In Vanguard Vault, after the Manta
Craft took off for the Atlantic Ocean, a duplicate of Clone peered out of his
quarters and went to speak to Mystic.
Clone said, “I think
we both know that it’s time we stopped playing it safe and started thinking a
bit more proactively." The look in Clone's eyes suddenly got darker as he
concluded his thought, "I think it’s time we send me back to Moscow.”
Mystic said, “If that’s what you
wish.”
Mystic replied, “It’s his choice.
If he succeeds, our cause stands much to gain. If he fails, we lose little.”
“A risk-reward analysis?!” snapped
Oracle. “I’m talking about a man’s life!”
“And I’m talking about every life
on Earth,” said Mystic. “The hour is late. We’re running out of time. None of
our options are desirable now.” Mystic
returned his attention to Clone. “With Vanguard flying to the next artifact, I
am rested and can cast a gate spell right now. Where, specifically in Moscow,
would you like to go?”
Oracle pleaded, “Clone, don’t do
it!”
Clone looked at Oracle with a
gentle look of understanding in his eyes as he responded, “I appreciate the
concern Oracle; but as Mystic has already explained, the world is at stake here
. . . my life is meaningless in the grand scheme of things.” Thoughts of his dear, sweet Rachel ran through
his head and he thought to himself, “If by some miracle I survive all of this,
I’m gonna somehow make things right with her.”
With a devilish grin on his face,
Clone continued, “Besides, who says I have to go alone? If we could
somehow ‘procure’ me some body
armour and assault weapons . . . we could send an army through that gate.”
Mystic said, “Your best chance for
success is stealth. Besides, if you were
found in Moscow with CHESS equipment, we’d have a nuclear Armageddon to contend
with. One apocalypse at a time, please.”
Clone turned to Mystic and, with
the wink of an eye, said in a determined tone, “Okay. Next stop . . . Moscow.”
Clone shared all the jumbled
memories of his time with the Soviet Super Soldiers as Alexi, the Collective,
the Rogue Clone and Clone. After a few hours, they estimated the best possible coordinates:
beneath the Kremlin! When Clone
recovered the Spear of Destiny, he would use his communicator to contact Mystic
who would gate him back. The World Storm had most satellites down, so it could
take a while for Clone to contact Mystic.
Just before Mystic was ready to
cast the gate spell, he produced an old revolver from his robes. It looked like it had seen action in WWII. “One
more thing. Take this. If you’re in danger of being captured, kill yourself.
You’ll disintegrate and re-assimilate with your Clone collective, and escape
captivity and torture… Any questions?”
[OOC: Reply Clone? Are you okay
with all the details this plan? If not, this is your last to change it.]
Elsewhere…
Vanguard descended
into the cold ocean depths. It was
immediately apparent that their best speed would be made within Sentinel’s
energy constructs.
Sentinel engulfed
everyone, save Menagerie, within an energy sphere that had a breathable
atmosphere. With the large hammerhead swimming beside it, the sphere “flew”
downward into the bottomless fathoms of the Atlantic Ocean.
Eventually, the sky’s light failed
and they continued down through the darkness with flashlights and the glow of
Sentinel’s energy construct as their only illumination.
Following the direction of the
artifact’s aura, Vanguard descended.
Menagerie’s shark sense detected
life forms below. Lots of them! A thin trail of bubbles rose past.
Then they saw it. A dark silhouette beneath them. Its size was hard to gauge. Its shape
resembled a submarine. Sentinel [and his History skill] saw that it shared some
similarities with a WW II era German U-boat.
Surrounding the sub were the life
forms Menagerie had detected: dozens and dozens of hammerhead sharks!
Menagerie and Sentinel detected
the artifact of power within the submarine! It had the familiar energy
signature of the Ring of Eon!
A school of hammerhead moved to
suddenly reveal, emblazoned on the hull of the sub, a swastika! And entwined in its twisted limbs, the symbol
of SKULL!
Vanguard knew that SKULL is a worldwide subversive
terrorist organization dedicated to global domination. It is the most
extensive, powerful, and dangerous such organization in history. They are
steeped in mysticism and have access to rare technology and considerable
wealth. Their legions are fanatically loyal. No SKULL agent has ever been
captured alive. The origin of SKULL is still shrouded in mystery! Some can date
it back to the Knights Templar.]
Vanguard also knew that Eon is the evil, time-controlling,
galactic celestial who led the alien invasion of Earth, ending the second age
of superheroes. The Freedom Force [the 1980's pre-eminent superhero team]
stopped the invasion and went missing. Vanguard found the Freedom Force member
Nemesis who had been lost in time. They
also encountered Dr. Change, the shapeshifting scientist supervillain who was
the archenemy of the Freedom Force. Apparently, Change had been present at the
final altercation between Vanguard and Eon, for the sole purpose of acquiring
the Ring, the source of Eon's incredible temporal powers. Change succeeded in
his mission but the ring lay dormant as Change was trapped in Limbo for so
long, he forgot his true identity. Vanguard last saw Dr. Change and the Ring of
Eon [in Issue 145] when the ring awoke and Vanguard temporarily controlled it,
transporting it and Change back to Limbo.
Menagerie, in
Hammerhead form, spoke to the swirling legion of sharks in their own
language. “Greetings, hungry brothers,”
he began. He learned that the hammerheads have seen no other metal fish. They
did not recognize a description of the Star Giant. They would not attack the “metal
fish” with Vanguard. Their orders are to stay near it.
The largest Hammerhead said:
"Our master, U-Man, told us to stay near the big metal fish."
Menagerie telepathically shared
that with Vanguard.
Vanguard knew that
U-Man was a former member of the Ubermensch [Over-Men], a Nazi supervillain
team from of WW2! Their ranks included:
Dr.
Swastika: The mad Nazi scientist with a
heart as twisted as his name!
Blitzkreig: The lightning warrior!
Panzer: The human tank!
The Aryan: The perfect man, except for his soul!
Baroness
Von Zero: Ice flows through her royal veins!
U-Man: The human torpedo!
Vanguard had faced them in their
first mission, onboard the Star Giant. It was unknown how most of the Uber-Men were
perfectly preserved after 70 years.
Blitzkreig wasn't there, having
died in captivity in 1947 of old age, due to his hyperactive metabolism.
Swastika's head was all that
remained of him, in a life support tank.
He kept a "body farm" of subjects that he could somehow place
his consciousness into. After "possessing" Director Grey and
launching nuclear weapons in a bid to trigger Armageddon, Swastika's
consciousness escaped.
The Aryan murdered U-Man before
Vanguard's eyes.
Panzer, Aryan and Von Zero were
last seen unconscious in the Star Giant's control room as it flooded with sea
water.
Inside the energy sphere:
Slate said, “I could
probably open some holes in its hull, might force them to surface. Especially
if we did it close to the engine room.”
Slingshot said, “There
are two options with the sub here. Go in through the door or pound it dead. I would
like to make sure we don't leave them to die once we get into the sub to
retrieve the item.”
Sentinel said, “At
this point the sub is basically a mobile terrorist attack unit/base of ops. I
see no reason to leave it functioning, and every reason to make it
uninhabitable. I say we use forcing them
to abandon the sub as a means to prevent all or most of them from interfering
with our mission to obtain the Ring of Eon.
Menagerie and I can use our senses
to guide the team to target the Ring of Eon and the engine room, so we don’t waste
time moving through the interior of the sub.”
He looked to the team. “I’m open
to all suggestions to improve on the plan or point out problems.”
Clone listened closely
to the team as they begin to make suggestions as to how to best tackle the sub
and started taking mental notes as to everyone’s overall objective. With a
sharp clearing of his throat, the Duplicating Dynamo offered up another
suggestion to the group, “What if Sentinel simply formed a Force Field either
under or around the sub, purged the water from inside of it, and then guided
the sub to the surface with his makeshift lift-bags?” His tone than changed
slightly as he raised an eyebrow and said matter-of-factly, “On the other hand;
if we did do that, he would have to manage the assent carefully . . . raising
the ship too quickly could kill or permanently maim the crew inside.” A twisted
look quickly washed over his face as he continued, “ . . . “The Bends” can be a
real bitch.”
Symbiote said,
"Let me try something. Sentinel,
can you form an “airlock” in the sphere to let us out?”
[OOC: actions begin…]
Sentinel did so,
forming a separate chamber within the sphere, and two doors.
Avatar, Slate, Slingshot
and Symbiote swam out of the
sphere’s “airlock.” Clone and Sentinel stayed inside it with Ortiz and Manetti. Communication between the two teams would be
difficult underwater.
Avatar had already
manifested the powers of Poseidon. He could breathe underwater as he swam effortlessly
out to the Hammerhead that was Menagerie.
He planned to ride the shark closer to the sub, and battle!
Menagerie used his
hammerhead senses to scan for all living things within a 1 mile radius. He
found nothing out of the ordinary. Then
he transformed into a Megalodon, a 60 foot long, prehistoric shark dinosaur! An
apex predator from a world of apex predators. [OOC: no Power Point cost, thanks
to Water Breathing B]
Weight: 30,000 lbs.
Agility: 4
Ferocity: 22
Hit Points: 54
Power Points: 66
Accuracy: +1
Damage: 3d10
Movement: 140” per turn swimming
Powers:
-Heightened Senses: can detect living things, or blood, in the
water at a range of 1 mile.
-Waterbreathing B:
-Weakness: Special Requirement: Water. Will “drown” without it.]
Over a dozen hammerhead
scattered at the arrival of the Megalodon!
Slingshot wore a
underwater rebreather and morphed
his body back into the shape of a giant manta. A group of hammerheads charged
him aggressively and the malleable man of might stretched his fins into large
fish nets and tangled up all five of them!
Slate fired a white
“static” beam from his eyes, past the shark swarm, at the hull of the sub near the
engine room! BZAT!! The ray disintegrated a “tunnel” of water
between Slate and the submarine, but didn’t reach the sub! The scion of cyberspace’s heightened
comprehension told him he needed to get closer to the sub. At this range he was
just disintegrating seawater. But how could he get past the remaining sharks?
[OOC: fyi, Disintegration Ray loses
one point of damage per 5 feet of water between user and target.]
Clone evaded, ready
for action! [I assume, so you don’t lose
the action]
Symbiote could also
breathe water, thanks to Inhuman’s power template and the wondrous Harper
Harness.
The super-scientist used Inhuman's
ability to communicate with aquatic animals to send one simple message to the
surrounding hammerheads. "Leave,
for your own safety. It's bad here, you
could get hurt. Swim far away,
now!"
Ten hammerheads heeded
his warning and fled.
Suddenly VWOOOOSHH! The submarine fired a rear torpedo into
Sentinel’s sphere!
KA-BOOM! The impact rocked the sphere but its integrity
held!
[OOC: 21 points of damage to the
sphere!]
[next turn of combat…]
VWOOOOSH! BOOM!!
Another torpedo fired into
Sentinel’s energy sphere!
[OOC: 24 more points of damage to
the sphere!]
The beleaguered construct showed
cracks across its surface, but didn’t burst open.
Sentinel turned to
Clone, Ortiz and Manetti and said, “Hang on.” The sphere hurtled through the
remaining hammerheads at the sub’s hull, near the location of the Ring of Eon!
SMASH!! The impact breached the hull! [OOC: and also caused the sphere another 11
points of damage! It’s still together!]
There was an explosion of air
bubbles near the fissure! Sentinel and Clone could hear sirens going off from
within the sub! They sounded like old
German-style claxons, circa WWII.
Clone saved his
action!
Slingshot still held
his netted sharks. Their desperate thrashings were slowing down. Slingshot knew
sharks needed to move in order to breathe. Immobilized, the hammerheads were
asphyxiating. He retracted his net tentacles and the five sharks swam off.
Twenty hammerhead sharks remained!
Slingshot swam through
them toward the sub!
Seven sharks attacked
Slingshot! Four succeeded in biting him with their razor sharp teeth! [OOC: 7, 9, 8 and 5 points of damage
respectively. Slingy rolls with most of
it, and takes 2 from his Invulnerability.]
Slingshot reached the top
tower of the sub, and using his incredible strength, tore the iron hatch clean
off! A volcanic explosion of air bubbles roared up past him, carrying the noise
of sirens!
Symbiote used his
newly loaded hydrokinesis power to create a watery vortex in the center of the
cluster of sharks, hopefully convincing them that yeah, they REALLY need to
leave. The roiling water cyclone
battered the twenty remaining sharks until they broke out and raced away.
All the hammerhead sharks were now
gone.
Slate, his path now
cleared, swam in his CHESS-issue scuba gear to the submarine. He reached the
hull near the engine room and nearly pressed his face against it as BZAT! he
fired his eye beams into it, disintegrating a five foot hole into the side of
the hull! VROOAR!! Air bubbles gushed out the sub’s latest gaping wound!
Menagerie dove below
the crippled, crumpling sub, with Avatar still catching a ride. Menagerie swam
up at the belly of the wounded target, gaining speed.
Avatar let go of the
Megalodon in the moment before impact. [Costs 2 PP but no action, like “hitting
the deck”] The myrmidon of mythology saved his action, waiting for enemies
coming out of the damaged sub. They
would find the eternal warrior ready for them… with his spear!
Menagerie accelerated his
titanic form and rammed the sub’s underbelly at full speed!
KRASH!!! The force of
the blow, after the combined onslaught of Vanguard’s attacks, tore the sub apart in a sickening groan of bending iron. An explosion of air bubbles raced to the
surface as the metal ruins of the sub slowly sank downward into the darkness
below.
From the air bubbles
emerged light and motion!
Figures moving!
A familiar golden
light!
The energy of the
signature of the Ring of Eon, along with other energy sources… some of them
very familiar!
Vanguard
regrouped in a loose battle formation, preparing themselves for what was about
to come!
Avatar readied
his spear…
Vanguard
couldn’t believe what they saw.
It was…
The Original Sentinel! America’s beacon of justice, and
the beloved leader of the Liberty League!
He formed a glowing energy sphere that held most of his team mates.
Agent America! The star-spangled super spy, escape artist,
and master of disguise! He was wearing a
retro high-tech scuba suit, criss-crossed in a web of pouches, holsters and
sheaths.
Lady Liberty! America’s super-strong sweetheart! She stood beside Sentinel inside his
construct, her eyes full of stormy rage.
Doc Rocket! Britain’s greatest scientific mind, at the
prime of life! His flightsuit was fitted with a Flash Gordon-style “futuristic”
fishbowl bubble helmet and he swam alongside Agent America. Doc’s rocket pack
apparently worked under water.
Sgt. Stone! The fighting footsoldier with skin of granite
and a heart of gold! He was also
standing in the sphere. He looked markedly different from the Stone that Vanguard
knew. Full of life and energy, he was relishing all this. Sentinel and Menagerie detected the Ring of
Eon with him.
American Eagle! The human bird of prey! He stood
with the original Sentinel, itching to mix it up.
Blazing Glory! The fiery flyer! She was inside the sphere, and clearly a young
girl of 16 or 17. Hesitant but putting on a brave face.
The Mystic! Enigmatic sorcerer and sometime ally of the
Liberty League! Strangely, he looked
exactly the same!
Manetti said, “…
that thing! That thing we flew through!”
[Flashback! From
issues 189 and 190!:
“Mayday! Mayday! This is CHESS five zero six niner…”
“Everyone, your parachutes are
under your seats. PUT THEM ON!”
KRAKOOM!!!
“7,000 feet and falling. 6,000 feet. 5,000…”
“Pull up! PULL UP!”
“Something won’t LET IT!”
VRASHHHH!
Light flared through the cabin, longer than a lightning flash and without the sound of
thunder.
“Can’t
keep her up! I’ll put her down in the water! Brace for impact!’
SPWOOOOSHHH!!!!!
The Manta
Craft crashed across the surface of the ocean a few times before its momentum
finally gave out. The craft settled atop the ocean waves and rocked like a
boat.
Vanguard and the pilots climbed up out the
hatches and stood on the wings of the craft as it floated atop the calm waves.
Something was wrong. The storm had lessened in strength. No rain or lightning,
just cloud cover. The sky was lighter. It should be noon, but it appeared to be
afternoon. And it was too warm for the season.
“What the…” Manetti said, looking at the sky.
End Flashback!]
Manetti swallowed
hard. “Somehow, we’ve traveled back in
time!”
Manetti and Ortiz saw where this was going. They evaded and put on their pressurized
helmets.
Sentinel, Symbiote and Slate [Vanguard’s resident superhero historians] recognized this League’s
lineup was circa 1943 or ‘44. By then they were battle-hardened from years of
brutal warfare. Looking at them now, it wasn’t hard to believe.
The Liberty League was charging toward Vanguard with a wild ferocity and recklessness that
Vanguard had never imagined possible from all those warm, sepia-toned stories
of the golden age heroes.
Vanguard
tried to yell at them to stop. But being underwater, with little light, in all
that chaos and battle fury, their pleas were unheard.
[OOC: Verbal communication underwater may only occur between people with
Water Breathing or Adaptation powers, or between people with communicators in air-filled
helmets on the same frequency. It appeared that none of the League had Water
Breathing or Adaptation. Doc Rocket and
Agent America had air-filled helmets, so it was possible they could talk to
each other, or to any wrist-radio worn by a Leaguer in the Original Sentinel’s
air-filled energy sphere.]
Only Avatar, Menagerie
and Symbiote [due to their Water Breathing powers] could hear what
was being said within the energy construct of the original Sentinel. [Everyone,
please keep in mind what your PC knows]
“Who are these goose-steppers
who eighty-sixed our U-boat?” said American Eagle.
“And after we went
through all the trouble of commandeering it,” cracked Sgt. Stone wryly. “These
spoilsports just ruined our getaway.”
“I don’t recognize
any of them,” seethed Lady Liberty.
“Except one.”
“Looks like
Swastika’s been busy. Another evil clone of Sentinel!” Agent America’s voice
crackled over the League’s wrist radios. “This one’s more handsome than the
original!”
Doc Rocket’s voice
crackled: “Thomas, they’ve come for Eon’s Ring of course.”
The Original
Sentinel said with a careless smile, “Well, they’ll have to kill us first.
Liberty League! Underwater Bravo X-Ray Tango! Shoot first and ask questions
later! We’ll get all the answers we seek
from the interrogation that follows our victory.”
“Yes, sir!” replied the Liberty League.
“It’ll be our
pleasure, chief,” Sgt. Stone smiled grimly as his giant hands became fists.
As one, they
shouted: “For Liberty!”
The Liberty League launched their attack! [OOC: fyi, We’re still in the same combat round.
Most of the League saved their actions until the sub imploded]
Agent America
was first to act. The super spy swam to Vanguard in his retro high-tech, spy
scuba gear, pulled something that looked like a grenade from one of his many
pouches, armed it and hurled it between Slate and Symbiote! The speed of the throw was affected by the
watery battlefield, but not its accuracy!
WHA-WHOOM!!!! Symbiote escaped the grenade blast, but Slate
was hit! [14 points of damage! Rolls with 7, takes 7 from hit points. Slate
remains conscious.]
Doc Rocket quickly
followed up on his friend’s attack. The heir to the mantle of Tesla jetted
forward on his rocket pack until he was within point blank range. He
unholstered his famed Rocket Gun and fired at Symbiote!
ZARK! The
beam evaporated a thin, five foot long tunnel of water between Doc and Symbiote
before striking Symbiote squarely in the chest!
[OOC: 15 points of damage! Symbiote rolls with 8 and takes 7 from hits.
Symbiote flies back 15 feet and is still conscious. He doesn’t lose any Power
Points due to Water Breathing B.]
The Original Sentinel glanced at Lady Liberty and Sgt. Stone.
Lady Liberty and Sgt. Stone quickly moved to an “airlock” that suddenly formed inside the Original
Sentinel’s energy sphere. The door looked like it came from an old fashioned
submarine, complete with the large wheel shaped handle. Lady Liberty and Sgt.
Stone each took a deep breath, held it and exited the sphere.
Lady Liberty
swam with strong powerful strokes, nearly flying through the water, at the Manta-shaped
Slingshot. She slammed into him with both fists and all her momentum behind
them! KA-POW!
[OOC: 22 points of
damage! Slingshot rolls with 6, takes 6 from the last of his Invulnerability
and takes 10 hit points damage. He flies
back 30 feet but remains conscious.]
Sgt. Stone
was right behind her, displaying an effective if graceless underwater frog
stroke. Stone hauled off and let Avatar have it right in the kisser with his
best Sunday roundhouse! SA-LAM!
[OOC: 20 points of
damage. Avatar rolls with 8, and takes 12 from hits. Avatar flies back 40 feet,
is still conscious, and doesn’t lose any Power Points due to his Water
Breathing B power.]
Avatar could
tell from Stone’s eyes that the fighting footsoldier wished he could talk down
here if only to crack wise about Avatar’s fancy get up.
The Original Sentinel made his sphere’s airlock disappear, and then sent a tendril of glowing
energy from his sphere construct to the mighty Megaladon! Suddenly a third
sphere appeared around the giant shark! It was tethered to the sphere of the
Original Sentinel, which was rapidly losing size.
The Megaladon’s
sphere started to cycle out water through its porous surface, and fill with
air! The Megalodon, deprived of water to
breathe, began to suffocate! It writhed on the floor of the construct in agony.
[OOC: Per the rules, “Characters without a method of breathing underwater
can hold their breath for Endurance turns [ie: Endurance x 15 seconds] at a
Power Point cost of 1 per turn. If they are surprised at the sudden loss of
their breathing method, they must save vs. Endurance on d100, or have their
breathing time reduced to Endurance phases [ie: approximately Endurance seconds].
Once a character is out of air, they pass out and must save vs. Endurance on
d100 every turn or die.”
Megalodon Menagerie was
surprised by the sudden loss of water to breathe. He failed his d100 Endurance save. He now has Endurance seconds remaining before
he passes out. That will be enough time
to get him to the end of next issue, Issue 192.]
The Original Sentinel said, “That should take the fight out of that monster.”
American Eagle
said, “Nice job, skipper.” He watched
the battle and instinctively flexed the golden gauntlets of Horus. “Wish I could get in there and mix it up.”
The Original Sentinel replied, “Your wings make you too vulnerable in the water, old friend. And
besides, I need your eyes here.”
The Mystic
said to the Original Sentinel, “Let’s see if your evil twin’s powers work the
same way yours do.”
The mysterious
magician spoke in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and cast a spell at the modern
age Sentinel!
Sentinel’s
energy sphere suddenly disappeared!
Clone, Sentinel, Ortiz and Manetti were instantly underwater!
[OOC: Per
the rules above, all four were surprised by the sudden loss of the energy
sphere. All failed their d100 Endurance saves.
They each have Endurance seconds of air remaining before they pass
out. That will get them to the end of
next issue, Issue 192.
Clone,
Ortiz and Manetti are wearing CHESS pressurized suits. All of you have
rebreathers.]
The Mystic
said, “It worked!... Interesting…”
The Original Sentinel said, “Glory, follow up on Mystic’s maneuver, quick!”
Blazing Glory
said, “But… I… I can’t… My flames won’t work underwater.”
The Original Sentinel said, “But you can also control heat, my dear. Try.”
Blazing Glory
said, “Oh! Okay… I’ll, I’ll try.” The
teen concentrated with all her might and the water around Clone, Sentinel,
Manetti and Ortiz slowly started to boil! The two heroes and two CHESS agents had
enough time to figure out what was going on and swam away from each other.
Clone, Ortiz and
Manetti avoided taking any damage. [She missed them all, due to their evasions.]
Sentinel was harmed
by the scalding water! [8 points of damage. Sentinel rolls with 5 and takes 3
from hits.]
To be continued!
[OOC: Actions,
please! Avatar and Clone have saved
actions, so please give orders for two actions, you two.]
Current Conditions:
Avatar: Hit Points: 37, Power
Points: 85, Manifestation: Water Breathing B and Swimming skill, Saved Action
Clone: Bodies: 2, Hit Points: 11,
Power Points: 66, Hit Point Pool: 22, Evading: -6 to be hit, Saved Action
Menagerie: Hit Points: 54, Power
Points: 66, Form: Megalodon! Currently “drowning” in air!
Sentinel: Hit Points: 18, Power
Points: 54, Creation Points: 108, Shields: 0
Slate: Hit Points: 24, Power
Points: 63
Slingshot: Hit Points: 69, Power
Points: 55, Invulnerability: 0 until of the start issue 192
Symbiote: Hit Points: 30, Power
Points: 82, Charges: 12, Activated: Inhuman, Endurance: 26, Agility: 14
Here’s the map at the end of the
issue:
Elsewhere:
SHAKOW!! Lightning
Strike’s atoms rematerialized instantaneously, five miles away! The
electric avenger was standing on the edge of the flight deck of a gigantic
aircraft carrier! It was 1000 feet by 100 feet
(OOC: 200” x 20” gamewise.
Strike’s position is marked by the red circle on the right hand side of the
map).
Strike looked up and saw,
emblazoned on the highest tower, a swastika!
And entwined in its twisted limbs like a lover’s embrace was the symbol
of SKULL! The deck had men crawling all
over it like worker ants. They were
dressed in the uniform of Nazi SKULL soldiers, circa WWII!
That was all Strike could take in
because an experimental jet was hurtling down the runway directly at him,
preparing for takeoff! The engines were deafening. Strike could see the white
of the surprised pilot’s eyes. There was no way the pilot would be able to
swerve in time to avoid impact with the high voltage vigilante!
Lightning Strike knew
the logical move would be to get out of the way and go down into the bowels of
the aircraft carrier. But the hell with logic. Strike fired an electrical blast
at the jet’s right wheel! SHAKOW!!!
The right wheel blew off and the
jet pivoted to its right and spun around hard! The jet quickly accelerated away
from Strike, who hit the deck to avoid being fried alive by its exhaust.
The jet rocketed straight into the
carrier’s main tower!
KA-BA-BOOM!
The tower exploded! Burning roils
of black smoke billowed out like something out of Pearl Harbor.
Sirens wailed, and they sounded to
Strike like old fashioned, European claxons. Many Nazi SKULL soldiers rushed
toward the fire, and many began rushing toward Strike, drawing their weapons
and yelling in German!
OOC: Actions, please!
Fyi, you were surprised by the
onrushing jet, and couldn’t act for half a turn. They were all surprised by
your sudden appearance, and couldn’t act for a full turn. So this issue, you
acted and they didn’t.
Your element of surprise is now
over. Next issue, everyone will be able to act.
Current Condition:
Lightning Strike: Hit Points: 39,
Power Points: 69
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
OOC: I am speechless from shock.
Slate:
OOC: Jeff, to say I was shocked by the twist of events would be a huge understatement... always amazed at how you turn things around and surprise us. Great Job!
IC: Seeing the golden age heroes, Slate realizes what has happened. Being unaffected from being underwater, he will put his hands up in a symbol of surrender, and hold his action to see what happens.
Jon
--------------------------------------------------
Slingshot:
A couple of things:
!) I have a few extra rebreathers
as I asked last issue?
2) I'll convert back to a human
form and I'll use non-verbal communication to Sgt Stone to show that I'm not
hostile and that I want to give him a rebreather (by showing him mine and
handing him one of my extras
At this point, I assume that
Stone's military background would likely give him the most chances to
understand the non verbal gestures.
Not sure if I can do the above as
movement. If so, I'll add to entangle Lady Liberty and shove another extra
rebreather in her mouth.
--------------------------------------------------
Clone:
OOC: Being offered a revolver to
blow my own head off was an interesting twist to say the least lol
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC: Thanks everyone.
Slingshot: The answer to question
1 is yes. All of you have extra
rebreathers, as you requested.
Slate: I'm glad it was a surprise. Sometimes things seem obvious to me that
aren't. Other times, things seem unfathomable to me, and end up being quite
apparent. Glad this one worked.
Clone: Come on, I thought Clone
wanted to stop playing it so safe! It'll
only feel like dying. ;-)
Best
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
OOC:
Hi Jeff.
Well you got me again. Surely didn't see that coming... although I'd
bet money that had it been SKULL or the Uber-Men in control of the sub our
battle plan wouldn't have gone so easily and successfully :)
I'm pretty much on par with the
posts thus far. Fighting the Liberty
League isn't going to help anything here its just trying to figure out how to
convey we aren't the enemy in this environment.
I'd thought about hand signaling
so great thought by Stephane about Sgt Stone possibly 'getting it' and the idea
with the rebreathers was excellent. And
Jon with putting up the hands in surrender had also crossed my mind.
So Jeff at this point please
answer the following:
(1) anything prevent me from
reforming my shields to my knowledge. I
don't think I'm going that route here but wanted to know. Anything more you can tell me about my energy
dispersing that could help here?
(2) surely Kirk asked Gramps when
his mental abilities developed. Can
Lancaster read minds according to what Kirk knows about his development? Although Kirk cannot perhaps he can try to
project his thoughts and that would trigger Lancaster to come into his head...
is that a possibility?
(3) did Lancaster mention this
event when the Liberty League met heroes out of time. Is there anything that Kirk can put together
here from things Lancaster said that could help him to clear this up? Perhaps he mentioned meeting some heroes out
of time but didn't know it was Kirk (or at least tell him)... anything along
those lines that he said that could help here?
(5) Can't talk, but how about Kirk
forming a device with his energy to ping sound waves like sonar and transmit
something like 'friends... peace...allies' of something along those lines?
(6) I figure Kirk does have an
attack that would be so cool if it worked but really can't be used unless
things go real sour because it would just make things worse... he could attempt
to take control of Lancaster's energy and undo everything he is doing and thus
switch the positions between the two teams... but that isn't really doing to
help here... but might it be possible without wrestling full control to
manipulate the energy on the bubble in front of Lancaster to 'write his
message' of peace and this being a misunderstanding? In other words, he would start to write on
the energy bubble in front of him.
Let me know how some of these
options sound here.
And now that Kirk realizes that
they have been displaced in time, any clue as to how we detected the ring
through time?
Best,
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
GM:
OOC:
OOC:
Hi Seth. Answers to your questions:
"Well you got me again. Surely didn't see that coming... "
Thanks. I live to hear those words. :-)
"although I'd bet money that
had it been SKULL or the Uber-Men in control of the sub our battle plan
wouldn't have gone so easily and successfully :)"
Geez, even when your battle plans
succeed, you're not happy! ;-)
"(1) anything prevent me from
reforming my shields to my knowledge."
Nope.
"Anything more you can tell me about my
energy dispersing that could help here?"
Sure. Ruleswise: "Solid Energy Creations: The character
can shape some energy type (sound, light, electricity, fire, etc.) into solid
masses... a successful appropriate attack
to do so will disperse them immediately (examples: prism vs. light, water vs.
electricity, water vs. fire, etc.)"
You'll recall a "special
attack" means the character tries to do something special, and needs two
successful "to hit" rolls to succeed.
Gamewise: No one, not even Sentinel for some time, knew
that Sentinel's constructs were made out of Magic energy. Without that
knowledge, they could never attempt this "special attack."
Clearly, Mystic knows. His
"special attack" was done with his Dispel Magic spell.
"(2) Can Lancaster read minds according to what
Kirk knows about his development? "
Yes.
"Although Kirk cannot perhaps
he can try to project his thoughts and that would trigger Lancaster to come
into his head... is that a possibility?"
No, unless Lancaster is actively
trying to read your thoughts.
"(3) did Lancaster mention
this event when the Liberty League met heroes out of time. "
Never.
"Perhaps he mentioned meeting
some heroes out of time but didn't know it was Kirk"
Never.
"(5) Can't talk, but how
about Kirk forming a device with his energy to ping sound waves like sonar and
transmit something like 'friends... peace...allies' of something along those
lines?"
That could work.
"he could attempt to take
control of Lancaster's energy "
Kirk's not sure that's
possible. Kirk can only control energy
constructs that he has created. He can't
control other forms of energy.
The one exception was when he
controlled the energy constructs of Sentinel Omega, but that was because they
were the same person.
"but might it be possible
without wrestling full control to manipulate the energy on the bubble in front
of Lancaster to 'write his message' of peace"
Kirk could do this with Kirk's own
energy creations, ie: throw down a layer on Lancaster's translucent bubble and
have the words appear in Kirk's layer.
"And now that Kirk realizes
that they have been displaced in time, any clue as to how we detected the ring
through time?"
Symbiote, with his ingenious
scientific mind, or Slingshot, with his skills in Physics, Mathematics and
Multiverse Theory, or Slate, with his Heightened Sense of Comprehension, could
offer the following:
It's highly unlikely the Janus
Chair could detect the Ring through time when it was amplifying Sentinel and
Menagerie's powers to locate the Artifacts of Power. Otherwise all the previous locations of the
Artifacts would have been detected also.
And the Manta Craft certainly has
no time travel capabilities.
So the Manta Craft must have flown
into some disturbance/ fissure/ hole in the fabric of time, in order to end up
in the 1940's.
The Ring's energy signature from
the 1940's must have emanated through that fissure/ disturbance/ hole so that
it could be detected in 2014.
Best,
Jeff
--------------------------------------------------
Sentinel:
Kirk grabbed his rebreather and
placed it in his mouth and raised his hands as if to say 'surrender'.
Instead of immediately reforming
his energy shields as much as his instinct told him to do instead kept them
down as a gesture of peace to emphasize his next move and hopefully end this
futile battle before more damage is done.
Kirk summoned his energy and words began to be written on Lancaster's
shields. "Truce. We thought we were
attacking a Nazi occupied sub. We are heroes displaced in time and need your
help. Let's talk."
As soon as it appears it can be
done peacefully or if it appears his peace offering is rejected (hope not) he
will have his energy travel back to himself in its normal protective mode.
Hopefully it leads to he and
Lancaster stopping the battle and discussing things... and perhaps the greatest
team-up of all time as Vanguard and the Liberty League team up to save the
world. If Lancaster tries to read his
mind he offers no resistance. Also he
would immediately tell them about the situation above to see if they were
meeting allies or if we have another battle about to start.
If the time rift appears stable
perhaps the League can assist us with the final artifacts. (Hey, you put into
place the JLA/JSA team-up here and the standard formula is several heroes from
each team go together on the multiple missions - we can fight over who teams
with who :) - we can use the manpower )
Best,
Seth
--------------------------------------------------
Menagerie:
OOC: Since the chances are that
Menagerie will be one of the last to act, here is conversation he will have in
his C. Megalodon form.
Menagerie mind-spoke to
Archimedes; “What the hell are Mystic, Doc Rocket, and Sergeant Stone doing
here? I really hate the Ring of Eon but if they all ready had it why didn't you
tell me! What game is Mystic playing here?”
“Wait, some of the others think we
traveled back in time to WWII. So does that mean we need the stink’in ring or
not?”
“Hey Archimedes, any chance this
is THE Liberty League? Can you give me some kind of signal to let Mystic know
he should tell the Liberty League to quit kicking our collective ass.”
<Menagerie will pass on the
sign to any other PC that acts before him that is willing to make the signal,
if not he will make the signal when he changes forms>
OOC: This conversation is after he
changes forms.
Menagerie changes into human form
and sits on the bottom of Liberty League Sentinel’s bubble. He is sitting in
the lotus position and is prepared to hold his breath the split second the
construct disappears. He speaks and thought sends at the same time.
“Okay, I am confused. The sharks
told me their master required them to stay near the Nazi sub. I was sure that
U-Man was in the sub, where is he?”
“Any chance it is the Ubermensch
that are following you. It appears you had a shark lo-jack on your sub and you
didn't even know it. Considering there were enough sharks here to stop that
car-jacked Nazi sub they wanted you to lead them somewhere more than they
wanted to get that ring back”
“Hey, wait a minute. You fired
torpedoes on us when the sharks attacked us. Were you using the sharks to setup
a trap or are you really the Liberty League? Who played center field for the
Yankees in 1942? Anyone, don’t think about it, answer me now.”
Menagerie only thought sends this
to Vanguard, “If they don’t say Joe DiMaggio, attack!!!”
If they don’t answer but challenge
him back wanting Menagerie to answer, he will say (and thought send), “No, that
is your question but Charlie Keller played Left Field next to him. NOW ANSWER!”
If they answer correctly but
challenge him back wanting Menagerie to answer what his number was, he will say
(and thought send), “Uniform Number was 5, His Batting Average was .305, and He
hit 21 HRs. He was the Yankees “RBI Champion” with 114 RBI and “Hit King” with
186 hits but Charlie Keller was the “Home Run Champion” of the Yankees with
26.”
“Mystic, Archimedes wouldn't
appreciate the Lady of the Lake’s champion from the year 2014 being drowned by
the grandfather of the leader of his team. Any chance one of my teammates will
be allowed to hand me a rebreather before Golden Age Sentinel here decides to
try to drown me.”
“Doc Rocket, what do you think
about time travel? Do we risk destroying our time line or are we maintaining
it?”
“Hey Sarge, I hoped you enjoy
smashing Avatar! Trust me you really will enjoy it in the twenty-first
century.”
“Wow, American Eagle, is that
really you. You were my dad’s hero when he was a kid. Any chance I can get an
autograph. My dad would love to have it.”
OOC: Jeff feel free to use as many
or few and in any order that works best.
Thanks for the shock.
Tom
--------------------------------------------------
Avatar:
Avatar will try and use his Swimming
skill and superior (?) agility to evade his opponent, being non-threatening and
holding up his hands and making gestures of peace. If he cannot evade within a limited area, he
will take off in a straight line and try to use speed to stay out of reach.
--------------------------------------------------
Clone:
The Atlantic:
Blazing Glory said, “Oh. Okay…
I’ll try.” The teen concentrated with all her might and the water around Clone,
Sentinel, Manetti and Ortiz slowly started to boil! The two heroes and two
CHESS agents had enough time to figure out what was going on and swam away from
each other.
Clone, Ortiz and Manetti avoided
taking any damage. [She missed them all, due to their evasions.]
Sentinel was harmed by the
scalding water! [8 points of damage. Sentinel rolls with 5 and takes 3 from
hits.]
[OOC: Actions, please! Avatar and
Clone have saved actions, so please give orders for two actions, you two.]
Realizing that there wasn’t much
he could do to aid in an underwater fight, Clone took the reverse approach –
protect the members of his group that could fight. While swimming as fast as he
could towards Sentinel, Clone made sure that his rebreather was firmly in place
as he purged any water that may have entered his mouth after being thrown about
by the attacks of the Liberty League.
Reaching what he thought would be
a good mid-way point between Sentinel and the members of the League, Clone
turned to face the groups attackers and waved his arms back and forth as if to
tell them to please stop firing.
( OOC: If any of the members of
the League look like they’re about to attack him or Sentinel again . . . ) As
>insert attackers name< readies his/her attack, Clone makes one last
attempt to reach out to the members of the League by making a ‘V’ finger gesture
on both of his hands and waving them back and forth at the Liberty League. He
than thinks to himself, ”These were Earths greatest heroes? They can’t be this
blood thirsty . . . can they?”
( OOC: If anyone tries to attack
Sentinel, Clone will do his best to take the hit for his friend. Self-sacrifice
= reverse Evade??? )
The Vault:
Clone shared all the jumbled
memories of his time with the Soviet Super Soldiers as Alexi, the Collective,
the Rogue Clone and Clone. After a few hours, they estimated the best possible
coordinates: beneath the Kremlin! When Clone recovered the Spear of Destiny, he
would use his communicator to contact Mystic who would gate him back. The World
Storm had most satellites down, so it could take a while for Clone to contact Mystic.
Just before Mystic was ready to
cast the gate spell, he produced an old revolver from his robes. It looked like
it had seen action in WWII. “One more thing. Take this. If you’re in danger of
being captured, kill yourself. You’ll disintegrate and re-assimilate with your
Clone collective, and escape captivity and torture… Any questions?”
Clone hesitated for second and then
reach out towards the pistol being presented to him. He cradled the antique
fire arm with both hands and looked down at it with a look of uncertainty on
his face. He thought to himself, “Maybe Oracle is right . . . this might be the
single most craziest thing I’ve ever done. Can I actually do this?” The look of
uncertainty resting soundly on his face was quickly replaced by a look of grim
determination. His hands snapped closed firmly around the pistol as he thought
to himself, “I have to do this!” Clone than looked up and said to Mystic; in a
cold and confidant tone, “No . . . no questions.” The Master of Multiplicity
than spun the revolvers cylinder around quickly like an old-west gun-fighter
and took a mental note of how many rounds were inside of it ( OOC: Jeff, how
many rounds are in the weapon? ). As he held the revolver at his side, a
duplicate suddenly appeared next to him. He looked at the duplicate and then
back at Mystic and said with a wink, “Just in case.”
OOC: The duplicate will be sitting
back at the Vault – snug and secure .
Sorry for the late response - I
know I said it would be out yesterday; but unlike my weekend, my Monday started
off fast and furious. I need another weekend already . . .
Talk to you all soon,
-Kev
--------------------------------------------------
Lightning Strike:
Given that the flight deck now
seems to be blown up, it is time to work on the rest of the ship. Strike will move to the closest metal deck
plate and transmit himself into it. Once
inside the ship, Strike will disable the following systems in this order:
Communications - to prevent them
from reaching the rest of Vanguard
Navigation - to prevent them from
finding Vanguard
Weapons - to prevent them from
attacking Vanguard
Who said I never cared about the
team!
--------------------------------------------------
