Avatar battled the Cyclops, Otom the Seer, in midtown Manhattan in a cosmic challenge to determine who would wear the mantle of Avatar! Blinded, Otom could only mystically perceive Avatar! Weaponless, Otom would have no choice but to cross the street to engage Avatar, whether it be in conversation or mortal combat. Avatar could see the speeding cars that raced between them, but Otom could not! Nor could he hear it clearly over the storm! The blind seer would surely be killed… unless Avatar acted!Avatar raced back across the street to save Otom's life, nimbly using the spear to pole-vault over cars! Otom readied to charge into the street at Avatar and the myrmidon of myth pre-empted him with a pole-vault kick squarely into Otom’s chest! WHAM! Otom wasn’t hurt but lost his balance and fell backwards to the sidewalk. Avatar had saved his life! The agent of antiquity landed near Otom and spoke thusly: "Otom, instead of letting you die in the traffic as I might have, I've spared your life...saved it, even. I claim Nike's victory in this manner and in this matter. Now...let's get away from these prying eyes and ears you'll tell me what you know."
Otom roared and threw a big fist at Avatar and missed! SMASH! It cracked the sidewalk concrete!
“You want to know what I know?” the Cyclops growled, dismissive of Avatar’s claim of victory.
He stood, ready once more for battle and said, “This is not a game, boy. I have waited an eternity for this moment. Think of the Pantheon! You’ve lost your memory. Something went wrong with your reincarnation. Do you think I am the only one who can see you since you’ve manifested?
“Others will come. They have waited a long time. And they will take your power for evil. With your memory damaged, you could not hope to survive them… but I could survive them.
“I will use the power for good. Give me the power of the Avatar, for the sake of the Pantheon!
“Manifest the wisdom of Apollo… the selflessness of Artemis… or else all is lost!”
(Replies?! Actions?!)
Clone had told Grey and Drake that he was willing to trade one of his duplicates for his family. Now, during a covert, live exchange at the Berlin Wall, the human collective wasn’t so sure anymore.
Sickle called (in Russian): “Send forward the Clone! For every step he takes toward me, the family Oleksienko will take one step away from me!” Her voice echoed into the night.
The undisguised Clone walked forward and his family mirrored his progress until they met in the middle of the death strip. They hugged and cried a moment. “I love you,” said Alex’s mother.
“Don’t stop!” barked Sickle in Russian. The Oleksienkos pulled themselves apart. His family marched to freedom and he, back to enslavement. When Clone’s family reached the other side of the death strip, Grey and Drake rushed them through the gate into the waiting Jeeps. They thought the exchange was over. “Come on!” yelled Drake. Then the six Clones disguised as soldiers took aim on the guard towers!
Simultaneously, the undisguised Clone who stood in defeat before the Russians suddenly drew his pistol, got his hand around Sickle’s throat and put the barrel against her forehead. Like the CHESS agents, the Russians were taken by surprise! (That was your last Luck Point. I’m assuming you’d tucked one of the pistols in your belt, in the small of your back. This works better than grappling, unless you disagree. Thx)
The four Special Forces soldiers and Hammer all took point blank aim at Clone! Sickle yelled at them, and the men in the towers, in Russian: “STOP! Hold your fire! He is to be taken alive! Doctor X commands it!”
“Let her GO!” roared Hammer with visible emotion from behind his big handgun.
“Silence!” ordered Sickle. Then she looked down Clone’s arm into his face and smiled with contempt. She said sardonically, “Well, well. What now, little Alex?”
(Replies?! Actions?! fyi, the Clones aren’t telepathically linked. Coordinated action may require speech. :) )
Lightning Strike said, "If you know where Caine is at the moment and you have suspicions that he is engaged in criminal activity, then I will go and see what I can find. I want to see him brought to justice but I will not be a vigilante. He will be brought before a jury of his peers and he will be exposed for the vermin that he is. If I can make that happen, then perhaps your nephew can rest in peace."
Detective Archer said, “You know that Caine’s wealth will make sure he never sees the inside of a court room. I know Caine’s whereabouts but he is not currently ‘engaged in criminal activity.’ So now I know where you stand. Sorry to have wasted your time, Lightning Strike.” Archer left with the case file.
Strike pursued Archer out of the alley. "I will investigate and follow-up on what you have told me. Although it is against my better judgment, I will see what Caine is up to. I will investigate but do no more. I will not fabricate evidence. We should not stoop to their level."
Detective Archer begrudgingly gave Strike Caine’s current whereabouts: the Four Seasons. Penthouse 1.
The high voltage vigilante transformed into electricity and entered the city’s electrical grid. In seconds he was in the hotel’s computer system. Penthouse 2 was empty for the night and SHAKOW! Lightning Strike appeared inside it. Then he carefully tried to slowly flow through the wall sockets into Penthouse 1, as quietly as possible! It worked! (Charisma (Will) x3% roll succeeds)
Strike was standing in another darkened, unused room! No one was here, and there was no evidence of a guest! KRAKA-BOOM! Strike became living electricity again and re-entered the hotel’s computer. Penthouse 1 was unrented for the night! He scanned the register and saw nothing that looked like Silas Caine.
Lightning Strike raced back to the alley where he had left Archer moments ago! The detective was gone!
(Reply?! Actions?!)
Menagerie and Pachyderm hiked north across the savage Canadian wilderness for days to relocate Pachyderm safely away from mankind. Menagerie hunted periodically to secure new incentives for Pachyderm. The elephantine extranormal slowly grew accustomed to Menagerie’s presence, in all its forms, and the wizard of wildlife learned the colossal creature was more beast than man. Pachyderm did not speak words and seemed supremely isolated in the world. He hunted on his own, once surprising a mighty elk. But he had a liking for fish, and perhaps for company. So he followed Menagerie across the days and distances, sometimes letting a mile lay between them, but always returning.
Then, halfway through the journey, from atop a rocky hill, Menagerie saw that a mile back, crossing an expanse between the evergreens, a lone figure was following their trail across the rugged wilderness.
Menagerie briefly considered confronting the follower, but reminded himself what his true purpose was: to get Pachyderm to his new location. Menagerie continued leading the way, checking their stalker’s progress as they went. The terrain didn’t offer expansive views for a spell and the lone figure was not seen for hours at a time, but when visual contact was established it seemed the distance was slowly closing. Menagerie’s senses offer no clue as to who the follower could be. He waits for the distance to be a quarter of what it was to confront the follower. Menagerie didn’t know if they would reach their destination first. It was going to be close!
Menagerie and Pachyderm reached their destination! They hadn’t seen the follower for over a day. The sun was setting over the Chinchaga Wildland. Pachyderm found a roaring freshwater river and Menagerie was some distance away making preparations to return home when he saw the follower emerge from a forest to the south.
She seemed to be half human and half cat. (see image) She had a backpack and was dressed for hiking this terrain. She was walking toward Pachyderm.
(Reply?! Actions?!)
Sentinel had stopped the bombing of the Odyssey Club, but at a grave cost! His shields were damaged, his energy waning. The beacon of liberty pushed the would-be mass murderess, her protective energy field and Sentinel’s wall through the shattering window walls out into the private garden behind the brownstone!
The Mask of Red Death growled: “Very well. The bold act will be your murder. The symbol upon your chest broken and destroyed for all to see! A warning to the elite parasites that infect the world!”
Sentinel’s mind raced. His knowledge of heroic lore told him this was likely a forcefield, perhaps generated by a device, or by the Mask herself. And he saw that he was able to move this field; it added no mass to his anarchistic antagonist. His best chance to move this battle to a new location was by throwing her there!
But before he could act, the Mask fired again! ZAXXK! (OOC: 14 points of damage, and it gets through your damaged shields! 4 from Power Points and 10 from Hit Points!)
“Where is the liberty you bring? You are an agent of the oppressors of this world, a tool of tyranny!”
Badly injured, the heir of heroism desperately used to his energy constructs to throw the Mask of Red Death westward to the closest body of water, the Central Park reservoir! As she hurtled from sight, he could hear her roaring in impotent rage!
As he took off to follow, Sentinel looked down and saw the REACH fundraiser guests still fleeing the brownstone. O’Malley and Doyle were doing their best but the crowd was frightened, panicked and confused. Sentinel peered westward and saw that the Mask’s trajectory would soon reach the reservoir!
(Reply?! Actions?!)
Slingshot smiled despite himself. “Who are you? Why are you doing this?” Scott swung at his malleable mirror image and missed! His fake foe warped his body out of the way and Slingshot hammered a crossbeam instead, bending it with his bare fist and sending vibrations through the girders! KRANG-g-g!
The deadly duplicate answered Scott: “Why to kill you of course. And when that’s done, I’ll be you.”
Then he stretched his limbs out to grab the iron matrix of the building’s skeleton, and then slungshot himself directly at Scott! KRA-POW!!!
Scott flew backwards 40 feet and clear out of the unfinished building! Scott was in freefall!
The malleable man of might stretched out an arm to the construction site skyscraper, grabbed hold of a girder and swung inside the structure! Like a big rubber-armed gorilla, Slingshot swung hand over hand, stories at a time, down to the street to search for something big, heavy and flammable! He lost sight of his devil duplicate. (OOC: Evasion)
Scott’s construction experience quickly helped him locate steel drums of diesel for fuelling the generators at the construction site. There was also the site gopher’s beater car that he bet he could throw. The elements of a trap were forming, but his quarry was nowhere to be found! The mimic hadn’t followed him. And Scott couldn’t see it in the moonlit skyscraper skeleton. Minutes passed as he waited. Then…
“Hey you!” yelled a policeman who was peering into the construction site through a loose plank in the wooden perimeter fence.
“Whaddayou doing in there?!!... Oh, it’s you, Slingshot. I didn’t recognize ya. What’s going on, big guy?” asked the cop as he walked toward Slingshot.
(Replies? Actions?)
Soldier and Manetti executed a low level parachute drop into the Venezuelan jungle near the Patriot's last known location! Then their plane was shot down, with Dr. Ashe aboard! Soldier’s sensors helped him estimate the gunfire’s origination at SSW of their location. Manetti held the tracker for Patriot’s subcutaneous transponder. It was pointing due west.
The two operatives raced westward through the thick humid jungle. Soldier’s sensors picked up movement dead ahead. Lots of it. Soldier and Manetti scrambled up two tree trunks and waited for what seemed like days. Then they came. Slowly, carefully, armed men crept below them through the darkness. Five just beneath their treetop perches, and another five in the vicinity. Soldier’s telescopic nightvision optics showed what seemed like local Venezuelans, native American descendants, armed with state of the art autorifles and night vision goggles over clothes that spoke of lives of abject deprivation and poverty. Impossibly, their weapons and equipment were CHESS-issue!
Soldier coolly drew his firearm and kept scanning. He signaled Manetti the locations of the enemy soldiers.
Tension built as the two operatives watched the armed men continue past beneath them. When they thought it was safe they waited another five minutes. Then they climbed down. They continued west through the dark jungle, now behind enemy lines, stopping only to drink water. Manetti was full of questions but kept silent.
They passed a line of human skulls mounted on 5 foot sticks.
They slowly advanced another hundred yards or so and saw light ahead. Flickering. The pair crept up and saw an encampment through the thick foliage. Ancient ruins near a small brook, illuminated by torchlight. Tarps and tents around it, all beneath thick jungle canopy. This ruin wasn’t on their map. A skeletal force of armed men stood watch; they likely emptied the camp for the search of the plane crash.
Other people were present in the camp, non-combatants. They looked like indigenous people. Women, children and the elderly were among their number.
The Patriot’s transponder was inside the ancient ruin.
(Replies? Actions?)
Symbiote was eighty stories above nighttime Manhattan, hanging onto Gadget Girl for dear life! The ingenious ingénue of invention had stolen the Harper Harness and was in the middle of her getaway, bursting out of the Vanguard Vault atop the Empire State Building!
Gadget Girl laughed. “Hang on tight, honey, this is going to be fun!” The jovial jet-packer barrel rolled twice and then looped hard into a dead man’s dive straight down at over 100 mph! Hal barely hung on!
VROOOOMM! They hurtled down toward the streets, pulling up at the last instant, barely avoiding the roof of a moving car! ZOOOOM! A big loop the loop and then straight up, corkscrew-spinning all the way! She was trying to throw him off, to his certain death. Hal’s left hand was losing its from grip around Gadget Girl's neck!
His fingers sliding, Symbiote crashed his right hand, with the tool, down on her skull, just behind her right ear! KRAK! She was out cold!
VOOM..Vom..SPUT.. SPT spaaaa… The jetpack sputtered out! It must have been under cybernetic control! Symbiote and Gadget Girl were plummeting from a height of 700 feet!
(Replies? Actions?)
Talon’s date with Mother Russia was interrupted by her jealous former teammate, Accelerator!
Another Saturday night shot to hell.
An extranormal bar room brawl broke out and Mother Russia yelled, “Both of you, stop it right now!”
Talon cut Accelerator good and then the villain of velocity suddenly stopped on a dime, right next to Talon. With one finger, he touched the avian antihero, transferring all his velocity into him! ZOOOOOOOMMM! Talon flew backwards at blinding speeds, crashing through the bar’s big front window and into a telephone pole on the street! KRASSH! WHAM! The wingless birdman fell to the sidewalk, hard! WHUMP!
Adam couldn’t see Accelerator or Mother Russia inside the bar because of the fleeing, panicked bar patrons that now threatened to trample him! Growling in frustration, Talon stood and tore open his jacket to unfasten his harness. With a flap of his big black wings, he soared over the stampede, and the bar! Talon’s sharp eyes scanned the nearby alleys and streets for signs of a fleeing Accelerator or Mother Russia among the panicked crowd. A quick circle turns up nothing. Talon touches down at the bar’s back door and enters to check on any patrons that might still be inside.
The place is cleared out, except for Accelerator and Mother Russia. They were arguing, their faces less than a foot apart. Accelerator’s back was to Talon. Mother Russia saw Talon enter, but didn’t look again for fear of tipping off Accelerator. There were mirrors in the bar that could betray Talon’s presence, but so far Accelerator didn’t see him.
Accelerator yelled, “Defected?! What was all that stuff you told me in prison?! About the glory of the Soviet system?!”
Mother Russia couldn’t help but glance at Talon again.
(Reply? Actions?)
----------------
OOC:
Have fun.
Viva Vanguard,
Jeff
Current Conditions:
Avatar: Hit Points: 35, Power Points: 63
Clone: Bodies: 7, Hit Points: 3 each, Power Points: 47 each, Hit Point Pool: 19
Lightning Strike: Hit Points: 43, Power Points: 55
Sentinel: Hit Points: 3, Power Points: 39, Creation Points: 78, Shields: 73
Slingshot: Hit Points: 65, Power Points: 73, Inv: 8
Symbiote: Hit Points: 16, Power Points: 57
Talon: Hit Points: 35, Power Points: 58
Everyone else is full or close to it.
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Avatar:
OOC: Well...so much for that.
John shrugs, "I guess we play this game your way, then."
OOC: John attacks with the spear. Straightforward attacks to damage. Use a Luck Point on the first damage roll, if I can.
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Slingshot:
At this point, I can't trust anyone. The policeman could be the mimic. Doesn't mean that he's not the real thing either. Slingshot to Policeman, authoritatively : "Stay Back! I've been attacked by a villain. I've lost track of it for now and I'm not sure where it's going to come from. Stay out of the way. He's incredibly powerful." Slingshot will put an interposing giant hand to illustrate his intentions.
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Avatar:
OOC: Well...so much for that.
John shrugs, "I guess we play this game your way, then."
OOC: John attacks with the spear. Straightforward attacks to damage. Use a Luck Point on the first damage roll, if I can.
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Slingshot:
At this point, I can't trust anyone. The policeman could be the mimic. Doesn't mean that he's not the real thing either. Slingshot to Policeman, authoritatively : "Stay Back! I've been attacked by a villain. I've lost track of it for now and I'm not sure where it's going to come from. Stay out of the way. He's incredibly powerful." Slingshot will put an interposing giant hand to illustrate his intentions.
Trying to get a feel for the situation: Does the diesel drums and car plan need prep time? Or can I just get the doppleganger to stand close to the canisters and throw the car?I don't want to setup in front of the policeman, in case he's the mimic, but if the policeman goes back to his car to call for backup, then I'll setup what's necessary.
Stephane
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Sentinel:
As the Mask of Red Death hurled westward from his sight towards the reservoir Kirk used his energy sense to tag her and keep track of her trajectory, but before he could follow he saw the crowd was frightened, panicked and confused and he had to see to their well being.
Taking to the sky to pursue the Mask he stopped for a moment and turned towards the crowd. He wanted to be sure he was far enough away so no one could see just how badly he was hurting. In front of him, his energy formed a device to amplify his voice above the noisy commotion and behind him a large iconic symbol of the Sentinel appeared in the sky. Since it seemed his symbol meant more to at least some of the Odyssey Club members than he had realized he thought perhaps it would help to focus their attention.
At that moment Kirk thought about the newsreels he saw of Lancaster speaking to the troops during World War II and how he reassured them and inspired them. He meant to channel that same dignity and power.
"Enough! Enough! Calm down now before your panic causes the injury that has already been averted! You could have lost your lives this day, but instead death has passed you by. You have been given the gift of life. How you use this gift is up to you to decide. But the purpose of this gathering today was about each of you making a conscious choice to take positive action to make the world a better place. Today you have witnessed two clashing ideologies and their methods at work. You know my hopes for the REACH program. You've seen my choice backed by actions. I hope that you use the gift you've received today, this rebirth, to choose wisely. You can start by making sure all of you vacate this area in an safe and orderly way."
As Kirk flew at his top speed in pursuit of the Mask he continued to focus his energy sense grasping for some additional advantage? Did it seem the intensity of her power levels were tied to her reaction to events around her? Did it seem to emanate from a source? At what range did it seem her blasts became impotent?
Since neutralizing the bomb threat it seemed that nothing in this battle was going Kirk's way and if that didn't change now, he was done. He continued to weigh the situation to try to leverage what little he had left to his advantage. He hoped that plunging the Mask into the thirty-nine feet deep billion gallons of water* of the Central Park reservoir would turn the tide in his favor. He also reasoned he had quite a bit of 'reach' with his powers; Kirk would hang back as far as possible hoping to stay out of the range of the Mask's blasts while submerging her into the watery abyss.
As he mentally shook off the effects of the concussive force of the Mask's attacks to prepare for his final assault he gave a silent nod of thanks to Soldier and Sgt Stone for pushing him in his physical training; had he not trained so hard Kirk knew this battle would have been over already.
And it was that thought and the pain and trail of blood along his arm from splinters from the hardwood floors of the Mask's first attack that reminded Kirk of his Chess communicator. He had forgotten about another one of his assets; he was never alone. If he was meant to fall in battle this day, he would still claim the victory!
Kirk activated his communicator on emergency setting. "Ajay, this is Kirk. Lock in on my position immediately. The REACH event at the Odyssey Club was attacked by an unknown female extranormal. She possesses energy based powers that have been exhibited in the form of forcefield and blasts. She set off enough explosives to destroy the entire structure and murder everyone within, but that threat was neutralized. Unfortunately she tagged me badly while I was preventing those casualties. I'm in battle and in the process of relocating her from her target location to the Central City reservoir. If you don't hear back from me in the next two minutes it's because I'm no longer capable of responding. Follow all appropriate protocols to ensure the safety of her civilian targets. Kirk out."
* OOC: Hey, I can Google with the best of them!
Jeff: Still going with the water plan - adding keeping Kirk's distance to hopefully avoid getting tagged a third time and taken out of the battle, and 'backup' is now on the way ..... here's hoping the rolls go his way. I didn't expect the second blast to tag him this early in the game.
If it ends up that the water does take the fight out of her, Kirk will be ready to fish her out after he is sure she has lost consciousness. He would even establish a mental lock on her prior to fishing her out to be sure she isn't playing possum and if he has to take action to revive her.
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Sentinel:
OOC: Make that the Central Park reservoir on the second mention too - too funny, I mentally noted while working up the post I'd have to be careful not to type it incorrectly and I did so anyway and didn't notice in my proofread before sending - shows you what world I really live in :)
Seth
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GM:
Slingshot wrote: Trying to get a feel for the situation: Does the diesel drums and car plan need prep time? Or can I just get the doppleganger to stand close to the canisters and throw the car?
GM Reply: The latter, unless you want to try something fancier.
Seth: Central City Reservoir. That's great. As you know I was never a Flash guy but he's got the best Rogues Gallery in the DC universe this side of Batman. Captain Cold! Mirror Master! Gorilla Grodd! Captain Boomerang!
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Slingshot:
Nope. Short and nasty is just what I want.
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Sentinel:
As the Mask of Red Death hurled westward from his sight towards the reservoir Kirk used his energy sense to tag her and keep track of her trajectory, but before he could follow he saw the crowd was frightened, panicked and confused and he had to see to their well being.
Taking to the sky to pursue the Mask he stopped for a moment and turned towards the crowd. He wanted to be sure he was far enough away so no one could see just how badly he was hurting. In front of him, his energy formed a device to amplify his voice above the noisy commotion and behind him a large iconic symbol of the Sentinel appeared in the sky. Since it seemed his symbol meant more to at least some of the Odyssey Club members than he had realized he thought perhaps it would help to focus their attention.
At that moment Kirk thought about the newsreels he saw of Lancaster speaking to the troops during World War II and how he reassured them and inspired them. He meant to channel that same dignity and power.
"Enough! Enough! Calm down now before your panic causes the injury that has already been averted! You could have lost your lives this day, but instead death has passed you by. You have been given the gift of life. How you use this gift is up to you to decide. But the purpose of this gathering today was about each of you making a conscious choice to take positive action to make the world a better place. Today you have witnessed two clashing ideologies and their methods at work. You know my hopes for the REACH program. You've seen my choice backed by actions. I hope that you use the gift you've received today, this rebirth, to choose wisely. You can start by making sure all of you vacate this area in an safe and orderly way."
As Kirk flew at his top speed in pursuit of the Mask he continued to focus his energy sense grasping for some additional advantage? Did it seem the intensity of her power levels were tied to her reaction to events around her? Did it seem to emanate from a source? At what range did it seem her blasts became impotent?
Since neutralizing the bomb threat it seemed that nothing in this battle was going Kirk's way and if that didn't change now, he was done. He continued to weigh the situation to try to leverage what little he had left to his advantage. He hoped that plunging the Mask into the thirty-nine feet deep billion gallons of water* of the Central Park reservoir would turn the tide in his favor. He also reasoned he had quite a bit of 'reach' with his powers; Kirk would hang back as far as possible hoping to stay out of the range of the Mask's blasts while submerging her into the watery abyss.
As he mentally shook off the effects of the concussive force of the Mask's attacks to prepare for his final assault he gave a silent nod of thanks to Soldier and Sgt Stone for pushing him in his physical training; had he not trained so hard Kirk knew this battle would have been over already.
And it was that thought and the pain and trail of blood along his arm from splinters from the hardwood floors of the Mask's first attack that reminded Kirk of his Chess communicator. He had forgotten about another one of his assets; he was never alone. If he was meant to fall in battle this day, he would still claim the victory!
Kirk activated his communicator on emergency setting. "Ajay, this is Kirk. Lock in on my position immediately. The REACH event at the Odyssey Club was attacked by an unknown female extranormal. She possesses energy based powers that have been exhibited in the form of forcefield and blasts. She set off enough explosives to destroy the entire structure and murder everyone within, but that threat was neutralized. Unfortunately she tagged me badly while I was preventing those casualties. I'm in battle and in the process of relocating her from her target location to the Central City reservoir. If you don't hear back from me in the next two minutes it's because I'm no longer capable of responding. Follow all appropriate protocols to ensure the safety of her civilian targets. Kirk out."
* OOC: Hey, I can Google with the best of them!
Jeff: Still going with the water plan - adding keeping Kirk's distance to hopefully avoid getting tagged a third time and taken out of the battle, and 'backup' is now on the way ..... here's hoping the rolls go his way. I didn't expect the second blast to tag him this early in the game.
If it ends up that the water does take the fight out of her, Kirk will be ready to fish her out after he is sure she has lost consciousness. He would even establish a mental lock on her prior to fishing her out to be sure she isn't playing possum and if he has to take action to revive her.
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Sentinel:
OOC: Make that the Central Park reservoir on the second mention too - too funny, I mentally noted while working up the post I'd have to be careful not to type it incorrectly and I did so anyway and didn't notice in my proofread before sending - shows you what world I really live in :)
Seth
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GM:
Slingshot wrote: Trying to get a feel for the situation: Does the diesel drums and car plan need prep time? Or can I just get the doppleganger to stand close to the canisters and throw the car?
GM Reply: The latter, unless you want to try something fancier.
Seth: Central City Reservoir. That's great. As you know I was never a Flash guy but he's got the best Rogues Gallery in the DC universe this side of Batman. Captain Cold! Mirror Master! Gorilla Grodd! Captain Boomerang!
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Slingshot:
Nope. Short and nasty is just what I want.
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Soldier:
Soldier carefully studied his surroundings, taking in every sight, every sound, looking for any signs that their presence had been detected. He wanted to get closer look at the area they’d just entered, and let Manetti know what his plan was. Whispering quietly to Manetti – “I want to check out the far side of the place. I’m going to try to work my way around the perimeter, and see if I can spot an entrance to the ruins. If I’m not back within the hour, let the team and my family know what happened to me.”
Soldier carefully studied his surroundings, taking in every sight, every sound, looking for any signs that their presence had been detected. He wanted to get closer look at the area they’d just entered, and let Manetti know what his plan was. Whispering quietly to Manetti – “I want to check out the far side of the place. I’m going to try to work my way around the perimeter, and see if I can spot an entrance to the ruins. If I’m not back within the hour, let the team and my family know what happened to me.”
With that, he gathers his senses, and adjusts his sensors. He’ll try to quietly work his way through the underbrush, and get in as close as possible, using his sensors to monitor the activities of the natives, and any combatants. If he’s detected by a soldier, he’ll try to take out without alerting his companions. If a civilian spots him, he’ll restrain them, so as not to alert everyone in the camp.
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Menagerie:
Menagerie will move to get between Pachyderm and this woman. He will greet her and inquire in to her purpose in coming here.
He will closely watch her and Pachyderm to see if they know each other or have a connection.
Thanks
Tom
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Symbiote:
IC: OK, now I'm a little worried, Hal thinks to himself as Gadget Girl's jet boots sputter out.. Gonna have to seriously rethink security for the harness, assuming I get out of this.
He put every bit of his intellect to work on the problem. Let's try being smart about this, he thinks. He remembers the alternate universe where The Primate nearly took over Earth, and he had briefly assumed the powers--and the raging berserker irrationality--of Pachyderm. My teammates in that universe--assuming it actually is an existing alternate universe, and not just some vision conjured up by Oracle--deduced that my Harness worked by cybernetic commands, and Lightning Strike actually had to enter the harness in order to deactivate it.
I conk Gadget Girl on the noggin, and her lights go out. So do her jet boots. I can only deduce that her hardware works on cyber commands as well. So if I do this...
...Hal removes Gadget Girl's mask and quickly slips it over his head, hopefully feeling cybernetic contacts interface with his own scalp and careful to leave any wiring connected to her costume, keeping his head close to hers...
...and this...
...from behind, Hal wraps his legs around Gadget Girl's hips, his left arm around her neck and his right arm around her torso ("Sorry to get so touchy-feely on a first date, Cupcake, but this is an emergency," he murmurs to the unconscious Maiden of Malevolent Mechanics)...
...maybe I can ditch us both in the drink!
OOC: And that's the move. Hal will attempt to fire up her boot rockets and "ride her" like a surfer belly riding his board to a safe landing in the Hudson river. He has no expectation of having any precise control over GG's jet boots, he just wants any landing he can walk (or swim) away from. Yes, I'll use a hero point on this if I absolutely must (Mercy, Oh GM! I've already burned two, by my count!). Once we're safely in the river Hal will drag her unconscious form to shore, disarm her, tie her up and use his wrist communicator to summon CHESS or the NYPD or whoever can pick her up. He'd like Gadget Girl held at the Vanguard Vault, initially, he wants to interrogate her. And he wants his damn Harness back!
Viva Vanguard,
Greg
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Slingshot:
As I mentioned before..At this point, I can't trust anyone. The policeman could be the mimic. Doesn't mean that he's not the real thing either. Slingshot to Policeman, authoritatively : "Stay Back! I've been attacked by a villain. I've lost track of it for now and I'm not sure where it's going to come from. Stay out of the way. He's incredibly powerful. Get backup!" Slingshot will put an interposing giant hand to illustrate his intentions.
OOC: He's ready for the policeman to morph into the mimic. Looking for the tell tale eye-whitening precursor to morphing. If that doesn't occur and the policeman goes for backup.. Then he'll look for the mimic coming from somewhere else. So the goal is to get the mimic in my form close to the drums and knock them out with the car. if it explodes, I'll call "strike!". eheh.
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Clone:
>CLONE’S IC RESPONSE<
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Clone:
>CLONE’S IC RESPONSE<
I looked, and there before me was a pale horse . . .
A minute or two of quite tension spans the length of the death strip as both sides stand ready behind their weapons. The six disguised Clone’s then slowly begin to pull off their helmets with one hand and drop them to the ground. Their fingers still firmly set beside the triggers of their weapons
. . . . Its rider was named Death, and Hell was followed after him . . .
The undisguised Clone takes his eyes off of Hammer and slowly turns his gaze upon Sickle. The other six duplicates begin to casually walk to various positions behind the undisguised Clone and eventually form a single column of duplicates stretching all the way back to the C.H.E.S.S. occupied side of the death strip. The six duplicates lower their weapons to their sides and stare straight ahead at their undisguised duplicate.
. . . and there was given unto them authority over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
The six disguised Clones then gently drop their weapons to the pavement that lies beneath their feet. They drop them in a way that lets the Russians know that they dropped them not out of fear or obligation, but because they chose to.
In a soft yet firm tone the undisguised Clone; with his pistol still firmly affixed to the side of Sickle’s head, speaks to her in Russian, “Despite what you may think – you and I are nothing alike. You see unlike you and your brother, I am no longer the slave of corrupt and unjust masters – I am a free man. Free of the cruel and oppressive strings that bind you and your brother like puppets.” An outstretched hand then finds itself on the shoulder of the undisguised Clone.
The undisguised Clone then continues, “Tell your masters back at the Kremlin what I have said. Tell them that I am through running . . . I am through hiding. Tell them that my family and I are theirs no more. Tell them . . . we are free”
The disguised Clone then flexes his grasp on the undisguised Clone’s shoulder to get his attention and says to him calmly in Ukrainian, “Its time.”
The other Clones then follow suit and place their hands solidly on the shoulder of the Clone in front of them. In a blink, the gun that rested squarely upon Sickle’s temples falls harmlessly to the ground – its wielder nowhere in sight. The Clones have reabsorbed each other simultaneously all the way back to the far end of the death strip.
Clone stands there for a fraction of a second and looks across to the other side of the cement causeway with conviction. In that moment he takes a mental photograph of the scene before him and vows to himself, “I will never become one of them. I will never let fear or hate cripple or control me. I will never again allow myself to be the servant of tyranny and injustice.” Just before he turns and starts to head towards the C.H.E.S.S. motorcade he whispers aloud to himself in Ukrainian, “. . . my hate dies here.”
>CLONE’S OOC RESPONSE<
Hopefully that will all work – lol – and I hope that wasn’t too long of a response. I just started writing and couldn’t stop myself. :-P
I have to say - Clone has had some really hard choices to make thus far. This has been a really awesome sequence of events so far Jeff – you’ve really out done yourself with these last few issues.
JEFF WROTE: (That was your last Luck Point. I’m assuming you’d tucked one of the pistols in your belt, in the small of your back. This works better than grappling, unless you disagree. Thx)
- Thanks Jeff that does work out a lot better - definitely more dramatic – thanks again.
JEFF WROTE: (Replies?! Actions?! fyi, the Clones aren’t telepathically linked. Coordinated action may require speech. :) )
- Yeah – even though they’re essentially ‘of the same mind’ ( for lack of a better definition ), I know I’m going to have to pay more attention to how the Clone’s work together as a group – sorry about that. If I over stepped any bounds at all as far as ‘Clone Coordination’ in this issue please let me know – I have no problem with amending my response if need be.
And it’s funny that you mentioned that - I’ve actually been thinking about ‘telepathic communication between Clone and his duplicates’ as my next levels training – think that would be possible?
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
PS: I just wanted to say to everyone that its been a ton of fun reading all of your responses so far. I've learned a bunch of stuff about all of your characters - their personalities, their backgrounds, etc. . . Splitting us up like this was definitely a really great idea. How Jeff has been able to keep all of our storylines straight and get the next issues out so quickly I have no idea - great job Jeff!
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
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Talon:
Hello All,
IC: Doubt creeps into Adams mind as he notices Mother Russia's second glance in his direction. "Was that for me or him?", he thinks to himself as he flaps his ebony wings to close the distance between them.
OOC: Talon will try to fly in behind Accelerator, grab him without stopping, and fly out the broken front window with him grasped in his claws. He will fly into the air above the city in the direction of the Vanguard Vault. He will spend a luck point to do this action, if possible.
IC: "That was a nice shot, Commie. Kinda makes me think about dropping you onto the pavement from about a mile up. But I guess I'll have to settle with just kicking your butt all the way into a cell back at The Vault."
OOC: Talon will fly Accelerator back to the Vanguard Vault and do his best to lock him up in any way possible.
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Sentinel:
Looking forward to our next story arc as we try to rescue Clone from Soviet captivity :)
Great post. At first I thought you were going to shoot up the place and that this was going to be a key moment change in your character, but then you turned it around being true to self. Nice. Just hope you make it out ....
I too have enjoyed the solo arcs and look forward to the rest of them. Yours has been very intriguing. And every time I think Hal has gotten himself out of the jam, he's swept right back into it...
Seth
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Clone:
SETH WROTE: /Looking forward to our next story arc as we try to rescue Clone from Soviet captivity :)/
LMAO!!! Ignore him Jeff - he knows not what he says! Then all of a sudden - much like Marvel Comics Deadpool - Clone suddenly breaks through 'The Fourth Wall' dressed like Mel Gibson in Braveheart, and from behind his blue face paint speaks out against Seth's dark vision of the future. "I am not knowing of this 'captivity' of which you speak. As great Ukrainian Vil'gel'm Wallace is once saying . . ." He then raises a claymore ( the sword, not the anti-personnel device ) high above his head and shouts,". . . They are not to be taking my life, but I will never be taking of FREEDOM!"
He then pauses for a moment with a dumbfounded look upon his face and slowly lowers his sword,". . . no . . .this is not to be sounding right . . . I will to try again." He then raise his claymore high above his head and shouts out,"They are to be taking my freedom, but I am to be taking my LIFE!" He quickly lowers his sword again and just stares blankly into nothingness for a second as he realizes that this is wrong as well. Throwing his sword to the ground with a great 'KLANG', he stomps away in disgust mumbling several; barely audible, Ukrainian 'swear words' to himself. Clone FTW! Woo-Hoo! lol :-P
-Kev
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Talon:
Kevin! You have to put the NSFW (Not Safe For Work) disclaimer on your email responses!!!! I hurt myself holding in the laughter!!! :0
Okay, give me a sec as I straighten my internal organs. Its responses like this, that make me agree with Seth. Clone back in the U.S.S.R. would be a thing a beauty. There are so many ways Clone could drive Sickle crazy. Clone singing "Its Hammer Time" everytime Hammer gives a briefing would be hilarous.
Oh man, these solo adventures have been absolutely wonderful.
We have had the Many Faces of Clone;
Talon has shown us Love Superhero Style;
Avatar has had us Dancing In The Street;
Soldier has again raised the question does Father Know Best;
Sentinel has taught to be leery of the Lady In Red;
Slingshot has shown us the dangers of having a Face Off;
Symbiote has shown how to prevent Go! Go! Gadget!
and Menagerie has introduced us to the Pachyderm Whisperer.
This has truly been a memorable story arc.
Tom
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GM:
Pachyderm Whisperer. That’s good.
Clone wrote: I know I’m going to have to pay more attention to how the Clone’s work together as a group – sorry about that. If I over stepped any bounds at all as far as ‘Clone Coordination’ in this issue please let me know – I have no problem with amending my response if need be.
GM Reply: So far it’s been fine. No problem.
Clone wrote: And it’s funny that you mentioned that - I’ve actually been thinking about ‘telepathic communication between Clone and his duplicates’ as my next levels training – think that would be possible?
GM Reply: Sentinel’s been learning the power Telepathy with his Advancements. I think we broke it into 4 Advancements to get V&V Telepathy, which is more than you want. Will take a look at it.
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Lightning Strike:
I think I want to shift my investigation now and look into Detective Archer. I need to locate his home and then get there fast. Assuming that going to the hotel and back took only a minute or two, then Detective Archer shouldn't be far away. If I find him at his home, then I know that the man I talked to wasn't Archer.
(OOC: Since he is Strike's uncle, I assume I would know the address.) I assume there was no indication to Strike that it wasn't actually Archer he was talking to. He did mention that he read the classified Chess file. How classified is the file and how widespread is the knowledge that Lightning Strike was in Caine's home? Would there be any reason for the police to have it? Thanks for the patience while I was on much needed vacation.
Tony
