This week saw our intrepid adventurers squaring off against the first of the remaining 7 Arms of Arachnid! After sneaking into the hub and fighting off the first wave of security the group found themselves facing off against none other than Max and Kurt aka The Turtle Twins!
After a brief stand off with the players shots were fired thus beginning the battle! Shots were fired, pictures were taken, photographers were thrown! While Max was doing most of the fighting with the group, and in particular was having it out with Tony, Kurt was running around making a nuisance of himself (as children will do) and doing his best to distract the combatants while taking orders from his “big brother” on how to best their opponents. Though used as bait during with a sword to his neck at one point, Kurt made it through the fight relatively unscathed. The same could not be said for his brother. Upon a failed attack Max collapsed from his wounds and exertion. Upon seeing his brother collapse young Kurt threw himself upon the body of his older brother and began to beg him to get up. While Kurt was calling for his brother to wake up from his state of death the group was surrounded by more SWAT team members wearing gas masks, they were out manned and out gunned. As knock out gas filled the air a desperate attempt by the demon like Abomination to escape by grabbing Kurt and using him as a human shield failed as even he collapsed eventually from the gas.
The players each wake up in cement rooms, 10′ by 10′ with a small cot, a toilet, a sink and a heavy steel door with a slot big enough for a tray of food or your hands to fit through, but little else. There’s a light source as well, but identifying where it’s coming from is difficult in their current state. Most of them woke up with severe headaches which isn’t helping the situation in gaining where they are. They feel groggy and light headed as if they have been heavily sedated.
After an undetermined period of time a knock comes on the door of each of their cells. They are told to put their hands behind their back, walk toward the door and put their hands through the slot. Most comply rather quickly and those that don’t have an assault rifle put into their cells through the slot as a way to encourage their future compliance. The abomination complies in his own way,by sending his hands literally through the slot, even though they are no longer attached to his body. After a short scuffle with the guards shooting his hands and them attacking to attack them they slip back in the slot where the guards determine they don’t need him anyway considering “That your friends are singing like canaries anyway!”
The remaining members of the group are taken into interrogation rooms where they are each asked a series of questions such as what their names are, what they are doing there and how they got in. Those who showed the highest level of co-operation were awarded with a sandwich and coffee. Other who babbled on incessantly were sent back to their cells. Those who refused to comply in any way were… Well… Handled with “properly” by their interrogator before being sent back to their cells.
All the while the abomination is throwing himself at the door of his cell in a vain attempt to break it down. After many failed attempts the guards open the door to “Shut him up for good!” and after the tumblers turn there’s sound of a scuffle outside and behind the door as it opens is… None other than Kurt.
Upon putting his eyes on the demon he immediately screams “OH NO! NOT YOU!” and takes off down the hallway. After finding a safe air duct to hide in he explains that he wants to help them escape and knows where the others are behind held. After collecting the rest of the group from their holding cells Kurt explains why he is helping them:
When he was a boy he and his brother were chosen by Arachnid to be some of his first students. A ceremony was performed on them but when it was performed on him something went wrong and since then he has never grown up, mentally or physically, past the age of 10 years old. Now that his brother is dead he realizes that The Ascended will have no further use for him and he fears for his life. He wonders if perhaps they would take mercy upon him and find him a place to hide. He even tells them of another ceremony he had heard of that would reverse the process. He also points them in the direction of their next potential target, a man by the name of Azrael who lives in New York.
When Kurt says this it invokes a memory from Sho Nuff’s past where he recalled one of the original generations of Transformed Animals had a man who believed he could tap into the power of other Transformed Animals. He was widely regarded as a loon and quack, but he could have been onto something after all.
After escaping from The Hub the group took a few days to recover and regroup. During this time it became apparent that the drugs that they found in the warehouse, Fludex and Zozinax, were beginning to get well known on the street and in the media. News reports and stories started to appear. Though no investigations leads to more than what they already knew about these new drugs on the street it became apparent that they’re starting to take hold on the market underground. Tony also came home from work one day to find his fiance’s engagement ring hanging from his door knob on a small chain.
Their new target in site the group takes off for New York City! With the majority of them beating Detroit Washington to NYC, who decided to go by plane and not the Netherworld express, they are left with a day to themselves for site seeing and that evening some time to scout.
Investigating Azrael they found out some basic information on him. He owns a rather large and exclusive Goth club in New York City named The Bat Cave. He also has a following of young people, mostly late teenagers and early 20s, mostly pasty, pale and white who wear a lot of black and heavy eye makeup. Sneaking into the club as “entertainment” the abomination, in his demon form, takes on the role of a Go-Go dancer, Bishop as his entourage and Daphne as an illusionist. Shortly after beginning to question a few people Bishop is outed as being a “NARC” and is promptly thrown out of the club by security. Daphne on the other hand has better luck, making her way up to the VVIP section (yes the V was doubled on purpose) where she is introduced to the club’s owner Azrael. He is charmed by her beauty and proceeds to attempt to impress her with his wealth, fame and the exclusivity of his club. Meanwhile the abomination is dancing in a cage, and destroying it as he’s doing it, until Azrael takes notice and has some of his men sent to “take care of the issue”. While Azrael is attempting to impress Daphne she takes a look around and begins to notice how strong the presence of the Chi at this particular location is. The mirrors and the way the building is decorated and set up is allowing the Chi to flow more freely… Not only is this Goth club the hide out of one of the eight, it’s also a Feng Shui site!
What will happen next to our intrepid adventurers!? Only time will tell… Until next time!
