Bedlam story setup

Act 1: Welcome to Bedlam
Characters are dropped into an alley with little idea of how they got there. Something (a voice, perhaps) guides them to a spot where they all meet. They get a chance to talk amongst themselves about their situation, before a man overhears them and asks a few questions. After ascertaining that they've been brought to the city against their will, he decides to help them out by calling the number for 'Nash's Taxi Service'. He'll ask them for their names, after which he will recite them (in alphabetical order) to whoever is on the other end of the line. Then they wait.
Shortly before the taxi arrives, A group of new individuals shows up and tells the party to come with them. The man, recognizing ill intentions when he sees them, objects to the party leaving with these individuals. At that point, the party has two choices:
-Taking the man's side, which kicks off a battle between the party's new ally and the group. The party may join, but depending on what happens, the most likely outcome is that the man either kills or drives away all three attackers using various magical powers. Should the man end up seriously wounded, he'll tell the party to run, informing them that the taxi will find them no matter where they are.
-Taking the side of the group, after which the man warns them that they're making a mistake. If they don't leave with the group fast enough, the group will attempt to fight him off, during which the party is allowed to either intervene for whichever side they wish or leave with one of the members. If they choose to assist the group, the man will die. If they choose to leave, the outcome will remain unknown.

Route 1: If the party chose to align themselves with the man and managed to keep him alive, he will lead them through the city, helping them take whatever safe routes he knows of. Should they ask for his name, he will identify himself as Jack Sweeney, a local citizen who's "not anyone special" but repeatedly takes up the task of helping newcomers to the city due to a strange tendency to run into new arrivals every week. Depending on how much they ask him, he will give them several bits of information regarding the city itself, its major players, and some of the things to be found.
Regardless of whether or not Jack is alive, the party will soon find themselves greeted by a yellow cab. If Jack is alive, he will wish them luck on their return home (and advise them to be careful from there on out) before departing. In either case, the cabbie will introduce himself as Isaac Nash before telling the party to get in, ending the chapter.

Route 2: If the party chose to align with the group, their choices afterwards will have little bearing on what happens here. They will be led (by one member or all of them depending on the choices made beforehand) to an undisclosed warehouse building, where the next set of choices will take place. There may be an encounter or two with some small-time enemies before their arrival at this building, but these attackers won't be much of a threat, especially with the other NPC(s) assisting the party.
If the party chooses to ask for names, the members of the group will identify themselves as Jude Murdoch, Rudolph Strand and Elizabeth Lange. Elizabeth will be present regardless of the choices made prior. Like Jack in Route 1, they can be used as sources of information on the city, its major inhabitants, and some of the places that can be visited.
The party's arrival will mark the end of the chapter. Depending on the choices made in the next act, the taxi will not arrive until later.

Act 2: Crosstown Traffic/Follow the Leader

Route 1: The scene opens up with the cabbie, Isaac, driving the party to their destination. Along the way, he'll ask them about themselves and what they were doing before they were transported to Bedlam City, after which each player will be allowed to make up whatever details they feel like. After this, the players will be allowed to ask further questions regarding the city, its inhabitants and places, and even Isaac himself if they so desire. If the players were transferred to this route from Route 2, he'll also speak briefly on the people you met along the way, though he won't know much of anything about the organization they work for.
Soon enough, a voice will come in on the car's radio and advise "all drivers" to avoid the intersection of 3rd St. and Sherwood, citing "violence amongst the Legion Family" as the reason for detour. If asked, Isaac will speak briefly on the Legion Family before assuring the party that they want nothing to do with a Legion Family dispute.
Shortly after this, Isaac will notice that they're being tailed by two cars and inform the party that there might be some trouble. The party will have one round of posts to ready themselves for a fight (during which Isaac will start making attempts to evade the cars which will be met with force) before Isaac stops them somewhere with decent cover. As soon as they stop, the party will be forced to defend themselves. This will be the first real battle of the chronicle, and that fact will be impressed upon the party before the fight begins.
Isaac won't die. Despite his mundane appearance, he turns out to be a fairly well-rounded magician, more than capable of holding his own against the party's attackers. That said, it is possible for the party to be overpowered and captured. If this happens, switch to Route 2 as the next chapter. (If the players have already switched to this route from Route 2, the attackers will be set on killing the party rather than capturing them.)
If the players win the battle and were not switched to this route from Route 2, Isaac will briefly comment on the apparent randomness of the attack before asking the characters if they've made any enemies he should know about. Then they'll all get back into the taxi and resume their journey, ending the chapter.

Route 2: The scene opens with the players and those accompanying them entering the undisclosed building from Act 1. If they were transferred to this route from Route 1, then they will be brought in by their assailants as captives, but freed immediately upon entry. If not, they will be brought in peacefully by Jude, Rudolph and Elizabeth.
In either case, they will be met with a mid-sized cargo room, at the center of which will be a woman in a chair. This woman will apologize for the confusion of the events leading up to this chapter (and will scold the party's captors if they were switched to this route from Route 1) before introducing herself as Evelyn and elaborating herself as a member of an organization.
Evelyn will then explain that the organization brought the characters to Bedlam City so that they might assist them with several matters they need help with. If asked the right questions (ex: "Why do you need us?"), she will elaborate that the party isn't the only set of beings the organization has drawn from their respective worlds, and that the others have been given their own tasks to complete. If any player asks whether or not anyone from their home setting is aware of their disappearance, she may or may not briefly touch on an established connection the organization has with whoever has been mentioned. (Note: She is lying.)
At this point, the party has two options:
-Take the Offer: In this scenario, Evelyn will explain to them what they can come to expect from the organization; funding, allies, living arrangements and various other supplies. She will then state that the party will be returned to their respective worlds once their missions have been completed, and that their first mission will begin tomorrow.
After this, the characters will be taken to their new living quarters, which turn out to be situated within a residential apartment complex. There, they will each receive a key to a one-bedroom apartment. Once they enter their rooms, the chapter will end.
-Reject the Offer: In this scenario, Evelyn will shake her head, remarking on how unfortunate their decision is and conceding that "you can't win them all". Then she'll snap her fingers, summoning a few dozen new arrivals armed with various weapons and/or magical abilities. At this point, the woman's less-than-pure intentions will be revealed.
...After which Isaac will appear to help the party. If the players were switched to this route from Route 1, Jack will also appear. The ensuing fight will not be the main objective; there are simply too many foes for them to win against at this stage in the chronicle. The party's goal is to escape the warehouse with their lives. If they succeed, they will be switched to Route 1. (If the players have already switched to this route from Route 1, this will skip them to the next chapter entirely.)

Act 3: Gateways/Negotiation

Route 1: The scene opens with the group nearing their goal, having resumed their journey after battling the forces of the organization that came after them. They will be allowed a chance to converse amongst themselves-- and perhaps heal each other if they sustained any injuries during the last battle-- before arriving at their destination; the City Gateways, their ticket home.

Isaac will follow them out of the cab after this, both to ensure their safety and to see them off to wherever it is they're going. From here, he'll tell them how the Gateways work; all they have to do is picture where they want to go, as clearly and vividly as they can, and one of the Gateways will take them there.

As soon as the first person steps up to the Gateways (keeping a mental picture of their destination as they do), one of the Gateways will power on for them. However, the moment they try to step through, an unseen force will launch them back, preventing them from using the Gateway. Isaac will briefly express puzzlement before telling this character to "Let me have a look at you for a second".

Once he's had his look (in reality, he's using clairvoyant abilities to study this character more thoroughly than normal eyes can manage), he'll come to the conclusion that something has "tampered with them" so that they're keyed against the Gateways' power. Which shouldn't be possible according to him, but nonetheless means that they can't use the Gateways to get back home.

If the characters express annoyance at this, he will tell them to calm down and let him think. Whether they do or not, he will eventually say that he knows someone who might be able to help them, claiming that "He's...a bit out of his mind, but he's almost never wrong". After this, he'll offer to take them to this man free of charge.

After a timeskip, the party will arrive at a part of the city that seems even stranger than usual. Isaac will elaborate that this is an infamous part of the city known as LeMarchand, A.K.A. the Demented District, where "reality is even less pinned-down than normal, and only the weirdest people tend to stay". After some further elaboration on the Demented District (should the characters request such), the taxi will come to a stop in front of a very specific alley. Isaac will get out of the taxi, telling the group to stay close to him before venturing into the alley.

Shortly afterwards, the group will come across a man lying against a wall and starting off into space. Isaac will step forward and speak to him, introducing himself as the names of every member currently in the party before saying "Someone has prevented us from using the City Gateways. Who is responsible for this?"

At this point the man will speak, in coded and mostly incoherent language that describes who and/or what has stopped them from leaving. As he does, their surroundings will change to that of a meeting room where several council people sit and talk, exchanging words that are unintelligible. He will elaborate (in his strange and broken language) that the organization that has been hounding the party since the first chapter are the ones responsible, and that while they are not the only ones who can undo the magic that's keeping the party from using the Gateways, they are the ones most likely to be able to.

After this, Isaac will ask "Who in this city is most likely to offer us shelter away from the organization?", after which the surroundings will change to that of a dive bar full of all manner of strange things and people. Everyone's voices will be muffled except for one, belonging to a large man with medium length hair and various piercings. Shortly after, the setting will return to normal, upon which Isaac will thank the man for his time and lead the party back the way they came.

Should the party ask, Isaac will explain that the man is named Kurtis Landry, and that he has a the unique ability to see all points of reality at once while in daydream. If spoken to a certain way, he can reveal answers that nobody else has.

Whether he is asked or not, Isaac will then tell the party that he's taking them to a man named Harris Wilson, Jr., better known as Heartless Harry. As Kurtis has designated him as the man most likely to take them in and shelter them from the organization, his current whereabouts are the party's next destination.

Route 2: After having a chance to rest, the party is given their first task; accompany a group of older organization members to a negotiation with the Coalition of Saint Lancaster, to serve as extra security in case anything goes awry. They'll be briefed on the details of the mission and, if they ask, what the Coalition is. The party will then have some time to converse amongst themselves before leaving, as well as ask questions regarding the meeting itself and what the organization's dealings with the Coalition are.

Before leaving, the party will be given a means of contacting their superior should anything go wrong.

The party will be driven to the site of the aforementioned meeting, riding in a car that has had its inner space altered to accommodate them all. On their way there, they'll be spoken to about their abilities and how they might assist the negotiation process if possible, as well as what they should do in the event that anything goes awry during the meeting.

As long as the players don't do/say anything too stupid or reckless, the negotiation should go off without a hitch. Should all go well, the players will learn quite a bit about the city and its inner workings during the negotiation, as well as numerous extra pieces of info regarding the Coalition itself depending on how the conversation goes.

As the party is leaving (as in, driving off from the meeting place), the area will come under attack. They can either find this out by watching out of the windows of the car or, failing that, being notified by the small contingency of organization members they've left behind with the Coalition representatives. At that point, they will have two options:

Return to the Meeting Area - The characters themselves will return to the meeting area to assist the Coalition representatives and their new allies in the fight against the attacking party. Once they arrive, they will be met with their first real challenge; a group of ten human-like beings with immense strength, speed, durability and willpower as well as regenerative abilities, accompanied by two small eldritch entities that look more like masses of dark energy than anything natural.

The powers an abilities encountered will be as follows:
-Superhuman Physical Characteristics: Every being has exceptional strength, speed and durability, with all of them reaching A or S Rank in those categories.
-Abstraction: The two amorphous beings have abstract physiologies that prevent them from being harmed by physical attacks. More esoteric powers are needed to affect these beings meaningfully.
-Regeneration: All enemies have varying degrees of self-healing, with some being able to regenerate from destroyed organs and severed limbs.
-Willpower: All of the beings have high Willpower, with some of them reaching S Rank in this category.
-Harmful Essence: Should anyone attempt to absorb anything from these beings (especially the amorphous ones), there will be harmful side-effects. Said side-effects will be much -more- harmful if the player attempts to absorb any part of their essence directly.

The point of this battle will not be for the players to win (though such a goal, difficult as it would be to achieve, would not be impossible), the point is to hold off the beings long enough for the Coalition members to target them with more powerful attacks that stop their regenerative abilities. If the players succeed in doing so, the Coalition will be able to drive off the assailants with these attacks.

Once the enemies are driven off, one of the Coalition members will remark that the attackers have "all of the markings" of the Legion Family's newborns. If asked, he and a few others will provide some elaboration on the Legion Family, their abilities and their status within the city.

Let the Organization Handle It - The characters will stop just long enough to let the extra organization members out of their car before continuing back to their destination. If this happens, they will not learn of the nature of the attack until later, if at all. However, this is far and away the safer of the two options, and is less likely to leave the players with any lasting injuries.

After either scenario is complete, the party will be taken back to the safe zone. Once their inevitable conversation with their superior is over, the chapter will end as the party's members are returning to their rooms.

Act 4: Appeal to the Heartless/Raid

Route 1:

Route 2: The group is given their second task; raid a cargo ship docked at the city piers and locate an artifact that's been stowed on-board. They'll be briefed on the details of the mission, including which group the ship belongs to and what kinds of enemies they're likely to encounter once they've arrived. The party will have some time to plan and converse amongst themselves before leaving, as well as ask questions regarding the artifact they're tasked with retrieving. (Though most answers won't shed much light on it.)

Before they leave, the party will be reminded of their means of contacting their superior should anything go wrong. This will be important later.

The party will then meet up with a contact, who will then proceed to transport them to their destination via a portal. From there, they will have a brief moment to plan out their attack before venturing out of hiding and beginning their assault on the cargo ship. They'll be met with light resistance; some enhanced humans with guns and melee weapons, accompanied by few low-level mages. Once they make it past the initial defenses and onto the ship itself, their contact (who has been assisting them thus far) will use a clairvoyant ability to pick up on a trail leading to the artifact, allowing him to lead them across the deck and into the interior.

Once they've made it to the inner part of the ship, they'll be met with more armed mooks and mages. Once those have been defeated, the group will fight their way downstairs, eventually reaching the ship's lower cargo hold where the artifact is located. There will be one last group of mooks to deal with before they make it to the shipping container holding the artifact.

As soon as they retrieve the artifact, the contact will begin setting up a long-range portal to get them out of the ship. Some seconds later, however, a man will reveal himself by shooting the contact in the head from an unseen vantage point. Zealous and fanatical, he'll speak briefly regarding the artifact before raising his hand and revealing a bomb switch. Which he will then proceed to activate, blowing a large hole in the side of the ship.

At that point, the party will have to flee from the sinking ship with the artifact in tow. There won't be any more mooks left (though the party won't be made aware of this fact), so the first and foremost priority will be to get off the ship and back onto the pier.
------------------------
Act 5 (altered): Enemy Territory

Upon stepping through the portal that's meant to lead them back to their safe zone, the players will instead emerge somewhere unfamiliar. They will have all of a moment to take this in before a set of NPCs reveal themselves.

It will then be explained that the portal was hijacked by the NPCs in question, and that said NPCs know that the party has the Diamond of the Headless King. They will demand it from them, after which there will be three options:

Hand It Over - By far the least moral option, but also the safest in the immediate sense, as the NPCs will allow the players to leave afterwards. There will be major consequences for this once they reach the safe zone, however.

Fight the NPCs - The most dangerous option, as the NPCs turn out to be trained magicians with no shortage of odd powers at their disposal. They will also have backup, albeit not much.

Run - Not as simple as it sounds, as most easy means of escape will be rendered useless. Teleportation will be hijacked, portals will either shut off or redirect back to the place they're running from, and intangibilities will be met with nullifying barriers. There will be fighting if this route is taken, but as long as the party focuses on escape instead of direct engagement, it shouldn't be impossible to get away.

If the second or third choice is made, the party will find themselves on an unfamiliar street the moment they leave the place they've been trapped in. Said street will have attackers, but nobody that would take much effort to defeat on their own. Standing and fighting is not the best option, however, as the mental effects of the Diamond will start to rear their head at this point. The main objective will be for the party to escape the neighborhood and make it somewhere safe. The party's telepathic connection to the members of Valkyrie will not be helpful here; something is jamming it, preventing them from communicating with anything but themselves.

After some fighting and running (probably at a point when there is a lull in said fighting), the party will hear a voice. A man will then reveal himself to them, identifying himself as Killian before saying "What's important is, I'm here to help. You want that, or what?". After the party inevitably says "yes", Killian will lead the players down numerous alleys and side roads, guiding them away from as many threats as he can. Killian won't be an especially powerful ally, but he'll be invaluable to helping them escape, so it should be stressed that he is worth protecting in the event any more enemies are encountered.

Eventually, the party will make it someplace safe, after which they'll have to follow Killian for the foreseeable future. From this point until the players' inevitable return home, he will serve as an ally as well as a form of insurance against getting lost or wandering anywhere too dangerous.

Act 6:

An optional: Youth Code

Route 2: The party will be informed of a group known as the Spawn of Valqim, a group of extremists who operate in Bedlam City. It will then be elaborated that the Spawn recently had one of their members captured, and that a trio of these "Valqimites" plan on hitting a local warehouse complex to free them. The party's next mission is simple;


------------------------
Why are they here?
1. An organization wants to use them.
-Why?
--Because they're an upstart faction in a place where several established individuals, groups and organizations already exist, all of whom won't take kindly to a new set of players making their way into the game. Outsiders are the most likely candidates for new recruits, as they can be manipulated more easily and have no ties with any established players.

What caused them to be different from anyone else who's been recruited into the faction already.
1. Something went wrong with the process of transporting these particular new recruits to the city. Instead of landing where they were supposed to (read: in zones of the city pre-designated by the new organization), they landed somewhere random,
-What went wrong?
--Someone (or something) very powerful found out about the transportation and managed to interfere.
---Who? Or...what?
----