Slingshot was trying to
pull his wife and son out of cyberspace with his elastic arm!
As Slate had
reached out to access the closest Server, he was grabbed from behind by a
rushing wind and tossed toward the Digital Zone Portal. He recognized it for what it was. The portal appeared to be a larger version of
what he created anytime he digitized something in this world. As he grew closer, he felt himself
accelerating like a piece of iron drawn toward a magnet. In the room, the flash
of energy everyone else saw, felt like a splash in a pool to Slate.
It was like returning to the womb. Warmth ran around his
body, he barely felt the digital world around him, everything was somehow
“right.” He felt whole. The emotional turmoil of the last few days
was gone. Everything seemed to slow down. He looked around and recognized the
world he was now in, he had seen this before, and the memories of his dreams
returned in a flood.
Jim Harrik
barked to his team: “Stop Slingshot from reeling her in!” Then: “Here IT
comes!”
Vanguard turn
and saw, through the portal, a gigantic face was forming in the sky of
cyberspace! But it was different than the last time! This face was a blend of
the features of IT the Entity, and Nemesis!
Sentinel’s own shields were crushing him alive, thanks to the gravitational powers of Zero G!
The beacon of liberty allowed them to evaporate and then instantaneously reformed them (with his saved action!)
Harrik had been watching
closely, waiting for an opportunity to strike at the exposed Sentinel, but was
unable to! (Sentinel’s saved action occurs before Harrik has the chance to
act!)
Sentinel pretended he was
still being crushed, in order to play possum. He had feared Slate
ending up in the Digital Zone. In his
mind, with what they knew of his powers, he figured he was the Son of the King…
that his power would be incredible there.
His entry into the zone would have been Vanguard’s last ditched effort
if all seemed lost … but he was concerned that somehow IT would have had something
implanted within Slate that would take control once he was there.
Kirk shouted to Slate, “Slate, are you all right? Do you still have free will? Can you act as you please? What can we do to help?”
And he hoped that if Slate was still in control of himself
that HFH had underestimated the potential within him and had just handed
Vanguard their best hope for victory.
Slate did not
reply. It was uncertain whether Slate could hear Sentinel!
Sentinel looked
at the face in the gateway; the bizarre conglomeration of the Entity IT and the
hero he desperately had wanted to rescue … one of the greatest heroes of their
time, Nemesis. He felt indebted to those
heroes of the Freedom Force and wanted to be sure they were all found. So far, Nemesis had been the only one … and
as quickly as they found him, Kirk lost him again.
Had Slingshot not pulled Kirk along with the rest of
Vanguard through the gate that day, he’d likely have perished in his attempt to
rescue Nemesis. Kirk’s failure to bring
him home led to this … thing … before them.
Seemingly ignoring the twisted image that filled the gate
before him he shouted, “Nemesis, Vanguard is here to help. Are you now in control of Cyberspace? What happened to you?” And he hoped the reply heard with be that of
the hero and not the threat of IT, the Entity.
The Entity Nemesis
amalgam shouted: “I/We are invaded! I/We are under attack!”
Avatar, imbued with the
Strength of Ares and the Speed of Hermes, bounded up at super-speed, hurtling for Harrik at maximum
velocity! The demigod of destiny attempted
to slam his shield into him, using not only his strength but also his speed to
try and drive the Mercenary back into a solid object! (and uses one Luck Point
to gain +4 to hit)
Avatar missed and
went sailing past him!
The Mercenary had deftly leapt out of the path of the
myrmidon of mythology! Then, without missing a beat, he fired again on
Slingshot! Grenade launching carbine.
Mini-thermobaric cartridge. Fffwooooooosshhh! KA-BOOOOM!
Slingshot was rocked again! (OOC: 27 points of damage! 9
from concussion, 18 from heat as per his weakness. Slingy rolls with 8 and
takes 19 to hit points!)
Slingshot was knocked back twenty feet and through the wall!
KRASH!! (5 more points of damage, all to Hits!)
Scott wasn’t on fire, was still conscious, and was somehow still
holding onto Nanite!
Harrik liked what he saw and gave more instructions through his
headset.
Lightning Strike determined that
he probably wouldn't be able to pull the same stunt twice on Harrick so he
moved on to another target. Zero G
seemed to have Sentinel in a tough spot and since Sentinel was more familiar
with the Digital Zone, he would be needed in dealing with the Entity should IT
prove to be malevolent. Strike leapt
atop the nearest generator so that he could see over the line of Clones, and
let loose with a blast at Zero G and hoped to take him unaware as he was
involved with Sentinel.
SHAKOW!! Zero G was struck by the lightning blast! The
anti-gravity assassin was hurt but still conscious!
Then the electrical avenger raced to the center of the
generator field! He intended to keep
them going if another was damaged so he could keep the portal open until
everyone from Vanguard was out of the Digital Zone!
Soldier was
pissed, he'd been lied to, manipulated, kidnapped, infected with God knows
what, and he felt violated. He hadn’t felt this vulnerable since childhood,
listening to his father berate him for some perceived weakness or fault on his
part. And now he was ready to take all that pent up frustration out on the
members of Homicide for Hire! Using the broken remains of the Puppet as a club,
he began swinging like a raging madman at the villains assembled before him,
“I’m going to break you bastards in half!”
The patriotic powerhouse leapt up and clubbed Zero G unawares in the back of the head, nearly simultaneously to Lightning Strike’s attack! KRAK! Zero G was weak in the knees but remained conscious, and hovering!
Menagerie was overcome with sadness and anger at hearing the fate of Snow
Leopard. "Pachy, I am so sad to hear about Snow Leopard." Menagerie
pointed at Zero G. "He is Wooden Man's friend. He helped kill Snow
Leopard, you know what to do. While you hurt him I will go hurt more of Wooden
Man's friends!"
Zero G, still
reeling from the double attack, couldn’t believe his ears!
Menagerie then
transformed magically, assuming the shape of Bear! In the man’s place now stood
a giant Grizzly! The mammoth predator snuffed the air and quickly identified
which Clone was really Skin Deep! The shamanic shapeshifter then used his Mystic
Mind Speech to inform Vanguard!
Maelstrom had also heard what Menagerie said to Pachyderm! The emerald teleporter
said “Safeguard Alpha One” and instantaneously transported himself behind the
titanic terror, touched him and they both disappeared!
VRAK! KA-ZOOOM!! VROAR! In a sudden magical
explosion that resembled a lightning storm, they both appeared right back where
they had started! BOOM!! Menagerie’s
mystic spell, that had warded the perimeter against unnatural travel, had
blocked Maelstrom’s emergency evac of Pachyderm!
Maelstrom’s “jump suit” was sparking and smoking and he
was stumbling in confusion! “Aaahh!”
Pachyderm was bewildered and enraged! He let out a roar that shook the walls of
the electronic blind room! His eyes were filled with rage!
Symbiote recognized that look. He remembered it from the alternate future when
he had duplicated the DNA template of the bestial leviathan. Symbiote knew
better than anyone what was about to happen.
(OOC: Hal
remembered, dimly, these Weaknesses of the Pachyderm!
1) Savage Rampage! Low Self Control: When
threatened, the Pachyderm must save on d20 vs. intelligence or enter into a
blind rage, attacking friend and foe alike until the threat is gone!
2) Bull in a China Shop! Low Self Control:
Whenever the Pachyderm misses in combat there is a 50% chance of an incidental
combat effect: the attack goes wild and randomly strikes someone or something
nearby, or has some other significant effect.)
“ROOOOOOAAARRRRRR!!!!!!!!!”
Symbiote, trusting Menagerie to get Pachyderm under control, looked towards
the frightful image of the Entity appearing in the gateway. “Gee, as if the nightmares weren't enough,”
he thought to himself, remembering the awe inspiring presence his teammates and
the Soviet Super Soldiers had faced down.
The Super Scientist began to calculate the variables: “He's the real threat here. Harrik is probably a close second, and Skin
Deep probably runs third. But there's
not much to be done about IT other than closing the gate, and we can't do that
until Slate and Nanite are out. Probably
the best thing we can do is keep everybody off Slingshot until he can reel his
family in. Avatar's about to have Harrik
in hand, and there's not much to be done about Skin Deep right now. So probably
the best thing I can do is make sure nobody else bothers Slingy. Wrapping things up with my current dance
partner is as good a place to start as any.”
With that, the Piscean Powerhouse turned towards Ratman, and
the 50 lb. globe of water floating between them. "Oh, I'm sorry Ratso, were you using
that?" he asked, gesturing towards the levitating water. "THEN HERE....TAKE IT BACK!"
Symbiote gestured
towards Ratman and the water zipped over his head, completely enveloping it! Breathing would now become quite an issue, but
Hal wasn't finished yet. He clenched his
outstretched hand into a fist and the globe began to shrink, the water
compressing, forcing more and more pressure against the Rogue of Rodentia's
skull. “Half dehydrated and unable to
breathe, how many PSIs of water pressure can you take, you sick freak?” Hal thought to himself. “Let's find out....” SWOOOSSHHH!
Ratman was, literally, a drowning rat. Sputtering, coughing, flailing, he
spat up water and more. Ratman had never
been so badly injured in his entire life! (Fatigued, and now he’s taking Hit
Point damage)
He was a cornered
rat. And therefore, never more dangerous.
The sneaky rodent stopped playing possum and suddenly pounced at Symbiote,
lashing out with his insidious Whiplash Tail! KER-RACK! His steel prehensile weapon struck Symbiote in the head and the scientific
superhero fell to the floor unconscious! The water globe came undone and splattered onto the floor. SPLASH!
Ratman caught his breath and shook off the water that had doused him. He was
badly hurt. His beady little eyes started darting around, looking for an exit,
or a hostage.
The Luddite couldn’t resist any longer. The spectral
zealot turned to face Soldier: “Abomination! Bastard hybrid of flesh and
machine! You represent everything that’s wrong with this world! Now you, and
this world, will be cleansed of its digital infection! DIE!”
The Luddite held
his black hands out before him and absorbed the energy of Soldier’s cybernetic
systems!! SHRAKK!! Electricity flew
from Soldier into the Luddite and was gone!
VWOOP!
Soldier had been drained of all power!(On your character sheet, Bionic powers b,c,d,e,f and g have shut down! Invulnerability remains since it’s armor mesh, and not electrical powered. Soldier’s other non-Bionic powers (Heightened Expertise and his Smart Gun, Mercy) are still functioning. See new hit points and power points below!)
Deprived of working legs, Soldier toppled to the ground, reduced once more to a severely
injured combat vet! Matt had no idea
what this would mean to the Virus inside his now dead systems!
“Dammit,” cursed Harrik
before issuing new orders through his headset.
Ion saw his dance partner, Soldier, was down, and simply moved to his next intended victim. KRAKA-BOOM! The evil electrocutioner
grimly discharged a bolt of lightning from his inhuman eyes into Avatar’s back!
(13 points of
damage! All to Hits! Avatar remains conscious!)
Clone saw Skin Deep trying to blend into Clone’s
regiment of replicates! The duplicates reacted with the speed of a single
being! The telepathic and empathic link that exists between them makes their movements
uniform and their response simultaneous! Skin Deep would pay dearly for
attempting to invade the collective. Without hesitation, the entire legion of
Clones crouches into an attack formation! With their staves held at the ready,
they struck the first thing that looks like them, but is still standing.
Clone knew the
general area of the Clone line to watch, thanks to Menagerie’s Bear senses. So
when Skin Deep crouched into an attack formation one second behind the
collective, she was easily found out!
Skin Deep
realized she was discovered. She ruthlessly and efficiently attacked the two
nearest Clones with her “staff” (with a saved action) KRAK! CHOK! Both were
knocked unconscious! Then she held her staff defensively, waiting for the
onslaught!
Clone’s turn! The
four nearest Clones to Skin Deep moved through and over the seven foot tall
generators and lashed out at her, pouncing like a well-oiled machine! Without
hesitation and without remorse, they lunged at her with their staves! THOK!
KRAK! Two of the four connected, but Skin Deep was still fighting! The tight
quarters and identical costumes made it hard for other members of Vanguard to
identify Skin Deep in the mob of black, fighting Clones!
Clone however
could see that she was bleeding at the mouth from a busted lip.
Four more Clones
near the Mercenary suddenly leapt up like an ancient Roman Phalanx and charged
the Mercenary in a unified assault! KRAK! One connected, but Harrik rolled with
the blow!
Six more Clones
instantly rushed forward to aid their friend Slingshot! Desperately they reached
for any part of their elastic teammate that they could, determined to keep him
from falling into the abyss of the digital world that lay before him. Like a group
of Ukrainian ticks, the squad of simulacrums ‘dug in’ and anchored themselves
down – if Slingshot went in, then so would they!
The remaining Clones
did their best to fill-in where needed most. Like an army of well trained
soldiers, these replicates took on whatever role is needed most by the
teammates around them – defend,
attack, or assist – these duplicating defenders would do whatever it
took to save their friends!
Three Clones formed
a defensive line between Symbiote and Ratman so the feral felon would not harm
him further! All three struck at Ratman and one connected! CHOK! Ratman looked
more desperate than ever!
Three Clones
rushed to Soldier’s aid, likewise defending him from the Luddite! All three
attacked the intangible technophobe and all three missed, their weapons passing
harmlessly through his noncorporeal body!
Then those Clones suddenly saw Soldier levitating into the air behind them!
Zero G flew higher up to avoid Pachyderm’s wrath! Nodding at the orders
he received from his headset, he targeted the prone Soldier with his gravity
powers! VROM! Manipulating Soldier’s weight like a tractor beam, Zero G was
about to guide the third and final Virus final host into the Digital Zone when…
Sentinel suddenly intervened! The beacon of liberty moved in front of the
gate and extended his shields to “catch” the weightless Soldier! His solid
energy constructs brought Soldier to his side and then fortified his shields
around them into a pyramid-shaped citadel should Zero G attempt to attack his
shields again! Kirk saw that Soldier was unharmed, but weakened and in
desperate need of power.
Slingshot yelled to his son in the Digital Zone: "Ethan, it's in
your hands now. Talk to IT. Let IT know that we are not here to battle, but
coexist! This is what you were born to do! You're the link that ties us
together. Let us live peacefully!"
Slingshot looked
at Mercenary. "Harrik, you don't have a clue what you're messing with!
Don't you see? The Entity is NOT what it used to be! Just look at IT! Nemesis
seemed to have merged with IT. Nemesis was a Hero! By sending the virus, you
only ensure that this new Entity will now see us as a threat! Think man! You're
the strategist. Is it better to have an enemy that may or may not be destroyed
by this virus - but totally dedicated to killing you, or an ally? Let us parlay
with it and see what we can do."
Jim Harrik
smirked at the naïve idealist. “That’s not the job I’ve been paid to do,
Brock.”
Then suddenly, Avatar
was on him! The young hero leapt up at Harrik again with the strength, speed and
luck of the gods, this time wielding the Sword of Hephaestus and KLANG! Avatar struck
so mighty a blow, it knocked Harrik from his perch atop the generators and back
35 feet, to the middle of the battlefield! CRASH!
Harrik had rolled
with the punch but was still wounded. He reset his headpiece and laid out new
orders to his team, his eyes never leaving Avatar.
Zephyr shook her head to clear it. She had
been freed from the domination of the Puppet! She looked into the Digital
Portal at Slate, whom she had just pushed in there, and cried, “No!!!!”
Without hesitation,
the techno air elemental flew into the portal to save him! “Ethan!” Shelley
cried as she was digitized in a flash of electricity! KRAKOW!
Slate heard words
from the other side of the portal, but they were slow and garbled, what an
inefficient method of communication, he thought idly. At the same time he was turning toward and
moving forward, placing himself between the oncoming Megalith that was
IT/Nemesis, his parents, and the portal.
Slate saw Shelley coming toward him and that this universe (his universe?) rejected
Shelley like a body would an incompatible kidney. Her existence here hurt her.
She pushed passed that and flew to him and grabbed him. Ethan noted that
she was flying here even though the Digital Zone had no atmosphere to support
her wind power. “We have to get you and
Nanite out of here!” she yelled.
Too late.
The Nemesis Entity grew large and yelled, “I/We are invaded! Virus!
Delete the breach!” The Portal electrified and threatened to blow out the
generator farm! ZZZ-KAK! POW!
The Nemesis Entity activated his/their side of the Gate and suddenly
a hurricane level wind started pulling everyone in the blind room toward the
gate! Static electricity crackled out from the portal, riding the cyclone!
Inside, Slate saw Shelley, and his father who had comforted him when he was
troubled, and promised him his mother would be fine. He felt no fear or trepidation at his
approach. The sickly pall of the virus
seemed to color and distort everything it touched, tendrils like smoke spread
out from it. He saw the same smoky
residue coming from his mother. It was
repulsive, and he reached out with his mind to wipe it away, from himself and
his mother.
He mentally pushed his mother’s inert form toward his
father’s outstretched arm. He gazed at
how beautiful and peaceful she looked with her wedding dress digitally flowing
around her. Other than application of the virus, she did not appear to have
been harmed.
It worked. The Virus evaporated from Nanite and Slate!
The Nemesis Entity
stopped! “What?!” it cried; the sky face gazing down at Ethan’s tiny form.
“You/They are the Digital Child!”
Nanite awoke,
floating in the weightless fluid of data. “What?” she said softly.
Slingshot quietly
pulled Nanite back into this world of flesh and men. KRAKOW!
She was herself again, safely in his arms! Still in her
wedding dress.
Slingshot left a
finger like a long coil of rope, a lifeline, for Ethan.
Zephyr had Ethan
and was pulling him toward the Portal, back to their world.
Then all hell broke loose.
“RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAUUGGHH!!!”
Pachyderm rampaged forward into the generator field! He slammed into them with
his titanic fists, causing a chain reaction explosion! KA-BOOOMMM!!!
(20 points of Hit
Point damage to everyone in the blast radius: Lightning Strike, five Clones, Slingshot
(his Ethan lifeline really), the Luddite, Menagerie, Jim Harrik(!), Skin Deep and
Pachyderm, who seems unharmed! Everyone, except the five Clones, is still
conscious! The Luddite is severely injured!)
Symbiote awoke from the sound of the explosion! (He no longer controls the 50
lbs of water, but may act normally next issue)
“ROOOAARRR!!” The Pachyderm wanted to bring the building
down!
Flames and black smoke roiled from the burning generators,
threatening to soon fill up the room!
The Digital Zone Gate sparked and flickered! The loss of so many
generators was causing the Portal to begin to close! Slate and Zephyr were
still on the other side! It would be shut in a matter of seconds!...
To be continued!
Avatar: Hit Points: 49,
Power Points: 68, Manifestation:
The Speed of Hermes! The Strength of
Ares!
Clone: Bodies: 15, Hit Points: 1
each, Power Points: 41, Hit Point Pool: 15
Lightning Strike: Hit Points: 21,
Power Points: 73
Menagerie: Hit Points: 3, Power
Points: 53, Form: Bear
Sentinel: Hit Points: 13, Power
Points: 59, Creation Points: 118, Shields: 100
Slate: Hit Points: 30, Power Points: 71 (these are his stats in the
real world)
Slingshot: Hit Points: 14, Power
Points: 64, Invulnerability: 0 until the
start of Issue 163
Soldier: Hit Points: 7,
Power Points: 46, Invulnerability: 0 until the start of Issue 163
Symbiote: Hit Points: 34, Power Points: 76, Charges: 0, Copied:
Inhuman, Water Controlled: 0,
Viva Vanguard,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
OOC: Awesome Issue! I wasn't sure if the Bear was the right
move but it really paid off! Only 3 Hit Points left! I will submit a turn but I
am not sure you will end up needing it.
Wonderful issue Jeff!
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
Clone:
OOC: Got two questions for you, Jeff.Am I correct in assuming that the 'Clone' standing next to Pachyderm is actually Skin Deep?
When the duplicates noticed Skin Deep's mouth bleeding, did
they also happen to notice if any of them had any blood on the end of their
staff?
-Kev
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
OOC: Hey Jeff.Quick question, my move trying to push Pachy into the digital zone - is it actually doable for Kirk (ie with his weight and all, I know a few times in the past I've overestimated my abilities with weight) - Kirk should have an idea about it from Symbiote's experience as him.
Not sure how quickly you are planning to wrap things up but
at this point if the gate is closing and Ethan and Shelly are on the other side
in the digital zone, Kirk intends to be there too. After losing Nemesis that way there is no way
he's going to lose Shelly and the youngest member of Vanguard the same way.
... and if we do get stuck there he's counting on Ethan
being able to save them (adjust them or the zone to stop rejecting them) and/or
get them out (if he can digitalize things on our side then likely he can
reverse the process in the zone and undigitalize ... hey its a working theory
but if we get stuck there with the gate closed its our best best)
Kirk will go for the gate either way if it is closing with
them on the other side, I'd just like to know if he has a shot to take the
threat of Pachy with him (and I'll be interested to see how the process affects
him, ie is Pachy a force of nature or is there an intelligence that may be
released and become known)
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC: Thanks Tom.
Kevin/Clone: Yes, the Clone to Pachyderm’s left is Skin
Deep. Only Clone and Menagerie know this.
I’ll rule that some of her blood was on the staff that struck
her mouth. That staff is lying next to the fallen Clone that wielded it, right
next to Skin Deep and Pachyderm.
Seth/Sentinel: Your solid energy constructs have a carrying
capacity of 50 lbs. x their Creation Points.
If Sentinels used movement to transform his shields into
something that could lift Pachyderm, then he could currently lift 5,000 lbs. If
the shields are damaged, then he could lift less.I don’t think Sentinel knows Pachyderm’s weight. Nor does CHESS, as Pachyderm was never in captivity.
Best,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Slate:
IC: Slate was torn… there was so much to learn here, without
the confusion he constantly felt in the “real” world. Here things made sense, he longed to stay,
and began to pull away from Shelley when he heard his true father’s words,
“being a hero is about doing what’s right, not what you want to do.” He looked at Shelley and could see she was in
pain, this world was rejecting her, and she had come here to save him.
Ethan looked longingly at the face of the IT/Nemesis entity,
“Yes I am, and you are safe,” he thought toward IT/Them, then turned and
wrapped his arms around Zephyr and shot toward the portal like a dolphin
through water, gaining speed as he went.
He grabbed Slingshot’s finger, using it as a lifeline.
Through the portal, Slate could see what was going on in the
room, and seemed somehow aware of all of the events that had occurred, even
though he had not truly been paying attention. It was as if the data from the
physical world was streaming into the digital dimension itself, and he was able
to “tap” into that flow.
As they flew through the closing portal, sliding to a stop just inside the room, Slate turned to the Luddite and said, “You are the abomination here,” as his eyes began to sparkle with static.
The dark form was now the focus of all of Slate’s frustration, anger, and angst. Slate had used his powers before, but this was different… Twin beams of destructive digital energy flow from Slate’s eyes, attempting to pierce the dark form that is the Luddite, reminding everyone that had seen such a thing before exactly of how IT had looked when he first attacked Vanguard.
Jon
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Hey Jon/ Slate: Disintegration Ray has a lousy chance to hit someone with Non-Corporealness. Want to spend a Luck Point to gain a +4 to this d20 roll to hit? It's a suitably dramatic moment to warrant it, imho.
Best,
Jeff--------------------------------------------------
Slate:
OOC: Yes please!
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
IC: Menagerie turned in bear form and roared, ROOOARRWW!! He
mind spoke to Pachyderm, "Pachy go home! Go back to the Great Northern
Wilderness! I will deal with those that hurt you!!!" Menagerie charged at
Maelstrom smashing him with his fearsome paw.
OOC: Menagerie is wanting to put the teleporter down for
good. It is a straight move and then hit turn. No bonus damage from speed or
minus to hit from it either.
Thanks
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
Soldier:
OOC: Jeff another quick question. Can Soldier make a follow
up HTH attack to finish off Zero G? Namely a round house kick to the head (a
special attack), in an attempt to knock-him out?
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC: Hi Dom
Two things to think about:
One, he's currently weightless, so his carry capacity and
HTH are pretty nil.
Two, with his bionic systems shut down, his Strength is
lower, affecting his HTH again.
I'd reco using Mercy honestly, and showing no mercy!
Best,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Soldier:
Oop...somehow I missed the fact that I had access to Mercy.
In that case. I've got a second question. Since he's weightless, if I fire an
explosive round from Mercy, will I be propelled backward? But then again,
Soldier is pissed, so he's probably not thinking as clearly as he should.
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC: Yes, he'd be propelled backwards by the recoil of any
discharge from the pistol.Soldier is currently alongside Sentinel, so he could ask Sentinel to brace him with a solid construct, if he was thinking clearly.
--------------------------------------------------
Soldier:
OOC: Thanks, but as I said he's more than a little upset, so
he's going to fire anyway. I'll shoot my IC reply in a bit.
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
OOC: To make a decision on my next move: I reread the turn and I'm wondering at the statuses of the enemy after the explosion.
1) Skin
Deep: Is she still up and in Clone form? (and is she the only clone left in
that area?)
2) I
assume that Luddite and Harrik are still up and able, right?
3) Also,
If I reel Slate/Zephyr back in while they are holding on, will that cost me my
action?
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:Quick replies:
1) Yes (yes)
2) Right
3) No, just movement.
Thanks,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
OOC: Hi all.I'll keep it simple (or simple for me, ie no inner dialogue, etc)
(1) Per the prior email first priority is that Shelly and
Slate and Nanite get back to our side and Kirk will do anything to ensure that
happens if Slingshot runs into problems getting them out. If somehow the gate is closing with them
stuck on the other side Kirk will do anything he has to do to be sure he is on
that side with them.
(2) Not sure if Kirk can get any read on this from this
side, but Kirk would like to analyze the digital zone readings and reactions to
Slate/Nanite vs Shelly (and himself if he enters). It is evident that the Zone will continue to play an important role in their
lives... our scientific geniuses will need to invent something to allow us to
enter without being rejected - Kirk would like to contribute to that perhaps by
helping to define from an energy flow standpoint what the zone is rejecting and
how we can adapt ourselves. Again, not
sure if this is possible from his vantage point, but it would be great if he
could help with this.
(3) If it appears that the gate will be closing with members
of the team in the Zone and Kirk can take Pachy into the Zone with him, he will
do so. He will not endanger his chance
to be on that side to do so.
(4) Assuming all of Vanguard is on this side of the gate
when it closes: Kirk knows that if Harrik is conscious he will bolt once the
gate is closed... that the mission is over and it is pointless for him to
continue, particularly with a now uncontrollable Pachy present and his teleporter
blocked from giving them a quick easy exit.
He is prepared for this and hopefully will be able to make some sort of
surprise move to prevent his escape. I'm
hoping Avatar manages to take him down before he tries to bolt but Kirk will do
all he can to prevent his escape and hopefully knowing he is going to bolt will
give him the advantage to do so (ie unsuspected attack seems to be the only way
for for Kirk to hit him).
(5) If none of the above pans out as necessary then
absolutely use Kirk any way to the team's advantage to protect a teammate or
take out a foe.
Viva Vanguard!
Seth
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Slingshot:
[ooc: Oy, hit points come and go easily in this game..]“Jim Harrik smirked at the naïve idealist. “That’s not the job I’ve been paid to do, Brock"”
Scott shakes his head. "Why do something that will hurt
you in the end? Money won't help you if you're deal with that." Scott
tilts his head at the Entity. " Should I tell IT that you're the one
attacking and see what IT can do to your bank accounts?"
[ooc: Jeff - Thanks for the quick response.]
Scott looked at the carnage left after the explosion. He
knew that he wouldn't be able to take another hit like that one. On the other
hand, he knew that he had things well under control. Nan was on this side.
Ethan was holding on and will be on his way back. That left him with a precious
moment to enact some little protection. Keeping an eye on Skindeep, he pulled
out the DNA extraction unit and attacked Skindeep with it.
[ooc: This assumes that he can still see he/she/it. I would
not pursue her if I have to leave Nan/Ethan unprotected, but I have a freaking
long range with my arm. If I can't attack skindeep, I'll pound the crap out of
Harrik, with pleasure. if I'm down for the count, I'll snooze fitfully]
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Symbiote:
IC: Shaking off his
headache from the Villainous Vermin's vicious tail attack, Hal quickly assessed
the situation again. Slate and SHELLEY
in the digital zone! And those
generators are about to give out! he realized with a panic.
There were any number of villains in the room he would've
loved to take a piece out of--chiefly Ratman, Mercenary and The Luddite--but at
that moment his only concern was his sister's safety. He used the power of Inhuman to gather the
water that has presumably splashed away from Ratman's head and caused it to
fountain up and into the fires in the generators.
OOC: No, water isn't
great for electrical generators either, but he's hoping a surgical strike to
put out the flames will keep the machines running just long enough for Slingy
to reel Shelly and Slate in.
Viva Vanguard,
Greg
--------------------------------------------------
Avatar:
OOC: Just continue a straightforward attack on Harrik.
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Soldier:
IC: Soldier, after striking a blow against Zero G, with the
tattered remains of the Dummy, sees that while his attack was successful, it
didn't quite achieve the results he wanted. Still raging about the situation,
and not thinking as clearly as he should, he rapidly drawing his pistol, he
fires an explosive round at his target hopping to finish him off.
OOC: If the shot propels him at or into anything, it'll snap
him back to reality, and force him to focus on the situation at hand. If it
shot takes out Zero G, he' try to make a quick dash to the far side of the
room, to link up with the rest of the group. If possible, he'll try to
coordinate his actions with any other member of the group, by firing at either
the side, or back of one of the members of Homicide for Hire.
--------------------------------------------------
Clone:
The six Clones clinging desperately to Slingshot do their
best to keep him anchored within the ‘real world’. Losing a friend to the
Digital Zone is not something they’ll allow to happen without a fight.
With a sudden burst of speed and determination, four of the
‘replicating Russians’ charge towards The Mercenary. Careful to not to group
too closely together ( OOC: trying to avoid a mass wipe-out due to explosive type weapons ), the
‘copying communists’ lash out at the villain with their staff weapons in a unified assault.
Taking every precaution possible not to accidentally hit
their friend Slingshot, three of the Clone duplicates swing at Luddite with
their stave's. Knowing that they’ll most likely miss their target, the small
band of doppelgangers do their best to keep the villain occupied.
Desperate to thin the number of enemies before them, two of the Clones attempt to wallop the Ratman into unconsciousness with their bludgeons.
OOC:
Sorry for the delay – the demands of my personal life and my
job have left me with very little time to myself lately.
Jeff, if any of the
above actions become unnecessary for some reason ( e.g. targets become knocked
unconscious by someone else, targets escape the scene, etc. ) feel free to
assign actions to some of the Clones
if it helps with the flow of the story. If you need anything else form me let
me know – I should be able to reply ‘same day’ to any simple questions or
action requests/clarifications.
Talk to you all soon,
- Kev
--------------------------------------------------
Lightning Strike:
Strike will hold his action and make sure that nobody attacks or attempts to shut down the generators. If somebody does, he will blast them.
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