- Location
- California
Things are getting spicy. It looks and feels like Ignition might have turned over who Intergang's backers might be: Literal Hostile Aliens. If that's true then it's big.
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Lex Sedet In Vertice: A Supervillain in the DCU CK2 quest
- Thread starter King crimson
- Start date
- Superhero
Things are getting spicy. It looks and feels like Ignition might have turned over who Intergang's backers might be: Literal Hostile Aliens. If that's true then it's big.
lockingbane
If you're crazy and you know it clap your hands!
- Location
- Waxahachie tx
Agreed.
- Location
- Singapore
We can use this. By donating to the cops generously, we can bypass the Mayor since we already own the cops.
- Location
- North America
HE'S A MOTHER FUCKING SPY! I HEARD HIM ON THE PHONE WITH THOSE TERRORIST!
*Shrugs* Pretty sure Whale bribed Sackett. Predictable, really.
We can fund the police ourselves - we may want to fight the gun law, and if so push more into politics. The NRA is actually a much more natural ally for environmentalism than some people understand.
We can fund the police ourselves - we may want to fight the gun law, and if so push more into politics. The NRA is actually a much more natural ally for environmentalism than some people understand.
- Location
- United States
Sometime in the next few turns (not next turn), we really need to infiltrate the us gov and do that spy network thing. We really need to have more info coming in.
- Location
- Singapore
Time to sell lots of weapons and armour.
- Location
- In The Shadowbear Slave Camp
Hm.
If only someone happened to donate money to the police.
And then the police happened to deputize our security forces.
whistles innocently
- Location
- USA
Actually we have a very good counter direction for this line. I believe @Simon_Jester omakes set during the civil war is cannon. If so LuthorCorp (now LexCorp) has a history of supporting the US government and patriotism. We can parley that with the Federal government and state government and also bring up Ignition and Intergang as reasons for a strong police force (really major terrorist activity and he slashes police funding?). It may also give Louis something to redirect onto if she looks into the Luthors of the civil war era and what role they played then, could get us some positive publicity.
Night_stalker
Slava Ukraini!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Oh yeah, we got more cash then some countries. This asshole wants to -
Wait a second. He knows he betrayed us. He's gone and cut PD funding AND is limiting our weapons. We uh, sure he's not Intergang related?
I don't know about the rest of you, but I think Intergang is gearing up for an assault in Metropolis and Lex is a target. A Mecha army sounds like a disaster on our end.
I wouldn't be surprised if that is when Superman shows up and upstages Lex, much to his annoyance.
I can see it now, we spend a few turns fixing this mess and Supes swoops on down and gets all the credit, that would certainly have Lex consider him an arch nemesis.
Never mind all the other supernatural characters like Wonder Woman, magic wielded, or the Metahumans. I'm actually surprised with how indifferent Lex feels about those factors given his personality.
I wouldn't be surprised if that is when Superman shows up and upstages Lex, much to his annoyance.
I can see it now, we spend a few turns fixing this mess and Supes swoops on down and gets all the credit, that would certainly have Lex consider him an arch nemesis.
Never mind all the other supernatural characters like Wonder Woman, magic wielded, or the Metahumans. I'm actually surprised with how indifferent Lex feels about those factors given his personality.
- Location
- Singapore
No need. That gets political on a stupid level. We just donate lots of weapons and armour to the police. When they fail against Intergang, we begin a campaign to blame all the damage to Metropolis on the Mayor for cutting Police Funding and lay it all on his lap.
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I'm pretty sure Sackett is not crazy enough to take bribes from Intergang. Even corrupt politicians are going to think twice before getting their money from known terrorists.
Anyway, Whale as much as said he's just have to take his own measures to deal with cementing his hold on the underworld of Lex didn't help him. Getting the police funding cut was a laughably easy way to do that, the gun laws are just the cherry on top.
Anyway, Whale as much as said he's just have to take his own measures to deal with cementing his hold on the underworld of Lex didn't help him. Getting the police funding cut was a laughably easy way to do that, the gun laws are just the cherry on top.
- Location
- Cyberspace
Welp, the stripped police budget is liable to lead to a build-up in criminal activity. Superman debuts against the Whale, or against Intergang attack on LexCorp?
An attempt on Lois Lane... didn't expect that. And, of course, she doesn't have bullet-proof plot-armor quite yet - so she actually was quite vulnerable. I wonder if she assumes (correctly) it's Intergang, or if she thinks there's others that would do away with her if they could (to be fair, she does tend to step on toes).
Might be worth dropping an opinion somewhere reasonably public - I suppose we don't have an upcoming interview or the like, but perhaps something could be managed. Getting it out there that Lex thinks the Metropolis police need a better budget. Intergang is down but not out, there will inevitably be other gangs wanting to establish themselves in a void, now's the time to press harder to clean up the city, etc and so forth.
Sure, Luthor has no scruples in criminal activity, but his type of crime is (so far, at least) unable to really get caught by police, no matter how well-funded. Meanwhile, Intergang, Whale or any successors to the first... are more vulnerable. Why not force them to move more cautiously? Plus, it establishes some decent good will among the police force (that he's already got some influence over), and makes him look wise and foreseeing when somebody inevitably takes advantage of the funding cut.
Good low-profile body armor might be a particularly good donation, yeah.
Incidentally, I'm expecting both of the mayor's moves to be in preparation of an attack on LexCorp - funding cuts making it hard for police to respond to an attack (perhaps coupled with a suitable crime-spree distraction), while the weapon ban meant to weaken LexCorp security forces - before the end of his term. I suspect not much further than that because (a) his successor might reverse these moves and (b) Lex is liable to swiftly adapt.
No bribes - coercion of some form. Blackmail, threats, etc.
I suppose it could be Whale's move... I donno though - he seems more like the kind of guy who'd like to use the police against rivals attempting to move in rather than degrade their funding. Unless it's meant to leave officers more vulnerable to bribery?
An attempt on Lois Lane... didn't expect that. And, of course, she doesn't have bullet-proof plot-armor quite yet - so she actually was quite vulnerable. I wonder if she assumes (correctly) it's Intergang, or if she thinks there's others that would do away with her if they could (to be fair, she does tend to step on toes).
Might be worth dropping an opinion somewhere reasonably public - I suppose we don't have an upcoming interview or the like, but perhaps something could be managed. Getting it out there that Lex thinks the Metropolis police need a better budget. Intergang is down but not out, there will inevitably be other gangs wanting to establish themselves in a void, now's the time to press harder to clean up the city, etc and so forth.
Sure, Luthor has no scruples in criminal activity, but his type of crime is (so far, at least) unable to really get caught by police, no matter how well-funded. Meanwhile, Intergang, Whale or any successors to the first... are more vulnerable. Why not force them to move more cautiously? Plus, it establishes some decent good will among the police force (that he's already got some influence over), and makes him look wise and foreseeing when somebody inevitably takes advantage of the funding cut.
Good low-profile body armor might be a particularly good donation, yeah.
Incidentally, I'm expecting both of the mayor's moves to be in preparation of an attack on LexCorp - funding cuts making it hard for police to respond to an attack (perhaps coupled with a suitable crime-spree distraction), while the weapon ban meant to weaken LexCorp security forces - before the end of his term. I suspect not much further than that because (a) his successor might reverse these moves and (b) Lex is liable to swiftly adapt.
No bribes - coercion of some form. Blackmail, threats, etc.
I suppose it could be Whale's move... I donno though - he seems more like the kind of guy who'd like to use the police against rivals attempting to move in rather than degrade their funding. Unless it's meant to leave officers more vulnerable to bribery?
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Yep! I like the sound of that!
Hm. You know, it'd be hilarious if we assassinated Vincent Edge right out from under the US military right now. On the other hand, we may have more useful purposes for Lady Vic's services.
Hm. Good news for "not getting the world blown up by a doomsday bomb," probably. Wonder who the heroes were.
We should help him with the project. Though applicable heropower for next turn is short.
Hm. Good... and also weird. Throw Pamela at it turn after next; this turn we need her on the bone growth problem as our science team leader.
Hm. Interesting choice. On the other hand, while our forces are less able to operate in the city, so are heavily armed criminals, at least in principle. This combination is... interesting. It may well enable a resurgence of some criminal group, it may be something done at the behest of Tobias Whale (Whale could easily have bribed the mayor or sought other patronage).
Bradford Sackett could just be honestly pro-gun-control.
With that said, the combination of the police budget cut and this opens a new option for us. The police will need funding, and donating to them will be disproportionately effective. We may be able to get our security personnel licensed out to provide security at certain events. In general, this situation means anyone who wants more control over how the city is protected and secured has options; it creates a power vacuum. Mayor Sackett probably has a plan for who can fill it, but that doesn't mean we can't fill it.
@King crimson , these sound like open carry laws. Do they extend to what our security forces can carry in our own building?
Eh. Heh. Heh.
Thaddeus. That's a name to conjure with.
Bet you a dollar that's Dr. Sivana, from Captain Marvel's rogues' gallery.
And that whole "Oolong island making weapons for Intergang" thing from his DC wiki entry is... interesting and alarming. Maybe if-when we have the Intrigue-power (Nygma+Cerise?) we should check out Oolong Island. It's supposedly an enclave of gifted mad scientists. Sounds like our cup of tea.
Well shit. I mean, an invisible guy.
Lucky for us, I'm pretty sure our wards don't give a shit about whether the ill-intentioned intruder is visible or not, but it's definitely something to watch out for. Actually, for all we know he DID try to assassinate us, and bounced off our wards, and was like "wait WTF."
Good tech to steal for ourselves, and/or a useful agent to have. If we can find... the invisible... guy.
OK never mind.
Huh. Well, that's not such a big deal.
I mean, Avruskin's secret plan, yadda yadda, but we don't actually have realistic means of stopping that plan without an inordinate effort, so it's probably best if we just let it unfold and deal with the aftermath. Ignition's activities now seem like (in hindsight) they weren't so much directed at us personally, as being part of a larger campaign of terror and destruction that piggybacked off Intergang's own renegade activities.
King crimson
Confusion Will Be My Epitaph
- Location
- Los Angeles
No it doesn't affect what you can have in your own building. The restriction is on carrying it in a public place. Basically once you get off your property it starts being a problem.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Note that Intergang tried to have Lois Lane assassinated.
Ignition, meanwhile, was like "fuck this noise" and split with Intergang. Probably not over this issue (Ignition has personally slaughtered hundreds of people and wouldn't flinch at slaughtering one more reporter), and it's probably part of General Avruskin's mysterious plan. But worth remembering.
Yeah. If we did assassinate him it'd be kind of ironic. "Lol I guess the city wasn't as safe as he thought."
And... @King crimson , normally weapon bans DO proceed at the state government level. Does this present a viable line of challenge for us to oppose Sackett's gun ban in the Maryland state government, should we choose to do so? Or did Sackett get a state-wide gun ban passed using his political leverage?
[Of course, Metropolis is the state capital, so there's that]
Ignition already knew Intergang had alien tech, from the raid on Fort Knox if nothing else. I don't think this was an act of personal conscience.
Remember, Ignition isn't an independent agent, he's working for this Avruskin guy. Presumably his actions are all part of a big plan for make benefit of glorious Polkolistan.
@King crimson
Now that Ignition has surrendered to the US government, can we confirm or deny that he at least superficially appears to be a normal human person inside all that armor? Obviously that doesn't prove much since fucking Superman appears to be a normal human, but it's a relevant question.
Leland Luthor spent twelve consecutive turns from early 1862 through late 1864 spamming the "Improve Weapons" action and assorted "manufacture deadlier weapons" actions, in an attempt to get revenge on the Confederate States of America.
The American Civil War in this timeline went... slightly differently... as a result.
On the other hand, at least one subsequent Luthor's relationship with the US government was rather more... ehh. Troubling.
It's complicated.
Maybe Sackett took money from Intergang a few years ago, before they were widely known as a terrorist organization, and they're holding that over his head for blackmail now.
Hm. I have to wonder, is Clark Kent working for the Daily Planet yet?
Because if he is, and if Lois ever finds out he's Superman, she is going to be pissed that Jimmy Olsen had to be the one to interfere.
Not armor. Money.
If the police just took a budget cut, they're going to have to respond by scaling back operations, payroll, or both. They'll have to lay off cops, and that hurts because it's hard to hire new ones. The police's ability to function in the city is far more imperiled by lack of cold hard cash than it is by a bunch of fancy body armor for the handful of officers they can afford to keep on payroll and on patrol.
You want Luthor to help the police and play the role of their sugar daddy? Give them money.
Yeah I buy that..
The thing is, Whale knows (or rather, has deduced and has seen nothing to undermine that deduction) that Lex Luthor controls the police already. If he wanted to reliably use them to serve his purposes, he'd have to go through us first. He tried that, and failed. So from his perspective, his only option from gaining more protection from the police is to weaken the police further so that they are unable to go after his operations.
oh yeah I know I didn't expect any of this that's all
- Location
- Singapore
I disagree. We get her to cultivate the Ginko fruits and send Karl to see the company shrink. His breakdown is so obvious Cassandra is worried.
Why don't we extend protection to the Bugal or Lois. It would help her to see Lex is nice.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I bet Cassandra is actually more sensitive to people's moods than almost anyone on staff. She doesn't think in terms of what people say and she's entirely ignorant of a lot of the social conventions people build up as excuses for ignoring each other.
She just notices how they move and behave, and makes logical inferences about how they feel.
...
But you're not wrong about that... though there are a lot of other Learning projects I might want Pamela on beside the Gingo fruits. Those are a whole new project we'll need several actions to make anything out of. I'd rather not start that while we're still pursuing so many other avenues.
Remember that hoarding a dozen different routes to potential 'small-time' superpowers (including chlorokinesis, bone growth, stretchy body parts, and so on) isn't going to give us even one hard counter to Superman or other planetary-level threats. If we really want to win this in the long run, we need routes to extreme physical and technological power. Advanced robotics, the Captain Atom procedure, stuff like that.
Being Elastic Man isn't going to cut it.
Maybe, but do you really think she'd hesitate to investigate her own boss if she thought he was anything less than squeaky-clean? She'd have more to hide, and she'd be closer to "inside" our tent, more able to access our secrets.
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