# [Mutants & Masterminds] The Unbelievable Oddsquad



## TheDayKnight (Feb 1, 2003)

*The Unbelievable Oddsquad*

Issue #1

Cast of Characters

The Fourth Estate
Leatherette
Mr. Molasses
Vegas
Adam Odd
Nebu Nezzer

     Hemmy Washington’s dream was vivid and real. It was one of those dreams that you have déjà vu about. And déjà vu was what Hemmy is experiencing right now. He stands beside his Porsche at the gates of 1717 Weirdway Court…just like in his dream. He runs his hand through his graying hair. I’m too old for this, he thought. Too old to be running around with a bunch of costumed crazies. Probably too old even to have some foolish name like The Fourth Estate.

     Rosa Petal’s taxi pulls up to the wrought iron gates outside of 1717 Weirdway Court. She had found a letter on her desk addressed to Leatherette. Alarmed she quickly hid the message. It had directed her to this address. The driver looks in the rearview mirror at her. A bead of sweat runs down the side of his face. Lust is apparent in his piggy eyes.

     “Open the door, worm!” she commands

     The taxi driver scrambles from the vehicle and opens the back door with a nervous hand. A foot emerges, clad in six-inch heels. A long leg follows, covered in a black thigh-high boot. Then the rest of the woman appears. Leatherette stands six feet tall. She is dressed in a black leather corset. A mask hides her identity. A thick braid courses down her neck and flows onto her back. She throws her cab fare onto the ground and walks purposefully towards the black man standing next to the Porsche.

     An old, battered 1970s pickup truck rounds the corner. The bed and passenger side of the truck is filled with…stuff, just stuff. Tubing, wires, fishbowls, bales of cotton, Christmas ornaments, you name it, and it is there. A few days ago, Theodore “Vegas” Trax had noticed a crumpled piece of paper in a trash bin. The letter was smudged, but Vegas could make out the date, time, and address 1717 Weirdway Court. On a hunch he decided to crash the party. He parks his pickup and shuffles toward the tall iron-wrought gates. He adjusts his battered fedora. A trenchcoat covers his immense bulk. Gadgets and gizmos of all sorts peek from the pockets of the ratty coat. Near the gate stand an older black man and a hot chick dressed from head to toe in leather fetish gear. Interesting. Very interesting.

     The Spirit of the Tar Pit speaks to Mr. Molasses, “1717 Weirdway Court. Go there! The need is great!”

     Mr. Molasses feels the intense hunger that always came after the Spirit speaks to him. Shrugging in resignation, Mr. Molasses turns his body into living tar and speeds from his home at a frightening pace. As he stretches his body around the corner of the street, he notices three other people standing at the gate of the mansion: an aging black man in a nice suit, an attractive woman in shiny black leather, and an obese man in a fedora and a trenchcoat.

     “The fat one will satisfy us…” whispers the Spirit of the Tar Pit.

     “Quiet you!” Molasses yells.

     The three people at the gate give Mr. Molasses a strange look.

     After a quick round of introductions, the four guests notice a smallish man of Middle-Eastern descent standing at the gate. He is dressed in the attire of a butler. He quickly bows and the gates swing open.

     “Good day sirs and madam. I am Nebu Nezzer. Please follow me. Adam Odd awaits.”

     Nebu Nezzer is assaulted by questions from all four of the invitees. He simply smiles, “All questions will be answered in due time.”

     At the door to the mansion, Vegas notices the butler making strange gestures. The door swings open into a wood paneled hallway. Upon entering the mansion, each of the four feels a sensation, a tingling on their skin. But exactly what it was, none of them could tell. They are lead to a sitting room decorated in a Victorian fashion. Nebu Nezzer brings forth a large platter of sandwiches and offers the bar to the guests.

     “Adam Odd will be with you shortly,” And with those words the butler disappears from sight.

     The Fourth Estate pours himself a glass of scotch and knocks it straight back. Vegas hungrily eyes the sandwiches, but before he can reach them, a tarry arm stretches across the room and scoops up a handful. Leatherette quickly scans the room for other exits. She spies a door directly across the one they entered.

     After a short, uncomfortable wait, another man appears in the sitting room. He is tall and muscular with deeply tanned skin and golden-brown hair. He is dressed in a cream colored toga. His intensely blue eyes search each of the heroes.

     “I see you have received my invitation. I am Adam Odd, The First Man.”

     “Why are we here?” demands Leatherette.

     “Ah…straight to the heart of the matter, I see.” Smiles Adam, “Well then, I shan’t bandy words. I will tell you as much as I can. Let me begin with a bit of backstory. At the dawn of time, Nexus created the universe. Those who are of a scientific bent would call Nexus a sentient white hole. The more spiritually inclined would call Nexus…well; they would probably call it God. At the same time the universe was created another force immediately began to destroy reality. This destructive being is a sentient black hole. It is Anti-Nexus.”

     The Fourth Estate quickly pours himself another glass of scotch and throws it down the hatch.

     Adam Odd continues, “Nexus then created me to be his guardian. I am The First Man.”

     “Why does God need someone to guard him?” Leatherette asks suspiciously.

     “Nexus, in the aeons following creation, has become…limited. That is as much as I can say. And as Nexus is constrained, so am I. Within this reality I am king and master. But beyond it, on Earth, my powers are now nearly nothing.”

     “On Earth? What do you mean by that?” queries Vegas.

     “We are not quite on Earth any longer. More along the lines of ‘beside Earth’. Once you passed through the door of the mansion, you entered my fortress.”

     The Fourth Estate quickly refills his glass.

     “The reason you are here is that I, Nexus, Earth, the very universe need protectors. Anti-Nexus grows strong and bold. It is marshalling its resources. It means to destroy all of reality.”

     “Why us?” asks Mr. Molasses.

     Adam Odd smiles, “Who better?”

     “What’s in it for us?” questions Leatherette.

     “Nothing…and everything. Fight against the Anti-Nexus and you save yourselves and the rest of creation from annihilation. And you can get whatever out of this arrangement you are willing to put into it.”

     Looking at Mr. Molasses, “A chance to unlock the mysteries of the universe.”

     Looking at The Fourth Estate, “A chance to right wrongs.”

     Looking at Vegas, “A chance to become famous.”

     Looking at Leatherette, “A chance to prove yourselves.”

     “I am in,” says Hemmy Washington.

     “Me too,” replies Vegas, “Besides what else do I have to do?”

     “I want to save my skin. I might as well save everyone else’s too.” Announces Molasses.

     Leatherette uncrosses her legs and stands. Here was a chance to live up to her grandmother’s legacy. Here was a chance to prove herself as capable as the famous Lariat. “I will accept your offer, Adam Odd. I will join this unbelievable group of misfits.”

     “Welcome to the world of heroes,” booms Adam Odd, “Welcome, Oddsquad!”


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## DrSpunj (Feb 4, 2003)

*Sounds fun!*

But I _hope_ you got through a bit more than that during the entire first session!  

I should get along pretty well with Mr. Molasses, all things considered...

DrSpunj


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## TheDayKnight (Feb 4, 2003)

Yep, we got through more than that. The big robot brawl is coming soon!


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## Teflon Billy (Feb 4, 2003)

Allright M&M Story Hour Solidarity!

nice to have you aboard DayKnight.

Wierd concidence: My PC group came this close ---><---- to being named the Odd Squad.


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## TheDayKnight (Feb 7, 2003)

*The Unbelievable Oddsquad*

Issue #2

Cast of Characters

The Fourth Estate
Leatherette
Mr. Molasses
Vegas
Adam Odd
The Nullbots

     “Your help is needed immediately,” says Adam Odd. “There is a disturbance in the fields of America.”

     With a wave of his hand Adam turns one of the walls into a television.

     “This is Dane Rogers reporting for WSOR. We are outside of Normal, Illinois, in the fields of Mr. Edward Johnson. A gang of ebony robots is constructing a structure of some sort! These automatons will not allow anyone to approach. Already two reporters and five police officers have lost their lives trying to approach these mechanical menaces.”

     The scene on the television is one of destruction. A farmhouse and several barns are now heaps of smoldering char. Seven bodies lie motionless on the ground. Fires burn unchecked in the field. Four robots, standing over ten feet tall, stack large cylindrical pieces of metal.  Four other spindly black robots skitter about the structure like evil spiders. They seem to be welding the pylons together and performing technical work. In a ring surrounding the construction are eight robotic guards.

     “Is there a computer in this place?” asks Vegas.

     Adam Odd conjurers up a computer at a table near the fat man. Vegas quickly searches for information on the Internet. He finds nothing of use. Edward Johnson is a sixty-two year old farmer with no criminal background. Mr. Johnson’s farm has no geological, scientific, or mystical significance. Leatherette excuses herself from the sitting room. Away from the other members of the Oddsquad, she calls the office of Rosa Petals and cancels her appointments for the day. As a minor politician, her schedule is very fluid. The Fourth Estate, likewise, calls his law office and clears the day.

     They reach Edward Johnson’s field outside of Normal, Illinois. The robots have nearly completed their task. An archway soars fifty feet into the air. Every so often, mysterious energy will crackle between the pylons of the archway. Static fills the portal. The Oddsquad cuts its way through the crowd of reporters and cameramen like a battleship on the ocean. Questions follow their footsteps.

     “Who are you?”

     “Are you with The Federals? Will Challenger and The Steward be showing up?”

     “What is your name?”

     Leatherette turns toward the crowd; “We are the Oddsquad. Never forget it!”

     Vegas begins to rummage through the pockets of his trenchcoat. He frantically puts together a disentigrator ray from what appears to be iron piping, gum wrappers, a spatula, duct tape and wires. He hefts the device over his shoulder and begins to advance on the robots, “No glory for the meek!” When The Oddsquad reach one hundred feet from the archway, all of the robots swivel toward the heroes.

     “NULLBOTS ATTACK!” they say in unison.

     The hulking contructabots fly into the air, advancing on the heroes. The techbots turn toward The Oddsquad. Their hands swivel and turn into menacing hoses. An oily gunk spurts from their limbs, covering the ground between the two forces. Molasses stretches over the greasy slick. He forms his fists into large tar mallets. An attackbot is crushed under the offensive. Vegas aims his disintegration ray at another attackbot. A bolt of blue-white energy cackles from the weapon. The robot that once stood against Vegas is now nothing more than a smoking pile of ash.

     The portal buzzes with static like a great insect. A scene appears between the pylons of the archway. It shows a legion of aliens, partly humanoid, partly bug. They wait patiently on the other side of the portal. They appear to be soldiers bearing menacing-looking rifles. The scene then fades abruptly with another burst of static.

     The Fourth Estate charges forward. When he steps onto the oily area, The Fourth Estate slips and tumbles to the ground. Leatherette calmly advances, swinging her magic rope around her like a lion’s tail. The oily slick poses no danger to the agile dominatrix. The attackbots surge forward, opening fire upon the Oddsquad. Several others swarm around Mr. Molasses, but their punches cannot seem to damage his tarry body. Alarmed at the sudden appearance of the alien army in the archway, Mr. Molasses stretches to the portal. The Man of Tar finds a few opening into the inside of the eastern pylon. He flattens his sticky body until he is thin enough to enter the opening. Like slurped spaghetti, Molasses disappears into the arch.

     The gigantic constructabots fire bolt of negative energy at their enemies. The Fourth Estate reels under the attack. Vegas, luckily, doubles over from a sneeze. The deadly blast sizzles the air above his head. The techbots scramble back to the portal, searching for the Tar Man. Vegas swings his disintegrator about and reduces another robot to nothingness. The Fourth Estate manages to stand upon the slippery ground.

     “It just doesn’t bring me that same tingly feeling,” purrs Leatherette as she entangles one of the constructabots in her ropes.

     The attackbots press forth once again. Leatherette nimbly dodges the negative energy hurled at her. One of the Nullbots charges The Fourth Estate. Its punches seem only to give Hemmy Washington more vitality. Mr. Molasses begins tearing apart the inside of the arch. As he does so, the portal hums. A blinding light sears forth like a wave of lightning. A lurching, reeling feeling overwhelms each member of the Oddsquad. When the heroes can see again, day has strangely turned into night. 

     Vegas brings his death-dealing weapon to bear on a massive constructabot. The Nullbot survives the onslaught, but it is severely damaged. The Fourth Estate smashes an attackbot with a haymaker that would have leveled a building. Pieces of the black robot bounce from the now-exploding archway. Another bolt of negative energy hammers The Fourth Estate. A piston-like punch smashes across him as well. But the Fourth Estate simply absorbs the damage from the melee attack. With a grin, Hemmy Washington suddenly shows why he is called The Fourth Estate. Another set of arms burst forth from his suit!

     Leatherette continues to hinder the Nullbots by binding them in her magic ropes. Mr. Molasses emerges from the exploding archway and finds himself surrounded by a gang of techbots. Vegas continues to reduce one robot after another to piles of subatomic dust. The Fourth Estate tears a chunk of earth from the ground and hurls it at one of the constructabots.

     A strobing light from the techbots blind Mr. Molasses. But it is not enough to contain the anger of the tarry hero. His huge fists batter the techbots around as if they were toys. The Fourth Estates cuts and bruises disappear as he heals himself with the energy he has absorbed. But as he does so his extra set of arms disappear. Soon the Oddsquad has destroyed the last of the Nullbots.

     They look around and notice, for the first time, the landscape. The field they battled in extends two hundred feet from the ruins of the archway. Then, sharply, it becomes a craggy landscape of an alien planet. In the far distance is a city. It is made of a few stalk-like towers and many squat, glass-topped buildings. Another archway can be seen in the city. Vegas looks to the sky. There is neither sun nor moon. There are no constellations he recognizes.

     “It seems my luck may have finally run out,” he mutters. 

     Covering most of the sky is a swirling hole. A hungry dark void. And it watches them…


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## Mathew_Freeman (May 30, 2003)

Woohoo! Another M&M SH to subscribe too!


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## PJ-Mason (Jun 6, 2003)

This thread is so bizarre its compelling! I can't stop reading it. Its.....odd.......


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## TheDayKnight (Jun 7, 2003)

Thanks for the interest in the story! Unfortunately, this particular incarnation of the Oddsquad is no more. Due to changes in real life I had to put the game on hold...

...But I am looking at starting up a new incarnation of the game in July and I will be able to bring you all new tales of Adam Odd and the Oddsquad.

By the way, if you are in the Iowa City/ Cedar Rapids area and are interested in joining a supers game, fire me an email at dayknight10@hotmail.com. You will have a chance to game with the witty DrSpunj and myself.


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## GreyShadow (Jun 7, 2003)

Yes! It's alive! 

Sort of at least.  Looking forward to the new tales when they start to happen.

Cheers


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## PJ-Mason (Jun 7, 2003)

TheDayKnight said:
			
		

> *Thanks for the interest in the story! Unfortunately, this particular incarnation of the Oddsquad is no more. Due to changes in real life I had to put the game on hold...
> 
> ...But I am looking at starting up a new incarnation of the game in July and I will be able to bring you all new tales of Adam Odd and the Oddsquad.
> 
> By the way, if you are in the Iowa City/ Cedar Rapids area and are interested in joining a supers game, fire me an email at dayknight10@hotmail.com. You will have a chance to game with the witty DrSpunj and myself. *




Awww....i just got interested in the story!!  
I'm coming to Iowa City to get you iffin July comes without any oddness!!


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