesis on the subject.

And if Batman knows, we become a heavy threat and the big names will come down to beat the shit of us.

The ID network we made wasn't to play love games with Barbs, is the ONLY thing keeping our ass safe of our many enemies and rivals.
>>
>>5740669
Defcon and Gunsmoke are going to be linked in no time by the Bat. Anons have already let the cat out of the bag.
>>
>>5740669
>The ID network we made wasn't to play love games with Barbs
uh-uhh, we?
>>5740673
we can't be the only person in the world who has it out for the squad anon
>>
>>5740673
i don't think gunsmoke knowing about belle reve and task force x is the weirdest thing. He was out of gotham for a while and he does work with other criminals. We might get away with the coincidental defcon looks a bit like gunsmoke but obviously no connection this time as long as we don't name drop lok or waller
>>
>>5740669
I'm gonna trust Axis on this one, he wouldn't screw us over.
We just have to ensure the anons aren't ret-
O noe
>>
>>5740695
If we're being as nice as possible, it can be seen as coincidental. However, a paranoid person will still consider the idea. Gunsmoke goes on hiatus, TFX starts doing shit in Venezuela, AT/Defcon appears in Venezuela, after that whole kerfluffle ends Gunsmoke pops back in at Gotham and casually namedrops TFX.

So looking at what we got, we have coincidental appearances/disappearances. And an unusual insight into an active staging point for TFX. Unusual in that he knows they are actually doing shit there, not that he can tell you where the showers are.

What we have against it, Gunsmoke's kit isn't quite the same as what was being rocked out in Venezuela, nor has he shown any outward magical abilities. And a canny and connected career criminal knowing about TFX isn't really unbelievable, considering that many high profile crooks have had run-ins with them or have been in it and managed to escape. They may just be boogeyman stories but they'll get around.

Batman will probably consider it but then dismiss it or file it away as "extremely unlikely".
>>
>>5740704
We have NEVER performed any magic.

DEFCON has equipment an upper level heist robber would never have. He has goals and money that just doesn't line up with Gunsmoke's doing. He's part of an entire country/merc operation. In general, the owner doesn't stoop down to low level work.

Only person who might even start a viable investigation into the connection is the Question. There's some big missing gaps that would leave anyone with a real brain to sidestep that possibility.

The biggest question would be: Why would someone who has more than enough money and abilities + based on this "testimony" seems somewhat sane in motivation do this stuff?

Gunsmoke is doing jobs, but is trying to minimize issues associated with them. He's willing to compromise information and talk with the hero with some intent of a better outcome.

DEFCON showed up in Venezuela in crazy ass armor speaking in spanish and yelling about communism while mowing down enemy soldiers. He also went toe to toe with The General partially on television.

There's still some huge gaps. Thema is MUCH more likely a connection, and even then isn't a real good one.
>>
>>5740704
This is why I wanted have Gunsmoke pop up somewhere else in the country first before heading back to gothham, or play as John Thema fora bit on our return.
>>
>>5740669
What's surprising is ontop of ALL the other criminals in gotham including some of the big shots, Batman himself has enough time to focus so much on us.
>>
>>5740793
>We have NEVER performed any magic.
We were literally hitting the General with lightning bolts and turning into a giant STANDO Jackal.

Unless you mean as Gunsmoke, which you're right, which I mentioned. But yeah, I don't expect Batman to actually put any resources into it because it sounds like such a long shot. He has better things to use his time and effort on than out-there theories.

I think the main reason why people would sooner make a Gunsmoke-Defcon connection than a Defcon-Thema connection is because Thema has done literally nothing wrong. Even if both of them do weird shit, one is obviously a good guy who fights literal demons, swamp zombies and ghosts. And he writes books. Everyone knows supervillains don't write books. You see Lex Luthor co-authoring self help books? Not a chance.

>>5740813
>gunsmoke goes on vacation
>immediately gets bodied because he thought central city sounded like a nice place
Shit we could have stopped off in Wyoming. Ain't shit out there. Could have been the first instance of anything of note happening there in history. Damn.

>>5740817
To be fair, he only sleeps once a week. Or so they say.
>>
>>5740864
>To be fair, he only sleeps once a week. Or so they say.
Not humanely possible, the cognitive and mental degeneration from doing that would make him crazier than the joker.

Also I think we only did the jackel avatar when we took out that Sicario traitor whats his name that sold his soul to evil.
>>
>>5740879
We killed Delrio the first time with the Claw and volcanic rage. We killed the General with the avatar by punching through his chest, gripping his heart and casting lightning bolt. It was one of the coolest things Sean's done so far.
>>
>>5740879
>>5740864
We used the magic fursuit on The General during the attack on the mansion, but we used lightning during the first fight. I'd say that wasn't caught on camera due to the fight likely not taking place directly in front of the camera (if it was even on and broadcasting still without being manned/ not destroyed), and magic wasn't mentioned in the JL interlude.
>>
>>5740879
>Not humanely possible
Neither are the acts of physical strength he casually performs or physics defying maneuvers, but he does it anyway. But he does them anyway. You know why? Because he's the Batman.

>>5740888
True enough. And if you don't have a good view of it you could just assume the big electro show could be something to do with his high tech armor. Wouldn't be the first time someone had some device that shoots electricity.
>>
>>5740879
>the cognitive and mental degeneration from doing that would make him crazier than the joker.
Are you trying to say he isn't? Man dresses like a fucking bat to beat up criminals, and he enjoys it more than being a billionaire playboy.
>>
>>5740945
I didn't say he was NOT crazy, just not as crazy as a sexually inept and undermedicated murdering clown.
>>
>>5740630
>Sean the master of witty retorts
But you didn't answer if you or your green friend were alright ...6/10 speech though. Wanna try again?
>>
Howdy, anons.

Gonna need a bit of a rain check on tonight's session; still ironing out a couple errant issues with the next update. Thankfully, I've managed to block out a couple of hours today to fully focus myself on writing, will endeavor to have a significant chunk of said update complete and posted tonight.

That way, we can begin the next thread with a bit of extra momentum.
>>
>>5744155
Nice
>>
>>5744155
We're back Henchbros
>>
>>5744155
Wheres that interlude nigga
>>
>>5744284

Still working on it, anon. I've got about 2500 characters written thus far for the Intergang interlude.
>>
>>5739802

As you move to retrieve your hastily discarded Dragunov, you agree to Killer Moth’s tasking.

> “I can handle it.”

“Good. Keep the tempo up, and there might be a bonus in it for you.”

The connection drops, but you’re more concerned with inspecting your rifle for any errant damage.

Aside from some minor cosmetic damage that you’ll need to buff out later, everything looks ship-shape.

While awaiting your promised transportation, you take a moment to enjoy the coolness of the night air after your recent bout of exertion.

Your helmet and armor insulates you from the bulk of the sensation, but it’s still pleasant nonetheless.

True to Killer Moth’s word, a thick line of cable abruptly harpoons itself into the base of the clocktower.

After you hook up and wave to a small figure in the distance, you’re abruptly jolted off your feet as the line begins to reel you in over the gap; like a fisherman with an oversized carp.

Over the ever-present sound of police sirens, there’s a noticeable mechanical whirring as the line chugs along.

It’s funny, the first of your truly organized criminal endeavors necessitated the usage of a zipline just like this’n.

Christ, that feels like a lifetime ago.

Considering some of the messes you’ve found yourself in since, it barely registers as a milestone anymore.

Guess it’s another shining example of how the more things change, the more they stay the same.

After your white-knuckle journey is over, you’re met on the roof of City Hall by a Penguin goon who helpfully escorts you downstairs, past the main lobby where the bulk of the hostages have been sequestered.

Besides a few nasty gunshot wounds, everyone seems to be banged up but alive; civilian, cop, and goon alike.

There’s a few murmurs from the cops when they notice you passing by; an outburst that is quickly quelled when the least conscious of the gawkers earns himself a rifle butt in the jaw for his trouble.

Eventually, you reach the entrance to the basement; the last reported location of the demolitions team before they went totally silent.

The goon serving as your guide warns you that the interference down there makes radio comms spotty at best, so you’ll be on your own for the duration.

Part of you hopes that the silence may just be a simple matter of an equipment breakdown, mixed with a pronounced like of operational discipline.

The cynic in you shoots down that idea before it can even attempt to plant roots.

You just give your temporary escort a nod, draw your revolver, and proceed down the stairs.

In a close-range situation like this one, your sniper rifle would prove to be more of a hindrance; best to stick with your sidearm for the time being.

As you patrol through the dark corridors of the basement, your mind is awash with phantom fears and paranoia that you endeavor to banish from your mind. Can’t afford to get distracted on a job of this magnitude.
>>
>>5744337

Eventually, you discover a collection of bootprints leading through a series of open doors; a trail that you faithfully follow until you’re greeted by a truly macabre sight. At least a dozen Penguin goons are strewn throughout the corridor, every one of them bent and broken in uniquely horrifying ways. The best way you can describe the state of their bodies is…twisted.

Like a bunch of action figures manhandled by a particularly sadistic child; limbs contorted in unnatural stiffness in angles that a human being was never meant to assume.

Out of sheer habit, you check a couple of the bodies for a pulse; but they all come up silent. Not overly surprising given their condition, but the bodies are still warm to the touch; whatever happened to them must’ve been fairly recent.

Somewhat belatedly, you notice that one of the men was hauling a small drum of some kind; similar in size and coloration as the canisters you saw earlier. Judging from the hole in the top, he must’ve fumbled it and accidentally released its contents, claiming the lives of everyone in the vicinity.

You immediately double-check your helmet to ensure that you haven’t been accidentally exposed as well. Not quite sure how strong the biohazard filters are, but you seem to be shielded well enough from any ill effects, at least for now.

The contents of the drum were most definitely the cause of death, but you’re not able to identify anything more specific about its chemical composition or effects at this juncture. Your only reasonable guess would be some kind of concentrated nerve gas, but what kind of lunatic would risk using something that heinous in a heavily-populated urban center?

As for its impacts on the body, whatever damage it does must also do some serious muscular / nerve damage, seeing as how quickly rigor mortis has set in.

These makeshift attempts at a forensic analysis are interrupted by a protracted, frenzied yelling coming originating from a room deeper in the basement.

You advance towards the source of the noise, on your guard for any potential ambush.

As you grow close, the yelling gives way to a manic cackle and the sound of something being ignited.

The entrance door has been busted off its hinges, allowing you a covert opportunity to poke your head in and look before you leap.

Immediately, your attention is drawn to a heavily armored figure with a flamethrower eating an uppercut the jaw. A cursory examination reveals that he’s the same lunatic you spotted earlier while on overwatch; the one with the jetpack that turned a few police officers into charcoal briquettes and thoroughly enjoyed himself in the process.

Based on the intel that Robin let slip, you’re guessing that the obvious pyromaniac would be Firefly. As for his assailant with a penchant for martial arts, it’s someone you know by reputation if not by deed; Nightwing. Things must be serious if he’s in Gotham, could’ve sworn that his traditional stomping ground was Blüdhaven.
>>
>>5744339

Guess this must’ve been what Robin meant when you needled him about not having backup.

Firefly reels back from the blow, but uses his jetpack in a short burst to catapult himself forward in a reckless attempt at regaining lost momentum. Judging from all the pockets of fire damage around the room, this scuffle has been going on for quite a while.

The arsonist cackles and shoots a thick gout of orange-red flame towards Nightwing; an attempt an immolation that is dodged with contemptuous ease.

As for the room itself, it looks to be nothing special, all the various toolboxes scattered around makes it feel like some kind of tool storage for the local maintenance men. Still, a well-honed instinct warns you that you’re missing something important; that you need to look past the obvious distractions, no matter how grandiose they may be.

Suddenly, you spot it. Perched in a far corner is a larger cluster of those green canisters you saw being transported earlier; each of them wired up with some kind of homemade explosive. Compared to the precision work that you encountered in Greece, this looks like it was constructed by a child; yet something about the style of construction worries you greatly.

There’s a sinking feeling deep in your gut when the final puzzle piece snaps neatly into the place; the one that connects all of the strange coincidences and abnormal rumblings of intuition into one glorious tapestry of bitter truth.

Scrawled against each of the canisters (in what you hope is merely red spray paint) is a short message; three simple words with unholy implications that manage to send a shiver down your normally ironclad spine.

HA

HA

HA

Fuck.

You’re working for the Joker.

This changes everything.

Or does it?

You could toe the line, keep with the program, and do your job to avoid jeopardizing any chance of not receiving the promised intel. Jack mentioned that he used the last of his already-depleted resources to land this job, who knows if he’ll even be able to secure another. You’ve come too far to risk jeopardizing things now.

But, the potential collateral damage could be staggering if you don’t stop this plot in its tracks. If the contents of those canisters are dispersed, you could easily be looking at thousands of civilian casualties.

It doesn’t look like either Nightwing nor Firefly have noticed you yet, more concerned with their ongoing fight.

So, what do you plan to do?

> Stick to your orders and assist Firefly. Gotta keep your eyes on the prize, and the job has to come first. You can’t afford to risk letting Jack down.

> Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.

> Other?
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>>5744343

(Thanks for your patience, anons. Voting will be open until our session Friday at 5:00 PM EST, or until the thread dies, whichever happens first.)
>>
>>5744343
>> Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.
took ya long enough
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>>5744343
> Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.
Can we just dome Firefly with the Dragunov? I'd still like to have a chance at plausible deniability.
>>
>>5744343
>Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.
Fuck that clown.
>>
>>5744343

>Other.

Is there any way we can send some spiders to short out the electrical components of the canisters/explosives? We would know a thing or two about explosives, so I think that would work. I wonder if we could infuse them with the power of Hex bolts. From the description it seems like hex bolts can be used to cause a string of bad luck to our enemies. If we fire it or infuse our spiders with it and have it attack the explosive trigger it could cause it to disarm or jam.

We could then act out the fighting with Nightwing and still get paid. Wasn't our fault that the explosives didn't work, that was the fuckup of killer moth. We were overwatch and managed to beat up robin. We get paid, save the city, and still keep our reputation intact.
>>
>>5744343
> Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.
I don't think jack would like working with the joker either
Especially a chemical attack
>>
>>5744343
>>5744355
I think you make some fair points. What about

>Activate shadow cloak
>Sneak over to canisters
>Attempt to disarm them while the other two keep fighting
Hopefully Nightwing beats Firefly, then we incapacitate Nightwing, and walk away with the full ability to deny even knowing about the bombs.
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>>5744343
>Sneak over and try to disarm the nerve gas bombs
Priority is disarming the bombs, secondary is fighting whoever wins the fight
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>>5744355
do you really want to test out a brand new magic combination on the fucking explosives, also chaos magic is pretty explicitly exclusive to living thinking beings.
anyways, Nightwing is surely much more experienced in disabling bombs, let's not risk our lives and those of hundreds other people because we wanted to have our cake and eat it too
>>
>>5744343
>>5744352
>>5744355
>>5744357
Yeah can there be a third option? Again, I'd like to have plausible deniability so we can still get paid and not have all our effort go to waste.
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>>5744361
Don't underestimate Sean's abilities anon. Did you not read this?
> Compared to the precision work that you encountered in Greece, this looks like it was constructed by a child
Should be even easier than last time then.
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>>5744361
Sean does have a +25 to bomb defusing anon.
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>>5744343
>Sneak over and try to disarm the nerve gas bombs

If possible we should secure the intel and fuck over Joker, but if push comes to shove we need to put a stop to this.
>>
>>5744365
>>5744366
yes but we are out of rerolls and I don't wanna cross the "fucking around" horizon
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>>5744343
>Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.
Been a while since I've been able to catch this live
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>>5744368
I'm pretty sure between the mask on the suit and Sean's fire nature magic he's basically NBC-proof. I'm willing to gamble a little bit to preserve Gunsmoke's criminal reputation alongside a bunch of civilian lives.
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>>5744343
We CAN try figuring out what's going on. We still have the radio, we CAN confirm the mission is a joker mission before quitting. All we gotta do is go back up a bit. Assisting Firefly means the bat family will double up. Assisting Nightwing will result in a second fight once Firefly goes down + the rest of the bats will come.The bombs are here.

I doubt Ratcatcher was planning on it. Anarky, maybe but gassing civilians is a different ballgame from blowing up computers/files to mess with the system. What we CAN do is

Point being that taking out Firefly DOES NOT mean the bat family will play nice with us. We're still a criminal here. We still assaulted robin.

Any action we take supporting the bats cannot be done WITH them. Defusing bombs and yelling at killer moth is a better move. We already took out robin. That's already a hell of a feat for the task at hand. If he threatens us, we can threaten him right back and he knows we're good for it.

We can even hunt down Killer Moth, take him out and radio everyone regarding what the task really is.
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>>5744378
do you reeeaally think we are getting paid for an unequivocally failed job? get real
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>>5744357

we do have a + 70 to sneaking if we activate our shadowcloak and our lightstep ability, so we do have that in our favor if we did decide to go and disarm it that way.

Alternatively we could act out a fight with Nightwing and when we get the opportunity we dome firefly in the head with the revolver and let Nightwing disarm the bomb. We could dispose of the arsonists body by just triggering his napalm pack to burn his body and hide our deception.

Then we run back and say Nightwing/Batman teamed up on us disarmed the bombs, arsonists dead because of his suit malfunctioned, we had to boogey out. Its bullshit, but believable bullshit.
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>>5744383
I don't care about getting paid, I care about avoiding a reputation as someone who will betray fellow criminals to the Bats out of moral conscience. Nobody is going to hire a guy who cooperated with Nightwing, which everyone will know about if we team up against Nightfly and incapacitate/kill him.
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>>5744385
*Firefly
>>
>tfw we could just let firefly get knocked out, beat the shit out of nightwing, and use one of his batarangs to disarm the bomb and blame the bomb not going off on him throwing those fuckers around willy nilly
Either way, doesn't matter. We probably won't get exactly what we're looking for if we don't let the bomb go off. But can we really just sit here and let a bunch of civies get gassed?

Honestly, even if we don't get the intel reward Jack is looking for, with enough cash we can probably brute force more connections and opportunities down the line for him to leverage. So a little while longer while we scrounge up resources from jobs and the wolves isn't really so bad, all things considered.
>>
>>5744385
gunsmoke was a throwaway persona anyways, we got plenty of prospect jobs outside of gotham so who cares
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>>5744390
Actually thinking about it, letting firefly get downed while we disarm the bomb, then using him being unconscious as an excuse to drag his ass out of there instead of making sure the bomb would go off is pretty great. Just means a much harder fight with Nightwing.
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>>5744393
Criminal contacts matter a great deal. It's not like we have legitimate ways of getting access to magical and technological contraband. I don't trust the Venezuelan government to source those for us, and Jack/Set have finite resources/intel.
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>>5744390
A rep as someone who'll narc to the bats will freeze us out of a lot.
That rep has to be managed. It's even possible that rep can put a target on our back.

Plus if Joker finds out the mission failed due to a hire, he'll make sure we pay if only to be an example.

And we're not gonna be able to kill the joker.
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>>5744402
>A rep as someone who'll narc to the bats will freeze us out of a lot.
I never said to do that, though.

>Plus if Joker finds out the mission failed due to a hire, he'll make sure we pay if only to be an example.
Also why I said to spoof it to make it look like Batfam fault.
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>>5744398
the ones we got here that matter (MC&D and their crew, Oblivion Bar, Index and John Smith or whatever) are not gonna turn on us cuz we thwarted the fucking joker, I assure you
>>
Currently the action is to help Nightwing by dinging Firefly.

Helping one or the other is a bad idea imo. Defuse what we can and get out of this.

My selfish desire is getting Killer Moth to confirm the mission and then bailing afterward.

Also where the fuck are batman, batgirl and robin? This is a full bat family situation. Other things may be going on throughout the city.
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>>5744404
Seriously. Do we honestly expect Joker of all fucking people to actually pay us to begin with?
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>>5744419
>Also where the fuck are batman, batgirl and robin?
>robin
Anon, I...
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>>5744431
Other robin, not red robin. There's two at the moment. And Red Hood probably exists too.
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>>5744435
no there's not, Axis confirmed it like fifteen threads ago
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>>5744436
god that slipped my brain then. There's still a missing batman and bat girl though.

Then Red hood isn't an active member?
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>>5744343
>Activate Luck Aura but target allies. Get within Firefly range and intentionally miss our shots at Nightwing. Retreat after making Nightwing aware of the nerve gas via a threat.
>>
>>5744438
hasn't been mentioned so far, he might be presumed dead
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>>5744430
Yes. He fucks with everyone but not the IRS, so he obviously pays his dues.
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>>5744446
I once heard that you can't be declared as insane for tax fraud which would land the Joker in a normal prison instead of Arkham
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>>5744343
> Other?
Fire a shot at Firefly to distract or throw him off, or just throw something really hard at him and hide.

Gotta check for hidden cameras or onlookers.

There is a problem though. Killer Moth sent us down there, so if anything happens we would be suspect, we should probably sabotage the explosives in such a way that it looks like it was done through the fighting between night wing and firefly then pull back and tell KM that there's gas down there and we couldn't go much further.
>>
Okay guys we need to get together and figure out a plan, because assist Nightwing seems to be the only coherent vote which would end our freelance career, put a ton of surveillance and scrutiny on us and our activities and get us into a very uncomfortable situation where the batfamily/batman would be "pressuring" us to join or reveal things about our selves.

So far some of us have come up with:
Sneaking over to the canisters to sabotage or disable them while Firefly and Nightwing are distracted fighting, and optionally use Shadowcloak/Magic spiders to help in some way.

Maybe throw in Luck drain while we are at it since there are two people nearby.

Actually I just thought, what if we try to use Luck drain on only Firefly, and if possible, Apply Luck Bonus to Nightwing temporarily to tip the scales?

That way we get tons of plausible deniability if Nightwing beats Firefly and disables the bomb. Then we can move in and knock Nightwing out and come back out, or just head back out without fighting Nightwing?
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>>5744343
Since I forgot to vote, I'll back this.

>>5744357
I just want to get this bomb sorted. I'm sure Nightwing can handle Firefly. We can figure out what to do after we make sure a bunch of people aren't going to die just because some clown wants to make a big stink.
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>>5744343
>Other?
This>>5744355
Anything but the moralfag option.
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>>5744525
It isn't even a moralfag issue... it's just plain retarded to directly help him.

Even helping fight him is a 'better' option in the sense that if we fight Firefly after, it's not associated with the batfamily. Hell, fighting Firefly because you want the glory of fighting Nightwing alone is its own retarded, but not as retarded, possibility.
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>>5744528
it's not a moralfag issue because if we cross the line Specter will atomize us at the earliest opportunity. we are not gonna fight nightwing
alone because we are gonna fucking book it right after. and your ruse isn't gonna work because anyone with two braincells will be able to put together what happened
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>>5744533
I'd rather bail too yeah.

But also get mad at Killer Moth.
>>
>>5744355
>>5744357
I would support either of these two options but can we make it an official 3rd option we can more or less agree on?
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>>5744343
> Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.
Gunsmoke to the rescue, lets make Bobo proud! I'd rather ruin Gunsmoke's reputation than help the Joker and piss off the Spectre.
>>
>>5744343
>> Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.
>>
>>5744533
We just got finished putting holes in cops and beating a child up. I don't think Specter will mind if we kick the shit out of Nightwing, too. Just don't let the bomb explode. But yes, helping Nightwing overtly is kind of a misplay. Since he's still gonna want to fight us afterwards so helping him is foolish on top of just being ill-advised since Firefly would rat us out. I mean, unless we put a bullet in his head. But there ain't no cops down here and we just got sent along to help, so Murderous Butterfly would put those pieces together quick as shit.

>>5744559
If sneak disarm the bomb got put into a proper third vote yeah I'd go for it. Could always roll all of the votes together, since they're asking for essentially the same thing.
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>>5744593
>Could always roll all of the votes together, since they're asking for essentially the same thing.

Thing is, sometimes a QM won't do that so unless the QM puts put a third option or a run off vote, QM's will likely just roll with the winning one.
>>
>The arsonist cackles and shoots a thick gout of orange-red flame towards Nightwing

One of the reasons why I argue to disarm the bomb is that currently we are in the room right now with Joker. Joker more than likely only looks like the arsonist. Another reason i think the arsonist is Joker is simply because I do not see the joker anywhere in the room, and if so who wrote HA HA HA on the bomb?

Its also why I argue that we play-act fighting Nightwing and then at the right moment dome Joker/arsonist in the brain with the revolver, or do something with the bombs before taking Joker out. The arsonist, if we decide to help, cannot live. We do not want him on our back.

And if Nightwing/Batman gets pissy, just give them a letter detailing how many people died every time Joker broke out of Arkham, a if Joker died here these people would be alive. And at the last line put Joker's death, and just a page full of empty lines.
>>
Guys, guys. We could just, you know, wait to see who wins. Nightwing wins, we let him defuse the bomb and tell him to go help robin, firefly wins we sneak up on him and knock him out, he doesn't know who did it and we report we go down there and found them both out cold. We can then make the call to defuse the bombs or not from that.

>The only winning move is not to play.
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>>5744577
We are not ruining Gunsmoke's rep.
Maybe after we finish up with Jack, not before. Those contacts and the rep may be the only things facilitating another job for Jack's Intel after this fiasco.

We can indirectly help. Additionally, a follow up fight with nightwing is on a different level than vs Robin.

We are not letting joker pull this off though.
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>>5744696
I'll back this.
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>>5744875
we don't need Gunsmoke rep for that. we already know exactly from where we can get intel, after all, they been stepping on our heels since the start of the quest
>>
>>5744696
Sounds like the least risky and over-complex option. Didn't play this just end up a hero and I definitely don't like the Joker.
+1
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>>5744922
And should sneaking to the bombs stands more of a chance of winning. I'll back that.
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>>5744696
+1 seems like the best way to go.
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>>5744696
This is also a pretty good call desu. Less risky than a sneak defusing, less compromising than joining forces w Nightwing.
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>>5744343
> Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.
>>
>>5744696
So is this gonna be the "Don't help Nightwing" vote? If so then I would reluctantly switch to this.
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>>5744696
Guess I'm falling in line here

Wouldn't mind making an example of killer moth for not disclosing this is the job though.
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>>5744343 #
> Abandon the mission and assist Nightwing. You’ll never be able to forgive yourself if you let this happen on your watch. Jack will understand, no matter how this ends.
I want kill killer moth
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>>5744343
>>5744352
>>5744362
If it means openly siding with Nightwing doesn't win then I'll follow this bandwagon: >>5744696
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>>5745407
We don't need to help nightwing to go after Killer Moth.

Let alone a batfamily member wouldn't let us.
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>>5745453
Wouldn't make more sense to take him out when we can't be directly implicated?

Like wait till he's on mission we aren't on after following him and then blam, injure him at a critical moment and let the opponents finish him off.
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>>5745471
No sense doing the additional hunting of Killer Moth. He'll have enough heat for being involved and directing the operation.

We've got bigger fish to fry.
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>>5745103
I'm just not keen on the passivity of it. Has it been armed yet? Is it counting down? How much time is left if so? Questions I don't have answers to. I'd rather take care of the bomb immediately, then sort out the two goobers fighting. I may just be being paranoid, but it's a healthy amount when dealing with a damn nerve agent. So being proactive helps assuage that feeling.
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>>5745473
We don't know.
The problem is we can't seem to get behind anything more than not helping Nightwing and disarm or sabotage the bomb.

If there was more active discussion with anons, or if we can all agree to get behind a proper "Other" write in option this would be easier.
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>>5745481
For sure. I just want to take care of the bomb and not help Nightwing. I don't particularly care how we do it, but my preference is to take care of the bomb while they are distracted. If for no other reason than just to see if we are in fact on a time crunch. I'd rather not be in the last ten seconds still cutting wires.

But if the bomb isn't currently active, then yeah fuck it let them fight.
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>>5745494
I forget how magical spiders work entirely, Can we see through them or only sense their location? I know we can control them enough to bite someone but I don't recall much else.
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>>5745494
I want to ask QM if we can ask Jack to help us teleport this bomb out of here.

With how screwed up this job is, I'm thinking we should start pulling off our own custom jobs.
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>>5745498
I think we can only sense where they are.

I don't think we should ask Jack for direct intervention. Somehow word would get back to Joker that he screwed up his homecoming and knowing our luck he'd somehow perfectly time his annoying retaliation in the middle of the ritual or something.
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>>5745509
>knowing our luck he'd somehow perfectly time his annoying retaliation in the middle of the ritual or something.
True.

Okay, I'll try to put out a 3rd option out since I'm not sure QM will do a run off vote.
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>>5744343
>Other
>Stealthily sneak over to the bomb while Killer Moth and Nighwing are distracted and sabotage or disable the bomb so it cannot disperse its contents.
>Activate Luck Aura and Shadow Cloak to help us.
Optional: Use magical spiders to assist somehow.

Also Optional: AFTER defusing the bomb, we help someone or we bail.

I hope this satisfies everyone.
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>>5745511

I would back this. Also use luck drain to help our stealth and disarm rolls.

After I had a day or two to think about it I do not think nightwing would let us leave/have us at our back if we helped take out Firefly and left him to disarm the bomb. Robin was willing to slightly listen, Robin 2.0 was not. And given that comms don't work down here he probably didn't hear our little speech to Robin.
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>>5744696
i will also back this, also finished catching up, as always great quest axis. Glad to still see this updated
>>
At this point, sean will have to get a methahuman/alien/goddess as a girlfriend with how fast they keep falling. I propose blackfire
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>>5745711
I propose make a fem clone of Sean. We wont have to worry about the safety of her family or other cape bullshit.
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>>5745735
Might as well go full Divyath Fyr and have multiple clone-wives at that point.
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>>5745711
>I propose blackfire
She'd 100% nag too much and drag us into bullshit. And not little bullshit like a bank robbery, but like, alien planetary wars and shit.
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>>5745711

>Propose blackfire.

I gotta say its Wonderwoman or Talia al Ghul for me.
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>>5745711
For me, it's Sean in the mode of Thema dating Batgirl and then seeing her get killed
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>>5745875
>>
New thread?
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>>5745915
This one is on page 11 so it's about to go any second now, Axis should've made a new one by now though. Yet another delay?
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>>5745919
There a pastebin of the old intermissions/ happenings?
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>>5745932
Nope, just have to comb the archives. Unless you're looking for something in particular?
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Axis went onto the QTG discord earlier today to announce his imminent suicide. Proofs attached. Join the discord and check yourself if you're incredulous.
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>>5745937
I really really fucking hope this is a joke.
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>>5745937
Please say sike...
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>>5745937
I mean if this is real, qm curse is some real shit

Hope its a joke though. His work seemed to be going pretty rough recently.
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>>5745939
>>5745941
>>5745943
Im praying that he'll show up here and prove it wrong or if it is, that he won't go through with it. Such a permanent solution to temporary problems, a real one like Axis doesn't deserve that.
>>
Anyone going to archive this one before it falls off?
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>>5745950
I guess I'll do it
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>>5745954
Thanks anon
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>>5745954
Do it well will you? Take your time to correct any mistakes and follow the example of previous archibed threads.
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>>5745945
I don't trust anything that comes from discord. Not like it's the first time he's gotten held up before run time. To early for any doom and gloom.
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>>5745958
Wilco
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>>5745961
Of course, but I always expect the worst when Im hoping for the best.
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Thread archived. Hoping against hope now.
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what's the qtg discord
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>>5745973
https://discord.gg/vwTB3JvX
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man fuck it looks like it's real the account that posted that on discord has almost 4 thousand posts in there

godspeed axis
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Looks like he did Gunsmoked himself, hopefully last moment remorse but who knows
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>>5746032
Well shit. That fucking blows.
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>>5746032
>>5745937
>>
we can only hope anon, i any case, this was a great quest and we had a great qm. bless you guys, you were all great and i had a lot of fun reading and playing in this quest. Also, thanks axis for showing us great songs with each update, your creativy and dedication to this quest will be missed a lot, not speaking of you as a person too. Because while we did not know each other that much, you showed us how great of a person you were. I just have a selfish wish, wich is that you told us yourself, at least so we could talk one last time
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>>5746067
I'll pour one out for him. Here's to Axis. And y'all too, I guess.
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>>5746072
yeah, i will also pour one for him, least i can do too
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Hope Axie end up in a nice place.
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>>5746067
I wish we could've spoken to him today too. I can only hope and pray that he changed his mind and has not shown himself out of a misguided sense of shame. Like I said, a real one like Axis shouldn't go out like that.
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RIP Axis I guess.
I never read this quest, but this is a genuine shame
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Jesus Christ.
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I just wish he had said something, he deserves better.
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Jumping in here if there is a small chance that Axis is still around and chose not to do it.

Everybody has moments of weakness man. Everybody has got a scar. I hope that you chose not to walk that final road and that if you're there reading out these heartfelt messages I won't hold it against you. A lot of times people feel like they are bearing too many burdens, but good hearted people have a tendency to bear burdens of choice and not of necessity. I hope that you managed to walk it back and just take stock of what's really important to you, personally. You can be a bit self-indulgent. Its not a crime to put yourself first. You don't have to be everyone's dad or brother.

If running the quest was a bit too much just take some time for yourself. You can take an hour to find a better job rather than running. There are a thousands of options still out there. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem and there are thousands of fixes to any problem.

And if you're reading this and don't want to jump back in because you feel ashamed or don't know how to go on after a breakdown its cool dude. Its alright. Just a message saying you need some me time is all we need and even if you don't wanna give that much I got no right to press. Just be safe.

And if you are looking for new, less stressful jobs check out the BLS.gov website. They list thousands of needed jobs and vacancies that you can look into in your area to find a new job to jump into right away. I am sure your state even has something like that.
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>>5746105
good solid advice anon. Hope fully axis reads it
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Please don't be dead, Axis.
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If Axis is actually dead I'm going to kill myself too so I can personally kick his ass
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WTF did I come back to?!
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Rest in peace Axis-kun. You will live on in our memories, as will your quest.
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>>5746320
Axis shuffled himself off this mortal coil, apparently. Damn awful situation all around. You could tell that some of the troubles experienced by the characters in the quest were a little too real to be just imagination, but this... is something else.

Requiescat in pace, I guess.



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