Issue 39: Homicide for Hire vs. Vanguard!

Big City, Queens. Investigation Day Two, 7:05pm

Our heroes had raced against time to Northern Queens to meet Spider Girucci, the murderous thug who promised them Morgue on a platter… all for the benefit, of course, of Girucci’s boss, the Octopus!
But Homicide for Hire laid an ambush sneak attack for Vanguard! Our heroes’ vigilance prevented it and now it was a fair fight, although our heroes were outnumbered and perhaps outgunned!
The Mercenary, a.k.a. Jim Harrik, calmly said: “Take them.” Homicide for Hire were calm, experienced, rehearsed and seamless. They were a smooth, efficient machine. A machine whose purpose was death.

The Hyena’s laughter ranged from human to animal and back again without losing any of its blood-curdling charm. The furry, feral freak snarled: “We oughta thank you, Vanguard, instead of kill you. Big City was off limits to all extranormals, until you showed up. Now we’ve got our first contract, from none other than the big man his self!”
The Mercenary said: “Shut up, Hyena.”
Hyena barked: “Don’t matter. These chumps ain’t gonna live long enough to tell nobody.” His smile widened, showing all his hideous, animal-sized teeth. The carnivore-creature pounced at Forester. “Silencer, you take the elastic spastic. I’ll dissect nature boy, here.”
With ferocious speed, the man-beast’s claws tore across Forester’s chest! RRRIIIPPPPPP! (16 points of damage! Forester rolls with 6 and takes 10 from hit points! Ouch!).
The arboreal archer, who almost succeeded in dodging the attack, was knocked back 20 feet and onto the ground! For a moment his mind flashed back to the day he first met the Marksman. Hyena licked blood from his claws and laughed, “Now, you wanna tell me why you stink of coyote?”

The Mercenary spoke quietly into his headset as he nimbly leapt off the Atomic Brain’s force field platform onto the elevated tracks which afforded him an excellent vantage point of the battle. His team nodded understanding at his words. Then, his face holding no particular expression, Harrik calmly drew a large pistol from its holster and fired a bullet into Spider Girucci’s brain. KA-POW!
The smirk wiped off his face permanently, Girucci collapsed dead onto the dirty, grey sidewalk. The envelope fell from his lifeless hand and blew into the panicking traffic of the Grand Central Parkway!

Forester ignored Hyena, stood and fired his Corrosive Arrow at Silencer. He said nothing. The amazing archer’s aim was as true as ever; the acidic arrow struck the supervillain assassin right in the chest! Instantly, a small area of the iron armor near the arrow began to corrode! The area slowly spread with the steady industriousness of inevitability. Silencer faced the trickshot troubleshooter. He said nothing.

Kairos had been silent too long. During Vanguard’s investigation, the Avatar of Antiquity had withdrawn into a quiet aloofness, as if conserving his energy. But now that the cry of battle was loosed, he leapt into action like a warrior born! His cool demeanor and noble countenance gave assurance to his allies, despite the overwhelming number, speed and power of their enemy! Directly challenging one of their most dangerous foes, his deeds were inspiring! (OOC: Morale-boosting powers!)
Like Circe or the Medusa, Penumbra used her feminine appearance to put men off their guard, to her deadly advantage. Kairos had none of it! The Destined Defender charged the dark sorceress as he hurled a steel blade for her heart! Her nimble swiftness saved her; the chakram only grazed her arm, drawing a crimson line. Pole-vaulting up to the elevated tracks, Kairos was closing on her fast!

Penumbra spat, “Pantheon’s pawn,” to the chosen champion of an ancient age, and deep ebon mists flowed impossibly from around her. Kairos was swallowed up in the cloud-like tentacles and disappeared! Inside the black vapors, he had a sense that they were not mists at all, but tears in the very fabric of reality! Suddenly the jet veil was lifted and Kairos found himself in mid-air, thousands of feet above Big City! Far below was Shea Stadium. The fated fighter was plummeting to certain doom!

Slingshot helplessly watched the Mercenary kill Spider Girucci! The pliable powerhouse was too slow to save the thug’s life but it was still possible to recover the envelope! The big hero stretched his torso up and over the panicking traffic of the parkway! The extranormal battle had drivers rushing to escape! Horns blared, cars collided and jumped the curbs. Slingshot saw the envelope flit under a slowly moving car. He wrapped one enlarged hands around its chassis and lifted the back half of the vehicle. He morphed his other hand’s fingers into spikes and impaled the envelope in mid flight. He then sucked the paper into his elastic body, as if he was made of tar. Slingshot had Spider’s info in his possession! Then all sound was gone. No more horns blaring, tires squealing or bystanders screaming in terror.

Silencer knocked the corrosive arrow from his chest and leapt down from the elevated tracks to the sidewalk. Slingshot didn’t hear him land but turned to face him. A blue-white beam erupted from the super-hitman’s fist and struck the malleable man of might! A vibrational frequency rocked his body. It felt like he might come apart at the seams, yet the big man was unhurt! (15 points of damage. Slingshot rolls with 9 of it and takes the rest off Invulnerability.) But Slingshot realized he was still deaf and mute! (Ignore all dialogue that follows)

Lightning Strike quickly assessed where his abilities would have the greatest effect. The electric avenger turned his attention to Silencer. SHA-KOW!! Jagged bolts of white lightning flew from his hands and enveloped the extranormal hitman! Through those electrical arcs, Strike could now tell that the armor was very simple in its construction. It did not have electrical systems running throughout it. It had mechanical hydraulics to help with its weight, but no central power core that fueled it. The design seemed vaguely familiar.
However, Strike did detect several other systems connected to Silencer’s armor, each with their own electrical power source. They were: a sonic weapon, a silence-field generator, a sound amplifier that increased the wearer’s hearing to an amazing degree, and a communications device that was linked to the rest of Homicide for Hire’s headsets. Silencer heard everything Sentinel had said, not via the communicators, but straight from Sentinel’s lips!
Strike could now short circuit one of these devices with but a thought!
(OOC: Tony, just tell me which one you want to knock out, and it will retro-actively happen in this issue as part of your action here. If you want to do something other than knock out a system, it may leak into Issue 39’s action. Otherwise, next issue you get a new action as per normal. Let me know!)

Zero G slowly levitated over the fray, his alien, blank eyes glowing with crackling star energy. He turned to Lightning Strike and said in a deep, slow, thick voice, “Hold still. I’ll make this as painless as possible for you.” The high voltage vigilante felt his limbs go heavy. The hand of an invisible giant was crushing down upon him. Strike fell to his knees, and then onto his chest. The inconceivable weight was relentless, unstoppable! Pinned and unable to move, Strike felt that his rib cage might give at any moment! (12 points of damage directly to hit points!) “That’s right,” said Zero G, “It’ll all be over soon.”

Sentinel executed a plan designed to confuse and confound the Mercenary’s strategy. He created solid “smoke” constructs, out of which grew a gigantic gorilla straight from the golden age of comic-dom. The 75 foot tall ape towered over Homicide for Hire and crashed its fists down upon the Mercenary. Harrik leapt to one side and the simian simulacra smashed down onto the elevated tracks! KER-RUNCH!
Meanwhile, with his foes diverted, the beacon of liberty zoomed down the street in the sleek cockpit of his two man fighter construct. He radioed Slingshot to airlift him out, but there was no reply!

The Atomic Brain roared at the giant ape through his electro-speaker box, “Mock me, will you, Sentinel?! At long last I shall have my revenge! Then, from your broken body I shall force the location of the rest of the Liberty League!” The robot’s Odinium body raised its hand and fired an atomic death ray at the golden age gorilla! VWOOOOMMmmmmMM! When the terrible green beam stopped, the top of the gorilla was gone! (OOC: 25 points of damage!) The Brain peered inside the smoking ape ruin.
“Where are you Sentinel?” Then he employed his Atomic Vision, “Ah, there you are. Running away already, are you? You’ll not escape me. Not now. Not after all these long years.”
The Brain flew after Sentinel’s craft and Penumbra, the only member of Homicide who remained on the Brain’s force field platform, had no choice but to follow!

The Mercenary surveyed his killing field and smiled. Then below, he saw a stranger entering it…

Symbiote couldn’t believe his luck! He heard that a new team of extranormals called Vanguard had announced itself in New York City. But this was too much! Hal Harper had been on his way to the second game of a double header at Shea Stadium with his sister (the original game, scheduled for yesterday, was rained out). Outside the window of his train, he saw them fly by! Vanguard! He quickly explained to his sis when they got off the train, and ran back. Fortunately he was working on the harness and had it with him. After a quick change, Symbiote turned a corner and stopped in his tracks. Vanguard was in the middle of fighting a deadly supervillian hit team named Homicide for Hire! There had to be almost a dozen extranormals right there! Symbiote grinned like a cat that learned how to open the refrigerator door.
Vanguard and Homicide for Hire both noted the arrival of this mysterious costumed figure!

To be continued!

OOC: Actions everyone?
Also, everyone please welcome a new player: Greg, who will play the mysterious Symbiote!
But is he good or evil??!!

Current Conditions:
Forester: Hit Points: 21, Power Points: 63
Kairos: Hit Points: 44, Power Points: 75
Lightning Strike: Hit Points: 28, Power Points: 71
Sentinel: Hit Points: 20, Power Points: 52, Creation Points: 79 left out of 104
Slingshot: Hit Points: 55, Power Points: 81, Invulnerability: 2 until Issue 40
Symbiote: Hit Points: 28, Power Points: 73

Thanks and good luck!
-Ye Editor

------------------------------------

Kairos:
OOC: Geez! I wish that I had included in my panoply of paraphernalia a pantheonic parachute!
IC: Determined that his death should mean something, Kairos will assume the spread-eagled skydiver’s position, hoping to slow down his descent enough to get his bearings and enable him to guide his fall into some villain, if it comes to that. He scans the sky and ground below him, searching for those tell-tale flashes of heroic combat.

(At the same time, unconsciously, a Luck Point (or points, if it helps) is being spent. Maybe there’s an aerial craft of some sort below somewhere or maybe, since it’s over the stadium, there is a sporting event with a performance by skydivers or a blimp or something. Anything is worth a try!)

Working under the assumption that I CAN actually locate the combat, I’ll guide myself that way, if possible, barring any revelations of something that can save me to the contrary. If I see something, I think that I’ll most definitely steer towards it!

If there is nothing that seems to be able to save me, I’ll try and guide myself into Penumbra and the Atomic Brain, if I can see them. I should gain sufficient velocity to do some significant damage to Penumbra, though possibly not the Brain. Also, by doing this, it guides me in the direction of the two members of Vanguard most likely to be able to do something to save me.
Since the combat has been joined in earnest, I’ll keep quiet on the communicator so as not to distract my teammates from their own efforts.

------------------------------------

Sentinel:
OOC: Two things:
It seems to me that as Kirk is flying around here, there would be a good chance that as Kirk is zooming around he would see the dilemma of Kairos and could work an intercept for him to save him... does this sound reasonable?
In thinking about the immediate area around Shea, this isn't like the NYC skyline with skyscrapers immediately surrounding it. Is there a layout close enough nearby so he could try his plan of having him pursue and then crash into an "invisible" construct? Although likely not really going to do anything against the Brain, the damage from the crash and to the platform might at least take Penumbra out of the battle, or at least have her falling several stories to the streets below as some poetic justice for Kairos.

In looking at the picture of the Atomic Brain you gave us, it seems like the Brain's brain isn't encased and is just kind of floating near his armor suit - is that correct? Is there no physical protection seen or connection?
And do I understand from your description of him and "past knowledge" we are pretty much dealing with a being both with an indestructible body as well as a force field protecting it. I just want to be sure I understand because it seems like a physical attack against him is pointless because even if we manage to get passed the force field which you've indicated is no easy task, his body is pretty much indestructible anyway?
And you did pretty much know where I was going because it seemed like that was the only possibility of stopping him that I could come up with on the spur of the moment.

Of course, remember that this is Kirk we're dealing with and his moral code wouldn't allow him to turn into the assassin that his powers would allow (imagine how that thought would both thrill and frighten Drake - thrill him if he thought he could control and have the perfect assassin at his disposal and scare the life out of him if he couldn't. Funny that I figured down the road when Kirk and Drake finally have a confrontation, I figured a discussion of just this sort of thing would be a part of it - ie, why Drake is so alarmed at extranormals and Kirk trying to reason with him that the ability alone shouldn't condemn someone). But I digress ...

From what he briefly saw and knows, does the Brain's brain appear to still be a "normal" brain? I guess what I'm trying to find out is a normal brain wouldn't be able to take much damage -- do we have any reason to believe his brain has been modified physically beyond the fact that it seems to be floating around the armor body? (Why do I think your answer is going to be "you don't know.")
Thanks.

PS: In rereading your couple of replies I may have misread or missed some of it in my last set of questions. So I guess I'll just mention what I was thinking of attempting either this turn or the next one depending on the Kairos scenario I already asked about.

In your above description when speaking hitting against the target's defenses I was naturally inquiring about being able to bypass them as part of my power set and here's my reasoning. If I had a psionic type power, say a psionic mental blast of sorts, a physical force field wouldn't be a protection. So in this case, if Kirk formed an energy construct within the force field, then similarly it would not provide a defense against the attack. So it should depend on the type of defense of the target.

In the same vein, if I was trying the same sort of attack against an invulnerable character, this wouldn't work since there would be no "shields" to bypass ... although I would suppose if the character had an invulnerable exterior with a normal interior perhaps it would (ie Superman's entire body is invulnerable, if you get below the Thing's rocky exterior, he's not -- and following this same reasoning and type of attack, a poison gas attack would work against Ben Grimm and his "invulnerability" would not apply because his lungs are normal, but wouldn't work against Superman).

What I was thinking of trying to do was to create the construct within his force field and trying to actually just encircle his "brain". I was hoping that this might mess with his control in two ways, first if there was some sort of physical link, then Kirk's sphere would interfere with the Brain's controlling his armor (after rereading your last comments and checking the photo this seems less likely - unless he's cloaking a physical connection of sorts it seems likely his connection to the armor is more psionic in nature), but if physical proximity to the armor is necessary it still might work. Second, I was thinking about Kirk's control of the environment in his creations. Once he formed it around the brain, he would go for a vacuum type environment figuring that the brain functions in a "normal" environment, so deprived of it, it would have an adverse affect on the brain. Finally, if neither of these things worked he could perform a physical attack on the brain using the construct.

I was asking questions about the Brain's brain, because if Kirk was successful in any of this, I would think that a brain itself would only have a hit point or two before it was destroyed and although some characters would have no second thought crushing the brain and killing the Brain, Kirk would. Although given the further clarification from you that there isn't a physical link it seems that The Atomic Brain's brain is likely more durable and not a "normal brain" than say the Ultra-Humanite's brain or the brain of the Brain that fought the Doom Patrol (don't know if you know these DC villains or not).

So, what about the above?

And, could you possibly think of another context of a dialogue like the above??? Reread the above outside of the comic/gaming world and they'd be coming to lock us up :)

------------------------------------

Symbiote:
"Wow. Nothing like a trial by fire," the Copying Crusader thinks to himself. "Here's where we see if all those hours in the lab really pay off. To say nothing of all that time in the dojo."
With that, he launches himself at his opponent!

(OOC: Exactly who his opponent is will depend. You said that Zero-G is hovering over the area. How high? If it's low enough that Hal would have a reasonable chance of hitting him--even if it means jumping a bit--he'll go for Zero-G. If not, he'll try for Hyena. He'll be opening with his favorite move, the palm strike. While doing damage will be all well and good if possible, absorption is his primary goal. I assume that the use of any absorbed powers will have to wait until next turn).

Thanks,
Greg

------------------------------------

Lightning Strike:
OOC: Well, never too early to reply!!

OK, LS is totally pinned down by Zero G so now it is time for a desperate gambit.
My gambit is based on the GM saying that with a thought I can disable any of Silencers but let’s take this to the next level.

If possible, and I leave this to the GM, LS will take control of the Sonic Weapon and try to deploy it against Zero G. Hopefully, Zero G will not be expecting that kind of attack and if I can gain control of it, it would act as a "sneak attack" as per the old rules. If that is not possible, then I will need to formulate my actions again.

Thanks,
Early Tony

PS: OK, I thought of a backup plan to at least take out Silencer if Plan One isn't possible. LS will attempt to overload the Sound Amplifier in Silencer hopefully amplifying it to such a level that I could knock him unconscious.
Either of these scenarios works for me.

------------------------------------

Forester:
The injured archer looks toward Hyena and says, "Fetch." Forester's arrow misses the canine criminal completely (gliding by Hyena's right ear), then spins back "boomerang"-style at its true target, Zero G.

Spotting the mysterious man in the circular suit, Forester shouts: "Oooo! Oooo! If you're here to help, stop the woman! She makes people disappear!"

OOC:
Welcome to the game, Greg! And Jeff, thanks for the map!

Hey Jeff, this probably goes without saying, but I'm guessing that you'll let me know in Issue 40 if Forester recognizes Hyena in some way.
Despite the serious wounds from Hyena's attacks, Forester's not giving the guy much attention--for reasons I might go into in upcoming issues, depending how things go.

------------------------------------

OOC GM Replies!
Sentinel wrote: It seems to me... there would be a good chance that as Kirk is zooming around he would see the dilemma of Kairos and could work an intercept for him to save him... does this sound reasonable?

GM Reply: Yes. Kairos vanished before Sentinel created his giant gorilla, so he likely saw Kairos disappear. Also remember, the Vanguard communicators can GPS track the other communicators. (FYI: The wearer can elect to turn off the signal when they don't want to be followed). Even as a trial member, Kairos would have a communicator.

Sentinel wrote: In thinking about the immediate area around Shea, this isn't like the NYC skyline with skyscrapers immediately surrounding it. Is there a layout close enough nearby so he could try his plan of having him pursue and then crash into an "invisible" construct?

GM Reply: Yes. Please check Issue 38 (the now-classic Double-Header Double-Cross!) which laid out the region. Big blunt objects include: The World's Fair towers and the Unisphere, an under-construction skyscraper that is all steel girders right now, the tall crane of a car wrecking facility, elevated train tracks, the National Tennis Center, and more.
By "invisible" I assume you mean hidden and/or quick-forming.

Sentinel wrote: In looking at the picture of the Atomic Brain you gave us, it seems like the Brain's brain isn't encased and is just kind of floating near his armor suit - is that correct? Is there no physical protection seen or connection?

GM Reply: Correct, and semi-correct. It's protected by his force field, but there is no visible connection.

Sentinel wrote: And do I understand from your description of him (the Atomic Brain) and "past knowledge" we are pretty much dealing with a being both with an indestructible body as well as a force field protecting it.

GM Reply: Yes.

Sentinel wrote: From what he briefly saw and knows, does the Brain's brain appear to still be a "normal" brain? I guess what I'm trying to find out is a normal brain wouldn't be able to take much damage -- do we have any reason to believe his brain has been modified physically beyond the fact that it seems to be floating around the armor body? (Why do I think your answer is going to be "you don't know.")

GM Reply: You don't know. To expand on that a little: The Brain is a mad scientist and it’s quite possible he has experimented on his own radioactive brain. For all you know the Brain's brain could possess the power of flight and force field generation, and the robotic body is just his pet.

Sentinel wrote: In your above description when speaking hitting against the target's defenses I was naturally inquiring about being able to bypass them as part of my power set and here's my reasoning. If I had a psionic type power, say a psionic mental blast of sorts, a physical force field wouldn't be a protection. So in this case, if Kirk formed an energy construct within the force field, then similarly it would not provide a defense against the attack. So it should depend on the type of defense of the target.

GM Reply: This is not incorrect. But all this brings us to a central point: Kirk doesn't know the source of his power! Is it psionics? Is he projecting energy from his body that is invisible, except when formed into solid stuff? Is it "magic"? Is it stuff from another dimension?
In the first example, he's rolling a psionic attack against a force field defense. In the second example, he's rolling a regular attack against a force field defense. In the last example, it might be a dimensional travel rule. Etc.

Sentinel wrote: I was thinking about Kirk's control of the environment in his creations. Once he formed it around the brain, he would go for a vacuum type environment figuring that the brain functions in a "normal" environment, so deprived of it, it would have an adverse affect on the brain.

GM Reply: The Sentinel cannot form vacuums in his creations. He can create a breathable atmosphere in them, or choose not to. The latter does not mean lack of an atmosphere. It means he trapped whatever air is in the area when its formed, like a plastic bag catching air. If someone is inside the bag then the air will run out eventually. But it's not vacuum creation. Thanks.

Sentinel wrote: I was asking questions about the Brain's brain, because if Kirk was successful in any of this, I would think that a brain itself would only have a hit point or two before it was destroyed and although some characters would have no second thought crushing the brain and killing the Brain, Kirk would.

GM Reply: You don't know how much damage the Brain's brain can withstand. A normal human brain has no pain receptors; it feels no pain. But Sentinel's compunction against killing should probably require him to take the safest option to avoid murder. That's why they call'em Weaknesses. :)


Symbiote wrote: You said that Zero-G is hovering over the area. How high? If it's low enough that Hal would have a reasonable chance of hitting him--even if it means jumping a bit--he'll go for Zero-G. If not, he'll try for Hyena... I assume that the use of any absorbed powers will have to wait until next turn.

GM Reply: Sorry, Zero-G is hovering 100 feet above the ground! Assuming you succeed in striking Hyena, use of powers are immediate. However, you've used your action to get them, and your movement to close in on Hyena before striking him, so use is pretty limited this round.


Forester wrote: OOC: Hey Jeff, this probably goes without saying, but I'm guessing that you'll let me know in Issue 40 if Forester recognizes Hyena in some way.

GM Reply: Forester doesn't recognize Hyena, and Hyena is not the creature from the Renaissance Faire. It just reminded him of the attack. His ability to smell "coyote" around Forester is intriguing though. Forester does not smell like a canine of any kind.


Lightning Strike wrote: OK, I thought of a backup plan to at least take out Silencer if Plan One isn't possible. LS will attempt to overload the Sound Amplifier in Silencer hopefully amplifying it to such a level that I could knock him unconscious. Either of these scenarios work for me.

GM Reply: Plan One won't work in this case. You can fire the weapon, but not aim it. It's aimed manually, on his hand. (Lousy, low-tech armor!) But Plan Two is technically feasible.
Best,
Jeff

------------------------------------

Slingshot:
Scott growled instinctively and automatically noticed he couldn't hear himself growl. "Quite disturbing", he thought to himself.

Mercenary needs to be taken out, but first Silencer...
He faces Silencer squarely. He's had a lot of frustrations in the last few days and this is the perfect time to let loose. In moments like these, he's not always completely conscious of his physicality. His features turn predatory. In fact, they turn into a particularly nasty version of predatory. As he winds up for the haymaker, his fist enlarges into a monstrous mitt. "If I can't hit the side of a barn, might as well hit with the side of a barn", he says silently.

[ooc: let loose on silencer. I just hope I hit... next: Merc.]

------------------------------------

Sentinel:
First off, Kirk will try to maneuver his “construct” vehicle towards Kairos and intercept his fall along the way and pick him up. Given that he’s the only one on the team currently empowered with flight and that to his knowledge and by seeing him in action at the buildings, Kairos cannot fly, this is priority number one. He's not losing a teammate if he can do anything about it ...

When Kirk intercepts Kairos (assuming it goes smoothly) he’ll greet him with a salute and with a “captain’s cap” image on his head and say something along the lines of, “Welcome aboard the Sentinel One, if you think that boarding was something, wait for the rest of the flight;” as they zoom away.

OOC:
“GM Reply: Yes. Please check Issue 38 (the now-classic Double-Header Double-Cross!) which laid out the region. Big blunt objects include: The World's Fair towers and the Unisphere, an under-construction skyscraper that is all steel girders right now, the tall crane of a car wrecking facility, elevated train tracks, the National Tennis Center, and more. By "invisible," I assume you mean hidden and/or quick-forming.”

Thanks. I couldn’t find where you had given us the map. I didn’t see anything that fit the description that would allow the “chase” I was going for, but today we were picking up Paula’s mom at the airport and did spot a whole “industrial section” of Queens nearby which contained commercial buildings that were fairly elevated and rectangular in shape which would provide the turns and cover needed for the trick. They aren’t as high as the NYC skyscrapers but were certainly tall enough for Kirk to be flying a few stories high and still be hidden from view.

By invisible I meant that his construct would be as closest to clear as he could make it so it would blend in with the surrounding area. The idea would be that the Brain would be following closely behind, Kirk would take a sharp turn between the buildings, the Brain would follow, and slam directly into the construct. It’s possible that he could do just the same with any construct, but I figured by trying to keep it as clear as possible and blend into the area around it, the Brain wouldn’t notice it at all in his haste. I don’t know if it would do much damage to the Brain even if successful, but hopefully it would take out the platform and Penumbra and perhaps rattle the Brain a bit.

Kirk would maneuver around a sharp turn in flight, draw next to the building hidden and then have a major portion of his construct clearly spread out and cover a huge portion of the area where Brain would be flying around in pursuit… and then kablam (hopefully) as the Brain and his platform hit it.

At this point, and depending on what happens, Kairos might have an opportunity to leap off towards one of the buildings, or if Kirk’s construct is still in one piece, and he can reform it and keep moving and Kairos wants to tag along or has some other idea, Kirk would be open to it.
If I can’t make it to the commercial section and one of the other closer areas might allow for this sort of gambit, I’ll go to that area. Perhaps the area around the train tracks might allow for something similar.

As another alternative, if none of this seems possible, might it be possible for Kirk to zoom around the area of the tall crane with the Brain in pursuit and use a tether of his construct to put the crane ball swinging in action and come around and smash the platform of the Brain from behind --- he could start leaving a “smoke trail” camouflage from his “jet” to confuse the Brain from noticing or something like that.

I will reply for some further clarification on some of your other GM replies, but they don’t apply to this turn and wanted to get this to you so you could work on the next issue quickly since everyone else was in already. If none of this is workable or isn’t clear, then let me know and I’ll try to come up with another alternative.