Christ, I'm bad at getting this thing started on time lately. Oh, well. Also forgot to archive it last night, and since the last one didn't last until now, that means it has been lost forever. Note for posterity: People dressed in white mucked around with Julio after getting rid of his mics. We don't know exactly what they talked about, but it seems as though he's hiding something from us. So we parked Mesmer in the next room over and started asking him for more details about the conversation.

This plot summary:

>http://ironmaster.wikia.com/wiki/Plot_Summary

Will get you caught up without having to read the archives, though for those interested in the long version, the archive can be found here:

>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=super%20villain%20quest

It's also worth noting that the map is now out of date, as the Goblin Gang has been swallowed up by the Iron Guard and the Ronin. It'd be cool if someone could make a new one.

Other helpful wiki pages:

>http://ironmaster.wikia.com/wiki/The_Iron_Guard

>http://ironmaster.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Master%27s_Mechanized_Army

>http://ironmaster.wikia.com/wiki/Active_Events

THE IRON MASTER
Health: 6 (8)
Power: 7 (21)

Athletics: 7
Cunning: 3
Technology: 4
Insight: 2
Observation: 3
Nefariousness: 2
Stealth: 4

Powers: Super Strength, Super Speed, Peak Durability, AI, SynthSkin, Model T, Mobile Dolls, Ghost Whisperer, Deathless

>Link to rules (including powers list): http://pastebin.com/jgDrRens

Action Points:

The Iron Master: 0/2
Julio Pedone: 0/3
Rica Rivera: 1/2

Resources: 19
XP: 0

Bump. Let's hope this can still work with a late start.

Oh Boy!

Julio, lets slowly go over this again, did they say Anything, mention anything, have you sign or read anything before they handed you the bag of money?

Go over the bit he is evading again. Oh, and I was wondering would spending 2 resources to give him a single cheap power (like peak durability for example) make him off limits for deadeye?

>>21139012

Maybe. The ability to just hand out powers like this is a very new thing, which means if you use it tactically to cheat another super out of a paycheck, they might be able to convince Team Red that artificial supers shouldn't be counted. And since you're the only one who can make them, that perspective could get a whole lot of support, very quickly. It would definitely slow Dead Eye down, however, since he'd have to actually get the rest of Team Red on board with booting artificial supers from the club before he could kill anyone over it. If he just bumped off someone with powers and tried to justify it after the fact, he's almost guaranteed to be booted to Team Black, even if Team Red decides he was right and artificial supers automatically count as Team Black. Someone who plays that fast and loose with the rules of engagement is a threat to everyone with powers.

>>21138998

Julio pauses for a moment, and then says "no, she just went back to the trunk to grab the money."

"No," Mesmer says in the next room over, "she gave him something else, first. Some sort of...Glass or crystal knife, he isn't sure what it is, but she gave that to him before the money. And said something, made him an offer, but he isn't thinking about the exact words."

>>21138890
Personally, I figure that the likely outcome would be that the rules would only partially apply. Killing (or for that matter trying to kill) the artificial super wouldn't make you team black. But it would make you fair game for the artificial super in question, and his friends.

>>21139223
"And the knife, julio?"

>>21139318

"What knife?" Julio asks without missing a beat.

"He's mostly thinking about how you could possibly know about the knife," Mesmer says.

>>21139404
"Two interesting facts Julio:
1. I made a recording of our previous conversation.
2. I can build robots that act as very good lie detectors, even when viewing records.
Now lets try this again: what about the knife?"

>>21139502

"I don't know anything about a knife," Julio says, looking baffled.

"Yes, he does," Mesmer says, swallowing "but believe it or not he's more focused on what's happening now than what happened that night at the moment." He sounds nervous. Odd.

>>21139667
That would be Asreal's influence no doubt. Side note: how would our modified cancer serum work on Taser's long term injury?
"Julio, Mesmer's in the next room. Are you really sure lying to me is the smartest course of action right now?"

>>21139718
We can hit them with the Chai knockout method with roach drug bots, kidnap them, Cancer them and just drop them off at Amp's hideout.
Just need to run the plan by team SCIENCE!

>>21139791
Or we could just slip the drug to Amp. Since Taser is apparently in another city

>>21139810
The other city is still deemed as part of LA i think.

>>21139824
Still wouldn't be easy to kidnap him. Also probably wouldn't work very well. The only reason that we're thinking about giving a clear member of team blue a power boost is that OP has clearly decided to pit us against Asreal as the final boss of Act 2.

>>21139718

"I'm not lyin, boss," Julio says, "why would I lie about this? What would I possibly stand to gain?"

"He's going all-in," Mesmer says, "made a gamble and he's decided that sticking to his guns is as likely to work as anything."

>>21139824

Taser is in San Diego, which is sort of a satellite city to LA. Taser is still considered a member of LA's Team Blue, and likewise any villains kicking around down there are considered part of Team Red. It's way quieter than LA, though, and Taser is one of like five supers down there.

>>21139875
it's less a power boost, more a decrippling. We've leveling out Team Blue, since we've half stolen Kestral, embarrassed Behemoth, and took over Swordsman's corpse. Then we're going to make a super evil Sentai team

>>21139934
"Perhaps it's less what you want to gain and more what you fear to lose. I'm quite willing to help you with your problem Julio, but only if you stop trying to bullshit me."

Also.
I thought of an Anti sniper mech to take down Dead Eye.
High caliber rifle or anti-tank rifle
Terminator power for a force of Pidgeon scouts and divebombers, high stealth and notice abilities, good athletics...

>>21139975

Julio laughs, dark and bitter. "Something to lose?" he asks, "like what? This job is the only good thing to happen to me in twenty years, there's not a single offer what anyone could make me that would convince me to risk it."

"Well apparently there is," Mesmer says, his voice quick and agitated.

>>21140016
throw in AI simply because everyone that does have AI, are actual sentient robots we've created. Steve kind of became that way through a way of his own.
For the Hacker mechs though, i imagine that have those 8-bit screens like Jailbot to display emotions and commands.

>>21140100
"Mesmer disagrees"

>>21140100
"Who knows Julio, maybe you've something to steal for them, your family to get an even better life, Millions of dollars do buy that for 'life insurance'. Julio, I dont need to threaten you, you know what im capable of, but Jack and Lily could disrupt the balance of power in LA. I cant have that

>>21140131

"Mesmer's wrong, or lying," Julio says, "look, Asrael's involved, that guy goes out of his way to make sure no one knows what he's up to or what he can do. Maybe he has some way of fooling Mesmer's mind reading."

"Such a power doesn't exist," Mesmer says, "there are those who can block it and those smart enough to dodge sensitive subjects altogether, but no one can make me think I'm hearing thoughts they aren't thinking. Ask Whisper."

>>21140269
"Asrael's involved is he? I'd only thought that some myself, Where'd you come to that conclusion. So you say Asrael has mess with your mind to make someone reading believe that it wasnt just someone handing you a bag full of money and that they gave you a knife."
Machines, overturn his room and search the Hawthrorn hideout. We're looking for a knife.
"Julio, you arnt that stupid, i've caught you now, Do not make me become unpleasant. Or rather, i dont even have to, i've people to do that for me."

>>21140269
"And the reason why my special mechs also think you are lying? Julio, what the hell happened in that car." (Is it feasable for us to search every place julio might have stashed such a knife? Because if so, do it with some very observant bots"

What if hes telling the truth and Asrael is trying some weird magicy shit?

>>21140441
Why would he bother? If he wants to get rid of julio, the logical thing to do would be murder him. Why bother to frame him? On the other hand, this is possibly the most blatant recruitment attempt I've ever seen.

>>21140468
Because if we toss Julio out we lose our logistics and the blatant recruitment happens.

>>21140342

"People in white, unknown powers, never announced themselves, of course Asrael's involved!" Julio says, "that's not conspiracy, that's putting two and two together...Look, boss, I can't tell you something I don't know."

"They've made a threat on his life," Mesmer says, "I don't know the details, he isn't trying to recall the conversation exactly. But they've convinced him that he'll be killed and that there's nothing you can do to stop it. Apparently the knife is somehow going to safeguard him. But he isn't sure if he trusts them. Trying to keep his options open, and now he's weighing them again. Whatever threat they made against him, he's convinced of its validity."

A search of the Hawthorne hideout by hyper-perceptive mechs turns up a crystalline spike with strange runes carved into it. You don't immediately recognize it as anything necromantic...Then again, your necromantic expertise is dwarfed by your knowledge of physics and engineering.

>>21140509
then why not just murder him? First, we got to search for the knife.

>>21140550
"They're going to try to kill you, arnt they. Unless you get something for them, stolen from me. Information? Technology? Mechs, Equipment? It matters not, they want something of mine and they wont stop until they get it, i wouldnt be suprised if this was Chimera's scam to recruit you again now they're you've proven yourself far more valuable then they first though. Or even another organization, regardless, they cant have you. What they have done though, is really give you your life insurance Julio. You've seen the Made Man Julio, what if I Made you? They, or Dead eye could try to drop you then, but they'll certainly be hard pressed. But i cant do this unless i can trust you, I cant do this without the Truth!

>>21140877

"I'm telling you the truth," Julio says, "all they gave me was cryptic bullshit and a bag full of money that I passed on to you. What more do you want from me?"

>>21141059

"I have the word of Mesmer and the knife to back it, please don't make this harder Julio, I can't take risks right now"

If he denies it again, ask him if he would be comfortable staying in a cell until we deal with Asrael.

Dammit. Another tiny thread, and I need to go soon. Hopefully this will still be around when I get back in a few hours, but I will actually archive this one in case it's not:

>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/21138834/

Until next time, when hopefully this quest will recover from its slump.

>>21141059
Toss him the crystal thing

Wow, this hit page 7 quick.

Ready to run game again, anyone still around?

I guess that's a no?

Show him the crystal spike after that maybe have our two doctors analyse it or something.
End this interogation, its yielded enough info. can we build a custom stat terminator? A full defense stat one to guard him could help

>>21144349

Oh, hey, someone's here.

Julio claims he's never seen the thing before. Mesmer says he's lying.

All the terminators are custom-stats, actually.

Aaaaaand someone's gone.

>>21144892
new person.
"Julio, cut the bullshit. If you're that fucking scared of Asreal and his flunkies I can arrange for you to be shipped out of the city."

>>21144892
Nuh uuh! just reading up on other quests.

2 terminator guards for him then and our two science guys to examine the spike after our little pow wow