The Vanguard! Issue #3 - The Vanguard, The long dead Queen, and the Holy Grail...

Putty and Frostbite

"Come on Putty,"Frostbite said in a weary voice, "We'd best tread carefully, that noise...we'll you know as well as I do what it most likely can mean. But its coming from where we need to be."

OOC: For speed sake I suggest that I carry Putty into the location and make use of the cover and advantage of height to descend carefully, trying not to be noticed.

I will continue to let Computer beam me location details and what not.

Sj

"Just a moment," Putty said. He thought of the soldiers he had seen when he broke out of his box that was about to be incenerated and the ones he had seen when he approached the heroes for the first time. Remembering the highest ranking one, he assumed his form and uniform.

"This should help us get by with no questions if we are spotted," he told Frostbite, even sounding more like the Nazi he was impersonating though not as perfectly since he couldn't mimic voices.

ooc: I have to tear down my computer tonight because of a mold problem in my apartment under the carpet where my computer and TV sit. So I will be out of contact for the next 2-3 days. Run me as you need to.

The Vanguard - Frostbite and Putty

Frostbite stared, open mouthed at the image of a Nazi officer stood in front of him! Putty was incredibly convincing, down to one of the mans' broken front teeth! Carrying Putty the pair descended, intangible, through the road and into the depths of the undercity. Frostbite had been here before in another part of the city, but for Putty it was an experience he would never forget. Browns, greys and blacks dominated, contrasting with the white/grey of the city above. Having lived as a Nazi citizen all his life, he'd heard stories, rumours of what went on, and seen the jackbooted squads head down here whilst soldiers held onlookers back with menacing stares...

Huge concrete columns held the upper city high over the ruins of London. Down here the place was rubble, rubbish and the discarded garbage of generations, and amongst it all, people lived, dredging a living from the sewage!

The pairs' attention was drawn when the ratatatatata of gunfire sounded up ahead past the ruins of a long fallen building.

<<We should circumvent this disturbance and head for the primary objective. This will cost time you can ill afford.>> reminded the computer.

On the brow of a garbage 'hill' the pair paused. On the slope/valley of the other side, between what had been streets before the place was bombed into an unrecognisable mess, a community of scavengers or 'scavvies' were being rounded up by German soldiers, face masks and protective white suits on as they alternately gassed, used flamethrowers and machine guns on fleeing scavengers, rounding them up for elimination! As the pair looked on in horror a family broke from cover. The man ushered his family forwards, looking back in fear as the wife carried a small child and hurried two others, pausing to hiss to her husband to follow. She could not see what he and the Vanguardians had seen, bearing down on the man. He intended to sacrifice himself that his family might buy precious time!

OOC around 50m away from your current location at the top of a rubble mound... map to follow...



Standing around 20m high, moving with unnatural speed for something so big, and spitting death occasionally as arms acted independently to spray gunfire and napalm indiscriminately into the ruins, the Nazi Warbot bore down on the man who scooped up the biggest piece of concrete he could hold in his hand and turned to wait for the thing. It would soon crest a mound and see him, then silence him forever with a quick burst of high calibre fire, but he hoped beyond hope his family would make it to safety!

The woman hurried her children on, scrambling up the mound the Vanguardians stood atop of, then stopped, looking back for her husband. She started to go back to look for him!

CLOMP! CLOMP! CLOMP! CLOMP! The warbot got closer...

The Vanguard - Frostbite[/font]

OOC: Just one small clarification if I may Paul, you said, "Carrying Putty the pair descended, intangible..." Does this mean I've got the ability to make myself an Putty Intangible? i.e. some way toward grace 2? I know I did it before but I figured that was a kind of herculean effort and a one off? So can you let me know more, as I'd like to know what advantageous I might or might not have gained.

IC:

"Yeah I know what I should do Computer," Frostbite spat, incensed by the indiscriminate cruelty he witnessed, "But sometimes practicality isn't everything!"

Frostbite turned to Putty, "I don't know what rank you'd be, but why don't you see if you can order those men away from here, whilst I try and slow up that gunbot from killing any more people. I'd suggest you call the men away to another part of the ruin."

Frostbite then turned intangible and floated using the ground as cover, he flew quickly determined to keep the robot between him and it masters, as he didn't wish to alert anyone to his presence. Before he'd tried what he had in mind.

OOC:

OK if I can make others - i.e. Putty Intangible then I'd like to see if I can fry the insides of this robot by floating underneath it and coming up inside it. If that isn't the case, I will still cup up underneath and use field manipulation to freeze its brain circuits. I'm taking no chances and will poor it on.

sj

The Vanguard - Lionheart (And Stormwarden)

Lionheart sped towards the site of the standing stones, though they were piled or scattered about, and stood no longer! The place was like a prison camp. Guards looked miserable at their posts as the wind pushed at them, the rain drenched them. Curiously enough the wind and rain seemed to stay away from Lionheart completely, as though he were in some kind of bubble!

Crouching behind a rock, he heard the fence crackle. High voltage. The gatehouse seemed to be the easiest way in for him, though it was guarded by a manned machine gun and several guards in a hut, including bored looking Alsatians who jumped with every flash of lightning and barked at the Thunder! Such distractions would make Lionhearts job easier. Sticking to a sparse tree line under cover of darkness, he sped around the camp, taking in details. The inclement weather appeared to be playing havoc with patrol patterns as most guards stood in the cover of a building roof or against walls and shone lights out into the darkness. This would be ea... eas... easy...

=========

Lionheart blinked.

"Richard? Get up honey, you'll be late for work!"

He blinked, looked about, eyes widening as he saw the smooth clean cream lines of a government issued house. What the...? Rising on his elbows, still in bed, he looked about. What in the...?

Ellie walked in. Agent Ellie Felsham, codename Sprite. PSI Corps agent Sprite. She was naked, glorious to look at! For a second he was distracted, blinking. She smiled at him "Get up lazy bones! You'll be late for work!" She strode past heading for the bathroom, activated the sonic shower. "I mean it! Move it soldier!" she yelled as the shower started its low pitched hum.

Richard King glanced at the wall. Projecting from it like a heads up display, the date, time, day, weather, local and international news, the current share... date. The DATE! 2193AD! He was back! How in the name of...

OOC Add a roll of 1D20 onto the end of your reply Dave...

Lionheart

OOC:

No worries re updates, you've always cut me tones of slack so no worries mate.

Richard King glanced at the wall. Projecting from it like a heads up display, the date, time, day, weather, local and international news, the current share... date. The DATE! 2193AD! He was back! How in the name of...

"WHAT THE...!" Lionheart blinked and shook his head, what on earth or even above and below it was going on. He had left this time, it was gone his mission to stop in the past Saladin's destruction of his future. But this, this was nuts. Had he been attacked by some mind altering alien, or superbad Nazi?

Racing to the bathroom, Lionheart knew that if this was true, immediate action would help him snap out of this trance, before he was lost to this 'reality'. Running the cold tap, he splashed his face, not just to get himself awake but to break free. He was not about to let Stormwarden on the others down.

OOC: I rolled

1d20=11

Sj

The Vanguard - Frostbite and Putty

OOC ugh, what a week! Little uns birthday tomorrow so the posting will be sporadic until its done and dusted. In the meantime...

Putty/Nazi officer nodded and headed towards the guards rounding up the scavvies. Sticking to cover he moved across the rough ground incredibly well, flowing and stretching around and over obstacles as he closed in on the group.

Frostbite stuck to cover as he closed the distance between himself and the robot. Passing the man who was waiting for the thing to appear close enough over the brow of a rubble mound that he could throw the lump of concrete, Frostbite appeared near the giant robots foot and flowed inside its circuitry.

<<The machine has closed loop circuitry. Only by gaining access to the command module in the chest cavity will I be able to access its interface, should you wish for this unit to attempt it.>> said the computer.

Frostbite moved through the delicate machinery, hoping to disrupt it, but the thing marched on, Frostbite keeping pace by using his flight power. He considered the computers words, then figured he'd have to turn tangible to effect it anyway, so needed a space big enough to revert to human form. He kept looking.

=========

"You men!" shouted Putty. "What are you doing in this sector?"

The soldiers looked about, puzzled. One stepped forward, stripes on his radiation suit indicating a sergeant rank. "We are following orders. KEEP THOSE SCAVVIES IN LINE! LETS NOT WASTE NAPALM ON THEM. WE HAVE THREE MORE SECTORS TO CLEANSE TODAY!" he bellowed, then turned back to the officer. "Our orders were specific, from the Colonel himself. He said the underlands were to be cleansed in time for the fuhrers' visit!"

Putty paused at that. That the Fuhrer was still alive was perhaps no surprise, though he'd be a mass of tubes, pipes and machines pumping fluids around his decrepit body. That he was coming to London? Why?

"Sir?" asked the Sergeant. "Begging pardon but you are not wearing the correct protective clothing and equipment. You are NOT allowed down here. If you leave I won't report this infraction..."

Putty nodded, looking about. He saw the soldiers bullying a small group of children who clung to their mother, screaming, only to be peeled off and thrown to the ground as the men, women and children were separated into groups! They were ringed by Nazi soldiers, all packing flame throwers! No! This was inhuman!

=========

Frostbite moved through the robot, finally finding what he sought. IN the belly cavity of the thing, access hatches and maintenance for the engines, a nuclear drive that belched out radioactive soot with every step! This thing was as vile as it was polluting, but the Nazis didn't care!

He solidified, then looked about. Banks of lights and switches in this small room suggested it was of importance.

Just then there were footsteps as someone started climbing down the metal step ladder into this room!

The Vanguard - Lionheart and Stormwarden

Stormwarden looked from the mound over at the camp. Where was Lionheart? He closed his eyes, concentrating. He'd formed the bubble around Lionheart so all he had to do was... what? He was distracted as Lionheart sped up to stand near him, around 5m away. "Found what we were looking for!" he said, grinning. Stormwarden nodded, looking back at the camp "Good. Wondered what what taking you."

=========

Lionheart lay on the ground in the mud. Though the floor was wet the deluge of rain continued to fall in a bubble around him. He blinked. Several metres away he could see two pairs of boots. One belonged to a woman, the other looked familiar...

Richard King climbed out of bed. The time suggested he didn't have long to get ready for work. He couldn't remember much about last night. He and Sprite had trained together, but hadn't gotten on particularly well. Maybe they'd broken the ice somewhat. He wished he could remember what happened last night! With a grin he started to walk towards the shower, and the sound of her singing...

Lionheart blinked. The wet mud against his face was cool, but he was so tired, so sleepy. As his eyes started to close he heard voices.

"Your reputation is well deserved. Your ability as a Psychic bloodhound is truly remarkable. Where are the others who travel with him?"

The woman answered. "Tracking people down is but one of my abilities." she said in accented English, obviously being a German native. The man was... Middle Eastern in origin? Hard to place the accent. "He was easy. Once I had a sample of dna to track him with, and ignored the obvious fact that the dna is shared with you, I could not only see where he was, but also look into his near future. My powers are without equal in most respects..."

"And yet... and yet you say you cannot find his friends? Why is that I wonder?"

"His friends, if they yet live, are not what you or the others think. I tried to explain to my superiors. We are dealing with individuals the like of which I have never encountered. They do not belong to any classification of superhuman I know of, regardless of how powerful that may be."

"More than Adjutant? I find that hard to believe."

"They have no idea themselves. I will give you an example. The wind and rain blows you about, drenches you. You are subject to the laws of gravity, nature, physics. These people defy the bounds of reality itself! The laws of time and space bend to their whim! Every time I look for them, think to find them - for instance I know they survived the attack on the moon - I see instead darkness. All encompassing, powerful, and dangerous. To go near the darkness risks madness and oblivion!"

"You are afraid! Ha! No man do I fear! Even Adjutant has a weakness. My ability is to find and exploit weaknesses!"

"You misunderstand. They are more than men, more than supermen. I fear them because I know not what they are. No classification I can imagine could accurately describe them! Only lack of knowledge denies them their true power! We deal with..."

"With what? Gods? I think not..."

"Not gods. Otherworldly powers beyond our ken. Be silent now. My hold is slipping on this one!"

"Never mind that! Find these... these 'demi-gods'. This one, is MINE!"

Lionheart blinked again. He grit his teeth. His limbs felt like lead, his body like stone. Struggling to pull a hand under him, he raised a few inches from the mud before a booted foot slammed into his back!

Lionheart got to the bathroom door. The singing had stopped. He opened the door, expecting to see Sprite in the shower... instead he saw...

Lionheart coughed, blinking back to reality. Mud clogged his eyes, and he spat a mouthful out before forcing his head up. It felt like he were chained to the floor!

"Sa...Sa... Saladin!" he spat.



"How good to be remembered Agent King!" he laughed. "You came all this way to find me, and managed not to get distracted along the way by pretty women or by lost causes! All for me! Oh wait.. you DID hook up with a lost cause didn't you? My new friends want to know who YOUR friends are, and what they did with Majestic! Me? I simply want you to die." he hissed, standing back and uncoiling the whip.

Whatever the woman had done to Lionheart, his body wouldn't respond like he wanted it to!

OOC Lionheart is in trouble... the woman has done something to him, but his will was strong enough to break the dream she'd trapped him in. His limbs, and the lack of energy, are another matter! And he faces the man he was sent back in time to stop. The only man who can ultimately save his life - with a blood transfusion - to stop the 'time bomb' inside him from causing his body to break down!

The Vanguard - Frostbite and Putty

OOC ugh, what a week! Little uns birthday tomorrow so the posting will be sporadic until its done and dusted. In the meantime...

Happens to us all mate, no worries - trust it goes well.

IC:

He solidified, then looked about. Banks of lights and switches in this small room suggested it was of importance.

Just then there were footsteps as someone started climbing down the metal step ladder into this room!

Frostbite contemplated returning intangible, but he realised time was of the essence. Taking the initiative, he rose up to meet the unexpected visitor - knowing he himself was unexpected.

OOC: I'm going to pop this guy a blow to knock him out. If need be a temperature freeze. Before letting the computer sync with the machine to stop it or even use it against its Nazi Masters.

Just to say I am away again from tomorrow, I might have access to the internet but I'm back Tuesday in anycase.

Enjoy your son's birthday



Sj

Lionheart

Saladin, here! Now! Lionheart couldn't believe it. All along he'd been seeking to help his friends, whilst his own quest lay forgotten and here was his target. Except, here he was almost dead in the water.

"Oh kick a man whilst he's down. I should have known a coward like you couldn't take me in a fair fight."

Lionheart goaded his enemy, he had to try and use his mental abilities if his physical ones were beyond him.

Whatever the woman had done to Lionheart, his body wouldn't respond like he wanted it to!

"Come on!" Lionheart growled within himself trying to break free from the grip he was in.

OOC:

Ok going to try and use Psi blast on Saladin if I can, and see if I can't also try and free myself from this hold. Hopefully Stormwarden is aware of my predicament from what you wrote earlier, he should be able to find me!

If you need a roll 1d20+18=25 for the mental attack. And I'm using 8 Psi points to hit him with.

Sj

The Vanguard - Putty and Frostbite

"Aggh!" the man cried out. He crashed to the floor before a quick THUD! and CRACK! laid him out.

OOC 1d20+2+11=32 Hit, 2d6=7 Htc, 1d20+2+11=24 Hit, 2d6=9 Htc

"Hans?" yelled someone from the deck above. "I told you to be careful dammit! These ladders are lethal when the 'bot is moving! Hans?"

=========

Putty was about to act. He HAD to act, when suddenly the giant robot lurching away in the background heading for the lone man came to a shuddering halt! The soldiers surrounding the prisoners looked up, puzzled. The robot had 'frozen' in mid walk. He needed to think of a plan - fast! - to take down seven armed Nazi soldiers whilst a small detachment of three was ordered to go over to the massive machine and call up, see what was wrong.

The sergeant muttered "Maintenance slackers. They don't do anything right." He turned to Putty. "As I was saying, you should leave.At the very least don the correct protective clothing!"

Putty thought for a moment. "I am sure one or two of these were seen on cameras aiding the rebels. I got down here as fast as I could, to stop them being burnt before I could question them!" The Sergeant looked around, at the prisoners then back at Putty. "Which ones? We can single them out, dispose of the rest?"

Putty frowned, dramatically marching forwards and shrewdly looking at the groups knelt with hands on heads. "No. All should be questioned. The women and children kept alive. You would be surprised, Sergeant, how compliant a man is when he family is threatened. Slap his wife and she spits defiantly at you. Threaten to cut his daughters little finger off and the pair of them will scream out every secret they know. No... They know something, and we are close... so close to crushing the resistance! If we let a lead, no matter how slim, slip through our fingers... well, you know the penalties...."

"Siberia." muttered the Sergeant. "ROUND THEM UP!" he bellowed. "Restrain them, all of them, hands and feet, though leave enough for them to shuffle. Damned if I'm dragging them anywhere. They are all yours Captain."

Putty glanced at the prisoners. They were having plastic tie wraps applied to wrists, ankles, and one another.

=========

On board the robot...

"Don't hurt me!" yellowed the commander of the robot crew. He glanced at the others in the cockpit. All three of his crew had been frozen, like statues. He could see their eyes moving still, but their bodies were like stone! The blue skinned man had floated up the ladder porthole and levelled his arms. Moments later the place had resembled a winter wonderland! Even now the commander looked at his luger on the desk. Frozen to it. There was no chance of breaking it free, never mind defrosting it that it might fire!

<<This may take a few minutes.>> stated the computer. Frostbite watched the prisoners even as he held a hand on a computer console, his chestplate pulsing and flashing as the computer attempted to interface with the giant robot. The troops had been easy to overwhelm. Sometimes he forgot just how far above normal man he and the others were!

==========

Elsewhere, SS HQ...

"Sir?" asked the attendant at the desk, frowning at the readings from the robot in sector 32a. "Unit 9383 has stopped. No word from the crew. And we have this from the cameras on the bridge.

Her screen flicked to a split second flash of light before the image blurred, as if seen through crystal!

"What in the name of the Fuhrer is that?" asked the shift commander. "Try to raise them again. I will contact the Stormtroopers. If nothing else they can investigate it faster than we can get a work crew down there. It looks like the air conditioning pipes have ruptured somehow. If so... we need to get word to the next of kin! The coolant in those robots is liquid nitrogen for the engines!" He rubbed his chin. "Still, we have orders. Anything out of the ordinary, and thus far the operation has been smooth."

"Sir!" called another attendant from another desk in the large room. The Commandant walked over "A corporal says an officer turned up in sector 32a without a rad suit. Ordered the prisoners released to him for questioning. The sergeant is in the process of complying. The Corporal thought it best to report the breach of protocol, sir."

The Commandant nodded, glanced across the room, then back at the view of the map on the screen. "Get me Stormtrooper HQ, immediately. We'll get to the bottom of this, and heads will roll!"

=========

Back aboard the robot...

<<Interface completed.>> stated the computer. <<We have rudimentary control of the movement of the robot, though not the weapons as they are a different circuit.>>

Frostbite

<<Interface completed.>> stated the computer. <<We have rudimentary control of the movement of the robot, though not the weapons as they are a different circuit.>>

Frostbite nodded then spoke only so his internal computer could hear, "Computer I want you to cut down all screen's in here, tell the high command, who are probably monitoring this bot, we've had a breach and are trying to contain it."

With that Frostbite continued to move the Robot away from the camp, as if he was in pursuit of a safer purchase, he instructed the computer to inform command the robot was being taken to a safe distance from the men, should anything else go wrong. Hopefully the family who'd escaped would get the message and get going.

OOC:

1. Ok hope the birthday party went well.
2. I'll 'park' the robot and leave the crew to defrost, giving them an extra thick coating before I leave so an alarm can't be raised for an hour or so.
3. I'll then leave the way I came and try and link up with Putty, to resume our mission to the 'palace'.
4. This is my last post today, but I'm taking my laptop so I might have access to the site, so I may yet pop up with a post.

Sj

OOC: Will have to wave at your Paul am passing that way again this morning and then back the other way on Tuesday. Have a good time, in any case.

Laters

Sj

The Vanguard - Lionheart and Stormwarden

Stormwarden narrowed his eyes. The rains continued to pound down. He glanced across at Lionheart, stood a short distance away, getting wet. "You know my powers, right? I operate on an almost... elemental scale. When I'm angry, a storm gathers overhead. When I'm happy, the sun comes out? Yeah? Take a look at the sky. Go on." he pressed. "The lightning, the thunder, rain and wind... I am NOT happy." he growled. He stood, started marching towards Lionheart, who took one step back, then another. "The weather obeys my command. So when I tell the rain to keep off me and my friend, it obeys. And yet there you are, drenched to the skin!"

With surprising speed he moves forwards before Lionheart can stagger back out of range - and stagger he does... before changing into a naked man, staggering back and drenched! Coughing, the man raises arms to fend Stormwarden away, but it's useless! His opponent has strength that no normal human could match! "What... what have you done to me?" gasps the young man as he dangles in Stormwardens grip, feet off the floor held up by the throat. Stormwarden glances at the hammer in his belt. "I could've done a lot worse. Remember that when you wake up!" He backhands the man across the face. It's enough. The limp form is dropped into the mud as Stormwarden walks away.

=========

Saladin leans in. "The witch has powers you and I would not believe. Magic! It's real! It works! Which reminds me. How is it you are bone dry, and I am drenched wet through? No matter." He pulls up his blade. "Your powers have been drained magically. Your strength, sapped. You cannot even..."

The witch, stood nearby as the rain falls lighter on her thanks to a spell she's cast. She glances out into the gloom. "Somethings coming." she mutters. She glances back at Saladin and Lionheart, then gasps!

Lionheart staggers to his feet! The pain is immense! It feels like gravity itself is ripping at him!

"I'm impressed." said Saladin, his voice grim, eyes narrowed. "You 2nd generation PSI corps were always inferior to us. You see 'they' realised what they'd done. They made us gods. And so whilst they wanted to play god, and have you run around, cleaning up their mess, they couldn't have you turning on their masters! I'd had enough..."

"...You're a murderer!" slurred Lionheart, through clenched teeth.

"Yes, of course. Though no more than a farmer killing cattle. You see, these normal humans are nothing more than that! They don't deserve our protection, only our contempt! They are weak, and one day, metahumans will overthrow their rule! Why... ARGGH!"

The glowing Lion erupted from Lionhearts form, encompassing Saladin! The witch thrust a hand out, and immediately the energy Lion dissipated, leaving both Saladin and Lionheart on their knees in the mud! "Find out what we need to know, and fast! Then kill him!" she hissed. "Your flair for the melodramatic will cost us! We're almost out of time!"

Saladin snarled, turning about and spitting "Quiet bitch! No one tells me what..."

"Correction." said a voice behind the woman. She turned, and looked up, up. The dark shape of Stormwarden loomed out of the darkness. Overhead, the sky was as wild as ever! "You ARE out of time!"

Lionheart, blood running from his nose, grinned. His limbs felt lighter. Whatever the woman had done, she'd caused his own power to backfire on himself, and somehow, the pain had completely jolted him free of whatever hold she had on him! He wiped his nose on the back of his hand and rose on unsteady legs. As did Saladin.

OOC Initiative. 1d10=6 Heroes, 1d10=4 Bad guys Stormwarden is 5m away from the woman, Saladin and Lionheart are within swinging distance of each other. Next post will put up Lionhearts' current status - he's taken something of a battering but here's fight still left in him!

PUTTY

Putty frowned, dramatically marching forwards and shrewdly looking at the groups knelt with hands on heads. "No. All should be questioned. The women and children kept alive. You would be surprised, Sergeant, how compliant a man is when he family is threatened. Slap his wife and she spits defiantly at you. Threaten to cut his daughters little finger off and the pair of them will scream out every secret they know. No... They know something, and we are close... so close to crushing the resistance! If we let a lead, no matter how slim, slip through our fingers... well, you know the penalties...."

"Siberia." muttered the Sergeant. "ROUND THEM UP!" he bellowed. "Restrain them, all of them, hands and feet, though leave enough for them to shuffle. Damned if I'm dragging them anywhere. They are all yours Captain."

Putty glanced at the prisoners. They were having plastic tie wraps applied to wrists, ankles, and one another.

Once everyone was "Chained" he waved off the troops.

"Okay, I take responsibility for them now," he told the Sergeant. "Heil!"
He gave the Nazi salute and pulled his "pistol" out, which was actually just his hand reformed into a hand and pistol as he pulled it from its holster, which was just part of his hip actually.

"You men head back and get new orders since I'm taking the scum that you were rounding up and "sanatizing"," he ordered. "You scum! Start moving! That way!"

Putty snarled and waved the people away in the direction he thought he should be going.

ooc: finally got my computer put back together.

Lionheart

OOC: glad you got back to us Dave!

IC: Lionheart was grateful for the pain, for the clarity it brought back to his mind. Saladin's arrogance would be his undoing, but the real risk was the women. Her powers had clearly done him a lot of harm. As he launched a uppercut to knock him into Stormwardan's reach.

OOC:Paul I've forgotten to bring either Lionheart or frostbite's character sheet with me so here is a straight roll for Lionheart, I'm going to try and push Saladin back to Stormwardan.

Here is the straight d20 roll without WC or DC added etc: 1d20=15


Sj

The Vanguard - Putty and Frostbite

The robot obeyed Frostbites' command, steadily clomping away through the rubble and ruin of London as was, before the Nazis turned it into the cold stark vision of Utopia.

Minutes later, he turned, The Crew were pinned tight under ice. Frostbite, master of the cold, has done it in such as way as to restrain, not to harm, and he was soon making his way back to the direction the pair were originally headed in...

=========

"What are you going to do with us?" asked one of the prisoners. "Please... I beg you! Let our wives and children go! They are innocent!" begged a man as Putty marched them off into the ruins.

Putty glanced about, seeing the Nazi soldiers had taken his ruse rather convincingly, though for how long was the question! He started when a finger moved from behind a mound, then saw the blue tinge and the costume of his friend/teammate, Frostbite.

"Who... who are you people?" asked the man as Frostbite approached. I see no Nazi insignia on the ubermensch! Are you... are you the ones who people have been talking about? Who defeated Majestic?"

=========

Elsewhere, not too far`away...

"We are closing in on the last reported location of the robot. They reported trouble did they? Well, we'll see about that. It's about time the scum was purged from the underbelly of London!" said one of the Nazi metahumans en route in a plane to the location of the Nazi soldiers Putty had been speaking to. "Why Adjutant hasn't done it already is beyond me! All that power... is he a coward, afraid to use it?"

=========

<<The ruins of Buckingham Palace are several hundred yards to the north.>> said the Computer. Frostbite didn't need to answer. He'd visited as a tourist a couple of times back in his old life, flown near it once or twice when patrolling across London. It never looked like this.

The grand palace was a ruin, a burnt out shell flattened and destroyed by bombing and looting. The grounds were full of rusting cars and concrete debris. It almost brought a tear to Frostbites eye, but the water froze.

"What about us? If you free us, the Nazis will hunt us down! You have to protect us, and others! You are the only hope the free people of this country have!" said the man, Fred Bromwell, who was one of the prisoners Putty had freed. "You can't forsake us! Leade us to safety!"

OOC you have a group of men women and children in tow and are approaching the grounds/site of Buckingham Palace...

PUTTY/FROSTBITE

"Who... who are you people?" asked the man as Frostbite approached. I see no Nazi insignia on the ubermensch! Are you... are you the ones who people have been talking about? Who defeated Majestic?"

"Yes, that is us," Nazi officer Putty said. "We are going to let you go once we get out of sight of those extermination squads. It's all we can do right now ... just give you a chance to run and hide and live another day."

The Vanguard - Stormwarden and Lionheart

Lionheart swung at Saladin... and his enemy simply wasn't where he'd been a moment before! Smiling, Saladin spits "You are slow, Lionheart! I am going to enjoy taking you apart, piece by piece!"

OOC Saladin dodged Lionhearts blow. His own blows... 1d20+3+6=12 Miss, 2d6+16=23, 1d20+3+6=16 Miss, 2d6+16=20, 1d20+3+6=11 Miss, 2d6+16=25 range from reasonably awful to downright useless. All miss.

Stormwarden moves up to the woman. "I don't know who you are, but the Vanguard will never be stopped! Not by you, or anyone else!"

The witch takes a step back, dwarfed by the giant hero. She hisses, mutters an incantation. "My magic is proof against even Adjutant, to some degree! I know not what you are, man or demon, it matters little! You will die!"

She levelled her arms, casting a powerful spell...

Suddenly, all those present heard a deep growling voice issue from Stormwardens' throat. Even the man himself was surprised!

"Mortal! You meddle with a power beyond human comprehension! Your magic may be mighty by your own definition, but by mine and my brethren you are as nothing!"

The witch hissed, narrowing her eyes... her spell went off! Bright green lights gathered around her hands, energy from the earth itself surged up her frame and flowed forth, directed at Stormwarden!

It stopped about an inch short and dissipated, like mist!

The Witch gasped, sagging to her knees, whilst Saladin, having swung in vain at Lionheart who proved even more elusive than he'd done, gaped in astonishment!

Stormwarden reached a hand forward, placing it on the witches head! "Look upon my true nature now, witch, and despair!"

She screamed, arcing backwards, red energy flaring out from her eyes, fingertips and glowing all about her! Then with a bright flash it was gone, and Stormwarden stepped back. "What in the name of... what happened?" he looked at the witch lying at his feet. She was on her side, drool coming from her mouth as she muttered "Ich habe ins Gesicht meines Feinds angeschaut, und kann naught aber Vergessenheit sehen"*

Stormwarden looked up "Lionheart! Are you alright? Do you need me to...?"

OOC 3 frames to Lionheart - it appears as if Saladin is off guard...

*translation: "i have looked into the face of my enemy, and can see naught but oblivion"

FROSTBITE

"Who... who are you people?" asked the man as Frostbite approached. I see no Nazi insignia on the ubermensch! Are you... are you the ones who people have been talking about? Who defeated Majestic?"

"Yes, that is us," Nazi officer Putty said. "We are going to let you go once we get out of sight of those extermination squads. It's all we can do right now ... just give you a chance to run and hide and live another day."

Frostbite nodded, "We cannot look after you. I'm sorry, but for what its worth, this is a second chance. Hope doesn't need to die." He was about to go on but, knowing that the Nazi's had spies everywhere, he decided that this wasn't the time to talk openly. "Go quickly no doubt our presence and yours won't have evaded the Nazi's for long."

With that he turned to Putty, nodding in the direction they had to go and flying off without a backward glance. Although had they seen his face, they'd have seen a single tear fall and then frosting on his cold hard exterior.

Sj

Lionheart

The Witch gasped, sagging to her knees, whilst Saladin, having swung in vain at Lionheart who proved even more elusive than he'd done, gaped in astonishment!

Stormwarden reached a hand forward, placing it on the witches head! "Look upon my true nature now, witch, and despair!"

Liionheart looked astonished, never had he witnessed such raw power! Again the thought came to mind, 'who where these people?' But trained in combat, as he was, Lionheart focused and brought his mind back to the matter at hand. He concentrated seeking to fight Saladin on two fronts. Again the Lion on his chest blazed as he followed his Psi blast with a karate move at his mortal enemy.

OOC: 10 psi points, roll v ego 1d20+18=37 all damage on htc, want to take him out asap. I'll follow it up with a karate chop at him. But got overconfident and miss spectacularly 1d20=3.


two things whilst I'm asking - 1 what just happened to the women? I thought the shadow demons couldn't help us? And second is this a quote from something below.

*translation: "i have looked into the face of my enemy, and can see naught but oblivion"

Out of interest how do you know so much good German?

Sj

PUTTY AND FROSTBITE

With that he turned to Putty, nodding in the direction they had to go and flying off without a backward glance. Although had they seen his face, they'd have seen a single tear fall and then frosting on his cold hard exterior.

Putty nodded to the folks, shifting back into his more comfortable amorphous shape. He then flowed and stretched and oozed after Frostbit.

The Vanguard - Stormwarden and Lionheart

OOC few things - sorry for no update in last 24 hours, literally ran out of time. Long days, short nights and I need a rest after I come back! Let's see - the Witch decided to attacki Stormwarden and his inner demon with something that the Demon didn't like - and the thing more or less 'shrugged off' the attack and gave it backi to the Witch. That's not something you could choose to do, but it may be something that crops up when the being inside the Vanguardians feels suitably threatened. She is powerful... or was. Now she's a drooling half wit, having tried to bite off more than she could chew! Whether it could/would happen again without threatening the holding off of the time stream, who knows? I don't know German rather than rudimentary stuff, never did it at school - I use FreeTranslation.com In other words, I 'cheat'... The quote is my own - not aware of it being used in any book or film. Not even sure it makes much sense but what the heck

OOC 5d6=20Htc damage to Saladin.

Lionheart cursed as he followed up his devastating attack on his arch enemy with a clumsy overhead right that should have taken the mans head off as near as dammit, Slipping in the mud he narrowed his eyes, looking for another opening...

Stormwarden barked "Finish up with him! We have work to do!" though he was striding towards Saladin as he said it. There was no doubt the man was dangerous, resourceful and devious.

OOC Intitiative... 1d10=3 Heroes, 1d10=10 Bad guys

Reeling from the psychic assault, Saladin glanced at the witch, at Stormwarden then at Lionheart. "You have remarkable friends." he growled, wiping blood from his nose. "I'm beginning to see what the fuss is about, though you'll have to excuse my not wanting to test any theories of his power. You and I? We will meet again!"

And with that, he sped off into the darkness at top speed, identical to Lionheart or slightly superior. The first PSI Corps officers were considered too powerful and so the second wave were ...limited as a response, whilst the first corps was quietly 'retired'. Saladin was one of the few who escaped enforced 'retirement'...

Stormwarden watched him go. "He's fast. We have a job to do, however. He's smart, and out for himself. I expect he'll get to a safe distance and call in the cavalry, but won't risk himself. That gives us time to get the job done." he snarled, looking out into the darkness near the base. "They'll know we're out here, and know we're coming. Time to call in our own cavalry."

His eyes whitened, and the storm seemed to calm suddenly, the rain holding off, the wind dying down... then the most ferocious lightning storm Lionheart had ever seen started pounding the Nazi base, striking time and again, though curiously staying away from the massed stones. He turned to Lionheart "We have a jigsaw puzzle to put back together. Once that's done, we need to make sure we have someone who can use it, and something for him to use it with. Coming?"

Lionheart looked into the darkness. His enemy was still out there. He had the chance to follow him, though it would mean Stormwarden was on his own for this crucial part of the mission... what would he decide?