World War II - Putty Issue #1

"Ah! Jolly good! The bounders coming round!"

'With a splitting head, he's coming round' thought the man in the bed. With sleep weary eyes - having slept too much they weren't used to opening - he slowly came back to the world of the living. The smell of tobacco filled the room, and laughter. Clinking of glasses, idle chat, slapping of backs. It looked like Lance Allard was back in the world of the living! He looked about - he was in the sumptuous bedroom of a fine hotel, personal physician hovering around the bed, fussing with taking temperatures and pulses, and a nurse in the corner looked flustered. No wonder - half a dozen of his actor friends - idlers, loafers, lazy to a man, were sitting about drinking, smoking, laughing and pinching the nurses bottom every time she strayed to near. One adjusted his pencil moustache and called out "I say love, how's about you take my temperature, eh? I can guarantee I'll be hot under the collar if you come over!" The others burst into laughter and Allard saw the Doctor frown. The Doctor spoke gravely as he moved to the beds side. "Mr Allard. We moved you from the burns unit only yesterday to somewhere more comfortable. You've been... ah... injured. You might wish to prepare yourself for a shock..."

At those words his friends - well, more colleagues and sometime rivals actually - quietened down. One, Johnny Reeves-Martin, spoke up "Yes Allard old chap. We chipped in to move you here at great personal expense. The smell was damned awful at the other place. Old chap, you may find this hard to stomach but... you might not act again, given the nature of your injury..." The room suddenly went so quiet you could hear a pin drop...

OOC Strength Grade 1, Shapeshift Grade 1, Armour Grade 1 are your powers. You can interact as much, or as little as you like with your new host form, Lance Allard, Lance Corporal in the British Army. He's a high society actor type used to being around money, girls and fast cars. How he might adapt to having his face near burnt off is anyones guess...

PUTTY

At those words his friends - well, more colleagues and sometime rivals actually - quietened down. One, Johnny Reeves-Martin, spoke up "Yes Allard old chap. We chipped in to move you here at great personal expense. The smell was damned awful at the other place. Old chap, you may find this hard to stomach but... you might not act again, given the nature of your injury..." The room suddenly went so quiet you could hear a pin drop...

OOC Strength Grade 1, Shapeshift Grade 1, Armour Grade 1 are your powers. You can interact as much, or as little as you like with your new host form, Lance Allard, Lance Corporal in the British Army. He's a high society actor type used to being around money, girls and fast cars. How he might adapt to having his face near burnt off is anyones guess....

"Wha ... What are you talking about," Lance Allard croaked, his throat dry as a bone. "Water please!"

The nurse came over and poured him a glass and added a straw for him to sip through. He took a few swallows and then leaned deeper into his pillows.

"Burn Ward? Won't act again? Injuries? What are you saying? Wait! What happened to the play? Did the soldiers like my performance?" he asked with the actor's normal view of priorities, in the world that obviously revolved around him.

ooc: Gonna have Putty remain quiet for now and this be only Lance Allard. Once he meets the others, he will start remembering his other life.

Putty


The Doctor raised his hands. "That's enough now, my patient needs rest!" He ushered everyone out whilst Allard felt at his face, the bandages, and saw his hands similarly wrapped. His world turned upside down. This was the end! No more treading the boards, the cheers and clapping of the crowds, the cooing of pretty ladies as he rolled by in the flash cars!

The Doctor turned. "Sorry about that. There's a specialist come to see you, no one I know but I'm assured he's an expert in his field." He opened the door, called out to the corridor. A man in brown suit, immaculately turned out, stepped into the room, hanging his hat up and taking off his coat. "Changeable weather in these parts" he said, tight lipped smile as the Doctor left.

The newcomer turned. "Mr Allard, I'm Henry carter, a burns specialist. I've been called in to see how we can help you. First..." he said, reaching into his case and turning "Just a small jab." He held up a syringe and pulled the stopper off the needle, moving towards the bed.

'The shadows darken around this one!' screamed an insistent voice in Allards' mind!

PUTTY [probably soon to be known as Anyman]

'The shadows darken around this one!' screamed an insistent voice in Allards' mind!

"O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!" quotes Lance Corporal Lance Allard, as he grabs for the syringe.
Hamlet (I, v, 106)

"How now? A rat? Dead, for a ducat, dead!" he yells, trying to prevent himself from being jabbed.
Hamlet (III, iv, 23)

"What vile concoction is this," he demands.

Anyman


Anyman grabbed for the syringe (OOC roll 19) with a lunge for the bed and started spouted his Shakespearian phrases at the 'Doctor' as the jostled for possession of it. The jostling didn't last long! The Doctor fell across the room into a cabinet, and slid to the floor, righting his glasses and looking up at the man in the bed who now held the syringe.

"We see you. Did you think you would evade us, your highness? We sense you, smell you, hear you. The Shadows WILL darken, and your light will fade, traitor!" hissed the Doctor, rising to his feet and reaching inside his coat. By now his eyes gleamed red as he pulled the gun around.

"What vile concoction say you? Jam it in your arm or I'll..."

Eddy Charvers-Smythe stuck his head round the door all of a sudden. "Everything all... BLOODY HELL!" and he ducked back as the Doctor raised his arm and the gun...

OOC Couple of frames to Putty/Anyman...

ANYMAN

Eddy Charvers-Smythe stuck his head round the door all of a sudden. "Everything all... BLOODY HELL!" and he ducked back as the Doctor raised his arm and the gun...

OOC Couple of frames to Putty/Anyman...

Lance throws the syringe at the Doctor as he rolls out of bed. He then lunges at the Doctor and tries to deliver an uppercut to the man's chin.

Anyman
Lance Allard

The Doctor cries out as the syringe flies towards him, narrowly missing and jutting from the doorframe with a quiver, embedded deep up to the cylinder! (OOC roll 6, miss) Allard didn't pause to wonder about that, instead rolling from the bed and leaping over with the vigour of an athlete in his prime to deliver a solid uppercut to his foe! (OOC roll 15, hit)

With a terrific THUMP! the Doctor - or whomever he was - slammed against the far wall, and wiped blood from his mouth. That would be green blood... and his skin... It appeared to be oozing slightly! What in the...?

Somewhere deep inside, a presence within Allard knew what it was he was facing - a P'utinarian, save that it had been possessed by a shadow demon!

Allard knew little of that though - all he knew was that he felt in great physical shape and had some frustration to work off! SMECK! Another blow struck home (OOC roll 11, hit) and the Doctor reeled again, crashing into a dresser and knocking perfume bottles all over! There was a commotion from downstairs and at the doorway, still staring at the quivering syringe, Eddy Charvers-Smythe shouted "Give the bounder what for Ally!" He made sweeping motions with his fists, shadow boxing as he watched from the doorway. The Doctor was by now looking distinctly second hand, and he fumbled on the floor for the fallen gun, closing waxy oozing fingers around it!

Pulling the gun up, Allard heard Charvers-Smythe scream "NO!" a second before it went off! (OOC roll 17, hit) There was a boom from the gun, and Allard staggered back, clutching his chest. Hurt like the devil except... except... He pulled his hand away, bullet between his fingers and rubbed where the bullet had slammed against his chest and not penetrated.

Not penetrated?

OOC Putty took 11 Htk, 5 Htc reduced to 2 and 1 by dividers of /4 Htk and /3 Htc. For future reference when in combat with someone just let me know if you want to dodge/parry and I'll sort that out. For this time round it's a 'revelation' moment...

The Doctor looked at Allard, eyes wide then at the gun. Charvers-Smythe stared open mouthed and was pushed forwards as the others barged into the room. Suddenly the Doctor was outnumbered! He hissed, looking at the others. "You may think you've beaten me, but you have no idea the forces ranged against you, Shadow Prince!". He looked about to leap, though whether at Allard or for the window was unclear...

Anyman
Lance Allard

The Doctor looked at Allard, eyes wide then at the gun. Charvers-Smythe stared open mouthed and was pushed forwards as the others barged into the room. Suddenly the Doctor was outnumbered! He hissed, looking at the others. "You may think you've beaten me, but you have no idea the forces ranged against you, Shadow Prince!". He looked about to leap, though whether at Allard or for the window was unclear...
.

Lance Allard ripped most of the bandages from his face. They were blocking some of his view of the world. A heavily burned face was revealed. Strangely, Lance wasn't really feeling any pain from the burns. Perhaps the morphine they gave him?

"You must be a Kraut spy," Lance snarled in his best tough guy voice. "Looks like you bit off more than you can chew, this time!"

With that, Lance went back in swinging, not letting the other have a chance to run away.

ANYMAN
Lance Allard

His friends gasped at the sight of Allards face. One, Charlie Belvedere-Johnson, swooned, fainting on the spot! "Oh well, that's Sundays japes with the local Nurses buggered then, shan't be taking him!" muttered another one of Lance's 'friends'.

The 'Doctor' hissed, levelling the gun at Allards head again... then suddenly thought better of it! He collapsed like water, save he was some kind of gray ooze, and started to slip through the gaps in the polished wood floorboards of the bedroom! More gasps, splutters of amazement from his friends. Allard could see this Nazi spy - whomever it was and however it was he was doing this - was clearly something he'd never encountered before, even though he'd marvelled as a lad at tales of the great Houdini and what he could do!

The spy was getting away! How could Allard capture the swine?!?!

ANYMAN

The spy was getting away! How could Allard capture the swine?!?!.

Lance Allard tried grabbing the gray ooze with little luck. Frustrated, he punched the floorboards as hard as he could.

"Gadzooks," he exclaimed, as he realized he punched a large hole in the floor. Shrugging and willing to wait until later to figure out why he could do it, he started tearing up the floorboards in order to make a hole large enough for him to drop through and continue the chase.

"Hurry Watson! The game is afoot," he yelled at his actor friends. "Don't just stand there you ninnies! Go get some soldiers or a bobbie to help catch this guy!"

ANYMAN
Lance Allard

Allards friends simply stood there. One dared to stammer "Lance? What in the bloody blue blazes are you doing to the floor?" Allard was crumpling wood up like paper, with his friends gaping. Some were looking at his burnt features, others the fact he's slammed a fist into the floor and holed it, yet more that the phony Doctor guy had turned into some kind of human puddle and oozed through the floor. One eventually left the room to go for help, but he wasn't sure what the heck he'd tell a policeman - who would believe it?

Another, Jonathan Woodbine-Stockton moved forward a step. "What's happened to you Ally? You... you're..."

SMASH!

Another fist slammed into the floor, and the CRACK! of splintering wood signalled his breaking through into the floor below. Allard saw the 'Doctor' reforming and making his way across the room! The man was clearly 'not a man' but it wasn't clear yet just what he was! At least to Allard anyway...

As the Doctor reached the door he heard Allard drop to the room below him and he turned. "You won't win. Time will repeat itself. This is just the start!" As Allard lunged forward, the Doctor plunged something into his mouth, biting down hard. Allard caught a glimpse of a bubbling vial, then hissing - the Doctor screamed, and a smell of burning flesh began to fill the room!

He was being eaten from inside by acid!

The others thundered down the stairs to arrive as the Doctor turned into a puddle of steaming liquid, leaving Allard to stand over the remains with a brutally scarred face and a few questions of his own to answer...

The door in the hallway opened as Allards chum returned, a red faced Policeman in tow. "Ello, Ello? What's all this then?" he exclaimed, coming into the living room and seeing the whole in the ceiling. "Bloody hell! Your face!" he cried out when he saw Allard. He turned to Bertie Simmonds, who'd collared him as he passed on his bicycle. "What's this about a Doctor who isn't a Doctor then, eh? What's been going on here? I'd best get some details..."

ANYMAN

The others thundered down the stairs to arrive as the Doctor turned into a puddle of steaming liquid, leaving Allard to stand over the remains with a brutally scarred face and a few questions of his own to answer...

The door in the hallway opened as Allards chum returned, a red faced Policeman in tow. "Ello, Ello? What's all this then?" he exclaimed, coming into the living room and seeing the whole in the ceiling. "Bloody hell! Your face!" he cried out when he saw Allard. He turned to Bertie Simmonds, who'd collared him as he passed on his bicycle. "What's this about a Doctor who isn't a Doctor then, eh? What's been going on here? I'd best get some details..."
.

"Um ...," Lance muttered. "I think this pile of goo on the floor is some kind of weird Kraut monster. He just tried to kill me. My mates and I almost caught him when he drank something that turned into ....that!"

He points at the steaming puddle of ... whatever it is.

Noticing the shocked looks around him, he gathers up the tatters of his bandage and winds it up and around his face as best he can.

"And if I'm right, that he was a Kraut, then I think this might be a military matter, don't you? After all, I'm a soldier. A lance corporal to be exact so I think my superiors need to know about this." Of course, his immediate superiors are all part of the entertainment company and not real soldiers but they were probably better than a policeman might be, they would have someone they could call and pass this on to.

Lance feels a bit strange as he winds the tattered bandage around his face. It feels like he is actually moving his burns around but he can't tell without a mirror and without removing the covering bandages.

ANYMAN
Lance Allard

The Policeman looks doubtful but on hearing you are an enlisted man gives some measure of respect. "Be that as it may sir, if what you said was true about the... whatever... being some kind of Nazi spy then the appropriate authorities will have to be told. Who they are I don't know, but I will have to make some calls to my station house. No one leave please."

As the policeman goes into another room of the house to make a call, the room Allard and the others are in comes alive, buzzing with shock and adrenaline after what they'd seen. Most were still trying to come to terms with it, but all had been mightily impressed with Allard.

"Whatever else that accident did, it seems to have given you the strength of an Ox!" "Never seen the like Ally, the Nazis'll rn scared of you.. I mean, not because of your face, your strength I mean. Uh..." "Terrific right hook..." "Did you see when he swallowed the acid?" went the various conversations...

As the conversations continue, the policeman comes back into the room. "I'm going to have to confine you gentlemen here until the authorities get here. They were alarmed when I mentioned the Kraut, and I was told they would send someone about the other things..." he said, looking up at the hole in the ceiling and the puddle on the floor. "Till then, how about a cup of tea and we get some names and details, eh? No one is to leave this room, save when they are accompanied by me."

OOC Allard may have to relate more than he's willing to let on - you want to hang around and see who turns up to see him, or does Allard have places to go?

ANYMAN
LCPL LANCE ALLARD

OOC Allard may have to relate more than he's willing to let on - you want to hang around and see who turns up to see him, or does Allard have places to go?

OOC: Actually? I think he will wait around and see who shows up.

As the conversations continue, the policeman comes back into the room. "I'm going to have to confine you gentlemen here until the authorities get here. They were alarmed when I mentioned the Kraut, and I was told they would send someone about the other things..." he said, looking up at the hole in the ceiling and the puddle on the floor. "Till then, how about a cup of tea and we get some names and details, eh? No one is to leave this room, save when they are accompanied by me."

"Well, in that case, let's go now," Allard tells the policeman. "After all that has just happened, I have to really really go to the Loo!"

"Yes sir, then follow me, please sir," the policeman says as he leads Allard to the end of the hall to where the Loo is.

"I'm not a 'sir'," Allard says as they approach the door to the Loo. "I'm a lance corporal. Sirs are officers like yourself."

The Bobbie grins and then motions for Allard to wait while he checks to make sure the Loo is empty and that the window is too small to climb out of, and it is.

"I'l be right outside here, lance corporal, if you need anything."

"Thank you." Lance goes in and does his business then he goes to the sink and the mirror over it.

He unwraps the tattered bandages around his head and gets a good look at himself. He gives out a cry and sinks to the floor.

"Are you alright in there," the policeman asks, tapping on the door. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no! J-just go away," Lance says, barely controlling his sobs. "I-I just saw wha-what my face looks like."

There is silence on the other side of the door as Lance sobs quietly.

"Take your time, sir," the policeman says quietly. "When you are ready ...."

"Thank you," Lance moans.

The next few minutes are hard ones for Lance as he unwraps his hands and find blackened burned flesh and not his long expressive fingers he once was so proud of. The cries go on for some time. Finally, he gets control of himself and raises up from the floor where he had been slumped.

He fills the sink with water and splashes it on his burnt, ravaged face, washing away his tears. Flakes of burnt skin peel from his hands and faces as he does so.

Slowly he lightly scrubs his face. As he pulls his hands down over his eyes and onto his cheeks, he once again opens his eyes to see something remarkable! Flesh is growing on his face!! Where his burnt blackened hands move, healthy pink flesh seems to appear.

"G-Good Lord," he exclaims, in disbelief! He gently runs his hands all over his face and then the top of his head - hair appears!! But not his!!

It is the dirty blond hair of the policeman waiting outside the door!

And his face! Also not his! He pokes and prods it and it seems to mold into the features of that self-same policeman!!

Lance just stares in shock!! He turns left and right, trying to see all of his new face, not believing what he is seeing.

*Knock* *Knock*

"Sir? Are you okay," the policeman says on the other side of the door. "I have a doctor here now with me, sir. You know ... in case you feel the need to ... er ... relax a bit."

"I t-think I'm fine now," Lance stutters a bit. "Just give me a few more moments and then I will be out."

"Whatever you say, lance corporal."

"I can't go out like this," Allard mutters to himself. "No one would believe this face. Not MY crowd anyway! Well ... maybe Reggie would, he believes just about anything!"

Thinking of his pal Reggie, Allard again runs his hands over his face and then looks into the mirror. Staring at him is the face of Reggie!!!

"Unbelieveable!!!"

He spends the next couple of minutes re-arranging his face into the faces of everyone he can think of. He then giggles, not sure of his sanity anymore.

Another knock on the door and another question as to when he is coming out.

"Two minutes," Lance calls out in a bright, gay voice.

Moving quickly, he re-bandages his head making sure he can see a bit better this time. He then exits the room to find the policeman, a doctor and two orderlies standing nearby.

ANYMAN
Lance Allard

Allard moved into the large living room to be checked over with the others. The shock of what had happened was sinking in now, and most were nursing brandies whilst the Doctor and the Nurses checked pulses, took details and made sure everyone was alright. Time passed. Eventually, the policeman standing guard at the door was tapped on the shoulder by another one who had been stationed outside, and the door opened to let in a striking looking woman who looked about, a stern expression on her face. A series of non-descript looking fellows in suit and bowler hat filed into the house and started taking notes, photographs and so on. She gave orders quietly and turned to address those in the room. "I'm Emma Steed these are the Peelers, a special division of the Government. What you saw here today was classified and not to be repeated in any circumstances!"



"I say. Peelers, what? Aren't they the old style police force?" asked Kenneth Malhaven, one of Allards chums. "The name was going spare so I took it up again. Any onjections? I thought not. Now be quiet and do as you're told. Everyone into the other room for debriefing, that includes you Constable." she said in a clipped well educated voice.

"What? By jove I'll not be..." started the Policeman until the woman brandished an ID card in his face. He paled visibly, "Aye, ma'am. Come on you layabouts! You heard the lady! She's in charge!"

Allard started to rise and follow his friends, but the woman sat down on the arm of a chair and said "Not you Mr Allard. I have questions for you..."

Once the others had gone, she gestured for Allard to sit. "Now then, tell me EVERYTHING. It's vitally important you miss nothing out, no matter how trivial or unimportant. The safety of the nation depends on it!" She raised an eyebrow. Did the woman suspect something? That Allard wasn't... normal?

ANYMAN
LCLP LANCE ALLARD

Once the others had gone, she gestured for Allard to sit. "Now then, tell me EVERYTHING. It's vitally important you miss nothing out, no matter how trivial or unimportant. The safety of the nation depends on it!" She raised an eyebrow. Did the woman suspect something? That Allard wasn't... normal?

"You mind showing me that ID card," Allard asked. "I already had one person pretend to be something he was not."

Emma Steed pulled her ID card out and handed it to him. He looked it over carefully, trying to figure out if it was a forgery or not. But since he had no skills in forgery, it looked okay to him.

"Where do you want me to start," he asked, handing back the ID card.

"Start with you collapsing during the play. Do you know how or why you collapsed," she asked.

"No. I was just about to drink the "formula" that was supposed to change me from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde," he said. "Usually its either tea or something a bit stronger, depending on who bribed the props man that day."

"I'm a pretty quick change artist, you see, and the make up for the change was behind the "lab table". Have you ever seen my performance? Quite good I must say in all humility," Lance replies with a practised smile, the ham in him starting to come to the front.

"Never mind that," the woman says frostily. "Details, not reviews!"

"Haurrrmmph!!!"

"I was holding up the beaker when all of a sudden, things started going black. I remember starting to brace myself against the table to keep from falling and then ..... nothing. Not a blessed thing until I awoke today to find my friends all gathered round me and telling me I couldn't be an actor anymore."

He frowns at the memory.

"I was confused and had a bad case of dry mouth. The nurse gave me some water to sip. At least, I think it was water. This doctor came in and wanted to give me a shot. Something in me warned me that he was dangerous and to not let him give me that shot. I grabbed his arm to prevent him from giving me the shot, we tussled. I got out of bed and started fighting him. He then ... he ... well, you won't believe me but he changed from a human being and turned into some kind of goop and oozed down between the floorboards to the room below."

Lance swallows as he remembers the scene.

"I figured he was a super Kraut of some kind and went after him, broke through the floor to get to him. Told my mates to get the police while I was doing that."

Emma Steed's eyebrows go up slightly at Allard claiming to tear up a floor as if it wasn't any big deal or that he didn't give it a thought.

"I dropped down while the others ran down the stairs and entered the room through the door. He pulled out a vial of something and drank it just after giving a quick speech; something about not winning this time and time repeating itself. Whatever he drank seemed to dissolve him from the inside out! That's pretty much what happened."

He looks at the woman to see how she reacts to his story.

"Tell me Lance Corporal Allard," she says after a bit of thinking, "do you normally tear up floors with your bare hands?"

Allard blinks at the question. His eyes showing confusion and a bit of fear.

"No. No I don't," he whispers. He starts doing a washing motion with his hands, his bare blackened burnt hands, as he had to use the bandages from them to help rebuild his head bandage. He stares at nothing as he tries not to think much at this point. "I don't know how I did that or anything else."

But Emma Steed notices something remarkable.

Each time he "washes" his hands, they change from burnt blackened hands to healthy hands and back again.

ooc: Currently at this level of just getting shapechange, I am having him to have physically do something to make the changes. It will become instinctive later.

OOC Nice interaction between the pair of you - feel free to continue filling in blanks...

ANYMAN
Lance Allard

The card had said MI6. Allard had heard rumours of such an organisation, but basically they outranked anyone when it came to the defence of the nation. Some - brave - newspapers had mentioned the organisation in passing as the SIS or Secret Intelligence Service. A smaller subtitle had read 'Department of Intelligence and Counter Espionage'. Seemed a bit of a mouthful.

Steed kept her face neutral. "And your hands? I've seen them, and if it's some trick, or sleight of hand you're pulling, it's an impressive feat. You know what I think Allard? I think you should come with me. And by that, I mean, you WILL come with me. I don't want to have to pull rank on you Lance-Corporal, but I'm a Captain in the armed forces, amongst other things. In other words, it's an order. Grab your stuff and be ready to move in 5 minutes."

She stood, straightened the leather jumpsuit she wore, ignoring Allards admiring glance of her sleek form. "You have an opportunity to help your country more than anyone else has ever done, and believe me, we need all the help we can get!" She rubbed her eyes, clearly having gone without sleep for the last day or two. "Mr Allard, King and Country call. Will you answer?"

ANYMAN
LANCE ALLARD

Steed kept her face neutral. "And your hands? I've seen them, and if it's some trick, or sleight of hand you're pulling, it's an impressive feat.

Lance looked down at his hands when she mentioned them, his eyes widening at what he saw! "I ...."

You know what I think Allard? I think you should come with me. And by that, I mean, you WILL come with me. I don't want to have to pull rank on you Lance-Corporal, but I'm a Captain in the armed forces, amongst other things. In other words, it's an order. Grab your stuff and be ready to move in 5 minutes."

She stood, straightened the leather jumpsuit she wore, ignoring Allards admiring glance of her sleek form. "You have an opportunity to help your country more than anyone else has ever done, and believe me, we need all the help we can get!" She rubbed her eyes, clearly having gone without sleep for the last day or two. "Mr Allard, King and Country call. Will you answer?"

"I didn't know I could do that," he muttered.

He snapped to when she revealed she was a Captain and gave out her orders.

"For King and Country, Ma'am!"

He blinked and thought for a second.

"Actually, ma'am, I don't know if I have any 'stuff' here. It all depends on whether my acting friends though to bring anything for me to wear. I'll go upstairs and check and see if anything is in the closet."

He saluted, which felt silly since he was wearing a hospital gown, and then left to find if he had anything else to wear.

He was ready to leave when Steed gave the word a few minutes later.

ANYMAN
Lance Allard

The next couple of hours were a blur. Taken from the building and stashed into the back of a car with windows that were blacked out, and a partition blocking off the view through the front, Allard wondered what the heck he'd let himself in for. "Don't worry. We're all new at this. Whatever it is that the 'Doctor' could do is only the tip of the iceberg, but the less I tell you the better. You'll find out more over the coming days.

Except he didn't.

Outfitted in a plain government issue suit, left to recover from his wounds in what amounted to a prison - a small room, newspapers and food brought whenever he needed them, and a constant guard at the door left Allard in little doubt that he was, in fact, a guest at his majesties pleasure. Still, they'd not tried to stick him with needles, and despite not being forthcoming with information, the soldiers had been chatty enough, mostly about what they'd like to do to the 'Hun'.

=========

"Mr Allard?"

He was awake in a moment and looked up from his bed. "This way, soldier." said Captain Steed. She looked rather fetching - and imposing - in army greens, her full uniform of jacket, skirt, shirt and cap bring her an air of authority, especially as the soldiers they passed in the corridor of this place saluted when she passed.

Allard looked about. He'd seen very little, having had a hood put over his head when taken into this place. It looked, for all the world, like a stately home or manor. The Captain smiled tightly. "Might as well let you know. It's called Bletchley Park. We're in one part of it, an annexe. Lots of hush hush things going on here, best you don't know too much. Even I don't know all that goes on in here. We're going to see some scientists. We've had reports of strange occurrences, all of which happened within the rough area of this place, give or take a hundred miles. Coincidence? We have no idea. All we know is that Doctor Henry Carter is not whom he seems." She turned, stopping at a door and looking at the Corporals bandaged face. "And neither, I suspect, are you." She opened the door to admit the pair of you inside.

A soldier nodded to the Captain and allowed you to pass through another door, where you were both patted down and the Captain handed in her sidearm. The soldiers looked all business, and there were no salutes from here on in.

Down a corridor, passing several doors, then steps.

A lot of steps.

Into the bowels of the earth beneath Bletchley park walked the pair...

=========

"Come in."

The Captain opened the door, the pair of you having gone through another checkpoint. You both now wore white coveralls, gloves, and boots. The place looked cold, tiled, sterile. Somewhere, in the distance, an explosion went off.

Half a dozen scientist types worked in this place. Each was at a bench, pouring liquids into vials, some making notes, others operating complicated looking machines. One looked up "Ah Captain. The Brigadier is waiting."

Walking through the place, the underground and secret nature of the place making Allard wonder what on earth he was doing here, the Captain and her charge followed the scientist to where a man leant over a table. There was a smell of formaldehyde in the air. He loeokd up, several other scientists around the table continuing to work. "Steed. You must be... Allard?" said the man, a fellow in his fifties. He didn't look army, but there was something about him. "Brigadier Dawson. In charge of the Department of Intelligence and Counter Espionage, or at least this section of it. Forbes is the man in charge of the other half. I hear you may be of some interest to me." he glanced at Steed who nodded, and waved the pair of you to an office. Everywhere Allard looked in this place, scientists went about their business. On the table there had been a body, cut open down the middle and in the process of being examined.

Seated in the office, the Brigadier sat in his chair and poured a whisky for each of you.

He stared at Allard. "Tell me EVERYTHING." he ordered. "Lives depend on it."

ANYMAN
LCPL ALLARD

Seated in the office, the Brigadier sat in his chair and poured a whisky for each of you.

He stared at Allard. "Tell me EVERYTHING." he ordered. "Lives depend on it."

LCPL Allard sits up straight at attention in his chair and doesn't take a sip of his whisky until the general does. He then begins to speak, pretty much repeating word for word what he told Captain Steed.

"Too bad she is a Captain," he mused to himself. "Would have liked to have asked her out. But she is a no-no for this enlisted man!"

"So you didn't take this "formula"," Brigadier Dawson asked, "you passed out before drinking it in the play?"

"That's correct, sir."

"Hmmph! So that's a dead end." The Brigadier takes another sip of his whiskey and thinks for a few minutes and Allard follows, still sitting at attention.

"Oh relax man," the Brigadier growls. "You will think better if you sit back!"

Allard reluctantly sits back a bit in his chair.

"You have never shown any unusual strength in your life before fighting this ... doctor? None at all?"

"None that I can recall, sir. I didn't even notice it when I was doing it, sir. It seemed ... natural? ... to have that strength and so not even notice it. I don't know why that would be."

The Brigadier grunts and makes some notes.

"You said prior to this attack, that the nurse gave you water. What you thought was water, correct?"

"Yes sir. I was groggy, having just woken up, very dry mouthed and in a bit of pain, not much pain but some and asked for water. She poured it out of the pitcher on the stand next to me and let me sip through a straw. It tasted like water or at least I think it did."

"Hmmmm ... check the water, check the pitcher, check the glass and the straw," the Brigadier mutters as he writes notes to himself. "Check the nurse. Check samples of everything that burned in the fire. Probably too late to do that but we can try. Was the nurse very pretty?"

Lance blinks at that, his eyes widening.

"Good Lord! I didn't even notice! That's ... that's not like me," he stammered. "I MUST have really been out of it at that bit, not to notice if I had a pretty nurse or not!"

The Brigadier chuckled.

"Did you ever meet the doctor before?"

"No sir! Never in my life that I can recall. But I got the strangest feeling that it was me he was targetting and not just some random patient. It could be because of my fame as an actor but as much as it hurts my pride, I'm not that famous an actor, so why would he go for me?"

"Yes, why? You were doing morale shows at camps before this happened. Nothing of real military importance or value. No secrets kept in your head. Nothing. And this talk of not winning this time, like you have fought before. Are you sure you don't know what that is about?"

"Absolutely sure, sir! He didn't seem to be a jealous boyfriend or outraged brother looking to get me for ... er ... spending time with his girl or sister."

The Brigadier stares at Allard, seeming to try to look inside his brain.

"Captain Steed tells me that you can do something strange with your hands. Tell me what she means," he says finally.

Allard shifted uncomfortably.

"Sir," he says slowly, "I didn't even know I was doing it. And I don't even know how I do it! I can ... somehow ... change the appearence of my hands."

He slowly pulls the soft kid gloves off that he had been wearing to reveal his blackened burned hands, more like claws than hands. He slowly rubs his left hand down along his right hand, from wrist to fingertips. As his hand passes over the other hand, healthy pink flesh appears.

The Brigadier grunts and gets out of his seat and comes closer for a better look.

"You are not using some kind of slight of hand magician's trick to do that, are you," he demands.

"No sir. I just think it and carress my hands and it happens," Allard says. "I don't know how or why! Watch this, sir!"

He rubs his right hand over his left hand from wrist to fingertips and healthy black flesh appears.

"By Jove!"

"Any color I want, I can make," Allard said. He then rubs his hands from fingertips to wrist and they go back to being the blackened burned hands he normally has. "I'm not sure but I think I can change my fingerprints too. At least to my untrained eye, it looks like the swirls on my fingers change."

"Fascinating! Any pain when you do that? Strange tingles in the hands? Dizziness? Anything?"

"My brain kind of tingles as does my hands," Allard admitted. "That isn't all, general. I discovered something else I can do shortly after the fight with that strange doctor. If you will give me a moment?"

The Brigadier waves his permisson, reaching over for his notepad, while Allard walks over to the mirror in the room. He slowly starts unwrapping the bandages around his head, slowly revealing his ruined face and burnt naked head. He positions himself so that the general is in his view in the mirror.

Slowly, he runs his hands over his burnt naked head and short cropped gray hairs appear, mimicing the Brigadiers hair but in reverse since he is looking at him in the mirror. He then runs his hands slowly over his face and when he drops them, he looks exactly like Brigadier General Dawson. He turns and faces the Brigadier.

"I also can do this," he said in a close approximation of the general's voice [having not yet been told he has vocal mimicry or any of the other skills I wanted when we upgraded]. "I can take the face of anyone I know and have seen for a bit. I may be able to even shape my body to resemble that person but ... well, frankly, Brigadier, I've been afraid to try that. What if I can't change back? Or what if it is really painful?"

He gives something of a helpless shrug and stands there while the Brigadier gapes at him.

ooc: Like the idea of Allard keeping the head bandages, ala the Invisible Man, and wearing soft kid gloves, probably dressing like the Invisible Man most of the time. That would be the ham in him taking on the role and costume. I'm sure DICE can easily come up with a quick removing, zippered head bandage for him later on.

ANYMAN
Lance Allard

The Brigadier leans back in his chair, filling up his pipe whilst never taking his eyes from the bandaged man. "I hope you realise..." he said, in between puffs of the recently lit pipe "... what this means to your life as you know it."

"Lance Allard must die."

He held up a hand, so he could continue "Everyone who knows you must be convinced, and believe, that you died somehow. Now enough have seen you already to know you survived your accident, so it'll have to be another way - a car wreck, for example. Tragic, especially given what had happened to you. After that, we'll train you. If you can do what you've just shown me, you'll be more valuable to this war effort than a hundred soldiers, young man! First though, there must be some explanation as to how you got these amazing abilities. We will need to run tests, make notes, and see if there are any more out there. There is one thing..."

Steed stood and walked over, sitting on the corner of the desk. "If I may, Brigadier? We tried to look for any connection that could be made between you and others like you. We came up with one. You just came out of a week long coma and we've found three more like you, and are chasing up leads on the others. One of those we investigated was an old man - unfortunately these things are rather hit and miss when you set a room of women calling every hospital and surgery in the land. The old man slipped back into his coma and died. We have agents en route heading to several locations and hope to find... I don't know, even one more like you would be more than we have. After that...?"

She turned to the Brigadier "After that" he said "We take the War to the Nazis."

He stood, dusting himself down. "There are consent forms to sign. Your country asks you to give everything you have, including your life if necessary. In return we will make you a hero, albeit one no one can know about. Are you ready to be the Vanguard of a new breed of soldier, Allard?"

ANYMAN
LCPL LANCE ALLARD

The Brigadier nodded "By god, if we haven't only gone and gotten our first superman..." he poured drinks all round, muttered "To the Vanguard!" and downed it.

=========

Hours later the Brigadier, again in white coat and clothes of a scientist, sat in a room with a select few others. "Professor Albert Von Martens, from the University of Amsterdam, now a member of the SIS and DICE. Dr Gerald Mathers-Warren, renowned scientist and an expert in the field of a science called Genetics. He works with Oswald Theodore Avery, Colin McLeod and Maclyn McCarty, all civilian scientists and experts in their field, but they know nothing of Mathers-Warrens' dual life. And this is Elizabeth Hope, a leading researcher on powers of the mind. She has some interesting theories, unproven as yet, but we believe her research may be very valuable. All have been cleared for the highest need to know clearance about you. Outside of this room, only the Prime Minister and the First Lord of the Admiralty know about the Nazi menace. None as yet know that we intend to combat it with superhumans of our own."

"Superhumans is such a... juvenile term. We prefer homo-metasapien superioris" said Elizabeth Hope. "Our experiments have been unsuccessful thus far but we hope to find out what makes you so different, what you can do, and train others like you. That said, the term meta-human will do for now until we find something else."

Captain Steed spoke up "What if, sirs, Mr Allard is unique?"

It was a question those in the room squirmed over.

"Let's hope he's the start of something eh?" said the Brigadier. "Being able to change his appearance will make him the ultimate spy! And with a little training, he'll be able to blend in anywhere - we may end this war before it's even started! Chin up, eh lass?"

"Yes sir." said Steed, rather glum. She brightened. "He did mention in his reports that he smashed wood like it was made of paper!"

Von Martens spoke up "Ve shell hef to see, eh? I vud like you to test your strength. Let's see. Hend me thet chair please Gerald."

Mathers-Warren obliged, and carried the chair over, setting it down. "It's a heavy thing, for sure." he remarked. "I don't know. See if you can...lift it over your head?" The old oaken chair did look heavy. Still, Allard felt good about what he'd done. It felt natural, and more than that - like it was merely the tip of a large iceberg with regards his abilities!

ANYMAN
Lance Allard

Mathers-Warren obliged, and carried the chair over, setting it down. "It's a heavy thing, for sure." he remarked. "I don't know. See if you can...lift it over your head?" The old oaken chair did look heavy. Still, Allard felt good about what he'd done. It felt natural, and more than that - like it was merely the tip of a large iceberg with regards his abilities!

Allard picked up the chair and using one of its legs, tried balancing it on one finger. He was able to do it for a few moments before it started overbalancing and he had to grab the leg with his hand.

"Could I have gotten my powers during a huge electrical storm," he asked the scientists. "Was there a comet smashing through our atmosphere and we breathed in its gases? An eclipse with a huge sunspot? How far away from me were the others who fell into the same kind of coma? Am I radioactive?"

With his questions, he demonstrated he at least had some passing knowledge of scientifiction.

"And ... If I am going to be the first of what we hope will be many, shouldn't I have a chance to become a commissioned officer to lead them? And how and why did that doctor know I was in the hospital and that I had aquired powers?"

He had the, perhaps, forlorn hope of getting a Captaincy in order to get a date with the delectable Captain Emma Steed.