The NEW Vanguard! Frostbite Issue 1 - "Frosty Reception"

Admin wrote:OOC The defences may still be active. There may be zomborgs active in the grounds. There is a crashed aircraft jutting from the roof of the mansion and another that has crash landed on the lawn and gouged a 100 yard long furrow out of Justin St Johns world class lawn. He won't be happy. Wandafar, British Bulldog/Winston and Retribution are in the caves below the mansion. The way in is either to go through the mansion or find the hidden entrance. Which is hidden. Or for those who can pass through solid rock, go straight down. Over to you.

Lionheart shook himself, he was still unaccustomed to the changes that his body had been undergoing and the strange limits of his Psi energy probably exceeded what his creators even envisaged. Still no time for speculation. He looked to the others, they all seemed pretty banged up, but the Mansion and Haunt seemed to have taken the worst of it.

Frostbite meanwhile, taking in the need to get Haunt revived, the villages to safety and the mansion fire under control started to issue orders. "Sentinel, why don't you liberate the metal from these craft, start with that one in the roof, I'll help cool it down. Yeoman can you show Lionheart the way to the Wandafar's base, Lionheart can take Haunt and get him the assistance he needs. Get the others out here, we need to secure the village and try and get the people away..."

OOC: Ok hope that is ok, Ross, Sentinel might as well use the alien crafts metal to make a new suit, we've got to get Dave back in the game so getting Haunt revived is a priority. Once Ross has Sentinel's suit sorted it means he can patrol and what not get folk away and be first to the fight - although I suggest ranged attacks for now ;-). Yeoman knows his way around the mansion so that saves Lionheart fumbling around. And Frostbite will ice the roof up, once Sentinel has got his metal, cooling it first to put out the flames and icing it to secure the whole location from collapse.

It was great that Lionheart was able to use a totally under utilized power or skill to make a difference, in some ways that is such a throw back to how he was originally. - great start.

Sj

OOC Yeah Dave, you'll probably remember the character back from the days of the Executive. He'd 'load up' a skill to use with his binocular gadget/uploader (did that get lost when Lionheart went back to 1940 or before?) and be able to use it for a while. This is similar, but every time you use Adrenaline surge its a one shot deal for that round only. Sooner or later it will 'burn out' but you recover faster now so it won't (hopefully) be much of a problem. That said, it might burn out at the most inopportune times.

Another note - linked powers and abilities cost a load to increase. Over time you'll find that Lionheart improves slower than the other characters as you have to increase the linked powers as well as the link attribute, all of which must be paid for. You have some powers that aren't linked, and a further revision of the character might see things changed before the end of issue 2 (when everyone gets 'cast in stone' and that's what you use from then on) plus improving adrenaline surge (or buying off limitations) might take a bigger priority.

Silver Sentinel looked to the ship on the roof

With a gesture he started to pluck metal from it! The metal flew across the space towards the wall where the group was waiting and started to gather in a whirling sphere as Sentinel 'worked his magic'.

OOC Have read up on Magnetic Control and Attraction/Repulsion and it seems that weight of objects will be an issue for Silver Sentinel, so I will re-jig the character later today to give more bang per buck. In addition when there's no metal around, he's superhuman tough but that's about it. I'm sure you (Ross) will think of inventive ways to do stuff and that will help some, but if you want any 'back up' abilities - like an Energy blast that is intrinsic to Silver Sentinel, but requires a suit to use as a focus/director otherwise it sprays out in every every direction? Something like that? Anyway, Magnetic control roll - 2d10 → [6,9] = (15) 9RAPs - Silver Sentinel (in this case) easily moves the crashed ship (weighing 25 tons, or around 10APs) from the roof.

With a shuddering crash the ENTIRE burning aircraft yanked from the roof leaving a gaping 'wound' in the old house roof! It soared across the grounds...

And the team saw another missile rack jut from the ground and swivel, aim, and fire a rocket at the floating craft!

Woooosh!

BOOOOM!!!

Sentinel brought the remains of the craft - easily enough to build a suit from and more besides - over the wall and ignored the constant hail of bullets that rang out from another jutting machine gun.

Silver Sentinel shrugged "Bullets? More metal for me!" and weaved his hands into a circle!

OOC More protection eh? Metal manipulation check... 2d10 → [9,9] = (18) Passed (no double roll needed). How about a 'mech' for Silver Sentinel to pilot? Perhaps: Dex 8, Str 8, Growth 5, Body 8, Skin Armour 8... 12 OV/RV. You can make something more powerful, but it won't last very long before it reduces to a puddle of metal again... Roll 2d10 → [7,6] = (13) 9RAPs

Silver-Mech
Dex: 8, Str: 13 (+5 comes from growth) Body: 8 (RV is 21, with extras from Skin armour and growth) Growth 5 (Already figured in) Skin Armour 8 (protects against physical attacks, but not energy type attacks like fire etc)
R#3
Duration 9APs (half an hour)

With 21 Resistance this thing can take a hammering from whatever defenses are still active in the garden. It has 13 Str so can toss a couple of hundred tons about without breaking sweat.



Silver Sentinel climbed into the 30' high mech, which towered over the wall of the grounds...

Even as he clambered into the cockpit - which was best described as 'functional' rather than comfortable - he saw various flamethrowers, missile launchers, machine guns, knockout gas guns, emp pulse generators and more besides all register the towering metal presence as a threat!

An automated voice rang out across the grounds "Vorning! You are trespassing und vill get your ess kicked if you do not leave immediately! Zis is a recording cause I em watching ze Eastenders! Do not make me engry!"

Yeoman rolled his eyes and turned to Lionheart. "Follow me!" he said.

Frostbite concentrated on cooling the air around the fires, snuffing them out one by one. The fire on the roof had gathered apace when the jet had been pulled free, but an unseasonable layer of snow started to dampen that. Again though, it was viewed as a threat by the automated defences!

OOC Ok I need to go do *other* things but intend to update later today. I have:

Lionheart and Yeoman heading for the secret entrance to the caves
Silver Sentinel (Mech clad) stood outside the walls of the mansion with Frostbite, and both are targeted by the grounds defences!
Haunt is carried by Lionheart intent on treating him in Wandafars cave.
Sentinels mech will last half an hour. If you want other systems adding there is more metal lying about.

OOC: Sweet mother that's awesome i was thinking about seeing what the crashed ships had for weaponry and turning them into turrets or something.

Dave what do you think: barriers of somekind?
a place we can fall back to
maybe find an escape rout just in case

smaug wrote:OOC: Sweet mother that's awesome i was thinking about seeing what the crashed ships had for weaponry and turning them into turrets or something.

Dave what do you think: barriers of somekind? A place we can fall back to maybe find an escape rout just in case

OOC: I think the first thing is to protect the people and property where possible. So anything you can do to minimise harm to the population. Who I suspect are going to want to stay. So lets creatre a barrier, yes down which we can funnel the Zomborgs, who are still on their way.

Sj

Yeoman and Lionheart flew over the village to land at what appeared to be a small mound, with standing stones scattered about, though they formed a rough circle from above

"Shouldn't show you this" said Yeoman, looking around. After the (doubtless) racket made by the mansion defences shooting down the aircraft it was eerily quiet in this part of the village. He walked up to a large standing stone, looked about, then peeled off a glove and placed a finger in what looked to be a natural hole in one of the larger stones, standing some ten feet high and six feet across and deep. Though weathered it looked to have been cut at some point, doubtless by ancients.

A light flicked on at Yeomans eye level, seemingly coming from the rock itself.

"Retinal scan. Confirmed. Fingerprint scan. Confirmed." said a female robotic voice.

"Vot iz se passvord?" said another voice - Wandafars - from a recording.

"Eh? It's me. You know who it is. Let me in shrimp." growled Yeoman.

"You are stupid if you sink I vill let you in like that just willy nilly. You could be any von."

"What? Oh for... password... Executive!"

"No"

"Devere! Iron Lady!"

"No, no."

"Ah... Hilda Ogden!"

"Good guess, but no."

"*&^&^%& this! I'm going to (*&*&% $^*")(*_ *&^*^%%$ this thing!" shouted Yeoman, pulling a fist back.

"Close enough. All of your swear vords have been recorded und mapped over ze years. No one swears like you. Dummkopf."

"Eh?" spluttered Yeoman. Another light shone from the obelisk, seemingly from the stone itself.

"Recognise... Yeoman. Recognise... Lionheart. Recognise... Haunt. Transporting."

Yeoman turned to Lionheart "Huh. He's already updated the database. Never could keep one step ahead of..."

The world flared and flashed!

"...the little... guy..." said Yeoman, looking around.

They'd been transported via a teleporter into the cave, what was left of it.

Clearly a large battle had taken place. Most of the machines were smashed, part of the roof had collapsed and small fires burned everywhere. A supporting iron beam had crashed down from above and brought rock with it. The central location where Wandafar controlled everything was a smouldering wreck. Yeoman looked about, then shouted "Wandy? WANDY!" and started tossing heavy debris aside as if it were cardboard to find his friend. "Dammit..." he said, voice going quiet. "If they've... If they've killed him... there'll be hell to pay."

Lionheart didn't need to be empathic (OOC in fact, he's lost that ability in the new write-up) to realise that Yeoman was genuinely choked up by the possible death of his friend. Nonetheless, he was professional. "Let's get Haunt sorted. Over here."

He flew across the cavern, with Lionheart appearing in the blink of an eye a moment later. Smashed machines were pulled aside and a gurney covered with a clear (albeit now cracked) plastic bubble was revealed. Yeoman leaned down, and held a handful of torn wires. "This machine speeds up the healing process of the body. I've seen someone with a broken leg get off this after a few seconds of working. Wandafar built it, said his people used it to turn the tide of a war they fought centuries before. Injects the body with healing nanites which join broken bones and cells together until the wounds heal naturally. Said it made the difference between victory and extinction, because the wounded could carry on fighting after a quick blast in this."

He added "He said the parts were a devil to find on this 'backward' planet and had to cobble together the machine from bits. I think a hair dryer is in there somewhere, and a few gaming consoles. Unless you know how to fix this, we're *&^%ed."

"Language please." stated the female robotic voice.

Yeoman looked up. "Backup computer. Computer! Where is Wandafar?"

"Creator, designation 'Wandafar' is not within the grounds of the mansion."

Yeoman chewed his lip. "Dead or... taken?" he looked at Lionheart. "I need to find Retribution and Bulldog, see what happened to them. You help him!"

Admin wrote:Yeoman chewed his lip. "Dead or... taken?" he looked at Lionheart. "I need to find Retribution and Bulldog, see what happened to them. You help him!"

OOC: Ok as it currently stands I am not sure how I am supposed to opperate my powers, but medical knowledge and any other abilities to the fore. Failing that I engage with the computer and ask it to help me. Assuming that this part of the work gets done, ok, then I'll assist Yeoman looking for the others. I've got a feeling the left the base in a hurry, teleporting out most likely? If that seems likely after a search I'll mention it to Yeoman. Maybe he can get the computer to tell us where and what and how.

Sj

Admin wrote:OOC

Decide what you want to do.
Choose which ability/power to use Adrenaline surge on
Roll dice
Perform action.

And that's it.

Lionheart concentrated, his Psi powers were still in flux, but he knew that within his genetically engineered mind, the answer was within his grasp. He concentrated, allowing the Psi energy his enhanced mind seemed to generate to flow through him and back into his rational reasoning areas.

OOC: Right so adrenalin surge, stick on INT as suggested and then use Postcognition to visualise it before attempting to patch it up as near as should be...

Sj

Sentinel stomped around in the yard with his newly created automaton.

"Look what father Christmas left?" sentinel cheered with a wicked grin. "The weapon system may still be fully operational on the crashed vessels if power can be restored but priority number one as always is the civilians so i guess i better hurry with somekind of barricade with whatever scrap i can find to bottle neck our new found 'friend's eh?"

OOC: I didn't know if we have time can someone jerry rig some explosives in the bottle neck?

(( You should be able to use Fabricate (the same power that makes your suit) to make some bombs.. though there might be something that prevents that. ))

dunecat wrote:(( You should be able to use Fabricate (the same power that makes your suit) to make some bombs.. though there might be something that prevents that. ))

If you roll high enough and give it some kind of control system, I can unload Frostbot into it and have him control defences so you don't have to. If nothing else he can be there to monitor where attacks come from via sensors of some sort - esp since Wandafar has gone and the base is bust. But I think it all depends on how high a roll you get.

Sj

Lionheart 'supercharged' his brain with PSI energy in the hope that it might help him figure out the workings of the machine that would help the Haunt...

OOC Adrenaline Surge on INT... Roll 2d10 → [1,5] = (6) Ugh. That's not good. Even so, the power doesn't burn out (that would need a roll of 5 or lower) and Lionhearts intelligence boosts by 10 points (assuming the Adrenaline Surge is used until decision made on Power Reserve or a complete character re-write or whatever decided). With 18 Intelligence, Postcognition goes up (to 18) and that comes up 2d10 → [10,2] = (12). Success, and Lionheart gains 12RAPs, giving him intimate and exact knowledge of the innards of the machine (at least how they are arranged at any rate) as they were only a minute or two before.

With his eyes glowing, the fiery image of a lion in their depths, Lionheart looks into the healing machines structure and nods to himself. Seemingly seeing an 'overlay' of how things were, and how they were at that moment he placed his hands into the box, and kept the surge of PSI energy in his mind...

OOC Repair roll. Adrenaline surge on INT again... 2d10 → [6,10] = (16) Much better. 14 RAPs, Intelligence shoots up to 22... make the check to fix the machine... Go for +2CS on the difficulty (to give a chance of a better result) Roll 2d10 → [3,6] = (9) Not great but a success. 2RAPs. It won't last for long, but it will do the trick.

With his hands a superspeed blur, Lionheart placed the components as best he could back into their slots and casings. Some were damaged, and to even get it to work he had to press lightly in several places on the motherboard whilst broken circuits struggled to deliver power. Just as he thought it had failed - in the blink of an eye, because he'd done things at superhuman speed (OOC even without boosted Superspeed he's still far faster than a normal human) and therefore it seemed to take an age before anything happened - the machine lights on an led console panel shone with flickering life. A diagnostic scan stuttered into life and bathed Haunts battered body with a blue shimmering glow.

Lionheart pressed the components into place as he watched several different coloured rays bathe the fallen superhuman. He seemed to gasp and shudder, and Lionheart looked into the machines innards as sparks popped and cracked. He wasn't bothered by the fact he was being electrocuted - his superhuman body had long since evolved to ignore threats an ordinary human, even Lionheart in a previous incarnation - as the current was drawn from an ordinary wall socket.

Unseen by human eyes, inside Haunt microscopic nanobots, having been infused into his body by those strange lights, set to work. Where tissue was torn, they formed together to knit the wound whole and pull it tighter. Bones were reinforced and a minor miracle took place as alien robots smaller than human cells worked with a single minded purpose to heal their patient.

OOC Recovery roll for Haunt, because he has suffered from killing combat, will take around 30 seconds of time. That comes up: 2d10 → [10,3] = (13) Haunt recovers 10 points of Body, which stops him from dying and places him on Body 5, and he wakes up.

Lionheart wrinkles his nose at the smell of burning silicon. He pats out a fire and pulls his hand free, wondering whether he's done enough.

Haunt coughs, and slowly opens his eyes. An explosion that could have killed him hadn't and now he saw Lionheart stood next to him, and they were back in the cave... which was a mess.

"Hey!" shouted Yeoman from a side cave where there seemed to have been a cave in of sorts. He looked across the distance, filled with smashed machines, smoking and burning still, and saw Haunt. He was about to say something but bit his tongue and glanced at Lionheart. "Found Retribution. A support beam fell on top of him. I shifted it, but he's in a mess. Looks like he took a kicking. Maybe Bulldog is around here but every side room off here has had what looked like a grenade or bomb off and its gonna take some clearing."

He paused for a second, then added "No sign of Wandafar so far. Whoever... or whatever those things were in the jets, they came here with a purpose, grab whatever was wanted, and got out." He looked across at the (now smashed, blackened and smoking) teleport tube and pointed. "Maybe out through that. We need to find these *&^&*&^(*! and pay them back for this!"

OOC Retribution is badly injured, the healing machine is (now) burned out and the place is still a mess. Bulldog hasn't been found yet, Wandafar is missing and the place is badly banged up. Haunt is back on his feet with 5 Body, but the nanobots inside him are fragile things. Until he gains proper healing rest they are vulnerable, especially to electrical type attacks and those which can disrupt (albeit advanced) machines.

Lionheart may be able to use certain superhuman senses to find Bulldog, Haunt is no slouch in the detection department, and Retribution had been working on that camera that Haunt hoped would lead to kidnappers so he might want to look for that as well.

Frostbite crafted a thick ice wall/barricade whilst Silver Sentinel called on his amazing powers over metal to craft another layer of protection using the smashed jets...

Machine guns from the lawn blazed round after round into the ice, shattering and tearing it up where the high calibre bullets struck, only to go no further when the wall froze up again almost as fast.

Sentinel tore up what was left of the crashed jets and formed them into seamless walls of metal. Though bulges jutted where bullets pinged into the metal, they didn't breach through to the other side.

That changed when rockets were launched and exploded against the barricades and even the heroes had to duck down behind the mansion walls which were quickly being smashed to pieces around Frostbite and Sentinel knelt his mech down to get extra cover, though it seemed to be holding up quite impressively. When Sentinel used his power to repulse metal that eased things considerably - bullets either stopped short or didn't leave the barrels of the guns.

Before they could breathe a sigh of relief they saw the leaping zomborgs in the far distance, the light of the moon glinting off their tiny (at least from here) forms. Soon they would be in range and use those hand mounted lazers against the heroes.

'The Mansions defences are being used against us, thus suggesting they have been reprogrammed by the enemy. If it were possible to get closer to the mainframe that command might be overriden. The danger lies with the mansions systems recognising any warm blooded being in range as a target, including the villagers. Whilst you and Silver Sentinel are currently the focus of the computers attention, if the civilians who live here get closer there could be a massacre.' said Frostbot inside Frostbites head.

Frostbite glanced at the far distant forms of the leaping Zomborgs and at the jutting weapon mounts from the lawns and mansion itself - with who knew how many more available to call on.

That meant the best plan might be to send someone into the caves to get the computer turned off... but it would leave anyone left behind alone to face the mansion defences for a time and the massed might of those Zomborgs, alone until help could arrive! And whoever went into the mansion would have to run the gauntlet of countless defence systems. Wandafar had been thorough in providing protection for this place, but when it had been turned against them, it meant that they were fighting a war against their own defences!

Haunt is back on his feet with 5 Body, but the nanobots inside him are fragile things. Until he gains proper healing rest they are vulnerable, especially to electrical type attacks and those which can disrupt (albeit advanced) machines.

ooc: If I figured out the AP system right, that means he needs an hour of rest before he gets another killing damage recovery and that's because he has a 5 in Regen, right?

Admin wrote:Lionheart

Lionheart may be able to use certain superhuman senses to find Bulldog, Haunt is no slouch in the detection department, and Retribution had been working on that camera that Haunt hoped would lead to kidnappers so he might want to look for that as well.[/i][/color]

OOC: Ok Paul when you ge a chance take a look at what Dunecat has done. I am not sure if I've underplayed Lionheart, I got the numbers confused and thought the BC was the actual power level Doh! So I worked everything down, but it might be too low as compared to what you think it ought to be. In any case time for Lionheart to put his planet sized brain into gear.

Lionheart, having noted that Haunt looked considerable better, began to search the space that once held the most sophisticated machinery the world had known. Firstly once again calling on his Postcognition, Lionheart sought to see the room as it was, before the explosion, trying to find out where everyone was and if indeed they did all get out.

Then he began to search with his super senses and super Psi brain.

OOC: Hoping that postcognition will tell me what I need to know before the attack so I can work out where to go from there.

Sj

Although Frostbite hated to leave Sentinel alone out here, he had little choice, fighting on two fronts would make the chances of winning this fight, and protecting the village small indeed. Signally Sentinel, Frostbite made clear his plan. Dispersed he had the best chance of getting past the defences into the caves below and to the others where he could over ride the command and switch the defences over to the intruders again.

Seeing where the other had gone, via the standing circle, Frostbite decided that way in was also going to be the most defended. No he would go the straight root, the root, that no doubt Wandafar had planned for, but time was of the essence. Becoming immaterial, he sank straight into the ground and shot for the location of the caves beneath the mansion.

OOC: Ok taking a risk but hoping speed pays off. Once I am down there I think we need to get Yeoman out to help Sentinel and if Haunt feels up to it Haunt as well. Although Dave might want to follow up on Retribution and what he was looking into. Once down below, Frostbite will let Frostbot take control of the computers and try and reinstate our control. And also find out if he can where the teleport was used to take whoever it took when this all happened.

Sj

"Hold on my friend is nothing sacred anymore? There was a time you could leave your back door open and people just stroll on in and program your high tec security system of mass destruction. Is there no way frostbot could counter attack the hack from the outside of bypass it altogether and let us control the system manually......hey look at me talking like im from the future". Exclaimed sentinel as he obviously shocked him self as to how much knowledge he had picked up since the good old days when he could just about get his head around the radio.

OOC: If not Dave lets go with your idea and hope your super speed saves your bacon

Lionheart, having noted that Haunt looked considerable better, began to search the space that once held the most sophisticated machinery the world had known. Firstly once again calling on his Postcognition, Lionheart sought to see the room as it was, before the explosion, trying to find out where everyone was and if indeed they did all get out.

Then he began to search with his super senses and super Psi brain.

"Ow! It feels like I died ... again," the Haunt muttered moving off the table. "Where are we? This place almost looks familiar." Not yet understanding he is in the underground base.

DavidMcMahon wrote:"Ow! It feels like I died ... again," the Haunt muttered moving off the table. "Where are we? This place almost looks familiar." Not yet understanding he is in the underground base.

As Lionheart concentrates he answers Haunt, "Well friend we've both seen the walking dead, recently. But I can tell you it doesn't look like you. The nanites have helped stabilize you, but you're not out of the woods yet. It looks as if this place was attacked, Retribution was found over there." Lionheart pointed in the location Yeoman had reported.

"I'm looking for the others, but I have a nasty feeling our attackers took Wandafar, when they attacked. Everything is a mess, but if I can find evidence to suggest where they took Wandafar and the others we might yet have a lead. But I am sure Retribution could do with a hand. That machine was a one shot deal, we need to get these guys to safety."

Lionheart then fell silent letting Haunt decide what to do, whilst he focused his efforts on what happened and who, if anyone, remained.

Sj

"Let's see if I can help find out missing comrades," the Haunt replies, "I've never even learned basic first aid. Is it starve a fever and feed a cold or the other way round?"

actions: Using detective skills, looking for clues as to areas where comrades might be trapped under rubble. Any possible places found, will then ooze or change shapes [[snake mole, dachshund, badger, whatever] to get through the cracks and holes to see if they are in there. This once, will not summon the fog to hide the fact that I can stretch and shape change. Then looking for clues as to where any missing comrades might have gone.

OOC David - Killing Combat takes 15APs (1 day) between recoveries. Your 5AP regeneration drops that down to 10 APs (1 hour) so you are right.

Dave - still playing catchup so haven't had chance to look at Ryans suggestion for Lionheart as yet, but will (honest!) over this weekend. If need be the character can just be re-written with +500-1000 HP and ditch the variable power stuff.

Lionheart looked about, a faint image of a fiery lion glowing in his eyes as he looked upon the room as was, only minutes ago...

OOC Using the Adrenaline Surge write up we have Adrenal Surge (Int) 2d10 → [2,7] = (9) Success boosts Int (and all associated powers) to 18 whilst Postcognition check is 2d10 → [7,6] = (13), Success. Enough to figure out...

Lionheart looked on the cave as was. Cluttered with machines but tidy, fully functional, pre-attack. A side cavern held a number of machines and Retribution toiled at those with a number of cables hooked up to what looked like a video camera. Part of the camera was disassembled and he had various electronic probes hooked to to certain points on the motherboard.

British Bulldog was in another side cave, sat alone in what looked to be a locker room. His dog was slumped on his lap, and a haunted look on the mans face told volumes - he'd been manipulated and used against his will to cause mayhem and terror, which ran directly against his every instinct.

Looking back to what Wandafar was doing he saw the small man glancing at his beloved soap operas on multiple screens, at a radar screen showing 3D images of the incoming enemy. He was also studying the gel pack that Lionheart himself had brought to the cave. The pack appeared to have been cut with a scalpel and a small amount of the glowing liquid had oozed out onto a slide which was being studied under a microscope and projected onto a screen. Lionheart studied the image, and couldn't see anything save blue slush. Then Wandafar started magnifying the image and it appeared that the liquid was filled with trillions of tiny robot like spiders/crabs!

Lionheart noticed Wandafar looking at the screen, eager not to miss any of his beloved Eastenders.

And the 'gel sludge' struck! A tendril spat from the pack into a vent on the computer system near his knees... and all hell broke loose!

The lights and electrics flickered, and internal security devices - laser guns, knockout gas, sonics, mental jammers, EMP rays and more besides - were all let loose on the unwitting heroes!

Wandafar was struck multiple times and thrown across the cave! Retribution staggered from the lab gasping for air, and Bulldog screamed in rage and agony as his ultra sensitive hearing was subjected to a constant assault!

Just then there was a shimmering light and the teleport tubes flashed, again and again, with Zomborgs stepping out, and letting loose with blast after blast from their lazer guns! The blue sludge, meanwhile, had formed into a slim humanoid figure that absorbed knowledge and secrets with every touch! It pulsed with blue light with every touch on one of Wandafars incredible computer systems, then turned its attention to the man himself...

Blast after blast cannoned into Wandafar and stopped when the blue sludge man stepped up and engulfed Wandafar, suit and all. It made the small fellows suit twitch with life and stagger robotically over to the teleporters.

Wandafar and the sludge man vanished from view, and the remaining Zomborgs self detonated, causing the massive widescale damage in the cave!

Lionheart shuddered. He'd brought that thing into the cave. It was almost as if it had been planned, but that was impossible. Wandafar and his computers had been the target, and the other heroes had simply been caught up in the assault.

OOC More later, sack time, and up in 5 hours with the kids...

Using a practised eye and keen mind, Haunt looked at the blast patterns, fallen debris, concentrations of damage and other clues that might suggest places where British Bulldog had fallen...

OOC Perception 2d10 → [10,1] = (11) Not great, but a limited success at least.

Changing shape, hidden by a cloud of fog, Haunt oozed and flowed through gaps and holes in fallen rubble.Whilst Lionheart stared vaguely at the smashed cavern around him, and Yeoman pulled randomly at smashed machines, Haunt took his best guess at where Bulldog might have fallen. The man was a born fighter - he would be at the forefront of any battle, and yet...

Haunt found him. He was in human form, curled up and covering the body of his dog, Winston. Though it was dark and cramped in here Haunt could tell that the gap above and around Bulldog suggested he'd been in wolf form when it fell on him. Now unconscious, he was in human form and the debris balanced precariously around, ready to fall in and crush the hero.

Smaller, like a snake now, writhed in mist and moving through gaps no human could traverse, and Haunt saw a sad sight. The dog, Winston, had died. Several wounds marked the animals body, and despite Bulldogs best efforts, he couldn't work miracles. Haunt looked about. Moving the wrong piece of debris would bring all this down on British Bulldog...

Frostbite started dropping through the ground...

Whether it was some 'hunch' or sixth sense, he slowed and paused for a second. Frostbot confirmed his suspicions only a moment later, whilst Frostbite was submerged deep into the soil and rock above the caverns. 'I am detecting something - a 'pulse' or 'wave' of some kind which is designed to detect the specific electrical impulses of living beings, amongst other things. I have attempted to absorb the pulse rather than reflect it, but there remains a very real risk that Wandafar will have established countermeasures to deal with unconventional attackers, probably through overloading neural synapses which would - at best - disrupt your concentration and possibly your powers. At worst it may render you unconscious. Resolidifying into solid rock would not be... advisable.' said Frostbot.

It was a sobering thought. Wandafar had designed the defences to keep ALL manner of intruders out. With those defences turned against Frostbite, Sentinel and the others, it was clear that they would have their work cut out when it came to getting in!

OOC that's not to say it's impossible - but Frostbite will be subject to a psychic attack if he continues his current course of action... Is he tough enough to take it?

ooc: Actually I wrote that this one time I wasn't using Fog to hide what I'm doing.


"Found him," the Haunt yells out, "he's hurt and debris may fall on him. I will protect him if you folks can get this stuff off us!"


actions: Form a nice protective umbrella over him.