Vanguard Roll Call!

Vanguard Roll Call!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Vanguard: Issue 198: Fathers and Sons.

CHAPTER ONE: BROCELÏANDE


Sentinel sent his platform construct racing down the black path! Rain soaked them and flames roared on either side as they hurtled through the parted forest fire beneath the night sky!

With Menagerie and Sentinel guiding him, Avatar’s wild, windy, rain soaked path led Vanguard toward the Artifact of Power!

Vanguard approached a clearing that appeared to have not been touched by flames.  There were people there, standing in a circle, outside an ancient stone circle. 

This area had been doused by rain, and rain fell here still as flames licked at the edges of the clearing. 
Avatar knew there were over one thousand known stone circles in England and Brittany alone, each dating back a millennia.  To the south of the stone circle were the ruins of an ancient circular tower.

150 feet to the north of the stone circle was a small stone chapel with a cemetery.  The chapel’s architecture evoked Celtic, Arthurian, Christian and Medieval traditions. It had burned and its flames had been extinguished by Avatar’s storm.

Around the moss covered stone circle, there were some people that Vanguard recognized: 


Baron Samedi! The vulgar voodoo houngan of hate!
Jack Lantern! The enigmatic Halloween killer!
Le Fou! Jolly jester of chaos!
The Fly! Agent of decay and pestilence!

           

Dexter Sinister Jr! The court jester of crime, the living hallucinogen!
The Ghoul! A French cannibal Vanguard recognized from the news. His touch caused paralysis in his victims.
The Puppet! The malevolent marionette of mind control!
And there were several people that Vanguard didn’t recognize. Three were with the others, surrounding the stone circle: 


Inside the stone circle was another large figure Vanguard didn’t recognize. He was motionless within a dark cloak.


And near the chapel graveyard to the north there were three more hooded figures, holding torches. 


Both groups became aware of each other simultaneously (no one had the element of surprise).


Lightning Strike arced high above, unseen within the clouds, aware of Vanguard’s position.

At this range, Menagerie and Sentinel could only tell that the energy of the Artifact of Power was somewhere inside the stone circle. 



[OOC: Top of the map is North. 150 feet north of this map is the stone chapel with the three hooded figures with torches.
The area pictured on the map hadn’t been burned by the forest fire but has been, and continues to be, doused by Avatar’s thunderstorm.  Surrounded on all sides by acres of flames. This seems to be the center of the inferno. Close by, to the east and the west, are the raging inferno of the forest fire. To the south is your approach, a path of extinguished forest fire.

Poor visibility from night, storm, smoke, and steam will:
a) Triple your ranged attack modifiers in combat.
So, 0"-30" is still no modifier.
But attacks at 31" - 60" will be at -3
Attacks at 61" - 120" will be at -6, etc., etc.
b) Halve all Detect Hiddens beyond 30".  Heightened Senses may be able to avoid these modifiers.]

Avatar’s powerful aura bolstered the morale of Vanguard despite their being outnumbered nearly 2 to 1.

Symbiote thought to himself, "Jeez, not these mumbo-jumbo magical types again," as he mentally began the process of revving up Accelerator's powers.  "One of these days I'm going to have to sit down with Menagerie and seriously work out what 'magic' is.  I'm still fully convinced it's just science we don't understand, perverted by jackholes like these people.  Or maybe I can question one of them about it after they recover from their bruises."
With that, the Speeding Superheroic Simulator rushed into action, running at top speed around the east side of the map until he was behind Baron Samedi.  Symbiote moved so fast that Samedi didn’t see him. Then Hal palm struck the Shameful Shaman, transferring his velocity into Samedi’s undead body.

ZOOM!!! Samedi instantly hurtled away from Hal, going from 0 to 60 in one second. The scarecrow undertaker crashed into the large hooded figure in the center of the stone circle, KA-SLAM!!! Both fell over.

Baron Samedi jerked himself up and his eyes and lips were filled with reckless, manic mirth. The houngan of horror laughed, “You tink you can hurt me, boy? Hahahaha!! I’m already @#$%&* dead!!!”

Avatar commanded the storm to worsen! [Costs 6 Power points]
The battle now took place within a raging hurricane! Wind roared and rain fell sideways! Flaming trees buckled and fell nearby! Wind-fed flames of the forest fire shot into the sky!

[OOC: a) Ranged attack modifiers now become:
1"- 5” is -1 to hit
6” - 10” is -2 to hit
11” - 15” is -3 to hit, etc., etc.

b) Halve all Detect Hiddens beyond 5".  Quarter them beyond 10”.
Heroes with Heightened Senses may be able to avoid these Detect modifiers.

c) Verbal communication beyond 5” is now impossible.

d) All movement is quartered.

Note: 1” equals 5 feet, or the length of one of your character markers on the map]

Avatar closed with the villains to better see them in the storm, and then wielded hurricane-force winds along the line occupied by Dexter Sinister and the Puppet! The eternal warrior of countless battles judged their powers to be the ones most apt to cause a dangerous division within Vanguard, and so they had to fall!
[Costs 4 Power Points per blast, plus 2 for a double attack!]
VWOOOOSHHHHH!!!!  A gale blast battered the two villains, catching them both unaware, and knocked them into a nearby stone. KRAK! Both were hurt but awake.

Lightning Strike arced unseen among the cloud cover as sentient electricity. He willed himself to increase the static charge in the storm and then fire a powerful lightning bolt (that carried himself down with it) into the center of the circle, targeting the hooded enigma! [Cost 4 Power Points]
KRAKA-THOOM!!!!
The lightning bolt struck the large, shrouded man, electrocuting him!  His deep voice cried out in pain, “YEEARGH!” as he writhed on the ground, and was still. Everyone near the circle was knocked back by the force of the concussive detonation!  A few of the villains were becoming alarmed by Vanguard’s onslaught. Some laughed, perhaps nervously.

Strike rematerialized in the circle, and scanned it for something that might be this quest’s artifact of power, but did not find it.

Menagerie stared in rage at the villains around the circle. They had set fire to the woods for their own nefarious purposes. He tried to mentally contact Archimedes, his spirit guide and mentor, through the mystic link they shared, but could not.  Perhaps there were magical properties at work here that Menagerie did not yet understand.
Then Menagerie spotted The Puppet! He didn't know how it had been reassembled but he also didn't care. The Puppet had mind controlled his friend, Pachyderm. Menagerie lost control of his rage! He felt the animal within him rise up and take over. The Puppet was having its strings cut!

Menagerie mindspoke to the rest of Vanguard. His mind’s voice was different. More savage. More ferocious. It snarled, "Sentinel and Symbiote, please focus on getting the artifact. We need to wage a two front battle. You two on retrieving the artifact. The rest of Vanguard with me, for I must issue holy vengeance upon these nefarious ne'er-do-wells!"

"KEEEYYUURRR!!!"  Menagerie cried in the form of Eagle as he flew valiantly through the squall at The Puppet! His talons reached for the wooden head as he prepared to slash the mind-controlling marionette!
[OOC: Menagerie makes a special knock-out attack on the Puppet's head. He would use a Luck Point. But the Puppet’s Body Power (Made of Wood) has a sub-power: Can’t be knocked out! The Luck Point is not spent.]

Menagerie’s talons of Eagle ruthlessly raked the face of the malevolent marionette, leaving diagonal gouges across his sinister wooden visage! The attack would have severed a man’s limb!  The Puppet was badly damaged but still “alive” and moving.


The Puppet was an eerie living marionette, 30” tall and imbued with foul, unholy sorcery!
“Pretty birdie,” he cooed above the howling winds. He marveled at Menagerie and held his hands out as if manipulating unseen puppet strings. “Yes, my pet,” it crooned tenderly. “Yes. You are MY puppet now! AH HAHAHA HAHA HAAAA!”

Menagerie felt the evil will of the bizarre, unnatural creature in his mind! And repelled it!
[Willpower defense use costs 1 Power Point]

“What??!” cried the Puppet in a tantrum that passed in seconds. “Very well, little birdie. I’ll just have to find myself another puppet to tear your little WINGS OFF!” he barked with vicious glee.  “HAHAHA HAHA HAHAHA!” 

KRAKOOM! Lightning illuminated his scarred, leering face as thunder roared and wind howled! 

The Fly flew through the gale toward Menagerie on his giant insect wings. Menagerie sensed he was an enemy of the Natural Order, an agent of Decay, Pestilence and Disease. His grotesque mockery of a voice was the buzzing of thousands of insect wings. “Human… You are too late… Your queen is dead… Cthulhu comes… to destroy the world of men.”

Menagerie knew that the Fly could form clouds of insects, but this hurricane wind would make it impossible. Unfortunately, the Fly had another dread power. He held out a black, shiny gloved hand at Menagerie and sickly green mystical energy emanated, enveloping Menagerie for a moment before dissipating!
The shapeshifting shaman suddenly felt weakness take hold. He shuddered like he was in the grip of dire illness, losing strength and vitality by the second! [Menagerie is now Fatigued as per the rules: movement, stats, damage inflicted, and carry capacity are all halved]

Baron Samedi suddenly jerked his body straight up in an unnatural yank.  He eyed Vanguard. “I remember you @#$%&* boys. Got some-tin for ya! Ha hah! That’s right! Some-tin special wit you name onnit! Ha!”
The Cajun cadaver creature ran off toward the hooded trio at the small stone church, laughing maniacally.

Sentinel quickly surveyed the situation from their unique vantage point.  Vanguard was badly outnumbered.  The series of missions had taken its toll on his team and especially on himself already, although he would be sure he didn’t let it show in the confrontation.
Kirk took notice of the two juxtaposed circles beneath them as well as the nearby chapel and figures.  Could this possibly be…? Had they found the legendary…? BROCELÏANDE?  And were the legends of who was buried there true?
His mind merged those two circles and it seemed the positioning of the stones and bushes become a complete circle except for the left side where the unknown female figure with the scarlet hair stood.  Even the stone almost seemed like an open door near her matching the open area next to the bush of the circle closer to them. The circles were architectural echoes of each other no doubt, but Sentinel [and his Occult Studies skill] was unsure whether they were linked magically.
Kirk came to some conclusions.  This was a summoning.  The fire was either an effect of the power being contained or a sacrifice enabling the summoning/containment.  And given that remnants of the Crimson Coven were performing the ceremony and the legends of the area, he thought there was a good chance that the mysterious hooded figure was not their ally nor there willingly.
Kirk flew directly into the circle from the best approach possible. He landed and withdrew the energy platform into his personal shields, to best defend himself, and to give his teammates freedom of motion. [Also Evades]
Kirk addressed the hooded figure who lay motionless upon the ground, thunderstruck. “Those are our enemies.  We have no quarrel with you.  We know an artifact is here. We need to safeguard it against being misused.  We need it to prevent the coming of Cthulhu and the destruction of earth.”

Le Fou laughed viciously over the raging storm. “Nothing can stop his coming now! Cthulhu brings his gift of death and madness to all humans! Rejoice my brothers, O servants of Cthulhu! Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!"
All the villains around the circle joined in the eerie chant. Then they leapt at Vanguard! They had been waiting for the heroes to enter the circle! The battle was joined!

Le Fou cartwheeled at Avatar, jumped up, tumbled in mid air and kicked Avatar in the face! CHOK!! 
[9 points of damage. Avatar rolls with 3 and takes 6 off hit points]    The champion of fate had attempted to dodge the attack but Le Fou seemed to know where Avatar was headed before he went there!

Big Bad, the seven foot tall wolfman, broke loose upon Lightning Strike, bounding on all fours and then leapt up, savagely slashing him with ferocious claws as he barked, yipped and howled in joyful bloodlust beneath the hurricane’s raw fury!  [14 points of damage! Rolls with 6 and takes 8 from hit points.]

Slingshot tried to understand what Vanguard had stumbled across. His occult knowledge told him that there were over 1000 stone circles in the United Kingdom and Northern France, the most famous being Stonehenge. They were not known for summoning. They were astronomically significant, used to chart the stars, or to cast shadows in sunlight.  Slingshot didn’t think this was a summoning.  So why would a group of occult supervillains surround the mysterious hooded figure?
The malleable man of might didn’t want to attack the hooded figure. Not yet anyway. He grabbed Big Bad by the nape of his neck and hurled him at the Fly! SMASH!!! Both were hurt and scrambling in the mud and the rain and the wind. The Fly’s containment suit was bleeding buzzing winged insects that were being carried away on the gale as they seemed to say, “Al Azif, Al Azif, Al Azif.”

Inferna, the burning woman, sought out Slingshot, like she knew what she was doing. The rain crackled on her burning flesh as a plague of locusts on a bug zapper. “You are a heretic,” she roared in a voice like a blast furnace. “You are unworthy to be a minion of Nyarlhotep (praise his ignoble name). For your treason, you must BURN!” The fire demon blasted flames from her hands, engulfing Slingshot!  [10 points of damage. Due to your Vulnerability, it’s doubled and cannot be rolled with. Your Invulnerability and Regeneration don’t work on this damage type.  So, 20 to hit points.  You just barely remain conscious! (Rolled a 23%!)  You are not on fire.]

Jack Lantern pounced at Clone and a glittering blade suddenly appeared in his right hand. The Halloween Killer and Alexi tumbled to the muddy ground and wrestling in that close, intimate proximity, where they could hear each other’s breath, Jack Lantern stabbed Clone repeatedly with his silver knife. “There, there. Don’t struggle. It’ll all be over soon.”  [11 points! Clone rolls with 6 and takes 5 from hit points]

Clone was underneath Jack Lantern. Gripping his staff tightly, the Duplicating Dynamo started creating doppelgangers, pushing Lantern off of him. Within moments a brigade of simulacra surrounded Lantern in the dark and rainy field. The horde of duplicates brought their full fury against the Halloween Killer! KRAK! CHOK! TOK!   [5 out of 6 Clones hit!]
Jack Lantern was beaten into unconsciousness!  Just before he passed out, his body language changed, and so did his voice and he cried out, “Wait! What happened?! Where am I? WAIT! No don’t!” and then he was silent.

Dexter Sinister, Jr., the degenerate druglord of decadence, touched a Clone and laughed.  Like his dead (and previously undead) father, this bastard son was also a living drug whose skin exuded powerful psychotropic hallucinogens, resulting in the victim experiencing his worst nightmare made real.  Sinister Jr. had a twisted harem of junkie prostitutes in Big City, all of them addicted to him.
He touched Clone and something different happened.  Sinister Jr.’s power to change brain function and alter perception and consciousness reacted with Clone’s fragmented personality, and his latent (and previously active) telepathic powers, resulting in something unexpected:  This one Clone’s empathic telepathy, which was linked to every other Clone, suddenly woke up. This one Clone instantly knew everything that the other Clones knew and felt.  Including the Clone in Russia. He suddenly knew Doctor X was Clone’s father. It was Clone’s worst nightmare made real. The link ended as quickly as it began. But the memories and knowledge remained.
[This Clone has complete knowledge of everything that happened in Russia, up through Issue 197]

Scarlet Fever, the crimson haired woman, was a blood mage. Before coming here she made several blood sacrifices whose details are too gruesome to tell. She was now filled with magick power. Menagerie could detect it, even in his bestial state of mind.
She confidently approached Sentinel and cast a magical spell on his energy shields that would teleport them to the moon.  ZZRAM!!!  She only got part of them.   [Lose 33 points from shields.]

The Ghoul, the grisly French cannibal whose touch could instantly paralyze a victim, put his hand inside the newly formed hole in Sentinel’s shields and missed entirely, only because Sentinel was evading this turn!
                       
Far off, by the stone church, there was some commotion with Baron Samedi and the three black robed, torch bearing cultists.  But the storm’s power made it impossible to see from here.  Samedi’s mad malevolent mirth cackled on the wind.

Symbiote hurtled around the stone circle, gaining speed with every lap. He caromed around Avatar, stopped on a dime and palm struck Le Fou, transferring all of his newly stored velocity at a touch, sending the Jester of Chaos into another stone pillar, hard!  WHAM!!! Le Fou slid off the rock slowly, revealing newly formed cracks in the stone. Le Fou was barely conscious, but he never stopped smiling.

Sentinel stood over the motionless form of the hooded figure. He repeated: “We know an artifact is here. We need to safeguard it.  We need it to prevent the coming of Cthulhu and the destruction of earth.”

A deep voice rumbled from beneath the black cloak. “Then take it!” The cloak opened in the middle, revealing a large cold steel sword. The inferno that surrounded them reflected clearly in its blade. Sentinel knew this was an Artifact of Power. Lightning Strike was close by.


Lightning Strike and Sentinel saw that his body had been gravely wounded. Perhaps in a battle with these servants of Cthulhu. His greenish skin was still glowing with electricity from the Lightning Strike’s attack. And that electricity was somehow healing him!?! Sentinel said, “…Are you the being of legend once known as Merlin?”

“No…,” the voice rumbled, “Men… call me… Dr. Monster.”

Sentinel recognized the name. Vanguard’s superhero historian knew that Dr. Monster was a mysterious superhero, one of two surviving members of AEGIS, the European superteam that was murdered by their former member, the Primate. Oracle was the other survivor.

The cloak continued opening, revealing the face that had been hidden from the public.


Lightning Strike and Sentinel couldn’t help but be repulsed.  [Dr. Monster has the Weakness, Prejudice x 2]

Sentinel recognized this face. In the journal of Dr. Swastika, that Vanguard had recovered days ago behind the iron curtain in the lost lab of Dr. Swastika, there was a beautiful, lyrical illustration of this visage, penned in Swastika’s own talented hand. 
He was one of Swastika’s early experiments in the area of prolonged life by scientific, and sorcerous, means. Dawning realization hit Sentinel. A Frankenstein’s monster! Perhaps the original, given the date and region of Swastika’s birth!  Dr. Swastika was the creator, the “father,” of this 150+ year old creature called Dr. Monster!

[OOC: Actions everyone!]

Current Conditions:
Avatar: Hit Points: 21, Power Points: 33, Manifestation: Hephaestus, Zeus
Clone: Hit Points: 1/6/6, Bodies: 6/1/1, Hit Point Pool: 23, Power Points: 61/67/67 (Stats: France/Russia/Vault)
Lightning Strike: Hit Points: 33, Power Points: 60
Menagerie: Hit Points: 26, Power Points: 62, Form: Eagle, Status: Fatigued
Sentinel: Hit Points: 7, Power Points: 58, Creation Points: 116, Shields: 66, Evasion: -5
Slingshot: Hit Points: 59, Power Points: 90, Invulnerability: 8, Fire damage that can’t be regenerated: 20
Symbiote: Hit Points: 28, Power Points: 76, Charges: 13, Activated: Accelerator



CHAPTER TWO: VANGUARD VAULT 


Sgt. Stone noisily blew his nose into a handkerchief.  “Love stories… always get me,” he muttered.

Elsewhere in The Vault, Clone’s “Insurance Policy” sat quietly in the closet of his room waiting patiently for the return of his duplicates. As the minutes turned into hours, Clone began to get bored and frustrated sitting in the dark closet. Reaching into his shirt pocket he pulled out his personal cell phone and began to quietly think to himself. “I really need to call Rachael.” he thought. The darkness rid the sadness in his eyes as he continued, “I need to put things right with her. I have so many things I need to say to her, but all of that will have to wait . . . for another awesome round of Candy Crush!” The screen on Clone’s cell phone suddenly burst into a rainbow of color as the legendary superhero continued his quest for gaming greatness!


Meanwhile, in the Special Projects Room: Slate wanted to communicate with Nemesis first to ensure it would be safe for Nanite and himself to enter the digital zone:

To: the Entity
From: the Digital Child
Subject: Destruction of Earth

Our Dimension is currently under attack. Entity Cthulhu seeking to destroy life in this Dimension, beginning with Earth.
Nanite and I seek protection in the Digital Zone. Are we welcome? We do not wish assimilation, only protection. Can you assist?

He transmitted the message and received no reply.

Slate shared what he overheard regarding the "Contingency," with Doc Rocket and Sgt. Stone. He's not sure if he'll see his father again, so he wanted to make sure Vanguard got the message that something is going on.

Doc said, “Thank you, my boy. It was good for you to tell us.”

Sarge muttered, “I’m surprised it took ’em this long.”

After much time, Slate and his friends had successfully built a new portal to the Digital Zone! It was a gigantic machine surrounding a large doorframe. When active, the doorway would open into the Digital Zone. [kinda like this image. :) ]


Doc Rocket said, “Well done, my boy. All that is needed now is a power source.”

Shelley said, “The Vault’s on emergency generators. The city is blacked out. We need power to burn.”

Slate looked to Doc Rocket and Shelly. "Is there any way we can route the electricity from the lightning rods on the building to the portal? I know in a normal storm these kinds of buildings can be hit multiple, if not hundreds of times. If we can tap into that, we should have all the power we could need."

Doc said, “Brilliant.”

Shelley hugged Slate and the team got to work.

Soon they had harnessed the power of the World Storm via lightning rods atop the Empire State Building to yield enough power to pierce the fabric of reality itself!

When all was ready, Slate threw the switch!
KRAKOOM!!! 

SHAKRROOM!!!

With each successive lightning strike, their power levels were building, fueling the  Digital Gate!

KRAKABOOM!!!!

The doorway of the gate flickered!

RUMMMMMBL-SHAKOW!!!!

“Almost!” said Doc.

BABOOOOM!!!

The doorway flickered again, illuminating the Special Projects Room.

KRAKA-THOOMM!!!!

With a loud crackle, the gateway into the Digital Zone activated, revealing that alternate universe on the other side!

VMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

That universe was black with billions of glowing chrysalis gossamers that formed shapes, landscapes, cities of data. (Imagine Tron, the Matrix, Neuromancer, etc)

The gossamers connected to billions of diadem screens, like stars, windows into our world.

Slate and Nanite took each other’s hands on the brink of that precipice, and jumped!


  
Nanite and Slate became digitized, rendered in green linear data, and felt as if he was coming home. He felt a sense of completion.

(OOC: Slate has a new character sheet in this plane of existence.
Your Intelligence score is now your Agility score as well.
Your Charisma score is now your Strength and Endurance scores as well.
Your Hit Points are now equal to your Charisma Score.
Your Power Points equal (Chax2) + (Intx2) and they are currently full.)

Suddenly a great face of green data formed itself in the sky.  It was the amalgam entity of Nemesis and IT.  Father and son, joined as one.

The gigantic visage silently looked down upon Nanite and Slate and…

To be continued!

OOC: Actions please? Thanks!



 Current Conditions:
Slate: Hit Points: 13, Power Points: 62

-----------------------------------------

Clone, please see separate, private email to follow.  :)

Thanks!

Best,
Jeff

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Avatar:
Avatar trusted Symbiote to fight Le Fou while he concentrated elsewhere.

Respecting the malleable might of Slingshot but also knowing his weakness, Avatar thought that aid sent that way might help most at this point.  He targets Inferna, attempting to call lightning from the storm to strike her.

OOC:  This assumes that Avatar can see what is happening with Slingshot.  Also, if the lightning attack is permissible, is there any chance that it could catch her unaware and she be unable to roll with it since this isn't an attack that I've ever used before on anyone and it's coming out of the blue, anyway?

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Slingshot:
OOC:
OOoooooOOOoooOOOoo Private emails! some of us are sooooooo lucky!

Alright - Scott is getting seriously tired about all these firetypes knowing his weakness. Now that I know this circle isn't for summoning and the central figure should be an ally... I'm going all out on inferna. I pickup a pillar and call me Bam Bam!

here's an inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOWR0CfMUZE

Alternatively, another favorite of mine : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2fVdNBGTTo

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Menagerie:
OOC: Wow, that was a great issue and that hurt too.

Shouldn't Menagerie's Power Points be 0 since he is fatigued.

Thanks
Tom

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GM:
OOC:
Thanks guys.

Slingshot: That's my favorite scene in the Avengers. And Bamm Bamm is a pretty unique character idea.  A superstrong baby.  Hmmmm.

Avatar:  Yes. You can change the weather type from hurricane to thunderstorm with movement (and Power Points), and then attack with lightning.
Yes, unless Inferna makes a "detect danger" save, this would be a surprise attack.  That's what happened last round with your hurricane force winds.  It's how you managed that double "to hit" roll, and how you hurt them so badly.  :)

Menagerie:  The effect of the Fly's insidious sickness power is that you feel and act as if Fatigued, but you still have your Power Points. It's not Devitalization Ray. Thanks.

Best,
Jeff

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Avatar:
OOC: Thanks, Jeff, that's kinda what I wondered.

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Slate:
IC: Slate and Nanite floated across the digital landscape.  Slate's body began to change, morphing into a smaller likeness of IT/Nemesis a disembodied head, maintaining his own face.  Slate felt no fear, or concern, the agitation he had felt in the Vault left almost instantly, replaced by the warm assurance that he was "home".  A kind of lethargy came over him, as they moved seemingly with increasing speed, though it was hard to judge that here.  

He looked around at Nanite to verify she was OK, she seemed concerned. "It's going to be alright Mother", he thought to her.  He turned to see the portal becoming smaller and smaller behind them.  There was something he had forgotten to tell them, but what was it, and who were they?  That was the dream, this was reality, but why could he never remember his dreams?

He felt something like a splinter in his mind.  Something small, but there. He couldn't quite grasp what it was that he needed to remember.  

Memories flooded his mind, IT/Nemesis visiting his dreams, They/We said this would happen, that he would return, something would happen, something would change... it was almost there, but he couldn't grab it, couldn't capture the thought, as it danced away on gossamer wings data moving through the digital dimension at almost the speed of light itself.

Slate turned to face his Grandfather/Uncle,

Jon

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Sentinel:
“No…,” the voice rumbled, “Men… call me… Dr. Monster.”

Upon recognition of the name Kirk’s grimace turned to a smile and he said, “I know you. Oracle spoke highly of you.  You’re one of us and we’re not leaving you behind,"and Kirk offered an arm to help him to his feet.  As he did so Kirk’s energies flowed beneath him and they began to rise into the air (and hopefully out of the range of some of the attacks)

To Doctor Monster, “Anything we need to know that would help us here? Any idea what they were doing or who the other hooded figures are that Samedi ran over to join?  Can the sword help us here against them?”

“Menagerie, we need to be out of here now,” Kirk communicated to him.  “I’m thinking  if our exit is a bit on high perhaps we’ll have less objection”  (don’t know if the gate can be placed above their area so as to hopefully keep less of their foes from stopping their exit).  (If Kirk has to move to get within earshot of Menagerie so be it, but they have to leave together and with the sword asap).

If communication cannot be established in this area with Archimedes for their exit then Kirk would try to get the team to depart along the path they watered down coming in until they get out of range of whatever is blocking the contact.  If we can separate ourselves from our foes together and we need additional speed perhaps Symbiote/Accelerator could add momentum to Kirk’s platform/sphere to propel the team away faster.
Kirk’s goal would be to secure his teammates and move out.  Perhaps some of the others could aid in gathering together teammates that can’t help themselves at this point (Slingshot can encircle like Kirk’s energies).

For actions, if appropriate perhaps Kirk could reform his shields to full if needed.  He wouldn’t be looking to attack a foe unless it meant assisting in helping the team to leave with the artifact and Dr Monster.  We need to leave together while we can.

Jeff – feel free to intersperse dialogue and/or actions as it works within things yet to happen and rules.  If we can make it out of here with together with the sword and Dr Monster given the odds we score a major coup.

Seth

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Menagerie:
Menagerie will contact Archimedes telling him we are ready to go. He will fly up with Sentinel as he maintains his eagle form. Menagerie will evade as he moves to join Dr Monster and Sentinel.

Regards
Tom

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Symbiote:
IC: "Time for another bank shot," Hal thinks to himself. He then runs to the Northeast, circles back and comes up behind Big Bad. "You're about to get fleas, dog. Or flies." And with that, he palm strikes the Hirsuit Horror and transfers his energy into the direction of The Fly.

OOC: If I'm reading the map right, they should both hopefully go flying into the pillar that is at roughly 4 o'clock. Hal hopes that this will both damage Big Bad and critically damage the Fly's containment suit and the insects within that make up his "body."  Finally, The Fly will (hopefully) be swatted.

If Hal gets a second action again he'll try to kiss shot Le Fou into Dexter.  Hopefully they go down but even if Le Fou doesn't, maybe he'll get some of Dexter's hallucinogen effect.  "Have some of what' HE'S smoking, shorty."

Viva Vanguard,
Greg

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Menagerie:
Menagerie shook his head. He had allowed his rage to be cause unawares by The Fly. He wanted to finish off the Puppet but now he was too fatigued.  “Next time” he muttered to himself as he took to the sky. He evaded as he flew to Sentinel and … Dr Monster!

“Archimedes, we have the artifact and …. a friend. Open the portal so we can get out of here.”

Menagerie called upon his vast willpower to try to fight off the fatigue. The fight was far from over and he had to be ready for what happened next. This time he would face it with a clear mind and would not allow himself to be caught from behind again.

Great Issue!
Tom

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Clone, France:
The influx of knowledge and memory shocked the very sense of reality Clone had come to know. Was this real or was it just an elaborate illusion created by Sinister Jr.? Although they didn’t see the vision that he had, Clone’s duplicates felt the strong emotional impact of Clone’s shock and dismay.

Before he had the chance to fully appreciate what he had done, Sinister Jr. found himself on the business-end of an all out assault by the Clone Collective!

(OOC: The Clone’s are going to beat the living hell out of Sinister Jr. lol )


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