Dramatis Personae
Amar Gupta aka The Iron Sikh (played by Christian): Brick. Taxi Driver. Ass-Kicker. Sikh. Tagline: “Being a man of faith means to live it.”- Amie-Belle T. W. Lee aka Whisper (Played by Curtis): Cold War era super-soldier/spy that got put in the Freezer, because she got poisoned. After getting thawed out and cured she tried to back to work, and was given an “adjustment period”. Uncle Sam called 2 years later, with work… because once you’re in, you’re in for life. Tagline: “In and out without a whisper.”
Beauregard K. “Bo” Ratnam aka Wirerat (Played by Brice): Technopath, inventor, and hacker. He specializes in co-opting enemy systems and tech assets. Tagline: “Nice tech – I’ll borrow that.”- Rafe Hanlon aka Nyx (played by Chris D.): An umbrakinetic petty thief still on work release several years later, on his way to becoming a true agent and hero. Tagline: “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
- Vincenzo L. dePrezzo aka Threshold (Played by Rory): Doctor, Mathematician, and Scientist (yes, capitals) and Spatial Manipulator. Threshold can bend space like a pretzel, teleport, obliterate things, and has extraordinary senses. He’d rather be in a research lab than fight. Better known for his work with Doctors Without Borders, the United Nations, and disaster relief than famous battles. Tagline: “I can be there in a snap!”
- Derrick K. Ratnam aka Legerdemain (NPC Ally): Spin doctor and media liaison for Project VANGUARD. Twin to Bo. Tagline: “Well, actually that’s not how it happened…”
- Layla A. de Blackburn aka Nox (NPC): CIA-trained child assassin all grown up to be Daddy’s Little Monster. Maybe a little mad. Argues with her shadow often. Tagline: “No, we shouldn’t do that…should we?”
- Stainless Steel Rat aka “Sir” (NPC Ally): Bo’s best friend and assistant. A sentient drone in the shape of a stylized shiny metal rat mindlinked to Bo. Specialties are rapid repair construction and modifications. Imagine if K-9 and R2D2 made a baby and it looks a bit like a rodent. Tagline: “Repairs and upgrades in progress.”
Previously . . .
With the opening of the doorway, Whisper says to assume there’s booby traps in places like that and asks if they’ve got a booby trap detector. The hallway slopes upwards and downwards at 30-degree slopes. There’s an unusual smell in the air, ozone sort of like what you get with sparking electronics as Whisper looks around for laser tripwires and other hidden traps as they keep moving. She doesn’t notice any traps, though there are spaces in the tunnel where her vision just cannot penetrate, small at first but more and more as she keeps going along. Whisper gestures for Nyx and Nox saying that something from their wheelhouse is there as she explains what she’s seeing, or not seeing rather.
Something in the Dark
Nyx, Threshold, and Whisper
Old Night Shift HQ
Saturday, May 9th, 2020, 0430 hours (EST)
Somewhere in the Adirondack Mountains
Looking around, they’re able to determine that it’s definitely artificial shadows, created by someone else. They can see a spot of darkness on the wall pop off into three dimensions and skitter off down the hallway. Being unable to see through it, unlike the darkness in New York and it moving seems to indicate that there’s something strange going on. Threshold, curious enough, pulls out a flashlight to try to see with, the shadows scatter and a hissing sound is heard. Whisper and others can see that shadows are moving and baring fangs. Whisper asks Lynch for a flash bang, removing the bang portion of the grenade and throwing it down the corridor.
Those that can see through the flashes of light can see amorphous blobs of shadows. Lynch explains that one of the Night Shift trainees, Grue, could manipulate and animate darkness, giving it some free will, one of the ones that Erebus killed. Questioning why they’re still there if the guy is dead, they hear a voice saying that they’re not dead yet. A wavy humanoid blob of darkness detaches itself from the wall and introduces itself as a sort of echo. Most of the team introduces themself to the apparition.
It explains that he’s been protecting the site from Erebus, already having tried to grab it before but he kept Erebus away. That Grue had been the last to use it. He’s not even sure what it was supposed to be doing. There’s lots of documentation around the place, but he can’t actually manipulate any of it. Whisper asks if they can pass by the animated blobs, and Grue agrees. They’re led into a large chamber where there’s something pulsing in colours they cannot understand. Threshold is captivated by it.
Whisper mentions that she’s going to secure the scene while Nyx asks what the heck the device was supposed to be doing. It’s not a nullification device as Lynch had previously said, instead it’s used to boost powers. That it somehow changed something with Erebus and he started to eat the other darkness manipulators and the CIA just kept feeding him until he went completely psychopathic. Threshold looks over the chair under the light, being able to tell that they created a kyberic fission reactor that pumps people full of powers, Threshold looking through it managing to figure out how to create one himself.
He considers, briefly, to create a version with negative orichalcum to drain Erebus’s powers as well, perhaps a bomb that’d remove his powers, though he’d have to attune it to Erebus’s energy signature, otherwise he’d have to risk it targeting other people. He looks at moderating the settings on the chair and offers Nyx and Nox a chance to power themselves up. Nox vehemently denies it, saying that the few times she was in there was enough and that she’s pretty sure that it caused some sanity problems. Nyx, is a bit more vehement, telling Threshold to shove that idea where the sun doesn’t shine as that’s obviously where his head is at if he thinks that sitting in that crime against humanity was a good idea. He tries to figure out how to work out how to get it out of the place then without any tools and without causing the chair to explode. They ask what they’re supposed to do in that case. Threshold mentions perhaps trying it on Grue, who points out that he’s not just kinda dead, he is dead and points at his body off to the side. Though Grue also mentions perhaps being able to pass on his powers instead as he’s dead, an echo of kind. Pointing towards Nyx, he mentions being rather compatible with his wavelengths.
Without warning, Grue approaches Nyx and melds into his shadow and Nyx, disgruntled, feels pins and needles all over and then suddenly a lot of consciousnesses surrounding him and one of the ink blobs starts trying to speak with Nyx as he complains about the situation and people just constantly taking over his powers to do stuff with, like Nox and Nox and, well, mostly it’s Nox. It eventually gets his attention with being told that Lynch is possessed, or his shadow rather. Something similar to what one of the Night Shift people had, being able to control people through their shadows. Nyx is more flabbergasted by this, and the fact that he’s now stuck with a bunch of what people term Bodachs.
While Threshold pulls the device out, Whisper reads over Lynch’s shoulder and SSR attaches himself to the mainframe, dragging everything he can off of there. And when finished, Whisper ushers them out and then, without consulting anyone else, throws a grenade into the chamber destroying what is left.
Aftermath
Back at NYC, they get back to HQ with Wirerat informing them that one of the other MAPs teams has been making strides and got communication between MAPs teams set up. Threshold moves to find Erebus’s signature, measuring the darkness and other places around the area. The ink blobs asks if Nyx really wants Lynch wandering around unmolested as Erebus can see whatever Lynch can. The ink blobs start talking with Nyx asking about things, eventually it’s decided that the ink blobs will go corporeal, strip Lynch, and toss him in a broom closet tied up with Christmas lights. They also tend to explode all over the base and bother Whisper while she’s cooking, crying out for Nyx when one of them get into the fridge.
She eventually comes downstairs, asks where Lynch went and is informed that he was shoved into a closet and was possessed. Shrugging it off, she goes off to write out what all Lynch was looking through down on paper as the deadline draws closer.
After Action Report (GM)
We finally got to play again. Gaming with the Headhunters has been so SPOTTY lately. Crap just keeps happening. I did manage to move the plot along some and we’re getting closer to the finish line. Though it’s looking more and more like I’ll need to move said line from October to maybe end of November/December and then start the new campaign in January 2024. Ah well. This was a good session and I’ll take all of those I can get.
Other Notes
Bonus Report from Rory.
Soundtrack
“A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum
“Ghost (Acoustic)” by Badflower
“Something in the Dark” by the Rasmus