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

"Thank you, Colonel Rogers, it's a pleasure to meet you" says Ms. Chesterton.

"Likewise. Please, call me Jack."

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 was well past 70 years old, but he looked 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 did you have in mind" 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.

"Of course" assures Ms. Chesterton.

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

Several hours later...

Ms Chesterton puts her notes away and stands to say farewell to the Director of CAPE, when a bright flash of light suddenly appears. When her eyes have re-adjusted , she sees Meta-Force (minus Sci-Fi) standing in the office behind the plush leather chair she had been seated on just a few seconds before.

"Speak of the devil," says Col. Jack Rogers, with a wry smile.

None of the members have any idea where they are. A millisecond ago, they had been in Thanatos' throne room talking to a cosmic powered clown, now they are in a large office with Ms. Chesterton and a well built blonde man in a CAPE dress uniform.

"I'm Col. Jack Rogers, director of CAPE" says the man. "Ms. Chesterton and I were just discussing your futures. If you are willing to play along, I think they can be quite bright. As it is, you all have warrants out for your arrest for assaulting federal agents. I'm willing to make those charges go away..in time. For what I have in mind, it actually works to your advantage."

Zena crosses her arms across her chest and stares at the Colonel with daggers in her eyes. She could see where this was going and she didn't like it.

"Could I have a moment alone with my clients, " asks Ms, Chesterton.

"Of course," says the Colonel as he leaves the office.

As soon as the door is closed ms. Chesterton begins "I'm sorry I have to see you all under such unfortunate circumstances. I saw the whole fight with CAPE thing on TV as did the rest of America on live TV. You've been gone for over a week, and since then you've been branded as fugitives.

Col. Rogers is willing to make a deal with all of you. The charges against you will be dropped. Amnesty will be granted. The catch is, you'll have to continue acting as fugitives for a time, as well as possibly engaging in other illegal activities. He wants you to work for CAPE as undercover agents. Using your newfound criminal status for a time to infiltrate metahuman terrorist organizations, specifically the Metahuman Liberation Front, who were responsible for Hurricane Katrina. The information you could provide would be invaluable in operations to shut them down as well as preventing any future plans they may have. The only other option is to say no, in which case you get arrested and sent off to Stronghold Prison. I'm sorry. I know it isn't much of a choice. I did everything I could to get you all off the hook, but this was the best I could do. Does anyone have any questions? How do you all feel about this?

"I think it sucks ass!" replies Verve. "So our choices are say no and go to jail, or say yes and become known as metahuman criminals in order to infiltrate the MLF?"

"More or less..Yes. However, I need to remind you that you have already been branded as metahuman criminals. You did all break the law. " she looks at Zena, "and unfortunately ignorance of such laws is no defense. I even tried for diplomatic immunity , but Amazonia is not recognized by the United Nations and Zena has never taken steps to have it be recognized as a country under her rule. Only a handful of people besides us, even knows it exists. "

"Hey Verve, don't knock it till you try it?" says Julia. "Besides, don't you know, bad girls have all the fun." She throws him a wink after that last comment.

Verve flashes Kinetica an irritated look, "You might not take this seriously Julia, but I do. I choose to become a hero, not a villain, when I gained my powers. You were forced into it..just like now, so maybe it is old hat for you. It just doesn't sit well with me. But what choice do we have?"

"You really need to lighten up," says Julia. "Life's too much of a joke to take things seriously.

"Not everbody scrapped with them CAPE guys," says Frank. "It was mostly me and Zena that did it. That's what got the rest of you into this." He looks at Ms. Chesterton. "If you did see tapes of the fight, you know I'm tellin' the truth. Why's this guy tryin' to railroad the whole team? Verve here didn't do nothin' to them CAPE guys, Julia and MM neither. They oughta be free to go. And it wasn't Zena's fault what happened. You know she don't get along real good with the men in our world. I'm the only one they oughta have a beef with. Kinda lost my temper." Frank doesn't go into details about his frenzy.

"They are charging everyone else as accomplices, as well as obstruction of justice, interfering with a federal investigation, reckless endangerment, the list goes on and on." says Ms. Chesterton. "CAPE has always turned a bit of a blind eye in the past, but after Katrina, the political climate has changed. They cannot afford to appear soft on metahuman criminals, or heroes who attack government agants. I'm afraid you are being used for political purposes but the charges against all of you would be hard to beat in a court, the media has already convicted you in the court of public opinion."

"Face it, folks." MM adds his input. "Meta-Force ALWAYS comes out on top. And if weahve a chance to put more baddies away, I am all up for it. Argue as you might, you know this is exciting.A chance to be criminals, playing the darkside of the law. Think about the intel we will gather. If you don't want to do it for the government, do it for fun!"

"See?" says Julia. "MM has the right idea."

Frank likes MM's optimism, but isn't so sure that this is going to be fun. Though, as a player, I think it will! He asks Ms. Chesterton, "So what do we do now? How'r we supposed to find these MLF fellas?"

"I'm not sure, Frank." says Ms. Chesterton "Col. Rogers would have all the details about that. So, is everyone willing to go along? What about you Zena, you have been awfully quiet on the matter?"

"I will challenge this man... this Colonel to an honorable duel for our freedom. And when I have killed this puppeteer in fair combat, our names will be cleared and we will be free to go, having proven our innocence through a trial of combat." explains Zena already having worked a way out for herself and the others. She doesn't like the idea of anyone commanding her, least of all a man.

"I'm afraid our laws don't work like that Zena, you'd only be making the situation worse by engaging in combat with Colonel Rogers," explains Ms. Chesterton

"Hmphf..." Zena huffs. "Your laws are non-sensical."

"I share the same sentiment from time to time, but trust me on this one. Fighting with law-enforcement officers is not a good thing." says Ms. Chesterton. "I'll bring Col. Rogers back in and he can explain things in further detail to you all." She opens the office door slightly and says "I think, we are ready."

"Glad to hear it!," says Col. Rogers as he re-enters the rooom, closing the door behind him and casually seating himself on the edge of his desk.

"Here is what I have in mind. Though it is true that you are all wanted as outlaws at the moment due to your scrap with my agents, I don't think that will be enough to establish credibility in the eyes of the criminal underworld to allow you to infilitrate them. You must actually commit some crimes. The higher the profile the better. The MLF is well known for their anti-human stance and belief in metahuman superiority, so any lip service along those lines will also do you good down the line. For example, Kinetica's father is running for mayor, on an anti-metahuman platform, though he is spinning it as concern for the welfare of society as a whole. Busting up his upcoming fundraiser at his campaign headquarters and stealing the collected funds is an excellent example of what I mean. That will be your first mission. It's political, high profile, and guaranteed to get people's attention. I'll leave the details up to you all."

"Who else knows about this?" asks Verve.

"I was just getting to that. No one, other than the people in this room are aware of this arrangement. You will be deep undercover and are not to contact me or anyone else in CAPE. If you need to get in contact for an emergency, or to pass on information, Ms. Chesterton will act as liason. If anyone is caught or spills the beans to the press, I will disavow all knowledge. Plausible deniability and all that. So don't screw up. Does anyone have any other questions?" asks Col. Rogers.

"Understand this Colonel. We are only in this situation because your... men lack the proper respect for women. Had they shown me an ounce of what I was due, I'd not have lost my temper. Then my... my companions would not have helped me against your worthless soldiers. Teach your men to mind their manners around me, and all women for that matter, or next time I won't show retraint... and yes, that is a threat. Are we through here?" Zena scolds with icy eyes, not taking them off the Colonel.

"I'm sure everyone involved has learned their lesson, your Highness."

"Wait, my father is what now?!?" asks Julia in alarm.

"Oh you weren't aware? Yes, he is running for mayor, says the Colonel. Read all about it." he tosses Kinetica a copy of the Daily Herald newspaper. The headline reads de Lain Addresses his Anti-Metaforce Campaign

Julia's eyes go wide. "Oh my God."

After the previous questions are addressed... Frank says, "What's to keep you from "disavowin'" us forever? When do we get off this ride?" He looks at both Col. Rogers and Ms. Chesterton.

"It won't be forever. Just long enough to gather some useful info on the MLF. So far all of our efforts to infiltrate them have proved unsuccesful, and I am afraid they are planning something big again. I want to know about it beforehand, so it can be stopped." says Col. Rogers. "I'm sure all of you are aware of how much things have changed for metas since Katrina, now imagine something else like that happening again. Nothing good could come of it."

"I'm afraid, he's right. says Ms. Chesterton. "I've been doing some pro bono work for SAFE (Superhuman Alliance for Equality) and some of the laws that have been proposed regarding metas since Katrina are pretty frightening. Forced registration, govt. watch lists, tracking devices, all sorts of things that would completely disregard metahumans' civil liberities, if not completely criminalize them, just for being born different. So far we've ben able to prevent them from passing, but if something similar were to occur...."she lets the thought go uninished.

Frank says, "Yeah, I'm gettin' to know what it feels like to be a criminal already." To Col. Rogers he says, "You say it won't be forever. But what does that mean? When do we get cleared? I ain't gonna be no CAPE narc forever. I ain't against this idea, it sounds like somethin' we'd do on our own anyway--takin' out these MLFs I mean. But with the way this looks, you tellin' us to commit more crimes, we'd just be gettin' ourselves into more hot water than we're in now."

"Hee hee, MFers," says Julia, although her jest seems somewhat forced.

"I understand your suspicions. But, you are looking for answers that I can't provide. Officially, this meeting never took place. The only thing I can guarantee, is that if you don't take this offer, then you will have no chance at all of ever getting your names cleared. I am offering full pardons, and public kowledge that you were working undercover once your objective is completed. I cannot give you a definite timeframe, as there are too many variables involved. Like it it not, you are going to have to trust me."

MM becomes unusually somber, especially after reading the newspaper article wherein he is viewed as one of the world's most powerful Metas. He sure did not feel like that most of the time. And he did not like having a guarantee on the villainous actions he was practically being forced to perform. "I have been forced to outmanuever the government before, Colonel. I have succeeded, most resoundedly, I might add. I have never been given a reason to trust the government, my own origins rooted in the establishment's greedy modus operandi. I do not trust you now." MM faces off against Rogers. "If this goes bad; if my beloved team is hurt; if you change this deal toward the end, I will make it my personal vendetta to use my powers and intellect to creating a living hell for you AFTER we dissassemble this administration down to its foundations. Now, without adding some snappy response filled with Amry-trained braggadacio: Do you comprehend the words that are coming out of my mouth." MM puffs out his chest, seriously...well, pissed.

Col. Rogers's face registers no emotion at MM's words. He listens calmly and patiently, then says. "There is no need for threats from any of you. This is a win win situation here. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. I am trying to help all of you out of the mess you are in. Granted, it may get worse before it gets better, but what's the alternative? Go on the lamb, and become real criminals? At least my deal, offers an agreeable resolution, as well as doing some good for the world. "

"If you don't need me, I'll be at the nearest bar," says Julia. "This is too much to deal with sober."

Verve gently grabs Julia's arm as she starts to leave. "If we are going to do this, we definitely need you,Julia..Sober. One drunken slip of the lip, could get us all killed."

"You don't understand," says Julia. "You don't know Daddy like I do. This is bad. This is really bad."

Col. Rogers moves a paperweight on his desk, and a secret door slides open on the wall behind his desk. "Take this tunnel to leave. It's my private exit and will bring you out, several blocks from here in a back alley. The fundraiser is tomorrow at noon. So I expect to read all about your exploits in tomorrow's evening edition. Good Luck." he says.

After Ms. Chesterton and teh team memebers of Meta Force file into teh secret passge, teh door slides shut behind them and tehy are immediately whisked away. The low red lighting within reveals tey are satanding on a conveyor belt very similar to the ones found in airports, though much faster.

In just a few seconds they span the length of several city blocks and come to an abrupt halt. A panel slides open in the ceiling revealing the sounds and sights of Manhatten. The platform they are on raises quickly and they now find themselves in a deserted back alley somehwere in the city that never sleeps. It is hard to tell the exact time, but it is still daylight.

Frank asks, "OK Ms. Chesterton, what's yer take on this guy? He gonna screw us? There any way we can prove what he's promised us? I'll go along, I just don't wanna finish the job and have him tell us we ain't done yet."

"I've never worked with this man before. But I've heard he is an honorable man, Frank. I think he will keep his word. He's been doing this for a long time. He started out as a superhero, just like all of you, back in 40's. He was called the Sentinel." responds Ms. Chesterton.

"We have another option. The window to my island will open up to allow passage there in a few weeks. You would all be welcomed as permanent residents of my home." Offers Zena.

"I appreciate the offer Zena, and I can't belive I am going to turn down the chance to live out the rest of my life on an island filled with beautuful women, but this is our home and I don't want to live in exile for the rest of my life." says Verve. "As much as I hate to admit it, it looks like we are going to have to go along with this plan if we are ever going to have any chance of redeeeming ourselves and trying to return to our normal lives. I've probably already been fired from my job at Empire Comics. Gone a week, with no word from me at all..I worked my whole life to be a good enough artist to work there. Now they probably think I flaked out and pulled a Dave Chappel or something.

"As much as an island filled with scantily clad women appeals to me, I say we pay Daddy a long overdue visit," says Julia. "Just, are you sure we can't stop to get a drink first? Just one?"

Zena smiles when Frank gives his answer. It means that she stands a good chance of getting what she came here for in the first place.

MM chimes in. "Well, we need a secret base of some sort. We can't go back to my own labs. That is the first place CAPE would look. I would suggest a remote location but we don't have any sort of aircraft that promotes fast travel. An abandoned warehouse always works. They come a dime-a-dozen. I say we get A-Team on an abandoned warehouse somewhere in lower Manhatten, Greenwich Village perhaps. I think between our brains and brawn, we can put something together real quick. And, if we need backup, we can always retreat to Amazonia." [MM wants to use all XP to build a cool base heavy in security and surveillance devices. A nice computer lab would be helpful, I am sure. I have six points. So, one for the warehouse, one for a surveillance system with danger sense, one for a security package with cool tentacles and one for a nice computer lab in the warehouse. It should be able to help us create fake i.d.s and such. Oh yeah, Xena's bird can provide an extra set of "guard dog" eyes for us. My last two points will be used for living space and a garage, so I can house my old Menagero Mobile, which I will repaint. Keith, do you still have my van's stats? WHAT ELSE CAN YOU GUYS PUT TOGETHER?

The next night, Meta-Force gathers on a rooftop across the street from the fundraiser. It is being held at the Gryphon Tearoom, one of Philip Delain's upscale restaurants, which was chosen for it's spacious ballroom in order to better host the large number of people in attendance. The Tearoom boasts world famous quisine and some of the best chefs on the planet. . Tonight, the restaurant has been closed to the public for the special VIP dinner/fundraising event. The cost of attending this fundraising dinner is rumored to be $500 a plate. As the guests arrive in their black limo's, meta-Force can see that it is a virtual who's who of the New York socialite scene in attendance. Kinetica sees her father, Philip, along with her stepmother Katherine, at the front entrance greeting the guest individually as they arrive.

"Oh good, Daddy's here," says Kinetica. "And he's brought his trophy wife too. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Just inside the entry way, is a large basket about the size of a child's playpen, where the guests are depositing their donations of cash or checks for the Delain mayoral campaign. A barricade, along with several security guards, keep s the press and other onlookers at bay. The event has a sort of Hollywood red carpet feel and look to it. The media is out in full force, snapping off shots for tomorrow's political and social columns. Roughneck recognizes Molly Mulliver, who had interviewed him months ago for her paper, pushing forward with a microphone and cameraman. He'd heard she was branching out into broadcast news as well.

"I guess we don't have to worry about the press not picking this up." says Verve, lighting a cigarette. Ever since they had left Col. Roger's office yesterday, he's been smoking like a chimney to alleviate his jitters. Julia, had already bummed nearly half a pack from him, but he understood her nervousness. He's been watching her like a hawk to make sure she didn't hit the sauce. He offers her one now, to distract her from her racing thoughts.

Kinetica takes the cigarette eagerly, anything to take the edge off. "Still think I should have had a drink first...," she mutters.

"So what's the plan?" he asks everyone "I know we discussed a rendezvous at the abandoned warehouse we found, but do we have any real strategy for doing this?"

Zena begins to eye the security guards measuring them up. She also begins scouting the area with her eyes, looking for any hidden security personnel that might be around. "I could easily have Tancreed perform the distasteful act of swooping in and stealing their donation basket. She could bring it to us with almost no resistance. That way we can leave and be sure not to truly injure anyone."

Frank says, "She might need some cover, them guards got guns. 'Sides, we're supposed to be makin' the news. Maybe we should create some kinda distraction before she goes for the basket." Frank uses Assessment for whatever purpose he can--finding out if any of the people down there are supers, etc. Use whatever card is best, saving my highest Will card for resisting the inevitable Frenzy.

"I could crash the party and get drunk," suggests Kinetica. After seeing everyone's reaction, she sighs. "Just a thought."

Frank says, "That might not be a bad idea. Sure oughta distract everbody. But before we go, MM, you see any metas down there?"

"Allow me to scan," MM says while holding his temples and looking around. [USe 4S. I am currently duplicating Verve's powers.] "I also suggest we go in riding one of my speeches." Are my allergies back?--yes they are

Master Menagero does not detect any metahumans in the area an informs Frank of this.

I don't think your bird would be able to lift that basket Zena. It looks pretty hefty. I could probably sketch something up that could though, if we wanted to go that route.

I play 4I to access my computer. If I am successful, and if allowed: Frank doesn't hear the others. His core is awake, showing him a layout of the building and surroundings. Several scenarios playing like daydreams in his head, wherein Frank sneaks into the party, kills the guards, and snatches the basket. Eventually, Frank shakes his head and comes out of it.

"Here's what we'll do," MM says. "Using art power, Verve and I will built up a half ice/half metal cage around the cash. It will also serve to protect innocents from harm. Kinetica swoop down and snatch the cash. Return to this location. Roughneck will wait for you. He will be providing surveillance coverage of the event and letting us know of any impending trouble. Zena, you should scare people and harass them with your friends. Take out any security guards while your at it. Don't kill them but make a good show if it."

Whats the point of it being half ice and half metal?," asks Verve. "No matter. Sounds like a good a plan as any. I'll make the metal cage around the basket. you handle the ice, though I don't get the significance of it."

"Maybe so Kinetica can bust through it and get the loot?"

As Verve quickly finishes his drawing, an animated steel cage shimmers into existence surrounding the basket of money. Startled gasps of shock can be heard from the crowd as several of the security guards quicklyy form a protective formation in front of Philip and Katherine Delain and begin to escort them inside the building.

"Are we sure about this?" asks Kinetica. "I mean, it's not, like, too late to go to Zena's island, you know."

"Ball's already rollin'," says Frank as he jumps to the edge of the building. He plans to quickly find a spot within one move of the action below, but high enough that he has a bird's eye view of the situation. Following the plan, he will use his action to continually scan the area looking for danger--particularly other metas--and warn the others as soon as he spots something that could threaten one of them using Danger Sense, playing 4I. Danger Sense doesn't really work like tat. But you could use you enhanced senses.. He's glad he won't be joining the fray. With the way his core's been talking to him, he's not sure he should be entering combat. Even now it's awake. Without Frank even willing it, a targeting grid slides across his vision, pinpointing each of the targets--people, he reminds himself--below. He feels an urge to level his laser at one of the security guards, like the desire to take bite of offered food. Then he realizes he's already lifted his arm, already taking aim. He quickly changes movements, scratches his bald, scarred head through his mask, as if that's what he was doing all along.
Kinetica swallows hard, then makes her entrance. "Daddy! You really shouldn't have. It's not even my birthday." With that, she makes for the loot. Play Black Bolt 5S to get swoop in if needed, Juggernaut 6D to dodge; Julia is saving Doc Sampson, so please don't play that card unless no alternative is given.

As Kinetica approaches, a blonde haired woman breaks from the crowd, throwing off her overcoat as she does so, revealing a form fitting black costume with white and red trim. A bandolier of boomerangs are slung across her chest, and several other smaller boomererangs are attached to various places on her costume. "Everyone stand back! I'll handle this!" she shouts to the crowd, as she flings a boomerang at Kinetica with remarkable speed and finesse.

"Who are you supposed to be?" asks Kinetica, giving a forced laugh. "Rebound girl?"

"The name is Boomerang," the woman replies as the thrown weapon shatters against Kinetica's forcefield relaeasing a concentrated cloud of teargas in Kinetica's face. Either the woman has done her homework about Kinetica's forcefield, or she had simply made a lucky guess. Either way, the forcefield provides no protection against the gaseous attack and Kinetica immediately begins hacking and couging from the gas. (11 pts of damage)

"Boomerang?" Kinetica attempts a retort even as the gas takes effect. "How orig*cough*. Ah *cough*, what is that *cough*? I knew this was a *cough*-ing bad idea!" She attempts to strike back at Boomerang with a k-bolt. Play Nick Fury 5I to attack, 5S to dodge.

Roughneck notices another figure vaulting on the top of a nearby limo and producing two escrima sticks. The man is lithely built and appears to know how to handle the exotic weapons he is calmly preparing. "Bring her down Boomer, and I'll finish her off." he says to his apparent partner.

The crowd is in a panic, as the fighting begins, and people run in every direction, trying to escape the potential fallout from a metahuman battle.

Philip Delain and his wife are quickly rushed inside the building by the traditional bodyguards.

"okay, okay. Not going quite as planned but..." MM assesses the scene. "Roughneck, target the chick with the bommerangs. Try to nail one of her tear gas weapons so that she has a taste of her own medicine. Xena, have a ball with the guy with sticks. WAH-CHOO!! Darn it. THe stress is aggravating my allergies. Verve, you are with me. Let's grab the cash." MM draws a giant kid's slide from their building to the mound of money and heads in, expecting Verve to follow. He whispers over the COMlink. "I have a feeling that the Colonol had these guys planted to put on a good show. Try not to mangle them to *sniff* much."|

5W* Adam Warlock (Vestige of Humanity/Sacrifice)
4A* Morbius (Animal Nature/Something in the Sewers)
3S- Luke Cage (Gloryhound/Premature Exposure)
6A- Quicksilver (Outcast/Xenophobic Hysteria)

Zena disregards Master Menagero's plan as she moves to the edge of the roof. Boomerang is the clear and present danger to Kinetica. She'll have to fall first. Zena hurls her chakram at the weapon wielding woman. She then orders Tolwynn to attack the club wielding menace.

Zena moves to the edge of roof and hurls her chakram at Boomerang. Boomerang sees the chakram buzzing towards her head and attempts to snatch it from the air, with no success. It smacks her hand and she pulls it back in pain. "Dammit that hurt! she cries shaking her hand to get the feeling back into it.

Frank leaps down amongst the crowd and pulls his mask off, "Must. Kill. Humans! GRRRRRRRRRRRR!" he says in a robotic voice with outstretched arms. People nearby him , flee in horror at his disfigured face and eerie yellow eyes. Although to his surprise he sees two figure advancing towards him; it's that reporter Molly Mulliver and her cameraman. She jabs the mike in his face walking backwards in front of him as Frank approaches, "Roughneck. It's me Molly Mulliver. We had an interview several months ago. What's the meaning of all of this? Is there some sort of political motivation behind this attack on Mayoral candidate Delain's fundraiser? I'm sure the viewers at home would be interested to know. "

"Huh?" says Frank, surprised to see her.

Kinetica fires off a k-bolt at Boomerang, who leaps into the air , dodging out of the way. Kinetica notes that the k-bolt narrowly misses a fleeing civilian. "Next time aim for the one in the middle, boozehound!" quips Boomerang.

The man with the sticks notes Roughnecks approach and decide to meet him halfway. He leaps from the roof of the limo, charges through the fleeing crowd, and bowls over Molly Mulliver to get at Roughneck.

His sticks form a blur of motion as he aims several combos at Roughnecks head, all of which Frank is able to avoid, though it forces him to come out of his slow moving zombie killer robot routine.

"Keep shooting!" Molly shouts at her camerman as she struggles to get up from the pavement.

"Let me show you how it is done" Boomerang says to Kinetica and throws another projectile at her. Another tear gas boomerang shatters against Kinetica's forcefield, making Julia's breathing even more labored. One more dose and she knows she will be out of the fight. (11 points of damage. Down to 3 health)

Tolwynn follows Zena's command and leaps off the building onto the street below and begins making her way through the crowd towards Roughneck and the mans who is attacking him. (It will take Tolwynn until net round to reach him, due to the distance and crowd).

MM draws a giant kid's slide from their building to the mound of money and heads in, expecting Verve to follow. He whispers over the COMlink. "I have a feeling that the Colonel had these guys planted to put on a good show. Try not to mangle them to *sniff* much."

Verve jumps onto the slide behind MM, though it isn't enough of an angle to allow them to slide, it does help them run across the distance doe to the downward slope. "Everybody listen up. " Verve says over teh comm-link, "I've heard of these two, Boomerang and Rook. Both top of the line mercs. Neither have powers but they are highly skilled and very dangerous so be careful"

A few of the traditional security forces see Master Menagero and Verve approaching across the slide bridge and open fire with their pistols at the duo. "Holy crap!" shouts verve as a bullet whizzes past his head.

Frank will do an all out dodge again 6S. If there are still civilians in the battle zone, he gives out another blood-curdling zombie-cyborg scream.

"Okay *cough*, I've had enough out of you!" says Kinetica. She dives at Boomerang, attempting to slam into the blonde woman with everything she's got. Play 5W, Push 5S, and Edge 2W to powerslam. If she needs to dodge before she goes, then play 5W to dodge. Use the higher replacement card (unless the other is an Agility card, in which case use that so long as it is no more than 4 lower than the higher card) to dodge or replace the 5W for her attack. Got all that? :-)

MM shouts fo rteh crowd to hear. "You hideous humans are no match for the might of Master Menagero and the maniacal Meta-Force!" He shouts to Verve. "Grab the cash. I'll handle these lackeys!" [MM assault: He tosses off his cape, pulls the parachute cord and tries to drop it on the guards to slow them down. 7W for DEFENSE; 6A for ATTACK!)

Zena's chakram smacks Boomerang square in the chest,THWUMP! which knocks her back into a nearby lamppost. KA-DING! The blonde mercenary slides to the pavement, nearly down for the count, as she struggles to regain her feet.

Tolwynn makes it through the crowd and leaps for Rook, the henchman sidesteps out of the way spinning like a whirlwind as two massive baton blows crash against the lioness' head. KRAK! KRAK! Tolwyynn's unconscious form lands atop Molly Mulliver just as she is about to stand. WUMPF!

"Oomph! Get this damn thing off of me! " she shouts as she struggles in vain to push the beast off of her.

Kinetica rockets towards Boomerang, who is just starting to regain her feet, as Julia slams into her full force, KER-THWAM! The impact drives the two of them into the lamppost which bends in half from the impact. Boomerang is out cold and Kinetica feels a bit light-headed from the effort.

Master Menagero leaps off the animated slide/bridge as bullets whizz past him in the air. He manages to drop his cape-flotilla over the two security guards, effectively blinding them, though they will soon be free of the garmet.

Seeing no more metas threatening the team, and not wanting to engage the guards in combat (for their safety, not his), Frank runs toward the money basket and attempts to hoist it onto his shoulder. Then he, plans to make a break for Menagero's slide, to make it atop the building and away. Play 7S for any defensive moves needed, 6S to do any other required action, like lifting the basket. Like the Batman style sound effects!

Verve drops down to where the cash is and sees that the container is way to heavy and bulky for him to lift. "Keep 'em distracted, " he says over the comm-link. "I've got to sketch something up to get the loot out of here."

Philip Delain breaks free of the security guards escorting him inside, and rushes back outside. "Julia, I demand you and your associates stop this madness at once!" he shouts above the fray. "Turn yourselves in and seek help in delaing with your afflictions. This is not the answer to your problems. It will only make matters worse."

"Demand?" asks Julia. "Last I checked, I was legally an adult, Daddy. I am fully capable of making my own decisions. And from where I'm standing, I only have one problem, and it has nothing to do with force fields or alcohol."

"Damn it, Julia, I only want to help you!," replies Delain. "For your own good!"

"Like that time you practically kidnapped me into rehab? Here's a thought, why don't you let me determine what's for my own good for a change." Keith, I'd like to play Doc Sampson (Strong Evidence) as a plot point to get Delain to let something slip. Nothing too incriminating mind you, but something that could raise a few eyebrows.

"Because you are incapable of making good choices. Do you want to wind up like Brad? If you truly knew what was good for you, then you would listen to reason." Julia is shocked by her father's comment. As far as she knew, her father had never known about her relationship with her former neighbor and lover, Brad. He had mysteriiosly disappeared about a year ago, but Julia didn't think much about it at the time.

"This isn't time for a Dr. Phil session, Kinetica!" MM shouts. The short hero makes a mean face, pretending as hard as possible. He then walks up to Julia's dad and decks him. Noticing that ROughneck is moving toward the money, MM keeps up the orders, "Good work, Xena. Finish off Rook. Verve, back up Xena. Make sure Tolwynn and Tancreed get away safely. They are team mates, too. Kinetica, keep those guards busy! Let's work together people! No one get hurt...um, uh, except anyone who dares stand in our way!!!"Using 3S to hit. Use best card to dodge (acrobatics) if I need to. I will be making a move for the slide.

7A+ Tigra (Animal Nature/Glimmer of Compassion) replaces Doc Samson

Julia is a bit shaken, and for the moment only focuses on defense Play 6S if needed

Zena angrily hurls her chakram at Rook. 1Int + 4 Int for attack; 5 Will for dodge

As Roughneck tries to move towards the basket of money, Rook continues his attack on the cyborg. THWACK! THWACK! the two batons smack against Frank's steel-lined cranium, jarring his sensors and awakening the murderous core within him. (12 points of damage) A moment ago , he was pretending to want to kill the humans, now as the targeting crosshairs blink into his fields of vision, he knows that it may just come true. The core, correctly assesses that Rook is the most dangerous threat at the moment and moves to dispatch him. The security guards are next in the threat hierarchy.

Zena angrily hurls her chakram at Rook, smacking him in the head KA-DING! and knocking him to the ground.

Roughneck's hand laser extends on its own VSHHH , and Frank feels himself pouncing forward with a slashing motion that catches rook across the chest HISSS, despite him trying to roll out of the way

"Gaaa!" Rook screams in surprise as the laser slashes through his body armor. He is bleeding , but in pretty bad shape. the core predicts that one more hit from the laser will terminate the threat.

"Are you getting all of this?!" screams Molly Mulliver at her cameraman, as she continues to squirm out from underneath the unconscious lion.

"Of course!" replies the cameraman, zooming in for a tighter shot of the bloody battle between Rook and Roughneck

Julia stands motionless as if in shock from he father's revelation regarding Brad.

The guards near verve and MM are able to free themselves from MM's cape. They see Master Menagero moving towards Delain in a threatening manner and open fire on him. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Menagero tries to duck out of the way, but he is not fast enough. Two bullets tear into him, spinning him like a top. He lands on the floor near Verve, still conscious but badly shaken and hurt. (18 points of health and Life damage) The animated slide/bridge that MM had constructed immediately winks out of existence.

"Hang tight, Rupert, we are getting out of here STAT!" says Verve , as a giant animated dragon that towers thirty feet shimmers into life. It bellows a monstrous growl and clamps the money basket within it's talons. Verve helps MM into the basket and quickly follows as the dragon takes flight away from the fray and heads back towards the initial rooftop, where Zena still stands.

"Kinetica, snap out of it and do something!" shouts Verve over the comm-link. "get Frank out of there. Tolwynn too , if you can manage it. "

Kinetica tries to make a grab at Roughneck. I assume this would be a Strength check, no? If so, play 6S. Use 7A to dodge should Roughneck (is that possible if she succeeds in grabbing him?) or some other meta attack. Julia trusts her force field to protect her from the basic firearms of the rent-a-cops.

Roughneck's body is jerked about by the servos in his joints, under the command of the core. He watches in horror as his laser prepares to finish off Rook, then musters as much will as he can to resist. 5I+6A to resist the core (pushing).

MM is hurt badly. "THis should *ugh* add some real drama to this *ow* caper, eh, Verve *cough*? Let's get out of here, team. Kinetica, abandon Roughneck *cough*. We can always come back for him later." 8S to draw 6 rattlesnakes around guards

"What the hell do you mean abandon Roughneck? A moment ago , you were all about making sure that even the bird got away safely and now, just because you are hurt, you are willing to sacrifice a team member?" asks Verve angrily. "Nice to know you've got our back. "

"Verve, I assure you that I am not abandoning Roughneck. He is more than capable of taking *ugh* care of himself in a fight. But, *oof* in case you had not noticed, Kinetica is injured and out of her wits, I am shot, Xena's pet is down, and more police or even meta-humans are on their *ouch* way. We cannot have you responsible for *ouch* evacuating all of us. In case you forgot, we are the bad guys. No rest for the *yow* wicked. Follow my orders. We can always track Roughneck down *uh* and effect a rescue. Now, move it!"

"Look at him. He's out for blood. He's acting just like when he attacked and nearly killed those CAPE agents. I don't know what has gotten in to him recently, but if we leave him here, then he might seriously hurt or kill someone. We'd all be a part of that, and I'm not going to let innocents get killed just to make our ruse more effective.

Frank can hear his team-mates squabbling over the comm-link, but it is like a distant telephone converstaion. All he can think about is breaking free of the Core. Any lapse of concentration, even the tiny amount required to speak, would give the Core the upper hand...With a supreme effort of will, Frank is able to regain control of himself, though his brain is on fire and feels as if it has been placed in a blender. The desire to terminate Rook quickly subsides.

Roughneck sees Kinetica flying toward him. He leaps over Rook and scoops up Tolwynn, then moves toward the building (where the others are on the roof) and sticks his hand out for Kinetica to grab. He doesn't know how strong she is, but hopes she can at least carry the two of them up to the rooftop. He's ready to aid her by trying a running jump. Maybe she can sling him and the cat high enough. If not... Playing 5I for the running jump (hopefully aided by Kinetica) to the rooftop.

Julia ignores MM and attempts to get Roughneck.

Zena, confidant that Roughneck will manage to rescue Tolwynn, decides to take out the video camera recording the action. She has decided that enough footage has been recorded of their misdeed. Her chakram speeds towards the camera in the hands of Molly Mulliver's camerman. 10 Doom for the destruction of the camera; 7 Will for a dodge if needed.

Roughneck leaps over Rook and scoops up Tolwynn, and starts to move towards the rendezvous building. As he moves past the still prone Rook, the merc lashes out with one of his batons, catching Roughneck in the side of the knee. Frank feels his kneecap give way with a sickening crunch, as he passes out from the pain. The cyborg and the lion he was carrying both hit the pavement.

Kinetica immediately swoops down and grabs Roughneck carrying him away from the danger and landing on the rooftop. She would have liked to have grabbed Tolwynn as well, but knows that she simply isn't strong enough to pick up a full size lion.

Master Menagero's drawing springs to life and the guards on the ground are suddenly surrounded by several rattlesnakes.

Verve concentrates on maintaining the dragon, he had drawn previously. He guides it towards the rooftop. "Zena hop in. We'll get Tolwynn somehow." he shouts as they draw near the rooftop.

Franks regenerative powers kick in , and he comes to on the rooftop with Kinetica and Zena standing over him. He is not sure how he got there, or what happened to Tolwynn.

MM shouts, "Let's get out of here folks." He ordes the rattlesnakes to wrap up the guards.

Julia fumbles with a cigarete, her hands shaking as she tries to light it.

Zena snorts and leaps to the ground with a thud 9 doom for the jump. It was further than she should have jumped and she will likely hurt for it, but she will not risk leaving Tolwynn behind and Master Menagero seems hellbent on leaving people behind to save himself. 7 Will to dodge

Verve slaps his forehead in frustration. "How did I know she was going to do that?" He then climbs out of the basket and onto the dragon's back. The dragon releases the basket and it roughly lands on the rooftop next to Frank after a fall of about 5 feet. It jars MM's teeth , but no permanent damage is done. Menagero immediately feels his powers shift from those of Verve to Kinetica.Tthe familiar light blue glow encases his body. Verve says, "Kinetica, help get Frank into the basket. I'm going after Zena and Tolwynn with the dragon. It can carry them in it's claws, and I'll swing back for the basket afterwards, which it can carry with it's mouth. It might help to give us some cover if you can extend your forcefield around us...and quit smoking my cigarettes!

"Shove off it, Verve! I'll buy you another f***ing pack, 'kay?" Kinetic does what she can to help Roughneck into the basket.

Frank grunts in pain and stands with Kinetica's help. His knee pops sickeningly, and Kinetica can see that the leg is seriously injured. But Frank seems able to stand on it just fine. He sees Zena and Verve moving to retrieve Tolwynn, and considers shooting his laser at the guards for cover. He raises his arm, then decides against it. If the core tries to assert control now, he doubts he could resist.

The dragon swoops down and plucks up Zena and Tolwynn in it's claws, makes a quick arc in the air to turn itself around and heads back towards the others, waiting on the rooftop. The dragon opens it's maul and clamps down on the upper edge of the basket bearing it aloft along with the rest of the team.
Verve mentally wills the dragon to head back to their new secret base, as quickly as possible.

Just as the dragon is about to do so, a thundering metallic voice can be heard issuing the following command: "ATTENTION META FORCE! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST! PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND SURRENDER! YOU HAVE 5 SECONDS TO COMPLY!"
The team can clearly see the two huge twenty foot tall robots, with the CAPE insignia on their chests, making the monotone command over the rooftops from a block away. They had all heard the rumors of these Minutemen robots. The DoD had supposedly had them been in the pipeline for years. Apparently they were operational and were being put to use against Meta-Force.

Master Menagero remembers his incaceration in the secret govt. prison with Captain Marvel. Marvel had told him he'd been captured by just such a robot. It had used some sort of missile to temporarily deactivate his powers..after that, it was all over.

Verve's jaw slowly drops open at the sight of the Minutemen robots, "This is definitely not good guys."

With a whir of hydraulics, the robots raise their right arms in unison. They hold their palms outward and an iris slides open in the center of their metallic hands. The sound of some sort of power generator starting up can be heard emanating from the twin robots. "5...4....3..." intones the lead robot in a flat , monotone voice.

MM shouts, "I knew it. This is too much of a coincidence guys. 'Someone' wants us to put on a good show. We should have evacuated when we had the chance. Pardon my French, but screw it! I helped developed those robots and I am not looking forward to what they can do to metas!" MM takes off using Kinetica's power to the nearest shadowed corner.

The voice of Colonel Rogers cuts into Meta-Force's comm-link frequency. "This is a scrambled signal. Just do as the robots say and you won't get hurt. This is all largely for show. I can't go into the details now, but you need to get captured for the larger plan to work.I need all of you inside Stronghold Prison. You are going to have to trust me on this. Make it look beleivable. Rogers out."

Kinetica takes to the air and beelines towards the nearest robot. She let's loose a feral scream as slams into it with all the speed she can muster. Play Spider-Man to attack, push Tigra. Use her remaining card to dodge, unless she draws a better replacement.

Roughneck jumps down from the basket and grunts as the bones in his knee grind against each other. The pain is intense, even with the core's manipulations of his body chemicals. But he grits his teeth and heads after Kinetica. "We'll make it look good," he mutters. Roughneck will run at the robots and shoot his laser at them, max power. Use 2I (edge) and 3A (trump) for the laser attack. Saving the 8W to resist the core.

Zena grits her teeth. This plan gets worse and worse for them. She can't help but wonder what will become of her animals if the team is incarcerated. She didn't like this before and hates it now. The Colonel wants this to look good, then she'll do her best to make it look good. She'll bring down the mechanical monsters if she can, pouring everything she has into it. I wish to use the Fast Attack option to attack first this round. I want to push the 6 Will into my strength and I want to hurl my chakram towards the head of the nearest robot with my 7 Will.

Still clutched in the dragon's claws, Zena throws her chakram with all of her amaozonian might at the lead Minuteman robot. It richocets off it's metallic forehead making KA-DING! a slight dent, smacks into a nearby brick wall and returns to her hand. The extreme effort, had nearly wrenched her shoulder from its socket.

Roughneck jumps down to a nearby rooftop and charges forward, taking aim at the small dent Zena had made with her chakram and cutting loose with his laser at full intensity. Amazingly it punches a hole thorough the armored head of the lead robot. The core whispers to Frank, wanting him to give up control, but he pushes it back down into it's mental cage

"DANGER!! DANGER!! SYSTEM INTEGRITY BREACHED!!" reports the Minuteman robot.

"YEEAAAAARGGGHHH!!!!" Kinetica screams as she rockets full blast into the injured robot's head.THOOOM!!She bounces off harmlessly, spiraling out of control.

MM takes off using Kinetica's power to the nearest shadowed corner. AS he does so the lead robot fires a missile from it's palm, which explodes in the air, sending out a strange wave of energy.KA-DOOOMM!!!

Nearly instantaneously, all of the members of Meta-Force lose their superhuman powers, save Roughneck. Kinetica and MM's forcefield's deactivate and they fall two stories ot the ground below. darkness overtakes them as they slam into t the pavementTHWAP!!

The dragon Verve had animated blips out of existence, sending Verve, as well as tolwynn and Zena plummeting to the pavement below as well . Verve is knocked unconscious by the fall, Zena is able to remain awake, although just barely. Through bleary eyes she sees Tolwynn lying next to her. Her breathing shallow. See is no longer connected to either of her animals. It as if a part of her has been amputated.

The explosion seems to have no effect on Roughneck, who is shocked by how easily his team mates were taken out by these robots. The second robot emits a piercing wave of pure white sound.SKREE!!SKREE!!SKREE!!SKREE!! It makes his eardrums pound and makes him want to puke. The noise has a similar sensation on Zena. Vertigo overtakes them and they both fall unconscious.