The NEW Vanguard! The HAUNT Issue #4

"If I don't have the strength to take them out," The Haunt mutters to himself, "maybe I can outsmart them or damage them in some other way."

He looks around for a fire extinguisher. Maybe he can blind them or the powder used in it could jam up their gears.


"Run for it fools," he yells to the remaining folks, trying to use his acting ability to convince them to move out.

Haunt tries to be his most convincing to the remaining hostages, even as the Robotic Villains close in on him!

The glass at the desk was now well and truly bowed and splintered. Designed not to shatter, and to slow armed robbers as much as possible, it had withstood all it could from superhuman level pounding of steel boned fists!

"Run you fools!" shouted Haunt in his most menacing voice.

OOC Charisma check 2d10 → [4,2] = (6) Oh. Ouch. They stay put.

The glass explodes inwards, but mostly stay in one (shattered) piece thanks to the thin clear film over it. Immediately the robbers start scrambling over the desk as Haunt pulls a fire extinguisher from the wall. He faces two immediately, and the others are climbing over behind them. Despite that Haunt had shouted to the Hostages to leave, and the Robbers were focusing purely on the hero, the remaining hostages were too terrified to get up and go!

All of a sudden the Fire Extinguisher (OOC Foam these days. Powder is a no no in enclosed spaces for health+safety reasons...) didn't seem the best of weapons to use against these things - With normal human strength Haunt wasn't even sure how long he could hold the thing up!

OOC Initiative 2d10 → [7,10] = (17) 7 for Haunt, 10 for the Robots, but that's not enough to give them the drop on Haunt. He goes first. There are two robots 10 feet away, then another two behind them. They intend to attack as a team/pair which will make Haunt easier to strike... If there's a good thing Haunt can think of, it's that their attacks have been strictly nonlethal. They want him alive, and - possibly - aren't even bothered about the bank, though he may be wrong. But why?

Try blinding them with the foam and then get out of the office. Area Affect Attack? Stream? Not sure, whatever it is. Not sure if putting hero points into the attack will help or not or if I have to use a lot of them to help. IF it would be more than 25% of my current total, then no I won't put HP in, if less, I will.

Let's go with my original plan. He is also thinking maybe he wants to be captured and see what's going on and who is behind it but doesn't want to make it look too easy. He has a rep you know.

Haunt whips around the fire extinguisher, filling the room with foam and white mist...

HAUNT
HP: 96

OOC 2d10 → [10,2] = (12) With only a fire extinguisher vs infr a red and ultra violet vision of these guys, you'd need a great roll to fill the area and have a chance at obscuring their vision. Unfortunately, whilst the roll was ok, a double would've been more helpful. Thus...

The 'men' moved in, clearing the desk and the remnants of the shattered bulletproof glass then moved around Haunt. Amidst the fading white smoke he knew that what came next would be painful. But for him, or the foes he faced, he couldn't be sure.

OOC Initiative 2d10 → [6 Haunt,5 Bad Guys] Haunt goes first. His way out the front of the bank is blocked by these guys. Behind him there are more offices and a set of stairs guarded by a cage which is ajar and presumably leads to the vaults where precious items are stored in safety deposit boxes. That said, Haunt has the distinct impression they aren't here for money - the drawers are full of the stuff and untouched.

Time to dive, roll, dodge, weave, broken field run, swing from the chandeliers, slide along the polished floor, bounce off the walls Jackie Chan-style and otherwise attempt to escape out the front door.

Haunt used what prowess and powers remained to him after the mauling he'd taken in this cleverly sprung trap...

With an acrobatic leap, run and slide, he rolled, twisted and sprinted for the front door!

OOC I assume he's using his Acrobatics (5) to boost his dodge to 14 opposing value. Let's see if it's enough... Three attempt to grab Haunt physically, two attempt to blast him. The last moves towards the vault.

2d10 → [1,2] = (3)
2d10 → [9,4] = (13)
2d10 → [10,1] = (11)

Physical attacks all miss.

Neutralise attacks...

2d10 → [1,3] = (4)
2d10 → [1,9] = (10)

Both miss!

And just like that, Haunt broke free into the street! The lights from police cars momentarily dazed him, and he saw Police taking cover behind their cars with guns trained at the bank - and on Haunt!

"SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY!" bellowed a man with a megaphone... but Haunt was running amidst several escaping hostages so he felt reasonably sure they wouldn't open fire. That said, dressed all in white he was painfully aware of how much he stood out!

OOC For a round (4 seconds) Haunt has 'cover' from the hostages, but the police are in a horsehoe shape around the bank entrance with half a dozen cars and around 15 officers with guns.

Any shot at diving into another door to another store or such? Or a nearby alleyway?

"Robots disguised as robbers in the bank," the Haunt yells out as he looks for the nearest exit from the police.

The police were unsure of what to do - open fire on a seemingly unarmed man, with freed hostages running about?

Amidst much shouting, Haunt sprinted, vaulted over a cars bonnet (hood), barged past a couple of policemen and towards an alley across the street, his white form partially shielded by pedestrians who'd been held back by a police line. More shouts from behind, and the bark of a couple of police dogs!

What had turned out to be a big day for Haunt, or at least the man behind the mask, was turning out to be a bad one as well!

"Hey!" yelled a female voice from the shadows of an alley Haunt ran past. "This way!" Haunt caught a glimpse of a late teens goth girl, typically attired in gloom and doom clothes and makeup. Her face was even more worried and stressed than usual though. Why? Haunt had to make a quick choice - keep running for the alley or trust the girl and go her way?

Follow the girl.


ooc: Having problems with computer at home. Maybe a virus but even though I have lots of memory left in my hard drive, I am using 100% of my computer. My virus scanner was still loading after a half hour this morning when I left for work, so I probably will only be able to respond from work, so no weekend postings from me.

OOC If you can get into safe mode, click start and run, msconfig, then untick everything in the startup tab (which loads all the programs when windows starts). Maybe there's something nasty in there which is maxing out your computer. Would also recommend malware bytes anti malware (free), spybot search and destroy, and maybe restoring your computer to an earlier time, like as early as you can manage. That's generally what I do, along with full system scan in anti virus and the like. No anti virus is foolproof, but I've had less bother with Avast than I had with AVG or any others. Good luck with it.

The girl leads Haunt a merry chase down several alleys, then up a flight of fire escape stairs...

Breathing hard, she turns and sags against a wall. She has tears in her eyes. "Did you... did you see my girlfriend, Mart... I mean, Mighty Maiden? She went in there with her team mate, Bomber Jack. They... they were going to stop a bank robbery. Did... did you see them? Are they alright?"

Haunt looks back. The police have been thrown off for now, but the situation at the bank remains - some hostages still in there, including possibly two... he looked at the girl ... young, and maybe inexperienced supers. Probably depowered and in WAY over their heads.

Something nasty was going on here.

It was no bank robbery, rather a web of some kind, designed to draw the flies into a spiders clutches... with superheroes the flies in question!

ooc: I take it I didn't spot anyone in costume?

"Were they wearing costumes," the Haunt asks, wondering when his suit will finish rebooting and when his own powers will come back, "or went in in normal clothes?"

Meanwhile, he is going "Crap! Crap! Crap!" in his mind.

Depending on her answer will depend on whether the Haunt goes back and allows himself to be caught.

ooc: I managed to finally load my virus checker. Did the quick check that checks the "normal" areas viruses hit. Nothing showed up. Now doing the deep virus check, which may take a few days. Will try your suggestion after the check is done.

"Costumes, of course. They... we're not playing around with this stuff! They aren't beginnners.. well, I mean, they know their powers, stopped a few crimes." spluttered the girl.

"Oh no... what's going to happen to them? They have super powers. They'll be ok, right?" she wailed.

Haunt knew it was only a matter of time - and not long at that (OOC his regeneration is hard at work) - before his powers recovered.

He didn't see any costumes in the bank itself, which meant they must have been in the vaults below ground. Probably captive? Were they planning on going out of the front door, with all those police and hostages still about?

This was a mess.

If this was a trap for supers, these two kids had blundered into it, and Haunt had barely escaped it. But why? Were they killing them, or had they something nastier in mind?

OOC If Haunt hangs about for a minute or so he gets a recovery check. Assuming that doesn't fail (no double 1) he regains a power. Next round, roll another and so on. So basically in 1m 30s he *should* be back to himself assuming no rolls come up as a fail.

2d10 → [7,4] = (11)
2d10 → [7,4] = (11)
2d10 → [1,9] = (10)
2d10 → [9,8] = (17)
2d10 → [10,9] = (19)
2d10 → [1,9] = (10)

All Haunts powers are restored. A minute and a half has elapsed.

"Right. Guess I will go look for them then," the Haunt replies. He summons his Fog, transforms into a snake inside the Fog and slithers towards the bank, hoping his low profile will make him a bit harder for the robots to spot.

actions: slither in and try to slither down to the vaults.

As a great long white wyrm amidst a sudden and chilling fog, haunt would present a chilling countenance to any that come across him!

Instead he 'worms' his way through the drainage system and finds it simplicity itself to emerge in the bank, albeit by jutting from a toilet bowl!

Uncoiling from the undignified entrance, Haunt could reform into his natural form into the toilets of the bank. Setting the main door open a crack he peered out...

The bank was deserted, the counters and their drawers of money untouched. The hostages were gone. The police continued to call out from outside (in the fog) with a loudhailer. Casting a glance at the back offices and the stairwell that led to the depths of the bank and the vaults, presumably, Haunt knew the 'robbers' had gone that way, rather than risk their precious, depowered prizes to a random bullet.

They'd undertaken this whole endeavour to capture superhumans.

Haunt himself had almost fallen into that very trap! Why? He didn't know yet, but the fact that they ignored money seemed to suggest the amounts involved were beneath them, or they valued something else over money, if they intended to 'sell' the superhumans.

It was a mystery that needed solving before others were taken from the streets whilst in the act of rushing to aid others! For it seemed the trap that was set would attract heroic types... and the villains might run amok in their wake!

Haunt glanced at the stairwell again. Chances were they'd gone that way knowing there was an escape route. And they may have prepared traps for anyone who dared follow!

follow snakey form

Coiling down the stairs and into the vaults, Haunt noted that the villains appeared to have ignored the valuable contents...

It didn't take long to find what he was looking for.

The floor had been blasted through into the sewers, ancient and now unused remnants from the Victorian era. A high power energy weapon had been used to cut through the the floor and make good their escape!

There was no sign of either several missing hostages or the two superhumans that had been lured and depowered in much the same way Haunt had!

Knowing what the robotic enemies were capable of now, he knew that he had to fight smarter to stop his enemies!

Dropping into the sewers, he squinted through the darkness. Haunt couldn't see in the dark, which meant he couldn't be sure which of two directions the villains could have gone, or for any possible traps. Every moment he blundered blind through the sewers meant his foes could be getting away! He knew what means of escape they had prepared, seeing as they were fully prepared to take on just about any superhuman and take them as powerless prisoners for who knew what reason!

Any emergency flashlights somewhere in the bank that I might have passed? If not, will have to go outside and "borrow" one from a policeman - Fog in the area, quick grab and run back into the bank.

After I find a flashlight, use Detective Skill to help determine which way they went.

Finding nothing in the bank, Haunt had to pump out more fog and snatch one from a policeman with an elongated arm...

Going back down into the sewers below the bank, he shone the light around to look for a clue as to where they might have gone...

OOC Perception check...2d10 → [6,7] = (13) Finds a clue.

Detective 2d10 → [1,8] = (9) Not great, but Haunt can glean a couple of things from it...

Clue.. There's a smell like ozone in the air. Faint, fading, but it's unusual because it's strong enough to be smelled over the century old smell of a sewer.

Clue... The trace smell heads off in one direction. It's possible it's from a vehicle of some kind.

Haunt hears shouts above. The police have entered the bank, he guesses. In a minute or so they'll be down here after scouring the building. Despite the fog, they were intent on rescuing the hostages. If Haunt were here when they got here, they might even open fire on him!

Going bloodhound form, heading after the smell as quick as I can without losing the trace.

Forming himself into the shape of a ghostly white Bloodhound, Haunt wondered how effective his efforts would be...

A real bloodhound would have been handed something that belonged to the prey, then set about tracking it. Haunt wasn't a real Bloodhound, and he was trying to identify a scent of ozone in a century plus old sewer. Tricky.

Nonetheless, he set off, light shining through the darkness from the torch gripped in his mouth, even as he bent to sniff at the floor. When he came to a crossroad in the tunnel he wondered if his tracking scent would match up to that of the legendary animals' olfactory senses.

OOC Let's see. Analytical Smell/Tracking scent 9. His Self Manipulation allows him to mimic a physical object that can mimic certain mental abilities ... a long dog snout would qualify, I should think.

Roll 2d10 → [2,2] = (4) Argh, look at that ghastly... wait.. that's a double! 2d10 → [9,8] = (17) And that is a nice follow up.

With unerring instincts the ghost white dog follows through miles of tunnels at breakneck speed, hoping that he can catch the robotic villains before they get away.

The tunnels must have limited their own escape as Haunt rounds a bend and is careful to flick off his flashlight - there, cast against the light of day at the end of a sewer tunnel exit into the river Thames are a group of 'people' - some are hostages, two maybe three, Haunt thinks, and another two must be the costumed heroes lured to the Bank. The robots are taking no chances. Even as they hustle the captives out of the tunnel another turns and starts to plant what look to be explosive charges around the sewer exit...

Stretchy punching the robots.

ooc: The robots saw through his Fog, right? can't remember if they did or not. If not, he will bring up the Fog too. Doubt Aura of Fear will affect them so no using that.

Haunt summoned fog to cover his appearance and wound up his best punch...

Without the element of surprise on their side he hoped the robots weren't such a tough prospect. Correctly surmising his fear aura wouldn't affect them - they were programmed and cared little for human emotions - he figured the direct approach was the best bet.

OOC Attack...2d10 → [2,10] = (12) CLANG!

A superhuman punch slammed into one of the robots, sending it tottering back a few steps and leaving an indent where the punch had landed!

It hadn't gone down though - these things were tough enough to withstand bullets and mundane police weapons - the law officials wouldn't have stood a chance!

As if reacting to a pre-programmed set of parameters, the robots split up. Two of them strode back into the tunnel, levelling their nullify guns and lancing through the gloom with red infra red eyes...

OOC You got their attention. You wounded one, and two of the others are coming back down the tunnel towards you (hidden in the fog) ready to drop your powers again and claim a third prize... The others have dragged the hostages out of the tunnel to... something or somewhere else. A getaway vehicle? Initiative... Haunt goes first.