Machine King's Robbery Plot Foiled!
Firelock
and they asked if I could run one of those old games I
have on hand for them - Champions. I agreed, helped
them get some characters together and ran a quick combat
session last night.
Ebon, mystical ninja warrior, is enjoying the spring
weather in Central City, having lunch at a food cart
in his secret identity. He notices a small gathering
across the street at City Hall, where the Mayor is up
on a step ladder placing a medal on Clank the Giant
Robot's chest. The Fire Chief and others are
applauding, as the group thanks Clank for carrying
a burning tanker truck out over the harbor before
it exploded a few days ago, saving many lives.
Gamma Girl, glowing angel of strangely non-lethal
radiation, is flying high above the city on patrol.
Ebon and Clank hear a strange sound - like a bulldozer,
only giant sized. Car horns and sounds of crashing
and screams begin from some blocks away. Gamma
Girl swoops toward the disturbance, arriving first as
a giant metal vehicle almost two lanes wide crashes
through city traffic, scattering cars and crowds.
Clank salutes the crowd, his even robotic voice shouting
"DUTY CALLS" as he rockets into the air, his internal
radio reciever ringing with the panicked report of a police
officer who was run off the road by the giant vehicle.
Ebon ducks into an alleyway and vanished with a puff of
black smoke, reappearing with a similar puff atop a
building overlooking the disturbance.
The treads of the vehicle tear at the asphalt as it noisily
belches black smoke, the vehicle suddenly careens to
the left, crashing headfirst through the front of the
First National Bank, completely filling the entry doors
with its bulk. Things start happening fast.
Ebon vanishes again, reappearing inside the bank
on a balcony overlooking the lobby. Patrons are
diving for cover as a half-dozen men charge into
the bank, shouting and firing weapons into the air.
Gamma Girl turns herself into a beam of energy and
flies right through the back of the tank like a ghost.
She sees a couple of goons with guns, and a man
with a cloak and a strange gear-like symbol on his
chest, who shouts orders to his men as he reaches
for a holstered pistol.
Clank decides that this tank shouldn't leave, so he
rockets along the side of it, tearing at treads and
wheels with his massive cybernetic strength. As
things begin happening inside the bank, he strains
his power cells to the limit to grab a side hatch on
the tank and tear it free, opening entry for his
massive robot form. A thug waiting inside the
hatch takes one look at this big robot hero and
runs away in panic.
Ebon lands lightly on a desk, taking the goons
by surprise. He is a whirlwind dream of despair
to the robbers, as he seems to be everywhere
except where the bad guys' guns are firing. He
flips over their heads, knocks them into each other,
dazzling them with his ninjitsu. Suddenly there's
a blast of energy, and the leader of the criminals
is knocked into the center of the bank by Gamma
Girl's Gamma Beam.
Clank storms his way into the main compartment
of the tank, where a thug helplessly bounces energy
bolts from a blaster rifle off Clank's armored body.
Clank crushes the thug's gun, but fails to notice
another thug pulling levers on a control panel - until
a metal partition slides open and a hulking metal
monstrosity, an ape-like robot, advances slowly
into the tank's main compartment, its huge clawlike
hands reaching for the cybernetic hero.
Meanwhile, in the bank, the angry leader reveals
himself as Machine King, shouting his anger at those
who would dare oppose him as he starts blazing
away at Gamma Girl with a high-tech laser pistol.
Her energy shield deflects the brunt of the blast,
but the focused burst can still be felt, knocking
her backwards.
Ebon leaps into the air, places a finger on the head
of the last thug and flips over them, landing right
beside Machine King and hammering at him with a
ninjitsu combination strike. Machine King's vest
absorbs most of the blows.
Back in the tank, Clank strains his power cells yet
again to hammer the ape-like robot with an all out
roundhouse of a blow. The whole tank shakes
with the impact as the robot is smashed backwards
into a bulkhead, but although dented and sparking
the enemy robot surges forward, grasping Clank
in a deadly, crushing embrace. Clank struggles
against it, but it is stronger than he - and, to his
dismay, he realizes his energy is starting to run
dangerously low.
Gamma Girl comes to Clank's aid, blazing
away at the evil robot's head with her Gamma
Beam - but the sturdy metal robot is barely
affected.
Ebon spars with Machine King, easily dodging
every burst of deadly energy from Machine
King's pistol. Whipping out his ninja sword,
Ebon strikes at the pistol repeatedly, first
releasing some sparks - then shattering it,
causing it to explode in Machine King's hand,
almost knocking the villain out from the pain
and shock.
Clank strains against the enemy robot yet again,
as the crushing strength begins to damage his
systems - again he fails to escape, each of
his power indicators flashing red as he far
outstrips his generation ability. Within moments
of shutting down, he desperately looks around for
some means of escape.
Machine King whips out a crystal rod, holding it
aloft and triggering a dazzling burst of light. Ebon
takes it square in the face, blinding him for critical
seconds. Gamma Girl, much farther away, is still
momentarily dazzled, but Clank's advanced optics
are shielded from such hazards.
Working on his sense of hearing alone, Ebon
closes with Machine King. Unable to land a
solid blow while blinded he is still able to interfere
with the mad tech lord's escape. As Gamma Girl's
vision clears, she gets a clear shot at the villain
as he attempts to activate another device - her
Gamma Beam strikes true, slamming him into
a desk and knocking him out of the fight.
Back inside the tank Clank, using his skills
with machinery, computers and robotics,
has figured out the control panel that is
just barely in reach. Straining with his
last erg of power, he manages to reach
a certain lever - pulls it - and the ape-like
robot's crushing arms go slack, all systems
shutting down.
The police quickly arrive, gladly taking Machine
King and his minions into custody. As Clank's
power cells recharge he and the others have
a thought - that tank and all the other gear was
probably worth ten times as much as all the
money in the bank. Were the criminals here
for something else?
Tune in next time for another exciting adventure!!
****************
I had a good time running it, it's always fun to introduce
new people to a favorite game. The players each got to
do dramatic things, even though it was a short combat.
I look forward to running another game for them in
the near future.
--
Walt