A Royal Adventure is an storyline for The Adventurers supergroup which began on May 1, 2018.

Chapter 1: The Big To-Do

It is the evening of May 1, 2018. Red Spider, AKA Cassandra Olsen, has scored some invitations to a major diplomatic reception being held in Millennium City. The party is meant to wow some young royals from the Aegean country of Cretoa that has recently signaled it is ready to ease its long-standing closure to the West.

Part 1 - The Reception

There has been so much excitement over the possibility of the tiny island of
Cretoa opening a dialogue with the west for the first time since the Cold War.
Apart from its natural beauty, and its location in important shipping lanes,
Cretoa is also the only known location on Earth possessing a rare mineral
called 'vitanium', which can promote amazing health effects.

Some Notable Guests at the Party

Bill Olsen, C.O.O at DTO, a major investment company based in Millennium City (and Red Spider's father)
Jessica Fiorelli, a 25 year-old artist heading up major branding and marketing initiative for the municipality of Millennium City. (returning NPC from the 'Adventurers App' storyline)
Dr. Nancy Cooley, Dean of Political Sciences at MCU
Sana Georget, a leading investigative reporter in MC
James Harmon IV, appearing via VR-controlled hologram from Mumbai
The leaders of the USA, Canada, and Mexico
Sarah Ellison, heiress to the Ellison Hotels chain
Shawrelle Martin, an NBA player
Kendra McKnight, a world-famous martial artist and stunt professional
Gene Melton, an a-list actor

Adventurers Mingling in the Crowds

Many of the guests were bureaucrats in the diplomatic corps, and a few unremarkable businesspeople. But the Adventurers did meet some useful guests...

Cassandra (Screech Owl) met a shy Cretoan named Isidora, who turned out to be aide to Princess Taina. Because Cassandra was kind to Isidora, the aide secured Cassandra a seat at the Princess's table.
Meltdowner met Dr. Nancy Cooley, who had much to say about the rumored political unrest in Cretoa that might boil over into a full revolution.
Maya (Sombra) got a photo with President Enrique Peña Nieto, who showed her great kindness and wished her well now that she had moved to the USA.
Black Bird got in a reception line for a photo with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Catfight (Eva) met Kendra McKnight, a world-famous martial artist and stunt performer. She offered to grant Eva an interview if it would give Eva's broadcast career a boost.

Black Bird meets Justin Trudeau

Sombra meets Enrique Peña Nieto

Part 2 - Dinner

Speech from Kyros Kallikrates, Cretoan Minister of Foreign Affairs

Thank you for that kind introduction, Mr. Ambassador. Our nation stands at a crossroads. It is five months since our revered Prince Iason passed away after a full life as our monarch. Now, his children, the Prince Alexandros, and Princess Taina, carry together the burden of leadership. We are in a new century. The old international divisions to which the late Prince Iason adhered, are no more. The 21st Century calls to us to join it. But we must do so carefully, slowly. Our people hold strong to their traditions; whatever reforms shall come, they must come under the steady hand of our rightful rulers. So it is that I am pleased to introduce Prince Alexandros, and Princess Taina, to our friends in America, Canada, and Mexico. We in Cretoa admire much about your nations, and the traditions that have led them to their prominent places in the world. We hope you will come to appreciate our traditions, and our need to protect them.

Cretoa has much to offer the world. I know that 'vitanium' is something many of you greatly desire, but we have so much more to offer: a beautiful landscape, little known to the outside world; ancient cities; a rich culture; varieties of fruit and wine rarely sampled beyond our borders. Keep that in mind as we open up to the possibility of trade between our nations. I, for one, look forward to finally owning an iPhone. *audience laughs* And some Canadian maple syrup. *More laughter* And I cannot wait to try some of these Mexican peppers I have heard so much about.

I thank you for your attention. May God smile upon our future dealings.

Potential Poisoning?

During dinner, Cassandra, secret identity of Screech Owl, thinks she smells
something off about the water being poured at the Princess's table. Security
guards take the water away but their examination is inconclusive. Sarah
Ellison, secret identity of Night Star, notes the disturbance at the Princess's
table; she sits near Prince Alex but fails to prevent him drinking the water.

Yet, Alex seems fine.

Part 3 - The Dance

Following dinner is a dance.

Poisonings Take Effect

The poison in the water begins to act. Members of Prince Alex's table who drank
the water start falling to the floor and convulsing. In this manner, Kyros
Kallikrates, the Cretoan Minister of Foreign Affairs, dies. Alex, secret identity
of Meltdowner, offers to a Secret Service agent to teleport Prince Alex and one
of his aides out to a hospital. The agent grudgingly relents, knowing that they
have zero chance of survival with this fast-acting poison otherwise.

Aftermath

The Adventurers, as with all party guests who were present when the poisonings took
effect, are held for questioning.

Prince Alex is in critical condition at Mercy Hospital, under heavy guard.

Princess Taina is ushered out of the hotel for her safety, but when news breaks of a
uprising in Cretoa, she feels compelled to head home to calm the situation.

Sarah Ellison (Night Star) kept some samples of the tainted water so that the team
can determine the nature of the poison used.

Chapter 1 Summary

The Adventurers, in their secret identities, attend a high-touch diplomatic party at which several world leaders will be present
The guests of honor at the party are Prince Alex and Princess Taina from the small Aegean island of Cretoa, which has been closed off to the West for decades
During the dinner, Adventurers detect something unusual in the water
After dinner, the Prince and some of his staff show signs of having been poisoned
The Adventurers help save the Prince's life; they begin investigating what happened

Chapter 2: The Case of the Poisoned Prince

Beginning at about 5PM on May 2, 2018, Red Spider shares some info on suspects with the Adventurers.

Suspects

There are several suspects in the poisoning of Prince Alex.

Alethea Eliopoulou
Isidora Kallisto
Lord Kriton Vasillios
Myron Gaios
Pieter Manellas
Princess Taina
Vlasi Leonti
Zuta Cristanopolous

Evidence

Poisoned water samples
Eyewitness accounts
Guest lists

Assignments

Adventurers Assignments After the Party
Adventurer	Assignment	Result
Black Bird	Interview Bill Olsen, who approved Myron Gaios's invitation.	When directly asked about Gaios, Bill Olsen didn't seem to recognize the name. Was it a lie? Or did Gaios get in under false pretenses?
Catfight	Shake police attention, and then go to Cretoa to protect Princess Taina.
Red Spider	Surveil Myron Gaios and alert the team if he appears to be about to leave Millennium City.
Scarlet Shield	Shake police attention, and then go to Cretoa to protect Princess Taina.
Screech Owl	Prepare to visit Cretoa and investigate suspects in Prince Alex's poisining.
Sombra	Try to get info on Lord Vasillios, who is minding the security detail at Mercy Hospital for Prince Alex.	Sombra made contact with Vasillios; Vasillios implicated Myron Gaios, Pieter Manellas, and Zuta Cristanopoulous. He suspects Manellas most of all due to the man's ambition.

Marauder Attack

Marauder returns! The power armored mercenary sets up across the street from Mercy Hospital with a plan to devastate the hospital's support structure in a surgical strike meant to limit casualties. His target is, obviously, Prince Alexandros.

Lone hero Coyote is first to attack him; by engaging Marauder, he forestalls Marauder's countdown to his 'Death Star Protocol', and draws attention to him. Coyote is stunned by Marauder's stun blast. The villain has to reconfigure and start charging up his 'Death Star Protocol' again. But now, the Adventurers know that the Prince is under attack. Scarlet Shield drains the villain of energy by using a force field that he has to expend his charging energy blast to escape (which leaves her momentarily incapacitated). Night Star fires on Marauder's armor, damaging him. Catfight and Coyote pursue the villain through the hospital's fourth floor. When Coyote exploits a weakness in the villain's armor made by Night Star's blasts, the villain retreats and leaves his payday behind.

The Adventurers welcome Coyote as a new team member.

Someone is willing to pay for some high-priced mercenary help to see Prince Alex eliminated... who? And why?!

Attack on Myron Gaios

Myron Gaios was observed to be attacked in his room at the Ellison Hotel and Suites on May 5, 2018.

First on the scene was (soon-to-be Adventurer) Canadian Shield. He found a woman in a costume and
cape threatening Myron Gaios with a gun, and Gaios apparently recoiling and pleading for his life.
Canadian Shield used the element of surprise to knock away the assailant's gun with a throwing
star, and then charged in for the tackle. She dodged, and the two engaged in a hand-to-hand fight.

Several of the Adventurers arrived just as the masked attacker was about to use a stun baton
to defeat Canadian Shield. Outnumbered, she dropped a potent smoke bomb, and escaped. Gaios,
thankful for the rescue, made a run for it. The team exited once a smoke alarm was tripped and the
hotel security was alerted. The Adventurers reconvened on the rooftop to discuss their suspicions
on who the masked attacker was, and what to do about Myron Gaios. Canadian Shield was made a team
member, since their interests aligned.

Investigating Gaios

Night Star used her alter ego, hotelier Sarah Ellison, to lure Gaios back to the hotel with a VIP suite and additional perks.
Black Bird went undercover as a hotel porter, 'Luke', under the guise that Ellison Hotels had assigned him to Gaios as a PR move.
Red Spider kept an eye on Gaios from another high rise across the street, when time permitted.

Eventually, Gaios revealed that he had mind control abilities through hypnotic eyes. The hypnosis was fragile, but so long as Gaios did not order someone to do something too offensive, that person could rationalize the activities on their own terms - but forget entirely that it was Gaios who had told them to do it.

Gaios put 'Luke' to work for him in the hotel, asking him to search the rooms of the Cretoan delegation to find the one who owned the costume worn by the vigilante who attacked him. Black Bird succeeded: the costume was hidden in the room belonging to Alethea Eliopoulous. Gaios ordered 'Luke' to bring Alethea to him; 'Luke' confronted Alethea in her room, but she had changed into her Fantasma costume and just began scaling up the exterior wall of the hotel on a grapple line. She fought to protect her secret identity, openly suspecting 'Luke' of being one of Gaios's stooges. Fantasma tossed Black Bird off her balcony, but Red Spider came to the rescue.

As the three began to unravel who each was and why they were involved, Gaios, in his costume as Tolmiros, entered Eliopoulous's suite and put all three heroes under his hypnotic spell.

Back in his suite with 'Luke' as his helper, and with Red Spider and Fantasma tied to chairs, it was time for Gaios to expose some secret identities. He already knew that Alethea was Fantasma, so he set his sights on unmasking Red Spider; Gaios ordered 'Luke' to do it, but being ordered to unmask his team mate jarred 'Luke' out of his hypnosis, and he attacked Gaios. Black Bird bought time for Red to snap out of the spell, and break free of her bindings. She tossed a chair arm at Gaios just as he was getting an upper hand on 'Luke'. Gaios backed away to a corner; under accusations of being the mastermind of the assassination plot, he vaguely indicated he was involved, but he was, "more of a doer," than a mastermind. He then escaped.

The Motorcade Adventure

The Adventurers were asked to provide a superhuman escort to the Prince's motorcade as he prepared to head home. The US Air Force offered a squadron of fighter jets to see the prince's plane safely out of American airspace.

The MCPD provided an escort with the following:

SWAT van in the lead
2 MCPD Motorcycles
MCPD Cruiser
MCPD Cruiser
Decoy SUV
Decoy SUV
Prince's Armored SUV
MCPD Cruiser
MCPD Cruiser
MCPD Cruiser

Chapter 3: The Royal Court of Cretoa

Arrival in Cretoa

Screech Owl, Catfight, and Scarlet Shield took an UNTIL transport and headed for Cretoa. Arriving at the island coast at daybreak, they suddenly had to fly evasively to avoid a surface-to-air missile. Unfortunately the missile struck, damaging the craft, and ripping Catfight and Scarlet Shield from their seats.

Screech Owl brought the damaged craft in for a landing. With enemy agents closing on her position, she had no time to search for her team mates, and fled into a cave system.

Vitanium

Catfight and Scarlet Shield had survived the aircraft attack, presumably thanks to Scarlet's powers. But they both woke up immersed in a vitanium tank, attached to breathing apparatuses. Soon they were raised from the tanks by mechanical arms, and placed on a recovery deck. They met Dr. Loukas who is Cretoa's Surgeon General. Loukas informed them that they were in the Royal Palace of Cretoa, and that Princess Taina hoped to meet them ASAP. Their UNTIL shuttle, Loukas continued, was being recovered after a skirmish with rebels in that area, but crews had found no sign of Screech Owl.

Courtiers

Princess Taina welcomed the heroes and thanked them for coming. She appointed them honorary captains of the royal guard, and offered to array them in the livery of Cretoa - fit to their styles, of course. Taina and her military advisor, Security Minister Pieter Manellas, both urged the heroes to help preserve peace and order in Cretoa, by helping them fight the rebels. The heroes did not commit to this action, but asserted that they were there to keep Taina safe.

Scarlet Shield left the palace and, after a search of the outskirts of the main city of Zappatos, encountered Screech Owl and brought her to meet the Princess. Screech Owl declined the honor of having a Cretoan-themed costume made for her.

Chapter 4: Endgame

The Adventurers have convinced Princess Taina and the resistance leader, Zedrick, to meet secretly, face-to-face, to discuss peace and the future of Cretoa's government. These are the issues under discussion:

Peace Negotiations
	Issue	Description	Status	Adventurer Suggestion(s)
1	NEW CONSTITUTION	The Principality of Cretoa shall be reorganized as the Democratic Dominion of Cretoa (DDC) using Princess Taina’s draft constitution. Cretoa will have an elected parliament. A provisional government will be established and led by Zedrick; Zedrick may appoint a cabinet of parliamentarians to replace the royal cabinet. Executive power will be invested in the leader of the largest coalition or party in the parliament. The crown gives up its legislative powers, but should be consulted on important executive matters. Criminals will be judged by an impartial court system, separate from the crown or the legislature.	Agreed
2	FIRST ELECTIONS	Cretoa’s first democratic election must be held within two years. It must have international observers present. Zedrick will not be allowed to run in the election. Members of the royal family may not be elected to government.	Disagreed
3	PLACE OF ROYALTY AND NOBILITY IN THE DDC	The royal family will remain as figureheads, nominally giving assent to laws passed by the government, and having the ability to dissolve parliament upon request of the Prime Minister. The royal family will be entitled to retain its properties. The place of the royal family will be to safeguard the traditions of Cretoan society, and advance causes which better the state of the Cretoan people.	Agreed
4	HEREDITARY RIGHTS	The crown shall remain a hereditary institution, given to the oldest living child of the monarch upon their death or abdication. Nobles, also, will retain their title and status.	Disagreed
5	AMNESTY TO THE CROWN	In the interest of breaking with a troubled past, the crown shall be immune from prosecution or retribution for any perceived harms done prior to the signing of the new constitution.	Agreed
6	AMNESTY TO RESISTANCE MEMBERS	Anyone who has fought for the Cretoan Resistance (AKA Cretoan Rebellion) prior to the new constitution will be granted amnesty in the interest of fostering amity and peace.	Agreed
7	AMNESTY FOR ALL PRISONERS	Due to the many prisoners held arbitrarily and/or for political reasons, a general amnesty is proposed.	Rescinded.	Sombra helped Taina come up with a proposal to improve mental health resources and identification of prisoners. While Zedrick was afraid that too many political prisoners had been imprisoned without good documentation, he was willing to accept Taina's proposal to identify political prisoners and release them.
8	COMMITMENT TO TECHNOLOGIZE CRETOA	Cretoan government commits to immediately spend money to rapidly roll out current telecom infrastructure across the island, and open up the market to technology.	Disagreed
9	SCHOOL SYSTEM	Cretoa will create a system of public schools for all children ages 5 – 18.	Agreed
10	VITANIUM MEDICAL TOURISM TO BE OPENED	Considering the expense of proposed reforms and modernization, open up medical tourism to wealthy foreigners.	Agreed	Scarlet and Sombra help Taina explain to Zedrick how badly they need the revenue. The heroes also note how it can be a valuable bargaining chip, but that a great majority of vitanium treatment capacity should be reserved for Cretoan Civil War victims per Zedrick's desire - at least until the goverment has a chance to realize how much it has to spare / how much it can sell access for.
11	ALLY WITH POWERFUL NATIONS	Cretoa should have a global super power as an ally to help guarantee its borders and to open up trade.	Agreement to be neutral.	Sombra and Scarlet Shield tried to help them come up with alternatives - considering meeting with other nations, or allying with three powers. Ultimately, Scarlet Shield's poor experiences with Russia in the past had Zedrick double-down on neutrality; Princess Taina reluctantly agreed, feeling that without a strong ally, the country would be vulnerable. Scarlet also reminded them that the UN will help.
12	PRISON SYSTEM REFORM	Cretoa should enact a law forbidding cruel and unusual punishment, as well as execution.	Agreed
13	ROYAL GRANT	Royal family to be sustained on a grant of €10 Million/year, and that number must adjust annually with inflation. A committee can be formed to discuss adjustments, but it must never be below that €10 Million/year (adjusted from 2018) amount. The royal family will retain the Zappatos Palace and their western retreat.	Agreed	Fox, Scarlet Shield, Sombra, and Red Spider helped the two agree that the Western Retreat would be leased out. The princess agreed to a minimum 8 million Euro grant, but a maximum of 50 million Euro if 1% GDP for Cretoa allowed an increase above 8 million. Zedrick ensured that the public will never be fiscally responsible for the palace or retreat, beyond providing the royal grant.
14	DIPLOMATIC APPOINTMENTS	Selection of top embassy and consular officials should be a privilege of the civilian leader of the government.	Disagreed

A Royal Adventure (Adventurers)

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