Mission:Bear Any Burden (Hero) - Part One: Sustainable Heroes

Part One: Sustainable Heroes

Briefing

Thanks for giving me the time to speak with you, Character. I'm Special Agent Kwahu, a member of the Longbow Spec Ops team, if you couldn't tell by the uniform.

Your help has been requested by some very important people in regards to a sensitive situation. It's on a need to know basis only, so I can only go into greater detail about it if you're willing to lend a hand. Are you in?

This arc contains elite bosses and may be difficult for certain players to do by themselves.

Mission Acceptance

Excellent. Here are some dossiers to give you some background on our persons of interest. Take a moment to read them over. Marshal Blitz has requested an arms summit to negotiate a permanent ceasefire between Warburg and Paragon City. At this juncture, we have no insight into his sudden change of heart or agenda, which makes me think it is a trap. However, if it isn't, then this could be one of the biggest breakthroughs of this decade.

What is of special concern is that Blitz has demanded that he will only speak with Consulate Alexis Cole-Duncan, daughter of Statesman and mother of Ms. Liberty.

I trust now that the political gravitas and its possible implications have set in. Marshal Blitz, madman of the Warburg, wants to meet with Statesman's daughter on enemy territory to strike an unlikely truce. He claims that only she can negotiate a proper treaty and that anyone else will botch it up.

Manticore will accompany her; Statesman has been left out due to several risks of having him there. We are allowed super-powered help outside of the Freedom Phalanx, which is where you come in. We have transport ready for you to go to the conference in Warburg. It will be your job to provide back up, incase the conference goes awry. Make sure you're prepared, as you'll be deep in the territory of Rogue Arachnos.

POI: Alexis Cole-Duncan

NAME: Alexis Cole-Duncan. Daughter of Marcus 'Statesman' Cole OCCUPATION: Former heroine, Miss Liberty. Current occupation is working together with General Howard Aarons as an international consulate for super-powered threats. BACKGROUND: Miss Liberty, the daughter of Statesman and mother of Ms. Liberty, is better known these days by her proper name: Alexis Cole-Duncan. Alexis left behind her life in super-heroics some time ago. Today, she enjoys an active role in superhuman politics. Her old identity as 'Miss Liberty' is used more by her PR team or the media at large than by Alexis herself, who would rather just relegate that part of her past to fond memories and silver-framed newspaper clippings placed along the mantle-- while also understanding the clout and prestige it can bring to bear on certain important functions and international relations. She is nearly 77 years old, but she maintains some form of youth, thanks to the blood of Statesman that runs through her veins.

POI: Marshal Blitz

NAME: Marshal Jason Blitz OCCUPATION: Formal Marshal for Isle of Warburg. Current leader of the 'Rogue Arachnos' BACKGROUND: Marshal Blitz was once the marshal of Warburg, an island in the Rogue Isles that was infamous for its WEB system, which developed extremely powerful missile weapons. Blitz was charismatic and ambitious, thwarting every attempt by 'rogue' heroes to oust the control Arachnos had over the island. Our reports show that Blitz demanded several times that Lord Recluse give the orders to launch the horde of missiles at Warburg's disposal towards Paragon. Recluse denied him each time. When Blitz learned he was dying of cancer, he murdered the governor of the island and took control of it for himself. He attempted to fire warheads into Paragon City, but each was destroyed by several super groups of Paragon City. Lord Recluse has sent in Arachnos troops to deal with the situation, but it has only ended in a stalemate. Blitz has occasionally launched attacks on Paragon and even the Rogue Isles, keeping the people of both in a state of unease. Our latest reports show that scientists in the Rogue Arachnos have performed several extremely risky procedures on Blitz to keep his cancer at bay. It has resulted in some extreme disfiguration; we believe it has also effected the man psychologically.

Unnecessary Solicitation

My team is still waiting for you at Warburg.

Mission Objective(s)

Map: WARBURG_CONFERENCE

This conference hall looks like it was hastily assembled for the arms summit.

• Guard the Warburg Arms Summit
  • Attend the Warburg Conference
  • Keep on your guard during the discussions
  • Defeat Marshal Blitz
  • Fend off the Rogue Arachnos forces!
  • Find Manticore

The villains have captured Miss Liberty!

Enemies

Rogue Arachnos

Notable NPCs

• Marshal Blitz (Rogue Arachnos Elite Boss)
• Manticore (Ally)
• Miss Liberty (Ally)

Conference Dialogue

Marshal Blitz: Shall we begin? -Again-?
Alexis Cole-Duncan: Please, Blitz, let's keep this discussion calm.
Marshal Blitz: CALM?! YOUR - Ahem... your terms are still ridiculous.
Alexis Cole-Duncan: You are the one who called for a complete ceasefire, Blitz.
Marshal Blitz: I know, but YOU are not willing to give enough to continue that ceasefire!
Alexis Cole-Duncan: Perhaps if you were willing to have our negotiations elsewhere, we could give you more ground.
Marshal Blitz: Like Paragon City?! You forget your place, Alexis! You know I would never agree to that!
Marshal Blitz: Or are you just trying to antagonize me?
Alexis Cole-Duncan: This is getting us nowhere. Tell us again, Blitz, your motives behind this ceasefire agreement. Just once more.
Marshal Blitz: I have a better idea.
Marshal Blitz: Let's stop this.
Manticore: Blitz! Don't do anything stupid, not with Character and I here!
Marshal Blitz: By now, all of your escape routes have been secured. You're coming with US, Alexis!
Manticore: This is why we brought back up. Character will take you down while we get out of here!
Marshal Blitz: So, you're Character? Let's see how tough you are!

Battle Dialogue

Jean: Well, it seems this all just became terribly interesting.

At 75% Health:

Marshal Blitz: Hrmph, you're good, but not good enough. Jean, we're leaving, call in the real ambushes!

Jean: As you wish.

First Ambush:

Rogue Tarantula: You heard the orders, take them down!

Second Ambush:

Rogue Tarantula: Corner them!

Third Ambush:

Rogue Tarantula: You're too late, we have the woman!

Manticore

Briefing

Character, they took her! I couldn't stop them! None of us could! He kept bringing in more and more illusions to throw us off!

It was Malaise, but he has to be working for someone else! He's never been able to pull something this big off before! I know that face from anywhere.

I knew Shalice and Liberty were wrong about him; once a villain, always a villain.

• That can wait. Let's get you to the hospital.
• Wait, who's Malaise? (Optional)

Some ex-con that the Vindicators gave a chance at redemption. A psychic. Wayward type. My wife took it upon herself to train him in the use of his powers and to keep him from straying back towards evil.

She swore that he was on the straight and narrow, but I knew differently. Sometimes, I do hate it when I'm right, Character.

• Alright. Now let's get you to the hospital.

Hnh. I can get my own way there. Let's hurry, we've got to get Alexis back.

I've sent orders to Agent Kwahu, we need to get this situation under control, now.

POI: Malaise

NAME: Jean-Pierre 'Malaise' Lourdin OCCUPATION: Villain, former member of the Vindicators. POWERS: Psychic powers, Nightmare Manipulation. BACKGROUND: Malaise began his career as a villain in Europe. He was eventually confronted by Sister Psyche and subdued. Sister Psyche spent months trying to heal his mind and turn him to use his powers for good. Malaise spent several years in the Vindicators, helping the group fight numerous threats, including Lord Recluse's Jade Spider, though he supposedly has had fits of madness during that time. It was believed these fits were anamolies, but recent events would prove otherwise. Agents have been set up to ensure that Malaise does not get into Paragon. Once the situation in Warburg has been settled, the Vindicators will be informed of Malaise's now criminal status. It is believed that Malaise may be the mastermind behind the entire Warburg situation.

Debriefing

Character, I'll be honest, I've never, ever botched an operation so... thoroughly. We've lost nearly all of the Longbow teams assigned to the summit. I've received communication by Manticore for how to proceed. We need to keep this silent, Character. This could turn into a major international incident at any moment.

Nobody can know that Alexis has been kidnapped, especially not Statesman or Ms. Liberty, according to Manticore. Blitz is most likely counting on this, and is ready to launch all of the warheads in the Rogue Isles straight into Paragon if he even begins to feel threatened. We're dealing with a madman, Character, one who isn't afraid to kidnap the daughter of one of the most famous heroes of all time.

It's going to be up to us to get Alexis back and disarm this entire situation. Let's get to work.