World War II - The Vanguard Issue #8 Edge of Oblivion...

Admin wrote:
OOC

With the Frog Man in a real mess...
All about fires burn and people band together,
You have injured of your own, with the V-Ship soon to blow unless... Over to you...

Frostbite looked at Sentinel "This is becoming a habit, we've got to stop." Frostbite said seeing that Sentinel had used the dark power to heal. He sure looked like he'd had better days. "Right I'll get into the ship, see who is there and work my way out from the inside. You work you way in from the outside. We're going to need to make sure this thing doesn't blow."

With that Frostbite divide into the v ship intangibly to go find the crew and bring them out.

OOC:
Ok get into the ship, find the crew and get them out, but if it looks as if the ship will need to be dealt with I will a) see if Frostbot can shut it down first. If not b) Use enough dark power points to give me probability manipulation and use it to shut down the core before getting everyone out.

Sj

OOC: Top priority is got to be the v ship. Sentinel will rush forward and shout (IC: "GET EVERYONE OF THE SHIP NOW"), obviously including anyone in the medical bay if the peelers etc havent done it already that is if the ship isnt going to blow up in the next two minutes. When thats done contain the source of fire by starving it of oxygen by forming the metal around it to form a airtight seal. It would have been nice to help the peelers too but im guessing when this ship goes up it'll be like a hydrogen bomb because of its fuel and hundreds of lifes are at stake.....again.

OOC: Sorry Dave didnt see your reply. Ah its the core thats going to blow, if it was a fire maybe frost would have been good too. is there any chance that the core can be 'deactivated' using metal manipulation from inside a airtight container, like melt the core of the core if that makes sense?

Frostbite floated, ghostlike, through the ruined walls of the ship. He passed through twisted metal, hissing pipes, ignored fires and listened for the cries of the injured. It didn't take long to find some. He saw a Peeler trapped under a metal stanchion, with two wounded Skrall technicians trying fruitlessly to lift it off him. Nearby some kind of liquid was spewing out of a ruptured pipe and rolling slowly towards a fire...

=========

Sentinel ran to the smashed V Ship and parted the walls with a gesture, running inside! With his power, he found it childs play to move or simply dissolve the bonds of metal in front of him or pinning people inside. Unfortunately, the damage was extensive both to the ship and the crew - they'd taken a real battering.

Knowing the danger was in the reactor - or whatever fancy gizmo powered this miracle of science - he ploughed on, creating a perfect circle of a tunnel through to the heart of the ship by creating a 6' radius hole in front of him in the metal.

=========

Using his superhuman strength, Frostbite easily lifted the metal beam then helped the crewman into the aliens arms. Despite their own injuries - one looked about to keel over - the diminutive aliens worked without complaint or delay, dragging the Peeler from the wreckage.

The liquid ignited on the flame, but a thought from Frostbite lowered the temperature so that the fire literally froze in the air.

'If you push your power to its limits, might there not be a way to freeze all the fuel and escaping coolant to suppress any fire risk?' asked the computer. For his part, Frostbite thought of calling on the Dark Power, a massive blunt instrument used to bludgeon any problem into submission, but it came at a price that would soon need to be paid! With a sigh he looked about. He was perhaps a dozen metres from the engines rooms and the core of the ship. Somewhere in this mess was Boadicea, in the sick bay. Her ravaged body, still recovering from the surgery that replaced flesh with metal, would be helpless. Aside from that, there would be wounded crew.

With a glance towards the outside of the ship, hidden behinds metres of twisted and torn metal, he knew London outside burned even as the Nazis made good their escape!

And somewhere inside, an anger grew...

'Feed it. Call on me.' said a cold impassive voice. 'Your enemies must not be allowed to escape! Even now they may be plotting to strike whilst you dither here!'

=========

"H... help me!" cried a Soldier as Sentinel parted yet more walls to get to the engine room. He looked and saw a soldier with a severed leg, trying desperately to quell the bleeding! Sentinel winced, then looked to the walls where he knew the engine room would be only metres away. The soldier didn't have long before he died of blood loss, and yet, the reactor could go at any second!

Admin wrote:Frostbite

"H... help me!" cried a Soldier as Sentinel parted yet more walls to get to the engine room. He looked and saw a soldier with a severed leg, trying desperately to quell the bleeding! Sentinel winced, then looked to the walls where he knew the engine room would be only metres away. The soldier didn't have long before he died of blood loss, and yet, the reactor could go at any second!

Frostbite connected with Sentinel, "Sentinel things are bad, we need to work together, on this one. Getting people out has to be my priority, whilst you can contain the reactor. If things get out of hand there, I can take over using the Dark Power and you can carry on where I left off. I am coming through to where you are now."

OOC:
Ok I will go help out the guy with the severed leg, I'll freeze the area for now and then rip open the bulkheads as necessary to get Skralls or any able bodied to him. I'll then get to the Medical centre and try and get Boadicea out. I will use my freezing powers were possible to stop fires and liquid spills on the way.

Sj

"Got it" sentinel quickly answered even as he made his way to where he knew the reactor room was or used to be but when he got there he just stood in amazement at the large cylindrical container with a glowing pair of twin coils helexing each other and submerged in a rapidly bubbling blue liquid that could had been made of a blue soda for all sentinel knew.

"Um......yeah and how do I shut this thing down?" he questioned out loud eyeing the hundreds of cables plugged into the now rumbling device then over to the big wrench next to it. No now was not the time to bash the thermo-nuclear reacter.....that properly would end badly.
'er anyone.....hey you chaps from the future, yeah I have a reactor thing loosing coolant I guess and looks like its over heating. Any ideas before I send it to the moon?'

Frostbite used his powers to lower the temperature dramatically, and the mans leg stopped bleeding. Hefting the metal that trapped the fellow, he was able to ease him out and he continued to work, pulling, pushing, even freezing and shattering the ruined metal of the V-Ship.

Skralls scurried through the wreckage and picked up the soldier between them, moving out whilst Frostbite battled his way through to the medical centre. Though able to pass unhindered with his powers, his efforts allowed the Skralls to go sifting through the wreck and drag yet more crew out. Strangely, they ignored any Skrall wounded, who did not complain or cry out, instead accepting their fate...

He came across a raging fire that threatened to get out of control and took the time, precious moments that felt like hours, to quell and contain it.

After what seemed an age he emerged into the ruins of the medical centre, afraid of what he'd find...

=========

Sentinel was able to create a path through the metal ship that offered no resistance...

Finally coming into the engine room he shielded his face from the glare and reeled from the feeling of nausea that swept over him as the pulsing radiation leaked out!

Unsure of how to proceed, he took cover behind a ruined wall and noticed the metal was heating up - it wouldn't shield him for long!

=========

"Wondered... if Spartan would... mess things... up without someone... to hold his hand..." coughed Boadicea.

The machines around her, that supported and provided life giving sustenance, had mostly been smashed in the crash. That she was still alive at all was a miracle. She was nigh on half machine, the terrible injuries which she'd sustained required almost total body prosthesis. She'd kept her sense of humour though.

Frostbite watched sadly as her life signs started to dwindle on the last remaining monitor which was itself damaged, and he noted that more and more leaks were springing in pipes running through the bulkhead - this thing would soon be ready to blow!

"Save... yourself... London... Britain..." said Boadicea, her voice sounding strange and cold through the voice box on her throat.

Frostbite had only moments to act before the remains of the lab exploded!

=========

Sentinel grit his teeth against the radioactive onslaught he faced!

He thrust with his hands from left and right, up and down, yanking metal to fly through the air and encapsulate the leaking engine cores! Every time metal got close it started glowing and melting, and yet still he threw more at it!

If this thing got hotter and hotter, it would soon engulf the ship and probably destroy the entire city, rendering London an uninhabitable wasteland!

He continued to toss metal at it, forming a liquid alloy ball around the core, and hoping beyond hope it would slow the reaction down until he could figure out what else to do!

=========

Frostbite turned to leave, then heard a voice inside...

'There may yet be a way to save Agent Boadicea...' it stated. Listening, Frostbite looked about. He had only seconds to act before the chemicals in here exploded! he'd been freezing them where he could, but each seal burst a pipe elsewhere, and the alien gases more or less melted even his ice on contact!

Stepping close to Boadicea where she lay in the ruined glass tube, he whispered "This may sting a bit!" before placing a hand on her head! He interfaced with the computer systems in her body, then 'rejected' all the broken, non essential parts required to keep her alive! They fell away from her form with a hiss, leaving an organic torso that had bionic parts enhancing it, and took her up in his arms.

"I'm ... I'm ..." she started.

"Alive" said Frostbite, and he turned intangible, flying upwards just as the lab exploded!

=========

The police ushered people away as the burning wreck got hotter and hotter...

Then they gasped in wonder as a metal glowing ball erupted from the wreckage, dripping molten metal with every second! It floated through the air and across the park , pushed by an exhausted looking man in battered armour that was itself glowing! Finally the ball was dumped into the pond where birds scattered as a great steaming hiss went up, blanketing the sky for hundreds of yards around with hot, scalding mist!

=========

The remains of the V-Ship exploded, but not with the force that would have affected much more than the 50m or so which was flattened all around the ship...

Frostbite settled Boadicea down, alive and in stasis thanks to his computer shutting down all but her vital systems and keeping her alive until she could get to another V-Ship. He turned to the remains of the V-Ship, burning fiercely, and poured his cold energy into the wreckage, over and over again until it was exhausted. Even then, the heat was fierce, and he had to stay for a number of minutes damping down the flames.

Finally, exhausted, he stumbled to the side, looking on an iceberg in the middle of the London park. Then he turned and walked through the mist, hoping to find his friend...

=========

Sentinel coughed, raising himself on wobbly arms...

The blinding mist was hot and cloying, making it hard to breathe. The pond had done the job, but was little more than a dried out crater now with a glowing orange ball in the centre.

The ducks would have to find somewhere else to live.

Then he saw ice engulf the ball, again and again, and finally the glow subsided. Turning, he looked up, to see an icy hand reach down. Pulled to his feet, he looked upon his friend and team mate, then about through the clearing mist.

People emerged from the cover of buildings and trees, and despite the danger, the ongoing fires, the terror which they'd felt, they clapped, and they cheered.

The sound grew, and more people came forwards. The police joined in, as did the fire fighters, and it seemed that Londoners united in that moment to cheer their heroes who stood wounded, exhausted, battered and scarred by all that the war had thrown at them.

OOC Head off after the Nazis, ensure London is safe from further attacks by patrolling the skies or help fight the fires which still burn out of control across the city? You might also wish to sort out the safety of the Government, find some means to help Boadicea, or use the Dark Power to find Bedlamm, the madman who thought to conquer Britain with his unholy blend of man and animal.

Admin wrote:Frostbite OOC Head off after the Nazis, ensure London is safe from further attacks by patrolling the skies or help fight the fires which still burn out of control across the city? You might also wish to sort out the safety of the Government, find some means to help Boadicea, or use the Dark Power to find Bedlamm, the madman who thought to conquer Britain with his unholy blend of man and animal.

"Good job back their Steve, well done mate!" Frostbite said, congratulating his friend, but with no sense of relief. He knew there was still so much to do and they'd barely recovered from their time in Albion.

"There is still so much to do, can you get to Spartan with Boudica she needs attention, we need another V ship here and you need a moment to get yourself together. I'll go help with the fires and see if I can't track down those two Nazi's who got away."

Frostbite nodded to his friend and then took off into the air. He was going to need something special to put out the fires, and running after individual ones was not going to do it.

OOC:Ok here is what I want to do, I want to call on enough Dark Power 1) to use probability manipulation to put the fires out. In order to favour my chances of it being successful, not only do I want to use a hero point if necessary to circumvent problems with the Dark Power but also to increase the chances of being successful with the Probability Manipulation! So what are the chances that something within London's burning buildings combines with the unearthly burning material in an unexpected way to prevent it from burning any further?

Sj

OOC: Oh the horror, I hope the civilians realise what saving there lifes had cost......those poor ducks.
WWWWWWHHHHHHYYYYYY
Sorry about that.

IC: Steve wasnt even going to fight frostbites decision, he had been battered time and time again so much so he didnt have anything left to give. Yes helping the survivors was he best option.
'Gods speed joe' sentinel thought seeing his friend zoom off to save the day yet again.

Frostbite
60/60htc
48/48htk
2 Hero points (1 used in post)
Dark Power Growth 7 (1 used in post)
Dark power XP 6/10 (level 2)
Probability Manipulation G5 (6 frames)
15 Energy

"So what are the chances that something within London's burning buildings combines with the unearthly burning material in an unexpected way to prevent it from burning any further?"

OOC What indeed...? Let's find out. To put fires out across London it would take around grade 3 Probability manipulation and a low roll. Grade 4 means you have an increased chance, Grade 5 higher still (more or less guaranteed). That said, the Dark Power growth is 6 already so this will get tricky. Let's say you need 50 points for Grade 3, 65 for grade 4 and 80 for grade 5, have Dark Power level 2 ability so will need a roll of 25 or more points to pull this off. Let's go for, say... 8 points? Frostbite gets Ego 12 + Roll 15 (27 total) vs Dark Power 6 + 8 + Roll 14 (28 total). 1 hero point used (roll 15) and he makes it. Dark Power points are 8D10 = 8d10 → [9,8,7,9,1,6,4,2] = (46). x2 = 92 points, enough for Grade 5 Probability Manipulation...

Frostbite concentrated... The air seemed to shimmer, changing subtly, and he looked about. He saw the people fighting to save their homes, fleeing in terror, weeping and despairing that London would burn, taking their homes, their livelihoods and ultimately, their lives, with not a thing they could do about it.

"Not today. Not on my watch." hissed Frostbite, his breath cold on the air.

'The chances of every fire being snuffed by a complete and total reduction in oxygen are impossible.' stated the computer. 'The mixture used by the enemy is a special blend of chemicals that needs minimal fuel to burn. No ordinary fire retardant measures will suffice. London needs to be evacuated. Estimate at the rate the fire is spreading to lose 90% of the buildings and over 75% of the populace.'

The Dark Power inside Frostbite chuckled. 'Impossible? No such thing. Our closest word in our own language is 'unlikely'. A translation into your language with the same meaning would come across as 'absolute certainty'...'

Across London, the chemicals that would always burn suddenly snuffed out.

'Impossible' stated the computer. 'The fires have extinguished.'

Frostbite looked across the city, where people hugged one another and collapsed in relief, and others trapped by flames wandered out, dazed, into the streets where they tried to grasp the miracle of that which had saved them. They knew in their hearts that a higher power watched over them, and that from a source they would never guess.

OOC You have 6 frames of Grade 5 probability manipulation to play around with...

Sentinel dragged himself to his feet and walked over to Boadicea.

Or rather, what was left of the beautiful agent. Her body was ravaged, with amputated arms and legs, and prosthetic organs in place of her stomach and part of her chest. The cyborg parts extended into her neck and part of her face, and Sentinel could barely bring himself to look her in the remaining eye, the other being an optical sensor. The Skrall technicians had used their technology to save her life as directed, but at what cost?

Opening her eye, Boadicea managed a smile. "You look... worse than I do..."

Sentinel swept her up into his arms, then took to the air. He left the people in the park wondering who or what the surviving Skralls and crew were, even as the Police formed a cordon. From the air he could see another group of police in a huddle not far away, and he flew down, fearing what he would find.

A doctor worked hard to save Spartans life. His wounds were grievous indeed, and he been beaten near to death by the Nazis in his attempt to save the crew of the V-Ship. The man had know the risks, had known he would not survive for long, and had tried anyway.

"Save him!" rasped Boadicea as Sentinel set her down on the grass. The police looked shocked and appalled at the state of her (OOC remember this is September 1940...) and all began to speak at once as they asked questions of Sentinel. Spartan, broken, bleeding, barely conscious, looked up and smiled at Sentinel. Most of his teeth were missing and he coughed blood up. "Did you... save ... city? V-Ship...?" he rattled...

OOC You have a few frames at best before Spartan dies, so anything you say or do needs to be be good Boadicea won't be far behind him unless you can figure out some way to save her...

"Dont worry about any of that right now just concentrate on getting better, your going to be okay my friend" sentinel lied trying to reassure the broken man infront of him. He'll be damned if he was going to let another innocent life slip through his fingers.

OOC: Is there anyway sentinel could heal them both or at lest stabilize them at the same time with the dark power? Fast regen or the instant heal I would normally receive, even if he has to transfer some of his own HP?

Admin wrote:Frostbite
60/60htc
48/48htk
2 Hero points (1 used in post)
Dark Power Growth 7 (1 used in post)
Dark power XP 6/10 (level 2)
Probability Manipulation G5 (6 frames)
15 Energy

OOC You have 6 frames of Grade 5 probability manipulation to play around with...

With power once again thrumming through him, Frostbite knew he had to work quickly. The power was only good for a short while, but with such power much good could be established. Firstly he had to limit damage being done to the country. Bedlam and his agents had to be stopped, as did the Nazis. Powered by Lunarium, what if the current crop of Lunarium powered creatures suddenly developed an intolerance to the mineral such that their bodies rejected the power!

Once again stretching out, as the idea took hold he set his thoughts rippling out.

OOC:
Ok I am not sure of the range, but I want to stop all of Bedlam's creatures and any Lunarium empowered Nazi's within range, by developing a simple aversion to Lunarium. It shouldn't be difficult given, how in modern life people seem to spontaneously develop allergies to things all the time. I recently started suffering from Eczema even though I've never had a skin condition in my 40+ years.

Then if there is still time and frames, I want to do something that will help win the hearts, minds and spirits of people. Maybe awaken the land of something, cause people to pull together but the spirit of people to fortify so the Shadows have less fear to work from.

Of if there is no problem with range, have the remaining robot carries, also abruptly change their programming with my own Frostbot as their leader and guide. Actually that might work even better, but subject to DM advice.

Sj

Steeple_jackuk wrote:

Admin wrote:Frostbite
60/60htc
48/48htk
2 Hero points (1 used in post)
Dark Power Growth 7 (1 used in post)
Dark power XP 6/10 (level 2)
Probability Manipulation G5 (6 frames)
15 Energy

OOC You have 6 frames of Grade 5 probability manipulation to play around with...

With power once again thrumming through him, Frostbite knew he had to work quickly. The power was only good for a short while, but with such power much good could be established. Firstly he had to limit damage being done to the country. Bedlam and his agents had to be stopped, as did the Nazis. Powered by Lunarium, what if the current crop of Lunarium powered creatures suddenly developed an intolerance to the mineral such that their bodies rejected the power!

Once again stretching out, as the idea took hold he set his thoughts rippling out.

OOC:
Ok I am not sure of the range, but I want to stop all of Bedlam's creatures and any Lunarium empowered Nazi's within range, by developing a simple aversion to Lunarium. It shouldn't be difficult given, how in modern life people seem to spontaneously develop allergies to things all the time. I recently started suffering from Eczema even though I've never had a skin condition in my 40+ years.

Then if there is still time and frames, I want to do something that will help win the hearts, minds and spirits of people. Maybe awaken the land of something, cause people to pull together but the spirit of people to fortify so the Shadows have less fear to work from.

Of if there is no problem with range, have the remaining robot carries, also abruptly change their programming with my own Frostbot as their leader and guide. Actually that might work even better, but subject to DM advice.

Sj

OOC You have Scarlet Witch levels of Probability Manipulation (heck, probably a grade higher). Consider 'Planet Earth' to be the area of influence. As for effect, it all depends on what kind of effect you are looking for. Altering the hearts and minds of every ordinary person on Planet Earth might work... for a few seconds. The more powerful the effect, the shorter the duration. Anyman used Probability Manipulation to wreck a fleet of spacecraft. Although the effect was temporary, it lasted long enough to do the damage. Anyman also used the same thing to alter the programming of a single ship. That was kind of like using a bazooka to swat a fly, so the effect was permanent. So, with regards your request in order...

Using the Dark power to control the effect of chaos, karma, fortune, whatever anyone called it, Frostbite summoned a force of nature so powerful it could alter time and space!

He concentrated on the miracle metal, Lunarium, the Ani-Men, and any Lunarium empowered Nazis within range!

Across the world there was a shimmer of energy!

In London the Nazi energy woman and the Frog Man cried out... then transformed into humans, writhing in pain! Their bodies rejected the process that had turned them into superhumans, making them instantly ill and immobilising them with pain!

Other Nazi agents, undercover and acting within the confines of the UK had the same affliction... and the effect did not stop there.

In France, Holland, Belgium, Germany... Japan, Italy, North Africa... anywhere the Nazis superhuman soldiers operated, people fell out of the sky, collapsed where they stood or suddenly found themselves vulnerable on whatever battlefield they fought on! Though the effect might be temporary, the consequences were immediate and extremely dangerous to those who suddenly found themselves vulnerable to bullets where before the enemy might as well have been firing blanks!

In Bletchley Park, the Ani-Men suddenly cried out and started to change back into humans!

OOC NOTE - THIS AFFECTS ALL CURRENT COMBAT POSTS AGAINST THE ANI-MEN. WILL UPDATE.

Frostbite then looked out, over the buildings, out to the land and the people of Britain. Another wave went out, this time touching the hearts and minds of every man, woman, child and animal in Britain! Every soldier, worker, man and woman born high or low, looked to the sky, to windows, to one another. A feeling of goodwill and hope washed over them, a sign that things could be, would be better, no matter how dark they seemed now!

And the Shadow Demons fled. Where before they had fed, bloated with terror, despair, fear and hopelessness, now they were starved! They departed en masse, vanishing into the deepest stygian blackness wherever they could to their own realm, there to lick their wounds and brood, looking on the shining Isle of Britain with a new sense of hatred. Oh, the rest of the world was fair game, and would continue to feed them, but the sweetest nectar would always be the one that was denied them, and right now that left only a few places on Planet Earth, with America being one and Great Britain the other...

OOC AND THIS AFFECTS LIONHEARTS COMBAT AGAINST THE BEAST... UPDATE TO COME...

Finally, with the power waning, Frostbite wondered what the chances were of every Robo Carrier and every robot in the world 'hearing' his Frostbot speak and being compelled to follow its - his - commands! With the Dark Power, anything was possible, and 'Impossible' was merely a word that lesser beings used when unable to comprehend the power that the Vanguard could call on!

'Now you see?' rasped the inner voice. 'When you use the power to perform your acts of derring do, you barely scratch the surface of... of...'

The voice was suddenly silenced, and for the first time in a long, long time Frostbite felt alone... "Prince?" he muttered.

'I have established contact with all the mainframes of the Robo Carriers on this world and implanted a virus that will overcome their defences within the hour. Nothing can stop that now. Whatever you did to carry my transmission also seemed to have lowered their firewalls for long enough to punch through to the memory addresses required. In fact there is a ....' said the computer, though Frostbite barely heard.

The Dark Power was GONE!!!

OOC Within the hour all of the Robo Carriers across the world - aside from the one that answers to Anyman - will answer to Frostbite.

Effectively, World War II is over, as the Robo Carriers can be used to crush the Axis into submission...

The problem is, what next for the Vanguard...?

Holy Carp, Batman! That's one deep crevice we just dove into!

DavidMcMahon wrote:Holy Carp, Batman! That's one deep crevice we just dove into!

OOC:Oh dear, saved the world and left us pretty powerless?

Frostbite called again, knowing within himself that it was futile. Whatever he had done, had helped so many but possibly left them uncomfortably worse off.

There wasn't much more he could do, save get back to Sentinel, the downed V ship and to help with the victims. He might have made a decisive blow, but he might also have just doomed them all.

OOC:

Ok so bit of a loss as to what to do here now Paul? Somebody should not let someone with level power loose!

Sj

The people cheered and hugged one another, feeling like some great weight had been lifted from them. An absence of fear, or despair, terror, all of those negative emotions that crushed a persons spirit, had been replaced by hope, joy and love.

Truly, had anyone been able to look down on Britain with eyes of the spirit, they would have seen the entire Island and surrounding lines shine!

Nowhere Boy, at Caer Alwyn in Wales, or rather above it, saw with those eyes.

"The Land is saved. Yet without those negative emotions, the Dark Power cannot feed, or grant us powers." he said to himself.

"I don't know whether to laugh, or cry. I'm sorry Sarah. I failed, again. One day, we'll be together, I know it..."

The youngster looked about once more, still empowered by the land to be a Lore Knight, with the powers of the Wraith. Apparently the land still considered him worthy to defend it, even after all the calamity he had caused by alerting the Shadow Demons to the Earth and all the rich pickings they could glean from its well of despair, hate, and fear.

With a sigh he soared down to the village of Caer Alwyn, invisible. He flew over the cheering villagers, the rejoicing farmers and sped towards the ruined castle where he would find the stone circle, and below it, the ruins which served as base for the Lore Knights, mystical guardians empowered and charged by the land to protect it from threats that man was not meant to know about. He ached to go back to his friends in the Vanguard, but knew that when the land called, he had no choice but to answer...

'At the crash site Sentinel helped the emergency services deal with the injured. The Doctors worked feverishly to stabilise Spartan and though baffled at Boadiceas' cybernetic form, took their best guess at helping her too. Without the Dark power, he felt empty, weakened. He still had his ordinary powers, but the Dark Power was definitely gone, as was the rasping sarcastic voice that had been ever present over these last few months in the Vanguard.

Frostbite landed nearby, and he walked over. The place was alive, positively crawling, with volunteers and officials helping, taking charge of the situation and all 'mucking in'.

The nation was united, as one.

Across the land, everyone felt love, comradeship, a sense of honour, duty and purpose. At no other time in all of human recorded history had a collected people felt such a bond. It went beyond merely 'saying hello'. Every man, woman, child, aye, and animal, would work harder, faster, more efficiently to better each others lives, whether it be to win a war, rebuild the nation, or ensure the hungry were fed, the homeless housed.

Frostbite still had his superhuman powers. He was still a Vanguardian, but without the Dark power he felt he'd lost something. Had the country gained in some way from his loss?

That remained to be seen. Right now, there was a clear blue sky and warm sun shining over the land.

Frostbite and Sentinel got stuck in with helping with the clean up.

Neither could quite put in the back of their minds that a perfect day never lasted forever.

What would come with a new day? Would the dream turn into disaster?

=========

Elsewhere...

"We are beaten."

"Not yet. The humans capacity for hatred and inflicting war on one another means they will ever be a source of sustenance for us."

"But the land of Great Britain is off limits now. To even go near..."

"Indeed. But it is one small place in a world full of humans."

The silence that followed showed the usurpers were troubled by this turn of events.

"We can overcome this. The Vanguard are weakened by this. The accursed Leader has lost most of his power. We will come back stronger, darker. The Shadows WILL darken again..."

The silence that greeted the statement showed the fear and doubt that crept into the Shadow Demons mind...

END OF ISSUE #8