World War II - Putty/Anyman Issue #3

ANYMAN

A glance around showed he was a short run towards several other buildings where he might hope to lose his pursuers, but his performance as a gassed victim would be shot then! Could he bluff his way through a meeting with a Nazi superhuman?

Playing it cool, disguised as a scientist Anyman got to his feet and staggered away towards the buildings, as if to get out of the way of the soldiers and to seek further medical attention.

"Let me get out of sight for even a second and I'm changing into a new form," he thought to himself and friends in his head.

ANYMAN

"Hey!" shouted a soldier. "hold it there! You're injured! I've been ordered to..."

"Stop that man!"

Allard didn't bother to turn to see who'd issued the order.

"He needs to be questioned!"

"Where did he go?"

"There! The white coat! Hey!"

Lance hurried between huts, knowing the soldiers and that superhuman would be hot on his heels! Looking about, he saw soldiers... more soldiers... the place was crawling! Many were pulling on gas masks and reading weapons, including flamethrowers and adapted weapons that fired armour piercing needles!

He would only have one chance to change form before the soldiers round the corner, and even then, it would have to be convincing!

OOC Lance has the one chance to make this look convincing, otherwise the new form may well seem out of place - they are literally a few steps behind him! The buildings all about are the wooden type raised feet off the floor on posts, and most looked to be occupied or locked up. The place really is crawling with nazi soldiers!

ANYMAN

He would only have one chance to change form before the soldiers round the corner, and even then, it would have to be convincing!

OOC Lance has the one chance to make this look convincing, otherwise the new form may well seem out of place - they are literally a few steps behind him! The buildings all about are the wooden type raised feet off the floor on posts, and most looked to be occupied or locked up. The place really is crawling with nazi soldiers!.

Any trash cans around? Small Trees? large boulder? Anything like that that Anyman can change into? The Nazis may have forgotten that he doesn't have to take a living person or animal form. Or flattening himself against the wall and mimicking its wooden exterior would all work, depending on whether anyone would see him do that.

ANYMAN

OOC You're in a Nazi military base, so conventional stuff to hide behind/change into is few and far between. A wall works though...

The Soldiers rounded the corner, guns readied.

They saw... nothing. Well, they saw the 'alley' between two buildings and the road beyond, with soldiers looking about, scouring the place.

"How can this be? He was here! It must have been him!"

The soldiers quietened as the glowing individual walked up, flanked by Gestapo officers. He narrowed his eyes, then concentrated. "He's here somewhere! I can find him precisely because he stands out from the sea of dregs around here!" spat the superhuman. The soldiers nearest started to protest, angrily... and died!

All fell back, clutching their heads and screaming!

Even the Gestapo men looked uncomfortable.

The superhuman turned to address the growing group around him. "FIND HIM! This is ANYMAN we are speaking of! Der Fuhrer has proclaimed he must pay for his crimes, above all others! Remember, he is cunning, resourceful, and can look like anyone!"

The group moved out, searching every buildings innards, underneath, on top, every vehicle, every soldier was stopped and questioned...

Moments after they'd moved on a pair of eyes appeared on the wooden wall to the building and looked about. 'Or anything, but you don't need to know that.' said the being known as Putty inside Lance Allard!

OOC Any ideas on how he's going to get out of this camp? Or does he have another objective? The main R&D centre is ruined, full of deadly gas, and all the recruits for the latest batch of super soldiers have been killed. The mentalist is a worry though. Clearly the Nazis have more facilities capable of transforming normal soldiers into super agents...

ANYMAN

The group moved out, searching every buildings innards, underneath, on top, every vehicle, every soldier was stopped and questioned...

Moments after they'd moved on a pair of eyes appeared on the wooden wall to the building and looked about. 'Or anything, but you don't need to know that.' said the being known as Putty inside Lance Allard!

OOC Any ideas on how he's going to get out of this camp? Or does he have another objective? The main R&D centre is ruined, full of deadly gas, and all the recruits for the latest batch of super soldiers have been killed. The mentalist is a worry though. Clearly the Nazis have more facilities capable of transforming normal soldiers into super agents....

"Where the heck did they get another mentalist," Lance asked his mind buddies. "We need to find out where and how and shut them down."

"Agreed," Putty said inside his head, "But we are also carrying a large quantity of Lunarium that the General can use. We need to get it back to them as fast as possible. Even if it is just to keep it out of Nazi hands."
"You could let me lo ....," the demonic voice started to say."NO," Lance and Putty shouted in his mind.

"Then call the general and let him know what we've found out and have him come pick up the Lunarium. Remember, the whole point of you being here is to help buy time for those at Normandy," Demon said reasonably

All three were in agreement with that, flattening himself again against the wall, Anyman put out a mental call to the general to inform him of the supply of Lunarium he was carrying and that the Nazis were making more mentalist and asked if the general wanted him to go some place for the Lunarium to be picked up.

Anyman



OOC Don't know if you read the other (Dunkirk) thread with the changes in the Dark Power use, but Anyman, Frostbite, Wynn and Nowhere Boy are all at the level where using the Dark Power won't be a dead cert disaster. Take a look. If you need to call on the dark power, I recommend choosing a low level of power to use (single figures) and hoping for a decent roll with your Ego and maybe you'll be able to 'cut loose' a little on your hated foes!

Back at Bletchley, in the war room, man paced nervously as reports flooded in from radio operators and a huge map in the centre of the darkened room, lit by a swaying bulb, was updated every few minutes with troop movements. Dawson and Forbes argued quietly about throwing raw recruits into the fray - they'd had reports now that the Vanguard had been badly hit but was still operational.

Wynn pondered, looking at the map. He knew brave sailors were risking their lives to bring the BEF back home, and that the Nazis were relentless - a wave of force held back by demoralised forces and what power the Vanguard could muster. Then he looked into the air, seemingly staring at a wall.

"Allard? Praise be, at least you're alive, though I suppose I'd know otherwise. What's going on man? I expect you're in the middle of that comms traffic the boffins are picking up. Another bloody hornets nest you've stirred up, I should expect!"

Allard made his report.

"Lunarium?" muttered Wynn. At the mention of the word Forbes and Dawson glanced over, and moved to stand near Wynn, who waved them to silence.

The older man, with Stormwarden inside him, continued "Right. We need to get you out. By your location..." he hissed "Map, man!" at Dawson, and the trio scrambled to a small table and lay out a map of Belgium. Wynn concentrated, then slowly ran his finger across it, pointing at a location on the map. "There's nothing there!" protested Dawson, but Wynn waved him quiet again.

"We'll do our best Lance. I suggest you lay low. We're using the ship to ferry troops across the water - it's the fastest way and they are doing sterling work, but the others are trying to hold back the Nazi advance. I'll ..." he broke off, knowing what it meant "I'll order the ship to a location near you. The men will have to fend for themselves. I need you to lay low and stay out of trouble, though god only knows how hard you find that! We need that Lunarium, but more importantly, we need you out of there. Sterling work as usual, but losing you, or any of the others would be..." He let his words trail off. Then he looked at Forbes. "Send the order out. We need to extract Allard. Top priority!"

"The PM won't like that. We may be stranding hundreds, even thousands, of our troops in the time it takes to rescue one man." argued Forbes.

Wynn punched his hand. "Don't you think I know that? I need to ... Get me in a car to the channel, and on a boat! I can mix things up a little there."

Both leaders started to protest, and Wynn sighed, pulsing again to Allard "You're on your own for the time being. The PM knows about the ship and its the fastest way to transport our lads. Get out of there, lay low, we'll come and get you, but those mentalists will be a problem. Lance..." he sucked in a breath. "You are in enemy territory. If you need to use the Dark Power... I suggest ... I suggest you do what you have to do to get out. I'll update you later!"

=========

Disguised as a wall, Allard had been given plenty to think about...

The net was closing in on him. He was surrounded by Nazis, and at least three mentalists were on the base. They'd find him. He was strong willed, but against three? He was also willing to bet the glowing aura around the nazi metahumans was some kind of protective field. That would mean in a fist fight he'd be slowed down by taking more time to finish one off, when the other two could move in, supported by soldiers with flamethrowers and bombs. He reminded himself that he was Nazi Germanys number one target and that they weren't interest in taking prisoners as far as he was concerned.

High stakes.

He felt the Lunarium tube, hidden in his pliable form. The very highest.

=========

The three Nazi metahumans, nearby, stopped to speak to each other.

"Can you feel him?"

"He's close."

"I have an idea. Join hands."

The three glowing agents joined hands and glowed bright, causing soldiers nearby to shield their eyes...

"Look for a blank space, someone with a strong will that stands out precisely because we cannot easily read him!"

All three turned, as one, in one direction, then separated hands. The leader spoke to the Commandant of the camp. "Gather soldiers. With flamethrowers, ray guns, whatever you have."

"We have him!"

OOC Knowing what you know about the Dark Power this may be a time to show your hand with it, but as usual, the risks are great. Over to you...

Game Mechanics Proposal-The Dark Power (version 1,000,000... and not the last by any means... )

OOC In game terms, you tell me (as a player) a number from 2 upwards. Then we make an Ego roll with, say, Frostbites Ego vs the number you choose, and if Frosty/whoever wins they get to play around with boosted abilities for a few rounds. When/if the High Prince wins the Ego contest, he takes control, and a mess ensues. Here's the thing. The number you specify is the number of D10 you roll for 'Dark Power' points. If you roll a '10' on a die, it grants a (free) bonus die to roll and add to the total, BUT if you roll a '1' on another of the dice, it cancels out a bonus die. So '10s explode' and 1s spoil the fun by cancelling out a bonus die.

Example: Frosty rolls 1d10=2, 1d10=7, 1d10=9, 1d10=1, 1d10=9, 1d10=3, 1d10=10, 1d10=10, 1d10=9, 1d10=7. That's two 10s and one 1. He gets two bonus dice but takes one away for the one, so rolls another D10 to add to his 10D10 total. If he rolls a 10 on that, it also 'explodes' and so on.

Spending the Dark Power points goes as follows:


•Increase the Grade of an existing power for one round: 15 points.

•Buy Grade 1 of a power you don't have for one round: 20 points.

•For a power that normally requires 2 power rolls, double the cost.

•Absorb HTC or HTK damage (from yourself or anyone you touch, so you heal them): 1 for 1 basis.

•Increase Ego to protect against external attack: 1 for 1 basis for that attack only.

•Buy an extra Frame for the round: 15 per frame

Not sure if I'm understanding how many points you get. Supposed I want to upgrade my Strength from Grade Two to Grade Four and then add the new Power - Growth, Grade Two. Couldn't try to add in Larger since it is a permanent power, right? So I couldn't go for a Grade One Larger and a Grade One Growth to try to get the same benefits of Grade Two Growth at a cheaper price because it is a permanent power?

So anyways, Grade Two Strength upgraded to Grade Four plus new Power Growth Grade Two - how many points would I need?


Or Dark Energy Blast. How many points will I need to do a radius blast around me affecting everyone but me? 12 for 6d6 plus 10 for 5 meter radius? That one is really looking nice for taking out the three mentalists.
Though 6d6 might be too small an amount of damage for them.

ANYMAN

ooc: So how long is Belgium going to continue being neutral since it has already been invaded by Germany?
And damn, Lance has a lower Ego than Putty does.

Gonna risk it, not to fight but to flee. Can I combine Grade 1 flight and speed to fly faster and further than I would if I just had Grade 1 flight? Would Grade two flight cost more than those two powers combined?

Depending on those answers, it looks like I'm going to need between 4 and 7 dice, assuming an average of 5.5 on the roll.

Grade 2 Flight will be cheaper than grade 1 Flight and speed (35 vs 40 points) and faster as well. So you'd need 35 points (20 for the new power, 15 for an extra rank). Depending on your rolls that 5 points average for 7 dice rolled, do-able. That what you going with? You don't have long before the Metalists get there and start messing with your head!

Yeah, 7 dice trying for Grade Two flight and get out of dodge, Heading NW towards the beach and closer to Dunkirk to make it easier to be picked up. Fly low and fast. Shapeshifting into one of those Jetpack Nazis ought to buy me some time at not being shot at while flying away.

Of course, if I fail my Ego roll, I have a feeling three mentalists are about to become goo, along with lots and lots of other people.

ANYMAN
Dark Power 1 round

OOC It was close... very, very close... 1d20+12=17, 1d20+7=16, 7d10=51. You get the points you need though, and then some. Flight Grade 3...

Anyman concentrated, and the voice inside cried out 'Freedom!' before Lance muttered 'Be quiet, and get back in your box!' His body crackled with black energy, and his eyes, normally blue, were now all black! He literally took off like a rocket, a sonic boom behind him as he just about broke the sound barrier a thousand feet up, leaving astonished and frustrated Nazis behind!

Changing his form to look like a Nazi Jetpack Ranger, he landed in woods only a short distance (a mile) away, but having flown low and hugged the contours of the land, he felt sure the Nazis had been unable to track him, as fast as he'd flown!

Now in the woods, he took stock of the suns position, having a reasonable idea of the time and flipped out a pocket watch/compass. Northwest. Dunkirk. On foot it would take hours to make a dent in the distance, but there was always the Dark Power to call on.

The question was, how long would it be before the power overwhelmed him?

OOC It will take Anyman, jogging at 15mph, hours before he gets near the front lines, and he will need to rest. The Dark Power is a temporary 'boost' in this manner. Using it long term will unleash disaster. HOWEVER, the more you use the Dark Power, and control it the easier it will become (rising to 2D10 per Dark Power point, 3D10 and so on). Your call!

ANYMAN


"Got to keep moving, get as far away as possible,' Lance said to his "friends" in his head. "That was too close! I almost lost it back there!"

Using his shapeshifting abilities, Anyman moves closer to the coast and closer to Dunkirk. He runs when he has to. Kills Nazis and steals their motorcycles or trucks, regular troops being no match for him - taking on a whole squad or 3-4 trucks full of soldiers is no real problem for him, and driving them as far as he can before he has to abandon them. Horses when he has to. Always shifting form to whatever seems best.

He keeps the General apprised of his location as he moves.


ooc: Don't know if I have to actually make Dunkirk or if a ship or sub can pick him up somewhere along the coast. The big thing is to get the Lunarium back into safe hands before he goes back into the fight.

ANYMAN

Anyman didn't have to go far - a couple of miles - before he heard planes zip past over head. They were looking for a man though, not a man who could resemble a tree, a rock, the ground itself...

As the woods thinned, he started to come down a steep slope towards a road. Stepping out onto the road he got his bearings with the compass, then started to jog. Before long he heard the whine of a motorcycle from some way behind him.

=========

Herman Schmidt opened the throttle wider...

What was the world coming to? Berlin flattened? A secret base in the mountains destroyed by a by a British Super Agent? The same agent blamed for Berlin and now another base? How could it be? The man was a ghost! Inhuman!

He roared down the road, between the trees.

With the sun flashing through the tree tops he didn't see what appeared to be a thin line at neck height. It caught him in the face, catapulted him through the air and clattered him against a tree, whilst another arm stretched out and scooped up the motorcycle, the back wheel whizzing away for a moment until Anyman stepped from the trees and turned it off for the moment.

Standing over the despatch riders body, he gathered the scattered papers. Reading through them, he saw several of interest:

"Our allies have advised us that the Skralls - with whom we have had dealings - have arrived in large numbers in our solar system, intentions unknown! We have warned them not to approach Earth, and to honour the agreement, which will include a goodwill gesture of Lunarium."

"The alien mercenaries have stated that unless their lunarium payments increase, they will leave the solar system. The Qrii, mortal enemies of the Skrall, are on their way. All superhuman facilities are to commence empowerment immediately, and all meta sub-humans are to be allowed to live, to use as fodder. Therefore there will be freaks and abominations in our ranks. All be advised this is authorised."

"All loyal subjects of the 3rd Reich, be aware that the Fuhrer survived the attempt on his life and is operating from a secret base until Berlin is secured. The evil agent known as Anyman has been active and must be killed at all costs!"

"Once the British Expeditionary Force has been annihilated, we will sue for peace with Britain, under our terms. They shall be absorbed into the empire."

"For General Rank or higher: The British have a force of superhumans known as the Vanguard. All our psychics in Berlin were murdered by Anyman, one of the Vanguard. Eye witness reports suggest they are powerful and dangerous. Even our most powerful agents have been unable to stop them!"

"We believe the aliens are gathering to secure the Lunarium, and plan to invade or destroy the Earth, so all efforts must be made to crush the British and turn our attentions to the skies! The cabal from the future assures us that a new 'master race' of soldiers is in production, and that they will soon be able to turn out the ultimate superhuman warrior in their thousands, once a renegade known as Lionheart has been captured. He remains a priority after Anyman."

"As psychic communications are down and radio transmissions unreliable due to the Vanguards capturing of a Skrall vessel, use despatch riders whilst in safe territory. Further updates will be available soon."

The last was from the base Anyman had just left.

"Anyman is here! We are endeavouring to capture or kill him. He has destroyed the facility and murdered hundreds of agents!"

Lance saw that many of the despatches were encoded, possibly relating to troop movements and such. The Bletchley lot could sort that. He morphed a pair of goggles onto his face and kicked the bike into life, tossing the body of the rider into the woods and roaring off down the road.

=========

An hour later he heard the sound of distant guns!

He was behind enemy lines, and could see in the distance the dust trail of thousands of vehicles and troops. He could go round them, but that would take at least a day, and .. he tapped on the tank... fuel was running low. He could see in the distance thin lines of smoke in the air, and overhead were planes - hundreds of them! Except they'd turned tail and were heading away from the battle!

OOC Anyman can go round - but it will take several days on foot if he can't refuel. Or he can go through the army, using his own inimitable style...

ANYMAN

He was behind enemy lines, and could see in the distance the dust trail of thousands of vehicles and troops. He could go round them, but that would take at least a day, and .. he tapped on the tank... fuel was running low. He could see in the distance thin lines of smoke in the air, and overhead were planes - hundreds of them! Except they'd turned tail and were heading away from the battle!

OOC Anyman can go round - but it will take several days on foot if he can't refuel. Or he can go through the army, using his own inimitable style...
.

Going to first contact the General and let him know where I am and ask if he wants me to make it through the lines on my own or if he has another way to get to me.

If he wants me to make it through on my own, a motorbike messenger will get me through a lot of areas and any checkpoints he doesn't have a pass for from the original messenger, Anyman should be able to handle on his own. If I do have to fight through any checkpoints, destroying any radios or field telephones is also important. Other forms to shift into will depend on what I find as I move along.

IF he wants me to go to ground and wait for retreival, will do that instead.

ANYMAN

"Wynn here. Good to hear from you." said the voice inside Anymans head. "The rest of our lot have stopped the Nazis bombing the BEF back into the stone age, thankfully, but we both know how they did it, and I sense you've used the Dark Power too. We may have turned a corner with that and find it more accessible, and less prone to going off in our faces. The voice in my head keeps chattering away to use it, but I tell the blasted thing to shut up! This old body has some life left in it, best not push my luck by overtaxing it eh?" he harrumphed.

"You're behind enemy lines, and we need to get you out. Only problem is an army between you and us, so best to sit it out old chap. Either that or do your thing and pass unrecognised amongst the huns ranks? That ship of ours is a godsend. The robot and that Spartan chap have been shuttling back and forth between the beach and our south coast. The longest time is sorting out the pickups and the drop offs - the flights take minutes! Top brass say its not to be diverted - our fellas getting off that beach is a must, otherwise you'll be fighting the hun on your own! Doing a damned good job too, if I may so so. The bally lot of ya are in fer medals and promotions, get your faces in the paper and all that... if you can get home in one piece..."

"Lance... I'm loathe to ask, because we need that Lunarium and you are the biggest pain in the Nazis rump but... our chaps on the front would feel a lot less heat if you were to... call on our shadowy friends and cause a ruckus behind lines. It's not an order, or even a request. But it would help. It's down to you though. Supply lines, command posts, fuel depots, anything to make the Nazis think they are being attacked from behind!"

"Have to go. The PM wants an update. I like Churchill, but between you and me the only thing bigger than his gut or his head is his bloody ego!"

ANYMAN

"Lance... I'm loathe to ask, because we need that Lunarium and you are the biggest pain in the Nazis rump but... our chaps on the front would feel a lot less heat if you were to... call on our shadowy friends and cause a ruckus behind lines. It's not an order, or even a request. But it would help. It's down to you though. Supply lines, command posts, fuel depots, anything to make the Nazis think they are being attacked from behind!"

"Have to go. The PM wants an update. I like Churchill, but between you and me the only thing bigger than his gut or his head is his bloody ego!".

"Sir, I nearly lost total control when I used the Dark Power for just a minute or so," Lance pulses back, "and that was in Belgium. If I use it here and lose control, I will probably kill all our own boys still on this side of the Channel. I don't dare use it here!"

"I have some papers here I took off a messenger. Big things are happening in the world, sir, and I think the PM needs to know immediately!"

"Here's the stuff I was able to decipher:

Our allies have advised us that the Skralls - with whom we have had dealings - have arrived in large numbers in our solar system, intentions unknown! We have warned them not to approach Earth, and to honour the agreement, which will include a goodwill gesture of Lunarium."

"The alien mercenaries have stated that unless their lunarium payments increase, they will leave the solar system. The Qrii, mortal enemies of the Skrall, are on their way. All superhuman facilities are to commence empowerment immediately, and all meta sub-humans are to be allowed to live, to use as fodder. Therefore there will be freaks and abominations in our ranks. All be advised this is authorised."

"All loyal subjects of the 3rd Reich, be aware that the Fuhrer survived the attempt on his life and is operating from a secret base until Berlin is secured. The evil agent known as Anyman has been active and must be killed at all costs!"

"Once the British Expeditionary Force has been annihilated, we will sue for peace with Britain, under our terms. They shall be absorbed into the empire."

"For General Rank or higher: The British have a force of superhumans known as the Vanguard. All our psychics in Berlin were murdered by Anyman, one of the Vanguard. Eye witness reports suggest they are powerful and dangerous. Even our most powerful agents have been unable to stop them!"

"We believe the aliens are gathering to secure the Lunarium, and plan to invade or destroy the Earth, so all efforts must be made to crush the British and turn our attentions to the skies! The cabal from the future assures us that a new 'master race' of soldiers is in production, and that they will soon be able to turn out the ultimate superhuman warrior in their thousands, once a renegade known as Lionheart has been captured. He remains a priority after Anyman."

"As psychic communications are down and radio transmissions unreliable due to the Vanguards capturing of a Skrall vessel, use despatch riders whilst in safe territory. Further updates will be available soon."

The last was from the base Anyman had just left.

"Anyman is here! We are endeavouring to capture or kill him. He has destroyed the facility and murdered hundreds of agents!"


"Maybe that will get the Americans into this war, if they knew of this," he continues. "There is other stuff but it is in code which I don't have. I can repeat it to you if you want and maybe the Intell boys can decipher it in time to be of use?"

"I will do my best to cause more havoc behind the lines here. Do you know of any targets or shall I just find what I can, sir?"

ANYMAN

"Interesting..." mused Wynn. "Some of that we knew but it's good to know that the efficient killing machine that is the 3rd Reich is looking over its shoulder, and its you and the the others we have to thank for that. We have some recruits in training, a real mixed bag, but throwing them into battle would be suicidal, so it's just you lot for now. As for your targets, well my last statement was topical. There is a man our intelligence sources list as being called Ludwig von Berne. He is a scientist who is in possession of the latest Nazi super soldier serum. He left Berlin for the front line only hours before your little shindig that toasted the place - nice work by the way - and he should be somewhere in that mess right now, looking for the candidate to turn into the Nazis latest failure."

"Only thing is Lance, this fellow has been quietly working away and shown up on our intel radar a few times. Every significant step the Nazis make, be it those Animen or the psychics they seemed so good at churning out, has this mans stamp and seal of approval over it. His results may be mixed, but from what we can tell he's made real jumps in quality, as opposed to the Nazi test subjects that would be super powerful for a few hours then die as their hearts burst in their chest, or the ones that ran so fast they aged a year every day and died of old age within the month. He may be working with Lionhearts' old chum, Trowers, and that loathsome snake Bentham. Those two were part of the group that kicked this mess off, I shouldn't think, coming from the future and what not. Their biggest problem is the time era. They have the knowledge, the schematics, the will, but the actual process of turning metal mined from the floor into computers that shouldn't appear for 50 or more years is the sticking point, and it's the only reason our boys on the battlefield aren't facing some super futuristic army of robots or battlesuit clad warriors that toss tanks about for a laugh. That said, those hulking great robots they have on the battlefield are nigh on impervious to everything save what the Vanguard throw at it, so they are getting there - slowly. We feared that the Aliens who have aligned with the Nazis for the Lunarium would supply tech, but the logistics of that - flying across the Galaxy to give their stuff to a bunch of backward goose stepping morons - don't add up. No. This fellow is our prime target. Get him, and we have a valuable source of intel providing we can get it out of him."

"His name has cropped up too many times now in our decoded messages for him to be 'just another scientist'. Find out what his game is. We want him alive. If that's too tricky, off him. Then get back here, as only you know how."

Allard looked up, through a pair of binoculars. A rolling mass of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, tanks, jeeps, trucks, supply wagons and vehicles of all kinds, command posts, checkpoints, temporary camps... where to start?

"I suggest you go and ask someone. Wynn out. Oh, and thanks again. We'll pass on what we know to the Americans. Unfortunately their congress is the sticking point, I fear. Someone is getting rich off the number of tanks and planes the Nazis are churning out, and I suspect it's someone in the US. Someone with influence and a lot of money. Until the United States gets their backside kicked, I can't see them getting into the war. Accidental sinkings of ships aside, the biggest problem is that they are over there, and we're here, 5,000 or so miles away. To the average American I supposed Hitler is 'somebody elses' problem'. If I were a less honourable man I'd suggest you turn up at the White House disguised as Hitler and drop your pants to the President. We can't spare you though Lance. And about the Dark Power thing? It stays between you and us, but this are dark days. When the tough call needs to be made, and it's between killing a few thousand of our lads to save hundreds of thousands, I know what I'd do. I'd hate it, and it would haunt me, but that's the weight we few can carry. Food for thought. Wynn out. Again."

ANYMAN

"I suggest you go and ask someone. Wynn out. Oh, and thanks again. We'll pass on what we know to the Americans. Unfortunately their congress is the sticking point, I fear. Someone is getting rich off the number of tanks and planes the Nazis are churning out, and I suspect it's someone in the US. Someone with influence and a lot of money. Until the United States gets their backside kicked, I can't see them getting into the war. Accidental sinkings of ships aside, the biggest problem is that they are over there, and we're here, 5,000 or so miles away. To the average American I supposed Hitler is 'somebody elses' problem'. If I were a less honourable man I'd suggest you turn up at the White House disguised as Hitler and drop your pants to the President. We can't spare you though Lance. And about the Dark Power thing? It stays between you and us, but this are dark days. When the tough call needs to be made, and it's between killing a few thousand of our lads to save hundreds of thousands, I know what I'd do. I'd hate it, and it would haunt me, but that's the weight we few can carry. Food for thought. Wynn out. Again.".

"Ludwig von Berne, eh," Lance mused. "Have to remember that name and hope I can find him nearby. If not ...."

"IF not, then what," Putty asked

"Then we kill a few generals and field marshals," Lance says in his head as he moves back to his motorcycle, "blow a few ammo dumps, destroy a few fuel depots and see about taking down or over a giant robot. Be neat to drive a giant robot, wouldn't it?"

"Might be fun," Putty agreed.

"Indeed! More fear for me," the third voice said.


ooc: Ok, plan to do lots of damage and work my way down to the beach and the others. While nice to go after that nice mad scientist, I think I would like to rejoin the others for a bit of fun.

ANYMAN

Walking amongst the Nazi soldiers ranks, Anyman was struck by how many of them seemed like normal young men - they'd been swept along by a wave of Naziism and found themselves away from their friends and family fighting for a mad politician and his close circle of goons. Still, they were the enemy, and Allard was able to stay impartial, especially since the two voices inside kept him focused on his goal.

Von Berne, he reasoned, would not be a common acquaintance for rank and file soldiers - he need to pump what passed for top brass in this army to see what secrets the fellow would unlock in mankinds genetic code next.

The army was camping down for the night, tents and camp stoves in orderly rows, weapons to hand, though this far back from the front and the incessant pounding of those distant guns, and Allard kept his eyes peeled.

After a couple of hours of moving through the twilight, his disguise completely allowing him to blend in, he heard a commotion and saw soldiers pointing upwards. A green and yellow blue sped to a point in the camp not far away, and Allard mad for it.

There were plenty of guards around a series of large tents, and into the biggest tent walked black leather coated Gestapo officers, which Allard thought strange on a battlefield. Just then he gave pause.



The costume he realized had changed, but there was no mistaking the features of Major Nazi, whom Anyman had come across before (OOC way back in World War II - Putty Issue #1). He'd obviously recovered from the thrashing Anyman had given him, and he marched with some purpose towards the largest tent, challenged by mean looking guards who didn't give an inch when stared at by the superhuman. They parted when he handed over his papers, and entered the tent.

The tent was undoubtedly the command section of this division of the army, but what was that ratzi swine doing here? Would he herald the arrival of more superhumans? Anyman knew a psychic - possibly from the base he'd left behind hours ago - would be bad news for him. Because of the Dark power inside, it was hard to hide his power, he knew, and they wouldn't even have to look hard!

Anyman saw a vehicle pool nearby, including staff cars and jeeps.

Enter the lions den, or make a discreet exit, heading for the BEF? The pounding of the guns suggested that the German army had stopped its advance and was softening up the French for another push. If he left the camp now he'd have a chance of catching the BEF before it departed for England. And there was the question of the Lunarium cylinder hidden inside his elasticated body! It could prove vital if he could get it back to Bletchley.

But here was an opportunity to get vital intel. Would it be worth the risk and... he looked about. He was in the middle of a Nazi army camp on a battlefield.

It really would be a risk...

OOC your choice - the Vanguards ship can't pick you up from here, but find a secluded spot away from the battle lines and it's an option.

ANYMAN

But here was an opportunity to get vital intel. Would it be worth the risk and... he looked about. He was in the middle of a Nazi army camp on a battlefield.

It really would be a risk...

OOC your choice - the Vanguards ship can't pick you up from here, but find a secluded spot away from the battle lines and it's an option.

ooc: You know, this is sort of like saying, "you wake up and find a check for a million dollars written out to you on your dresser. Do you go to the bank and deposit it, being late for work, or do you go to work first and depositi it much later?" NASTY!!!!!!!

BTW, How many Hero Points do I have?


"We could sneak close or in and listen," Putty suggests.

"We could let loose the Dark Powers and wipe this place out, then gather up notes," the third voice suggests.

"We could leave and get back to the others," Lance muses.


ooc: Depending on how many HP I have left, I'm seriously thinking of mind blasting everyone present, doing HTK with it, in a radius of 40-50 meters. Then running into the tent, grabbbing up all papers that look important and if Major Nazi went down or seems like a quick battle could drop him, then grabbing him up and taking him back to England with me. Or just taking him down ... permanently.
An average soldier has how many HTK? How much defense?

ooc: It looks like what I want to try to do is Grade Three PSI Power, with PSI Blast as my specialty power. Looks like I need Grade 3 just to expend all my psi pts in one round. Then add the gimmick of area effect, increased area. 40 meters. I need to let loose with a 6d6 HTK Psi Blast. Want to add one more frame to my actions too.

So it would look like this: Do a 6d6 HTK 40 meter area effect Psi Blast - 1 action; move forward as far as I can towards the tent - one frame; do another 6d6 HTK 40 meter area effect Psi Blast - one action. Expend all my psi points in just that one round.

That way, while there will be some overlapping of the two attacks, it will actually be spread out more and cause more confusion as to where the attack is coming from. Will take the form of the psionic Nazi that I'm afraid will be showing up soon when I do this.

Will spend whatever Hero Points I need to do this and not lose control. Not sure how many Dark Power Points I need to make this happen but I think that there will be a lot of them. Is it something like 35 Dark Power Points just to get Grade Three?

Field manipulation sounds good, since it seems cheaper and easier, area effect 20 meters. Let's go with that but let's do something nastier - cause all the calcium in their bodies to ooze out of their pores! So most of their bones would go bye bye.

Not planning on taking down Major Nazi with the attack but just hurting him ... hopefully, badly. Don't want it to be invisible nor do I want to be intangible, just make sure I'm not affected by it. Going to take the form of the Psionic Nazi so she takes the blame for it. Let's put one damage dividers into it.

If I hurt Major Nazi, hopefully I can take him down in one or two rounds of normal fighting after that. Grab the papers and go after I beat him. Grab him if I think it is feasible. He would be a nice trophy back home plus the intell we could get from him. If possible, be seen as the Nazi Wonder Woman carrying him away ... maybe looking like she is taking him to safety instead of kidnapping him but it all depends on what happens.

So ... I think I need around 12 dice of Dark Power? What I want to do sounds like around 68 points. If it is less than that, use less dice, I'm figuring 5.5 on each dice roll as an average for that number. But burn as many of my Hero Points as I can not to lose control.