Welcome to the Noirverse
[The scene begins in darkness, the only sounds being the clacking of a typewriter and the static of an old radio playing a forgotten brass band.
Darkness turns to black and white with shades of gray as Venetian blinds open, striking horizontal lines of light across a heavy-set bald man in a pinstripe suit. He sits in a swivel chair behind a heavy wooden desk with an antique lamp and phone on it. A ceiling fan spins overhead, stirring the smoke from a cigar in an ashtray on the desk.]
"I'm glad you could make it. I'm sorry about your dimension collapsing and all, but these things happen all the time. So...introductions. They call me the Watcher. And this...is Earth-90214."
[He picks up the cigar and takes a few puffs as he leans back and points outside the blinds. You suddenly realize that the circle of light illuminating the scene isn't the full moon. It's the Earth!]
"Yeah, it's beautiful isn't it? Grime and all. So listen, pal. Here the year is 1934. The Great Depression is gripping the world, and in the States, Prohibition's made it so you can't tell the cops from the crooks anymore."
"Now the funny thing about this world is that people are starting to show up with...superhuman abilities. It started with Captain America in the Great War. Compared to the worlds my associates watch over, we're only about ten years early. Then there's that world in 1601, but that's a special case. But I digress."
"The problem is..."
[He pulls a flask from his drawer and takes a swig.]
"Okay...long story short. A lot of these heroes, and even some of the villains, have gone missing and are NOT coming back. Since you got no home left to go to, I'm giving YOU a chance to replace your analog in this world. You'll get a full set of memories and you'll forget you came from someplace else. Even your Uncle Benjamin won't recognize...*winces* oh..."
[He takes another swig]
"Now where was I? Right...so you'll be going deep undercover. I need you to investigate whatever's sending this universe to the edge of oblivion and stop it. Considering you got no place left to go home to, it's an offer you can't refuse."
[He pulls out a sheet of paper from a typewriter and offers you a pen from his inkwell.]
"So...we got a deal?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:18, Fri 23 June 2023.