Hmmm... I haven't played Arkham City yet, I figured I'd just watch some let's plays and run that part if we still want to play after this event.
I wouldn't worry about where your d10s are at, since the Bat-family are more technique and Grundy is more power, so they might even out. I think I can work with Mr. Freeze, storywise more, but I had planned on doing a prologue kind of scene where everyone captures the Joker the first time (something you don't see in the game), so you and I are going to have to figure out how and why Mr. Freeze would be there.
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
edited August 2013
My guess would be that Mr. Freeze would have to be joining the group after the action starts, probably by having his containment unit damaged during the initial outbreak of violence at Arkham. Conceivably he could have his own solo scene that occurs parallel to the Batmans'.
I mean, it was alright (sorta) when it was done in Killing Joke, but really, does that gotta be his thing now
As the man himself said, there are other ways to Get someone.
Well, in DCU, if you have the Joker as your Mentor, he ask you to steal some diamonds. When you do, Freeze shows up and steals them from you. Later you go to Freeze's Lab, which he lets you in because he doesn't remember you apparently, and you steal them from the machine keeping Moria alive, killing her and setting up you fight with Mr. Freeze. Then later he sales you your PvE raid gear like it was nothing but a Tuesday. Better yet, its a Daily two man raid, so you can do it everyday!
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
Ok, so I'm still waiting on word from @ArcanisTheImpotent on his choice. I'm guessing @Matev is at PAX at the moment.
So let's finalize some stuff.
@Auralynx - Add this to Mr. Freeze's datafile: SFX: Ice/Cold Absorption- When Mr. Freeze takes Physical Stress from an Ice/Cold source, step back his Physical Stress by the effect die used against him.
and get rid of Immunity Cold as this covers it better. And pick one Event Milestone to add to your two Personal Milestones
@Matev - If you are playing Batman (Bruce Wayne), pick one Event Milestone.
@ArcanisTheImpotent - Same with you. Also, if you want to replace Batgirl's Milestone "Still seeking the One" with another Milestone as I'm sure that you aren't going to be able to get any XP from that one due to the nature of this Event (and the next one if we get that far), I can work with you in creating another Personal Milestone. Just let me know.
i tried to spend some time reading the game over again but the words literally slid right off my brain and i fell asleep so i might just spectate this here shindig
AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
edited August 2013
Mr Freeze has a tiny sliver more sympathy for the staff than interest in locking everyone up, so I'll take Liberate the Arkham Personnel and be glad there are rewards for being callous.
The in-manual version of Absorption lets you react against an attack type to convert things to a stunt or step things up; Immunity lets you ignore stuff related to it; I gave him both, since he not only doesn't mind cold but could presumably be empowered by it if you shot him with a freeze ray or something.
The night had be busy. Before the sun when down, the Joker's Gang had awaken Chemo from its cage in Ace Chemicals, which then when on a rampage through the industrial area of Gotham. Then, less then an hour after that, two banks were hit at the same time, again by the Joker's Gang. A car bomb a few hours later left two dead and five wounded. So when Oracle came on the Batfamily's communicators, the sense of dread seem to weigh the group down.
"Guys, it seems that the Joker himself is currently holding the Mayor hostage at City Hall. He is demanding cake, Eighty tons of it. I'm not sure what's going on, but everyone needs to get there now!"
It took no time for the Batfamily to reach City Hall. The large Gothic style architect caused it to stand out against some of the more modern or Roman inspired buildings. Police cars and helicopters were already swarming outside City Hall. Police and reports were armed with their weapons of choice, pistols, rifles, cameras, and microphones. Oracle came back on the comms. "I'm patching everyone into the security cameras. I can see at least a dozen of Joker's men rooming the halls, and about twice that amount of civilians being held in the main chamber. Seems Mayor Anthony Garcia is in the main vault." Oracle super apposes a security video of main chamber, where the group can just barely see Garcia's face. "My guess is that is where the Joker is. I'm looking for a way inside, but it might be easier for you guys to find it first."
The room was cold. Freezing. Which is how Dr. Victor Fries enjoyed it. They had stripped him of his suit before taking him to Arkham Asylum, which was standard for the place. But if they moved him out of his cell, they did so in a cryotank, a tall, man-size metal coffin that acted as his only life support until he entered special rooms, like this. It was a medical office. Complete with the scruffy chair, the sink, empty cabinet that usually housed medicines and tools. It was someplace familiar to the doctor, a kind of home he had while he spend countless hours trying to find a cure for Nora. The thought that she was now out there, in someone else's hand while he was trapped here was killing him.
The door opens and a woman walks in, wearing a fur coat over her lab uniform. "Dr. Fries, I'm Dr. Penelope Young. I'm head of research here at Arkham. My job is to try to cure what is causing your insanity, which in your case seems to steam from your biocryogenics condition and your obsessive nature towards your wife. The last one is understandable, and to be honest, I find to be a noble jester, but it has lead you to some dark roads, has it not, Doctor?"
Grunt's Ghosts on
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
Mr Freeze
Victor initially ignores the doctor as he stretches briefly and seats himself. He then steeples his fingers and regards Doctor Young with a cold stare.
"I am not insane, Doctor. You will find, in examining your files, that I am merely lacking in empathy. My scores on most measures designed to quantify it are quite poor, and were even before my accident. If it were not for the fact that this cell is designed to accommodate my unique needs, I would have instructed my legal representatives to object to my confinement here. My actions are consistently both knowing and purposeful; in every instance for which I have been prosecuted, I possessed a guilty mind by all accepted definitions of which I am aware."
Victor shifts slightly in his chair, leaning forward with an icy gleam in his eyes.
"In fact, I object in the strongest possible terms to your efforts to suggest that my condition has had any effect whatsoever on my mental state, and would question whether you have, in fact, studied my files. Since I was quite young I have been fascinated by the effects of extreme cold on the metabolism of living creatures, and the tragedy that befell my wife led me to implement the only solution I could conceive with the possible result of preserving her life. The unconscionable and callous interference of others led me to take increasingly extreme measures to continue down that road. I am tolerating this confinement solely because she is likely to suffer no ill-effects for the foreseeable future. I am resolved to simply outlast these legal maneuverings and resume my work, though I will admit some anxiety at the prospect of remaining confined when I could be working."
Victor rises, clasps his hands behind his back and begins pacing back and forth.
"Though I have no doubt that you will find it in some fashion significant that I feel this way, the simple fact is that in a rational society I would be given unlimited funding and ample leeway to pursue my research as I see fit, rather than chained to a corporation's dubious quarterly earnings reports and efforts to bring new products to market. Simply put, Doctor, I am a genius of rare vintage. Most men are venal, greedy, and of little worth; they squander the limited resources of our world on entertainment television and other self-indulgent behavior I myself regard as madness. My efforts, if successful, will enable us to preserve the sick until the ailments they suffer can be cured, and perhaps preserve our greatest minds in a journey to the stars! I am fully capable of replicating the accident that transformed me in others, and my self-observation suggests that a race so altered would be superior to the present stock of mankind in all respects save the important one of being unable to tolerate the continued rise in global temperature caused by the aforementioned waste! I require little physical sustenance..."
Fries continues ranting in this vein for quite some time unless interrupted, describing the general benefits of his condition while deriding consumerism, his former employers, and the legal system in general.
Dr. Young listens carefully, letting Fries talk on and on about this and that. Once it seemed as if Dr. Fries was done, she asked, "You are correct. I misdiagnosed you. On top of obsessive behavior, you are also plagued with narcissism and Grandiose delusions. But, the fact that you accept responsibility for your actions is a good step towards recovery and maybe one day returning to society as a productive member." Dr. Young pulls a medical tool kit from her coat pocket. "However, that is a discussion for another time. My concern is your physical condition, not mental. Warren Sharp has asked me to try and reverse the effects the cryogentical chemicals had on you, so that you may be moved around the Asylum without the need for special equipment and rooms like this. I'm going to take skin, blood, and hair samples to start my research with. Will you willingly cooperate with me or do I need to involve the guards?"
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
Mr. Freeze
Victor cocks his head at Doctor Young, seemingly nonplussed.
"I concede the narcissism, I suppose, but I am in no respect deluded. There are several problems with Sharp's notion that you might be able to cure me; my condition is essentially permanent. To wit: first, and least disturbingly from my perspective, you will find it impossible to take any hair samples. The alterations to my endocrine system have produced total cicatrical alopecia through a set of biochemical interactions I doubt your psychiatric training has prepared you to understand, though you are welcome to examine me and determine for yourself that I am not lying. My overall pallor is related to this development and derives from alterations to my sympathetic nervous system and circulatory rate related to the vast disruption in my body's systems for maintaining homeostatic equilibrium."
Victor holds out one hand, reaching for the medical kit.
"Second, I do not wish to be 'cured,' though I have myself attempted to modify my condition as I find confinement to a life-support system problematic. It is possible that Warden Sharp is unaware that I have devoted considerable funds to retaining a lawyer to act against any such attempt, but I have; please contact Mitchell Shelley if you wish to confirm this. In the event that you do not enjoy having a license to practice medicine, I suggest that you proceed with the action you had in mind. If not, I will happily and voluntarily submit any similar samples - where possible - that you request in the interest of medical collegiality provided that I am permitted to take them myself."
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dresdenphileWatch out for snakes!Registered Userregular
edited August 2013
Terry
When I teamed up with Booster Gold a few months ago to take down the Royal Flush gang for the umpteenth time, I didn't think much of it. However, I guess I should have known something was up when he met with Bruce for so long down in the Batcave. A trip to the past to take some lessons from Batman in a "simpler time", Bruce said. "It'll be good for you," he said. "Make you better equipped to deal with strange and unusual situations that may present themselves while you're wearing the suit," he said. I think he was just looking for some extra naptime, personally.
I went through a flash of light, and then Booster Gold dropped me off at Wayne manor with a note pinned to my suit. Real funny. So, now I'm here in 2012 and I'm teamed up with Bruce. A young Bruce. It's so...strange. Seeing Bruce and Commissioner Gordon, I mean, Oracle in their prime. It kind of freaks me out a little.
Anyway, not time for thinking about the past...future...whatever. This is my chance to show Bruce (both of them) what I'm made of and take down The Joker. The real one, I mean.
I switch on the comm and whisper, "Peg it, I think I may have a way in, so we can get a drop on these dregs."
Team d6 (assuming we're all here), Tomorrow Knight d8, Cybernetic Senses d8, Covert Expert d8
"I can't do that. Patients can not use medical tools or sharp objects. It seems we are not going to get far today. Well, I guess you'll have to return to your box until I feel like you will be more useful to me." Dr. Young said as she started to roll her tool kit away.
*****************
Terry's vision changed to a digital layout of the City Hall. There was a back door, left cracked opened by someone who placed a rock in the threshold. On the second floor, there was an open window, with only one heat source nearby. The ventilation system opened up on the roof and travel through the whole building. Then there was the front door.
Doom pool can't beat that roll.
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
Mr. Freeze
Victor's eyes narrow.
"Interesting. Doctor Young, I am a man who has been sentenced to eighty years inside a slightly larger box than that to which he already finds himself confined. I have good reason to expect to survive it; my metabolism moves at a pace which - forgive the pun - is best described as glacial. You, however, seem to be in quite a hurry. I suspect that lying motionless in that glorified coffin is in fact preferable to 'being useful to you,' and you may assume that such is my preference."
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dresdenphileWatch out for snakes!Registered Userregular
edited August 2013
Terry
I whistle low into the comm. "This place has more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese. The back door is propped open, the vents are free and clear, and there's an open window on the second floor with only one warm body nearby. I can't tell if it's hostile or not without getting closer."
I hesitate before adding, "Anyone have a preference on which one to take?"
"Eighty years? That doesn't seem like a long time. And what if your box is in a place not made to suit your special needs? What if those places fail?" Dr. Young lets the question hang in the air just long enough to sink in. "I understand your fear of change. You would be normal, not the famous 'Mr. Freeze', Ice-Cold Killer and Mad Scientist. Tell me," Dr. Young removed the fur coat and headed to the door. "what would you do if suddenly the room heated up?" And with that, the cooling system shut off and a heater started.
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
Mr Freeze
Victor begins laughing.
"Wait for you to turn the cooling unit back on, though it may be a long and uncomfortable one. You will not kill me, Doctor. Your error was in admitting that you want to study me for your own purposes; that, Doctor, is an emotion to which I can relate."
"Shame, Doctor Fries. I had wish this would have ended better." Dr. Young said as she left the room. "I'll be back to pick up your corpse later."
At first the temperate of the room didn't change much, as it had been below freezing, but soon Mr. Freeze could feel the slight shift as the heater began to do what it did.
Spending 1d6 from the Doom Pool to create a HEATER Timer. It starts at d6 and each turn automatically moves up one die size until it reaches d12, in which it moves to the Doom Pool. This scene is now an action scene.
Scene Distinctions: Heater/Cooling System, Cryotank, Patient Exam Table
Doom Pool: 1d6
Also, for the City Hall group,
Scene Distinctions: Police Cars and News Vans, Helicopter Spotlights, Tall Surrounding Buildings.
"Second floor or the vents. We're outnumbered, better to do recon first. It'd be foolish to walk in the front door." I shift, not quite sure how to address Terry. We're a lot alike, in a way, both being successors to Bruce. But I can't shake the feeling that he's more like Jason than Tim. And we all remember how that turned out.
AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
edited September 2013
Mr. Freeze
Victor makes no move to stop Young's departure. Contrary to popular belief, his range of temperature tolerance extends to roughly 15 degrees Celsius, so he is in little immediate danger.
Still more interesting, he muses, clearly whatever she plans is not merely unethical but illegal, or this is some kind of test. The surveillance devices must be disabled in the former case, and in the latter, any action I take will result in an intervention... which is preferable to heat prostration. It will be some time before the heat is debilitating.
Fries scans the room quickly and moves to the exam table. Straining somewhat without the augmentation of his suit, he hefts it free of the floor with a wrenching squeal of tearing metal and slams it into the largest segment of the room's ventilation system he can locate. He continues to batter at the vents, attempting to create a large enough breach to access the system's heating sensors... or attract enough attention to summon the guards.
Freeze hears the sound of guards running towards the room, but a female voice stops them. The heater system starts to sputter but doesn't stop as the room gets hotter and hotter.
HEATER timer: d8
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
edited September 2013
Mr. Freeze
Scanning the now-exposed wiring and ventilation ductwork, Mr. Freeze notes the absence of sensors and surprising smallness of this area's ventilation ductwork, and grunts in frustration. Taking a different tack, he turns on the sink and, comforted by reassuring rush of water from the tap, begins working to expose as much wiring as possible in the vicinity of the heating controls Doctor Young accessed outside the room, knowing that his transportation unit has its own power supply. Fries savagely hammers at the walls with the exam table, tearing away softer materials barehand.
The wall finally gives away enough that Mr. Freeze can see the wiring to the Heater. Sweat builds on Dr. Fries's skin before Freezing.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING, DR. YOUNG!?!?!?!?!" Warden Sharp yells from outside the room. Freeze can't hear Dr. Young's answer but it only leads to more yelling from Sharp. "THE HELL WITH YOUR TEST! THAT MAN IS DESTROYING MY LAB!!! GUARDS! OPEN THAT DOOR!"
HEATER timer: d10
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
edited September 2013
Mr. Freeze
Victor brutally rips the wiring free of the wall and pauses for a moment to survey the room and consider his options before walking to the sink and coating himself in a thin layer of water, which quickly hardens to rime.
Interesting; I was under the impression that I could no longer sweat. Then again, I was in no state for self-observation when last I encountered the Batman; perhaps fear is still an effective stimulus for producing sweat as a stress response under higher temperatures. Crane would doubtless volunteer to help test the hypothesis. Possibly I should confer with him at some point.
Fries moves to the door, leaning into it with a tiny smirk to address the Warden.
"I hope you were not fond of this room, Warden. I suspect I am about to ruin it. I will likely be rendered unconscious in the process and I suggest that you punish Doctor Young by removing me to my regular quarters and assigning me a new doctor. She has thoroughly underestimated both my willpower and my intelligence, which is disappointing after encountering the Batman. Perhaps you should have consulted him for an assessment of the risks I pose; your institution's track record with Doctors Crane and Quinzell is embarrassing, and a third such disappointment may severely impact the city's willingness to fund you.
Should I survive, I will be contacting my lawyer and suing your institution for threatening my life and compelling me to take this action. I anticipate being moved to another facility as a result; perhaps I would be more welcome in Metropolis?"
Not bothering to wait for a response, Victor grimly yanks the wires towards the sink, grabs an exposed end in one hand and sticks his other hand in the water.
This will be unpleasant. I should feign unconsciousness and attempt to subdue the guards, as well; my chances of solitary confinement will be that much the greater. Perhaps I will have time to kill Doctor Young?
This seems a fairly likely "disable a heating unit by electrocuting myself," roll. Also, feel free to read the dialogue as Arnold, but I think I've firmly established at this point I'm certainly not playing the sanest incarnation of Mr. Freeze.
The lights of the Asylum dim as Mr. Freeze shorts out the Heater. But the effects are painful. His vision blurs and all thoughts are wiped away as the current moves through him. But his icily body isn't the best conductor so what would have killed a lesser man only stuns the doctor, until the current ends and Mr. Freeze falls to the floor.
"GODDAMNIT! OPEN THE DOOR!!!" Sharp yells as four guards start smashing at the door.
"Allow me." Dr. Young simply turns the knob, and to everyone's surprise, it opens. "At no time was the door locked. That was the test. The most brilliant minds never seek the simplest solutions. Please escort Dr. Fries back to his room. He has satisfied me enough for now."
Timer has stopped. There are four SWAT Guards coming into the room. You can fight them or cooperate with them. I can go either way. You also took d8 physical stress for electrocuting yourself.
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AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
edited September 2013
Mr. Freeze
Victor kneels, panting, on the floor of the lab.
"Locked or not, Doctor, nothing outside the door was any use to me. Now, however, I believe I can ensure that I serve out my sentence without further interruption."
Freeze rises with surprising speed, lifts the operating table once more, and flings it directly at Warden Sharp.
Intimidating table throw:
Solo d10 (4) + Vengeful d4 (2) + Enhanced Strength d8 (8) + Menace Master d8 (8) = 16, d10 effect for emotional stress on Warden Sharp. Whether the table hits him or not is immaterial, but Freeze is very definitely trying to scare him enough to be put in solitary; taking the Vengeful at d4 because this is a terrible idea in the short-term.
The table smacks Warden Sharp hard, sending him sailing out the door. The guards rush Mr. Freeze, bring out their shock batons, a gift from Batman, and begin to strike the doctor. While the blows aren't too bad, the electric shocks are, causing Mr. Freeze to have a hard time getting his thoughts together. Coupled with the electrocution earlier, Freeze finds himself in a bit of a bind.
AuralynxDarkness is a perspectiveWatching the ego workRegistered Userregular
edited September 2013
A question before I decide whether to spend a PP and shrug that off: who's up next: me, or Doctor Young? Also, I should point out that Durability lives on my armor, so they'd be better off just beating me up at this point.
Mr. Freeze
Victor grunts in pain but shrugs off the shock batons with a snarl, already numbed by one electrocution at present.
Solo d10 (6), Vengeful d8 (6), Enhanced Stamina d8 (2), Combat Expert d8 (6): Blow the PP from last turn for a 18, d8 effect and shrug off the complication.
Posts
I wouldn't worry about where your d10s are at, since the Bat-family are more technique and Grundy is more power, so they might even out. I think I can work with Mr. Freeze, storywise more, but I had planned on doing a prologue kind of scene where everyone captures the Joker the first time (something you don't see in the game), so you and I are going to have to figure out how and why Mr. Freeze would be there.
Well, in DCU, if you have the Joker as your Mentor, he ask you to steal some diamonds. When you do, Freeze shows up and steals them from you. Later you go to Freeze's Lab, which he lets you in because he doesn't remember you apparently, and you steal them from the machine keeping Moria alive, killing her and setting up you fight with Mr. Freeze. Then later he sales you your PvE raid gear like it was nothing but a Tuesday. Better yet, its a Daily two man raid, so you can do it everyday!
Sure.
So let's finalize some stuff.
@Auralynx - Add this to Mr. Freeze's datafile: SFX: Ice/Cold Absorption- When Mr. Freeze takes Physical Stress from an Ice/Cold source, step back his Physical Stress by the effect die used against him.
and get rid of Immunity Cold as this covers it better. And pick one Event Milestone to add to your two Personal Milestones
@Matev - If you are playing Batman (Bruce Wayne), pick one Event Milestone.
@ArcanisTheImpotent - Same with you. Also, if you want to replace Batgirl's Milestone "Still seeking the One" with another Milestone as I'm sure that you aren't going to be able to get any XP from that one due to the nature of this Event (and the next one if we get that far), I can work with you in creating another Personal Milestone. Just let me know.
@jdarksun and @dresdenphile - Your datafiles look good and you are ready to play.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
I did, years ago. I have an 20th Anniversary Edition that I hadn't read in a while and have spent a good part of today rereading it.
I feel like this joke is going off the rails.
The in-manual version of Absorption lets you react against an attack type to convert things to a stunt or step things up; Immunity lets you ignore stuff related to it; I gave him both, since he not only doesn't mind cold but could presumably be empowered by it if you shot him with a freeze ray or something.
The night had be busy. Before the sun when down, the Joker's Gang had awaken Chemo from its cage in Ace Chemicals, which then when on a rampage through the industrial area of Gotham. Then, less then an hour after that, two banks were hit at the same time, again by the Joker's Gang. A car bomb a few hours later left two dead and five wounded. So when Oracle came on the Batfamily's communicators, the sense of dread seem to weigh the group down.
"Guys, it seems that the Joker himself is currently holding the Mayor hostage at City Hall. He is demanding cake, Eighty tons of it. I'm not sure what's going on, but everyone needs to get there now!"
It took no time for the Batfamily to reach City Hall. The large Gothic style architect caused it to stand out against some of the more modern or Roman inspired buildings. Police cars and helicopters were already swarming outside City Hall. Police and reports were armed with their weapons of choice, pistols, rifles, cameras, and microphones. Oracle came back on the comms. "I'm patching everyone into the security cameras. I can see at least a dozen of Joker's men rooming the halls, and about twice that amount of civilians being held in the main chamber. Seems Mayor Anthony Garcia is in the main vault." Oracle super apposes a security video of main chamber, where the group can just barely see Garcia's face. "My guess is that is where the Joker is. I'm looking for a way inside, but it might be easier for you guys to find it first."
[ ]Batman (Bruce Wayne)
[ ]Batman (Terry McGinnis)
[ ]Nightwing
The room was cold. Freezing. Which is how Dr. Victor Fries enjoyed it. They had stripped him of his suit before taking him to Arkham Asylum, which was standard for the place. But if they moved him out of his cell, they did so in a cryotank, a tall, man-size metal coffin that acted as his only life support until he entered special rooms, like this. It was a medical office. Complete with the scruffy chair, the sink, empty cabinet that usually housed medicines and tools. It was someplace familiar to the doctor, a kind of home he had while he spend countless hours trying to find a cure for Nora. The thought that she was now out there, in someone else's hand while he was trapped here was killing him.
The door opens and a woman walks in, wearing a fur coat over her lab uniform. "Dr. Fries, I'm Dr. Penelope Young. I'm head of research here at Arkham. My job is to try to cure what is causing your insanity, which in your case seems to steam from your biocryogenics condition and your obsessive nature towards your wife. The last one is understandable, and to be honest, I find to be a noble jester, but it has lead you to some dark roads, has it not, Doctor?"
Victor initially ignores the doctor as he stretches briefly and seats himself. He then steeples his fingers and regards Doctor Young with a cold stare.
"I am not insane, Doctor. You will find, in examining your files, that I am merely lacking in empathy. My scores on most measures designed to quantify it are quite poor, and were even before my accident. If it were not for the fact that this cell is designed to accommodate my unique needs, I would have instructed my legal representatives to object to my confinement here. My actions are consistently both knowing and purposeful; in every instance for which I have been prosecuted, I possessed a guilty mind by all accepted definitions of which I am aware."
Victor shifts slightly in his chair, leaning forward with an icy gleam in his eyes.
"In fact, I object in the strongest possible terms to your efforts to suggest that my condition has had any effect whatsoever on my mental state, and would question whether you have, in fact, studied my files. Since I was quite young I have been fascinated by the effects of extreme cold on the metabolism of living creatures, and the tragedy that befell my wife led me to implement the only solution I could conceive with the possible result of preserving her life. The unconscionable and callous interference of others led me to take increasingly extreme measures to continue down that road. I am tolerating this confinement solely because she is likely to suffer no ill-effects for the foreseeable future. I am resolved to simply outlast these legal maneuverings and resume my work, though I will admit some anxiety at the prospect of remaining confined when I could be working."
Victor rises, clasps his hands behind his back and begins pacing back and forth.
"Though I have no doubt that you will find it in some fashion significant that I feel this way, the simple fact is that in a rational society I would be given unlimited funding and ample leeway to pursue my research as I see fit, rather than chained to a corporation's dubious quarterly earnings reports and efforts to bring new products to market. Simply put, Doctor, I am a genius of rare vintage. Most men are venal, greedy, and of little worth; they squander the limited resources of our world on entertainment television and other self-indulgent behavior I myself regard as madness. My efforts, if successful, will enable us to preserve the sick until the ailments they suffer can be cured, and perhaps preserve our greatest minds in a journey to the stars! I am fully capable of replicating the accident that transformed me in others, and my self-observation suggests that a race so altered would be superior to the present stock of mankind in all respects save the important one of being unable to tolerate the continued rise in global temperature caused by the aforementioned waste! I require little physical sustenance..."
Fries continues ranting in this vein for quite some time unless interrupted, describing the general benefits of his condition while deriding consumerism, his former employers, and the legal system in general.
Victor cocks his head at Doctor Young, seemingly nonplussed.
"I concede the narcissism, I suppose, but I am in no respect deluded. There are several problems with Sharp's notion that you might be able to cure me; my condition is essentially permanent. To wit: first, and least disturbingly from my perspective, you will find it impossible to take any hair samples. The alterations to my endocrine system have produced total cicatrical alopecia through a set of biochemical interactions I doubt your psychiatric training has prepared you to understand, though you are welcome to examine me and determine for yourself that I am not lying. My overall pallor is related to this development and derives from alterations to my sympathetic nervous system and circulatory rate related to the vast disruption in my body's systems for maintaining homeostatic equilibrium."
Victor holds out one hand, reaching for the medical kit.
"Second, I do not wish to be 'cured,' though I have myself attempted to modify my condition as I find confinement to a life-support system problematic. It is possible that Warden Sharp is unaware that I have devoted considerable funds to retaining a lawyer to act against any such attempt, but I have; please contact Mitchell Shelley if you wish to confirm this. In the event that you do not enjoy having a license to practice medicine, I suggest that you proceed with the action you had in mind. If not, I will happily and voluntarily submit any similar samples - where possible - that you request in the interest of medical collegiality provided that I am permitted to take them myself."
When I teamed up with Booster Gold a few months ago to take down the Royal Flush gang for the umpteenth time, I didn't think much of it. However, I guess I should have known something was up when he met with Bruce for so long down in the Batcave. A trip to the past to take some lessons from Batman in a "simpler time", Bruce said. "It'll be good for you," he said. "Make you better equipped to deal with strange and unusual situations that may present themselves while you're wearing the suit," he said. I think he was just looking for some extra naptime, personally.
I went through a flash of light, and then Booster Gold dropped me off at Wayne manor with a note pinned to my suit. Real funny. So, now I'm here in 2012 and I'm teamed up with Bruce. A young Bruce. It's so...strange. Seeing Bruce and Commissioner Gordon, I mean, Oracle in their prime. It kind of freaks me out a little.
Anyway, not time for thinking about the past...future...whatever. This is my chance to show Bruce (both of them) what I'm made of and take down The Joker. The real one, I mean.
I switch on the comm and whisper, "Peg it, I think I may have a way in, so we can get a drop on these dregs."
Look for way into City Hall: 1d6 3 1d8 7 1d8 7 1d8 5
14 with a d8 effect to find a stealthy way into the building.
Terry's vision changed to a digital layout of the City Hall. There was a back door, left cracked opened by someone who placed a rock in the threshold. On the second floor, there was an open window, with only one heat source nearby. The ventilation system opened up on the roof and travel through the whole building. Then there was the front door.
Victor's eyes narrow.
"Interesting. Doctor Young, I am a man who has been sentenced to eighty years inside a slightly larger box than that to which he already finds himself confined. I have good reason to expect to survive it; my metabolism moves at a pace which - forgive the pun - is best described as glacial. You, however, seem to be in quite a hurry. I suspect that lying motionless in that glorified coffin is in fact preferable to 'being useful to you,' and you may assume that such is my preference."
I whistle low into the comm. "This place has more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese. The back door is propped open, the vents are free and clear, and there's an open window on the second floor with only one warm body nearby. I can't tell if it's hostile or not without getting closer."
I hesitate before adding, "Anyone have a preference on which one to take?"
or:
but I'm totally reading it as if this guy was delivering those lines:
Victor begins laughing.
"Wait for you to turn the cooling unit back on, though it may be a long and uncomfortable one. You will not kill me, Doctor. Your error was in admitting that you want to study me for your own purposes; that, Doctor, is an emotion to which I can relate."
At first the temperate of the room didn't change much, as it had been below freezing, but soon Mr. Freeze could feel the slight shift as the heater began to do what it did.
Scene Distinctions: Heater/Cooling System, Cryotank, Patient Exam Table
Doom Pool: 1d6
Also, for the City Hall group,
Scene Distinctions: Police Cars and News Vans, Helicopter Spotlights, Tall Surrounding Buildings.
"Second floor or the vents. We're outnumbered, better to do recon first. It'd be foolish to walk in the front door." I shift, not quite sure how to address Terry. We're a lot alike, in a way, both being successors to Bruce. But I can't shake the feeling that he's more like Jason than Tim. And we all remember how that turned out.
Penny Arcade Rockstar Social Club / This is why I despise cyclists
Victor makes no move to stop Young's departure. Contrary to popular belief, his range of temperature tolerance extends to roughly 15 degrees Celsius, so he is in little immediate danger.
Still more interesting, he muses, clearly whatever she plans is not merely unethical but illegal, or this is some kind of test. The surveillance devices must be disabled in the former case, and in the latter, any action I take will result in an intervention... which is preferable to heat prostration. It will be some time before the heat is debilitating.
Fries scans the room quickly and moves to the exam table. Straining somewhat without the augmentation of his suit, he hefts it free of the floor with a wrenching squeal of tearing metal and slams it into the largest segment of the room's ventilation system he can locate. He continues to batter at the vents, attempting to create a large enough breach to access the system's heating sensors... or attract enough attention to summon the guards.
Scanning the now-exposed wiring and ventilation ductwork, Mr. Freeze notes the absence of sensors and surprising smallness of this area's ventilation ductwork, and grunts in frustration. Taking a different tack, he turns on the sink and, comforted by reassuring rush of water from the tap, begins working to expose as much wiring as possible in the vicinity of the heating controls Doctor Young accessed outside the room, knowing that his transportation unit has its own power supply. Fries savagely hammers at the walls with the exam table, tearing away softer materials barehand.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING, DR. YOUNG!?!?!?!?!" Warden Sharp yells from outside the room. Freeze can't hear Dr. Young's answer but it only leads to more yelling from Sharp. "THE HELL WITH YOUR TEST! THAT MAN IS DESTROYING MY LAB!!! GUARDS! OPEN THAT DOOR!"
Victor brutally rips the wiring free of the wall and pauses for a moment to survey the room and consider his options before walking to the sink and coating himself in a thin layer of water, which quickly hardens to rime.
Interesting; I was under the impression that I could no longer sweat. Then again, I was in no state for self-observation when last I encountered the Batman; perhaps fear is still an effective stimulus for producing sweat as a stress response under higher temperatures. Crane would doubtless volunteer to help test the hypothesis. Possibly I should confer with him at some point.
Fries moves to the door, leaning into it with a tiny smirk to address the Warden.
"I hope you were not fond of this room, Warden. I suspect I am about to ruin it. I will likely be rendered unconscious in the process and I suggest that you punish Doctor Young by removing me to my regular quarters and assigning me a new doctor. She has thoroughly underestimated both my willpower and my intelligence, which is disappointing after encountering the Batman. Perhaps you should have consulted him for an assessment of the risks I pose; your institution's track record with Doctors Crane and Quinzell is embarrassing, and a third such disappointment may severely impact the city's willingness to fund you.
Should I survive, I will be contacting my lawyer and suing your institution for threatening my life and compelling me to take this action. I anticipate being moved to another facility as a result; perhaps I would be more welcome in Metropolis?"
Not bothering to wait for a response, Victor grimly yanks the wires towards the sink, grabs an exposed end in one hand and sticks his other hand in the water.
This will be unpleasant. I should feign unconsciousness and attempt to subdue the guards, as well; my chances of solitary confinement will be that much the greater. Perhaps I will have time to kill Doctor Young?
Resist Electrocution Longer than the Heater:
Solo d10 (10) + Vengeful d8 (2) + Enhanced Stamina d8 (4) + Science Master d10 (2) = 14, d10 effect.
"GODDAMNIT! OPEN THE DOOR!!!" Sharp yells as four guards start smashing at the door.
"Allow me." Dr. Young simply turns the knob, and to everyone's surprise, it opens. "At no time was the door locked. That was the test. The most brilliant minds never seek the simplest solutions. Please escort Dr. Fries back to his room. He has satisfied me enough for now."
Victor kneels, panting, on the floor of the lab.
"Locked or not, Doctor, nothing outside the door was any use to me. Now, however, I believe I can ensure that I serve out my sentence without further interruption."
Freeze rises with surprising speed, lifts the operating table once more, and flings it directly at Warden Sharp.
Intimidating table throw:
Solo d10 (4) + Vengeful d4 (2) + Enhanced Strength d8 (8) + Menace Master d8 (8) = 16, d10 effect for emotional stress on Warden Sharp. Whether the table hits him or not is immaterial, but Freeze is very definitely trying to scare him enough to be put in solitary; taking the Vengeful at d4 because this is a terrible idea in the short-term.
Guards Attacking Mr. Freeze (Team 4d8, Guards of Arkham d8, Shock Batons d8, SFX: ZAP!, Combat Experts d8): 7#1d8 7 3 7 7 3 4 4 14 d8. If I hit, I create a Shocked Complication d8 to you.
Mr. Freeze
Victor grunts in pain but shrugs off the shock batons with a snarl, already numbed by one electrocution at present.
Resistance, for reference:
Solo d10 (6), Vengeful d8 (6), Enhanced Stamina d8 (2), Combat Expert d8 (6): Blow the PP from last turn for a 18, d8 effect and shrug off the complication.