World War II - The Vanguard Issue #6 Deal with the devil...

Number One calmly stepped up, causing a number of the agents in the room to get jumpy and the men at the table to shy back. "Be calm. There is no cause for concern." She opened her chest panel to the gasps of those gathered. "Gentlemen, I am a synthetic being, created in a factory and imbued with artificial intelligence as part of a greater whole. I was sent back in time thanks to the machinations of a group of men from the future. They miscalculated and did not consider that we cybernetic beings, with our prime directive being to wipe out mankind, would have the capability to transmit the exact frequency required to transport our forces back to your time."

"What? time?" blathered Hardy. "You heard her! She wants to conquer us!" The others were mesmerised, staring at her chest and the whirring, pulsing metallic motion in there, like a clockwork toy on a scale never seen before. "Silence sir, lest you upset the balance of this meeting. My prime directive was to conquer this reality and wipe out mankind. Indeed, the paradoxical nature of time travel suggests that the force of which I was part conquered the future thanks to being summoned into the past, and indeed, all records in my memory bank now show that. How it previously ocurred is beyond my programming to speculate."

"Wait... " said one of the Senators. "You are saying that you.. things conquered the world in the future, but don't know how? And that because you figured out a way to follow the other machines into the past, you went en masse to conquer the world in 1940 thus filling a gap in your memory?"

"Correct."

Another man spoke up. "So what happens if this man - Anyman - stops your forces in the past?"

Number One considered. "It is possible that I will cease to exist, and simply vanish, being that I come from a time that would in theory not exist."

There was massed shouting and protests, men that couldn't get their heads around what they were hearing, until FDR called order by ringing a spoon on his cup. "Let her finish, dammit!" he growled. The table quietened.

"The entity you know as 'Anyman' we classify as 'Beyond Class 5', Class 5 being the highest recorded level of any superhuman or metahuman being in all of recorded human history. In the future we encountered problems from a number of 'Class 5' individuals but were able to overcome all resistance, or at least drive it from Earth. Anyman has destroyed several of our vessels and his companions several more. His power levels cannot be measured. It was his reality warping power that altered our programming, seeking out the 0.0000000000000000001% chance of us rewriting our own code to join his superior force. We did so, now serve him completely."

This threw the room into uproar again as words flew over the mens heads!

FDR called the room into order. "Alright. What about the rest of Hardys questions?" he sighed.

"Even as we speak," Anyman nods to Number One, "according to my gal Friday here, humans all over the world are being wiped out or having some sort of small machine planted in their brains making them flesh machines for the machines of those ships. Making them work for them until they drop from exhaustion and then die. She told me that there is little chance of saving humanity at all. That the entire human race is doomed."

He looks at her for confirmation of what he said. When she nods confirmation, he turns back.

"So your other questions are meaningless. All nations of the world are currently fighting for survival. France. Germany. Japan. China. Russia. Italy. Brazil. Australia. All of them. All except America because I stopped those ships from destroying you. And that is only a reprieve. Once some of the ships conquer the other nations are done, they will come here and do to you what those ships I destroyed tried to do earlier."

"There is no 'under your command.' There is no 'have our own supers.' There is no 'tell us how to make more.' There is no 'guard your borders.' Because in a few months, there will be no USA. There will be no humanity left to fight over borders."

He stops as the room erupts into more yelling, denials and naked fear. The President finally regains order but before he can ask another question, Anyman holds up a hand and turns to Number One.

"Number One, if myself and my comrades with powers left the Earth this evening in the ships we have. How long would it take those other robots from the future to conquer Earth? How long to conquer America itself once they knew I have left here?"

The robot considered for a second or so, a life time in terms of processing power. "I predict that without the Vanguards presence an special exception would be made to set an example for others who would follow the United States' example in resisting us. With that in mind, it is probable that within 1 hour of having confirmed the Vanguard have gone, the San Andreas fault will be divided and the western seaboard would fall into the sea. After that every major metropolitan area will be erased from the map with complete extermination. Because the area is so large it would take perhaps... a week... to exterminate life from this continent."

After that, there was silence.

Finally FDR spoke. "What then, would you have us do? Our weapons are no match for these robots, you won't provide superhuman resources..."

"I say its nonsense!" shouted Hardy, banging his hand on the table. "We can stand up to anyone! If he wanted to be an ally, he'd have played ball with our request! And look what they've done to this place! Why I've heard it said that bandaged... FREAK over there was responsible for the damage in the City and..."

"That is... ENOUGH!" shouted FDR, and he collapsed into a fit of coughing.

Number One turned to Anyman. "If I may?" She then turned to Sen. Hardy. "Perhaps a demonstration. Are there any fully manned army bases that have served their useful purpose within 1 hour of here? Place them on full alert, scramble their fighters, have them combat ready within the hour. The Robo Carrier shall depart from its current position guarding over Chesapeake Bay and move into position above it. It will then destroy all flying aircraft in the vicinity, and wipe out all life within 1 mile of the base. Know this. Our prime directive is to conquer and the most efficient way of doing that is to use every resource, including human beings. Our secondary directive, should the first be unattainable, is a scorched earth policy. The Robo Carrier has a number of weapons available, including nuclear megaton solutions to the problem." She turned to Anyman. "Indeed, if the central core of each carrier determines that America and Britain are beyond their ability to assimilate, they will excercise a nuclear option. The places will simply 'cease to exist', having been turned into radioactive wastelands. How are your defences against nuclear attack?"

Anyman wasn't sure what nuclear attack was, but Putty inside mentioned 'Atomic is the first stage of mass destruction weapons. Nuclear takes it to a new level!'

Number One added "This unit and all those associated have been irrevocably altered to follow Anymans command. That cannot easily be changed, and certainly not in this time frame unless by the man known as Claude Bentham and his associates." She turned to Senator Hardy "If you do not wish to be saved, I would suggest you state so. I will happily begin the process of making your deaths merciful, as opposed to the living hell and ceaseless agony of being plugged into a giant matrix to provide processing capability for a Robo Carrier. Have a nice day."

She stood at stand by.

FDR spoke in the silence that followed. "Gentleman, we stand on the brink of oblivion! We few will decide the fate of our great nation. Do we defy sense and our own five senses to go it alone, and watch as the world burns around us before the flames lick at our door, then to cry 'help us!'. I for one would not go quietly into the night! There are considerations to be made though. The press throng outside waiting for official word on what has happened." He turned to Anyman. "I ask you, young sir. What does the Vanguard require of the United States of America? If it is our power to grant we shall do so, in the interests of saving human civilisation as we know it!"

Senator Hardy looked shell shocked and mopped his brow, looking at FDR, Number One, and Anyman. "So say we all." he muttered. "Sorry about the Freak comment."

ooc: San Andreas fault wouldn't drop the western part of the US into the ocean, it is a north/south running fault, grinding against each other. Luthor got that wrong in the Superman movie; always bugged me as a big plot hole in the movie. What it would do is shift the western half north so that Tijuana would wind up where part of San Fransico is. Of course, the resulting earthquake and tsunami would wipe out all life in the Pacific region and probably the Indian Ocean too; also igniting all the volcanos in the Ring of Fire. The fault in South America on its west coast is one where one side drops down under the other one, forcing the other one up. That's why the Andes Mountains are so steep and start so close to the coast.

Senator Hardy looked shell shocked and mopped his brow, looking at FDR, Number One, and Anyman. "So say we all." he muttered. "Sorry about the Freak comment."

Anyman shrugged. "I am a freak, sir. Once I was an actor whose face and hands were burned by acid, that's why I wore the bandages and gloves. Then I learned to control my form but kept the bandages as a mark and a reminder. I have powers and abilities that make me a god, small "g", and it scares me to think like that. Besides," he grins at this, pointing at his bandages, "it scares the bejeesus out of the Nazis!

Turning serious.

"Mr President, what do we require? Everything. Guns, tanks, ships, food, oil, fighting men, medicines. The Nazis who started all of this are our mutual enemy. These future robots who want to wiped us all out are a result of their actions. I would suggest you declare war on Nazi Germany and on the attacking future robots and then mobilize your whole nation. Prepare for an invasion, not just along your coasts but on your borders and deep inside your country. You saw how big that ship was that I brought here. It holds probably a hundred thousand or more fighting robots plus weapons of its own. Think of a hundred thousand nearly invulnerable troops attacking out from ... oh, I don't know ... Kansas!"

"Why don't we give you the ability to make your own super-powered troops? Because only one man on this planet has that power and it drains him when he does it. And he is an old man. Or was, he may be dead now, killed in the Nazi attack on England a few hours ago."

"Even if he was young and in full health, it takes time to make such a super person. Not as long as it takes to train a civlian to become a soldier but it still takes time. Time to have your body adjust to its changes. Time to learn how to use your powers effectively. Time to learn how to fight. Time for their mental attitude to become apparent."

"There have been a few soldiers who have been impowered that let that power go to their heads. Thinking themselves as better than everyone else. Thinking that their powers gave them the right to rule over all. Even patriotic men who didn't know what they volunteered for changed for the worse once they had the power inside them."

"And these powered men and women are not as powerful as we members of the Vanguard are and can never be as powerful as we are because we have a few special things inside us that gives us these extra powers. And there is no way to give you these things."

"As the old saying goes, Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. Thankfully, I can not maintain my absolute power levels for very long or I might be corrupted more than I feel I already am."

He shrugs again, mentally changing gears.

"You need to start making armor piercing shells & large calibur armor peircing bullets. You need to get as many guns and tanks and cannons and artillery with these shells and bullets to as many people as you can in as many places as you can in your country, since the attacks could come from anywhere. You need to contact every nation on Earth that you can reach and convince them to fight."

"If you can broker an Armistice with Nazi Germany until after the Earth is saved, so much the better!"

"Lastly ...," he sighs here, slumping in mental exhaustion, "you need to gather up a number of healthy young men and women, folks who know how to survive in the wild. Know how to farm. Know something of medicine, not from a bottle but from the natural plants that the bottled medicines came from. You need to give them seed. Plows, basic farming implements, of the non-powered sort. Food, weapons and books of practical knowledge. And then you need to hide them. Hide them in deep caves and caverns. Hide them in nearly inaccessible mountains. Hide them in unliveable deserts. Hide them in as many places as you can. And then lose all information about where they are and who they are. Because if we fail ... they may be the only hope of repopulating this planet at some future date."

OOC Thanks for the lesson about the San Andreas fault. Should've looked it up but with 12 hours between shifts, need for sleep and so on have been really pushed. That's my excuse anyway.

More silence.

Then FDR spoke. "Gentlemen? We have seen proof. We have head a stark warning. Time isn't running out for the world, time is up already! Only this man and his friends have given us a stay of execution, a chance, albeit slim, of getting out of this. We will mobilise! We will tell the people of the great threat not to our nation, but to the world! We will send out word from here and convince all men and women, young and old, to stand together, for if we do not? All that we hold dear, all that we cling to as vital truths and reason for existence, will be swept away as dust in a storm. A storm IS coming, make no mistake."

"It's time to batten down the hatches."

He turns to Anyman. "We have much to discuss. By tomorrow morning the press will have been briefed, but we will be careful what we say. Instead of panic, we need enthusiasm, courage, determination and drive! That won't be easy, for the man and woman in the street to have their lives turned upside down, but needs must. Where go you from here? We will have need of you, or one of your friends, in the dark days ahead. That will be to ensure that we are not attacked whilst we build and ready for war. What about the 'robo carrier' and all those thousands of Robots? Is there some means of making more?

Number One looked to Anyman for leave to address the president. "The Carrier itself is a factory but needs vast amounts of raw materials. Metals, water, chemicals. We can set up a manufacturing facility but it will take weeks. There is a faster way, but you will not like it. We can assimilate human beings into our collective and embed them with cyborg parts. Perhaps there are some who are infirm or disabled and can be given the gift of free movement and a chance to serve their country, or perhaps you would care to donate prisoners who will be conditioned and undergo full bionic integration? Using those methods we can increase our numbers in a matter of hours with cyborg troops."

Those gathered around the table didn't like that much. Number One continued. "It depends on what you want to do from here. Do you want to fight, or do you want to win?"

"What do you think?" asked Senator Hardy of Anyman.

OOC and where does Anyman want to go from here? He can stay put and help with the rebuilding process, go back to Britain, head over to Germany to see if there any Nazis left to fight, go to other countries to convince them to take up arms... The robot invasion force threatens all, not just the Allies, and right now every hour that passes sees them assimilate more human beings! Resistance is... futile?

OOC and where does Anyman want to go from here? He can stay put and help with the rebuilding process, go back to Britain, head over to Germany to see if there any Nazis left to fight, go to other countries to convince them to take up arms... The robot invasion force threatens all, not just the Allies, and right now every hour that passes sees them assimilate more human beings! Resistance is... futile?.

ooc: Since I am ahead of the others, timewise, I think I need to wait to see what happens with them first. That will influence my decision but we may be to the point where we will have to all join together and restart a whole new time line.

Since you said Anyman was a few hours ahead of the others and their storylines, there may not even be an England to save or go back to, if one or more of them lose control of the Dark Powers during those back hours. So we need to wait until we are all caught up for me to decide what to do.

Anyman looked up from his meal.

'Something has happened' announced the rasping voice inside. 'We are Shadow Demons, albeit high born. That means we are still bound by some limitations. We feed on suffering, fear and anguish. We have chosen to use those negative emotions to aid humanity, but something has happened that removed our source of power in the land you know as Great Britain. There is enough here, in America, to feed me. In your home land, where the Vanguard act as protectors, right now there is none!'

Putty, the alien inside Anyman, added 'That is a mixed blessing. No one should have the power you wield, yet you use it honourably, with restraint and for the good of all mankind. I can only hope that whoever set this chain of events into motion knew what they were doing!'

Anyman stood and moved to the door. He alone of the Vanguard had access to the Dark Power at this moment in time! He was... the Lone Vanguardian!

He was... the Lone Vanguardian!

ooc: Why do I hear the William Tell Overture playing in my head and a need to cry out "HI YO Silver! AWAY!"

Lance tries to mentally contact his fellow Vanguardians to find out what is going on. Forgetting for the moment that it is through the Dark Power that he has that kind of contact.

But then he remembers he has a second way to contact his teammates.

"Number One," he calls out to his robot First Officer, "contact our ship and have them contact one of the other ships the Vanguards control in England. Find out what's going on! There is a ... 'silence' ... across much of the world. It just happened. England is ... England ... I don't know. Something has happened in England. It may be wonderful ... it may be horror beyond imagining. Find out!"

'Number One' responded. "I have made contact with one of the remaining V-Ships. They report that Bletchley Park Manor was under attack from hybrid animal/human creatures, and that the attack has been completely repulsed, albeit at a high cost of life. The manor itself has been compromised and DICE Headquarters has been take out of commission."

Anyman didn't like the sound of that! It meant that Britain was undefended from superhuman attack!

"Furthermore, a preliminary scan indicates all of the 'enemy' Robo Carriers across the world have been attacked by a virus which simultaneously bypassed all firewall protections, which is normally impossible. This unit can only surmise that a power similar to your own, save with an intimate knowledge of computers and their functions, was able to simultaneously overcome every Robo Carrier across the world. Indications suggest that within 41 minutes whichever entity performed this... 'miracle' will have complete control of the Robo Carriers, and therefore, Planet Earth. Aside from you and your companions, there is no power on Earth which can withstand the Robo Carriers, nor will there be for a time period of around 250 years. This unit predicts with a 99% certainty that it was one of your companions that instigated this action, therefore congratulations are in order. You have 'won'. This unit suggests you wipe out all trace of the Axis powers and their citizens, then repopulate their lands with selected genetically superior specimens. We can help you with that. One of our primary goals was to select the genetically superior members of your species and enhance them to our specifications with physical and mental conditioning. Give the order, and it shall be so."

A knock at the door got Anymans attention. "The President and the special council wish to speak with you Anyman. We've had... an interesting telegram from Great Britain..."

Number One turned "Your orders?"

A knock at the door got Anymans attention. "The President and the special council wish to speak with you Anyman. We've had... an interesting telegram from Great Britain..."

Number One turned "Your orders?"
.

"Tell the ship to just stand by," Anyman said to Number One. "We are not in the business of farming out humans to make genetically superiors ones. So you can scrap any such plan."

He turns back to the man who knocked.

"Lead the way." He signals Number One to follow him.

As they walk down the corridors of the White House, Anyman slowly changes his form. His trenchcoat goes and converts into his Naval Uniform tunic with all medals and doodads he has earned. Then his gloves go, converting back into human flesh. His pants and shoes convert into the proper naval uniform trousers and shoes. He steps into the Oval Office to face the President and all those gathered there and as he looks at the President, his bandages leave his face, scrolling up to make his hat, his scars disappear, revealing his face for the first time since he fell into a coma.

"Lt. Commander Lance Allard aka Anyman, reporting, Mr. President," he says coming to attention and saluting. "The war is over, sir, and the aliens and Nazis have lost."

The President looks pleased, and surprised, to hear the news, but his face darkens a moment later. He glances around the table at the senators and clears his throat. "Lt. Commander, thank you for being so prompt. I do, however, have some... grave... words to speak. You see, it has come to our attention that the balance of world power has shifted immeasurably towards one nation, above all others. Until we receive assurances to the contrary..."

The President looks pained as he says the words, but goes through with it anyway "The free nations of the world will consider Great Britain and her territories to be our enemy, and that we will find ourselves in a state of war with your country!"

END OF ISSUE #6