This is the story of Good vs Dark, God vs Man. (Yes, inspired by Superman vs Batman) It is the story of a superhero who has that strong streak of good, never crossing the line of vigilantism and the inevitable meeting with a Batman styled vigilante who watched over a metropolis. (Feel free to use New York City. Vanguard is more global, but often seen in the southwestern USA.) Vanguard has been hearing more and more stories about a Batman styled lunatic that is taking the law into his own hands. (No killing except in self defense though and only if he must. The police are simply outclassed by a new breed of villain.)
If the vigilante is a female, there is a possibility of a romance. Otherwise not.
Our story takes place some three years after the arrival of Vanguard - in 2028.
Vanguard
Mar 27, 2025 - Noone knew where he came from. Was he human? Alien? A god of old? All we know was there was nothing and noone else like him. He showed up about a week before (Mar 20, 2025) like a Superman. Yeah, just like in the comic books. A tornado emergency had been declared in the Oklahoma City area. A F5 funnel had formed and was headed for the city when he arrived. Three individuals plus a family of 4 reported being saved by him. The news got weirder. He turned away from the group of survivors he had assembled to face the tornado. Then he took off and flew into the tornado. It glowed with a swirling energy giving off arcs of lightning, then slowly dissipated.
There were reports afterwards of the same costumed man arriving at emergency centers with wounded, assisting first responders, reopening travel routes. But he didn’t stick around for thanks. Little more was learned about the man save for the fact that he did tell several people that he was NOT Superman, no S. But he offered no name.
He stood an estimated 6’9” to 7’0”. He wore a battlesuit that hid his eyes and hair. He had no real accent. He was extremely polite. You know the saying ‘strong streak of good?’ He gave that sort of a first impression. He was seen to have lifted objects massing several tons. As you can imagine his sudden appearance drew speculation. It also drew the attention of the government. So many questions needed answers.
He was the news story of a lifetime. It was a job for Lois Lane … or rather Abigail Williams. The problem is that this guy wouldn’t stand still. He showed up the next day in eastern Turkey in response to a major earthquake. Get this: he spoke Turkish.
The traditional hurricane season for Atlantic had begun in June. But for the past decade tropical storms had been coming earlier. Several years ago they were starting in April. This year the Gulf of Mexico had a Category 3 hurricane growing and headed for landfall in New Orleans … again. The … superhero … seemed drawn to major disasters rather than criminals.
Hurricane names get recycled every 6 years. It was ironic that one of the most destructive hurricanes in American history had had the same name. Hurricane Katrina had been a Category 1 storm just 2 days before. The next day was being upgraded to a Cat 3 and was now a Cat 5 with wind speeds around 175 mph. The last time Katrina had hit if had downgraded to a Cat 4 with wind speeds at 145 mph (though in downtown the winds were half that). This time the conditions were a little different and the storm was still gathering momentum. It was expected to hit New Orleans with winds up to 200 mph within 24 hours with a storm surge over 25 feet.
Problem was, how to stop a hurricane. Tornadoes were easy. They had a path typically only a few hundred feet or less. A Cat 3 hurricane produced the energy of the Hiroshima bomb every second. But it wasn’t just the winds It was the water swell that resulted from the barometric depression. The last Katrina had sent a swell of 15 to 25 feet. This one was going to be worse. And he had no idea how to displace that much water. The best he could see hoping for was damage control. Even now the evacuation was underway.
The first thing he did was clear out a few stalled vehicles that were slowing the evacuation. There was a Car-B-Que that fire trucks couldn’t even get to. He snuffed out the fire with a gesture, then cooled it off with an icy blast of wind. But as usual he didn’t stick around to chat. His thoughts were to save as many as he could by speeding the evacuation. Then go deal with hampered rescue efforts in the path of the storm. At least this time the news had done a better job of informing people. And emergency services was doing far better with evacuation efforts.
He arrived in New Orleans around Noon. The storm was still about 18 hours out, but winds were already getting dangerously high.
Abigail Williams
Her new boss had slowed her career down, but had slowly begun to give her begrudging praise, deciding that she was serious about being an investigative reporter, even though much of what she did was eyewitness or on the scene news. She'd had speech lessons, upgraded her wardrobe a bit. Her cranky mentor was still hard on her, demanding more than perfection. But the occasional 'could be worse' was like an applause.
So now they were assigned to what everyone hoped would be the story of the century - her cranky boss' last assignment for he was retiring. They had been covering the disaster even though her boss had admitted that his gut said the flying guy was real. But he also says that if he was, he would be moving around so fast that there would be no way to track him. Better to go where he was needed and let the story come to you.
They stopped at the scene of an accident where a handicapped access short bus assigned to transport some elderly (6) out of the area had been literally picked up and thrown into the second floor of a building injuring the driver and killing an ambulance tech. The elderly were O2 dependent and could hardly walk on their own normally, much less in high winds. Abigail and her boss concurred, screw the story they came for. It was a long shot anyways. They decided to use their own news van to transport the elderly out.
The strain of the rescue proved too much for her boss who suffered a stroke while getting one of the last patients to the news van. So there Abigail was, trying to use CPR on a man who had given her tons of grief, but seemed more like a mentor and uncle than anyone short of family. Then she looked out the window to see a school bus rolling over and over at them by the winds on a course directly for them.
That's when HE showed up. The super dude (still no superhero ID at this time) was nowhere near strong enough to just catch the bus. He couldn’t just lift it to sail over them as the building was just on the other side of them. They had been using it to shelter from some of the wind and so they didn't have to walk far. So he did something new. He sliced the bus in half with an invisible energy beam and let it break in half on his body, the two pieces slamming into the building to the front and rear of them. Then he walked to them, shined a ray on Abigail's mentor and told her she did good. The ray enveloped her mentor in a shimmering field. The superhero explained that it was a life support system that would keep him alive until they could get to medical center. He asked her to help make sure everyone was secured. Then he lifted the whole news van and flew it out to a hospital. Did he stick around for an interview or even a thank you? No.
Three days later Vanguard - as he was finally called by the Press - approached Abigail Williams and gave her that interview.
Your Character
You are a Batman type character. If you want to go the billionaire route, that is fine too. Some restrictions on your vigilantism: No killing except in self defense though and only if you must. The police are simply outclassed by a new breed of villain. You know the types: Joker, Bane, Poison Ivy, and such. Yes, some of those are superhuman. You do NOT have to be male. A female vigilante works just as well. In fact, if you want this to end up as a MxF romance, that would be necessary.
Both of our characters are heroes. We just don’t agree on methods. And … Vanguard … he has the power of a god. What if he were to turn on the people of Earth? How are you going to face off a guy who wrestles tornadoes, catches hypersonic reentry vehicles, and snuffs out towering infernos like birthday candles?
You will need a good CS.
If the vigilante is a female, there is a possibility of a romance. Otherwise not.
Our story takes place some three years after the arrival of Vanguard - in 2028.
Vanguard
Mar 27, 2025 - Noone knew where he came from. Was he human? Alien? A god of old? All we know was there was nothing and noone else like him. He showed up about a week before (Mar 20, 2025) like a Superman. Yeah, just like in the comic books. A tornado emergency had been declared in the Oklahoma City area. A F5 funnel had formed and was headed for the city when he arrived. Three individuals plus a family of 4 reported being saved by him. The news got weirder. He turned away from the group of survivors he had assembled to face the tornado. Then he took off and flew into the tornado. It glowed with a swirling energy giving off arcs of lightning, then slowly dissipated.
There were reports afterwards of the same costumed man arriving at emergency centers with wounded, assisting first responders, reopening travel routes. But he didn’t stick around for thanks. Little more was learned about the man save for the fact that he did tell several people that he was NOT Superman, no S. But he offered no name.
He stood an estimated 6’9” to 7’0”. He wore a battlesuit that hid his eyes and hair. He had no real accent. He was extremely polite. You know the saying ‘strong streak of good?’ He gave that sort of a first impression. He was seen to have lifted objects massing several tons. As you can imagine his sudden appearance drew speculation. It also drew the attention of the government. So many questions needed answers.
He was the news story of a lifetime. It was a job for Lois Lane … or rather Abigail Williams. The problem is that this guy wouldn’t stand still. He showed up the next day in eastern Turkey in response to a major earthquake. Get this: he spoke Turkish.
The traditional hurricane season for Atlantic had begun in June. But for the past decade tropical storms had been coming earlier. Several years ago they were starting in April. This year the Gulf of Mexico had a Category 3 hurricane growing and headed for landfall in New Orleans … again. The … superhero … seemed drawn to major disasters rather than criminals.
Hurricane names get recycled every 6 years. It was ironic that one of the most destructive hurricanes in American history had had the same name. Hurricane Katrina had been a Category 1 storm just 2 days before. The next day was being upgraded to a Cat 3 and was now a Cat 5 with wind speeds around 175 mph. The last time Katrina had hit if had downgraded to a Cat 4 with wind speeds at 145 mph (though in downtown the winds were half that). This time the conditions were a little different and the storm was still gathering momentum. It was expected to hit New Orleans with winds up to 200 mph within 24 hours with a storm surge over 25 feet.
Problem was, how to stop a hurricane. Tornadoes were easy. They had a path typically only a few hundred feet or less. A Cat 3 hurricane produced the energy of the Hiroshima bomb every second. But it wasn’t just the winds It was the water swell that resulted from the barometric depression. The last Katrina had sent a swell of 15 to 25 feet. This one was going to be worse. And he had no idea how to displace that much water. The best he could see hoping for was damage control. Even now the evacuation was underway.
The first thing he did was clear out a few stalled vehicles that were slowing the evacuation. There was a Car-B-Que that fire trucks couldn’t even get to. He snuffed out the fire with a gesture, then cooled it off with an icy blast of wind. But as usual he didn’t stick around to chat. His thoughts were to save as many as he could by speeding the evacuation. Then go deal with hampered rescue efforts in the path of the storm. At least this time the news had done a better job of informing people. And emergency services was doing far better with evacuation efforts.
He arrived in New Orleans around Noon. The storm was still about 18 hours out, but winds were already getting dangerously high.
Abigail Williams
Her new boss had slowed her career down, but had slowly begun to give her begrudging praise, deciding that she was serious about being an investigative reporter, even though much of what she did was eyewitness or on the scene news. She'd had speech lessons, upgraded her wardrobe a bit. Her cranky mentor was still hard on her, demanding more than perfection. But the occasional 'could be worse' was like an applause.
So now they were assigned to what everyone hoped would be the story of the century - her cranky boss' last assignment for he was retiring. They had been covering the disaster even though her boss had admitted that his gut said the flying guy was real. But he also says that if he was, he would be moving around so fast that there would be no way to track him. Better to go where he was needed and let the story come to you.
They stopped at the scene of an accident where a handicapped access short bus assigned to transport some elderly (6) out of the area had been literally picked up and thrown into the second floor of a building injuring the driver and killing an ambulance tech. The elderly were O2 dependent and could hardly walk on their own normally, much less in high winds. Abigail and her boss concurred, screw the story they came for. It was a long shot anyways. They decided to use their own news van to transport the elderly out.
The strain of the rescue proved too much for her boss who suffered a stroke while getting one of the last patients to the news van. So there Abigail was, trying to use CPR on a man who had given her tons of grief, but seemed more like a mentor and uncle than anyone short of family. Then she looked out the window to see a school bus rolling over and over at them by the winds on a course directly for them.
That's when HE showed up. The super dude (still no superhero ID at this time) was nowhere near strong enough to just catch the bus. He couldn’t just lift it to sail over them as the building was just on the other side of them. They had been using it to shelter from some of the wind and so they didn't have to walk far. So he did something new. He sliced the bus in half with an invisible energy beam and let it break in half on his body, the two pieces slamming into the building to the front and rear of them. Then he walked to them, shined a ray on Abigail's mentor and told her she did good. The ray enveloped her mentor in a shimmering field. The superhero explained that it was a life support system that would keep him alive until they could get to medical center. He asked her to help make sure everyone was secured. Then he lifted the whole news van and flew it out to a hospital. Did he stick around for an interview or even a thank you? No.
Three days later Vanguard - as he was finally called by the Press - approached Abigail Williams and gave her that interview.
Your Character
You are a Batman type character. If you want to go the billionaire route, that is fine too. Some restrictions on your vigilantism: No killing except in self defense though and only if you must. The police are simply outclassed by a new breed of villain. You know the types: Joker, Bane, Poison Ivy, and such. Yes, some of those are superhuman. You do NOT have to be male. A female vigilante works just as well. In fact, if you want this to end up as a MxF romance, that would be necessary.
Both of our characters are heroes. We just don’t agree on methods. And … Vanguard … he has the power of a god. What if he were to turn on the people of Earth? How are you going to face off a guy who wrestles tornadoes, catches hypersonic reentry vehicles, and snuffs out towering infernos like birthday candles?
You will need a good CS.