ic Otherworld Capers (IC)

[Shofet]

Riverfront

August 5, 4:10 PM

 

GM

 

It was a fairly standard afternoon in the Riverfront. The cars pushed along, their drivers eager to get out of the downtown and retreat to the suburbs where they lived. The heat made things slightly sticky, only encouraging people to want to vacate faster. The sidewalks similarly were lined with people going about their daily business, entranced by their phones and latest purchases.

 

Yet in one alley, there was something quite un-standard. It started as a small pulse of light, before the air in the alley began to ripple and shudder. For only a split-second, that light became a crack in the border between worlds and just as soon, it was gone. In its place stood a man clothed in the stereotypical outfit of a burglar: A black-and-white striped shirt, a black beanie, a domino mask, and black pants. In his left hand, he held a strange-looking gun - shaped like a ray gun from 1950s sci-fi movies, it was coloured shiny gold and covered in dials and meters.

 

“Myah!” He cried. “I did it! They thought it would not work, but they were fools to doubt Captain Crime, who breaks even the laws of causality!”

 

His victorious gloating was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Captain Crime turned to see a young man, dressed in a black polo with khaki pants and a similar apron, carrying a bag of trash. The young man stopped, and stared at Captain Crime.

 

“Uh… You lost?” he asked.

 

Crime smiled, and raised his pistol. The young man backed away, raising his hands. “Hey, now, buddy, we can talk ab--AAA!” His high pitched-shriek intermingled with the sound of a laser blast, the light of which enveloped his whole body.

 

When the beam had faded, the young man had changed. Now he was dressed in an open, sleeveless leather vest, along with torn up jeans and combat boots. What had once been a fairly neat blond undercut was now a lime green mohawk. He stood still for a moment, looking at his surroundings, before a cruel grin crossed his face.

 

“Eyyy,” he said. “Now this is nice. Hey, boss, you wanna go and mess some stuff up?”

 

Captain Crime’s grin grew wider. “Oh, oh yes, my felonious friend, I do.”

Edited August 8, 2019 by Shofet

[Shofet]

Riverfront

August 5, 5:11

 

Meta-Naut

 

Raya sighed contentedly to herself as she sipped her coffee, stroking the back of a pretty little siamese cat. Somehow, so few dimensions appreciated the brilliance of a cat cafe. What could go better than the relaxing effect of a nice, hot cup of coffee and the sublime experience of being surrounded by just, like, a whole lot of cats. So many cats.

 

She set her mug down, picking her phone up from the table, and started to browse. Her emails were all boring, being mostly about business stuff she had no interest in dealing with at the moment, so she switched to look at her RSS feed. She scrolled through, but still, nothing caught her interest aside from some cute fan-art. But fan-art was not enough to keep her interest for long. She frowned, and checked her texts.

 

Nothing new there either.

 

Then, she heard it. The sound of sirens screaming. She turned her head to see an armoured van race past the cafe’s front door, topped by a man in what could only be described as the most stereotypical criminal outfit, firing weird beams wildly into the streets. One woman, dressed in yoga pants and a tank top, was hit. Suddenly, she was wearing biker leathers, and was brandishing a knife, which she started waving in the face of a shocked business man as she forced him to take out his wallet and give it to her.

 

“...Huh,” Raya said. “Should probably do something about that.”

 

Using the shock of the patrons, she snuck out of the cafe, and changed in the alley into the Meta-Naut! Her identity now concealed by a chrome helmet, she engaged her power of flight and took off into the air, heading after the strange man.

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

It had been a quiet afternoon so far, at least since Elliot had snuck out from the Shadow Academy. He had been running and jumping across the rooftops for a while now, heading towards the Riverfront, or, to be more accurate, the government buildings in the area. He had so far spent many sleepless nights going through the archives, trying to find anything that could lead him through the real power behind Emerald City, but so far, he had little luck.

 

Hearing a siren, he slowed down and crouched at the corner of a building, peering down at the commotion below. He was currently dressed in dark blue pants, a slightly lighter blue jacket and shoes, and a dress shirt in the same color as his pants. Under his dark blue cap, he was completely black, with only white eyes visible. His standard look as Rebellion, really. 

 

And then the armored car came barelling past, with a man in white and black striped criminal outfit riding it, shooting some sort of ray gun everywhere. Whoever he hit seemed to turn into some kind of equally stereotypical criminal. "What the hell?" Even if there were no one around to hear him, Elliot just couldn't help it. Emerald City could be weird, but this? 

 

For a moment, he hesitated. This guy was so out there, he probably had nothing to do with the powers that be. He should just leave him alone. And then someone in a chrome helmet flew past. And the truck was a danger... 

 

With a reluctant sigh, Rebellion pulled back a few steps and set into a run towards the next building, quickly starting to bounce across the rooftops until he could get close enough to jump towards the car. Fine, then. People were in danger. Those documents would still be there later.

[Shofet]

GM

 

Captain Crime was riding high. His plan to steal an armoured vehicle had gone off without a hitch, thanks to his army of felonized subjects, but this was only phase one of his plan! Next, he would have to head to town hall. Then, he could blast the mayor with his crime gun, and have him make all crime legal in… whatever city he was in! It was brilliant!

 

Soon, Captain Crime would run this place!

 

However, his triumph was interrupted by the cries of his drivers. “Boss!” They yelled. “Look up in da sky! It’s a supah-hero!”

 

Crime blinked, looking up to see a strangely dressed woman flying up above him. He glowered. “D’ohhh! Do-gooders! Out to foil my plans! You will rue the day you chose to tangle with Captain Crime!”

 

He turned the dial on his Crime Gun, moving it away from its transformative properties and instead towards the much more dangerous Murder Mode! He aimed up at the interloper, and let loose a wicked looking blast of energy right at her!

Edited August 8, 2019 by Shofet

[Shofet]

Meta-Naut

 

The Meta-Naut sped after the van, watching as the man on top spread chaos about by blasting randomly at people, turning them into more criminals like she had seen in front of the cafe. She had no idea what this guy’s angle was, but he was doing something real weird and she intended to put a stop to it.

 

Yet before she could get close, she was struck by a blast of light. Her force-field flashed around her, unable to fully stop the blast as she felt energy rush through her entire body. She cried out in pain, and came to a dead stop, merely floating there in the air.

 

“Yeagh!”

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

The almost comically looking man atop the armored van shouted something at the woman. Something about rueing the day, his name being Captain Crime. Rebellion honestly wasn't listening, he was more focused on the fact that he had jumped from the building he had previously been on, and he was now falling through the air towards the van. The man fired a shot from his weapon at the flying woman, Elliot hearing her cry of pain as he landed on the moving truck. No time to worry about that, though. The man still had his weapon, after all.

 

Not that Elliot was any different. Pulling out one of his batons, he threw it at the man, angled perfectly to bounce back down at the truck, and then into his waiting hand.

[Shofet]

GM

 

“Nya-ha-ha!” cried Captain Crime. “Well, that deals with that noble nuisance!”

 

Yet just as the words left his lips, his victory turned to ashes in his mouth as some strange, abyssal looking man threw a baton in his face. He didn’t even get to quip as he went sailing off of the truck, shrieking the entire way. His shrieking did not stop when he hit the street below, the truck only barely swerving to miss him.

 

The truck slowed to a stop as they realized what happened, the men hurrying out to see what had happened to their boss.

 

Meanwhile, Captain Crime slowly staggered to his feet, a terrible stinging in his ribs. At least, where it wasn’t numb. “Nocturnal ne’erdowell…”he whined to himself, rubbing the blood from his lower lip. “INKY INGRATE!”

[Shofet]

Meta-Naut

 

The Meta-Naut managed to regain a hold of her senses after a few moments, and immediately got back to the chase. She got to see a strange looking man attack Captain Crime with a baton, throwing him off of the truck in the process. She watched him hit the ground, shriek, tumble for a bit, shriek some more and somehow despite it all get back up.

 

She didn’t want to take any chances, and thus prepared a blast. Her hand was engulfed in a blue, transparent gauntlet, and she let loose a tachyonic burst. It hit true, and he let loose another shriek in the middle of what appeared to be a tantrum, collapsing to the ground.

 

“That’s for shooting me!”

 

Still, not wanting to risk the guy’s life, she landed next to him. First, she took his gun, then gently prodded him with her foot, eliciting a slow, high-pitched whine. Then she looked up to see the goons getting out of his armoured car.

 

“Ah, crud. Right.”

 

The only thing that stopped the confrontation was the screech of the police cars skidding a halt behind her as a bunch of officers came pouring out to meet the thugs, guns at the ready. The goons dropped their own weapons, and raised their hands up high in the air.

 

"...Huh," she said. "This seemed... way too easy."

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

One hit, and the man was sent flying from the truck. Somehow, it avoided him, leaving him to stagger to his feet. Catching the ricocheting baton in his hand, Rebellion held on to the truck for his dear life, remaining kneeling as this Captain Crime figure shouted threats at him. He'd heard much worse at the academy, something like this honestly didn't bother him. He was about to jump down and throw his baton again when the woman swooped in from out of nowhere and shot him with some weird blast... and the man just crumbled. Weak. This guy wouldn't have lasted a day at the academy.

 

The woman checked on him. Was that a thing you were supposed to do as a hero? Did it matter that much? He was about to stand up when Captain Crime's henchmen came out. The police were already coming in, and Rebellion wasn't keen on tangling with them, so he made himself scarce. Well, he seemed to disappear, at least, but he stayed on top of the truck to watch what was going on. After all, he had to agree with the flying girl. This had been way too easy.

[Shofet]

Meta-Naut

 

The Meta-Naut watched as all the goons were rounded up from the truck, moved away in handcuffs. She wondered if they were actually transformed or not, and if they would be tried even if they were. She wouldn't put it past the legal system to blunder this, somehow. Then again, who was to say she wouldn't either.

 

She turned to see police grabbing the strange gun and bagging it as its owner was loaded into a well-guarded ambulance. She frowned to herself. She had wanted to study the gun, but it seemed like that was out of the question for now.

 

It was then that her gaze turned to the person still standing on top of the truck. She levitated up and off the ground, floating up towards the top of the truck.

 

"Hey," she said. "Good save back there. I'm the Meta-Naut... And you are?"

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

The police took the people, cuffing them and everything. Elliot had seen them being changed when hit by the gun. Whatever they had done, they were not responsible. So, what was this? Somebody in the conspiracy needing some good scapegoats for something or other? And they took the gun, too. He didn't trust the police with something like that. Emerald already had its fair share of bad guys, even if they were behind the scenes, so who knew what they could do with a gun that turned people into criminals? Perfect fodder for new recruits to the academy.

 

He was brought out of his thoughts when the Meta-Naut floated up to him, startling him for a moment. Too lost in thought again. He had to stop doing that. "Rebellion." His answer was short and curt. So, a hero. Great. "That gun changed those people. I don't know if I trust the cops to take something like that." So, what kind of hero, then? Let's see.

[Shofet]

Meta-Naut

 

The Meta-Naut looked back at where the gun had been, now being taken away to be used as evidence. At least, she was pretty sure that was what was going to happen. She frowned for a moment, before looking back at Rebellion and shrugging her shoulders.

 

"They already have the gun, dude, and I don't think they'll just hand it over to us," she said. 

 

"And, uh, you know, like it's not that I disagree with you. Just, not in a mood to start picking fights with the police right now. I just got shot, which, you know, shot with a weird gun means I'm already on the hook if I do anything suspicious since it can be like "heyyy, delayed reaction", and I'm already not white so the deck's kind of stacked against me there from the start, right?"

 

She paused.

 

"Right?"

 

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

Elliot took a moment to think about it. She did have some good points, there. Wouldn't look good for the Meta-Naut if she tried to take that gun. Himself, on the other hand? He could do it. But not here. That would just cause too much attention, and he didn't want everyone coming looking for him. "Yeah. No point getting into a brawl in the middle of the street." Didn't mean he'd discounted the idea, not yet at least. Besides, he had other options.

 

He stood up straight. A gun like that, and someone dressed like that using it? Weird. Even weirder than the rest of Emerald. If he was a regular, then Rebellion would need to know more.

 

"Feeling like a villain yet, then?" He wasn't completely serious, even if his voice might sound so. The other people that had been hit had at least seemed like regular people. What did it do when a super hero got hit with a gun like that?

[Shofet]

Meta-Naut

 

The Meta-Naut shrugged her shoulders. "I feel a bit sore from when he shot me, but no real compulsion to go do some crimes, no," she said, looking as a good portion of the police began to drive away.

 

One, however, walked up to the truck. "Hey guys," he said. "Sorry to break up your conversation, but this truck is evidence and we gotta take it back to the station, so if you could just..."

 

The Meta-Naut blinked. "Oh! Oh, yeah." She landed, the light constructs around her legs disappearing as she touched the ground. "Sorry about that, sorta blanked there."

 

"It's fine," the officer said, adjusting his gun belt. "Oh, uh... Noticed you got shot back there."

 

The Meta-Naut nodded. "Yeah, really stung."

 

"Feeling any different?" The cop asked.

 

"No, not really."

 

The cop stared for a moment, sticking a tongue in her cheek. "Weird. Mind if we have medical take a look at you?"

Edited August 12, 2019 by Shofet

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

Rebellion jumped down from the truck, landing heavily next to the Meta-Naut before standing up to stare straight at the cop. "Why? She's showing no signs of any change. Everyone else was changed immediately, and the change seemed to affect their appearance, as well as their psyche. And there seemed to be no discomfort. The Meta-Naut was obviously hurt when she was hit. Everything points to a different kind of attack." He started approaching. "What was that weapon? What do you know about it?" 

 

His voice was going deeper, his eyes was almost glowing. Rebellion was not afraid to use what he had from the Terror to find out what this man knew, if anything. If not? Well, maybe one cop that wouldn't try to question him, or others near him.

Edited August 12, 2019 by RocketLord

[Shofet]

GM

 

The officer stared at Rebellion with a mix of confusion and horror. “Uh, what? I don’t… What?” He stepped back a few feet, obviously unprepared for this kind of confrontation. “I don’t know anything about the gun? We just got it?” He paused, and then he squinted at Rebellion. “Why? Do you know anything about it?” By the sound of his voice, it seemed as though Rebellion’s reaction had made him suddenly suspicious of the young man.

 

He looked back at the other officers that had remained behind, then back at Rebellion, his squint deepening. 

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

The cop sounded suspicious? So what? He didn't sound like he knew anything about the gun, so what did that mean? Either he wasn't in on the whole conspiracy, or this entire thing was just something weird and random. Push the guy enough, and the other cops would come running, and honestly, he didn't need that right now.

 

"All I know is that its strange that there's a city without super villains, and then something like that shows up out of the blue. Sounds off to me." He waved the cop off with a dismissing motion of his hand. There was no need to push it, was there? "Go play. Try not to shoot yourselves with the new toy." 

 

He stepped away and crossed his arms, simply glaring at the cop.

[Shofet]

Meta-Naut

 

The Meta-Naut watched as the cop walked away, then looked to Rebellion. She sized Rebellion up. Only a select few types of person were willing to talk to a cop like that, though not all of them were villainous. It seemed like the guy believed there was more to this, and hey, the city wasn't supposed to have super-villains, so maybe there was? At the very least, she did owe him for saving the day, so maybe she could lend a hand.

 

"Soooo..." she said, "thanks again. Maybe I can return the favour?"

 

She wasn't entirely sure what returning the favour entailed, but maybe the guy would have something in mind. Maybe she could just buy him a sandwich or something. A really fancy sandwich.

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

Return the favor? Rebellion glanced over at the Meta-Naut, while she looked him over. What did she have in mind? He had the distinct impression that she was from a completely different world than his own, and it was a strange feeling, to be honest. To him, Emerald City was a dark place, run by shadowy powers. Cops probably on their payroll. To her? Who knew? He had no idea. A high tech metropolis, led by the greatest minds of the world? She seemed the type to think of it like that. He had to admit, he was not really used to team ups like this. If this could be called a team up.

 

"What did you have in mind?" 

 

Elliot wanted to find that gun. Probably destroy it, if possible. Everything he had been taught at Elysium pointed to using the Meta-Naut for that, but, no. That wasn't what he was trying to be, was it? 

[Shofet]

Meta-Naut

 

The Meta-Naut paused. Crud, I hoped he would have something in mind, she thought to herself. That question put her back on the back foot. She had no idea how to help this guy. But she did offer the help so now she was obligated.

 

"Uh..." she said. "Well! We should probably try and figure out where this guy even came from. I donno about you, but I've never heard of this Captain Crime guy before, which is a little weird, yanno? Maybe if we teamed up, we could find out more together."

 

She paused. "I also have some contacts I could call, see about getting some database checks for the guy."

 

 

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

"Yeah. It's strange. Emerald's not supposed to have any super villains." He paused. "At least not anyone operating in the open." Of course he knew better. Did she? How new was she to Emerald, anyway? He motioned towards the nearby building. "You flew, right? How about moving away from the street?"

 

Rebellion didn't wait for the Meta-Naut to respond before jumping up, landing on the side of the building and quickly scaling it. He could watch the police cars from up here. Keep an eye on what they were up to. If Meta-Naut followed, he would turn to her. "Figure he's from out of town. Sounded at least a bit unhinged." He reached into his jacket, pulled out a small notebook and a pen, flipped it open and started scribbling on it. "Captain Crime. A name like that sounds more like a distraction. Too over the top. But he seemed dangerous, anyway." More notes being written down. "Anything else?" They could follow, of course. See where they took Captain Crime. 

[Shofet]

Meta-Naut

 

The Meta-Naut followed Rebellion, flying up and off after him after he started his leaping. She didn't have much to add to what he was saying - except for the distraction. In all her time as a dimension-hopper, she had encountered quite a lot of pretty ridiculous individuals, and therefore her barrier for "too over the top" was much, much bigger than Rebellion's.

 

"Okay," she said. "Just gimme... twoooo seconds. Going to make a call."

 

She suddenly took off into the air, heading up a good distance away from where she felt anyone would be able to hear her, before pulling out her phone. She dialed the number of Rebecca Wesson, her government liaison and general minder. After only a few rings, the woman answered.

 

"What is it?" Rebecca asked, sounding tired.

 

"Just need a teensy favour," the Meta-Naut replied. "Small one."

 

"...What is it?" Rebecca repeated.

 

"Can you run a database check for someone named Captain Crime? I'd really appreciate it," the Meta-Naut said, trying to sound as sweet as possible.

 

The Meta-Naut heard Rebecca sigh over the phone, then the clicking of a few keys. "Sure," Rebecca said after a moment of silence. "It'll take me a bit, but I will run a data-base check. Should be easy enough to find someone with a nom-de-guerre like that."

 

"Thaaaanks Becky," the Meta-Naut said. "You're a peach."

 

"Don't ever call me Becky," Rebecca replied, before ending the call.

 

The Meta-Naut descended down again, smiling at Rebellion. "Alright, so I made my call. We should be expecting results within the next bit. Hopefully, that'll give us some leads," she said. "If you wanna head down to the precinct, maybe we could get some more info while we wait for that call-back, or... I dunno. Get a sandwich."

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

Contacts. Interesting. Rebellion made another note in the book, the shut it and placed it in his jacket with his pencil and turned back to her. They could go to the precinct, of course. But would it help right now? If they had Captain Crime under lock and key, along with his weapon in the evidence locker. But it was still early. There would be too many people at the precinct. It would be better to wait.

 

And he was hungry.

 

"Sandwich sounds good." His white eyes flickered to Meta-Naut, then back to the police getting ready to leave. His expression was barely there, difficult, if not impossible to reach. His voice as deadpan as ever as he continued. "Too early to break into a precinct anyway." He'd done it before. Probably could again. But some information on Captain Crime would be good.

[Shofet]

Meta-Naut

 

Some time later, they found themselves on the patio of a local sandwich shop. The Meta-Naut had offered to pay for everything, of course, and wouldn't take no for an answer. She ended up getting herself something with roast beef and sun-dried tomatoes, along with some sauce from Argentina she had trouble pronouncing. She was about mid-bite when she finally got the call.

 

"Oh!" she declared, mouth still full. "Oh crup!"

 

She tossed the sandwich down into its basket, and washed down what she could with her bottle of cola. Then, frantically, she answered the phone. "Heyyy," she said, trying to sound smooth.

 

"Hey," Rebecca replied flatly. "So, got some news. Cross-referenced a whole bunch of nationwide databases, and got nothing. No criminal records referring to anyone called 'Captain Crime.'"

 

"Oh," the Meta-Naut said dejectedly.

 

"Hey, hey hey," Rebecca interjected. "Hold on. I still have something for you. What I did find is that there was an old, 60s era comic book imprint that had a character named Captain Crime. His whole gimmick was he could turn other people into criminals with his Crime Gun. He could even have been based on a minor super-villain from that time. Databases don't cover everything."

 

"...Huh," the Meta-Naut replied, sipping her drink. "That sounds like our guy."

 

"So, I guess you have someone mimicking this old comic book character's gimmick," she said.

 

"Yeah, I guess so," the Meta-Naut said.

 

"Anyway, I'm sending you some scans of an issue he appeared in. If the guy is copy-catting him, maybe he might try one of his schemes, too. Anyway, it's about time for lunch so I'm gonna let you go after the images go through."

 

The Meta-Naut nodded, seeing a few texts arrive. "Alright, I got'em. Go eat lunch."

With that, the conversation ended, and the Meta-Naut looked to Rebellion. "Well, I got something weird. Turns out this Captain Crime guy might be stealing his whole gimmick from an old character from comic books. I got the scans of an old issue, maybe he will try and recreate one of the crimes from the comics"

Edited August 26, 2019 by Shofet

[RocketLord]

REBELLION

 

Elliot hadn't visited this place before. At least not as Rebellion. They got some odd looks, sitting out in the open like this, one in futuristic armor, and him looking like, well, him. All black, white eyes. No visible mouth, though he was slowly taking bites out of his sandwich. Avocado, mozarella, chicken teriyaki, tomato. He liked that combo, and not really something they served back at Elysium.

 

He'd stayed silent most of the time, just observing the Meta-Naut, offering nothing about himself. She seemed like she wanted to do right, which was good, but heroes just appearing in Emerald still felt weird to him. The city wasn't supposed to have any heroes. Now they were popping up everywhere. Emerald Spider. Justice. Shrike, moving from Freedom City. Himself. The Meta-Naut. It was curious. Was it just a coincidence, or was there something more to it? 

 

"A comic book?" He almost didn't believe it, but he had heard weirder. "A cosplayer, then." That was good, at least. If someone was that obsessed with something, it could be easier to figure out things about them. But on the other hand... "What do the book say about Captain Crime, then? What can he do? Can he escape from the cops?" All depended on how well the cosplayer stuck to the character.