The NEW Vanguard! The Haunt Issue 1: "Bring the house down"

Haunt gets the idea the man normally doesn't speak this much. "I have... a small base of operations nearby. One of many. If we take this device..." he said, pointing to the camera "there he may be able to unlock the information it holds that may lead to the apprehending of the villainous scum."

"Retribution offers his aid to you"

"The Haunt accepts your offer of aid! Would it be better to bring the whole van with us? They might have been clumsy enough to have left fingerprints that we might be able to use to track them down. I can easily carry it and keep anyone from seeing me doing it."

actions: if the whole van gets taken, Fog to hide as we move, wings to fly to wherever he wants to go.

"Superhuman Strength." mutters Retribution, as if keeping score, or track.

"Follow me." he says, and turns, taking off.

Haunt easily picks the van up and soars through the sky after Retribution who keeps low over the rooftops and sticks to the shadows where possible. Haunt is taken to a warehouse district and lands outside an industrial lockup. Retribution keys in a code at the door which rolls the shutter upwards.

Inside, it's empty.

"Put the van in here." he rasps. He turns and presses a button on the wall to close the door, then moves to a side wall. He appears to press something, and the end wall opposite the doorway slides in and to the side, revealing a further section to the lockup - possibly one back to back with this one. The room is small but amply furnished with computer equipment, screens and crime fighting apparatus such as a small but functional lab. "Delivering Retribution to those that deserve it does not happen by itself. Or come cheap." he rasped, as if to explain that even an experienced and dedicated hero such as himself needed the aid of computers and equipment to solve crimes.

He tapped several codes on the keyboard which showed up as stars on the screen, then turned to Haunt. "I have sent a message to Wandafar, my old team mate. Knowing that at this time he watches several pointless soap operas, I have marked them 'non urgent' as he tends to ignore the urgent ones. Due to the way his strange mind works, he is more likely to open those, grumble a lot, then action them. If you need to get his attention in an emergency, you need to phrase the message so his email filter regards it as 'spam'. As I say, his mind works in mysterious ways."

"So, while we wait a few..." he glanced at an analogue clock on the wall "Perhaps 2 minutes 17 seconds... Perhaps you can tell me something about yourself. How did you get your powers, what are they, and what drives you?"

"So, while we wait a few..." he glanced at an analogue clock on the wall "Perhaps 2 minutes 17 seconds... Perhaps you can tell me something about yourself. How did you get your powers, what are they, and what drives you?"

"You first," the Haunt rasps. "And would he respond faster if the email heading said something like "You may have won a million dollars...."

Retribution shrugged.

"I have, for years, fought crime and injustice on the streets of London. At one point I was a member of a government sanctioned team, the Executive, but it is no more. Many of the methods and goals of that group clashed with my ideas of how justice should be meted out. Evil should be crushed under the heel, not negotiated with, nor should one show weakness in the face of evil." he rasped. "The man behind the mask is unimportant, simply a facade for my true self and a means to an end. I thought once the Executive disbanded I would find peace and retire, but Evil crawls out from under its rock once the light of justice is extinguished. Thus, I can never rest, for Retribution is all that stands as reminder to the scum of this and other cities that they cannot, will not, win."

He turned and glanced at the screen. Tapping away he turned back and leaned against the console. "That should get his attention. An advert for guaranteed hair restoration. Now. Your turn."

He turned and glanced at the screen. Tapping away he turned back and leaned against the console. "That should get his attention. An advert for guaranteed hair restoration. Now. Your turn."


ooc: That's just EVIL!!!!!!!!!!

The Haunt shrugs.

"I remember being an evil man in the Old West, killed lots of folks, robbed banks, rustled cattle, whatever took my fancy. Then the Law caught up to me and I was hanged .. or at least, I think that is what happened but my memories have become clouded over time. But I didn't go to my final reward. Something or Someone made me come back to Earth. I have a mission to bring Justice to those who escape the Law, not Retribution, so one day we may become enemies," he rasps in his best otherworldly voice, being able to shapeshift his voice box helped with that. "As I said earlier, I hunt murderers, kidnappers and blackmailers mostly. Something drives me to do this. I do not know what it is. I even assume for a time the shape of the murdered and sometimes even share their memories. How long I've done this and how much longer I will continue to do this before I face my Final Reward, I have no idea."

"I've heard of the Executive but I am not sure who was actually in it. I seem to recall this Wandafar was a short muscular man with long gray hair. Why would he need a hair restorative with that long hair of his?"

"Aliens are not immune from male pattern baldness." growled Retribution.

He stared at the Haunt for a moment, then shrugged. Turning to the computer he saw a message flash up.

"Wandafar set up a teleporter for former executive team members to use when they needed his aid. It has been activated. Come. It will take a short while to get there. Gather up the camera." he stated, matter of fact. Pressing a stud on his belt the hero deactivated the computer systems and sealed the place up. "I have shown my trust in you. My instincts say you are a kindred spirit. With that in mind I shall - if you wish - take you to see my former colleague. The sensation of teleportation is unsettling, but mostly reliable. Wandafar does not like to be reminded about the 'chicken' incident." He strode from the room and finished locking up the place.

"I will carefully scour the van for clues when we return, and hopefully have some information that will lead to the rescue of the woman and child you mention. The kidnappers will also face Retribution."

He took to the air and soared across the dark streets of London...

OOC I assume Haunt tags along, this time with just the camera as a van won't fit in the transporter...

=========

The area of the city the heroes flew to was run down, and the building Retribution landed outside was fenced off with signs stating 'KEEP OUT - DEMOLITION IN PROGRESS'

Haunt glanced at Retribution who spoke up "It's been in progress for five years. You can't get the staff these days." as he strode through the unkempt grounds to an old boarded up house. Standing on the porch he glanced at an upstairs window. "Junkies again. I'll clear them out, but not before they are administered a shot of Wandafars' 'cold turkey' serum. They will feel like death warmed up for a week, but will be clear of drugs thereafter. An envelope stuffed with confiscated drug money and short note explaining they are to turn their lives around or face Retribution usually does the trick."

He presses a button on his belt and the floor beneath the pair dropped down, a panel sliding over their heads to show no trace of their passing. A few seconds later and the lift dropped into a wide open space. It looked like a converted garage with computers lining the wall and all manner of crime fighting and detection equipment in place. In the centre of the room there was a glass tube which would admit both men at once, albeit rather snugly.

Haunt noted a camp bed in the corner. It was at odds with the very expensive equipment. Tins of various foods were close by it. It seemed the dark hero was so dedicated to his task that his normal life had been left behind...

Retribution walked to the teleportation tube then stopped and turned. "Ready to go?"

OOC Are you going along for the ride...?

Haunt noted a camp bed in the corner. It was at odds with the very expensive equipment. Tins of various foods were close by it. It seemed the dark hero was so dedicated to his task that his normal life had been left behind...

Retribution walked to the teleportation tube then stopped and turned. "Ready to go?"

"Must be nice to be rich," the Haunt rasps out as he steps forward into the tube. "Don't ever recall being rich for any real length of time myself."

Retribution paused for thought, then turned. "I am rich, but all of this was paid for by the criminal proceeds I confiscated. I used to turn the money and drugs in, until I decided to track their progress through the chain of police custody."

"Let's just say that certain members of the police force are not beyond the reach of Retribution. As for all of this? It is booby trapped. If it is taken, I won't bat an eyelid. Criminals keep making money. I keep stopping them, and using their funds to apprehend more criminals. Whatever is left over is given to various charitable funds, and I have a waiting list of hard working, honest families who just need a helping hand to climb out of the slum they live in. My next drugs bust will pay for their new lives. Criminals supply the drugs, I sell them back to other criminals then bust them. Leaving the ill gotten gains to the authorities is like filling a trough full of swill and asking hungry pigs not to feed."

He stepped into the tube, then stepped to the side to allow Haunt to get in. Though cozy, it wasn't awkwardly so. Retribution pressed a stud on his belt.

The world flashed bright white!

=========

And when it returned to colour Haunt saw Retribution was already out of the tube and sizing up what appeared to be a dog the size of a horse! All slavering jaws, bared teeth, low growl and wild eyes, it was crouched ready to pounce!

A quick glance around revealed a vast cave, lined from floor to ceiling with various machines and computers, and in the centre a raised plinth with a desk surrounding a chair and computer screens suspended from the ceiling in a semi circle around the desk. In the chair there was a short man in silver/grey armour who was bent over closely examining a small pulsing blue sachet of liquid.

Others in the room included a man in black uniform with red trim, another in what looked to be a World War II soldiers uniform, a man in jeans and t-shirt, another in a military style jump suit and they were facing off against a hair covered 7 foot tall beast that looked like a Wolf stood on its hind legs!

"Business as usual." muttered Retribution.

The short fellow at the desk looked up and called out "Retribution! Good to see you! Gloomy ez usual? You bring ze black clouds always vis you over your head, ya. Who is your friend?" The short man looked to where Retribution was looking and waved his hand. "Pah! Kevin gone crazy again. Zese people vill sort it out. Come look, I hef some sing very interesting to show you!" He sounded genuinely enthusiastic as he waved. With a glanced at the fight to come Retribution walked over to where the short man sat, leaving Haunt to wonder what kind of lunatic asylum he'd blundered into!

OOC Switch to the Frostbite thread here please