Mighty Marvelous Act 2

Finding the Villain's Hideout

Mighty Marvelous by Sarah Solo Sarah Blount

Cover art by Miguelangel Bastidas

In the first Act, we were introduced to Archie Wise, aka Glacier. He faced an old foe, assassins from the group, the Invokers. They had kidnapped his best friend Violet, who he rescued successfully. One of the enemies was apprehended, the other escaped. Glacier had been hard pressed to defeat the second criminal in battle. Something was not quite right there…

Act 2

Expected Scene: Glacier will gather information about this new villain from the Invokers in an attempt to find their hideout.

Oracle: Is the scene going to happen as expected? TIE at 2. Yes, but…
This also places a mark in my Twist tracker. After 5 Twists, a big shift in the story happens.

Roll on MM action tables: Accept + Wrath

Sounds like a confrontation with the Villain again.

Restore Glacier to full HP.
Increase Bond with Violet from 0 to 1.

Archie spent the next few days working with his informants around town, searching for where the fledgling group of Invokers might have established a hideout. He had thought he had finished that clan a few years ago, when he had killed their leader in a battle. But apparently, that was not the case!

Research d6 + 0 Int + 1 from Violet= 7 vs 5,12. Weak Hit.
Fail Table: 7 You cause collateral damage

Violet came into Archie’s office and dropped a folder full of documents onto his desk. She had been here with him for several hours now, pouring over all of the information they had gathered.

“I think this is it!” she said excitedly. Her brown eyes sparkled with the words. Archie could not help but smile. He knew she only thought of him as a friend…but my god she was beautiful!

“What is it?” he picked up the sheaf of papers and began flipping through them. It all looked like financial statements from banks, permits, a bunch of stuff that was over his head.

Violet put on her financial advisor lecturing tone. “From what you were able to get from your informants, a shell corporation has been buying up property in the warehouse district of the city. All the transactions were tied to one name, Noah Forsythe.

Oracle: Is Noah Forsythe the villain? Tie 3. Yes, but.
At this point Archie does not know that Noah is the same person he fought before. He just knows he is the one behind the purchases.
Twist now at 2.

A knock at his front door interrupted their conversation. They shared a look between them, then Archie motioned for her to step away from the doorway. Violet apprehensively obliged, then picked up the stapler from his desk. Glacier raised his eyebrows at her, and she smiled sheepishly. She shrugged then held it aloft like a weapon.

Archie chuckled to himself, but the way things had been going for her, he did not blame her for being a little apprehensive. Officer Amabel Gupta stood impatiently at the door, her hand raised to knock again when he jerked it open.

“Oh, it’s you,” Archie said in an almost disappointed voice.

Amabel pushed past him without an invitation and walked into his living room. She tossed a newspaper onto the coffee table. “Looks like you made an impression on someone.”

Archie walked over and picked it up. That stinking worm, Rafferty Babadoo, his coworker he sat next to in the Huntsville News office, had published his article. For reasons Archie could not understand, the man hated Glacier.

“GLACIER MAKES OUT WITH WOMAN WHILE CRIMINALS ESCAPE” was the glaring headline. The image of him embracing Violet as she looked up at him was not quite as damning as the author tried to make it seem. But people saw what they wanted to see.

Archie tossed it down to the table. “I didn’t know you moonlit as a paper girl, Officer Gupta.”

The policewoman smirked at him, then threw herself down on his sofa. “We have a problem, Archie. A man was murdered last night. And the last number dialed on his phone was yours.”

Archie immediately wiped the smile from his face, oh no! Who had he talked to last night? So many of his informants had mobilized to help him “get the scoop” on this criminal activity. They of course worked for Archie, not Glacier.

“Murray Robinson, you know him?” She was looking at the details on a small flipped-up notepad.

Murray, no. He had been a bit of scamp…petty theft, pick pocket. Glacier had apprehended him a few times and was trying to help reform him. He had referred him to himself, Archie, to offer him a way to use his connections for good instead of crime. Indeed, it had been Murray who had delivered a key piece of information last night.

“Yeah, I knew him.” Archie gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into his palm.

“Now, calm down, Arch. We’ll get these guys, don’t go freezing everyone.” Officer Gupta stood up apprehensively.

Archie glanced at her, his brows lowered. He nodded, but he knew what he had to do. First Violet, now Murray. These guys had to be stopped.

“You’ll have to excuse me.” He said curtly and walked into his bedroom to change.

He heard the front door close as the officer left. A few moments later, he heard Violet’s timid knock on his bedroom door.

“Archie, you ok?” she called out.

“Yeah, fine. Its time I take these guys out though.” He opened the door, clad as Glacier. Archie was now tucked away in the corner of his mind.

Violet put her hand on his arm. “Please be careful, I know you want to stop them, but they really put up a fight last time.”

He nodded to her and stalked off before she could say anything else. The ground sped away from him as he exited his house and he sprang into flight.

At this point we will begin our Patrol mechanics. Since Archie has an idea of where to go, we will not do the “hex crawl”, but the author includes a nice process for you to do so. She was inspired by Kal-Arath, and it shows, the mechanics are tried and true.

We will roll for a patrol event though.

I’ll roll an Acrobatics check to see if we go 1 hex or 2.
Acrobatics + 1=7 vs 8,4. Weak Hit. 2 Hexes. It’s not in the rules, but I’ll gain a Stress from over-exertion.

Oracle: Does something happen en route to the warehouse district? Yes 3, No 2. Yes.
d20 patrol events: 20 Encounter another hero on a mission.

Superhero: 19 Crusher. Gender: 10 Man. Mission: Escort Someone

As Glacier zoomed over the streets of Huntsville, he noted his fellow superhero, Crusher, down below plodding along with a Normie. Probably someone of importance that needed escorting somewhere.

It was too bad Murray had not been protected better. Glacier berated himself for endangering the lives of the people around him. His carelessness had gotten Violet kidnapped and now Murray was dead. All because of him. It was his fault. He pushed himself to fly even faster. The people on the streets below heard a sonic boom as he broke through the sound barrier.

Glacier dropped to the ground near the abandoned warehouses he had seen in the informant reports. From the outside, they looked the same as the rest of the dilapidated and neglected buildings in this district. He made himself invisible so he could scout around unseen.

Stealth d10 +1 Agility=5 vs 3,3 Strong Hit! There is nothing in the rules for matching Challenge dice, but I’m going to mark another spot on my Twist counter. 3/5

+1 XP for Strong Hit. 3/20 XP

The enemy was completely unaware as Glacier zipped around the building, scouting for the best place to enter. There was an access hatch on the flat roof of the warehouse, a large loading dock door, and an entry door into what appeared to be a small set of offices inside.

Dice Throw for the lair layout

Drawn out map of Warehouse.

Key: 1 Empty; 8,9 NPC Prisoners; 4-5 Criminals (2 and 3 respectively); V Villain’s office

Not seeing anyone inside the front entrance, Glacier decides to sneak in the front door. The room was empty with a couple of desks and chairs, only occupied by toolboxes. A crowbar stood in the corner of the room. He walked through a polyurethane curtain that opened into a hallway. Ahead, it led into the open space of the warehouse. To the left and right were office doors leading into separate rooms. He decided to peek into each before continuing.

Stealth d10 +1 Agi = 5 vs 1,11. Weak Hit.
I take this to mean the 2 criminals in the room notice the door opening, but don’t see him.

“What the…” one of the men occupying the room says as the door opens on its own. Like the criminals who had kidnapped Violet, these men were wearing long trench coats. It must be the signature look of the Invokers. There was a crossbow sitting on a table in the room and one of the men had a bandolier of throwing knives strapped across his chest.

Before they could react, Glacier blasted the crossbow with his freezing breath, then smashed it with his fist. It shattered into pieces. Unfortunately, that made him pop back into view. The man with the knives gave a shout and tossed a knife his way.

Athletics d6+1=6 vs 5,4. Strong Hit. -1 HP, Criminal downed.
+1 XP. 4/20 XP

Glacier rolled under the thrown knife, then slammed his fist under the thrower’s chin. The man went out like a light. The other man, unarmed and now alone, scrambled toward the door.

Freeze d10 + 2 Wisdom=10 vs 3,5. Strong Hit. -1 HP, Criminal downed.
+1 XP. 5/20 XP

Before he could get more than a couple of steps, Glacier puffed out a cloud of his frozen breath and the man fell to the ground unconscious. The hero stood there a moment, motionless. Straining to hear if their shouts had alerted anyone.

Oracle: did anyone hear the shout? Yes 4, 2 No. Yes

He could hear footsteps running from the warehouse area, and he quickly made himself invisible before they could reach the office.

Stealth d10+1 Agi = 3 vs 5,8. Miss. -1 HP Glacier 8/9.

Three more criminals skidded into the room. One of them took note of the frost covered man in the room. “It’s Glacier!” he shouted. “Go get the boss!” One of the men turned to leave, and Glacier made himself visible as he hovered over the door. He dropped to stop the man from leaving, but the man drew his shortsword and slashed at him with a shout. The blade raked across his legs painfully.

Freeze d10 + 2 Wisdom = 3 vs 1,2. Strong Hit. -1 HP, Criminal downed.
+1 XP. 6/20

The cold air suffused the man slashing wildly and he too crumpled to the ground. One of the other criminals, drew a laser pistol from a holster on his hip and fired off a round.

Athletics d6+ 1 Agility=7 vs 6,9. Weak Hit. No damage

Glacier deftly avoided the shot and moved forward to freeze the man in his tracks.

Freeze d10 +2= 5 vs 9,9. Miss with a Twist. -3 HP Glacier. 5/9

The man rolled out of the way of the frosty air, then sprang up and fired another blast from his pistol. The shot splashed onto Glacier’s chest and he stumbled backward. The other man took advantage of his stun, and lashed out with a barbed whip, catching around Glacier’s left leg.

Freeze d10 +2=8 vs 3,10. Weak Hit. No damage

“You need to chill out dude,” Glacier quipped, and his frozen breath made the whip brittle. He stomped his foot and it shattered into a hundred pieces. The criminal, now without a weapon, scrabbled at the window in the room, desperate to escape.

Steath d10 +1 Agility=11 vs 11,10. Weak Hit. No damage

The hero turned invisible just as the pisotleer was about to shoot again. The shot blazed through where he had been standing. He reappeared behind the man, and grappled with him for the weapon.

Freeze d10 +2 =9 vs 6,5. Strong Hit. -1 HP, criminal downed.
+1 XP. 7/20 XP.

The man snarled in Glacier’s face and was rewarded with a focused ring of frozen air. It entered the man’s mouth and he choked on the frigid air. Glacier snatched the pistol from his hand and smashed him in the back of the head. He went down in a heap.

Oracle, does the last man surrender? Yes 6, No 1.
+1 XP, 8/20 XP

“Please, please, don’t hurt me! I give up!” the last man stammered as he dropped to his knees.

Glacier silently obliged and used some zip ties in the room to bind them all. He stuffed an oily rag into the conscious man’s mouth. He then stood there a moment, willing his minor injuries to heal.

Healing d6 +2 Wisdom=4 vs 1,11. Weak Hit. 50% lost HP regained. 7/9 HP.

Feeling a little better, Glacier moved across the hall into the other adjoining offices. Inside, there was a crudely erected cell made from rebar welded together. Inside, a man in a lab coat huddled in a corner.

“Oh my Lord, please, help me!” The man’s glasses were cracked on one of the lenses, and his lip was puffy from being hit.

“Hold tight, I’ll get you out of there.” Glacier responded stoically. He peeked into an adjoining office to find a similar arrangement. This cell had a young girl locked inside.

“Please, get my daughter out first, she’s in that room!” the frantic man exclaimed.

The young girl looked up with a tearstained face as he approached the cell door.

“Are you Glacier?” she sobbed.

“Sure am, and I’ll get you out of here, don’t worry.” He responded. He breathed his frozen breath onto the lock and gave it a solid kick.

Freeze d10 +2 = 7 vs 9,11. Miss.

The kick rattled the door, but it didn’t budge. The lock was sterner than he had imagined. He would need a key. He went to the adjoining office and began to search through the desks and the men held captive.

Oracle, does he find the key? Yes 3, No 5. No.

He patted down the men and systematically checked all of the drawers, but there was no key in sight. The man with the gag made a motion that he wanted to say something. Glacier temporarily pulled out the rag long enough for the man to tell him his boss, Abyssion, had the only key.

Disappointed, he decided to retrieve the crowbar from the front room, and try one more time to force open the lock.

Ok, I’m going to try my hand at the rare Ability check. We have to roll a d20 and try to meet or get under our score.

Brawn d20= 9 vs 12. Success!

The doors opened with a squeal as Glacier put all of his strength into the crowbar. The thankful man hugged his daughter, and hurried from the building. Before he left he told Glacier to be careful. He had been involved in genetic engineering, and had given “enhancements” under duress to Abyssian. Though, he had known him as Noah Forsythe.

Glacier started to put it all together now. This Noah, or Abyssian, had used psychic energies on his sword, thus that was how he had been able to fight so effectively against him. He had known Glacier’s weakness and had sought out a way to effectively strike at him.

Just as the man left the building, Glacier heard a throat clear behind him. Down the hall, in the opening of the warehouse, stood the villain he had fought previously. The man he now knew to be Abyssian.

“Finally, we meet again, Glacier. You will suffer greatly for killing my father.” The man spat.

“He probably deserved it.” Glacier retorted.

End of Act 2

Well, that was exciting! I changed out the d12s I was using from Act 1, and these today were a little more lucky. We’ll finish up Act 3 with a hopefully epic showdown between Glacier and the Villain, Abyssian.

See you next time!