LORE KNIGHTS #2 starring Prof Wynde and Wonder Man!

Prof Wynde looked about. Then he saw them.

LORE KNIGHTS #2 starring Prof Wynde and Wonder Man! - Page 5 Nazi-Super-Agents-team

Stood on a rooftop looking about at the devastation wrought by the collapse of the main building one of the grey suited Nazi Super Agents shouted "What have you done? Fools! You shall pay for your meddling!" The others stood near him were adjusting uniforms and helmets as if they were suddenly plunged into a situation they were not ready for.

OOC Five Nazi Super Agents albeit GREEN/Untested and Untrained. They stand 100' away and ready to attack the Lore Knights! The place is otherwise littered with prone Advent soldiers.




"Aw Nuts," Prof. Wynde cursed.  "Bad enough we have to figure out how to get Wonderman out of that mess of rubble but we still have more goons to hit?  We are a team, let's attack them as a team!  Ranged weapons first after getting closer to them and together and then hand combatants in it! Swordsmith, make all their zippers and buttons and other bits of metal on their uniforms disappear or fall off but if you can't do that, hit 'em with Snaga."


ooc: Team attack ranged, hoping we get initiative here, Prof Wynde will multi-attack all 5, Wind Blast wide and high enough to hit them all. Then team attack hand combat guys. Everything into attack. If their pants fall down around their ankles, that ought to slow them down some, I hope.

"Never mind, hit a target of choice," Prof. Wynde says once he sees one of the Nazi Supers moving before they are ready.




ooc:  move close enough not to take minuses for range and Magic Blast two of them with crit attack. everything into attack.


ooc2:  seeing all the HP Major Oak has, if he still has a lot leftover after this adventure, I would think about him getting Knockout Gas as a power.  Define it pollen- & poisonous fumes-base from plants that he can exude, though it is considered bashing damage not killing so the poison helps to put people into a stupor instead of killing attack.  Also good for when anesthesia is needed for an operation and none is available.

When you think about the stuff that Poison Ivy, Batman''s foe, has been able to do over the last decade or so, he could get Mind Control as pollen-based as well. 

Isn't there some kind of Elemental Link in BOH2 that he could link most of his powers to?  Might make him cheaper to build and tougher all around.  Nature based Elemental Link. 

OOC Elemental Link is a Champions thing if I recall. I do like Champions (3e at any rate, after that the width of the books terrified me) but character creation is a mess of tweaking and fiddling that makes DC Heroes look simple. Mutants and Masterminds takes the twiddling and tweaking to another level but really I have no idea why I never clicked with it. The books look great and I own all versions but still.. left me cold.

Prof Wynde watched as the Nazi super agents took to the sky in faltering ways, some of them flailing arms, others looking like they were jumping and one looking like flying backwards was more natural...

One of them sped forwards and stumbled/landed in front of Swordsmith and took a clumsy swing...

OOC these are brand new freshly minted Nazi Super Agents and literally have no skill at all in using their abilities. So much so I am ignoring all of their skills for this battle so they have no Acrobatics/Martial Artist because up until a few minutes ago, they had no super powers...

AV10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 8,10,+0 Total:18 (28) vs
Swordsmith OV9 + 1D Acro (3D Weaponry) + Roll(3d12)+0: 3,8,6,+0 Total:14 (23)
+3 (to 18) vs RV12=6 RAPs. Swordsmith absorbs 1 damage with his last HP and is on Body 1/6 and is STUNNED this round and next.

Swordsmith staggers as a powerful fist crashes against his armoured chin and he reels, not knowing quite which way is up or hoe to stay on his feet!

The next wave of Nazi super agents run/stumble/jump and fly towards the remaining Lore Knights!

OOC On Prof Wynde...

AV10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 1,6,+0 Total:7 (17) vs
OV8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,11,+0 Total:17 (25) attack Missed.

Prof Wynde sways back from a clumsy blow - clumsy, but the Nazis' reflexes were faster than his and the blow would have near taken his head off! They were in BIG trouble, these people were as powerful, maybe more so, than the Lore Knights!!!

Snaga roars at the Nazi woman who comes at him!

OOC AV10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 1,9,+0 Total:10 (20) vs
OV9 + 2D Acro (2D Weaponry) + Roll(4d12)+0: 8,5,3,10,+0 Total:18 (27) attack Missed

"Ha! These people are untried striplings with no skill! They will FALL to Snaga's power!" he laughed.

The big Nazi ran across to Major Oak and took a swing!

OOC AV10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 4,1,+0 Total:5 (15) vs
OV6 + 2D Acro (0D m arts) + Roll(4d12)+0: 4,6,6,4,+0 Total:12 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 5,7,+0 Total:24 (30) Attack Missed

Major Oak ducked and stumbled aside but shouted "We can't do this!"

Snaga roared "You stand your ground and FIGHT boy!"

Major Oak called out "We need the rest of the Lore Knights! I can bring them!"

Prof Wynde blasted at the Nazi in front of him. desperate to make a dent in the enemy!

OOC Magic Blast Multi, Crit Blow AV11 + Roll(2d12)+0: 8,9,+0 Total:17 (28) vs
OV7 + Multi 2 + Crit Blow 4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 7,2,+0 Total:9 (22)
+3 (to 14) vs RV8 + Multi 2 - Crit Blow 6 so RV4=10 RAPs. Nazi Super Agent #2 and #5 are DOWN and OUT!

Snaga roared and shouted "SEE BOY?!?! PROF WYNDE SHOWS THE WAY! HAVE AT THEEEEEEEEE!!!"

OOC GFB +4/-6 Adren Surge 14 + Roll(2d12)+0: 5,4,+0 Total:9 (23) vs
Claws 6 + GFB 4+ Roll(2d12)+0: 2,5,+0 Total:7 (17)
+3 (17) vs RV6 - 6 GFB so RV0=17 RAPs. Claws up to 23

Multi + Crit Blow AV9 + 2D Weaponry + Roll(4d12)+0: 9,5,5,7,+0 Total:10 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 10,7,+0 Total:27 (36) vs
OV10 + Multi 2 + Crit Blow 4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 10,3,+0 Total:13 (25)
+5 (28) vs RV14 + Multi 2 - crit blow 6 so RV10=18 RAPs. Kinetic Absorption blown and both agents #1 and #4 are DOWN and OUT!

With a mighty smash of his invincible axe Snaga sends two nazi super agents flying! They crash into the rubble unconscious! Snaga ROARS in triumph, brandishing his axe!

The final Nazi Super Agent clubs at Snaga, desperate to down the giant warrior!

OOC AV10 + Roll(2d12)+0: 12,10,+0 Total:22 (32) vs
OV9 + Roll(4d12)+0: 7,1,1,8,+0 Total:15 (24)
+4 (to 19) vs RV9=10RAPs. Kinetic Absorption is BURNED OUT and Snaga absorbs 2 damage (now on 60HP) and is on Body 1/9 STUNNED

The powerful blow sounds like a thunderclap and sends Snaga reeling!

"Stronger... than .. .Wonder Man..." he says, staggering about and spitting blood.

Major Oak, torn between running and fighting, opts to move up to the Nazi that battered Snaga and blasts him point blank!

OOC Crit Blow Proj Weapons 12 + Roll(2d12)+0: 1,9,+0 Total:10 (22) vs
OV10 + CB4+ Roll(2d12)+0: 9,8,+0 Total:17 (31) attack missed

His attack is clumsy and the Nazi easily avoids it!

OOC initiative...

ooc:  Found Elemental Linking in BOH2.  It's an optional rule page 25 where they also discuss half and double linking.


actions:  Magic blast, crit blow last Nazi.

OOC huh, good find. Now that I see it I recall seeing it before a while back but a quick look reveals that while it reduces the cost of all the powers the limitations are quite restrictive. Much of the Blood of Heroes book was copied and pasted from DC Heroes (and therefore probably illegal because DC always claimed ownership of the game and its representation) they did add stuff along the way that tweaked and improved things.

Well, mostly.

The art wasn't an improvement.

Prof Wynde levelled an arm and blasted the last standing Nazi!

OOC Crit Blow Magic Blast 11 + Roll(2d12)+0: 12,12,+0 Total:24 DOUBLE (thwack!) + Roll(2d12)+0: 4,7,+0 Total:35 (46) vs
OV7 + CB4 + Roll(2d12)+0: 12,6,+0 Total:18 (29)
+6 (17) vs RV8 - CB6 so RV2=15RAPs. The last Nazi is DOWN and OUT!

The Lore Knights stood in the rubble. All about them was quiet and dust started to settle.

Snaga snarled, looking out for more memories. There were none. Plenty of armoured soldiers scattered about, dozens of them in fact. The smashed robot, the downed Nazi Super Agents.

Major Oak crouched by one, fumbling in a belt pouch and pulled out... a vial. A set of six vials with small needles and a tiny shot of red liquid in each. "What do you think of these?" he asked Prof Wynde.

Snaga turned "I'll tell you what I think of your wanting to run boy!" he roared. "We never run! We fight, we smash the enemy, we keep fighting and we do not run."

Swordsmith walked up "The boy did his part. We all did. His plan... to go get help... might have saved us all if Prof Wynde had not been able to zap them with that blast of his."

Snaga stood and walked to stare Swordsmith in the eye. "We are Lore Knights. We are the countries last line of defence against people who ignore bombs and bullets. The boy needs to realise that. If he runs? There's no one left, and we are weakened as a result and the chances of the rest of us falling are increased."

Major Oak bowed his head then started to move lumps of concrete and still I bars to get at Wonder Man under all the rubble...

Swordsmith helped and Prof Wynde, without the muscle required, kept watch.

An hour passed by. Two. Then there was movement and the Lore Knights stood ready... until a fist with a ring on a finger rammed through solid concrete and thrust out!

Minutes later a dusty, dirt covered Wonder Man was dragged from the rubble, coughing and bruised, but otherwise not too badly injured.

"What do we do about these?" asked Swordsmith pointing to the armoured suits holding a civilian inside...

Get Wonderman away from the rubble and Detect Magic again.  Want to make sure the other magic he detected awhile back is gone.  Otherwise, we need to dig it out.  Also radiation count.

"Let's see if we can get them free," Prof Wynde replies.  "Keep those vials safe.  They may be the secret as to how the Nazis are getting new superpowers."

Wonder Man gratefully accepted the proffered hand helping him to his feet.

The superhuman was tough and seemingly unaffected by the very high levels of radiation detected by the machine.

"Took a licking, kept on ticking." he chuckled as he looked about at the dozens of prone Advent suited civilians. "I held the gate itself up to stop myself from being squished. Not much of it left I must admit." he said as he opened a hand to reveal a chunk of rock which he dropped to the ground.

Prof Wynde detected magic on that and also in dozens of places below the rubble, but it was incredibly weak and each individual signature was diminishing, as if the gate as a whole was magical but when broken up into pieces the magic would drain away. The underlying radiation was an issue though and all of the people in these suits would have been exposed...

Snaga used his boosted strength to tear open a suit and a wire mesh 'cage' about the head inside the helmet gave him pause from freeing up an unconscious fisherman.

Major Oak turned to Prof Wynde. "When the Earl gets his amulet fixed his sorcery can heal these people." he offered. "Otherwise they will sicken over time and die."

"There's something else. In the past, our history, about this time, radiation played a part in mutating genes and affecting the descendants, granting them powers... mutant powers." he said. "I don't know anything about the history of British Supers but maybe the fact that Advent came back in time, we stopped them, this radiation was released and maybe affected the descendants of some of these people affected their descendants in decades time and gave them superhuman powers... boggles the mind." he offered, keeping his voice low so Swordsmith and Snaga, tending Wonder Man, wouldn't hear. "I also have to apologise. I'm NOT a coward, I just thought... maybe... we'd be better off getting the other Lore Knights here but it seems we are tougher, better able to smash the Nazi agents than I thought."

Wonder Man came over, his costume all torn and dirty. "Prof, we need to help these people. Those vials the others showed me, I need to study them but they look like single doses of something. Looks like blood, but blood doesn't glitter. Maybe it is keyed to each person specifically to alter their physical make up turning them into ... well, SUPER agents. If this becomes more widespread, we are in big trouble. I'll go into the lab building Snaga said they came from and have a look around."

Snaga returned from a cursory look about. "No aliens Prof Wynde. Gone."

Prof Wynde considered that. They had come from the future and the 'tie' so to speak, might have been the gate. Destroying that destroyed the 'tether' that held them in this time and sent them back.

That meant similar artefacts - gates, archways, portals and so on - would be of interest to the Aliens of ADVENT. Such things would have to exist in the past, here and now, and in the future.

"WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?" bellowed a distant voice from the hillside overlooking the sprawling compound!



The distant (around a 100 yards away or so) figure was outlandishly dressed. Prof Wynde did a cursory detection of magic and found the man glowed like a beacon! Was he friend... or foe?

"WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?" bellowed a distant voice from the hillside overlooking the sprawling compound!

The distant (around a 100 yards away or so) figure was outlandishly dressed. Prof Wynde did a cursory detection of magic and found the man glowed like a beacon! Was he friend... or foe?

"Will we ever be able to win and just go home," Prof. Wynde complained to himself.
"Major Oak, start teleporting these people back to the beach at Caer Alwyn. They will need to bathe as we did before being allowed close to anyone else. That should help with getting some of the radioactive dust off them. Have Faerie teleport whoever still has their powers here and make sure the Earl can take care of these folks until he can heal them. Meanwhile, let's see if the rest of us can talk down that guy"

ooc: After Major Oak leaves with the first batch of folks

"Hello!," he yells to the man, moving up to him on a small tornado of wind [3 APs distance from him]. "I'm Prof. Wynde, an OOPs mage, and these fine folks are the Lore Knights. Who might you be? One of these Nazis?"

ooc: And if he isn't but some kind of mage or druid type, he may have heard of either group. A good hearing I hope.

The strangely dressed man frowned and tipped his head slightly to the side then started walking down the hillside towards the compound.

Snaga glanced at Prof Wynde then started dragging the armoured soldiers into a line ready for Major Oak to leap then leap again back to the beach at Caer Alwyn.

The 'druid' walked closer. "OOPs you say. Interesting. What is the fourth law of Advarius?"

"That magic comes at a cost and that cost may be your very soul." replied Prof Wynde.

"And the mural on the wall of the tomb of the fallen mage in the dungeon below Château Borély in the south of France?"

Prof Wynde frowned. "Are you talking about the one with people with the heads of cats on them?"

The Druid paused, pursing his lips. "I am. That was discovered only last year. How do you know of that?"

"Much as I do not want to interrupt this touching reuinion... " started Swordsmith "Can I suggest we find some way to make the rest of this base inoperable or maybe even secure for our forces? If the latter we would have to guard it against the bad fellows coming back. Chances are that they have someone on the way."

As if to emphasise the point there was a distant sound that bounced off the valley walls. Like a boom. The cloud cover and night sky prevented any details being made out but Prof Wynde could have sworn it sounded like a sonic boom. In 1940.

Admin wrote:The strangely dressed man frowned and tipped his head slightly to the side then started walking down the hillside towards the compound.

Snaga glanced at Prof Wynde then started dragging the armoured soldiers into a line ready for Major Oak to leap then leap again back to the beach at Caer Alwyn.

The 'druid' walked closer. "OOPs you say. Interesting. What is the fourth law of Advarius?"

"That magic comes at a cost and that cost may be your very soul." replied Prof Wynde.

"And the mural on the wall of the tomb of the fallen mage in the dungeon below Château Borély in the south of France?"

Prof Wynde frowned. "Are you talking about the one with people with the heads of cats on them?"

The Druid paused, pursing his lips. "I am. That was discovered only last year. How do you know of that?"

"Much as I do not want to interrupt this touching reuinion... " started Swordsmith "Can I suggest we find some way to make the rest of this base inoperable or maybe even secure for our forces? If the latter we would have to guard it against the bad fellows coming back. Chances are that they have someone on the way."

As if to emphasise the point there was a distant sound that bounced off the valley walls. Like a boom. The cloud cover and night sky prevented any details being made out but Prof Wynde could have sworn it sounded like a sonic boom. In 1940.

"May I ask you name," Prof. Wynde asks while watching the sky, "and your reason for coming here?"

"We have incoming," he says in a louder voice to everyone. "Anyone detect anything? A direction at least?"

ooc: Detect Magic

"Faerie should be here in just a few minutes with some of the others. Be ready!"

ooc: Sort of forgot who still hasn't had their power burn out.

OOC Everyone recovered their powers because you were a few hours at Caer Alwyn. The only one out of action is the Earl who will have to wait for his amulet to be repaired using HP from the end of the issue. That highlights the problems of gadgets and in a game like this with reasonably high combat chances are he's going to need recosting otherwise he'll be out of action every time he takes a pounding. Sorcery is the biggy and I think I'll look at an amulet that grants sorcery only with his other abilities in built as he's not going to be viable as a hero if he's on the sidelines after every battle...

The newcomer looked to all of the Lore Knights before speaking...

"I am Derwydd Nerthol! Declared the man with an accent that suggested he hailed from Wales originally though moving about might have diluted that. The name translates to 'Mighty Druid' but I didn't choose it and Nerthol or 'Druid' will suffice." says the newcomer.

"I am OOPs... like you it seems and I detected a rogue gathering of magic in this place. Looking about you all I sense magic in everyone here and the remnants of the gate were magical too. As for these people..." he said looking at an armoured prone soldier/civilian. "It seems clear that OOPS needs to take a far more direct hand in events in the islands and surrounds of Great Britain. The war has been a distraction for us and we have focused our efforts on watching for magical events and enemies. Now it seems our enemies use those powers... and we had no idea of your coming. Some suggest you are the LORE KNIGHTS, come again in time of peril to save the land from threats mankind was never meant to know of."

"We ARE the Lore Knights laddie, and we are doing OUR part in the defence of the realm! Whoever you people are, you should do your part and if not, stay out of our way!" growled Snaga.

Swordsmith placed a calming hand on the Axeman's shoulder. "Now, now old bean, let's not go off on one. I believe us all to be on the same side here and perhaps the best way forward is to coordinate efforts..."

"Perhaps." said Nerthol. "However be in no doubt. In the area your powers operate OOPS are the highest authority and we will choose how best to use you as a resource. The High Council may consider your inclusion in the war a waste. Let the soldiers do the fighting as you may better serve our purpose guarding against the invisible borders about our realm."

Snaga snarled and glowered at Nerthol. "Like hell will we sit the war out!" he roared.

"Mind your tongue, brute!" said Nerthol... readying his staff!

Swordsmith pointed to the sky. "Best to keep the anger for the enemies people! We have incoming!"

Snaga pulled a face then nodded. "You are right. As Prof Wynde says... make ready!"

The distant roar/drone got louder and a break in the cloud revealed a strange looking aircraft that Prof Wynde could not recognise though it was miles away. Certainly nothing from the era of 1940!

ooc:  So the Earl will have to stay behind and organize the treatment of the folks we are trying to rescue, the rest should show up here.

"Swordsmith!  Can you intercept any sort of radio transmission from that jetplane," Prof. Wynde asks quickly as he summons the winds he needs to fly.  "Find out what they are saying and where their base they may be reporting to is, if you can." 



"Major Oak, get these people to safety back home and get Faerie to help you.  Bring everyone but the Earl here.  The rest of you SCATTER!  It may have bombs as well as machine guns."


"You and I are the only two here that can fly, Swordsmith, so it's up to us to try and stop that jet," he finishes up.  "Intercept the radio transmissions and find out what you can then get up in the sky and help me.  The rest of you do what you can.  Druid, do what you can."

He takes to the air to try and bring down the jet.  He will use Wind Blast first against the jet since it is a larger target than the pilot in the jet is.


ooc2: Depending on its speed, he and Swordsmith may be equal to or faster than it is if the real life gadgets listed in BOH2 is anything to go by.  

Swordsmith frowns. "I don't know if I can..." he starts.

OOC Or can he? Comprehend Languages 12 + Roll(2d12)+0: 1,8,+0 Total:9 (21) vs
OV8 (German Language) + Roll(2d12)+0: 1,2,+0 Total:3 FAILED OV0
+8 (18) vs RV8=10 RAPs he can speak/read/write German language.

"I... wait! They are speaking in German! they say they are closing in on the target... telling the bomber to open the bay doors... he responded... they are open... they .. they are going to bomb us!" he called out!

"What! We need to seek... no. We can't leave these people! The boy needs to make several jumps to get back here. We don't have time to move them!"

Druid scowled. "I must leave. I cannot be included in an explosion that might harm me." he said.

Prof Wynde took to the air and called for Swordsmith to join him. The newest Lore Knight summoned a ghostly horse and stepped into the saddle, taking to the air!

Snaga growled "Are you a coward, Druid?"

"Certainly not! However I have a strict non interference policy. The environment and the wildlife are my personal areas of concern. If people want to blow each other up that's their business. OOPS sent me here to investigate the magical disturbance and report back with a strict order to avoid confrontation. They will make a decision on the action to take with more information, which I shall provide to them." replied the Welsh Druid.

"Pah! Dress it up how you like but you are running! Coward!" snarled Snaga. "Begone from my sight then, run for cover!" he said as he started to scoop up limp armoured forms and move them inside a building in the hope the people would be protected from any explosive blast!

=========

Prof Wynde summoned up a powerful wind to slow the progress of the jet.

That he did so and the jet appeared to no more than crawl through the sky!

That gave Swordsmith the chance he needed to close in and concentrate on his target...

OOC Metal Manipulation 14 + Roll(2d12)+0: 8,1,+0 Total:9 (23) vs
OV9 (body) + range 2 + Roll(2d12)+0: 7,5,+0 Total:12 (23)
EV14 vs RV9=5 RAPs.

The metal structure of the aircraft suddenly morphed into a cube of metal, ripping delicate equipment from its moorings and tearing the screaming engines free from their mounts!

The jet tore itself apart, debris bursting from its form and tumbling/falling from the high altitude!

"Save the pilots!" exclaimed Swordsmith! "We can't let them fall to their deaths!" he shouted to Prof Wynde.

The jet was now in dozens of pieces and the fuselage/main body was in several big chunks as it tumbled towards the ground a mile or more below!

"I'm more worried about the bomb and where it lands than them," he muttered but over the winds Swordsmith couldn't hear him.  "But since they are both in the fuselage, let's see what I can do."

ooc:  Use Wind to slow the fall of the body of the disintegrating plane and try to get it to land without blowing up.

Prof Wynde moved the air so it blew upwards and the weight of the falling pieces was mostly nullified as a cushion of air lowered the pieces gently.

Swordsmith rode through the torrent of wind and debris to get to where the main body of the fuselage was and gestured with a hand again...

OOC Metal Manipulation 14 + Roll(2d12)+0: 8,5,+0 Total:13 (27) vs
OV8 + Roll(2d12)+0: 6,4,+0 Total:10 (18)
+4 (18) vs RV8=10 RAPs. The bomb is transformed into a perfect block of metal with the various nasty components separated into neat sections.

"GOT IT!" yelled Swordsmith. "Got it. I think."

The debris landed in a messed up pile and Snaga sprinted/leapt over to the pile, sifting through the rubble and dragging out a pair of German pilots, a navigator, a radio controller and a bomber. They were young, terrified and fumbled for sidearms that Snaga casually yanked from them and crunched into mangled metal.

"I can speak German!" said Swordsmith, landing and striding across to where Snaga cuffed one and they scrambled into a small group, fearful. "They won't talk." snarled Snaga. "Unless we make them."

The Druid strode over. "I shall take the prisoners, question them! I have authority here!" he yelled.

"You got nothing here, Druid," Prof. Wynde replies a bit hotly. "You said you were here to protect the land, not the people, well the Lore Knights are here to Protect the Land, which includes the people. We fought them, we caught them, they are ours ... unless you want the Lore Knights to consider OOP an enemy of the LAND? I'm sure we can get the Land to agree if the Lore Knight's leader makes that case!"

He turns to the others but keeps an eye on Druid in case he does try something.

"Major Oak, get those innocent people back home and the other Lore Knights here. Swordsmith and Snaga, you two play good cop/bad cop." He quickly explains the concept to the two. "Swordsmith can interpret you Snaga but snarling and glaring and weapon handling works in any language. I will pop in and help out from time to time to see how it goes. Get them inside as bare a room as you can find and begin."

"Rest up Wonderman and also keep an eye out for any new problem."

"Now Druid let's you and me have a nice long talk about how OOP is going to operate in the Land during the war or else ..."

ooc: Nothing real definite there just a reminder that they were formed to bring about new mages to fight the darkness and that the darkness is upon them. That there is both dark magics being used by the Nazis and aliens from the future that they will have to confront. Get their bureaucratic butts in gear to fight or just go hide in a hole somewhere in Scotland until there comes real men and women, who remember what OOP's job really is, takes over from the old fussbudgets and cowards.

Major Oak returned with the Lore Knights. Faerie and Boadicea looked about, impressed and surprised at the level of devastation! Swashbuckler muttered "Huh, looks like I missed the fun!"

"Wonder Man! You're alright!" said Faerie, moving forward to hug him as he sat on a lump of ruined concrete. He grinned, wiping soot from his face and hugged her back before standing and dusting himself down. "Not too close. I may be irradiated. I don't think it has affected me but it might affect everyone else!"

Faerie nodded, stepping back and looking about. Snaga and Swordsmith dragged the Nazi pilots away to a room whilst Prof Wynde confronted Druid, putting him in his place!

"I'm not used to being addressed thus! I demand respect as befits my position! If you are OOPS as you claim you must recognise that I outrank you and you MUST follow my orders, or face the wrath of the elders! All of this..." he waved a hand "Are fleeting trifles. War? Pah! What is war compared to the long term well being of the land and of nature? I will admit it is worrying that these 'Nazis' appear to be ... employing methods that are troublesome." he frowned. "I must report to the Elders. You would do well to remember your place young man!"

"You will hear from me and OOPS in the near future!" he declared. With a wave of the staff he held there was a shimmering light that flared about him and ... he was gone!

"What a wind bag!" said Wonder Man, walking over. "I need a bath and a change of clothes, but otherwise I'm good to go." he said. Looking about he muttered "We did a good thing here Oliver. Got to let Churchill and his boffins know about this place, see if they can glean anything, find something useful from it or... or will that upset the time line? Should we destroy the place? That might not make them happy with us!"

"We should destroy the future tech," Prof. Wynde said. "The rest can remain. Go turn the guns into pretzels. Throw the ammunition into the sea. Any sort of device that you don't believe belongs in this time period, either smash it or throw it far out to sea and let the sea do the job. I'll leave that to you. You know better than anyone what belongs here in this time period and what doesn't."

"The jetplane is smashed up enough that we can leave it alone other than destroying the cockpit gauges and such. Hmmm ... need to use the Geiger Counter to find out if the bomb that they wanted to drop was atomic and normal. I'll go do that while you get smashing and throwing."

Prof. Wynde directed Faerie and the others to start sending all the people back to Wales and then he went to examine the bomb.

The Lore Knights sprung into action and Wonder Man accompanied Prof Wynde to where the bomb was.

"So small!" he said of the cube reshaped by Swordsmith into an inert lump. "Yet from what you say, this is capable of devastating damage?" he shook his head. "Thank goodness we don't have anything like that in this time."

Prof Wynde glanced at his friend and comrade and wondered what Fred Carson might say of the Oppenheimer directed 'Manhattan' Project which would lead to the 'Trinity' test in New Mexico.

The rest, as they say, was history.

With Swordsmith appearing at Wonder man's behest to reshape the bomb into something with a hinge that reveals the innards Prof Wynde was better able to examine it.

Alien tech. He was no expert but the tubes, glowing material, microscopic machines and gizmos he couldn't fathom suggested the aliens of ADVENT had lent their expertise and guile to turn Earths' resources into deadly weapons of mass destruction.

He looked about.

The sounds of snapping weapons, tearing down of walls and smashing the machines so that they'd be of no use to anyone indicated the Lore Knights were getting stuck into the task of making the place unusable - by anyone.

It took time, and eventually Major Oak walked up. "Well, that took some doing but all of the armoured soldiers have been moved, the machines smashed and the place rendered unusable. Churchill won't be happy to find out what we did here but I think we've done the right thing. ADVENT want to corrupt the timeline, we need to protect it. That is bigger than speeding up the war effort in my opinion. Another thing Prof. Have you given thought to the fact that what we do here might be making a new future for ourselves? If we go back, we might not recognise the place we left behind."

He sighed. "I thought about going back and I'm still shaken by what happened at the manor in Caer Alwyn but I'm goiong to stick it ouot and prove my worth to the team. I'll make you proud sir." said the youngster.

Wonder Man walked over. "That's the place sorted out. We have the German prisoners and the others questioned them but didn't get much out of them. The vehicle had been concocted by the 'new people' and the controls hastily explained but it 'flew itself' more or less here and the range staggered them. They are kids. They knew nothing about what the bomb would do, only that their mission required dropping it and flying away as best they could. We should turn them over to the authorities."

He looked about. "Time to go Prof? Our work here is done."

"Faerie is removing the armour from the citizens and healing them from the damaging effects of separation. She says she thinks the people will be fine and they may have no memory of what happened to them whilst they were working for ADVENT." said Major Oak. "We can return these people home and there's something else."

He walked to the top of a hill and pointed. "Faerie found a place when she was teleporting, like a camp of sorts. The people of the island are held there." she said, pointing to a distant dot on the coastline of the island, too far to see without binoculars. "The guards were armoured and collapsed like these at the compound here did and the people freed themselves." He put hands on hops and watched with prof Wynde as the sun crept over the horizon, a new dawn and day on the island and the Lore Knights had liberated it!

"We've done a good thing here." said Major Oak.

OOC Not the end of the adventure, just this section. Wrap up with anything you want to say and do and the action moves on a few days...

It took time, and eventually Major Oak walked up. "Well, that took some doing but all of the armoured soldiers have been moved, the machines smashed and the place rendered unusable. Churchill won't be happy to find out what we did here but I think we've done the right thing. ADVENT want to corrupt the timeline, we need to protect it. That is bigger than speeding up the war effort in my opinion. Another thing Prof. Have you given thought to the fact that what we do here might be making a new future for ourselves? If we go back, we might not recognise the place we left behind."

He sighed. "I thought about going back and I'm still shaken by what happened at the manor in Caer Alwyn but I'm goiong to stick it ouot and prove my worth to the team. I'll make you proud sir." said the youngster.



"We don't know how to get back to our time period, Major Oak, but I figure we will figure out something sooner or later," Prof. Wynde tells him, "You are doing great right now.  You just needed to figure out your powers and gain some confidence.  You got that now.  We do our best with what we have to preserve this time period.  Some science fiction I read says that history can "adjust" any minor changes of itself without any real problem.  I'm no expert on time travel but I am hoping that's true, so long as ADVENT doesn't do anything we can't "fix", like killing Hitler, Roosevelt, Stalin or Churchill, hopefully it means we still have our future to go back to."


Wonder Man walked over. "That's the place sorted out. We have the German prisoners and the others questioned them but didn't get much out of them. The vehicle had been concocted by the 'new people' and the controls hastily explained but it 'flew itself' more or less here and the range staggered them. They are kids. They knew nothing about what the bomb would do, only that their mission required dropping it and flying away as best they could. We should turn them over to the authorities."

He looked about. "Time to go Prof? Our work here is done."

"Faerie is removing the armour from the citizens and healing them from the damaging effects of separation. She says she thinks the people will be fine and they may have no memory of what happened to them whilst they were working for ADVENT." said Major Oak. "We can return these people home and there's something else."

He walked to the top of a hill and pointed. "Faerie found a place when she was teleporting, like a camp of sorts. The people of the island are held there." she said, pointing to a distant dot on the coastline of the island, too far to see without binoculars. "The guards were armoured and collapsed like these at the compound here did and the people freed themselves." He put hands on hops and watched with prof Wynde as the sun crept over the horizon, a new dawn and day on the island and the Lore Knights had liberated it!

"We've done a good thing here." said Major Oak.


"Now comes the hard part," Prof. Wynde jokes with the two.  "We have to turn over these Germans to Churchill and tell him what has happened here so he can get his folks up here to "secure" this place and talk with all the civilians here.  He will probably hit them with the Official Secrets Act to get them to not talk about what happened here.  Is the OSA a thing now or is it still in the future?  Guess that will be a job for the Earl and myself.  Unless one of you wants to do it?"


He gives a wicked smile then frowns.


"Guess Swashbuckler will have to come too and tell Churchill he can't be his agent anymore.  That's going to be a big mess.  Good thing we have the Earl on our side."



ooc:  Off the top of my head, I'm figuring we teleport out in front of Number 10 Downing Street in the evening when there are fewer pedestrians around.  "We" being the Earl, myself and Swashbuckler with Faerie and Major Oak doing the teleporting, and the captured Nazis.  I"m figuring Churchill will want to have his people take charge of them rather than us summoning the Home Guard and having them take them into custody.  Operational Security or some such and so they can gather what intelligence they can from the enemy quickly.  Then try to figure out what to do from there.

Between Major Oak and Faerie the captured Nazis - pilots and unconscious supers - were trussed up and Prof Wynde, the Earl (in civilian clothing) and Swashbuckler appeared in front of 10 Downing Street, drawing gasps and shouts from soldiers who ran to cover the strange group with rifles and pistols!

"We're all friends here! Relax!" said Swashbuckler with hands up. "I'm Swashbuckler, the Prime Minister is expecting me... and these are the Lore Knights. THESE... he said referring to the trussed up pilots and bound (in Swordsmith manipulated shackles and cuffs) are prisoners. Nazis. We can't turn them over until we know they will be unable to escape."

There was some confusion and an officer came up. "Most irregular! This... I'll send word to the PM's private Secretary and you people better stay where you are. Where you came from... I... most irregular indeed!"

Minutes passed until a soldier ran up to the officer who frowned and shook his head but the soldier seemed insistent. "So be it." He turned to the Lore Knights. "The PM will address you from the safety of the building." He looked up at a second storey window.

The Earl and the Lore Knights turned to face up whilst Swashbuckler and Major Oak watched the prisoners.

"You've returned!" said Churchill, dragging on a cigar. "And you must be the Earl of Caer Alwyn!"

"I am sir, and I am pleased to announce I shall take up my role and the responsibilities that come with it. We may need to sort out the red tape and paperwork Sir and I'll need your personal stamp on that. Rest assured that we will keep the land of Britain and her island surrounds as safe as we can manage."

The next few minutes continued with details of what had happened and Swashbuckler pitched in with his 'resignation' from Churchills' service as his own private super agent. "Sir, I can accomplish much more as part of the group. I don't have the experience or power to survive long on my own and Prof Wynde here along with Wonder Man rescued me from a dire situation in France. There they encountered something troubling. There are more nazi supers than we thought. We captured these..." he pointed to the downed nazi super agents "And they are as powerful as we are. The Nazis have some means of generating more of them and it could tip the balance of power on the battlefields of Europe. These are dangerous times sir."

"That highlights the need to focus and use your resources in areas that coordinate with our armed forces rather than having you folks running around willy nilly!" said Churchill, clearly determined to regain control where he could over the Lore Knights.

"Perhaps we should discuss specific arrangements." said the Earl. He turned to Faerie and Major Oak. "I'll need one of you to stay with me for transportation." he turns to Prof Wynde. "How are you at dealing with politicians?" he muttered under his breath... Prof Wynde was glad Wonder Man wasn't here. The American had little patience for red tape, bureaucracy and politicians vying for power. Churchill was a figure of legend but also of controversy and could be quite ruthless in his decisions, casting lives away in pursuit of the main goal.

Major Oak leaned in to Prof Wynde "The Nazi Super Agents will be waking soon. Thing is... those syringes they carried might be the key to their powers. One stirred just a moment ago and I thought he'd split his cuffs like they were made of paper but they really struggled..."

Swashbuckler added "They won't go anywhere whilst we're watching them."

The Earl glanced about then looked to Prof Wynde. "Shall we?" he offered as the door to number 10 opened...

OOC What are Prof Wyndes' plans with regards to the Lore Knights? Stay with them or take Wonder Man and the fight to the battlegrounds of Europe...?

ooc: Head off to Europe to hit this base the aircraft came from then go to America and prepare there for their entrance into the war.

To be fair the Earl stood his ground. Churchill played it tough, shouted, threw stuff about, bellowed and glowered, but the Earl of caer Alwyn would not be moved.

The Lore Knights would protect the land and be wherever they were needed, when they were needed. They would not fight abroad.

Churchill had gnashed, roared, ordered everyone out and back in several times and finally slumped into a sumptuous leather chair scowling as he smoked. "You are the best weapon we have... and we can't use you." he growled.

Faerie, quiet up until now, spoke up "Ummm sir? We aren't a weapon, strictly speaking. We are defenders. We will protect the land and the people as best we can but we are tied to the land. It is the source of our power and our reason for being. If we could leave the United Kingdom we would no longer be protectors, but aggressors and the magic doesn't work like that."

"Magic! If I had not seen with my own eyes..." spluttered Churchill.

The Earl spoke up . "Sir, rest be assured that we will know, probably quicker than you do or anyone else, where problems lie. If the Nazis use super agents like they have done, or devices which we cannot yet match, we will be there. The land will alert us. It knows. This man, Professor Wynde, will be leaving us shortly to take the fight to the Nazis."

"And what of the other fellow? The strong man in red?" asked Churchill.

"He will leave with Prof Wynde." said the Earl.

Oliver saw Faerie glance at the Earl then down at the floor.

Churchill sighed. "So be it. You can't be persuaded but ... morale is one of the best weapons we have in the dark days to come. The British people will continue to fight, to battle on, to strive for success if they know they can sleep at night with the Nazis throwing everything they can at them and the Lore Knights rebuffing them at every turn. Indeed, enough of that and the Hun will start to get discouraged. " he looked about. "I'll take what I can get." Standing he offered a hand to everyone, kissing Faeries' hand. "My lord Earl StJohn." he offered. "I won't apologise for continuing to work on you. There may be a way to get you over the channel and back in this hour that was mentioned." he sighed. Turning to Prof Wynde he offered "Your service is appreciated sir. Do me a great favour and don't die. I feel that your services will be needed in the days to come. Do not tarry long in America but... do your best to persuade them into the war. At some point the cloud of the nazi will block out the sun on the rest of the free world and it will be too later to get involved. Rest assured I shall be making every effort but it is not, I feel, the President that I need to persuade."

=========

"Well, thanks for everything." said the Earl, looking about as all the Lore Knights were gathered in their civilian clothes in the garden of the Manor.

Fred Carson shuffled uncomfortably as he fidgeted with his case. They had figured out from the Nazi pilots where they had flown from thanks to Faerie probing their minds and Swordsmith translating via a mind link she had created between them.

The Nazi super agents were another matter.

Advent had provided the power via the serum. The Boffins had looked at it and concluded it didn't do anything for anyone else except the person it had been specifically created for. There was another sting in the tail.

The first nazi Super Agent had died 24 hours after imbibing the super serum and not getting another dose. The others had died within minutes in their cells. The super serum lasted an hour apparently and required imbibing every day or the recipient would die. With only six days of doses on each agent their lives were measured in days as soon as they'd gotten super powers. Now there were six dead super agents and thirty doses of what amounted to coloured water seeing as there was nothing that it could be used for.

Snaga/Owain looked the most disgruntled. "You are a grand fighter and a great leader." he grumbled. "This is wrong. You are a lore Knight." to Wonder Man he stood back then wrapped him in a bear like hug. "You are my brother in arms, now and always!"

Boudicea hugged both and Swashbuckler looked sheepish as he shook hands, less confident than he normally would be. Swordsmith muttered "I join and everyone leaves!" as he shook hands.

Faerie was tearful and hugged both, whispering words for Fred's ears only.

Major Oak looked lost. "I wish there were some way we could... that you and Fred..." He sighed.

The Lore Knights stood back in a line, without Oliver Smith and Fred Carson who would catch a train to the south coast then spend the night and from there set off towards France. They could have teleported but Fred needed a day or two to recover anyway after a building falling on him.

Their adventure would take them across the length and breadth of Britain, defending, battling, protecting, watching...

For Prof Wynde and Wonder Man, their journey would take them through war torn France and into Italy to the place where the plane had taken off from. Along the way they would battle Nazi forces, super agents, powerful Nazi champions and dark forces the like of which neither had ever encountered.

Though they were soon to separate, one thing linked them all. They were all Heroes, and would never stop fighting until the war was won!

OOC Final word from you then PW/WM will be moving on...

"We will write when we can," Prof. Wynde assured the others, "though with war time censoring and travel behind enemy lines, we will have to be vague when we write and when we can write. Though Prof. Horner and I have come up with a code of sorts to help with that. And now with Earl StJohns having his magic back, he can search out the land for more Lore Knights which you old hands can then train up. There are supposed to be a dozen of you after all. You are now as much a veteran as I and Wonderman are."

He smiles at them.

"We will have to set up a few PO Boxes [Post Office Boxes] in various cities in the U.S. once we get there and let you know what they are so you can send us any news you would like. And if you need us, once we know about it, we can be back here in about 4 hours. [New York to London is under 3500 miles or just under 4 hours flight with a flight of 10]."

"To be honest, if we can get Advent out of this time period, we or I at least, should probably vanish from this time. Major Oak probably as well. Wonderman could stay since he is of this time period originally and doesn't know all that much about the 21st Century. But the desire to interfere in the big events is strong and I don't know how much I can resist the temptation not to do something about it or warn someone about it. I've already told all of you more than I probably should have starting with Dunkirk."

"You have been great friends. I will always remember my time with you. As a matter of fact, why don't we get a nice group photo before we leave, both in and out of costume? You can send copies of the regular one to the U.S. once we get settled there and have a PO Box. The Lore Knights one? Leave some copies here for us. I'm quite sure that the staff will still be around whenever we pop by and can give us our copies then."

Oliver swallows a lump in his throat. He just now really really realized that these people are already dead or will be dead in his own time period. The chances of any of them living to be over a hundred is very unlikely or even of surviving the war. If he comes back to Caer Alwyn in the 21st century, that photo will be all that's left of them.

He gets all maudlin and hugs all the men hard and quickly and hugs and kisses the ladies and then blows his nose while waiting for someone to get a camera out so they can have the pictures as mementoes. "Dang allergies," he mutters.


ooc: Okay, Prof. Wynde has the vague idea of using Wonderman's method of time travel when it is time to leave WW2: get to Tibet, get turned into stone, get revived every 5-7 years and make sure Advent isn't around trying to change history during that time period, rinse and repeat until he gets back to his own time period. Or gathering time stone fragments and maybe someday being able to use them to travel through time. Those are his ideas but gamewise, none of them will probably happen.

Also as an idea, he was thinking that maybe just before leaving England of grabbing either the biggest flag he could find or a banner that says something like "England still and will always stand!" or both and flying slowly over London and a couple of the bigger cities, so folks can see him and know that supers, just like in America, are in England and doing their duty so that they can take heart. He will discuss that with the Earl and see if he thinks it is a good idea. Maybe Wonderman can leap along with the banner streaming behind him?

But really really want those two photos. Dang that Wonder Woman movie and its WW1 pic!