World War II - The Vanguard Issue #4 - The Battle Of Britain!

Time to give myself some superspeed, as much as I can get. Run out and go grab the Lunarium before the Centurion knows I'm present and can get a really good grip on it and get it back to safety deeper into our ship. That's step one. Lets see if that works. Leave the girl.

Because step two is run back to the nose of their ship, calling on more Dark Power since I should be out by then, and give myself humonguous superstrength and life support and PUSH this enemy ship as far away from our ship as I can.

Step three, give myself teleportation and TP to their ship and order their surrender/flee our system or I blow up their ship. Get into the Engine Room and set off a chain reaction or give myself explosive powers and blow up if they do not immediately reply. I've given them all the chances I can give them and they slaughtered our allies while I played nice. Then teleport back to my ship, still with life support so I can survive in space.

Step four, take care of anybody who was left on our ship. Will give them one chance to surrender and one chance only.

OOC 50 points, grade 3 Superspeed. Pretty fast. 8 Dark Power points remaining. We'll have to go at this in steps - the problem with plans is other people...

Calling on the power from within, Anyman felt it surge trhough his body,exciting every molecule, even his thought processes! He saw the aliens move their mouths, a long slow drawn out noise starting to come out, then he was gone!

He sped down the slop of caved in metal and dropped onto the floor below.

Looking deeper into the hole the nose of the ship had punched into the P'utinarian vessel, he saw, only metres away, two powerful looking Aliens carrying a metal container, doubtless with the Lunarium in! They were being careful, climbing over twisted metal and sparking wires, doubtless in order to avoid puncturing the sturdy looking container.

One he recognised - a near 7' tall mountain of muscle and power that set every sense shrieking inside Anymans head - including that of the dark power. 'Beware mortal! To defeat this being, you will have to forget all restraint and call on my might! Shore up your defences and your ability to withstand damage! Magnify it ten fold! It may not be enough... unless you release control of your body to me!' declared the Dark Power!



The other was no less impressive, but the Dark Power seemed less wary of this one - that didn't mean the man mountain inside the armour was a pushover in any way!



The bigger man turned to the slighter smaller one. "You are right. As usual Imperator. How is is you knew this would happen?"

The Alien known as Imperator answered. "Some seventh sense I have. Amongst the myriad others." He glanced at Anyman. "This one changes shape. There is... an aura about him. He is not what he seems. Beware Centurion, for you will..."

"I request the honour of single... " started the big man, then he laughed. "Again! There is nothing that you can foresee or predict is there?"

Imperator shrugged, but held onto the container. Despite his supposedly relaxed grip, Anyman was in no doubt that the man was far, far stronger than he looked!

OOC Just a BIG word of warning. This is a Class 4 (Centurion) and Class 5 (essentially unlimited! Imperator...) foe you face, as well as those on the floor above who are reacting and will be hard on your heels! The Dark Power boosts your abilities massively, but to call on its full, unfettered might means paying a price you might not want to pay.

Anyman stretched an arm over and grabbed hold of the container. The Alien known as Imperator held it without effort - the container didn't even budge!

Anyman had never encountered a foe stronger than this one!

The big Alien, Centurion, moved with a speed almost equal to Anymans new speed, and stepped between Anyman and the container. "You are not our comrade! You face the Star Guard! Know this! We will accept your surrender - do that before you are killed! And remove our team mates form to reveal your own, true self! Or have you no honour?" growled the big man...

OOC Initiative... 1d10=10 Anyman, 1d10=2 Centurion and the rest of the Star Guard, 1d10=5+2, Imperator. Imperator breaks a number of the rules. He's faster than even those with a reasonable grade of speed, has intuition, a whole raft of superhuman senses and even precognitive abilities on top of the usual Superman level stuff. If you can reason with the fellow, it might be a lot easier than butting heads with him. Saying that, he is standing back to let Centurion take a crack at you. He'll act/react if required. You have 4 frames vs Centurion, a Class four bruiser who has 5 frames. Welcome to the big leagues...

ooc: Okay, going to attempt something I've never done before. Using Psi Powers. Summon 10 DP pts, using Hero Points to not fail the roll. Give myself Grade 3+ Psi Power and if I have points left over, 2 levels of Armor and raise my Ego, if I can.

That should take all four frames. If it doesn't I want to read the minds of both beings and find out what if any weaknesses they may have - looking for physical mainly - green glowing rocks, gases, fire, etc. If physical, going to use Transmutation on the surrounding area to hurt them.

The Psi powers I'm going to take are: Telepathy, Transmutation and Psi Bolt. With multiple grades of Psi, I should get more than one Speciality Power and lots more points to use and expend in combat.

"Sorry, don't have time to banterith folks who steal what doesn't belong to them and kills the people it does belong to," Anyman said as he summoned the dark energies within him. "Everyone just hope I don't lose control of what I'm about to do or we may all be scattered to atoms!"

OOC Dark Power Growth is +3 (from last time round). That means the contest would be you at 12 Ego+2d10 vs 13+2d10. Hero points at the ready. Aaaaaannnnd... 2d10+12=30 Anyman, 2d10+13=26 Dark power, 10d10=57 Dark Power points (plus two tens) which add 2d10 → [7,3] = (10). 67x2=134 Dark power points. It costs 40 for grade 1 PSI, then 30 more for two more grades to Grade 3. 'Passive' powers like Armour boosting and raising Ego don't take any frames. The Armour to grade 3 costs 30 points.

That's 100 points spent and you have dividers of /5htk, /6htc. You used 2 frames to call on the Dark power, another two for a mental probe. Boosting Ego is done on a 1 for 1 basis for a single attack or resisting an attack. I'll assume you throw in, say, 15 points to bring it up to 27, then probe the mind of one of the beings - I'll assume Centurion as Imperator is standing back at the minute. 2d10+27=40 Anyman, 2d10+18=35 Centurion. You have 35 PSI points and I'll assume 10 points were spent just then, seeing as you normally couldn't dig that deep without physical contact, time, cooperation from the victim and the stars to be in alignment (the last one may have been made up).

Dark Power growth is at +4. You have 19 Dark power Points remaining. You have 25/35 PSI and it's round 1 of 5, but they'll be gone in 2 rounds anyway... For the record, I'd have definitely have bought at least two or three grades of vigour, but the dice may be kind in the coming rounds...

=========

Calling on the Dark Power Anyman increased his mental faculties, the power bridging links in his mind that accessed the powers that men were never meant to have, despite what charlatans in sideshows claimed! He glanced at the oncoming alien mountain of muscle coming his way, and probed...

He saw images, and as fast as he saw them, discarded them for something useful! His planet, conquered in days by a space empire comprised of dozens of races and led by blue skinned warrior who knew no equal! Indeed, they shrugged off the most powerful weapons, ignored every tactic! They'd simply cut to the heart of the government and slaughtered the lot of them, then addressed the people - the message was simple.

Join us or be obliterated! The key word had been join, not serve. That had been clever, bringing about a wholesale acceptance that the planet was now part of a greater whole, and that they would be protected from other would be conquerers. There was more. A thousand applicants, the best of the best warriors, would be picked and from them one would be chosen to represent their world as part of the Star Guard, undergoing treatment that would see their body infused with nanites and able to transform cosmic energy - the radiation emitted from all stars - into raw power to call on! He had become Centurion, and had overseen the subjugation/conversion of a dozen worlds into the Star League, still small change compared to ancient empires such as the Qrii and Skrall, amongst others, but they believed quality, not quantity, was the key!

Some had resisted, and the result had been wholesale slaughter, leaving a planet bereft of sentient life and fit for colonisation. Once the word was given, there was no going back, no negotiation, no peace to be sued for. Such was a sign of weakness, and word would get round to the next planet. No, the slaughter would commence, and Centurion, with every bathing in blood and scream of terror, lost a part of himself, so that all that was left was an efficient, deadly, killing machine.

THERE! Anyman locked onto a thought and held to it! The Nanites were microscopic, too small to see, and yet attached to every cell in the Star Guardians body! He almost laughed - a magnetic field with a north/south pole could attract and repulse the nanites for a short while, confusing them! Whilst they doggedly resisted the pull of the magnet all the cosmic energy would drain from them! That's why certain spacial phenomena, like pulsars, were out of bounds for these beings! They would lose all of their powers unless shielded! He wondered if it applied to Imperator though - he was different.

More than that, he wondered if he'd have time to create a magnet of sufficient power that would drain this brutes powers?

Anyman blinked - the incoming fist reminded him he had immediate, deadly things to worry about!

=========

OOC And so it begins. This may get messy. You have 11 Hero points remaining. Centurion has 75 strength, WC4 and Tough Skin grade 4. If nothing else, this will be a drawn out fight if you rely on fists - assuming you can somehow stay on your feet! 2d10+4+6-17=3 HIT for 66htc, 2d10+4+6-17=1 HIT for 62htc, 2d10+4+6-17=-2 MISS, 2d10+4+6-17=4 HIT for 68htc, 2d10+4+6-17=2 HIT for 64htc. You divide HTC by 6. That's 11 each for the first and third hits, 10 each for the second and fourth. Total 42htc. Leaves Anyman on 18htc. Any response?

=========

There was a distant hammering, a booming sound, until Anyman realised it was his head being punched against the side of a metal wall that had already caved in against the irresistible strength that had smashed him against it with punch after punch! The speed and accuracy of his foe had been incredible! It was like watching Lionheart in battle, save 'turned up to 11', and this guy hit harder than Lionheart ever could!

Blood splattered against a wall and Anyman realised his nose was broken. He looked about, saw only wall and turned, knowing that the last punch had spun his to face the wrong way! Peeling himself from the wreckage of the corridor, he reeled, squinting through a battered eye, and saw the big Alien was winding up to finish him off! With the last of his power to translate any language fading he heard the Alien speak to his leader.

"Interesting. Though the specimen is small and puny, its resistance is truly remarkable! If I didn't know better, I would swear this creature was as durable as I am! Perhaps we will find their race... difficult... to subjugate? Maybe we should simply bomb them from orbit." it chuckled then. "Or leave them to the Devourer. Still, never have I encountered such natural power in a native of any planet!"

'Let me loose.' said the Dark power quietly inside Anymans head. 'I will show this being POWER!'

Suddenly Imperator gaped. "Gods!" he muttered. "Centurion! Down it, quick!"

"But I am just getting star..."

The translation ability wore off then, but Anyman felt the swell of Dark power within! A power so vast and untapped that it could convert the power of billions of raw emotions into something unstoppable! Should he let loose his power, before it was too late? He realised he was holding himself back, and that might prove his undoing!

Through a haze of pain Anyman saw the others enter the deck. The groggy blue skinned woman was being helped by the big frog like fellow. All watched, impassive as Francis Drake got the tar thrashed out of him, save for the woman he'd struck, who raised a hand to her mouth in shock!

=========

OOC Initiative... 1d10=9 Anyman, 1d10=5 Centurion. You have 2 frames. 19 Dark power remaining. You have mental powers (25/35 PSI points). Whether they are enough to drop this behemoth is another matter! Over to you.

Through a haze of pain Anyman saw the others enter the deck. The groggy blue skinned woman was being helped by the big frog like fellow. All watched, impassive as Francis Drake got the tar thrashed out of him, save for the woman he'd struck, who raised a hand to her mouth in shock!


Assuming most everyone in range has these nanite things in them, Anyman uses his transformation abilties to create a strong magnetic field from the walls of the ship, which should affect most if not all of them. "Hope this works," he mutters weakly.


ooc: That's two frames to use this power, right? So I'm out of frames. If not, I will punch him while I can.

And I can't take any Vigour, remember? The cancer in him prevents him from ever using that power. He can only heal by using the Dark Power or through the machines in sickbay only. I may have no choice, if still on my feet at the end of the round but to let loose the Dark Power on its own. Probably kill me and everyone - friends and foes alike - around me and take out parts of the rings of Saturn [are we still around Saturn?] if I do it but don't see too many options here If any of these Star Guard get back, they could send a fleet to Earth if we do manage to defeat the Devourer. If somehow, I'm still on my feet I will have to use the last points to heal myself as much as I can.

BTW, where's NoMan? How far away is Frostbot?

OOC Apologies for the delay - head is in 'recovery mode' after yesterdays excess... *groan* Couple of bits - Vigour is accessible to Anyman. The only restriction he has is that he no longer heals HTK naturally thanks to the lunarium radiation. He needs medical attention or to use the Dark power to heal. If I were a player using the Dark Power against ultra tough opponents (and bear in mind this team of aliens is the strongest yet fielded since we started the game, with no second stringers and one 'Adjutant' level Class 5 opponent amongst them - who will give you a run for a money on his own, even with the Dark Power!) the first options I'd use are a couple of grades of vigour and tough skin, if only to soak up hits. That said, when the Dark power is unleashed, fully (meaning you aren't in control) even the Class 5 power would pale in comparison. Of course, as you know, that doesn't come without cost. If you thought otherwise (about the Vigour and being able to use it) I'll wiggle something about to fix it. With regards NoMan, Boadicea, P'ertaria and the P'utinarians, well, they were setting up a defence against the people you are facing off against to stop them getting the Lunarium. That they have it should give some idea to what happened to them... None of the three mentioned would have a chance against you, and the Star Guard would just steamroller straight through them! With regards transmutation, going by the rules with what you want to do (turn the corridor, or a section, into lodestone, or naturally magnetised magnetite) will be impossible. However... this is the Dark Power. That (points) is a window and this... *throws rulebook towards window* is the rulebook being tossed out of the window *smash, tinkle!*. Next time I'll open it. Oops.

Desperate, and aware that he was facing the most powerful foes short of the Shadow Demons themselves thus far, Anyman pointed towards the floor...

Nothing happened.

The big alien hoisted the struggling Vanguardian up by the throat and slammed him into the wall. He growled something unintelligible and pulled back the other fist... then he groaned. The colour in his legs drain away, as if leaking through the floor!

Anyman slid to the floor and watched as those gathered near him staggered, their skin turning back to their varied original colours! The blue seemed to leak away... all bar one!

Imperator strode up, pushed Centurion aside without effort and hoisted Anyman to his feet with a hand. He stared into Anymans eyes, and nodded. Something 'clicked' between the pair of them, and he spoke slowly, in his alien tongue, before the words changed into something Anyman could understand!

"..resourceful and brave. I told my people not to kill your brave crew and I think... I made the right decision. You are... remarkable! What are you?" He stood back, hands on hips and looked at his team mates, on their knees on the floor. Looking about, he nodded again. "I can feel its pull. In time, I think, it would affect even me! Never, in all my time serving in the Star Guard, have a met a creature such as you. We are unstoppable, the most powerful force in the universe save for certain cosmic entities, and yet you neither fear nor give quarter to us? And I see in you, a creature of grey, like the others on this ship, and another, more ominous presence, one even I dare not antagonise too much, despite the power that is my gift and my curse!"

He looked about, and with a gesture fired a ray at the floor. He frowned. "Remarkable." he said again. "I am trying to undo what you have done, and my ability to rearrange matter molecules at the subatomic level is being thwarted! Your power is... impressive. Join us! If not..."

He let the words fall away, then sighed. "No more threats. No more battle. I offer this. Let us take half the Lunarium this day and depart as neither friend nor foe. Your fate will soon be sealed, and I would not work to hasten your demise. Yes, I believe I could defeat you, but I am unsure whether what followed could truly be termed a victory for anyone that somehow kills you. I make the offer fairly, once. If you refuse, we fight, and I tell you this. We will take the Lunarium and this ship - and all on her - WILL be destroyed, regardless of whom walks away."

ooc: Last I heard Frostbot was in orbit around Earth and we sent another ship after him. I didn't know if that ship ever caught up to us or not. See other comments in out of character section.

Found it! This is why I haven't taken Vigour

OOC Your body no longer heals naturally - it's dark power or medical aid whilst it fights off the radiation in his body. To a geiger counter he'd light up like a Christmas tree. On the flip side choose a physical type power or effect (so gaining flight would be the ability to manifest wings, wall crawling would be the ability to manifest suckers on your hands and feet, and so on) that Anyman gains as a result of the Lunarium radiation OR increase an existing physical power. The one exception is you can't increase/gain vigour because of your illness. So an extra grade (+12) strength? Stretching +1 grade? Tough Skin +1? Agility? Speed? Your call. Once you've decided, I'll change the character sheet and we'll sort out the P'utinarians.

So I figured if I couldn't take it as a new power due to the radiation, why would I have access to it later on.

I'll wait a couple of days to see if the others chime in on the OOC line then make up my mind. Right now, his mind set is a bit jumbled. Scared he is going to die and die uselessly. Or is it cowardness to give in to the Big Blue and take the deal? Die nobly but kill their greatess allies in the war? Can he talk his way out but the big guy doesn't seem to want to talk anymore and talking can be what he does best. Maybe a fresh idea will pop into my head or the others will come up with something, so I will wait until Friday before deciding.

Posted a response Dave, take a look, but basically:

Agree to terms, (we can get more) but see if they won't take the P'utinarians under their wing and protection.

etc.

Sj

OOC Going on from what you posted/transmit in the Group telepathy thread...

Imperator turned to look at the downed Star Guard, focussing on Sky Wolf. Shaking his head he turns back to Anyman. "We ARE the Star Guard. We guard and represent a league of united planets that would be crushed by the likes of the Qrii, the Skrall and a dozen other warmongering empires. I'll tell you what we see - we see a planet, alone, and with primitive technology. The main thing they have going for them is the Lunarium, but for all intents and purposes they don't know how to use it to it's best advantage, and now others know about it. You say we are thieves. Possibly. Another way of looking at it is that we keep the Lunarium out of the hands of both warmongering empires and any others so that the balance of power will not be upset. I disagree with many things I am ordered to do, but I do them, because, for the greater good, a lesser evil is justified."

He looked about, and flicked a solid metal stanchion of the ship. The metal disintegrated where he touched and he turned back to Anyman. "I believe you. I don't have to read your mind, I think. You are resourceful, brave and powerful beyond measure. And yes, I believe you are holding back. Furthermore, I believe that an alliance, or treaty of some kind would be greatly beneficial to our peoples, but sadly, worthless. You see, we know the Devourer is on its way here, and when it gets here, you would be well advised to be elsewhere! That said..."

He narrowed his eyes, and concentrated. The lodestone that the Dark Power had transmuted slowly began to change back to its original form. "Remarkable. Even with all my power, I can't cancel yours before it wears off naturally." he looked up at his defeated team mates. "Get back to the ship. Sky Wolf. Not you." He strode up to the winged wolfman, now a natural grey colour. It snarled "I can't believe you are talking to this alien! Kill him! You traitor! I shall tell the supreme council that... URK!" Imperator hoisted the alien up by the throat and held him there. "No, I will tell them. You know the rules for first contact. Minimum force. Let the diplomats decide what comes next. I'll have my nanites back I think..." he said, seemingly draining the last of the blue from Sky Wolfs body.

Sky Wolf screamed and dropped to the deck, shivering. The others looked on, then gathered him up. Cerebra paused before leaving "It is a shame you are to die, alien. I would have been proud to call you ally, or friend." She left for the ship and Imperator sighed. "Apologies for the deaths among your crew. One must work with the tools that are given and Sky Wolfs people barely understand the concept of diplomacy or chain of command. My protests fall on deaf ears. Keep the Lunarium. I will return in ..." he scanned about. "You use measurements of ... seconds, minutes, hours and days? One earth day. I shall find you. To one with senses as attuned to power as mine, it's almost painful just to look at you!" He nodded, looking about. "Thieves? Perhaps. Or perhaps we needed something of the Lunarium before our enemies got it, and before the Devourer takes it. Know this - if the Qrii, Skrall or anyone else gets here before the Devourer does, they WILL fight you for the Lunarium. The prize is too great not to battle, and die for. As I said, in One Earth day I shall seek you out and bring a treaty, perhaps a trade ship, with technology, weapons and medical supplies. It will count for little, save to make your time easier before the Devourer slays all."

He gave a fist salute across his chest, bowed his head and turned to leave!

Anyman nods back gravely, not bothering to point out that he just kicked the Skrall's and Qrii's butts before the Imperator attacked his ship. He changes back to his normal trenchcoat, fedora and bandages form as the others file out. He is just barely holding it together and is trying hard not to show it, putting up a brave front.

"Hot Damn! We ain't dead," Putty yells inside his head.

The Dark Power ... twitches. So close to being let totally loose.

Anyman waits for all the leave hisship then picks up the Lunarium case and gets it out of the room before the ship takes off and exposes the room to vacuum.

DavidMcMahon wrote:Anyman nods back gravely, not bothering to point out that he just kicked the Skrall's and Qrii's butts before the Imperator attacked his ship. He changes back to his normal trenchcoat, fedora and bandages form as the others file out. He is just barely holding it together and is trying hard not to show it, putting up a brave front.

OOC: Man talk about a staring contest and who'd blink first. Nicely done Dave! Although we're clearly not out of the woods yet.

Sj

I keep doing this and I will have to start seriously on my second character!!!!! i'm still shaking! Anyman, once we are out of here, is heading for sickbay to heal up and then he is going to find out if he can get drunk or not.

Watching the Alien ship recede through the hole in the vast P'utinarian craft was frightening and relieving at the same time. Force fields flickered as they tried - and failed in some cases - to contain atmosphere, and fail safe blast doors sealed off whole sections of deck. Anyman looked about. He'd won again.

He'd snatched what could best be termed as a 'victory' away from the ravening jaws of defeat.

He sighed. Now to find out what the cost was. There was always a cost...

He made his way down through the holes in the decks, knowing they would lead to the main engine room where a battle to prevent the Star Guard stealing the Lunarium had taken place.

When he got down there dozens of P'utinarians were picking through the engine room wreckage - the place was vast, and smashed up. The containment chambers for the Lunarium anti matter matrix - essentially the 'engine' that powered the ship - were in ruins, and the aliens battled to put out dozens of fires, threading their way through a maze of twisted and molten metal. There were also dark grey/brown stains on the floor.

Anyman knelt to press a finger to one, but stopped short of touching it. He knew a P'utinarian had died trying to stop the Star Guard from taking the Lunarium. Standing and looking about, Anyman counted three, four more smears. P'utinarians were quietly moving around scooping up injured companions into containers. Allards heart leapt into his mouth as he saw what looked to be a lump of barbecued meat being loaded onto a stretcher...

"She's still alive..." said a P'utinarian of Boadicea. "She refused to back down or give any quarter, and set off a grenade to stop one of the invaders. It left the Alien unharmed and caught her in the blast. She will live, believe it or not. Our technology is such that we can keep her alive, but she may not wish to be..."

Anyman looked about. NoMan was another survivor, though at the moment was an unconscious disembodied puddle sloshing around in a container. He would learn to use his powers and become more powerful, but the path would fraught with peril.

"P'ertaria died..." explained the P'utinarian. He paused for a few moments. "We fought to keep the rock that would see us out of this star system and to a place where we can call home. They tore it out of the engines and in doing so destroyed any chance of us leaving this solar system. We can move about in system but getting anywhere beyond will take centuries."

"We might as well have let them take the rock, for all the good it did us." said the P'utinarian sadly.

=========

"Mr Allard, the Frostbot has docked. It is making its way to the bridge."

Lance nodded, then lay back on the medical gurney as a robotic arm moved over him, firing a small laser that agitated and knitted his flesh together. It would have been agonising for a normal person, but he barely felt the pain. Lance Allard, the Anyman, scourge of the Nazis, now saviour of the Human Race - not that anyone would know of it. And it was only a temporary reprieve. The Qrii and Skrall would be back, as would the Star Guard. All would be eager to pick from Earths riches before the Devourer wiped the planet and the rest of the solar system from the pages of history. He looked down at his wounds. There were no scars to see.

Allard lay back. His scars ran deeper than the surface.

=========

Frostbot spoke up "The Royal Air Force is continuing to hold off the Nazi bombing raids with remarkable efficiency."

"Despite their technological superiority the Nazis are hampered by having to adapt inferior modern day technology, and have not the means - as yet - to develop futuristic vehicles and equipment from scratch. DICE reports that their spies have located half a dozen possible sites within Germany where building such places may have been started. All are underground installations. Other reports indicate that Berlins radiation levels have reduced drastically thanks to adaptation of special techniques taught by the Nazis future allies. Hitler continues to rally his people and appears to be in fine health, though his whereabouts are still unknown. The rest of the Vanguard are... "

"Scattered?" added Anyman, painfully slipping from his white gown and shaping his body to form his distinctive uniform and bandaged skin.

"Indeed. General Wynn has... reclaimed the power from the injured agents and is ready to start the empowering process again."

"More meat for the grinder." croaked Boadicea, from her bed. She was covered in bandages and her limbs had been amputated at the knees and elbows. With pipes and tubes jutting from her, she was unrecognisable as the beauty with the brains and foresight to plan operations. The Frostbot clanked over. "Ms Johnson." said the Frostbot. "Your injuries are unfortunate, and indeed very grievous. However, I have a suggestion for you which could increase your operational ability from the current low to zero level to levels beyond that which you once enjoyed. The process will be painful. Are you willing to undergo an invasive surgical process and rehabilitation program?"

Anyman turned away and looked out of the window. The shining dot in the distance was Earth. Very soon there would be the distinct possibility that it would be wiped from all of existence! Did any of this matter?

'Of course it does mortal. Though you are broken, you can be healed. Though friends fall, their sacrifice is only in vain if you give in. Though hope fades, whilst the spark still remains it must still be called hope. And it is you, along with your friends, who must fan that spark back into a flame lest the light of freedom be snuffed out. If not you... then who?' rasped the Dark Power inside.

Anyman shifted the focus of his sight to look at his own reflection in the window, staring long and hard. The fight was over, it was time to lick wounds and mourn friends.

How many more would perish before the war was done? And would any of it matter in the days ahead, when a power that could not be fought came to claim everything that was, is, and ever shall be of Planet Earth, and all who lived on her...?

END OF VANGUARD ISSUE #4

OOC WC goes up by 1. Add a power grade and let me know what you choose. New issue tomorrow...

Anyman shrugs and slaps his face lightly.

"Time to stop moping and get out there and be a positive force for our allies," he tells his reflection. "So get out there and smile, slap a few backs, listen intently to each one's problems. Visit the sick and cheer them on. Just get 'er done!"

With that, he strides out of his room with a renewed step and goes out to bring the heart back into his allies.


ooc: Hate to do it but will take grade two armor, not that I was dodging much anyways. Almost thought about getting Growth but upping my armor seems more survivable.

Got a point there. Something of a trade off. Take a little less damage or get more hit points. I wanted Anyman to be bulletproof but not super bomb proof. So let's do the Vigour thing instead. Growth later.