Mortal Man's Empire Quest

“You were involved in an incident Mr. Smith, involving two Impossible-Level civilians. The hero known as ‘Ice Queen’ and the villain ‘Thunderstrike’.”

As Detective Ackroyd says their names a flash of the memory returns to you, the emotion of the incident raw, almost as if you were standing right there in front of your pub, watching the fight of godly proportions taking place. Detective Ackroyd describes what happened, but you remember it clearly.

You were closing up the pub for the night. It was a wonderful day. Everyone was gathered in the back garden drinking and having a good time. It was Rebecca’s birthday. She was sat on your lap whilst you enjoyed a beer. Rebecca was having a great time. Rebecca hurried off your lap into the pub after she saw Wendy lighting the candles to her birthday cake through the window. Not a second after Rebecca entered the pub did the incident happen.

A strike of thunder soared down from the heavens punching into the pub, blowing it up from the inside, the resulting shockwave sending all the party-goers shooting backwards. Burnt brick and charred wood splintered across the garden; a thick stick of wood pierced your shin from the front all the way through to the back. You howled in agony, barely able to register what was happening as flashes of thunder, eminating from a single spot in the sky, clashed with a spherical orb of blue frost; with each clash a storm grew larger, and larger, your pub, and everyone inside, crumbling to burnt ashes covered in frost.

At some point you must have lost consciousness. After that you woke in the hospital.

“What was left of their bodies have been identified Mr.Smith” said the Detective, who told you everything you already knew.

“And Thunderstrike and Ice Queen?” you ask.

“Thunderstrike escaped. Ice Queen is currently searching for his whereabouts as we speak.” says the Detective.

“What happens now?” you say.

“There’s nothing we can do except let Ice Queen and the other heroes do what they can to bring Thunderstrike to justice. I’m sorry for your loss.”


“And what if I blame Ice Queen as well? Who will bring her to justice?” you say.

“There isn’t a power on this Earth which could do that, Mr.Smith” says the Detective, “We are sure she did her best to stop this incident from happening.”

The rage starts to build up inside you. It takes all your strength to keep yourself form shouting.

“Both of them. Ice Queen. Thunderstrike. They both used my pub as a battleground for their war. My wife and daughter are dead because of them. And your telling me there’s nothing anyone can do about it?” you say.

The Detective stands.

“I know how you are feeling Mr. Smith. I’ve lost people myself.”

The detective puts a flyer on the table beside the hospital bed.

“I’ll be at these meetings if you need someone to talk to. Until then.” says the Detective. He leaves.

[Three Days Later]
[10am]
[Hospital Ward]

You were told by the nurse you are free to leave by the afternoon. Your going to be confined to a wheelchair for the next three months at least before you’re to start therapy so you can walk on your bad leg again. With some great deal of pain you change into some comfortable clothes from home which a few of your friends took the time to pick up for you. You were barely lucid of them during the time they were sat with you, trying to shake you out of the pit of grief you’ve found yourself in. All you can think of is Ice Queen and Thunderstrike still out there in the world, fighting, destroying lives, unregulated, not brought to justice. You spent your entire life doing the right thing, and for what?

Your new mission in life hits you quietly, as if the answer was already there to begin with, slowly rising from deep down inside you to the surface. Your new mission in life is to put heroes and villains like Ice Queen and Thunderstrike in check. Perhaps you don’t fully realize the scope of your plan, or how impossible it might be for a man who has never done anything in life except run a family business.

You make these vows to yourself:
You will never take a life.
You will never become superhuman yourself.
With the exception of the first two vows, you will do whatever is required to bring the heroes and villains of this world to justice.

The first obstacle to your new goal in life comes in the form of a beautiful twenty-something blonde in a silver-grey business suit and smart black pumps.

She’s all smiles, and offers you a hand, which you shake.

She takes a seat opposite you, taking a moment to draw the curtain to give you both some privacy.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Mr. Smith” she says, “My name is Ann Jennings and I work for the superheroine known as Ice Queen, as well as other heroes filed with my agency. It has come to our attention that you have lost both your business and family in Ice Queen’s battle to rid the world of the villain known as Thunderstrike.”

Ann Jennings takes a check out of her blazer pocket and hands it to you. It’s worth five million pounds.

“We understand monetary matters may not be of issue to you as of right now. However my agency hopes this will help you during these difficult times.”

>Throw the check in her face.
>Pocket the check.
>”What do you want in return?”
>”It’s going to cost you more than five million to keep my mouth shut.”
>Other (dumb responses not fitting with the tone of the quest will be ignored.)

>>19559
>”What do you want in return?”

>>19559
>”What do you want in return?”

I dig the intro but not the whole 'never take a life' bullshit.

>>19559
>”What do you want in return?”
>Other: Don't let her think you care, one way or the other. Don't let her see what's going on in your head.

>>19751
I doubt she cares, She most likely does this with everybody who losses family and/or businesses. A normal human reaction to this is grief/hate/ect so she wouldn't care too much about it logically besides the normal "we so sorry"

>>19559
>”What do you want in return?”

“What do you want in return?” you say.

Ms. Jennings pulls a thick slab of papers from a suitcase. She hands them to you.

“This agreement states you will not divulge any information about the incident to anyone, nor will you slander the name of Ice Queen, or make any public statements which allude to the incident. Mr. Smith, please understand this is not a bribe, my client, Ice Queen, simply wishes to use the resources she has to aid those who have been casualties in the battle she wages against the villains of this world. We feel we are being generous with our offer, and we hope it will go a long way to helping you move on from the incident.”

You wealth of mixed emotions flood your pain-addled mind. You have a decision to make.

>Take the money.
>Decline the money.

And decide how you will do it:

>Be formal and polite.
>Be cold and distant

>>19840
>Decline the money.
>Be formal and polite

Remember guys, shes a fucking lawyer and apparently able to fling millions around. She'd fuck us up in any court room.

>>19840
>Ask for time to read the paperwork.

Legal matters are important to a man who owned a business.

>>19840
We need to consult with legal counsel before considering taking any monetary compensation.

>>19868
>>19840
Definitely this.

Though I'm inclined to take the money. We can just anonymously slander her good name, after all.

“I’m going to need to consult with legal counsel before taking any monetary compensation.” you say. For the first time since you woke in the hospital your focus feels laser sharp.

Ms.Jennings gives you a warm smile.

“Thank you for being open to the idea at least, Mr. Smith. I wish you the best of luck with your recouperation.”

Ms. Jennings hands you her card if you wish to get in contact. Now you have to decide whether you’ll be finding the right legal counsel, or whether that was just you stalling for some time to think. You listen to the clack of Ms. Jenning’s pumps leaving the hospital ward before you leaf through the paperwork.

It’s a minefield of legal babbel, but you get the gist. You’re mouth stays shut for four million. But again, perhaps legal counsel is the best way forward when dealing with an agency able to dish out four million as a starting offer. How much could you have haggled for if you were inclined to?

A nurse is kind enough to arrange a cab for you. When you arrive outside the hospital however you find a TV station van parked outside. This time a portly middle-aged red-headed woman wielding a cup of coffee and a notepad struts confidently towards you.

“Mr. Smith, my name is Sally Jean Jacobs. I work for Sky Coast’s television news. I would like to ask you a few questions about the incident which took place outside your pub three days ago. If you like we may take this to somewhere private.”

>Tell her you’re not taking questions at this time.
>Stop and ask what she knows about the incident, and hint at the possibility you’ll be as open with your information in return.
>Ask what she wants to know.
>Other

>>20033
>Tell her your not taking questions at this time....
>Other: Cover/push away her microphone. "....in public."

>>20033
i'll second this >>20132

>>20033
You uh still here OP?

I see the issue now with this board. Holy fuck.

>>20033
>Tell her you’re not taking questions at this time.

>>20561
Yes, this is just an imaginary issue, though, ask any AQF in the sticky.

OP is still here. I'm going to be updating on a longer timescale for this Quest, seeing as the responses from anons is going to be slower, at least for a while.

>>20942
We're just making sure nothing new broke. My thread watcher doesn't always update /qst/ threads.

“I’m not taking questions at this time.” you say.

The cab you called pulls up next to the TV station van. Sally steps in front of your wheelchair.

“Don’t you think you’re morally responsible to tell the public what you know?” she says.

>”I’m currently detailing with legal agencies which require me to be silent on the matter.”
>Ask for her contact details should you need it.
>Say nothing and get into the cab.
>Other

>>21040
>Ask for her contact details should you need it.

>>21040
>Ask for her contact details should you need it.
>Other: "There may be...legal complications."

>>21040
>>Ask for her contact details should you need it.

You ask for her contact details. She seems a little unprepared for your apparent openess. She gives you her card. You add it to the detective’s flyer and Jenning’s card. With the help of the cabbie you get in the back. The cabbie asks where you want to go. You’re prepared for this, knowing you no longer have a home to go to. You have friends and family you can stay with, and they’ve offered numerous times, but you don’t want to be around anyone right now.

You ask the cabbie to take you to hotel near to where you live. You arrive in thirty minutes. You pay him, and he helps you into your wheelchair then into the hotel. You ask for a room, and they give you one on the first floor. One of the staff help take what few possessions you have to your name and take it upstairs into your room with you. After an hour and a half of leaving the hospital you’re alone in the hotel room with just a TV and your phone for company.

You receive a call from the insurance company in regards to what money you can expect to get from the destruction of your pub. You’re not covered for ‘acts of god’, which is what the insurance company is calling it. They’re offering five hundred grand for the destruction of the pub, when you should be getting what it’s really worth, which is three million.

You could just except the five hundred grand. Or you could dispute it in court, you’ll probably get double that after weeks, possibly months, of legal dispute. Another reason for legal counsel perhaps.

For now you have forty grand in your bank account, enough to keep you afloat in the hotel for some time. However you have other things on your mind; Ice Queen, Thunderstrike, and all the superhumans in the world.

The thoughts you had back in the hospital rise again. Revenge. Seeing Ice Queen and Thunderstrike stood before you, having been brought to justice for the murder of your wife and daughter. But how to get there?

Before you can bring them to Justice. You’re going to need to be informed. Time to start research.

>Research Ice Queen
>Research Thunderstrike
>Research the Superhumans
>Research Superhero History and Culture
>Other

>>21751
>Research Superhero History and Culture
>Other, Call up a legal Counsel and get a meeting arranged because they take for fucking ever.

>>21884
This and we need to find some of the best lawyers out there.

>>21751
? Op

And this was pretty fucking thought out it seemed too. Shame about this board.

Don't be sad OP. This quest has great potential.

Maybe you should try moving it on Akun ?

>>21751
Holy shit OP, this is awesome. We're going Batman on these Superhummus

>Research Superhero History and Culture

Also should we accept the money? We're not going to disclose anything, we're gonna fuck everyone up with a dose of HotsaucePwnage.