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

Frostbite


OOC: Ok figuring this into the flow of the narrative, I know I've no frames left but I hate letting a post go by with no comment ;-).

IC:

Frostbite glanced at Nowhere Man somewhat confused before he got the gist of what he was saying. Was it possible that they could blast the wrist bands that seemed to be emitting the Psychic signal that was blocking Adjutant's effectiveness? And could he pursued a reluctant Putty and a completely unaware teenage girl she has more power at her disposal that she realised.

But looking at the buildings, Nowhere Man was right, this wasn't the place to have a fight. Already floating, Frostbite wondered if he could grab Kylie and Putty, before he might be stopped by the Nazi forces?

OOC: So when my turns ready, assuming no defensive moves needed on my part (see below) I will try and grab Putty and Kylie and get them to higher ground. Lionheart can grab a lift with Stormwarden and Nowhere Man can take care of himself.

If I need to take actions however I will have to auto parry, another hit like I got before and Frostbite will be sitting this out.

Sj

Stormwarden

Shaking from the hits he'd taken, Stormwarden took a deep breath as he looked at the remnants of Devastator. The plan had worked beyond anything he had anticipated. One monster down, but at what cost. The buildings were rocking around them, deep cracks lined the walls, running stories high.

The others were facing off against their new super foes, ones who could deal with Adjutant himself - and he couldn't, must not, rip through those boundaries that protected him against the time stream. He would have to rely on Putty and...who on earth was the girl?

But the storm was coming on, he could tell, now straight above him. Intended for Devastator he would call it down on whomever he now had to meet. He looked over at the others, noticing Frostbite and Nowhere men making some kind of gesture. He frowned and looked again at the nazi's. What was the thing with the wrists? He didn't know but he'd give it a go.

He shouted up at the flying pair. "Hit the fire alarms - in the buildings. Get them all out!"

He didn't know if it would do any good, he could only hope.

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ooc: 1 frame left and the map doesn't make any sense now at the end of this round

I've lost track of Kitten and Vulture at the mo (blasted pc giving yet more trouble) but Stormy is thinking of trying to grapple one of the wrist devices and crush it, or pull lightning down on the target (that would, of course be next round, as this would be a grapple attack, and the lightning use would have to follow that).

OOC If you're wanting to move Stormwarden to grapple next round with one of the superhumans, that's no problem. As for the map...



Hope that comes out ok.

Stormwarden

The big Vanguardian wafted dust and rubble away with his hands. It really was becoming desperate in the alleyway now! The pool of green glowing lava that had been devastator started to slow and harden now, especially as dust settled on it and sped the process up. Where he'd fallen against the building the stone had melted! Needless to say this hastened up the buildings eventual collapse!

Stormwarden looked about. Whoever the girl was, she was fast, and handled herself well, but the big Nazi had been unimpressed by her punches, even if they were skilfully landed! Still, that made two speedsters - if nothing else they could draw fire away as the Nazis wasted their time trying to hit them. Putty looked battered, but still ok - he was a tough cookie, though somewhat haunted by the looks of him, not his usual self. Frostbite was in trouble. Stormwardens oldest metahuman friend (and that meant he'd only known him a few months longer than the others!) had been well frazzled by the blast! He steamed as if his icy hide had been melted!

Nowhere Man, as usual, lurched from one crisis to the next disaster. Somehow the Nazi had affected his intangible form and dumped the dark clad Vanguardian to the floor, only for him to restart his powers and take to the air. The Nazi had not been unscathed, however, and looked like he might not try that again in a hurry. Adjutant was... out of sight. The other building, to Stormwardens left, had all sorts of screaming and crashing sounds coming form it, which gave a good clue as to his whereabouts. Clearly whatever the Nazis had was knocking most of Adjutants powers out. Even the dark inner power respected the man for his sheer strength and breadth of metahuman abilities, and he would be a huge asset in the fight, but the Nazis had been ready.

Bludgeon looked unmarked. Whatever the Vanguard had tried against the big man hadn't done much more than scuff his uniform!

The bald headed guy seemed able to attack with energy and mental bolts. Oh, and super speed. Was there no end to their powers? In a way they reminded Stormwarden of Adjutant - if 'normal' superhumans were class 3, these guys were at least 4, maybe even 5. That meant trouble for the Vanguard!

Stormwarden stalked over to the bald guy. He hoped to be able to wrestle the wristband from him, and thus give Adjutant and the team a fighting chance.

One thing was for sure. Though Devastator was down and out, these others wouldn't be so easy to fall...

The Vanguard

OOC Initiative... Heroes 7 Bad Guys 2. 3 Frames to the Good guys



OOC if anyone thinks I haven't updated the totals right (I'm not the best book keeper...) holler. Or give me a kick. Either works

Frostbite

Frostbite sped over to where Kylie had found rest. "Time to get out of here, we've got to take the battle away from these buildings." He said looking at their increasingly vulnerable state. [OOC: assuming Kylie is ok] Frostbite shouted to Putty to leap aboard before moving away from the buildings.

Meanwhile Lionheart who'd only shot back moments before, spoke up to Stormwarden. "Hey big guy, looks like the parties leaving town, lets not be late." And with that he extended his hand so Stormwarden could fly them to a more favourable position.

Frostbite [OOC: assuming Putty is a go with this] then turned to his two newest companions. "Guys only one of you knows what you have within you. But unlike Stormwarden and I, you can release our allies within you since you are already part of this time line. Putty, in this dimension it will be different to what took place before. But it will also be dangerous, I know you have good reason to hold back. But listen we're going to get ourselves kicked six ways to Sunday, if we don't do something." The turning to Kylie he spoke quickly, "Kylie I know this is all new to you. But the voice within you is partly why you have powers, we are all teamed up with allies, powers beyond comprehension. They keep Stormwarden an I from being subsumed into this time line and help us to retain our identities and therefore we cannot call on their powers. But you've never known different, so you can let our allies out. But be warned, they have no sense of ethics as we do. The temptation they brings is both tantalizing as it is frightening. As we know only too well." Frostbite said with a quick glance at Putty.

"The beings within will tell you what you need to know, but if things go from bad to worse, then I want you to know what you might have to do."

Frostbite finished with a meaningful glance at Putty, before joining Nowhere Man above.

Sj

Kitten

Kylie looked lost, but the idea of leaving seemed to register although she would have been much happier if they were leaving this area for some place more familiar instead of just getting away from the collapsing buildings.

It seemed that a few of Frostbite's words were getting through. There were flashes of recognition to the description of having voices in her head but appeared to still be having problems making the connection to allies or the assistance they could provide.

"If things get worse, I'll do what they tell me to do," Kylie said, but her voice carried no confidence or comprehension as to what she was agreeing to.

PUTTY


Putty hooks onto Frostbite for the ride.

"I really, really don't want to do this," Putty wails. "I killed so many when I let that thing loose last time!"

He looks panicked and pants very fast - wild-eyed, panting almost too fast.

With a groan, hands covering his face, he reaches inside and lets loose the power inside but holding on to it as tight as he can, not letting it have free reign like last time.

Frostbite

Admin wrote:OOC Got to go to work, so will be posting after tea time. Just wanted to say, I read these 3 posts and imagined comic panels with worried faces and speech bubbles as the heroes give worried glances around as the battle threatens too go bad for them, then chew on their consciences... That's great by the way. Made me want to read 'The Vanguard - Issue #5' as a comic Right, best go to work

Have a good day, I've got my D&D group meeting tonight and we're out for our session and I won't be back till late, so may or may not get to reply.

IC:

Frostbite stopped his friend, he could see how upset he was. They'd had no chance to debrief or even consider the full ramifications of what had taken place before.

Frostbite himself had never seen such power, even in his exploits with his allies.

Taking hold of Putty's 'wrist' he look at him shouting across the noise and cross winds. "Putty, it doesn't have to be like that. Our dark allies need us. You can anchor them to the values and goals we have rather than the other way around. Our purposes are the same, but our methods are very different. But wait until the right moment, we want to use our allies with precision. Hold fast! I know you can do this, you're one of us and you were chosen for this purpose. Hold fast!"

Frostbite then turned to the others as they assembled in the air, seeing the unimpressed Nazi's below, Frostbite spoke quickly. "Have you a plan, old man? Can we disable those wrist devices that are keeping Adjutant in check?"

Sj

Frostbite

Struggling to fly up with the two Vanguardians, Frostbite nonetheless manages it, but can only manage one direction, and that at a reduced speed. Any change of direction would be out of the question, because he was lifting more than he could normally carry and his arms felt like they were being pulled from his sockets! Nonetheless, he gets his words out with a grunt.

OOC Old man? That must be Nowhere Man, yeah? Frostbite has used three frames to fly up, up, up!

Nowhere Man

Nowhere Man chuckled, which for him sound like stone being run over a cheese grater. "Plan? Yeah, plan B. When I figure out what it is, I'll let you know. As for now..." he concentrated, drawing on knowledge hidden deep within. All of the Vanguardians had it in them to transfer their minds, spirits and memories to other bodies. Every time they did so, the transition was varied. A body similar or the same would be almost instant, with no loss of memories or powers. A totally different body? Nowhere Man had considered it, wondering if it were possible, as a last resort. His best guess would be that there would be partial or total power loss for a time, complete memory loss with snippets coming back eventually before (hopefully) a full recovery, and some kind of inner battle with the hosts mind. Messy, in other words.

His current form was giving him enough trouble, and now he was calling on powers not used since ... since a lot of used up host forms ago.

He turned to Ultimus. "When I started out in this game, I could affect and speak to the dead..."

"Good!" grinned Ultimus. "You will be able to talk to your friends very soon in that case!" he laughed.

Nowhere Man swooped in as Ultimus watched, casually. The rebel was intangible! There was no way he could affect him!

"Before THAT, I could play about with machines..."

Ultimus sneered, then his eyes widened.

Nowhere Man vanished from sight!

Glancing about, the Excelsion used his array of superhuman senses to find the rebel... And he found him... as he 'popped out' of the wrist bracelets, one at a time, on Ultimus' wrists! The bracelets fizzled and cracked, with a faint whiff of electrical burning...

Nowhere Man turned visible. "One down..." he quipped.

OOC Nowhere Man has used all three frames

Putty

Battling his inner demons, his conscience, and his guilt, Putty nonetheless called on the Dark Power from within. This time, however, he did not give it free reign!

The inner voice spoke 'There. That wasn't so hard, was it? Don't worry about me taking control. I see in your mind if I were to do that again we would have a... falling out. Instead use the dark power to save your friends - two of them cannot call on the dark power as they use it to hold off the effects of the time change!' Putty couldn't quite be sure, but it seemed the inner voice was concerned about his fellow Vanguardians! He considered the consequences of Frostbite and Stormwardens' deaths.. they were the only link to the fact that time itself had been altered! If they died, what then?

OOC That took an action. You used a frame to grab hold of Frostbite and you kind of look like this now... When the bad guys have acted you get FIVE frames to play around with...



Kitten

Kitten grabbed onto the cold hard wrist of Frostbite and floated up, albeit slowly at first, as rubble and dust rained down between the buildings! She saw a change come over Putty - he seemed to darken, become a little more... sinister somehow?

'If you wish to save your new friends you too will have to call on the power from within. As you are, you will only annoy these Nazis. They are not like Bloodhound. Each one is like an army of Bloodhounds!' said the inner voice.

OOC 1 frame used to grab hold of Frostbite. You have 2 frames left before the bad guys act.

Adjutant and Shadow Vulture

The woman thrust Adjutant up in the air by the throat. Soarer grinned. "You have no idea how good this feels! The Mighty Adjutant! Hero of the empire! Unstoppable figurehead of the third reich! Ha!"

Near helpless, Adjutant struggled weakly in her grasp, staring at the bracelet on her wrist. His energy vision wouldn't kick out enough power to blast it, but the good thing was, he was still tough enough to take a beating before he succumbed. And it rather looked like it would come to that... With a grunt he tried to summon up his superhuman strength, but that just caused his head to wrack with pain!

Soarer laughed!

Grinding teeth against the agony, Adjutant glanced past Soarer.

"Ah ha! Think I will fall for a trick?" she cried. "I will see you suffer!" she spat. Around her rubble from the ceiling crashed to the floor. Across the alleyway, the other building threatened to crash to the floor at any time! "These people are nothing to me!" she cried. "Drones! They serve no real purpose to the empire!"

"Then maybe you need a reality check, Fraulein." rasped a voice behind Soarer. She turned... and got a faceful of tiny grenades! She pulled up her free hand to protect her face from the blast!

Shadow Vulture turned away from the blast, knowing it wouldn't do much good.

In the alley those fighting saw the windows high up on one of the buildings (LH side on on map) blow out from an explosion!

Coughing, Soarer rose... and saw a pair of white clad legs standing over her. "What?" she asked, until a hand grabbed her remaining wrist and with all his remaining strength, Adjutant ripped it from her! As soon as it fell from her wrist he gasped, and fell back, crashing to the floor in the rubble.

Soarer stood and looked through the smoke. She saw the other traitor, Shadow Vulture. He was unconscious, and in a bad way. The fool! She turned to where Adjutant had fallen, and levelled an arm to blast him with. That's when she noticed the bracelet had gone! She raised her other arm. Destroyed! The other bracelet was gone, blown apart by the grenades!

She glanced up.

Adjutant simply strode towards her, pulled back his fist and...



Ultimus and Bludgeon looked up from their vantage point in the alleyway. They saw a white blur crash through the side of the building and soar upwards, towards space. Ultimus frowned, then his eyes widened. "That was..." Bludgeon finished "Soarer." They glanced at each other...

OOC Adjutant has used 3 frames, as has Shadow Vulture, to complete his move into the building and toss the grenades. Unfortunately he was caught in his own blast. He's out, and possibly worse than that.

=========

OOC Just have Stormwardens actions to resolve - Lionheart asked for a lift from him. If they skedaddle from the alley that will leave Nowhere Man and the Nazis there, as well as the big green lava puddle. Once those actions are done, the Nazis move. And they aren't beaten yet... not by a long shot! (Prediction - pain)

PUTTY

OOC That took an action. You used a frame to grab hold of Frostbite and you kind of look like this now... When the bad guys have acted you get FIVE frames to play around with...

ooc: Just to make sure it is right in my mind ... I currently have ALL the powers listed in the Dark Putty character sheet? LOVE YOU GRADE 5 STRENGTH!!
And if I can think of it, I can have even more powers ... right?
So what happens when I combine Growth and Larger as powers? Which is what I am currently thinking of doing if I survive to do my five frames. Even at lvl 3 for each of those powers ...!

Kitten

Kylie looked concerned about the change that had occurred to the one that Frostbite had called Putty. Although she didn't know him, the menacing look he now had was in stark contrast to the personality that had been pleading not to let this thing loose just moments ago.

That voice in my head... I'm possessed by some kind of demon, she feared. Kylie didn't want someone else having control over her body, especially not something with questionable motives. She hated the Nazis more than anything for what they did to her friends and family, but not to the point of letting loose something that might be considered even more evil than they were.

OOC: Still going along for the ride on the next 2 frames. Waiting for the right time to unleash the Dark Power.

Lionheart

Seeing what Nowhere man had just accomplished, Lionheart concentrated on Bludgeon's wrist and sought to use his telekinesis to undo the band whilst the big man was distracted and float it swiftly to him.

Meanwhile, seeing the change come over Putty, Frostbite looked on partly horrified partly fascinated. He spoke quickly, knowing despite the noise and distractions his companion would have no trouble hearing, "Remember they're anchored to this reality by us, we need them but they need us and we need you to stay focused. You can do this."

With that Frostbite let Putt go, knowing that he'd only get in his way if he was to try and hold on. He had no fear that he'd be alright. Then feeling slightly less winded he turned to Kylie, "Bizarre I know. The beings within us are to be feared their power is enormous. But they need us, as much as we need them. We anchor them, ground them in our reality and work together - despite how bizarre it looks! But still its your choice."

Frostbite then turned to see what would happen, knowing right now he was out of his depth without his own dark power to help.

Sj

Stormwarden

He shook his head at Nowhere man's request. He wasn't sure how well the others would cope and they needed time to get themselves together. It looked like the attack against Adjutant had just turned, however. He ran at Ultimus, pulling down the lightning to join with a uppercut from his hammer.

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ooc:
Lightning strike on Ultimus (i.e around Stormy himself) and an attack as well, aiming primarily at wristband (if still in existence) but still hoping to do normal damage as well (crushed wrist would do fine!):
Hammer attack: 1d20+3=16

Lionheart

Lionhearts eyes glowed, the lion on his chest crackled with energy and he thrust a hand out.

"HA!" laughed Bludgeon. "Whoever you are, rebel, you are WEAK, and I will smash..." he stopped, then looked down. He held both wrists up - the bracelets had unclipped themselves and dropped to the floor. "Why you... " he snarled, and towered over Lionheart!

He then gaped as the bracelets flew up into Lionhearts' hands as he reached for them! There was a distinct, loud growling sound coming from the big man... whilst at the same time...

Stormwarden

The big man strode up to Ultimus (OOC won't even take a frame, virtually within touching distance) and held up his hammer. Lightning cracked down from above, flashing about and lighting up whatever it touched, including Ultimus! At the same time Stormwarden delivered an uppercut with the hammer!

OOC Ok, seeing as though Weather Control grade 3 has to be good for something in a fight, we'll say... striking as a 3D6 field manipulation with reduced dividers applying Htk only in the area affected in this case. And it's a good hit - 15 points to all on the ground in the alleyway. The bad guys dividers are reduced, but they still take a hit. So does Lionheart. ouch. Stormwardens' hit does 30htc 2htk both to be reduced by dividers.

Ultimus shook as lightning played across his form, though he stood and appeared to smile in the midst of it! His smile was somewhat wiped from his face as an uppercut brought a WHAM! to his chin from the hammer. He staggered back a step or two, despite standing firm, and rubbed his chin. He looked decidedly second hand by now though, much of his costume in tatters and his face sooted. Bludgeon, showing signs of a hard life himself, continued to growl at Lionheart.

OOC I used 3 frames for Lionheart to grab hold of the Bracelets when really it should've been 4. Cut the guy a little slack as telekinesis isn't that hot a power in this game whereas in others it's much more useful. Stormwarden has used his three.

Bad guys go.

Excelsior

Ultimus

Ultimus turned to Bludgeon and barked an order in German. The big man didn't need telling twice! Meanwhile the Excelsior leader turned his attentions on Stormwarden!

OOC Mental attack 10 points reduced by speciality to 5. 5D6Htc. Roll of 6 for Stormwarden but only 4 for bad guy But Stormwardens ego is a fair bit lower Hence 14Htc putting Stormwarden on 41/78 Htc.

Stormwarden staggered, clutching his head! pain racked every fibre of his being as the Nazi ground his mental probe deep into Stormwardens' head! 'Fight it!' said the inner voice as Stormwarden struggled.

Ultimus raised an eyebrow. "What... was that?" he asked. "I will bring you in alive, for interrogation I think rebel!" He levelled an arm at Stormwarden "But alive doesn't mean I can't beat you to a pulp first!"

OOC Energy attack roll of 16, hits. 7d6 Quick blast (split 4htc/3htk) and 14, hit with another 7d6 Quick Blast (same split).Damage is 14htc/12htk and 13htc/7htk. Dividers are reduced to be ineffective. Response? (The damage would reduce Stormwarden to 14/78htc and 60/79htk. He has 1 frame remaining this round and can use up to 4 in the next.

Ultimus is impressed. "You are a durable opponent. I salute you. And that... presence inside you needs further investigation!" He stepped in close and delivered a headbutt, but Stormwarden swayed away, leaving the Nazi dissatisfied.

OOC roll of 5, miss.

Bludgeon

Bludgeon swung huge fists at Lionheart!

OOC Rolls of 2, 9, 17, 4, and 9. Only the 17 hits. 52htc. Response *I will assume* to be a dodge, using Lionhearts last frame this round. Roll of 3 plus his silly dodge mod means success.

Bludgeon sweeps a fist down. Miss. Lionheart steps to the side, glancing up but looking mostly at the bracelets. Getting angrier, Bludgeon then scythes out with a serious of blows... one finally gets close causing Lionheart to lean way, way back, seeing the fist go where his head and chest had been!

Frustrated, Bludgeon took a step back. His face glowed red with embarrassment rather than effort, and he bellowed an insult in German (translation "Stand still and die, rebel scum!"). He glanced over at his leader, then back at Lionheart. All the while rocks tumbled from the building.

Ultimus narrowed his eyes. A shrewd thinker, it was clear they'd underestimated these rebels! He took another look at the P'utinarian. There was a distinct change in the alien, even as he dropped from the Ice Mans grip towards the ground 20m or so below! He glanced at Stormwarden, then at the Iceman. To Bludgeon he remarked "These are not as they seem. Even the girl..."

Soarer

She blinked, then looked about. Clouds flashed by her, and the salty tang of blood in her mouth reminded her of her mortality. Pulling a hand up she felt most of her front teeth missing, and she welled up, fear and panic threatening to unhinge her! A moment later, it was replaced by anger! She sighted the battleground far below, then with a crack of thunder righted herself and shot down like an arrow! Knowing full well her team mates capabilities she increased her speed, levelled out, then went faster... and faster... and faster...



She flew low across London, turned a fraction, and thundered across the battlefield, deafening every normal person within a mile and shattering windows for two miles about! Car alarms went off, people didn't get chance to run for cover, simply being knocked over with blood streaming from their ears, and the shockwave finally sent the building, already on the edge of tipping, over the edge!

Everyone in the alley faced being buried under tons of rock!

Frostbite tumbled to the side and down. He let go of Kitten as he clutched hands to his ears. Kitten tumbled free, looking at the ground far below. She was falling! And the building was crumbling! She'd crash to the floor, hopefully surviving that, but then a building would fall on her!!! Frostbite tried to determine which was was up - his balance was out of whack thanks to the 'boom' and without an agility skill like the others had, his flying would be very hit or miss in the next few moments!

OOC Frostbite took 5 htc, Kitten took 9htc, Lionheart 8htc, Nowhere Man (even though intangible - he can still hear) 8htc, Stormwarden took 4htc, Putty took no extra damage (that would be because he is currently a Class 5 metahuman. Not much bothers them...) And the Nazis took a small amount each.

Stormwarden looked overhead, his own ears bleeding, and saw the danger the falling building represented! Lionheart dropped the bracelets instead clutching his hands to his ears and gritting teeth against the pain, and Nowhere Man, already battered (OOC have updated his htc/htk) after what happened with Ultimus, definitely looked very shaky!

Soarer flew up, twirling, then slowed and flew down to hover over the battlefield again, her incredible speed and manoeuvrability giving her a superb advantage over even other flying foes!

OOC I must admit, despite the fact you outnumber them, these guys are individually more powerful than any two or even three of you guys, so the fact that no one is down yet is surprising. HOWEVER, that said there are some low Htc figures which I'll update after doing Stormwardens' responses... Ok, 1 frame for everyone bar Lionheart, who used his, Kitten who has 3 left, Putty who has 5 left of his 8 and Adjutant, who has 3 of his 6 remaining. Kitten is falling, Frostbite will require a check to be able to fly in the direction he wants, Lionheart, Stormwarden, Nowhere Man and the Nazis have a building about to fall on them and Adjutant is in the building next door with Shadow Vulture, who is out and in a bad way. Responses for Stormwarden and remaining frames please guys, then I'll post health totals and we're in the next round...

PUTTY

OOC I must admit, despite the fact you outnumber them, these guys are individually more powerful than any two or even three of you guys, so the fact that no one is down yet is surprising. HOWEVER, that said there are some low Htc figures which I'll update after doing Stormwardens' responses... Ok, 1 frame for everyone bar Lionheart, who used his, Kitten who has 3 left, Putty who has 5 left of his 8 and Adjutant, who has 3 of his 6 remaining. Kitten is falling, Frostbite will require a check to be able to fly in the direction he wants, Lionheart, Stormwarden, Nowhere Man and the Nazis have a building about to fall on them and Adjutant is in the building next door with Shadow Vulture, who is out and in a bad way. Responses for Stormwarden and remaining frames please guys, then I'll post health totals and we're in the next round...

ooc: Alright, let's see if I can use my power pool intelligently this time. Anyone have suggestions, guess you ought to drop them off over at the OOC discussion area.

While falling, Putty calls upon his dark powers and thinks of two powers that will help him - Larger - growing taller not larger, Growth and summons them up. [Which if I am right is Lvl 3 on Growth and Larger. 2 frames to do this, right? One frame per power summoned? Thought about Mass Variation-self but it cuts my frames in half, though if I also took Super-Speed ...! Head is starting to hurt thinking this through!!!]

He then extends a limb for Kitten to either be caught by or use to break her own fall and fight from, whichever she prefers.

He then forms two giant piledriver-type sledgehammers with his huge fists and starts pounding away at Bludgeon - pounding downward, not wanting to knock him away from Putty.

actions: Gain 2 new powers; Save Kitten or help her save herself; Hand Attack on Bludgeon with all remaining frames.

ooc: If my math is anywhere near right, I should have something like: +3d6 Strenth and Vigour from Growth; +3d6+6 Strength and Vigour from Larger; 150% taller and more movement from Larger; Growth doesn't seem to define how big "giant size is" but another 150% to movement and I guess maybe a +4 damage modifier for my first attack for growing into the attack[?]. Does giant size also mean that my 20 meter reach for stretching is also increased by 300%?

Kitten

In the back of her mind, Kylie was probably aware as to how vulnerable she was being carried in flight during a combat situation but had enough trust in those heroes that they knew what they were doing and would protect her. It wasn't until she was back under the full control of gravity that she realized how helpless she actually was.

The young woman let out a piercing scream as she plummeted back to the ground. Even if she was a superhuman like everyone had been telling her that she was, Kylie had no confidence that her new powers included the ability to survive a fall from this distance.

OOC: Kitten's next action looks like it depends on how successful Putty is in being able to catch her or provide her with a landing spot.

Frostbite

The young woman let out a piercing scream as she plummeted back to the ground.

Doing his best to right himself, Frostbite sought to dive after Kylie unshure of how well she'd cope with such a fall.

[OOC: didn't know what roll you wanted Paul, so just rolled a d20: 1d20=8]

Meanwhile Lionheart was again thankful for his advanced reactions, agility and speed. He could not easily survive a blow from Bludgeon. But his target was still to crush the wrist bands and free up Adjutant to help them before things got really nasty.

Sj

Stormwarden

Although the pain in his burned, it did not stop him reacting to Ultimus' blast of energy. In desperation he rolled and ducked, hoping to avoid the incoming blast, or at least reduce its effects on him. "Have to try harder. Mate." he gasped.

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ooc: attempt to dodge

OOC arrrggh. No... no... no... Misclick and lost a BIG post. I won't swear on the board, but trust me when I say I can't see the screen because the air in front has turned blue. Unngh. Oh well, here we go again.

Stormwarden

OOC I recall the dodge results. Roll of 2 and 6. That means the first dodge was a failure, the second a glancing blow. Bottom line, Stormwarden is down to 17htc and 75htk.

Stormwarden staggered back. For such a big man he was agile, but the Nazi was a better shot than he was at dodging blasts, and he knew for a fact he'd not be able to take much more punishment!

OOC Stormwarden has completed this round and used 1 frame of next round. 3 Frames next round.

Putty

OOC Here's the bare bones of what I'd lost. D'oh. Growth adds 18 strength and Vigour, Taller adds 24 of each. That puts Putty up to 120 strength, or around about the 1/2 million ton lifting range. His Vigour of 94 gives 564 each of Htc and Htk. His movement is now 202m/frame thanks to those growth effects and Speed grade 3. His pushback threshold is 75, and his weight is 3x what it was, his stretching distance 4x what it was. Each power takes an action to activate, so that's 4 frames to turn those on. The other frame...The original post had a lot more description and mechanics workings. Sorry don't have time to re-figure and type all that, just glad I remembered the numbers. With +105 damage I suspect you'll not be too bothered about growing into combat for another +4

Even as Putty grew, and his legs stretched to meet the floor, he was able to stretch out a hand and give somewhere around the size of a trampoline for Kitten to land on easily! He marvelled at his strength! Such power! He'd been so afraid with the power in control of him! Now HE was in control, and he could do anything he wanted! He glanced down at the Nazis...

Ultimus turned to Bludgeon. Neither man was a coward, but nor were they stupid. "Without the inhibitors, Adjutant will soon be along... We were never told about THIS though..." The pair looked up... and up... and up at the 24' high Putty. Bludgeon grinned nervously "What I hit turns to powder, you know that!" He held up a fist, then glanced over at his target, whilst all the while rubble from the falling building rained down. With a gulp he took a step back. "That said, I believe we are comprehensively outmatched with this being..." he added.

The falling building continued to sway. There were screams from the place, as trapped workers found that emergency exits were blocked by falling masonry, or simply not there anymore!

"Somebody!" a woman screamed. "SAVE US!"

OOC Putty has completed his frames this round.

Kitten

Kylie tumbled, then landed. The surface she landed on - on her feet in a crouch, naturally - was rather softer than she'd expected, and she looked up. She was about at head height with the truck sized head of Putty! Whatever he'd done... he was now a giant!

'Do you see the power he wields? It could be yours, girl! Call upon it! Defeat your enemies, and save the innocent!' said the inner voice. The last part, about the innocent, had a note of contempt. Either the inner voice figured no one was truly innocent, or it thought they would not be worth saving!

OOC 1 frame to land, 2 frames left...

Frostbite

OOC Roll was good enough. I was clicking to open another window and consult Frostbites' ego score when I lost what I'd posted with a misclick. D'oh.

Frostbite tumbled through the air and righted himself. He saw the girl tumble, as he'd done, save with more finesse, and definitely less panic! She landed safely in Puttys outstretched hand. A chill ran down Frostbites' back. He hoped.. prayed... Putty would keep the dark power under control, otherwise... He glanced about. This wasn't HIS London, but there were still millions of souls out there. Frostbite had no doubts that the unfettered might of the Dark power could wipe out a city, even one this big, in a heartbeat!!!

OOC Frostbites actions completed this round. He's flying upright and ok.

Adjutant and Nowhere Man

Adjutant moved over to Shadow Vulture and scooped him up in his arms. Suddenly he glanced over at the far wall... His eyes widened, and he saw... felt.. what Putty had become outside, a chill running down his spine! Suddenly he knew that he was not alone as the most powerful force across Europe, and one of the top five or so on Planet Earth! Putty stood amongst them now, above them, even! Adjutant shuddered. All his life he'd struggled with his powers, the feelings they gave him, the aura of invincibility, and he wondered...

Would absolute power corrupt Putty absolutely?

He soared out of the building, placing Shadow Vulture down on a flat roof hundreds of yards away, then soared back to hover over the battlefield.

"Putty!" he called out. "The building! Those people! We need to save them!"

Adjutant feared the worst. With his new found might would Putty even care about the lives of normal people? The former Nazi looked at the crumbling building. He HAD to try and save them, regardless of what the Nazi metahumans would try to do to him!

He watched Nowhere Man fly up from the billowing rubble cloud below and call out to Adjutant "Our priority is the man in that prison!" he shouted. "I'm sorry, Adjutant, but there are bigger issues here than even the saving of lives... " Even as he said the words, Nowhere Man looked down and cursed. "Dammit." he rasped. "Putty! Vanguardians! We need to save the people in that building!"

OOC Adjutant has acted. Nowhere Man has acted. 2 Frames left for Kitten then Initiative...



OOC Doesn't make for pretty reading. The Class 3 metahumans have mostly taken a pounding, but amazingly are all still up, whilst a Class 4 (Devastator) has been rendered null and void. And now the tide is swinging, with the Vanguardians having TWO Class 5s on their side and a potential 3rd. The Prison beckons though, and what is coming up will surely test all our powers of endurance as you guys try and get the White Warlock from the Prison. For now, 2 frames for Kitten then round 3.

Kitten

"Thank you," Kylie said softly after she finally caught her breath.

Even though Putty had saved her from falling, she still didn't feel safe while he was under the influence of that darker power. Her life was, figuratively, in the palm of his hand. If he thought of her as small and insignificant as their relative sizes, Putty could easily crush her or simply drop her again. Releasing her own dark power might even the odds, but was this the right time? Would the two dark forces want to compete with each other for supremacy or could they possibly work together?

The shouts from the building about to collapse drew her attention away from her own personal fears. Her now keen senses allowed her to better approximate the location from which they originated.

"Over there!" she cried. "They need our help!" Kylie pleaded.

OOC: Kylie is using her remaining frames to locate as may people that need to be rescued as possible.

PUTTY & KITTEN

"Don't worry, I plan to stretch and brace the buildings," Putty says in a deep gravely voice, "While pounding these Nazis to pancakes! If you can save the people inside, do so. But we have to hurry. We still have another job to do and have to get it done before the Nazi Command decides to bomb this place and kill everyone! Too bad there are not more of you to help save the people."

Kitten

The young heroine ran along Puttys hand and arm to make an incredible leap through the open window on a floor of the collapsing building. Inside, rubble continued to rain down. She could hear cries for help, screams. So many! Looking about, Kitten guessed the most likely place to find people and set out for it. It was an office block, full of desks, computers, filing cabinets and the like. Or had been. Now it was in real danger of becoming a tomb!

OOC Actions completed for all. INITIATIVE for next round. Roll of 4, good guys, 2 Bad. 1 Frame.

Frostbite

OOC: Paul I feel your pain re the misclick. So annoying that its so easy to loose so much critical info. Its for that reason I sometimes write it in word at least that way if anything goes down word saves a copy that can be resaved.

IC:

Frostbite was overwhelmed with the need, but grateful that Putty seemed to have a better sense of control than before. With his power to hold the building in place, Frostbite glanced up and the returning Adjutant. "Lets go in to get the people out. But if they return, you might need to watch Putty's back. I think he's got this!" And with that Frostbite moved to follow Kylie into the building.

Lionheart

Seeing Putty grow to the floor and taken on the mantle of power that he did, almost overwhelmed the usually unflappable Lionheart. He'd known that these men were powerful but didn't realise on what scale. As Putty went to work on the building and the first the girl and Frostbite dove into the building to help people, Lionheart knew what he had to do. Moving around to the front of the building, he moved to sweep the building for anyone left behind.

Sj