Issue # 6

Three days passed after the abduction of Joe Roberts and his family without any word from VIPER. UNTIL’s Juan Martinez opined that “the snakes” would probably remain quiet on the matter until they decided to use the Roberts as leverage. In the meantime, the heroes went about their lives and followed up on a few leads.

Rebeca Glass (aka Sparrow Hawk) was approached by her uncle and the CEO of Glass Industries, Alec Glass, with questions about engineering student, Lisa Avalon. Avalon, who attended the same engineering school as Rebeca, apparently had distinguished herself as an intern at an aviation R&D firm headquartered on Long Island. Interested in possibly hiring the young lady at some point, Glass asked his niece if she knew anything about her fellow student. Rebeca replied that she had run into Avalon on a couple of occasions, but that their interactions were strained and that they did not know each other well.

Meanwhile, Nightshift decided to do some follow-up research on Tanghal Tower. He began searching newspaper archives to see if the building had ever figured into incidents that might shed light into VIPER’s current interest. Sure enough, he found one account of a mystery man known as the Crimson Falcon who chased members of a Nazi spy ring to the site for a climactic final battle. Finding out that the reporter was still living, Nightshift went to see the old man at his New York apartment as police detective Dylan Price. The retired reporter remembered that night well, and shared that he later followed a trail that the Crimson Falcon left for the police back to the spies’ hidden layer. There he snapped photos of strange scientific equipment before the police arrived. The reporter shared the photos with Nightshift, who promised to make copies and return the originals. Later, Nightshift shared the photos with Sparrow Hawk, who could identified what were probably generators and focusing lenses in the pictures, but couldn’t determine anything more than this based on the photos alone.

Apex continued his nightly ritual of staging fake robberies in his guise as Aquas, and Troyus took to legitimizing the ruse by engaging “Aquas” in staged battles and chases on the riverfront. Their hope was that VIPER would attempt to recruit Aquas so that Apex might infiltrate the organization. Three nights after the attack on Tanghal Tower, someone took the bait, but it wasn’t VIPER. As Troyus sped after Aquas along the docks, a motorboat joined in the chase. At the pilot’s wheel was an older man with leathery skin and a crass mouth. The heroes recognized him as “Ricky,” partner to the mobster “Rocky” who worked for the Spumoni family and had been involved in the Del Vecchio affair a few weeks previous. Behind Ricky stood a powerfully built man in a purple and red skin tight bodysuit with an arrow motif on his face mask. Pulling up next to Aquas, the man in the bodysuit attacked Troyus with bolts of energy emitting from his forehead, while Ricky yelled to Aquas, that “they should finish this ‘chump,’ so they could discuss business.” Taking a dive when the “villains” attacked, Troyus left Aquas to follow his new associates to the Statue of Liberty. There, the man in the bodysuit identified himself as Arrowhead and offered Aquas $100,000 to participate in a robbery along with Arrowhead and some other super-powered muscle. The target? – a VIPER freighter carrying some items of interest to the Spumoni family. Aquas accepted the job at which point Arrowhead told him to meet the team at a specified warehouse at 10:00 the following morning for a briefing.

The heroes then gathered at the warehouse that Sparrow Hawk was prepping to serve as the team’s base to discuss what should happen next. In attendance were Apex, Nightshift, Rampart, Sparrow Hawk, Troyus and Crusader. Firebrand had yet to return from Chicago, and Starburst was still recovering from his injuries from earlier in the week. The heroes agreed to send Apex to the meeting. They also agreed that he should go in with a wire, so that Sparrow Hawk could monitor the goings-on. They informed Major Martinez of the developments, and then sat tight to wait for the next morning.


Aquas arrived at the warehouse promptly at 10:00. Arrowhead introduced him to the rest of the team. First was a nervous looking African American man wearing a black suit and sporting wrist mounted combat knives on both arms. Black Claw by name, his primary power was the ability to project a field of darkness. Second was Esper, an imperious looking young woman in a golden skin tight outfit with black accents who could assault the mind in various ways as well as detect the presence and location of sentient life. Arrowhead revealed that he possessed incredible strength and resilience in addition to his ability to project bolts of energy. Having familiarized themselves with each others’ talents, Arrowhead then moved to planning the mission. He explained that the Spumoni family had come to learn that this particular freighter, named the Sea Drake, was arriving at the docks at midnight carrying some “very special” cargo. He refused to specify what the cargo actually was, explaining that he and the villains need only cause enough of a distraction for another mystery member of their team could move in and secure their actual target. They hashed out a simple plan, which involved sneaking up to the ship under Black Claw’s cover of darkness. Esper could then keep them informed about the position of their enemies, while Aquas and Arrowhead concentrated on compromising the integrity of the vessel before moving on to engage VIPER’s forces. The villains then spent the rest of the day, sparring and otherwise prepping for events later that night.

Listening in on the conversation, Apex allies decided to act before the Sea Drake even reached New York. They contacted Major Martinez and asked if UNTIL could find the freighter, given that they knew the place and time of its arrival. Martinez got back to them several hours later with a position for the Sea Drake. Nightshift and Sparrow Hawk then arranged for an UNTIL transport to fly them over the Sea Drake from high altitude. Nightshift then teleported onto the vessel with Sparrow Hawk, and the two proceeded to search the vessel for Arrowhead’s “very special” cargo. The ship was swarming with VIPER agents, however, and eventually the pair was discovered. The heroes then fought their way into the hold, where they found a mini-sub about to evacuate the freighter. Damaged in the fighting, the mini-sub ended up sinking to the ocean’s bottom. Sparrow Hawk, however, managed to tag it with a tracer before it sank.

The Sea Drake changed course as soon as her crew discovered Nightshift and Sparrow Hawk onboard. Still monitoring the vessel’s trajectory via satellite, Martinez reported as much to the heroes remaining in New York. In response, Rampart and Troyus requested that UNTIL fly them to the ship as quickly as possible. Piloted by UNTIL agent Evelyn Knight, they arrived on the scene in an UNTIL transport just as the Sea Drake’s mini-sub sank. However, two VIPER attack jets arrived on their heels, firing missiles on the Sea Drake before making a quick escape. Spotting the UNTIL transport moments before the missiles slammed into the freighter, Nightshift teleported Sparrow Hawk and himself onboard just in time. The transport then circled the area waiting for UNTIL reinforcements to secure the area and begin salvaging operations.

Back in New York, Arrowhead, Aquas, Black Claw and Esper arrived at the docks, but their target never showed. Frustrated, Arrowhead consulted with his superiors and the approached the others, reporting that the Spumoni family desired that they keep the $50,000 each had received as a retainer for services in the near future. Esper declined, but Aquas and Black Claw agreed to the arrangement. Arrowhead then left details on how the villains would be notified of future jobs before leaving the scene.

Sparrow-Hawk, Rampart, Troyus, and Apex gathered at UNTIL HQ to debrief and await the results of UNTIL's salvaging operations. Nightshift excused himself for personal reasons, while Crusader cryptically announced that he had some leads to follow-up.

Experience Points Earned: 2