System Supervillain, Book 7 Prologue (Patreon)

Prologue – Trade Chat

(Capes & Cowls Forum, General Chat)

Message of the Day: Remember, Capes & Cowls is ‘neutral ground’. Keep it civil, and if you try to track someone through our site, it will not end well for you.

Speedy, AngelEyes, Victory, HotStuff, Jester, Freedom, Aegis, Stars, Emerald, Snowflake, MagicGurl, RedHot, Scholar, CantSeeMe, Turbo, DontYouWantMeBaby, KoolAidMan, SliceNDice, Destroyer, Inquisitor, Chummer, TheWhiteHat, TripleThreat, LuckyDice, GrimDark, DarkAngel, Chiller, Sparky, MultiMe, Stepford, Dollmaker, Mindtaker, MrRoboto, ItsyBitsySpider, TitaniumTits, Lolth, InfoGirl, ScoopGirl, HolyBlessing, and DonJuan are in the chat.

MagicGurl: Oh, shit, did you guys see that interview Iceblade did for this news station in Miami?

Inquisitor: Yes, it has disturbing implications. Villain groups are not unheard of, especially when dealing with villains who are focused on a single city. The Ferocious Five in New York are a prime example.

Scholar: Indeed. However, those groups tend to be either elevations of gang- or syndicate-related organizations, or they are task-focused groups, brought together for a singular purpose. The gang-related groups tend to be lower-powered, but more stable, and longer-lasting. The task groups tend to be more powerful, but fall apart once they either succeed or fail at the task, since egos tend to get in the way.

SliceNDice: What can I say? We wouldn’t be villains if we had a reputation for playing nice with others.

KoolAidMan: However, there have been some high-level villain groups, before, right?

Turbo: Yes, but they tend to be loose alliances (like the Untamed), organizations aiming at global domination (like the Nova Lords), or cults of personality (like Doctor Ubuntu was). The alliances tend to have some unifying focus, like how the Untamed all want to take out the Squadron Supreme. The organizations are usually a combination of crime syndicate and corporation, with powers thrown in. And the cults are typically just one charismatic person gathering other supers as minions to do their bidding.

DarkAngel: So, this ‘Devastation’ group looks to be one of the cult of personality types, then. How do you go about dealing with them?

Inquisitor: The best way is to take out the leader, or somehow shatter the image they portray to their followers. Infiltration and subversion of the group is possible, though difficult. Much like infiltrating mundane cults. The smaller the membership, the more insular they are, and the harder it is to slip a spy in, or turn one of the ‘initiates’. Best bet is taking out the leader, or somehow ruining their image in front of their followers. If the followers start questioning, then things break down, and the group tears itself apart.

MrRoboto: Ah, but you’re missing something, there.

Inquisitor: What?

MrRoboto: You’re assuming that the other members are capable of doubting, or breaking away from the leader. The right kinds of conditioning and indoctrination mean that the members of the cult are as radically devout as actual religious zealots. Except their ‘god’ is right there in front of them.

Stars: Worse, there are ways of… re-writing a person.

TripleThreat: What, like how Storybreaker can use his Character Arc power to completely change someone’s abilities?

Stars: Yes. With mentalists, it is called ‘psychic surgery’, but there are mystical and technological ways to accomplish the same thing. Such powers are HEAVILY regulated, and villains with those kinds of powers usually don’t get taken alive. Too dangerous.

Dollmaker: I can neither confirm nor deny that such powers exist.

RedHot: What about the Squadron Supreme? Word is they’re reforming the team.

Chiller: I can confirm that the Squadron Supreme is down several members.

ScoopGirl: So, it is true that you took them out?

Chiller: They made a mistake, trying to get to me through one of my kids. Three of them are dead because of it, and the others are… incapable of returning to their roles as members of the Squadron.

TripleThreat: That sounds ominous.

Stepford: So, what did you do to them?

Chiller: I ‘persuaded’ the survivors to become part of Devastation. Also, Stepford? Let your customers know that Lady Victory is off the market. I will take great offense if you go after what is mine.

Stepford: I would be tempted to ask you and what army, but with your record, and with Lady Victory as part of your team? I’ll steer clear.

Chiller: Excellent.

RedHot: So, wait, you beat Lady Victory, and she’s on your team, now?

Chiller: Yes. Though she’s Stolen Victory now. Also on the team are Web Mistress, Bloodmoon, Pyra, Foxtrot, Titania, and Serafina.

TheWhiteHat: Oh, shit.

ScoopGirl: WAIT A MINUTE! That means a solid chunk of Devastation is former members of the Squadron Supreme?

Chiller: Four out of eight spots, yes.

CantSeeMe: But only three of those names, including Stolen Victory, were part of the Squadron.

Chiller: Lolth, care to explain?

Lolth: Of course, Chilly! See, one of my abilities allows me to transfer people into a digital world. A world where everything, and everyone, is data. Editing people in that world is no different from editing a document on your computer, if you know what you’re doing.

MagicGurl: I dislike the way this conversation is going.

Lolth: So, I whisked us all away before the bomb the Squadron teleported in as a contingency once word came out that everyone was down, or captured. Titan was a useless little worm outside of his suit, so I made some modifications to him, starting with turning him into a her.

Victory: It was just as disturbing to see as it sounds.

Scholar: Wait, Victory? Shit, I didn’t think you’d still be on these boards! What happened? How did you lose?

Chiller: You may tell them the simple version.

Victory: Yes, Master. Iceblade used a weakness he knew I had from our previous encounters to overwhelm me. Then he set a trap for the squadron, along with Web Mistress and Bloodmoon. I was compelled to kill Indomitable, while the rest killed Alchemy and Lucky Starr, and captured the others. We now serve our Master, Iceblade.

Dollmaker: Ooh, you lucky dog, you. Congratulations, Iceblade, on a wonderful feat. I’ll definitely have to step up my game.

Mindtaker: Impressive. Some deep conditioning, perhaps? Reinforced with the System? Most impressive.

Stepford: Damn, you took three of the hottest properties off the market! Ah, well, I’ll just have to look for others to sell.

InfoGirl: Damn, this means that Devastation is probably one of the most powerful super groups in the world, on either side of the law. Especially if Serafina is the angelic healer from Italy that the Italian news is saying was defeated by Iceblade.

DonJuan: And all of them are hot, too!

RedHot: More importantly, this could be the start of a major power shift. A high-powered villain team, without the Squadron Supreme to check them, is going to make a lot of people very nervous. Which means they’re going to start looking for new ways to take on supers of all stripes.

SliceNDice: Which might explain why I’ve seen recruitment videos for the SDI recently. They’re looking to expand their forces. Or are anticipating the need to replace losses.

Stars: Well, that’s not concerning at all.