ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Winner: HERO)

[Master Mew]

​

With the help of her freshly-cloned Faceless Goons, the Villain of recent notoriety Icira Witherflame has constructed a massive fortress in an isolated part of the USA. Seeking to test the local superheroes, she has sent a letter to a Superhero of recent fame: The Illusion, which reads as follows:

Dear 'The Illusion,'
I have constructed an evil fortress of doom in the vast expanse of wasteland we all know better as the State of Kansas (OOC: A little GM humor thrown in there). As a test of wits and endurance, I have decided to invite you to try and "storm the castle", if you will. Your goal is to successfully reach my office and apprehend me. The game is best played alone, but I suppose I can't stop you from bringing teammates if you wish.

Enclosed, you will find an ear-mounted communication device. I promise it isn't a tracking device—you can have it examined if you don't believe me. Should you get lost in my fortress, I can offer you hints and advice through this device. Be warned—as I am and always will be a villain, there may be times when I will try to steer you in the wrong direction. It is up to you to decide when those times are.

I look forward to meeting you and wish you the best of luck in this game.

Yours truly,
Icira Witherflame​

Notes: The walls of the fortress are indestructable by nature, so no funny business ;-)

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"I can't believe I'm doing this," John, AKA 'The Illusion' said, looking up at the towering fortress. "First a tyrannical goddess and now a giant, indestructible castle. Why can't I get stuck with one of those doofus villains they always show in comic books?" With that, he walked up to the front of the fortress.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

The place certainly seemed stereotypical enough from the outside—a large, imposing structure surrounded by a moat with a wide stone bridge leading to the main gate. Above the gate was a neon sign which read "Icira Witherflame's Fortress Funhouse: Test Your Wits" with a smaller sign below that which read "Vacancy". Don't ask.

Also above the main gate was the structure's sole security camera, through which Icira was able to confirm The Illusion's arrival. Unfortunately, it appeared as though he had neglected to fix the comm device to his ear, so communication was out of the question at the moment....

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

John, remembering the earpiece he had refused to put in, fastened the device to his ear and waited. It seemed relatively strange that an infamous supervillain wanted to test his wits, but at least she was somewhere in there, waiting to be captured.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

Icira smirked and made her first communication.

"So, I see you decided to accept my challenge," she said. "Good form. Your first task will be getting inside."

She paused to let him register that, then went on.

"The front gate is locked. What is the first thing you think to do?"

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

A key immediately appeared in John's hand, and he attempted to unlock the gate. Upon discovering that it didn't work, he scowled and summoned a sledgehammer.

Fifteen seconds later, John was in the gate, bits of metal and a short link of chain lying on the ground.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

Except there was nothing beyond the gate but a solid wall.

"You fell for it!" Icira cackled in The Illusion's ear. "I can't believe it! Don't you ever go to the movies? The hero never waltzes through the front gate!"

After taking a moment to collect herself, Icira finally made the decision to point The Illusion in the right direction.

"Now, if you step back and look to your right, you'll see a thin ledge running along the outer wall for no reason. Shimmy along this ledge until you come to an open window. Try not to fall in the moat—you won't die, but you'll stink for days."

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"Y'know, I'm going to strangle you after I get through this." John leapt nimbly onto the ledge, continuing on until he arrived at the window. Materializing a smoke bomb in his hand and throwing it into the room, John sprang into the smoke.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

....and right into a contingent of Faceless Goons.

"I hope you didn't just leap through the window," Icira said, unable to actually see what was going on. "I've got a bunch of Goons patrolling down there. They're not the smartest creatures in the world, but they're not the easiest to kill, either. The moral of this story: LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP."

There were, in fact, about twenty Goons stationed here. The smoke did confuse them a bit, but they were aware that something was off, and were now actively searching for the center of the disturbance.

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

Two more smoke bombs went off, plunging the room into a flurry of gas and movement and John searched for an exit. Every once in a while he would toss one into the wall, and the group would most likely go and look in the completely wrong area.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"There's a door at the north end of the room," Icira informed him. "It's unlocked, so just go on through."

Meanwhile, the Goons just kept stumbling around, grabbing each other several times thinking they had captured the intruder.

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"And why are you telling me this?" John whispered, low enough that the Goons wouldn't hear. He strode through the smoke to the door, opened it, tossed a smoke bomb in, and peered around the edge to look for possible dangers.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"To get you away from the Goons, you silly-ass," Icira replied. "Make sure you close the door behind you so they don't follow. There is literally nothing in this room—in fact, it would be a dead end....if not for the convenient entrance to the ventilation shaft on the north wall. Don't you just love the old vent shaft cliché?"

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

Looking from side to side to confirm Icira's statement, John climbed into the air vent and began to crawl through it.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"If you do it right," Icira went on, "you should find yourself emerging in a deserted hallway. Proceed east until you hit a wall, then make a left turn. From there, proceed north until you hit another wall, then make another left turn. Finally, proceed west. You'll come to a T-junction. Just keep going west—the left turn leads to a dead end. Once you've hit another wall, you'll find yourself at another T-junction. To the north is the path to the main power core, while to the south lies one of the many armories. If you stand directly in front of the armory door, there will also be a path leading further west. Which way do you choose?"

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"Err... Mind repeating that?" John asked, emerging from the air duct and into a deserted hallway, just like Icira had described.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

Icira sighed.

"Just follow the hallway, take two left turns, skip the third. The fourth is fair game, but there's a right turn there as well. Left to the armory, right to the power core. From the armory door, there's another right turn. You pick which way you want to go. Got all that?"

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"Yeah," John said, running through the direction in his head before sprinting down the hall.

Ten minutes later, John had reached the point where the hall split in two directions. Deciding on the right, he turned and began walking towards the power core.

 

[Glitchipedia]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"If you're going right," Icira said, "and I'm pretty sure you are, you'll hit another wall in a second and you'll need to turn right again. Then proceed forward until you hit another wall, at which point you have to turn left. Proceeding into the next hallway, you'll hit another wall, turn left and....ooh, goody, you've found my bottomless pit traps!"

Four large sections of the floor were missing in this hallway, leaving rather wide gaps which led to a seemingly endless abyss below.

"Let's hope you've got strong legs. Even I have trouble jumping over these. Oh, and you'll want to watch out, there's a log that comes swinging out of the ceiling to try and knock you off-balance."

 

[-Gray-]

Re: ROGUES GALLERY: Bound in Ice (Glitchipedia & -Gray-)

"How do you even make a bottomless pit trap?" John asked, approaching the traps and jumping the first one. As he went, he looked towards the ceiling to be prepared for the log.