Mars
"No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water." So begins a famous novel, first serialized in 1897. Ironically, its author had himself engaged in just the sort of speculation he claimed "no one" did, as had a few other writers. But what no one, or at least vanishingly few of the novel's readers, would have believed was that the idea of Martian life was being seriously considered by some members of the British scientific community, some of whom counted H.G. Wells among their associates.
The first shell landed not too far from where Wells' novel put it coming down, and amateur scientists did quickly discover that it was an artificial cylinder. Before large crowds could gather to take in the sight, the cylinder was taken into custody by agents of the government. Eventually, they managed to get it open and discovered that it contained ... absolutely nothing. The hollow shell was clearly evidence that it was the creation of an intelligence, but gave no clues beyond that as to the nature or intentions of its manufacturers. Wells, listening in on discussions, eventually wrote a speculation about what might have happened if the shell had contained travelers from Mars, and what those travelers might be like. He didn't get anything right, of course.
Over the next few decades, as this sort of speculation became more and more common, the Martians continued to launch their shells. Most of them went in the oceans; a few made landfall, only to be snatched up and studied. There seemed to be no point to it. Not even Wells himself took the next step in his speculations, in wondering whether the beings so carefully studying Earth might be studying how humanity responded to the idea that they were not alone in the cosmos. Or perhaps that they were creating a false expectation about how they would come, when they finally did.
In 1962, Mars attacked. Specifically, a flying machine -- vaguely resembling a flying saucer, and definitely demonstrating greater maneuverability than a cannon-launched cylinder -- came down near Duryea, Pennsylvania, and discharged twenty-four Martian soldiers, who proceeded to attack the residents of the town. Two hundred and seventeen people died before the superhero Meteor, in his own flying ship, arrived to launch a counterattack that resulted in the deaths of eight Martians and the retreat of the remainder. Meteor chose to forego pursuit in order to assist in rescue efforts, saving many lives in the process.
The episode, Earth's first true war of the worlds, would be repeated at least once a year over the next three decades, with the Martians assaulting various locations. There was neither rhyme nor reason to their attacks -- they did not target strategically significant locations, and invariably withdrew in the face of any real opposition. Of course, superheroes were by no means ubiquitous, and so it sometimes happened that the Martians were faced with no real opposition. When this happened, the much larger Martian commanders would emerge from their vessels and conduct what seemed to be surveys of the area. Just what they were looking for was not clear, nor have subsequent encounters clarified it.
The question of why Stardust didn't subject the Martians to the same sort of horrific punishments he routinely inflicted on human criminals was actually asked during the first meeting of the Institute. He simply answered, "I do." Further inquiries on the subject were utterly ignored. It would later become apparent that he did, in fact, respond to certain Martian raids, those not interrupted by other superheroes, by utterly annihilating their perpetrators as they returned to Mars ... but that he did nothing to Martians on Mars itself, and, as usual, never tried to prevent the Martian attacks.
As superheroes began to enter retirement, the responsibility for answering the Martian raids increasingly fell on organizations such as the American Joint Special Operations Taskforce, and comparable groups active in other nations. They regarded this task with considerable frustration, as it distracted from their ongoing fight with the Pythonian Insurgency, which they took for granted could never form an alliance with the Martians. The discovery that the Pythons had formed just such an alliance with a group of Ectotronians shook that assumption up, and resulted in some extensive investigations. Sure enough, some of the technology employed by the Pythons during their attack on North Korea seemed to be of Martian manufacture.
Thus, in 1992, nearly thirty years to the day after the Duryea attack, a select group of JSOT personnel, accompanied by troops from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Japan, as well as the second Captain Mystic, launched an assault on Mars itself, specifically on structures discovered in the Cydonia region. Employing advanced and experimental weaponry, they inflicted more damage on the Martian war machine than even the most optimistic projections had anticipated, and suffered stunningly few casualties.
However, they also discovered some disturbing facts. First, the attacks on Earth had not all come from this area, which was only one of perhaps a dozen nations controlled by the so-called Martians. Secondly, the creatures that they were fighting were not, in fact, native to Mars, and were themselves fighting against an insurgency of beings who apparently
were. (The invasion force managed to establish an informal alliance with one group of these freedom fighters, whose name for themselves was the Aqueroddi.) And finally, the so-called Martians had not only allied with the Pythons, they had given them a connection to an interstellar criminal organization active in the Technate, and were planning to evacuate the Pythons' remaining leadership off Earth.
This was ultimately prevented, but the consequences included Captain Mystic's apparently permanent departure from Earth to travel to the Technate, as well as the ultimate dissolution of JSOT after its leadership sought to expand their operations to handle such interstellar threats, and to offer further support to the Aqueroddi. This in turn would lead to the formation of Argus, and all that has come from that. At that particular moment, however, humanity had managed to convince the 'Martians' that sending raids against Earth was no longer in their interest, and it has been nearly thirty years since the last one.
That may, however, be an eyeblink in the viewpoint of beings with intellects greater than man, and yet as mortal ...
Martian Soldiers -- PL 7 / MR 5
Abilities:
STR 0 |
STA 1 |
AGL 1 |
DEX 2 |
FGT 3 |
INT 0 |
AWE -1 |
PRE 0
Powers:
Exosuit: Immunity 10 (life support); Impervious Protection 6; Leaping 4 (250 feet); Removable (-5 points) - 21 points
Short: Permanent Shrinking 4, Innate - 9 points
Advantages:
Equipment 6.
Equipment:
Blaster Pistol (Ranged Damage 5, Accurate), Blaster Rifle (Ranged Damage 8)
Skills:
Athletics 4 (+4), Close Combat: Unarmed 2 (+5), Expertise: Military 4 (+4), Intimidation 4 (+2), Perception 4 (+3), Ranged Combat: Guns 4 (+5), Stealth 0 (+5).
Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +5 (Close Damage 0)
Blaster Pistol +8 (Ranged Damage 5)
Blaster Rifle +6 (Ranged Damage 8)
Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 6, Fortitude 5, Toughness 7/1, Will 4.
Totals:
Abilities 14 + Powers 30 + Advantages 6 + Skills 11 + Defenses 14 = 75 points
Complications:
Destruction--Motivation. Subject to Orders. Weakness (becomes drunk in Earth-like atmospheres).
Martian Masterminds -- PL 9
Abilities:
STR 8/0 |
STA 6/-2 |
AGL 1 |
DEX 3 |
FGT 4 |
INT 6 |
AWE 5 |
PRE 0
Powers:
Death Ray Gun: Ranged Damage 9, Accurate 3; Easily Removable (-8 points) - 13 points
Exosuit: Permanent Growth 8; Immunity 10 (life support); Protection 3, Impervious 7; Speed 4 (30 MPH); Removable (-8 points) - 32 points
Telepathic Commander: Selective Area Communication 3 - 18 points
Advantages:
Eidetic Memory, Language 1 (any one Earth language).
Skills:
Expertise: Science 8 (+14), Intimidation 8 (+12), Perception 8 (+13), Technology 8 (+14), Vehicles 8 (+11).
Offense:
Initiative +1
Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 8/0)
Death Ray Gun +9 (Ranged Damage 9)
Defense:
Dodge 6, Parry 7, Fortitude 8/0, Toughness 9/-2, Will 10
Totals:
Abilities 34 + Powers 63 + Advantages 2 + Skills 20 + Defense 21 = 140 points
Complications:
Power--Motivation. Weakness (dies in Earth atmosphere).
Others as Needed.
Aqueroddi Freedom Fighter -- PL 8 / MR 8
Abilities:
STR 5 |
STA 4 |
AGL 2 |
DEX 5 |
FGT 5 |
INT 1 |
AWE 2 |
PRE 1
Powers:
Massive: Enhanced Strength 1, Limited to Lifting; Impervious Toughness 4 - 5 points
Multi-Armed: Extra Limbs 3 - 3 points
Advantages:
All-out Attack, Chokehold, Diehard, Equipment 4, Fast Grab, Fearless, Improved Aim,
Improved Grab, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown.
Equipment:
Body Armor (Protection 3), Rifle (Ranged Damage 5, Accurate, Extended Range 3, Improved Critical), Long knife (Strength-based Damage 2, Improved Critical)
Skills:
Athletics 4 (+9), Close Combat: Knife 4 (+9), Expertise: Military 6 (+7), Intimidation 8 (+9), Perception 6 (+8), Ranged Combat: Rifle 4 (+9), Stealth 6 (+8), Technology 6 (+7).
Offense:
Initiative +2
Rifle +11 (Ranged Damage 5, Crit 19-20)
Long Knife +9 (Close Damage 7, Crit 19-20)
Defense:
Dodge 7, Parry 9, Fortitude 7, Toughness 7/4, Will 6
Totals:
Abilities 50 + Powers 8 + Advantages 13 + Skills 22 + Defenses 16 = 109 points
Complications:
Freedom--Motivation. Weakness (becomes drunk in Earth atmosphere).
Others as Needed.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."