4253/Dead Men Tell No Tales

Dead Men Tell No Tales
Date of Scene:	30 November 2020
Location:	Hob's Bay
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Winslow Schott, Lois Lane, Clark Kent

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Winslow Schott has posed:
Old Raymond Beldingford was a member of one of the oldest families in Metropolis. His family first made their fortune in the 1700s as whalers, but then switched their trade to cosmetics in the early 1900s. Now known as "Metropolis' Cosmetics King", Raymond Beldingford was now happily retired from his own company, which was now being run by his son Bruce. Raymond however, still kept up one trait of his that earned him great popularity, his elaborate parties. Every year, Raymond would host themed parties for Metropolis' upper-crust as fundraisers to aid Metropolis' less fortunate. This year's party was oddly enough, a masquerade party where you were expected to show up dressed up as Eighteenth century nobles and sail around Hob's Bay in Beldingford's private yacht. This was, of course, Raymond's way of celebrating his family's "humble past".

The Daily Planet, after years of trying, were finally able to get the Beldingford family's permission to have press coverage for this prestige-filled event. Perry White, of course, ended up sending Lois Lane, one of his best reporters, to cover the event. The party seemed to get off without a hitch, with members of Metropolis' high society rubbing shoulders with each other, chatting about business, dancing, or just enjoying the rather immersive theme that Beldingford must've spent a fortune to accomplish. As the night drew on, the donation bin in the center of the ball room seemed to get fuller and fuller. By the time night feel, the poor bin looked ready to burst with how much money it held, then shit hit the fan.

At first, it began with the sighting of a bizarre sight approaching the Yacht. It was a wooden pirate ship that looked like it was seemingly ripped out of time and placed in the middle of the cold Atlantic ocean in the tail end of November. At first, everyone assumed it was one of Beldingford's gimmicks and were amused, then the cannonballs started flying. Within a few moments, the seemingly archaic ship caught up with the yacht and began to attack it. Soon, the ship's crew boarded the vessel and this is where we are currently at.

Beldingford's yacht was on fire. Screams of panic, fear, and the occasional yelp of pain filled the air as the sounds of cannon fire filled the air. The pirate ship crew were, of course, pirates. They were dressed as if they were ripped straight out of a kid's storybook, with tattered shirts, bandanna's, and cutlasses and flintlocks galore. Most of the passenger's had, of course, evacuated via the lifeboats. Unfortunately, Lois Lane and Beldingford himself were not so lucky and were currently tied to the mast and forced to watch as groups of the pirates plundered Beldingford's yacht, while the rest started to celebrate their new found wealth by drinking, dancing and singing in a surprisingly choreographed fashion. Beldingford, the only man dressed in a tuxedo, was currently breathing heavily, eyes wide open as he watched his yacht burn.

Lois Lane has posed:
One of the most boring assignments of the year had suddenly turned into the best story she had in weeks. The only catch? Lois wasn't quite able to pull out her phone to record the whole thing or take notes. Her hands were tied behind her back and slender form firmly secured to the mast of this strange ship and the most surreal robbery she's ever witnessed in her life was taking place as she stared on. Lois might have been able to escape from their kidnapping if she hadn't had at least a whole bottle of champagne and several glasses of scotch to herself. If she was going on a boring high society assignment, she was going to enjoy herself!

While she's not exactly dressed up like Wendy, the simple, late 17th century gown she wears definitely has echoes of the girl's style. It's a pale blue with an almost scandalously low cut, square neckline, puffed little sleeves, and an empire waist trimmed in white lace. It then falls straight down across her slender legs and hips with a slim cut out of the blue at the front to expose her white under dress. It's the most tasteful rental she could get, makes her look entirely more innocent than her normal self, and was now getting uncomfortably cold tied up against that wooden mast.

"Mr. Beldingford, just stay calm. I'm certain we'll get out of this just fine and your insurance is going to cover your yacht..." Lois' now only slightly tipsy voice reassures the man. She's trying not to panic herself, as her small hands gently start trying to fight with the ties around her wrists.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark Kent is on a boat.

Having done something to slight his editor, Clark had been bum rushed into covering yet another themed society party, this one's theme being 'we're on a yacht' as far as he could tell. He adjusts his white suit, figuring he could always claim to be Mark Twain if anyone asked. No one did. Lois was supposed to come along as his...buddy, to make the night go a little faster, or at least more interesting. Clearly something came up, he thought, idly listening in on a conversation between a city councilor and his 'good friend' from Aetna, taking a few notes in shorthand. Downing a handful of...

"Chorizo in a blanket? Sakes, these city folk." Clark mutters as they ruin a perfectly good party staple. And then a literal cannonball blows up the buffet table, ruining Clark's suit. He breathes, slowly, through his nose, moving most of a shrimp cocktail off of his face as he sees the singing, robotic pirates looting the yacht.

And there's Lois, tied to the mast. Clark smiles, a little. "Winslow. Guess Arkham didn't help." Clark takes his glasses off and starts to unbutton his shirt...

...and there's a rush of wind above the scene! A terrible icy squall blows across the bridge of the yacht, snuffing out fires while also propelling the escaping civilians closer to the safety of the harbor patrol. "Say Wendy Darling!" Booms a voice from the localized weather event finally slowing down enough to be seen; Superman on the bridge of the yacht, arms crossed over his chest, cape waving in the wind. "If I untie you, will you help me find my shadow?"

Winslow Schott has posed:
The icy squall and the fires suddenly going out seem to get some of the crew's attention. Suddenly one of the pirates on the ship, a rather short, fat man spits out his glass of rum and says in a piratey accent over the singing of the non-reacting crew,

"Davy Jones' Locker! It's Superman! Prepare ta repeal borders lads!"

As he said this, the pirates suddenly stopped singing, dancing, and drinking. Suddenly, the sounds of buzzing was heard and bullets started to fire at the Man of Steel. However, instead of toy airplane, the source of the bullets were robotic toy parrots, who fired the bullets in-between squawks. At the same time, minature pirate ships emerged from the main pirate ship and began to fire miniature cannonballs at Superman. Suddenly, a door behind Superman opens, revealing a tall, lanky pirate wearing a tattered yellow shirt. He gapes for a minute before charging at Superman and trying to decapitate him with a sword, only for it to break instantly against Superman's neck, leaving the obviously human pirate dumbfounded.

As all of this is happening, one of the other pirates, a more richly dressed man with a hook hand stomped towards Lois and Beldingford and pulled out a dageer. He sneered at the duo and said,

"Don't ye scallywags try anythin. Or i'll gut ye like a fish!"

Lois Lane has posed:
Blue eyes go a little wider as Lois sees that hook on the man's hand. Sure, it was ridiculous, but it also looked quite sharp and like it might actually be able to gut them, or do some severe damage while trying. She stiffens just a bit at the thing, her fingertips pausing on her rope ties for a moment, but then she goes back to it just slower. She's trying to make certain she's not seen, but the arrival of Superman does get a slight slump of her shoulders in relief. She cannot help by smile as she watches his cut, muscled frame across the deck.

"I'll help you find more than your shadow, if you get us out of here, Superman!" Lois calls across the chaos of the crowd, pirates, and fight that is daring to start. It was perhaps a little more flirtatious than she planned to let out in front of a crowd, but she's had a lot of champange tonight and is practically drunk on relief. "Superman! Behin-!" She starts to call, but the sword just bounces off his neck. She exhales in relief again. She should have known, but was worried.

Clark Kent has posed:
Human agents. That's a new wrinkle in the Toyman's M.O. that makes Superman frown, a bit, even as he gives the clearly terrified pirate a once over. He's been fooled by Schott's designs before, which could make actual humans sprinkled into the usual array of robots a problem. Worse still, who knows what kind of unusual weapons Schott's given his lieutenants! The little man gets a quick x-ray scan, Superman looking for any sort of odd looking toy or trinket that Schott could've turned into a miniature WMD.

Then he leans in, just a little. "Where's your boss?" Superman asks, pleasantly. He's caught the larger part of the broken sword, and proceeds to use his hands to squeeze the deadly blade into a crumpled little ball, as though it were made of paper, before tossing the weapon overboard. "I really don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Shoot." The 'captain' starts threatening people. "Tell you what, son, turn yourself in alright?" Superman says, patting the human pirate on the cheek and kicking off into the air.

"Avast you lubbery codfish!" Superman bellows, figuring playing along with the Toyman's game will buy them all time. Is it Schott? He usually shows by now, Clark thinks, scanning the ship with x-rays in hopes of finding an engine, hidden weapons, and maybe Toyman or a robot commander. "You've better prey to chance than two landlubbers, aye? Or would you deny your captain the hide of his worst foe, Peter Pan?!"

Superman winks at Lois and the old man, sending an invisible ray of heat to weaken their ropes while he keeps 'Captain Hook' busy.

Winslow Schott has posed:
The pirates all look at Superman in shock, all except the scared looking one for earlier, who faints immediately after Superman flies off. Hook does not notice the ropes slowly burning off by themselves, instead he, like all the other pirates, are transfixed with fear. Superman's X-Ray vision reveals that half of the pirate crew are robots, while the other half are human. There is also an image of a engine at the very bottom of the pirate ship. There is also, one more room, but it's surrounded by lead, making it very hard to see through. However, there is no evidence of Schott even being on board the ship. Suddenly, a very loud, and very booming voice shouts out,

"Foolish knight of King Flare! That be not the Captain! I am the Captain!"

The Ship started to shake as booming footsteps filled the air and the human pirates turned towards the lead-covered room, which was labeled as Captain's Quarters with grins. Suddenly, the door breaks open, revealing a tall, 10ft tall Minotaur! It's body, while very realistic looking, still looks somewhat like a action figure. Yep, this is definitely Schott's design. Suddenly, a thick mist rolls out of the pirate ship, followed by what can only be described as Mermaid's singing. Suddenly, a very familiar, holographic face appears in the middle of the Fog. The face is of a fat, short, middle aged man with slightly long brown hair wearing glasses that covered blue eyes. This face could only belong to one man, Winslow Percival Schott, AKA The Terrible Toyman. The Toyman's face seems to smile widely before suddenly shouting out,

"Superman! It's been bloody two years since we last saw each other! I've been retired in Bermuda in case you were wondering. No, I didn't bring you anything back, sorry."

Suddenly, the face turns towards Lois Lane, and Schott beams at her while saying," Lois Lane! It's been too long! How's the family!?"

Lois Lane has posed:
Lois might be tipsy, but she's not so drunk that she misses the sly look that Superman gives the rope and the flash of heat there. It's not enough to make it drop immediately, but Lois certainly knows what's going on. She shifts her body a bit, to move closer to the weakness in the rope he created. Her voice drops lower, a quick whisper to the rich man at her side. "Superman is here now. We'll be *fine.* Just act like you're still trapped, alright? Give him time to handle this." It's like Lois has some experience being saved by the red and blue clad super hero, enough that she knows the best way to navigate a rescue without making his life harder.

As the ship is shaking with those booming steps, Lois' pale eyes jerk away from the work on the nearly snapped rope, and towards the rolling mist. "...what... In... *Hell*..." She mutters beneath her breath, especially as he recognizes her. Of course, she remembers him, but after two years she'd hoped he was dead and gone. She stops with the rope, jerking up a gaze in his direction and a stiff, strange smile.

"You know, Schott, if you want this published tomorrow, maybe let me and the old man out so I can get some photos? Family is... the family. Dad's still a big wig General. Still gonna be pissed if you hurt me here, so... Maybe just let us go and pretend this didn't happen?" She smiles a bit more, in her Wendy-blue dress which does not match the sardonic nature of her voice.

Clark Kent has posed:
A ten foot tall minotaur.

"You're still upset about the cartoon, huh?" Superman says, and shoves 'Hook' away from the hostages. You never knew how homicidal the Toyman was feeling, and he wasn't going to take chances with innocent lives. "It really did fall apart after the second season, I hate to say." Superman pauses, and looks to Lois and the old man, realizes he has no way to explain this without giving away his identity, and just shrugs a bit sheepishly.

Okay, priorities: the robot is clearly here to slow him down, and that lead lined room is a clear indication of trouble. Superman gives kind of a head nod to Lois, indicating the lower hold. Not that he's encouraging her to sneak off and find the Toyman's secret, that'd be dangerous.

Clark just has absolute confidence in Lois, he supposes, as he steps forward to take Winslow's bait.

"You know, that's not what I hear. I hear you've been slumming it in New York, arching that new kid in the spider onsey." Superman says, looking up at the great Minotaur, cracking a knuckle, and sending a vicious right jab right for the machine's chest. "I kind of wonder why, to be honest."

Winslow Schott has posed:
The Robot is hit by Superman's blow and flies into the ocean. However, instead of a easy victory, the minotaur comes flying out of the ocean, snarling with anger as it floated above the waters with what appeared to be jets of flame underneath it's hoofs. Suddenly, it goes flying straight towards Superman, hitting him with the combined pressure of over 500,000 hydraulic presses. This thing was obviously built to fight you. Meanwhile, Schott just groans and says,

"My Precious Unicorn was the first toyline I made that children absolutely adored. Henderson made a fortune with my genius, and the cartoon, while I do admit became rather dodgy after a while, especially after I left the company, was a labor of love for me and Maria!"

Maria, of course, was Maria Dawes, Schott's former co-worker and the one who helped him revive MPU for the second generation. Schott's face suddenly shifted to one that was more sorrowful as he said,

"They recently made a 3rd generation. I wish i could've been involved. But no! Dunhill, may he rot in hell, had to ruin my toys!"

This, of course, was referring to Toyman's long standing feud with Lex Luthor, who had purchased Schott's designs from one Dunhill, and turned them into weapons. Schott then continues,

"The very robot you fight is Captain Bones, Captain of the Black Heart" pirate fleet,"

Schott pauses a bit, and adds," Sorry for a lack of a fleet. I only had time to build one ship."

He then sighs as he says," It was not my intention to encounter the Wall Crawler. I just came out of retirement and he stopped me from acquiring parts from that lab. I only encountered the lad twice!"

As all of this is happening, no one seemed to be paying attention to Lois.

Lois Lane has posed:
As Superman is doing a grand job of distracting Schott, Lois realizes this is her chance. She jerks one arm forward, snapping the restraints easily. She catches them carefully so the sound of them falling to the deck doesn't alert anyone. She looks to the old man at her side. "Move slow and quiet. Stay against the wall, in the shadows, preferably out of that... projection's sight. Try to get off the ship if you can. I need to look into some things." Adrenaline is cutting through the lingering haze of booze at the back of her mind and, now, she feels sharper than ever.

She turns her eyes in Superman's direction, just a moment, and gives him a faint nod. He might not see it, but she wants him to get that she's picking up what he's put down. Carefully, she steps through her own personal restraints that were around her back, wrists together, bringing them in front of her. She can deal with hands together in the front of her body. Now, far more mobile, she begins to creep towards that lead lined room. She's moving slow and low, trying not to draw attention to herself. But she'll make quick work of the door when she gets there, pushing herself inside.

Clark Kent has posed:
"And I suppose you picked this target out of a hat." Superman says, and is then punched in the face by a children's cartoon character. "You're up to something, Toyman! Oh the robot's waterproof huh..."

Superman is knocked off of his feet and slides across the deck, smashing through at least one robot pirate and a barrel of rum. Groaning, the Man of Steel gets to his feet, brushing himself off. "Tickles." Superman says, doing an x-ray scan of the machine to try to get a feel for its insides. Maybe if he can find a weak point...

He doesn't LIKE sending Lois into danger, Lord knows she found enough of it herself...but Toyman's clearly got a longer ranged plan here, and if he's busy watching Superman fight his killer robot, he's not looking at Lois. Superman moves at Captain Bones, trying to wrap his arms around the beast's waist in hopes of locking its arms up.

Winslow Schott has posed:
The room Lois found herself in appeared to be some sort of control room. There were over a dozen camera monitors monitoring every part of the ship, each of them seemed to be in the POV of one of the Robo-Pirates, unfortunately, none of them seemed to control the Minotaur. There was also a chair with it's back to Lois. Lois could see the head of one of the human pirates sitting at the chair, watching the screens and oblivious to her presence.

You manage to lock the beast's arms up, however, the monster suddenly snarls once again and leaps into the air and tries to crash down onto the hard wooden floor on his back, with Superman still on it. Toyman meanwhile, shakes his head and says,

"Oh, no, no, this wasn't random at all. Mr. Beldingford has quite a large amount of money on that ship. Toys aren't cheap you know." Toyman then chuckles as he says that.

Lois Lane has posed:
"What the hell..." Lois mutters to herself, as she steps into the room and sees someone in the chair there. She's not interrupting the person watching yet, trying to get as much information about the scene as possible. She pulls up her phone, out of the little, hidden pocket on the side of her dress, and just starts recording an entire panoramic shot of the place inside.

After she gets as much visual evidence as possible, she then creeps up behind that chair and, hands already firmly tied together, whallops her hands (and the corner of her phone) into the temple of the pirate sitting there. SHe's hoping that she can knock him out with one good, hard blow, because she's not exactly in fighting condition. But she's got to try. Then, maybe, she can shut these things down.

Clark Kent has posed:
"Disappoin...ting!" Superman says, visibly shocked at how much he has to struggle with this model. He finds himself in the air, legs kicking as the minotaur's leap overpowers his own ability to navigate!

Super-hearing doesn't care about lead. He hears flesh on flesh...it sounds like Lois from the heft of the blow. Of course she starts a fight..., "No time for-great scott!"

This is one of his moves, Superman thinks, as he's smashed into the deck. The deck collapses, sending both man and machine into the hull below. "Toyman this thing is going to sink your boat if you keep this up!" Superman snaps, sending a blast of heat vision at the machine's right shoulder joint and grabbing for it, trying to wrench the weakened arm clean off.