May 17, 2015: Middle of a Forest, California
"Got you now, Puppeteer!!"
You froze in your tracks, dropping the chair you and your minions were carrying and turning around to see-
ho,
shoot, that was a lot of people.
Thank the stars you'd decided to keep your mask on.
Seven bounty hunters to be precise, two of them dogs. You mentally counted as they cautiously but gleefully approached you. You even noticed that some if them were slightly drooling, no doubt about the massive payday they were imagining.
"Hey, fellas," Presto nervously greeted them as you subtly reached your left hand towards your wand holster, ready to fight for your life. "What brings you all here out on this swell day?"
"You two." One of them smirkingly remarked, speaking with a heavy British accent. "Saw you carrying that chair up this trail and we decided to keep you company."
SHOOT! You knew you should have had even one of your Vexes keep watch!
"They don't seem so tough," one of the dogs scoffed. "I could take them even without the rest of you losers."
"Patience, my furry companion," the British guy remarked as he lowered his gun at you. "You're outnumbered, friends. I kindly suggest you surrender."
"Yeah, we'd rather not bruise a pretty face." One of the others quipped, a smug smirk on his face. Ah, great, one of
those guys...
They continue to slowly approach you, weapons raised and watchful looks focused on you. All the while, a thought zips into your mind.
...Are these idiots really dumb enough that they're going to just walk into flashbang range?
As it turned out, they were dumb enough to do so. Why couldn't they have been competent enough that you could have enjoyed this?!
Mentally sighing to yourself, you quickdrawed your wand and yelled out the Micare spell before diving for cover.
The ball of light explodes into a brilliant light and noise show and stuns the bounty hunters, who had been both clever enough to wear sunglasses but dumb enough to forget acoustic earmuffs.
Without hesitation, your Allays and Vexes swarmed the disoriented jerks and wreaked havoc among their ranks.
"Get off me, you overgrown pests!!"
"NOT THE FACE!!"
"Ahhh!!"
The screams and yelps of those idiots were music to your ears as you had quickly shot up from behind the log.
"Imbrem Acus!"
As you uttered out the words, a dozen needle-like projections form all around you before shooting towards the bounty hunters. They pierced the hunters' clothing and pinned them to the ground.
"The hell?! The locals didn't mention she could do this!"
Ignoring their cries at the unfairness of it all(hypocrites), you signalled for your minions to knock the idiots out, which they promptly did.
You would have just dropped the idiots somewhere near, like, maybe Foggy Bottom, but there was a rather pressing problem you had right now.
Specifically, the jerks had found you while you were on your way to your hideout. If you just dropped them off without doing anything else, they could just track back to where they had found you then go further, subsequently dicovering your very secret lair.
This was bad, how do you deal with this,
what are you going to do, how are you-!
Wait.
...That might just work. You'd need to set up an intimidating persona, but you can work with that.
Ooohh, it's gonna be so much fun to play the role of a horror villain!
|--------------------------------------------|
An hour later...
When Shane Ross woke up a few hours, it was pitch black and his body felt like a python had coiled around him.
Where the hell am I?!
"Welcome to my lair, good bounty hunters."
Shane startled as the bag over his head was lifted and he was greeted by the sight of the Puppeteer standing over him and cheekily smiling. Surprisingly, the damn puppet was being quiet as he looked at them with smug superiority. He didn't even know puppets could
be smug.
Surrounding her were the other bounty hunters who'd accompanied him, they also bound with annoyingly tight ropes.
"How do you feel?" She grinned at him, though he noted that her smile didn't reach her eyes.
"Get these ropes off of me right now or you'll regret it!!" One of the dogs snarled at her.
"Hmmm..." The madwoman mockingly tapped her chin in thought. "...Nah!"
Shane looked up, down, left, and right, trying to make heads and tails of where the earth they were being held.
It was a large, damp cave with barely any light in it. It was mostly barren, except for two chairs and a table. The only sources of light were some floodlights connected to a single generator, which was next to some sort of bronze scaleyyyy...
...
Ohhhhh crud...
"Ah, I see you've finally noticed Iskander." Puppeteer beamed at him, her smirk making him sweat with nervousness. "He's currently resting, so I'd suggest not waking him up. At least, unless you want him annoyed with you. Do you want him annoyed?"
Shane and the rest of the other bounty hunters frantically shook their heads in reply.
Puppeteer quickly turned around to signal to her little monsters to come to her before turning back to face them.
"Now, since I have your attention and since you're all inclined to listen to me," she cheerfully began, "I just wish to ask you all onr question.
"Do you feel like a hero yet?"
Shane mentally scoffed. Who the hell had actually came here to be a "hero"? Most of them here had come to get bloody rich, not because of the goodness of their heart and all that nonsense.
"You won't get away with this!" One of the dogs angrily barked back at the Puppeteer.
"No answer? Alrighty, then." The Puppeteer cheerfully ignored her, instead opting to to start pacing back and forth across the cavern.
Then she started monologuing.
Monologuing.
"Let me be clear. I don't actually
mind that you're out here trying to capture me, get paid, and become famous. I understand that. In fact, I freakin' love that you're all here! You sure know how to make a girl feel special with all the attention you're showerin' her with.
But."
Her smile dropped, and his heartbeat hastened.
"
But. What you failed to understand is this; you do not have the right to defeat me. You can
try all you want, but you do not get to waltz into
my town and expect that fighting me will be easy. That I will just give up without a fight. Because that is offensive to all of the
effort I have put into becoming a supervillain."
As the Puppeteer continued her insane monologue, her breath quickening and her rambling growing louder, she waltzed over to one of her little floating freaks and daintily snatching a fabric glove from it.
"It makes me seem like some sort of common
schmuck that you can just walk right over. I'm sure you'd feel the same if some random,
nobody criminal thought they could take you on with no problem, right?"
She then slipped the glove, letting it snap against her wrist with a loud "thwack!".
"And I will not have it!! I am the
Puppeteer, the first, actual
Supervillain in history and the first villain actually to defeat the Paw Patrol since they were founded! And I will
not be laid low by some random,
idiotic,
nobodies with their shoddy little rent-a-gun guns, their dainty little handcuffs, and their ridiculous tacticool vests!! Not now, not ever!!"
She then turned and stomped towards one of the other bounty hunters, Owen promptly soiling his pants as the now snarling villain got right into his face.
"Look at me." She commanded, the poor guy too frightened to do so. Not happy with this, she gently grabbed Owen's chin with the hand with hand glove and turned his face toward her's.
"Now, now, why so gloomy? She playfully asked him, staring right at him. Owen's eyes were wide with fear and... happiness?
"Heheheh..." Owen began to giggle quietly, his mouth shifting into a toothy smile and his eyes beginning to beam with rising euphoria.
"HehehHahahah
HAHAHAH!!"
Shane and the others shrunk back in unrestrained terror as Owen's laughter grew louder and louder.
"Oh dear," the creepy muppet finally piped up with a mocking tone, "It seems he's too happy now. Partner, shall I fix this?"
"You may, Presto." The madwoman gave her permission far too gleefully, as the puppet started waving the stupid little wand he had.
They're gonna kill him. They're actually gonna kill him!
"Abra Kadabra! Alakazam!"
A fizz of purple sparks popped and crackled out of the minature wand before zipping towards the laughing Owen.
POOF!
As the sparks made contact, Owen's body warped and shifted until it was launched into the air and with a magical poof, Owen's body was formed into a felt hand puppet that slowly drifted to the ground. Sewn smile, button eyes, and mahogany rope hair.
WHATDIDSHEDOWHATDIDSHEDOWHA-!
The she-devil turned her gaze toward them, smirked evilly, and spoke.
"So, let me ask you all this one more time: Do you feel like a hero yet?"
Rewards:
-$120
+300 Notoriety. You dropped the bounty hunters off in Foggy Bottom after you had "convinced" them to keep quiet about your hideout. You'd even let them keep their money and belongings!
But, while the bounty hunters swore to tell no one about where they thought your secret hideout was, they didn't promise to keep what you did secret. As such, word has spread about the crazy criminal down in Adventure Bay who can make someone feel pain by touching them with a glove.
+300 VP Popularity: ...Alright. How the hell was a kid's show villain intimidating than most slasher monsters just then?
The bounty hunters and "heroes" have quite quickly noped right out of Adventure Bay, dropping the Villainous Actions Malus to a mere -5 malus.
Three pieces of furniture in your hideout. And that's it.
New Trait Gained!
Scaring With A Smile: You've discovered that you're rather talented at intimidating people. (+10 to Intimidation Rolls.)
New Artifact Gained!
Touch of Gaiety: A bright red fabric glove that, when it touches the skin of someone who isn't wearing it, induces a state of artificial euphoria and laughter in said person, rendering them unable to fight back. This effect lasts for five hours. (Can only be used three times a day before it acts like a normal glove for a week, after which its effect returns. A temporary +20 to Physical Fighting before the glove's effect is expended for the time.)
|--------------------------------------------|
A/N:
I just found out that the creator of Paw Patrol, Keith Chapman, also created Bob the Builder. So, that's a fun fact for me, who also loved Bob the Builder as a kid.
Also, I didn't roll for this interlude because I did not want to go through the effort and because I figured that you'd earned whatever happened here.
Also also, do tell me how you felt about this update, because I'm not vibing as much with this as I did with my other updates. I feel like I made Johanna seem a bit too insane and malicious, even though she is putting up an act.
I'll be getting on omake bounty board up soon, so look out for that.
Enjoy!