04/17/2014
This is the first time that we’ve seen Scapula’s secondary base of operations: a demolished church/reform school out in McLaren Park. I wanted to come up with something slightly more interesting than the usual abandoned warehouse (which is what they were already using, clever boys that they are), so here’s hoping it makes for a spookier setting.
What will happen when Scap’s new gang faces his old one? Find out this Sunday!
Throgdor may think Scap is a creep, but he’s gotta appreciate that he has more armed gunmen than the guys just shooting at him!
I used to think that a lot at my first high school…it wasn’t a happy place.
Judging by the previous recruitment technique Scap utilized for the teens, and the author comment about a “face-off” between the two groups, are we to assume that a second Scapulajugend is to occur sometime in the immediate future?
Or…maybe I just read too much into that. I’m sure that the army of goth-punk teen gangsters and the gang of costumed hoodlums (including one, or possibly two, cannibals) will set aside their differences and get along juuuuust fine.
Perhaps they’ll decide by having some silly contests like “Double Dare” or one of those other Nickelodeon game shows from the 80’s/90’s. That would be radical!
Whatever happens, I am certainly going to note I approve of Toxsick bringing his poison blaster to the meet and greet. In criminal circles there are two ways to deal with weapons…… either you never carry one to keep things from escalating that far (and hope to got you don’t meet any of the REALLY violent ones out there who will hurt you just because they can), or you carry ALL THE TIME. Since these boys are all fighters by nature, profession, and trade, it pays to always have a knife or gun handy.
If there was a showdown, the odds of Scap’s teen squad winning are directly proportional to the amount of room they have at the start. They have a lot of guns, but the SMDL are professional henchmen and they’ve survived a lot. Babirus survived a large rifle round to the skull, Throgor’s just plain nasty and tough and has been beaten on by the very best, Tox isn’t an easy target in a fume cloud, and Tigadactyl’s suit seems to offer at least incidental armor (he was shot down in his first appearance and the occupant survived).
If the kids have enough room to pull some good old American shooting (IE the flak technique….. fill the air with so much lead you hit something!), the SMDL wouldn’t stand much of a chance. if the SMDL were within abut ten feet, they’d still all end up dead but Scap wouldn’t have much if anything left….. possibly including his life. Any closer and the boy scouts would be suffering bad, especially if they get gassed right off the bat.
Of course the point of these situations isn’t to kill people usually. It’s to meet up in a situation where hopefully nobody is dumb enough to pull the trigger first. Let’s face it, Scapula needs heavy hitters right now and these boys are pretty big sticks in the crime world. They by now must realize they’re useless without someone formulating plans. They just have to balance out how much who can get away with. Obviously Scap’s getting better at this…… he’s not being a complete twit to Hypnausea, who he needs to keep his pack of whackos under control.
In this situation I would prioritize getting the SMDL in this order: Toxsick (demolitions skills, poisons, essentially fearless where pissing off the Mob is concerned), Babirus (pilot, unpredictable combatant, extremely good mesh with the horror theme Scap is using), Throgor (because right now Scapula seriously lacks big bruisers…. Sam broke his toy soldiers like toothpicks!), and Tigadactyl (who, while being very useful as a flier and kind of in theme, has poor communication skills and stands out a lot….. though teaching basic stuntman training to the gang would be useful).
A very logical summation of the situation at hand…and, of course, if they still had the Behemoth the whole thing would be over in a nanosecond!
(forgive the lateness of this reply; the tag-team combo of Wondercon and getting sick has gotten the best of me).
We forgive ya, hun. I’d offer to nurse you back to health but so far my technique of ‘pour whiskey down the patient’s throat until they stop griping about feeling lousy’ doesn’t seem to net any significant long term gains.
I lament the loss of the Behemoth, and I hope someday someone dredges it up from the bay if only to show it off as some Scapula-verse historia….. “On this spot at this day, a giant robot brontosaurus with fire breath was defeated!”
Of course, the big question is: How will these events be affected by the influence of Chaos Butterfly?
Ask Brad Guigar…or better yet, ask Jeff Goldblum!
Sweeeeet! Now, the gang’s all here. This is gonna be interesting. I’ve always found it difficult to blend old friends with new friends. It hardly ever works out.