ic Golden Gloves

[Nerdzul]

So there is a 'mad scientist' around town.

 

That... is freakin' problem... 

 

"If you come from where I come from, it was a lot. More than a man can dream of, even if you are me."

 

"You might be surprised... but I do know how it feels." He took one deep breath.

 

Nightscale listened intently, his solid gold eyes pointed toward Grabber. He had to suppress a chuckle when the man mentioned "Shot em dead" he liked the game as well, but it would have been kinda 'undignified' for a dragon to  be distracted by discussing shoot-em ups... 

 

"Out of town... Where exactly? I would like to have a talk with this fellow..." He replied.  "I don't like mad scientists distributing tech used to do crimes in my neighborhood..." He emphasized the possessive with a growl.

 

"What if next time it isn't just to dig, but he sells someone like Blowfish's a super-weapon." 

Edited July 23, 2023 by Nerdzul

[Supercape]

GM

 

"It don't look like much. A shack between Wharton Forest and the sea. Well, ain't exactly a shack, I suppose. More of a barn. Plenty of space, but nothing fancy. No pillars of marbles..."

 

Grabber Gibbons stopped to consider, allowing some rare and precious intelligence to seep into his brain which was quite unused to the sensation. 

 

"I mean. It could have frikkin laser beam cannons as a defence. I don't know. I just picked up the drill-suit from there. He wanted money, and he wanted to test drive his invention. He was a bit of a nerd. Barely spoke to me, thick glasses, and ten computer screens. Or about ten. I didn't count em, not exactly."

 

An observer might wonder if Grabber Gibbons could count at all, the way his fingers fluttered in the effort of simple maths. 

 

"But I guess he was more contraptions. Right? Maybe we could steal em!"

[Nerdzul]

"A shack, close to the sea... Can you lead me to it?" It didn't exactly feel like a place fit for a mad scientist lair, but then again, perhaps the man had merely chosen to pick that place as a meeting spot or something. "Before we decide what to do with the gold. I need to be sure, that there are no other high-tech weapons heading our way..." He explained.

 

Now, of course, he also wasn't yet sure about how to handle the jackpot and dealing with the scientist would by him more time. Although, to be honest, he did have half an idea to find a way to get the money into the hand of the people of his neighborhood. Including, Grabber and his brother, albeit, perhaps, not in the capacity they expected from the robbery. One thing he was certain about, though, was that the gold was not getting back to its' "owner". 

 

"I just need directions...You can accompany me, or stay here and guard the jackpot if you like." Not that the guy could go anywhere of course, unless Grabber had somehow learned how to do magic, the Hoard was cut off from the real world.

 

[ooc]I wonder if Luke might know anyone that can help him selling the gold and then spreading the profits among his people[/ooc]

 

 

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

And so, later, just before dawn...

 

...just outside Freedom City, by the coast. 

 

It wasn't quite a shack, but it wasn't quite a house. Some mutant offspring of both, ugly, small, but quite livable in. Sitting on an incline, with a good sea view. Surrounded by trees. It was an eyesore in an area of natural beauty. 

 

A cheap car sat outside, just of the almost-road that wound through trees to come to rest at the shack. 

 

Grabber Gibbons had insisted on driving, but they left his equally beat up car a couple of hundred feet away, making the journey on foot. 

 

"What now? Knock on the door, blow it up with dynamite? Or do you have some fancy golden trick up your sleeve? You gonna kick some nerd ass? Gonna put on some golden gloves?"

 

Grabber didn't have a plan. What he had was two fists and a propensity for greed and violence. But of the two, greed came first. His eyes had been glinting with anticipation ever since Luke showed him the mountains of gold in his hoard. 

 

 

[Nerdzul]

Luke, now having changed himself into his super-hero costume, just in case, had reluctantly accepted Grabber giving him a ride. After all, it was easier that way, the man clearly knew the hiding spot of this mad scientist of his. 

 

"Not much of a gloves type, mate." Luke chuckled, playfully clenching his fists.

 

"First I'm gonna take a look if your friend has anything in store for us..." The young man explained. "And just in case, I think you should wait at the car..." He sighed. "I mean... My hide is immune to bullets, your, my man, is not." He added, now perhaps Grabber was a criminal and a greedy troublemaker, but there was no need to risk him getting into troubles. Especially if this 'nerd' had some trick in store to deal with superheroes. 

 

Once he had, hopefully, left the man behind, Nightscale inspected the area, trying to figure out what the 'Nerd' had in store for them...

 

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Alarms, and lots of them. 

 

Well hidden, high tech, of all sorts of flavours. Infrared beams, hidden camera's, pressure pads - all to name but a few. The intricate advanced technology was quite at odds with the shack in the woods. The owner - or at least the person who had set the traps, was clearly quite the whizz with technology, and quite paranoid as well. This was the kind of surveillance equipment a world class spy organisation would create.

 

Fortunately, they seemed to be alarms, not explosives. No mines, no hidden shotguns or dart-slingers. No swinging trees or poison gas grenades. The equipment here was designed for one thing only - to spy on people outside the house. 

 

Fortunately, they were also relatively easy to circumnavitage - the pressure pads and beams didn't extend into the sky. Although the camera's did - if they happened to be facing skyward. they were able to rotate upwards but seemd to spin slowly, covering everything around them. 

 

With a bit of  calculation, with a bit of speed, Luke could fly a jagged path and land on the shack without the camera's pointing his way...

[Nerdzul]

Yep. Definitely a guy with nothing to hide.

 

The security was impressive and as he studied the setup that surrounded the seemingly innocent cabin, the young superhero wondered if perhaps the gap in that impressive security wasn't just artfully created to lure him straight into a worse trap. Well... there was unfortunately just one way to find out. Besides, he did need to stretch his wings a little. 

 

He circled back to the secluded spot where they left the car, using the occasion to check if Grabber was still waiting for him and then used the space in the clearing to shed his human form.

 

Now coated in obsidian scales, he unfolded his wings and took up the sky. At least, even if he could not evade the security measure, he would be doing an entrance in style... 

[Supercape]

GM

 

The sky was clear, the air was crisp. 

 

Swooping upwards, Nightscale could get a good look at the shack. Abarely visible dirt track curled away towards the city at the horizon. Trees had been felled to make space for the shack, although it had not been clearly visible from the ground. Cut trees, with gnarled roots. The clearing was a perfect circle. 

 

The roof was thatched - easy enough to smash through even for someone without the amazing strength of a dragon. 

 

No car, no vehicle. Did the owner walk? or... fly?

 

Whilst the shack ostensibly looked like a primitive and basic hut, the hidden technology secreted around the shack was in sharp contrast. 

 

And the hut itself looked so flimsy that a strong breath could blow it over. 

 

The whole thing appeared to revolve around alarms, not defence systems. 

 

At least, for now...

[Nerdzul]

Getting close to the shack was easy, a bit too easy in fact if you asked Luke. Then again, he had no way of knowing if he had found all of the sensor and alarms, or if one had been tripped by his presence. Whatever.

 

He needed to have a talk with the mad doctor, assuming that the fellow was ever there.  

Throwing caution to the wind, the young dragon landed in front of the cabin. 

 

"Knock... knock..."

[Supercape]

GM

 

The door opened with an ominous creak. 

 

A shack in the woods, an ominous creak. And there was a wood-axe hanging by the entrance, just to complete the triad. Lamentably, the axe was quite clean, without any blood stains or brains on its blade. 

 

"Come in then. You spotted some of my camera's. Not all."

 

The shack was largely a quaint shack. One room, with one corner holding a basic wooden bed, another corner a basic stove. However, one wall was dedicated to a number of computer monitors and a tangle of wires and processors. Studying the cameras was a man, somewhat skinny but with a certain wiry muscle to his frame. With a fleck of tey in his otherwise black hair. He worse a t shirt and jeans, and was barefoot. He looked like a cross between a computer nerd, a hiker, and a marathon runner. 

 

"Welcome to my humble abode. Nightscale, is it? At least thats what you looked like. I have extensive files. I hope I don't have to be worried. I'm no threat..."

[Nerdzul]

Luke stepped into the shack, his senses alert to the surroundings.

 

Straight out of an horror movie.

 

Still the guy inside didn't feel like the typical maniac, nor like a mad scientist hiding in the woods, to be honest. Appearance, though, could be deceiving, after all, Luke didn't look like a bus-sized winged lizard either, most of the times. 

 

"Nice to meet you, doc... I didn't catch your name by the way..." He replied as he walked in, minding his steps, just in case there was some kind of trap lying in wait. 

 

"How worried you should be... depends on what are your plans. I kinda don't like people giving super-tech to criminals in my territo- I mean neighbourhood, you know?" Although, to be honest, he didn't mind too much if that kind of stuff was used to rob mobsters, but then again, with that kind of stuff in the streets, things could get dangerous very fast.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"You didn't catch my name, no. I didn't give it you, it would be foolish to do so."

 

The thin man laced his fingers and gave Luke a very good look. 

 

Luke could see, over the man's shoulders, one of the screens showing... a picture of this very scene, from a different angle! an invisible camera was recording them!

 

"You can call me Eyeball. A codename seems appropriate, given I deal in code. More specifically, I fight my little war with information. Never mind the reason, suffice to say I have collected enough blackmail to put away half the corrupt politicians in the city. And my eye is very much on corruption, specifically the mob. I wished to ruin them."

 

He waved a hand. 

 

"Go keep the gold if you wish. I have enough digital currency to keep my operation going. I did not give away that loading suit to obtain wealth for myself, but rather to bleed dry Blowfish and his cronies. I intend to kill the fish by starvation."

[Nerdzul]

"Somehow I did not expect that you were gonna give me the real one." Luke smirked. "I hadn't myself after all..."

 

"A nickname will do, for now... Eyeball... Fine..." He nodded as he studied the man, trying to get a glimpse of what made him tick...

 

Are you lying to me buddy? He thought as he did his best to bank on whatever ability to read people that he had picked up on the streets, combined with a bit of dragon magic.

 

"I don't mind the mobsters and corrupt scum being bled a little." He chuckled. Not at all. Especially if the golds ends up somehow in the hands of the people of the neighborhood, that was, after all, his plan with the loot.

 

"What I do mind, though... is if the violence spills among my people..." He continued, stressing the 'my' perhaps a bit more vehemently that he would have wanted. "That's not something that I can stand for..."

[Supercape]

GM

 

As far as Luke could tell, Eyeball was being straight. Or he had a real good poker face. Maybe he it was both. 

 

"Pragmatic of you. More pragmatic than Grabber Gibbons...."

 

He drummed his fingers together in thought, scrutinising Luke carefully. 

 

"I don't particularly mind where the gold goes. I am not a Robin Hood, or only half of one. I steal from the rich... but I don't really care where the gold goes. the Police? The poor? The bottom of the ocean. Perhaps there are social, economic or political ramifications for these options, but I have not the will to investigate these complexities. Blowfish and his cronies need to be bled dry, by any means necessary."

 

"As for violence? It is an inelegant tool, at best. Grabber Gibbons is an inelegant man, and if I was to reflect on my mistakes, I would say my choice in him was impulsive and foolish. You, however, seem to have twice the wit and ten times the skill..."

 

He paused. 

 

"Would you take his place? Together, we can starve the mob!"

[Nerdzul]

"That's great as I was not planning to share just half of it with my people." Luke smirked again. Although he really had no idea yet about how to do this, especially in a way that would avoid repercussions from the mob for the beneficiaries of this 'donations', but at least not having to fight Eyeball for it was a start. 

 

It was his time to pause though when the man offered him some sort of alliance. He hesitated, looking thoughtful. Could this guy be trusted? After all, his motivation seemed somewhat noble, although, much likely there was vengeance rather than altruism behind his actions. 

 

"Yeah, sure. We can work somethin' out." He nodded a short time later. "But a few things must be clear, I don't want anyone getting hurt, no superweapons given to criminals... Oh and I would not be your lackey, any plan of yours, I want to know it, no secrets."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Eyeball actually gave a little chuckle; a spike between his otherwise serious expressions. It was not quite malign, or benign, just a little moment of humour at the thought. "Super weapon? I am not a weaponeer. No doubt I could make my money selling weapons to the mob or in unstable areas of the words. I have certainly identified enough weapon tracking over the years. No, weapons should be in the hands of democratic militaries and no less. Hell, I would burn the second ammendment if I could."

 

He returned to seriousness. 

 

"But as for nobody getting hurt, ah, that is a little more nuanced, isn't it. Can I promise nobody will get hurt? I can say I don't intend for anyone to get hurt. My methods are financial and information, not bullets or fists. But that can hurt somebody. Somebody probably will get hurt. No---somebody will get hurt. But the real question---will more people get hurt if I don't act. Ah... and there we have it, the real question."

 

He leant back in his chair. 

 

"I admit Grabber Gibbons was a poor choice. But I my eyeballs have been on the mob, on crooks. He was the best I could come up with, until now. Let me ask you, Nightscale... can you promise nobody will get hurt when you fly around the sky up to Superhero antics? How do you decide what to do, and what not to do? Every cat you save from a tree is a murder in some sleazy bar, out of your sight..."

[Nerdzul]

"You know what I meant..." Luke shook his head, but the smile didn't leave his lips. "And don't tell me that your suit could not be used as a weapon..." Yep, fortunately he had managed to disable it before Grabber could use it, though. 

 

"Yeah... sure, I imagine that it is unavoidable when you are fighting. But I have met a few vigilante types..." Well that was a bit of a white lie, but at least he had learned about them in school. "They don't care who gets trampled in their crusade, or how much people get hurt and that's not something I will tolerate."  He continued confidently. "Ah and obviously, no killing..." There was no need to add it? Right?

 

"I can't, but what I can promise is that I'd do anything in my power to avoid innocent people getting hurt." He replied with conviction. Again, he considered himself lucky having attended Claremont, after all a very similar dilemma to the one Eyeball had suggested.

 

"And I know I can't be anywhere... Nor save anyone." He added, the young man ruffled the hair on the back of his neck. While his voice, was as confident as before, the boy wasn't truly as adamant in his conviction as he wanted to show. Yes he knew, but in truth, he wished he could always be there... At least for his people. "But that's not a freakin' excuse not to do what I do..."

[Supercape]

GM

 

Eyeball scratched his forehead. "Fair point. Grabber Gibbons was a mistake. Its true the suit could have been a weapon, but its hard to make something that could get in that vault that wouldn't be a weapon in some shape or form."

 

"Look, I dont thing we are singing exactly the same song, but I think we are singing the same style. I'm not out for violence. If I was, I would find more brutal ways to wage my war. I hope you can see that it's not my weapon of choice. I make crooks bleed; but bleed money, not blood."

 

"So if you want to help me, I can help you. Blowfish will be out to get his money back, and unlike me, he has no qualms about violence. So perhaps we can bleed him a little more. I hear he has plenty of trouble already with some Yardie gang on his turf. Give me your phone number, and we can make Freedom City just a little safer..."

 

To be continued...in 

The Golden Dead

Edited August 26, 2023 by Supercape