Vanguard was
victorious! In the second leg of their desperate Quest against Cthulhu and the
ending of the world, Earth’s
greatest heroes had unexpectedly
come face to face with the Black Bat,
vampire crimelord of several continents, and eight of his cadaverous captains
in crime!
Vanguard destroyed the vampire
crimelords but their master, the Black Bat, had escaped.
Slingshot,
frustrated with how he had been mind controlled into almost killing his only
son, as well as the Bat’s escape, slammed the Bat’s iron safe onto the massive
granite conference table! KA-WHAM!
The safe broke apart revealing its contents. Stacks of cash
and a large golden cross.
Avatar, an
experienced archeologist said, “This is from the Middle Ages.”
He picked it up gently and examined it. “These images
claim…”
He paused and began again. “Purported fragments of the True
Cross were brought to western Europe, from the Holy Land and the Byzantine
Empire, all throughout the Middle Ages,” he explained to Vanguard. “Reliquaries
of the True Cross were sometimes made in the shape of a cross.”
He turned it over, and in its back plate was a small
cruciform opening. Within the opening was set a small sliver of the True Cross.
Menagerie and Sentinel confirmed that this was indeed the second artifact of power.
Slate pulled his mask up above his nose, grasping for air... pain was a relatively new experience for him... tiny cuts from the bites of the rats cover his body, seeping blood. He reached up, feeling pain as he touched his side where the Vampire smashed him in the ribs... still, he felt the nanobots in his blood stream moving to the sites of damage, beginning repairs... he will survive.
His focus next moved outward, slowly taking in the carnage of this quick battle, amazed at what happened in such a short time. Burned and twisted bodies strewn about; rats appearing to realize they should not be here headed for the nearest exit; and his father smashing a safe to bits...
Slingshot hugged his son. He looked at him with distress in his eyes. "You know that I would have hurt you. I was looking through my eyes, but I was unable to do anything." He clenched his fists. He looked around the location and said to the air, "Bat, you've made an enemy today. Be sure we never cross paths again."
Slingshot hugged his son. He looked at him with distress in his eyes. "You know that I would have hurt you. I was looking through my eyes, but I was unable to do anything." He clenched his fists. He looked around the location and said to the air, "Bat, you've made an enemy today. Be sure we never cross paths again."
They had precise coordinates for each of the eight remaining artifacts of power.
He's back! with that Slate ran to his father, wrapping his arms around him, burying his face against his chest...
Slate, upon arriving, sneaked away to his room to get a clean uniform. Then he checked on his mother, Nanite.
Slate used his Heightened Comprehension and internet access to do a quick study of the Occult (adds new skill: Occult Studies), and returned to the supply officer to can get some objects that might be useful based on his studies.
Via the internet, Slate found an image of Nyarlhotep, a black shapeshifting deity, a twisted image of his father.
Nyarlhotep, the crawling chaos, was said to be an evil, mad god of the Cthulhu pantheon.
Lightning Strike, Slate, Symbiote, Doc Rocket, Shelley and a legion of Clone lab assistants, attempted to invent an amplifier for the sensory powers of Menagerie and Sentinel.
It took more than two days. (OOC: Vanguard gets a third day of healing)
Sentinel had demanded that CHESS get MEDUSA to turn over any technology they had on telepathy. MEDUSA declined, stating Special Agent Valk was equipped with mental training, not a device.
On the third day in the Vanguard Vault electronics lab, their incredible invention was finished.
(OOC: Sentinel and Symbiote expend a Luck Point each. Slate spends 0.6 Luck Points. Menagerie had spent his on the True Cross. Strike abstains)
Gigantic twin chairs sat back to back. Over them hung helmets arrayed with webs of neuron sensors.
(OOC: Imagine a double helix Cerebro. This thing really needs a name. Anyone?)
“Now to test it,” Doc Rocket said gravely.
Sentinel and Menagerie were seated within the technological behemoth, one facing east, the other west.
Doc Rocket advised, “Prepare yourselves, gentlemen.”
Symbiote threw the switch.
The twin chairs roared with electrical power and Menagerie and Sentinel felt their consciousness expand violently! Their minds reeled from the hammering overload of the infinite!
Sentinel could see every extranormal on earth. Via his telepathy, he could hear their thoughts. All at once.
Menagerie’s mind drank in the impossible scope of every living thing, of nature itself, on a planetary scale.
It was all they could do to keep from being swallowed up in the psychic tidal wave that threatened to bury them alive.
Vanguard helplessly watched the two heroes convulse in the psionic amplifier chairs.
As the battle at the Penthouse
came to an end and the remaining four Clones
regained control over their senses and actions, each of the duplicates took
a moment to stop what they're doing and just stare at the other three in
silence. A strange and unfamiliar sense of anxiety swept through each of them
as a slight chill raced down the back of their necks. They couldn’t help
feeling as if they're staring at their own detached reflections from some kind
of a dark and disturbing dream. Where were the voices? Where was the perfect
harmony of shared thought and emotion that they each knew as their collectively
singular self? The moment passed just as quickly as it came and all four of
them were snapped back to reality by Slingshot's enraged warning to The Black
Bat.
Although they lost the use of
their hive-mind, each of the four Clones knew what the other was thinking (
OOC: figuratively speaking ). The newest addition to their list of absorbed
Clones brought with it a completely new and previously unknown set of emotions
with it - fear and suspicion. Everyone they had ever come in contact with over
the course of their life had tried to either harm them or manipulate them for
their own selfish needs; everyone except for his family . . . if they actually
were his family. Clone knew that the members of Vanguard were his friends, but
he couldn't help feeling afraid of them none the less. The 'New Clones' fear
and paranoia had kept him alive and safe all of these years and Clone's
'Ukrainian Peasant Farmer' personality had always been insecure and confused -
combined, these two personalities only amplified each other. Trust - he wasn't
sure if he could ever give this to anyone ever again, not even to the people
who had always given it to him. He had to make sure that he kept quiet, that he
never tipped his hand to anyone, and that he would always have an escape plan
in place should the need ever present itself - never again would he be the
victim. So for now he would observe, listen and learn, but all the while
playing the role of the humble little Clone that always sat quietly 'at the
back of the bus'.
Menagerie contacted
the mystics via his Vanguard communicator. “We’re in New York. How much power
will it save if Vanguard traveled back themselves?”
The Mystic
replied: "It will save me a gate spell and hours of rest to recover from
it.
Menagerie asked,
“Do you possess a spell to ruin the Bat's lair?”
The Mystic
replied, "I'd rather not expend precious magical energy to spoil the Bat's
lair. We'll need it for the Quest.”
Menagerie asked:
“How long would it take to discern the locations of all the artifacts we seek?”
The Mystic
answered, "Two days, perhaps less, and much Power. But in half that time,
we would possess half the locations. No one was bitten? Good. You know how to
destroy vampires, correct?"
Menagerie knew
(via his Occult skill). A wooden stake must be put through their heart. Then
they must be decapitated and the body burned to ensure they will not return to
a state of undeath.
The sorcerous superhero explained
this to his teammates and Vanguard grimly
followed his instructions.
Slingshot used his stretching
abilities to quickly go through the lobbies of the other floors and gather the
necessary wood to help finish the job permanently.
Menagerie gathered up
the vampire bodies. Menagerie asked Avatar to remove their heads. If Avatar refused, Menagerie would borrow
Avatar’s sword, doing it himself.
Menagerie worked carefully and
quickly in the Bat’s lair. He purified key areas he was able to identify and
use the holy cross artifact to bless the building and all that was within it.
Menagerie arranged for CHESS to
transport the bodies carried back to the Vault.
At the next sunrise, Menagerie would burn the bodies in a funeral pyre
at a secure location that CHESS would provide.
The vampire crimelord minions of
the Black Bat were destroyed.
Slate moved around the room looking for clues and connections. The Bat may be a beast, but if he's doing business in this day and age, Slate felt confident he was using technology to track his assets/business. He searched the office next door, but would stay close to Vanguard as they decided next steps.
The scion of cyberspace found no computers at all. Either Bat knew of Lightning Strike’s abilities, or those of the FBI and NSA.
One of the Clones followed Slate and offered to 'watch his back' as he searched the office next door. Should the opportunity also present itself, Clone will 'palm' anything that he might find in that room that he thinks might be useful to him down the road. He'll only do this of course if he's confident that nobody is looking - he doesn't want to get caught and then have to explain himself - he wanted to keep Vanguard as his friends . . . at least for now.
Slate moved around the room looking for clues and connections. The Bat may be a beast, but if he's doing business in this day and age, Slate felt confident he was using technology to track his assets/business. He searched the office next door, but would stay close to Vanguard as they decided next steps.
The scion of cyberspace found no computers at all. Either Bat knew of Lightning Strike’s abilities, or those of the FBI and NSA.
One of the Clones followed Slate and offered to 'watch his back' as he searched the office next door. Should the opportunity also present itself, Clone will 'palm' anything that he might find in that room that he thinks might be useful to him down the road. He'll only do this of course if he's confident that nobody is looking - he doesn't want to get caught and then have to explain himself - he wanted to keep Vanguard as his friends . . . at least for now.
This Clone found nothing. So much
nothing that it was suspicious. No personal items of any kind. It was clear to
his trained eye that no one lived here. It was a safehouse most likely. Used
for meetings like this.
One of the Clones walked towards the small group discussing
the cross, but made sure to stand on the outer edge of the discussion area. He
looked on silently with wide-eyed amazement and appeared to be completely
baffled and intrigued by the discussion and the object. His Folklore skill told
him this was a holy relic of immense power, piety and importance. They should
treat this sacred artifact with respect and reverence.
Two of the Clones walked around the room slowly in an
obvious attempt to search for information and to keep an eye on the burned
remains of the vampires - hopefully the dead stay dead.
Vanguard was able to quickly
transport themselves back to Vanguard Vault under their own power.
Slate, upon arriving, sneaked away to his room to get a clean uniform. Then he checked on his mother, Nanite.
The three magi would
be completely rested in an hour or so.
Vanguard used that
hour primarily to debate and decide their next plan of attack!
Sentinel said,
“If Archimedes’ cosmic awareness would simply give us the general area, I don't
think we gain enough here. We lose the
time for Archimedes to do it and we just have a general area of the object that
we may or may not be able to find with Sentinel/Menagerie's senses. The location could be underground and we'd
both miss it even if we managed to cover the entire area physically. Or perhaps something else would block our
senses from such a wide possible area so that we'd miss it. At least with the porting in we are in the
exact location of the artifact so that if something interferes with our senses
we have only a small area to search and come close enough to sense it. And with the general area only we wouldn't
even have the option of bringing in other assistance to locate the artifacts
since they would be lacking the ability.
I don't see this as an option unfortunately. Although we certainly could use a better
handle on things since time/power/health are running down for us and unless we
get some freebies in some of these retrievals we are going to be spent by the
time of the event and we are going to go in running on fumes trying to prevent
the summoning.”
The Mystic said,
“If you spend days on healing and on intel, there may not be time to
collect the remaining eight artifacts unless you split up.”
Sentinel asked, ““So
for Intel gathering what about my earlier idea of using scientific or magical
methods to expand the scope of his energy power to focus in on the artifacts? Given that Menagerie can also hone in and
sense them also perhaps the two of us can be used as the focal point of the
spell/device to help hone in quicker and more accurately. Don't know how quickly the science types
could come up with something but it would seem a magical spell to do the
amplification should cost less than the method we are using now. If there are more that are nearby it could
perhaps allow for physical transport rather than magical too.
“And if we did have this intel, given that the SSS has one
artifact already if some are closer to them or within their borders as a last
resort we could inform them. At this
point if they are under Swastika's control or working for the enemy unknowingly whether they have one artifact or
several makes no difference (from what we've been told) they have the same
opportunity to summon Cthulhu’s Pantheon to earth. So if we inform them, they can gather
them. At least we'd only have to hit one
place to retrieve them or prevent their usage.
“We already have to hit them for the artifact they do have
if we feel them a threat. So their
having more than one means we gather from less locations (Avatar already
suggested having them do the work, so having them do some of it is on the table
already).”
The Mystic
estimated that creating a new spell that greatly increases the Range of
Menagerie's and Sentinel's extranormal senses (a one shot invention of a very
powerful spell) could take two days or more. If it succeeds, you would sense
the locations of all of them at once.
And have more specific location than just the neighborhood. So time
would be spent researching and inventing instead of healing Power back after
Cosmic Awareness use.
Doc Rocket
estimated that a scientific amplifier might take around the same time but it’s
a guess because they've never studied Menagerie's and Sentinel's powers before.
However this path would be developed by Vanguards scientists, ( and their test
subjects Menagerie and Sentinel ) keeping the Mystic rested and ready for when
the time came for transport.
Sentinel said, “Another
thought: Oracle can see the future which is shifting. All right. But the location of the artifacts really
shouldn't be shifting (I suppose unless another party takes them in the next
few days before us). In her future
sightings she has no idea of where any of them were located or what was
guarding them? Might there be some
means, perhaps by a spell, to 'guide' her visions towards some of that
intel? If hypnosis and the power of
suggestion can influence a person's actions can we use some form of that to
guide her vision into helping us better?
Or might some of her visions of the future already have information
about that but she simply didn't focus on that information at the time instead
being overwhelmed but the bigger events taking place. Could her memory contain some of the
information we need and she be unaware but guided to it with assistance?”
Oracle replied,
“I’ve probably played much of my part already: notifying the other Magi and you
of what the sudden new future seemed to hold: the coming of Cthulhu. I can also
serve as a desperate stop gap at the end if everything goes terribly wrong, as I
did during the Primate Jailbreak attempt.
“But the problem of using me in the middle segment is this,
my friend: I give Vanguard information from the future. It alters your actions,
thus creating a totally different future from the one I saw. So my intel is now
inaccurate because the chessboard has just been changed, perhaps for the worse.
Doc Rocket
theorized, “I dare say this is what happened in the Vanguard Omega saga.
Vanguard saw a dystopic future caused by ITs invasion, Caine's Presidency and
other things. That knowledge allowed them to alter that future, resulting in
another, completely different future: the coming of Cthulhu.”
Oracle said, “The
same dynamic cost me the lives of my team mates, years ago. So I’m hesitant to
do it again unless completely necessary. (OOC: fyi, Game-wise, this is a Major
Psychological Weakness that places restrictions on using her powers. If things
go terribly wrong at the end, she might be able to give you a get out of jail
free card. But she's not ready to create yet another brand new timeline. Not
yet anyway.)
Avatar said,
“What if we continue going on our quests for the items, perhaps breaking up,
and have our mystics and/or scientists working on a way to detect where a
"mass" of artifacts are so that, near the end of getting them, we can
jump into the place/area and try for all of them that we haven't yet obtained. I don't think that there's any other way
unless we are to somehow ally with our opponents. There's no way that we can get EVERYTHING.”
Slingshot said,
“Guys. We are hunting down artifacts of immense powers. It seems that they all
have been used to create some of the most powerful people on this planet and
some of the worse people on it as well. Swastika, Bat… I'm expecting to find
Caine on one of these jaunts.
“We are running out of time and
energy/health. Can't we make use of these artifacts? We are the beacons of
hope. All these artifacts seem to have backgrounds of holy nature (As opposed
to unholy nature). Could it be that we would be able to use them to empower us?
Maybe Sentinel's energy sense, could see if there's a match between one of us
and the artifact we have? Maybe gain the ability to unlock its powers?
Something that will give us an advantage?
“I agree with Sentinel. I don't
think the new plan is acceptable.
“To date, it was easy. We were
within reach of the items. Being in the general neighborhood would likely waste
hours in search, instead of wasting hours in research. What's Menagerie and
Sentinel's range for detecting these things? If we get drop shipped with no
intel (no idea what or where to look), we might as well look for a needle in a
haystack. I mean, what if we had been dropped within a block of this location.
What century would we have found the lair of the Bat?
“I think at this point, we don't
have a better plan. It's half a plan. Unless we have a plan that is better, we
need to continue with the current one.”
Menagerie agreed
and prepared for the next blind jump.
Symbiote is most
definitely not in favor of splitting up. “We've barely survived the encounters
we've had so far. We need to rest as best we can and hit it again.” He'll go in with Accelerator's powers
activated next time.
Avatar will
follow along with the majority for now, trying to gain as much rest as
possible. Next time, he will have the
Speed of Hermes manifested.
Lightning Strike
said, “I believe that splitting up will weaken Vanguard but why shouldn’t we
have a team that guards what we have, and another team that looks for other
artifacts.”
Sentinel said, “There could be more than one group planning to use the
artifacts, independent of each other and in different locations. So if we don't get all the objects, I'd guess
the summoning would create a mystical event of magnitude that likely could be
detected... and perhaps we could teleport there to prevent it. But if there is
more than one event happening simultaneously at the endgame it would be
seemingly impossible to get to them all even split up and assuming we were of
any power level and health to do anything about it.
“In fact, it almost makes it
seem more plausible to spend the two days locating them all and then perhaps
Chess or other allies could also be used in intel gathering to see if the
artifacts will be used in a summoning. They could monitor them and if somehow
things went awry we could try to go in then.
“We just had a battle with the
Bat and took damage and it would seem on the surface that he was NOT going to
use the artifact in a summoning (of course, he could have been lying).
It really seems impossible that
we are actually going to secure all of the artifacts in this time frame. Perhaps knowing the locations would be more
valuable at this point? I truly don't
know. But unless we get an easy one on
the next teleport, our situation will just continue to deteriorate.
“I really was thinking continue
in our quest but after trying that out I’m thinking perhaps knowing the
locations might be more plausible an approach.
Then maybe we could limit our retrievals to those that truly are high
risk. And if they all are high risk then
it seems we would be out of time at that point, but it seems likely that if
they are all high risk we won't make it doing it this method either.
“Getting the locations would
possibly give us more resources to stop the threat and this seems the only
method we have currently to do it. It would seem I just convinced myself we
need the locations. What do you think?”
Clone sat quietly
and listened to the other members of the team discussion the options before
them ( OOC: he would have merged back into one Clone at this point ). As the
discussion starts to take on the form of a debate; rather than a simple
discussion, over which course of action to take, Clone offered up the following
in his still unfamiliar American accent, "I think we have a lot more time
to find these items then any of you realize. Assuming that at least one other
group; the Soviet Super Soldiers for example, is out there looking for these
objects - all the objects could be snatched up within a few days. All we would
have to do is find out where the SSS is storing their objects and snatch them up
and combine them with the ones that we're able to find." Before anyone can
point out the obvious flaws in Clone's logic, the Duplicating Dynamo continued,
"What if while we were out hunting for objects I left one of my duplicates
behind with Doc Rocket and he can tried to use his hypnotic abilities to find
something that would give us a clue as to where their base is located? We could
have all the objects within a few days and only have to do half the leg work -
what do you guys think?”
Vanguard voted as
a team on their next plan of attack.
They decided to ally with the SSS in order to improve their chance of success.
They wanted to use scientific or magical means to expand Menagerie and Sentinel’s senses to locate the artifacts, moving forward.
They elected to study the artifacts of power and use them in the field. Clone’s Folklore skill told him this was sacrilege and he would not participate in their study.
Vanguard decided to use the next two days to heal, gather intel, attempt to expand Sentinel and Menagerie's sensory ranges to locate all the artifacts. Then they would re-engage the quest, teleporting quicker (and at a lower Power cost) to the artifacts. Splitting up might be necessary due to time lost inventing/healing/gathering intel.
They decided to ally with the SSS in order to improve their chance of success.
They wanted to use scientific or magical means to expand Menagerie and Sentinel’s senses to locate the artifacts, moving forward.
They elected to study the artifacts of power and use them in the field. Clone’s Folklore skill told him this was sacrilege and he would not participate in their study.
Vanguard decided to use the next two days to heal, gather intel, attempt to expand Sentinel and Menagerie's sensory ranges to locate all the artifacts. Then they would re-engage the quest, teleporting quicker (and at a lower Power cost) to the artifacts. Splitting up might be necessary due to time lost inventing/healing/gathering intel.
These decisions dramatically
altered their plan. The power levels of the Magi would be taxed much less, and they
would no longer be the “bottleneck” of the quest.
Decided on their new course,
Vanguard sprang into action.
Over the next two days:
News reports confirmed that the
world storm raged, casting all land masses into darkness.
Global panic and riots spread as all financial markets
crashed.
The governments of the world appealed for their citizens to
remain calm, even as martial law was declared.
People turned to their houses of worship in the certain
knowledge that they were living in end times.
A CHESS briefing reported that the ritualized, unrelated
occultic murders continued. There was still no pattern.
CHESS Castle remains locked down in the wake of prison
riots.
CHESS is overwhelmed, like all law enforcement and military
branches, attempting to handle the global crisis.
Vanguard studied,
worked and healed. The medical skills of Symbiote and Doc Rocket, and the
Healing skills of Avatar (via his manifestation of the Greek goddess Hestia)
greatly increased the team’s healing rates (Healing rates are doubled.)
Slate used his Heightened Comprehension and internet access to do a quick study of the Occult (adds new skill: Occult Studies), and returned to the supply officer to can get some objects that might be useful based on his studies.
The Mystic, Archimedes, Oracle, Avatar, Menagerie and
Slingshot studied the fragment of the True Cross in the Special Projects
room. In two days, they could not begin to understand its powers, nor detect
any link between it and the other artifacts, nor the individual members of
Vanguard.
Menagerie and Slingshot were
desperate to find a way to use the Cross in the quest, to help the team,
miraculously heal them, anything.
After two days of study, the
Mystic, Archimedes and Menagerie cast a ritual spell of “activation.” (OOC: One
Luck Point each). They, Oracle, Avatar and Slingshot focused their energies
(Power Points) at the Cross and called upon it, and what it represented, for
help.
Suddenly, white energy erupted
from the cruciform reliquary, rocking through the very walls of Vanguard Vault!
VRAM!
When the massive shockwave had
dissipated, Vanguard had been healed! (Healing rates are doubled again!)
The True Cross was silent.
Soldier had returned to active duty with Vanguard on the second day, due to the crisis. He and Sgt. Stone (and the Three Magi) would guard the True Cross while Vanguard quested for the other artifacts.
No CHESS Knights, or other superheroes, could be spared for this duty during this global emergency.
Slate monitored his personal computer to check its progress decoding the hieroglyphs found in the Lost Lands. Before the two days ended, it had found something. The creature engraved in the Lost Land temple that resembled his father, Slingshot, was identified in the hieroglyphics as a “Spawn of Nyarlhotep.”
Soldier had returned to active duty with Vanguard on the second day, due to the crisis. He and Sgt. Stone (and the Three Magi) would guard the True Cross while Vanguard quested for the other artifacts.
No CHESS Knights, or other superheroes, could be spared for this duty during this global emergency.
Slate monitored his personal computer to check its progress decoding the hieroglyphs found in the Lost Lands. Before the two days ended, it had found something. The creature engraved in the Lost Land temple that resembled his father, Slingshot, was identified in the hieroglyphics as a “Spawn of Nyarlhotep.”
Via the internet, Slate found an image of Nyarlhotep, a black shapeshifting deity, a twisted image of his father.
Nyarlhotep, the crawling chaos, was said to be an evil, mad god of the Cthulhu pantheon.
Lightning Strike, Slate, Symbiote, Doc Rocket, Shelley and a legion of Clone lab assistants, attempted to invent an amplifier for the sensory powers of Menagerie and Sentinel.
It took more than two days. (OOC: Vanguard gets a third day of healing)
Sentinel had demanded that CHESS get MEDUSA to turn over any technology they had on telepathy. MEDUSA declined, stating Special Agent Valk was equipped with mental training, not a device.
On the third day in the Vanguard Vault electronics lab, their incredible invention was finished.
(OOC: Sentinel and Symbiote expend a Luck Point each. Slate spends 0.6 Luck Points. Menagerie had spent his on the True Cross. Strike abstains)
Gigantic twin chairs sat back to back. Over them hung helmets arrayed with webs of neuron sensors.
(OOC: Imagine a double helix Cerebro. This thing really needs a name. Anyone?)
“Now to test it,” Doc Rocket said gravely.
Sentinel and Menagerie were seated within the technological behemoth, one facing east, the other west.
Doc Rocket advised, “Prepare yourselves, gentlemen.”
Symbiote threw the switch.
The twin chairs roared with electrical power and Menagerie and Sentinel felt their consciousness expand violently! Their minds reeled from the hammering overload of the infinite!
Sentinel could see every extranormal on earth. Via his telepathy, he could hear their thoughts. All at once.
Menagerie’s mind drank in the impossible scope of every living thing, of nature itself, on a planetary scale.
It was all they could do to keep from being swallowed up in the psychic tidal wave that threatened to bury them alive.
Vanguard helplessly watched the two heroes convulse in the psionic amplifier chairs.
Menagerie and Sentinel struggled to stave off madness (via their Willpower defenses and high Charismas) and focus on what they were looking for. Each hero’s mind’s eye frantically searched half a globe for the answers they sought, before they were overwhelmed.
Shelley yelled to her brother, “Look at their EEG readings! We’re going to damage their brain function!”
Lightning Strike cursed, “The damned fool! I told him!”
Symbiote shouted, “Everyone get back!” and pulled the emergency override!
Shelley yelled to her brother, “Look at their EEG readings! We’re going to damage their brain function!”
Lightning Strike cursed, “The damned fool! I told him!”
Symbiote shouted, “Everyone get back!” and pulled the emergency override!
KA-BOOM! The control panels
exploded!
Menagerie and Sentinel were pulled
out of the flames.
The halon systems extinguished the
destroyed controls.
Doc and Symbiote roused the two
heroes.
“We’ve got it,” rasped
Menagerie.
‘We know where they are,” murmured
Sentinel.
“The middle of the Atlantic
Ocean. Northern France. The Lost Lands in Antarctica. Moscow,” said Menagerie
who had faced East.
“Northern New Jersey. Nevada
desert. Northern California. China,” said Sentinel who had faced West.
To be continued!
OOC:
Three days left until Armageddon.
Everyone is fully healed!
You voted to ally with the SSS. Still want to? If yes, how do
you wish to engage them? What specifically do you say?
There was talk of investigating the locations (magically,
technologically or using intelligence agencies that aren’t overwhelmed by the
global crisis) in order to decide how best to move forward. Do you want to do
that? How long would you like to spend on that?
In short, what are the next steps?!
Thanks.
Viva Vanguard,
Jeff
Current Conditions: Everyone is fully healed!
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
OOC:
Wonderful issue
For the new device, how about The Janus Matrix or Janusix?
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Thanks.
Janus, two faced. That's good!
Best
Jeff
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Slingshot:
OOC:
Another awesome comic!
Spawn of Nyarlhotep? That bears pondering.
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Clone:
OOC:
Great Issue, Jeff!
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
OOC:
Hi All.
Just got to read yesterday for first time. Great issue.
Just quick OOC directions for now, but:
Now that we have the locations we need intel on them to
decide.
With Slate and Kirk on the computer skills and other team
members assisting, and if needed, Ajay and extremely well trusted Chess tech
team lets get the current satellite scope on these locations, along with known
usage, owners, etc as well as any possibly associations of the locations being
used for illegal activity. It shouldn't
take that long to glean all available intel on these locations. Once we have
this we can determine which might be in more friendly vs less friendly hands.
If we are going to ally with SSS, let's them the location of
the hardest to secure that would cause incident. At this point before getting the other intel
I'd say let them go for China. They can
cause the international incident with the Chinese government instead of
Vanguard....
We will also make sure that our searches, etc are secure etc
so enemies can't get intel on our searches to get the locations. With Slate and Strike here I'd think we
should be good on that front.
We get the intel on the locations it helps us decide on how
to proceed.
Seth
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GM:
OOC: Thanks everyone.
--------------------------------------------------
Slate:
Preface –
Slate opened his eyes, 7:00 flashed on the alarm clock
beside his bed. He rolled over looking
up at the ceiling, playing back the dreams that had haunted his sleep… Vampires
with glowing red eyes, Nyarlhotep morphing into his father, calling him to join
them, human sacrifices he’d seen on the news and internet… Analytically, he
played the dreams back, but it was like they were mist, fading away when he
focused on them. He could not understand
how he dreamed, and why he couldn’t recall the dreams with the clarity he could
remember every waking moment since his birth.
He got dressed, wearing his uniform under some sweat pants
and a hoodie. He thought about the
sunglasses on his night stand, but he didn’t feel like he needed them
anymore. They had been a way to hide
who/what he was, and that didn’t seem to matter here. Everyone seemed to have accepted him. His thoughts retuned to the Janus Machine
(feel free to change that if something else is decided on), and how they could
tap into Menagerie and Sentinel’s senses… Their senses had to be based in the
Parietal or Temporal lobes. He’d
recommend doing CT scans on each of them while using their detection powers… if
they could identify where the powers were located in the brain, perhaps they
could augment the signal they “felt” with, like a bat using echolocation, they
could boost the active signal they produced, and tie it in to the satellite
system. Slate began to get excited and
ran for the door, almost running right into Nanite who was standing in the
hallway, as if waiting for him.
“And just where are you off to,” she asked. “Down to the labs, I think I’ve got an idea
that can help.” He replied. “Let’s get
you something to eat first,” Nanite smiled at her son, taking his shoulders,
turning him back toward the kitchen. Slate
was torn; He needed to go; They needed his help, but he could not deny
her. His shoulders slumped a little, and
he agreed, nodding his head.
Nanite sat across from Slate watching his every move, her
feet tucked under her, nursing a cup of coffee she hadn’t even tasted… “So,
tell me about these trips; are you being careful?” She looked into her cup. Slate flashed back to the battle. Rats, vampires, Slingshot staring at him with
eyes that didn’t know him… these he could not/would not share with her. “Yes, I’m being careful… and dad is
there.” “It’s been lonely here without
you and your father,” she began.
“I know mom, I miss you too, but have you seen the
news? Someone has to do something. We have to do something. This could be the end of the world!” “I know, I know, Scott said the same
thing. I just wish you didn’t both have
to go,” she sighed. She came around the
table and wrapped her arms around his shoulders; he felt warmth emanating from
her. He felt at ease, everything would
be OK… maybe he should stay… he shook his head… he needed to go, she was in
danger. Everyone was in danger, and he
could help. He gave her hand a quick
pat. “I’ve really got to go,” he
said. “I know," she frowned,
reaching around and taking his bowl… “Go. Shoo,” she said with a grin, and he
was off, pulling on his sneakers as he headed out, never looking back to see
the tear in his mother’s worried eye.
OOC: Slate builds a quick model into his communicator to
track the coordinates of the items locations.
Per Sentinel’s direction, he will change the search program on his
computer that had been researching the Hieroglyphs to identify facts, and
rumors around these locations. He will
carefully code the search so that it cannot be hijacked or piggybacked by anyone
outside the Vault, and tether his communicator to the base computer. He’ll also inspect the firewalls and other
hardware in their internal systems to ensure Vanguards systems are secure.
As to contacting the SSS, Slate will recommend that they
share locations with them as items are retrieved, beginning with Moscow, if
that’s not the already identified Spear of Destiny. He agrees that China would probably be best
for them next, then Northern France.
He'll again look to the team to see if there is anyone else they can
enlist to assist them, surely there are other heroes out there. He'll recommend reaching out to Mother Russia
to break the ice and begin communication.
For Vanguard, he’d recommend using the jet to head to New
Jersey, then maybe the mystics could transport them in the jet to Nevada, and
they would be able to proceed to Northern California without needing another
teleport. That should give Vanguard four
items, and the SSS two or three. At that
point, they could determine who would be going after the Mid Atlantic/Antarctic
items. For selfish reasons, Slate wants
their team to go to Antarctica to hopefully gather some additional
information/data on the book he’d found, and relatedly anything that might be
related to his father.
As Vanguard prepares for the next encounter, he’ll be back
in his Indiana Jones attire, including the backpack of equipment he’s prepared
to face the supernatural, and his fedora..
Jon
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
[OOC] Sorry for the last minute reply, but I've been stumped
with what to do next. I'm not quite sure how much time we have in game to
gather the rest of the artifacts. Are we going to be able to get them all in
time with minimal amount of healing? I'm also a little scattered in my
thoughts, for that I apologize in advance]
So a couple of questions:
1) How much game time do we have until the fated deadline?
2) can our teleporter (mystic?) teleport us to those
coordinates and pull us back fast (not have to wait for the hour needed to
restore PP?
3) Do we have the coordinates of the Spear as well?
4) Do I know Slate's discovery about my resemblance? (I
haven't read anywhere if the information has been passed along to me)
1 and 2 would affect my decision on involving SSS. IF we can
be sent in and retrieved as soon as we have the item in our possession, I'm
willing to risk not involving SSS.
Otherwise, we may not be able to run this gauntlet and make
it out alive in the end.
3 would give me SSS location, nice to know :)
4, If I know I'll try to have a blurb done by Labour day on
that, so Jeff can insert it in, but it shouldn't affect anything we actually do
for the turn.
[/OOC]
Vanguard is sitting in the War room. On the screen is a
world map with each of the locations with an item of power. Slingshot speaks,
"We need to be methodical and efficient about this. We need to do a bunch
of hit and runs. We cannot waste time, effort fighting our way through all
these items. We will not be able to survive 8 encounters like we had with Black
bat."
Slingshot muses, "These items of powers seem to be in
the possession of powerful people. We need to expect opposition of one sort or
another." He looks at Mystic and the owl, "Now that we have exact
coordinates, can you teleport us in and then back out in short
succession?"
[if answer is positive]
The malleable man of might continues the thought, "I
think that if we focus on being stealthy, fast and agile, we should be able to
get in, grab the item and 'port out of there, before we need to engage into too
much of a fight. I can take a hit and as long as there are enough material, I
can regenerate most damage. I think we should be in a position to be able to do
most locations without involving SSS. The only issue with that, is that I would
wait until the last item before hitting SSS. They are a large group and with
serious firepower. I would leave them for last."
[on the subject of research] Slingshot gives his input,
"let research most locations. Let's focus on the New Jersey location for
now, that should leave CHESS enough time to gather intel on the other locations
(are they known locations/entities, under surveillance by one group or another
(why?), etc.."
"Some fast information on the New Jersey
location?"
[ooc] I'm assuming we are not involving SSS at this point. I
think we should take our jet to the jersey location, to save the mages some
energy, unless time is so short, (question 1/2), and we need to jump to the
location.
Other Alternatives:
1) I'm not fond of splitting up Vanguard and go after two
items at once, but I can be overruled.
2) If we involve SSS, I would split the team in 1/2
Vanguard, 1/2 SSS. They do have a teleporter, so they would be quite helpful
there.
Random thought about the locations: Middle of Atlantic Ocean?
How much are you willing to bet we are talking about the Starfish?
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
Menagerie asked with Director Gray still access to the
diplomatic channels that was used when Clone's family was liberated? If he did,
then Menagerie suggesting using those channels to communicate with the SSS and
inform them about China has an artifact.
Menagerie would use what little time remained before they
leave to meet private with Archimedes. He would ask for any words of wisdom or
advice he would have for him.
Menagerie agreed with the plan to use the Vanguard jet to
the nearest location and then have the Mystics' port them the next location.
He also agree with the hit and run tactics. No time for
prolonged fights.
Menagerie doesn't converse much other than what is
necessary. His experience with the Janus Machine almost overwhelmed him. He was
focusing his willpower and contemplating all that he had experienced.
Via Vanguard
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
Hi
OOC answers:
To Slate and Sentinel:
CHESS has contacted other superheroes to support Vanguard in
the quest. Because of the global crisis
( world storm, power outages, riots, fires, occultic murders, etc) they are all
active, in the field in their respective cities and regions, supporting
emergency personnel to help civilians. And have been doing so, without rest,
for days now. The situation is
escalating, so there's no chance this duty will slow down. CHESS Director Grey
isn't ready to pull them from this critical duty to support Vanguard yet. But
that could change.
OOC answers to Slingshot:
1) Three days left.
Vanguard is fully rested and fully healed.
Sentinel wants CHESS intel on all eight locations. Normally
this would be quick. Given the global crisis, CHESS is overwhelmed. Vanguard's task is critical but will still
take longer than normal. (World storm obscures satellite imagery. Power
outages. Rioting, etc) Perhaps a day.
This path would certainly require Vanguard to split up in
the last leg. But Vanguard is fully healed, and doing this will result in more
info about each site, and thus more preparedness. What does the rest of
Vanguard think of this path, called "Measure Thrice"?
2) Yes. Now that you have all the locations, it becomes
simple teleportation, as per the rules. Mystic's teleportation spell is a
portal with range enough to cover Earth.
3) With all nine artifacts located, it seems the Spear of
Destiny (last seen in the possession of the SSS) is the Moscow artifact.
4) Slate showed Slingshot Dr. Swastika's journal, including
an illustration in his hand of a large hieroglyph from the Temple of Terror in
the Lost Lands that strongly resembles Slingshot.
Slate hasn't told Slingshot that he's identified the image
as the "Spawn of Nyarlhotep" yet.
Best
Ye Expositional Ed
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
OOC:
Thanks Jeff.
3 days, 8 artifacts. I think it's going to be difficult to
keep up, but not entirely impossible.
So Slingshot votes to not involve SSS.
Spawn: Scott had planned on following up the whole Swastika
journal after the current focus, but if Slate brings up the spawn, he'll try to
follow up on it.
--------------------------------------------------
Slate:
OOC: Sorry, I missed that.
Slate would share the information as soon as he got it.
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
OOC: Thanks.. Now I have to ponder how I want to spin this.
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
OOC: Never thought gathering the info on the locations would
take that long. We CANNOT spend the
day. Let Ajay and his team work on it
and as we get pieces we can adjust plans accordingly.
We move out now to the next location. At first I was thinking NJ since it was close
and we can do it on our own power, but for that reason, unless intel tells us
otherwise we save it for last. My gut
says its a Caine safehouse (where was the location of his safehouse we hit in
the alternate universe? does it
correspond with this NJ location).
Since our mystic guys are fully powered up, let's
teleport. And my choice at this point is
Antarctica. We know at least
particularly what to expect there and seemingly if any of these locations were
a 'place of power' that we know about with the lost temple there this one is
it. It's presence puts it as the best
likely spot that we know about that could be used for a summoning. I say we go there.
How quickly can we be ported back from the location once
there? Is it still an hour or can they
get us back sooner now?
Do any of these locations correspond with close proximity to
our other missions? (ie how about the ocean area - was it where we encountered
Swastika's underground lair and the Star Giant?
was that lair ultimately destroyed or just abandoned?)
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
Clone:
STUDYING THE ARTIFACTS
( OOC: As per Issue 179 ) "They elected to study the
artifacts of power and use them in the field. Clone’s Folklore skill told him
this was sacrilege and he would not participate in their study."
OOC: If this situation should become an issue at some point
for Clone; Jeff feel free to use your judgement on this one, then please use
the following . . .
IC: Clone's body-language immediately betrays his once
concealed dislike for the way the 'Objects of Power' are being handles. His
head moves back and forth slowly as he makes eye contact with each of the other
members of Vanguard and says, "This is wrong . . ." His tone becomes
deeper and more assertive as he continues, ". . . the objects we are being
led to are sacred and holy relics; they were never meant to be in the hands of
ordinary men, so please do not treat them as if they're mere baubles or
trinkets. These sacred relics are beyond our understanding and comprehension,
and should be treated with care and respect."
RETRIEVING THE ARTIFACTS
As his friends begin to discuss the information gained
through the use of the Janus Device ( OOC: Since we don't have an official name
for it - thats what I'm going with - Tom, GREAT call with 'Janus'! ), Clone
mumbles back to himself the locations of the remaining artifacts, " . . .
The middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Northern France, The Lost Lands in
Antarctica, Moscow, Northern New Jersey, the Nevada Desert, Northern
California, and China."
After pondering the possibilities for a few moments, Clones
starts to 'think out loud', "Moscow is of course the location of the Super
Soldiers and the artifacts they've collected, but what about the others? The
middle of the Atlantic Ocean, possibly a ship or perhaps the mythical Atlantis?
Northern France, a cathedral with a hidden secret maybe? The Nevada Desert, Las
Vegas, Area 51? China, the ancient burial mounds maybe or another Super-team perhaps?
The Lost Lands in Antarctica, could that ancient temple be our 'end game'
location? And then there's Northern New Jersey and Northern California, more
collectors of rare antiquities?" Clone shakes his head slightly; snaps
himself out of his own deep thoughts, and then looks towards the other members
of the team, "Perhaps we can start off with the one closest to home,
Northern New Jersey."
OOC: Although Clone is suggesting Northern New Jersey, he'll
go with what whatever the group decides.
THE SOVIET SUPER SOLDIERS
OOC: Should anyone voice their desire to not join forces
with the SSS . . .
IC: A look of concern crosses over Clone's face as he voices
his opinion on the subject, "I think deciding at this time to exclude the
possible of joining up with them at this time is a bit premature. If we want to
try and get the artifacts on our own first and then consider whether or not to
join forces with them - fine, but to absolutely rule out the possibility with
three days still remaining sounds short sighted to me. That's just my opinion
though - I don't like to 'burn bridges' or limit my options."
OOC
Really GREAT issue! I'm really looking forward to seeing
where this all goes and what these locations are - that spot in the Atlantic
sounds freak'n dangerous as Hell! LOL
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Thanks.
Is there a PC consensus on which of the artifact locations
to go after next?
Or a consensus on how long you would like to investigate
these locations before your next jump. Sentinel says one day is too long to
spend. How about 12 hours? Six? Three? Thanks.
OOC replies to Sentinel:
It no longer takes an hour to be ported back from an
artifact location. Now it's a simple teleportation spell to get you there, or
back. (see my last email to Stephane/Slingshot)
The North Jersey artifact location doesn't correspond to a
Caine-related site in the Omegaverse.
The mid-Atlantic artifact location isn't where you
encountered the Star Giant that was under Dr. Swastika's control. But the Star
Giant did survive, and is mobile.
Best,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
OOC: I'm voting for New Jersey as the next.
I propose to do 1 hour research on that location. Is there a
short list of people we can have to research the other location while we are
gone? Even if it's only google and googlemaps and business/owner information?
--------------------------------------------------
Symbiote:
OOC: Jeff and everybody,
Harold and I are both going to have to punt this time (he
asked me to let you know).
Please use both characters as you see best. I do vote for the Lost Lands next.
Thanks and apologies,
Greg
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
OOC: I agree on Lost Lands being next.
I am willing to investigate for 6 hours but no more
Thanks
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Thanks.
Right now, North Jersey is beating Lost Lands in Antarctica;
4 votes to 3.
NJ voters: Clone, Slate, Slingshot, Strike.
LL voters: Menagerie, Sentinel, Symbiote.
If I don't hear from Harold/Avatar by tomorrow morning,
it'll be North Jersey.
Jon: teleportation portal isn't big enough to transport a
jet, as per rules on Teleportation.
Thanks.
Best,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
Hi,
Haven't heard from Harold.
Jersey it is!
I'll start writing the new issue, and get it out asap.
Best,
Jeff
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