Guard#4

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Mon Nov 6, 2000 1:41am
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.0

It had been nearly a month since The Guardians and
> Prowler returned from
> > Area 51. In that time there had been no further
> instances of alien
> > manipulation or other signs of Xargothian
> interference. The army had
> > retained all of the Xargothian bodies and
> technology for further study.
> > Captain Marvel had a strange feeling that this
> wasn't' the last time
> > they would hear from the Xargothians. They would
> be back in one way or
> > another, and he would be ready for them.
> >
> > Shockwave had taken a hiatus from the MWF and > > had
> moved back into the
> > Guardtower.
> >
> > Prowler, who still adamantly denied he was a
> member of the Guardians,
> > had begun spending more and more time at their
> headquarters utilizing
> > their state of the art research facilities and
> engaging in training
> > exercises with them in the Danger Room.
> >
> > Iceman had been allowing Prowler to do some
> genetic sampling of him in
> > the hopes of finding a way to be able to revert
> back and forth between
> > human and ice form. He had been encased in his
> icy armor since his
> > powers manifested at adolescence and longed for a
> more natural state of
> > being.
> >
> > Captain Marvel had tried to contact Pamela
> Anderson a few times, but was
> > quickly informed by her agent that she had a
> restraining order against
> > him. Pamela had recovered from her injuries
> sustained through the birth
> > of their superpowered bastard son, but apparently
> her emotional injuries
> > ran much deeper. There was still no word on the
> whereabouts of their
> > child.
> >
> > Huntress ,an excellent martial artist herself,
> enjoyed sparring with
> > Prowler and both had taught each other a few new
> techniques.
> >
> >
>
************************************************
> > The Danger Room
> >
> > Huntress, Captain Marvel, Iceman, and Shockwave
> were being put through
> > the paces by the Unknown Soldier in the Danger
> Room.
> >
> > It was three against one. Huntress vs. everybody
> else. Her goal was to
> > reach the other side of the room (100 yards away)
> without being
> > incapacited by her team-mates
> >
> > Since she was the o only non-powered member of the
> team, the Soldier
> > frequently pushed her harder than the rest to > > make
> up for this.
> >
> > "This is no holds barred kids," says the Soldier
> over the intercom.
> > "show theses boys what you got Huntress. On your
> mark, get set, GO!"
> >
> > Huntress begins sprinting towards the trio with
> her crossbows drawn. She
> > seems very determined to accomplish her goal.
> >
> > [Huntress is on the opposite side of the room > > from
> the three of you
> > approximately 100 yards away. The entire room > > is
> about the size of a
> > football field. the roof is high enough to allow
> for flight and
> > leaping.]

> Captain Marvel, in the danger room with his
> teammates, floated just inches above the floor (as is his practice
when he is in the danger room or on alert in the field) thinking about
his problems with Pamela and his AWOL child. Pamela had a restraining
order against him, even though all he had done was accidentally
impregnate her--something she certainly didn't seem to mind at the time
(or the hundred other times they had secretly met). Hell, she had told
him she was on the pill! How was he to know his "temporal space-time
displacement," as Prowler had called it, would cause all these problems.
He was just a soldier, not a doctor or scientist. If only he could see
her. He knew it was her PR woman, that shrew, who had convinced Pamela
to get the protective order. Cap began thinking about how he could see
Pamela...
>
> The unknown Soldier's gruff voice barking "GO!"
> jolted Cap back to reality. As the other heroes
> sprang into action, Captain Marvel still floated there having lost the
initiative. He then flew back and up several meters to give Huntress a
target, hoping to draw her fire from Ice and Shockwave. He also shot at
her with his heat vision, aiming for her quiver of bolts.
>
> Cap anticipates Huntress will first fire a flash bolt to blind the
teammates. Therefore, Cap will close his eyes when she first takes a
shot, be it at him or not. If it is a flash arrow, Cap will pretent to
be blind as well in order to sandbag her and catch her unawares. If it
is not a flash arrow, it will probably hit him if she aimed at him since
his
> eyes are closed. .Cap will also hold his breath
> briefly, just in case it is a gas arrow. If when he opens his eyes
(just a couple of seconds after he hears her shot) he sees it is a gas
arrow, he will fly out of its radius of effect and shoot huntress with
his heat vision again, aiming at her quiver. [Keith, if I get a huge
penalty for "aiming", please dont make him aim--in this case, he is just
HOPING to hit her quiver, without actually targeting it.]
>
> Otherwise, Cap's general intent is to play safety, flying and shooting
Huntress with heat vision.
>
Shockwave anticipates about the same thing fron Huntress,with one
exception. Yes the first bolt shot from her will cause him to close his
eyes...but then he will try to anticipate on where she will run to after
she shoots the bolt. Then he knows that cap will go in that
direction...sooo....SW will go the opposite way to try to flank her.
> >
> >
> ***********************************************
> >
> > Prowler was doing a rooftop patrol of his
> neighborhood. Some of the
> > street kids whom he had befriended as Karlo > > over
> the years had turned
> > up missing over the last couple of weeks. So far
> he had no leads. They
> > had seemed to vanish without a trace. No one on
> the street had any
> > information either, but everyone was getting
> spooked. More and more kids
> > vanished everyday.
> >
> >
> > Prowler's hearing picked up a foreign sound from a
> few blocks away and
> > he immediately raced over the rooftops to
> investigate.
> >
> > Reaching the alleyway the sound emanated from,
> Prowler peered into the
> > murky darkness and saw an large dog foraging for
> food in the dumpster.
> > Upon closer inspection Prowler realized it
> couldn't be a dog. It stood
> > upright on its hind legs, and had arms instead of
> front legs. It looked
> > like something out of a Werewolf movie.
> >
> > As it made it's way toward the mouth of the alley
> heading for the
> > darkened street, Prowler caught a glimpse of it's
> face, and recognized
> > something there. The eyes. They looked exactly
> like Hector's. Hector
> > had been one of the first boys to disappear. What
> the hell was going
> > on? Prowler intended to find out.
> ________________
>

Prowler inches closer to the were-beast, but was
careful to avoid making any sudden movements. He was all to aware of
what enhanced senses could pick up. Clearly something devilish was going
on. He intended to follow 'Hector.' The boy looked to be inflicted with
lycanthropy, but Karlo hadn't heard of a natural case of the disease in
his lifetime. Forced mutation, that is another story.
As time wore on, he knew it would be impossible for him to keep up with
the beast without coming so close to him that he'd have to give himself
away. He knew he had to try something though. Whatever it was, he
couldn't hurt the boy, no matter how hard it would be to subdue him.
He'd be unable to do anything without the proper equipment. He simply
called softly, "Hector. Hector. Over here." The startled beast looked
up for a moment, as if he peered into headlights, and scurried quickly
out of sight. Prowler didn't let the panicked smell of the animal fool
him into thinking he was less than the predator he looked. He was going
to have to call upon the Guardians for help... and another old friend of
his... Damn I am beginning to rely too much on those mutants, he thought
,as he headed back to the bookstore to look up Kevin Brunner, a
zookeeper, and former acquaintance. He'd journey to the guardians
headquarters after that.

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sun Nov 19, 2000 11:13pm
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.1

Danger Room
> *********************
>
> Captain Marvel and Shockwave close their eyes
> tightly as Huntress fires
> a bolt from her crossbow.
>
> Iceman tries to erect an icewall to deflect the > bolt , but the
Huntress is too quick and the > wall is erected a split second too late.
[I'm > posting for Micah since everyone replied so > quickly, and we are
already behind schedule]
>
> The Screamer-bolt lets out an ear-piercing wave > of "white noise"
that affects everyone within > hearing distance. (except the Huntress of
> course, because she is wearing special earrings > that dampen the
sound and prevent her from > being harmed by the high intensity decibel
> attack). The three male heroes are caught of > guard by this attack,
as they had been > expecting something completely different. They >
screamer bolt disorients them, pushing them to > the verge of nausea,
and effectively making > them deaf for the foreseeable future.
>
> "If they can't communicate with ne another then > they can't use
teamwork against me,"reasons the > Huntress as she continues her charge.
>
> She begins running in the direction of Iceman and sees shockwave
moving
> the other direction, trying to flank her. She fires off another bolt
in
> his direction. It strikes the ground in front of him and explodes
like
> a hand grenade. Shockwave is unharmed , but the
> blast sends him flying
> backwards into the wall. Huntress blows him a kiss.
>
> Captain marvel begins firing at her with her heat vision. She begins a
> series of acrobatic dodges to escape from being > hit, flipping
through the air and coming to a > halt next to Iceman whom she perform a
judo > throw on, sending him straight into the path of > an oncoming
heat vision blast. Iceman screams > in agony as the forces of fire and
ice collide.
>
> Huntress begins sprinting again. She had 50 more yards to go.

As soon as iceman recovers from the devastating blow hes received
from cappie he tries to orient to huntress and ice up the floor. i
mean as soon as he can. even if he is laying on the floor half dazed
not sure of locations he starts icing to exhaustion trying to make
her path as slick as possible

Captain Marvel, now deaf, flies straight at huntress, hoping her
maneuverability will be decreased by Iceman's ice slick. He intends
to move through her, in the direction AWAY from her goal (he doesn't
want to help her to get where she wants to be). He is ready for her
to try some fancy sling-shot deal off him, using his momentum to
boomerang herself forward--but since he will only move AWAY from her
goal, she wont be able to use his momentum to move forward. He hopes
to knock her out because of her decreased mobility.
If he sees her sporting some ice cleats or something else that lets
her move freely on the ice, he will try to enter melee with her and
whip her tight little aroebics-instructor ass.

*****

After much searching, Prowler finds his old friend Kevin drinking in a
new spot. The fellow still sports long hair and a beard. He looks like
he has several years of drinking under his belt. After little
convincing, Prowler gets what he wants from the fellow, and heads to the
Guardians headquarters. All it really took was a bottle of liquor.

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Mon Nov 27, 2000 10:54am
Subject: RECAP: Turn 4,2

Iceman lays dazed upon the Danger Room floor with steam coming off of
his icy form. The only thing he can hear is the ringing in his ears. He
isn't sure of Huntress' location in the room, so he begins to form an
ice slick to cover the entire floor. He places his hands palm down upon
the floor and ice quickly begins to materialize in an expanding circle
with him at the center.

Captain Marvel sees Iceman's   intent and moves to intercept
Huntress who is sprinting towards the finish line.

Shockwave begins picking at his belly button lint.

Huntress sees Captain Marvel moving to intercept her and hears the
crackling ice moving toward her. She chances a quick glance behind her
and sees the ice slick coming her way.

"Shit! I've gotta time his just right," she thinks. Just as Captain
Marvel   is about to slam into her and the iceslick overtake her,
she vaults into the air toward Captain Marvel. She fires a bolt behind
her as she flips through the air and lands upon Captain Marvel's back.
She locks her legs and arms around him as the bolt strikes the floor a
few feet in front of the Captain and explodes. Marvel's body shields her
from the blast and the force of the explosion sends them spiralling
backwards towards the finish line.

With only ten more feet to go Huntress lets go of Marvel, pushes off of
him with both of her feet and lands gingerly in the safety of the finish
line.

Prowler, who had just witnessed the proceeding   events from the
control room room where he had arrived moments earlier, gives an
appreciate round of applause.

Huntress bows towards the control both, "Not too shabby for a 'mere
mortal' if I do say so myself"

"You did good, kid," says the Unknown Soldier over the intercom "I need
everyone to report to the briefing room. Prowler says he has
something he needs to fill us in on. Shockwave put down that belly
button lint and move your ass."   The announcement is vaguely heard
by the three male heroes whose hearing has slowly started to return.
They are all unhurt though their egos may be a bit bruised.

All of the Guardians and Prowler gather in the briefing room he explains
about the missing children and what he saw in the alleyway.

" I can probably still pick up the creatures scent from the alleyway and
track him from there." says Prowler. "I'm going to need your help in
subduing this creature and finding out who or what is behind this."
*************************
Several hours later....
It was still a few hours before daybreak and the heroes had been
tracking the creature all night. Prowler had finally caught up with him.
From their vantage point on a nearby roof [you are all traveling under
your own power, no Sparrow]   they see the creature duck into an
alleyway.

As they discuss their strategy,   two windowless vans pull up in
front of the alleyway blocking it off. Six men in urban camouflage and
night vision goggles exit the vans and proceed cautiously down the
alley. They are armed with what appears to be tranquilizer guns, nets,
and other animal containment devices.In addition, they each have a
plasma rifle slung over their shoulders.

The heroes know from experience that only the highest echelons of
government security forces, and the most nefarious terrorist groups,
have access to such weaponry . Which of the two camps these six men
reside in remains to be seen.

[It is up to you how you want to handle this. Do you go in kick ass and
ask questions later or do you wait and see what happens? Regardless of
what you decide to do, try to make it an "in character" post   ]

_________ [First, Keith, Who is included in "the heroes?" Is the
huntress with us? If so, she can just take care of everything.]   :)

Captain Marvel sees the scene below. "Well crew, at least they don't
seem intent on killing the creature, judging from their weapons. Let's
wait and see how this goes. If they capture him, we can always keep them
from leaving until we are satisfied with their purpose. If they don't
capture him, we will be ready to play clean-up-the-mess. Ice, be ready
to ice that werewolf in case he bolts. In any event, nobody's leaving
here until we are satisfied.

"Shock, be ready to jump in there in case the fight starts to go bad. We
can't let those guys kill the creature, but we can't let the creature
kill them either."

Cap thinks to himself, if these guys are government agents, how do they
know where to look for this thing and how to arm themselves? Unless, of
course, they created him in the first place. . . .

Prowler says "I think we should follow the van after
they capture Hector. If we don't get to the source of
this lycanthropy, we may never find any of these
children. If you agree, I think Iceman and I could
get on top of the van, Captain America and Huntress,
you could follow by flight. We have to nip this
problem at its root. This is the only way to do it, I
think."
If the companions agree, Prowler moves to position
himself atop the van, and hides amongst the shadows of
the night.

[No plot points used. Everyone still has 15 points]

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sun Dec 3, 2000 8:05am
Subject: Recap:Turn 4.3

The Guardians agree to Prowler's plan. They all move into position
to
> see the final outcome of the scene below.
>
> The creature is trapped in the dead-end alley. the men move
cautiously
> toward it as it crouches low and begin snarling at it's hunters.
>
> Several of he men begin firing tranquilizer darts at the creature,
which
> pierce it's hide and causes the creature to howl in pain. The
creature
> goes on the offensive, leaping at the man nearest him and knocking
him
> to the ground. Just as the creature is about to tear the man's
throat
> out wit it's fangs one of the other men fires a taser gun at it. The
> voltage tears through the creatures body, sending it into spasms on
they
> floor of the alley. The smell of burning ozone and fur fill the air
as
> the creatures slips into unconsciousness. [unlike a werewolf movie,
the
> creature doesn't change back into human form]
>
> The men quickly place restraining devices on the creature's limbs
and
> snout.They then haul it to the back of of the van and place it
into a
> cage, before speeding off as quickly as they arrived.
>
> Prowler who had made his way down to the street, runs behind the
van,
> grab hold of the back and pulls himself atop it. The huntress
quickly
> joins him wit the aide of a swingline.
>
> Captain Marvel follows by air, and Iceman and Shockwave trail along
the
> rooftops on Iceman's ice ramps.
>
> The vans eventually pull into a parking garage and proceed t to the
> lowest level. They appear to be heading straight towards a wall,
but the
> vans pass harmlessly through it. A hologram. [Huntress is relaying
all
> of this by commlink to the others who aren't on the van]
>
> Once through the hologram, the floor becomes a hydraulic elevator
and
> takes the vans below street level several hundred feet. They exit
into a
> vast technological facility. The place is booming with activity.
There
> are hundreds of people moving about. technicians, scientists,
guards,
> all wearing a stylized red "V" over their left breast of their
uniforms.
> It was the signature of VORTEX [Vanguard Organisation for Revenge,
> Terrorism, Espionage, and eXtortion--a worldwide terrorist
organisation]
>
> As the Huntress relates all of this to the others
> her transmission is cut short by the sound of her and Prowler
crying out
> in pain.
>
> Electricity arcs through the bodies of Prowler and Huntress from the
> hull of the van sending them into unconsciousness.
> [Bry, I'll let you spend a plot point here to remain conscious if
you
> want-this would fall under resisting control]

[Prowler spends the plot point. Further, he would like
to spend a plot point to somehow protect huntress from the electricity
(guarantee of success).]

>
Captain Marvel hears Huntress's description and her cry of pain.
"Soldier, did you read all that?" he asks. "We've discovered a nest,
and it sounds big. We're gonna need backup on this one. Prowler, are
you there? Huntress?"

"They must be aware of our presence. Soldier, we're going in to get
Huntress and Prowler out of there. They're hundreds of feet below
street level, so we don't want to get trapped down there. Watch your
backs guys. Maybe one of us should stay our here, in case this
doesn't work. We don't want all of us to be trapped."

With that, Captain Marvel zips into the elevator shaft (which i
assume is where we stopped following them) and down. He intends to
fly to the bottom, ready for any weapons along the walls to open up
on him. If they do, he uses heat vision to disable them (only if they
can harm him), but keeps moving down as fast as possible. When he
reaches the bottom, he will be on top of the elevator itself. He will
burst through the roof hatch of the elevator (wihtout stopping) and
try to find Prowler and Huntress. If they are right there, he will
scoop them up and fly back out again. If they have been moved already
(remember, he got there as fast as possible) he looks around and
tries to find them and get them out.

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sat Dec 9, 2000 1:24pm
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.4

Just as the electricity begins to shoot through Prowler and
Huntress,
> Prowler grabs the Huntress and tumbles off the side of the van with
her.
> The inital shock still causes both of the heroes to let out a cry of
> pain.
>
> Both of the vans immediately screech out of the elevator and begin
> heading towards an outgoing tunnnel across the complex.
>
> An alarm begins to sound throughout the complex and a computerized
voice
> begins repeating "INTRUDER ALERT" over the loudspeakers. A large
group
> of guards immediately converge on Huntress and Prowler with Plasma
> Rifles trained upon them.
> "DON'T MOVE!," one of them near the front says. "Don't even
breathe."
> [the rest of you would be able to hear this over the commlink]
>
Prowler sniffs the air imperceptibly to discover which
of the soldiers radiates the most fear. Knowing that
captain Marvel is flying down to meet them (assuming
Prowler can hear him coming), he crouches facing that
soldier, in a defensive position awaiting his moment
to strike. (What prowler does depends on what captain
marvel does, so I will continue my move after I hear
what he does)(Note: I am also aware of the condensed
time frame in which all this occurs, so if captain
marvel will not make it before the soldiers attempt to
do us bodily harm, then my action will end differently)

> As Captain Marvel speeds down the elevator shaft a crisscrossing
pattern
> of laser-beams immediately fill the entire length of the shaft. He
has
> to slow his descent consierably to avoid hitting the beams and use
his
> heat vision to take out many of the laser projectors, but he
eventually
> makes it to the bottom and comes to the roof of the elevator.
> [Pat, I didn't know if you still wanted to bust through with
Huntress
> and Prowler having about 20 guns trained on them or not.]
>
> The Unknown Soldier comes over the commlink *CAPE has been
notified of
> the situation. Theyaa re sending out a detachment. ETA 10 mnutes.
You
> are on your own 'til then*
>
> Shockwave and Iceman wait anxiously at the top of the elevator
shaft.
> Iceman's old hatred begins festering within him. His father had died
> destroying a VORTEX compound.A hero's death, but it didn't make it
hurt
> any less. Logically he knew that his father had sacrificed himself
for
> the welfare of others, but emotonally he blamed VORTEX. If not for
them
> then his father might still be alive today.
>
> Unable to contain his emotions any longer, he froms an ice slide and
> begins to descend throug the shaft. He immdiately sees the
> gauntlet of criscrossed laser beams impeding hs way.
>
> [Everyone still has 15 plot points, except for Prowler who has 13]

Captain Marvel hears Prowler and Huntress scream, hears the van
screech out of the elevator, and hears the VORTEX soldiers
say, "Don't Move!" As he speeds down the elevator shaft, hundreds of
laser beam emitters open from the walls and begin firing at him,
probably activated by his passing triggering motion detectors.
Captain Marvel does not slow his descent. Instead, he increases his
speed, knowing that the emitters will take at least .2 seconds to
activate each of the lasers. By the time each of the lasers fires,
Captain Marvel is already past them. [Keith, I am spending a plot
point here using Aerial Combat descriptor, supplemented with his
Computers descriptor, to ensure that Cap avoids all the lasers
without slowing. I know Computers does not directly apply here, but
it would help him know how the motion detectors would trigger the
lasers. And Aerial Combat should apply.]
Cap believes that the VORTEX agents will not have entered the
elevator yet, since they have Huntress and Prowler covered and they
are obviously super heroes--this will cause them to take precautions
and not just rush into the elevator. So Captain Marvel, as he reaches
the bottom, grabs the elevator loading door (which has been raised to
let the vans get out) and shoves it back down, separating the VORTEX
agents from Prowler and Huntress. His downward momentum now slowed,
he bursts through the top of the elevator, and intends to grab his
two comrades and fly them straight back up the elevator. He will
avoid the laser beams the same way he avoided them on the way down.
If some of the Vortex Agents are inside the elevator, that is fine
too. Cap will try to land on at least one, preferably more if they
are within arms reach of each other. Plus, if there are agents in the
elevator, it will keep the other VORTEX agents from firing through
the elevator door blindly.

[Given that I just received Captain Marvel's action,
Prowler obviously allows Captian Marvel to fly them out of the hole
(assuming what he did worked).]

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sun Dec 17, 2000 7:29pm
Subject: Recap: Turn:4.5

Prowler keeps his eye on the VORTEX agent whose heartbeat reveals him as
the most nervous (Your Empathy power only works on carnivorous
animals-not humans. Don't get cute and point out that humans are
animals, you know what I mean). Just as the agent seems ready to pull
the trigger on his gun, the elevator cargo door slams down with a
thundering crash.
>
> Captain Marvel's fists pummel though the elevator roof and he
immediately grabs his two comrades. He flies with them at breakneck
speed through the gauntlet of intersecting laser beams, coming
dangerously close to them. Prowler and Huntress can feel the lasers haet
and occasionally their uniforms are singed by the beams, but they arrive
at the top unscathed.
>
> Iceman and Shockwave are waiting at the top for > them. Iceman had
decided not to risk the maze > of laser beams, though he was still
noticeably > angry.
>
> As Captain Marvel sets the two of them down, a loud rumble can be
heard from the bottom of the elevator shaft. "Everybody take Cover!"
warns Prowler just seconds before the mouth of the shaft spits forth
fire and debris. With the explosion over, smoke begins rolling out of
he shaft and filling the parking garage.
>
> "They bombed the elevator shaft, to cover their > escape." says
Prowler.
>
> "And they sent us to keep you busy" a mechanical voice from behind
them says. As the Guardians turn to look, they see three VORTEX
agents encased in Cyclone (TM) exo-skeleton battlesuits-the latest in
battlesuit technology to put humans on par wih metahumans. The
battlesuits stand a full ten feet tall and are equipped with rocket
launchers, flame throwers, laser cannons, and jet propulsion units, to
name but a few of their more notable features.
>
> The agents immdiately open fire upon he heroes with a barrge of flame,
rockets, and lasers.
>
>
> [Plot Points:
> Shockwave and Iceman:15
> Cap and Prowler:13]

Captain Marvel says, "They didn't need to send you to keep us busy. Are
you sure they weren't just tired of having you guys around? Because your
life expectancy just got considerably shorter...." With that, Captain
Marvel attacks.

He flies straight at them, using his heat vision to shoot their laser
emitters and other range weapons. (Note he is only doing that AS he
closes with them at maximum speed.) Once he is close enough, he flies
straight into the head of one of the robots (or wherever there appears
to be all the sensing equipment-
-if their "faces" are in their chests, for example, he will attack that
part. I am assuming they are like senetinels. Cap doesn't want to kill
the operator though.)

Prowler launches himself at the nearest villain [that Capt. Marvel is
not attacking]. He does a diving judo roll which finishes with him
rolling into the villains legs, trying to cause him to fall down.

Huntress dives behind a large Cadillac parked nearby [Improvisation of a
prop-it is appropriate to the setting of a car garage], quickly pulls
out her hand crossbows and fires off an Electro-bolt at the third
mechanized agent, hoping to short out its circuitry [She will spend a
Plot Point here to insure that she succeeds in this action-the action
being hitting the target. The degree of success (how much damage is done
and whether or not the armor is taken out) is determined by the GM, and
depends largely upon the amount of description put into the action, the
desired effect, and the needs of the storyline].
[Note to GM: If the bolt takes out the agent, she will fire another one
at one of the other agents, assuming they are still active

If the bolt fails to incapacitate her initial target, then she will fire
upon him with armor-piercing bolt to expose the circuitry beneath the
armor and then fire another electro-bolt at the circuity]

[Note to Players from GM: Please try to remember to post several
different options in combat rather than just one move, as this will make
the combats go quicker]

Icee would like to climb rather elevate himself to a better vantage
point as
he opens up with armor piercing icepedo

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Tue Jan 2, 2001 3:02am
Subject: Recap:Turn: 4.6

Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2001 07:58:13 -0000
From: maxxlingo2@w...
To: maxxlingo2@w...
Subject: Fwd:  Turn: 4.6
User-Agent: eGroups-EW/0.82

--- In the_guardians_pbem@egroups.com, maxxlingo2@w... wrote:
[Here I am going to railroad things so that we can be in a position to
game face to face over X-mas. I am leaving Wednesday and should be in
by Thursday morning.]

In short. the Guardians defeat the exoskeleton guys, The agents are
questioned and have no knowledge of the "Werewolf" or where the other
VORTEX agents have fled to. Prowler listens to their heartbeats and
discerns that they are telling the truth. The exoskeleton agents are
taken into custody by CAPE when they finally arrive.

The Guardians scour the city looking for VORTEX or any signs of Hector
over the next few days, but to no avail.

[The face face game will pick up from here. it will be an unrelated
adventure that will not involve Prowler. He will still be booking for
Hector and VORTEX while we are gaming face to face. I will post arecap
of what occurs in the face to face adventure. We will continue with the
current adventure once everyone returns to their current residences. I
may be able to access my webtv at my mom's house, so I should still be
able to post from there. Not for sure though.]
--- End forwarded message ---

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Tue Jan 2, 2001 3:04am
Subject: Recap: Face to Face

To: Guardians_Archive@egroups.com, the_guardians_pbem@egroups.com
From: maxxlingo2@w...
Mailing-List: list the_guardians_pbem@egroups.com; contact the_guardians_pbem-owner@egroups.com
Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2000 19:54:42 -0600 (CST)
Subject: [the_guardians_pbem] Recap: Face to Face

The Guardians receive a message from NASA and the United Nations that
had been beamed to them only moments before.

The video shows only a man's face. Iceman identifies the man as Captain
Marvel's bastard son. The man makes a speech as follows....

" Greetings people of Earth I am Harbinger. I have an important message
for everyone.

The members of Homo Sapiens Praeter, also referred to as metahumans or
praeterhumans, are a species separate from Homo Sapiens.
Regulations and laws enacted for the good of Homo Sapiens are too
easily subverted and misinterpreted to abuse the rights of metahumans,
who are required by destiny to attain their full potential...a goal
impossible while abiding by strictures set by beings who are not one's
peers and who cannot accurately judge what is "ethical" or "moral" for
anything other than their own species. As such, the laws and governing
bodies established for the purpose of governing Homo Sapiens must be
considered inapplicable to Homo Sapiens Praeter.

Until a common governing body composed entirely of metahumans qualified
to hold authority is recognize by the majority of the metahuman
population, then it is the duty of every metahuman to govern himself or
herself as he or she see fit. Just as it is preposterous to ask humans
to abide by the the strictures of chimpanzee society , any attempt to
force a metahuman to abide by the laws of human society must be seen as
an attack on the rights of the individual metahuman.

The world has 48 hours to revoke all existing laws pertaining to
metahumans and declare them sovereign or the Mir Space Station, which I
now control, will be pushed out of orbit and sent on a collision course
with the United Nations headquarters in New York City....More symbolic
acts of destruction will follow should my demands not be met.

You have been warned. I urge you to do the right thing. Thank You"

End Transmission.

After seeing his son on the video screen, Captain Marvel knows what he
must do, though it kills him to even contemplate it. He must betray the
guardians--his friends, the people who took him in after he found
himself in this time, disoriented and alone. But the future from which
Marvin came must not come to pass. Humanity is enslaved by an alien
species, on the fast track to extinction. That must be avoided at any
cost, even the friendship of those he loves.

The Guardians are sent to NASA for a one day crash course training in
space travel and zero gravity environments. They are informed they will
be accompanied by two US astronauts who will man the space shuttle, and
government employed metahuman with teleportation powers. Once the space
shuttle establishes a low orbit just outside of Earth's atmosphere and
aligns itself with the space station, the teleporter will teleport
himself and the Guardians aboard the Mir. This will allow them access to
the station without alerting Harbinger. The teleporter will be
physically exhausted after teleporting so many people such a far
distance and will require day of rest before he can use his power again
or do anything else .

As Marvel goes through the zero g training in preparation for the
mission, he is sick with himself and what he plans. But the soldier in
him takes the fore in his thoughts: "I must do this. My friends, my
life, they don't matter. This is the mission--THE mission of all time."

Marvin only knows that metahumans must be on earth when the aliens
invade in the next few decades, or humanity is doomed. In the early 21st
century (was it 2015? He cannot remember...), humanity finally enacted
the Meta Monitor Act, which required all super powered humans to submit
to implantation of a chip in their bodies. The chip would not only
constantly monitor their location, but it recorded their actions and
conversations, reporting the data wirelessly to the Board of Human
Rights which monitored all metas. Some metas resisted, but most
submitted so that they could continue their fight against crime.
However, the chips were not enough to satisfy the Board members.

Within three months, they used the data gathered from the various chips
(some claimed they fabricated the data) and used it to push the Meta
Incarceration Act through congress. All metas, including those in
government service or parts of heroic teams, were incarcerated
indefinitely, without due process of law, for alleged "collective crimes
against humanity." It was noted during senate hearings that humanity no
longer included metahumans. When they started gassing the more
troublesome metas, the public did not seem to care. Within four years
from enactment of the MIA, only a handful of metahumans were left alive
on earth. The genocide was complete.

That was when the aliens attacked. Will attack, Marvin corrects himself.
They will wait until earth murders her own youngest children and dooms
herself.

I can't let that happen.

As he and the rest of the guardians go through zero g training, Captain
Marvel watches the rest of his team for weaknesses--he is a soldier, and
these will soon be his enemies. He crushes down a desire to tell them
what he thinks, knowing they will tell him that humanity won't make the
same mistakes again. But he can't take that chance. In his research
using the guardians computers, Marvel has read that there are many
thousand metahumans on earth. Not many compared to the population, but
certainly enough to defend themselves, even against the collective human
race.

Harbinger has the right idea. Rather than let humanity murder meta
humans, metas must stand up and fight for their survival.

During the pre-mission briefing, Captain Marvel tries to convince
Huntress not to go. He knows that death may await them all in the
coldness of space, and he cannot let her die. He knows that if he is
faced with killing the guardians to succeed, he may falter. Though he is
a soldier, he despises killing. He may not be able to bring himself to
kill his friends, even to save earth.

Besides, Harbinger is his own son.

Huntress refuse to stay behind with so much at stake.

The next day they blast off and make it aboard the Mir space station
undetected. As they begin to explore, Captain Marvel attacks Huntress,
blinding her with his heat vision. Iceman and Shockwave try to subdue
him as Captain Marvel begins shouting to alert his son, Harbinger.

Harbinger joins the battle. All of he Guardians are incapacitated. While
they are unconscious, Captain Marvel appeals to his son to give up this
scheme. [Pat you will have to fill in some of the blanks here. I can't
remember what all was said.] Harbinger agrees, but only so that he can
gather more forces to his cause.

As Captain Marvel and Harbinger start to leave the Mir. Iceman and
Shockwave awake. They are about to battle once again, but both parties
agree that if another battle takes place it will destroy the space
station. Shockwave and Iceman agree to let marvel and Harbinger leave.
as long as the Mir crew and the station is unharmed. Father and son
leave in the space shuttle found in he docking bay. Harbinger leaves a
duplicate of himself behind to insure they aren't followed. (he can call
future selves into the present. A time anomaly power associated with his
fathers origin) The shuttle is abandoned before impact in the ocean and
the two fly off to parts unknown.

The Guardians insure thee safety of the Mir crew and help out with what
repairs they can. They make it back to Earth the next day.

Shockwave discover's that his sister, who was in town for a visit was
accidentally slain, in a battle between a metahuman and armored car
guards.

The Guardians are shocked and angered at Captain Marvel' betrayal.
Shockwave doesn't take his sister's death well.

***

The same day the Guardians return from outer space, they are told by the
Unknown Soldier that the only people who were aware of Harbinger's
transmission from the Mir space station was the United nations, NASA,
and the Guardians. A press blackout was being attempted to keep the
truth from the general populace. The rational being that it is better
for the citizens to not be needlessly panicked.

The Guardians are all watching the evening news to monitor if there had
been any leaks to the press. The only mention of it was vague at best.
The reporter stating that he Guardians had left on a clandestine mission
the day before and had returned today with no comments to the press.
Strange for the Guardians. especially Shockwave who basked in the media
attention and Captain Marvel , who was the groups unofficial spokesman
and PR man when it came to dealing with the press.

The news report was interrupted by late-breaking news. Viewers were
taken live to the e United Nations plaza, where two unknown metahumans
we attacking he United Nations building, apparently trying to destroy
it.

Iceman and Shockwave immediately recognize that it is Harbinger. Two of
him. It was either the real Harbinger and a duplicate or two duplicates
alone, they couldn't tell. They immediately left to stop the
destruction, occurring just across the East River from them.

It had been 48 hours exactly since Harbingers initial ultimatum.

[Huntress didn't go , her vision was still blurred from Captain Marvel's
heat vision attack aboard the Mir]
**********************************************
Meanwhile...
A woman ,sitting in a taxi cab stuck in the rush hour traffic outside
the UN, was lost in thought.

It had been nearly two weeks since her life had changed forever.To pay
her way through school, she worked as an exotic dancer with the stage
name Electra, . She enjoyed dancing and the pay was good. She had been
practicing a new pole routine at the club where she worked when she
accidentally kicked some new lighting equipment installed in the ceiling
above the stage. Her stiletto heel shattered the pulsing lights , she
could only scream in terror as electricity arced through her body.
Miraculously she survived.

She had learned that the accident had somehow caused her to gain
metahuman abilities. She could run very quickly and discharge blasts of
electricity. She was having a hard time controlling these new powers-
there were already three reports of people getting "struck by lightning"
without any adverse weather conditions. It frightened her . She hadn't
been back to the club or school since that night.

That is when she heard the sounds of destruction coming from the UN
building. She saw the two flying metahumans destroying the building. She
wasn't sure what to do, but she knew that she had these new powers and
people were in danger, so she bolted to the top of the UN building at
superspeed. as she came to a stop one of them blasted at her with heat
vision, destroying the small outcropping she was hiding behind. Electra
cursed herself for making such naive mistakes. She didn't know what the
hell she was doing and her inexperience could very well get her killed.

She was joined in battle by Iceman and Shockwave. Eventually the dual
Harbingers were defeated, but they both faded away. Before the last one
vanishes he says, "Marvel was a fool to think me his ally. It is better
to keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Electra is leery of the two guardians at first, preferring to run around
the area at superspeed to remain invisible to them, than to make
conversation.

Shockwave leaves the battlefield and heads off aimlessly. The reporters
mob him, but he doesn't even acknowledge their existence. he is lost in
thought. Mourning his sister.

Iceman heads back to he Guardtower and sees that Electra had followed
him and beat him there. they begin to talk and Iceman invites her inside
(Electra had to use the restroom). Over a light snack they discuss her
background, and the things that just happened at the UN. The Unknown
Soldier explains to Electra that she is a metahuman and that her
meta-gene was triggered by her electrocution.

To learn more about her powers and abilities, Electra agree to go
through A couple of low-level danger room sequences. After signing a
waiver, she and Iceman go to the Danger Room. they work together the
first time taking out several battle droids together. The next run is
Electra vs. Iceman. Iceman was to prevent her from getting to the
opposite side of the Danger Room. The session ends with Electra knocking
Iceman unconscious with a bolt of electricity.

Electra, who is curious about her powers, specifically whether or not
she is any more resistant to damage than normal, asks Iceman to punch
her to see if it hurts her. Iceman refuses.

The Unknown Soldier notes that in addition to Superspeed and Electric
powers, Electra must have some sort of ability to resist damage from
wind sheer and other dangers associated with traveling at supersonic
speeds. He notes that her clothes. especially her shoes, are undamaged
form traveling at these speeds, which indicates perhaps a very minor
forcefield that offers no protection other than from the side effects of
traveling at supersonic velocity.

Electra thanks the Guardians for all of their help. They agree to
tabulate all of the data they gathered on her that day and inform her of
the results. They would be in touch.

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From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sat Jan 13, 2001 0:45am
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.7

Prowler was again searching the city. He had hardly slept the past few
days. He had to find the missing children. He knew VORTEX was involved
and that meant serious trouble for the children.

Prowler theorizes that VORTEX is abducting the street kids and
performing genetic manipulation experiments on them, perhaps combining
their DNA with animals, much as had been done to him in his youth.
Whatever the process, it wasn't as refined as the one used on him. He
still retained his human form, whereas Hector had appeared as an animal
in humanoid form. At least it wasn't magic. He could understand genetics
and perhaps reverse the process.

Prowler had picked up a scent nearly an hour ago. A strange mix between
animal and human. Different than Hector's scent, but strangely familiar.
He had followed the trail to a city dump (now closed after hours), but
had lost the scent amongst all of the stinking debris. The garbage
assaulted his hypersensitive smell, making his nose burn. He reached
out with his hearing, hoping to detect some trace of the creature.

He barely heard the creature charging from behind him. If it hadn't let
out a low growl just before springing, he would have been caught
unaware. "You have to be pretty damn sneaky to accomplish that," thinks
Prowler.

Prowler turns just in time to raise his arms as the creature pounces
toward him. It definitely isn't Hector. Hector had a wolf-like
appearance, but this one has a Rat-like appearance. The rat-creature's
charge send Prowler onto his back, and the creature presses on, snapping
it's razor-sharp teeth at Prowler's throat. Prowler has the creature by
the neck, keeping it at bay, but it's full weight is pinning his body
down to the ground.

Sensing that the beast must be one of his genetically altered children,
prowler knees the beast in the groin area, and tries to squirm away from
him. He also smells for the creatures true origin (during the course of
the battle--I am assuming this is not an 'action' in the sense of the
word, if it costs me combat at all, i don't do it.)

[If successful, Prowler then attempts to flee the
beast, which he can then track and deal with on his own terms. If not,
he continues to try and escape his grasp]

Elrond, aka Harry the Magician, has been following the psychic
disturbance for three days now. He came across it on the west side of
Manhattan and with the help of Meklor has been able to slowly trace the
trail west across the Hudson and into Hoboken. Several times he lost
sight of the faint eddies picked up by his ocular piece that indicated
his quarry, even stopping the pursuit twice for rest, only
to resume a few hours later. Now it is close, he can see by the increase
in the faint, psychic swirls left by the beast's passing.
They lead to a landfill. Elrond is thankful for his boots as he floats
above the filth.

Ahead he hears a noise, and topping a trash heap he sees a large
rat-like creature squatting atop a man in black amid the garbage and
fecal matter of Hoboken's finest citizens. He has never seen anything
like this. Theklor had said that the psychic patterns reminded
him of lycanthropes, but were somehow different.

This thing looked just like what Harry had imagined as a Dungeons and
Dragons Wererat, half man, half you-know-what. Even down to the
obscenely hairless tail. Not wanting to injure the creature, he reaches
toward it with
his gloved hand, which now glows faintly blue, with even brighter
circuitry showing along the fingers like metacarpel bones. He invokes
Bigby's Hand, using the telekinetic powers to lift the creature off the
strange now smelly man in black.

[If the telekinesis works and gets the creature off Prowler, Elrond will
hold it in the air while floating above the trash heap and address
Prowler. If he can't get control of the evil wererat, or it gets away,
he waits to see what the strange man in black does.]

[By the way I have force field and psi screen up at all times.]

************************************************
Meanwhile, at the Guardtower.......

The Unknown Soldier had fed the data gathered from Electra's session in
the Danger Room into their computer. The results had finally been
processed and the Soldier had called her to let her know. She said she
would be right over.

A few seconds after the Soldier hung up the phone, the butler announces
that a woman identifying herself as Electra was at the main entrance.
"Let her in, Jeeves. She's expected."

"Very good, Sir."

Electra joins the Soldier in the computer room.
" I haven't even had a chance to look at these yet. You got here fast,"
says the Soldier.

"Yeah, I ran the whole way. "replies Electra coyly.

"Nobody likes a smart-ass, kid. Have a seat and I'll have the computer
read off the results."

As she is seated, the Soldier taps a few buttons on a console, the
computer lights up, and a soothing, female-sounding, computerized voice
begins to give the report.

"Results of Meta-power Analysis...Subject: Electra.

Electra possesses the ability to generate excess bioelectric energy
which she can release or harness for a number of effects.

The energy that Electra generates is a manifestation of the
bioelectricity that exists within all human beings. Electra's metabolism
generates far more of this bioelectricity within herself than ordinary
living beings do, and therefore she can employ this extra bioelectricity
for various uses without depriving herself of the bioelectric energy she
needs to exist.

Her body constantly produces and stores this excess bioelectricity, up
to a maximum of 100,000 volts. At that point the extra bioelectricity
discharges itself from her skin in harmless amounts.

Electra can employ her bioelectric energy in a number of ways. The
simplest manifestation is the emission of a lightning-like bioelectric
arc from her fingertips, which can propagate though air or other
conductive mediums. This discharge, whose total voltage can be regulated
within certain limits, travels at the speed of lightning, about 1,100
feet per second.

Electra can also move at superhuman speeds by generating tight, eddying
bioelectrical fields around her body, which develops an intense,
opposing magnetic field. By creating imbalances in this field, she can
propel herself on magnetic ripples at speeds in excess of Mach 1. Her
maximum rate of speed is still unknown.

When traveling at superhuman speeds, Electra's body also generates an
oscillating frequency of bioelectric energy that interacts with nearby
atomic particles in a way to generates a self-supporting forcefield that
screens her from the ravages of wind, friction, and air turbulence, thus
allowing her to survive traveling at such extreme speeds.

This field, which radiates approximately one millimeter from every point
on the surface of her body, doesn't block out oxygen, light, or other
electromagnetic phenomena. The field extends beneath Electra's' feet as
she runs so that she actually runs on the field, not on the floor or
ground, thus protecting her from the dynamic shocks of her feet touching
the ground at superhuman speeds. It is unknown whether the field offers
any additional protection from harm.

Electra's practical reaction time is many times faster than human, and
the speed at which her brain processes information is heightened to a
level commensurate with her bodily speed, enabling her to perceive her
surroundings while traveling at high velocities

It is hypothetically possible, that with training Electra will be able
to use her powers of acceleration for various feats. Possibilities
include, but are not limited to, plucking missile weapons, such as
arrows or bullets, from the air, dodging machine gun fire, and creating
cyclone-like gusts of wind by racing around in a tight circle.

It has already been reported that Electra can run approximately 300 feet
up the sides of surfaces with a 90 degree inclination , and run across a
body of water for a short distance before beginning to sink.

End Meta-power Analysis....Subject: Electra"

The Soldier lets out a slow whistle. "That's pretty damn impressive,
girly. What do you intend to do with all of this newfound power? I
suppose you could do like a lot of these jackasses do and decide you
should go rob a bank or something. But then you'd have to deal with us,
and frankly you are just too darn pretty for me to let Shockwave pound
on your head.

I suggest you let us give you some training and guidance with your
powers. If you are not into the whole 'superhero thing' I understand,
but you definitely need to get a handle on all of this power you now
have coursing through your veins. If you don't know how to control it,
it could be dangerous for you and others.

What do you say?"

"First you must understand that having all this energy tends to make me
a little impatient. So, you must forgive my enthusiasm and I could
definitely use some help in the matter of control. But the rigors of a
training program are not quite what I had in mind.

Although your test results said nothing about my brain functions I feel
as if they have also increased in speed and thus my tolerance for
banality is gone. This has also effected my interactions with the
normal world. The tediousness of daily life is more than I can bare.
If you are offering me a life that includes challenges I must accept
because the rest of the world seems to no longer hold any for me. As
for the role of 'super hero' I am not so sure. I'm not one for
membership. I have often found that following rules means that you must
break your own," replies Electra

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Fri Jan 19, 2001 10:35pm
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.8

At the Dump...

Prowler holds the were-rat by the throat as its razor-like teeth snap
futility at him. The creatures breath is hot on his face and the smell
is nauseating. Prowler discerns that he creature definitely is a
human/animal hybrid, having the scent of both. VORTEX's secret enclave
had reeked of similar smells as had his parents laboratories in Africa.

Prowler knees the creature in the groin and it screeches in pain.
Apparently it still has all of the vulnerable points that a human does.

As the creature arches his back in pain, Prowler is able to free himself
from the creatures weight and regain his feet.

As he prepares to flee, he stops dead in his tracks as the creature is
suddenly grasped by a giant hand-like manifestation that glows an
unearthly blue. the runes on prowler's mystic sash begin to shimmer
slightly, preparing to protect him from a magical attack. The hair on
Prowler's neck stands on end. Magic. It had to be. He hadn't seen it in
use since his childhood in Africa, when the Sengali Medicine man [insert
his name here] had taught him to harness his then overwhelming
heightened senses. The sash had been a gift from he medicine man he had
never had to use it, perhaps now it would come in handy.

Elrond hovers above the ground and lifts the were-rat high enough to no
longer pose a threat. He calls out to the man in black and awaits a
response.

"Hullo there," says a voice with a slight english accent. "Don't be
afraid, I am not in league with the creature. I have hunted it here. My
name is Harry the Magician."

The figure, floating above a tall pile of refuse, makes a bow. He wears
a cloak with the hood thrown back to reveal what looks like a headset
and eyepiece wrapping around the right side, positioned in front of his
right eye. "I see you are no stranger to the mystic arts," he says.
[Harry's eyepiece allows him to see Prowler's sash.] The man's boots
glow with a faint blue aura, as do his head and right hand. Thin lines
like circuit wiring can be seen in the boots and glove. Otherwise, the
man is plainly, if fashionably, dressed.

"You aren't planning to harm the creature are you?"

Are you aware of its origin? He is merely a boy; someone or some
organization has taken it upon themselves to change him." Prowler sniffs
the air to discern what he can from the man.

"You don't strike me as an awful fellow or you'd not have wasted your
time with levitation. What is your business with this creature?"

"I came upon its trail a couple of days ago, and realized that it wasn't
something that should be running about the city loose. You say someone
did this to him? Though I was able to pick up the creature's trail, he
doesn't appear to be imbued. Is this from some sort of medical
experimentation then?

"We should take him somewhere where he (or she) cannot hurt itself or
others. However, I am afraid I will not be able to remedy this poor
wretch's affliction. And it is inhumane to imprison the creature
indefinitely. Do you have any ideas? I can transport the creature this
way, undetected if need be, to anywhere."

"What is your name, dark stranger? I can tell by your outfit that you
have a non-traditional lifestyle," says Harry, referring to Prowler's
stalking outfit of black tights and equipment and weapons. "And where
did you get that sash?"

**********************************************
At the Guardtower...

"Oh, you will definitely be challenged here." says the Unknown Soldier
to Electra. "You can ask the others about me and I'm sure they will all
tell you what a pain in the ass I am when it comes to training. It's for
their own good though. As well as everyone elses.

I wasn't offering you a membership in he Guardians. At least not yet.
You aren't near ready for that yet. What I'm offering is a place for you
to learn more about your powers, how to control them, and what the full
extent of your capabilities are.

As a metahuman, you now have a responsibility to use your powers wisely.
There are a lot of people who are scared of metas and would like to see
us done away with. The stakes grow higher everyday. Like it or not, you
have to set a good example for the rest of the world. Show the world
that you are not to be feared , that first and foremost you are a human
being--who just happens to have a superpower.

You won't be able to that if you can't control your powers. If you
accidentally electrocute someone, the press will eat you alive, and you
will just be providing more ammunition for the anti-metahuman demagogues
to use against us.

As far as your brain functions being speeded up, the computer did
say....," at this point the Soldier checks the computer printout "....
the speed at which her brain processes information is heightened to a
level commensurate with her bodily speed, enabling her to perceive her
surroundings while traveling at high velocities."

"Maybe your impatience and the 'normal world' losing it's luster for you
is a side effect of that.
Again, with more training and testing we can eventually find out the
answers to questions like this.

If you are going to be training here we need to get a uniform for you.
Preferably one that will conceal your identity. The press is always
around and they will start asking questions. If they find out who you
really are and publish it, it could put you in danger. The Guardians
have a lot of enemies and they could come after you or your friends and
family to get to us.

If you'd like I can have the Huntress take you to the fitting rooms. It
uses a computerized hologram to project what your uniform will look like
before it is actually made. You just tell the computer what you want it
to look like and it will produce a hologram, projected on your body, to
your specifications. You can fine tune it from there.

        "I very much appreciate the information you have
given me. But, I would like to have some time to think it over."

Electra says good-bye and assures the Soldier that she will not cause
any problems for him.
As she walks (as slowly as she can) home her thoughts are of her family
in California.

Maybe I should go back to Uncle Helio. I'm sure that he could help
me. But,
        how could I explain what has happened to me. I
feel as if I've done something
        wrong. Not mention I would have to lie about how
and where the accident happened.

This is ridiculous I am a grown women and even a superhuman at that. I
can
        handle this on my own. I will begin training
tonight.

Coming to the door of her home the advice of the Soldier to conceal her
identity came to her. Remembering the silver one piece body suit she had
worn for a bachelor party and eager to go back out on an adventure she
rushed in headed for the closet. When, the phone rang Electra paid no
attention until she heard the quiet voice on the answering machine.

"Baila, its your brother" whispered the voice in its thick Portuguese
accent. "Are you sleeping. Well, I'm going to be here for a while
working at the academy. I would like to see you soon. Please call me."
Electra was so surprised she did not even reach for the phone. But,
through down the clothing she was holding and began to race out the
door.

The man on the phone was not her brother but her cousin Royce. Ever
since Baila (Electra) came to live with her uncle Helio and his family
when she was 7, Royce had referred to her as his sister. Sometimes she
felt as if he did this out of pity for her since her family had all died
in a fire in Brazil. But, she now knew it was only out of love.

As Electra hit the street headed for the academy she could hardly
contain her desire to run. It was only the fact that she was unsure if
she should reveal her new powers that slowed her pace.

Once at the academy Baila(Electra) and Royce talked for hours catching
up. But, before she left Baila told her cousin that she needed his help
and that the help she needs was for him to train her. Without asking any
questions, Royce explained that his schedule was full every evening
because the people that can afford his training all have jobs. But, his
days would be free and that he would be here to help.

On her quick trip home Electra thought that cousin had fully understood
her problem without her saying a word. She was feeling very
confident about her plans. She would be spending her days with Royce and
her nights off from work training in remote areas.

**********************************************
Parts Unknown.....

Harbinger paces the floor, considering his next move. The world must be
made to know that metahumans are sovereign. It was just a matter of
time. Build a following, declare war, and take the world. Simple really.

"Oh father-dear," he says to Captain Marvel, since you have decided to
ally with me perhaps you'd like to comment on what my next move should
be. Your accursed friends foiled my plans at the UN and have left me
with a bit of egg on my face. How can we remedy this problem?"

Captain Marvel watches the news about the other Harbingers' attack, and
how the Guardians stopped it. He is glad to see his friends made it home
from the Mir. He hears his son's sarcastic voice call from the other
room. Captain Marvel--no, he is no longer Captain Marvel, his betrayal
has stripped him of that hero's name--Marvin Vale confronts his son.

"I did not ally with you. I did what I did to save your life and several
billion others besides. I don't know how this future-self power of yours
works, but next time you meet yourself from about a hundred years from
now, ask him what the world is like. He will tell you that there is no
more sovereignty for anyone on earth except for our Xargothian rulers.
Do you realize what will happen if you follow through with this
ridiculous plan? No, that is too generous. You don't have a plan at all.
I can tell you got my powers, but your mothers brains. What do you
expect to earn through this campaign of terrorism and attempted murder?
You are not the answer to earth's evolutionary process. You are not
superior to anyone, you are just different. You, my SON, are the product
of several freak accidents, nothing more. You act like you want to
create the master race, or that you are the master race. Where did you
get such assanine ideas?

"You obviously didn't believe me when I told you about the future whence
I came. The future I am DETERMINED to prevent, at any cost. The future
you seem intent on bringing about with your foolish acts. You are my
blood, and I want to help you learn, but this can't continue. I won't
help you set yourself up as just another power- hungry tyrant who kills
innocents to get what he wants. Those are the actions of a spoiled
child. I want to help ensure the future of BOTH metas and normal humans.
We must peacefully coexist and build our collective might in order to
pass the trials that await our entire world. The Xargothians will not
think your posturing and threats very alarming. Quite the contrary. They
are watching you, monitoring earth's news and media. In the past few
days, you have helped them more than anything else possibly could have.
Like some puppet, you are accomplishing their goals without them even
needing to lift a finger. Are you already a slave? Do you relish the
thought that much?

"Make no mistake, though you are my only son, my blood, I will not let
you endanger innocents to indulge your childish whims. You have
inherited this power. And there are no bigger assholes than those who
inherit their wealth. Do you know why? Because you haven't paid for your
power, and therefore you don't have the responsiblity to use that power
justly. Do you believe that might IS right, or do you believe in might
FOR right? If the former, then let me assure you that you are not the
mightiest person out there, and when you meet your match, you will be
ground under their boot. Probably a Xargothian boot.

"Let me explain things to you, since you obviously don't understand. The
normal humans are more powerful than we are. And someone with an
attitude just like yours, some politician with the media's ear who
thinks that might makes right, he decides that meta humans are a threat
to normal humans. Sound familiar? It sure sounds like your justification
to me, only with reversed roles. They round us all up, pass laws against
us, and do with us whatever they want. And in that future, the humans
seem to have as little regard for metahuman life as you have for human
life. We LOSE that battle, son. The attitude you have is instead used by
others, by the humans who will oppress us. Since the humans are mightier
(and make no mistake, they ARE mightier), they decide they can take away
our freedom, then our lives. No one has the right to do that to another.
Not the humans, not the Xargothians, and not you.

"I betrayed my only real family to help you. Not to help you conquer
like some barbarian, but to help you understand your responsibility, and
the implications of your actions. At the least, we must stay hidden,
gather forces and numbers and support from others like us who are
already being oppressed. Have you seen what the Chinese do to their
metas? I have read of gene extraction, cloning experimentation, and
worse horrors, all performed on HUMANS like us. (Yes, we are humans.)
Metas are state property from the time they are discovered. Would you
simply trade places with evil? Would you seek to become the oppressor
rather than the oppressed, or would you rather eliminate the oppression
altogether? If you want to rule, then prepare to defend yourself. I am
your worst enemy. If you want to try to save this planet, if you value
life, then cease these ridiculous attacks. They serve your enemies, not
yourself."

Marvin is ready to defend himself. He reads his son's face.

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sat Jan 27, 2001 0:30am
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.9

PROWLER and HARRY

" You can cal me Prowler. this creature is the result of genetic
engineering performed on him by the terrorist organisation VORTEX. They
are abducting street kids and mutating them into these animal/human
hybrids. I have no idea why, but you can rest assured with VORTEX
involved it isn't for the benefit of humanity. As for my sash...that's
none of your business."
Prowler's senses reveal little about the wizard, other than what he had
for dinner (Veal Parmesan) and that he has been telling the truth
throughout their conversation.

" I know a place where we can probably take this creature. They have
labs there and containment facilities. I know a bit about genetics
myself and may be able to reverse the process with some study. "
Prowler and Harry make their way to the Guardtower. Once there Prowler
explains the situation to the Unknown Soldier and introduces Harry.

"Well it seems like we've got super-types crawling out of the woodwork
tonight. You just missed a pretty young thing by he name of Electra.

Go ahead and take the rat-boy to the labs and see what you can figure
out. I'll stay here and get better acquainted with Merlin."

Prowler takes the rat creature (now safely sedated and strapped into a
hospital bed) to the labs. He draws a blood sample and begins running
preliminary tests. This could take awhile he thinks, and settles in for
a long night of labwork.

[Bry tell me exactly what it is you hope to discover about the
rat-creature and I will post what you discover]

"So..." says the Soldier to Harry, " What brings you into the wonderful
world of longjohns? You really a wizard or just some king of
gadget-user?"

Harry looks down at his own clothing. He is not wearing longjohns, but
he understands the old man's joke. "A good magician doesn't reveal his
tricks. Haven't you heard that maxim?" says Harry evasively. He suddenly
realizes that he may be out of his league with the Guardians, and
decides to play it slightly reserved. Afterall, these guys are the ones
the government calls when the world is in danger.

"Tell me, where are the Guardians right now? In the news I have read
that there are four or more of them. I suppose they are out on a
mission?"

Just then a muffled voice is heard from Harry's belt pouch, saying,
"There is a cold elemental nearby Harry! Arm yourself!" Just then, Ice
walks into the room. "Don't worry Meklor, It's jsut one of the
Guardians," says Harry back to his pouch. "Ice, I presume? It is an
honor to meet you, great warrior. I am at your service," says Harry with
a sweeping bow. Ice and the Soldier look at each other, wondering who is
in harry's pouch.

Ice, Harry wears a headset with an eyepiece, black pants and shirt, and
a cloak. He wears gloves and high soft leather boots as well.

Iceman wakes up and wonders, "where am I? How long have i been out?"
he speeds to
the guardians headquarters, finds unknown soldier and begs forgiveness
for
being so remiss in his duties and he has been remiss. " what of prowler
and
electra?" He asks.

***********************************************
CAPTAIN MARVEL

After Marvel's speech, Harbinger claps his hands mockingly. "Bravo!
Quite a performance! Magnificent! Encore!"

He regains his composure and continues, "What you fail to understand
Father Dearest is that my powers allow me a certain precognitive sense.
I can see the future, and it is very different than the one which you
describe. MY future is quite clear and it doesn't involve alien
conspiracies, or metahuman genocide, it involves CONQUEST. It is
inevitable. I see it as clearly as I see you and I talking right now. It
is my DESTINY.

You were sent here to change the future, and you have accomlished that.
Without you coming to this time, I woud never have been born and allowed
to fulfill my destiny.

With or without you I will rule the world. An army is already being
raised as we speak. The seeds are being planted. Once they blossom, they
will be my loyal subjects and followers. I don't need you. I never
needed you. Once I was born, your significance to the future was
finished.

You are my father and you gave me life, for that I am grateful. But I
swear that if you interfere with my rightful destiny I will kill those
you hold dearest and if you persist, then I will kill you."
The words hang in the air as the two men glare at each other.

That's not the future you see, son. Those are delusions of grandeur.
Madmen often have such delusions. You are not my son. I feel no love for
you, only pity. And resentment that you think you deserve to rule
others. I fought a war against those who thought that might gave them
the right to rule. I saw my brothers in arms die fighting against such
tyrrany. And you think I will tolerate this from you? Or even join you?
You truly are a fool. Let's end this now. I brought you into this world,
and now I intend to take you out of it again. You are an abomination."
Marvin shoots Harbinger in the eyes with his heat vision--two sentences
back (right after he said, "I brought you into this world...") so it is
a surprise. He intends to blind him like he did huntress. Assuming
Harbinger was looking me in the eyes (which doesn't seem unreasonable
since they are glaring at one another).

Marvin also had his comm activated during the conversation, so hopefully
someone at the Guard Tower heard of harbinger's plot, and will think to
look for the seeds, whatever they are. By the way, Keith, where are we?
Marvin reveals that to the Guardians too.

***********************************************
ELECTRA

On her way home from visiting with Royce, Electra decides to stop off at
the Body Shop (the Club where she works) to see if she still has a job.
She hadn't been to work since the accident that triggered her powers.
As she draws closer to the club, she hears a woman screaming for help.
She recognizes the voice as Candy's, a friend and fellow dancer at the
club.

Electra break into a run, her supersonic speed taking her to the source
of the suond in a matter of seconds. The cries are coming from one of
the many darkened alleyways that seem to surround the Body Shop. Candy
must have been grabbed on the way to her car. All of the dancers were
supposed to be escorted by he bouncer when they left the club. What the
fuck was going on?

As Electra peers cautiously down the alleyway, she sees two things that
shock her. The first is the body of Sal the bouncer. He is obviously
dead--his body bleeding and twisted into impossible angles on the dirty
floor of the alleyway. The second is the sight of Candy being brutally
raped by a man who holds her down by her throat as she struggles to
break free.

Electra lets out an inadvertent gasp at the sight of these two things,
and the rapist (his back to Electra) turns his head to look. As the
man's face comes into view, Electra feels chills run down her spine. It
is the man she had fought at the United Nations. The one called
Harbinger.
Harbinger smiles at her, still thrusting away at Candy, and says. "Your
next sweetheart. I'll be done in just a second."

Electra recalls her last experience with this man and thinks twice
before engaging him. "I must get Candy away from him and to the
Guardians."

She will attempt to run (invisibly) past them (but not to close) and
knock over some trash cans.
If Harbinger dismounts, Electra will gap Candy and head for the guard
tower.

If he does not respond to the diversion she will attempt to power slam
him from the front knocking him off of Candy.
If at any time he attacks Electra will obviously attempt to dodge and
return fire with her lighting blast.

At any point possible she will flee with Candy.
If she is successful in reaching the guard tower with Candy she will
relay the encounter and suggest the Candy immediately get medical
attention including the 'morning after pill.'

***************************************************

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sat Jan 27, 2001 0:35am
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.9 (addendum)

[Forgot to add By's post]

Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 14:56:52 -0800 (PST)
From: Melruk of Angryph melruk@y...
Subject: genetic discoveries
To: maxxlingo2@w...

Prowler hopes to discover a number of things:
1. Is this a person
2. Assuming so, what is the nature of the genetic
mutation this creature suffered?
3. Most importantly, is it reversible?
4. Can I tell who is responsible?
5. If not, what sorts of clues emerge to tell me?
6. anything else you wish to tell me?
7. Oh Yea, if it is reversible, then Prowler will
engage the wizard to see if he knows of any magical
powers that would reverse it. (prowler is very
intrigued by magic--remember Mugamba--the witch
doctor)

Love
fred the farmer

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices.
http://auctions.yahoo.com/

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Mon Feb 5, 2001 11:38pm
Subject: Fwd: Recap:Turn 4.10

From: maxxlingo2@w... (maxxlingo)
Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 22:45:21 -0500 (EST)
To: the_guardians_pbem@egroups.com
Subject: Recap:Turn 4.10

Electra runs by Harbinger at supersonic speeds (faster than the eye can
see). She knocks over some trashcans nearby in the hopes of distracting
him, but to no avail. Harbinger still continues to rape candy, who is
pleading fro help. Seeing no other alternative, Electra runs to the far
end of the alley, doubles back and slams head on into Harbinger at full
speed. The blow sends him flying out of the alleyway into he parking
lot. Electra quickly grabs Candy, who is now hysterical, and heads for
the Guardtower. Candy is moaning in pain and clutching her
stomach...Electra tries her best to comfort her friend on the journey.
***********************************************
Captain Marvel blasts his son in the eyes with his heat vision,
successfully blinding him.
Harbinger clutches his eyes and howls in pain, then begins laughing,
"This is so Oedipal, it is hilarious. not only am I going to kill you
father, but I am blind as well. I may e blind but my future selves are
not. "

Harbinger glows slightly and two exact duplicates of himself step from
him. "Kill him! " He commands his duplicates. The two dupes begin too
encircle Marvel. One blasts at him with heat vision. Marvel dodges out
of the way only to be caught with a powerful blow in the kidneys by the
other. Marvel feels the pain as if He were human again. They are as
powerful as him, and his vaunted defenses will do little good against
their powers.

Knowing that he cannot defeat both duplicates of Harbinger, Marvin
decides a different approach. He feints at one of the duplicates, then
flies straight toward Harbinger Classic.

He intends to plant his shoulder in harbinger's stomach, both stunning
him and carrying him along with Marvin as he flies straight through the
wall of the church. He then intends to fly as fast as he can to the
Guard Tower, in the hopes of reaching his friends in time before he is
overwhelmed by the superior enemy. [Keith, if I must, I will use my
dramatic event "dramatic entrance" to ensure success with this move.
The dramatic entrance of it is his entrance to wherever the other
guardians are by the time he reaches them. If you wont let me know
whether i need to do that in order to succeed, i will go ahead and use
my event.]
_____

***********************************************
After hours of research Prowler ascertains that the creature is indeed
human, or at last was.
It seems to have had the genetic imprint of a rat superimposed on it's
human DNA. It may be possible to reverse the process, but not without
knowing the exact processes of the experiment that caused this mutation.

It Prowler couldn't find out VORTEX's techniques , he would have to
rely on guesswork to try to reverse it, which could prove fatal if he
guesses incorrectly.

The genetic coding of the creature reminds him of some of the early
work done b his parents in Africa, before hey had refined the process.
Similar, but not he same. Perhaps VORTEX had somehow come into
possession of some of their journals. It was a longshot, but Prowler was
always open to possible leads into his parents murders.

Iceman is quickly filled in on the goings on of late by the Unknown
Soldier. He had been laying low after the beating he took by Electra in
the Danger room.

Prowler joins Ice, harry, and the Soldier and repots what he has found.
He asks Harry if he could use his magic to reverse the process.
Just as Harry is about to answer, the butler informs them that Electra
is a the entrance demanding entry.

"Let her in." says the Soldier.

Electra bolts in with Candy. and quickly informs the others of what
happened to her friend. "I didn't know w what to do so I brought her
here. I don't know if Harbinger followed me or not. I ran as fast as I
could. "

Candy writhes in agony, still clutching her stomach. She is bleeding
heavily from between her legs.

Harry says, "I can't help her injuries, but i can remove the pain a
little." With that he waves his hand before Candy's eyes, and murmers,
"There is no pain, there is no pain..." [keith, he is using his jedi
mind trick to alleviate her pain--sort of hypnosis.]

He uses Harkum's Second Sight and scans her abdomen for signs of what is
hurting her. He sees a large heat source within her, sucking her life
force to fuel its own. As he looks on it, the thing inside her grows
larger and larger....

"We have to get this girl to a hospital immediately. Something is
growing inside her! It will kill her if we don't get it out!"

Just then a message comes over the Guardians comm-links. It takes
Iceman and the Soldier a moment to figure out what it is, but soon
realize that it is coming from Captain Marvel. He is in battle with
Harbinger. He reveals his location to his former team-mates (An
abandoned catholic church in New Jersey). He needs their help.

As the heroes hurriedly discuss what to do, they are surprised to see
the Captain Marvel crash the front entrance with a stunned Harbinger in
his arms. " Get ready for battle," he says, "there are two more of him
hot on my trail."

No sooner do the words leave his lips do two duplicates of Harbinger
crash through the roof of the Guardtower. They fly straight a Marvel and
seem unconcerned about the others in the room.

Electra will stand protectively over Candy. Holding her action until it
is needed. She will dodge but only if it will not endanger Candy.

If Electra's help is needed and she has a clear shot at any of the
Harbingers she will use her electric shock. Or, if the fighting gets to
close she will move Candy out of the room.

If she has to move Candy she will then return to the fight and use
option 1.

Harry sees the wall cave in across the room with Marvel and his enemy,
and the two duplicates crash through as well.

"Electra! I mean it, she will die in minutes unless she gets medical
help! There is something growing inside her, consuming her! I have
relieved her pain a little, but that won't last."

Harry then flips the hood up on his cloak, and he disappears. He then
activates the spell "Lord Gith's Delight" and psi blasts one of the
duplicates, whichever one is about to reach marvel first. After this,
Harry will take one step to his left. [Keith, i am assuming that mental
attacks are invisible, as in hero system. i am also assuming that
donning his cowl is a "half action." If activating invisibility is a
full action, he remains visible and attacks first.]

If the psi blast seems to have effect, he continues using that. If not,
then he will use Bigby's Hand (Telekineses) to deflect one of the
duplicates' flight path, making him slam into a wall or the floor,
whichever is easier.

***********************************************
Billy Bob (Shockwave) stares blankly at has sister's casket as it is
lowered into the Earth. He was all alone now. his parents had passed on
of natural causes years ago. A tear rolls slowly down his cheeck and he
wipes it away with the back of his hand.

" I love you Bonnie. I'll get the bastards who id this to you. I swear
it on your grave. If it takes me he rest of my life, I'll get them. "
Billy Bob places a bouqet of flowers on Bonnie's grave and leaps off
to begin his his promise.

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sat Feb 10, 2001 0:51am
Subject: recap:Turn 4.11 (and GM notes)

[Please read this carefully as I added some GM comments about some
things that I will have to alter a bit ithis ost. There are nlt two, and
I don't feel that it is anything major. It was late ithe week and I
didn't catch them 'til Just now. So I will proceed with Th enext Trn,
just to keep thngs moving forward. . ]

Iceman begins using his cold control powers to lower Candy's body
temperature to slow her bloodflow. "This will help for awhile, but I
don't know for how long." he says.
>
> "Gimme the girl!" the Unknown Soldier commands, and snatches her out
of Electra's arms. "I'll take the Sparrow and get her to a hospital. You
all stay here and take care of this asshole!"
>
> Harry's psi-blast causes the dupe nearest Captain Marvel to clutch
his temples as he flies towards Captain Marvel, but it doesn't stop his
momentum, and he slams into Marvel knocking him across the room into the
far wall. The blow also caused him to lose his grip on the original
Harbinger who is now gaining his feet and standing where Marvel
originally was. The psi-blasted duplicate shakes his head and returns to
the air.
>
> Electra lets loose with a bioelectric blast > at the original
Harbinger. It lights him up > like a Christmas tree and the smell of >
burning ozone fills the room. It seems to > have done some damage to
him, as he is > smouldering from the blast and breathing > heavily.
>
> Iceman erects an icewall directly in front of the second harbinger
duplicate. The dupe slams into the wall and slides down it stunned.
>
> Prowler dashes back to he lab. He knew the Guardians had a few
power-dampeners that CAPE had loaned them for the temporary holding of
Meta-criminals. Finding what he needs, he returns to the battle.
>
> He sees Harbinger quickly recovering. He is > no longer stunned and
appears to no longer > be blinded. "DETAIN CAPTAIN MARVEL!" he >
commands his fist dupe (the one Harry > psi-blasted) .
>
> The dupe flies over to the stunned Marvel , > picks him up and puts
him in a choke hold. > (he dupe is behind Marvel with his back to > the
wall using Marvel as a shield) The > dupes arms are like steel cables
around > Marvel's neck. One twist and his neck could > be snapped.
>
> "Now you shall have he pleasure of watching > me kill your former
allies, Father. Then > when I am done. I shall kill you. " says >
Harbinger. He glances at the butler, who > is hiding behind a desk and
fires his heat > vision at him. The butlers head bursts into > flames,
then melts like candle wax. He > falls to the floor dead. "Hmmmmmm....>
interesting." comments Harbinger. "You're > next Frosty." he says to
Iceman and > prepares to fire.
_____
[Keith, since you didn't tell me whether harry was not able to go
invisible as stated in my post, I will assume he did. If not right,
please advise.]
Harry, now invisible and feeling much safer, sees the butler's head
exlode. "Jeeeeeeezus," he murmers. These guys were for real. He glances
at the readout on his ocular piece, making SURE his force field is in
place and at full strength. Then he wonders whether his force field
would stop a laser beam, if that was truly what came from Harbinger's
eyes. His force field was transparent, and lasers are nothing more than
light... and suddenly he doesn't feel that safe at all.
He decides to stop fucking around.
He activates the most powerful device he has, his ring of
disintegration. His other technomagic devices each perform several
functions, but the workings of a disintegration spell were so complex
and dangerous that he had to create a separate device for that one.
Again using his ocular piece, he activates the ring's power source, and
his left hand begins to glow red. [His invisibility does not affect
himself, meaning he can see himself.] He then aims the ring at
Harbinger, who is about to repeat his head-exploding trick on Ice.
He doesn't know what the ring will do to living tissue. Probably the
same thing it does to all other matter. The disintegration ray works by
nullifying the charge of the electrons in whatever is in its path. This
causes the remaining positive charge of the nuclei of the target's atoms
to strongly repel, causing each atom to separate from the others, and in
most cases to break down to their subatomic particles, quarks and
gluons. The result: the object disappears, usually leaving a residue
that is hard to clean. He unleashes the ray at Harbinger.
[If the ray works, and Harbinger is gone or disabled, Harry whips out
his Rod Of Wonder and uses it to blind one of the dupes (not risking
hitting Marvel, so I guess he targets the one not holding Marvel UNLESS
Marvel is free by then--see Marvel's post, below). If Harbinger is still
on planet earth after Harry's attack, then Harry will try to blind him
with his Rod Of Wonder.]
_____
Captain Marvel feels the duplicate's arm around his neck, and is
thankful that he had not trained his son in unarmed combat. Though he is
slightly stronger than Marvin, this guy obviously doesn't know how to
apply a reenforced choke. Marvel grabs the duplicate's left middle
finger in his fist, drops to one knee and turns his shoulder into the
duplicate, loosening the grip around his neck. He then breaks that
finger, hearing a satisfying crunch as the bone and cartilage tear
apart. Then, springing up from his now crouching position (using his
flight to augment the spring), Marvel headbutts the duplicate in the
chin.
[O GM, if that all works, and the duplicate is out of action for at
least one round, Marvel turns his attention to Harbinger. However, if
Harry was able to disintegrate Harbinger, Marvel turns his attention to
the remaining duplicate. Whoever it is, he will fly straight at them and
do a move through, trying to move the combat outside the Guard Tower,
since he knows that Huntress hates it when the Tower gets messy.
[If marvel is unsuccessful in his attempt to escape the duplicate with
his finger-break-headbutt trick, he will try to turn so he is facing
some part fo the dupe's body and burn him with heat vision, preferably
his eyes or some other vital spot.]

As Electra prepares to take aim at her fully recover opponent (the
original Harbinger) she notices that the stranger (a magician she
assumes) has already drawn an odd weapon on him.

[*** GM NOTE:This will be altered, due to Harry being invisible. Sorry I
didn't catch it Anne.***}

So, she turns her attention to the duplicate that is regaining his
strenghth after the attack from Iceman. She will once again use her
electric blast in an attempt to subdue the duplicate. All the while she
is watching for her chance to light-up the original Harbinger. Even
though she cannot be sure it was him that raped Caandy she is sure that
he is responsible. If the opportunity comes she will give it all she's
got.

[GM NOTE: I will probably go with your initial reaction, which was to
shoot at the original Harbinger. ]

Upon his return, Prowler assesses the situation, sensing which of the
Harbinger's is weakest. Assuming he is correct (and that Marvel's
actions occur), Prowler then shoots the Bionic disabler at the Harbinger
that is down. If the device works as The Soldier told him, it should
temporarily cause the Harbinger to lose his strength, and only regain it
slowly, causing him to be an easy target for Prowler's second action--
Attempting to capture him in the genetic displacement net (but that is
another story-- or should I say, another round). In the midst of all
this, Prowler can't help but notice that Electra is sweating profusely,
and is putting off a slight pheromic odor, indicating she is nearing her
high point of ovulation. She is lucky Harbinger did not get ahold of
her, he thinks.

[GM NOTE: I will have to alter this a bitt also. There are no ranged
drain type weapons in the world. The technology just isn't there yet.
There are however power-dampeners. Power-Damps generally clamp around
the neck of a metahuman criminal.

They work by genetic dispacement. When secured, , the collars emit an
intense and variable electromagnetic field that works on a molecular
level. The fields lock on to the metahuman's unique power signature
found through biometric readngs done by the collar's metabiofeedback
sensors.

Once locked onto the power signature, the electromagnitic fields
reconfigure themselves so as to disrupt the power signature. It does
this n a molecular level, temporarily causing the metahuma's genetic
code to be disrupted, or at least foolng the meathuman's body into
beleiving this. Once this occurs, the metapower is efffectively negated
while the collar is worn. It is not unusual for metahumans to become vey
sleepy when the powe damps are initially secured..

All power damps have a database of all known ( re. what CAPE has in
their databases) power types and the appropriate frequency of the EM
field. Of course not all powers have been catalogued, so then the
computer tryies to use the closest approximation of the power contained
in its database. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't]

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Mon Feb 19, 2001 3:05am
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.12

Captain Marvel's counterattack works. his headbutt sends the dupe to the
floor with a shattered nose.

Prowler immediately fastens a power dampener around the dupe's neck,
disabling his powers. The sudden cessation of his powers causes the dupe
to imediately fall asleep.

Electra, Iceman and Harry all cut loose on the original Harbinger at the
same time. He is bombarded with bioelectricity, ice missiles, and
disintegration beams. The attacks all hit him from different directions,
sendig him spiraling into the air and then falling to the floor,
unconscious. He is no longer wearing any clothes.

"I forgot to tell you that didintegrtaion only works on inorganic
matter." says Meklor to Harry.

As soon as Harbinger passes out, the two duplicates shimmer slghtly and
disappear. Prowler grabs the power-dampener now laying on the floor and
attaches it to Harbinger.

Grabbing the other Power dampener he procured, Prowler looks at Captain
Marvel, who scent betrays his knowledge of how precarious these next few
moments could be. "I suggest you turn yourself in, Captain." With that,
Prowler holds out the Power dampeners to Captain Marvel, as if
suggesting he fasten them himself. "Only then can we effectively get to
the bottom of what has occurred during this and the earlier incident. I
assure you my judgement is not made. Please. Put them on." Prowler
urges them a bit more [nothing in Prowler's manner of suggesting Marvel
cuff himself is threatening.]

I don't think so," says Marvel. "If you want to cuff me and treat me
like him," he says indicating the unconscious Harbinger, "then it's time
for me to leave. Those who were there know what happened on the Mir. I
made my decision, now I will live with it. But I will be damned if I let
you treat me like a criminal."

Captain Marvel tosses his comm badge onto a table that miraculously
stands after the battle. "What I did, I did for the good of everyone. We
still don't know the effects, so keep your judgment until we do."

"Poor Jeebs," says Marvel [meaning the butler who is now dead]. "His
death is on my head too." To the Guardians, he says, "Goodbye my
friends."

Captain Marvel flies out the window.

Electra is uncertain about the relationship between Marvel and the
Guardians. But, she is also not very concerned with him at this time.
"Look I don't know how you people usually deal with the bad guys after
you catch them, but this one needs to go" she says pointing at
Harbinger. (If anyone would like to talk about this please get back
with me.)
Otherwise Electra inquires about the location of Candy and goes after
her.

The Unknown Soldier radios the Guardians over the comm-links. He informs
them that he has arrived at Our Lady of Perpetual Misery hospital and
that Candy has been taken to he emergency room. She is still in critical
condition.

Iceman informs Electra of the situation. "Thank you for your help," he
says. " Rest assured we will make sure Harbinger pays for his crimes.
You should go be with your friend. She needs your support now. If we can
help in any way, don't hesitate to call us."

Harry hears Iceman's report. "Prowler, I suppose now is not the time to
continue our investigation into the lycanthrope victim, but please keep
me apprised of your progress, if you don't mind. Electra, I would be
happy to accompany you to the hospital to check on your friend. Meklor
says that whatever was growing within her has a powerful aura. We might
be needed there. Prowler, since this appears to be Guardians business
here, would you like to come with us?"

Electra's reply to Harry, "that would be great, but does one of you have
a car because I don't think you can keep up with me."

Oh, I think I can keep up with you," says The Magician. His boots glow a
soft blue, then--
--then he is suddenly standing on the other side of the room. "In fact,
I greatly look forward to trying! See you at the hospital," he says,
then disappears again.

As they leave, Harry says to Meklor, "You know, that detail about the
disintegration ring only working on inanimate matter would have been a
good thing to know. I could have been killed."

"Bitch, bitch, bitch," says the device.

[Harry teleported to the hospital.]
[Later, at the Lady of Perpetual Misery Unitarian Hospital...]

"What's the prognosis, Doctor?" asks Harry of the tall, gauntly thin
doctor who stands before him. The waiting room is full of screaming
children playing with large, brightly colored plastic blocks, which they
are throwing at most adults who stray too near their corner.
....[I assume whoever else came with me is at the hospital too--Electra
and Prowler]

Electra speaking to the doctor, "Please, we need to see her."

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sun Feb 25, 2001 4:12pm
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.13

The doctor looks at the strange looking trio. He seems unsure if he
should answer there questions.
>
> "It's OK doc, they are with me." says the Unknown Soldier.
>
> Satisfied by this, the doctor says, "Candy is in a stable condition ,
though she has undergone serious trauma. Apparently she was undergoing
some sort of accelerated pregnancy. It was her desire to terminate the
pregnancy and we did so, but with a lot of difficulty. The fetus was
extremely....resistant to the procedure. She is resting now. You can see
her, but only for a minute. She needs her rest."
>
> Harry, Prowler, and Electra are shown to Candy's room. She is sleeping
and is attached to an IV and heart monitor. Her face is covered in
large, painful looking welts and bruises.
>
> "The doc says she should pull through this. > " says the Soldier to
Electra. "She's going > to need a lot of support when she fully >
recovers, probably need some counselling > too. Do you know if she has
any family? If > so they probably need to be contacted. I'm > heading
back to the Guardtower. If anyone > needs anything, you know where to
find us. > Prowler, don't forget about your pet rat in > the labs. "
the Soldier leaves and the > three heroes are shown out of Candy's room
> by the nurse.
>
> In the waiting room they all stand around unsure of what to do next.
"Well now what?" asks Harry.
>
> " Now that this Harbinger business is resolved I need to find out
where VORTEX is conducting their experiments." says Prowler. " I can't
begin to reverse the process until I understand what their methodology
is. Also, I am sure that they have kidnapped many more street kids to
conduct their experiments on. I need to find out where they are being
held and free them. I could use some help with this. Are you two up for
it? "
>
> [sorry guys, no much action here, but I need to determine if you are
going to stick together or go your separate ways. If you decide to work
together you need to develop some sort of plan of investigation. How
will you find out where VORTEX is? Prowler has some contacts on the
street or in the cloak and dagger business who may be able to provide
some answers. Or someone could be used as bait n the hopes that they
would be abducted by VORTEX. Its up to you. If you have other ideas post
them.]
>
>
Harry says to Prowler (in his slight English accent), "Why don't you
work on the lab side of this, since you're the only one capable of that
job, and Electra and I will try to find word on the street about the
missing kids, like where they are usually taken from, any witnesses,
whatever we can find. Unless you have a better lead, Prowler." [Note, I
don't think Harry knows anything about Electra's background yet, so he
doesn't know she has any street contacts.]

"I saw on the news that the Guardians recently exposed a VORTEX base
right here in the city. Were you involved in that Prowler? Did that have
anything to do with these kids?" [Remember, Harry knows nothing about
any of this, I am just bringing it up now so we can disseminate
information.] "CNN correspondent Willow Bay said that VORTEX was dealt a
heavy blow because of that, but I havent' heard any more since then. Did
you search that place for evidence or anything to help us with these
kids? Did CAPE? They are the super-human police around here, aren't
they? Is there any way we can find out what they know? They might have
discovered other VORTEX enclaves with similar projects in the works.
Maybe you can use your Guardians connections to find something out,
Prowler."

Electra says, "I may be of some help on the streets. I have often taken
homeless individuals to get something to eat. Many of them live around
were I work and they know I have money and am also compassionate."

"According to Prowler, teenagers seem to be the target for these
experiments. Maybe we can stake out a local youth hostel or a similar
place where an abductor might seek a target. What do you think, Prowler?

"Prowler?" repeats Harry.

The hero stands mute, not answering the questions of his companions.

oh, huh?" replied Prowler. "Oh yea. Sorry, I was lost in
thought. Yes, teenagers do seem to be the target. Beyond that, I
don't know why this is happening." Probably some diabolical plot to
take over the world, he thinks to himself. "I have some friends in
the underworld," not quite so stupid as the patrons of a strip club,
he thinks, "that might be able to help us. I suggest we pan out, try
to figure out where the VORTEX headquarters are, and meet back on the
corner of 42nd and Eighth, in the little Bookstore there. They serve
coffee, and I can guarantee we will have privacy. What say the
group?" Prowler stares at the group to discern their reaction. He
is overcome with Electra's scent.

Electra says, "just tell me what I'm looking for and where to look."

************************************************

Jeremiah pulled his Nightweaver costume out of the foot locker where it
had been in storage for the last few years. It smelled like mothballs.
His power s had finally stabilize and he was going out for a night on
the town as Nightweaver.

He tested his spinnerettes and they still seemed in working condition.

He opens his window, shots a webline to an adjacent building and swings
away.
He felt the familiar adrenaline rush, as he swings through the concrete
canyons of Manhattan. It had been far too long since he had done this.

He was anxious for some action.

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Fri Mar 2, 2001 5:50pm
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.14

[Please read this in it's entirety so you will all be on the same page
about the timing of events. I had to make a few minor changes for it to
all make sense. I will pick up the next Turn with Nightweaver trying to
sneak into the bookstore].

The trio all agree to meet at the bookstore the next day. Prowler will
reach out to his contacts in the cloak and dagger business to see if he
can find out abut any goings on with VORTEX, Electra will talk to some
of the homeless people she knows and stop by a youth hostel on
Prowler's suggestion, to see if the have heard anything about the
missing kids, and Harry will consult his tomes in the hopes of finding
something useful to aide them in their search.
***********************************************
***********************************************
Electra talks to every homeless prson she can find. No one knows
anything other than people were disappering and there were rumours of
"monsters' roaming the streets. The street people were scared.

***********************************************
Prowler goes to a payphone, dials a memorized number and waits for the
computerized answering machine to pick up. When it does, he says, "
Magnolia rook, delta 3052" and hangs up. It was a coded message to
Brownloe to call him on a secure line in a half an hour at a previously
agreed upon payphone on 52nd street.

A half an hour later the payphone on 52nd street rings and Prowler is
there to answer it. " I need info," says Prowler.

"Of course you do Karlo, you never call me for anything else. I'm
beginning to think that is all I am to you any more. "

"Nevermind that. I've been busy. VORTEX. What are they up to in
Manhatten?"

"That is the 25 million dollar question my friend. They have laid low
ever since he Guardians took out one of thee bases awhile back. We have
been trying to get a mole in there groupp but with no luck. they are
definitely up to something though. But what that is, can't say.

"can't say or won't say? "

"Look Karlo. You are like a son to me. If I had any information I wouds
pass it along to you. If I find out anything I'll be in touch. Until
then, good hunting. "

"Yeah thanks," says Prowler and hangs up. "for nothing"

Prowler trys to return to his bokstore that night, but notices a man
lurking in the shadows from an adjacent rooftop. He appears to be armed
with a tranquilizer gun and is focused upon the entrance to the
bookstore.

Prowler, quite as a wrath, creeps up behind the man and performs a knife
hand to the nerve cluster on the man's neck. The man slumps down
unconscious.

When the man awakes he is blindfolded and tied to a chair with duct
tape. [Prowler has him in the basement of the bookstore].

The tape is ripped off of the man's mouth and he hears Prowler say,
"Let's talk."

***********************************************

Harry goes home, already planning in his head the necessary preparations
he will need to make. He has seen the spell in the old hedge magic
books, and he has also seen a more powerful version of it in one of the
Midnight Tomes he bought from Alice. He would also need Theklor's help
to safely cast the spell.
That night Harry is in his lab, with diagrams of the Mana Sink (TM) and
the Mana Manipulator (TM) posted all around him on the walls. Other
diagrams of his inventions (which look like circuit diagrams to the
untrained eye) litter the floor and tabletops. In the center of the
room, Harry squints through a magnifying glass (which is mounted to a
headband that holds the glass before his eye, making him look like Super
Geek, or Johnny Depp in Sleepy Hollow) with some tools, making
adjustments to the Mana Sink tuning potentiometer on his ocular piece.
The Midnight Tome is open before him on a bookstand.

"Theklor, tell me again, is the mana inversion before or after the aura
incantation?"
"Before, before! If you do it after, the aura incantation will make your
own aura visible to others with the sight. You will glow like a beacon."

"Right," agrees Harry. Though he had invented the Mana Sink (TM) and
Mana Manipulator (TM) by himself, Harry would never have been able to
decipher the more complex spells without Theklor's help. The handheld
computer was now jacked into Harry's main server, allowing Theklor to
take a form on the computer screen, and to see out of the computer's
camera. He chose the figure of an older man dressed in blue robes with
silver stars on it, complete with pointed hat. He also sported a medium
length white beard.

"That's right," says Theklor as he watches Harry work. The two stay up
late into the night, until the dawn comes. Harry decides to catch a few
hours of sleep before finishing his adjustments.
The next morning, bright and early, Harry decides to cast his spells. He
will not be using his technological devices, since he has not created a
device to do these particular spells. However, Harry does know a good
deal of hedge magic, and learned the basics of the spells from Theklor
long ago.

He spreads a futon on the floor of his study and sits on it. Theklor is
still in the server. His image is on the screen as he watches Harry
prepare. First, Harry must astrally project himself to the creature in
the Guard Tower. He hopes they do not have magical defenses there, but
that is a chance he will have to take. Then he will attempt to engage
the creature with telepathy while in astral form. None of the books
Harry has read mention using telepathy during astral projection, but
Harry doesnt' see why it wouldn't work.

He clears his mind, silently chanting the incantation to himself. At
first, there is nothing. Then, he feels the magic in the pit of his
stomach, at his center. His devices do not cause such a feeling, and
Harry does not like it much. Soon the magic has engulfed him where he
sits. His mind is freed from the fetters of corporeal existence, and
floats out of his head. Beneath him, he sees his own body. Between his
astral feet is the silver cord, which snakes through the air to attach
itself to Harry's body's stomach. Harry continues floating up, through
the ceiling and into the rooms above.
Soon he is outside. He cannot feel the wind or smell the air--no big
loss. He wills himself forward, and he is suddenly flying at a rapid
speed toward Central park and the nearby Guard Tower.

Inside the Guard tower, Harry quickly finds the creature, still tied to
the table. The creature is no longer sedated, and it has obviously been
struggling with its bonds. Its wrists and ankes are bloody from trying
to escape. The creature is sedate now, though it does prick up its ears
when Harry floats into the room. Harry places an astral hand on the
creature's head and scans the creature's surface thoughts.

After Harry has learned all he can, he tries to communicate with the
creature. He does not use language, but more just an emotion or a
feeling which he conveys to the creature. He tells it that they mean it
no harm, and that they intend to help it, but that it will take time. He
also searches for any thoughts emanating from the creature.
*************************************************
The Next Day.....

Nightweaver stops by to see his old fried Tony Martelli at the Safe
House. The two talk for awhile, catch up on things, and discuss what
has been happening in the world of crime lately. Tony tells Nightweaver
that street kids have been disapperaing. So far he has no leads.

Before going to the bookstore, Electra stops by the youth hostel
Prowler had told her about and asks to speak to someone in charge. [I
am assuming at this point that Electra is still out of costume].

"Hey Tony, there is some babe here to see you!" the teen age boy working
the desk yells up the stairs.

"Stay out of sight, I'll be right back," Tony says to Nightweaver.

Electra waits patietly until a well built man with dark hair, wearing
jeans and a t-shirtt descends the stairs. He is covered in grease stains
and extends his hand. "Hello I'm Tony Martelli. How can I help you?
Excuse my appearance, I came straight here form my other job as a
mechanic." 'She's hot' thinks Tony.

Electra expalins that she is seeking any info on missing children in the
area and wonders if Tony has any info.

" Actually I was just discussing that with a friend of mine. I haven't
been able to turn up anything either. None of the kids here have been
abducted, but they are well protected. What is your interest in all of
this Miss??? I'm sorry I didn't catch your name.

Nightweaver listens intently from the office door upsairs. He decides
he will follow this woman when she leaves to see what is up.

Electra says, "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Baila Gracie and a friend of
mine that lives on the streets is missing. I'm just getting started on
my search. But if you hear of anything you can reach me at this number."
She give Tony a card with her name and phone and thanks him for his
help. She leaves the home and heads for the book store.

Nightweaver decides to follow this hot cuttie and watch her ass awhile.
He
follows her to this bookstore(ADULT I PRESUME!!) and as she goes in he
watches.
*************************************************
At the bookstore....

Prowler looks at the man, and he looks as if he has a revelation-- [an
Accidental Revelation] to be exact. "I know where the headquarters
are," he says. "How long did you work at the Meatpacking plant in
Hoboken?[note: there are only a few meatpacking plants in the city,
and Prowler makes the assumption that this is the one given where the
picked him up.]" he asks the hostage.

"I, uh, never worked there, he says."

Knowing the man lies from the nearly imperceptible smell of gunpowder,
c4 explosives, and grade A choice Midwestern Indiana farmed beef, he
puts two and two together. "Do they slaughter cows with c4 these
days?" he asks. A rare smile spreads across his face. "Beau!
Lock him up. We are going to the slaughterhouse."

Harry walks into the Bookstore and is immediately enthralled with the
massive occult section he sees before him. It takes up half the lower
floor of the small bookstore. He does not see Prowler anywhere, but
suspects that he is nearby. He has no idea what Prowler looks like
without his mask. Harry orders coffee and browses among musty smelling
books. He pulls Theklor out of his pocket so his mentor can "see" the
books on the shelf (using the handheld computer's IR port).

"That one, the third one on the left, that very book belonged to Haskus
Blackhand, the archmage, who died seven hundred years ago at the hands
of a peasant mob. They burned his manor house with him inside. Everyone
thought his books were destroyed with him, but this is the original."
Harry pulls the book down and opens it.

"You must be mistaken Theklor, the pages aren't even yellow. This book
looks freshly printed," says Harry..

"Magic, Harry. You see that glyph on the cover? It protects the book
from the ravages of time."
Harry sits in a comfortable chair and pages through Haskus's book,
titled, "Evening Incantations for Entertainment and Evisceration." I
think I just found a new home, thinks Harry. He sips his coffee and
waits for his new friends to arrive.

After about twenty minutes, a fellow dressed like a butler approaches
Harry. "Sir, your presence has been requested in the basement by the one
you know as Prowler," says the man. "I am Beau, I will take you there."
Harry follows the man to the backrooms of the bookstore and to a stair
well, which leads down.
The basement is more like a lounge or clubhouse. Leather chairs,
mahogony coffee table, a damn fine wetbar, Harry notices. Only, in this
clubhouse there is a man duct taped to a wooden chair in the center of
the room, his mouth taped shut as well. He has a look of fear in his
eyes as he watches those around him, but he does not appear to have been
abused.
"Who is our friend," asks Harry of Beau. Beau only says, "I will inform
your host that you are here," and leaves. Prowler appears a moment
later.

As the others arrivie. They find Prowler in the basement without
his mask, revealing his secret identity to them. "I have broken him,"
he says, as they arrive in the room.

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sun Mar 11, 2001 10:49pm
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.15

Nightweaver watches the girl named Balia enter the bookstore. A few
moments later he creeps through the small windoew located above the
front door. (one of those ventilation windows they have in older
buildings)

He sits on the ceiling listening and scans the room for Balis. He sees
her been shown to a back stairwel by an older looking gentleman (Beau)
Sticking to the ceiling he makes his way to the stairwell and begins to
climb down.

On the way down he hears someone say, "I have broken him," Then his
spider sense warns him he is in danger. He tries to leap to safety, but
it is too late.

Prowler heard the intruder(Nightweaver) as soon as he hit the starwell.
Even if he hadn't heard him he definitely heard the ultrasonic alarm
that went off as soon as he crossed the threshold of the window. The
alarm frequency was undetectable by normal humans but could be heard
quit clearly by Prowler, as well as all of the cats and dogs in the
immediate neighborhood.[No Rob, the spider sense wouldn't warn you of
that, because you weren't in immediate physical danger]

Acting as if he is unaware othe intruder, who was no doubt an accomplice
of the man he captured the night before, he casually picks up the
tranquilizer gun the man was carrying the night before.

Electra and Harry see Prowler casually pick up the gun, click the safety
off, then do a lightning quick diving summersault towards the stairway.
He is aleady firing the gun into the stairwell before he is on his feet
again.

Nightweaver jumps to the adjacent wall to avoid the danger his spider
sense is warning him about, but he fills several small needle-like
pipricks strike him in the torso.

Even though the tranqulizer gun is not an automatic, Prowler's enhanced
reaction speed make it seeem that way to Harry and Electa.
Nightweaver begins to feel woozy almost immediately, and falls to the
floor. Before he passes out he says, "Hello folks...this is your
friendly neighborhood spider-man coming to you from....oh wait....he's
not real. Nightweaver's the name.....flashy comical asskicking of bad
guys is my game."
"Whatever" says Prowler and begins to duct tape Nightweaver to a chair
next to his other hostage.

Harry says "Wait a second, I've heard of this guy, Nightweaver," says
Harry. "Before i made up this costume I searched everything I could find
about how other heroes dressed. You know, the choice of outfits is
pretty important. Light colors for eye-catching glitz on the evening
news, or dark for better hiding (but it's more dangerous in traffic at
night), whether to wear a cape or not, things like that.

"Anyway, I digress. The point is I remember reading a bio on this guy.
He used to be one of the Night Shift. They were Old School tough guy
street heroes from the late eighties, during the mob wars. Back when
heroes got killed a lot more often. But he disappeared from the scene a
long time ago, along with the rest of the Night Shift, after Tobias
Falcone turned up dead." The other heroes look slightly confused, and
Harry continues. "You know, the Power Broker? He used to make the five
families look like disorganized street gangs. The Nightshift disbanded
after Falcone died. They were accused ot having murdered him, but
nothing was ever proven.

"Prowler, you might want to have an apology or another tranquilizer dart
ready--one or the other--for when he wakes up," says Harry, looking at
the duct tape and the metal folding chair, thinking (not aloud) it will
never hold someone like Nightweaver. This guy is --or was-- a real-deal
super hero, easily powerful enough to be a Guardian. Harry isn't sure he
wants to be around when he wakes up.

"All right, even if he is who he claims to be, why is he here and why
did he sneak in?" Electra replies to Harry. She feels very uneasy with
the situation and does not take her eyes off the costumed man.

"Good point," says Harry. "We can ask him when he wakes up. If he IS
working for VORTEX, we need to be ready for a fight. If not, he should
be able to explain himself."
Harry gets another idea. "I have another idea," says Harry. He moves a
little closer to costumed man who claims to be Nightweaver and places a
hand on his head. He mutters a few incantations quietly to himself, and
feels the familiar tingling in the pit of his stomach. He chants the
words repeatedly until the magic takes effect, and Harry contacts the
constumed man's mind.

"I have an even better idea," states Prowler. "Since he is an
intruder in MY base of operations, I think the decision of what to do
with him belongs with me. Beau! Bring the car around.
Gentlemen... and lady, we are going for a ride." With that, Prowler
grabs hold of one side of the chair, and asks one of the others to do
the same. [Prowler intends to load Nightweaver into the trunk of his
fully armoured, bullet proof, heavily armed 1971 Plymouth Ventura--three
speed, on the tree--he is going to put him in the trunk and begin the
drive to the Vortex headquarters (assuming of course that my accidental
revelation from last turn was correct)] "If he is indeed on our side,
he is going to get his chance to prove it."

Harry finishes his telepathic contact. "He is exactly who he says he
is," Harry says. "He was just trying to make a dramatic entrance.
However, he is quite pissed at having been drugged. I tried to reason
with him, but telepathy is a strange thing, and I don't think I got the
idea across to him clearly. He still thinks we are hostile, I believe."

When Prowler is uninterested in Harry's discovery, Harry refuses to help
load NW into the car. He is beginning to question who is the good guy
and who is the bad guy here.

"By the way, Prowler, who is this other person you have imprisoned in
your basement? You have quite a collection of gimps, don't you?" Harry
is now beginning to worry about his own safety, and glances at his
ocular display to make sure the force field is at full power. Was this
guy a bookstore patron, maybe? No, he looks like a criminal of some
sort. Those beady little eyes.... Prowler must have had a reason to
kidnap him and imprison him, but what could
it be? Maybe he tried to steal some books. . . . or maybe this is a
trap.

The telepathic communication by Harry somehow rouses Nightwever fom his
unconscousness. He remains lax, feigning that he is still asleep. He
feels angry about geting drugged, more at himself than anything. It was
a stupid rookie mistake and he knew he was better than that.

As the last of the drugs filter thrugh his system he hears someone say
something about putting him in the trunk of a car. Like hell they will,
thinks Nightweaver. He extends his arms and stands up from the chair
that he is duct tapped too. The duct tape shreds like kleenex, no match
for his spider strength. He picks up the chair and throws it at the man
holding the tranquilizer gun (prowler).

The attack takes Prowler by suprise, , he hadn't expected NW to recover
so quickly and wasn't paying attention to him. The chair smacks into his
arm and sends the gun scattering across the floor. Prowler's arm begins
to throb.

[Webbing prowler first and foremost!!! As much of the sticky stuff
that I can
get on him!!
The others did not have a tranquilizer gun in their hands...so no threat
at
this time....but keeping an eye on them.
Then if they do not attck....i'll walk up to Prowler who is hopefully
stuck
to the wall.
do this...then i'll go from there.
If Prowler gets the first strike I dodge then shoot webbing next.]

1.Prowler reaches above him and grabs a lever that causes a trap door to
open in the area below him, into which he immediately jumps, tumbling
to his feet on the level below. It is his practice room. The trap
door is set on a time open and shut sequence so it will immediately
close behind him. The room contains various martial arts weapons,
including swords, knives, staffs, shuriken, etc, as well as punching
bags, a padded floor, a speed bag, some acrobatic equipment. It is
also his weapons hold beyond simply martial arts weapons. [I won't
enumerate those because he does not intend to use them. Lets say they
are safely tucked away in a wall safe (as are many other of his
toys--espionage related, etc...) The room is kept pitch black when he
is not using it (for this very purpose, in the event of an attack [come
on keith, this makes sense given his abilities] When he gets to
the room, He stands facing the trap door with his hands facing
outward. Because the room is pitch black he is navigating by his
sense of smell and infrared sight. He expects Nightweaver to
pull the lever and follow him into the trap door. If Nightweaver
does, he says, "Wait a minute buddy. Lets talk this out! I didn't
know who you were." If Nightweaver attacks, Prowler somersaults over
him, and launches into a back-drop kick, trying to cause Nightweaver to
slam forward into the adjacent wall, stunning him.

2. If Prowler is forced to receive Nightweaver's attack, without
being able to act as above, he will attempt to do a flying,
somersaulting axe-kick to Nightweaver, aiming for the area where the net
comes from (which I think he could use his senses to detect).

3. If 2 succeeds, then Prowler will try to subdue Nightweaver. If
this seems impossible, Prowler will return to action 1.

As NW stands up and pitches the chair at Prowler, Harry takes several
steps back. "SHITE," he thinks aloud. Harry then says, "Wait a minute
guys, we're all on the same side here." He then waits to see what
Prowler and NW do. (first action)

If they begin combat, Harry casts continual light on an object that is
between Prowler and NW, intending for them to be slightly distracted so
they will stop fighting. He accompanies this spell with the words, "Stop
fighting! We're on the same side!" (second action)

If this does not stop them (fat chance anyway) then Harry will try to
use telekinesis (Bigby's Hand) to separate the two of them. (Keith,
please note that this spell DOES NOT look like a big blue hand. If it
must be visible, it is just a blue halo surrounding whatever is
affected.)(Also, can I form a telekinetic wall with this spell? If so,
that is what I do, separating Prowler and NW.) (third action)

If this does not work then Harry retreats to a corner to watch. If
either of them gets the upper hand and looks like they will seriously
hurt the other, Harry will take further action. Otherwise he waits for
them to stop.

By the way, how big is the basement room we are in? How high is the
ceiling?

Electra watches as NW explodes from his inadequate restraints and she
prepares herself for defense. When she sees the chair being lifted and
then thrown toward Prowler she uses her super speed in an attempt to
intercept the chair before in reaches its target. If she is successful,
she then looks NW in the eyes and says "please, try to calm down" as
persuasively as she can.

If none of that works and the chair has already been thrown.

As the chair goes whizzing by Electra moves between NW and Prowler. She
stands with arms out and a hand signaling stop at both of them. But,
she is looking at NW and says "please, try to calm down" as persuasively
as she can.

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Wed Mar 21, 2001 0:12am
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.16

> > [All right, now that everyone has kissed and made up, I am now
envoking
> > my ultimate GM reality and plotline powers to get he show on the
road.
> >
> > Here is what happens: If you don't liike it, deal with it. The
character
> > vs. character combat ends now.
> >
> > The four heroes all explain this situation to one another and
agree
> > that everything was just a huge misunderstanding. Everyone who got
> > their feelings hurt was apologized to by the appropriate person.
Prowler
> > was freed from the webbing (and Electra didn't attack NW) ]
> >
> > The prisoner is further questioned and it is revealed that he was
hired
> > by VORTEX to capture Carlo Karter (Prowler's secret ID) and bring
him to
> > the meat packing plant. He was not informed why, nor does he know
what
> > is occuring there. He is not a member of VORTEX, he is just a
> > mercenary.
> >
> > He says the place is well guarded, but he doesn't know by how
many or
> > what sort of security they have. Judging by the weaponry he saw
them
> > carrying (plasma blasters), they have some pretty high tech
weaponry.
> >
> > The four heroes pile into Prowler's modified car and head out for
> > Jersey and the plant.
> > They park a mile or so away and hike the rest of the way.
(Electra is
> > now in costume; she was wearing her costume under her street
clothes and
> > her mask was small enough to fit in her pocket or bra or wherever
she
> > chooses to hide it)
> >
> > It is now dark out and the heroes can see the meat packing plant
from
> > their vantage point on a nearby hill. It looks deserted. It sits
silent
> > and alone on the dilapitated boardwalk. They all agree that
stealth is
> > the best option here rather than going in gangbusters. There first
> > priority is to find the lab where the children are being mutated,
> > contain it and try to find lab notes or something that Prowler
can use
> > to reverse the process. Protecting the chidren and reversing the
> > process are paramount.
> >
> > [It is a one story building about the size of a Wal-mart or K-
Mart. It
> > has a rusty fence around it with barbed wire on top. It looks as
if it
> > hasn't been used in ages.
> >
> > What do you do?
> > I need possible plans of actions. Discussing them in character is
> > prefereble here.
> >
> > If you brought any special equipment with you along the way then
let me
> > know know.
> >
> > The captured mercenary is still in Prowler's basement unless you
decide
> > that you brought him along for some reason.]
>
> Electra, Prowler, Harry, and NightWeaver lie on the hill
overlooking the meat processing plant, discussing their plan of
attack.
>
> "I agree, stealth is probably our best approach. and we are not
short on stealth," says Harry. "I can make myself invisible, and one
other person who huddles wth me beneath my cloak. I suggest we all
try to get in at whatever is our best point of entry and stick
together. We should probably get some kind of communication devices
for this kind of situation in the future, which would make separating
a better option. No one has walkie talkies, do they? If we do, we
could send in one person to scout around and let the rest of us in."
>
> Harry looks for which end of the building has the meat processing
machinery. If there is machinery everywhere, he looks for the main
exhaust for the building--the boilerroom, smokestacks, whatever--
hoping that will be a less populated area.
>
>
>
Prowler say, "I think we should stick
together. We are much stronger in force, and there are few enough of
us that it will not significantly disrupt a stealth mission. I think
Electra should go in under your cloak Harry.

Electra, I know you
could run your way in faster than any of us. This is not to suggest
that you avoid using your powers. But such running might give us
away. It is best to conceal those types of powers for as long as is
possible anyhow.

Nightweaver, I suggest you stick to the ceiling
nearby us, but out of the direct line of sight, so we can use you as
a back up, in case we get ambushed. We should look for the end of
the building with the meat processing machinery. This area will
provide the most cover and the least possibility of early
encounters. Before we do this, I think we should settle on a
particular objective. Any suggestions?"

Harry says, "I think our first priority is to find any experimental
subjects and save them, assuming they are still human and not a
threat. Second would be to capture VORTEX agents and equipment
relating to these experiments, and third to gather evidence to find
other VORTEX enclaves. If we find any full-fledged monsters in there,
i suggest we not free them but instead call CAPE at that point so
they can take care of it. I wouldn't want to be responsible for
releasing a dangerous experimental subject on New York's fine
population."

Prowler speaks. "I agree, there are enough monsters loose in New York
already. If we are going to begin by looking for prisoners, then I
suggest we head down. The deeper we get, it seems the prisoners are
always deeep underground. Lets go."

Electra looking Prowler "well, let's go down." She turns and begins
walking toward Harry. "I think that I'm being treated like a girl. But,
I'll get under the coat anyway."

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Mon Mar 26, 2001 1:14am
Subject: REcap: Turn 4.17

The four of them cautiously approach the padocked gate. The gate is
chained shut with a rusty padlock that looks like it hasn't been used in
years. Nightweaver snaps the chain in half and pushes the gate open far
enough to allow them entrance to the grounds.

As they make their way towards the processing plant, Prowler sniffs the
air for signs of life. He smells nothing. It is quiet, almost too
quiet.
Nightweaver yells, "Look out!" and leaps into the air as a red plasma
blast strikes the ground where he was just standing, singing it. His
spider sense had alereted him of the danger just in time. A volley of
plasma blasts quickly follow the first shot and the heroes run for cover
behind an abandoned pickup truck.

They are under attack. But the enemy can't be seen. they are in hiding
in the dilapidated plant. taking shots at them from various windoes
and holes in the exteroier of the plant. There is 50 yards of open
field before the heroes can get to the plant.

[The plant is straight ahead. To your right is the river. Part of the
plant overhangs the river, supported by a boardwalk. To your left is
more open field, and then the perimeter fence. Behind you is the gate
you came through and the hill you were initially on. It is hard to tell
how many people are shooting at you, but you estimate 10 at a bare
minimum. It is dark out, but the sky is clear and the moon is fairly
bright. The building itself is dark, illuminated only by the plasma
rifles and blasters shooting at you.]

Nightweaver says, "I say we take the river.
it's our only chance unless the idea of swiss cheese is to your liking.
Prowler......nevermind......let's just get the hell outta here.
You three head to the river....my abilities should be able to draw there
attention while you all get to the river. Now GO!!!!

Before Harry takes action, right after NW gives his order, Harry asks,
"What are we supposed to do once we reach the river? Swim for it?"

"YES!! Go to where the building is close to the river and try to
get in
there" replies NW.

Harry puts the hood of his cloak up and disappears. Theklor told him
that the invisibility spell prevents light from either reflecting or
emanating from Harry, which should mean that he is invisible in all
spectra including infra-red. However, Theklor made it clear he was only
speculating on this, based on the fact that invisibility used to work on
elves in the old days, and elves have infravision. Harry hoped Theklor
was right.

[Assuming the others go along with Rob's orders, and try to make it to
the river...] Harry stands up, invisible, in plain view of the plasma
blasters. He double checks his protective aura [force field] to make
sure it is at full strength, then waits to see if he is fired upon.
[If he is fired on, he ducks back down. If not, he doesnt duck back
down. either way his next action is the same:] Harry then engages his
Boots of the Traveler to teleport himself to the building, right next to
the wall near a door (assuming there is one on this side of the
building--Keith, I intend Harry to be out of the line of fire by
remaining flush against the building. If this isnt possible, like the
building is an L shape, please ignore this post.). Harry can still see
himself, and he sees his boots glow blue when he does this, and he
wonders if others can see his glowing boots through his invisibility.
That was something he forgot to ask Theklor.
[If Harry makes it this far, he will first check to see if any others of
their group is in trouble. If so, he will teleport back to get them,
teleporting them back to where he is against the wall in relative safety
from the blasters. If he cannot teleport two people, and if someone is
in trouble, he will go out to them invisible and try to help them. If
Harry is visible to the blasters, i.e., they shoot at him even when
invisible, Harry will still go out to help anyone who needs it but
otherwise stays up against the building.]

Prowler says, "I will double back and try to come around them. You
guys head for the river. Electra, this is a good time for you to use
that superspeed of yours to run past each of the dudes and try to knock
the weapons out of their hands. Harry, I can't see you in the
infrared spectrum, though I can certainly smell you." With that
PRowler heads directly backwards and will try to circle around. What
does he see?

Electra quickly scans the building. She focuses on the scantly boarded
window that seemed to be the location from which the most fire had come.
She stretches her right arm above her head, arches her back and begins
to spin on one toe. She becomes invisible and then reappears with her
hand reaching out towards the window. From her palm comes a tiny
whirlwind that immediately begins to enlarge as it moves toward the
building.

[She is hoping it will be able to engulf several of the armed men.]

She remains still as the wind approaches and then moves inside the
building. A moment after it enter she pulls her arm back and down to
her side.

[If she can in any way discern when the whirlwind has captured it's
victims (such as screams) it is after that when she attempts to pull the
wind back and down, trying to pull the men from the building and smash
them on the ground.]

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sat Mar 31, 2001 0:49am
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.18

Nightweaver jumps out from behind the truck in an attempt to draw the
> enemy fire. The VORTEX troops gladly oblige him and send several shots
> his way. He acorbatically dodges them and continues to act as a
target.
> He isn't sure how long he can keep up the dodging before they catch
him
> in a crssfire.
>
> Harry throws up his hood and stands up to see if he is invisible. A
> plasma blast careens off of his forcefield answering his question.
> "Maybe it only works aginst innnate infravision" suggests Theklor.
> Harry teleports to the side of the building and pushes himself flush
> against it near a doorway. He tries the handle and it is unlocked.
>
> Electra unleashes her whirlwind blast at a window that appears to have
> two agents firing form it. As the whirlwind hits the window, she
> reverses the spin sucking the agents throught hthe window. the
whirlwind
> also takes out a good portion off the wall surrounding the window.
> (large enough for two men to walk through side by side) The two Vortex
> goons are slammed onto the ground and seem to be knocked unconscious
> from the attack.
>
> Prowler takes off back towards the fence, doing a serpentine pattern
to
> make it harder for anyone to get a bead on him. He leaps the fence,
> lands on the other side, and begins sprinting around the perimetrer
> fence to try to come up from the back of the meat packiing plant. He
> sees his companions engaged in battle.
>
> As he comes far enugh around to see the back of the building, it looks
> as deserted as the frontside did initially, but upon closer inspection
> he sees the heat patterns of covert gunmen amongst the darkened
> windows. This side looks to be as well protected as the front, but
they
> are not showing themselves yet and they are unaware of his presence.

Prowler immediately drops into a low crawl, and pulls out his covert
weapon (a tanto knife with a dull-blackened blade, and begins to belly
crawl his way back toward the assaulters of his compadres. If he can
get close enough, he will take out the fellows one by one, grabbing the
first ones weapon from him to use on the others, if they discover
him. He avoids detection from those who surround the backside of the
fence, but keeps his eye on them. He is moving as rapidly as his
training permits him (though still remaining safe). He does use
"extreme force" when assaulting them, to maintain his covert status.
He expects that he will not be able to disarm them all before detection
so he is planning to work from the back to the front if that is
feasible.
If this plan fails, he will use an incendiary grenade to draw the fire
of the assaulters away from his companeros, to give them time to
react. [This tactic with the grenade is also one he consider if
detection comes to early, though it would not occur until next round.]

Harry thinks, "Well, no one followed the plan it seems," noting that
no one headed for the river. Probably a super-phobia against getting
their super-costumes wet, he muses. Harry really does not feel like a
super hero. He feels like a kid who is dealing with adults. Prowler and
Nightweaver are obviously experienced at this sort of thing and Electra
seems to know what she is doing too. But Harry is really kind of scared.
If his protective aura had not worked like he thought it would, that
plasma blast would have taken his head clean off. What if his battery
had been low? What if one of the circuits burned out? He would be dead,
that's what.

Swallowing his fear, Harry gently reaches for the doorhandle. It moves
as though it is unlocked, but he doesn't pull the door open yet. He
readies his ring of disintegration, twisting the crest of the ring
(which is shaped like a dragon's head) so that the beam is wide
dispersal. Still invisible and with his protective aura up, Harry ducks
down, pulls open the door, inserts his arm and sprays the room with the
disintegration beam.

[If no one is there, Harry enters ready with his ring to disintegrate
anyone's clothes and weapons who challenges him. If there are people in
this room who resist his entering, then (1) if the ring attack succeeds,
and they are all disarmed and naked, Harry thinks he will be invisible
and enters the room with Rod of Wonder drawn, stun blast ready; (2) if
the ring attack leaves some attackers still with nightvision goggles and
weapons intact, Harry uses the Rod to stun them from his crouching
position at the door, before entering.]
[If Harry enters with no one stopping him he will stay invisible, with
the ring in on his left hand and his Rod in his right hand. Whomever he
meets, he shoots with the ring, intending to hit their nightvision
goggles if nothing else (but note the ring is on wide dispersal...).
Harry intends to explore until he finds the snipers and intends to take
them out from behind, if he has the element of surprise. He will ignore
anyone who does not notice him.]

From behind the car Electra watches the two still bodies she has just
pulled
from the building. 'Wow, that worked well.' She suddenly snaps out
of this state of wonder and realizes that neither Harry nor Prowler are
in sight. 'Maybe, Harry's just invisible'? "Harry," she whispers.
When he does not answer she beings to feel very uncomfortable with the
situation.

' They must have gone in.'
Electra takes off (at full speed), making a circle around Nightweaver,
causing a breeze, in hopes that he will somehow know it's her. She then
runs into the building through the new entrance she created.
Once inside she continues running and begins searching for Harry and
Prowler or any other interesting sights.

[If she locates either Harry or Prowler, she will take cover near them
and let them know she is there.]

[If she encounters more gunmen she ignores them and continues her
search, unless she is detected. If detected she takes cover.]

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Mon Apr 9, 2001 5:03am
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.19

Electra runs into the building at supersonic speed making her
effectively invisible to the naked eye. . Once inside she does a quick
recon of the plant. She counts three guards at the front of the building
and five in hiding towards the back. There are stairs leading to a
lower level. Some of the guards are alerted to her presence by the
sounds of the wind as she passes, but they can't seem to locate her.
>
> Then the door on the front of the building opens up by itself and a
strange bluish energy bathes a good portion of the room. It
disintegrates several posts that are supporting the ceiling. Electra
tries to avoid it, but she can't change the course of her trajectory in
time and runs straight into the energy. She fully expects to be
disintegrated by the energy, but miraculously no harm comes to
her...though she does feel a bit cooler. The roof is not so lucky,
which begins to collapse fom lack of support. Electra makes a split
second desicion and runs down the stairwell just as the roof collapses.
>
> "WHOA!!!" says Harry jumping back from the building as the roof
crashes in. "I didn't expect that to happen. That wide angle beam sure
goes a long way on this old wood."
>
> Prowler is nearly to the building as the roof caves in. The sounds of
blaster fire is absent in the aftermath of the collapsing building. He
listens for sounds of life coming from the wreckage and detects none.
>
> Nightweaver stops dodging the blaster fire when it stops coming at him
and watches the building cave in. "Woops' he says.
>
> Prowler smells Harry nearby and says " You can > take off your cloak
none of them are alive > now." Harry appears a second later as he put >
down his hood.
>
> Nightweaver runs up and says "Has anyone seen Electra? " The three of
them immediately begin searching the debris fo her.
> **********************************************
> At the bottom of the stairs......
>
> Electra comes to a stop at th bottom of the stairs as the rooftop from
> above colapses. It plunges the corridor into darkness, She hears
people coming her way and she feels around in the darkness, locates the
stairs and hides beneath them.
>
> She sees flashlights coming down a corridor from the left and she
presses herself tight against the wall to avoid beeing seen. The bricks
feel cold against her skin. "Skin?" she thinks. .. and then it dawns on
her what had just happened--she had run through Harry's disintegration
beam; it didn't didintegrate her, just her clothes.. She makes a mental
note to kick Harry's ass if she gets out of this alive.
>
> She hears a switch being thrown, and emergency lighting comes on. The
stairwell is bathed in red lights, but she feels that she is safe from
being seen.
>
> Through the stairs she sees that the stairwell > dead ends in a brick
wall, a corridor goes off > to the left and right. The left passage is >
where she had heard the people and seen the > flashlghts coming from.
Whoever it was had > thrown a switch to turn on auxliary > generators.
It sounds as if they were heaeded > back to wherever they came from.
>
>
> **********************************************
> Back up top.....
>
> Prowler detects a heatbeat coming from below some of the wreckage, He
thinks it is Electra. Nightweaver clears away large sections of the
collapsed roof to reveal a stairwell. It is bathed in a reddish light.
Prowler sniffs the air and says " It's her. I think she's hiding
underneath the stairs. There are also a lot of other scents coming from
down there. I think this is where the experiments are going on. "
>
> The three of them proceed cautiously down the stairwell and they feel
a gust of wind rush past them, Harry's cloak is ripped from him and
Electra appears at the foot of the stairs with it wrapped around her a
split second later.
>
> " What'd you take my cloak for?" whispers Harry.
>
> Electra only glares at the magician.
>
> "Someone is coming.from the left passageway" says Prowler
>
> They all crowd beneath the stairs and see a man appear from the left
corridor. He is dressed in a black leather costume with red boots and
gloves. He has long black hair and something about the way he walks
makes him resemble Jim Morrison. He seems to examining the damage from
the vantage point of the bottom of the stairwell. He doesn't look like a
VORTEX agent, more like a supervillain.
>
>
>
> [What do you do???? What do y ou do??????]
> None of you are hidden very well. It is dark under the stairs, but it
has "open" steps , meaning that it has boards on the horzontal plane,
but none on the verical plane. You can see him while looking through
the steps, which means he can see you too if he looks hard enough.]

"Shit!" thinks Harry. "My protective aura isn't working!" He sees
Electra glaring at him and wearing his cloak, so he tries to act natural
and tells her, "Flip up the hood and you go invisible. Use it well."
While saying this Harry checks his aura reading on the ocular display,
and it says full power. He thinks the reading must be wrong, that the
aura isn't on, but it had said the same thing when it deflected that
plasma shot outside. He checks his Bracers of Defense (which emit the
aura) and they read normal. There is no time to ask one of his teammates
to test the aura for him as the greasy haired Marquis De Sade in black
tights and red hip boots approaches, twisting his pencil-thin mustache.
Harry was the last to duck beneath the stairwell and is the most
exposed. Not knowing if his aura is up, he decides he better do
something.

Assuming that most of the compound is beneath ground, and that there is
at least one level beneath that which they are on, Harry steps out from
behind the stairwell and moves toward the Marquis, past the foot of the
stairwell so he won't hit his teammates. He utters no quip as he waves
his disintegration ring at the man, sweeping it over his body and
beneath his feet all around, the beam still being on its
amazingly-wide-cone area effect setting.

[Harry intends to strip the man and erase the floor beneath his feet in
a wide area so he can't grab the edge. He stepped forward past the
stairwell so he wouldn't collapse the floor there and we could still get
out if we need to. Harry is simultaneously engaging flight as he walks
forward so that if the floor collapses beneath him he doesn't fall with
it.
[If the floor doesn't disintegrate, or the guy flies or otherwise
attacks, Harry will try to paralyze him.]

'Use it well, what does that mean' she think as she reaches for the
hood to pull it over her head. 'First he disintegrate my clothing, now
he gives me
cryptic advice.' When the hood hits the top of her head she feels
something strange. What it was she does not know, but she thinks she
feels invisible.

Electra backs a few steps away from the rest of the group and further
under the stairwell. She leans ever so slightly out around the stairs
to get a better look at the approaching man. With his long greasy hair
and skin tight clothing, he reminds her of the guys that work at
Casanova's. 'There's only one thing worse then the men that patronize
strip clubs and that the ones that work in them.'

[As soon as she gets an opportunity at a clear shot she will use her
electric blast.]
[If she feels that she is in danger and cannot defend herself, she will
use her super speed to make her way back to the top of the stairs. If
necessary she will try to use her speed to climb the wall under the
stairs and them
pull herself through the slats.]

Prowler sees all this happening, and sensing the party is in much
greater danger than they anticipate, he slinks back into the shadows and
awaits his opportunity to strike, if the man manages to overcome the
attacks thrown at him, he will wait until the man descends the stairs
and then do a flying double twist scissor kick--aiming at the back of
his head--to try to stun the man

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sat Apr 14, 2001 1:27am
Subject: Recap: Turn 4.20

As Harry steps out to use his disintegration beam, the man notices him
and screams. The sound that erupts from his throat is deafening to Harry
and the sheer force of the sounds waves send him flying back into the
stairs, cracking several of the boards. His forcefield absorbs most of
the impact, but it is weakening with each attack it absorbs and he
doesn't have time right now to recharge it [that would take another
action]. Harry does manage to get off a shot as he is sent flying
towards the stairs, but it messed up his aim and the disintegration
beam hits the floor, rather than the man.
>
> When the beam hits the floor the man manages to jump clear of the hole
that is created. He lands right next to Electra [whom he can't see due
to the cloak] and she lays her hand on the back of his neck, sending
massive amounts of electricity coursing through his body. When she lets
go, he is amazingly still standing, though he looks to be in bad shape.
>
> Prowler seizes the opportunity, and delivers a flying scissor kick to
the back of the man's neck, which knocks him out and sends him flying
back towards the hole. He slams into the brick wall in front of the
hole and then falls into it. A loud crash erupts from the hole when he
hits the bottom [which didn't sound to be very far] and the sounds of
frightened and angry animals comes as a response.
>
> Nightweaver says "Omigosh. I just remembered I'm double parked." and
swings off into the night. [Rob, if you don't want this to occur, then
you need to post. I know you are there.]
>
> The heroes examine the hole that was created. It is about 5 ft. in
diameter and appears to lead to a laboratory on a lower level. The
unconscious supervillain is sprawled on top of a table full of
shattered test tubes and chemicals. Along the walls are cages filled
with various animals, human children, and several mutated hybrids. There
are various computers and operating tables in the room as well.
>
> It all looks too familiar to Prowler. It reminds him of his parents
laboratory in Africa before they were killed. Similar equipment and
setup, though he hade never known them to experiment on humans. Unless
they had experimented on him, as one of his many theories about the
origin of his powers held. He is shaken from his musings by a familiar
scent. He never forgets a scent. But this particular scent belonged to
someone who should be dead; Dr. Ivan Lazurus. Lazarus had worked with
his parents in Africa, but he had supposedly been killed along with his
parents. It didn't make sense, unless Lazarus was somehow involved with
their murders. He had to find Lazarus, and make him answer all of his
questions. Questions that had been unanswered for nearly thirty years.
>
> Prowler jumps down into the laboratory and the others follow. He
begins looking through the lab notes and various other documents. while
Electra and Harry free the human children [10 in all]
>
> As this is occurring the door to the laboratory slams shut, then all
of the cage doors slide open freeing the animals and Hybrids.
>
> They are surrounded on all sides by wild animals and mutated beasts.
The children are screaming in terror. The only way out is through the
hole [about ten feet up].
>
> [The animals: A lion, a gorilla, and a grizzly bear.
>
> Hybrids: were-wolf, were-bull, were-lizard.
>
> Keep in mind that the information you need to counteract the mutation
process is probably located somewhere in this laboratory.. So try not to
blow it up. ;)
>
> also post as many option as posible so as to speed this combat up]

Harry begins teleporting the children to the surface, to our vehicle if
i can port that far. (what was our vehicle? how did we get here?) He
will do this as quickly as possible, until all the kiddies are out. He
asks Electra to help from this end, and when most of the kids are
outside Harry asks Electra if he can teleport her outside so she can
protect them from anyone who might come by.

As far as the animals and hybrids, Harry suggests we avoid conflict with
them. Try to leave the room. He tells Prowler that he can use his
telekineses to lift the journals and research notes (and anything else
in the room) out. If the animals and hybrids start to fight, Harry will
try to separate them with telekinesis, or even put them back into their
cages if that is possible. he can hold the doors shut with telekineses.
We can free them once the base is secure.

As for that, Harry uses his headset to radio Police HQ in order to
contact CAPE. He identifies himself as Harry the Magician (doesn't
mention the others since they may want to avoid detection) and says he
has discovered a VORTEX base, giving them the location. He informs them
that the base is still occupied it appears, and backup is requested to
clean it up. Harry will inform the others of his intent to do this in
case they object, or to give them (Prowler) time to disappear. (Electra
wouldn't need much time for that.)

If Harry can't get the kids out before the animals attack, he will
paralyze as many of them as necessary and continue porting kids out.

[
I have some questions: What are the hybrid beasts doing while Prowler
does this time-consuming-animal-handling-mind-control maneuver? are they
controlled too? If so, and there is no more danger, Harry will wait for
prowler to finish so as not to disturb him with teleporting sounds and
smells. If the mutants are attacking, I assume Prowler will have to wait
to implement his plan and we must deal with the mutants first. In that
case, Harry begins teleporting children as quickly as possible, starting
with the smallest and getting them two-at-a-time if possible. If he is
attacked during this time, he will paralyze whatever attacks him (tech).
If Prowler or Electra get in trouble Harry will stop what he is doing
and help them. ]

As Harry is teleporting the children out of the room, Prowler begins
singing in a low voice to the animals. He moves very slowly away from
the party and tries to gain the attention of all the wild beasts. he
starts tilting his head back and forth like a puzzled dog, and puts his
hand out in front of him, thumb and forefinger extended, wobbling it
ever so slowly, as he tries to gain the attention of the beasts. [He
is using his empathy with animals to determine if Animal handling is
working]. If he is gaining control, he leads them ever so slowly into
one of the cages, where he maneuvers them around and backs out of the
door, and slams it shut. He hope that the party is respecting his
expertise in this matter, and being quiet and sly with their escape.
He maintains the low song throughout the entire maneuver

As Prowler distracts some of the creatures Electra feels that the
children are still in danger. She whispers to the child closest to her
to jump on her back (piggyback)"I'll get you out of here." She then
grabs two other children under each arm and pulls them close to her
body. At super-speed she runs up the wall and out to the vehicle.

[If they are being attacked before she can accomplish this; she will
attempt to use her power slam on one of the attacking creatures. She
will try not to injure the creature but to just move it into a cage,
shutting the door behind it.]
[If she makes it to the vehicle, she will stop only long enough to set
the children down and see if Harry was managed to teleport any there.]
[She will then return to the lab. If there are any creatures attacking
at this point she will once again use the power slam or use it for the
first time.]
[If no one is in immediate danger she will once again begin removing the
children.]

From: maxxlingo2@webtv.net
Date: Sat Apr 21, 2001 7:49am
Subject: REcap:Turn 4.21

Prowler is not sure if his singing will have any effect on the beasts
whatsoever. He had seen the medicine man, [insert name], perform animal
taming feats in a similar way back in Africa. He had never really tried
it himself.

Electra grabs three of the children and takes off at superspeed.

Harry also grabs three. He isn't sure if he can teleport that many, but
he has to risk it to save the children. Just before teleporting he
glances at Prowler. Harry's digital display in his eyepiece shows
Prowler;s sash glowing with mystical energy. It glows brighter as the
song progresses. 'Interesting...' muses Harry and teleports away.

He reappears next to the car and a warning light begins flashing in his
eyepiece. He is pushing his boots to hard. He had too, the children
were in danger.

Electra, already at the car, races back to the laboratory. Prowler i s
still singing and the animals are slowly returning to their cages
. The hybrids however, are stranding still, looking at Prowler. As if
they are unsure what to do. She grabs three more children and runs back
to the car. There is only one remaining in the lab.

Harry teleports back into he room and grabs the last child. He begins to
teleport, when the warning sign in his eyepiece suddenly changes from
yellow to red. He tries to abort, but it is too late.
His boots, already
overloaded, explode.Sending glowing blue energy swirling about the
room. Harry, the child, and the were-wolf are slammed into the wall.
Harry's forcefield shatters and his bracers, already acting quirky, also
explode. As Harry slips into unconsciousness he sees (through his
eyepiece)the swirling mana being absorbed by Prowler's sash and
previously hidden golden runes appear on it.

The nearly simultaneous explosions startle both Prowler and two
remaining hybrids. They begin to circle Prowler. They are obviously
going to attack. Prowler suddenly feels more powerful than he ever has
before. His blood begins to boil, He begins to scream and as he does,
the scream changes into a growl. He is no longer human. He has become
something else. Something more savage and feral. He has become a Black
Panther.

On the way back to the lab, Electra hears the sounds of the explosions,
and pushes herself to run even faster. She enters the lab and sees

Prowler transform into a huge black Panther.
Harry is laying next to the wall with the last child. Both of them are
unconscious as well as the were-wolf. The animals (not the hybrids) are
back in heir cages , but the doors are still open.
Electra runs around
the room at superspeed and shuts the cage doors. She then slams into
the were-lizard, sending it flying back into an empty cell. She again
slams the door shut and locks it.

Prowler lets out a low growl at the were-bull and leaps upon it with his
front paws, knocking it to it's back. Prowler is on top of he creature
and it is everything he can do to keep from tearing the creature's
throat out with his teeth. He has to fight the urge, keep the animal
mentality in check. It was vying for control.
He lets the creature up and is able to back it up into the last
remaining cell through intimidation. Electra shuts the door and locks
it.

The danger passed, Prowler feel himself transforming back into human
form.

"How did you do that? asks Electra.

"i have no idea." says Prowler. "That is the first time that's ever
happened."

A tiny electronic voice emanates from Harry's palmtop computer strapped
to his belt. " It's your sash. It had hidden enchantments you were
unaware of. When harry's devices overloaded, all of the magical energy
that was released somehow activated them. Harry's fine by the way. Maybe
when he wakes up he'll realize that technology and magic don't mix well.
"

"There's no time to worry about that right now, says Prowler "I need to
get the data necessary to reverse the hybrid mutation process. " he
again begins searching through the various lab notes.

Electra checks on the last child and Harry. They both seemed to be okay.
As okay as an unconscious person can be. She runs them out to the car.
When she returns she begins doing superfast relays, from the car t o the
lab, transferring ll of the computer disks and lab notes to the trunk of
Prowler's car.

She notices Harry slowly comoing to, as she is loading up the last of
the lab notes.

[ I'm going to end this here. Because I don't know what you want to do
about CAPE. Do you wait for them? What do you do with the children? The
best place to analyz e the data would be at Guardians HQ. What about
Dr. Lazuras? Waht about Rob? I guess he quit. What about Prowler's
sash? What about Electra's birthday suit? What abuot Harry's faulty
equipment? What about me? What about Love? What about mankinds search
for identity in an ever incresing barrage of mltimedia image hawking
by the evil coporate empires in the world such as the Gap, MTV, Oprah
Wifrey, the Young Republicans, Teletubbies and American Eagle? What
should be done? Antything? If so what? Answr ME. NOW!!!! ]

"We have to get all this stuff and the children back to my lab. I
have the equipment and the restraints to keep the mutated children at
bay until we can reverse the process. Beau knows some of the
religious types in town to help us discretely get these children
reunited with their families. The rest of you, ALL of you, he says,
thinking of Nightranger, can hole up there for as long as you
like. We must immediately start some gene therapy, or else those who
are already changed may not be reversed." Prowler says this stuff,
all the while wondering what other powers are locked in his magical
sash. "We could all use some rest and I have plenty of room. We
are not prepared to deal with the full force of CAPE anyhow. That
will have to wait!" Until I figure out how Dr. Lazarus is connected,
he thinks. "Lets go!"

Harry comes to in the car [what kind is it again? i thought it was sort
of an SUV, but maybe that was another adventure] with some children on
top of him. He remembers where he is and what just happened.

"Prowler, I saw what happened to your belt. These devices of mine can
sink massive amounts of mana when they go haywire. You might want to
have that belt checked out before you use it too much, just to make sure
it is safe. Theklor could help, couldn't you Theklor? [If Theklor
refuses Harry takes the batteries out of the palm pilot.--just kidding]

"What are we going to do about all these kids? And the hybrids still
down there? and the other animals? We could leave them for Cape to find,
but then they wont get the help theyneed. Prowler, I believe you are the
only one who knows what is going on here, and therefore you ahve the
best chance to help them. Can you wait around for Cape, to explain
things to them? They might have good lab equipment you could use too.
And it couldnt hurt to make a friend or two in their organization.

[If Prowler agrees, Harry will leave and use his headset (i assume it
still works?) to call his driver in a discrete place, leaving prowler to
handle the monsters and kids. ]

[If Prowler doesnt like that idea,...]
"Then maybe we should just stick around and tell Cape everything? i dont
see much of an option. sorry, i guess i shouldnt have called them so
quickly, but i thought the kids would need medical attention." and me
too, thinks Harry.

[Keith, just post that other one i sent you with the next turn if you
like. it is all background kind of stuff anyway. modify as you desire. i
will come up with spell list before i need to use any of them.]

Harry, I appreciate that you want to coordinate this with CAPE, but I am
going to call Beau and have him bring my van around, and some
tranquilizers and load the lot of these folks up. Meanwhile, you and
Electra can take the children and my car back to the bookstore and hole
up there until we get a chance to go over the information rather than
simply handing it over to someone else before we have had a crack at
it."

If Electra and Harry agree, great! If not then
Prowler tell him he is welcome to wait for CAPE, but he will proceed
with his plan.

As they continue this conversation Electra keeps feel small hands
grabbing at her. The children all look like little zombies to her and
she is feeling overwhelmed. "I don't know what to do about CAPE or the
hybrids. But we have got to get these children some where safe."

From: maxxlingo@mac.com