MF Turn 2

As the heroes get closer to the fortress, MM detects a metahuman approaching fast but he can't lock on to it. Roughneck's computer core begins buzzing an alarm to him as well. But before they can warn the others, they are under attack.

The figure they spotted earlier, busts through the ice beneath their feet, flying high into the air blasting away with red laser-like beams from his eyes, melting and cracking any ice nearby them. Everyone falls into the icy waters before they have a chance to react.

The caped figure floats high above them watching them struggle to remain afloat. "I don't know who you jerks are, and more importantly...I don't care! No trespassing, so says Ultra-Man!" He wears dark blue tights and red cape, with a "U" symbol on his chest.

Frank plunges through the ice and immediately sinks like a rock, his cybernetics pulling him down into the black icy water. He struggles to grab a chunk of ice to hold onto, and avoids pulling any of his teammates down with him. [I play 5S to try to save myself, if that is allowed.]

Verve sputters and splashes, swimming towards the nearest stable ground. The water is freezing and his teeth immediately begin to chatter, non stop. My sketchpad and pencils will be drenched now, which sucks, he thinks.

Tolwynn paddles near Zena, offering any assisatnce she can provide to her master. Tancreed immediately takes flight.

[I am assumming that all of the heroes know how to swim, so no one is in any danger of drowning unless something drastic occurs. Pat, if you want to say Roughneck is sinking, that is fine, but he can lift 10 tons, so I don't see why he wouldn't be able to keep himself afloat.

Michael, MM's cape-chute flotilla may come in handy here, if I understand it correctly it functions as a gliding/floatation device?]
Exactly what I was planning. MM activates the flotilla for the non-swimmers while urging, "Zena, grab Frank..." He stops when he sees that the warrior-princess is already thinking one step ahead.

Zena immediately dives under the icy water and grabs for Frank. [8 S to grab Frank, 2W +3A for any Dodge needed]

“Damn, anybody who can get away with calling himself Ultra-Man has got to be one tough mo-fo,” Kinetica takes to the air, making a beeline for Ultra-Man. She attempts to slam into him full force [4A]

[2.4.7-- added in a comment for Verve and put Kinetica's posts at the buttom to make it make more sense timing wise. It looks like Kinetica and MM both have the same idea, to distract Ultra-Man for the rest of eth group. I will have to make some sort of cardplay to determine who he will go after, MM or Kinetica, since they are both challenging/taunting him.---also, keep in mind that no one is aware of Tancreed, except Zena, unless she informs the others.. Too bad we don't have our comm-links.].

Kinetica explodes out of the icy waters in a blue blur making a beeline for Ultra-Man. She slams into him with a loud thud, startling him more than injuring him.

Ultra-Man smiles at her with a cocky grin. "That the best you got toots? My grandma can hit harder than that..and she's been dead for 20 years. Here let me show you how it's done." he says as he lands a back handed slap across Kinetica's face which jettisons her backwards a good hundred yards before hitting the ground. She slides across the icy tundra kicking up a rooster tail of snow and ice in her wake before coming to a stop. Luckily her force field was able to maintain it's integrity and not collapse.

Master Menagero activates his cape flotilla and Zena plunges into the icy depths to save Roughneck. Through the murky waters she can see him sinking like a stone, despite his best efforts to remain afloat. She is just barely able to reach his outstretched fingertips, and pulls him close to her, kicking towards the surface. As she does this she receives a mental image in her mindsye from Tancreed. He is flying towards the fortress to search for an entrance and find the shard Meta Force was sent to find. Zena's lungs are on fire, desperately in need of air when she finally surfaces with frank. She gasps in the ice cold air, making her even colder. She is not dressed for this weather...No one is.

As she places Frank in the flotilla wit Master menagero's help, Zena realizes that they will all die of exposure very soon if this mission isn't accomplished quickly. All of them are beginning to feel the numbness of the extreme cold seeping into their bodies

"Thanks Z-z-zena," gasps Frank. His eyes are wide and the water dripping from his nose and brow quickly freezes.

Verve grabs hold of Tolwyynn's neck and the two of them make it to stable ground. Tolwynn shakes out her fur and looks completely miserable as ice quickly begins to form on her wet fur. Verve doesn't look much happier, as he shakes uncontrollably in the freezing cold, trying to open his backpack and retrieve his drawing materials.

MM, Zena, and Frank, paddle up next to them and Verve assists them in climbing out of the water.

Ultra-man hovers in the air above them with his hands on his hips. "Next?!" he taunts, seemingly unfazed by the extreme temperatures.

"Who are you?" yells Frank up to Ultraman. "What is this place? Why did you attack us?" Frank gathers his feet under himself, ready to dodge any incoming attacks, but he isn't trying to appear threatening.

"I already told you who I am freak! I am Ultra-man! This is my Fortess of Solitude..not the Fortess of Complete Freak Strangers Dropping by Whenever They Feel Like It. That would just be stupid. Not to mention being overly wordy. Who sent you?! Was it that bitch wife of mine, Super Woman? Or maybe Owl man?! Probably trying to get me out of the way so he can have her to himself. Yes..... it all makes sense now. " Ultra Man says knowingly.

"This guy's crazy," mutters Frank quietly to Zena and Menagero. "But he seems pretty dern tough. Tougher than any of us." Frank gives Menagero a meaningful look. [O GM of Benevolence and Kindness, a battlemap would be useful at this point.]

"Listen well, Ultra-Man." MM starts. "I warn you that my power is beyond the grasp of most mortal men. If we were to battle, the might I would have to unleash would destroy all of my friends. This I cannot do. Hence, if you truly want a challenge--if you are truly Ultra-Man--risk battling me over there on that isolated glacial shelf. There will I test your mettle. If you lose, I shall earn your name. Forever more will I be deemed Ultra-Man. If (and this is a big IF) you win, you may have the supreme honor of being called Master Menagero!" Rupert turns to the rest of the team. "Stand back, Meta-Force. You must keep your distance or risk death. I will handle this (gulp) alone." He raises his eyebrows up and down hoping someone on the team is smart enough to take advantage of his sacrifice.

Verve looks at the others. "We are all gooing to die soon if we don't get that crystal quick." He lifts up his pencil, which is completely encased in ice.It looks more like an icicle than a writing utensil. "and I am pretty much useless right now, due to my frozen equipment."

"Ouch," says Kinetica after finally coming to a stop. She picks herself up, and flies back towards Ultra-Man, but of instead of trying to hit him, she focuses on distracting him and dodging his attacks. [Play 5S to dodge]
"Let's see, we've got Ultra-Man, Super Woman, and Owl Man," says Kinetica. "Who are you people, the League of Extraordinarily bad names? Seriously though, this Owl Man sounds like a hoot." [Someone remind me to spend an XP on Taunting next chance we get]

"I see we have our next volunteer!" gloats Ultra-Man as he swoops down from the sky and smashes into Master Menagero. MM feels the man's powers flood through him, a millisecond before the impact, which no doubt saved his life. He hasn't felt this powerful since he took on the powers of Harbinger in the battle to save the Earth from the Xargothians. The pair are carried good deal away from the rest of the group by the force of the attack. Ultra-man ignores Kinetica's taunting, focusing his attention on MM.

"Let's g-g-g-go" chatters Verve, trying to take advantage of the distraction MM has provided, and heads again towards the Fortress of Solitude.

Zena can sense that Tancreed is now inside the Fortress and is flying about the strange-looking place in search of the green crystal. Zena helps Frank out of the water before helping herself. She isn't used to the cold since the island that she calls home happens to be tropical in nature.

Her teeth begin to chatter uncontrollably as she stammers out to everyone, "Tancreed has made her way inside the fortress. She is searching for the crystal we need."

Sorry about the last turn. Work is kicking my ass right now....Not a big deal .The evil face of reality reaers it's head for us all at times.

Frank winces as Ultraman smashes into MM, and the two careen away across the snow. He can't tell if MM is OK and can only hope that he took on his enemy's powers before impact. Knowing that he alone can join Menagero in combat without interfering with MM's powers, he considers whether to help--if Menagero is truly as powerful as Ultraman, than they might fight to a stalemate, and Frank might tip the balance. And if he didn't take on Ultraman's powers, he's probably crippled or worse.

"Hey, Ultradork!" Kinetica keeps her distance as she fires a k-bolt at Ultraman. "You changing dance partners already, cause I didn't think MM was your type.

Seeing Kinetica attack Ultraman, Frank makes his decision. To Zena and Verve, he says, "Let's get that crystal and get the hell outta here while he's distracted." Unless they disagree, h takes off for the fortress entrance.

Zena doesn't like the idea of leaving Kinetica and Menagero behind to face their opponent, but decides to trust Frank's orders. It's not often she follows the lead of a male, but perhaps the swaying factor is that it's Roughneck. She takes off with Tolwynn in tow, towards the icy lair.

MM wants to charge into Ultra-Man carrying him even further away from the Fortress. (USe 6S Card throw)

"I appreciate you coming forward on behalf of your former colleagues, Ms. Chesterton, " says Jack Rogers with a smile and handshake.

Ms. Chesterton had never met the Director of CAPE before, but he was well known to her by reputation. A former super hero himself, in the Golden Era of heroes during W.W.II known as the Sentinel. The man is well past 70 years old, but he looks no older than his mid thirties. With his Blonde hair and blue eyes, he closely resembles a young Robert Redford.

"Col...er...Jack... I can't officially say I am acting as counsel for Meta-Force until I receive their permission. Which may be hard to do until they turn up. "

"Oh, I am sure they will." says Rogers. "and when they do, they are in a heap of trouble. I'm willing to forgive and forget, despite them putting two of my agents in the emergency room. That is, of course, if they are willing to play ball."

"What exactly do you mean" asks Ms. Chesterton, with her pen poised above her yellow legal pad.

"This is all confidential of course." says Rogers, looking thorough the blinds of his office window.

Rogers turns from the window with a clap of his hands, "Well then. Here's what I have in mind...."

As soon as Zena begins to examine the shard, the team is whisked away in another blinding flash of light. They re-appear in another strange environment. They appear to be in a small cave. Outside, it is barren and gray, with large areas of greenish hellfire burning in random locations. The skies burn with fire, the same way they did back on Earth before Clowny's first appearance. Clowny is there along with several other brightly clad individuals. Meta-Force feels quite refreshed and they are not cold or wet. Probably Clowny's doing

"About time you showed up. I guess introductions are in order. Meta-Force meet the Fantastic Four and the Justice League. They are both hero teams from parrallel worlds. The Fantastic Four consists of Mr. Fantastic, the Thing, the Human Torch, and the Invisible Woman. The Justice League is made up of Superman, don't be alarmed by his resemblance to Ultra man, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and the Green Lantern

"Each team has been busy doing the same thing you have been doing. Fighting to gain the pieces of the Chronal Crystal that will allow the Obsidian stone to be destroyed. Now that we have the last piece, we are halfway to saving the multiverse. Clowny takes the third piece form Zena and connects it to the other two shards. "All you gotta do now destroy the Obsidian Stone, which is housed in Thanatos' lair" he says indicating a sinister looking black spire in the distance "Simple right? have fun with that. HONK! HONK! and Clowny vanishes with a loud fart. The Chronal Crystal still levitating in the air, where Clowny had held it.

The other heroes all introduce themselves to the members of Meta-Force. Zena feels a natural kinship with Wonder Woman who is also an Amazon on her own world. Zena can't help but notice the arm bands worn by Wonder Woman. They appear to be of the same type of material, and look very similar to her own. It shocks her somewhat to see the lasso hanging where Zena stores her chakram. Master Menagero feels woozy being surrounded by so much raw power in such a confined area and his powers keep shifting as people move about.

After Clowny leaves, Frank says to the other super teams: "I'm Roughneck. Nice ta meetcha. Now, before we go any further, I gotta ask, any of you heard of this Clowny before now? He just appeared in our world, same time as the sky went all firey. For all we know, he caused it. Then he sends us on this quest, honk honk and all that." He looks at Batman, who is dressed closest to how he himself is dressed. "You trust him?"

"I don't trust anybody. Least of all people dressed as clowns" the Dark Knight replies coldly. "However, we have it on good authority that the threat to the multiverse is as he describes it."

"That's right," replies Superman, "The Specter and the Phantom Stranger both warned us of this danger, prior to Clowny contacting us. These people may not mean anything to you, but on our world, they carry a lot of credibility in such matters."

"What's up with tall, dark, and broody? He doesn't strike me as someone who's afraid of anything, least of all clowns. And are you telling me Ultra Dork's this dude's evil twin?" asks Julia. "Wait, don't you need a goatee to be an evil twin? I wonder how that works out for girls."

"Well, they have the same bad fashion sense, although I should talk. Wait a minute, you're a big guy with rockskin, no problem there. But why are the rocks orange? Hey, I'm just asking."

"Say, Kinetica. After we are done saving the multiverse, maybe we could get some coffee or something. I doubt there are any good cafe's around here, but I'm sure we can find something suitable" flirts Johnny Storm, aka the Humans Torch (he is not in his torch form at the moment)

"Coffee? What, are you from the lamo-verse or something? Call me when you find something more fun."

Their discussions and battle plans are cut short when as Batman looks to the skies and grimly says" Looks like Thanatos is aware of us. We've got company on the way." A stream of flying demons can be seen exiting the uppermost heights of the spire and are headed their way.

"Oh really, what was your first clue?" Kinetica takes to the air, and slams into the nearest demon. (Playing 4A to Powerslam)

Zena walks over and touches the crystal with the flat of her palm. "I do not trust magic... Magic helped destroy my amazonian culture... reducing it to a shadow of what it used to be." Zena ponders what she has said before staring at Frank. There is hate in her eyes, but it doesn't seem to be directed at Frank, but more towards the steel embedded in his flesh, "The only thing worse than magic is man's machines... Tolwynn, Tancreed and I will guard this gem. Keep the green and yellow creatures back."

Frank nods when Zena mentions 'man's machines.' The reference is obviously not lost on him.

MM stands next to the Human Torch. After feeling his power, he liked the idea of turning into a living solar flare. Able to assess everyone's power in a relatively short time, he jumps into action. "Invisible Woman, Kinetica, erect force fields to funnel the demons attacks towards the powerhouses. Superman, I hope you have Ultra-Man's looks and powers. Lead an aerial assualt to shatter the first wave of ghouls. Anyone who can fly, join him," MM says while igniting into flame, "including me! The rest of you, advance on the citadal and do whatever you do best to break in! Meta-Force, Action!" Menagero belts out recalling their more cinematic days! He takes off in a jet of flame sending fireballs toward the swarm. (Playing my 7I.)

Frank says, "Zena, we may need the crystal to destroy this obs...obsid...the stone he was talkin' about." If Zena goes with the group assaulting the citidel, Frank will go too and fire his laser at the oncoming demons. If she stays here, he will stay as well and still fire his laser.

|9A for the attack, 3D for defense if necessary. O GM, is there a battlemap? How far is the citidel? And can Frank both fire and move toward it?--pcrh.

"Roughneck is right Zena. We need the Chronal Crystal to destroy the Obsidian Stone," says Wonder Woman. It will be an honor to go into battle with a fellow amazon.

Green Lantern makes a large glowing green platform with his ring. "All of you non-fliers can catch a ride with me. Hang on tight though. It looks like its going to be a bumpy ride." The Fantastic Four (minus the Human Torch) and Batman all step on the platform.

"Screw diamonds, I got to get me one of those rings," says Kinetica already in flight.

Wonder Woman runs to the front of the cave and flies off toward the citadel. As do the other fliers.

Zena steps slowly onto the glowing green platform. She watches her footing carefully. She does not trust the green one. He is just a man, and they are seduced by temptation easily enough. If it wasn't for the assurances of Wonder Woman, she wouldn't trust this... Fantastic League.... or whatever the strange clown person called them. She motions for Tolwynn to follow her, while Tancreed flys freely ahead with the other airborne warriors.

Kinetica dodges several blasts as well, as she slams into a demon, knocking him back into several others. They all vanish in bursts of smelly brimstone when defeated.

Green Lantern takes off swiftly with the others in tow aboard his energy platform. The demons are quickly upon them, swarming about them and blasting away with their energy rods. Batman pulls a device from his utility belt and flings it at a cluster of the demons. The bat-shaped boomerang trails a tiny metallic cord behind it. The boomerang entangles the feet of several of the demons, who disrupt each other's flight patterns and go careening away from the group in a frenzy.

Verve creates a giant animated ape, which begins scaling the outside of Thanatos's towering lair. Demons begin attacking the ape as it ascends the heights. "Give 'em hell Kong!" he shouts excitedly to the giant ape.

The Invisible Woman lives up to her name and vanishes from sight. Several of the demons appear to be slamming into unseen barriers erected directly in front of them.

Mr. Fantastic grabs hold of the edge of the platform and stretches his body out into the form of a large net, which captures several of the demons in it's folds. The Thing bellows out, "It's Clobberin' Time!" as he grabs hold of Mr. Fantastic's arms and spins him above his head like an ancient sling, releasing the captured demons as projectiles against their oncoming brethren.

Zena deflects several energy blasts with her bracers, as Roughneck fires his laser at full intensity at an oncoming demon. It catches him in the chest and sends it spiraling to the ground below. Another demon fires at him, which he dodges. His computer core kicks into combat mode, overriding any thoughts of mercy or restraint Frank may have shown his opponents.

Meanwhile, a red blur on the ground is spinning so fast that it has created a whirlwind that is cutting a swath of destruction on its path towards the spire.

"Keep it up, ladies and gents,, MM smiles as he forms a net of fire to route the demons toward the seemingly unstoppable Superman while dodging demons.(5A* to dodge demons 5S* to creat fire net.)

"Hey, save some for me!" Kinetica continues to slam into demon after demon. (5A to attack, 5S to dodge if needed)

Frank (uncontrollably) fires his laser again at the onrushing demons. (4I for attack, 3A for defense if necessary.)

Zena continues to protect Frank and the others by deflecting anything thrown or shot her way. Tancreed does her best to avoid the creatures while Tolwynn swats at anything coming near Zena.

As the heroes press closer to the spire, the demons appear to be concentrating their attacks on Zena. It is as if they can sense that she is in possession of the Chronal Crystal and poses the greatest threat to their master, Lord Thanatos.

Zena's arms become a blur as she blocks energy blast after energy blast directed at her, her arms feel as if they are on fire, and sweats pours from her body from the intense effort. The other heroes do their best to keep the creature's at bay before they finally reach the spire.

The come to rest on a platform that juts out of the side of the mountian-like fortress with a darkened tunnel leading into the interior. The Chronal crystal begins to glow and ebb with a strange energy, sensing it is near it's purpose. The demons increase their ferocious attacks on the assembled heroes

"Zena, you and your team must destroy the Obsidian Stone. We will stay here and hold off these demons. Go, my sister, there is no time to lose" says Wonder Woman as she throws a demon into an oncoming swarm.

Roughneck shakes his head as he overcomes the computer core. He was able to wrest control of his body back faster this time; a comforting thought, but not by much. He follows Zena and the rest down the corridor.

They travel down the corridor with the light from the Chronal Crystal guiding their way. After several hundred feet the forridor opens into a vast chamber, which looks very much like a throne room of a king, except that it is sullen and gray , with no signs of life or color.

At the end of the room is a raised dais with a rotting throne upon it. The creature that sits upon it is cloaked in tattered garments and has his dark hood drawn over his face which appears to have no flesh on it whatsoever. In his right hand he holds a black orb about t the size of a baseball. It courses with ebony tendrils of energy just below its surface similar to the appearance of ink in water.

The creature raises his skeletal head and stands from is thrown. "So you fools dare to oppose me!? It is useless. One way or another all roads lead to Thanatos. Come ! Let us hasten your inevitable deaths!"
his hands began to crackle with dark energy as he prepares for Meta-Forces assault.

""Let us hasten an inevitable k-bolt up your gi-normous rump!" replies Kinetica. She focuses her force field into a slender beam aimed directly between Thanatos's eyes. Playing 8 Int, Pushing 3 Str; use replacement card for dodge.

Roughneck stands by Zena, expecting their enemy to attack her first since she holds the crystal. Maybe I can distract him, give her a chance to do what she's gotta do, he thinks. He fires his laser 2W edge, 5A trump for ranged attack, at full blast (+5) at Thanatos, and charges to enter melee with him as quickly as possible. If he's going to frenzy, at least he can get into range of his enemy so he's less likely to hit someone else by accident. Use a replacement card for defense, preferably an agility card.

"One oversized Acme weight coming up. Watch your heads. " cautions Verve as he begins sketching.

OOC: I will use a plot point for a cool battle manuever. I want to use the BREAKTHROUGH card. Charging up with Kinetica's energies, I want to fake Thantos out. HE willthink I am striking him, but I want to blast through the base of where he is sitting to get himoff kilter, maybe make him drop the orb.

"Time to play hot potato, foul cosmic miscreant!" MASTER MENAGERO yells as he performs his manuever. (Toss 7I and push with 8D)

Zena draws out her chakram with one hand, while holding the Chronal Crystal in the other. She hurls her projectile right towards the Obsidian Stone. "Consider it broken." She mutters confidant that the stone will not survive the impact.

As Meta-Force moves forward to attack, the Chronal Crystal shines like a beacon in the dark, bathing the room in it's emerald glow. As it does so, each of the heroes becomes infused with energy beyond their imagining and comprehension. The power of every instance of their individual beings in every parallel dimension throughout the multiverse is now theirs to tap into. Their powers increase to the Nth degree and they become like Gods.

Zena throws her chakram with the force of an entire legion of amazons warriors.
Roughneck fires his laser with the power of the sun.
Kinetica fires a k-bolt that is literally an unstoppable force.
Verve's imagination goes into places he never dreamt possible.
Master Menagero smashes into the dais with the force of an atomic bomb.

It all happens so blindingly fast that no one is quite sure what takes place next.
A shattering sound, a blinding flash of light, time freezes for what seems like an eternity taking place within millisecond, then releases again all at once. KA-WHOOOM!!!!!!

When the heroes awake an indeterminate amount of time later, they find themselves floating weightlessly through a star filled cosmic void. Planets and constellations float in the distance in all directions.

Clowny floats nearby on a ratty looking green recliner, smoking his smelly cigar.
"About time you guys woke up." he says while scratching his stubble. "Congratulations. You saved the multiverse. " The fact that they are floating in space, breathing normally, as well as hearing sounds in a vacuum, somehow seems completely normal to the heroes. "Time is once again flowing normally and the multiverse is strting to re-align itself."

"The Powers That Be, have advised me to grant you a reward for your service. You each get to make one wish before I teleport you back to your homeworld. It can be anything you want...within reason. Some things simply aren't possible for reasons beyond the scope of this conversation. Cosmic balance and all that sort of crap."

He stands from the recliner, "So....who is first? Step right up and take yer chances." HONK! HONK!

"I have a wish," MM says. He watches Kinetica, a woman who has so much potential, but since the day he met her, has been shackled by her drug and alcohol addiction. "I want Kinetica to be relieved of her addiction, in fact, I wish her to be repulsed by the mere thought of addiction."

"NO!" shouts Zena as she 'stands up' in the weightless void. "I don't trust this. That was too simple. Something seems wrong about it all."

"Fine! Have it your way wench! I was content to let you all live out eternity in blissful ignorance thinking you had saved the multiverse and possessed teh powers of Gods! But if it is a fight you want then it is a fight you shall have!" screams "Clowny" as the illusion fades. Clowny morphs into Thanatos and the cosmos blurs back into Thanatos's throne room exactly as they were. Time resumes at the exact moment Zena's chakram was about to leave her hand.

The amazonian weapon whizzes across the room in a golden blur, strikig the Obsidian Stone, held in the villains clawed hand. The force of the blow doesn't shatter the stone, as Zena had hoped, but it does cause Thanatos to lose his grip on the Stone and it careens to the floor.

Roughneck unloads a laser blast at Thanatos on full intensity, which sears the gray flesh of the fiend. (you managed to get three trumps) and Kinetica follows up with a k-bolt that snaps Thanatos' head back like he was hit with a jackhammer.

Master Menagero careens into the dais, that Thanatos is standing upon causing it to break through beneath his feet. Thanatos falls down as the dais gives way beneath him and the large back marble throne falls on top of him.

But Thanatos is not so easily defeated, he immediately grabs the throne and throws it at the rapidly approaching Roughneck. but the cyborg easily spins out o of teh way with plenty of room to spare. the throne smashes into the far wall disintegrating into dusty rubble from the impact.

An animated ACME anvil with the words 100 tons written on it shimmers into existence directly above Thanatos's head and comes crashing down on the temporal tyrant, but the villain shrugs it off like a piece of lightweight lawn furniture

Thanatos is seething with anger and surging with energy, but his attention seems drawn to the Obsidian Stone which rolls slowly away from him across the throne room floor.

"Tancreed!" shouts Zena. She looks to the bird and then points at the stone as the chakram returns to her.

Roughneck sprints to get between Tancreed and Thanatos, expecting the villain to attack the bird or otherwise make a grab for the stone. Roughneck will either try to get in the way of any ranged attack Thanatos makes (to protect Tancreed) or, if Thanatos does not attack the bird, Roughneck will body block Thanatos to keep him from going after the stone itself. 5A for protecting Tancreed, 4I for attack if necessary.

"Let's try this again." Kinetica fires off a second k-bolt, this time aiming a little lower and targeting the family jewels. Play 5 Int for attack, use 5 Str for dodge.

"Tolwynn, attack!" Zena orders as she plots her next move against the mastermind. She can't help but wonder if Clowny was a figment created by Thanatos to manipulate them this whole time, or if he is still around somewhere. Watching the outcome.

Roughneck charges forward flinging himself into the air sideways at Thanatos. He bounces off of the villain harmlessly, noting that it felt like trying to tackle a tree.

Master Menagero flies into the melee, trying to grapple Thanatos with his forcefield, but finds that it gives him no extra strength to hold on, only the superior physical strength possessed by Kinetica. Thanatos shrugs him off like a soiled garment.

Tancreed growls,leaping towards Thanatos throat, but catching only his shoulder. Her fangs are not strong enough to penetrate Thanatos' hide.

Kinetica's blast hits the fiend squarely in his groin, and he lets pout a low groan as he sinks to his knees. (I am handling this maneuver as a 'trick", which means, no damage was done, but he lost his action for round 2-9)

Tolwynn swoop down and is just barely able to snatch the softball sized Obsidian Stone up in his talons. He returns to his mistress with his prize.

"You can't hit what you can't see," says Verve as a cloud of black scribbles engulfs Thanatos's head.

"Fools! I do not need my eyes to destroy you!" scream Thanatos as an explosion of black energy emanates from his hands.

Kinetica flies in and extends her force field around Thanatos in an attempt to contain the blast.Play 4 Int for attack, 5 Str push.

Zena looks at the two stones in her hands. She looks at her teammates, and she looks at the villain. "Tolwynn... Tancreed... find cover." With all the force she can muster, she slams the two stones together. She barely remembers Clowny saying that the chronal crystal would be needed to destroy the obsidian stone. She doesn't know if this is the right thing to do, or if the cosmic clown could even be trusted. But it was worth a shot. She stares at Frank as the two stones collide. Okay, Push with 5I and play the other 5I... if I can consider this an all-out attack I will to get trump. If not, I'll dodge anything I need to with the 3A

MM doesn't like the possible ramifications of the slamming of the stones. He flies behind Thantos and slams into his back, placing the villain between himself and Zena, hoping to block any energy blasts coming his way. (2S+ Machine Man USING this card to alter story (Power Surge)and push with 5S-)

Roughneck stands and punches Thanatos right in the scribbles. play 2A edge +5A trump (using Martial Arts) + 4D pushing to attack; best agility (or other) replacement card for defense.

Thanatos unleashes his his dark explosion, which quickly engulfs Zena, Tolwynn and Roughneck before Kinetica can extend her forcefield to protect them.

Zena is blown across the room and lands near the wall where the group first entered. Roughneck manages to stand his ground, though the explosion sears his flesh as he grits his teeth through the pain. Tolwynn is slammed into a pillar and falls to the floor unmoving

A split second later Kinetica extends her forcefield, effectively protecting herself, Verve, MM and Tancreed. though the forcefield protects them all, the effort proves to much and Kinetica' forcefield sputters out.

Roughneck charges forward and lands a mighty haymaker to Thanatos's head, just as master Menagero slams into the villains back. the two opposing forces nearly snap the fiend in two. a short bark of pain escape's Thanatos' mouth, then he falls sideways onto the marble floor apparently unconscious.

The scribbly lines around Thanatos's head remain. "I'm keeping those active until we know for sure he's not faking it" explains Verve.

Zena sits up from the floor and realizes that she has lost possession of both the chronal crystal as well as the Obsidian Stone. They were torn from her grip in the explosion.

Frank looks around to see how everyone took the blast. Seeing Zena empty handed, he scans the room for the stone and crystal. enhanced senses, 8W to find them.

Frank sees that Zena is visibly battered from the blast and Kinetica appears extremely fatigued (from all of the pushing she has been doing). Tolwynn is either unconscius or dead, he can't really tell for sure. The rest of his teammates are unharmed due to Kinetica's forcefield shielding them from the blast. His sensors pick up energy readings that allow him to pinpoint the location of the Obsidian Stone as well as the Chronal Crystal. The Crystal is buried in some debris nearby zena and the Stone lies near the base of the column Tolwynn had collided with earlier. 7I replacement card

Frank goes to pick up the crystal, then goes to get the stone near Tolwyn.
"Hey, this thing didn't break," he says, holding up the Obsidian Stone for the others to see.He then checks the lion to see if it is OK; he doesn't touch it.

He drops the stone and crystal and kneels beside Tolwyn, daring to touch the lion. He runs his fingers through its hair. "I know I always called you a tiger, but I didn't mean it." He looks over at Zena, who is just getting up, then speaks quietly to Tolwyn again. "You can't be dead. Zena'd come undone. No tellin' who she'd whallop. Maybe me." He concentrates on his computer core, tries to access the power supply that keeps the cyborg part of him running. When he's built up enough energy, he directs it through his hands and into Tolwyn, hoping to jump start the animal's heart. Playing 8W "Never Say Die" to revive Tolwyn using my dramatic action. If he is successful, Zena may not realize Tolwyn was not breathing(?)

Roughneck's attempts at reviving Tolywynn do not succeed. It appears the feline is deceased.

Kinetica, exhausted from over exerting herself, focuses on defensive manuevering should Thanatos not be down for the count. Total Defense, play 5W to dodge if needed.

MM does the same as Kinetica. (I forgot what we are wsupposed to do with the crystals but MM wants to say something menaingful to that fact.)

Meta-Force is soon joined by the the Justice League and the Fantastic Four. "The demons suddenly withdrew their assualt." explains Mr. Fantastic. "Once Thanatos was defeated, they must have been released from their thrall."

"Well, lets shatter them things, so we can get back home. I'm starvin'" exclaims the Thing.

"I'm with Rocky here, guys," says Kinetica. "Let's finish what we came here for."

Enraged at the site of her feral friend down and possibly dead, Zena shrugs away from Wonder Woman and charges forward with her chakram out and in her hand. Terrified at the thought of losing one of her two best friends she visciously begins using the Chakram as if it were a mele weapon, hacking down at Thanatos. 5 Int for an all-out attack against Thanatos, no dodge of course

Superman quickly grabs Zena, pinning her arms to her sides. She struggles to break free, but cannot. "I'm sorry Zena, but I can't let you commit murder. No matter how upset you are."

Clowny suddenly teleports into the throne room, "Supes is right. Thanatos is a skeezer to be sure, but whacking him would just throw the cosmic balance off once again. He's integral to the balance."

Frank is able to access his computer core which sends and energy pulse though his arm and into the animals chest. The animal quickly jumps to life and gets to her feet. She licks Roughneck's face in gratitude.

"Good job everyone." says Clowny. "Now for the moment you've all been waiting for." he clicks his fingers and the Obsidian Stone and Chronal Crystal appear in either hand. he quickly does some sleight of hand and both artifacts disappear in a puff of smke as tehy contact eack other. "Taaa-Daaa!!!"

"Wait, you could snap your fingers and have them appear in your hand?" says Kinetica. "Couldn't you have done that before and, I don't know, not bothered us?"

"Oy! Everybody's a critic." says Clowny shaking his head."Enough with this..go home. HONK!! HONK!!

On the second honk a white flash of light overtakes the room and everyone disappears.