ic Cool Drugs

[Supercape]

Monday March 5th

 

In the worst slums of Freedom City

 

Night time, decorated by a sprinkling of atmospheric rain. A fuzzy moon shone in the night sky. Here and there, betwixt the cloud cover, stars twinkled. It was a cold night, but the air was still. The drizzling rain fell down straight, rather than driving into your face. Still, one would have to wrap up warm or seek cover to see the morning. 

 

Even the homeless of Freedom of City knew that. 

 

The newest version of the Archer had got wind of a new drug that was been tested on the vagrants of Freedom City. Something that burned you up - sometimes literally. Increased strength and raised body temperature. Might keep you warm on dark nights, they said. 

 

And free. If you came to the right places, like here. 

 

A gaggle of homeless had gathered around a drum-fire and were asking a heavy set thug in a leather jacket about the drug. The thug was pointing at his companion, a tall, spindly woman, bald headed, bad skin, who was looking very much like she was on some kind of horse tranquiliser - barely standing up. 

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

Another freaking super drug. Ever since that whoe affair with Cortex and his drugs, it had felt like a new drug that would give people powers or kill them pops out every other week, and people are just desperate enough that it keeps working.

 

Sitting on a rooftop with his Sky-Bike parked besides him, Connor surveils the scene below. The big thug seems like the seller. The woman is probably on the drug and is gonna burn up any moment. If he shouts or comes running for them, they'll run, and then he'll have to chase them.

 

He hates having to chase pushers.

 

Instead, he selects two arrows, sticking them to certain tips and takes aim, then let's the two arrows armed with rapidly expanding and hardening foam fly towards the thug. 

[Supercape]

GM

 

With a TWANG of the bowstring!

 

With a THWIP! of a flying arrow!

 

And finally a SQUELSH! of a blob of foam!

 

The thug was encased in hardening foam. His clothes were ruined, and his eyes expressed more surprise than fear. Slowly, he started to topple backwards, frozen in place. 

 

With a THUD! he hit the ground, still helpless. 

 

As for the homeless, they scattered! some even dropped their brown papers bags, sending the cheap liquor splattering with the TINKLE! of shattered glass. 

 

As for the pale bald woman, she barely reacted, looking quite alive, but with all the reactions of a hypnotised zombie. 

Edited March 9 by Supercape

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

Everyone but the woman gets out of there quick. Good.

 

Stepping back to his sky-bike, Archer jumps on it and quickly steers it down towards the ground, landing heavily in front of the man. Clad in his red and white costume, he stares the two for a moment. He doesn't like the look of the woman. She's probably on that damn drug, and about to jump him any moment, but much as he want to be pragmatic, he can't bring himself to attack her just like that.

 

Walking over to the thug, Archer looks down at him encased in the foam. "Selling in my neighborhood? Not the best idea." He reaches for a sharp arrow, pulling it out and putting it on his bowstring, pulling it back and taking aim at the thug's face. "Word is that there's a new super drug on the street. Start talking."

[Supercape]

GM

 

The tall pale man seemed to barely register Archers presence. A slightly dazed turn of the eyes, a slight flicker of acknowledgement in the face, and a soft grunt that might, for all its volume, simply been an unusually heavy sigh. It did at least indicated the albino was still breathing. 

 

The Thug was breathing, for sure, but bound tight. His face squirmed, fighting a battle between defiance and prudence. 

 

Faced with the Archer next to him, prudence won. 

 

"Super drug? It ain't super..." he said. "Sure, it gives you a massive boost of energy for a few seconds, maybe minutes. Then you self-combust. I mean, you really self combust. At least with drugs like Zoom you stand a chance, right? Just a little heart attack. With this synthetic drug; that's what the call it, by the way, the synthetic... with the synthetic you literally burn up. I heard a few people got clever and dived in an bath of ice or the ocean. But only a few. Usually, you go out with a real good bang, you dig?"

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

A death sentence, then. Archer doesn't even try to hide the disgust on his face.

 

"Why would anyone even want something like that?" 

 

How are they selling it? It doesn't make any sense. Why would people want something that kills them?

[Supercape]

GM

 

The thug laughed. "Why would anyone want anything like that? they wouldn't! Its not sold as that. Marketing, cape... its all about Marketing! Synthetic, the marvel drug! Feel strong, feel powerful, feel all the pain wash away. Well, I guess it does that, eventually. The streets are full of people wanting some kind of escape, some kind of oblivion... why, look around!"

 

The man swept his eyes across the desolate night time skyline of arguably the most desperate part of the city. 

 

"Guinea pigs! Synthetic isn't perfected yet. Look at this zombie... he look normal to you?"

 

The man's eyes darted to the albino still half asleep. The albino clearly wasnt a zombie; he was quite alive. But skin so thin and translucent you could almost see the pulsing arteries beneath. He certainly wasn't a zombie, but he certainly wasn't normal, either."

 

"Thats where Synthetic comes from. His blood. Ha! Good name, huh? Synthetic, although thejokes on you. Its actually some freak's blood. I reckon Freak Blood didn't sell well. Synthetic sounded a lot better. See? It's all about Marketing!"

 

He gave another hopeless wriggle. 

 

"I told you everything I know. Now cut me some slack and let me go!"

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

"Just him? He's your source? Where'd you find him?"

 

It takes everything that Connor has to not just kick this guy's ass right here and now. It won't help if he does. He'll get nothing. 

 

He looks at the albino. No, he doesn't look normal.

 

"Hey. You, pale guy. What's your deal?" 

 

It's worth an attempt, but Connor makes sure not to get closer. Not just yet.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The bound thug was in no position to bargain. Begging was more his style right now. Lying on the floor encased in a snare arrow with a menacing superhero kind of made negotiation a rather lopsided affair. 

 

"This freak's blood is the source of synthetic. And before you ask, I have no idea who or what he is. Not even a hundred percent sure its a he. Didn't dare look. Seems a bit short of brains though..."

 

"Ugghhh...." mumbled the albino. 

 

"He got dropped off in a truck a week ago. By some boffin. Maybe the freak is some kind of mutant, or has been infected with something. I don't know. AllI know is the boffin paid me to sell synthetic. Paid me, that's right. Get paid by the boffin, get paid by the druggies. No fool is going to turn down a deal that good!"

 

He smiled at his stupid cunning. 

[RocketLord]

ARCHER II

 

Connor frowns again. This all stinks to high heaven. 

 

And this pusher is pissing him off. 

 

"So you drain his blood and drag him along? Gotta be a limit to that. What do you do when your blood bank runs out?" 

 

He has to remind himself that he needs information before anything else.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Thug laughed. "Thats the beauty of it! This Freak never runs dry. You just ply him... I think its a him, anyway, never dared look... with enough protein and iron, keep him fed and watered, and he's keeps churning the blood out! He's like a machine! If you know any vampires, this mutie is the meal ticket of a lifetime!"

 

The albino man started trembling. The cold night air? Or something else?

 

"Look man, I told you all I know. Now cut me loose, man. Have a heart. I got a wife and three, no four kids to feed. I took the gig, got paid, and now you stopped Synthetic hitting the streets. At least from this meatbag. You see any other synthetic, it won't be from me, man, I swear. I'm done with this biz. Its a bit too much on the freaky side of life if you ask me!"

 

The albino's trembling became stronger, more coarse. Drool spilled from his mouth...