Episode #3: Recap

The Battle for Peche Island

(4.21.06--Friday Night)

In the aftermath of the battle at the microwave plant on Peche Island, the Replacements plan strategy with a team of adolescent heroes, the Next Gen. The Steel Serpent threatens to incinerate the island by draining coolant from the plant’s energy cells.

Feral Cat rejoins the other characters and the team mounts a frontal assault on the plant’s control room. The Replacements handily defeat the Steel Serpent, his three snakemen—Adder, Python, and King Cobra--and VIPER heavy weapons agents. Feral Cat observes that the snakemen may well be the handiwork of the man who oversaw the project that granted him his powers, Dr. Moreau.

Cypher gains control of the plant’s central computer and prevents the destruction of the island.

Gumshoe and Dementia interrogate the Steel Serpent. Gumshoe’s quick thinking and reflexes prevent the villain from taking his own life by means of a cyanide capsule hidden in a false tooth. The Steel Serpent discloses the location of the Steel Citadel on the condition that the Replacements go there immediately and battle members of the War Machine, who have invaded the base. The team agrees and enters the Citadel by means of the elevator of a downtown office building, Regent’s Tower.

The Steel Citadel

At the Steel Citadel, the Replacements find that members of the War Machine and the shadow army have incapacitated the small garrison of VIPER agents not involved in the battle for Peche Island, and are now nowhere to be found. Inside the base they find labs, a dock/garage with damaged submarine/speedboat vehicles, and armories which have been looted of weapons. Cypher downloads data from Serpentine, the Citadel computer.

The heroes consider destroying the Citadel, but decide instead to use it as their new base.

Damage Control

(4.22.06 – 4.29.06)

For a week, Millenium City struggles with the aftermath of the Peche Island attack—as transformers are repaired, power is eventually restored to almost all parts of the city. Fires are extinguished, looting is halted, and things begin to return for what passes as normal in the city.

The heroes also help the city through the crisis—Cypher lends her powers and extraordinary mechanical and computer skills to city engineers, helping to get the power grid back on line; Feral Cat helps the disadvantaged residents of the YMCA in the theater district where he works and “discourages” any potential looters in the neighborhood; Dementia uses her telekinesis to aid in rescue efforts and her other powers to relieve pain and soothe the traumatized; Gumshoe lends his investigatory skills to the MCPD to locate missing people and solve some of the many crimes of opportunity that occurred during the blackout (e.g., robberies, arsons).

An early news editorial suggests that the city may have found a group of heroes who could replace the Champions as defenders of the city. Other papers soon begin referring to the heroes “The Replacements.” The name, fortunately or not, sticks. Another editorial page lampoons the suggestion that this new team could ever replace the Champions. The author derisively refers to the group as “The Benchwarmers.”

I Did It My Way . . .

(4.30.06--Sunday)

At the invitation of Sen. John Maxwell (formerly Captain Freedom), the Replacements attend a meeting of city and federal officials at a branch office of the Department of Superhuman and Paranormal Affairs. The officials try to convince the heroes to become a government sponsored superhero team in return for a salary, police powers, use of the Steel Citadel as their headquarters, and a working prototype of a stealth jet/submarine (the Devil Ray).

Desiring to retain their autonomy and informal style of operation, suspicious of government oversight, and uninterested in taking on the role of civic celebrities and public role models, the team refuses.

Victor Bashang, regional director for PRIMUS politely informs the Replacements that they are being evicted from the Steel Citadel.

The Replacements agree to continue working together as a superhero team, but to do so on their own terms . . .