The new Vanguard! Frostbite Issue #4

OOC Updated my signature to give the current roster.

Surge nodded "As it should be. Heavy hitters together right! We do all the heavy lifting, the others share the glory."

More knuckle popping.

Gravitas nodded. "I'll wait for Terra Firma to return."

Reflex and Probability glanced at one another. "Guess it's you and me Steph" he chuckled. "I need to attack one of the locust men from a distance for my powers to work." said Stephanie "But I'm gagging for another crack at them."

"Let's get to it!" shouted Surge, and he rushed to the door.

Stephanie touched Frostbite on the arm as he walked past "I don't have to tell you to watch him, right? I mean, his power is growth but his ego is always the size of a house."

Frostbite nodded, and made his way out, then through the air with Surge chasing on foot below, from the cover of one building to another.

OOC Roll(2d10)+0: 3,10,+0 Total:13

They made good progress through the place, getting to within sighting distance of the main building from which many pipes, vats and processing machines were connected. "Time to grow?" whispered Surge.

Frostbite was about to answer when he looked up. There!

With the light from distant fires refracting through her solid crystal body, Crystal Queen stood on the roof of a building and looked down on them. "I knew I'd be able to spot something from the air! Your friend..." she said referring to Kevin "... doesn't do a good job of keeping hidden." She thrust a hand up pointing at the pair. "Now on the floor, pair of you!"

"Don't know why you bother talking to 'em 'Queen." growled Asp from deep shadows on the roof of the opposite building. "Just put 'em down and let's make sure there are no more of these scumbags..." he hissed.

OOC What you say and do in the next moment determines if we have a superhero throwdown

Admin wrote:OOC What you say and do in the next moment determines if we have a superhero throwdown

Frostbite hissed at Surge, "Stand down, lets not cause ourselves two problems for the price of one. Right?"

And with that he turned raised his arms and spoke briefly, he didn't have a lot of hope for how this was going to turn out so tried the truth for once.
"Explosions, are not terrorists, but aliens who can be harmed by chemical pesticides created here. They are but the scout party of a much larger force. They've booby trapped all the remaining canisters ahead and my team and I are here to help. It was my team that 'rescued' you when the laser fire destroyed your friends craft."

At this Frostbite was nothing but level, he didn't try to persuade or rattle cages. He was just straight talking figuring it might be nice to give the truth a try for once. Looking about as he spoke he tried to size up what he faced if things went south. His first thought was to lead them toward the Locust men, but he's big worry was in stopping them blowing this place to Kingdom Come! Still one problem at a time, he thought.

Inwardly he mentally prepared Frostbot, if there was any thing that he could do in case things went south to assist, although given the circumstances Frostbite did wonder.

Sj

Crystal Queen considered. "Your icy form... did you cause this snow, to put out the fire?"

Asp hissed "Better be on the level punk."

Kevin started forwards...

And Asp 'spat' at him!

OOC Roll(2d10)+0: 4,5,+0 Total:9
Paralysis 11 + 9 vs TN11 + Dex 7. +2 Effect so 13EV vs RV8. 5RAPs

Kevin grunts "Urk!" and freezes on the spot, green slime dripping from him! "He... slimed... me..." he gasps. Then he GROWS!

Crashing a brick wall aside, he flexed and tried to shrug off the slime!

OOC Str 12 + Roll(2d10)+0: 1,8,+0 Total:9 vs 16/5. +3 EV so 15 vs 5

"Graaagh!" shouted Surge as the slime wore off! Then he prepared to land a car sized fist on Asp!

Crystal Queen thrust her hands out muttering "Why is it 'always one of those days' with some people. Sorry about this..." she offered to Frostbite.

She was about to shoot at Frostbite, then reconsidered and fired to create a wall of crystal between Asp and Surge! "Quit it you two, or..."

OOC Roll(2d10)+0: 8,4,+0 Total:12
Locust man fires laser weapon. Weaponry 9/EV11 vs Dex 8/RV13. Hit, +2 EV, no damage.

Crystal Queen grunted as the laser beam struck her in the back. She and Frostbite turned even as Surge grappled with the crystal wall and Asp leapt to the side of a building to launch his next attack at the giant! "I'm ok" she muttered as Frostbite moved up alongside her. "But those two idiots are sitting ducks. I believe you about whoever it is setting this place on fire. Fire doesn't seem your thing, for starters" she added, looking at Frostbites icy form up and down.

Frostbite peered around the corner. The shot had come from a building with a mass of pipes and vats attached. There was nothing else he could see though. What had... wait! A shimmering of some kind. Could these things adapt to match the colour of their surroundings? That would make things more complicated!

In the background Surge roared and swatted at Asp who leapt about acrobatically...

Admin wrote:Frostbite peered around the corner. The shot had come from a building with a mass of pipes and vats attached. There was nothing else he could see though. What had... wait! A shimmering of some kind. Could these things adapt to match the colour of their surroundings? That would make things more complicated!

In the background Surge roared and swatted at Asp who leapt about acrobatically...

"Never rains when it....Wait that gives me an idea. Lets see if we can't reveal who our true enemy here is."

And with that Frostbite once again commanded the cold elements over which he was master to come down in even greater form, coating the areas around which the shimmering form can be seen. "You can hide but you can't stop a dusting of snow giving you're presence away."

Turning to Surge and Asp, "Far be it from me to spoil the beautiful thing you two have got going on, but I think you'll find our real enemy is here..."

He said as he added a surge of his own to the frost powers he applied to reveal their real enemy concealed or so they thought.

OOC:Hopefully this will work, however if we need to maximise dice to help, let's add up to two with the appropriate points as needed.

Sj

The snow really started to come down in solid spheres like hailstones now, some of which were pretty large until Frostbite throttled back!

Crystal Queen shouted (over the din of the clattering ice) "What are we... Look!"

The Locust Man was checking itself as it seemed to ripple in and out of camouflage, trying to adjust its wrist controls and looking up in anger. With a glance at the heroes it started to moved back, trying to find cover, but its stealth tech was fizzing and sparking still. A window of opportunity!

Asp, stuck to Surges large throat and holding what appeared to be a single long spine jutting from his wrist at Kevin, with Kevin in turn reaching behind about to pluck the agile serpent hero from himself.

Asp hissed, Surge growled "How good at you at landing?"

Asp added "Do it!"

OOC Roll(2d10)+0: 10,9,+0 Total:19 plus Dex 7= 26 vs TN11 + Dex 7. Hit

Asp flew through the air, unerring like an arrow after Surges' throw. He didn't mess around, attacking with his claws...

OOC Roll(2d10)+0: 5,10,+0 Total:15 plus Dex 12 = 27 vs TN 11 + Dex 7. Hit, Claws 13 + 4 effect vs RV 9 = 8 damage. Locust man (Body 7) is down.

Scything through the locust mans hard carapace and additional armoured suit (that provided his stealth tech), Asp landed and hissed in a crouch as the Locust Man flew forty feet (OOC knockback is the + to effect value less weight of the defender) to clatter into a wall! The alien slid to the floor, unconscious. Asp turned to Surge, gave a brief nod and touched a finger to his ear.

Crystal Queen turns to Frostbite and held out a hand to shake. "Truce? I'm Crystal Queen. That's Asp. My team mates out there are Bombardier and Tearaway. I already believed you before, but now he does, and I will let the team know. You can fill me in on what you know of this lot as we work through the compound..."

Frostbite glanced at Surge, who held up his hands in submission "Yeah boss, I got ya. Truce." Truth was he looked relieved - Asp was much faster than he was and tricky for the big man to get a hold of...

Admin wrote:Frostbite glanced at Surge, who held up his hands in submission "Yeah boss, I got ya. Truce." Truth was he looked relieved - Asp was much faster than he was and tricky for the big man to get a hold of...

Frostbite blew out some air, finally Surge seemed to be listening and they seemed to be getting through. That last move was also pretty impressive. Turning back to Crystal Queen, Frostbite quickly related what was going on before asking, "Look this is your party, we don't want to get in your way, so you call the shots. I'm glad you guys showed up, because the real threat these guys pose is much greater. So with some heavier hitters around we might be able to check their invasion before it even begins. But we've got to capture one for questioning. Otherwise I'm good following your moves."

OOC: Frostbite, ever the gentleman isn't going to push himself or assert any kind of authority until he knows that it's acceptable to them. But having these guys on board is a welcome sign - since this invasion and potentially even this small force is already enough to whip my team novice behinds.

Sj

Crystal Queen listened then turned to the distant Asp, around 100 feet away. "You didn't kill it did you?"

He turned, then cried out in disgust, and gave the locust man a kick. Crystal Queen switched him to speaker, which, although tinny, was audible to Frostbite. He didn't mention Frostbot was casually monitoring all communications between them. There were too many cross crossing conversations over the airwaves including mobile phones, but this close he could select the one between the UKChampions.

"I swear I didn't hit it hard enough to kill it. Non lethal blows, yes I know, but I am trying dammit!" rasped the 'Snake' man. He knelt and took a look. "No sign of poison, though its hard to say as the body is decomposing at a terrific rate. It's literally as if the body is being dissolved in acid, but I can't see why, or how."

Frostbot had a theory 'We are dealing with an alien species so this is all conjecture, but if I were directing an alien invasion force I would ensure my technology and plans did not fall into the hands of the enemy. These creatures, if they resemble closely the insects on Earth in any way, will act on instinct, or possibly guided by an outside influence.'

"Remotely?" asked Frostbite?

Crystal Queen raised an eyebrow, looking at the Vanguards leader. he held a hand to stave off her comments, and Frostbot continued 'A hive mind, a vast intellect somewhere. A 'mini queen' of sorts if you will, or at least a leader. Something that sees all and guides all through some unknown network of communications, be it psychic, technology or pheromone based. You should also be aware that the fires are starting to dampen, and may not spread, but the explosives the Locust Men will make that a moot point should they go off'

Asp added "The weapons, clothing, equipment. It's either infused with the same acid or its biological, and its breaking down. Even the goop I've scooped up to save is starting to harden and becoming crumbly, like ash. Never seen something decompose like this. Either I'm extra potent against these things, or there's some kind of self destruct they use. At least they don't explode.'

Crystal Queen asked "Did you poison it?"

"No. I used my 'fangs' but not the poison. I've learned Crystal Queen. I'm paying my penance. You got what you wanted, and meanwhile scum walk free on the streets. I'm going to scout." he growled, and abruptly cut off communications.

"Sounds like laughing boy would rather take the hard line approach" said Surge. "Maybe we have more in common than we thought. I'll go scout with him." Before Frostbite could object Surge strode across the square in one stride and shrunk to a manageable 12 feet high. Frostbite could hear him shout "Hey snake charmer, wait up. Don't go in there alone."

Crystal Queen turned to Frostbite. "Looks like its you and me? Hold on..."

"Bombardier, Crystal Queen. Are you There? We have some new allies, they are on the same mission we are. Check targets before engaging."

Static.

She frowned then tried again.

Frostbot spoke up as she repeated herself for the third time 'If a central hive mind controls the thoughts and actions of every locust man then they will know of us and will accelerate their plans accordingly. if i were them I would also jam transmissions which accounts for the white noise when I try to pluck - anything - from the airwaves. Wireless internet access is also 'whited out' so access to a terminal by touch will be required. You may not have much time before they destroy this place.'

Admin wrote:Frostbot spoke up as she repeated herself for the third time 'If a central hive mind controls the thoughts and actions of every locust man then they will know of us and will accelerate their plans accordingly. if i were them I would also jam transmissions which accounts for the white noise when I try to pluck - anything - from the airwaves. Wireless internet access is also 'whited out' so access to a terminal by touch will be required. You may not have much time before they destroy this place.'

As Frostbite indicated for them to move off deeper into the base where the Chemical storage tankers were housed, he quickly explained to the Crystal Queen.

"They're one step ahead of us. They take care to ensure their fallen don't fall into enemy hands, and have blocked transmission. We've got to take care of the explosives, I surmise something or someone is directing these creatures. We call them Locust Men, because that is the best approximate we are working with at present. And you know what Locusts like to do?"

Moving on, he kept Frostbot on alert, he didn't like that the intelligence they were working against clearly had no intention of giving in easily and might even consider blowing up the Tanks at the point it could harm the team. Taking two problems out at once. Frostbite continued to keep up the inner dialogue with Frostbot, 'We've got to stop those bombs and or jam the signal if its possible. Can't loose that stuff nor any of the team.'

And Frostbite was determined they didn't.

OOC:Ok move causally forward, see if we can't deduce more as we go, being mindful and alert to ambushes and or possible doppelgangers.

Sj

Crystal Queen murmured "I hope the others use their brains. Bombardier is a solid warrior, and a natural leader, but he was said to have fought in World War II, and every major war after that, regardless of whether Britain was involved. he won't back down from a fight. I hope your people have cooler heads than Asp and your giant friend."



Frostbite led the way with his vision overlaid with a map of the compound towards the first of the bombs. Frostbot spoke up. 'The first device is on a cooling generator 34 metres north of your current position and 5 metres down via a stairwell.'

As they came to the stairs...

OOC Roll(2d10)+0: 3,4,+0 Total:7

...they could see that the Locust Men had been there. Strange green ichor dripped from the stairs and hand rail. It looked like snot.

"Nice." muttered Crystal Queen. "Maybe we should get a sample, see what this is." She crouched down to touch it...

OOC And something happens. But you get a split second to do... something... Frostbite didn't get any specific feeling about something iffy, but you might.

Admin wrote:...they could see that the Locust Men had been there. Strange green ichor dripped from the stairs and hand rail. It looked like snot.

"Nice." muttered Crystal Queen. "Maybe we should get a sample, see what this is." She crouched down to touch it...

OOC And something happens. But you get a split second to do... something... Frostbite didn't get any specific feeling about something iffy, but you might.

"WAIT!" Frostbite shouted abruptly. Something felt off. Though not having Lionheart's heightened awareness of danger, he knew in his gut something wasn't right. "What was that about thinking our way through this. Let me freeze it before you touch it, that way we minimise the effects. Don't want you being poisoned or worse." He said less abruptly to explain his sudden outburst.

Then freezing the green icor, he allowed the Queen, to break off a section.

"Perhaps to be safe I ought to do the same with the rest, this after all might be their form a trap."

And with that Frostbite froze the steps and the green icor down and around as he floated down careful not to touch what was there as he looked about.

"Now where is that bomb?" Frostbite signalled to Frostbot to be ready, although thus far the Alien tec was nothing like what they'd encountered before, he had to hope some aspects of this alien race were not totally beyond them.

OOC:You mentioned earlier jammed com signals, is that all of ours? If ours are still working I want to get a message to the others to avoid the bug snot, and take precautions. I.e. if wearing gloves, if not don't touch etc.

As we move in we'll continue to be alert for any other hidden traps or tricks.

Sj

Frostbite froze the ichor... then spoke to Crystal Queen... which is when he saw the shadow drop from above!

The locust Man dropped from the shadows, still bleeding where a cut on its leg dribbled. As he started to open his mouth to bellow his warning, he saw something akin to rage pass across the insectoid face, and it seemed to twist in mid air with agility that would impress Lionheart!

OOC Adrenaline surge for the bad guy to DEX.

Roll(2d10)+0: 7,8,+0 Total:15

Dex is boosted to 17 for this attack. the locust man goes for a devastating attack...

Roll(2d10)+0: 1,3,+0 Total:4 Oh dear.

Crystal Queen gasps and twists to the side at the very last moment as the Locust man rams a spine tipped hand into the metal grating of the stairs! With a hiss it looks up, not at the pair but with those compound eyes, Frostbite got the idea it didn't miss much!

OOC Initiative. Only an issue if bad guy gets +6 or more than good guys...
Roll(2d10)+0:
5 Good Guys
7 bad guy

And he doesn't. You're up.

Crystal Queen forms a force shield (disc of crystal about 2 foot across) hovering between her and the locust man (auto action) and plans to blast it with crystal shards, but you go first.

Admin wrote:Frostbite froze the ichor...

Frostbite didn't hesitate, with a hand extended out toward the creature he had no way or hope of reasoning with he 'spoke' a language it could understand and blasted at it.

OOC:Ok Ice attack Energy Blast, aiming to freeze it.  Lets hope like many insects it's kinda hampered by extreme cold.

Sj

OOC well, it's insect like, so chances are yes...

It suffers -4 to opposing and resistance values against cold attacks.

Frostbite has Ice mastery 14 (at the moment) so 14 vs Dex 7 -4 from AV + TN11= Total Target Number of 14. A roll of 2 or more will hit.

Roll(2d10)+0: 7,6,+14 Total: 27 - TN14. 13 difference means +5 effect. 14 Effect +5=19EV - resistance 7=12 RAPs of damage.

Frostbite unleashed the full fury of his ice blast, sending wave after ice shard wave into the foe!

It buckled, spun and flew across the room, crashing against a far wall and sliding to the floor, leaving a green smear on the wall.

"No! No killing!" shouted Crystal Queen as she ran towards it. She stopped short of touching it as it lay unconscious, then started to hiss, bubble and collapse in on itself!

'A self destruct mechanism in a living organism. impressive.' stated Frostbot. 'The enemy mind behind this clearly sees little value in these 'drones' and is fully prepared to sacrifice them to achieve its goals.'

As Crystal Queen crouched, the bubbling mess hissed and popped, forming a puddle then drying near instantly, slushy ice all about. She stood as the last remnants hissed and crackled leaving only a dark green stain on the floor. The process had taken less than 5 seconds!

"You didn't kill this. I see that. The nature of our foe is something I had not expected. I commend you for your actions." she stated rather coldly. "I see I must be efficient in the same manner if we are to defeat this enemy."

It had presumably set its bombs then lie in wait to ambush the heroes. This was not only a fearless and remorseless foe, but cunning as well... what else lay in wait for Frostbite and Crystal Queen?

"I don't kill without a reason ma'am and I try to avoid it even then.  Sadly these creatures are but soldier ants to the alien intelligence that lies behind this swarm.  Their like insects in every sense, only far more deadly and intelligent for all their animal like behaviour.  They show a remarkable degree of cunning, we'd do well to take note."

With that Frostbite looked about mindful to scan for other attackers whilst looking for the first bomb.  

OOC:I asked earlier if our com's were down as well as the Champions, it got missed in the melee, but am I safe to assume they are?  However if that isn't the case then I will want to broadcast a warning and get the others to check in as well.  I hope they're all ok.

Sj

Frostbot explained 'I've been continually broadcasting to the others with your earpiece com-link but the result is white noise. The alien jamming method is... efficient.'

That meant the others were like Frostbite and Crystal Queen - walking into danger without much warning!

Taking care the pair moved through the complex, ducking overhead pipes and walking around conduits and vats. Then they came up to a small cleared space and a large vat sat in the middle. Which had a series of green 'splats' holding something inside stuck to the side. There were a dozen or more - the Locust Man had been thorough - and each one seemed to be showing some kind of... countdown!

"Bombs!" hissed Crystal Queen!

Frostbot explained 'the symbols are alien, but the removal of digits with every count suggests you have only seconds remaining.'

Admin wrote:Frostbot explained 'the symbols are alien, but the removal of digits with every count suggests you have only seconds remaining.'

"Unless you can protect the canister from the bombs going off, I think the best bet is I freeze them and hope the alien tec is vulnerable to frost as our buddy was back there."

OOC:Ok assuming that Crystal Queen doesn't have a better option that is what I'll do, try and go for some sort of sub zero controlled frost damage control. See if I can't burn the device with cold to the point it cannot function as intended. Don't mind using hp to dice it up if need be. Can't really have this going off in our faces, little chance they'll be much to pick up otherwise.

Sj

Crystal Queen shrugged "I'm no bomb disposal expert and besides, that green goop looks hardened, like glue. If I were to hazard a guess it's spit."

Frostbite nodded, then moved around the vat, applying cold to freeze it, encasing the vat in layers of ice.

And the bombs went off.

THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!

OOC Bomb attack on the pair of them, 10APs, enough to flatten a car or truck, but superheroes? Not likely.
Vs Frostbite Roll(2d10)+0: 4,6,+10 Total:20 vs TN19. Hit, +1 Effect so 11EV vs 10RV. Frostbite takes 1 Damage to his body (on 9/10 Body, assume you absorb that with 1HP)

FROSTBITE HP 240

Vs Crystal Queen Roll(2d10)+0: 9,7,+100 Total:26 vs TN19. Hit +4 Effect so 14EV vs 13RV. Crystal Queen takes 1 Damage (which she absorbs with HP)

CRYSTAL QUEEN HP 69

Amidst the smoke and debris, Frostbite helps Crystal Queen up. "Alright?" he asks. She pats him on the shoulder then dusts herself down and looks about. "Damn."

The vat had contained chemicals that give off a noxious gas, though not strong enough to affect the pair. Frostbot explained 'There may have been proximity sensors on those bombs. Any attempt to interfere or disarm them will have set them off, as did the drop in temperature, and presumably raising the temperature. Ideally your friend Lionheart could peel them off at superspeed and be away before they went off. Less ideal, he is not here.'

Crystal Queen glanced at her Icy counterpart. "Your team. Mine. They don't know anything about these bombs or the threats they face. Our comms are down. Do we go find them, or continue?"

Admin wrote:Crystal Queen glanced at her Icy counterpart. "Your team. Mine. They don't know anything about these bombs or the threats they face. Our comms are down. Do we go find them, or continue?"

OOC:Hmm I had assumed that the vats where spread around and not in one place. If they are all down here then the team is 'safe' from the explosions and just open to the Locusts. That is less of a threat, though only marginally. If however the team are near the vats, and not just the Locust men, then we follow the team.

I'd like to stop the vats being exploded, but more so my team being exploded along with them. So I will suggest we follow the point of greatest danger and biggest potential loss.

Sj

Frostbot explained 'Each section of the plant machinery refines a certain kind of chemical. Separate, they are reasonably safe. Together, they mix to create a poisonous, explosive cloud! The layout suggests there may be another such large vat approximately 30m ahead through this maze of pipes and tubes. The others will have discovered for themselves that the Locust Men are dangerous. I suggest you find a way to save the machinery. It is the tactical choice, given that pesticides are likely the Locust Mens great weakness and the only way for ordinary people to combat their menace.'

Just then there was a loud BANG! from somewhere else on the site.

Crystal Queen looked at Frostbite. "If there is a way of stopping the explosives going off, we need to do it, but not at the cost of lives. I need to check on my team!"

She was clearly worried, and compassionate about the welfare of others. A fine hero, but having been through what he'd been through, Frostbite knew that compassion sometimes got you into trouble.

Should he investigate the vat up ahead or go back to check on the team?

Admin wrote:She was clearly worried, and compassionate about the welfare of others. A fine hero, but having been through what he'd been through, Frostbite knew that compassion sometimes got you into trouble.

Should he investigate the vat up ahead or go back to check on the team?

Once again it came down to a difficult and possible life changing situation. Something that Frostbite felt less the adequately prepared for but seemed to turn up with frightening frequency in this line of work. In the end he had to wonder if that was the reason many fell out or retired from the work. Either they'd faced one difficult decision too many or were suffering from it.

"Ok, you go check, I'll carry on here. Without this chemical, the Locusts have a big advantage over us. I'll join you as soon as I can, or you to me when you locate the others. I guess I don't need to tell you to be careful." Frostbite added with a smile. A rueful expression in an otherwise grim moment.

Moving on, as Frostbot indicated he spotted in the next vat and once again taking the opportunity to look about for an ambush considered the best way forward.

OOC:Ok so sub zero freezing, and getting too close sets off the bombs, so what about letting Frostbot have a go? Can use the technology against itself? Or alter the programming to not go off? I'm not sure what else I can do to stop these bombs going off and rupturing the rest of the vats, otherwise? Spend up HP as needed to stop this going on/setting off a chain reaction or otherwise.

Sj

Frostbite watched as Crystal Queen ran off, the place being too confined for flight.

Alone once more he continued through the facility to come up to another vat, this one bigger than the first, and covered with more green splats, complete with flashing red lit devices buried in the goop.



Frostbot spoke up 'You will need to touch the goop for me to interface with the device.' Frostbite was about to interrupt until Frostbot continued 'I am aware of the proximity sensor on the device and/or biochemical mass holding it to the vat. All we can hope for is that I am able to disarm the device and prevent the others going off in a chain reaction. I am also aware that should you be caught in the blast you will possibly be injured, as last time. More so perhaps, as this will be a point black blast.'

Tentatively, Frostbite approached the vat. So far so good! Perhaps it needed a steady hand. Closer, closer.. only an inch or two away... His finger slowly... slowly... eased into the goop, which felt slightly warm and sticky. Trying not to think where it had come from, he pushed through it, aware that a bomb could go off in his face!

'Careful!' exclaimed Frostbot. Frostbite paused, annoyed, before pushing on a little more.

'Interfacing... I am melding with the device. it is of alien origgggiiiiii..... behind you.'

Frostbite turned, with that feeling that he knew meant another Locust man had dropped from the ceiling! The violent reaction didn't set the device off that he was close to, but the Locust mans swinging attack set the next one off!

THOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

And then everything went dark...

=========

The roaring in his ears abated. He was wet. There was... electricity dancing over his form? The smell... ugh.

Peeling himself from the floor, Frostbite looked about. He was drenched in the vat goop, and there had been an electrical discharge... which was playing across his body.

"Frostbot?" he asked, looking about. The Refinery was a burning ruin. With a sighm he tried to peer through the black smoke. His vision was strange. Blurred? Why were the flames brighter than they should be?

'Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrebooting.' said Frostbot. Frostbite sighed again. That meant starting from scratch with the computer program. Again. When it became more 'human' it always seemed to run into trouble that sent it back to the reboot. Again. Wiping the slime off himself, he checked his body over. Seemed to be ok. Whatever aches and pains he had were gone. With a shrug he waited till Frostbot ran a self diagnosis and one for him.

It did, and reported. 'You are ... more.' it said simply.

OOC and so Frostbite is. Effective now.

Frostbite waited a moment for the stars to stop swimming around his head before checking in with Frostbot.

Admin wrote:'Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrebooting.' said Frostbot. Frostbite sighed again. That meant starting from scratch with the computer program. Again. When it became more 'human' it always seemed to run into trouble that sent it back to the reboot. Again. Wiping the slime off himself, he checked his body over. Seemed to be ok. Whatever aches and pains he had were gone. With a shrug he waited till Frostbot ran a self diagnosis and one for him.

It did, and reported. 'You are ... more.' it said simply.

The words echoed in Frostbite's mind. He didn't know if it was a latent effect of the time travel, the world they were in or the explosion. Perhaps it was all three. In anycase, his day was not going well, and this unexpected change wasn't helping. With Frostbot rebooting, now he had to work out how he could stop the Locusts from blowing up the remains of the vats. As it was the potential damage was done in any case.

As he rose up, Frostbite felt strong, heavier but not encumbered. His hard ice shell seemed...harder. But to his touch he could feel it was malleable even fluid in some odd way.
"Come on Soldier, get it together. Speculation later, duty now." As he said the words he noticed that something in his voice had changed. Somehow deeper, yet more hollow. Shaking himself he pushed on deeper, as yet unsure as to what he was going to do to stop the remaining bombs, but sure he had to try.

OOC:Ok

Looking over Frostbite 8.02 as I number them, but this is only since WW2 so not sure what the real numbers might be. Anyway, it seems that my powers such as they are will allow for damage limitation rather than stopping these bombs altogether. Unless my ability to go into fluid form allows me to slip fingers into the delicate parts of the bomb, but before that didn't go so well, not so keen to try it again.

Not sure how I am supposed to proceed here. I guess I could try to do what I can anyway. However as it stands I don't read this as me getting a dice action, that can effect the explosions happening? If I can, then lets spend HP to try and stop the rest going up as has the others. If not, I guess my best bet would be to seal the whole room off with ice and at least minimise the damage to the surrounding area even if we can't stop things totally.

Sj

OOC Click to enlarge

Frostbite flexed a fist. Ice cracked, reformed, and cracked again. Picking up a solid piece of scrapped iron bar, he strained to crunch it up, but it started crumpling instead! Picking up another thicker piece, he grunted with effort... until he noticed himself 'icing' up, layer upon layer of ice muscle and mass forming! The steel crunched into a ball and with a quick toss it was away!

Frowning, Frostbite 'de-iced' himself but kept that for future reference. He was bigger, wider and stronger like that, but that wasn't his normal appearance. He heard shouts, and turned.

"FROSTBITE!" yelled Crystal Queen. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT? CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

"Be quiet woman!" hissed a man with a deep baritone voice. "Do you want to bring all of those things down on us? last one sprayed me with acid!"

Frostbite made to turn intangible, to extricate himself from the jumble of wrecked metal and concrete, but his hand stopped. This again. Since the time jump his phasing hadn't worked properly. Maybe he just needed to concentrate harder.

OOC Adrenaline Surge 15 vs Dispersal 5 + TN 11.
Roll(2d10)+0: 8,9,+15 Total:32. +6 Effect. 21EV vs 5= +16. 21APs of dispersal (enough to pass through anything, more or less) for 1 round!

He pushed. "Oh come on. Why does everything have to be such a ... whoa!"

And he was through, out into the open air and flying up above the wreckage of the building!

Bombardier and Crystal Queen looked up. The man shouted "Get down you blasted fool! They have Laser wea..."

OOC Roll(2d10)+0: 10,6,+ weaponry 11 vs Dex 9 + TN11. Hit, +4 effect. EV12+4 vs RV 32 (for this round). Ahhhh don't think so.

Multiple laser blasts passed through frostbite as he swooped down to land next to the UKChampions in the cover of the destroyed building. From up there he'd seen another building destroyed like that one, so one of the other teams (at least) must have run into trouble too!

Bombardier was a man in a camouflage khaki uniform with a helmet/mask integrated. His physique and bearing suggested he was superhuman and he frowned at Frostbite. "Son, back in the war a fool move like that, popping your head out to get shot off, was a sure fire way of making the COs desk for a letter to your mother! Crystal Queen told me who you lot are, and to me you seem like rank amateurs..."

"Now hold on a min..." started Crystal Queen, stepping beside Frostbite and glancing up and down at him before turning back to Bombardier, who held a hand up to cut her off.

"But I just saw a nailed on shot pass through your head and torso. With that in mind I may have to revise my assessment. My thoughts about that idiot giant friend of yours stay the same, however." growled Bombardier. He crouched, picking up a shard of metal and drawing in the dirt. "We are here. There are three major buildings left on the site and these two..." he pointed "Are we believe being made safe thanks to a combination of your people and mine. This one..." he pointed to a smaller building "Holds the main refining machinery. There's no value in blowing up this place, to my mind, until you consider the nature of the enemy. Then it makes sense. There are at least four in there, and not standard ones either. The one that just fired at you has... evolved... somehow to spit plasma balls from its arms. Another has a thick chitinous armour plate and another one attacked Asp with some kind of mind blast. He's down, but will recover, and Tearaway is sorting him out, as well as a couple of your people who got caught in a blast. They are alright, just shaken and bruised, I should think. I've cleared them with the Police, so for now you're under my jurisdiction. You have a problem with that son?"

By his reckoning Frostbite was around 96 years old (OOC making him, say, 24 in 1945, the game year is 2017). The way this guy was talking, he might be another 'relic' from World War II...

OOC:Ok didn't realise the building fell on me ;-)

Admin wrote:"Son, back in the war a fool move like that, popping your head out to get shot off, was a sure fire way of making the COs desk for a letter to your mother! Crystal Queen told me who you lot are, and to me you seem like rank amateurs..."

Frostbite was about to stop the man in his tracks. Though he respected the elder man, he felt he had no place dressing him down without knowing the facts. However...

Admin wrote:"Now hold on a min..." started Crystal Queen, stepping beside Frostbite and glancing up and down at him before turning back to Bombardier, who held a hand up to cut her off.

I've cleared them with the Police, so for now you're under my jurisdiction. You have a problem with that son?"

Frostbite sighed, before replying in a respectful tone. "No sir."

To be honest putting aside any feelings he might have, he just felt that there was far more important things to fight that each other. Letting it slide for now, and hoping that the change or shift in his powers wouldn't make him look dumb if and when it came to it.

looking at the makeshift map Frostbite thought for a moment. "I guess they are expecting a front assault, or at least protecting the building from the front side out. But with my power to slip through the walls, and freeze the place, I might be able to take some of the fight out of the situation. However I'd need you to provide them reason to think they are being attacked from the front, so as to distract them. Within the small confines of the building, I think I can make it go cold quick enough to make their ancestor regret ever coming here."

Frostbite looked to the others, he knew it was risky, going in alone even with them playing for decoy. But if he didn't get in whilst they least expected it, it could get a whole lot worse.

Sj