A painting called Gentlemen of Malta

Overview

From the Story Arc "Melvin and the Mysterious Malta Group" given by Indigo.
This Souvenir is restricted to the level range of 40-44.

Souvenir's Text

A painting called Gentlemen of Malta

This painting, showing the 17 men who would form the illegal international conspiracy is a reminder to you of the adventure you called:

Melvin and the Mysterious Malta Group

It all began when Indigo told you that the Malta Group had kidnapped one of their informants, a man named Melvin Langley. You tried to rescue him, but the Malta Group had already spirited him away and you only found his computer. You found out that Melvin had been researching the Might for Right act of the 50's.

Fearing that Malta would start to tie up loose ends by eliminating people Melvin Langley had talked to, you reacted quickly to news of the abduction of Jim 'Thunderhead' Bartlett and rescued him from the Malta Group. He told you that Melvin had interviewed him about the transition years in the superhuman community after the end of the Second World War, and how many heroes had left the service for civilian life.

You next stopped the Malta Group from destroying the office where Melvin Langley worked, and discovered that Melvin had been a research file clerk for the CIA.

With Melvin still missing, Crimson had you begin a clever operation to make Malta uncertain of just how much Melvin Langley really knew. You first rescued a woman who Melvin had employed as a proofreader from the Knives of Artemis. She gave you a copy of Melvin's last report, which you returned to Crimson. He in turn gave you an altered copy of that report to plant. With Malta confused about Melvin, it brought you more time.

You next rescued a British politician named Lester Chesterford, whom Melvin had interviewed about the secret intelligence agency conference on the Island of Malta held in the late 60's after the Might for Right act was overturned.

You next investigated an abandoned office where Malta Group agents had set themselves up. You found some interesting information the agents were there to destroy, information that showed that millions of dollars had been secretly embezzled from intelligence agencies world wide for decades and funneled into other projects.

You thought you got a break on Melvin Langley's location and jumped a group of Malta Operatives who were about to move a prisoner. Instead of Melvin, you found a man named Art Returio, who had been targeted for recruitment by force by the Malta Group due to his power to make someone forget the last few minutes of their lives. Art described the chilling details of how the Malta Group treated meta-humans.

With Melvin still in Malta's hands, Crimson decided to change tactics. Originally he and Indigo had hoped that Melvin Langley would return to a normal life when this was done, but by now that was clearly going to be impossible. The new strategy began by sending you to recover some of Melvin's notes from a trip he took to the island of Malta and to make sure that the Malta Group knew about it. After you recovered the notes, Indigo told you that she felt responsible for all of this, as she and Crimson had been deliberately trying to lead Melvin on the road to the Malta Group by engaging his curiosity so that they could recruit him as an information gathering resource. They'd never meant for him to get in so much trouble, though.

You next rescued an old Russian spy named Mavra Varvarinsky from Malta captors, and found an encoded listing of the Malta Group's detention centers in the city. Melvin was sure to be in one of them. Madame Varvarinsky also told you about how a mysterious intelligence group of unknown origin decimated Russia's spy network in the 60's with brutal efficiency.

You next attacked a former government computer lab that had been taken over by Malta as an information clearing house. You found a great deal of information, including a clue to Melvin's location.

You struck a meeting between Crey staff and the Malta Group to double-check the deductions Indigo had made based on the information you gathered.

With the information double-checked, you were able to attack the disused Council base where the Malta Group had been hiding Melvin Langley. With Melvin free at last and more determined to fight Malta than ever, Crimson took you aside and explained the shocking truth: He'd known about Melvin's location for almost the whole time, but kept the situation going in order to make sure that neither Indigo nor Melvin had been compromised by the Malta Group. He didn't apologize, but he did explain that the reason he used you that way was because he could trust you to do the right thing. Indigo told you that she didn't blame Crimson for all of that, and then thanked you for working with her and for trusting her throughout the operation. With heroes like you on their side, she said, the battle against Malta would never be lost.

See Also

• Souvenirs