AP: Smallville 1.1 - Strange Bedfellows

Pre-Title Scenes
Thomas Jackson (Nigel) uses his stealthy shadow powers to ghost into a locked vault to retrieve a computer file.
Project Ares (Dave) is a witness to a robbery at a liquor store and uses his time stop powers to interfere wurg the crime, pay for his beer and exit the scene.
Seth Adams (Andrew) is partying on top of Thorne Towers (one of the main sets for the game) with the students from his University, cavorting with both the male and female guests in the hot tub.
Joshua Thorne (Ian) wakes up next to a naked actress in his penthouse suite in Thorne Towers, realises he is late for a press conference on the TV and teleports to said scene. He is never late.

Introduction
In a world where superpowered beings are the equivalent of nuclear weapons, tensions are running high. The Prometheans have existed since the 60s until the peace treaties of the late 80s and the age of Promethean decommissioning. Prometheans have their inbuild genetic trigger activated and are depowered. Slowly, they retreat from the world ... until a child is born with Promethean powers. The appearance of Seth Adams and the other second generation Prometheans sends the world into a desperate power struggle. Some states reactivate their Prometheans, some throw theirs into prison camps and others scramble to reestablish their programs. The Americans hand over their program, officially, to the Promethean Institute and Professor Thorne (the superpowered version of Oppenheimer). Officially. Honest...

The game begins as Professor Thorne is expected to speak at a UN Symposium on his progression in the field of Promethean Proliferation and the creation of a genetic trigger for secondary Prometheans

Scenes
Joshua Thorne confronts Professor Thorne about the content of the speech and browbeats him into giving him a copy so that he can read it through himself. (Prof. Thorne given d10 insecure stress)

Thomas Jackson meets with 'Agent Orange', his partner as Prometheus Institute security and plans the security for the UN address, at the Black Bean Coffee Shop (a set in the game) and then the same Agent moves on to confront Ares, who is also at the Coffee Shop. They have a very spikey conversation, as there is no love lost between Orange and Ares. Ares tries to use his time-stop power on Orange at the end, but he cannot. Reveal: Orange is a power-negator! (The players all know, from chargen, that Orange is a double agent, working for the rogue Prometheans... more on them later)

Seth is confronted at college by a girl that he has romanced previously. He brushes her off and is then confronted by her brother who he ritually humiliates in front of a huge crowd and manages to come away smelling of roses. He is a mean and shallow man!

Joshua and Ares discuss the possibility of detaining Professor Thorne somehow, so that Joshua can deliver the speech. They decide to arrange for a liaison with an old flame, using Ares time and mind manipulation powers to help. Thomas uses his shadow meld power to edit himself into the scene and hear everything...
Joshua is the visited by his childhood (and sometimes) girlfriend Jessie, who finds the actresses knickers in his bed and has a very angry break-up with him, screaming her head off and storming through the building. She walks, literally, into Thomas who persuades her to take her story onto Oprah (!) who he just happens to know (Fixer, d12) and she can talk about Joshua's sex addiction and maybe get him help....

Agent Tempest (Seth's mother, the first Promethean, the most powerful still alive and the figurehead of the renegade Prometheans who believe that they should take their place as Gods ruling over men) arrives at the Thorne Penthouse to tell her son to stay away from the Symposium as the Renegades are going to make a statement (there has already been talk of a bombing on the 'net). She tries to persuade him that his place in the world is at her side and he reacts badly. They fight and he nearly beats her, but under the lens' of press helicopters, she smacks him around ... delivering d10 Insecure stress

The next day, Orange summons Ares and Seth and, for reasons that are unknown, tries to get them to argue (exaccerbating their conflicting relationships) over who will be the on-stage back-up to Thorne at the United Nations. Seth grabs the spot and Ares is more than happy to give it to him. Orange is vexed that he cannot get his sport.

Thomas gets on with the actual security work and uses his contacts to narrow down the possibilities to (a) a Promethean who can explode themselves and (b) this might be a smokescreen for something else.
Joshua reinforces Seth's belief in himself in a touching scene of stress relief...

Joshua is then confronted, by video phone, by Paige Hopkins (vitriolic rightwing FOX News style reporter who has been pursuing a line of 'Why are the Thornes now doing MORE to secure America's dominance in Promethean affairs?' for 18 months). She asks him about his work, his impending appearance as a sex addict on Oprah and demands he has an interview with her prior to the Symposium. He uses his Wealthy to create a d6 Useful Detail that he is a shareowner of her company and sees her off with a full on flirtation. (Inflicting d12 Angry!)

At the United Nations
Seth arrives at the UN building to find that hordes of his fans have appeared, bolstered by the blanket news coverage of him fighting the world's #1 terrorist in the middle of New York. Much screaming and fainting.
Thomas takes up his position in the security suite, observing everyone as they move, using the AVRIL computer (from Thorne Towers) to aid in the detection, watching for the exploding female Promethean.
Ares uses his mind control powers on Professor Thorne to take him away to see his old flame (achieved using Mastermind). This works and Joshua has to make the speech in lieu of his missing father. Thomas informs Joshua that his 'plan' is in effect, revealing that he knew about it all along.

Joshua is confronted, from the press pack in the UN lobby, by the FOX reporter who demands her interview, outing him in public as a sex addict. Seth tries to intervene, helping him escape, but they fail and Joshua is grilled, on camera, in the most intense manner. As a complication, however, he later uses his influence with the news organisation to have the reporter sacked.

Meanwhile, everyone is watching the hawkish Israeli delegation (well known for their pro-secondary stance) including the defence minister (who is looking very nervous) and Masada, the Israeli national hero. Israeli minister is seen speaking to Mr Olivier - a fixer and negotiator who works for the NuMen, a group of affiliated interests seeking a private Promethean solution (they have been actively pursing Ares prior to the game)

Seth moves to greet Masada and tests his super strength against the Israeli's forcefield. He wins and the field is fractured slightly. Masada is d12 Afraid - realising that if he is challenged further he will show vulnerability and that would send the rogue Promethean states descending on Israel on their droves. So, a small international incident!

Joshua delivers his speech and announces that Professor Thorne has decided that he is going to retire and cede all control of the Institute to Joshua. (This is, of course, the first time Professor Thorne would have heard of this!) He then announces that the Institute will be ceasing it's studies into the secondary Promethean genetic trigger but that 'together we can make a better tomorrow', sending the room into utter turmoil.

At this point, the bomber is spotted making her way into the room, dressed as a caterer. Seth uses his flight power (he is the only person on the planet who can fly. He's awesome...) to remove the bomber and fly with her into the sky. She then shapeshifts into another, different Promethean form.

Inside, another blonde haired bomber appears, running into the chamber. Thorne teleports to intercept her. Thomas shifts through the shadows to reach her. Ares slows time to reach her first. On the other side of the room, Agent Orange stands and makes a finger-shooting motion, negating Ares power around him, but not around the rest of the room. Ares rushes into the arms of the bomber who explodes, disintergrating him. The explosion is contained by the time stop aura. Ares is gone but the bomber is stopped.

Outside, Seth holds the shapeshifter and interogates him, getting the location of the Renegade camp (South Africa) and then drops him from a great height. Like I said, he is not a nice boy!

Tag Scenes
The press wrap up the situation, showing Seth fighting terrorists for the second time in two days and cementing himself as a national hero. The financials are awash with speculation on the future of Thorne Industries with the shift of power. Inside Thorne, however, there is something more worrying - Thorne has disappeared, never returning from his engineered disappearance. He is MIA. Project Ares ('an unnamed Institute security guard') is feted as the man who saved the United Nations. Thomas, as always, was in the shadows...

Joshua watches his outing on Oprah as a sex addict with quiet interest as he lounges on his bed in his penthouse. The screen flickers and the latest Billboard Top 100 teen starlet of the moment appears, wanting to take him up on his offer of a good time. He accepts and teleports away.

Thomas is drinking at a country and western bar. He is speaking to a man in the shadows, lit only by a smoking cigarette. He tells him that the plan is going well, and the right Thorne is in place now.

Seth is in a high class bar being wined and dined by everyone after his latest heroics. He receives a call from 'The Man from the Government' (the same man that Thomas was talking to above) saying that the Israelis have reported Masada to be out of action (Ares disabled him, using his time stop power and super glue in the lungs!) and they have asked, in light of the special relationship between the two countries, that Seth could be deployed in Israel as a deterrent.

Ares has two tag scenes
In a dark hotel room, Tempest and a number of other renegades sit and take in what they have seen.  Project Ares (remember, he's dead folks...) walks in and addresses them. 'Congratulations, your war has started'
In Laboratory X, a computer notes that Clone 56 has been terminated. Clone 57 activates and a new Project Ares spills out of a green liquid filled gestation tube!

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System wise, we talked afterwards and we realised that
- The players need to 'get on each others tits more' in order to really power some of the conflicts.
- Whilst 'giving in' creates some interesting losing situations, it doesn't help with getting a Growth pool or Stress.
- The game needs the NPCs to be statted well to make them effective.
- We were not using enough plot points to power extra rolls AND extra dice, which again might have made for weaker dice rolls (some were stellar)

From a GM perspective, the game really sang in some cases and could have been done better in others. Thomas, in particular, needs some attention from me to really help him sing. Joshua's addiction to the spotlight and Seth's 'mean girls' act really helped drive some drama. I'm also going to have to watch myself because I stand a horrible chance of getting pet NPC syndrome on Agent Orange. The cool, worldly wise and cynical womaniser and drinker is just too much fun.

In the end though, the real pay off for me is that I have always wanted to run a superhero game again (I ran loads of them when I was a kid) but I have never really been able to get a system which favoured the drama rather than the battle. In this game the drama of the sex addict was as hot as the battle between the superbeings. It was more Heroes than Justice League and that was exactly what I wanted.

Next time.... fallout and escalation!