Rock ’n’ Roll

Masks: Heartland Justice, 2024-12-05

launch ceremony

Operation Rock-'n'-Roll: a mission collaboration between NASA and AEGIS to divert an asteroid heading for earth. Exemplars Sledge, Dr. Carmichael, Mist, and Nighthawk to go; Planetar will stay in Chicago
launch ceremony at AEGIS HQ concurrent with rocket launch in Cape Canaveral
40 stories up, on the elevated AEGIS landing pad
Mayor Johnson present, a campaign event essentially, "trust supers, trust me, we'll keep you safe"
as poster children, Heartland Justice is present, and Miles is speaking; Halftime is there too with his own new crew
Agent Rayburn still hasn't returned Abed's call

mosque demo

Just before the ceremony begins, Abed's imam texts to say the mosque is being demolished today after being badly damaged yesterday. Mosque members are there now removing the mosque's things from the building. Diego's primo is on the demo crew.

Patton is holding a campaign event in front of mosque, vowing more accountability for supers, reciting a litany of Heartland Justice and other super failures. From HQ, Diego calls on his alderman, Jose Fuentes, who calls the mosque's alderman, a middle aged black woman, who organizes a counter-protest and a circle of projection around the mosque. From HQ, Abed calls Hashtag to help. Abed also creates a construct, an exact replica of CogX, to crash Patton's party, which Clarke is livestreaming on his phone during the launch ceremony.

Miles speaks. The launch countdown begins.

fake CogX

The fake CogX lands Ironman-style behind Patton, during his speech. Its SkumTech branding is clear. Despite alarm in the crowd and among campaign staff and security, Patton rolls with it. But when the protesters interrupt the speech, Abed instructs the fake robot to overreact to protect Patton.

Just then, an explosion rocks AEGIS HQ. Abed loses control of the robot.

black Void

El Luchador saves bystanders from the huge falling screen, showing the NASA launch. Clarke the Bear catches the screen, protecting many others, and gaining influence over a WGN reporter. The Glint takes the opportunity the chaos offers to leave for his mosque.

Smoke pours out of a hole blown out of the building's side. While Storm and Planetar take charge of securing the dignitaries and civilians, Clark and Diego search for the source of the explosion.

It's the ooze pool lab. Void is face down in the ooze, which has turned into a black tar-like substance. Clarke pulls him free, finding Void too to have become black and tar-like with white-only eyes.

Diego takes Void to the lab's emergency shower which is right beside the gaping hole in the side of AEGIS HQ, 40 stories up. But the stream of water makes Void scream and writhe in pain, even though it does clear the black tar-like substance away from his face and head. Diego turns off the water. Void speaks. His voice (previously like Balky from Perfect Strangers) is now deep, resonant and out of sync with his lips. He says, "Leave me alone."

Diego, deeply suspicious, turns the water back on. Black Void throws Diego out of the blast hole, into 40 stories of smoke-filled air.

coup de grace

Abed steals an AEGIS vehicle and arrives at the mosque/dig site to find pandemonium there too. A campaign staffer and bodyguard are being treated for injuries, apparently sustained when thrown by the robot. Patton's security has surrounded the robot, guns drawn. Other security is leading a resisting Patton away. Abed, stunned, watches from across the street with his imam, mosque members, and protestors.

A shot is fired. It pings off the robot. Then all the security open fire, and the robot begins to rampage.

News cameras still rolling, Patton throws off his protectors, dons a mask--the Zapotec bat god mask stolen from the Field Museum--and leaps at the robot, dealing it a killing blow. Holding its severed head, Patton goes to a news camera and says, "It's a fake! And where is AEGIS!? The Supers must be brought to account."

moment of truth

Clarke bearhugs black Void to keep him under the falling water. At cost to himself, he holds Void there until back up arrives.

Meanwhile, falling, Diego maneuvers in the air and crashes into the glass facade of HQ. Tearing a streak down its side, he manages slow himself to a temporary stop, as the glass is giving way beneath him. Still 20 stories up, he tries punching his way into the building, but fails. He falls again.

(Chris marks potential and unlocks el Luchador's Moment of Truth.)

There's a crowd beneath, at the base of AEGIS HQ. They came to celebrate and participate in the launch celebration. Another giant screen shows the first rocket stage falling away, but the explosion moments before created panic. No one notices. But someone did notice el Luchador falling and called the crowd's attention. For a dozen seconds they watched, gasping and then cheering, and now screaming as he falls again.

But suddenly he's not falling. He's diving.

El Luchador smashes into the sidewalk, throwing dust and concrete into the air. When it clears and the flinching crowd looks back, el Luchador steps out of the crater--cape blowing in the wind, defiant, unharmed, having completely given himself over to the power of the mask.

The crowd mobs him, ecstatic.

fin

Clarke goes to his mentor, Miyagi, who congratulates him for becoming a protector (and shifts his Savior up and Danger down); Clarke spends the rest of the day binging on pizza and video games to recover
Abed turns to his imam, angry at himself for giving Patton this triumphant moment. His imam comforts him. "You did your best. We're all safe. There's no way you could have known what Patton could do. He would've used that power sooner or later."
El Luchador lets himself be swept up in revelry with booze and beautiful women