Vanguard Vault, New York City, before dawn
The city was dark. Powerless. But the same could not be said for Vanguard, earth’s greatest heroes!
Avatar, Clone, Sentinel and Symbiote squared off at last against Siberian, Cosmonaut and Shatter in the tight, dark stairwell between the 83rd and 84th floor of the Empire State Building!
Vanguard now knew that Clone and Siberian had switched places, against Siberian’s will! But why?
“Kill that traitor,” commanded the real Siberian in Russian, pointing at the real Clone! Cosmonaut and Shatter were happy to obey!
Avatar beat them to the punch! The manifestation of Mythology among Men drew back on a bow made of solar energy and fired an arrow of light into the chest of the leader of the Soviet Super Soldiers! ZAM! Siberian was staggered!
Siberian roared as ice formed around his battered body, protecting it. The indignities visited upon him by his traitorous former comrade were too much! “Alexander Oleksienko,” he spat in Russian, “You have forfeited your life. And the lives of your family.”
ZARSSHHH!!! Ice projected from the hands of the cruel cryogenic Cossack into Clone! (11 points of damage! 5 from Power. 6 from Hits!) The Human Collective, was barely conscious and encased in ice!!
Clone concentrated and divided into two bodies (his new maximum)! SKASSHH! The division blew his icy prison into shards! The first Clone pulled the injured Manetti up the darkened stairwell to the relative safety of the hangar, and then headed back down! The second readied for battle!
Symbiote had had enough. He leapt at Cosmonaut!
Cosmonaut crowed at Symbiote: “American, your so-called technology is powerless before the superiority of soviet science! I will bury you.” A beam weapon fired from his gauntlet and hit the myrmidon of mimicry! ZARK! (16 points of damage! 8 from Invulnerability, the rest of Power).
Symbiote was apparently unaffected by Cosmonaut’s energy blast! The Soviet was stunned.
Hal used his simulated super strength to lift Cosmonaut up with one arm. The other arm threw a roundhouse punch! KA-WHAM! Symbiote connected hard and Cosmonaut went sailing through walls before landing in Vanguard’s Gymnasium! (see map, 83rd floor) KRASH!
The Soviet super scientist was unconscious!
Sentinel, facing an opponent that couldn’t be touched, spoke to him. "Really? You follow this man (pointing towards Siberian)? His undisciplined arrogance caused his defeat in the prior battle. He is unable to maintain the loyalty of his team as is evident from his current predicament. And his action here questions whether he can even comprehend the scientific world altering event about to occur nearby. Meanwhile, you emerge from the battle unscathed. Obviously you are more powerful than he ... that was your power that utterly obliterated our craft, wasn't it?”
Shatter nodded unconsciously as he observed the beacon of liberty.
Sentinel continued, “Surely if his ineptness led to his capture on US soil there would be someone better qualified, someone more worthy to assume leadership of the Soviet Super Soldiers upon returning home.”
Shatter seemed to consider this even as his leader battled for his life! (holds action)
Sentinel dared not attack anyone for fear of pulling Shatter back into the fray! (Let me know if you want to evade. It will cost you at least one power point to take any action. Thanks!)
Avatar, however, had no such concerns! The demigod of destiny fired another solar arrow into Siberian! ZAM! The sunlight shaft damaged the ice armor but not the man inside!
Symbiote turned from the man-shaped hole Cosmonaut had formed in the wall. He charged Siberian, who had threatened to discover the secret of Symbiote’s powers by any means possible. KRA-POW! The duplicating defender hit the frozen fiend hard! SKASSSHHHH!!! His ice armor shattered! There was little protection left! (and Siberian had no movement left with which to form more!)
Siberian saw Symbiote as the primary threat now. SWOOSSHHHHH! An icy blast hit the scientific superpower simulator! (19 points! Invulnerability is gone. Roll with 8, 11 from Hits!)
Siberian readied to attack Avatar next.
Clone leapt at Siberian with both of his bodies in an unexpected fury of fists!! POW! WHAM! The unarmored Siberian fell backwards and toppled down the stairs! CRASH! SMASH! He lay in a heap on the landing, unconscious!
Shatter phased intangibly into the floor and disappeared without a word. Siberian and Cosmonaut were unconscious and Shatter was AWOL.
Sentinel telepathically checked on Nemesis’ position and noted it had not changed. The other team wasn’t moving!
(OOC: Actions?! Questions for Clone?)
Meanwhile…
Lightning Strike, Slingshot, Soldier, Talon, Shelley and Mother Russia and Polar Bear were on the way to the Electronics Lab but stopped on the 85th floor (in and around Room Q on the SE side)
Silas Caine said, “If our world is going to live, then Nemesis must be destroyed.”
The man who might have been behind the death of Nanite and the death of Lightning Strike’s wife calmly faced off against Vanguard in their dark, unpowered headquarters!
Nemesis lay lifeless in the arms of Slingshot, still transmitting the Silent Signal. Mother Russia looked from the capitalist to ‘the Nemesis weapon’ to Vanguard. So did Shelly Harper.
Caine said, “Sacrifices must be made for the sake of the human race… you remember them. I’m asking you to help me save the world. You are “superheroes” after all. That IS what you do, right?”
Slingshot “absorbed” Nemesis’ prostrate form into his ebony elastic epidermis. The big man then moved to leave, watching Caine’s reaction for any hint of fear or sincerity.
Mother Russia said to Vanguard, “You know this man?”
Talon was unable to control his animalistic urges! He stepped toward Caine and growled, "It takes a lot of nerve for you to come into our home without invitation, and then insult us before explaining that we should kill the man we just travelled half a world away to rescue! What evidence can you provide that proves your statement is true?" The bestial birdman moved in close to Caine in a threatening manner. Then he seemed to hesitate and regain his composure.
“Savage,” said Caine coolly to Talon. “The evidence is all around you. This darkened city. The power nexus building here. Nemesis discovered now. Open your eyes before it’s too late.”
Lightning Strike echoed Talon’s questions: "What proof do you offer for your accusations? The scribblings of a madman.”
Caine clearly wanted to reply to that but didn’t, perhaps out of concern that it could incriminate him.
Strike said, “You yourself have profited from the very things you say are going to destroy our world.”
Caine smiled, “I confess. I am not a Communist, Mr. Strike. If there is a profit to be made from knowledge, is there harm in profiting? What system do you think you uphold as an agent of the US?”
Lightning Strike said, “Nemesis served this world bravely and prevented its destruction."
“Then surely, he would not hesitate to save it again, even if it meant sacrificing himself to do it,” Caine said evenly.
Strike continued his questioning. "How did you manage to enter Vanguard Headquarters?”
Caine answered, “The power loss made it easy. My personal helicopter is in an open hangar on the western side of the building. I came to help.” (That hangar is area H-1 on the map.)
Strike said, “What makes you so altruistic now? You have never shown much interest in saving humanity before. Controlling us maybe, but never saving us."
“Unlike your new friends,” Caine said, indicating the Soviet heroes, “I am an unabashed capitalist. I need markets and consumers. The end of the world could put a crimp in those plans.”
Strike demanded that he reveal the source of this energy drain. "Before we can even look at Nanite and Nemesis, we need to stop this electrical drain. Give me more details of our current situation and we can decide if your story is plausible."
“The drain was traced to this building. Your headquarters. That’s why I came. Beyond that, I have no information. I had thought that you would know better than anyone,” Caine said to Lightning Strike.
CHESS Agent Shelley Harper still held the signal scanner that Slingshot had built. She quietly moved it behind her back so Caine wouldn’t see it.
Soldier couldn’t arouse the unconscious CHESS Rook. He needed to get to the infirmary. The patriotic powerhouse demanded of Caine: "What happened to the Rook? And what are you rambling on about?"
Caine answered the star spangled superhero: “I found him stunned but alive.
And what I’m discussing is an invasion of our world, through cyberspace for lack of a better term. An invasion that mankind will not likely survive, given its complete dependence upon computers. An invasion that was foreseen, and yet those warnings went unheeded.” Caine’s charismatic cool was cracking.
“For god’s sake man,” he said to Soldier, “you must stop this.” Caine’s eyes were on Slingshot, or perhaps on Nemesis inside him.
Mother Russia and Polar Bear murmured to each other in Russian.
Slingshot’s gambit paid off. The pliable powerhouse saw clear desperation in Caine. Slingshot stopped walking. “These are androids. Robots. They can be rebuilt. How can you destroy them in such as way that will avoid this thing from coming?
Caine said, “To be safe, wipe their memory banks and dismantle them completely. Disintegrate them.”
OOC: Replies?!? Actions?
Replies are due in a little over a week, by end of day Tuesday December 8th.
Thanks!
Best,
Jeff
Current Locations: (see map!)
Avatar, Sentinel, Symbiote, Manetti and Clone were on the way to the infirmary and are currently in and around the NE stairwell between floors 84 and 83. Sentinel can still sense where Nemesis is located. (His telepathic range is 750 feet)
Forester is searching the rest of the base. Exact location unknown. He was last seen headed toward the hangar that Silas Caine mentioned!
Lightning Strike, Slingshot, Soldier, Talon, Shelley, Mother Russia and Polar Bear were on the way to the Electronics Lab and are currently in Room Q on the SE side of the 85th floor. Silas Caine is with them and Slingshot has stewardship of the motionless Nemesis.
Current Conditions:
Avatar: Hit Points: 40, Power Points: 37, Manifestation: Apollo: Light Powers
Forester: Hit Points: 23, Power Points: 68, Arrows Used: Parachute, Scentx2, Sonic, Acid, Flare, Impact
Lightning Strike: Hit Points: 25, Power Points: 73
Sentinel: Hit Points: 18, Power Points: 39, Creation Points: 78, Shields: 78%
Slingshot: Hit Points: 36, Power Points: 88, Invulnerability: 8
Soldier: Hit Points: 39, Power Points: 73, Invulnerability: 8
Symbiote: Hit Points: 59, Power Points: 80, Charges: 10, Copied Russia: S:60 E:22 A:18 I:25 C:13 Invul:0
Talon: Hit Points: 28, Power Points: 75
Clone: Total Bodies: 2. Hit Points: 1, Power Points: 40, Total Hit Point Pool: 2
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Symbiote:
Determined to set a new speed record if I can...
IC: Once Siberian falls, Symbiote immediately whirls and faces Clone with an aggressive stance, fists at the ready. "Alright Clone, friend or foe?" Hal barks at the Copying Collectivist. "Be careful how you answer--I think we all want to give you the benefit of the doubt, given the way you helped us in the tunnels under Big City. But right now I think you need to give us an exact run down of how you survived that incident, what you're doing hanging out with the Keystone Communists here and what you know about this entire situation with Nemesis and Nanite. And either make it the truth or head for the stairs and the Russian embassy like we suggested before, I've had all I'm going to take of people attacking us under a flag of truce today," Hal says, cracking his knuckles.
Assuming Clone agrees to talk, Hal turns to his teammates. "Guys, I still recommend we get Manetti to the infirmary." He gestures towards Siberian and Cosmonauts unconscious forms. "These two also, and give them a nice, stiff sedative that will hopefully keep them out of trouble until we straighten this whole mess out." He then turns back to Clone. "OK, we're all ears."
If everybody follows he'll pick up Cosmonaut's body and carry him to the infirmary, listening to Clone as they go. Once there he'll give the Soviet a sleeping agent and peel off the armor, doing a quick evaluation of the technology as he does so. Once everybody's cared for and tucked in he recommends we radio the other team, see what's up with them.
Viva Vanguard and Happy Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Coma Recovery to all,
Greg
-----------------------------------------------------
Avatar:
I'm in agreement. I'll assist with Siberian and let Symbiote administer a sedative. By the time we get there, is the Apollo manifestation still active or not? If not, it soon will be, I suppose. Avatar will then prepare to make his way to wherever the other team happens to be when we make contact. In the admittedly small time between, he'll try and rest a little. Power is low and I'm not wanting to manifest anything again (or even fight) until it's recovered a little but I guess we can't always choose these things...
-----------------------------------------------------
GM:
Avatar, fyi: Duration of the manifestation is Charisma minutes (19 minutes. You have ~17 minutes remaining at the end of Issue 102)
Best,
Jeff
-----------------------------------------------------
Talon:
Hello All,
IC: Talon sneers at Caine and then turns toward Slingshot, " I don't need to be here. One more comment from this arrogant jerk and I'll do something that I might regret later.". "I'm gonna take the injured Rook down to the infirmary to try and get him some medical attention.".
Talon gently lifts the Rook and leaves the room. He will find Manetti and ask him to come with him if he's capable of walking on his own. If he can't, he will tell him to stay put and he will come back for him in a moment.
He will carry the Rook in the direction that he saw the rest of the Vanguard travel. If or when he meets up with Symbiote, Sentinel, and Avatar he will tell them that "There is a situation that needs their attention on the 85th floor." and then go about the task of getting the injured some needed assistance.
OOC: I know that the short time I spent in the Vanguard Vault limits my knowledge of the floorplan, so I will use my natural senses to listen for the sounds of my companions talking or moving around to help guide me to them and the infirmary. When he is done with that task, he will move back to the area where Siberian and Cosmonaut were thumped (assuming I found it), and keep watch over them until the situation is resolved.
Viva Vanguard,
Denny
-----------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
Hi all.
Jeff, before posting. With Kirk's tete-a-tete with Shatter he should have gotten a 'good' energy read on him. Given his out-of-sync-ness and the little bit we do know about his origin, did Kirk pick up any signs of either the unearthly cave energy or the same energy that we have been following and emanates from Nanite and Nemesis?
... just trying to see if he ties into things more than we thought previously before my post and it didn't occur to me until this issue.
Thanks.
Seth
-----------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
Private to GM:
Ok. I'm spending a luck point to get a hint from the GM. This is my character trying to think of a good way to save Nanite from this conundrum. He's a little obsessed with her and wants his cake and eat it too.
He doesn't care overly much about Nemesis.. although, he hasn't met the revived Nanite which is bothering him as he doesn't know what he'll find there.. so that encounter might change his decision.
-----------------------------------------------------
GM:
Sentinel, No he doesn't.
He (it?) reads like to a sentient, self-contained magnetic field.
Ooh. I just gave myself goosebumps.
Private to Slingshot:
Cool. Nice use.
Right now Slingy's lacking info, as you said.
Once more info is received, I'll get you something.
Thanks,
Jeff
-----------------------------------------------------
Clone:
OOC: Ok . . . lol . . . Clone just had Siberian ‘lump up’ on him, he’s become a traitor to his country, had his family marked for death by the leader of the supergroup that he has just betrayed, and now he feels that Symbiote . . . the one friend that he thought he had . . . just ‘climbed up’ in his face. Needless to say – Clone is not having a good day lol.
Avatar, Sentinel, Symbiote, Manetti and Clone were on the way to the infirmary and are currently in and around the NE stairwell between floors 84 and 83. Sentinel can still sense where Nemesis is located. (His telepathic range is 750 feet)
Forester is searching the rest of the base. Exact location unknown. He was last seen headed toward the hangar that Silas Caine mentioned!
Lightning Strike, Slingshot, Soldier, Talon, Shelley, Mother Russia and Polar Bear were on the way to the Electronics Lab and are currently in Room Q on the SE side of the 85th floor. Silas Caine is with them and Slingshot has stewardship of the motionless Nemesis.
Current Conditions:
Avatar: Hit Points: 40, Power Points: 37, Manifestation: Apollo: Light Powers
Forester: Hit Points: 23, Power Points: 68, Arrows Used: Parachute, Scentx2, Sonic, Acid, Flare, Impact
Lightning Strike: Hit Points: 25, Power Points: 73
Sentinel: Hit Points: 18, Power Points: 39, Creation Points: 78, Shields: 78%
Slingshot: Hit Points: 36, Power Points: 88, Invulnerability: 8
Soldier: Hit Points: 39, Power Points: 73, Invulnerability: 8
Symbiote: Hit Points: 59, Power Points: 80, Charges: 10, Copied Russia: S:60 E:22 A:18 I:25 C:13 Invul:0
Talon: Hit Points: 28, Power Points: 75
Clone: Total Bodies: 2. Hit Points: 1, Power Points: 40, Total Hit Point Pool: 2
-----------------------------------------------------
Symbiote:
Determined to set a new speed record if I can...
IC: Once Siberian falls, Symbiote immediately whirls and faces Clone with an aggressive stance, fists at the ready. "Alright Clone, friend or foe?" Hal barks at the Copying Collectivist. "Be careful how you answer--I think we all want to give you the benefit of the doubt, given the way you helped us in the tunnels under Big City. But right now I think you need to give us an exact run down of how you survived that incident, what you're doing hanging out with the Keystone Communists here and what you know about this entire situation with Nemesis and Nanite. And either make it the truth or head for the stairs and the Russian embassy like we suggested before, I've had all I'm going to take of people attacking us under a flag of truce today," Hal says, cracking his knuckles.
Assuming Clone agrees to talk, Hal turns to his teammates. "Guys, I still recommend we get Manetti to the infirmary." He gestures towards Siberian and Cosmonauts unconscious forms. "These two also, and give them a nice, stiff sedative that will hopefully keep them out of trouble until we straighten this whole mess out." He then turns back to Clone. "OK, we're all ears."
If everybody follows he'll pick up Cosmonaut's body and carry him to the infirmary, listening to Clone as they go. Once there he'll give the Soviet a sleeping agent and peel off the armor, doing a quick evaluation of the technology as he does so. Once everybody's cared for and tucked in he recommends we radio the other team, see what's up with them.
Viva Vanguard and Happy Post-Thanksgiving Turkey Coma Recovery to all,
Greg
-----------------------------------------------------
Avatar:
I'm in agreement. I'll assist with Siberian and let Symbiote administer a sedative. By the time we get there, is the Apollo manifestation still active or not? If not, it soon will be, I suppose. Avatar will then prepare to make his way to wherever the other team happens to be when we make contact. In the admittedly small time between, he'll try and rest a little. Power is low and I'm not wanting to manifest anything again (or even fight) until it's recovered a little but I guess we can't always choose these things...
-----------------------------------------------------
GM:
Avatar, fyi: Duration of the manifestation is Charisma minutes (19 minutes. You have ~17 minutes remaining at the end of Issue 102)
Best,
Jeff
-----------------------------------------------------
Talon:
Hello All,
IC: Talon sneers at Caine and then turns toward Slingshot, " I don't need to be here. One more comment from this arrogant jerk and I'll do something that I might regret later.". "I'm gonna take the injured Rook down to the infirmary to try and get him some medical attention.".
Talon gently lifts the Rook and leaves the room. He will find Manetti and ask him to come with him if he's capable of walking on his own. If he can't, he will tell him to stay put and he will come back for him in a moment.
He will carry the Rook in the direction that he saw the rest of the Vanguard travel. If or when he meets up with Symbiote, Sentinel, and Avatar he will tell them that "There is a situation that needs their attention on the 85th floor." and then go about the task of getting the injured some needed assistance.
OOC: I know that the short time I spent in the Vanguard Vault limits my knowledge of the floorplan, so I will use my natural senses to listen for the sounds of my companions talking or moving around to help guide me to them and the infirmary. When he is done with that task, he will move back to the area where Siberian and Cosmonaut were thumped (assuming I found it), and keep watch over them until the situation is resolved.
Viva Vanguard,
Denny
-----------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
Hi all.
Jeff, before posting. With Kirk's tete-a-tete with Shatter he should have gotten a 'good' energy read on him. Given his out-of-sync-ness and the little bit we do know about his origin, did Kirk pick up any signs of either the unearthly cave energy or the same energy that we have been following and emanates from Nanite and Nemesis?
... just trying to see if he ties into things more than we thought previously before my post and it didn't occur to me until this issue.
Thanks.
Seth
-----------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
Private to GM:
Ok. I'm spending a luck point to get a hint from the GM. This is my character trying to think of a good way to save Nanite from this conundrum. He's a little obsessed with her and wants his cake and eat it too.
He doesn't care overly much about Nemesis.. although, he hasn't met the revived Nanite which is bothering him as he doesn't know what he'll find there.. so that encounter might change his decision.
-----------------------------------------------------
GM:
Sentinel, No he doesn't.
He (it?) reads like to a sentient, self-contained magnetic field.
Ooh. I just gave myself goosebumps.
Private to Slingshot:
Cool. Nice use.
Right now Slingy's lacking info, as you said.
Once more info is received, I'll get you something.
Thanks,
Jeff
-----------------------------------------------------
Clone:
OOC: Ok . . . lol . . . Clone just had Siberian ‘lump up’ on him, he’s become a traitor to his country, had his family marked for death by the leader of the supergroup that he has just betrayed, and now he feels that Symbiote . . . the one friend that he thought he had . . . just ‘climbed up’ in his face. Needless to say – Clone is not having a good day lol.
IC: As Clone tries to absorb all of this, he just stands there for a second in silence disbelief trying to make sense of it all. The moment then passes as he quickly pulls Siberians mask off his head and his once emotionally stunned look turns to one of anger and frustration. He then points at Hal ( with the Siberian mask still in his hand ) and barks back at him, “Ya ne panimayu tebia!” He then shakes his head a bit as he realizes he just spoke in Russian – frustrated and angry he continues, “I do not understand why you are so much angry! I am now traitor to Russian peoples and my family is now to die! I fight my comrades, come to helping you, and you now look upon me as enemy! I am thinking now that all Americans are crazy!” He then throws his hands in the air in frustration and lets out a shout “AArrrr!” Lowering his hands he then turns his back to Hal and slowly takes a few steps away from him. As he bows his head a bit he slowly puts his hands over his face and takes a few moments to calm down. With his back still towards him, he turns his head a bit and says to Hal, “I am sorry comrade . . . sometimes my blood goes on fire and I can not control it good.” With a sigh he calmly turns to Symbiote and continues, “I will answer all questions you have. The Clone you were knowing was a copy of me. We made split two years from now in hopes of making a defect to the U.S. and A. He must have made a way here to you, and for that I am grateful. I stayed in Russia in Moscow Military District so that my government would not make notice that I had want to left. Would that my government know that I had leave they would surely have killed my family. So as you are seeing comrade . . . I am not Clone you were knowing. As for this Nemesis and Nanite, I am not knowing of them. We were order to Antarctica to stop an American team from exploiting valuable resources there, and to investigate a source of strange electronic signal. The rest of story you are knowing. Am I enemy . . . nyet. Pozhaluista . . . you have asked for truce and I have been telling you truce.” An awkward look of epiphany then washes over his face as he continues, “Perhaps you are knowing Russian epic of Cinderella . . . if shoe fits . . . wear it.” With his eyes wide open; he then nods his head knowingly and flashes Hal a look as if he had just passed on a bit of prophetic wisdom to him. A moment later Clone’s face takes a more serious expression as he stretches his arms out to his sides and starts to bare his soul to Symbiote. A gesture of sincerity that he hopes Hal will understand and finally see that he is no threat to him, Vanguard or the United States.
“My name is Alexander Oleksienko, I am man from poor family of farmers in Ukraine. My family are good people and my parents have much love for me. My government took me from them many years from now and I miss them and fear for them very much. I am fearing that my love for American freedom will kill my family. I am having two girlfriends, I am love vodka, and my hobby is the ping-pong and disco dance. I am here now with you in U.S. and A. not as enemy, but as friend . . . and I am defect.” He then pauses again, sighs a sigh of great relief and smiles a large grin before giving Hal a big ‘man hug’.
“We go now to infirmary . . . da? Da!” He smiles again, pats Hal on both shoulders, and then turns and walks towards the door. As he walks by Siberian he gives him a quick little kick and continues on his way to the infirmary, confidant that he has not only won the argument, but that he has reinforced his friendship with his new friends - Vanguard.
OOC: Clone is a hot headed Russian with a really big heart – what can I say? lol
Hope that wasn't too confusing and I hope you guys got as big a kick out of reading it as I did writing it lol.
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
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Symbiote:
OOC: Heh...that was great. Anybody remember the old "All in the Family" TV show? There was a wonderful episode where Archie and Mike actually come to a sort of understanding and Mike, always the more emotional by far, actually lunges in and gives Archie a hung. The look of chagrined horror on Carrol O'Connor's face was a great bit of acting. I see Symbiote as having had the same look on his face.
IC: As the Defecting Duplicator walks towards the infirmary, Symbiote shakes his head in bemusement, pauses for a second and then walks over to pick up Cosmonaut's unconscious form. "Well, it may be partly because I feel like I just kicked a puppy, but I believe him," he says to Sentinel, Avatar and Manetti. "I suppose we'll need to do something about negotiating for the release of his family once this is all over." He stops, looks around the darkened headquarters. "But we're also going to have a much bigger problem, probably much harder to crack." He lifts Cosmonaut over his shoulder. "Clone just told us the Soviets were in Antarctica because of us--because they knew we were coming. And Siberian mentioned that he knew my Harness was the source of my abilities.
"Gentlemen, CHESS has a leak."
With that, Symbiote follows Clone.
Viva Vanguard,
Greg
-----------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
Kirk was glad that his gambit with Shatter had paid off and that his teammates had removed the immediate threat and interference from the Soviet Super Soldiers.
As Kirk regrouped with his teammates he said,
"We need to keep alert since Shatter took off here and is likely pursuing an agenda of his own at this point. I'm not sure he is even a 'he' anymore, his presence if more that of a sentient self-contained magnetic field," and looking at Hal he added, "he was the force that took out craft. How they knew of our coming is another question to be answered ... " and he looked towards Clone.
Kirk wants to hear everything Clone has to say at this point to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together here as well as find out this Clone's relationship with Vanguard's Clone. Kirk is all for Symbiote's plan to be sure that Siberian and Cosmonaut are totally incapacitated and won't cause further problems after. In fact, if they get as far as handling this, Kirk will send a quick secure encoded email to Chess to let them know the situation so that if power is restored and they can 'secure them' all the better.
Along the way, at some point in their discussion, if Symbiote and Avatar are paying close attention they will notice a slight brow of concentration on Kirk's face and it will seem almost like Kirk is looking through them at something not there and he'll say,
"We need to finish this here quickly, the rest of our team is no longer moving and has stopped short of their intended destination."
Kirk will follow his teammates’ lead with Clone and is really looking to get them back with the rest of Vanguard ASAP. If Talon makes it back to them and mentions the presence of Silas Caine, unless he is involved with something imperative he will immediately take off to rejoin the others ... he wants the opportunity to get a 'read' on Caine to determine if he possesses any abilities and once Talon reveals what he said to help to find out what he knows of the situation... the energy read would be immediate, he would lock in to monitor his thoughts assuming the situation hasn't changed drastically from what we have now.
Along the way Kirk will continue to pay close attention to his energy perceptions to hopefully prevent any sneak attacks on himself and his teammates. He will try to preserve power and extend it only as necessary given that he never got to 'rest' from the prior battle and right now his knowledge of things and his ability to 'read' things from his energy perception and his mental abilities seem of more value to the situation than his battle prowess - that being said if things change and he needs to protect his teammates or himself or if the 'real' threat is revealed, he will not hesitate to take direct action as needed.
Enjoy the weekend all.
Seth
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Slingshot:
OOC: Looks like I'll wait until t-minus 3 seconds before posting. I have a series of questions:
Knowing what I know of the facilities at this location, especially with regards to the technical facilities:
Is the best location to do the wipe and destruction of Nemesis is the electronics lab? If not, where? We need to disintegrate him... the only thing I can think of would be to melt him, unless we have some high tech disintegration ray facility. If I'm not sure, I'll ask Shelley. (Incinerator?)
Speaking of Shelley, I'll ask Strike, Soldier and Talon to line up keep an eye on Caine (loudly). I'll go see Shelley and ask her about the facilities (low enough to be over heard a bit). Really low: I'll have a look at the sensor. What does it tell me? Is it pointing at Caine? Nemesis? Somewhere further out and below (like where the electronics lab should be), someone/thing else entirely? I assume I'll work it all out by moving myself around and have Shelley move a few feet as well and see where the pointer leads. I'm not taking the sensor from her.
I'm trying also to keep the sensor knowledge from Caine, which is why I ask the other three to line up and watch him.
I'll wait for the answers for my next move.
sorry.
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GM:
1) Slingshot's engineering expertise, and knowledge of Vanguard Vault, gives him this info. If he wanted to disintegrate/destroy a man sized being, these ways might work:
-There's a vacuum chamber on the 84th floor (V-1 on the map)
-There's a small smelter in the mechanical workshop on the 85th floor (T-2) that would be big enough
-Doc's experimental space shuttle has working propulsion engines. Nemesis could be placed on the 82nd floor blast slab while the engines fired. (SW corner of building)
-Scott assumes the sub-basement of the Empire State Building holds a furnace and incinerator, but hasn't seen them. They may not be big enough or hot enough.
2) Slingshot's sensor, held by Shelley, reveals that the silent signal emanated from Nemesis into the building, interacting with its electronic systems! There was now an identical signal coming from the Computer Lab (82nd floor, C-1).
Slingy knew that was also the vicinity where the entire city's power was being funneled to; the center nexus of a massive power vortex! That nexus could have masked the silent signal from the Computer Lab until now, when they've gotten closer.
Slingy also knew that Nanite had been stored nearby in the Electronics Lab ( 82nd floor, E-1)
3) Slingy believes Caine did not see him checking the scanner.
Best,
Jeff
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Slingshot:
Slingshot is not one to make these kind of decisions. He leaves that to the likes of Sentinel and Symbiote. He was made to save people damnit! He loves saving people! Not destroying them!
..but he can see that Caine is truly fearing this issue.
He looks at Mother Russia and says, "Well it does seem that your moniker was appropriate after all. Nemesis does seem to be a weapon after all. Not from us or you, but from a parallel universe."
"Friends" he says to his fellow vanguardians,"I'm not sure I can do this myself." Scott divests himself of Nemesis and hands him to Soldier (likely the only one able to carry him). "I believe that the best way to deal with this and the closest is to go to the smelter in the mechanical room just a few rooms from here. Fire up the smelter and put him in, then it's just a matter of time. Can I trust you to handle this?" he says looking at the three of them.
He sits down heavily and puts his head in his hands. He reaches out to Shelley motions for fer to sit with him.
OOC: I just want to add as I'm looking at the pictures for this past turn. Jeff got just about the snootiest picture possible for Silas Caine. Just looking at the picture, I hate his guts. Forget what he did..
Private to GM:
Another player goes rogue! Oh Noes!
So here's Slingshot's real move. He's going to sit there with Shelley until he's assured himself that they are proceeding with the smelter thing. He'll sit long enough to ensure that there's no double crossing from the Russians as well. (if he has to, he'll extend an ear to the mechanical room to listen in). I'll explain my plan to Shelley in whispers once we are alone.
It's obvious that Nemesis and Nanite cannot be together. It looks like Nanite is not necessarily emitting the signal either (assuming she's still in the electronics room, but I remember that Doc Rocket said she was moving. This has to be fixed which is why Shelley is with me and I'm going down to the electronic's room.
I'll keep monitoring the computer lab signal with Shelley. Go to the electronics lab, hopefully find Nanite there and talk to her. If she's not there.. then it's off to the computer lab.
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Soldier:
As usual, I'm getting my reply in just under the deadline. Caine answered the star spangled superhero: found him stunned but alive."
Soldier IC: "Mr, I find it hard to believe you had nothing to do with his current situation, or what's going on in this building. I've just met you, but I already feel like I need to take a shower.
Slingshot wrote: "Speaking of Shelley, I'll ask Strike, Soldier and Talon to line up keep an eye on Caine (loudly)."
IC: Already ahead of you.
OOC: Soldier will try to maneuver himself to be within striking distance, of Caine if necessary, he'll also use his sensor systems to scan the area for any anomolies, such as heat changes, out of the ordinary sounds, etc. If Caine attempts to stand, or move from his seat, Soldier will move in close (nearly face to face), tell him in a calm, but forceful voice: "Mr. Caine, I'm only going to say this one time, so I would advise you to listen to me very carefully. In the last few days, I've had an aircraft blown around me; nearly frozen to death; been attacked by dinosaurs, communist super beings, some sort of demonic other-worldly being; and now my new home has been invaded. So lets just say, it hasn't been a good week for me, and quite frankly, sir, I'm a little pissed. (At which point, he'll pause, reach down, remove his expandable baton, and flick it open, then continue). So my best advice to you, would be to sit down, be shut up, and await further instructions. Or you sir, are going to be in for a VERY, BAD, BAD DAY. Do we understand each other?"
I'll wait to see what Caine decides to do, while waiting to see what the others can pick up on the sensor. Also, are we in communication with the other group?
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Lightning Strike:
Strike must intervene at this point. "Nobody is getting melted just yet. We still don't have a clear grip on what is going on here. Put Nemesis down and let me attempt to isolate him from whatever is happening here."
With that, regardless of who takes Nemesis, Strike will surround him with an electrical field. The field should be harmless to whomever is inside it but hopefully disrupt the signal. Lightning Strike will vary intensity and frequency in case the signal adapts to his interference. His goal is to basically isolate Nemesis so that the power drain will stop.
Sorry for the delay
Tony
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Soldier:
“I'm still not sure what's going on here, but I do know one thing, if this guy says we have to do it (motioning at Caine), you can bet it's probably the wrong thing to do. My vote's to get him to a lab and see if we can contain him. But, if it does come destroying him, I'll do it.”
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Slingshot:
Private to GM:
A good plan goes awry.
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GM:
Private to Slingshot:
Deviousness just can't get a break anymore.
While Strike is isolating a field around Nemesis, do you want Slingy to sneak down to the electronics lab anyway, without his teammates, or does Slingy wait for the results of Strike's experiment? Thanks,
Jeff
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Slingshot:
Private to GM:
Hmm.. I'll try and sneak off with Shelley if possible. I need the sensor to see if Nanite is emitting.
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Talon:
I will continue with my actions, but as I turn to leave the room, I will offer to find the rest of the group so that a rash decision isn't made. It might be best to get the scientists together to make an informed decision.
IC: As Adam turns to leave, he looks at Slingshot sitting frustrated with his head in his hands, "This is a big decision for one man to take upon himself. I'll tell the rest of the group what's going on so we can make this decision together. Vanguard is a team, let's work together avoid making a decision we might regret.".
Hope I got this in soon enough.
Viva Vanguard,
Denny
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Lightning Strike:
Strike must intervene at this point. "Nobody is getting melted just yet. We still don't have a clear grip on what is going on here. Put Nemesis down and let me attempt to isolate him from whatever is happening here."
With that, regardless of who takes Nemesis, Strike will surround him with an electrical field. The field should be harmless to whomever is inside it but hopefully disrupt the signal. Lightning Strike will vary intensity and frequency in case the signal adapts to his interference. His goal is to basically isolate Nemesis so that the power drain will stop.
Sorry for the delay
Tony
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Soldier:
“I'm still not sure what's going on here, but I do know one thing, if this guy says we have to do it (motioning at Caine), you can bet it's probably the wrong thing to do. My vote's to get him to a lab and see if we can contain him. But, if it does come destroying him, I'll do it.”
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Slingshot:
Private to GM:
A good plan goes awry.
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GM:
Private to Slingshot:
Deviousness just can't get a break anymore.
While Strike is isolating a field around Nemesis, do you want Slingy to sneak down to the electronics lab anyway, without his teammates, or does Slingy wait for the results of Strike's experiment? Thanks,
Jeff
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Slingshot:
Private to GM:
Hmm.. I'll try and sneak off with Shelley if possible. I need the sensor to see if Nanite is emitting.
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Talon:
I will continue with my actions, but as I turn to leave the room, I will offer to find the rest of the group so that a rash decision isn't made. It might be best to get the scientists together to make an informed decision.
IC: As Adam turns to leave, he looks at Slingshot sitting frustrated with his head in his hands, "This is a big decision for one man to take upon himself. I'll tell the rest of the group what's going on so we can make this decision together. Vanguard is a team, let's work together avoid making a decision we might regret.".
Hope I got this in soon enough.
Viva Vanguard,
Denny
