Here we go.
.
Az looks around, wondering what that bump was. Must have been another low-end quake.
The campaign will start in Washington D.C., home of the Hall of Justice. That doesn't matter for some of you who can move at tens of thousands of miles per hour or teleport, but for those who aren't so speedy, you will want to be nearby. Imagine the first frame of the comic is a dynamically splintered group of frames depicting each of you doing whatever you are doing.
JUSTICE LEAGUE LEGACIES Vol. 1 Issue 1
"Old soldiers never die, they just fade away...."
Things have been quiet for a few years now, since the big fight between Lethal Justice (led by Magog) and the Justice League (led by Superman and Wonder Woman). Luckily, everyone involved calmed down before anything Earth shattering happened. Since then, there have been no quests for world domination by a reformed Injustice Gang, no alien invasions, none of the typical threats that require the attention of a fully functional Justice League.
News vid talking heads have been saying for a while now that we shouldn't grow complacent, that catastrophes had happened before and they would happen again. And who was going to defend us? Superman disappeared to who knows where for longer and longer periods of time. Earth's Green Lantern was a ten year old Tibetan kid who had had the ring for about ten minutes, and has been somewhere in outer space for way too long. Martian Manhunter, who sort of creeps everyone out anyway, spends most of his time cooped up in the Hall. The day to day heroing of the Justice League is handled by Supergirl, who has grown into her own and is as tough as Superman ever was. The others though, Warhawk, Arrow, Knightingale, and occasionally Booster Gold, were hardly what you would call a Dream Team. People had been saying for years that the day would come when something would come that this League couldn't handle.
Today was that day.
You are going about your business when a voice intrudes into your head Priority Alert: this is J'onn J'onzz. The Justice League is engaged in a battle with invading alien technology outside the Hall of Justice and is in need of reinforcements. Please proceed immediately to the area...
You have the feeling that something violent ended the contact, as if you just woke up from a nightmare where you were being choked.
Az was just leaving Jessica's office on the UCLA campus, having dropped off a book he'd borrowed. The red haired older woman who was his Chemistry professor...she seemed so interesting to him, though he had no idea what exactly it was about her. Suddenly, he got "The Message."
The young man paused at the door to the elevator to listen. He'd heard of this "Justice League," and the great heroes that had been members, as well as of the currently limited membership.
This looks like a job for Dr Fate.
Stepping into a darkened, unoccupied classroom, Az concentrated on the extra-dimensional space where the Nabu helmet resided, and an instant later, was holding the golden helmet. Despite the honor it was to serve the great Nabu, Az was always a little hesitant just before the transformation. Placing the gold helmet on his head, Az was transformed into the blue and gold garbed hero known as Dr Fate!
Nabu reflexively reached out his arm and opened a doorway through space to Washington DC, and an instant later was floating in the sky above the scene.
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What could possibly o wrong? thought Kyle Knight as he listened to his date.
He practically got kidnapped by his friend, Mathew, into some kind of event for singles. 'Speed Dating' they called it. But he was actually starting not to regret it.
He was through his third date, Melissa Fergusson, a beautiful accountant on LexCorp. A tad bit crazy about cars, if you asked him. Same goes for rock music. But those weren't bad hobbies by themselves, even if the woman was too enthusiastic.
In other situation the call for help would had been a distraction from boredom, even a thrill. But Kyle was enjoying this date.
The hero used his datalink to look for the most direct route to the hall, crossreferencing traffic databases. Making the traffic lights green as he pass would be pretty easy for him.
But he had to leave Melissa first, and he wanted a second date. Gigabyte used his link again, making his phone ring.
"I have to leave, Melissa, but I've had a wonderful time. Maybe we can meet again for a coffee." he said to his date as he wrote down his phone number on a piece of paper "It's the job... sometimes I think their world would end if it weren't for me." Kyle joked with a charming smile.
From the door of his car -a cherry coloured muscle car- Gigabyte waved back at her. Once on his way, he left his link do the driving while he changed to his superhero outfit, a rather simple one to be honest: his robot styled helmet and form-fitting armless black clothes.
Traveling from Metropolis, the young hero was already planning to visit the Hall of Justice to meet up with J'ohn for their weekly sessions to train his telepathy. To suddenly hear the aged Martian intrude on his thoughts so abruptly, and then get caught off just as such was leaving him very concerned.
He tried to re-establish contact with the man from where he was, but winced when he realized he was still out of range. It was a reminder of just how far he still needed to go if he ever wanted to catch up. Unlike his mentor who's telepathy could reach Earth from space, he was limited to just a handful of miles.
William couldn't help but worry about what was going on, and whether or not he could really help stop it. Having spent so much time with the man though, he could tell that the Manhunter's message wasn't just directed at him. There might be other heros who got the call of distress, so surely together they might be able to... But what if they couldn't? If whatever was going on there was too much for the residents there to handle, then what hope did he and others have?
But he couldn't just float there thinking about it, he needed to get there. Quickly. So, focusing what limited telekinesis he had, he rocketed further into D.C. towards the Hall of Justice.
It wasn't time for worry, it was time for action. It was time to be a hero. It was time to be Su...
His face twisted in a pained way, as he placed his hand above the shield he wore on the front of his outfit. The same symbol was on his trailing red cape. No. He couldn't be superman. Not yet. He was still...
Unhuman.
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Kara rolls her eyes -hard- as the Manhunter's message came through with clarity that only mental-to-mental contact can bring. 'Ugh! But a Runway marathon is about to start! Figures. The JL can't -not- be invaded long enough for a girl to get in a little quality time.'
'Captain A,' thought Kara to the leader of personal guard, 'get the 'bird warmed up. The H-O-J is getting attacked. -Again-. We gotta go save it. -Again-.'
'By your command, Ms. Luthor!' Replied Captain Attero Dominatus. 'We shall be ready with all--'
'Ya ya, that's super. Just be sure to have my mai tai ready this time. LOTs of ice I said.'
'Of course! All shall be as you s--'
Okaigreatthanksbai.'
Imagine changed into a her super costume of orange-and-grey spandex that defined 'naked' in an Schrodinger-esque fashion and flew upward toward the hanger.
You arrive on the scene at the Hall of Justice, a large building surrounded by a landscaped park, similar in many ways to the National Mall. The landscape is pockmarked with small craters, smoking landscaping, and other signs of recent violence. The right hand wall of the Hall (when facing it) is caved in, a gaping hole in the steel and concrete, smoke pouring out.
Hall of Justice from Superfriends
Pics of the Allies and Opposition Here on the right
Zipping through the air you see dozens of flying attack drones, each about the size of a human. They are firing mostly some sort of plasma weapon, though a few also have green lasers. Those seem to be focused on Supergirl, so perhaps they are using Kryptonite weapons.
Scattered across the grounds are strange walkers that use a combination of walking on two legs and four in a gorilla like fashion. Are these robots? Drones? Vehicles? You aren't sure.
And, topping the whole cake, there is a Really Big Robot (TM).
You can see Supergirl and Warhawk fighting the fliers, Knightingale and Arrow acrobatically combating the ground walkers, and a patriotic hero you know as The Shield fighting the Giant Robot of Doom. There are so many fliers and walkers you aren't even sure where to start.
Dr Fate draws upon mystical forces to control magnetism (Magnetic Control). He'd like to grab one of the drones attacking Supergirl out of the air and slam it into another.
Power check:
Ranged attack:
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Exiting the car, Gigabyte cant help but let out a long whistle of admiration.
"That's helluva tech here... why can we get those thing on our side?" he comments as he raises his left arm, all the while starting to float up in the air.
Calculating distance parameters...
Vector acquired...
Boom shakalaka sound prepared...
That was Kip, the voice Gigabyte implemented to his arm. It was pointless, as he knew instantly the status of his equipment, but he thought it would be fun.
Once Kip informed him, Gigabyte smiled and pointed towards the closest walker, letting the energy go out in a ray of crackling electricity.
Unhuman flies onto the scene, and winces at the amountnof destruction taking place. He's unsure of what he should do, before he takes a deep breath to assess the battlefield. 'The biggest threat... that's who he'd go for. Okay. I can do this.'
He focusses his martian genetics to isolate and enhance a part of his dormant kryptonian DNA, making his skin as hard as steel. This done, he now rockets toward the giant robot with his fist extended. 'W-wait, do I go left? Right?! What if I-'
His uncertainty costs him, as he instead misses the construct entirely and slams into the ground near The Shield. He picks himself up from his crash landing, mentally berating himself as he turns to face the robot again.
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The massvie Chinook helicopter comes blazing in to the combat zone, ten heavily armored super-soldiers, and one AMAZINGLY cute girl in it's hold.
The lead soldier, with captain's bars soldered into his collar, appraoches the girl "Ms. Luthor, we are approaching the target zone n--"
'Alright let's GO!' she mentally shouts over him, and eleven figures fly out of the belly of the beast.
If the ten soldiers exchange private comments about the woman they follow, none other than them can say.
'You guys go help out SuperChiX. I'll start working on the big ones!'
So directed, ten massively armored LexSec warriors aim their powerful Warhammer plasma rifles at the small drones firing green beams.
Blaster power 8. Toughness save DC 23.
Kara flies over near Dr. Fate and introduces herself. 'Hey there! You look smart! Do you know the formula for calculating Kinetic Energy?' She pauses only half a second as a fragmentation grenade seems to float out of it's home in her holster.
'Time's up! It's mass vee squared. And you know what's really fast?
I am!'
The frag grenade rockets toward a large walker-drone with the impact power of a small meteor.
'Oh. Hey there William. Way to suck. ;)
How exactly she emojis within a telepathic message is not entirely clear.
Dr Fate draws upon mystical forces to control magnetism (Magnetic Control). He'd like to grab one of the drones attacking Supergirl out of the air and slam it into another.
Power check:
1d20+12Ranged attack:
1d20+10
Throw: You can pick up and throw your opponent like an inanimate object (see Throwing, page 36). The throw occurs as a move action as part of the grapple (grabbing, grappling, and throwing an opponent is a full-round action).
The distance you can throw an opponent is based on weight like any other object and a throw automatically ends the grapple.
Fate reaches out with his Arcane might, grabbing one of the drones and smashing it into another.
The two drones veer off course, but both seem undamaged.
Exiting the car, Gigabyte cant help but let out a long whistle of admiration.
"That's helluva tech here... why can we get those thing on our side?" he comments as he raises his left arm, all the while starting to float up in the air.Calculating distance parameters...
Vector acquired...
Boom shakalaka sound prepared...That was Kip, the voice Gigabyte implemented to his arm. It was pointless, as he knew instantly the status of his equipment, but he thought it would be fun.
Once Kip informed him, Gigabyte smiled and pointed towards the closest walker, letting the energy go out in a ray of crackling electricity.
[Dice=Ranged Attack] 1d20 + 4 ;
Electricity lashes out at the almost bestial walker, but the attack crackles across it's armor ineffectively.
Six drones tumble toward the ground, crashing in bright explosions.
The grenade goes straight through the armor of the Gorilla Tank, detonating in its soft inner belly. The construct crumples to the ground, smoking.
Four Kryptonite Drones concentrate fire on Supergirl, their green lasers burning through her dense flesh. Her back arches in agony as she drops from the sky.
A Gorilla Tank knuckle-walks toward the LexSec crew, launching a series of rockets at them. The rockets spiral through the air toward them. The rockets explode as they draw near, filling the air with fire and shrapnel.
A flying drone targets each of the flying heroes.
In addition, the Really Big Robot reaches for Unhuman beside him. The robot's huge hand slams into the ground beside Unhuman. The Construct is 64 feet tall and incredibly strong, but seems to lack dexterity and accuracy. That big glowing hole in its face does give one a sense of forboding.
Knightingale and Arrow stand atop the rubble fallen from the gash in the side of the Hall, hurling explosive batarangs and arrows at the robots trying to approach the Hall. They look like they may be overwhelmed soon.
The Shield slams into the Big Robot with his force shield, but it shrugs off the attack. Warhawk breaks off from his attack on the drones to swoop and catch the falling Supergirl out of the air.
Round 1 Wrapup:
Fate throws two drones together, damaging neither.
Gigabyte zaps a Tank, to no effect.
Unhuman threw himself into the ground.
Imagine's minions destroyed 6 Drones out of infinity, and Imagine blew up a tank.
Supergirl dropped, and the rest of the League battles on.
Not a great start for our heroes, but I love it when the heroes lose a the beginning.
Because it's almost Christmas, everyone gets a Hero Point.
And on to Round 2.
Stats for the Robots. Have at them.
Big Robot: Defense -3 (7), Toughness +20 (Impervious 12 Force Field), Reflex +2
Flier Robots: Defense 0 (10), Toughness +10, Reflex +5
Tank Robots: Defense +2 (12), Toughness +12 (Impervious 8), Reflex +2
All are immune to fortitude and will save effects. This is basically a shake out for your powers and a chance to get the group together. There are hundreds of tank and flier drones. You can attack them at will and roll their toughness saves and describe your effects. Of course, if you need help with the system or interpreting results, we can do that.
'Shut up!' He screams mentally at Imagine, for once rising to her challenge. He leaps off the ground and shoots towards the giant robot like a cannonball. He Throws his entire weight into it as he rams his shoulder into the construct's Eye-!
He doesn't stop there, and follows up his assault with an extremely vicious kick in the center!
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Gigabyte watches as the tank seems impervious to his tesla cannon.
"Failing technology, I'm sure good old brute strength will do!" yells the hero as he throws back his right arm and flies straight to the tanks closing on the Hall.
Gigabyte casually bumps with his body on the first tank armor, but as soon as he bounds back half a step the hero spins quickly and throws a mighty uppercut.
The tank's armor could resist his cannon, but not his augmented might.
Following the movement of his attack, Gigabyte finished with a backflip and fell in combat position facing the next tank.
Pointing his cyborg punch at it, Gigabyte radio broadcasted "You are next, chummer!"
Vs Fate 19
Defense is +10 for 20, so that's a miss.
Seeing his magnetic attack came to naught, Fate simply flies in and attacks one of the drones with fists toned by years of mystical training.
DC 30 (critical hit) Toughness save for drone (15 + 10 damage + 5 critical)
Unhuman recovers nicely, getting in two massive blows against the robot.
Ten of the Gorilla Tanks converge on the Hall. Panels pop open on their backs, launching a barrage of rockets in the direction of Knightingale and Arrow. A series of explosions ripple through the air, and the two heroes disappear in a cloud of debris as more of the Hall collapses on top of them.
Warhawk catches Supergirl and lowers her to the ground. As he is focused on his ally, one of the drones gets an angle on him, blasting him in the back. He cries out in anger and pain, but does not fall.
The Shield, thinking that Unhuman might have the Big Robot under control, flies off to help Warhawk.
The battle continues to rage for our heroes. A wing of three flying drones engage each hero, flying in coordinated spirals that remind you of wasps. Their anti-gravity repulsors make a sort of buzzing hum, adding to the impression.
The Big Robot is stunned, and so takes no action against Unhuman.
DC 23 Toughness saves:
Two misses and a hit against Dr Fate.
DC 23 success.
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'Woooo! Way to not ruin everything, Bill! You go with your moderately useful self! Um, we're just gonna wreck the s+!!, though, okay? You can continue to moderately irritate your robot. If that's how you roll.
Don't worry, though. It looks like Tall, Dark, and Smashy is gonna come over an' help!'
Kara waves to Gigabyte with a friendly, girlish smile.
Evasion 2! 6 fails!
The Atlas-class warsuits kick in to high gear and almost half of the squad bursts through the rapidly-spreading sphere of concussion force and shrapnel.
Those less quick are hammered by a thousand shards of red-hot metal, and the sky is lit up as the LexCorp shields struggle to keep their human cargo safe. Most continue on, still firing and chasing their quarry.
Alas, one member of the squad 2 is not so lucky as a yard-long shaft pierces his chest plate and his anti-grav jets quickly cut off. The trooper crashes into the roof of a nearby skyscraper and comes to stop amid a small roof-top garden.
The nine soldiers carry on while Imagine is blasted by a trio of smaller drones.
She deigns not to even attempt dodging, judging it too 'goash' and frowns at the drones, as if that was all the defense she would need.
Fortunately a frown -and- a LexCorp Aegis forcescreen is all the defense she needs, though it glows less brightly with each shot that contacts.
The Captain, Attero Dominatus, sees the three smaller drones harassing their charge, and sighing mightily at the hell he'll catch of the daughter of Lex Luthor falls to such small fry, leads his flying squads in an attack run.
The nine remaining troops unleash a barrage of plasma at the three drones, burying them in a storm of hot ions.
Attack7...is knitting himself back together.
Blaster power 8. Toughness save DC 23.
The three drones explode under a massive barrage of light and sound and fury.
Kara nods the briefest of thanks and shwooshes over to where WarHawk and The Shield are gathering themselves.
A sleep-gas grenades floats out of her belt and she casually rockets it toward the the drone that struck WarHawk.
The drone disappears in a cloud of grey scrap and abusively-pink smoke.
'Hey-ya,' she think-says to the two of them. 'So, um, how's it going? You guys need LexCorp to pull your bacon out of the fire again, huh?'
The Shield replies, his voice magnified through his nanotech suit,
"Perhaps you should take a closer look, Ms. Luthor. I think you will find that you built the frying pan in which our bacon is currently cooking. According to my scans, these attackers are all LexCorp technology.
And Warhawk chimes in as he swats at one of the drones with his mace like he is hitting a home run, "So what's the angle, Luthor? Some tech get out of control and daddy sent you to clean up the mess?"
William falters again from Kara's downplaying of his efforts, but tries to do something to take advantage of the robot's momentary inaction. Concentrating on his flight, he zips around the robot in order to come at it from it's blindspot.
Az is feeling out of his league (pun intended); so far his Dr Fate has battled a Sorcerer named Janus and his Children of Chaos cult in Los Angeles. These things were a lot tougher than a few guys with guns. And his primary means of attack, the mystic blast, probably wouldn't have too much effect on these soulless machines.
Assuming his last punch did not disable this drone, he sends another into its metal hide, feeling all the while they were fighting the odds on this one.
Mystic Punch
DC 25 Toughness Save from Drone:
Less than effective...
The robot's control module kicks back in as it recovers from Unhuman's first blows, and its armor absorbs the brunt of his most recent hit.
The monster turns the huge yellow glowing hole in its face toward Unhuman and unleashes a blast of yellow force.
Three of the drones form a triangle around the stunned Gigabyte. One each drone, three small legs fold out of the bottom and begin to weave together some sort of metal mash. Quickly joining all of them together, they drop the mesh onto Gigabyte.
energy, and so forth (whatever suits your descriptors). Make a ranged
attack roll. If successful, the target makes a Reflex saving throw. On a
failed save, the target is entangled, suffering a –2 penalty to attack rolls
and Defense, and a –4 penalty to Dexterity. If the Snare is anchored
to an immobile object (such as the ground), the entangled character
cannot move from that spot. Otherwise, he can move at half speed, but
can’t move all out.
If the Reflex save fails by 5 or more, or on a second successful Snare
attack, the target is bound and helpless. The target is unable to move.
Each additional Snare “layered” onto a helpless target increases the
Snare’s Toughness by +1, to a maximum of double its normal Toughness.
A bound target gains cover from the Snare (see Cover, page 160).
Entangled characters do not gain this benefit.
Targets can break out of a Snare using Strength or an effect that
doesn’t require freedom of movement (this may restrict the use of some
powers and devices, for example). The Snare makes Toughness saves like
an inanimate object with Toughness equal to its rank. If the trapped
character has an attack with a damage bonus 10 or more greater than
the Snare’s Toughness, he can break the Snare automatically as a standard
action. If the trapped character has an attack with a damage
bonus greater than the Snare’s Toughness +15, he can break the snare
automatically as a free action. Alternately, a Snare victim can attempt
an Escape Artist check to slip free as a full-round action, with a DC of
20 + the Snare’s rank.
The drones continue to almost completely ignore the LexCorp troops, focusing their attacks on Dr. Fate, but continuing to be unable to hit him.
Round 4
Fate deftly avoids all the attacks, and tries to get his head back in the game. Willing his form over to Nabu, the Lord of Order makes another attempt at destroying the drone.
Drone's save vs DC 25:
William isn't fast enough to dodge the robot's massive attack, but his alien skin is more then capable of taking the brunt without injurry. He reels back his fist ro land another, more shaky blow against the mechanical monster. If the machine was faster, it may have easily dodged him in his dazed state!
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As Imagine annoyingly takes time out of the battle to chat with the superheroes, Captain Attero spots the squad of drones ruthlessly attacking the luminescent Dr. Fate and, with a quick series of barked orders, gets his remaining men over to firing range.
Hitting a selector on their Warhammer rifles, they switch over to the more conventional assault rifle configuration, and deluge his attackers in hot lead!
Autofire power 10. Toughness save DC 25.
Autofire power 7. Toughness save DC 22.
Autofire power 10. Toughness save DC 25.
The drones fall to the ground under a withering fire.
The Captain floats toward Dr. Fate and his deep radio-enhanced voice extends salutations. "Greetings, sir. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. However it appears that your colleague needs some assistance." He points one gauntleted hand toward Gigabyte, who is assaulted by the drones' net.
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On her way to play meet&greet with Shield'n'friends, Imagine swoops past Unhuman, hovering a dozen feet above where he trades blows with the gargantuan metallic cyclops.
'Hey there. How ya doin'? Doin' okay? Doin' good? Y'know, if you come and sign on the dotted line with LexCorp, we carry a -very- good health program.
Seriously, we'll take care of allllll of your glands. Specifically,"
her beautiful face screws up in concentration, like a jackhammer trying to break through a foot of steel.
'the gland....of....
...NERGGGGGH....
the...hypothalamus, and...
...the...adrenal!'
Unhuman feels a surge of energy surge through him like a volcano of power.
Though he might not be Superman, he knows that he's a little bit closer.
William can't manage to come up with a viable response to the way Kaea worded herself, mostly concentrating on trying to keep his cool. Seriously, he had no idea what game she played at half the time, but he'd be the last one to say she was the one loosing. He did, however, feel stronger... Faster, more tough. Was this how his grandfather felt on a daily basis?
The powered up Unhumnan smacks the robot soundly in the head. The yellow glow within its maw flickers and goes out for a moment before rekindling.
Three of the tanks come to the defense of their bigger brother, blanketing Unhuman with a barrage of small rockets. The rockets spiral toward Unhuman, surrounding him with a cloud of explosions.
The flying drones judge Dr. Fate a lesser threat, and turn their attentions to The Shield and Warhawk. Under a wall of laser fire, Warhawk's wings malfunction and he falls to the ground. A sphere red, white, and blue energy surrounds The Shield, protecting him from the lasers.
Nearly concealed by smoke, a pair of the gorilla tanks scramble over the rubble and into the damaged Hall of Justice.
Round 5
With his heightened reflexes he just manages to twist away from the explosion as he refocuses back on the dazed robot. It hasn't done any serious damage durring the fight, but he likes to think that's because of his own efforts.
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After what semed to him like days of bad sleep, Gigabyte snaps out of his dazed state!...
...just to find himself still injured and covered in what appears to be a metal webbing of sorts.
"You should make sure your capture is off before packing it!" yells the cybernetic hero as he grabs the web with his hands, attempting to break it by sheer force, giving it all.