Vanguard awoke the next morning in a psychiatric ward. Or at least they believed it was the next morning until they felt several days’ growth on their beards. Each member was alone in a padded cell. Light came from fluorescent tubes in the ceiling. The steel door had a small window with wire mesh in it. They wore pale green hospital gowns. Slingshot looked at his hand; it was a human hand! Likewise Clone’s hand was the color of Caucasian flesh, not the pale hue he had been accustomed to his entire life. Talon did not feel his claws or his wings! Soldier was in a wheelchair! His legs were paralyzed!When the heroes tried to use their super powers, they didn’t work! None of their gear or devices were present. Not even their Vanguard communicators.
Yelling brought hospital orderlies in starched white uniforms, along with the realization that their speech was slurred. They felt drugged, not just sleepy from awakening.
Racking their brains, their last memories were of the previous evening (see end of Issue 118) ending the day perfectly normal, either in their homes or at Vanguard Vault.
After being cleaned, the bewildered, disoriented mental patients were brought together in the day room. Seeing each other in such a state was harrowing. Everyone was bearded. Their lips were cracked. They looked thin. Slingshot wasn’t recognizably to anyone including himself! In a mirror in the dayroom he saw a man with catastrophic burn damage on his face! Clone wasn’t present, but another young Ukrainian-American male was. Those of Vanguard whose identities were secret to the team are not immediately recognized. Shelley was not present.
Six orderlies were with them. The patients had freedom of movement in the dayroom. Hospital food and drink was brought. “The doctor’s coming,” was the gentle, patient answer to all their questions. Barred windows revealed a height of a dozen stories, somewhere in northern Manhattan, facing south. It was morning and the city looked normal except the Twin Towers were missing. Gone.
Chairs were placed in a circle. Eventually, Doc Rocket entered in a doctor’s white coat. “Hello. My name is Dr. Rochester. I’m your attending physician.” In what felt like something he had said before, he gently, calmly explained, “You are all patients of the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, a state run psychiatric hospital here on Ward’s Island, and you have been for years.”
Dr. Rochester said, “You are all suffering under similar symptoms. You each fantasize that you are a comic book super hero. These delusions are quite powerful and complex. Treatment involves group therapy, so you were all moved to this ward some years ago by hospital director Grey.”
The food sharpened the patients’ minds and the orderlies looked more familiar. One was Agent Drake! Another was Nathan Lamb! The third was a big bald guy who was reminiscent of Sgt. Stone! Ajay! Sparks! Molloy! Two nurses entered and they were CHESS Rook Jenn Christensen and Castle Warden Jane Fahrquar!
“You have entered a period of lucidity again. In these periods, your proclivity for violence is greatly reduced and you usually have no memories of past periods of lucidity. We can only imagine how disconcerting this must be.”
It was true. The patients had no memory of this place.
As if he’d done it before, Nathan Lamb passed worn photos and papers around the circle:
-Photos of the patients in this very ward. They had no memory of this.
-Handwritten messages from themselves! The patients recognized their own handwriting!
“Kirk, There is no such things as superheroes. –Kirk”
“Matt, Get a grip. You can get through this. –Private Matt Steele”
“Hal, Your memory has been impaired. Trust these people to help you. –Hal Harper.”
“Scott, Everything is going to be okay. –Scott”
“Steven, You have no one to blame but yourself. –Steven”
“Frank, The good news is you’re still alive! –Frank”
Alex’s letter was in his native tongue: “The government isn’t trying to kill you. –Alexi”
Adam’s had the penmanship of a twelve year old. “Wings, huh? Really? –Adam”
“John, Talk about a god complex. What’s gotten into you? –John”
As the patients sat reviewing these materials, Dr. Rochester said softly and solemnly, “We hope you can take some solace in the fact that we often make our greatest progress during these lucid periods, which can last for weeks. We’ll reacquaint you with each other, and then we can get to work.”
The patients on the ward were:
Driven, overworked student, John Poulos had a nervous breakdown from stress while attaining his PhD in Greek Mythology. Now he thinks the Greek Gods are real and that he’s Avatar, the demigod of destiny!
Born into Little Ukraine in New York City, Alexander Oleksienko was kicked in the head by a goat his mother kept in their tiny apartment. He’s never been the same. Now given to paranoia, he sometimes dreams he’s really many people; a superhero named Clone, the human collective!
Steven Archer murdered his wife and was declared legally insane and unfit to stand trial. To cope with the guilt, he’s fabricated a complex fantasy where he’s really Lightning Strike, the electric avenger!
Park Ranger Frank Donovan spent too much time alone at his job, and began to relate to animals more than people. He also started seeing things that told him he was really a shamanic shapeshifter named Menagerie!
Pimply-faced Golden Age comic book collector, Kirk Gerard always had an over-active imagination. But when his grandfather passed away, he lost his mind. Now Kirk imagines he and his granddad are both Sentinel, golden-aged Guardian of Justice!
Construction engineer Scott Brock was the victim of a bizarre chemical accident that ruined his face, making it look like molten rubber slag. Scott’s mind snapped and now he thinks he’s the super-pliable superhero, Slingshot! He owns a small tin robot toy he calls Nanite.
While serving his country, private Matt Steele was gravely wounded in action! Paralyzed for life, he’s now confined to a wheelchair. The strain proved too much for his mind and now Matt believes he can walk again and more, as the star-spangled cyborg, Soldier!
Scientist Dr. Hal Harper dedicated his life’s work to trying to create "super powers." Laughed out of the scientific community, he entered a depression spiral that landed him here where he can still sometimes escape into the fantasy that he succeeded as Symbiote, the scientific superpower simulator!
Abandoned by his parents at the age of twelve, Adam Lawson wandered the country, living in the wild and at the fringes of society where he constructed an elaborate fantasy world with him at the center of it as Talon, the avian anti-hero!
(Replies? Actions?)
Have fun.
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Talon:
Adam hangs his head......embarrassed by his poor penmanship.
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
Frank throws back his head and screams "But I leveled up!!! I beat Pachyderm and I am level 2 now!! NO!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------
Avatar:
"kicked in the head by a goat"...!
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
"kicked in the head by a goat"...!
That was my ham-fisted attempt to emulate the blend of comedy and tragedy that Kev has evoked so well with Clone. No offense was intended.
On the other hand, "pimply faced comic book collector" was a deliberate slur.
;-)
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
Oy. Nanite a toy? That brings very uncomfortable thoughts about Scott's tendencies. Eeww.Another nice twist Jeff. I'm intrigued how this one is going to workout.
A few questions for the doctor.. Still struggling with this revelation.. Scott ask almost to himself, "Lucid periods? We all become lucid at the same time? 9 people becoming lucid in the same timeframe?" Scott is incredulous.. No knowing what to think of this revelation.. obviously thinking that this is some trick. Not knowing if the toy in his hand is truly Nanite, somehow masked to his senses. Nanite, pregnant with his child. He should be careful with it, just in case.
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
Scott ask almost to himself, "Lucid periods? We all become lucid at the same time? 9 people becoming lucid in the same timeframe?"
Frank looks back after hearing this and adds "and we create each other in our individual delusions when we aren't lucid? How do we share a commingled delusion?"
What items are in Franks possession?
Does he have personal items on a night stand next to his bed?
Does he have letters from family?
How long has he been here and in he still employeed (LOA) or was he fired?
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
Hi all.
Pimply-faced? Even at my worst acne wasn't a huge problem (although I had many others...) :)
Queue the Peter Gabriel eerie music ("I don't remember, I don't recall, I have no memory of anything ... anything at all...")
Kirk thought about all he had accomplished since Vanguard was established. He was trying to change the world for the better and had taken actual steps towards establishing an organization much bigger, much greater than himself to do it. He had the power to actually make a difference.
“Kirk, There is no such things as superheroes. –Kirk”
He looked at the handwriting and his surroundings and himself. His mind calculating the best possible existance assuming he accepted things here and worked with them and he knew, he just didn't matter. A mundane life. At best he could influence a few others for the better, and perhaps not even that given his mental history. He saw himself settling in, perhaps being a computer tech or selling insurance ...
“Kirk, There is no such things as superheroes. –Kirk”
"Kirk, how could you possibly ever pen a sentence like that?" he thought to himself. "Get ready because your reality is about to be redefined."
“Kirk, There is no such things as superheroes. –Kirk”
"People will believe a man can fly." And Kirk's mind raced beginning to calculate what needed to be done to determine what had happened to them.
I think I've got half of things figured, but have to get Kirk there game-wise.
Here's a few questions to see if I'm on track.
(1) I get we're disoriented, but back in the first adventure when Kirk awoke powerless due to Swastika we established great fear on his part that he had to control - the loss of his energy sense which is 'always on' was likened to him waking up blind and/or deaf, the equivalent of something so much a part of him torn away and missing. So my question here is, when Kirk wakes up powerless, is he feeling that same way? Or just the way you described it like everyone else.
(2) Do we have access to computers and the internet on our 'good' time here? I want to know for two reasons
(a) the twin towers are missing. first thing is Kirk wants to find out why... at that point, he will begin to look for divergence in history and go back to WWII as the starting point since that was when superheroes first appeared in the 'real' (ie his world)
(b) once Kirk plays nice doing research he wants to see how skilled he is at getting around the computer system - one of Kirk's greatest skills is that he is a computer expert - does he possess those skills - these would be even beyond a very skilled 'normal' person - can he hack into the 'hospital' systems to find out if things are as they appear to be
(3) Are there any other patients here or just us?
(4) I'm assuming that there has to be an exercise area or if not perhaps room in his cell - he'll start doing some exercise, normal stuff - then at some points he will try some of the moves shown by Sgt Stone and the Chess Knights and Matt... does he really know how to do those sort of moves? Or does his body respond like a comic book geek pretending he's got skills. I'm guessing Kirk's current body doesn't have the physical prowess (ie stats) but there is a big difference between someone who has been really trained in combat and maneuvers and ... someone like me :) which is it here?
Kirk will begin to observe his surroundings - what sort of monitoring does he notice both via personnel and electronics. Does he feel he can speak to the others without it being picked up if he is whispering? Once Kirk gets answers to some of the above he will want to make contact with the others to make sure they are 'themselves'. He knows they have to avoid trying to speak in a group about their hero lives.
Even as the others begin to question the surroundings and the 'story' they are being told he will let them do so and observe the response around them. He is quite concerned that if they become too vehement about things, some, if not all, of them will be carted away again and drugged which he wants to avoid. If he observes things going that direction he will try to intercede showing the staff and saying things along the lines that although we are disoriented, we certainly understand that 'our superhero lives' are delusions, etc. You just need to give some of us more time to acclimate, etc.
Assuming that Kirk discovers we have our various skills, if not our powers, and can clandestinely make some contacts, he wants to get Matt observing physical security of this place since he should be best at that sort of thing, particularly once we determine further that this is physically 'real' at this time (which I'm unfortunately thinking it is and not a group delusion). He wants to get Scott to check out the architectural layout of things to see if they are what they seem... and he needs to speak with Hal since he's likely going to be our most stable key in helping to figure out things too. He wants to reassure the newer team members, particularly Menagerie that we are going to get things figured out here (and be sure that they remain as stable as possible). Although one of us going unstable and getting dragged out may be another step in figuring things depending on how they handle that happening.
I'm not sure how much time or activity you are giving us this round, so you can let me know which of this stuff Kirk can try to do given circumstance and current freedom of the environment.
Also, if we do get to sleep time this issue, Kirk will try meditating to see if he can hit onto something. He discovered his latent mental abilities that way, perhaps if this is some sort of mental transference or a group delusion he can 'touch' things.
OOC:
At this point my guess here is that our consciousnesses may be in 'our world' (ie the players world) in the bodies of doppelgangers who didn't fare quite as well as we did... the twin towers was what really pointed me in that direction... or another parallel world. Naturally, I'm clueless as to how it all happened, etc at this point.
Best,
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
Talon:
Adam hangs his head......embarrassed by his poor penmanship.
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
Frank throws back his head and screams "But I leveled up!!! I beat Pachyderm and I am level 2 now!! NO!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------------
Avatar:
"kicked in the head by a goat"...!
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
"kicked in the head by a goat"...!
That was my ham-fisted attempt to emulate the blend of comedy and tragedy that Kev has evoked so well with Clone. No offense was intended.
On the other hand, "pimply faced comic book collector" was a deliberate slur.
;-)
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
Oy. Nanite a toy? That brings very uncomfortable thoughts about Scott's tendencies. Eeww.Another nice twist Jeff. I'm intrigued how this one is going to workout.
A few questions for the doctor.. Still struggling with this revelation.. Scott ask almost to himself, "Lucid periods? We all become lucid at the same time? 9 people becoming lucid in the same timeframe?" Scott is incredulous.. No knowing what to think of this revelation.. obviously thinking that this is some trick. Not knowing if the toy in his hand is truly Nanite, somehow masked to his senses. Nanite, pregnant with his child. He should be careful with it, just in case.
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
Scott ask almost to himself, "Lucid periods? We all become lucid at the same time? 9 people becoming lucid in the same timeframe?"
Frank looks back after hearing this and adds "and we create each other in our individual delusions when we aren't lucid? How do we share a commingled delusion?"
What items are in Franks possession?
Does he have personal items on a night stand next to his bed?
Does he have letters from family?
How long has he been here and in he still employeed (LOA) or was he fired?
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
Hi all.
Pimply-faced? Even at my worst acne wasn't a huge problem (although I had many others...) :)
Queue the Peter Gabriel eerie music ("I don't remember, I don't recall, I have no memory of anything ... anything at all...")
Kirk thought about all he had accomplished since Vanguard was established. He was trying to change the world for the better and had taken actual steps towards establishing an organization much bigger, much greater than himself to do it. He had the power to actually make a difference.
“Kirk, There is no such things as superheroes. –Kirk”
He looked at the handwriting and his surroundings and himself. His mind calculating the best possible existance assuming he accepted things here and worked with them and he knew, he just didn't matter. A mundane life. At best he could influence a few others for the better, and perhaps not even that given his mental history. He saw himself settling in, perhaps being a computer tech or selling insurance ...
“Kirk, There is no such things as superheroes. –Kirk”
"Kirk, how could you possibly ever pen a sentence like that?" he thought to himself. "Get ready because your reality is about to be redefined."
“Kirk, There is no such things as superheroes. –Kirk”
"People will believe a man can fly." And Kirk's mind raced beginning to calculate what needed to be done to determine what had happened to them.
I think I've got half of things figured, but have to get Kirk there game-wise.
Here's a few questions to see if I'm on track.
(1) I get we're disoriented, but back in the first adventure when Kirk awoke powerless due to Swastika we established great fear on his part that he had to control - the loss of his energy sense which is 'always on' was likened to him waking up blind and/or deaf, the equivalent of something so much a part of him torn away and missing. So my question here is, when Kirk wakes up powerless, is he feeling that same way? Or just the way you described it like everyone else.
(2) Do we have access to computers and the internet on our 'good' time here? I want to know for two reasons
(a) the twin towers are missing. first thing is Kirk wants to find out why... at that point, he will begin to look for divergence in history and go back to WWII as the starting point since that was when superheroes first appeared in the 'real' (ie his world)
(b) once Kirk plays nice doing research he wants to see how skilled he is at getting around the computer system - one of Kirk's greatest skills is that he is a computer expert - does he possess those skills - these would be even beyond a very skilled 'normal' person - can he hack into the 'hospital' systems to find out if things are as they appear to be
(3) Are there any other patients here or just us?
(4) I'm assuming that there has to be an exercise area or if not perhaps room in his cell - he'll start doing some exercise, normal stuff - then at some points he will try some of the moves shown by Sgt Stone and the Chess Knights and Matt... does he really know how to do those sort of moves? Or does his body respond like a comic book geek pretending he's got skills. I'm guessing Kirk's current body doesn't have the physical prowess (ie stats) but there is a big difference between someone who has been really trained in combat and maneuvers and ... someone like me :) which is it here?
Kirk will begin to observe his surroundings - what sort of monitoring does he notice both via personnel and electronics. Does he feel he can speak to the others without it being picked up if he is whispering? Once Kirk gets answers to some of the above he will want to make contact with the others to make sure they are 'themselves'. He knows they have to avoid trying to speak in a group about their hero lives.
Even as the others begin to question the surroundings and the 'story' they are being told he will let them do so and observe the response around them. He is quite concerned that if they become too vehement about things, some, if not all, of them will be carted away again and drugged which he wants to avoid. If he observes things going that direction he will try to intercede showing the staff and saying things along the lines that although we are disoriented, we certainly understand that 'our superhero lives' are delusions, etc. You just need to give some of us more time to acclimate, etc.
Assuming that Kirk discovers we have our various skills, if not our powers, and can clandestinely make some contacts, he wants to get Matt observing physical security of this place since he should be best at that sort of thing, particularly once we determine further that this is physically 'real' at this time (which I'm unfortunately thinking it is and not a group delusion). He wants to get Scott to check out the architectural layout of things to see if they are what they seem... and he needs to speak with Hal since he's likely going to be our most stable key in helping to figure out things too. He wants to reassure the newer team members, particularly Menagerie that we are going to get things figured out here (and be sure that they remain as stable as possible). Although one of us going unstable and getting dragged out may be another step in figuring things depending on how they handle that happening.
I'm not sure how much time or activity you are giving us this round, so you can let me know which of this stuff Kirk can try to do given circumstance and current freedom of the environment.
Also, if we do get to sleep time this issue, Kirk will try meditating to see if he can hit onto something. He discovered his latent mental abilities that way, perhaps if this is some sort of mental transference or a group delusion he can 'touch' things.
OOC:
At this point my guess here is that our consciousnesses may be in 'our world' (ie the players world) in the bodies of doppelgangers who didn't fare quite as well as we did... the twin towers was what really pointed me in that direction... or another parallel world. Naturally, I'm clueless as to how it all happened, etc at this point.
Best,
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
Replies to things that are immediately apparent in the ward dayroom:
Sentinel wrote: when Kirk wakes up powerless, is he feeling that same way? Or just the way you described it like everyone else.
GM Reply: Kirk is powerless, including the Energy Sense. It’s up to the players to determine their character’s feelings.
Sentinel wrote: Are there any other patients here or just us?
GM Reply: You haven’t seen other patients.
Sentinel wrote: I'm guessing Kirk's current body doesn't have the physical prowess (ie stats)
GM Reply: Correct.
Menagerie wrote: What items are in Frank’s possession?
GM Reply: Nothing, as far as you can tell. Your pale green garments have no pockets.
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
[OOC] This really blindsided me. Jeff you are so creative and I am so lost.
I am submitting my response now, so hopefully the rest of Vanguard can build the response around it or at least be aware of what else is happening in the room at the same time.
I 'bolded' my verbal responses because I wanted to emphasis the gutwrenching responses Frank would be having to this situation. [End of OOC]
Frank throws back his head and screams "But I leveled up!!! I beat Pachyderm and I am level 2 now!! NO!!!!!!
Scott ask almost to himself, "Lucid periods? We all become lucid at the same time? 9 people becoming lucid in the same timeframe?"
Frank looks back after hearing this and adds "and we create each other in our individual delusions when we aren't lucid? How do we share a commingled delusion?"
Frank drops his head again and notices he is still holding his note. He starts reading it over and over again.
“Frank, The good news is you’re still alive! –Frank”
and jobless
“Frank, The good news is you’re still alive! –Frank”
and homeless
“Frank, The good news is you’re still alive! –Frank”
and family-less
“Frank, The good news is you’re still alive! –Frank”
and friendless
“Frank, The good news is you’re still alive! –Frank”
WHAT IS SUCH STINKIN GOOD NEWS ABOUT THAT!!!!
Frank throws his head back and lets out a scream of anguish, frustration, and fear all roll into one gut wrenching bellow. He violently rips his clothes and runs around the room crying and yelling “Why do I even want to LIVE!!!”
Frank will fight off anyone that tries to violently subdue him. His objective will be to elude grasp and escape so he can keep running.
If a group of 3 or more attempt to corral him in the corner, he will not charge them but will allow them to maneuver him into the corner. When his body touches the corner he will sit down on the floor and start to cry with heavy convulsions.
If he is allow to run around until he exhausts himself, he will sit down on the floor and start to cry with heavy convulsions.
As Frank cries he will mumble, what do I have to live for? In death, I had meaning. If I am alive then I am meaningless, over and over and over and over.
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
The irony of Kirk’s words from his last conversation with Lancaster rang through his head,
“I’ve been given good reason to always question everything I see and have been told.
But one thing I will never question is who you are at heart and the course that you’ve shown me as the right way.”
Kirk had been afraid of this. Senior Vanguard members had danced this dance and those who couldn’t handle the moves had left the dance floor… but he was concerned over the newer members who hadn’t had to deal with the revelation of reality being turned inside out in the spark of a moment.
Adam, well, he was all about adaptation and after having Swastika appropriate his identity … Kirk felt after this initial shock, he was just too stubborn to let this situation overtake him.
And Matt, at heart he was the ultimate soldier. He was trained to handle any situation, and Kirk saw more than that in his eyes, at his core … he knew he would meet any challenge head on without shrinking back, even something as devastating as his current situation.
But Frank he was an unknown. Kirk had read his dossier, exchanged some words of welcome, but hadn’t had the opportunity to get a read on what he was really made of … and it seemed now he was about to find out.
Frank throws his head back and lets out a scream of anguish, frustration, and fear all roll into one gut wrenching bellow. He violently rips his clothes and runs around the room crying and yelling “Why do I even want to LIVE!!!”
Frank will fight off anyone that tries to violently subdue him. His objective will be to elude grasp and escape so he can keep running.
If a group of 3 or more attempt to corral him in the corner, he will not charge them but will allow them to maneuver him into the corner. When his body touches the corner he will sit down on the floor and start to cry with heavy convulsions.
If he is allow to run around until he exhausts himself, he will sit down on the floor and start to cry with heavy convulsions.
As Frank cries he will mumble, what do I have to live for? In death, I had meaning. If I am alive then I am meaningless, over and over and over and over.
Kirk did his best to calm Frank down and to intercede in his behalf before his apparent breakdown became worse and before their incarcerators took stronger actions. He tried to make strong eye contact with him to reassure him and to help him focus and said,
“Frank, I know this is difficult for you. It’s difficult for all of us. But we are here together. You are not alone. We will deal with this together. We will make sense of all of this.”
As he said this, Kirk began to use some of the covert hand signals that Matt had helped all of Vanguard to recently learn. He hoped they would appear as gestures in the conversation to all but the team, but wanted to send a signal to those whose heads were in the game that they weren’t alone and that he had his wits … he signaled “High alert. Threat undefined. Close ranks. Stick together. “ (Or some sort of equivalent)
And Kirk added, “Frank, you are not meaningless. Your existence has meaning. With it, each of us is granted the opportunity to define their role in the natural order… Frank, listen to me, we will do that here! You will do that here!”
Enjoy the day off today!
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
And Kirk added, “Frank, you are not meaningless. Your existence has meaning. With it, each of us is granted the opportunity to define their role in the natural order… Frank, listen to me, we will do that here! You will do that here!”
Frank quiets his sobbing and locks onto Kirk's eye contact. "Natural order? ..."
"There is a way ..."
"Kirk, what should I do?"
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
"For now," and Kirk paused for just a second to emphasize at this moment, "all we can do is cooperate with the people trying to help us and try to understand what is happening here. I'm sure in time we'll all be helped to sort through what is real and what is fantasy. Once that happens, we can begin putting our lives back together." Kirk began to motion around them, "Look around you and see that you have all the support here you need to do that."
And as Kirk continued he hoped that his words of double-meaning were taken appropriately by Frank and Vanguard and the staff of the facility - telling Vanguard they had each other to rely on and figure things out/telling the staff we had them to help us to sort through things; otherwise he knew both he and Frank were about to be carted off and sedated by the facility.
And Kirk's thoughts wandered to that of the facility doppelgangers and he wondered why he saw evidence of Vanguard's allies, but none of their foes.
Seth
OOC:
Hey Tom.
Just a quick note that I thought it was great role-playing having the new guy on his first mission break down with this craziness being the first thing he experiences on the team and so soon after his 'origin'. Good stuff.
And this is just the sort of thing Kirk would have to do at this point - jumping to the support of his teammate in need, even though his plan was to sit back and observe events.
Looking forward to sharing 'lock-down' with you if our interaction doesn't go well, although I hope instead we both get time to sort through things with the rest of the team.
Best,
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
OOC
Thanks Seth,
I am really enjoying the interaction. That is part of why I sent in my entry early, hoping to give the other players something to play off of. Either interacting or using Frank as a distraction to act somewhere else.
The other reason I sent it was because I knew I wasn't going to think of something different. Jeff had done such an awesome job crafting Menagerie's first adventure, there was not other way for Frank to feel after Jeff stole it from him.
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
Symbiote:
Damn, this one is tough...
IC: Hal rubbed his chin. He...just didn't know. His entire "other life" a dream? But it had seemed so real, so vivid.
He looked out a window. The Twin Towers, gone. Hal seemed to remember a plot by terrorists to destroy them in 2001, a plot thankfully stopped...by super heroes. Had the terrorist's awful plan actually succeeded in this, the "real" world? What else had gone wrong in a world without super powered humans? Or, what things had gone right, for that matter?
He looked at his companions among his fellow patients, his allies among the medical staff. It had all been a product of their imaginations? Hal was a doctor--or at least, he remembered being a doctor--and while psychiatry wasn't his specialty, he knew that group delusions this vivid and detailed were unheard of. Plus, in "the Vanguard 'verse" as he was beginning to think of it, different members had joined the team at different times. Had they come to this mental ward at different times and THEN been swept into the delusion? Improbable. Or had they all developed the madness BEFORE arriving? Even more improbable.
His father. His ex-wife. His sister. Were they still out there? Did they ever visit? (OOC: Jeff, please let me know the answer to this one).
He felt his chest. His first adventure with Vanguard, Hyena had ripped Hal across the chest, leaving visible, palpable scars. Were they still there? (OOC: Let me know the answer to this one as well).
Vanguard had encountered foes with the ability both to control reality and human perception. Could one of them be behind all this? Possibly, but...for the moment, at least, this world seemed so real too.
There might be a way to find out...
Hal approached Doc Rocket, or the man who seemed to be this world's version of the good doctor. "Doctor, may I ask a question?" he asked. "What medication schedule do you have us on to control the psychotic episodes? I know that depakote is contraindicated for patients with suicidal tendencies..."
Assuming the doctor agrees to engage Hal in conversation, he'll speak quickly, discussing various aspects of drug therapy, psychotherapy and even ECT (electro-convulsive therapy, more commonly known as shock therapy). Once he gets the doctor going, Hal will say "I really do want to increase my lucid periods. Do you suppose 35 gram dosage of melange might help?"
Melange. The mythical spice/drug of Frank Herbert's "Dune" series, one of Hal's favorite books growing up (when his nose wasn't either in a comic book or a science book). He'd so loved the series he'd half fantasized about some day creating a drug that both extended lifespans and raised perception. He'd thought about it a lot.
If this version of Doc Rocket says something about melange being a real drug...well, that'll tell Hal something. It'll tell him that this entire scenario has been created for the benefit of himself and his teammates, and that whoever's holding the strings may not necessarily have perfect control of the show.
On the other hand, if Doc just gives Hal an odd look or clearly recognizes it as a false drug, Hal's going to be very dissapointed, to put it mildly.
Viva Vanguard (or Hooray for Hospitalization, as the case may be),
Greg
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Sentinel:
Hooray for Hospitalization :) I like that.
Actually part of Greg's post was along the lines of further questions that I'd thought about at one point, but forgot to write up.
Fine with Hal bringing it up and running with it if he wants, but otherwise if he gets the opportunity, Kirk was going to ask if the other 'heroes of Vanguard' had been at the hospital and if so what had happened to them if they had been.
He would start to name them in random order to see if they were recognized and would be interested if they got better and when Ghost was mentioned if he got better or they were silent or actually admit to something worse... and he was going to throw in a couple comic book heroes without missing a beat among some of the 'real hero' names to see if they called him on it or not. If they did, he would just say, 'of course. I guess I'm still trying to sort it all out' or something along those lines.
Also, what sort of progress had been made in other lucid periods and what symptoms marked that the descent 'back into the darkness'.
Best,
Seth
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Avatar:
For now, John will withdraw and observe, pretending to be unresponsive to most stimuli.
Regards,
Harold
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Clone:
>CLONE’S IC RESPONSE<
As the other members of Vanguard began to discuss their situation and looking for clues as to what was going on, Alexander hesitantly wandered over to a nearby mirror ( or some other reflective surface ).
He just stood there staring at the image that glared back at him with curious disbelief and astonishment. “Could this be real?” he thought to himself. As he slowly reached for his face he saw the unfamiliar image in the mirror before him doing the same thing, “Is that me? Is that how I really look?” He pulled his hand away from his face and looked down at it with amazement; the skin was pink and textured. He was in awe when he finally noticed the soft black hair that grew along his arm. As he gently stroked his forearm his mind struggled chaotically to find a way to except something that it had never known. His eyes eventually flashed back to the mirror hanging on the wall in front of him. As he leaned forward into his reflection he nervously reached for his face once more. He just stood there motionless and in shock as his hands massaged the beard that was growing all around his face. Running his fingers through the full mane of hair that was now resting solidly on the top of his head his thoughts were finally coming together. His confused thoughts of disbelief quickly gave way to a calm focus, and his mind eventually reached its own silent conclusion. Alexander whispered aloud,” . . . I . . . I am having hair”.
Alexander began to think about all the things he had learned about his ‘new life’ since he ‘arrived’ in this strange new world. His family lived peacefully in America, he himself was an American citizen, and most importantly – he didn’t look ‘funny’. Everything he had ever hoped for was now somehow a reality. The lids of his eyes closed shut as this realization washed over him - all of his dreams and desires were fulfilled. A soft smile of achievement made its way along his face as a tear of joy rolled lazily down the side of his cheek.
The moment was quickly displaced however, as the sound of his friends talking nearby fell upon his ears once more. He knew that they would try to escape this place. He knew that they felt that they didn’t belong here and that they would try to get back to the ‘real world’ no matter what the cost. His thoughts turned around haphazardly around once more as he tried to think about the possibility that perhaps they were right. Perhaps this wasn’t the ‘real world’. Perhaps this was some kind of alternate dimension or trick of the mind . . . but what if it wasn’t. If the time came, and his friends did find a way to go back, would he want to go? Alexander looked at his friends and smiled.
>CLONE’S OOC RESPONSE<
Just in case you couldn’t tell - Clone isn’t hating this reality. Its everything he has ever wanted . . . well . . . minus the ‘incarcerated in a minimum security psychiatric facility’ part of course lol.
Oh and just incase it should ever come up again – here’s a brief bit of info I put together on Clone’s family. I kept it general so Jeff would have a fair amount of ‘wiggle room’ whenever he decided he wanted use them as part of a story – I didn’t want to nail his feet to the ground with too much info.
Father - Sergei Oleksienko ( 52 ) A poor Ukrainian farmer with a solid set of morals and convictions as strong as his work weary back. He’s a man of few words, with a strong sense of family and responsibility. His ability to plant crops that will grow even under the harshest conditions is well known and his farming advice is often sought by the other farmers in his village.
Mother – Mikayla Oleksienko ( 43 ) A kind and sensitive woman with a heart as pure as freshly falling snow. Her love for her family is as vast as the deepest ocean, and there is nothing she wouldn’t sacrifice to protect them. Her skill in the kitchen is well known throughout her small village and the surrounding areas.
Older brother - Viktor Oleksienko ( 23 ) The picture of health and strength, Viktor is a shining example of what the Russian government feels the perfect Russian citizen should look like. At 6’3” and with a physique that would make Hercules blush with envy; Viktor is very popular with the young women in his small farming community. Despite all of his physical advantages, Viktor is a humble and hard working young man looking for a good woman to start a family of his own with.
Clone - Alexander Oleksienko ( 22 ) An extremely sexy and groovy guy with a flock of women endlessly beating down his door. He is the smartest and coolest guy in the universe and the pope himself has already announced his support of Clone’s canonization. The President of the United States recently addressed the American people and explained his desire to rename New York City – Alexander-opolis.
Younger sister - Katya Oleksienko ( 19 ) An attractive young woman with a somewhat sheepish personality as compared to the other members of her family. Around members of the opposite sex that she finds attractive she becomes a shy and quiet, playing flirting with impish smiles and stolen glances. She has made no bones about her desire to find a good man to become her husband, and hopes that when she finally does get married that she’ll have at least six children.
Goat – Boris ( 2 ) A stubborn and fun loving beast, Boris is loved deeply by all the members of the Oleksienko family.
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
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Soldier:
When Matt first awakens, he will immediately try to figure out what's going on, and how he ended up here. He's stunned to see that's he's once again confined to a wheelchair, and the loss of mobility is initially devastating.
It takes him a few minutes to compose himself, and get his act together, and then his mind goes right to work. After taking a few minutes to collect his senses, he'll try to use his heightened senses, but since they're not working, he'll make do with what he was born with. He'll look around his "room" for any obvious signs as to his location. Once he's moved to the day room, he'll keep quiet, observing his surroundings, trying to gather as much information as he can on where he's at, who's holding him here, and how he ended up here. He'll also try to look for things like TVs, phones, computers, portable data devices, or anything that can provide him with a clue to his location.
Matt will listen to the doctor's interactions with his fellow members of Vanguard, all the while he'll look around, sizing up the staff, the windows, doors, etc. to try to gauge the security in the place, even in his current condition, there's no way he's staying in this place. If questioned by the facility staff, he'll respond that he doesn't want to speak with them at this time. He'll take his meals, and participate in any of these little group therapy sessions, but he will not participate in any way.
If possible, he'll try to signal one of the other team members, thinking to himself, "This is why I wanted us to come up with a covert form of internal communications. As soon I as we get out of here, I'm putting my foot down, and insisting that it be one of our top priories. This is the second time in a few short months when it would have come in handy."
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GM:
OOC: Hey gang, Great stuff, as usual! Sentinel and Soldier are sort of at odds, post-wise. I'll say you guys have just only begun your hand signal communication plan, and have enough to cover Sentinel's "red alert" communication, but so little that Soldier is still frustrated by lack of full communication.
Thanks everyone.
Best, Jeff
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Slingshot:
OOC: Since *I* (player) am not sure what to do next here's some of the things that are going through Scott's brain pan:Due to experiences like Oracle, Scott is very skeptical that this is "reality". While being a superhero has had its share of challenges, he likes very much what he does. He assumes that this is not real, but some form of mental/metaphysical manipulation. While he won't be physical or vocal about it, he will passively monitor for breaks to suspend his belief. He will avoid looking at himself in a mirror.[/ooc]
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Sentinel:
Thanks Jeff. On the covert signaling, I thought we had all agreed it was a good idea (but that's just my recall and I could be remembering wrong), but had figured given the time frame of things at best we might know some basic signals and that was what I went with ... and given the whole scenario we are in, I wasn't sure that even if we knew them, we'd know them in our current personas. Looking forward to the new issue!
Seth
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Lightning Strike:
Here is my Strike's action:
"This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife. My God, how did I get here?!?"
Aside from the segway above, Steven Archer is certain this is all a delusion. He remembers how his wife was killed and that his hands are not bloodstained. The whole idea of moments of lucidity didn't seem possible. He agreed with the others that there was little chance that all of them could have similar moments at the same time. Archer still knew who he was and regardless of what was being told to him, he refused to cooperate. He communicated very little with either the group or the "doctors". He will always look for outlets on the walls and will very subtly look for ways to generate electricity. Steven believes that the slightest spark will bring about an avalanche of memories and regain his "powers". He will look for every opportunity to light that spark, including rubbing his hands against blankets, walls or anthing else that may trigger a static electric shock.
Thanks, Tony
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Soldier:
Hmmmm...other than Soldier covertly giving members of the "hospital staff" the one finger salute, I don't recall us working out any form of sign language. I remember us discussing it, but I don't recall ever stating that we were dedicating time to develop it, and learn it. I guess I know what I'll be doing for training this level.
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Sentinel:
I thought it would be something along the lines of what we normally see on NCIS or those type of shows whereby the team is entering the premises and they signal silently info to each other as to how they are going to enter, the directions each would take, etc. I figured some basic of the signaling would include stuff that the person on point might have heard before they enter. Some of those basic type of gestures might be easy to learn by the team. Something more intensive certainly would take more time to develop and learning it would likely be based more on each character and their willingness over time. Certainly, as you said, it appears to be more and more like a useful tactic and Kirk would support any efforts in that endeavor and try his best to learn it.
Best,
Seth
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Menagerie:
Be sure for Soldier to think of signals that don't rely on fingers too much. There will be times when all Menagerie has is paws or claws.
Tom
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Slingshot:
Dunno if we need to spend a training on it.. maybe an inventing point?
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Soldier:
I'd say an inventing point should work, but we'd still have to set aside a block of time for everyone to learn it.
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Menagerie:
Would it be worth spending a Luck Point to retcon, to state that we developed the signal communication during the down time (during Rachael Ray commercials )?
Tom
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Sentinel:
As a reminder, I don't believe Jeff has given us a definitive answer as to whether our skills and full knowledge set are accessible in our current forms and assume he is keeping it under wraps to be revealed in the new issue as we try to unravel what is going on with us. Kirk's attempt at signaling may end up with him waving his hands around like an idiot :) I think in his reply he was 'giving us' that we had enough time to have some rudimentary signals in place, not a confirmation that Kirk would actually be able to use them... at least that was how I took it.
Seth
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Slingshot:
Totally agree.
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GM:
OOC: Hi guys, Sorry my communication in my last reply was unclear re: communication signals. The hand gestures are a language skill, and require part of a level advancement like any new skill. The notion arose at the team meeting, after downtime, so no one has begun this yet. No retcon permitted. Sorry. However, I'll magnanimously rule [(;)] that given your agreement to do this as a team, you've just begun and thus the signal Sentinel gives, "red alert / be on your guard," is known by all. But beyond that, nothing else. So Sentinel's original IC post holds. So does Soldier's IC post, exhibiting agitation that the full training hadn't occurred yet, since you only know the one sign at this point.
OOC: Hi guys, Sorry my communication in my last reply was unclear re: communication signals. The hand gestures are a language skill, and require part of a level advancement like any new skill. The notion arose at the team meeting, after downtime, so no one has begun this yet. No retcon permitted. Sorry. However, I'll magnanimously rule [(;)] that given your agreement to do this as a team, you've just begun and thus the signal Sentinel gives, "red alert / be on your guard," is known by all. But beyond that, nothing else. So Sentinel's original IC post holds. So does Soldier's IC post, exhibiting agitation that the full training hadn't occurred yet, since you only know the one sign at this point.
Whether you can execute the signs, or any of your skills, reveals tomorrow... with the next suspenseful issue!
Yours in keeping the continuity together against all odds,
Jeff
PS: Viva Boris!
