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

DavidMcMahon Thu Jun 20 2013, 13:23

With a sigh he jury rigged a gurney and twisted metal around it to form a protective, if crude, barrier. It would take a minute or two to set it up, and he looked to the ceiling, beyond which his friends would be struggling against the murderous Zomborgs!

In the wreckage of the room Retribution had been in, Haunt found the remains of the camera. Smashed. Near it had been a scrap of paper, mostly burnt, but with one written word he could make out. Carver. Did it mean anything? Retribution had written it down just before the attack. The man was thorough, and perhaps even better a detective than Haunt was, though he wasn't sure. Regardless, it was up to him now to follow the trail, thanks to the extent of Retributions injuries. There was also the matter of Wandafars kidnapping, and the small matter of getting this place up and running again. He'd been a lone wolf before this, but the attack and nature of the forces ranged against this place suggested that it might be prudent to team up with these people.

Suddenly he twitched. What was that? He looked around. He'd heard a voice somewhere.. in his head? Was he going mad? What had it said...?

'You are stronger together with this group than you ever could be alone...'

Haunt frowned beneath the mask and looked about. The camera smashed, the investigation at a dead end aside from one word - Carver. Did it mean something? An organisation? A person? Retribution had considered it important enough to write down, now it was Haunts turn to pick up the trail...

The Haunt limped over to where Yeoman was busy helping out Retribution.

"What do we do now," he asked. "I'm in no real shape to fight for a few hours. What can I do to help until then?"

Admin Fri Jun 21 2013, 00:55

Frostbite placed a hand ont he struggling Zombots shoulder...

Contact!

Frostbite watched anxiously as the Zomborg stiffened. Lionheart glanced at his friend, then over Frostbites shoulder to look at the distant oncoming Zomborgs. With his amazing vision he could could 11 of them in all, bounding and running towards the mansion. Well within shooting range now they seemed to be more intent on getting close.

To explode like bombs.

Not all of them. They opened fire, blasting at the wall, the mansion, and the large robot clearly in sight and with upper body jutting over the mansions surrounding barrier.

As laser fire blasted all about, Frostbite, Silver Sentinel and Lionheart knew they'd have a fight on their hands! The enemy would pick them off from range... or get in close and try to take them out with self detonation!

OOC Initiative time... Heroes 5, Bad Guys 2. Only Sentinel has anything to worry about (and only then with a lousy roll if they get a great roll).

Silver Sentinel is in his battered robot
Frostbite is tangible
Lionheart is holding the zomborg captive with his telekinesis, but it appears to be unresisting at the moment - playing possum, or safe to release?
Frostbot is... busy...

You have initiative. The Zomborgs are only 200 yards away now, and their leaping/running makes it tricky to make accurate shots but not impossibly so. Declare your three actions. One can be a dice (attack) action and one can be a move action if you wish. Any other remaining actions that require no dice roll are automatic actions. Lionhearts holding of the zomborg counts as automatic, and Frostbites/Frostbots attack on the zomborg is an auto action, so that leaves 2 actions apiece for Lionheart/Frostbite. If Sentinel wants to fix his armour it counts as his dice action, but chances are he can fully restore the robot to full Body. Of course, won't do him much good if it gets shot up again.

Admin Fri Jun 21 2013, 01:12

Yeoman turned. The man who'd humiliated him earlier - Haunt - was offering his services.

He bit his tongue and looked at Retribution and British Bulldog. With a sigh he called out. "Grab Bulldog up. We need to get to the garage." With that he marched through the ruins of the cave with Retribution in his arms and down a corridor/tunnel. He paued along a wall and probed out with a hand in the darkness. Somewhere a beep sounded and a door slid open in the side of the corridor, light shining from beyond.

He stepped through.

With Bulldog in hand Yeoman followed. Steps lead up and emerged to a doorway which was open as Yeoman stepped through, and into a large well stocked garage. Aston Martins, Jaguars, vintage sportscars of various kinds and several Italian exotica were present, along with a number of high powered motorcycles and a number of expensive Harley Davidsons.

Yeoman turned "The Earl likes his toys. Some of them haven't been used in a while though, I should think. Spends most of his time at Westminster these days." he walked along and stopped, looking back to Haunt. "We'll take this one."

The NEW Vanguard! Frostbite Issue 1 - "Frosty Reception" - Page 8 Earls_car

Yeoman watched for a reaction, then chuckled. "Justins little joke. Looks like a museum relic. It has a fusion powerplant that recycles trash. Wandafar built it after watching 'Back to the Future' and making a bet with the Earl. He won, the Earl paid up..." he waved a hand at the car. "Generates a null field around it, travels at mach 2. We think. Maybe faster but after that the car starts showing up on radar and making the RAF nervous. Don't ask me why it looks like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Think it was on the telly that weekend and Wandafar fancied making a car as opposed to a plane, but don't let appearances fool you. Put Bulldog in. We'll be in London in no time. The others can sort those Cyborgs out - Retribution isn't dying on my watch, and I won't trust him to the local authorities - there's enough over zealous cops out there to ensure they try something stupid. Your choice. Come with me - to London - or stay here and help the others."

DavidMcMahon Fri Jun 21 2013, 02:16

Don't ask me why it looks like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Think it was on the telly that weekend and Wandafar fancied making a car as opposed to a plane, but don't let appearances fool you. Put Bulldog in. We'll be in London in no time. The others can sort those Cyborgs out - Retribution isn't dying on my watch, and I won't trust him to the local authorities - there's enough over zealous cops out there to ensure they try something stupid. Your choice. Come with me - to London - or stay here and help the others."

"You got some way of letting the others know where we are going," the Haunt asks, too tired to use his spooky voice. "And have you ever heard the name or word Carver, Retribution wrote it down for me as a clue to the mission woman and child."

Steeple_jackuk Fri Jun 21 2013, 07:48

Admin wrote:You have initiative. The Zomborgs are only 200 yards away now, and their leaping/running makes it tricky to make accurate shots but not impossibly so. Declare your three actions. One can be a dice (attack) action and one can be a move action if you wish. Any other remaining actions that require no dice roll are automatic actions. Lionhearts holding of the zomborg counts as automatic, and Frostbites/Frostbots attack on the zomborg is an auto action, so that leaves 2 actions apiece for Lionheart/Frostbite. If Sentinel wants to fix his armour it counts as his dice action, but chances are he can fully restore the robot to full Body. Of course, won't do him much good if it gets shot up again.

OOC: "Oh you left me hanging as to what happens with Frostbot!"

Frostbite couldn't afford to waste time and effort worrying about his companion now. If all else failed they'd all fail anyway. The stakes were as high as they'd ever been. But this time he had no secret source of power to draw on. As the Zomborgs came in, he planted his feet, extended his arm and let his powerful control over temperature begin to work.

OOC: "Frostbite will ice the lead warriors coming in, encase them in frost and use that as a barrier to the ones behind. If they strike their own and blow them up so be it."

Meanwhile Lionheart seeing that he could divert his attention to the task at hand, whilst continuing to restrain the Zomborg, also let loose, using his powerful telekinesis to sweep one Zomborg into another, hoping to set off their powerful explosives as some sort of chain reaction.

OOC: "Just as an aside, looking over Lionheart I suddenly realised that mental blast got dropped along the way. At one point (down to me admittedly not knowing what all the numbers meant) I tried to suggest toning him down. But I noticed he had this mind power that gave him ranged attacks against things that didn't have a mind. Which is in effect what I am using telekinesis to do here above, but in a less obvious way. Since telekinesis can't 'punch' someone in the face. Oh well, I've hunted down the revised LH and copied the text into a word document which I can use now to tell me what powers I was finally left with after all our tooing and throwing ;-)"

Sj

Admin Fri Jun 21 2013, 22:46

OOC Dave/Lionheart you still have Mental Blast (4APs, but can be boosted by Power Reserve, which is Fatiguing as explained in last thread - incorrectly. A roll is made with the number of Power Reserve points used vs Int/Mind of Lionheart (which is 8/9 in his case). Low roll? Great, no damage. High roll? Could be nasty. Chance you take, but it's worth going all out against these things.

Mental Blast = Mental beam that has a physical effect/damage
Mind Blast = Mental Beam that attacks the targets mind, though in this case you (correctly) surmise that it may be less effective on creatures who are programmed, and effectively have no mind, but rather a programmed set of routines to follow.

10 If Lionheart attacks then blast energy.
20 goto 10.

etc

So if you want to use mental blast, and want to boost it (4APs is fine against normal people, but these things will shrug it off) state how many points of power reserve you want to use, if you will

Steeple_jackuk Fri Jun 21 2013, 22:49

Admin wrote:OOC Dave/Lionheart you still have Mental Blast (4APs, but can be boosted by Power Reserve, which is Fatiguing as explained in last thread - incorrectly. A roll is made with the number of Power Reserve points used vs Int/Mind of Lionheart (which is 8/9 in his case). Low roll? Great, no damage. High roll? Could be nasty. Chance you take, but it's worth going all out against these things.

Mental Blast = Mental beam that has a physical effect/damage
Mind Blast = Mental Beam that attacks the targets mind, though in this case you (correctly) surmise that it may be less effective on creatures who are programmed, and effectively have no mind, but rather a programmed set of routines to follow.

10 If Lionheart attacks then blast energy.
20 goto 10.

etc

So if you want to use mental blast, and want to boost it (4APs is fine against normal people, but these things will shrug it off) state how many points of power reserve you want to use, if you will

OOC: "Oh sooner we get my character sheet cleaned up and the numbers all in place the better. Yes please mental blast and since I've already got Zomborg where I want him, lets put all the money on red and make it 6 points to that nice 4 from my mental reserve pool ;-). "

Sj

Admin Fri Jun 21 2013, 23:29

OOC Dave/LH Started up writing LHs' character sheet need to clarify a few costs when I can get chance as Dunecat has different costs on some things than I get with the DC Character Builder which probably means the character builder is out in some way as Ryans adding isnt often wrong. It's on its way anyway. Probably tomorrow. If the house hasn't fallen down on me.

Admin Fri Jun 21 2013, 23:49

Yeoman considered for a moment. "A message for the others? Yeah. I'll sort something out."

He pulled an object like a USB key from his belt, peeled off a glove and pressed his thumb onto the keys central body. "Computer this is Yeoman. Identify."

A moment passed, then the backup computer intoned "Identified. Yeoman. Status: Friend. Speak." through a tiny (tinny) speaker on the key.

"When Lionheart, Frostbite or Silver Sentinel enter the house, state this message. 'Gone to London to treat the injured. Find the Montague club on Harley street. Go their in civilian clothing. State St Johns 1734 at the door. It's the name and codenumber for the guests of Earl St Johns. His major domo will greet you there and lead you to private rooms. I'll meet you there." he said, and turned to Haunt. "At this point I'm pretty sure I can trust you lot. You're the only people I can count on, BUT..." and he leaned in close, a snarl on his face "you EVER pull a trick like you did before, without warning, on me... and we're not friends, colleagues, team mates, nothing. You clear on that 'hoss'?"

Haunt couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the soiled costume of Yeoman.

Yeoman stared him in the eye for a moment more then turned to the car. "Right let's... wait. Carver you say? Hold on a second..." He frowned, chin in hand and pondering. "There was a man named Harold Carver who was a serious gangland mobster in London. Retirbution made it his mission to shut him down after Carver and his cronies wriggled through the legal system and made monkeys out of the police. He was connected in ways that stank, I tell you." He paused for a second, then looked down at his costume and scowled. "yeah, stink worse than me. Retribution went outside the law to take Carver down, but the law couldn't make it stick and Carver got free again - but not before Retribution gave him and his mates a right hiding. His 'schtick' was using future tech grade machetes. Science fiction stuff, they were a 'mono molecular' blade which meant what they hit was cut. Don't last long, but then they didn't have to. Cost a fortune, but then Carver has one. Has places all over London, but it's a wild goose chase without asking round. We can do that if you wanna practise your tough guy act on a few hard cases in the east end, but first let's get these guys sorted."

THOOM! THOOM! RUMBLE!!!

Yeoman looked about. "The Mansion's under attack! Damn! We can't... we can't leave the others!"

Haunt looked at Yeoman. Despite the man being on his last legs - a stiff breeze would knock him over - he was still prepared to go out and fight alongside the others!

He chewed a lip and turned to Haunt. "What do you think? We can get these two clear, or we can go help against those murderous cyborgs. If they take us out..." he looked at the prone forms of Bulldog and Retribution "we're ALL dead."

DavidMcMahon Sat Jun 22 2013, 03:44

THOOM! THOOM! RUMBLE!!!

Yeoman looked about. "The Mansion's under attack! Damn! We can't... we can't leave the others!"

Haunt looked at Yeoman. Despite the man being on his last legs - a stiff breeze would knock him over - he was still prepared to go out and fight alongside the others!

He chewed a lip and turned to Haunt. "What do you think? We can get these two clear, or we can go help against those murderous cyborgs. If they take us out..." he looked at the prone forms of Bulldog and Retribution "we're ALL dead."

"Either one of us takes a hit, we are dead," the Haunt replies. "I have no real ranged attacks, other than throwing rocks at them, and the Fear doesn't work on them. We die, who is going to save these two? Much as I hate to say it, we need to run and recover and hope for the best. I can carry both of the wounded so you can defend yourself if needed."

actions: Channeling Monty Python and the Holy Grail --- RUN AWAY!!!!! Get folks to the hospital and heal up as best as I can.

smaug Tue Jun 25 2013, 09:58

OOC: What do you think guys i can use my metal manip on all of them, well not without god like rolling anyway and shooting them will only pick them off so i was thinking defencivly like erecting a tight piano wire like net as they are coming in fast it would hopefully slice them up (think res evil with the red queen) or at least slow them down???
Or what if we combined powers some how?

Steeple_jackuk Tue Jun 25 2013, 10:00

smaug wrote:OOC: What do you think guys i can use my metal manip on all of them, well not without god like rolling anyway and shooting them will only pick them off so i was thinking defencivly like erecting a tight piano wire like net as they are coming in fast it would hopefully slice them up (think res evil with the red queen) or at least slow them down???
Or what if we combined powers some how?

OOC: "Personally, you've got a mec to blow holes at them, but as for yourself I'd continue to whittle them down. As the front runners come in, mould them into spikes or walls that mean the others behind have more to get around and we have more cover and time. to get the remainder."

Sj

Admin Wed Jun 26 2013, 06:47

OOC First opportunity I've had to update in nearly 3 days, been bonkers here. Even so, I'm at work, sat in a colliery so I need to get a move on!

Yeoman and Haunt (with British Bulldog and Retribution)

Yeoman had a pained look on his face as he settled Bulldog and Retribution down on the surprisingly spacious 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and climbed into the front seat. "I hate to leave those guys... and this place. Justin will strangle me, but we have to prioritise. Much as I hate to admit it, we might have to call in SMITE but there would be awkward questions to answer. Dammit."

He turned what looked like an ancient knob on the vintage cars dashboard which flipped down to reveal a small pad. Pulling his glove off he pressed a thumb to it, and a flip up scanner the size of a web cam popped up from the dashboard. That emitted a blue light across Yeomans face.

"Driver designation: Yeoman. Cleared." said a female computer voice.

The dashboard seemed to morph and shift into a thoroughly modern touch screen setup. With a few deft presses Yeoman had the vehicle powered up, a whirling kind of sound akin to a jet, but much quieter.

"I hate this part." muttered Yeoman. He pulled back on the large steering wheel which worked like a conventional plane control, and Haunt noticed a humming energy field form around the car. "Any design. he could have picked ANY design, and he picks this. The first time it was a laugh. Now?"

Haunt wasn't quite sure what he meant until a doorway at the end of the garage opened and the 'car' hovered, then flew forward, with the song of 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' sang by Dick Van Dyke and co. blaring out.

"It never stops! It's on permenant loop!" wailed Yeoman over the din as the 'car' soared from the garage, through a bunch of holographic trees and up into the night air. Haunt glanced back and saw the mansion already distant, with the battle going on at the far side. Then the car shifted into overdrive and THWOOOOOOSHHHH!!! was gone!

"Near, far, in our motor car Oh what a happy time we'll spend.
Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Our fine four fendered friend.
Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Our fine four fendered friend.
Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang..."

OOC Another update later for Haunt...

Admin Wed Jun 26 2013, 18:40

OOC Just re-read the latest writeup for Lionheart, he doesn't have Mental Blast (Mental attack with physical damage) listed. He does have Mind Blast (7APs) but Lionheart knows that might have a limited or no effect against these things - they work more from a program than sentience. His speed (assuming he uses superspeed) and power reserve (say, 6 points) adds to Dex (8) and gives him Dex of 22. That gives an Acting value of 22, Opposing value of 22 (Superman would hit air time after time without using hero points) and his 'special link' Martial Arts means it jumps up to 22APs as far as I can tell. This includes a subskill called 'battery' (as in 'Assault and Battery') which can substitute for Lionhearts strength in killing combat - normally not a good thing for heroes, but against things that aren't alive (robots, undead, undead robots etc) it's no problem.

So. Roll for Power reserve (6 points to Superspeed). 8,2 (10) No damage from the fatiguing weakness.

I will 'assume' (in the interests of moving things on - feel free to object and I will change it) That Lionheart goes up against two Zomborgs and goes for a critical blow. This means a roll of 7 or over to hit (told you Lionheart was fast - this is an effective writeup). Roll 4,8 (12). Hit, plus an extra column...

Kaaaa.... POWWWWW!!!

Lionheart sped up to two of the nearest zomborgs, moving away from the others and opening fire...

With astonishing speed, moving too fast for the eye to follow, he applied a thousand karate chops a second to each robot, and knew what was coming (even without the need to use his danger sense...) and the Zomborgs exploded!

OOC Attack with Bomb against 22 Opposing value... 3,7 (10) Miss and 1,3 (4) Miss...

Lionheart ducked, dropped to the floor, twisted and somersaulted backwards whilst turning in the air and landing in a crouch as the explosions swept out over and around him...

A moment later he was stood in the middle of a crater, forcefield shimmering against the heat still present, though the explosion hadn't actually touched him... forewarned was forearmed it seemed, and Lionheart felt that some missing element - his astonishing speed and unmatchable agility, which had been mostly absent before, had been restored. With a flex of his fist he grinned and looked at the remaining Zomborgs...

=========

Silver Sentinel, still inside the Robot, gestured again, this time intent on turning metal debris from a cubed Zomborg into wire, then moving it into place at about head height in the path of the oncoming (leaping) Zomborgs...

OOC Metal manipulation check... 1,9 (10) Not great, but enough to create a wire between a pair of trees...

The oncoming Zomborgs leapt and sprinted... some ran under the wire, others leapt over it without actually knowing what peril they'd faced. Two leapt into it's path, and Sentinel hoped it'd stop the damned creatures from getting any closer!

OOC Claw attack of 9APs on two Zomborgs... Roll 5,7 (12) and 8,4 (12). Both Zomborgs take 3APs damage apiece and tumble to the floor. Despite being injured by the wire, they get to their feet and keep leaping forward... STOP PRESS - Silver Sentinel is on the list o stuff to do for a 'tune up' and squeeze more bang per buck out of...

With a TWANG!!! two Zomborgs snagged the wire - one on an ankle, the other on the top of its metal encased head. They both tumbled through the air and crashed to the ground, but straightened up and continued to leap towards the Mansion and the desparate defenders...

=========

Frostbite raised his arms and created an instant, tall and wide ice wall!

The ice, though thick and strong, wouldn't hold the evil creatures for long, Frostbite knew... and so it transpired as blast after blast thudded into the ice wall and cracked... split... then shattered the huge edifice! It'd broken the momentum of the charge though and bought valuable seconds breathing space for the heroes... There were 10 still coming in, though two were injured slightly. As they clambered and leapt over the huge chunks of ice, Lionheart, Frostbite, Silver Sentinel and Frostbot (still inside the Zomborg) knew this was it - Lionheart might well be fast enough to avoid the creatures, but the others would be caught up in multiple explosions! Lionheart turned... his super hearing heard the villagers coming out of their homes - these things would slaughter them!

Angry, he whirled about, flexed forcefield encased fists and prepared to do battle with the things, and take them out - or go down fighting!

Silver Sentinel turned to the weapons on the lawn, magnetically dragging the missiles and those remaining guns that were still working up into the air and prepared to use them - even as flying debris - to attack the Zomborgs! Frostbite readied his coldest, most powerful blast and the air around him cracked with searing icy intensity and...

The Zomborgs slumped to the floor, clattering limp and apparently lifeless, even though there wasn't a mark on them!

The Zomborg Frostbot had taken over suddenly straightened and turned to Frostbite and the others. It's gruesome dead features, half masked with cybernetic implants, worked to open a mouth and a growl/rasp came out. "It took some time to work through the multiple safeguards and firewalls. Even so, full control could not be achieved. The technology that has been used is beyond this era to produce. If this unit were to offer an opinion, it would be that the technology is on a par with that this unit and the host form have encounted in the past. Alien, futuristic, and that strange mix of chaos and logic that belonged to Claude Bentham." It looked about at the fallen Zomborgs and nudged one with a metal foot. "The command I sent - to go into regeneration mode - will not last long. Seconds perhaps. use the time well."

OOC sorry for the monster post - took an hour to type up in between running around after kids etc..

Steeple_jackuk Wed Jun 26 2013, 22:51

Admin wrote:"The command I sent - to go into regeneration mode - will not last long. Seconds perhaps. use the time well."

"Very well, Whilst I encase them in ice so they can't move. The Sentinel you convert them into some base metal creatures. And with the one we've captured..." Frostbite turned to the creature that Frostbot was within, "Can you extract any useful information from it. I want to see if we can get a lead before we destroy these things, we can't leave them hanging about."

Sj

Admin Sun Jun 30 2013, 00:28

Sentinel made short work of the cybernetic monstrosities. He could feel the metal inside them, powereing them, motivating them and ultimately, dooming them.

It was a simple process for the metal controlling hero to separate the metal from the flesh, and grisly business too. The smell of decomposition was strong, along with various fluids and chemicals of unknown types that spewed out onto the lawn as metal oozed from the Cyborgs body like a thing alive, pooling into one mass which formed into a giant sphere at Silver Sentinels command and leaving behind partial twitching corpses, mostly deprived of skeletons and organs. It seemed that only the brain served any real function, a kind of computer that, once programmed, could achieve that which science could not. At any rate, not yet.

Frostbot inside the captured Zomborg twitched and turned to Frostbite. "There are a number of failsafe protocols in the being. In my attempts to break through the multiple layers of encryption I have triggered a number of them. This Zomborg is in the process of being mind w..."

Frostbite reached for the Zomborg, placing a hand on its shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief as the sentient program finished off "...iped and its body to self destruct. Whomever sent this thing knows we have survived and how we defeated their army. It is reasonable to assume therefore that it will not be defeated in the same manner again."

Sentinel pressed a hand to the Zomborgs head and it collapsed into a heap of rotting flesh, the metal flowing like a snake across the grass to join the sphere on the lawn, now standing twenty feet high and across.

Lionheart looked up and glanced around, hearing first then seeing a moment later a crowd of angry people at the main gates to the mansion grounds, even if they were hanging from their hinges. They looked to be villagers, locals who probably worked at this place or on Justin St Johns extensive estates. As such they were fiercely loyal to their employer and benefactor, the man whose family had supported the village and the surrounding area for generations. A man in a flat cap, checked shirt, body warmer and tweed trousers was in the lead, and levelled a shotgun at shoulder height.

"Who e'er th bloody hell ya think ya are, best get yer damned hands up fore I fill you full of... what in the name of..." the mans voice spluttered and fell away as the true extent of what had gone on was revealed.

The mansion was smashed in places and small fires burned. The lawns were chopped up and dotted here and there by automated defence systems. The piles of dead bodies looked like something from a horror movie, and no one could quite believe the huge metal sphere or equally large robot standing guard over the scene. The three men stood against that backdrop looked relatively ordinary, albeit the fact that one was dressed in a World War II uniform and another was coated in a sheaf of ice, and shimmered as if insubstantial. The last faintly glowed in the dark as a force field protected him from the fire of a burning weapon nearby, so much so that he had quite ignored the fact that an ordinary person would be badly burned and he couldn't even feel it.

The fellow in the flat cap came forward, waving the twenty or so other villagers back. "Name's Seth. I'm one o th' head groundskeepers fer Lord St Johns. If'n ya don't mind me sayin', ye've made a right bloody mess o the old place. We're gonna have ta do some serious clearin' up fore th' cops and nosey reporters show up, if'n..." he glanced back at the distant crowd "ya take me meanin. Me dad always said there was funny comins' an goins' back in is day, and when I took over his position the butler, Mr Henry, mentioned I was not ta tell a soul o what went on, an I'll stick to it. He also mentioned Lord St Johns had some weird mates, an I reckon you all qualify."

"Begging your pardon sir but I may have tracked a partial signal sent to the cyborgs and followed it to a transmitting station in the lake district. The signal was bounced between a number of sites in an effort to disguise its trail, and it would have been lost but for the fact that the self destruct code can be clearly distinguished from background noise and chatter - if the tracker were as capable and accomplished as I am." said the computer without any pretence of modesty.

Suddenly Seths phone rung in his pocket, and he pulled it out, looked at it, then answered. "Lord St Johns.... yes sir. I'm here now. The place is... a mess. There's three fellas on th' lawn an' I think there'll be mates o yours, if'n ya know what I mean..."

He passed the phone over to Frostbite and shrugged. "Keep the phone for the now, I'll send that lot home an' set to cleanin' th' place up fore the local bobbies get here."

Frostbite took the mobile phone, a device to which he was unaccustomed, and held it to his ear.

"Right." snarled a voice on the other end of the phone. "Who are you, and what the bloody hell is going on!" bellowed Justin St Johns down the other end...

Admin Sun Jun 30 2013, 01:03

Yeoman and Haunt landed the car on a flat rooftop near the club on Harley Street

London was familiar to Haunt, but the club was a Victorian building stood in its own grounds that would fetch millions on the open market were ever to be sold. At the gates well dressed security vetted each car that rolled up - invariably Bentleys, Jaguars, Aston Martins and vintage British Marques, certainly no upstart Italian stuff - before they were allowed entrance, or occasionally, turned away. Yeoman called Haunt over from the roof edge and said "Take Bulldog. We leave the car here and fly to where we need to go. A lady called Nightingale works a short fly from here at a clinic. Yeah, even at night. She's a proper saint. Patches us lot up when we're bashed to pieces."

Moments later the pair landed outside a run down old sports hall. A light shone over a side door where a woman in her late fifities sat at a makeshift table and doled out food and bread to homeless people.

Yeoman explained "She's a Doctor at the hospital during the day. Helps injured folk whio stay off the grid during the night. She's.. talented. Like us. Wants to keep it a secret though. I can only imagine Adjutant and the UKChampions already know what she does but leave her be anyway, as her talents would be extremely useful as you'll see."

He flew over and landed on the roof, pulling up a rusted skylight and peering in. Haunt glanced over his shoulder, then about. The sports hall had seen better days, and the roof leaked in a number of places. It was in a rough London borough where money was hard to come by, and doubtless this place had been earmarked for restoration at some point until budget cuts pushed it down the list. He doubted anyone at the local council even knew it was being used as a shelter for the desperate and homeless until the dawn, when they'd be turfed out onto the streets, albeit having been fed, sheltered, treated for any ailments and given whatever rough old clothing could be mustered.

Yeoman droipped through the skylight with Retribution in hand, and gestured for Haunt to follow with Bulldog. The main sports hall was littered with the debris of society. People who had fallen to their lowest ebb and some further still, but all were grateful for the spark of hope this place gave. Drug addicts, alcoholics, the homeless, runaways, those who had been cast out or run in fear from a harsh life were welcome at this place, and most slept fitfully, perhaps the first time they'd done so in weeks. Some glanced over at the strangely garbed individuals but most were sleeping and would never know of the strange visitors.

The back office was lit and through the office window Haunt saw a fetching young woman in white dealing with a tramp who'd been bitten by a dog.

The NEW Vanguard! Frostbite Issue 1 - "Frosty Reception" - Page 8 Nightingale

The NEW Vanguard! Frostbite Issue 1 - "Frosty Reception" - Page 8 Nightingale

She looked up and Haunt noticed her faced dropped slightly. Yeoman saw it too and chuckled. "Every time one of us turns up in uniform she gets paranoid about bad guys showing up and smashing the place to smithereens. Says I'm a trouble magnet." he shrugged. "She's not wrong."

Yeoman stood aside as the narrow eyed tramp shambled past, clutching a bandaged arm, and he moved up to the doorway. The woman sagged back into a chair. In her late twenties, early thirties perhaps, she looked drained, tired beyond all knowing. She took a swig of an energy drink and looked up wearily. "What is it Yeoman? You and Retribution been waging war on crime again and you want me to patch you up, again? I wonder, if I stopped fixing your broken bodies, would it make you reconsider your lives and settle down, forgetting all the jumping around in tights?"

Yeoman didn't answer, but smiled, his half mask obscuring the top half of his face, the bottom with a wide fixed grin.

"No, don't be silly." she muttered to herself. "Who's your friend?"

Something, some instinct, a part of his brain reserved to self preservation, made Haunt glance back towards the douzen or so small groups of one to three people sprawled out in the wide sports hall. He had an uneasy feeling... The people looked rough, some rolled up in newspapers, others in soiled sleeping bags or holed blankets. Surely there was no danger here?

smaug Sun Jun 30 2013, 07:55

OOC: This story is class, love it. I know sentinel tried to find out were this zombots came from but is there anyway i can find out what or who they were before that or if they were man made e.g. clones or vat created (any shreds of uniforms or anything). I know his powers won't help him with this but Steve feels a loss for these poor beings although evil and hell bent on brutally killing anything living....properly just the smell of rotting corpses getting to him lol.

Steeple_jackuk Sun Jun 30 2013, 20:23

Admin wrote:"Begging your pardon sir but I may have tracked a partial signal sent to the cyborgs and followed it to a transmitting station in the lake district.

Suddenly Seths phone rung in his pocket..."Right." snarled a voice on the other end of the phone. "Who are you, and what the bloody hell is going on!" bellowed Justin St Johns down the other end...

Frostbite wished he could meet the man on the other end of the phone. Beyond the bark of angry words, he knew immediately that man was a man of action. Frostbite barely checked involuntary chuckle, as he tried to sum up his thoughts from the near disaster that had occurred.

"One moment sire, we need to secure this area for the civilians and personal who are here..." Not waiting for St John's obvious outburst, Frostbite spoke quickly to Sentinel.

"You think you can rig up some scaffolding to cover the place, perhaps some corrugated steel skirt to keep up prying eyes and make what has happened here seem like a refurbishment. Go to town with that steel we've recovered."

Then turning back to the phone Frostbite turned away from the crowd to give his attention to the man, whose house that was shattered around them. "Sir, my name if Frostbite, I am and was a man who was known to you at a previous time. Its a long story how my friends and I find ourselves back here. But explanations will have to wait. We were assaulted, your mansion lies shattered and those who launched the attack, have captured Wandafar, incapacitated your other...err friends. Now I have a lead to a listening station somewhere in the Lake District, which I hope might lead us yet to who was behind this attack and where we might find Wandafar. If you've anything else you want to say, you'd best make it quick, sir. We've got a lead to follow that could go could and with it Wandafar as well."

Frostbite waited, even whilst he beckoned in Lionheart. Although Frostbite hardly understood the full range of his friends powers, he knew that whilst Sentinel was busy, Lionheart had heard all that had gone on in their 'private conversation'. Lionheart would make sure that Sentinel knew what was going on. Frostbite intended to follow the lead to the Lake District, time was of the essence, whilst the others sought help.

OOC: Ok so once St John's has had his say, we'll make sure he knows what Yeoman is up to and get away, I'll also let St John's know that I've got the phone. When all is said and done I'll turn to Seth and tell him...

"Seth, when Sentinel is finished, at least it will look like St John's is remodelling his place, at least to the casual eye. I know this is a lot to take in but we are with the others to try and salvage something from this attack. Do what you can to protect St John's I have a feeling this could come back to haunt him if not handled properly."

OOC: Lionheart will tell Seth to dispose of the remains and be very careful incase there is any passive defences that might harm the them. Burning them all is probably the best means of disposal.

Sj

DavidMcMahon Tue Jul 02 2013, 00:19

"No, don't be silly." she muttered to herself. "Who's your friend?"

Something, some instinct, a part of his brain reserved to self preservation, made Haunt glance back towards the douzen or so small groups of one to three people sprawled out in the wide sports hall. He had an uneasy feeling... The people looked rough, some rolled up in newspapers, others in soiled sleeping bags or holed blankets. Surely there was no danger here?

"Somethings wrong," the Haunt mutters to Yeoman, "don't what but something feels wrong>"

With that, he gets in the doorway, outside of the room and turns himself into an exact duplicate of the walls in the corridor, hiding the door from prying eyes.

Admin Wed Jul 03 2013, 01:01

Silver Sentinel peered intensely at the metal unnerved by the rotting meat that had been the organic parts of the cyborgs...

He'd seen plenty of dead - and undead - people before, but that was a time of war, in an era that included aliens, superhumans, a vast being of indescribable power and the Vanguard themselves, with power incarnate that would make them seem godlike in that or in any age. Kneeling he used his power to sense, feel, even 'taste' the metal, at least to his incredible metal controlling powers. By doing so, he had a feel for the alloy that had been used, it's exact ferrous metal content and how to find it. He would be able to sense such a mixture of metals in the uniqud quantity within the range of his powers, which seemed to be around 1/2 a mile. Standing, he heard (OOC Assuming here) Frostbites request and with a simple hand wave caused the metal sphere to flow apart and fly towards the house in millions of tiny droplets! The droplets formed into solid poles and bars around the outside of the mansion. It was dark, and onlookers wouldn't have seen the 'instant scaffolding' forming, but it didn't take long to make, seconds, if that.

(OOC More assumption) Lionheart sped about, gatheirng debris and flatteing lawn, cleaning up and making the place look less like a bomb site! He reconstructed the shattered wall, albeit in a 'dry' fashion without concrete, in a matter of heartbeats at ultrahuman speed!

Frostbite put out any remaining fires and turned to the phone.

"The name..." said Justin St Johns "Is familiar. If you are who you claim to be then I would ask you return Wandafar safely, if at all possible. He is a dear friend, despite the number of times his experiments have blown holes in the sides of my ancestral home. Strange. I feel an affinity for the land, and yet it didn't call, even though my home was clearly imperilled. Perhaps the land has found new protectors..."

A pause then "If you need transportation speak to Seth or Mr Henry, my Butler, and have them show you to the garages. There should be a number of vehicles that suit your purposes should you need them. I recommend you leave 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' well alone - Wandafar will have his fun, usually at Yeomans expense..."

"Contact me on this number. I would help out - in any way I can - but I'm tied up with government business. I'm the superhuman affairs advisor these days and have a hell of a job on my hands keeping things from blowing over. If you can, try to avoid wearing bright spandex around the village. Only draws in journalists like flies and my days of gallavanting about are long over."

With Lionhearts help Seth moved the bodies with a pitchfork, piling them up with leaves and garden rubbish to burn. They looked less like bodies and more like rotten maggot infested meat now though. Their rate of decay had accelerated dramatically since their cybrog parts were extracted.

"Keep in touch." finished St Johns, and the phone went dead.

=========

"Gone to London to treat the injured. Find the Montague club on Harley street. Go their in civilian clothing. State St Johns 1734 at the door. It's the name and codenumber for the guests of Earl St Johns. His major domo will greet you there and lead you to private rooms. I'll meet you there."

The automated message spoke up as soon as Lionheart, Sentinel and Frostbite stepped over the threshold of the doorway into the house. As they listened to it, sobbing staff cleaned the place and tended the dead. The police would of course be involved, but the truth was that it had been a superhuman attack on a rich mans house and a kidnapping had taken place. They would never learn of the cave or the secrets of this places' past from the fiercely loyal house servants, even after the grevious loss many of them had suffered. Indeed, it only seemed to strengthen their resolve, as if they had taken some kind of vow or belonged to a mysterious and ancient cult of some kind.

Seth turned to the trio and led them through the house, pausing at the mess, and kneeling by a body now and then, dabbing a tears with a handkerchief. "There'll be time fer mournin' and right now there's time only fer payback." He glanced at Lionheart, Frostbite and Sentinel, and his gaze seemed to linger on Sentinel. "Make sure you pay this lot back, in spades, whoever t'was did this heinous deed!"

Seth continued to lead them through the vast great house and unlocked several doors, both by key and by retinal scan. He glanced about, then at the trio. "If Lord St Johns trusts you, then so do I. Away from them others I can tell ye, I serve the Lore Knights as Squire so all I see and hear goes no further than I. I may seem th' harmless country boy but I know seven martial arts, a dozen languages and I'm a crack shot." he looked at his shotgun, broken so as not to go off and he chuckled. "This thing is a pea shooter compared to the stuff the little fellow turns out." he said, and opened his body warmer to reveal a large black gun of a type unknown. "Blows holes in tanks that does. Wish I'd gotten here sooner, but when folks like you is involved, even this thing seems like a pea shooter. Come on."

He led the way into a garage which llighted automatically when sensing the prescence of people. "I'll set 'er to recognise you lot as pilots. Bring Wandafar back."

The NEW Vanguard! Frostbite Issue 1 - "Frosty Reception" - Page 8 Pakda

The NEW Vanguard! Frostbite Issue 1 - "Frosty Reception" - Page 8 Pakda

The aircraft wasn't enormous - it looked to be able to hold around a dozen ordinary sized human adults. Behind it was a long tunnel that was lighting up with runway lights and at the far end a lighted square representing the opening. "When ye're takin' off, pay no mind tae th' trees at the end o the tunnel. They ain't real. I... oh. I 'ope someone can pilot...?"

OOC you guys are almost ready to wrap this issue and start on the next one, the search for Wandafar, and more revelations about who or what is behind the attack on the mansion, plus more involvement with the superhuman population of this brave new world. Another post from each and I'll set you on the new issue. David M I'll have to update later on, it's 01.00 now and sack time beckons, sorry

Steeple_jackuk Wed Jul 03 2013, 22:23

Admin wrote:OOC you guys are almost ready to wrap this issue and start on the next one, the search for Wandafar, and more revelations about who or what is behind the attack on the mansion, plus more involvement with the superhuman population of this brave new world. Another post from each and I'll set you on the new issue. David M I'll have to update later on, it's 01.00 now and sack time beckons, sorry

As Seth and the others tended to their dead, Frostbite, raised the temperature on his body, reverting to his more physically human state. "Its a grave loss you've all suffered here, but we will do our best to stop whoever and whatever is behind this." He said as they passed on Seth dabbing his eye at the fallen.

As they were shown deep into the mansion, and down into yet another cavernous chamber, Lionheart couldn't help marvelling at what they'd been able to do, now with Wandafar's help. There was a lot to admire about the strange fellow.

As Seth lead them into the hanger, Frostbite and Lionheart exchanged glances at Seth's comment about piloting the craft. With Lionheart's abilities at any vehicle and Frostbot, they were confident they'd have no problem with the craft. And with Sentinel onboard little trouble re-configuring the readily available metal for any challenge they faced.

But Lionheart more than anyone, saw the hand of something familiar in all this and he didn't like what he saw. They all knew, who was behind such advance tec before, but was it possible that in another time line forces from the future had also returned here. Bentham and who knows what, back and in league with who knew what? Less than a week back and already they were in the thick of it.

OOC: "Wow mate busy night, saw the email re the Lore knights update, but missed this one entirely. Anyway got it now. So I guess we'll be off to trace that signal to the Lake District and on to try and track down Wandy, if he's still alive!"

Sj

Admin Wed Jul 03 2013, 23:26

Yeoman looked out into the sports hall, frowned and turned back... only to see that Haunt had 'vanished' to become part of the scenery.

"What the..." he spluttered, and shook his head. Nonetheless he turned back to the hall where groups of people were huddled, sleeping, eating or otherwise hiding under mounds of blankets and clutching what personal possessions they had. Yeoman narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I know what you mean..." he muttered and walked back into Nightingales office.

"I need help, Doctor." Yeoman said. Nightingale looked up from treating her next patient - a man in threadbare clothes who could have been any age from 35-70, so bedraggled and unkempt was he. She raised an eyebrow "Yes, yes Yeoman you do. All of you idiots who prance around in skin tight spandex need your heads examining."

She sighed and turned to her patient. "Alright Roger, I've given you something to help with the pain. You have to promise me that you'll stay off the drugs, alright?" the man grunted and walked out without so much as a word of thanks or glance at Yeoman in the doorway. "Where's your friend?" asked Nightingale. "And what IS that smell? What's happened to these two? Don't tell me. A fight of some kind. You lot..." She leant over Retribution, lying on the couch, then checked out Bulldog. With a sigh she muttered "Let's get on with it..."

She closed the door and pulled the blinds to obscure the view in the small office.

=========

Haunt watched, silent, patient, convinced something was wrong.

And he was right.

First one, then another and a third person got up and started walking across the hall to where the office was. Unlike the others in the room they weren't bowed by the weight of the world. They looked the part - in rough or soiled clothes, but their faces were too clean shaven, or in one of the peoples case, far too pretty. She glanced about, then moved over to the double doors in the sports hall, closing them and standing on front to bar exit or entrance.

The other two men, both around 6' tall and athletically built, went for the office. Closer now, Haunt got an uneasy feeling about them. Pale of skin, feral eyes and a determined gaze suggested they knew exactly what they were coming here for. Nightingale? They could have struck at any time. So what then? These people? Tramps, vagrants, down and outs? Most could barely stand. So what?

Yeoman? Enemies of his? Or were they after something more general - superhumans or... or injured superhumans...? They were close now, only twenty feet from the office door. Haunt was still unnoticed, but one turned to look in his direction. The man stared, and was about to say something when the other hissed, and spoke in a foreign language. That got his attention and the pair moved nearer to the office. Their backs were turned to Haunt...

OOC and they are twenty feet away, about to enter the office where Nightingale is treating the others. Yeoman is wobbling about on 1 Body, the other two are out for the count and badly injured. Nightingale doesn't seem to have any means of defending herself, but looks might be deceptive. These guys might just be normal street thugs... or something far more sinister...

DavidMcMahon Thu Jul 04 2013, 01:38

OOC and they are twenty feet away, about to enter the office where Nightingale is treating the others. Yeoman is wobbling about on 1 Body, the other two are out for the count and badly injured. Nightingale doesn't seem to have any means of defending herself, but looks might be deceptive. These guys might just be normal street thugs... or something far more sinister...

ooc: And I'm down to only two body until an hour has passed so I can get a heal in. Have to be very very cautious here. Just reread Aura of Fear, I can exclude who I want from its affects, so I'm going to hold my attack and as soon as any of these three show a hostile move, all three of them will be hit by it and no one else to be affected.

When you say a foreign language, did the Haunt get a rough idea of the type of language? French sounds different than German/Yiddish sounds different from Italian/Spanish sounds different from Russian/Polish sounds different than an Oriental language sounds different from some African languages that have those glottal stops and clicks in their words, ect.

http://fcain.tripod.com/hero_system/language_option.html

this is sort of a quick break down of what I'm trying to say about languages. May not recognize the actual language but could recognize the language group.

Admin Fri Jul 05 2013, 23:20

Haunt & Yeoman
(with Retribution, British Bulldog and Nightingale)

OOC With regards language its eastern european, possibly some kind of Slovak type language Haunt thinks...

Watching (whilst in the form of a wall) Haunt saw one of the men turn and act as guard as the remaining man opened the door. Haunt listened...

"Wha..? I'm treating a patient, you'll have to ... wait. Who... what are you?" asked Nightingable.

Yeomans voice was next. "What the lady said, ***hole..." he growled.

"Ve hef watched this place for a long, long time. Ve see costumes come and go, and ve are wondering why. Now? Now we know. I vill make zis simple, in terms you can understand. We are the Blood Knights, and ve are the new power in this City. Zis... building is surrounded by me people. Zere is no escape for you. All of you... 'hero' types have a simple choice... We feed from you... or we slaughter those outside in the hall. Your choice. You see, feeding from such as you gives us great sustenance, and a nice boost in our abilities as a consequence..."

Nightingale gasped "Vampires! You are Vampires!"

Haunt glanced at the one by the door. He was looking right at Haunt, eyes narrowed, and sniffing... "Boss..." he said, over his shoulder, and started walking slowly towards the 'wall'. Closer, haunt could see the wolf like eyes, the fangs in the mouth and the sharpened nails on his fingers... either they were nut jobs or ... or perhaps they were what they claimed to be?

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