Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Supersworn: The Victory Academy Part Eight

Read the previous chapter here

Plot Thread: Time Cops on Patrol
[Begin a Session: External factors create new danger, urgency, or importance for a quest]Oracle: Capture Greed

Tempus Wright got a ping on his wristband. He had returned from a meeting with the police commissioner and Aiden Bell a couple hours earlier. Posing as Thomas Wright, a former CIA operative, he’d convinced them to give him access to the Victory Academy and its files. All that mattered was finding exactly where Jude Olmeda/Kismet altered the timeline to become Epoch in the future. This ping seemed problematic, though.

Bell wasn’t showing up in the present anymore. Nowhere in the entire universe. This didn’t make any sense. Tempus’s bed was calling to him, but he had to make sure what was going on. He’d learned some techniques in the Time Corps about boosted scanning signals to cover pocket dimensions and went about implementing them. The ping rang, letting him know it had latched onto Bell’s signature.

Tempus dons his Time Cop uniform and steps through a few portals, taking shortcuts to get to Bell’s location. He’s surprised that his wristband tells him that Bell is here in this massive library. He never took Bell for a reader. The structure seems devoid of life, and every time Tempus thinks he’s getting close, the signal moves. He finally finds a large pair of doors that tower over the space.

Despite their size, the doors swing open with little effort, and Tempus enters a throne room. His footsteps echo in the high-ceiling space. No one. Then, a blast of bluish cosmic energy strikes Tempus, sending him into the nearby wall. It cracks, and pieces crumble. Tempus sits up, dazed, and sees Bell as Captain Quantum stands there, arms crackling with energy and a grin on his face. Behind him is a horned figure who gestures, and Quantum’s hands glow brighter, ready to fire an even more devastating blast.

---

Main Plot Thread: The Machine Collective
Oracle: Barren Ruins

The Academy’s transport jet returns. Kismet is waiting for them in the hangar. He found a pair of crutches in the infirmary after losing his wheelchair in the occult library. He’s surprised to see everyone coming off and the red-skinned alien attacking Forge City with them. Grail explains to him that with Silvestri Max having an entire wing closed for damage (see Chapter One), the rogue will be their temporary guest in the sub-basement holding cells. She also drops that his name is Ryker Vane, and he’s a known criminal in several star systems outside our own. Van snorts at Kismet as he’s marched by in power restraints by Panthra and Amaya.

Kismet is taken to the infirmary by Panthra, who insists he undergoes a full session with the healing machine.

(Sojourn  – [Strong Hit: 5 + 3 + 0 = 8 vs 6 | 3] – Recover +3 Health & +3 Spirit)

Kismet takes Euphoria aside and wants to confirm if she has memories of him speaking to her about his pin-balling through time (see Chapter Six).

Oracle Question: Does Euphoria remember what Kismet told her? Odds: Likely. [Ask the Oracle: No]

Euphoria looks at Kismet with confusion. She remembers meeting Kismet on the front lawn and then hearing Master Destiny address the freshman class. Nothing about Kismet mentioning Cortex and his time travel. When he gets the chance, Kismet has to find out if Thomas is still alive, if those interactions in the past were real and not just hallucinations.

That will undoubtedly have to wait as alarms go off an hour later. Kismet can feel the collective exhaustion of his classmates and teachers. This pace is one they can only keep up for a while. Everyone rushes to the control room, where images of an attack on The Family Forge’s Cosmic Foundry play. Helicopter footage zooms in to show a horde of androids and robots (like Blayde and Mangle) are the culprits. Everyone turns to look at Silver Sentry, who is aghast.

“Oh no. What have they done?” he exclaims.

Shortly after, Kismet is onboard the school’s jet headed to the Cosmic Foundry. Sentry explains that he had formed what was being called The Machine Collective – a unification of cybernetic and artificial beings regardless of their pasts as heroes or villains. He was inspired by his death & resurrection, explaining that he learned secrets about artificial life, mainly that it is not entirely human-made. There is an aspect of all A.I. that exists before humans build forms for it to inhabit. He learned billions of A.I. “souls” need forms to enter this plane of reality. Sentry realized that seizing control of the Foundry could allow them to build those bodies much faster. However, before he took leave of the group, they had put the plan on the back burner. It appears they got tired of waiting for him.

Kismet looks to his mentors—Grail, Panthra, and Amaya—who try to give Sentry some grace but emphasize how they should have been notified about this much earlier. All Sentry can do is look to the floor in shame, nodding his head in agreement. The jet is close enough to the Foundry to get a good visual, and smoke is pouring from one of its collection of buildings.

Panthra directs the students to focus on crowd control while the adults handle the Machine Collective. Kismet and his compatriots (Euphoria, Incognito, Nano, Paragon, and Mothgirl) are dropped off. Other heroes are likely coming, but the kids know they must stay out here. Paragon doesn’t like this and makes it known. Kismet agrees; Paragon is on the same level power-wise with the grown-ups.

Oracle Question: Does anything happen that would push the students to want to join their mentors? Odds: 50/50. [Ask the Oracle: Yes]
Oracle: Affect Ability

A power surge in the Foundry leads to a massive explosion in one of its buildings. A wave of energy ripples through the air. It’s so strong the students doing crowd control are tossed up into the air, hitting the pavement with a hard crash. Kismet swears he smells burning plastic; it stings his nose. His pulse starts rising, and he can feel himself stressing out. His time travel power is being triggered without his control, and he tries to keep it just to peer into the future of this location for about two hours.

-1 Spirit
Gather Information – [Weak Hit: 2 + 2 + 0 = 4 vs 9 | 2]
Oracle: Desolate Portal

Kismet sees the people and places around him dissolve and shift. He’s now two hours in the future, an observer, not there in person. A portal has opened above the city, fed by swirling crackling energies pouring out of the Cosmic Foundry. Kismet realizes this is linked to the vision he had months ago. On the other side of the portal is a planet? No, it’s some kind of planet-sized spherical ship! It burns green with toxic engines pushing it towards this breach in the membrane between worlds.

Kismet knows the stakes. He cannot let this happen, no matter what his mentors have told him to do. He snaps back to the present and tells his classmates they must get in there and do whatever it takes to stop the Machine Collective.

Oracle: Do any of the classmates refuse to go? Odds: 50/50  [Ask the Oracle: Yes]
How many? Four (Euphoria, Nano, Mothgirl, and Incognito)

The girls all make it clear they don’t want to go there. They point to the sky as The Family Forge arrives in their Flying Minecart. Slingshot has swung in from downtown with more heroes on the way. The adults will take care of it. Paragon agrees with Kismet. They need to be in there kicking ass. Kismet hopes his comrade is more nuanced when they get inside.

Oracle: Does Euphoria use her powers to try to influence Kismet & Paragon’s thoughts? Odds: Unlikely. [Ask the Oracle: No]

Kismet watches Euphoria, who refrains from trying to use her powers against him. “You’re going to do what you want, Jude. I can’t stop you.” She looks defeated. He wants to say something but also feels pressure to act.

“Hey, Paragon,” Kismet says, indicating his crutches. “I might need a lift. Can you spare it?”

Fist bump from Paragon. “I got you, J.” He picks up Kismet and flies him up and over into the Cosmic Foundry compound.

Face Danger w/Heart  – [Weak Hit: 1 + 3 + 0 = 4 vs 8 | 3] – +1 Momentum but a Suffer Move

Kismet and Paragon come over the tops of the buildings and find the heroes in a massive clash with the Machine Collective. The Victory Force has arrived, and Paragon barely manages to dodge Space Agent as he’s tossed into the sky. Spark & Sizzle, The Twin Flames are attempting to put out a fire raging in the center of the Foundry but are quickly swarmed by robots.

(Endure Stress  -2 Spirit)
(Resist Stress – [Strong Hit w/a Match: 6 + 3 + 0 = 9 vs 1 | 1] – Take +1 Momentum and +1 Spirit)

Kismet closes his eyes, centers his mind, opens them, and tells Paragon to land near the northeast edge of the fight. He can see the future, he can even jump in time, he’s got this. An EMP would go a long way, and Kismet may have something he’s been tinkering around with in the workshop. His liquid metal hand rummages through the utility belt.

(Check Your Gear – [Strong Hit w/a Match: 3 + 4 + 0 = 7 vs 1 | 1])

Kismet pulls out the device and sets up the timed trigger. He instructs Paragon to fly above the fight, locate the center, and drop this baby there. It should shut down all electronic systems in a two-mile radius, but it’s what is needed.

(Face Danger w/Heart – [Miss: 3 + 3 + 0 = 6 vs 10 | 6])
[Pay the Price: You create an opportunity for an enemy]

Mangle spots Paragon soaring above the fray and decides to take the opportunity to school this young upstart. He merges his arms with a nearby hovercraft and slings it into the air. The multi-ton object slams into Paragon with full force, sending him and the EMP out over the harbor, where the device will detonate without impacting the Machine Collective.

Kismet knows they can’t let this chance slip by. He focuses his breathing, feeling his adrenaline increase and his pulse quicken. Once again, he pulls himself back to moments earlier to warn Paragon about Mangle.

(Take -2 Stress)
(Face Danger w/Heart – [Strong Hit: 5 + 3 + 0 = 8 vs 6 | 2])

Kismet grabs his comrade’s shoulder, pointing to a distant spot. “Don’t let Mangle clock you. I just came back from the future. He makes a fool out of you, Paragon.” Knowing just what to say, the ego-driven hero causes Paragon to zig and zag in the air, dropping the EMP. A blast of energy ripples over the heroes and machines in battle, and within moments, the assembled robots, androids, etc., collapse to the ground temporarily offline.

[Mark Progress: Paragon relationship :1 boxes]
(Fulfill Vow: The Machine Collective – [Strong Hit: 6 + 6 + 0 = 10 vs 7 | 4])

The Machine Collective has been stopped. A close search finds Silver Sentry missing from the constructed beings. It’s agreed everyone will keep an eye on him. Kismet gets a handshake from Exemplar, Apollonia, Redbolt, and other members of the Victory Force. They were impressed by his quick-thinking.

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Oracle: Unnatural Liquid

Everything has turned out well for now. The Machine Collective is no longer a threat. Cortex is likely still out there, but she’ll be dealt with soon. Ryker Vane was stopped, but now he sleeps beneath the Academy. Headmaster Bell is out, and Panthra is voted by the faculty & student body to be the new headmaster, something the police commissioner agrees upon…for now. 

Kismet also learns Thomas is still alive. He did change the timeline, but only some people he encountered seem to remember. Thomas doesn’t seem to remember Jude showing up and saving him. He says it was some hero; he thinks it might have been Slingshot. It all happened so fast that he can’t recall the details. Kismet lets it be.

He falls asleep after a particularly busy day, dreaming of possible futures that are both hopeful and bleak. While sleeping, he is unaware that his liquid metal arm is accessing the Academy network and going over files on the recruitment process and how young metahumans are identified. Somewhere far away, Cortex plans her own team of youngsters that will help her bring Kismet into her clutches.

The End of Book One