I facilitated a game of Molotov College. The college alumni investigated a chemical factory that had been dumping pollutants into the Thames and beat up its evil CEO!
CW: fungal growth, body horror
Luna (played by Oliver) was the Moon, who has uncontrollable fungal powers. It let them accelerate the growth of fungal matter and extends their senses through the mycelium network. However, this power often flares up accidentally, especially in presence of moisture, spreading yeast and spores everywhere. Luna was timid and wore an oversized sweater to cover up the fungal patches on their skin.
Nic (played by Eunice Hung) was the Hierophant, who has the power to communicate with the deceased. They tried to dull their connection with the phantom wind with sex, drugs and rock & roll. They had problems trusting people because they were told by the phantom wind that someone they trust will stab them in the back and kill them. Knowing how they die also made reckless, since they can’t die any other way. They wore heavy black eyeliner and had a trench coat with pockets.
Justine (played by me) was Justice, who was a brooding vigilante with the power of gadget affinity. They grew up being told that they were never good enough for Dr M’s standard, and they spent their adult life trying to prove that they can indeed be a hero. Their current crusade was to expose the mayor’s corruption and bring down the evil government.
Although Luna was shy and rarely opened up to people, Nic was always there for Luna and be there as their friend. Justine saw Nic as a younger sibling and would do anything to protect them. Justine never liked Luna as a kid, who always seemed to get Dr M’s approval (at least in Justine’s perspective), and they also saw Luna’s unpredictable power as a liability.
Our session began with the alumni of Molotov College each getting a handwritten note saying, “Dr M will return soon”. Dr M was the headmaster of the Molotov College whose goal was the advancement of mankind. He had been away for a long mission, and no one had heard of him in years. The trio are intrigued by the messages, and each of them decided to return to the college to find out what it was about.
Our Molotov College is built underneath Westfield in London, with a secret entrance can be revealed by shaking the hand of a mannequin in one of the shops. The gang got into their alma mater, which is kept sterile and maintained by the robot butler. The robot butler brought out a silver platter, lifting its cloche to reveal a pack of playing cards. This brought Luna into a flashback of one of Dr M’s lesson, in which they were “taught” to wield her power with precision by sensing a random card he has picked form the deck. They managed to extend their senses through the fungal spores on the cards, but it went out of control and triggered a massive growth of fungi. Dr. M took out a canister and sprayed them with a fungal suppressant, and they remembered the words “Acme Chemicals” written on it.
The trio was eager to get to the bottom of this, and they headed to Acme Chemicals. Justine decided to distract the security guard by causing a ruckus, so that the other two could sneak in. Although the plan worked, Justine was knocked out cold by the guard. When Nic and Luna got into the factory, Nic found the ghost of Erica, who used to be a scientist working there. Erica told them that she was murdered by the CEO when she tried to whistleblow on the illegal experiments taking place in the facility. Erica led them to the security room, where Nic and Luna could shut down the security system. Unfortunately, the log in details Erica gave Nic was out of date, and it triggered an alarm and locked them in.
Nic and Luna had another flashback to their time at the college, where they were put into a battle simulation by Dr. M. The two of them were hiding in a bunker, with enemies advancing onto their position. While Nic was overwhelmed by the phantom wind, Luna unleashed their power onto the enemies. However, the power was too much for Luna to control and the mycelium tendril stretched into Nic’s brain via their eyeballs. It caused great pain to Nic and temporarily linked their mind to Luna’s.
Back to the present, where Luna once again is trapped in a place with Nic and enemies were approaching, Luna was determined to wield their powers with more control this time. They extended their senses through the spores in the air and found an air vent big enough for the both of them to crawl through. The air vent led them to a supply closet in the other side of the building.
Meanwhile, Justine came back to their senses. The security guard had left their post and they could hear the alarm from inside the factory. They sneaked around the factory and picked the lock to the service entrance. By sheer coincidence, Justine found the supply closet which Nic and Luna ended up in. Nic told Justine what Erica knew about the CEO, and they decided to head to the CEO’s office to collect evidence of the illegal experiments and murders happening in the facility.
On their way to the CEO’s office, they came across a room full of vats of chemicals. Erica pointed out that she was murdered by pushing into one of the vats, and there were in fact half dissolved body parts in a number of them. Just as they were about to leave, the CEO happened to be inspecting the vats. Justine leapt towards the CEO with a baton, but they were knocked aside easily. It seemed that the CEO had injected herself with experimental strength enhancing chemicals. Nic manifested the souls of the murder victims, and the ghosts pinned the CEO to the wall. However, the CEO retrieved a small device form her sleeve and pressed a button on it, summoning a humanoid construct made of body parts of the murdered victims. It took all of Nic’s power to manifest the ghosts subduing the CEO, and they had nothing left to fight the construct. At this moment, Justine apologised to Luna for doubting them, and asked them to unleash their powers against the monstrosity. Luna used their fungal powers to spread mould and decay in the flesh construct, but their power fizzled out. Instead, the construct grabbed Luna and absorbed them into their body.
Nic let go of the CEO so that they can help Luna, and Justine got back up for round two with the CEO. Knowing that the CEO had super strength, Justine fought with skill and precision this time, redirecting the CEO’s strength against her, throwing her onto the ground.
Nic once again manifest the ghosts to attack the construct and tried to pull Luna out of it. The rampaging construct knocked over of a vat of chemicals and it was about to hit Nic, but Justine pushed Nic out of the way just in time. However, green goo from the fallen vat splashed out and burned half of Justine’s body. Luna regained their consciousness and unleashed their powers, bursting out of the flesh construct. A new creature was formed of mushrooms, spores and fungal filaments. It slammed its hand onto Justine, and the fungal matter dissolved into a salve that healed the chemical burns on Justine’s body. The other hand of the creature lifted up Nic, and from within the creature, Luna thanked Nic for everything and told them they need to go away for a while to learn how to better control the power. Afterwards, the creature placed Nic down near on the rubble of the broken vat, and then disappeared with Luna.
As Nic tried to climb down the broken vat, they slipped and fell backwards, impaled by a metal rod. Justine removed them from the rod and performed CPR on them, but Nic’s heart had stopped beating. Nic died.
The mycelium that was implanted into Nic’s brain many years ago started to take control of their nervous system, repairing the brain damage and jumpstarting the heart. Nic was alive again, and had fulfilled the prophesy of having someone they trust stabbing them in the back and killing them.
Justine had collected enough evidence to link the councillor with the CEO, and put both of them behind bars. They were one step closer to bringing down the mayor’s corrupted government.
(The CEO was actually an ex-business partner of Dr. M, who betrayed Dr. M and sabotaged his current mission. Dr. M knew that the alumni would take care of things at the chemical factory if he sent them there.)