Heads Up

Probably no more info about the Cruise Ship stuff until later today at the earliest. Hex and I are going to see a movie in the afternoon and I was thinking about wasting some time playing hypno bubble for a while. Plus, want to spend more time with Deirdre She was apparently really upset and fussy while I was gone.

Oy

It's been over a week and a still feel like I was hit by a truck. Or, well, you know, like I was a normal person hit by a truck.

Stupid Agent Spider. I really need to get revenge on that guy for dragging me into a sting operation against the bloody Arsenal. It was pretty awesome when Quizzer called him Agent Dickhead, though.

Ow. Hex is offering to give me a backrub and I'd be crazy to turn it down. I'll fill you all in more later.

From the Cargo Hold

Hey guys, this post coming in while I'm on board the ship. Snuck into the cargo hold, and I'm just checking to see if I can find any clues here. Also going over the passenger manifest. I would just take over the ship, but now I'm curious enough that I want to see who the big trap is for. And if it's for someone I don't like, I'd love to see it succeed. Can't get in the way of, say, a Judy trap. Or "Lord" Grim for that matter.

So far not much on either front. Passenger list is a bunch of bigwigs but no one major so far. Only thing I could think of would be someone in general with a problem with Arkady or Brannigan, or any number of other companies. I think there might be a couple Aimwrights on board. They're rich and all, but I can't think of anyone with a grudge against them specifically.

Oh, and I know that two-timing bastard's name. Oh, it's on now.

Holy crap. Rose Collins is on the ship. As in, Barb. What's the most famous corporate spy in the world doing, openly, on a cruise ship? More importantly, does she have her super villain gear with her? If it were a trap for here, she would be here under an alias, unless she knows it's a trap and is trying to flaunt it. But that doesn't make sense either. Spider would've made a move by now.

This cargo is really boring. I've done a few scans of the weapon lockers I can fine, and it's high-caliber stuff, but nothing exciting. A lot of e.m.p.s and armor-piercing bullets. Which makes me suspicious it's a trap for me, but something still doesn't add up.

That Barb's here is really bothering me. Barb plus Aimwrights along with corporate executives worth billions--if not trillions, on an unseasonable trip in an unfashionable area. The ship alone is worth an ungodly amount, even if it was stripped before being sold to a private collector.

Holy crap, how did I miss this on the security cameras? Conner Ferrian, Junior, AKA CJ, AKA my brother, Overdose. I haven't seem him anywhere but his name's on the roster. Maybe he comes later? Maybe he spirngs the trap from above or something?

Okay, let's think. Who's a super villain in the nearby area? I guess if you ignore the great lakes, Snake Eyes isn't too far. But this isn't his style. I mean, the closest major hub is Anarchy Groves in Penn. But this really isn't any of Scarlet Sorceress's villains' style.

Oh crap. I've been thinking about this all wrong. This isn't a trap for a villain. It's a trap for an anti-hero.

Snake Eyes used to be an Aimwright. Or, more accurately, he still is, but publically the family's disowned him. Privately I heard CJ mention everything's hugs and kisses with the relations behind closed doors. Yep, you want the inside scoop, go to a henchman, that's what I've learned. Apparently, the Arsenal suspects this is the case, and he's been breathing down the necks of the Aimwrights trying to get to Snake Eyes. And Barb's tusseled with the Arsenal more than she has with "other" heroes. Hell, she and CJ and the Aimwrights might not even be on the ship in the first place--even if they might have announced their presence earlier or something.

Snake Eyes must've made a deal with Agent Spider to catch his "Menace to Society" arch-nemesis. I mean, everyone knows Spider and the Arsenal don't get along.

So they're trying to catch the Arsenal. Hell. I'm gonna sit this one out. And fortify my base. Because if Arsenal starts fighting, there's going to be a whole lot of destruction. I'll probably call Quizzer and tell him what's going on. Most destructive "hero" ever starts fighting near the city you've sworn to protect, you're probably gonna want a head's up, after all. Plus, it'll be fun to watch him get tossed around if he tries to intervene.

Wait. Why have so many important people on a boat if they're just going to be part of the bait for someone like oh hey when did I get surrounded by soldiers I gotta go.

Hmph

This guy so doesn't deserve his wife. Hell, he doesn't even deserve the other woman.

As far as I can tell his wife is a saint. She's gorgeous and bends over backwards for the guy, does everything for her, and he still goes off to the other woman. Not only that, but he tells his mistress all sorts of stories about how draconian his wife is. From what I can see, they're one hundred percent false. I really hate people. You give your all for them and what do they do? Stab you in the back first chance they get, that's what.

I mean, I stayed by Judy's side every chance I got. I gave her my freaking pardon! And she betrayed me like the minute she got out of that coma. She was probably thinking about the backstab even before she even got in that accident. Yeah, accident. Screw you, people who insinuate I hit her on purpose. I swear, wouldn't be surprised if you're all accounts made by "Lord" Grim.

Oh, uh, the heist. Right. The whole reason I'm down here. Not yet in progress. Don't give me that look. Something fishy's going on. I passed a Siluriforme shuttle checking out the ship yesterday, and they seemed as clueless as I am. It's obviously a trap for someone--even the incompetent fishmen could see that, and I can't help but to remember the old adage--if you don't know who the sucker is, it's probably you.

More later. And when I get my heist underway, this two-timer's walking the plank.

Complications

Okay, it's been a day and I haven't attacked the cruise ship yet. There's a good reason, though. It definitely looks like there's some kind of trap set up there for someone. I have no idea who for, yet, exactly. I'm not even sure the people on the ship know, to be completely honest. Agent Spider and the other feds seem pretty into keeping a low profile, though.

In other news, it looks like one of the bigwigs on the ship brought both his mistress and his wife along, without the wife knowing, of course. I'm kind of wondering how long it's going to be before the wife finds out. He's not being as careful as you'd think he would.

Complication

Well, that was unexpected. Agent Spider's on the boat.

I haven't actually taken over the ship yet, but I'm patched in on all of their security cameras from my minisub. And so far I've seen him converse in hushed tones with several square-jawed people who I'm assuming are also federal agents three or four times.

Gonna have to keep an eye on that. And re-think my plan of attack.

Cruise Ship Update

The test voyage of Brannigan's new cruise ship starts in a couple of hours. The whole thing's kind of bizarre, though. State of the art cruise ship in the Great Lakes at the beginning of Fall. I have its schematics, and they seem on the level, but the whole thing, now that I think about it, stinks of a trap.

But is it for me? Doubtful. In fact, if it's for anyone I'd wager it's for the Siluriformes. It does have an awful lot of weapons.

Oh well. If it is a trap for them and not terrible planning, or a publicity stunt to showcase its new open-air climate control (i have never seen so many black boxes on an object), doesn't really matter. I'm still going to rob it blind anyway.

Okay, Hex is here. Going to hang out with her for a little bit so she'll feel like a friend and not someone I hand a baby off to.

Foundress

It's been months and I still haven't gotten ahold of that new girl in New Vineyard, Foundress.

I still maintain that yellow jackets freak me out, but, as Quizzer's Arch Nemesis, I feel that when someone else starts screwing around in his and my city, I should, I dunno, at least talk to her or something. Compare notes, coordinate attacks, something like that. Who knows, maybe she'd want to be in P.A.I.N. Having someone who can control super-wasps would be pretty awesome. Even if they are creepy as hell.

And seriously, hearing Quizzer shout "Oh God, bees!" was hilarious.

She seems pretty mysterious for the most part, though. I mean, she's got to have a reason for mostly going after cosmetics and chemical plants and stuff like that. She seems to have a beef with Arkady too. Hope she's not related to Nuke somehow, that'd be awkward. Well, from the skin her outfit shows, she doesn't look black, so a blood relation's pretty unlikely, and I think Fallout woulda told me if that were the case, but still, you never know.

Oh hey, looks like Hex'd be more than happy to baby sit, score. I'll have to bring her back something nice for taking care of Deirdre. I'm kind of worried that she's not doing enough of her own villainy helping me, though. She says it doesn't bother her, but I know I'm kind of a depressed lump some days when that Judy stuff hits me pretty hard, and she's really good helping me through that, so i can't help but feel I'm holding her back. Oh well.

Gotta plan. Got some serious badguy time in store for this town.

Cruise Ship Peril

Okay, so there's a cruise ship in the docks just about to make its maiden voyage. Yes, this is going to be around Lake Michigan, I don't see the point either. However, this isn't any ordinary cruise ship, it's a top of the line, all amenities taken care of, state of the art, might as well be a five start resort hotel monstrosity. It has energy weapons and a defensive shield, and a team of state-of-the-art combat androids posing as both crew and random passengers. Only the most wealthy people are going to be on this thing, especially since this is the first run.

I, of course, am going to rob it, hold it and its passengers hostage, etc., etc.

Remember when I made that Brannigan run a while back, right before the Tri-City Takeover? Well, this cruise ship was among the schematics I found. So I know its defenses, its weaknesses, and its entire floor plan. I'm going to take the ship without a fight and use its defenses against any lame hero--most likely my arch-nemesis Quizzer--who tries to stop me.

Now I just need to find a babysitter. I wonder if Hex is free.