Issue 7: The Secret Origin of SKULL!

Grey moved the group quickly through the corridors of the gigantic, futuristic carrier craft. It was like a combination of a nuclear submarine and an aircraft carrier that had sprouted jet wings. Soldiers, busy in their duties, saluted Grey as he passed. The tension in the air was palpable.

Grey brought the men into a large, darkened briefing room with a massive vid screen on one wall, and an illuminated satellite image of North America on the other. A large digital clock was counting down from eleven hours and twenty minutes. It was forty minutes after midnight.
Grey said: “Be seated. Thanks for coming this far. I figure I owe you all answers and plenty of ‘em.”

A medic went from man to man as the discussion unfolded. Soldiers came and went as well, quietly handing Grey information, and receiving orders.

Viper said: "Listen. I appreciate the invite. I'm not this kind of hero. And I'm sure these three don't want to look after me AND the country."

Grey barked: “Stow that talk, kid. You did good out there tonight. Better than anyone could have expected. Hell, you helped save all the people on that zeppelin, not to mention Doc and myself!”

Sentinel says: "Respectfully sir, if it’s about the good fight, then I'm there. And if it’s for the country, and by the country, I mean its people and the pioneering spirit that made this land the place of opportunity and the home of freedom, then count me in. But I'm no one's fool, and I won't act in ignorance. Trust is to be earned... and even then to be given cautiously."

“Glad ta hear it,” said Grey. There might have been some irony in that.
Comet said, "There is nothing holding me back. This is what I was really destined to do in the first place. I have some things to atone for and some time to make up. Thank you for a second chance. I'm in."

“Great,” Grey grinned. “I was hoping you’d say something like that.”
Lightning Strike said, "If you haven't noticed, Mr. Grey, my country already wants me for other reasons, or is that something you can take care of?" Grey glanced at Sentinel who had brought up the same topic, then replied: “Unfortunately, there’s no time for that now. We’re on a clock. You’ve shown enough guts and integrity tonight for me keep you on a little longer. Truth is, right now, I don’t have much choice but to trust you. All of you,” he said, glancing at the Blue Comet. “Further down the line, should we all live, we can sort that all out.”
Lightning Strike says: "Perhaps it would help us if we knew what was in that package and why SKULL wants both it and the good doctor here.”

“You’re right,” said Grey.
An image of a SKULL symbol appeared on the giant vid screen. It matched the symbol on the chest of the Doomsday Robot.
“SKULL,” said Mr. Grey, “is a worldwide subversive terrorist organization dedicated to global domination. It’s the most extensive, powerful, and dangerous such organization in history. They apparently have access to rare technology… and considerable wealth.

“Their legions are fanatically loyal, suicidal even. No SKULL agent has ever been captured alive. Doc here figgers it’s something to do with SKULL’s mystical nature. They’re a regular cult to these nut jobs.”

Doc Rocket continued: “The origin of SKULL is still shrouded in mystery. Some can date it back to the Knights Templar. In fact, it may refer to the mystical skull that the knighthood were accused of worshipping, before their order was declared heretical, and destroyed. Or perhaps, that is just what some would want us to believe. SKULL has also been linked to John Dee (the court sorcerer for Queen Elizabeth I), Adam Weisthaupt (the founder of the Bavarian Illuminati), the Thule Society (the occultic order that inspired Nazi mysticism), and even the Freemasons.”

“You may know that the skull and crossbones was originally a Templar symbol, appearing on their tombstones. It alluded to Gol'gotha - "the place of the skull" - and the cross - where Jesus Christ died. The symbol meant resurrection to the Knights Templar. It later become synonymous with piracy after the Knights were outlawed for sorcery and blasphemy, and turned to piracy and banditry as their only means.
“If we are to believe the deranged chants emanating from the lips of SKULL agents we encountered tonight, eternal life is still a reward to those who serve SKULL well,” Doc said wryly.

Grey said: “In recent years, they’ve been known to hire mercenary super-villains for special jobs. SKULL has tangled with the Freedom Force, and has exhibited extensive knowledge of the Force’s powers and weaknesses. You folks could be an ace up our sleeve. Being so green, they might not have anything on you… yet.”

“Which brings us to the present. Two days ago, SKULL issued a blackmail ultimatum to the US government. They claim to have created a Tsunami Machine. They claim it was responsible for the Asian Tsunami. If they don’t receive $100 billion in gold, they will destroy the Eastern Coast of the United States. Millions will die.”

Doc said: “We had previously confirmed that the Asian Tsunami was man-made.”
The vid screen showed underwater photography of deep cracks, burns and other strange marks, amid wholesale devastation on the ocean floor of the Pacific.

Grey said: “It was done as a show of power. For that show, the Machine was detonated at its lowest setting.
We now have 11 hours left to pay! We’ve already activated several top agents to stop SKULL’s plot, but they’ve all gone missing… save one. Agent X managed to reach Doc in London.
Before he died, Agent X gave Doc the package. SKULL agents picked up Doc’s trail and, cornered, he had no choice but to board the zeppelin headed to New York.
I figured SKULL might have a welcome committee waiting for him, so I arranged that you folks, and this carrier craft, meet him atop the Empire State Building for the midnight arrival of the zeppelin.
When the CHESS Omni-carrier was late, I boarded the zeppelin an hour before it landed.
The rest you know. Except for the contents of the package.”

Doc said: “The package contained a photo of the blueprint schematic for the Tsunami Machine. This photo was hidden inside an ancient book stolen from SKULL’s secret occult library in London.
The SKULL agents didn’t want harm to come to their sacred tome, but they did want to retrieve the photo of the blueprints.
They succeeded, but in the time of my crossing I was able to study the plans, and comprehend the workings of their weapon. It’s quite complex, booby trapped and such. But I discovered a flaw in the design and if I can get near it, I should be able to quickly disable it without setting it off.”

Grey said: “SKULL has known about the photo since London. Yet they haven’t issued further communication, nor detonated the device. So, we’re assuming they won’t change their blackmail plans over this incident. It’s likely they’re unaware of the design flaw Doc discovered in the plans, overconfident lunatics that they are.”

“Which leads us to our next step,” said Grey. “The coordinates where this carrier first detected the Doomsday Robot are our last lead, our last chance. They point to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I want to send you four and Doc to those coordinates in a last ditch effort to stop SKULL.”

The wall-sized image of the US zooms into the coordinates, revealing nothing on the satellite’s infra-red, except black, deep waves.

(OOC: Comet, these coordinates are different than the ones you memorized on the bridge of the Doomsday Robot… you think. Memory issues persist.)

“An hour before our time runs out, we might be forced to make other, less covert, choices,” Grey said quietly. “But as long as we have a little time, I’m hoping that you’ll be able to recover the other government operatives that went missing, and shut down SKULL’s Tsunami Machine!
Stealth and surprise are paramount. If they feel that their plan is doomed, SKULL will activate the Machine ahead of schedule, ransom or no.
So. Will you help us?”

OOC: replies, questions, plans, ideas, etc?
Thanks!
-Ye Editor

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Sentinel:

"Grey… Doc… I’m in. I’ll do all I can to stop this. But come on, Grey, Doc here is probably the smartest guy on the planet and you must have just about all the other geniuses in your think tank Even I can see what you’ve told us doesn’t add up and there has to be more. $100 billion dollar ransom? At best reports and estimates, that’s like all the gold in the United States, and at worst the country doesn’t have anywhere near that. And even if they had it and were willing to pay, how could it possibly be done logistically? Even if they could figure a way to get all the gold together and deliver it, the drain of that much gold couldn’t be covered up, yet Skull hasn’t tried to go public or make any of this known to the world, so it isn’t just to display their power. It just doesn’t add up!

My question is did Skull make the ransom demand before or after they became aware of your knowledge of the Tsunami Machine? If it was after, and I’m betting it was, then much of this has to be some sort of diversion to waste our time and put us on a false trail; why else make a silent demand for a ransom that could never be paid?"

Some follow-up stuff as discussion permits: "I know Doc here has a handle on the working of this machine, and if anyone can stop it, I’m sure it’s him, but with only five of us going in, can you give us some basic understanding of how this thing works and its source of power? What if something happens to Doc along the way? Can we prevent its source of power from fully powering the machine so they can’t use it?

(Sentinel points at Strike and Comet) Seems like we’ve got some experts at energy use and manipulation on this mission – can we have a backup plan? Can we just destroy this thing?"

"Any chance we can get a telepath in on this? If we could, at the least, perhaps he could implant the information on the machine in our minds so it’s not just tied up in Doc’s head and at best perhaps he could coordinate things from the inside if we become separated from Doc and he can’t get to the machine and one of us can."

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GM Replies:
Sentinel said:"$100 billion dollar ransom? At best reports and estimates, that’s like all the gold in the United States, and at worst the country doesn’t have anywhere near that."

"And yet," said Doc softly. "What price wouldn't one pay to prevent this from happening? The damages from hurricanes in the US this year alone added up to over $70 billion."

"Yeah," Grey smirked. "We're getting the whole eastern seaboard for a song."

Sentinel said: "And even if they had it and were willing to pay, how could it possibly be done logistically? Even if they could figure a way to get all the gold together and deliver it, the drain of that much gold couldn’t be covered up, yet Skull hasn’t tried to go public or make any of this known to the world, so it isn’t just to display their power. It just doesn’t add up!"

Grey said, "They said, once we agree to the terms and raise the gold, they'll forward plans for payment. So no help there. And yes, the US may have to buy or borrow gold from other nations to meet SKULL's demands.

"Kid, I'm sure SKULL doesn't give a damn about a "cover up" of the drain. That'll be our problem to deal with. Along with the resulting economic collapse that payment will cause! Bringing down the world economy has been the goal of SKULL for awhile.

But between choosing loss of life on that scale, and economic ruin, what would YOU do differently?" he snarled around his cigar.

Sentinel said: "My question is did Skull make the ransom demand before or after they became aware of your knowledge of the Tsunami Machine? If it was after, and I’m betting it was, then much of this has to be some sort of diversion to waste our time and put us on a false trail; why else make a silent demand for a ransom that could never be paid?"

Doc said, "You're correct. Their demand came well after our awareness of the nature of the Asian Tsunami. But in their communication, they possessed knowledge of the event that was convincing. And then there's the blueprint Agent X procured. I don't believe that it's beyond their technological grasp. You've seen the Doomsday Robot first hand, Sentinel."

Grey said: "You're assuming SKULL are rational folks. Probably a bad assumption. Look, there are funny questions across all of it, and I don't like the lay of any of it, but are you willing to call their bluff? You're right not to trust the SKULL bastards. But right now, whether we believe them or not, our best plan is to locate them as fast as possible."

Sentinel said: "I know Doc here has a handle on the working of this machine, and if anyone can stop it, I’m sure it’s him, but with only five of us going in, can you give us some basic understanding of how this thing works and its source of power? What if something happens to Doc along the way?"

Doc smiled and said, "Excellent suggestion. It will take some time. Do any of you four possess a background in science or engineering? And what could ever possibly happen to me?"

Sentinel said: "Any chance we can get a telepath in on this? If we could, at the least, perhaps he could implant the information on the machine in our minds so it’s not just tied up in Doc’s head and at best perhaps he could coordinate things from the inside if we become separated from Doc and he can’t get to the machine and one of us can."

Grey said, "Good idea. Pathos is AWOL. But we could reach out to another..." Grey paused.
“... the widow of the original Paladin."

OOC: The PC's know that Paladin was one of the core Freedom Force members, a galactic superhero with cosmic-powered technological armor. He was murdered on his wedding day by evil aliens: the S'Korians (the same aliens whose later invasion was just recently thwarted by the Freedom Force before the FF disappeared). The public never learned the identity of Paladin's bride to be.

Years later, Paladin was cloned and returned to the FF, but he lacked his original memories including the memory that he was in love and about to be wed. He never married his fiance.This clone Paladin is the one who is currently mysteriously missing along with the rest of the Freedom Force.

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Viper:
"Bah! Maybe this time we'll go in guns-a-blazin' instead of having them skull fellas hiding behind innocents. I'd like to introduce that Master fella to another right hook."

::Viper quickly continues speaking, before anyone could cut him off::
"Alright, alright. I'm just lettin' off a bit o' steam. I understand that we need to get inside quietly, but if Hell breaks lose I'm taking out as many of them skulls as I can! And on that subject, how are we getting in there anyhow? I'm a land bound fella, myself. These fly boys have no problem getting around but I'd hate ta hafta hitch another ride from one of these fellas."
::Grins at Sentinel::
"Not that I didn't appreciate the last ride, but like any good circus performer I like knowing where my net is."
After the talk of implanting stuff with a telepath.....
"Woah there! I'm not too keen on havin' someone play inside my head. It's one of the main reasons I'm still single, you know. ::Viper winks at Grey:: Why can't you just tell us this stuff, maybe write it down for us. What? Can't we afford 4 notebooks?"
::Viper leans back in his chair::
"Hey, I'm hungry. We don't have a cook that's able to send over a six-pack hand some burgers, do we? Guy can't battle Skull on an empty stomach, you know."

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Lightning Strike:
Lightning Strike sits back and takes the comments in. He leans back in his chair and contemplates as if his mind is somewhere else.
He leans back to the table and speaks. "The ransom demand must be a ruse of some sort. There is no way to either procure or liquidate that much gold without moving the gold market drastically in either direction. Since the US left the gold standard, I doubt there is that much in Fort Knox. Is there any way to see who might be playing the market these days? Perhaps someone buying an unusual number of futures contracts on gold prices? No reason to bet that even if the Skull organization are psychotics, there isn't someone looking to make a buck off of this plan."

Lightning Strike looks over at the Doc, "So Doc, tell me what kind of power source are we talking about for this device? I can't imagine it would be battery operated. I have a limited technical background but I would imagine with my electrical senses, I might be able to track that level of power source, even if it was deep below the see. If nothing else, we could trace the power to the source."

OOC: GM, is that even possible given my powers? It seems feasible.

"Since we all seem to have extraordinary powers, it seems likely that these Skull people would be similarly prepared, although not having seen any of you before, they must have all been kept quite secret. Even too secret for you Mr. Grey?"

Lightning Strike gets up and walks around the table. "I don't like operating in the dark and these pieces don't add up. There must be more that you aren't telling us and if you expect me to go on some half-assed mission without any justification or proof, then perhaps you should get yourselves another guinea pig. I have my own mysteries to solve and I don't think they involve tsunamis."

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GM Replies:
Viper said: “And on that subject, how are we getting in there, anyhow? I'm a land bound fella, myself. These fly boys have no problem getting around but I'd hate ta hafta hitch another ride from one of these fellas."

Grey replied: ‘If we drop you off at the coordinates smack in the middle of the Atlantic, we can provide an underwater craft.”

Lightning Strike said: “There is no way to either procure or liquidate that much gold without moving the gold market drastically in either direction… Is there any way to see who might be playing the market these days? Perhaps someone buying an unusual number of futures contracts on gold prices?"

Grey said: “Not a bad idea. It’ll take some time to find out.We’ve got less than 11 hours left. How long do you want to wait for your answer?”

Lightning Strike looks over at the Doc, "So Doc, tell me what kind of power source are we talking about for this device?”

Doc said: “The power requirements are indeed considerable.”

Strike said: “I have a limited technical background but I would imagine with my electrical senses, I might be able to track that level of power source, even if it was deep below the see. If nothing else, we could trace the power to the source."
OOC: GM, is that even possible given my powers? It seems feasible.

GM OOC: It is possible, but only within your power’s range, about 180 feet.
However, Strike is a super scientist type. Perhaps there could be a way to temporarily extend that range.

Lightning Strike said: "Since we all seem to have extraordinary powers, it seems likely that these Skull people would be similarly prepared although, not having seen any of you before, they must have all been kept quite secret. Even too secret for you Mr. Grey?"

“Like I said, SKULL has hired mercenary super villains in the past,” Grey replied. “Usually having them operate in the dark, on specific missions, with limited duration.”

Lightning Strike said to Grey: “There must be more that you aren't telling us and if you expect me to go on some half-assed mission without any justification or proof, then perhaps you should get yourselves another guinea pig. I have my own mysteries to solve and I don't think they involve tsunamis."

Grey snarled: “You’ve got what I’ve got! I’m not setting you up to fail. There’s too much at stake here for game playing! And I’m not expecting you to do anything. I’ve asked for your help. Your country needs you. Mister, you can help or not. Either you will or you won’t. And if yer planning on solvin’ any of your mysteries on the East Coast any time soon, you might want to deal yourself in on this one!”

Viper said: "Hey, I'm hungry. We don't have a cook that's able to send over a six-pack hand some burgers, do we? Guy can't battle Skull on an empty stomach, you know."

“You heard the man,” said Grey to a soldier. The soldier left and returned with grub for all.

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Sentinel:
OOC: Since Sentinel suggested the telepath, he obviously would like one along as long Grey can vouch for them as to their behavior and motive. He would suggest that if anyone is against this, they don't have to participate and if they end up being the one trying to disarm the device, perhaps at the last second they'd have a change of mind and can make a call to "allow" the telepath in... having someone in your head momentarily versus being blown to bits with everyone else may be good incentive to double-think the initial dislike.

It doesn't seem like we have time to wait for more intel and as strongly as Sentinel feels that there is something is missing here he would recommend moving out on the mission, because he couldn't live with being wrong about it and not trying to do something to prevent this from happening. If Grey finds another direction or additional info they can redirect the group enroute.

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Lightning Strike:
OOC: If the telepath's background checks out then I am all for it. I am still skeptical that the govt. has done all it can to track these people but I am not willing to risk millions of lives just to gather more info. We should go in as soon as possible

Can't wait for the next issue. I hear they are going for big bucks on ebay.

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Blue Comet:

Blue Comet was silent as the discussions unfolded. SKULL's involvement gave him pause. If he really was Tornado Man, or had been Tornado Man, then he had worked for SKULL once. He wished he could remember what the hell had happened. Why would Tornado Man, a hero, do that? Something didn't add up. Comet held his head.

Should he tell these people about his past? Did Grey already know? Did SKULL know?

Grey was talking now. (Brian Grey?) Talking about coordinates of that gigantic robot thing's appearance. Comet said, "No." He cleared his throat. "When I was on the bridge of their robot, I saw the navigational trajectory of the thing. It began at a different point in the ocean, and flew below your radar for a while. These are the coordinates we should focus on," he said. Then he rattled them off. From memory.

"A twenty mile difference," said Grey. "Nice work, Comet."

"Yeah," said Comet. "Look. There's, there's something else I need to tell all of you."

He looked ashamed. "I've been having memory problems. Something like amnesia, I think. Hell, I don't know. But some fragments of my memory indicate that I may have worked for SKULL in the past. Over ten years ago. As a hired mercenary superhuman. I think I even served a jail sentence for that. I don't know what to believe. But even if all that IS true, that's not who I am now. And I hope my actions tonight have shown that. "But, this history with SKULL. I don't want to jeopardize the mission. So I'm going to withdraw from it. There are too many unanswered questions. And the stakes are too high. I'm truly sorry." There was a long silence in the room. Then Grey said, "Okay. It's the right call. Stay on the carrier and we'll debrief you.

But the rest of you better get going. The clock is running."