Yesterday I ran the first part of a campaign years in the making. “The Fox is Dead” was an idea I had years ago for a campaign based around what I call Street Level Superheroes. These are characters like Spiderman, Batman, Daredevil, etc.… While still dealing with street level crimes, they were not all just masked avengers, and they were still super heroes, with the high morals that you would expect of the genre. It is most defiantly not your Punisher's or Ghost Rider's. Originally, I was going to try to publish this campaign, but instead I am going to just put it on the website, piece by piece
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So why did I change my mind…well honestly it has to do with the lack of art and money, low self-esteem, and my continual (never ending?) battle with depression. This is just easier and less threatening to me…
In preparation I have started adding to the website, specifically a subsection of the Hero System section called “The Fox Armory”, with a list of low powered gadgets appropriate for utility belt-based characters. With the heroes ready, and gadgets being posted I started, this is the story of The Heroes of San Corona when The Fox is Dead.
“The Gathering”
In a classic study sits an old man, the night is quiet, except for the sound of sirens in the distance. As he sits the phone rings. He answers, “yes, we are ready. We move tomorrow”. “No, I’m not sure if they can do it, but we have to try. Will you be able to handle the ship?” “Tomorrow, 1900 hours”
The Dragonfly
In the night sky flies a giant metallic dragonfly, through the window like eye, a shadow of a man can be seen. Inside the strange vehicle sits a man costumed in scarlet, obviously pleased with his achievement. As the Dragonfly tests his modifications his mind flows back to a couple weeks ago when some gangbanger managed to damage the ship with a weird high-powered rifle. His reminiscing is cut short by the autopilot turning on. “What the…, disengage”.
“Unable to comply” the computer chirped. Dragonfly’s fingers danced on the control panel, trying to regain control of his ship…whoever had hacked his ship was good, very good. The ship starts to gain altitude, when suddenly it arched into a nose dive, right into the ocean below. As the ship heads into the cliff wall, dragonfly quickly checks his radar, to see a tunnel that is not visible to the naked eye…
The Brute
A tall but skinny man is seen walking down the street, to himself he thinks “I can’t believe my luck, my boss just coming up and giving me a $1000-dollar check for some report I barely remember, and the afternoon off. Get some food in the park, deposit the check, and still see my sister’s play…WHAT A DAY”
Eating a taco, the man gets to the bank, only to see 3 gang bangers, one a meta, the other two putting on cheap masks of the founding fathers, slipping into an ally the man starts a startling transformation, where there was a skinny scientist now stands an 8’ tall mass of muscles…THE BRUTE.
Crashing into the bank, the brute bearhugs one of the two gangers with the weird rifles. “You look sad, Brute hug you…”. The dog faced meta charges the brute, only for his claws to not hurt the hulking monster. At the same time the other gunman turns his gun on an old man “Just stay their man, or this geezer gets shot”. The old man starts to clutch his chest and stumbles, his cane accidentally catching the gun barrel and knocking it out of his hand. The mass of muscle goes over to the gunman “You seem angry, me know fix, BRUTE HUG” …the sound of cracking bones and blood escaping the lips of the gunman as he slumps to the ground…The dog faced meta once again strikes, a vicious but superficial cut on the arm of the giant man. “That hurt, Me hug you” …while it took a minute, the Brute’s bearhug soon had the dog man out for the count. The old man was helped, with some medications in his jacket, and the brute runs off. When the brute returns home, needing a change of clothes he finds a card that simply gives an address, and 7:00 pm.
“The Midnight Avenger”
The coroners office, a pretty brunette eats a meatball sub while examining a body. The cadaver is of a young man, where his chest should be is a charred hole. Looking over the report, gang banger found in an ally on the south side harbors, only 17 years old.
As she starts collecting trace elements of the explosive, all of a suddenly she is in the ally, two Snakes (a local gang) with weird rifles put a shell in, while a third laughs.
As the vision passes Captain Bob West enters…” Bad news, feds claiming this one, you’re to bag it up till their specialists come. “Okay Cap, this one was a little gross anyways.” The coroner thinks to herself “yah, like I’m letting this one go”
That night, in the same ally, a mysterious figure stands in the shadows, as four of the Captains (the gang the body belonged to).
As she checks the alleyway, she sees four Captains enter. They start to talk about what happened to their friend. It seems that someone is selling these high-powered guns for three grand…as they talk a classic Rolls Royce Phantom pulls up, a dog can be heard barking in the backseat. An old man gets out of the driver’s seat, leash in hand and opens the back door. Suddenly a large black dog jumps out and runs into the ally. “Spade, come back here. SPADE…COME”. The old man, walking with his cane starts down the dark ally. The young men approach “hey grandpa, this is our ally, now we are businessmen, so just hand over your wallet and we’ll let you get your pooch and leave”.
“$#!%” says the woman in the shadows, jumping down into the ally, throwing three discs, one each hitting it’s target. Turning to the fourth “I suggest you be somewhere else”. The fourth gangbanger, seeing his friends laid low so quickly, runs out of the ally.
The old man reaches out his hand to his savior, “thank you, I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been here”. As the Avenger takes his hand, suddenly she is on the top of the San Corona mission, but it is newly built, peasants cheer as she fences with guards. Then she is back as the old man asking her is she is okay, as he helps her up, she turns to him, reaching for a card in her belt…”your good old man, I barely felt you slip this on me, but after two centuries I would figure you have some skills, Fox”.
“Young lady, I’m old, but I am not that old, and I am also not the Fox”.
“Then explain this card to me”
“Just be their”. A quick whistle and the dog comes to it’s master…both of whom get in the car and drive off.
“The Bandit”
A young woman is seen stalking a warehouse near the docks. As she sits checking her gear, she thinks to herself “For the last three weeks a lot of trucks have been unloading stuff here, the only employee is that old man, probably the owner… Should be an easy score, make some money…be able to pay the medical bills for Mother Ann…easy night”
The Phantom rolls up, and the doors open to allow it in “well that is a complication, but should be able to just tie him up, or avoid him…no sweat”
Swinging to a second story window, The Bandit makes short work of the window security and sneaks into the office. Looking through the drawers of the desk she finds a large caliber pistol, and three files, each file is full of police reports, surveillance pictures, and specs for a top secret gun called the StarGun. Except for a quick moment, when the old man came to the office, things were going well. After the old man left the office, the Bandit reentered the building, and staying to the shadows started to check out the warehouse…
“The Heroes Gathered”
The floor of the warehouse revealed a subterranean elevator, lifting the Dragonfly Ship. The Midnight Avenger enters on her motorcycle, while Brute walks in the door.
“My name is Billy O’Neil, I had the honor of working for a man some called “The Fox”. Our city is in turmoil, crime has increase by almost 300%. "This is happening for one reason, The Fox is Dead”
Stay tuned for the next chapter,,,