Episode Three

The session opens with the scene that we left last time – in the Gaza Strip, Seth and Ares square off against Arabic prometheans, Saladin (a telekentic) and Kibbutz (a duplicator). Kibbutz, split many times, opens fire on the media crew and Seth tries to protect them. He uses his invulnerable body to block the bullets, tries to reflect them back at Kibbutz but is then outflanked by Kibbutz’s many bodies. He flies swiftly to protect the press. He then slams Kibbutz and puts him through a wall (stressing him out). Ares tries to tackle Saladin, slowing time to allow him to scale the wall to the TK. Saladin uses his TK to blast Ares off the building and crashes him to the ground (injured stress). Saladin then uses his TK to pull a wall down on Ares (stressing him out). Seth flies at Saladin, ready to take revenge but he too us batted away by the telekentic, throwing him through a building. Saladin gathers his brother and retreats…

(This was our first full on super-on-super multiple character battle. Worked really well…)

Back in the US, Joshua and Thomas watch the horror of the battle unfold in the media, they discuss the personalities of Seth and Ares (providing stress relief for Thomas who had a run in with them last session) and then try to work out just how they are going to spin Ares’ presence – and ruminate on why Seth had accepted the invitation of the Israeli government. Joshua is particularly conflicted by his continued support of BioDynamics and Lab X, considering their concentration on the Ares programme. He ends the scene saying he has ‘made up his mind’ but as to what he is uncertain.

In Israel, Ares and Seth are rushed to a hospital. Ares calls Joshua and asks him to teleport to Lab X and pick up some regeneration compounds (for Stress Relief) but Joshua REFUSES! Ares persuades him that rather than ‘out’ Lab X and BioDynamics as a shady government operation, he should consider them a central part of his business – and plants a subliminal trigger to that effect. Joshua decides he is right and brings the compounds to Ares. However, (complication) the Israeli secret services are listening to this conversation and now know that the USA has a secret super-soldier creation facility. As Joshua teleports through Lab X, he avoids detection and manages to snag a file on Mr Olivier, the head of BioDynamics.

Seth calls Thomas and asks for him to download all available information about his adversaries (setting up his inclusion of his resources in future scenes)
Thomas confronts Joshua and demands that he keep things straight with Jessie (continuing his mission to keep Joshua squeaky clean!) He arms him with chocolates and white roses and sends him to patch things up!

Meanwhile, back in Israel Seth leaves to hunt down Saladin. When he leaves, Masada arrives, followed by a press pack, trashing the hospital and seeking our Seth to get revenge on him for breaking his force field in the United Nations building. He sees Ares and grabs him, pinning him to a wall, demanding he tells him where Seth is – but Ares uses mind control to make him back off and instead of attacking Seth, he sends him to kill Saladin.

When he uses his mind control, he whites out, having a vision through the eyes of someone beating seven colours of snot out of Professor Thorne, demanding that he reveal ‘the secret’. On coming back around he rushes after Masada, is joined by Agent Orange and they, along with the press, get into an Israeli military helicopter to hunt down the rogue prometheans.

As they leave, a Kibbutz replicant is seen in the hospital with a bomb in a bag…

Back in the USA, Thomas meets with an out of work Paige Hopkins (the reporter from Ep 1 who Joshua got sacked). Thomas offers her work – investigating Joshua. She enthusiastically waives her fee. Thomas wants the juicy, secret stuff, not just the starlets. Paige agrees. Thomas also wants to know ‘what he did with his Dad?’!
Worldwide, there is a media explosion as Masada returns in Israel.

In the helicopter, Agent Orange has a very guarded conversation with Ares, trying to feel him out over the complicated situation that is unfurling between the Prometheans, the US Government, the Renegades and other factions such as Prometheans Unbound and BioDynamics. He suggests that those who look like ‘white hats’ might not be that pure, and those cast in the role of terrorists might have other, more acceptable views. He tries to recruit Ares, but comes away with the idea that Ares is recruited … when he isn’t.

[Upcoming crucial scene]

Joshua arrives, by the door at Jessie’s flat and finds her fresh out of the shower, dressed in a towel. She asks him in, but the atmosphere is frosty. Joshua makes one of the worst attempts to say ‘sorry’ that has ever been made by a man, putting his foot in it time after time. Jessie lambasts him for leading her on this sorry dance since she was 15 years old. In order to convince her that he means it this time, Jessie demands some commitment – so Joshua proposes!

No sooner have they embraced, does Joshua suggest that she leaves her position at BioDynamics (By this time, we have worked out that Joshua may well be considering cutting his rogue division loose). However, as he does this the subliminal control of Ares kicks in and he refutes the need to cut it loose as it is ‘an integral part of Thorne Industries’. Ares is clearly protecting Lab X!

He then, in almost relationship suicide, tries to get Jessie to admit who drove her onto national TV to out him as a sex addict but she resists, distracting him with a dropped towel and come-to-bed eyes…

In Israel, Seth discovers the rogue Promethean’s lair and takes on both Saladin and Kibbutz at the same time, dive bombing into the camp. A couple of complications negate the surprise and show Kibbutz communicating with Agent Tempest. Saladin blocks the dive bomb with his TK, but the comms array is destroyed. Seth then uses his super-strength to punt Saladin out of the scene and turns his attention to Kibbutz … only to find Tempest has arrived using superspeed. Seth’s mother BLASTS him with her energy blast and totals him, knocking him away (stressed out). She gathers her men and leaves the camp.

Meanwhile, Saladin sails through the air, past the trajectory of the helicopter. Masada’s ‘kill Saladin’ suggestion kicks in and he grabs the controls of the helicopter, chasing him down as he lowers himself with TK. Masada is using the helicopter as a battering ram, driven by the mind control. Ares stops time prior to the impact and gets himself and Agent Orange off the helicopter before it impacts. A complication kills all of the non-Prometheans on the ‘copter as it slams into Saladin. Saladin is battered and stunned (stressed out) and Masada walks out of the flames, ready to fulfil the order to kill. Ares stands by and lets him smash Saladin’s head into a pulp.

As this happens, Ares whites out again and looks through the eyes of someone talking to Tempest, who tells them that the time has come and the device is in place…

Ares, Seth, Agent Orange and Masada come together again and grab a jeep to make their way back toward home base in Jerusalem. Masada doesn’t overcome the mind control which stops him from attacking Seth.

In the USA, the ‘Man from the Government’ meets with Thomas and they discuss the plans of Prometheans Unbound – a movement dedicated to removing Prometheans from Government control and one that both the Man and Thomas secretly belong to. They discuss why Seth was doing government work and why Ares was there as well. The Man explains that Seth is the media golden child – if he does well, he cannot become more popular and if he does badly he comes back in a body bag and that’s fine too. Ares is another matter – he is being feted as a god in some areas after his return from the dead – a public humiliation like this will help their cause. Something doesn’t sound right for Thomas and he realises that The Man is lying to him. Maybe his beliefs are not wholly in line with those of Prometheans Unbound?

In the background, an agent of Mr Olivier is covering the meeting with a telephoto lens (complication)

Ares, Seth and Masada stand on a hill, overlooking Jerusalem. Thomas is watching the screens in his base. Joshua returns from his night with Jessie to his base and looks at his monitor wall. All programming is interrupted by Tempest who announces that now is the time for Prometheans to ascend to their rightful place and that they are sick of being persecuted and used as weapons. They have asked, now they will show the world their power.

Jerusalem explodes in a nuclear fireball!

Yeah, I went there…

Tag Scene: Joshua looks at the dozens of requests for a comment from the Institute regarding the attack. He sighs and teleports himself and Jessie to a secluded Swiss retreat.

Tag Scene: Seth stalks the irradiated hell of Jerusalem, rescuing people and showing off his new Invulnerability SFX.

Tag Scene: Thomas is in his lair, making notes on the directors of Thorne Industries.

Tag Scene: Ares plays the announcement from Tempest over again and again, not looking at the woman, but rather looking at the shadowy figure behind her. The highly familiar shadowy figure…