“Avatar! You have been missing for centuries… utterly removed! If the Avatar were dead, the power would have passed to the next incarnation. But an Avatar has not been reborn in centuries! … Until this year! Where have you been all this time?! And why do you not recognize Otom?!” roared the Cyclops.
The massive monster struck Avatar’s temple with the dull end of the spear! KRAK! The myrmidon of mythology flew backwards 20 feet into the street! A rain-soaked wall of steel and glass traffic was bearing down on him!
Avatar quickly got his feet beneath him, dodged the traffic (Evasion) and leapt to the other side of the street from the sorcerous Cyclops!
Otom quickly hurled his long spear across the street with surprising strength, skill and experience! GHASH! The cold blade cut Avatar’s side as the spear continued past him, sinking into a temporary wooden wall that surrounded a shop’s makeover. THUNK! (OOC: 14 points damage! 7 to Hits and Power)
Avatar called across the storm and traffic: "My name is John Poulos, as far as I know. I've always been lucky and gifted but these powers came unto me not long ago, after I decided to try my hand at the hero game. I've seen some amazing things since...why don't we halt this if we're supposed to be friends and speak of whatever it is that you seem to know...or think you know...and I don't?"
Avatar was looking to trap Otom, hoping he would cross the street to speak further, whereupon Avatar would thrust him backwards into the traffic with the cruel cunning of Ares. Waiting for the right moment to act, Avatar realized he was already in the right place at the right time. (Cost: one Luck Point)
Otom was blinded. He 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 and trucks 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!
(Replies?! Actions?!)
Clone was at an unauthorized crossing on the Berlin Wall! He stood at a West Berlin gate at midnight, flanked by two Clones disguised as soldier escorts. Behind him were Drake and Grey and behind them, four more disguised Clone Soldiers. “This is it,” said Grey.
Drake opened the gate, revealing a concrete path lined with barbed wire fence that cut perpendicular across the flat open ground between twin concrete walls to a gate on the East Berlin side. That flat ground was called a death strip because it offered no cover from the wall’s gun towers. Two towers were in sight on the Eastern side, each with movement in them. At the end of the path, framed by the East Berlin gate, could be seen under flood lamps, Clone’s family, four Soviet soldiers, and the Soviet Super Soldiers, Hammer and Sickle!
Like a death row inmate being walked down his cell block for the last time, the undisguised Clone slowly began his walk down the ‘death strip’, in a posture of defeat. He then stops a few feet away from where he started his walk and called over to the other side of the death strip and said to Hammer and Sickle in an almost pleading tone ( in Russian ), ”You have the upper hand comrades, and I have nothing to insure that you’ll keep your word . . . please . . . let my family go . . . let them cross over to this side first and I will come to you willingly.”
Sickle called (in Russian): “No! Send forward the Clone! For every step he takes toward me, the family Oleksienko will take one step away from me!” Her voice echoed off the concrete Wall along the death strip.
Alex’s family took a few tentative steps forward, to mirror the undisguised Clone’s progress so far. Watching them, Clone was certain that they were in fact his real family.
(Replies?! Actions?!)
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.” The big man checked his wristwatch. “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 retrieved the case file on the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Steven Archer and left the alley.
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 Hotel. Archer even had the room number, Penthouse 1.
The high voltage vigilante transformed into electricity and entered the city’s electrical grid. In seconds he was approaching the hotel!
((Reply?! Actions?! There are no cameras in the hotel room of course. And entering the room as electricity will likely be noticed. What do you do?)
Menagerie, master of mysticism, suddenly walked among the firefighters and rangers who worked to re-direct a lightning-borne forest fire in a Canadian Provincial Park. The druidic defender tried to convince the Rangers to quarantine the area to provide the extranormal Pachyderm a safe place! It worked!
The senior ranger said, “Hmph. Well if that don’t beat all. Tell you what. You bring him northeast, over route 97 and up into Alberta, few hundred kilometers, to a place called Chinchaga Wildland, ain’t nobody up there that’ll find him.”
Menagerie slowly smiled, "Please keep everyone out of the area that I told you Pachyderm is in. I will inform you when the area is safe to return to". Before their astonished eyes, Menagerie transformed into an eagle and took to the air! The ranger’s location was days away, so Menagerie scouted the immediate area, looking for a food source.
Diving into a nearby cold natural lake, Menagerie soon had two big silver fish, one in each strong talon.
Then he soared back to Pachyderm! He soon found the ferocious force of nature and dropped the fish at his feet! Pachyderm looked at the fish, puzzled, and then ate it as Menagerie watched, circling above.
Menagerie landed a safe distance from the man-mammoth and assumed human form! Holding the second fish in one hand, he said, “There is more of this from where I came from, just follow me and I will take you there”. Then Menagerie transformed into a wolf and padded off slowly with the fish in his jaws.
Pachyderm followed. The shapeshifting shaman never learned of Pachyderm’s ability to leap for miles so the unlikely pair hiked across the Canadian wilderness in a journey that would take days if not weeks. 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.
(Reply?! Actions?!)
Sentinel heard the Mask of Red Death said, “Fool! You wear their symbol upon your chest, visible to all who can see! Change will come when the people are awoken. All it will take is one bold act against their oppressors and the battle will be joined! All it will take is this!” she snarled as she pressed the detonator!
VA-BOOOMM!!! All the electronic devices detonated their bombs! The building should have been destroyed, along with everybody in it! Instead, Sentinel’s energy constructs absorbed all the terrible damage! Sentinel’s constructs were completely destroyed and no one was harmed! His staircase disintegrating beneath him, Sentinel began to fall to the ground (because his animated constructs are what allow him to fly) as the guests ran for the doors and the Mask of Red Death screamed in pure hatred!
She held one hand aloft and red energy materialized around it and fired at the vulnerable vigilante of virtue! ZAXXK! Sentinel felt a hammering powerful impact, that drove him into the hardwood ballroom floor! CRASH! (OOC: 20 points of damage! 5 from Power, 15 from Hits!)
The beacon of liberty reformed his energy shields (costs 8 power points) and said: "Funny, this symbol, to me, embodies a much more noble pursuit, one it seems you cannot begin to comprehend. And if it is to become an emblem of change in the minds of people, something to rally them, something to inspire them, it will not be sullied or associated with an act of destruction and terrorism. And it seems to me that if people are awakened by your 'bold act', they will remember who defined the meaning of this symbol here today… me. What, were you expecting a bigger light show? Some fireworks perhaps? Disappointed?"
As energy walls emanated from his person to protect the innocents in the Odyssey Club!
Then Sentinel moved the energy walls against the Mask! Before they came into contact with her person, the energy Kirk had detected around her flashed red and she, her protective energy field and Sentinel’s wall were pushed through the shattering window walls out into the private garden behind the brownstone! KRASH!
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!” ZAXXK! A second burst of crimson energy smashed into Sentinel’s shields! (OOC: 15 points, all off shields!)
(Reply?! Actions?!)
Slingshot had been ambushed by himself! Scott burst out of the top of his organic confinement to discover that it was the elastic epidermis of someone who looked and sounded just like him! The two entwined twins were stretching to a standing height of 50 stories high! The other Scott said, “What I meant was, I’ve sampled enough of your speech patterns, such as they are.”
Trying to keep the fight clear of bystanders, Scott stretched his elastic epidermis to a nearby, empty 75 story steel girder construction site! The titanic twins unraveled from each other and squared off for a no holds barred brawl hundreds of feet about the city, within the cast iron grid!
Scott’s double was faster than him. “Perfect,” he said darkly. “What I have in mind requires some privacy.” Suddenly, the simulated Slingshot grew an anvil-sized fist out of his chest and launched it at Scott! SLAMM! (18 points! 8 from Invulnerability, 9 from Power and 1 from Hit Points!) The powerful strike didn’t budge Slingshot!
Scott 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-g-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!!! (21 points! 8 from Power and 13 from Hits!)
Scott flew backwards 40 feet and clear out of the building! Scott was in freefall, plummeting to earth 500 feet below!
(Replies? Actions?)
Soldier and Manetti executed a low level parachute drop into the Venezuelan jungle near the Patriot's last known location! Plummeting, then chute opening, that quick jerk followed by rocking weightlessness. They skirted branches and came down in a clearing by a water hole. Manetti started gathering up his chute from the mud and muttered, “Well that could’ve gone a lot worse.”
Then they heard the weapons reports. The cargo plane was taking fire. The sky over the canopy where the plane had gone was lighting up, irregular. Fire light. BOOM! The sound of an explosion in the distance and lots more fire light in the sky. The plane had been shot down. It was maybe 200 yards away through thick jungle, due south. The plane had been low from the drop when it came under fire.
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.
Solider thought “Damn, not now.” As desperately as he wanted to go after Dr. Ashe, he knew doing so would compromise his mission. He turned toward Manetti. “Lets get moving, this place will be swarming with troops and soon. Is there any way we can get word to CHESS, and let them know what happened to the plane?" Manetti said, “Kid, officially, CHESS doesn’t know we’re here. Let’s move.”
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!
(Replies? Actions?)
Symbiote had found Gadget Girl in the Vanguard Vault Electronics Lab! And she was wearing the Harper Harness! Hal grappled Gadget Girl and executed an emergency deactivation of the Harper Harness!
“Looks like I’ll have to take this back to the shop,” Gadget Girl smiled as her rocket pack fired up and she hurtled for the door! Shelley tried to grab her and missed as Gadget Girl flew into the Bio-Chem Lab!
ZARK! She blew open the door into the eastern hall! A few more seconds and she’d reach a window!
Hal ordered the base’s security systems to activate and nothing happened! Gadget Girl had already deactivated them!
In desperation, Hal charged her! The two tech titans raced to the window at the Northern end of the hallway! Gadget Girl hesitated long enough to fire her Tesla-esque electric pistol at the glass and that’s when Hal caught her!
ZARK! The electro-beam cracked the safety glass moments before Symbiote and Gadget Girl crashed through it in a tangle of limbs! SKAASSHHH! (OOC: 5 points of damage from broken glass. You may roll with 3 of it, the rest go to Hits)
VWOOOM! Shelley’s yells faded quickly in the cold crisp wind. Hal was eighty stories above nighttime Manhattan, hanging onto Gadget Girl for dear life with his left hand! His right still held the tool.
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!
(Replies? Actions?)
Talon was in the middle of a metahuman bar fight over a girl. Some things never change.
“This guy?!” Accelerator said incredulously to Mother Russia. “You’re on a date with this guy?! What’s he got that I ain’t got?” The beer glass suddenly hurtled from Accelerator’s palm at incredible speeds right at Talon’s head! SKAASHH! Accelerator had the power to transfer velocity into objects or himself! Gasps ran through the bar. Blood flowed from Adam’s head.
Talon, his wings harnessed beneath his street clothes, leapt onto Accelerator, knocking over the table, CRASH! and slashing savagely with his namesake claws! ZRASH! The avian antihero tagged Accelerator!
Wounded, Accelerator got to his feet and suddenly hurtled like a meteor at Talon, fist first! …and missed, striking down two bystanders in the crowded bar! POW! SMASH!
The bar patrons yelled, screamed and stampeded! Mother Russia yelled, “Both of you, stop it right now!”
Talon growled: "You got one lucky shot, Speedy. You won't get another one!"
Accelerator was a blur, hurtling around the rapidly widening floorspace. “We’ll see about that, bird brain.” ZROOOM! Another missed punch at staggering, hyper-velocities! This one shattered a wooden column! BOOM!
Talon swung at the slacker speedster and missed! Accelerator was just too fast to catch!
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! (OOC: 13 points of damage! 7 from Power and 6 from Hits!)
The wingless birdman fell to the sidewalk, hard! WHUMP! (6 more from Power).
Adam couldn’t see Accelerator or Mother Russia inside the bar because of the fleeing, panicked bar patrons that now threatened to trample him!
(Reply? Actions?)
----------------
OOC: Have fun.
Viva Vanguard,
Jeff
Current Conditions:
Avatar: Hit Points: 35, Power Points: 64
Clone: Bodies: 7, Hit Points: 3 each, Power Points: 48 each, Hit Point Pool: 19
Sentinel: Hit Points: 13, Power Points: 44, Creation Points: 88, Shields: 73
Slingshot: Hit Points: 65, Power Points: 73, Inv: 0 til next issue
Symbiote: Hit Points: 16, Power Points: 60
Talon: Hit Points: 35, Power Points: 59
Everyone else is full or close to it.
--------------------------------------------------
Avatar:
John heads back across the street to save Otom's life, perhaps nimbly using the spear to pole-vault over cars and such. John will wait until Otom is about to step out onto the street and attempt to time his attack, a pole-vault and strike with his feet to knock Otom back, damaging him but also saving him from oncoming traffic.
If this works, John will speak 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."
If this tactic does NOT work, then we'll look at something else.
If it DOES work, then John will get the other spear and the two of them can head back to the Vault.
--------------------------------------------------
Talon:
Adam growls in frustration as he stands to unfasten his harness. With a flap of his ebony wings he is lifted into the air above the bar. He looks to the alleys and streets of the surrounding area for signs of a fleeing Accelerator and Mother Russia.
OOC: Talon will make a quick circle in the air above the bar looking for any signs of their retreat. If he doesn't see them in a few moments he will enter the bar through the back door to check on any patrons that might still be inside.
--------------------------------------------------
Soldier:
OOC: How many soldiers/militia men can Soldier see, and do they look like they're looking for them, or just randomly searching?
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
[ooc] by the statement of their trail, does it mean that the lone figure is a third individual? I can see both the lone figure and Pachyderm? If yes, can I make out anything about this lone figure? does it walk like a man or ape, does it have a tail? Any smells that would provide a hint.
wonderful issue!!! I can't wait to see what happens next.
thanks
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
Clone:
Absolutely awesome Jeff! You're not making this easy for Clone/me and I love it lol!
As usual I have a few questions:
1. Is Clone's family being escorted across the death strip like Clone is or are the Soviets allowing them to cross unguarded. I'm assuming their unguarded, but I just wanted to make sure.
2. How does Clone's family appear to be reacting to all of this? I'm assuming that they're a bit scared and nervous, but again - I just wanted to make sure. Do they appear more scared and nervous then they probably should be? Are their eye's moving around; maybe even staring at certain parts of the wall, as if anticipating some kind of ambush or something from the Soviets?
Clone trusts the Russians about as far as he can throw them with two broken arms - he's just waiting for the other shoe to drop. He knows all too well how the Russian government works and he's sure that they have a 'Plan B' or some other kind of 'back door' plan in place - he's just trying to figure out what it might be. Giving up Clone's family isn't something they would want to do - they're too good of a 'playing piece' to hold over Clone's head.
Again - great stuff Jeff! You have me pulling my hair out trying to figure out a way to keep the Soviets from getting their hands on a Clone duplicate, and at the same time keeping Clone's family from getting shot in the process. The unknown of whats lurking around in those guard towers is driving me absolutely nuts lol - great work - I love the challenge! :-)
-Kev
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC GM Replies:
Soldier, there are five soldiers almost directly beneath your perch in the tree. Another five are within a 25 foot radius. They are actively searching for someone. Cautious, slow, watching their sightlines.
Menagerie, the lone figure is a third individual who walks like a man. No tail is visible at this considerable distance and the wind is working against you in terms of catching a scent. In fact, your scents may be exposed.
Clone, Clone’s family is not being escorted forward. To judge from Sickle’s statement, “Send forward the Clone,” rather than, say, "Bring me the Clone," she doesn’t want the sacrificed Clone to be escorted either.
Clone’s family is properly terrified. They are watching the Soviets and your group, unsure of what is about to happen. You see no signal attempts from them.
Thanks.
Best,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
Kirk thought about the symbol on his chest and as he did so, it's image rose off of his chest between them. In his mind's eye he saw Lancaster and all he had accomplished as the Sentinel and it resolved Kirk about all the good he hoped to do and he retorted, "The legacy of this symbol will never be broken and if there will be any destruction this day, it will be the crushing of your evil schemes." With that, the animate icon zoomed across the distance directly into the Mask...
Kirk's mind raced through his knowledge of heroic lore as he began to assess the power threat of the Mask looking for an edge... apparently force field and energy blasts of some sort (just what was that energy he had never encountered and what was its source of power? - Kirk continued to use his energy as the battle ensues to see if he can learn anything more). She currently had the advantage having drawn first blood when Kirk's shields were down from his thwarting the destruction of the brownstone and he needed to counter that ...
As Kirk's construct struck the Mask he expected the energy field to once again appear and protect the Mask, but his plan was to use the momentum against her ... Kirk struck at an angle to send her flying upward and towards the water. As the symbol she hated took her direct attention and focus, clear tendrils of energy formed from the ground upward around the area she occupied forming a ramp to propel her upward and away upon impact.
Jeff: What I'm envisioning here is the symbol in all its glory forming the striking weapon and center of attention and then a bit of a clandestine move that she won't notice in her ravings that further focuses the momentum of the impact - sort of like the ball being fired in a pinball machine with her force field itself providing the mass. Since the 'ramp' doesn't really grab or encircle her to work, I'm assuming that this could work just like a normal attack (no special attack or double roll needed). If this wouldn't be the case, then of course the symbol could 'hit' coming up from below with an upward motion instead of a direct motion to send her skyward, but the other idea seemed like a cooler looking effect.
On Kirk's plan - at this point Mask has not manifested the power of flight (ie the crash through the window) so hopefully she doesn't have it and being thrust into the air with the idea of plummeting downward may put a cramp in her attack. Although it seems like her plans of death against the members of the Club are done, by getting her out of the immediate area, Kirk hopefully ensures that they do all get away.
Finally, I'm not sure how far from the water we are here at this point or how far Kirk's blow will take her, but it would seem that his strategy would continue unless you have her counter with something new or different. Kirk would do his best to attack to do enough damage to pierce her shield while trying to propel the battle to the environment of the water. She may have 'shields' like Kirk, but he's betting they don't have environmental capabilities like his and hopefully that will give him the advantage to win the battle... and if the air doesn't throw her, perhaps the water will. Since I'm not sure how many 'issues' you are looking for the battle to take place, this might help with the pace and as to whether you want to speed it up or not.
Best to all,
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
Soldier:
IC: Soldier silently wonders to himself how they could have zeroed in on their location so fast. Could they have been set up? Could someone in CHESS secretly be working with the Venezuelan government, but he quickly clears those thoughts from his mind, as he has more pressing matters to worry about, namely getting out of this mess in one piece. OOC: As he continues to scan the area, he'll draw his pistol, and prepare to defend himself if necessary. He'll also try to signal to Manetti the location the locations of all of the soldiers. In the event that they're spotted, he'll fire at the targets closest to him, before beating a hasty retreat. He's not an idiot, and he's not going to try and shoot it out with these guys.
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
He briefly considers confronting the follower, but reminds himself what his true purpose is. It is to get Pachyderm to his new location. Menagerie will continue leading the way. He will provide fish as much as possible since the man-mammoth enjoys it. Menagerie will keep a look out to see if they are still being followed and if the distance between them is getting less.
Menagerie will take opportunity to talk with Pachyderm both with speech and modified signs. He will see if Pachy would start signing back. [ooc] the basic plan is to bond with Pachy and provide him with the company he enjoys.
Menagerie will talk to Pachyderm about the location they are going to, referring to it as his new home and how much he will like it.
[ooc] Menagerie will attempt detect hidden, detect danger, and use his heightened senses to try to determine who is following them. Menagerie will only confront the follower once the distance is one quarter the distance it was when Menagerie first noticed they were being followed.
Thanks
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
One quick OOC reply to Seth/Sentinel:
It seems like you want to throw the Mask of Red Death. That's possible with your constructs. Due to how the rules are written, it might not be best accomplished as an impact attack (or Knockback, as per the rules), like you outlined with your email, but could be more like big arms throwing her, or a goofy Golden Age slingshot flinging her. More like throwing her and less like knocking her backwards.
Assuming you want to throw her, is that okay?
Thanks.
Best,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Symbiote:
Some times subtlety, ingenuity and creativity are called for. This is not one of those times.
Keeping a death grip around Gadget Girl's neck with his left arm, Hal will bring his right hand---and the handle of the tool he's holding--down on her skull, to the point behind her right ear. He'll spend a Hero Point to knock her out.
After that, he'll attempt to steer her into a safe landing, in the Hudson River or the bay if possible. Any landing he can walk (and carry her) away from....
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
I"m taking a beating. I'll use my action to evade and move towards something that I can do some real damage to this doppleganger.The plan: Find a gas truck or something big and flamable and then next turn, smash the tank on he/she/it then turn on the flames.
--------------------------------------------------
Clone:
As Clone looked silently at the other side of the Russian death strip he saw his family being herded across it like a pack of cold and frightened prisoners. His mother; the women he had always looked to for his heart and soul, was now being paraded before him with tears in her eyes at the end of an assault rifle. His father; the source of his dignity and pride, was now standing before him fearfully watching his captures knowing that he would be completely helpless to prevent the cold-blooded murder of his wife and children. His siblings Viktor and Katya; his childhood playmates and best friends, walked slowly across the cold cement causeway before him with fear and confusion in their every step.
For the first time in his life Clone felt something stir within his soul that he had never felt before. Sickles words danced around in his head like orders barked at him like a master commanding its pet, “No! Send forward the Clone! For every step he takes toward me, the family Oleksienko will take one step away from me!” He took his eyes off of his family for just a moment and stared so deeply at the figures standing so smugly behind them it almost looked as if he was staring straight through them. A lone tear slid gently down his cheek as he closed his eyes. In that fraction of a second he found himself almost wishing that he could open his eyes and discover that the entire situation was nothing more then a bad dream, but he knew that wouldn’t be the case. For the first time in his life Clone found himself at war with his faith.
As his eyes snapped open he felt the rage and anger that had been building up inside of him being quickly consumed by a swirling void of loneliness and emptiness. A cold scream burst forth from his soul, shattering his heart, and emptying his mind of rational thought. Despair was replaced with coldness and fear was undone by desire. For the first time in his life Clone knew what it was to truly hate. There was no primal rage or painful feelings of angst; there was only the feeling of quiet emptiness. A lifelessness born from a well of dark nothingness filled his heart. Yet as empty as he had become, he couldn’t help but feel as if he had been given a renewed sense of purpose and being. Clone was through running; he was done hiding, and he was sure as hell done living in fear of these pathetic Russians. As he took his first steps forward his thoughts called out from behind the ethereal barrier of shadows that now polluted his mind, “They want a weapon . . . they want a monster . . . then lets give them what they want.”
>CLONE’S OOC RESPONSE<
Needless to say Clone is going on the offensive. Here’s the basic battle plan I have in mind – hopefully it works. As Clone’s family gets to the other side of the Death Strip and Clone finds himself standing before the Russians – its game on! The six disguised Clones are going to take aim on the guard towers ( firing upon or returning fire upon them if a battle breaks out ), and the undisguised Clone is going to jump Sickle in hopes of taking a hostage ( holding her by her neck if possible for dramatic effect ). He wants to let Hammer know what it feels like to have a mad-man in charge of one of your family member’s lives. Again – needless to say – he’s beyond angry – its all kinds of personal for him right now.
If the use of a Luck Point will help make his grappling attack on Sickle more likely to succeed then he'll definitely use one. If a fight does break out the undisguised Clone(s) will just keep dividing and dividing and dividing . . . making more and more of themselves and simply overwhelm the Soviets on the ground with sheer numbers. In the state of mind that he is in right now – finesse and subtlety are out the window – as far as he’s concerned its time to send a message.
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
--------------------------------------------------
Lightning Strike: Once Strike is heading to the hotel in electrical form, he will attempt to tap into the hotel's computer system. His goal is to find the nearest vacant room near Caine's. Once in the room he will attempt to try something he has never done before. He wants to try to slow the flow of his electrical form so that he doesn't just burst into Caine's room but rather seeps in so as not to be too obvious. I guess this would be the equivalent of trying to put extra resistance on the line. Once he is in the room, he will start to look around for anything incriminating.
Hope this is OK.
Tony
