The Ultrahumans! Issue #3 starring Miss Victory and Lionheart "And there came a reckoning!"

Admin wrote:LIONHEART

1) Finding a smaller rock should be a problem but will take time
2-3) Moving about in the asteroid field is sure to attract the attention of whatever it is that is shooting cloaked missiles at Lionheart. Maybe he can use that to his advantage depending on how powerful those missiles are...
4-6) Why would someone shoot missiles in an asteroid field? What are they protecting? Unless... unless those missiles are specifically designed to break asteroids and can also be used for defence. Is someone out here mining the asteroids or looking for something among them that requires using the missiles to split the rocks up and sift among the debris? [/i][/color]

OOC:The worst thing about this is speed, I am in a hurry!!! Taking time to get another asteroid seems just as slow as working out what to do with the missile firers!
Agh, this is frustrating. World hunger, though of undeniable great import isn't, however, if there isn't a world left within which to be hungry! OK, it looks like I am going to have to track down missiles and or their source and find a way to get them to launch at me or use them to blast an asteroid that I can use to cover the original plan.

Sj

MISS VICTORY

Feeling a mastery of her powers that mere practise couldn't bring, Miss Victory swaps the Vita energy around, dancing it from place to place in her body and mind to briefly touch on where she needs it before sending it somewhere else!

If she'd used her abilities like this at the original prison breakout might there have been a different outcome?

Possibly not - the forces arrayed against her and Lionheart were overwhelming - and yet she'd have given a better account of herself at any rate! Some foes were too ... specialised ... to long resist. She glanced (with superhuman reflexes, taking no time) at the crumpled form of Sinistress. Taking the mystic opposition out of the equation had made things easier, relatively speaking, as had taking that super strong goon out. Staggering that the fellow had the power to move mountains and used it to rob banks and beat people up...

OOC Miss Victory switches 19 points to Mental Blast (now 23) and the rest (4 points) to Body 11/11

She then blasts with a Devastating Attack on Alchemist!

Mental Blast 23 + 4D Accuracy + Roll(6d12)+0: 9,7,9,9,1,10,+0 Total:18 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0:
7,10,+0 Total:35 (58) vs
OV13 + 3D Acrobatics + Dev Attack 8 + Roll(5d12)+0: 7,1,7,11,11,+0 Total:22 DOUBLE plus Roll(2d12)+0: 6,3,+0
Total:31 (52) Success +3
EV23 + 3 (EV26) vs RV13 - Dev Attack 12 (RV1)=25 RAPs
Alchemist is DOWN and OUT with 19RAPs Over the top meaning he's out of it for 3 weeks, 2 days, 3 hours and the standard hour! Zoinks!

With a staggering brain blast Miss Victory shouts "VICTORY BLAST!" and puts down the final of the four villains down for the count - and then some!

Checking on them all she knows (thanks to her Medicinal Skill) that all will be out for a while, some longer than others and she won't have to worry about this bunch for a little while...

She looks about. There are open cells with battered superheroes dumped in them and some still in the corridor the villains were going to sort out and dump in cells. At some point the power sapping rays would blast down and drain their powers but it would be fitting if that could happen to these villains!

The problem was that this place was camera'd up from every angle. Someone would know she'd dropped four of the most powerful bad guys in here and would be along to rectify the situation.

She looked about.

The unconscious heroes were scattered about, most in bright spandex, some in just t shirt and jeans or camouflage, others in body armour of various types... If any of these were useful wouldn't they still be conscious? Or would all be useful and she had to wait long enough for them to recover? Would she have time for that, or was it best to keep moving, be the fly in the ointment, the stick in the mud, to Atomic Champions' plans.

Atomic Champion.

At what point would he take a direct hand? He was already one of the most powerful Ultrahuman 'Core' members and most likely more powerful than her, but boosted with the stolen energy he was draining from Silver Sentinel (thus preventing that hero from healing) how much more powerful was Atomic Champion? Miss V was a smart lady and her brains were telling her a straight up scrap with Atomic Champion wasn't only a bad idea... it was suicidal!

OOC Stick around, try to revive some good guys? Or keep moving and taking out as many bad guys as you come across? Until Lionheart gives a way to weaken Atomic Champion the former super hero is too powerful to take on one on one!

Miss Victory

ooc: There was one hero who was coming around and asking questions when the fight started so she will talk with him.

Miss Victory grabs the 4 villains and tosses them into an empty cell and activates the power dampening field.

"Listen, I don't have time to talk," she tells the reviving hero, "Atomic Champion and his friends can be here any second now. Grab a couple of whoever looks like they are closest to reviving and can still act and then RUN! We need to buy time, not stop the villains because we can't. We need to buy time for help to arrive. Atomic Champion, as he is now, can wipe us all out. So run and do what you can to distract the villains. Break the security cameras, start fires, stick foil in the microwaves, whatever you can do, do it fast and then run to somewhere and do it again. You stay in one place for more than a minute, you are asking to be beaten or killed by the more powerful villains. Hit and Run tactics is what you need to do now. Bye!"

She then does a quick check on the heroes, trying to pick out two who might revive in the next minute or so [maybe first aid will help with determining who and help them revive faster], grabs them and runs out of the cell area to an area where she has already busted the security cameras and tries to fine a room - broom closet, meeting room, shower room, whatever - where she can work on the two she grabbed and try to bring them around faster.

LIONHEART

Frustrated for the first time that he wasn't strong or fast enough, the hero started to scour about to look for another likely candidate.

The problem was that he couldn't simply look around and head for a rock. He needed to go around the rock to assess the size and shape to make sure it wasn't too big, too small or of a shape that wouldn't do. Even at the speed of light with the scales of distance involved, this would take time!

OOC Lionheart must first look with his Telescopic Vision then fly over to rocks, check them out and move on.

Whilst he moved he 'listened' with his Danger Sense. It was somewhat hit or miss. He knew there was a chance it might 'burn out' and take a whole bunch of other powers with it.

'You can use the missile attacks' said Saladin in his mind. The former villain/rogue rarely spoke but when he did it was to the point and direct. 'Fly back to where you were then wait for another attack. Just don't get us killed.'

Lionheart did that, then 'listened' out for the missile...

OOC Danger Sense 9 + Roll 4+6 (The dice roller I used from Wizards is gone as of a day ago so I'm using the one that comes up on google) (19) vs

Won't post the pictures up every time, just showing what it looks like...

OV4 + 9+12 (25) FAILED



Lionheart had an uneasy feeling. He floated in the void of space, zipping about here, there, looking around. The stealth missile hadn't shown up to any of his senses especially the one that mattered - Danger Sense. Did that mean the attacks had stopped or...?

OOC How is Lionheart playing this? Using all on Superspeed to avoid any attack or all on Force Field to stop any attack that hits him or a split (of the 15 points his Power Reserve has, maybe 8 on S/Speed and 7 on FF)? There's no right answer but the decision might be critical depending on the rolls!

Admin wrote:LIONHEART

Lionheart had an uneasy feeling. He floated in the void of space, zipping about here, there, looking around. The stealth missile hadn't shown up to any of his senses especially the one that mattered - Danger Sense. Did that mean the attacks had stopped or...?

OOC How is Lionheart playing this? Using all on Superspeed to avoid any attack or all on Force Field to stop any attack that hits him or a split (of the 15 points his Power Reserve has, maybe 8 on S/Speed and 7 on FF)? There's no right answer but the decision might be critical depending on the rolls!

OOC: Oh no an untested dice roller, these always used to go against Frostbite, I unfailingly got bad rolls. Not sure why, what you've been using since worked better but sorry its not right now!!! Anyway, I think go with my force field, as speed might mean I zip away but still get in the blast radius since I am trying to detect what is going on here and use the missiles to help me, being closer to them and hopefully leveraging them in some way to help makes sense - at least I think it does.

Sj

MISS VICTORY

OOC Shower Room/Toilets. Smart thinking. Regardless of security there's no way they'd be camera'd up.

The groggy young superhero blinked, coming around and glancing about and nodded at Miss Victory's words. "I'll take my team mates." he muttered through puffy lips.

"Did you... those... those guys? Who helped? I mean, did you take them out on your own? Wow!" he spluttered, wiping blood from a trickle coming from his nose.

Miss Victory dragged him to his feet, told him to pick two up and picked two out herself. One was coated from top to toe in what looked like black crystal, some of them looking quite sharp (but not enough to cut through her super tough dense skin). The other she scooped up was a young woman who was dressed in a dark blue skin tight body suit. She groaned as Miss Victory took her around the waist but a moment later Miss Victory whisked down the corridor and out of sight!

=========

Atomic Champion looked about.

"Get this lot in cells." he growled. "Control. This is Champion." he said into a wrist communicator as he stood amidst the unconscious bodies of superheroes in the corridor. He'd been alerted of some thing going on and sure enough...

He turned to look through the energy field doorway of the cell holding the four super powerful villains he'd entrusted to round up the heroes in this part of the Ultra's HQ.

Shaking his head he deactivated the door on the outside and it hummed off. "Get that lot out of the cell." he said to orange suited bad guys all around him. They were nervous around the former superhero. It wasn't a long time ago when he'd been rounding them up, pounding on them. Now he'd switched sides and was directing the forces trying to secure the Ultrahumans HQ.

He sucked in a deep breath, despite that he didn't really need to breathe for a week or more. Miss Victory. Or the other one, the Limey. Lionhead. Heart. Lionheart.

"Goddamn speedsters." he muttered under his breath as he scooped up a groaning superhero and backhanded him across the face. "I HATE speedsters."

Talking into the communicator again he barked "Keep watching the monitors. Let me know the instant you see that *****!" He was agile and fast enough to fly through the corridors to get anywhere in Ultra's HQ in moments but he'd not been fast enough to help the villains against Miss Victory. She'd taken them all out. Brute could flatten a mountain for pete's sake! He shook his head. It was Sinistress who surprised him most. Everyone was vulnerable to magic. She could flatten anyone with a decent, heck, average shot. Even he, Atomic Champion, knew to take her out first and remove the magic threat.

Yet she'd done it. "DAMMIT!" he roared, causing several of the orange suited former prisoners to shrink back as he strode past. "FIND HER!" he roared into the communicator and tossed limp superhero forms roughly into cells. "AND GET THOSE FOUR BACK ON THEIR FEET!" he shouted.

==========

The woman in dark blue groaned.

With her brunette hair pulled into a pony tail, half face mask and what looked like kevlar body armour she looked like she could handle herself - up to a point. She eased herself up, looking around. "Showers?"

Miss Victory stood near the doorway, peering into the corridor with it open a crack.

"What's happening? Who are you? What can I do to help?" asked the woman.

The Dark Crystal man was stumbling to his feet. "I'm Black Diamond. Who are you? Did you... did you save us? There were four... monsters. They came at us. I thought I was invulnerable until this guy, he was called... Brutus I think. I've never been hit so hard."

"I guess if he wanted me dead I'd be dead, but I expected to be a prisoner... Midnight Belle?" he said to the heroine. She nodded and then looked to Miss Victory. "We have you to thank." she said. "It might be a temporary thing though unless we can ... I don't know. Stop this mess."

LIONHEART

In the depth of space Lionheart looked about. He was moving slow enough to be spotted by...

OOC Danger Sense 9 + roll 2D12 → 14 ( 0 (5 +11) )(25) vs
OV4 + 2D12 = 8 +1 (13) Success +5
EV9 + 5 (EV14) vs RV4=10 RAPs success.

Got another dice roller. Bit clunky when I copy/paste the results but it works.

Lionheart turned. There.

A missile, incoming and faster than before.

No problem. Still not fast enough so long as he switched his powers about. He took off in the direction of a cluster of spinning rocks in the asteroid field. He took off, sensing the thing change direction and blast off after him. It WAS faster but limited by a need to change direction which Lionheart found much, much easier.

He used his telescopic vision and strained it to it's limits to see another prospective rock...

OOC Switching points to Int (8) and Will (7)
Go For Broke +4/-6 Int 18 + 2d12 = 10 +9 =19 (37) vs
OV15 + 2d12 = 5 +11=16 +4 (35) Success +2
EV14 + 2 (EV16) vs RV15 - 6 GFB (RV9)=7 RAPs

1) A rock not quite as massive but longer and wider, thinner if you like, might be useful
2-3) Though it still needs to be a huge size to cast the shadow on the Ultra's HQ which means doing some searching to find the right one
4+) And you've found it. If this missile is powerful enough to break the rock he had in mind in half then it would be easier to move AND do the job. Lionheart just had to survive the blast but make sure the missile didn't miss the rock!

Lionheart switched to his speed sensing the missile was hot on his tail now! He sped up and swooped around several other rocks, slowing his pace slightly. The missile weaved round one... and another... then swooped up and over another. All the time it was invisible to ordinary sight and he was thankful for his Danger Sense!

The missile closed in...

OOC Last chance! This thing is closing in on Lionheart. You can choose to swerve aside and fly off at the very last moment or stand close in front of your target rock and hope you can take the hit! There's no real clue as to which is the best bet but if these missiles are designed to split the asteroids (rather than defend what are effectively a near unlimited field of rocks) they may pack quite a punch!!!

"The name's Miss Victory, a recent addition to the Ultrahumans," she says quietly to the two heroes.  "What I need to know right now is what kinds of powers you have and can you move quickly?  Speedsters would be great because ...."
She quickly brings them up to speed as to what is happening since they entered the base and what her plan is and why they need to delay the villains instead of trying to go toe to toe with them until Lionheart returns.
"...So that's what's happening and what I want us to continue to do. Either of you have any suggestions on how to continue to make the villains' lives miserable until Lionheart returns? Without him or the biggest hitters, we have no chance against Atomic Champion, so sting and run is our only option for now."

Admin wrote:have any suggestions or ideas how else we can slow them down and make their lives miserable until Lionheart returns and can take down Atomic Champion?"

Admin wrote:MISS VICTORY

OOC Shower Room/Toilets. Smart thinking. Regardless of security there's no way they'd be camera'd up.

The groggy young superhero blinked, coming around and glancing about and nodded at Miss Victory's words. "I'll take my team mates." he muttered through puffy lips.

"Did you... those... those guys? Who helped? I mean, did you take them out on your own? Wow!" he spluttered, wiping blood from a trickle coming from his nose.

Miss Victory dragged him to his feet, told him to pick two up and picked two out herself. One was coated from top to toe in what looked like black crystal, some of them looking quite sharp (but not enough to cut through her super tough dense skin). The other she scooped up was a young woman who was dressed in a dark blue skin tight body suit. She groaned as Miss Victory took her around the waist but a moment later Miss Victory whisked down the corridor and out of sight!

=========

Atomic Champion looked about.

"Get this lot in cells." he growled. "Control. This is Champion." he said into a wrist communicator as he stood amidst the unconscious bodies of superheroes in the corridor. He'd been alerted of some thing going on and sure enough...

He turned to look through the energy field doorway of the cell holding the four super powerful villains he'd entrusted to round up the heroes in this part of the Ultra's HQ.

Shaking his head he deactivated the door on the outside and it hummed off. "Get that lot out of the cell." he said to orange suited bad guys all around him. They were nervous around the former superhero. It wasn't a long time ago when he'd been rounding them up, pounding on them. Now he'd switched sides and was directing the forces trying to secure the Ultrahumans HQ.

He sucked in a deep breath, despite that he didn't really need to breathe for a week or more. Miss Victory. Or the other one, the Limey. Lionhead. Heart. Lionheart.

"Goddamn speedsters." he muttered under his breath as he scooped up a groaning superhero and backhanded him across the face. "I HATE speedsters."

Talking into the communicator again he barked "Keep watching the monitors. Let me know the instant you see that *****!" He was agile and fast enough to fly through the corridors to get anywhere in Ultra's HQ in moments but he'd not been fast enough to help the villains against Miss Victory. She'd taken them all out. Brute could flatten a mountain for pete's sake! He shook his head. It was Sinistress who surprised him most. Everyone was vulnerable to magic. She could flatten anyone with a decent, heck, average shot. Even he, Atomic Champion, knew to take her out first and remove the magic threat.

Yet she'd done it. "DAMMIT!" he roared, causing several of the orange suited former prisoners to shrink back as he strode past. "FIND HER!" he roared into the communicator and tossed limp superhero forms roughly into cells. "AND GET THOSE FOUR BACK ON THEIR FEET!" he shouted.

==========

The woman in dark blue groaned.

With her brunette hair pulled into a pony tail, half face mask and what looked like kevlar body armour she looked like she could handle herself - up to a point. She eased herself up, looking around. "Showers?"

Miss Victory stood near the doorway, peering into the corridor with it open a crack.

"What's happening? Who are you? What can I do to help?" asked the woman.

The Dark Crystal man was stumbling to his feet. "I'm Black Diamond. Who are you? Did you... did you save us? There were four... monsters. They came at us. I thought I was invulnerable until this guy, he was called... Brutus I think. I've never been hit so hard."

"I guess if he wanted me dead I'd be dead, but I expected to be a prisoner... Midnight Belle?" he said to the heroine. She nodded and then looked to Miss Victory. "We have you to thank." she said. "It might be a temporary thing though unless we can ... I don't know. Stop this mess."

Admin wrote:LIONHEART

The missile closed in...

OOC Last chance! This thing is closing in on Lionheart. You can choose to swerve aside and fly off at the very last moment or stand close in front of your target rock and hope you can take the hit! There's no real clue as to which is the best bet but if these missiles are designed to split the asteroids (rather than defend what are effectively a near unlimited field of rocks) they may pack quite a punch!!!

[b]OOC: OK so go as close to the target as I can, point's all into speed to dodge the missile then swap into forcefield and seek to move as fast at that will let me at the last possible moment to escape the effect of the missile.

Sj

MISS VICTORY

"You must be new" said Black Diamond. "I'm a ... uh, fan of the Ultrahumans and I haven't seen you before. That said if you can beat those ***holes on your own there's no argument from me about who you are lady!"

"I can generate a kind of crystal coating, hence the name. It doesn't last long but is bulletproof and if I concentrate I can coat myself with it to make myself denser. I can also shoot it but... it gets kind of dangerous that way. Had a few near misses cause these things are razor sharp. I'm trying out for a team called the Teen Titans. Have you heard of them? There's an old guy that used to run it called Nightwing who's doing the tryouts and he's a real ball buster. Some say he claimed to know the Batman, but I say that's BS. I mean, not the ones who all go by the name Batman in various cities but the first one, y'know, from the Justice League."

"Anyway I answered the call and got here with everyone else. I thought I knew everyone on the scene but ... man it was crazy! So many! We piled into this place and no one could stop us, right? We were gonna kick ass! Next thing I'm on my back looking up at the ceiling and my head is ringing. This guy got knocked into me and flattened me even with my Black Diamond coating. Whoever punched him must be... " he shook his head. "Anchor Man went down fighting too. I heard... " he winced "I heard some of his bones break."

Midnight Belle shook her head "Rookies." she growled. "I'm Midnight Belle. Not at my best during daylight have to admit. I store lunar energy up and it seeps away. Drains faster the more I boost my strength, speed and durability. Luckily I had switched my energy to regeneration so I could wake up after being zapped. Some woman with magic powers. Sorry, not a speedster but my reactions are good enough to go toe to toe with most mid level bad guys assuming I'm amped up by the moon."

Miss Victory cursed inwardly. These two wouldn't be much help against the bad guys prowling around this place and not at all against Atomic Champion. Game, and brave enough, but in a heavy hitting battle bringing a pea shooter to bear against a howitzer wasn't going to cut it...

LIONHEART

Listening to his danger sense screaming Lionheart knew he'd have to cut things close! Problem was this bomb wouldn't have to strike him directly, rather it would catch him in the explosion which he'd have to try and avoid!

OOC NORMALLY I'd say it's better not to be hit but this thing is going to hit you (blast radius) therefore I would suggest you flick to Force Field and ride it out as best you can. As I say, far better to (usually) try and avoid being hit.

Sorry, should have been clearer with that in my last post as it's a rules crunch thing. think my head was somewhat muddled last week (or/and week before) it's been gruelling.

Bomb (effective AV given Lionhearts distance) 27 APs + roll 2d12 = 9 +10=19 (46) vs
OV14 + 5D Acrobatics +roll 2d12= 6 +11 +10 +8 +8 +8 +1=16 DOUBLE plus roll 2d12 = 8 +5=29 (43) Success +2
EV27 +2 (EV29) vs RV37 (!)=No damage!

Despite being caught in what would be a megaton level nuclear blast Lionheart let the energy wash over him, weaving and swooping about as it roared around him for what seemed an age but was in reality a heartbeat!

His forcefield rippled but barely stirred and he knew that despite their mountain busting power the missiles would have to be a direct hit and then some to affect him at his most resistant.

He waited for the energy to disperse around him and looked... the missile had struck 'his' asteroid perfectly, where his amazing brain (and Saladin's help) had wanted it to! It now tumbled in a cloud of debris as half a dozen chunks and each was big enough to suit his needs!

This time he swooped up to one, switched to his strength and hefted... and the rock, despite crunching and compacting under his hands, moved!

OOC 29APs weight+Combined speed and that falls neatly into Lionhearts' 29APs max lift of around 12 million tons.

His flight struggled to change the things direction at first but once he got it moving and pointing to the distant dot of white in the darkness he knew to be Earth, the hero could switch from strength to Flight and steadily increase it to half of his maximum speed (OOC 28APs, 29APs is the speed of light and Lionhearts' maximum but he'd have a devil of a time trying to slow that down. Like, need a double and a nice follow up.)

With a glance back at the receding asteroid belt Lionheart wondered if he'd ever find out who or what was out here.

=========

<TRANSLATED>

"Did you see that?"

"Of course I did."

"The Planet, the third one in orbit around this small star. That is the beings location and destination."

"Forget it. It is marked for extermination. We're here for the minerals."

"What if the being comes back? Our scanners show it has almost immeasurable power! We could..."

"Forget it. It and everything else on that planet will be dead soon, and a lifeless husk of a world will be in it's wake. We have our priorities. These rocks from that latest blast..."

"Which failed to kill that Earthman!"

Ignoring the annoyance of being interrupted, the Alien continued "... the Rocks show high concentrations of rare metals. This trip may be a fruitful one. Send out the mining drones and adjust the light dilation field. Just because the Earthman couldn't see us doesn't mean there aren't others on that small rock that can't. We cannot risk detection - there's too much profit tied up into it."

=========

LIONHEART sped towards Earth.

he could push up to half his maximum speed then fly around the side of the rock to push in certain directions and make course corrections. His Danger sense suggested he was in the clear but it was quite a distance to cover now. Dare he risk pushing his speed to get the rock in place?

Admin wrote:LIONHEART


LIONHEART sped towards Earth.

he could push up to half his maximum speed then fly around the side of the rock to push in certain directions and make course corrections. His Danger sense suggested he was in the clear but it was quite a distance to cover now. Dare he risk pushing his speed to get the rock in place?

OOC: Don't like the sound of the earth being set for elimination, as if we aren't already facing Advent and now these mystical beings who've taken on Reflex and are looking for a way to hop, skip and jump to earth to suck her dry!

Lionheart sped up but not too much, the journey back would have to be slower to account for the deceleration he'd need to bring at the end, then he'd have to park his rock, in just the right spot in order to break off Atomic Champion's 'hold' over the Silver Sentinel, in order to get a chance of taking him down. For now, that probably meant it was going to be a much slower return journey than it had been getting out here. He hoped Miss Victory and the others could hold out long enough, this was a long shot in ever sense of the word.

Sj

Two other Black Diamonds.  One from AC Comics in the 80s, when Sybil Danning was trying to make a Black Diamond movie starring herself, and one from the Golden Age

Admin wrote:MISS VICTORY

"You must be new" said Black Diamond. "I'm a ... uh, fan of the Ultrahumans and I haven't seen you before. That said if you can beat those ***holes on your own there's no argument from me about who you are lady!"

"I can generate a kind of crystal coating, hence the name. It doesn't last long but is bulletproof and if I concentrate I can coat myself with it to make myself denser. I can also shoot it but... it gets kind of dangerous that way. Had a few near misses cause these things are razor sharp. I'm trying out for a team called the Teen Titans. Have you heard of them? There's an old guy that used to run it called Nightwing who's doing the tryouts and he's a real ball buster. Some say he claimed to know the Batman, but I say that's BS. I mean, not the ones who all go by the name Batman in various cities but the first one, y'know, from the Justice League."

"Anyway I answered the call and got here with everyone else. I thought I knew everyone on the scene but ... man it was crazy! So many! We piled into this place and no one could stop us, right? We were gonna kick ass! Next thing I'm on my back looking up at the ceiling and my head is ringing. This guy got knocked into me and flattened me even with my Black Diamond coating. Whoever punched him must be... " he shook his head. "Anchor Man went down fighting too. I heard... " he winced "I heard some of his bones break."

Midnight Belle shook her head "Rookies." she growled. "I'm Midnight Belle. Not at my best during daylight have to admit. I store lunar energy up and it seeps away. Drains faster the more I boost my strength, speed and durability. Luckily I had switched my energy to regeneration so I could wake up after being zapped. Some woman with magic powers. Sorry, not a speedster but my reactions are good enough to go toe to toe with most mid level bad guys assuming I'm amped up by the moon."

Miss Victory cursed inwardly. These two wouldn't be much help against the bad guys prowling around this place and not at all against Atomic Champion. Game, and brave enough, but in a heavy hitting battle bringing a pea shooter to bear against a howitzer wasn't going to cut it...

"Okay, we just need to buy time for the big guys to get here," Miss Victory says. "I have a fair chance against some of these big bad guys one on one but I can't take Atomic Champion. That would be like Spider-Man trying to take down Superman."

She shrugs.

"What I suggest you do is make a pest of yourselves while avoiding capture and avoid any fighting until the cavalry arrives. If you got any skills that would be useful like turning off the power, crashing computers, tying up communications or anything else you can think of, go do it. Heck, hit the armory if you can and grab some explosives and go blow stuff up. Hide, then go make problems and then hide again. Be aware that they have speedsters too so don't stay out in the open for very long. Think about all the vandalizing crooks you may have stopped in the past and do what they did."

"If you don't have any skills to be a pest with, do minor sabotage like mix Chlorine and Bleach in a bucket of water and send it spilling down a hallway or plug up toilets with too much paper or paper towels or cloths. Go put foil into the microwaves in the kitchens and turn them on high. Break light bulbs and cameras. Go pull fire alarm levers. Turn on the fire hoses and let them run free. Disguise yourselves as other villains and try to rile them up and fighting each other. Free anyone if you think you have a shot at it but remember, stick around for a minute or more and their speedsters will get their hands on you again and might not be as careful when pounding you into sand."

Using her Chemistry knowledge, Miss Victory could make some nasty tear gas and other basic nasty stuff that could be mixed together of stuff found around a home.

Admin wrote:MISS VICTORY

"You must be new" said Black Diamond. "I'm a ... uh, fan of the Ultrahumans and I haven't seen you before. That said if you can beat those ***holes on your own there's no argument from me about who you are lady!"

"I can generate a kind of crystal coating, hence the name. It doesn't last long but is bulletproof and if I concentrate I can coat myself with it to make myself denser. I can also shoot it but... it gets kind of dangerous that way. Had a few near misses cause these things are razor sharp. I'm trying out for a team called the Teen Titans. Have you heard of them? There's an old guy that used to run it called Nightwing who's doing the tryouts and he's a real ball buster. Some say he claimed to know the Batman, but I say that's BS. I mean, not the ones who all go by the name Batman in various cities but the first one, y'know, from the Justice League."

"Anyway I answered the call and got here with everyone else. I thought I knew everyone on the scene but ... man it was crazy! So many! We piled into this place and no one could stop us, right? We were gonna kick ass! Next thing I'm on my back looking up at the ceiling and my head is ringing. This guy got knocked into me and flattened me even with my Black Diamond coating. Whoever punched him must be... " he shook his head. "Anchor Man went down fighting too. I heard... " he winced "I heard some of his bones break."

Midnight Belle shook her head "Rookies." she growled. "I'm Midnight Belle. Not at my best during daylight have to admit. I store lunar energy up and it seeps away. Drains faster the more I boost my strength, speed and durability. Luckily I had switched my energy to regeneration so I could wake up after being zapped. Some woman with magic powers. Sorry, not a speedster but my reactions are good enough to go toe to toe with most mid level bad guys assuming I'm amped up by the moon."

Miss Victory cursed inwardly. These two wouldn't be much help against the bad guys prowling around this place and not at all against Atomic Champion. Game, and brave enough, but in a heavy hitting battle bringing a pea shooter to bear against a howitzer wasn't going to cut it...

ooc: You know I just recently re-watched the first couple of episodes of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and for some reason, was flashing on how and why Earth was destroyed in the TV series, and book and radio show.

Steeple_jackuk wrote:

Admin wrote:LIONHEART


LIONHEART sped towards Earth.

he could push up to half his maximum speed then fly around the side of the rock to push in certain directions and make course corrections. His Danger sense suggested he was in the clear but it was quite a distance to cover now. Dare he risk pushing his speed to get the rock in place?

OOC: Don't like the sound of the earth being set for elimination, as if we aren't already facing Advent and now these mystical beings who've taken on Reflex and are looking for a way to hop, skip and jump to earth to suck her dry!  

Lionheart sped up but not too much, the journey back would have to be slower to account for the deceleration he'd need to bring at the end, then he'd have to park his rock, in just the right spot in order to break off Atomic Champion's 'hold' over the Silver Sentinel, in order to get a chance of taking him down.  For now, that probably meant it was going to be a much slower return journey than it had been getting out here.  He hoped Miss Victory and the others could hold out long enough, this was a long shot in ever sense of the word.

Sj

 

OOC I was probably a bit too young fir the HHGttG first time round (1981, I'd have been 9 or 10 depending). Mind you that was the year (I think, maybe early the next but I was definitely living at Doncaster and moved to Harrogate in 1982. That's relevant because I bought the Moldvay book in Doncaster...) I wandered into a shop called 'stamp corner' and bought the red book that would provide the start to a lifelong hobby. Never actually got to play it that much. Sold it to a friend so they could play and I meant to buy another but there were no more copies in the shop so it was the first time I wrote a 'clone' - Dragonsword.

Anyway, quick trip down memory lane!

The other heroes listened to Miss Victory and nodded.

Midnight Belle set off without a word down the corridor and Black Diamond called out "Hey! Shouldn't we stick... together..." She was already gone!

Black Diamond frowned. "Guess the best bet is to split up and ... make a noise. Thanks for the rescue." he said to Miss Victory. He clunked off with crystal coated body and Miss Victory knew in her heart he was too soft for this game. He'd need to toughen up fast or end up in a cell - or worse - like the others.

==========

"Beeeep!"

BANG!

Miss Victory ducked out of the room as the fire sprinklers went off and sped down the corridor as smoke spewed into it. She'd spent minutes - a lifetime for someone who moved as fast as she did - flitting about and being a 'ghost in the machine'. This sprawling complex was enormous and over several levels. Because she moved so fast the cameras and sensors had a hard time tracking her so that by the time sections were sealed off and villains arrived to investigate she'd already gone - or punched through the doors which were of a weaker material than the energised alloy structure of probably the most durable structure on the planet!

Without being able to tell from looking outside (no windows) Miss Victory could only guess where Lionheart was and hope that her team mate hadn't run into problems. Thinking about it, how could it run smoothly? Flying into deep space and selecting an asteroid to drag back then cast a shadow over the Earth at a specific point to cast this place in shadow? Even then it would need to be timed perfectly - the earth rotation would mean that Atomic Champion would be cast in shadow for minutes only.

Lots to go wrong.

The heroine sped down the corridor again. One thing was for sure. This place would need dozens of new microwaves and household appliances to replace the ones she quickly and efficiently booby trapped!

=========

Minutes passed.

An age for Lionheart who couldn't help but think about what might be going on down there.

He glanced back at the fiery orb in the darkness, careful not to stare at the sun directly. Somewhere in there was Silver Sentinel. Unseen was a trail, a tether, a siphon of power from the worlds' most powerful superhero to what was now one of the worlds' most powerful villains! Atomic Champion had played people who trusted him, relied on him and expected him to uphold the public good, seek justice and live up to the responsibility of his power. Instead some kind of ... power lust... had seen him switch sides and now was on the verge of toppling the American way of life!

Finally with the Earth growing large in his telescopic vision so that he had to adjust it, Lionheart felt he was in place to attempt to cast the shadow.

First he needed to slow this thing down!

OOC A simple Flight (29) vs velocity (28) check...

roll 2d12 +AV 29 = 4 +8 + 29=41 vs
roll 2d12+OV 28 = 2 +5 + 28=35 Success +3
EV29 +3 (EV32) vs RV28=4 RAPs. Speed is slowed from 28 to 24. Should be easy now, really only checking for failure.

AV 29 + 2d12 = 29 + 8 +6=43 vs
OV 24 + 2d12 = 24 + 6 +9=39 Success +3
EV29 +3 (EV32) vs RV24=8 RAPs. Speed slowed from 24 to 16. Getting easier now.

AV 29 + 2d12 = 29 + 10 +9=48 vs
OV 16 + 2d12 = 16 + 7 +10=33 Success +5
EV29 +5 (EV34) vs RV16=18 RAPs. Success. The Asteroid stops.

With rock and dust debris pouring around him Lionheart floats back from the asteroid. He'd had to fly at FULL SPEED back into it to slow the huge mass down but it had worked.

Earth might suffer a glittering meteor shower but it was of a size that wouldn't cause harm he hoped.

Now the tricky part. He flew around, saw the angle of the sun, scanned with his telescopic vision for the Ultrahumans HQ and set his mind to work...

OOC Power Reserve to Int and Will with an 8/7 split.

Int 18 + 2d12 = 18 + 5 + 12=35 vs
OV 15 + 2d12 = 15 + 2 +7=24 Success +5
EV14 +5 (EV19) vs RV15=4 RAPs

Partial success.

Lionheart has a dilemma. He can rush this and achieve a tiny window (several rounds) where Atomic Champion is weakened or position it to achieve a window of minutes and take extra time that will expose Miss Victory and the remaining superheroes in the Ultrahumans HQ to danger as Atomic Champion starts to realise the danger!

Your call. You may want to chip in David M.

Apologies for the delay. Every day seems to be a 9 hour something shift and the days I haven't been working the other half has been off so expects the dutiful boyfriend to be in attendance! In addition her father is in hospital so things have been complicated. The old boy is 91 (!) but still sharp as a button and still as annoyingly stubborn as ever. At his age there's no chance of changing. Unfortunately that means having to run about for him on our days off. These things are sent to test us...

ooc: Since Lionheart can't contact us in the base, I assume, Miss Victory really wouldn't have any idea that the asteroid is in place and it was time to attack Atomic Champion in a short window of time. Better to give us the extra time and get down here and punch out Atomic Champion himself with her back-up.

DavidMcMahon wrote:ooc:  Since Lionheart can't contact us in the base, I assume, Miss Victory really wouldn't have any idea that the asteroid is in place and it was time to attack Atomic Champion in a short window of time.  Better to give us the extra time and get down here and punch out Atomic Champion himself with her back-up.  

OOC: Agreed, there is no point doing this in half measures, despite the time constraints in doing the job. I'd hate to get down there and have a bad run on the dice and find we are in an even worse situation because we failed in the time we had. So I think I am going to have to reposition, at least at that point I can get to the base and hopefully stop Atomic Champion with Miss V, before his tally of super baddies overwhelms us and he is depowered. It would also help, that if the flow from the sun is blocked Silver Sentinel could recover sufficiently to then stop the syphoning permanently. So we go with the patient and slow proper job rather than the rough and ready approach.

Sj

Vital minutes tick past...

LIONHEART (in space) and MISS VICTORY (in Ultrahumans HQ on Earth)

Lionheart pushed, adjusted, steered and adjusted again rock. He needed to get it just right. Though it was huge - the size of several football pitches in every direction it was tiny in the grand scheme of things and this scheme was as grand as any!

Using his telescopic vision to view from space he could see pretty well but for more detail he needed to zip closer to Earth, look from orbit then fly back to his distant rock in the blackness of space and adjust it some more! Even for (most probably) the worlds' fastest superhero (the Flash might disagree but in a race LH wins hands down. Then again writes come up with whatever Flash needs so Flash wins in the comics. Whatever.) it took time to make thousands of movements and adjustments.

Down there he could see the dot that was the sprawling mass of the Ultrahumans HQ, like the biggest shopping mall made out of the worlds most durable substance!

Somewhere in all of that he hoped Miss Victory and the army of superheroes were holding out...

=========

ATOMIC CHAMPION was ****ed off!

"If you want something done RIGHT you have to do it..." he grunted as he held a particularly powerful superhero at arms length then THWACK! sent him flying into an indestructible wall with a sick sounding CRACK!

He turned then nodded to the trail of bodies he'd left in his wake to the stunned villains in orange jump suits who stood uselessly about. Some of the villains were scorched, bruised or bloodied. The heroes had put up a stiff resistance in this section and even started to push the bad guys back, turning their attack into a rout and it had taken the intervention of Atomic Champion to halt and reverse it!

The dozen or so still standing super villains meekly started lifting or scraping up the heroes from the floor.

There were dozens here. Several groups had linked up to start pushing back against the villains and the former superhero had to admit he was proud of their efforts, not that he would say that out loud. He nudged one, an attractive girl in a purple suit that contrasted with her black skin. She didn't move but groaned.

"Don't kill them. Throw them in cells and sap their powers like the others." said Atomic Champion.

"Ummm. What about those?" asked one villain with a face like a Hippo.

Atomic Champion turned to where a red bloody smear, a dark scorched stain and a steaming puddle were at various places in the corridor (which looked like a war zone). "I gave them the chance to surrender and Forcewall was always an asshole. He won't be missed. Leave the mess. When this lot are clapped in power sapping irons we'll make them clean it up. I have bigger fish to fry." he said as he floated up and started to fly through the corridors searching for...

========

MISS VICTORY checked the brute in the orange jump suit at her feet.

Three others were lying about, the fourth group she'd taken down. They weren't in her league - few were - but the chances of delaying her enough that someone powerful or a mystic or mentalist coming along was real so she couldn't hang about.

She turned to the group of young supers she'd arrived on the scene to see being pummelled. Two were down, cradled by team mates. They just looked like kids really. Super powers were great against ordinary people but being stuck in a place like this with no way out? It was like being a mouse in a maze with a snake hunting you down. At some point the snake would come across you...

She sighed and dragged a couple of unconscious villains towards a cell, waving a hand at the door control then tossing them in. Two more went in another cell and the last - a brute who could change into acid - went in on his own. Miss V didn't mind the extra oomph she put into tossing his raggedy ass into the cell and activated the door before turning to the downed kids.

"We were doing what you said." muttered a tearful young girl in domino mask and bright red costume. "Booby trap things, set alarms off, keep moving. We were doing well then this lot came on us. Foxy is fast but..." she looked at the acid burned girl in her hands. "That man filled the corridor with acid mist!"

Miss Victory had come across the villain from behind as she zipped about. She'd tested her vita enhanced hand in the mist and found she was immune to its effects. After that it had been a one sided thrashing as she sorted the bad guys out.

OOC there's no point in rolling dice for teen titan/young justice/low to mid avengers level opponents regardless of what they can do (unless its mystical or mental and even then...) as you mop the floor with them.

Suddenly footsteps were heard and the petrified teens stood ready, hands and eyes glowing, mouths trembling and wondering what would hit them next!

Miss Victory stood, the picture of calm and waited.

An asian girl dressed as a samurai with what looked to be a broken/buzzing/shorting katana in her hand gasped, blowing hard.

"Oh thank goodness!" she heaved. "I just came from section 3J11... That way." she pointed the way she'd come from. "I ran into Silver Spook and he said that Carver, Joyride and a bunch of others just had to hightail it away from Atomic Champion! He's in the corridor and he's looking... for you!" she said to Miss Victory. Once said she turned to her broken Katana and tried to hold back tears as she ran her gloved hand over the broken weapon, ignoring the fact she was bleeding from a wound to her shoulder...

Admin wrote:Vital minutes tick past...

LIONHEART (in space) and MISS VICTORY (in Ultrahumans HQ on Earth)

Down there he could see the dot that was the sprawling mass of the Ultrahumans HQ, like the biggest shopping mall made out of the worlds most durable substance!

Somewhere in all of that he hoped Miss Victory and the army of superheroes were holding out...

OOC: OK Keep on making those adjustments, I've still got to get back into the HQ let alone help Miss V turn the tide on this bad boy ride and we've yet to face Nexus and his super bad crew. Oh well, one giant step at a time.

Sj

Suddenly footsteps were heard and the petrified teens stood ready, hands and eyes glowing, mouths trembling and wondering what would hit them next!

Miss Victory stood, the picture of calm and waited.

An asian girl dressed as a samurai with what looked to be a broken/buzzing/shorting katana in her hand gasped, blowing hard.

"Oh thank goodness!" she heaved. "I just came from section 3J11... That way." she pointed the way she'd come from. "I ran into Silver Spook and he said that Carver, Joyride and a bunch of others just had to hightail it away from Atomic Champion! He's in the corridor and he's looking... for you!" she said to Miss Victory. Once said she turned to her broken Katana and tried to hold back tears as she ran her gloved hand over the broken weapon, ignoring the fact she was bleeding from a wound to her shoulder...



"Grab who you can and move away from here and Atomic Champion. Hide somewhere if you can't fight right now and heal up, otherwise, continue to hit and run," Miss Victory says grabbing the two most injured and running the opposite direction from Atomic Champion. She is going to look for a cubby hole or closet or even an already searched empty quarters and try to hide the two she grabbed and then continue on avoiding Atomic Champion, quick punch or mental bolt to any weak villains and more sabotage.

LIONHEART

Glancing at the Earth and homing in on the Ultrahumans HQ the hero moved the asteroid steadily, changing course and setting it up in orbit to provide the blocking of the syphoned energy from Atomic Champion.

He wondered what would happen at night but Atomic Champion would probably just head into space to get a constant flow of power.

OOC Danger Sense 9 + 2d12+0 3,10+0 = 13 (22) vs
OV2 + 2d12+0 5,10+0 = 15 (17) Success +3
EV9 + 3 (EV12) vs RV2=10 RAPs

Lionheart detects danger and turns, scanning in the darkness around the Earth orbit. Suddenly Lionheart blinks and in his mind eye sees a man dressed in a form fitting costume. His dashing good looks contrast with a cruel sneer on his face and on his chest? The symbol 'Omega' from the Greek alphabet. His speed was... pretty much matching Lionhearts' own!

And he was heading straight for the asteroid. For Lionheart.

'Now HERE is an opponent worthy of our full power!' admitted Saladin inside Lionhearts' head!

OOC The incoming villain will be here in heartbeats. Lionheart still has some setting up of the asteroid to do...

MISS VICTORY

Taking the bloodied teenagers to a safe spot wasn't easy. At the speed he could move Atomic Champion could cover the ground in this place very efficiently. At some point there'd be nowhere to run or hide...

Having hidden the youngsters in a cubby hole/store cupboard Miss Victory sped off. She helped a small group of heroes who were being pounded on a villain with eight tentacles instead of arms and legs and was basically a human head on a giant octopus body! The villain was toying with the heroes who were outclassed by the mans speed and strength as he dangled entangled forms off the floor and pounded them against each other.

A blur of motion, blast of mental energy and a couple of satisfying punches against that squishy body had them freed and helped to their feet. Miss Victory figured the villain at her feet wouldn't be down long but she felt there wasn't much in the way of time left.

Indeed, it seemed time had run out...

"Thanks for your... oh no..." said a young hero as he wiped a smear of blood from his nose and looked past Miss Victorys' shoulder.

At the end of a corridor about fifty feet away was a tall woman - around 6' tall - in an orange jumpsuit with sleeves rolled up on the arms. Her long hair was tied back in a pony tail and she called out. "There's some here!"

"The blondie is mine though..." and she started sprinting towards Miss Victory... as a blur!

The wounded teens that Miss Victory had helped were in no shape for a fight having just been battered by someone who could flatten all of them at once!

OOC Initiative... this lady acts first but hangs back, waiting for Miss Victory to act ... a tactical decision or... mistake on her part? The wounded heroes aren't running but Miss Victory CAN hear thudding footsteps from another corridor in the direction the lady newcomer had come from. More bad guys!

Admin wrote:LIONHEART

And he was heading straight for the asteroid. For Lionheart.

'Now HERE is an opponent worthy of our full power!' admitted Saladin inside Lionhearts' head!

OOC The incoming villain will be here in heartbeats. Lionheart still has some setting up of the asteroid to do...

Lionheart didn't know how they'd got wind of him or even how this brash bully could locate him. BUt if they fought over the asteroid and it smashed to pieces or got knocked away all his careful adjustments might be for nought. So he had to take him down and fast.

Speeding towards him, Lionheart prepared to blast at him mentally before engaging physically.

OOC: OK all in for a Devastating mental blast attack and see if I can overwhelm his resources to knock him back. Then switch points back to speed and dex to avoid any incoming.

Sj

"Get out of here," Miss Victory snaps at the younger heroes, "don't try to help, just run and hide! I'll be running too in a few seconds!"

Miss Victory does that now that she knows how to do it, usual switch of energies to Dex then Mind Blast/Dex then back to Body/Dex and attempts to blast the oncoming villainess and then protecting herself.

Admin wrote:MISS VICTORY

Taking the bloodied teenagers to a safe spot wasn't easy. At the speed he could move Atomic Champion could cover the ground in this place very efficiently. At some point there'd be nowhere to run or hide...

Having hidden the youngsters in a cubby hole/store cupboard Miss Victory sped off. She helped a small group of heroes who were being pounded on a villain with eight tentacles instead of arms and legs and was basically a human head on a giant octopus body! The villain was toying with the heroes who were outclassed by the mans speed and strength as he dangled entangled forms off the floor and pounded them against each other.

A blur of motion, blast of mental energy and a couple of satisfying punches against that squishy body had them freed and helped to their feet. Miss Victory figured the villain at her feet wouldn't be down long but she felt there wasn't much in the way of time left.

Indeed, it seemed time had run out...

"Thanks for your... oh no..." said a young hero as he wiped a smear of blood from his nose and looked past Miss Victorys' shoulder.

At the end of a corridor about fifty feet away was a tall woman - around 6' tall - in an orange jumpsuit with sleeves rolled up on the arms. Her long hair was tied back in a pony tail and she called out. "There's some here!"

"The blondie is mine though..." and she started sprinting towards Miss Victory... as a blur!

The wounded teens that Miss Victory had helped were in no shape for a fight having just been battered by someone who could flatten all of them at once!

OOC Initiative... this lady acts first but hangs back, waiting for Miss Victory to act ... a tactical decision or... mistake on her part? The wounded heroes aren't running but Miss Victory CAN hear thudding footsteps from another corridor in the direction the lady newcomer had come from. More bad guys!