I've run pretty much all of the V&V modules at least twice (with two different groups for two different campaigns) and some of them I've run three times. Assassin is one I've done twice, and the first time I did it was for our high school group (so probably soon after it came out (in 1985).
For our current campaign, I took our original superhero team (Justice Force) through the first part (FORCE) in 1991, then ran the sequel (Assassin) for the second team (the Guardians) in 1993 (both were part of the same campaign).
Since I do "issue summaries" (many of you have seen them over at Critical Fumble or on the old forums), I'll post the wrap-ups of this adventure, including some foreshadowing of this from earlier issues:
One little bit in issue #9 told: Senator Matthew Bennet receives a death threat from the American Freedom Force (A.F.F.).
and issue #10 closed with: The A.F.F. hire a freelance hitman known as the Assassin to kill Senator Bennet.
#11 - Assassin - The Secret Service solicits Dr. Desist and Entropy to aid them in protecting Senator Bennet during a fund raiser at the Municipal Convention Center in New York. Despite many precautionary measures, the heavily armed Assassin penetrates the secure area and guns down Bennet, cutting down the heroes and most of the Secret Service agents as he escapes. Shockingly, Bennet is found to be an android of sophisticated design!
#12 - The Corporation in the Desert - The Guardians are assembled by Mr. Scarlet of the secretive American Security Agency (A.S.A.) and asked to investigate syntho-biologist Dr. Raymond Long, the possible creator of the android. The team, made up of Dr. Desist, Entropy, Zap, Banshee, Flaming Star, and Quiasar, are joined by ally Spectre as they journey to Syn Tech in Arizona to find Dr. Long. Confronted by the company's super-powered security team of PsiStorm, Ward, Antaeus, and Avalanche, the situation erupts into brief hostilities before misunderstandings are worked out and they find that Dr. Long resigned several months before.
#13 - Assault on Delmarion Cove - The trail of Dr. Long leads to his mountain cabin in Colorado, then to the Key North Yacht Club in Florida, where a recent photograph shows the scientist on the San Marqual, a yacht registered to President Carlos Calvione, leader of the Republic of Chinilaya. The team, accompanied by Spectre and Freeze, learns of the nation's history, examines satellite scans, and then ventures to Central America. Miles from their destination of Delmarion Cove, the adventurers are attacked by fighter planes and bail from their craft. Scattered and wounded, the heroes struggle to survive against the bullets and missiles of the jets as they make their way towards the beach. Once on land, they assail the main house and are engaged by the Chinilayan military, which has them hopelessly outnumbered.
#14 - Behind it All… - Quiasar demolishes the enemy with explosives, and the invaders figure out that they have come up against Force when they discover an underground complex and a familiar tram system. Making their way past many guards, the superheroes combat Force's henchmen while he launches his Seakiller submarine, armed with a cruise missile bound for Dallas. Most of the team stays behind to secure Deflector, Pyre, Hailstorm, and Clamor, search the base, and recover Dr. Long, who had been involved with Force in the creation of biosynthetic androids. Zap and Spectre pursue the submarine, and Zap is swiftly killed by Photon. Spectre lives long enough to detonate the fusion reactor, and dies heroically in the explosion. Oscillator and Photon escape, and Force is apparently killed. The villain appears to the victors on video monitors to promise revenge. Epilogue: Force speaks menacingly to an aide about Project Ultimatum.
The hero Spectre (played by my brother-in-law) was one of the early members of Justice Force, and he met his demise in issue #14 (as an ally of the Guardians).
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