The Vanguard! Issue #5 - Portal to the past!

The Vanguard
Dark Kitten, Frostbite, Lionheart, Putty replicants

Frostbite coolly (*cough*) laid down a glassy sheet of ice across the floor... an oncoming robot flipped up head over heels on the ice to crash to the ground! Several rivets and bolts rolled clear, and the deadly automaton struggled to settle itself on the slippery surface. The others stopped, took aim, and fired!

Dark Kitten and Lionheart skipped aside from the bullets with ease, whilst Frostbite through up a shield of hard ice that shattered into thousands of ice cubes as the bullets hammered into it!

Lionheart saw his chance, ran atop the chest of the robot that had fallen, paused for a moment to pull a face at the other two, then leapt off with speed and agility onto the building side, gripping as best he could with handholds and scurrying up the wall as well as any monkey! Every now and then he would pause to look for a handhold, and was painfully aware of how vulnerable he was... He winced at gunfire, expecting to be splattered across the wall, but he'd moved so fast the Robots were acting with a time lag - they pounded round after round into the hide of the fallen 'bot. Though it was well armoured, still it looked somewhat worse for wear. If a robot could look at first embarrassed, then angry at having been shot at by comrades, this one would be doing just that! Lionheart glanced about. he knew his time had ron out but.. there! A handhold! If only he could... he heard the whir of a gun behind and below him as it swivelled on a shoulder...

... except Dark Kitten 'drew the heat' away from him! Speeding up faster than the eye could follow to a robot, she pulled back razor sharp talons and slashed as she ran past a robot... there was a screeching metal sound, and she pulled up in front of the third 'bot as the second found it's legs completely sheared through! The robot, though not destroyed, slid apart into two distinct - upper and lower, from the knees down - halves! It crashed to the floor and levered itself up onto it's elbows to stare stupidly at it's severed legs just standing there....

The third 'bot tried a different tack. Kylie expected to have to dodge, but something told her instead to hold her breath... Lionheart watched from above as green gas pumped from a cannister on the robots arm, enveloping Kitten and drifting towards Frostbite! Alarmed, Frostbite threw up his hands and concentrated... tiny ice crystals formed in the air in a sphere around him as the air temperature plummeted and froze the natural water vapour that existed in the atmosphere! As soon as the green gas touched on the cold sphere, it froze into hard crystals and clattered onto the floor...

Kitten ignored the gas - though a glance with any manner of vastly expanded superhuman senses revealed it was absolutely deadly! Not to her! She sped up, slashed with one clawed hand, embedded the other in a metallic leg and pivoted up to deliver a two foot kick to the robots chest! The automaton fell backwards, Dark Kitten bounding off into a crouch before the thing crashed onto it's back.

Up on the roof Lionheart twisted with superhuman strength one of the guns on the building corner to point at another. A spray of bullets destroyed first one, then a twist, and the other corner gun! He stood with a thumbs up to Frostbite who walked to a downed bot and placed a hand on the robots head. It froze, and a Replicant Putty duly obliged by forming a hammer like fist and bringing it down on the head of the robot! It shattered like glass, and another blow smashed the vital innards. The other replicants had wrapped around another fallen robot like elastic bands, using their great (though not massive, like their 'fathers') strength to tie the thing up in knots... so that Dark Kitten simply had to shred once... twice with her razor sharp diamond hard talons... and the robots head fell away in sections!

The last robot, without legs, levered itself up, then struggled to turn. A replicant Putty became a form of blindfold, blocking the things vision, whilst Frostbite fired a stream of intense cold to ice up the air around its arms and freeze them to the floor. Motors whirred as the robot struggled to free itself, whilst the shoulder mounted gatling gun sprayed bullets out in every direction! Once more, being faster than the others, Dark Kitten sped up, and with an incredible application of strength simply wrenched the robots head from its shoulders, tossing it aside like so much scrap as the body continued to twitch and struggle!

And then, save for the whirring of an impotent Gatling gun, deprived of ammunition and therefore threat, the courtyard was quiet. Well, compared to the melee that was going on outside the walls! Brightly coloured tracer beams flashed across the sky and the group could see the oncoming army heading towards their team mates! They didn't have long!

OOC The robots and other 1st line defences are down. I take it the Vanguardians are taking a building each with a Putty replicant in tow? By the way, if anyone wants to ditch the 'narrative' method and switch to the normal frame by frame system let me know - I don't want anyone thinking they are passengers without a say in how things go. I'm simply interpreting (or at least giving my best guess...) what your character would, or at least might do given their powers and past experiences. Obviously the more detail you can give me - using powers to parry, dodging when required, attacking with energy blast, field manipulation, mental attack, claws etc - the more I got to work with when dealing with a fight of such numbers. For instance, that fight against the robots would have normally taken days of real time, even with Dark Kitten simply because of the time lag in between replies....

Narrative is fine for me. Replicant Puttys are weak on attack without superstrength so they are basically going to act as shields when needed, distractions when shields aren't needed to give the others time to set up for their attacks..

The other two are just going to sneak in in disguise, if possible and free as many prisoners as possible.

The Vanguard
Dark Putty, Stormwarden, Nowhere Man, Adjutant



Stormwarden bellowed his song to the heavens, calling down all the fury he could muster! The Nazis flew at him, a trio of murderous Metahumans that wanted to tear the rebels' hearts from their bodies!



OOC From left to right - a being composed of energy, a hulking brute and a man who seemed to be vibrating

The Vibrating man shattered concrete where he stood, spiderwebbing cracks out in every direction. He knelt, touching the floor... a huge crack formed across the street opening to several feet in places, revealing the sewers below! The man grinned, and leapt into the air, flying towards Stormwarden!

The big man ditched his Rocket pack and turned to scoop up a car, grabbing it as if it were made of Balsa! He turned to Stormwarden and bellowed something in German, then pulled his arms back to throw!

Meanwhile the other, the flaring, brightly coloured being, started to concentrate his power, becoming harder and harder to see! It was like staring at the sun! The three were about to attack Stormwarden!

OOC Have run out of time for updates tonight Updates in the morning for the rest of you guys in this group and I'll try to do you first if you reply in the meantime. Yours is a more involved fight because you aren't facing off just against robots and badly drawn tentacles and the like.

Dark Kitten

"Let's get moving," Kylie suggested. Although she would insist that it was to help the other group avoid having to fight that huge army, she couldn't rule out that there was a darker urge looking for another fight -- and not against something mechanical, but something from which she could draw blood. "Be careful. There's bound to be more defenses set up in the buildings too." Concern for her teammates had to be the Kylie personality speaking this time.

Expecting an ambush on the other side of the door, Kylie went in hard and fast to make herself a difficult target and to neutralize any threats waiting for her as quickly as possible.

OOC: If things are locked down, Kitten will attempt to break down any barriers in her way as she enters her designated building to start the search.

DARK PUTTY

Dark Putty is going to attempt to deflect the rocket using TK. He had hoped showing what really happened would have slowed down or halted a number of soldiers but that doesn't seem to be the case.

So he will go into attack mode after deflecting the rocket, trying to take down the most powerful of the Nazis in hope the least powerful will then run away.

Frostbite and Lionheart

"Let's get moving," Kylie suggested.

"Lead the way." Frostbite said grimly as he returned to his intangible state, a quick glance at the battle outside told him all he needed to know about the time they had left.

Lionheart speed up, no match for Kylie, he still sought to move with her to offer support, though he felt she hardly needed it.

OOC:

I'm still good with the narrative touch, in a battle like this I prefer it as it keeps the sense of scale and urgency much better. I can't believe the scale of this thing, its like crisis on infinite earths.

Anyway as regards to actions well you're playing Frostbite (freezing gas, I'd never have thought of that one) better in some ways mechanically than me. So I'm fine with that. He has always been the runt (power wise) of the litter ;-). So I'm good with the way things are going. Lionheart will do his thing, keeping speed, reactions and agility to the fore trying to dodge where Frostbite will parry or rely on his intangibility.

Sj

The Vanguard
Dark Putty, Stormwarden, Nowhere Man, Adjutant

Dark Putty stared at the errant rocket spiralling its way towards a stunned crowd. They saw death approaching.

Dark Putty didn't quite see it that way! Forming a mental picture of the effect he wanted, an invisible hand reaching out with his will, he strained and pushed all of his mental energy into it. He almost jolted physically when the inner voice aided him with a 'shove'.

He visualised the hand closing around the rocket and clamp down, hard. The effect was immediate, and somewhat akin to using a bazooka to crack a walnut!

The rocket burst in half, the front, warhead portion spinning free and clattering to the ground with a clang, rolling and tumbling to a halt at the feet of one of the policemen, who stared dumbfounded at it! It was inert, the mechanisms needed to trigger the thing having been destroyed by Puttys telekinetic equivalent of superhuman strength!

Dark Putty reeled. The effort to push the power to limits Lionheart could only dream of took it's toll - either that or the extra help he'd had, but in either case, it caused a headache, and he staggered. A headache able to cause Putty pain would flatten an entire company of normal soldiers!

More rockets thudded against his huge form, and now metahumans swooped down, blasting off with heat, cold, cosmic, lightning and other forms of energy at the giant. It was impossible to miss for them, but despite their powers loading up on him, Putty only grunted with discomfort, rather than being blasted into next week! The Rocket Troopers swooped in, dropping grenades and blasting hand lasers. A braver rocket jock swooped in, unclipped his harness and fell to the floor. His rocket pack spiralled into Putty, and the grenades attached to it all went off, an explosion that sent out a shock wave that flattened the nearest Rocket Troopers, sending them dazed to the ground!

Nowhere Man looked over, concern on his face under the mask. Where the large explosion had gone off showed as a charred sooty patch on Puttys' form, but there was little else to indicate Putty had been badly harmed by it. Truly, it was ants against a Lion, but Nowhere Man knew from experience that enough stings would bring the Vanguardian down. He turned to the prison and hissed "Hurry up guys" before turning to the two white clad Nazis, a man and a woman, and pulling Excalibur forward to use as a weapon! Before the Nazis could close in on his intangible form, they shuddered and tumbled. Of course! "The Lunarium X! Putty! Remember the Lunarium X! Can you duplicate it?" With that Nowhere Man tossed a sling bullet of the stuff through the air for Putty to catch. There was an instant effect. The two Nazis recovered their power immediately. "oops?" remarked the Dark Clad Vanguardian, before he scythed out with the sword. Though intangible, he made the blade tangible enough to affect the male Nazi. SLICE!

The Mans hand came off at the wrist! Nowhere Man winced, then shouted "Get out of here! That wound needs seeing to! We'll do anything we can to stop you!"

Rather than stop the Nazi, the man instead looked up and grinned! The hand flew from the ground and sped at Nowhere Man's throat whilst another started to grow from the stump as Nowhere Mans eyes widened!

Woosh! The hand passed harmlessly through Nowhere Man and once 20m away, crumbled into dust! The woman closed her eyes... and the aura of a Dragon formed around her, standing 10m high in the air! It breathed down, transparent flames on Nowhere Man! Despite his intangible form, Nowhere Man screamed and leaped aside as psionic flames seared his flesh! Laying prone he looked at the woman in the middle of the Psionic Dragon, and the man who he could cut, but not kill! The Nazis really were rolling out the big guns!

Adjutant was a big gun of the Vanguardians own, however, and he spun on the spot like a top, sending Nazis spinning off him in every direction! Battered, bloodied, beaten, his eyes glowed red and he shouted "ENOUGH!"

OOC Arggh need to finish this post in a bit. Be back soon...

The Vanguard
Dark Putty, Stormwarden, Nowhere Man, Adjutant

Dark Putty looked across the battlefield. The Rocket troopers were concentrating their efforts on the Vanguardians before securing the prison, or so it seemed. He saw everything.

He saw Rocket Troopers swoop in at Stormwarden, who summoned a powerful gust of wind to blow them off course, into each other, away, or into the ground. He saw conventional soldiers set up tripod mounted machine guns at strategic points, heard the rumble of tanks and armoured vehicles through the street towards where the Vanguardians were, heard the whupp of choppers cutting across the sky, the incoming whine of jets, the Fwoosh! as flying metahumans criss-crossed the battle site. He saw Adjutant, buried under a heap of Nazis that bludgeoned and battered their former role model. He saw Nowhere Man scythe a limb from a Nazi in what had obviously been an attempt at restraint, only for the Nazi to grow another hand and send the severed limb screaming through Nowhere Mans ghostlike form!

Lightning crashed down across the battlefield, which spread now into other streets as more Nazi forces converged on the scene. Air raid sirens rung across the capital and military police took station on street corners, fingers on triggers and eager to put down insurrection. He heard those in the crowd, hundreds, even a few thousand now, crouching behind cover and watching the battle unfold. They'd seen the heroism and honour of the Vanguardians, and were more than convinced now that the authorities were in the wrong! All the lies they'd been fed, the orders to face away from the truth, the sick feeling inside as neighbours were culled from the streets for being slightly different, or not conforming! One man scooped up a fallen rock and tossed it at a Nazi soldier. The man in turn whipped round and fired indiscriminately into the crowd! Suddenly the police ran for cover and pulled weapons, shooting at the soldier and gunning him down, whilst the soldiers' colleagues in turn set up weapons and fired at the crowd without care! people screamed, ran for cover, some bleeding from wounds, others would never rise!

Putty saw all this, and more. A paramedic rushing into the malestrom of panic, dragging a wounded woman away towards safety, only to be struck by a bullet himself, and left to lie in the gutter, dying! A fireman dragging a hose to douse a fire, only to be run over from behind by an armoured car!

Putty caught half a dozen more rockets before they impacted on the crowd. Two more got through, and screams were silenced by loud thumps as the rockets exploded, sending civilians scattering through the air! He turned, and saw Nowhere Man downed, a transparent dragon stood over him, and in the midst of it, a Nazi metahuman woman raising her hands, the dragon mirroring her movements!

Rockpounder was his nickname, and it'd stuck, despite the big man's scowls. He'd revelled in his power and strength, but scowled when he saw others, like Bludgeon and Majestic, and that weakling Adjutant, get all the plaudits! His thoughts passed through his head as he rammed fist after fist into Adjutants' face, the former Nazi not seeming to fight back against the onslaught that saw nigh on a dozen metahumans pounding on him! For them all it was payback, payback for Adjutant not abusing his powers or position, for not taking his proper place as the head of the Third Reich - after all, who could stop him? The man was a waste, a weakling, a failure! And now, soon to be crushed and smashed under Rockpounders - and others - fists! Suddenly something stirred as he rammed another rock hard punch down on Adjutants' head. Then the world tumbled about him as a bellow rang out! "ENOUGH!"

Rockpounder grinned as he righted himself, 5 metres away. He saw Adjutant - no longer the gleaming white pure paragon, but a battered, beaten bloodied symbol of failure, of defeat, of despair! Adjutant was... Rockpounder backed up a step. Adjutant was looking at him. And his eyes were glowing...

FWASH!

White hot pain and fury flashed over the Nazis form, then a sound inside his head like thunder as Adjutant rammed a fist of his own into Rockpounders' gut. As he sailed through the air, oblivious to all save his own thoughts, Rockpounder finally realised the truth. Adjutant WAS different to him, and the others. He reined in his power because he was so different, so powerful. Rockpounder finally realised this, just before he clattered against and through a solid stone wall and crashed into a heap hundreds of metres away, body broken, bloodied, but clinging onto life.

Putty saw Adjutant lay about him. The man's strength was impressive, possibly a rival for Puttys own strength, or not far off it. Nazis staggered as the man, naked to the waist with his costume in tatters, laid about him, every fist pounding a mini earthquake on a Nazis body!

Putty saw all that in the blink of an eye, his power and abilities boosted beyond that of anything he thought possible.

And he knew, too, that with a thought, a release of his will, he could finish the Nazi threat in this city, probably across the country!

Probably... the world?

'Innocents are dying! Free me, brother, and I will exact retribution on these evil men you call Nazis!' said the inner voice...

DARK PUTTY

Putty saw all that in the blink of an eye, his power and abilities boosted beyond that of anything he thought possible.

And he knew, too, that with a thought, a release of his will, he could finish the Nazi threat in this city, probably across the country!

Probably... the world?

'Innocents are dying! Free me, brother, and I will exact retribution on these evil men you call Nazis!' said the inner voice....

"Oh, Hell no," Putty snarled. "I'm not letting the genie out of the bottle anytime soon!" Instead he looked at the Lunarian X he still carried and the one tossed to him. "Can I make more of this," he wondered outloud. Then he realizes he can transmute objects and materials into other materials, so that is what he does! He transmutes the ground under his feet into Lunarian X. He then takes a giant step towards Nowhere Man and with every step, he transmutes the ground under his feet into Lunarian X.

actions: Use transmutation powers to temporarily change the ground he is standing/stepping on into Lunarian X - which should make it easier than making it permanent. Step, change; step. change; step;change - moving always towards those who might be affected by the material. Keeping away from Adjutant as much as possible.

The Vanguard
Dark Kitten, Frostbite, Lionheart, Putty replicants

Frostbite changed to his intangible state, a somewhat safer way to operate given the defences they'd encountered so far. Lionheart climbed, hopped and somersaulted from the roof and side of the building to land in a crouch, closely followed by a replicant Putty. The three assigned to protect the Vanguard seemed eager to stick to their charges like glue, whilst the other two roamed about, one with weapon in hand given it by Nowhere Man. From the sounds of explosions and laser fire outside the ground, it certainly seemed like things were hotting up. The Vanguardians knew they might not have long.

Dark Kitten stepped up to the entrance gates. Barred, and extremely sturdy, she didn't waste more than a second or two taking hold of them and tearing them from the walls, leaving Lionheart and Frostbite to glance at each other. Then she strode in. Intruder alarms rang out, and a tracking laser dropped from the ceiling. A jump, a slash of the claws, and it was scrapped, though Dark Kitten was somewhat distracted by the wail of the sirens - her super senses were too super, and the wail of the alarms rather painful at this proximity. It was Lionheart who reacted first, shouting "DOWN!" The team had come into a large, efficient looking cold reception area. All business. A screen behind a desk - dead - and barred corridors leading into the prison. Striding down one of the corridors, a pair of robots with lasers mounted where fists would be!

Dark Kitten spun to the side, ducking one, two, three blasts, though Frostbite wasn't as fast, and despite being intangible felt a searing heat in his arm. Luckily it was a flesh wound, but the Replicant guarding him took it personally!

The Putty flowed like water across the walls and ceiling down the corridor to land from above on the lead robot, completely muffling its sensors! That was about it as far as good things went as the robot immediately pumped thousands of volts through its hardened exo skeleton and with a shriek, the Putty leapt off... into a hail of laser fire!

The other Puttys sprung to its aid, and Frostbite watched them go, then turned to his team mates. "The computer may still be accessible. I don't know who I'm looking for though..."

Dark Kitten knew. "My father..." she gasped, and moved to the computer, looking at the dead screen. Lionheart watched as the Puttys danced about the robots, slamming punches in, flowing into small gaps and expanding, dodging and taking hits. The robots were kept busy though.

Lionheart pondered for a moment. "The spooky guy in the dark clothes suggested I might be of help. I have... knowledge of the past locked into my brain. My superiors put it there. Now, the past as they knew it has gone, but the knowledge is still there. I can't... can't reveal anything that might alter the timeline - crazy I know, but it's hardwired into me. I can look up this White Warlock guy though. Maybe if he was in the original timeline before it changed, he might be the same guy in this one. Worth a shot?"

Frostbite glanced down the corridor and nodded. "Hold on." he placed a hand on the computers base unit, and his chestplate glowed. Suddenly the screen flickered into life as the words 'Fenster zwölf' flickered up. "Windows twelve? Looks like Bill Gates conquered the world here too." mentioned Frostbite. It was lost on Lionheart and Kitten as they gave blank looks in return.

Lionheart held a fancy pair of binoculars to his eyes, there was a flash, and he pulled them away. "Look for... Jonathan LeBlanc." said Lionheart, blinking. He swayed slightly. "Bit disorientating, that." he muttered.

In a flash the complex system inside of Frostbite got to work. <<The Enemy has locked down all of their systems. The encryption codes are formidable. A password is required. Based on a number of possibilities, alternate reality probabilities, and the way the code is constructed, with a number of familiar themes and unusual discrepancies that shouldn't work, but do, very effectively, I believe the password will be... Wandafar. It is a back door into the system which owes its origin and base code to the original programmer, Dr. Pierre Wilgommen.>>

Frostbite blinked, then looked at the request (in german) for the 'backdoor password'. Typing in 'Wandafar' he elicited a response from Lionheart. "Who's that?"

Before Frostbites time as a hero, the diminutive member of the Executive had been a useful and resourceful superhero in his own right, and later had helped/served with Frostbites own team. He wondered where the soap opera loving genius might be in this time frame, but was distracted when the screen popped up with a menu into all the systems and subsystems. A quick 'tacca tacca' on the keyboard saw the robots in the corridor silenced, and they drooped where they stood. Not before time - they were extremely tough opponents!

Frostbite did some more typing. <<The system is self aware and has detected your presence as an intruder. Hurry!>> Frostbite navigated to the sections he needed, then typed in the names...

LeBlanc, Jonathan - Scheduled for termination.

It gave a cell block location and the Vanguardians noted it, knowing their job would be easier now. Kitten leaned in, typed in the name of her father.

She reeled, slightly stunned. Tears misted her eyes, and she sagged against a wall.

Frostbite and Lionheart glanced at each other, unsure of what to say.

Terminated.

The word flashed on the screen, repeatedly. Then the screen went dark. And the robots in the corridor hummed into life, rising as if from the dead and eliciting squeaks from the the Putties!

The thrum of booted feet rang through the building as guards were alerted to the intruders presence and Lionheart turned to the others. "That cell is on the other side of the prison, out of here in a specialist block, death row..."

Kitten barely heard him. Another voice in her head was talking 'Kill them all. They killed your father! Say the word, and unleash your fury, OUR fury on them! Give yourself over to me, and I will show you the TRUE meaning of power!' hissed the voice within...

Frostbite heard the booted feet getting closer. This place would be swarming with guards any moment. The Putties were tied up - or trying to tie up - the robots in the corridor, and the battle outside was intensifying as evidenced by the solid steel reinforced concrete walls shaking! He glanced at Lionheart saw the mans cold sweat run down his face, at Kitten with the stricken look on hers. The Putties, struggling against the robots. Could they do this? A massive THWUMP! of an explosion outside and the dust coming from the ceiling suggested things were, very much, about to come to a head...

=========

Approaching London at Mach 3...

(Translated from German) "This is Three Tango Romeo Echo four six closing in on target location. I need verification on the last order, control, repeat, verification needed." The jet roared at high altitude, its huge mass dwarfing the conventional sized fighter escorts alongside it.

The pilot listened, glanced at the co-pilot, then spoke on the comms. "Message understood. Deployment of Chemical payload for population suppression has been authorised. Proceeding to target. Eta... imminent."

The Co-Pilot had a white look of shock on his face. "I have friends in London. Family." he said quietly. The Pilot nodded. "I am sorry Hans. Orders are orders."

The Co-pilot, Hans, stuttered "My friends! My family! We can't do this! They are living breathing beings! This is wrong!"

The silenced PHUT! of the gun in the pilots hand caused Hans to fall aside, a neat hole in his forehead. "No Hans, they are not living or breathing."

He reached for a cover on the firing switch. Flicked it up, hovered a thumb on the red button underneath. "Not any more." said the pilot.

Below the bomber, a door opened, and a massive missile, around the size of a bus, sprouted from the underside of the huge bomber. It dropped from the mooring clamps and fired, racing forwards to it's intended target, a jet of flame following it through the clouds...

London.

Dark Kitten

Kylie had grown up in a world where friends and family could be taken away by the Nazi and never be seen again, but nothing could have prepared her for the emotional devastation hitting so close to home. Learning the truth about the fate of her father removed any lingering hopes that she would ever see him again.

She desperately hoped that this was all part of the nightmare playing itself out as she lay in the hospital in that comatose state. In less than one day, they had taken away her father, killed that nice guy that she met named Robbie Raymond, and destroyed all of those innocent lives in the subway and collapsing office buildings. Everywhere she went brought death and destruction. Please let me wake up! Please let this be just a dream! she pleaded in contrast to the other voice in her head demanding vengeance.

With everything seeming to be taken away from her, it was tempting to give in to that darker voice and let it rage against everything that remained in this place. If she had come here alone, Kylie may have done so. However, the others with her still had a rescue mission to complete and she couldn't let that Jonathan LeBlanc get accidentally caught up in her wrath.

He's supposed to restore them back to a world where the Nazis didn't win. How nice that must have been, Kylie thought, feeling jealous that this wasn't true in her reality.

OOC: Since I'm posting earlier than the other players, I'm assuming that somebody will console and convince Kylie to continue the mission despite her personal loss. She will agree to do so and help in any way that she can, but she will be very brutal (possibly fatal?) when it comes to living targets who attempt to stop her. She's not suicidal, but the dark forces combined with her own negative feelings have greatly reduced whatever compassion she had left.

Frostbite and Lionheart

Frostbite didn't need to look, to know that Kylie must be struggling with a whole host of problems as she registered the shocking news of her fathers death. He moved toward her, of the whole group, he alone was the one who knew her best. And yet how long had that been, half an hour or so! "Kylie," He spoke gently but forcefully, only too aware of the dark forces seeking to exploit the shock and anger she must feel.

"Kylie, I'm sorry, but your father was here for the same reason we are. To fight for a better world, to stop this before it can ever start. I can't promise what you're present will be in that other world, but I do know it won't be this. Make the pain count for something, don't waste it but fight on."

Frostbite was aware that his words might sound cold, a living embodiment of his own frame and form, but he had to press her into action. He knew things were tight as it was and they still had so much to do.

Meanwhile Lionheart looked at the consoles, he knew that even his computer skills wouldn't be able to crack the codes and defences of this system. But he did take the opportunity to memories the layout including possible defensive points that he might try and lead the team as best he could through the mire of defences that stood between them and their goal.

Then with that he turned to help his allies, fight the remaining robots, seeking to distract and press the attack where possible to stop the 'putties' taking all the heat.

OOC:
I indeed was going to speak to Kylie when I read Paul's post, but you beat me there TDM7 ;-). Anyway once we have Kylie back in the frame we've got to get to our goal asap. Lionheart will do what he can to provide distraction till Kylie is ready.


Sj

OOC Not seen anything from Kendal for a few days, will try my best to run Stormwarden as he would, in the meantime will PM him as I know this site gets screwy with updates.

The Vanguard
Dark Putty, Stormwarden, Nowhere Man, Adjutant

Stormwarden whips up a cyclone around himself, wind tearing at those near him and lifting them up. Unfortunately, they were of the lower end of power scale and the three Nazis continued to come at him!

The vibrating man held his hands out, then thrust them at Stormwarden...

ZANNNGGGGGGG!!!!!

Stormwarden ground his teeth - or tried to. It felt like the flesh and muscle was shaking itself free from his bones! His costume more or less disintegrated off him save for a few comics code authority areas. He crashed to the floor like a slab of meat making a wet thump on the concrete. The world spun, and Stormwarden scrabbled to right himself, his fingers and toes burning with the superhuman equivalent of 'white finger' (OOC and that bloody hurts, let me tell you. Hours on the motorway on the bike will do that...) Gathering his thoughts, he reached for the hammer which had fallen from the remains of his belt, only to be hauled off his feet by the big Nazi.

BANG!

The world spun again, Stormwarden sagging back as the Nazi pulled his forehead back from where he'd butted the Vanguardian. BANG! Another headbutt followed, then a back handed slap sent Stormwarden to the floor, skidding on the concrete, hair drenched and all over the place. "This one..." snarled the big Nazi "Is nothing!"

Blood flowed from a cut eyebrow into Stormwardens eyes. He couldn't feel his fingers or toes, and wished he couldn't feel his smashed nose. Spitting blood he rose unsteadily to his knees, only for the Nazi to slam him down with a boot to the back!

"Hey! Leave some for us!" said the bright flaring Nazi who strode forwards. He knelt next to Stormwarden. "Look at me... LOOK AT ME!" he hissed, and tipped Stormwardens head up. FWASH!!!!

Stormwarden fell back, a gasp escaping his lips. The world had gone dark.

Black.

He was blind.

All about the sounds of the battle seemed magnified, explosions going off, shouts and cries, of pain, triumph, rage, despair. The distant crowds screams as the Nazis opened fire on them, the reply of the outgunned police who sought to defend them.

Overhead the sky cracked and boiled.

"What is that?" said the Big Nazi. "That cloud? I have never seen its like! And the smell!"

The smell of ozone filled the air suddenly, and the air crackled with static. A deep rumbling thunder built directly overhead as an obsidian cloud boiled up blacker than any those present had ever seen!

Stormwarden fumbled for the floor, jolted again as the big Nazi grabbed his hair than slammed him face first into the floor. And again.

Stormwarden sagged onto his back. He was finished. This was it.

'NO!' screamed a powerful voice inside. 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!'

Stormwarden, refusing to be beaten, though smashed and bloodied, rolled onto his back, and somehow summoned the strength to raise a hand to the heavens.

The Lord of the Storm called.

And the storm answered...



A huge, blinding white flash of lightning struck down on Stormwardens' location. Those around him were instantly lit up like christmas trees! The three Nazis and half a dozen jetpack equipped Nazi troopers shrieked as their bodies were subjected to thousands of pure white painful volts. Only the fact that each had a measure of superhuman endurance saved their worthless lives, but all were rendered hospitalised and unconscious. Stormwarden raised his head, blackened and sooty. He was recovering his sight, but could barely move.

OOC The Nazis around Stormwarden are down. Stormwarden is Stunned. He is on very low HTK, virtually hospitalised.

Frostbite

Even within the control room the ripe and crack of thunder made the building shake. Frostbite looked up momentarily distracted, "Stormwarden..." He said concern for his fellow Vanguardian written all over his face. But he had these robots and Kylie to take care of first.

OOC: Couldn't let that go without saying something ;-). But man are the stakes high or what? Its not like this is D&D 1st Ed and you could say, pass me another character sheet, but boy talk about being on the equivalent of 1 hp!

Sj

The Vanguard
Dark Kitten, Frostbite, Lionheart, Putty replicants

OOC Arguably the 'outside' team has the hardest job - and it's going to get much harder still...

Dark Kitten was a remorseless engine of destruction. As Frostbite and Lionheart teamed up with the Putties to defeat one robot, Dark Kitten simply sprinted up to the other, slashed its head off with a clawed hand, and backswept with both hands to cut the thing into sections! She pulled Lionheart aside as a robots' hand swept down to smash him, cutting off his "Hey! I could've..." to smash a fist into the things chest, grope around and pull out a large motor, wires trailing, forcibly from the automaton!

If a robot could have screamed, this one would have shattered every window!

In the silence left as Kitten strode from the room, Lionheart looked up at Frostbite. They shared worried looks, then followed, along with the battered Putties who'd done their part.

Across the courtyard, towards the high security detention centre, the Vanguardians marched purposefully. More tentacles sprouted from the floor - Lionheart dodged and weaved, pulling their attacks from the others, Frostbite attacked with concentrated beams of cold energy, and Dark Kitten simply strode up to them. One dived at her. She batted it away with contempt that looped her arms around all three, a thought within granting her immunity to electrical energy! With a wrench she tore the tentacles from the floor and tossed them to the side.

Nazi robots, about the size of humans but zipping about on a metal sphere instead of legs, sped from the shadows of the Prison courtyard, dozens of them! Lionheart delivered karate kicks as they sped in, sending them spinning away to crash. Frostbite, Intangible, acted as bait for them to smash head into one another. The Putties acted as a team, one stretching between two more and acting as a clothesline, lifted at the right time to behead the speeding robots as they zoomed about.

Dark Kitten let one speed into her. It exploded, smashing into millions of fragments, as she marched on, relentless.

Then, from the sky the two Excelsior metahumans Ultimus and Bludgeon flew down. "You shall not pass!" declared Ultimus. "Whomever it is you seek to free shall remain incarcerated, soon to be joined by yourselves! Your friends outside will not last much longer, and even now... the ultimate solution is being deployed!" he said with an evil grin.

"Before we beat you into submission, I must know. Who ARE you? You come from nowhere, you spark insurrection and rebellion, you recruit an alien from a race we thought we had destroyed, and you are attacking this prison. Why?" he asked, pointing at the group of you.

As he spoke, gray clad figures dropped from the sky in twos and threes. Unlike many of the other Nazis, they apparently flew under their own power.

<<Alert!>> cried the computer in Frostbites' head <<Dangerous levels of radiation detected!>>



"We call them our Nuclear Shock troop. Cyborgs, made for only one purpose. The destruction of an enemies populace! Even their mere presence will poison the water supply nearby, wilt plants and expose those foolish enough to stand near to them to lethal levels of radiation!" laughed Ultimus. "We are immune. Are you?"

Frostbite and Lionheart

"We call them our Nuclear Shock troop. Cyborgs, made for only one purpose. The destruction of an enemies populace! Even their mere presence will poison the water supply nearby, wilt plants and expose those foolish enough to stand near to them to lethal levels of radiation!" laughed Ultimus. "We are immune. Are you?"

Frostbite wondered what they could stand, having come so far to face so much. Ignoring the brutes before him he simple turned to Kylie and said, "They want to incarcerate us like your Father, why don't you show them the error of their ways."

Frostbite turned to the others, "We must press on, but we can't leave anyone behind. We fight together."

Lionheart nodded, relieved, that he didn't have to make another difficult choice between going and staying.

OOC:

Man talk about upping the dilema, I can see this is going to be bad, even if in the end we do come through. Look at Stormwarden - ouch!

Lionheart will distract the Cyborgs, drawing their fire, Frostbite will help him, trying to draw them away from the Bludgeon and Ultimus. Meanwhile I will ask Computer for what they might mean about the "Ultimate Solution" Might be.

Sj

THREE REPLICANT PUTTYS

The replicant puttys pull their Lunarian X arrowheads given to them by the Dark Putty and charge, hoping the Lunarian X will harm them.


ooc: What's happening with the other two Puttys who were sneaking in and trying to free large groups of prisoners?

OOC Am running a little behind today, nothing new there. Also, please, continue to remind me about bits I've missed - with something on this scale it's easy for me to miss details. As for ramping up the difficulty level, well, aside from two of your number, you are facing a vast superhuman army. In many cases they are as, or more powerful than you. Only the two Dark Vanguardians and Adjutant stand above the Nazis, and they may yet succumb to sheer numbers!

Putty Replicants - the Jail Block

OOC The White Warlock is held in the maximum security centre across the other side of the Prison complex. I assume these two Puttys were left behind in the building you just left to free as many prisoners as possible...

<Master says free prisoners...>

<Prisoners this way four>

<Lead the way two>

The Puttys slithered up the wall, across the ceiling and down the wall again alarms continued to blare in the prison block. Booted feet rang out and Nazi soldiers ran past, ignoring the walls to either side, and the small pair of beady black button eyes that watched them go.

<Many enemies four>

<Yes two. We must beware>

The Puttys moved along another corridor and up stairs. Looking about, they came to a decision. <This way two> <Lead on four>

Flowing to the door, the first Putty tested it. Locked. Some kind of electronic system, no keyhole... The other Putty kept watch. <Combine> <Yes>

The Puttys flowed together, becoming an amalgam of flowing ooze. Collectively they were stronger, though slower and nowhere near as agile. Adhering to the door, they pulled...

THWANG!

The lock broke on its hinges, doubtless another alarm showed up on a panel somewhere to add to the others ringing out across the prison and the grounds. A long corridor, blank and featureless save for plain heavily armoured doors on either side running the length of the corridor and space out only by a few metres each. <Cruel.> <Yes. Space even we find oppressive. We will free.> <yes, free>

They tried the same trick again. No good. The doors were too heavy, the locks too strong. <think brother.> <yes. Think. Carbon life forms. Breathe?> <Yes. Breathe. Good think.> The pair flowed like ooze up to a ventilation shaft, then to a grill. <Keep looking.> Thought one as they looked inside a deserted office. ON the same level they continued to follow ventilation shafts, oozing like liquid, slithering like snakes through the darkness, probing and feeling their way about, and drawn to the light. Finally (OOC this is all taking a while, and they are 'out' of the immediate fight outside...) they came across a room full of Nazi officers. Many were covered in blood from their ears. Some were moving about, others still dazed. Glass was all over the floor and many computer screens were cracked. Lights shone out, and the Puttys considered. <Controls for doors.> <Where?> <One of these know.> <Agreed.>

The officers were non combatants, used to others doing their fighting. When the strange creatures burst from the vent many simply feinted. A few brave ones pulled sidearms but their shots had little effect on the creatures! Hammer like blows flattened officers and soon all but one remained, the others prone and out for hours. "Talk. Open doors. Where?" rasped a Replicant Putty.

=========

Another kind of alarm blared, and along the corridors on this level of the prison, doors slid open, revealing the empty corridor for the prisoners! Many couldn't get up - they were too injured from numerous beatings. Others feared it was a trick by the guards, but soon the prisoners, clad in play grey smocks, stumbled into the light. The stink was awful, but the prisoners didn't mind it. Another smell overpowered their senses.

The scent of freedom!

A strange creature formed up on the floor at the end of the corridor. "We free you." it rasped. "Follow!" The former prisoners looked at each other, then back at the creature "We fight Nazis! Listen! Alarm! Jail break! Hurry! They come!"

=========

The Prisoners were ushered down the steps to the basement, and hopefully from there, freedom. It was all taking too long though. <Too slow brother. Many boots come. These prisoners not escape.> <No. They escape. Others... not so lucky, but these... yes. Go. Make sure they get into sewers under building. I slow many boots down.> <You are brave brother. I not forget you.> <You will forget me. After Master calls us back, we become whole, not remember, not live. Life tastes good though eh?> <Yes. Good. Goodbye brother>

=========

The Replicant Putty looked up at the metal stairs. Here in the entrance to the sanitation tunnels below the building, the prisoners had been making their escape. Having to climb through miles of encrusted muck and filth would be worth it to be free again!

The Putty watched them go, then turned to seal a metal hatch behind them, and guard the hatch. It would not live long, but it would see the prisoners free.

=========

Dark Putty winced. Four had died blocking the entrance to a stairwell. His form had been riddled with bullets, blasted with lasers, then tazed and set alight by flamethrower. Two had simply been torched into oblivion by multiple flamethrowers. He'd not put up a fight, simply held a wide hand over the end of a metal pipe as the Nazis killed him.

Even in the midst of the fight, he turned.

THWUMP!

The gas explosion in the basement of the prison block wouldn't do extensive damage to the building, but it would kill twenty Nazi guards who'd been attacking a strange creature long thought to have been wiped out by the Nazis...

OOC Down to three replicants... and a whole pile, fifty or more prisoners, have escaped...

Dark Kitten

"Go rescue your friend," the young woman whispered back to Frosbite. "I don't think you have much time left. I can take care of these two."

"Do you really need all that help to deal with me?" Kylie asked, boldly stepping forward to confront them. "Don't you remember... I was the one that was out of my league?" she said, speaking directly to Bludgeon this time -- the one that had laughed at her after her first attempt to stop him, before she discovered the dark powers hidden within. "What could I possibly do to harm someone like you?"

She intended to show him what she could now do.

OOC: She's going to repeat that same attack to his leg like she first did to see if there is any difference in the result. Kylie will savor the moment if the outcome is favorable and give him a chance to fear what she might do to him. After that, she'll pounce and basically tear into him for a while unless Ultimus poses too much of a threat to the safety of the others. She's going all out and holding nothing back, knowing that this could be their last stand.

The Vanguard
Dark Putty, Stormwarden, Nowhere Man, Adjutant

Dark Putty strode forwards, intending to turn every footstep into one laden with doom for the metahumans around him! All the while incoming laser fire criss-cross the battle site, grenades went off near him, and superhumans pounded his form with whatever power came to hand! The giant oozing figure strode across the battlefield, ignoring those who would seek to cut him down to size and concentrating hard on making the impossible...possible!

OOC This is real coal to diamonds stuff, because Lunarium is found on the moon, and the Lunarium X is a rare isotope of a rare element. Not that I'd ever dream of making things hard for you of course... (There was another way of doing things with the Lunarium but we'll see what the dice say for this one. 4 attempts, 18% chance of each. Slim, I know, but better than no chance...) 98, 35, 12, 75. 1 out of 4 is actually better than average, so not too bad...

Putty was disappointed to see his footsteps behind had left no more trace than the odd globule of ooze that came trickling back to the host form. Then he felt something different. His foot seemed to stick, and he peeled it up to reveal... Lunarium X

A ten foot by six foot area glowed red with the stuff, and suddenly the tide of battle changed again!

Holding Nowhere Man up by Psionic means, the metahuman in charge of the 'Psionic Dragon' suddenly staggered and sagged, her effect disappearing and Nowhere Man dropping to the floor! Instantly he regained his intangibility and staggered to his feet, seeing the battered Stormwarden. Careful to move near the Lunarium footprint he watched as flying metahumans soared overhead, lost their powers and crashed. Some were merely dazed, others would never rise again. The effect seemed to transmit far further than any of the weapons the Vanguard had used, and even those in the air high above felt effects, their powers weakening and forcing them back!

As rain lashed the battleground, whipped up by wind (OOC Which is why I'm typing this at 04.48 in the morning having been unable to sleep. 60mph winds will do that...) and occasional lightning flashes, there seemed to be a standoff. Adjutant hammered another Nazi into submission then flew over to hover near Putty. He seemed unaffected by the Lunairum. Looking up, the former Nazi said "Good work! It looks like we have a man down, and the rest of us are looking decidedly second hand. I think they will come at us from a... distance?"

The tattered looking hero stared into the clouds of the far distance. "Oh no." he gasped. "I don't believe it! The Titan X missile!"

At Putty's quizzical look, Adjutant explained. "A weapon designed to use against America! Bearing in mind that they have as many supers as the Nazis, it was their 'Ultimate solution' a rocket laden with the most advanced technology, most of it derived from P'utinarians and others! It emits a psionic dampening field... Whilst it cannot turn off a metahumans powers it CAN interfere with the part of the brain that controls them! Any metahuman getting near the thing will have their brain scrambled, like that which the Nazis used on me! It was never to be used...a deterrent. The payload..." he looked about desperately "Usually a chemical strike designed to destroy the population of a city and leave the infrastructure intact! I can't believe they are launching it against their own people!"

Putty squinted, his vision extending through various ranges... Sure enough, there was a missile heading this way! And it was BIG! Bigger than it had a right to be! Those madmen! Putty looked about. The battle continued, with the Nazis taking up distant positions and firing at him! By now the attacks were starting to take their toll on him, and occasionally an energy blast or explosion would hurt. That said, he was by far the healthiest of the group, and continued to draw the most fire. Bullets simply disappeared into his oozing mass, regardless of their calibre. Even tanks boomed from a distant and the shells screamed in - virtually impossible to miss with his size - and made no impact on his incredible form!

'You have called on the Dark power for a while now' rasped the inner voice. 'I wonder... when is it MY turn?' And with that there seemed to be a 'push' at Puttys psyche! For a moment it felt like he were not in control of himself! He glanced at his hands, then around him. If he lost control again...

The missile continued to close in on the prison...

Frostbite and Lionheart

"Go rescue your friend," the young woman whispered back to Frostbite. "I don't think you have much time left. I can take care of these two."

Frostbite knew she was right, they could do little save get in the way of these two without their dark powers and the mission was still at a critical stage. "Don't get carried away, remember the bigger picture..." He said gravely aware of the potent mix her power and the temptation to exact revenge would be, "...thank you!" he finished before indicating to the others that they were to make their way to their goal.

Lionheart saw and heard the exchange, but it worried him they were splitting up again, not least of all because without they wouldn't know how well she'd do on her own, but also without her could they continue much further. He dashed his doubts aside, he too realised his limits in this battle and knew he'd be of more use trying to free the White Warlock and reluctantly speed off, leading the way.

OOC: Ok continue on our course as before Frostbite remains intangible, Lionheart at high alert speeding and scouting with the remaining forces we have left to try and find the way to the White Warlock.


Oh just realised that without the Putty replicants (have we one left) and Kylie I'm on my own playing two characters!

Sj

The Vanguard
Dark Kitten, Frostbite, Lionheart, Putty replicants

OOC There were 5 Putty Replicants. Three are with you as chaperones, two have ventured into the jail block you just came out of, and will not return, having made the ultimate heroic sacrifice.

Lionheart sped off, sprinting away and around the large jail block they'd come out of, whilst Frostbite kept pace, Ghostlike. All three Putty Replicants followed dutifully.

Ultimus watched them go. "Kill them." he said simply. A squad of half a dozen of the nuclear 'Shock Troops' soared upwards without a sound and followed hot on the heels of the heroes. He turned to face Dark Kitten. "You have.. changed girl. Aside from the theatrical makeup, there is something about you, an aura I cannot define. I wonder... have you somehow gained more power since our last encounter only minutes ago? Tell me... how does it feel to betray the land of your birth, your heritage, your country, your empire, and aid these rebels? Is there nothing that could be offered to make you change your mind?"

Bludgeon turned, hissing "What? Do not negotiate with the girl! We will kill her!" He snarled, anger evident in his every move. The other remaining Nuclear Shock Troops spread out in a circle around Dark Kitten. From here she could feel the deadly radiation they emitted. A glance at a prone guard in the courtyard revealed the mans hair was turning white, the skin liver spotted and dark circles under his eyes. He cried out, whilst still unconscious, and would never wake, the victim of radiation poisoning!

Ultimus shrugged. "Be my guest." he offered, waving a hand forward. The bully that was Bludgeon didn't need telling twice!

"RAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGH!!!" he snarled, raising both hands above his head to bring down on Kitten! She moved to the side, watching as they crashed down, seemingly in slow motion, then slashed out with her claws. Before the Nazis could make a move she appeared to shift into something she would later refer to as Hyper Speed. To the watching Nazi, Ultimus, she appeared to disappear for a moment, then reappear with her hands on her knees, as if exhausted! (OOC Dark Kitten IS exhausted, she'd down to 4 frames/round for a round or two as she recovers. However...)

As one, the Nuclear shock troops gasped, the unliving cyborgs suddenly splitting in half, slashed clean through the middle and into two sections. A bright glow of radiation shone out from either end, and it was clear they were more machine than living. It was also clear that the human portions were not truly alive, but were manipulated by the machine half via the pumping of liquids and control of the nervous system through an advanced Psionic interface!

Whatever it was they did, they were done.

The Shock troopers, all 12, were down.

Bludgeon staggered, raising shaking hands to his throat, eyes wide. Blood poured through his fingers and he gasped, trying to speak but finding his throat had been slashed! Stemming the tide of blood was all he could do, and he fell back, eyes goggling in fear! Never before had he encountered such might! Only Adjutant, but they had secured more Psionic emitters to stop him. Only... Bludgeon would not get chance to use them!

Ultimus watched as the giant staggered to sag by wall, holding onto his life blood and trying to stem his bleeding. His lack of a need to breathe had saved his life. Dark Kitten had somehow known that, but she stood, ready,tired, waiting for the Nazis next move. It wasn't long in coming!

"DIE!!!!" screamed Ultimus. His eyes glowed and Dark Kittens head seemed to want to explode from the inside! Such pain! The mental attack was powerful, her defences momentarily down after her exertion! She cried out, clutching her head, and dropped to a knee, suffering from immense pain as the Nazi continued the onslaught! Then he raised a hand and blasted energy at Kitten! She gasped in pain, rolled to the side and managed to avoid half of the damage. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

'You must give me control girl!' said the inner voice 'You have overexerted yourself! Only my powers can save us and your friends! The fate of the universe rests on your shoulders!' rasped the inner voice.

Still smouldering from the energy blast, Kitten looked up. Ultimus slowly approached. "I don't know how you are still alive girl, but I tell you this - you WILL die..." he hissed. He raised his arms to fire another blast...

=========

Frostbite and Lionheart sped through the Prison grounds, outdistancing their chaperones. They saw two other huge prison blocks, and another building, surrounded by its own wall and gates topped by razor wire and defensive guns! The building was smaller, plain and with few windows, all barred. This was the detention centre for death row, a place where inmates would stay but a day or two, then undergo final torture for information and reveal all they knew for a possible reprieve, or instant death if they didn't cooperate!

The White Warlock was in here.

The gates were closed, guards positioned. Most looked dazed, some had blood down their front from their ears. All ten or so had weapons trained on the approaching heroes.

Behind, the Nuclear Shock troops caught up with the Puttys! They blasted lethal bursts of radiation at the P'utinarian replicants. The Putties were not beaten yet though, and attacked with arrowheads of Lunarium X! As a Shock trooper swooped low, the Lunarium X in the hand of a stretched Putty slashed the thing across the chest! The Lunarium seemed to cut through the protective layer of polymer skin the cyborgs wore like a hot knife through Butter!

There was a crash and explosion as the Shock Trooper smashed into the floor. Unfortunately, two of the three Puttys were injured in the blast, but the remaining one dragged them clear. They slowly started to rise to their feet.

OOC Frostbite is intangible, Lionheart is fast. Behind them, around 30m away, 5 Shock Troops are swooping around 3 Puttys, two of whom are injured. One shock troop is down. 10 conventional Nazi soldiers armed with laser weapons guard the gates to the detention centre, and the wall is 5m high, topped with razor wire. No obstacle for Frostbite, but Lionheart might think otherwise.

Dark Kitten is reduced to half frames, (Still four, mind) as she's used a special attack - her 'Hyper Speed' to wipe out a small army of Shock Troops AND a class 4 metahuman, no mean feat. She moved too fast for an eye to follow and delivered hundreds of blows to her targets in the blink of an eye. Deadly. Ultimus approaches her and reckons he can destroy her with another blast. The inner voice is imploring her to hand control of herself to it in order to save the Universe...

DARK PUTTY

'You have called on the Dark power for a while now' rasped the inner voice. 'I wonder... when is it MY turn?' And with that there seemed to be a 'push' at Puttys psyche! For a moment it felt like he were not in control of himself! He glanced at his hands, then around him. If he lost control again...

The missile continued to close in on the prison...

"Wonder if I can make myself immune to what's in that," Dark Putty muttered as he suddenly grew huge wings out of his back. He took off flying towards the huge missle, giving himself the ability to survive in the thin air and radiation of the upper atmosphere. His intention was to grab the missle and fly as high and as far away as he could with it.

Dark Kitten

"DIE!!!!" screamed Ultimus. His eyes glowed and Dark Kittens head seemed to want to explode from the inside! Such pain! The mental attack was powerful, her defences momentarily down after her exertion! She cried out, clutching her head, and dropped to a knee, suffering from immense pain as the Nazi continued the onslaught! Then he raised a hand and blasted energy at Kitten! She gasped in pain, rolled to the side and managed to avoid half of the damage. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

'You must give me control girl!' said the inner voice 'You have overexerted yourself! Only my powers can save us and your friends! The fate of the universe rests on your shoulders!' rasped the inner voice.

Still smouldering from the energy blast, Kitten looked up. Ultimus slowly approached. "I don't know how you are still alive girl, but I tell you this - you WILL die..." he hissed. He raised his arms to fire another blast...

"Maybe... but I'm taking you with me!" Kylie declared as she gasped for breath, defiant to the end.

She hoped that she had given enough time for Frostbite and Lionheart to get away and find their captive White Warlock. Believing that she would not survive the next attack from Ultimus, Kylie surrendered control to the inner voice with the slightest of hopes that it had something remaining that could turn the tide of this battle -- not necessarily for her sake, but for those heroes trying to prevent the Nazi domination from taking place in their worlds.

The Vanguard
Frostbite, Lionheart, Putty replicants

Seeing the creatures behind taking on the replicants, divided their forces, but Frostbite couldn't see the replicants casually discarded. Calling to Lionheart they looked back and then took action.

Frostbite using his intense control of the temperature to freeze the creatures inner workings to deny them access and control. Lionheart speed around drawing fire and where he could ripping out wires, circuitry or damaging any exposed part before retreating.

OOC:

So attempt to disable these things as best as possible, but with haste, we're looking to slow them down not do them in outright as we need to get on to the Warlock before all is lost.

Although with what TDM7 has just embarked upon it could be good night for everyone - if what happens to her happened to Putty. Oh boy!

Sj