Cruise Control Part 3Captain's Office, Queen Mary 2, Atlantic Ocean...Simon was up before the Captain for his role in fending off the attack against QM2.
He said "How did you know who we were, Captain?"
The Captain replied "I follow the supers, Griffin. Now then, what the bloody hell was all that about with those pirates?"
"That ghost was Jonathan 'Bloody Jack' Carver, AKA Captain Blood. Blood's been cursed to know no rest, not even in
death. He must have thought that something on board could either give him flesh, blood and bone again or kill him for good. That's why he still haunts the Atlantic. You're lucky that you had two supers on board who could hurt him, or he would have sunk us all! As far as I can tell, that ship he came on sank with all hands lost. Again."
The Captain sighed "To be honest, I'm just glad someone could deal with him. But did you really
have to fight?"
"He opened fire without provocation and Ms. Magus and I were the only two people on board who could actually fight back, of course we had to! If he didn't shoot, I would have at least
tried to settle the matter politely first. Did anyone die?"
The captain said "Security reports that only those skeletons and that pirate were killed, if that's even possible. Medical reports that several passengers
were injured by the cannonball, but I don't know for certain if any of them are long-term. Where's your partner, anyway?"
"Ms. Magus should be at the Medical Centre as we speak, trying to use her magic to help with the people who did get hurt when Blood fired that cannonball."
"Fair enough. What if you were recognised?"
"I'm fine. It's hard to recognise someone when their face is covered in bonedust and ectoplasm! And I was wearing a Morphic Molecule Suit when the fight started. I looked it up, and there's nothing in Cunard policy covering their use before you call me out. I just headed to my stateroom, wiped it off and reset the suit to Elegant Casual. No one had a go on the way here. I have to ask you something, Captain."
"Go on."
"How many people are on board right now?"
"We're at full capacity."
"How many people is that exactly?"
"From the top of my head, a bit under 3,900 people, passengers and crew."
"Then there's about 3,900 people - passengers and crew, yourself included - who should be thankful that Queen Mary's still afloat and just about in a good enough condition to reach New York! If Ms. Magus wants me, I'm going to my stateroom to sleep the sleep of the just. Or the dead. At this point, I don't really care that much."
Simon locked the door to his stateroom, and heard someone clear their throat. He said "Can't it wait? Don't know if you heard or not, but I just helped beat up a pirate ghost who was about to rob and/or sink the ship this evening, and I'm looking forward to a decent kip."
The light turned on and he heard a familiar voice say "Your rest can wait a moment, Simon."
"What in your name are you doing on my bed, Celia?"
"I want to talk to you."
"Fair enough. What's the matter?"
"What do you know about Captain Blood?"
"About as much as everyone else. Ghost pirate, cursed to know no rest in death. Wants nothing more than life or death, and willing to kill innocent people in order to achieve either. It's usually Siren who deals with him when he's loose. No one knows how to get him to stay down for good, or they would have done it by now!"
"True. The next time he's loose, I'll tell you what you need to do to get him to pass on for good."
"I'd really appreciate that. He'll want Cass even more, as she actually dealt the lethal blow!"
"Yes, he would. Well, you'll be in New York in a couple of days. You won't need to worry about passing Customs. Just remember to declare your money, and you won't get any problems."
The Britannia Restaurant, next morning...The morning had clear skies and calm winds, which helped calm everyone a little after the cannonball strike.
Simon just finished his fry-up breakfast when Cass turned up, and she didn't seem too pleased. She said "I was looking for you. We need to talk."
"When and where?"
"Thirty minutes, in the Holyrood Suite.
Don't make me look for you a second time."
"Understood."
Holyrood Suite...As Simon walked in, he said "You have quite the taste, Cass! This is one of the Queen's Grill suites, am I right?"
"Yeah."
"Very nice! I've only got an Inside Stateroom."
Cass handed Simon an iPad which was showing a newspaper app.
- Code: Select all
The headline read "Capital Carnage!" The article talked about the Trafalgar Square fight between the Griffin and Andrew 'Akimbo Assassin' Lee who was wanted by Interpol, AEGIS and the Ministry of Powers for multiple high-profile murders.
She then said "I've heard that you killed the Akimbo Assassin."
"Okay, I admit it. I killed him."
"Why?"
"Self-defence."
"You cut his head off in public!""I wasn't aiming to take his head! I was trying to give him the same blow I used to kill a Predator!"
"A Predator? As in the aerial drone?"
"As in the alien species who hunt people! And it was in the middle of a forest, which made it their kind of fight!"
Cass sighed. "Just tell me if you meant to kill Andrew."
"Yeah, I did. I thought that I'd probably be committing an act of
very gross negligence if I let him leave Trafalgar Square alive. Even if it meant my own death."
"You were willing to die to stop him?"
"Yeah! Just so you know, I only use lethal force for two reasons."
"What are they?"
"To prevent or avenge a death. You saw me use it against Blood, remember? The amount of damage those cannonballs did, we were lucky that no-one on board got killed!"
"True. Now tell me, what was your opinion of Andrew?"
"Of Andrew? He was a straight-up psychopath with balls as big as your head. He had no regard for life of any sort, and he somehow had less if you were a cop or cape. The fact that he opened fire in a crowded area full of bystanders before fighting me should say it all. He just didn't care! I admit that I have a mental disorder as well, but I don't think that it's excuse enough to risk a civilian's life as carelessly as that!"
"Wait a minute. Did you just say you had a mental disorder?"
"Yes, I did. I'm autistic."
"I didn't know that."
"Don't blame you, Cass. It's not something I mention out loud without good reason."
Ms. Magus rolls on Insight and gets a Natural 20! And Griffin wasn't using Deception. She knows he wasn't lying at all about anything he just told her.
Cass then said "We'll be arriving in New York tomorrow. Have you still got my address?"
"Yeah. I don't want to be without a place to stay in a foreign city."
"I hear you. Well, I'll see you later, I have my stuff to pack."
"And so have I. I'll see you at your place, Cass."
The next morning...Most of the passengers were on deck as soon as word got out that land was sighted. QM2 was coming up to the Statue of Liberty, and nearly everyone was watching the sunrise.
Simon sees the Statue and he is just awestruck. He's seen the
Statues of Liberty in Paris, but this, the most iconic of them all...
Griffin was so wowed by the statue, that he was having a hard time keeping his cool. (DC 15) But he gets 25 on his Will roll and remains stable.
He says in a hushed tone "Oh say, can you
see..."
Simon gets 2 PP for besting Blood without civilian deaths. He puts one into removing the Activation flaw on Justice and the other on giving it the AE Storm of Steel: Strength-based Strike 6 with Multiattack and Affects Insubstantial 2. Ms. Magus also gets 2 PP. She puts one into her Will, making it 10. She puts the other one into improving her Expertise: Magic and Insight by 1 rank each, making their bonuses +10 each.
