The NEW Vanguard Issue #2 - Frostbite/Silver Sentinel/Lionheart - All quiet on the western front?

Admin wrote:Frostbite turned and saw Wandafar stumble from the chair, holding onto the arm and glancing at the other two occupants of the chairs. "Xenomind und Felix Von Trauerfall, ze baron of Death. Both are bed men. 

He turned to look at Frostbite. "You look like crep." Both men glanced down the ice tunnel to the doorway as distant metal footsteps were heard, approaching towards this room, or past it, but nonetheless representing more danger for the heroes!

Relieved that Wandafar was still in one piece, he quickly and briefly filled the diminutive genius in on their situation.  "Villains or not, I think you ought to wake them up, after all the enemy of my enemy... " Frostbite trailed off, he was feeling the weight of his wounds pile up and needed to stay focused on getting them out of the chamber.  

If it were possible he'd also love to stick around and find out how and who was behind all this.  But not at the expense of getting captured once again.  

He readied himself for the oncoming assault unsure how they were going to manage.  "And if you've any bright ideas, how you might be able to get us some additional help or I turn this base against its chief architect I'm all ears."

Frostbite righted himself, breathed deep then extended his arms facing the doorway, wondering how many would come through before he'd go down.  

Sj

Admin wrote:This was war, and the Necro Borg meant business this time round.

OOC Our trio stand in the tunnel and are around 30m from the targeting laser lights slicing through the dust. Lionheart detects at least twenty Necro Borgs approaching, and more behind them...

Lionheart brought Sentinel up to speed, "Ok friend, whilst I dance around giving these things a chance to aim at me, you turn as many as you can into slags of metal.  I think I am fast becoming through with being bouncing boy and want to get our boys out if not also finding out who is behind this set up."


With that Lionheart leapt forward, moving to one side and preparing to attack, as he had successfully done so before.  



OOC: "Ok no doubt they are wise to my methods, but still limited by their speed and ability, so hopefully I can get away with this as the others cover me and add their own fire power to my attacks."



Sj

"Whatever happens our main objective should be to shut this place down for good" sentinel suggested the obvious cavern domed ceiling above the oncoming horde.

IC: Good idea Dave. If there is any metal around other than the borgs approaching, i imagen steel tables for surgery and such things, it might be a good idea for sentinel to form a barricade when there is time preferably one with a big gun on top which brings me to my next question can i roll for a sense metal check or something so we can determine what's the best weapon type to use e.g. plasma etc

Wandafar was groggy, but acknowledged Frostbite. "Ya, no good to be beck in zet chair und you as a melted puddle on ze floor. You look like I feel."

Wandafar moved to the panels of machines... but was thwarted by the fact they were buried in ice. "Hmmph" he muttered and glanced, annoyed at Frostbite. He walked back over to the captive evil geniuses and looked at the head pieces they wore, before plucking one off and tearing a wire out, then moving to the other, plucking a wire from that helmet, splicing the two together and putting the helmet back on the first mans head.

"Here goes no sing" he muttered and stuck his fingers in his ears. Frostbite turned, and saw shadows forming in the doorway - they were just about in here!

Suddenly there was... something... pulsing through the vicinity of the room, a form of 'mental wave'. Frostbite felt it but wasn't affected by it. Wandafar shuddered and sagged to his knees, but claimed he was alright when Frostbite helped him up. "Psychic feedback using ze Barons natural mental faculties ez a veapon. Won't lest for long, but should confuse ze central mind of zis place for long enough zet..."

Clatter.

Frostbite turned and saw three Necro Borg fall face down in the corridor, twitching. "Ve hef... not long at all. Maybe enough time to get out but zese two vill be dead veight. I see your point not to leave zem, but unless you can carry both und restrain zem ven zey vake up, ve are in trouble. Evil super geniuses are like little babies - zey do not like to be vaken up too early or they make ze tantrums like you vould not believe, chucking stuff around and disintegrating stuff. Just like babies. Sort of."

Wandafar had bought Frostbite some time. They could escape, or they could free these two and try to escape, the choice was the heroes.... but he wouldn't have long to make it!

Lionheart sped about, just as Silver Sentinel gathered his powers to turn the Necro Borg into slag when...

The gathered enemy staggered, jerked, then slumped, crashing to the floor!

Lionheart cried out, but inherent mental shields protected him from the backlash the others felt but didn't suffer from. As a sensitive psychic he was vulnerable to the backlash from attacks like that one, a random wave sent out in every direction for a short distance. He wasn't sure what it was that had caused it, but seeing as it took down - temporarily at any rate - the Necro Borg it must have been from a friend, rather than an enemy.

Android Andy looked about and commented. "If I were the mind behind this army I would consider my options to include cutting my losses. We have outmatched them physically and penetrated their defences relatively easily. Now their foot soldiers are downed and we hold the upper hand."

Lionheart and Silver Sentinel glanced at each other and both knew, without saying, that meant the person or persons in charge of this place might well detonate every Necro Borg in the place at the same time! Suddenly the 'win' had turned into a very shaky stalemate!

"As I am not truly 'alive' I volunteer to enter the base and attempt to find Wandafar. I owe him my existence, and he may have backups of my core program that can be restored to a rebuilt body in due course." offered Android Andy.

Lionheart glanced at the nearest necro Borg. They were quivering, and his superhuman senses could tell something was happening inside their vile bodies!

'Lionheart i know Andy is far from human and many would say not even organic but he has intelligence be it artificial or other wise so we can't let him throw his 'life' away."

Sentinel turned to face his heroic new found ally

"Andy there has got to be another way for that is suicide.......a signal....there must be a signal they are receiving to self detonate? Can we block it somehow?"

Admin wrote:Wandafar was groggy, but acknowledged Frostbite. "Ya, no good to be beck in zet chair und you as a melted puddle on ze floor. You look like I feel."

Wandafar had bought Frostbite some time. They could escape, or they could free these two and try to escape, the choice was the heroes.... but he wouldn't have long to make it!

Frostbite nodded, "Well no one said I had to rescue them, just give them a fighting chance."  With that he removed the headsets unstrapped them from the benches, and with a quick slap to each man's face, he grabbed Wandafar and made for the exit before either man, realised it was him, and might well turn on one another.  

Outside Frostbite was aware that the plan might have gone better than expected, but any enemy that could take out Wandafar and his contingencies was someone with more than one card to play.  Grabbing the diminutive man, who was surprisingly heavy.  Frostbite took to the air, thinking flight faster than foot and fled the scene, as he relied on Frostbot unerring guidance to get them out.  

Sj

smaug wrote:'Lionheart i know Andy is far from human and many would say not even organic but he has intelligence be it artificial or other wise so we can't let him throw his 'life' away."

Sentinel turned to face his heroic new found ally

"Andy there has got to be another way for that is suicide.......a signal....there must be a signal they are receiving to self detonate? Can we block it somehow?"

Lionheart nodded, "Nice try handsome, but I'm faster still!"  " And with that Lionheart speed off leaving both Andy and Sentinel behind.  Picking up speed he let his mind wander so as to track his route back trying to find its way to Frostbite's unique mental 'footprint' within the base.  To home in on that and get them out.   


Sj

Frostbite and Wandafar flew through the corridors, attracting the attention of Necro Borg who reacted with typical aggression but blasted only walls in the pairs wake...

They'd woken the drugged pair of prisoners but Wandafar had been pretty clear no tears would be shed should they perish in this place - worse would be using their incredible minds for the aid of whatever scheme the owner of this place cooked up. Frostbite considered it.

A secret base, dug deep into a mountain in the Cumbrian hills, a place normally frequented only by sheep and hill walkers. Disguised, well defended, quietly building away with an army of the walking dead, enhanced by technology that could only be described as futuristic. Added to that, the gathering of the finest minds in the world, all plugged into a computer system that would clone those minds and set them to work on the invention of devices that would crush any conventional forces.

A power to rival any in the world, taking seed in the west of England, powered by future tech and the bodies of the recent dead. With no morals, qualms or objections to raise, they were efficient killing machines, possessed of more intelligence than mere robot drones and capable of exploding at any time, walking bombs that could smash the defences of anyone who wasn't fully prepared to defend against them.

All quiet on the western front? No, not by a long shot, and that included the fact that the undead made no noise in their ruthless, clinical way of slaughtering all who opposed them!

=========

Lionheart sped through the corridors of the base, seeing more and more of the undead cyborgs rushing towards the entrance.

In minutes they would be gathering, a not insignificant army, to battle the two he'd left guarding the way in. Sentinel was powerful, and effective against the Necro Borg, but could even he take on an army?

Just then he noticed a subtle change in the way the Necro Borg regarded him. They had tried to track his movement with their weapons and he'd simply sped past them. Now they watched, and started to follow, as fast as they could!

Up ahead, a dozen Necro Borg with weapons raised spoke as one...

"YOU! ALWAYS A THORN IN MY SIDE, AND YET THE GENETIC CODES INSIDE YOU WILL UNLOCK WONDERS SUCH AS NEVER HAVE BEEN SEEN BEFORE, USHERING IN A NEW GOLDEN AGE! SURRENDER, LIONHEART, AND YOUR FRIENDS WILL LIVE! DEFY US, AND THEY SHALL BE KILLED!" the Necro Borg droned.

The corridor ahead was blocked by a dozen or so of them, and more were gathering behind. That wasn't much of an obstacle for a man who could run thousands of miles an hour, but if they really did have Frostbite and Wandafar captive...

=========

Frostbot stated "WARNING! ENERGY FIELD AHEAD!"

Frostbite slowed. He was flying down a long straight corridor with Wandafar in his arms, chased by distant, but closing Necro Borg. There was something shimmering ahead, like a glass window. Dare he try to pass through it, or would he try something else? The Necro Borg behind were closing...

"Do Something." muttered Wandafar. "I cannot sink straight. Vatever drugs zey pumped into me hes made me sink I vish to listen to Pink Floyd albums for hours. Not a pleasant prospect, normally..."

OOC Sentinel and Android Andy to follow. My plans were foiled this week. Kids back at school - great! 12 hour shifts every day at work, and 12 hours between shifts... not so great. Have loads to do, hardly got anything done. Doh.

Admin wrote:The corridor ahead was blocked by a dozen or so of them, and more were gathering behind. That wasn't much of an obstacle for a man who could run thousands of miles an hour, but if they really did have Frostbite and Wandafar captive...

Lionheart suspected if his suspicion about who was behind this was correct, then he would have produced his friend and ally, by now as leverage.  That they were being flashed up on some screen to make him compliant made Lionheart feel slightly relieve they might still be ok.  

Seeing that the only way ahead was either through or possible over, he went over.  OOC: "Ok use flight and force field to get me out of the reach of the borg creatures so I can fly past them and then on at Super speed, if flight can't keep me away from them."


Meanwhile 

Admin wrote:Frostbot stated "WARNING! ENERGY FIELD AHEAD!"

Frostbite wondered what he could do, about the force field that might not unduly slow him down.  Using Frostbot was out of the question, the Cybernetic consciousness he shared might well be compromised by this technologically savy enemy.  He clearly needed to do something urgently.  


Turning back along the corridor he firstly iced it over so that the Borg wouldn't get through quickly.  Then turning to the energy field, he thought out his options aloud.  "Well starting with energy blast, lets see if I can't overwhelm it..."


Pointing his hands as they 'steamed' with the cold that was coming off them, he fired his super cold energy beam at the forcefield, seeking to overcome it relays and hopefully down it in this section.  If all else failed he thought maybe he could use his gift of being intangible to drag him and Wandafar through the metal structure of the place.  But could he sustain it, dare he try.  He'd have to wait to see how desperate things got, but he was still feeling pretty knocked up, so it would be a miracle if he could manage it at all.  



OOC: "Full on Energy blast directed at the force wall unless Frostbot can spot a weak area that I can target, otherwise its trying to overwhelm it with brute force"



Sj

Android Andy turned to Silver Sentinel "I am detecting a number of signals that indicate there may be a mass detonation of cyborgs, based on experience with previous Cyborgs. Our friends are in danger."

Sentinel looked into the entrance of the tunnel. Around 30m in a wall of Necro Borgs had formed, preventing entrance or exit presumably, weapons drawn and ready to attack. There was no sign of Lionheart, but then he moved so quickly he could be in there before most of the Necro Borg even knew.

Sentinel had a dilemma - whether to wait out here and help his friends escape, or go in, and do battle with the Necro Borg in the hope of helping.

There was a very real danger of the whole lot of the enemy cyborgs exploding though - and who could survive that?

OOC Silver Sentinel and Android Andy get to act then I'll resolve Frosty/Lionhearts next actions. Sorry about the delay this week, am only able to post now because I bunked off work early (shhhh don't tell). Weekend off, so I should think we'll be ok wrapping this part of the adventure, assuming of course the bad guys don't blow everyone to pieces... If Ross doesn't get chance to update by close of play tomorrow I'll move things on a bit anyway, taking my best guess as to his actions in the interests of catching up on lost time (which is my fault, no one elses).

Lionheart used astonishing speed and agility, combined with flight and his force field to get through the crowd.

They came close - they weren't messing around, what with swung punches, releasing what seemed to be a gas of some kind and even blazing away with laser fire, but underlying all of that was the feeling they wanted Lionheart alive.

If an enemy of his from the past, or rather from the past AND the future, was still alive, they knew his value and the secrets that his altered, mutated genetic code would carry. When he and Saladin fused, he had changed. Perhaps not for the better - before he was a nuisance to his former bosses. Now? He was a prize. Capture him, unlock the genetic code and create a new master race.

He took the time - a fraction of a heartbeat - to glance around at the Necro Borg. Dead things, dragged from morgues and brought back to unlife thanks to technology and a sick mind. Someone would pay for this, but for now he sped on through the corridors, flashing down one then another as he moved through the place looking for his friend. He used his mental powers to search him out, and almost instantly, looked up. The maze of corridors and side rooms in this place suddenly became clearer as Lionhearts breath caused a mist to rise. With a grin he sped off into the darkness, both in the direction of the mental image of Frostbite and of the increasing cold!

=========

"Ach!" cried Wandafar. "An energy field? I bet it is a reverse matric inhibitor force projector" he muttered

Frostbite, having set him down, glanced at him.

Wandafar looked back "A really tough force field that gets tougher depending on vat you chuck et it. You must overload ze energy supply of zis place, usually by chucking more power at ze field zen ze energy source can supply, or by some von outside ze field doing something to ze energy supply, like turn it off. Or maybe turn as many things on as possible, zen ve can hit it und overload ze systems."

Frostbite nodded, then levelled a hand and blasted intense cold at the walls around him, and the energy field in front. The corridor filled with incredibly cold ice, and the metal shattered to reveal a box force field around them, albeit one now coated on all sides by an ice box!

"N..n..n..now you hef... d..d..d.. done it!" spluttered Wandafar, turning blue with the cold "Nice vun! You h..h..h..hef not enough power to over velm ze field but hef created an icy prison for me to turn blue in! You are already blue but sanks for making me ze same! Some rescue!"

Just then Frostbite saw a shape through the ice on the other side of the force field/ice wall. It moved unlike the Necro Borg - fast, fluid, and wasn't in any way hostile! His friend, Lionheart?

=========

Lionheart rounded another corner and came up against a shimmering ice box in the corridor.

The metal around it had frozen and shattered, and the energy box was filled with ice. Inside he could see two dark shapes - Frostbite and hopefully Wandafar! Lionheart didn't need superhuman senses to tell him that the energy field surrounding them was powerful - that it could contain the might of Frostbites energy blast was proof enough! He turned - clanking footsteps behind told him that the Necro Borg were closing in, and would turn the corridor corner in the next few seconds! What could he do?

He'd passed a number of doors to rooms down this corridor, and there was no way past the energy cube which was 3m across, high and wide, with his friends inside. Unless that was, he decided to smash the stone walls up around the energy cube, and chisel it out.

"You are trapped! Your friends will die unless you surrender!" rang out the voice over an intercom. "Surrender or watch them as the energy cube shrinks!"

Lionheart was smart... This place would have a finite energy supply and an energy force field like that would suck most of the power from this place. He knew that because whoever was controlling this base would otherwise have tried to use the force field on him as well! Or maybe they knew that the field might not be able to hold Lionheart at his unfettered best?

He wondered how hard he'd have to hit the field then noticed the stone of the chiselled out mountain. It was supported by the box section corridor, and he'd have to be careful not to bring the whole mountain down on top of them! Lionheart was strong, but could he hold up a mountain???

The clanking got louder! He couldn't see them yet but the Necro Borg would round a corner only 20m away in the next few seconds (OOC Lionheart has 2 rounds to act though as rounds are 4 seconds apiece in this game...)

Admin wrote:The clanking got louder! He couldn't see them yet but the Necro Borg would round a corner only 20m away in the next few seconds (OOC Lionheart has 2 rounds to act though as rounds are 4 seconds apiece in this game...)

OOC: "Another day another death trap.  I've actually got slower, because I keep thinking, 'Help, what do I do now?'  For some reason I always felt more confident about what I could try under the old rules.  So I think I am going to work off concept, not rules. Besides which it doesn't help that the names are so different and more granular.  Must be an age thing ;-)"

Lionheart looked through the force field, he knew that if Bentham was behind this, however ridiculous the notion that the man was here as he had been in the 1940's he'd want Lionheart intact.  He shouted through to Frostbite, "bear with me, I'm going to try and bring the roof down without trying to kill you both."


Which would actually be kinda handy, given the amount of effort they'd put into getting into this base.  Lionheart got ready with his powers, he knew brute force with the right amount of finesse was the only way to help and not make things worse.  Looking for the most obvious weak points Lionheart batted the walls, going for speed once he had picked his spot.  As the walls began to crack and heave, he got ready with his other powers to make a way via his Telekensis to hold back the ceiling once the force field was down.  



OOC: "Ok don't know if any of that makes sense, but smash the walls to collapse the field and then keep the walls from coming right down via strength/forcefield or whipping in with super speed and grabbing friends before it collapses on them, as appropriate.



Noticed Ross hasn't updated, I'll txt him, chances are he didn't realise.  I think he logs on with his phone when he can."




Sj

Mate you went to a lot of trouble to explain the system and I am grateful but I think (for me at least) its much simpler than that.  Firstly please do we change the system.  Its a struggle to get my head around it because unlike GH terms and specifically powers, which were easier to grasp, DC is more abstract.  But having spent this amount of time getting into it, I don't want to change it.  


If I was to pinpoint my stumbling blocks it would be these 

Powers - the names are different, but so are the way they work the things they reference are less concrete in my head, which means I am so much less confident when referencing what I want or believe Lionheart to do.  As a result I find it hard to implement his powers in anything other than basic terms, because the powers don't work they way they used to.  

For example that to build Lionheart into DC heroes as he was under GH/SQUK required a lot of rules geek foo, which tells me that he isn't easy to work out and therefore its not surprising that with such a complex character I struggle.   Which leads on to the second point
 
Rules - before Lionheart had them all on one sheet, I could easily access, understand and implement that - which speaks to how simple GH was.  Ok too simple - but now there are so many more steps involved and I no longer feel confident about what I am calling out to, especially the powers names, that aren't iconic or even obvious/illustrative - Dispersal sounds like a wind based power, Ice Production sounds benign unlike Energy attack - Ice etc.   That these things are not obvious, makes it extra complicated to get my head around.  So I just give up and write what I think I'd like to do broadly and let you interpret it. 

Any PBEM would be slow, and I don't want to add anything to make it harder.  I am happy typing my end my responses and letting the dice fall where they may (good call on dice by the way) but if I am struggling this end of the monitor its just that the powers, by which I interface with my character do not speak simply to me, as they did within GH.  

Anyway I'm happy to carry on as is and don't want to change, especially on my account.  If we were to change rules, I'd rather go back to GH powers and DC heroes maths and combat but otherwise I am happy to carry on as is.  Ok hopefully not dug that hole beneath me too deep.  ;-)

Sj

Lionheart hammered at the walls around the boxed off section of force field/corridor that held his friends captive...

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE!" roared the voice over a tannoy system... "...I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW FAST YOU ARE... CAMERAS SHOWING ONLY A BLUR..."

Lionheart didn't recognise the voice, but the implied words suggested it was indeed one of his old enemies, long thought dead and seemingly very much... Alive? Perhaps not. Existing? He was troubled but continued to hammer away at the walls... and they started to crack...

Wandafar looked up "Zis is not good. Zet looks like a very heavy mountain! Your friend is, as we say, completely bonkers ya?"

Frostbite glanced at Wandafar and (OOC bit of improv) made ready to unleash his full Ice Production above them. Ice was strong, and it wouldn't need to hold the full weight of rock crashing down on them, simply hold certain rocks in place so that they pressed against each other and held everything else up. It was a good idea in theory...

Lionheart was a blur. Using thousands of well placed karate chops against the hard stone of the corridor walls he filled the air with dust and splintered gravel that pinged like bullets from the boxed forcefield section and his own protective field. Not long before the Necro Borg rounded the corner! Seconds, if that?

He grinned.

Plenty of time...

"WHAT ARE YOU..."



Suddenly there was an almighty crash, a flare of bright light, an intense wave of all encompassing cold and... darkness!

=========

Lionheart opened his eyes...

He had transferred his power to his vast superhuman strength, and whilst not quite holding up a mountain was bracing a good section above him. It was dark, and he could feel intense cold all around him. Dust was still settling. Just then a blue light shone across him, illuminating his dust covered form and shining off the glistening ice that coated everything.

"Vat a bloody stupid plen. Vorked though." coughed Wandafar as he scrambled through a small gap between rocks to climb into the mini cave that Lionheart was in. A ghostlike Frostbite followed a heartbeat later, his blue chestplate revealing that the 'cavern' all about Lionheart was frost sheathed, with hard ice filling the gaps between rocks. Tentatively, Lionheart started to release his hold, and Frostbite piled more ice into the gaps. Despite alarming cracking sounds, and other noises indicated rocks still fell elsewhere, the ceiling didn't come down on them!

The plan had worked. All that weight crushing down on the force field had overloaded the generators. They'd tried to compensate and poured yet more power into the force field, and it had finally blown, taking with it the power supply for the base. The trio were buried under tons of rubble in a 10' x 10' x 10' section that was cold and filled with ice, but they were alive!

"How long till ze air runs out?" asked Wandafar, rubbing his arms and hopping from foot to foot with the cold. "Und vot hef you sorted out for a beck up plen? As far as I can tell, I voz safer getting my brains sucked out by a hair dryer machine rather zen vondering whether I vould die from ze cold, lack of air or a mountain falling on my head. Still... thankyou."

Lionheart looked about. the blue shine from Frostbites chestplate revealed fine cracks appearing in the ice, and it sounded like splintering... Whatever they were going to do to get out of here, they had to do it fast!

Admin wrote:

Lionheart looked about. the blue shine from Frostbites chestplate revealed fine cracks appearing in the ice, and it sounded like splintering... Whatever they were going to do to get out of here, they had to do it fast!

Frostbite contemplated what was required of him.  Lionheart had bought them time and literally brought the house down.  He hoped the others were fairing better than they were.  Breathing slowly so as to conserve the air, Frostbite spoke quietly.  

"If we try brute force again, I think we'll succeed in bringing down the mountain on our heads.  So my suggestion is that I phase you through the wall!"  Frostbite saw their faces, but put a hand up before they could argue, "I can't rightly say how possible this is, but I effortlessly phase myself and all that I hold so theoretically it should be possible to extend that to you for a short time.  Hopefully long enough to get us out.  If Lionheart flys us through, I can concentrate on getting us out.  I'll have Frostbot estimate the shortest route, and hold your breath."

With that Frostbite had Frostbot calculate their position based on best estimates and prepared to phase himself and friends through the rock.  

OOC: "Don't know if this will work, but the only atlernative would be to wait and see, unlikely to yield a favourable response, so lets go for it. I guess if I had hero points I'd be using them at this point.  I realise this could kill me, disable a power but its do or die, so what a choice.  Lets go for it and let the dice fall were they will."

Sj

If sentinel waited any longer to help his friends escape he might not have any friends left.

OCC: If sentinel takes these things on and they self destruct will the explosion take the place down as i don't want to risk it coming down and killing the rest of the team. So i think the best course of action is to draw the Borg out or at least thin their numbers and make copies of me and Andy or even an army and when the Borg give chase try that entrance again.
Thoughts?

OOC Will interpret your actions as the following Ross:

Silver Sentinel explained his plan to Android Andy who listened, gave a human like shrug then moved to distance himself from the armoured warrior...

Raising his hands the hero from the past summoned the power of magnetism to start dragging the furthest Necro Borg out from the cave...

Onboard systems built into the undead cyborgs registered movement, but couldn't decide whether it was an attack of any kind - their metallic bodies simply ceased to ignore their commands as first one, then two and another, third Necro Borg were joined by another. They in turn clattered into their comrades and a confused mass of Necro Borg were faced with the prospect of attacking one another...

OOC Magnetic Control check Roll 2D10 (6,6) Double! plus 8,5 (13)=25. Success (and then some)

A near comical mass of dozens of Necro Borg were hustled and bustled out of the cave, their programming confused and numerous failsafes preventing their attacking one another!

"Perhaps I might attempt something" said Android Andy... and he collapsed into a mess of tiny metal particles! Sentinel watched the black swarm of miniature robots pour across the ground and cover the robots like a coat of paint, finding a way into the metal bodies and getting deep into their systems... Normally such a trick might not have worked but they were distracted by the bizarre goings on of being shoved and pushed by their fellows, then their programming preventing them from striking out!

One by one the confused Necro Borg succumbed to severed cables, disrupted electrical pathways, power systems going haywire, and any number of other 'mystery' malfunctions. By the time some of them realised they were under attack and electrocuting the miniature robots of Android Andy, most were disabled!

That just left four coming towards Silver Sentinel, and he waved them up, up, up... into the air! Several hundred yards the Necro Borg went up! Two managed to unfurl weapons from their arms, and struggled to turn in the air to aim them at the Sentinel on the floor... With a flick of his wrist Silver Sentinel turned the two to point as their comrades! THOOM! THOOM! KABOOM!!!

All four exploded as the two hapless Necro Borg exploded, taking the other two with them!

Android Andy reformed, several feet shorter than before and moving stiffly at first. It was clear he'd been damaged but was able to reform, albeit smaller than before.

Just then there was a huge crash and dust spewed from the cave entrance! The rocks had collapsed and the mountain had caved in! Their friends... Sentinel looked on in horror - had the team just died???

OOC The Necro Borg have been removed but now the mountain has collapsed in on itself!

Dust started to fall faster in the caved in area, and the heroes knew they would run out of air or room very soon!

Desperate, trying something he'd never done before, Frostbite knew he had to attempt to phase his friends through the rock and fly out, fast and hard towards the surface!

"Hold your breath!" he hissed as he concentrated. Wandafar grasped what Frostbite was about to do and groaned. "I hate heffing my molecules disrupted!" He heard a loud crack above him. "Better disrupted zen squashed like tomato ketchup splat on table zo, get on viz it!"

Lionheart shrugged - there were a number of things he could try, but chances were he would not be able to save the others. Live or die, this one was down to Frostbite!

OOC Figured it was 'pushing the limit' as a one off so it uses Dispersal:10 vs OV/RV of 10. Dune might suggest a better way of pulling off one off stunts but I'm running out of time (again, sigh) and let's just roll the dice... Roll 10,2 (12) RAPS of 2 - technically a success. I'll say those 2 points represent the extra weight he can carry.. in this case 2APs. Not enough. Wandafar weighs 3APs (and at the top end of that scale) Lionheart at the bottom end of 3APs. Furthermore it's an exhausting process for Frostbite! He takes mental damage if this roll is high... Roll 5,5, (10) DOUBLE! plus 10,4 (14) 24... uh oh. 11RAPs! It's bashing damage, so Frostbite drops to zero Mind... and keels over unconscious with the mental effort!

"I do not feel very phased." muttered Wandafar as he felt a pebble bounce from his head. He looked down and saw Frostbite slumped on the floor at his feet!

Lionheart knelt and checked on his friend. His pulse was strong, so he'd simply overwhelmed himself when trying to phase the others... That meant it was down to Lionheart!

"Any more great plens?" asked Wandafar, looking at the steadily bowing ceiling. "Hmmm. Maybe zere is something..." said the little man, and he walked to look under a particularly precarious section of ceiling. He glanced about, pointing, muttering and counting, and seemed to stare at the rock wall. Glancing back and forth he watched the ceiling for a moment, noting the dust crumbling down. Then he turned to Lionheart. "Hey, Lion guy. You are super strong yes? Durable, perhaps a force field or superdense flesh ya? I vont you to hit... zat... no ZAT stone! As hard as you can! Vait till I say ze vord!" he said as he moved over to Frostbite and knelt to shield the unconscious mans body.

Lionhearts danger sense was going crazy! He looked at the rock in question and reacted with alarm! Hitting that rock would bring down the entire ceiling! Was the little man insane?

Another loud crack rang out, now small boulders were dropping...Lionheart had a choice to make, but his danger sense was SCREAMING at him!

"Vell, vot you vaiting for? Rocks to fall on your head? Hit it! yes, zat vun!" shouted Wandafar, and he knelt to protect Frostbite as best he could!

Lionheart looked back at the rock Wandafar had pointed out... this was suicidal!

Admin wrote:Lionheart looked back at the rock Wandafar had pointed out... this was suicidal!

OOC: "Oh dear Frostbite, is one of the most unheroic characters ever, talk about wimp out.  I love the way dice can turn the grandest plan into such mush"

Lionheart had to wonder at the man whom he found himself trusting.  But ever genius he'd known had his eccentricities, it must be a biological handicap to make sure they're ego didn't cause them to explode.  Seeing as he had no choice, the diminutive dwarf had an irritating way of being right, Lionheart gathered his mental energies directed them as appropriate and struck the rock, for all he was worth.  With his force field extended as best he could over himself and then moving back to try and shield them with himself he waited for what was a do or die attempt.  

Sj

(( The trouble with the plan is one of mechanics, Frostbite doesn't have 'useable on others' for +5 to the FC on his dispersal. Technically that means he can't use the power on any other person. I do like Pauls take on how to handle something like that though. Perhaps that's something to invest in for the future?   ))

ooc:

Now Wandafar, at least my plans for him when I played him, was going to develop intangibility as part of his whole "control vibrations" thing. Maybe after all these years, he finally figured out how to do that.  

OOC Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick about Wandy. Is he an alien inventor (as I pictured him in this version of his history) or does he have built in powers? I'll stick with the former, seeing as he's one of the smartest guys in the game and able to figure out impossible things like...

THOOOOOOOM!!!

The rock shattered on impact with the Lionhearts fist! That in turn shattered the next rock, which collided with half a dozen more and smashed those, the chain reaction cascading through a whole section, until...

The rockfall stopped. Dust kept falling, and debris like gravel was scattered across the floor, but the roof section looked pretty darned solid with the rocks having been smashed upwards in such a way that they interlocked perfectly with one another!

Lionheart turned to Wandafar, who was sat rubbing his head. A rock was on the floor next to him, clearly having bounced off his skull. "Cannot get zese things right all time." he grunted. "Blasted chaos theory. I sink you humans call it 'Murphys Law' whoever Murphy is. If something can go wrong, it vill."

He looked up at the solid looking roof. "Still, I take the vun or two percent going wrong if ze 98% holds zet roof up."

Lionheart was about to say something when he tipped his head to one side and looked at the floor. Tossing boulders aside he found a smashed and dented drain cover, and pulling that up revealed a partially blocked but still accessible vent leading straight down, from which the sound of water could be heard.

Wandafar wandered over (OOC not far) "A mountain like zis vould need adequate drainage for it to be useful as base, plus all ze vater zet runs down can be channelled as hydro electric power or more likely, cooling for a fusion power plant. Down zere, ze vater vill undoubtedly run into a river."

The roof rumbled ominously. "Zet Murphys law thing. It never seems to mention zet ven sings DO go right, it might not be long till ze law kicks in any vay!"

OOC With regards Frostbite 'wimping out' that was down to a horrendously high fatiguing roll. Same roll would have flattened any of the other characters except perhaps Lionheart, so don't worry about that. On the other hand an updated version of Frosty with Regeneration is well on the cards. You'll also have hero points to play with in the coming adventures, and they are the life blood of the game, used for improving chances of success, resisting attack and absorbing damage. Just a few hero points would have kept Frosty conscious. Even so he's played his part in saving Wandafar from getting his brain fried. The 'power stunt' thing was a one off - Frostbite tried it, it knocked him out, so he's not likely to try it again unless under controlled conditions. It'll be harder at any rate, but you as player can decide whether to try anyway.

Besides, we all know (by now) that the dice hammer you hardest Dave. No fudging of dice rolls, whatever comes up gets used. Just for you it's... yeah. Not great  

Admin wrote:
Besides, we all know (by now) that the dice hammer you hardest Dave. No fudging of dice rolls, whatever comes up gets used. Just for you it's... yeah. Not great  

OOC: "Glad I decided to check in on the board, didn't get a email update to say anyone had posted.  Sometimes these boards are so flaky.  Anyway no worries about FB, the dice fall where they may.  I think its likely, however, that there will be few Hero Points left over from the average adventure for updates, as I see many of them mitigating my amazing ability to role badly ;-)"

Lionheart gestured toward the open duct, "No time to waste, then Wandy, I'll grab Frostbite, you get yourself down that hatch, this roof isn't going to hold.  Besides we can't even call this a successful rescue until we've got you out safely."


Lionheart grabbed his still unconscious friend, lifting him effortlessly and then followed Wandafar down, pausing to grab the hatch cover and pulling it partially across.  Lionheart wanted to make sure if the roof fell in it didn't also fall through the hatch on top of them, as they descended.


Sj