The NEW Vanguard! FROSTBITE Issue #2

Admin wrote:

OOC 1d10 → [7] = (7) 1d10 → [7] = (7)
14, DOUBLE! Doh... plus 1d10 → [7] = (7) 1d10 → [3] = (3) Total 24!

Frostbite takes 12 damage, enough to put him down. You can choose to absorb up to 10 of those at a cost of 1HP per damage absorbed. To stay on your feet you'll need to spend at least 3, then decide what you want to do next. The capsules are opening, the rain mist stuff will start to wake up the occupants... And the robot just lit you up like a Christmas tree - chances are it will try that trick again...

OOC:Wouldn't be me if the dice were favourable.

Frostbite summoned reserves, he wasn't sure he had.  But his will and determination to overcome the obvious dire need escalating, gave urgency to the task at hand.  

OOCWill use the hero points to shake off the attack.  And use another 3 to add to my accuracy, to do a devastating attack against the robot.  I've got to shut it down before it electrocutes everyone.

Raising his hand, even as his ice returns, he took a moment to steel himself forcing his hand to steady as he shot a deadly beam of ice cold like a frozen laser beam at the robot.  

Sj

OOC Right, try again...

Frostbite absorbs 10 damage and is STUNNED - unable to attack, because he has absorbed as much as he can and STILL takes damage nonetheless.

Frostbite Body 8/10
Frostbite HP 27
Frostbite STUNNED

Unable to clear his head fast enough to attack, Frostbite does the next best thing...

He forms a solid, thick, steel hard icy wall between him and the robot...

The robot considers for a second, then superheats its body again and rolls through the ice wall, albeit slowed somewhat.

That buys enough time for the hero to get to his feet and steady himself, then level his hands and attack!

OOC ok, Frostbite can spend 2HP or 5HP to boost his Accuracy (with more=better). I will assume you go for 5HP and go for the most damage possible...

Frostbite HP 22

Devastating attack, with 5HP on attack... 2d10 → [4,6] = (10) HIT (JUST!!!!)

11 Damage

BOOM!

The ice lances out in a steel hard diamond sharp lance that punches through the robots skin in a dozen different places, smashing out through the back and spraying the robots innards across the floor! Despite the fact that it has a resistance against cold attacks from its adaptive abilities, Frostbite was able to apply his full power with an accurate attack to overwhelm it.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he stood there as the fine mist came down. As he looked about at the dozens of capsules that were opened, he saw several of the occupants reach with shaky, unsteady hands to pull breathing masks off. Some were too far under to be able to respond, but Frostbite knew from the blaring alarms that time was running out. He might be able to escape, and get some of the staff of this place out, but these people - men, women, children and some that could only be described as animal, plant or mineral (!) - would probably not be able to get themselves out on their own legs!

Admin wrote:

Frostbite Body 8/10
Frostbite HP 27
Frostbite STUNNED[/i][/color]

Devastating attack, with 5HP on attack... 2d10 → [4,6] = (10) HIT (JUST!!!!)

11 Damage[/i][/color]

BOOM!

OOC:Wow look at that, spent just enough HP, be in a bit of a bind if I didn't, that is what you call a close one. I can only imagine the next adventure being, rescue Frostbite, he's got himself stuck again!

Moving over to the bleary eyed, dazed and somewhat confused mass of people, Frostbite had to wonder what he had unleashed. But he didn't have time to think about the repercussions now. "Quickly, some of you who can stand, help those who can't. This facility has been compromised and we need to get everyone out. Can anyone tell me if they know which one of these cells contains the man known as Jospeh Rigdon?"

Frostbite said as he moved toward the mass of people, looking for any identification, a glimpse of someone he'd recognise or anything.

Sj

The captives were all dressed in the bare minimum to preserve modesty, shorts and sports bras for the women, and all dripped with a clear slime like substance that might have kept their body in a fit state to keep alive...

Frostbite moved from person to person. Men, women, various ages, including some of teen years. He tried not to think about how illegal all of this must be - regardless of who these people were did they deserve incarceration like this? Total sensory deprivation? Of course there was the process which nullified their superhuman abilities and somehow channelled that energy into machines.

With a shake of his head he called out for Joseph Rigdon and kept moving through the drowsy crowd. He stopped at what appeared to be a walking plant. It had no arms, and its body ended in what might be its head, with coal black eyes and a line for a mouth, bark for skin.

Another less than human thing appeared to be a mass of purple sludge, which had a vaguely humanoid shape (arms, legs, body, head) but no features. It formed a mouth and in a gravelly voice whispered "Thankyou"

The hero continued to move through the crowd, helping some who were barely able to climb from their cocoons.

"A lot of these are super villains, you know." said a quiet voice behind him.

Frostbite shivered. He turned, and saw a face that looked like his own, but wasn't. "You were calling for me" said Joe Rigdon. He eyes looked at the blue chestplate on Frostbites' chest, then looked at the blue dome on his own. "We related?"

Admin wrote:Frostbite shivered. He turned, and saw a face that looked like his own, but wasn't. "You were calling for me" said Joe Rigdon. He eyes looked at the blue chestplate on Frostbites' chest, then looked at the blue dome on his own. "We related?"

Frostbite looked taken aback.  He hadn't expected them to be so...similar.  But he shrugged, what was new for a man who'd seen so much in such a short time. "Its a long story, one that I am looking forward to telling you at some point.  As regards to these folk, well Supervillains or not, these are still people, I am sure you'd agree this is no way to treat any human being?  We need to get people out of hear, but I'd appreciate it after all this is over if you don't disappear, we need to talk.  Hopefully to our mutual benefit.  But I need to close what these dummies opened, some sort of portal, if you've any clue as to where and what this might be or how to close it this would be the time.  Otherwise I've got to stop some worse being let loose than a few criminals."  

OOC: Ok I'll get what info I can and then leave Joe to help escort these folks out, I realise my worst fear has been realised in letting them go.  However its probably the lesser of two evils.  If I can get any further info on the portal I will, but hopefully having released folks its going to get easier to stop it???!!! or I've just made it a whole lot worse, in any case my primary mission is finished now got to get on with closing this place down.    

Sj

As Frostbite was talking to Joe Rigdon, a young man - teenager - wandered over, hugging himself and shivering. He looked petrified.

Rigdon was about to reply to Frostbite but held off and motioned for the young man to speak.

"Hi, uh... I'm Robbie. Collins. Robbie Collins. Robert, but only my mum calls me that. I ... don't know why I'm here. All I remember is that I was ... messing about and I ended up hacking into MI5s secure database and noseying around. Just for fun, y'know? I didn't think it was anything serious, but that stuff about the Royal family was pretty funky. Anyway, about a week after that I was ... uh, doing the same again at .. uh, the Pentagon, and these guys showed up at my mums house and took me away. Proper shut the place down and all that. Mum went ape. I don't know how long that was ago, but I just woke up here and... uh... someone is asking me to tell you to walk over to that mainframe on the back wall and press your hand to it. Does that make any sense? I uh, befriend computers. Sounds weird but I treat em like people, not machines, and we chat, chew the fat an all that. I think it's trying to tell you something, though its weird cause I didn't have to 'tickle' it into life first."

Joe realized the young man had a superhuman ability - he could 'bring computers to life' - temporarily - and it'd gotten him into trouble. Surely though he should've been in jail? How did he get here with these dozens of... talking of which.

He saw a skinny malnourished man shake his head groggily, then start to bulge, grow... in a few seconds he'd gone from mid 5 foot to 9 foot high, almost as wide and looking like he weighed at least half a ton! More than that, his skin was purple, and he had green hair?

Joe Rigdon cursed. "However we got in here, it looks like they didn't care who was chucked in, good or bad. We are all lumped in together and there's probably a few nutcases in with us. Case in point. I'll try and use what limited power I have to slow him down!" he yelled as he started ushering screaming people towards the large exit door and gestured to melt some (he couldn't melt all) of Frostbites ice. It was clear he had less power, less practise, or both than his 1940s counterpart.

OOC The Inedible Bulk is about to kick off, panicked groggy superhumans are about to get squished, and this kid wants you to touch a computer? On top of that, somewhere in the complex is a gate to another dimension, with who knows what pouring through!

Admin wrote:OOC The Inedible Bulk is about to kick off, panicked groggy superhumans are about to get squished, and this kid wants you to touch a computer? On top of that, somewhere in the complex is a gate to another dimension, with who knows what pouring through!

Nodding his thanks to the boy, Frostbite looked from the mainframe to the creature about to try and take out its pent up frustration on all that remained.  The mainframe would have to wait, although Frostbite suspected that his friend was the one doing the communicating.  He quickly dismissed the slight pang of doubt that Frostbot hadn't reached out to him directly, knowing full well that his computer compatriot might well not be up to full strength or worse in serious danger.  

Right now he had to calm things down or stop this creature.  He had a portal to close and people to save and a fight here was not going to help anyone.  

With a last longing look at the mainframe, he spoke quickly to Robbie, "Robbie I need to deal with this, before people get hurt or something worse kicks off.  There is a larger problem we need to get sorted, can you make sure that the 'voice' a friend of mine, is ok.  He took a pretty good beating trying to get me into this place.  I'll be with him as soon as I can.  Thanks."

With that Frostbite got ready to use his powers on the green brute.  Raising his hands as he brought himself in line with the creature, he spoke keeping a respectful distance so as to not antagonise it.  "Hey big guy, no one doubts you're mad, that you've a right to be angry.  But big picture, an portal to a hostile world has been opened and its contents is spilling into ours.  If we don't get it closed, your rage, your grievances will mean nothing as there will be nothing to take action against.  Moreover you will be gone, if we don't stop this here, you will suffer a far worse fate than has been your lot of late.  Its your choice, stay and help or leave, but don't stop us trying to make this right!"

Frostbite didn't want to make an already worsening situation more critical so he avoided threatening the man, simply trying to get through to him the absolute threat they were under.  But at the same time, if the man was beyond reasoning, blinded by rage, he'd have no compunction letting loose with a devasating ice blast to slow him down and cool whatever frustration and anger he felt.  

OOC:Just to say having now been subjected to Frozen, I know how I would love my ice powers to work ;-)

Sj

OOC Purple with green hair. Huge difference As for frozen, it's one of the few things my boys will sit down and watch quietly, so I can catch up with posting or do other stuff whilst the two terrors are momentarily distracted...

Frostbite tried to reason with the beast, even as the youngster moved to the mainframe and pressed a hand against it...

The groggy former prisoners scattered as best they could as the creature shattered stronger than steel containment tubes with a mere bat of his hand. It turned at Frostbites' words and the hero wondered if he'd gotten through...

OOC Argh. The hard drive on my kyboshed laptop has the details for the characters, including Frosty. Off the top of my head I have an idea how persuasive he can be. Once I pull the hard drive and plug into my main computer I can transfer everything.

Roll(2d10)+0:
9,5,+0
Total:14

The creature is not convinced - the words don't seem to hit home. That said it turns its attention to the containment capsules rather than those running in fear from its mountainous bulk!

Frostbite hears one man, a fellow in his forties, mutter "If I can get my powers back, one touch should put that thing down!"

Anyone who could 'put something down' like that behemoth with but a touch was unlikely to be a superhero. The smash and tinkle of harder than steel plexi glass indicated that for the moment the creature was distracted.

Once it had smashed enough of those things, it would turn on whatever else it could find...

Admin wrote:Frostbite hears one man, a fellow in his forties, mutter "If I can get my powers back, one touch should put that thing down!"

Anyone who could 'put something down' like that behemoth with but a touch was unlikely to be a superhero. The smash and tinkle of harder than steel plexi glass indicated that for the moment the creature was distracted.

Once it had smashed enough of those things, it would turn on whatever else it could find...

Frostbite, seeing the creature dispatch the chambers doubted the strength of his own ice for holding the creature back, then again maybe it had a weakness where cold was concerned.  It had been captured once before?  

Looking at the older man, with his best chance of an appraisal, he asked quickly, "If you get your powers back?  Have you not gotten them back and what do they do?"  Seeing that his words had failed to impress the creature, Frostbite was wondering what choices he had to slow or stop the thing without hurting it or leaving it behind.  The thought of letting it tear this place apart wasn't a good one, then again, might he be able to use this creature to tear a way through the obstructions to the very portal he wanted to shut down.  Dispersing his form, he looked about, trying to ascertain from Frostbot's prior directions where the portal might be.  If he could get the creature to attack him and then through him whatever was down there he might be able to make the 'bull meet its new China shop'.  

OOC: Ok assuming I can get my bearings and where out where I am supposed to go, I think I'll move in the direction I need the creature to attack at, then fire an icy blast to get its attention and focus onto me, and then hopefully be able to disperse so it keeps attacking through me.  If I can keep taunting it and let it blast a way through the portal I might be able to use it as a big rock in a weak sling to take down whatever extra dimensional 'Goliath's' are seeking passage on the other side.

Sj

"I disrupt the neural synapses of anyone I touch. Not an electric shock, but similar in effect. I... ran afoul of some people and thought I would be in j...hospital, but I woke up here." said the man, trying to pick his words well even though his thoughts remained clouded.

Frostbite could tell a bad guy when he saw one. If a touch from this guy could put him down, he wondered what the guy crashing into that behemoth might do. Of course, if his powers weren't working, he'd probably just get torn to pieces.

The youngster Frostbite had spoken to turned and shouted "Hey! Your friend, Frostbot, wants you to know that the inter-dimensional portal this place powers has been deprived of its power supply. He... it... says that's good news, and bad. The portal is collapsing, but creatures are coming through it and using their powers to hold it open. If enough get through they can widen it again. Your buddy says he's seen enough of the probe camera footage to know this would be 'a bad thing'."

Frostbite looked at the creature, merrily smashing its way through the plexi glass and computers lining the walls. Noting that many of the former prisoners were trapped - the creature was between them and the only visible exit - he knew it would only be a matter of time before it turned on them!

"Which way kid?" shouted Frostbite.

Robbie pressed a hand to the mainframe, then yelped as flying debris crashed into it, sending him flying! He lifted himself to his knees, and despite a cut on his scalp was able to shout "two floors down from here. Straight down!" He looked back at the mainframe. Smashed. What did that mean for the fate of Frostbot?

Frostbite had a number of choices. Pressing a foot to the floor and applying superhuman cold, he then lifted his foot and slammed down with what strength he could muster. The steel floor shattered and revealed an underfloor of piping and conduits, struts and beams, and the skin, about 6 feet down, of the ceiling of the floor below.

A foot put paid to that and he looked into what appeared to be a vast machine room. With containers, pipes, conduits, generators, mainframes and who knew what else filling the space, he knew the creature would wreak havoc in there before being distracted enough to follow him. Then he heard a scream as the purple skinned behemoth turned on several defenceless former prisoners! One of them held up a hand, which started to glow! A superhuman power - some were regaining their abilities! Unfortunately all it did was sparkle, glow, and throw out the equivalent of a dozen sparklers all at once instead of the torrent of energy the man expected. He looked shocked, disappointed and horrified as Behemoth strode towards him!

Frostbite blasted at the creatures back, hoping to get it's attention...

OOC Rolling 2d10 ( 2 + 8 ) = 10 That hits, but...

A blast of cold hit the creature who stopped and turned. It didn't seem bothered by the blast, save to be more annoyed than it was at the fellow who threw harmless sparks at him! It started to stride towards Frostbite, getting faster, and faster!

OOC Note, whilst Frostbite has a form of intangibility (His Dispersal power) it's a long way off from allowing him to be invulnerable to attack! It will increase his resistance value but against super dense (characters with a Body score bigger than Frostys dispersal) attacks and energy blasts etc it should be noted that it won't entirely protect him. Attacks by characters with a body score of equal or less than his Dispersal power pass through him harmlessly, and that goes for most kinds of bullets too - he can pretty much ignore gunshots when dispersed. With that said this creature is getting closer and will attack. You can only turn dispersal on, or off in the round. You've turned it ON this round, so next round to attack you'll need to turn it off or suffer a much reduced ability to inflict damage. You can move, are dispersed, and can float through the floor if required. Is that what you want to do?

Admin wrote:A blast of cold hit the creature who stopped and turned. It didn't seem bothered by the blast, save to be more annoyed than it was at the fellow who threw harmless sparks at him! It started to stride towards Frostbite, getting faster, and faster!

OOC Note, whilst Frostbite has a form of intangibility (His Dispersal power) it's a long way off from allowing him to be invulnerable to attack! It will increase his resistance value but against super dense (characters with a Body score bigger than Frostys dispersal) attacks and energy blasts etc it should be noted that it won't entirely protect him. Attacks by characters with a body score of equal or less than his Dispersal power pass through him harmlessly, and that goes for most kinds of bullets too - he can pretty much ignore gunshots when dispersed. With that said this creature is getting closer and will attack. You can only turn dispersal on, or off in the round. You've turned it ON this round, so next round to attack you'll need to turn it off or suffer a much reduced ability to inflict damage. You can move, are dispersed, and can float through the floor if required. Is that what you want to do?

Not knowing a thing about the creature, nor whether it would work didn't stop Frostbite trying to provoke the creature into attacking. As he started to destabilise his molecules he also began to sink into the floor below, through the shattered floor, pipes and tubes but as he did so he called out the creature in his best taunting voice, hoping it would get through and comprehend.

You know, it strikes me as odd that they kept you in your human form encased. Must be that the realised your real strength isn't in this form at all, but in the human within. Clearly this purple guy is how you like to show off, but its all a for show, a big wind up, a big lot of puffed up fancy, hot air. Your like a huge purple marsh mellow, sweet but painfully powerless next to your human form. Yes that must be it, that's why they kept you de-powdered and locked up as a human. Any minute now you'll want to be shown to the toilet as your nappy is full. Yes, probably best we all get out of here now as a bucket full or purple poop isn't something you'd want to be remembered for, now is it?

And with that Frostbite ducked below, and then waited for the creature to see if it was going to follow, before flying down to the next floor and carrying on in a similar fashion to make sure the behemoth didn't get distracted but instead followed.

OOC: Here is hoping that it follows in any case, not sure what I am going to do when I get to the other end, but hopefully it will become more evident if we get that far.

Sj

Frostbite

With a colossal ROARRRR!!!! the creature smashed its head clean through the floor and widened the hole as if the steel and pipes/wires were made of paper! Sparks flew, smoke and gas belched, something ignited and flames pulsed out, and the beast crashed through to the floor below, only feet from where Frostbite was and whirling around to find him!

'How can something so big move so fast?!?!' Frostbite might have though, if he had that long to think!

The creature slammed a microwave oven sized fist at Frosty!

OOC 2d10 → [3,9] = (12) Miss, and the behemoth puts a hole the size of a car into the floor, causing smoke and steam and whatnot to billow out...

Frostbite was suddenly unsure quite how much his power would protect him! This thing was presumably denser than steel - it certainly looked like it would ignore an exploding howitzer shell or similar! Then he glanced down, and saw a huge room, partially carved from the rock of a cave, with a large house size machine in the centre, fed by hundreds of cables, tubes, and wires from every which where. The machine appeared to be an arch, and in the aperture was glowing...

Even as Frostbite (and the distracted creature) watched, the glow darkened to silhouette a man like creature almost as big as the one Frostbite faced! Naked, with steaming red muscled skin, the creature stumbled through the aperture and stood on shaky legs, looking around.

There were half a dozen of its brethren already through the gate.

Something was happening though. A sound, like an engine building up speed without any limited, was coming from the arch. It didn't sound good, at any rate! If the power to create a dimensional hole to... somewhere else... was suddenly cut, what would happen to the hole? Would it collapse... or would it continue to open, like a tear, without means to regulate how far or fast it opened! Even as Frostbite pondered this, the glow from the gate was darkened as something big was coming through...

Admin wrote:Frostbite

With a colossal ROARRRR!!!! the creature smashed its head clean through the floor and widened the hole as if the steel and pipes/wires were made of paper! Sparks flew, smoke and gas belched, something ignited and flames pulsed out, and the beast crashed through to the floor below, only feet from where Frostbite was and whirling around to find him!

'How can something so big move so fast?!?!' Frostbite might have though, if he had that long to think!

The creature slammed a microwave oven sized fist at Frosty!

Something was happening though. A sound, like an engine building up speed without any limited, was coming from the arch. It didn't sound good, at any rate! If the power to create a dimensional hole to... somewhere else... was suddenly cut, what would happen to the hole? Would it collapse... or would it continue to open, like a tear, without means to regulate how far or fast it opened! Even as Frostbite pondered this, the glow from the gate was darkened as something big was coming through...

"Opps, big purple baby wants to be shown to the poo poo room! Come on then big fella, follow me down here to the pretty lights, the strange guys in red and to lots of soft things you can hit. Because, well let me put this delicately, you look like someone who is struggle on account of too little greens.  That might account of that odd colour of yours, perhaps because you've been a good boy holding it in all this time. Well come on, time to go to the big boys room.  Right down here..."

Frostbite might live to regret all this puerile taunting, but for now what other weapon save the creature's anger could he use to direct its mindless rage at him and hopefully toward the creatures below.  Frostbite sunk into the floor as quick as he could, aware that he was about to place himself either side of a conflict that even his super malleable density powers might not be able to phase him through.

OOC: Ok once more into the breach, I mean the literal breach between dimensions where hopefully big purple and distinctly unhandsome can follow and lay down some smack, so I don't need to.  Not that I think I've got much chance of doing any real damage, I've a feeling there isn't much left in Frostbite's tank and all that is keeping Frostbite in this fight is curiosity as to how this will all turn out.  Its like lighting a fuse and seeing if he can put out one bomb with another, and hoping that somehow this much destructive force somehow cancels itself out.

Sj

FROSTBITE

Leading the way with his taunts Frostbite plunged through the new hole and was immediately chased by the great purple behemoth!

Roaring, it crashed to the floor, and was set upon immediately by the almost as large creatures from another dimension! With the red skin, four eyes, fanged mouth, pig snouts and horns sprouting from their heads, Frosty didn't need to look at their cloven feet or prehensile tails to wonder quite what kind of mess the people in this facility had stumbled into!

He moved to the side as a red skinned muscled giant was tossed past him, pounding into the wall like a rock! It shuddered, shook its head and sagged to the floor, clearly stunned. The others pounding on Behemoth with clawed fists. The beast gave as good as he got!

Turning to the aperture Frostbite guessed the next appearance would be by - judging by the silhouette - some kind of ... Dragon? A wide body, serpentine neck and head, wings and arms were discernible. Frostbite only had moments to decide what to do as the Behemoth was swamped by the hulking red creatures and he would be left facing this... this thing, alone!

As he watched he saw the messed, splattered remain of dozens of scientists and guards, torn apart by just one of these creatures, the first to emerge. They seemed to have opened Pandora's box, and unleashed the whole of the evil from another world upon an unsuspecting earth, paying the ultimate price for their naivety!

Admin wrote:FROSTBITE

As he watched he saw the messed, splattered remain of dozens of scientists and guards, torn apart by just one of these creatures, the first to emerge. They seemed to have opened Pandora's box, and unleashed the whole of the evil from another world upon an unsuspecting earth, paying the ultimate price for their naivety!

Looking about Frostbite sought some opportunity, some way by which he might shut this thing down before it became unstoppable.  

OOC: Whilst I don't have the advantage of creating a do-hikey to reverse what the machine did to open this gate up in the first place, I do hope that a good roll (with the aid of HP if need be) might help me find the means to stop this before it gets any worse.  Having got here, I'm looking for some clue(s) as to how what I can do now I've got here to end this favourably - since I doubt just icing the gaping hole and putting up a, "Do Not Trespass" sign (even with funky red bold lettering) is going to cut it.

Sj

OOC The worlds slowest laptop continues to test my will to live. Roll on payday! Hopefully I can scrape enough up for a newer laptop or repair the old one cause this thing (my mums old laptop, and just about fast enough to keep up with an abacus. It's awful) is beyond hope. I can upgrade it, but it would be like putting alloy wheels on a Model T ford - not much point then. Right, enough whinging, let's see if I can coax it into posting another reply... Frostbite uses HP (from his total of 22) to increase Intelligence from 7 to 11 and Will from 5 to 9. I am having to guess because the computer is so slow it won't load files from Google Drive where they are stored. Gah. 10 mins passed, failed. Let's just get on with it.

Frostbite

Looking about for some means to stem the flow from the gate and seal it, Frosty could only think of plugging it. His ice might do it - for a few seconds - but the best bet was to get the musclebound purple behemoth (currently deluged by demon like creatures) to stand in the gate and stop whatever was coming through.

OOC 2d10 → [7,3] = (10) The roll was enough Frostbite has 14HP Gives the vague answer Frosty got. Make his own 'plug' or try to get the Behemoth to provide it.

Behemoth was undoubtedly stronger than the group on top and intertwining him but the creatures were no pushover and excellent fighters. Acting like living knots they pinned him down and his thrashing was slowed. He turned, and saw the bright light of the gate almost blacked out - something was almost here, and death came with it!

Admin wrote:Behemoth was undoubtedly stronger than the group on top and intertwining him but the creatures were no pushover and excellent fighters. Acting like living knots they pinned him down and his thrashing was slowed. He turned, and saw the bright light of the gate almost blacked out - something was almost here, and death came with it!

OO: Sympathise about the laptop, just had to restore my wife's spent the best part of all day doing it, 167 updates after reloading windows and sometime last night finally got around to loading on the programmes she actually uses and needs.

Seeing little choice, Frostbite dropped his dispersal powers and moved to the entrance, where he thrust in his hands and began to cause the atmosphere around and within to freeze. Colder and colder he sensed rather than felt the temperature begin to drop at a considerable rate as he sought to stem the tide. Looking over his shoulder, he shouted back.

"Oh look at that, there was me thinking you were some kinda powerful, some kinda big man around these parts. But throw a few dozen enemies at you and looks like they've got you bound up, wound down and about ready to say nighty night! How sweet, never mind this great big portal where the real danger is. What are you, a skinny sad sack of nothing, or a great be primal monster ready to inflict pain and suffering on anyone of these dipsticks who gets in your way?"

He had no idea whether his half baked plan would work, but if he could get the behemoth mad enough, maybe it might be able to throw off the creatures and come at him again. At which point he hoped he could time it so he might disperse again, so as to at least evade the worst of what might be coming if the creature was able to break free and come at him. If not, well he would hold the line or die trying, hoping that it need not come to that. If he failed there was no telling how quickly the breach could turn into something unimaginably worse.

Sj

Creating feet thick Ice walls across the gateway, Frostbite put the rest of his plan into effect by insulting Behemoth...

What happened next quite surprised Frostbite...

"hhhnnnnrrrrrrr..." growled the Purple skinned man mountain. "How about you... help me with these... things instead... maybe I can get leverage..." His voice sounded like rocks falling down a mountain.

One of the creatures was tossed up into the air, but Frostbite saw the problem. The creature had turned pliable and stuck to behemoth like glue - literally. Combined with the others, and its physical strength and agility, it was clear that they were somehow using Behemoths strength against him. He would pull in one direction, and it would pull connected creatures ... which were connected to other parts of Behemoths body and cause him to pull against his own strength!

The ice Frostbite had put up started to crack... dribbles of moisture started running down, and pools of water gathered on the floor. Frostbite could continue to pour cold at it... but chances were his ice wall was about to explode!

And the creatures that were attacking Behemoth began to take note... One of them broke off, and stood. It instantly burst into flames and started striding towards the hero!

Admin wrote:"hhhnnnnrrrrrrr..." growled the Purple skinned man mountain. "How about you... help me with these... things instead... maybe I can get leverage..." His voice sounded like rocks falling down a mountain.

And the creatures that were attacking Behemoth began to take note... One of them broke off, and stood. It instantly burst into flames and started striding towards the hero!

And once again Frostbite found himself with two unenviable choices, but if one meant the enemy of my enemy might be my sudden unexpected and welcome ally...

Turning to the man mountain, Frostbite took on look at the way the creatures had secured themselves over him, and he looked for a way that he could reverse the leverage they'd gained on him.

OOC: OK is there anyway I can blast at the creatures, or freeze several of them in such a way as to not only freeze them, but render them unable to respond so that our purple placed power perp can finally make a move to which they cannot respond and that he could break their hold as a result? If so, then poor it on in that general direction. I am ignoring the guy coming toward me, a) because its a distraction and b) if I don't get Purple Ronnie's help, then I'm as good as stuffed anyway, so picking off the small fry is incidental. So I'll ignore him and focus fire on these creatures to give my sudden new best friend and chance to break free...I hope.

Sj

Frostbite took aim...

The problem was that the creatures weren't stronger than 'Purple Ronnie' ( ) rather that they used the giants strength against it. If he could take out just a few of them...

OOC Multi attack. 2d10 → [10,4] = (14) Hit.

Firing ice darts in a spray, he saw several of them impact against Behemoths leg but the giant barely grunted - he was 'tied up' anyway.

The creatures looked pained, but annoyed rather than truly hurt.

Then they were surprised as well, when Behemoth tossed them in every direction! Some clung to him like glue, elastic limbs flailing about. The monster bellowed, plucked one of the creatures from him and tore it in half with his teeth! The creature burst open spraying yellow blood everywhere, and the others were pounded into similar states of mush as the creature got angrier and stronger...

And turned as a beast from another dimension strode through the gate! It was huge, bigger than behemoth and wider. It's thick corded muscles stood out on all four of its arms. Batlike wings unfurled and the head resembled something from a vision of Dantes' Inferno! Catlike eyes, pointed tongue, fangs, red skin...

With a roar the creature looked about, and took its first stride from the gate... but the gate 'pulled' back, and the creature grunted, struggling to free itself from from a gluey energy that sought to bring the creature back from this plane to its own. It saw Behemoth, pounding its creatures into yellow sludge. With a flick of its wrist a whip of fire unfurled... and it grinned!

OOC The creature is about to attack Behemoth...

Admin wrote:With a roar the creature looked about, and took its first stride from the gate... but the gate 'pulled' back, and the creature grunted, struggling to free itself from from a gluey energy that sought to bring the creature back from this plane to its own. It saw Behemoth, pounding its creatures into yellow sludge. With a flick of its wrist a whip of fire unfurled... and it grinned!

OOC The creature is about to attack Behemoth...

Turning back to the emerging creature, Frostbite shot out both hands and blasted as fast but as deadly accurately as he could muster a cold blast to either incapacitate or stop the whip from being used. He suspected the instrument might loose some of its potency if knocked out of the villains hand, or rendered useless. So with an effort to attack in a concentrated fashion he shot out his ice cold blast.

OOC OK so looking to try and either dislodge or distroy or drop the whip from the hand if at all possible. Some sort of called shot.

Sj

OOC Called shot is a ‘trick shot’ and this one is tricky indeed. Effectively shooting the weapon out of the hand of the bad guy even as its moving. That said, he’s a very good shot with his cold control.

It’s going to need to be.

2d10 → [7,8] = (15)

That’ll do it.

Frostbite leveled his arms and sprayed thousands of ice darts at the enemy! The creature ignored the majority of them, even daring to laugh!

Then it looked down at the hand holding the whip and the smile faded. Its hand was encased in a block of ice, the fiery whip having turned into a scalding mist!

With a roar the beast turned to Frostbite, and he was painfully aware of the size of the thing as it strode towards him! Frostbite was tough – bullets and grenades would barely bother him – but this was something else entirely. This creature was faster and more agile than Frostbite could imagine, even given its obvious size and ferocious strength!

Steeling himself to give all he could in the moments before this thing vented its fury on him, Frostbite was suddenly aware of a blur!

A purple one!

SMACK!

He was knocked off his feet by a near sonic boom as unyielding might was hammered my measureless strength! The behemoth and the creature from beyond had at each other, the smaller man – all 9’ and a half ton of muscle – was rage personified. With every blow the ground shook, and Frostbite saw his chance. He could help Behemoth or try to do something about closing that gate! The beast from beyond had recovered from Behemoths’ onslaught, and was trading blows with the powerful metahuman! It was too close to call, and they were moving so fast, so close, that any shot which missed its target would surely hit the other!

Admin wrote:SMACK!

He was knocked off his feet by a near sonic boom as unyielding might was hammered my measureless strength! The behemoth and the creature from beyond had at each other, the smaller man – all 9’ and a half ton of muscle – was rage personified. With every blow the ground shook, and Frostbite saw his chance. He could help Behemoth or try to do something about closing that gate! The beast from beyond had recovered from Behemoths’ onslaught, and was trading blows with the powerful metahuman! It was too close to call, and they were moving so fast, so close, that any shot which missed its target would surely hit the other!

It was no competition, Frostbite had to shut down the gate, whilst the beast was busy. He knew he didn't have long. But one thing was for sure, he was going to do it so that no man was left behind. Even if he was a purple pile of emotion and rage. He wasn't about to abandon someone in the interests of self preservation.

Moving over to the machines, panels and other equipment, didn't to his untrained eye reveal a big switch that he could throw to shut things off. But he hoped that he was wrong. OOC: There might not be a big red 'in case of emergency' button to press. But if there is the equivalent that would be great. If not I'll freeze things so that they can't work and then smash them, them trusting that the brittle cold will make it easy. However I am mindful of staying close to the gate, so that in the event it does close I can either dive in to be with our Purple playing playmate, or drag him out if that option remains. But by no means does Frostbite intend to leave him behind. Just heads up to you Paul, if things go bad I dive in - suicide or not. Frostbite couldn't let himself stand by whilst another man lost his life. Ain't going to happen.

Sj

Frostbite confronted a bank of machinery...

Much of it was touch screen, and the maddening array of buttons and switches/toggles/knobs left him wondering just quite where the 'off' button was! Chances were this whole place had run wildly out of control, and the machinery was overloaded, being as it was powered by those multitude of superhumans up...

DOWNSTAIRS!

They came in threes and fours, dropping through the hole in the ceiling and led by this timelines' Frostbite (that never was!). Joe Rigdon looked to where Frostbite was, waved a hand, then shouted "There! Help Behemoth! Drive them back!"

There were more than a dozen superhumans now, and they opened fire with energy, gravity, cold, fire, electricity, blinding light and more! They'd decided that rather than run, the best thing to do was get down there and help close the gate... turns out they were right - Joe looked at the panel and figured that whatever was keeping the gate open or closed was now self sustaining and no longer requiring this machinery! Another case of mankind meddling with what it didn't understand!

As the superhumans piled on the pressure, more dropped from the hole and helped with the battle against the lesser demons.

The youngster known as Robbie Collins came over with what looked to be a computer tablet. Joe Hoskyn had seen them and much more in this future timeline but for a man born in the 1920s it was amazing that people took for granted what a few decades ago would have been considered dark magic!

"Here!" he said, offering Frostbite the tablet and shielding his eyes from the glare of the battle. "Sheesh! That lot are really going at it!"

It was true - the freed superhumans, complete with their returning powers, were blasting the aliens back towards the gate. Some resisted, and half a dozen inmates were scattered through the air like skittles, but yet more dropped through the hole and joined the fray! They were after all used to superhuman abilities and their devastating effects - to battle demons was hardly something worth putting on the evening news!

Frostbite looked to where Behemoth was locked in battle with the demon. Suddenly the big Purple beast cried out as its forearm snapped! Falling back, he snarled as the demon raised a foot and crashed it down on him! It was blasted by half a dozen colours of beam but shrugged most of them off, bar one. Light?

With a roar it brought out the fiery whip again, and started whirling it around and round... then it started to get longer!

OOC This is it! What happens next determines if the good guys win out or the gate stays open, to spew who knows what out!