My first official mission was going with Dark Warrior, Elusion, Marshal Strong and Modi into space. We were going to the Gilgamesh, which had been missing for months. To say I was nervous was an understatement. I mean, I'm in the presence of heroes who in some cases, are literally gods. I'm just a spoiled rich kid with a super IQ and a high tech suit that allows me to control light. Some of these guys scare the shit out of me. Dark Warrior seems particularly ominous, and Modi with his Hammer worries me. It doesn't look that bad at first sight, but I know now that it can pry my suit open like a freaking tin can.

Marshal Strong seems ok, but he likes to throw punches pretty quick when things don't seem to go his way. Elusion seems the most laid back of the bunch; our both being scientists likely makes us both more analytical in certain situations.

Anyway, when we got to the ship, we find out the captain has seemingly been killed, and the rest of the crew have been turned into some kind of cybernetic beings. They refused to follow our orders, and we ended up in a fight with the two that were conscious.

I was all ready nervous seeing Dark Warrior go into a rage, and attack a freaking asteroid! Granted, it had robot spiders coming out of it, but still, it was a scary sight.

Being nervous, I screwed up my targeting sight, and accidentally hit Modi in the back of the head with a low yield laser blast. The look on his face when he turned to me made me almost piss myself. I was sweating bullets; I need to add more cooling units to the internal part of the armor!

These cyborgs were tough, and I held back, mostly out of fear of being in the way. I was able to blind one of them, but the bulk of the fighting was Modi, Strong and Warrior against them. Elusion was accessing the ship's computers, and he was able to get some info.

After ejecting both cyborgs into space, Strong ran into some kind of alien life form. We left the Gilgamesh, and destroyed it from a distance.

I can't believe I came out of that fight without a scratch. I still get the shakes when I think about it. If I wasn't as smart as I am, I'd probably be stupid enough to become an alcoholic like that comic book character did.

Excellent!  I love hearing from the player's perspectives.

John wrote on Nov 13^th, 2010 at 5:14pm:


I was reading the Dark Warrior thread, and thought it might be nice if I did it for Glare.

Don't sweat it Glare. Dark Warrior is all talk.

Paul wrote on Nov 14^th, 2010 at 10:41am:



Make that crazy talk

Hey Gerry these are good posts. Like a superhero diary. Nice work man!

And yes Wally, everything is under control. Now look at the nice ceiling and drink this...that's it..relax....go to sleep....

Ok he's all yours Abberant..good luck.

Great writing, Gerry!  Well done!!!   

Carter Manning approached me outside the offices where I work for his father. He wanted me to help him with a secret project that isn't connected to his father's business. Curious, I heard him out. He showed me designs for some kind of suit. Not like mine though. This one is for use underwater, with a bit of a manta ray look. I told him I would, and we shook hands.

First chance I got, I contacted my superior at CHESS. I don't know what Carter wants to use the suit for, but if he plans on using it for evil, CHESS can confiscate it, and give it to someone to use for good. Either way, I plan on building a fail safe into it, so if he does use it for evil, I can shut it down from my own armored suit.

We got together today, and were working on the suit. He has some interesting ideas for it; I didn't think Carter was that technically inclined, even though his father is. I started working on the failsafe, secretly working it into the components were were building.

I got back to Black Mesa late, and learned that Colonel Strong and Elusion had gotten into a battle with a woman claiming to be the daughter of the Wargod, an old foe they had faced before. Strong was wounded, and Elusion is reported killed in action. This saddens me. He was the most stable of the heroes I'm working with, and was far more intelligent than I am. He knew the Omni Wave device inside and out which means I may never figure out how to replicate it now.  Where the hell were Dark Warrior and Modi while this was going down? From the description of this woman Sera, Modi would have loved shattering her limbs with that hammer of his.

Thew world has just become a little bit darker.

Paul wrote on Dec 4^th, 2010 at 11:27am:


oh my. Guess they are both losing it all ready 

Paul wrote on Dec 4^th, 2010 at 11:27am:


Bummer. Makes me wish I could have made it last night. so who will be popping up next, now that Elusion is gone?

John wrote on Dec 4^th, 2010 at 12:47pm:


I think Glare would have died last night then. He hasn't been in a straight up fight yet, and I bet those grenades would have torn through his armor from what Paul said the die results were. Guess not feeling well saved my character for one more adventure 

And now Glare can suffer a guilt trip for not being there...

[Glare is seen sitting in front of a TV, watching a video of Modi, Wally and himself sitting at a table. Modi is pointing to where Glare's laser had sheared his hair on their first mission together. Glare is seen on screen apologizing to Modi for doing that, but Modi just laughs, and slaps Glare on the back. They raise their tankards together, then drink. Glare shuts the tv off]

I still can't believe they're gone. Wally and Modi were the two most powerful beings I've ever met. Sure, they were both unstable, and one day I may have had to try and take them down. Still, they were good people. I regret that this mission involving Carter Manning kept me from fighting beside them the last time anyone say them. A part of me feels like I let them down. Wally supposedly gave his life to save the universe (or so the report I read states), and it's possible whatever he did caused the White Event. With Elusion dead and Marshal Strong on a long term assignment, it's just me now.

I don't know if I can do this alone. I'm still a rookie, but now I find myself the most experienced "hero" working for Chess at Black Mesa. What a joke! I'm no hero! I'm some guy who built a suit of powered armor modeled on a comic book character I read as a kid. I don't have real powers.  I've been on two real missions, and both times, Dark Warrior & Modi did the bulk of the fighting. Hell, Elusion did more than I did. The CHESS brass tell me that I'm important to rebuilding the team; they must be crazy. How do you replace such powerful beings? I just don't know if I'm cut out for this.

At least the Moevians are gone from our solar system. I hope they never come back. I feel they are one of the reasons Wally's dead, and Modi is gone.

Work with Carter on this suit of his is progressing. I've bugged his lab with cameras, so I can record everything. I've also figured out how to work a secret kill switch into the suit in case he plans on using it for criminal purposes. I don't think he is, but better safe than sorry.

I need to build the kill switch in my lab back at Science City. Guess I'll head over there tomorrow.

Quote:


That's messed up Gerry! Elusion will return from the dead and put your light out!

STORMDANCE wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 2:08pm:


Thanks! I was kind of motivated to have him show his mixed feelings. Even though Modi and Wally scared the shit out of him, he respected them for using their powers to help others, and not just themselves. I also like playing him as this scared, unsure person.

STORMDANCE wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 2:08pm:


Heh! Maybe one day John will do an adventure where we can go to Asgard and see him...

Hawk wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 3:43pm:


Thanks Hawk! I haven't played too many sessions so far, but I'm enjoying the camaraderie of John's group. Even when the characters fight and bicker amongst themselves, the players are just having fun.

Having not had a regular group to play in for a few years now, it's good to join a group like this, and I appreciate how they've accepted me. It's giving me a lot of inspiration for these journals.

What I like about Glare, is that he does what a hero should do.  His first attack was to disarm the mercenaries, without attacking them.   He then blinded everyone and stopped the fight.   He then tried his best to help the Dead Frog.

I forget,  Gerry, did you get the Hero Bonus? If not, you should have.

John wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 7:03pm:


Well, I look at Glare from the aspect of him being a scientist first. So he's not a really violent person by nature. Then add in his insecurity, and he tends to be cautious with his attacks. Blinding people means they can't see him to hurt him, and well, he usually has comrades to take them down after he blinds them.

He targeted the mercs because he didn't want anyone hurt from bullets flying everywhere in such close quarters. Blinding everyone was to stop the fight, because he didn't really know what else to do. Helping the frog man was more self serving, since he considered the Frog Man proof that Manning was conducting illegal experiments (which is why CHESS recruited him, to find proof Manning isn't the good person he appears to be).

It's a stark contrast from how I usually play heroes. I like it though. It's been giving me good inspiration for these journals!

John wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 7:03pm:


No, because when we discussed it, it was kind of agreed that no one was being particularly heroic during the main fight. I didn't feel that Glare's actions really did a good job of stopping the fight (considering Deacon being blinded caused a guard to die when his mind control flubbed!), I didn't think Glare did something that heroic 

I second it!!! Who wouldn't second it!!! 

Even though he denounced Elusion, I third it.

Even with the bonus, I still need over 7,000 to get to the next level. Unlike previous adventures where I got a lot of xp (cause I was low level, and everyone else was higher), I don't see that happening anytime soon. Which is fine by me, because I jumped up to this level in 2 adventures. Now I really have to earn the next one 

Cool armor. I can't wait to see it colored.

Nice looking!  Looking forwad to seeing the colored in version!   

G7,

John can answer those questions, as he started that sub plot for my character. I only know that Carter doesn't get along with his father, and his father might be a bad guy (or at the very least, very misguided)

[Continued....]

After letting Anodyne heal me (and going through feeling like I've taken a hit of acid), we learn about the Slaad building some device in the desert. I also inquire about the ship the Russians were in when they got here. Pavel agrees to show it to us, as I tell him we might be able to take them home.

First we go to an area with some dark ectoplasm that can be shaped like anything: Food, clothing (which the Kid and Startide both use to fashion costumes, since they had none. Especially Startide, who revealed a little too much when she negated gravity to save Kid from that Smee), even photos. While some partake of this shadow food, I don't. Warlock was able to read the Russian captain wanting us to eat this stuff a bit too much before his mind was closed off. I'm starving, but I try and suck it up.

After we rest awhile, Pavel and the others take us to the ship. It looks like a kind of space shuttle. However, once I really examine it, I can tell there is no standard propulsion on this vehicle. It can't fly. However, i find what appears to be a drive that, if I'm right, will allow the ship to breach the dimensional barrier. It's not working, but if I can find something to power it with, I might be able to repair it. I'm no expert on Dimensional Physics (which is more theoretical than what I know), but I know enough of the basics that I might be able to save us all. I wish Elusion were here; if he was alive, he'd have figured this out in less than 5 minutes. As much as I'm feeling out of my depth here, I realize I'm the only one who has any chance to get us home.

It's bizarre to think that only a few months ago, i was the rookie hero. Now I'm the most experienced one here. While no one is in charge, i can see most of them look to me for guidance. I can't let them down. Not just for our own sakes. I have to warn CHESS about the Slaad, and about Robson and this Octagon group.

My armor is slightly damaged, and my power cells are only half charged. I guess now I'll see if I really do have what it takes to be a hero.....

[to be continued]

Oh, and as an alternative to the suit in that sketch, I was wondering what people think of another image I have for Glare. It's an image I commissioned for a villain I call Lighthouse, which was drawn by Dan Houser (who does all the art for the ICONS rpg). I really like the image, and given the suit having a more retro (imho) look, might fit better for the concept.

Glare, get some sleep!  Writing that stuff up at 4am?? Damn!

Paul wrote on Apr 16^th, 2011 at 3:30pm:


Paul,

Since I work from 11 PM to 7:30 Am every week, I'm used to being up that late. Plus we didn't finish until about 1:50, and I didn't home until close to 3 (cause I had to wait for a bus, then walk from the closest stop).

John wrote on Apr 16^th, 2011 at 4:25pm:

I concur. It seems to better suit Glare's youthful character, and it comes off a little more good guy hi-tech.

I'm typing this on my laptop from the infirmary at Black Mesa. A lot has happened since my last entry.

After getting most of us back from the Shadow Dimension, I called CHESS for a pick up. A transport chopper arrived with some Knights, along with a man we call "The Octopus". Why is he called that? Well, he kind of looks like Doctor Octopus from the Spiderman comic books, without the metallic tentacles. He's an autistic genius who builds most of the hi tech weapons and other equipment CHESS uses. He's far more intelligent than I am. He's off putting, but the man is one of the greatest scientific minds I know.

Anyway, he detects radiation on all of us, so we're ordered to stay by the vehicle. The Moevian does something shortly after (or at least it looked like he did; I didn't ask), and suddenly, the radiation is gone. The Knights ferry us back to Black Mesa, and I learn warped back somewhere in Utah.

I check in on whether Robson was taken into custody, and find out he got away before they could grab him. I'm convinced we have a mole in CHESS (again!). This is not good.

When we get back to Black Mesa, I exit my armor, and send it to my lab, so I can prep it for repairs. It took a slight beating when we fought the zomborgs, and the power cells are kind of low. After that, we're all taken to be examined, while Yuri (the last Russian we met in the Shadow Realm) and Startide are rushed to be treated for whatever killed Pavel and the Captain.

They run all kinds of routine tests on us, but the Moevian isn't being that cooperative. He keeps asking to be taken to his embassy, and like I did before, the medics tell him there is none. How does he not know all his people left Earth after the White Event?

I contact the liaison for the team I was once part of, but he's giving me the cold shoulder. I don't think they believe me when I tell them about the Slaad. While I'm on the phone with him, Amazon and Lamplighter show up. They're two more experienced metahumans working for CHESS. Amazon convinces the Moevian to go into quarantine, since he won't let them take his blood for testing. They leave afterwards, which is good cause Lamplighter freaks me out. As much as I sometimes envy those who have internal powers, I'm glad mine come from the armor. I'd rather be a human in a tin can that someone who looks like a human shaped amoeba wearing a green cloak!

The Octopus comes in as well, and tells me my armor will be fully repaired in about an hour or so. That guy is real creepy, but damn is he efficient!

Sometime later, a cook comes in, asking us what we want to eat. I decide on the Venison Meatloaf, when the cook starts suggesting we all try the Chili. For some reason, I start liking that idea, and Nemesis Kid is so excited, he goes to hi five the cook. Before he does, the Moevian yells out a warning, and Kid pulls back. The cook is acting strangely, trying to touch kid's face. Kid hits him, and shit hits the fan.

While Kid and the other guy (who I later learn calls himself Stormbringer) deal with the cook, I run out of the room, and get the guards. Except things turn for the worse because Kid and bringer have KILLED the fucking cook! Shit! This is bad. The guards are pointing their guns at them, and Kid pulls some crazy stunt you see in a kung fu movie, side stepping the Knight, and punching the butt of his rifle into his face, knocking him out. The other guard starts acting like the cook, and bringer goes invisible, and disarms him. He then shoots the Knight in the knee.

At this point, I hit the alarm, and go running to get my armor. I encounter Amazon and Lamplighter on the way, and try and tell them what is going on, but they ignore me. I get halfway to my armor when I'm telepathically contacted by Nexus, the powerful Psionic who works for CHESS. he orders me back to the lab without my armor, because he feels I can keep everyone calm. Yeah right, like that worked when i called in the knights! Still, he out ranks me, so I turn around, and head back the way I came.

I find Kid staggering in the hall, acting doped up. Anodyne must have healed him, which means he was hurt. I slap him a few times to get him out of it. Lamplighter staggers out of the room too, his inner light very dim. He looks weak. I ignore him while I get Kid back to normal. I later learn that he and Amazon slugged each other unconscious. We go back into the room, and the Moevian lets us know that whatever this thing is, it's going to where Yuri is.

We run to the room they're operating on him, but get there too late. It takes over his body, and proclaims itself a god! I'm wearing those patient wraps and underwear, and we're facing off with John Carpenter's The Thing. I'm dead meat!

Kid and Bringer blast it; not sure what the Moevian does. Yuri's body contorts and as the being screams. I grab the defibrillator paddles, and shock it's head. It goes nuts, hits me, and I slam against the wall. The others attack it again, and I lunge again with the paddles. Yuri's body explodes when I touch him with the paddles, but his parts all dissipate.

The Moevian tells us that the being escaped. Great. We brought back some other dimensional, non-corporeal being back with us. I keep fucking things up. At least now my superiors are taking our story seriously, and work on getting a court order to allow us to dismantle the Orichalcum from the torch in the Colossus of Science City.

[to be continued]

Great entry, Gerry!  So what happened to Modi and Dark Warrior?

Check out John's thread for the white event, gather them up and make some kind of powerful amplification device.

I would just reference the thread and see what happens from there. Or you could just let his poor atoms rest in peace.

(continuing journal entry...)

While Shepherd, Startide and the Moevian start to enter the Hive, I search for Kid. He's out when I find him (as I mentioned earlier in this entry), and try to wake him up. He's out real bad, and eventually the Moevian has to assist in getting him back on his feet.

Startide and Shepherd are inside causing all kind of commotion; I later learned they were confronted by more female metahumans and Dr. Robug himself). Shepherd goes right for Robug, while Startide manipulates gravity to use The Hive against his metahuman agents.

Eventually Startide is taken out by a metahuman who can turn into a gaseous form. With Kid awake, I fly into the Hive to help Startide, unaware she's out. As I head towards her, I fall prey to the same metahuman, but Startide is able to recover, and she wisks us both away.

Around this time, Stormbringer (who had some strange encounters while separated from us, hears Shepherd taking the Hive apart. He heads towards us, and encounters Go Girl, Robug's speedster minion. She has Shepherd's staff, and he takes it from her, and while she tries to take it back from him, he flies higher than she can reach, and continues towards us.

When I recover from the gas, I see some of the metahumans fleeing the Hive through a whole Shepherd made. Kid knocks one out, and I try to blind one, but her shield reflects it, and I'm blinded! Thankfully, the Moevian has us all mind linked, so I know what happened next.

Startide took out shield lady with her gravity powers, causing her to go down, and making her shield weigh so much it knocked her cold. Robug was trying to escape with Dr. Lloyd (who at the time I thought needed rescuing, but I learned otherwise later). The Moevian tracked them with his mind powers, while Stormbringer returned Shepherd's staff to him, for which he was very thankful (From what little I could glean, he uses it to control some of the creatures on the island, and Robug stole it to control them himself)

Startide turned herself intangible somehow, and went after Robug & Lloyd in the tunnels. Robug used his bowel disruptor on her, but she was able to shrug off its effects and took him out, before she was in turn taken out again by the woman with the gaseous form. The Moevian and Stormbringer went after Startide, with Stormbringer causing gale force winds. He caused the gaseous metahuman to dissapate, but not before she knocked out Lloyd, who had been turned into a metahuman by Robug (and who had his own sinister agenda it seems).

After the Hive collapsed, we regrouped with Shepherd. He helped us restrain the surviving metahumans. I learned that Kid accidentally killed one, and another died because their life span had been greatly shortened due to the process of gaining powers. Thanks to the Moevian, we learned that Robug stole the process for giving people metahuman abilities from CHESS. We also learned that Robug had been lying to the world, and had never been in touch with The Octagon, let alone join their ranks.

As for Lloyd, he planned on betraying Robug, and become Doctor Saturday, the cartoon criminal. I felt bad for Lloyd. He was autistic, but a genius, and when Robug used the metahuman process on him, it corrupted this brilliant, yet simple man into a criminal mindset. Once again something good in this world was twisted by the corruption of super powers. I had thought that the White Event changed that, but it appears I was wrong.

Shepherd gave us a plant that helped us heal a bit. He let Stormbringer have extra, as a way of thanking him for returning his staff. We learned that the island was created by a group called The Artists, who serve another group called The Elders. The Elders supposedly created all life in the universe, and that the island exists everywhere (as in every planet in the universe, and possibly in alternate ones as well), much like the mythical city of Tanelorn from the novels of Michael Moorcock. This is why it's larger when we landed on it compared to it's size from satellite images. Our satellites only pick up a small portion of the island, because that's the only part that is physically on Earth itself at this time.

He told us that these elders test every race, and that one day it will be our turn. I made sure to put in a special report to my superiors regarding this, as I have some theories I hope to work on.

Armed with this knowledge, we took our prisoners back with us, and handed them over to CHESS.

Needless to say, this last mission was very disturbing to me on a few levels. Seeing Dr. Lloyd corrupted like that saddened me. The revelation about these elders and this eventual test humanity will have to endure deeply concerns me. Hopefully I can come up with some contingency plans to make us pass the test; I just hope the upper echelons of CHESS take my concerns seriously this time. They doubted me during the Shadow Realm incident, and if not for the Slaad attempting to cross over into our world, they'd likely still be doubting me. They need to get their heads out of their asses and face facts: Earth is starting to be looked upon by powerful forces outside of our solar system, and we need to stop looking inward, and preparing for the troubles yet to come.

Damn, I wish Wally was still around. He'd understand the gravity of the situation. Elusion likely would too. Modi would just drink another mead and tell me not to worry, that we could handle any threat to Earth. If they were still around, I'd probably not worry so much. But they're not, so the burden lies on my shoulders.

I have no natural powers, just a fancy suit of armor with a bunch of high tech gizmos built in. Yet I seem to be the only person who grasps just how grave the future might be for the human race. My new team mates are powerful, but will they be enough to turn back what the future holds? I just don't know.....

Quote:


We have faith in you! As long as you don't blind yourself!

Echo's sheild was just a sheild.  Her reflection power was an inate power.

It's been awhile since I've written any journal entries, as I've been so busy of late.

After the events I last documented, I've spent a lot of time in the Dark Mesa engineering labs, improving on my armor. I was able to almost double the protective coating, while keeping the weight distribution the same. I also increased my power output, so my energy supply won't run low as fast. I also increased the out put of my laser blast, so that it is slightly more effective. Lastly, I was able to create a holographic emitter, so I can now create images to distract opponents with. I was trying to reduce it's power cost, but I screwed up somehow, and blew out power in the labs.

At that point, I was called in by the brass. I figured I was in deep shit over the power outage, but it turns out something else had priority. Seems my new team mates had been dispatched to deal with a threat to Prince Drakkar Island, home to the head of CHESS R&D. I'm a novice compared to this guy, except when it comes to Dimensional Physics (as I'm the one who invented the science after our incursion to the Shadow Realm).

To make sure I got there ASAP, they had my armor attached to a booster rocket, and launched me up into the Upper Atmosphere. I almost passed out from the lower level of air; I made a note to add life support systems next time I can get into the lab. Once the rocket did it's job, I engaged my internal propulsion system, and rocketed toward the island (no pun intended!)

When I got there, I found both Kid Nemesis AND Captain Atlas out cold. This kind of freaked me out, as Atlas is the strongest being on the planet! The rest filled me on the situation, and I hacked into the computer system for the island, BINARY, and got the access codes. We went inside, and using a schematic BINARY provided, took Atlas and the Kid to the medical center.

After getting them taken care of, we found where Harold Van Irye, aka the Quidnunc was. He was supposed to be alone, but when we opened a camera view, we saw some skull headed guy in pirates clothes was sawing his head off with a cutlass!

We rushed down there, and after a short fight, defeated the skull pirate (known as Jolly Rodger). Startide and Warlock took Quidnunc's head to the Null room, keeping his brain from dying.

The Ancient Mariner was also in the complex, and after trying to both gas and electrocute him using the bases defenses, we trapped him between two titanium walls.

While all this was going on, and army of Deep Ones (a race that live under the ocean) were storming the beach, supposedly summoned by a creature named Deep Blue. Startide and I activated the bases external defenses, which held them back for the time being.

(to be continued)

I was only able to work in the lab one day, which I got yanked for some field duty again. I was able to lower the power usage of my holograms though, so it wasn't so bad. I did learn that Modi has returned though. I wanted to see him, but they rushed me out of Black Mesa before I could welcome him back. I've still got some of that mead he gave me before he disappeared, so we'll have to sit down and have a tankard or two when this mission is over.

CHESS is launching satellites into space that will release some kind of nanonet around the planet, in the hopes that it will foil Movian cloaking tech. Captain Atlas and Powerhouse are actually lifting the satellites up by hand, and flying them into space! I'm working with Scion, whom I've never met before. She's pretty powerful from what I've read in the data files. She's pretty friendly, though she bust my chops over blasting the back of Modi's head on my first mission (god, that seems so long ago now!).

This is boring duty, but a few hours in, we get a priority alert. Some kind of possible alien craft has crashed in New Jersey, and they've requested metahuman assistance. Scion (who flies much faster than I do) grabs me, and we take off. I tap into local radio stations, and relay to her via communicator what info I can pick up. I really need to get back to the lab so I can finish that holo communications array for my armor!

Anyway, we get there in a few minutes, and it's a fucking disaster area. The ship crashed into an industrial area, and damaged a power plant. Scion goes to help with rescue operations, while I check in with the local law enforcement.
While Scion rescues some civilians, I do a fly over the craft to get a closer look. There's some weird damage to the top; it looks like something crystallized part of the hull! The dome on top has fissures in it, and I can see movement inside.

When Scion rejoins me, she moves in closer (the flames don't bother her; I really need to add that life support function ASAP!), and something inside sends her a telepathic warning. She tells me it was in English, but with a Movian accent! She grabs a girder, and starts to beat at the dome, until she finally breaks through! A Movian leaps out at her, swinging, and they start to tangle.

As I move in closer, I see another humanoid with some kind of black energy surrounding them, and another one that's definitely alien. Scion has thrown the big dude away, and is now flying into the ship. I still hover above, unsure what to do. I see her attack them with the girder, but it disintegrates when it almost touches the crackling dude. She concentrates on the alien looking one more, and it's body contorts (I later learned their bodies are malleable). The crackling dude aims at her back; I fire off four laser blasts to try and prevent him from hitting her. He hits her with his blast, but my laser blasts take him out of the fight.

I go into the ship to check on Scion when the big Movian leaps back in, swinging. He hits my armor once, and the shockwave my internal sensors register freak me out! If I had been wearing my original armor, it would have taken a nasty hit from that. Thank god I improved on that!

Scion starts slugging it out with him, so I check on crackling alien. From what I can discern, he has some kind of anti-matter field surrounding his body. I call CHESS immediately, and tell them we need an anti-matter containment unit. Since they have none, I have to tell them on the fly how to make one!

Scion has thrown the Movian away from the ship. She calls me over the comm, but at that moment, the other alien does some kind of mental attack on me. It fucking hurts, and I scream. Scion rushes back to the ship, and attacks it, but doesn't seem to affect it. I'm pissed, so I fire off four more laser blasts. The first one misses, but the other three nearly cut it in half at the waist! It collapses, and goes kind of gooey everywhere.

The Movian returns, and misses me, but hits Scion. I was going to try out my holograms on him, but Scion flew straight up, and came back down fast. She slammed into the guy, and drove him through the ship into the ground underneath! When she came back up from underneath, she was covered in dirt. I shudder to think what the other guy looks like!

I was checking out the ships systems, when Scion noticed something wrong with the crackling guy. I yelled that he was going to meltdown, so she grabbed him, and flew up towards space. She threw him into orbit, and he blew up. She caught part of the blast, but was able to make it back safely. She likely saved a good portion of the northeastern United States that day. I made sure to tell CHESS to stop making the containment chamber, as it was no longer needed.

When CHESS arrived to take over, we discovered the alien looking one escaped. I was pissed at myself for not keeping a closer eye on it.

Scion tried to tap into the ship's computers, but didn't get far. As no one has my level of skill with computers, she gave me a crash course on the Movian language for the next 2-3 days. Once I was ready, I broke through the encryption, and learned this was a Movian Scout ship. The strong guy was called Atomic Child, and the crackling guy was called Entropy. The alien looking one was called Alien Intelligence. It was from the Confederation, a coalition of alien races who had warred with the Movians in the past. Seems they are skeptical we're the threat the Movians make us out to be, so we might have blundered by attacking it.

However, the bigger discovery was what caused them to crash. They were attacked in space by a being that glowed golden. Whether it was human or Movian, I have no clue. The blast it fired caused their hyperdrive to turn to crystal! They didn't get any energy readings before they crashed; if they had, I could have built a scanner so we could locate this being. We could use an ally like this right now!

Once I got back to Black Mesa, I got a good night's sleep. Then I was back at the lab, working on the suit again. I finally got the Life Support module working. At least now, I can function in space if need be. I also worked out a way to offshoot my holo emitters into a HUD. I can use visual comms inside the armor. More importantly, I can use it to make images outside the armor, so I can share the images with my team mates.

Even better: I found a way to link my armor to all the spy satellites orbiting the planet. That's going to come in handy when we're heading on a mission, as I can get up to date imaging of where ever we have to go. That might allow us to get the drop on our enemies, and not get ambushed. It might not always work, but hey, I couldn't do that before.

I need a shower now. Then I think I'm going to find that overbearing Norse God, and drink some fucking mead. After all that's happened of late, I need a damn drink!

Hawk wrote on Mar 20^th, 2011 at 1:05pm:

Looks good. I can't wait on the Glaring commentary. How about giving us some information on your new character.

We were called into a big planning session today, headed by Marshal Strong. Everyone was there, from Captain Atlas down to some new Metahuman named Coldsteel. We were going over plans to deal with the upcoming attack by the Movians against Earth. Captain Warlock kept trying to convince everyone that we needed to find a peaceful solution, and all Captain Atlas wanted to know was when he could smash something.

I did bring up the unknown Meta that was recorded by the Movian scout ship Scion and I encountered in NJ, and Strong confirmed him as Captain Astro, cosmic powered Meta.

I did learn that the Movian are divided into 3 main castes: The Military, the Merchants, the Church. The Military and Church want to destroy us, while the Merchants want to use us for cross breeding, as their race has stagnated, and is slowly dying out. Warlock had learned that the Merchants would attempt a snatch and grab raid to steal as many women as possible before the Military tries to destroy the sun. I also learned the Merchants do have their own cadre of Movian Metas, much like the Military has their Elites.

They also use specially bred troops called Orrush, akin to the Orcs from Tolkein's novels. They also have servants called Drow, much like the evil elves from a popular roleplaying game.

While Warlock was arguing his case for a peaceful resolution again, I got a stream from the nano-net around the planet. The Merchants raiding fleet had arrived, and were all ready engaged with The Top Five, a team of heroes (and as I later learned, Captain Astro). Within seconds, Atlas, Powerhouse & Scion flew into space to join the battle.

Strong divided the rest of us into teams, and started having Gate teleport us into the ships not under attack (and in locations provided by Looker, who can see that far into space from Mesa). I was teamed with Kid Nemesis & Modi. When it was our turn to port, Kid leaps through the gate, instead of letting Modi lead the way. Modi went in after him, and I flew in behind him.

When I got through the gate, I saw we were in a troop pod, and all these Orrush were harnessed in. Some Drow were flying around in Jet Packs, and they were engaged with Kid and Modi. I fired off a series of lasers at some of them, but my second or third shot misfired, and much like my first mission, hit Modi in the back of the head! I'm hoping that the portal threw my targeting sensors off a bit, and that it wasn't me being nervous (which I was).

One of the Drow fired at me, and my armor got peppered with heavy slugs. I actually felt the last two, and was pretty sure one of my ribs got bruised. Now I was getting nervous; I've slugged it out with Movian Elites, and some fucking stromtrooper is damaging my armor with an alien machine gun? I threw up a set of light duplicates of myself to confuse them; now was as good a time as any to try out my new holo emitters.

Modi hit some wicked move with his hammer that took out all the Orrush in their harnesses, but the Drow were unfazed. After awhile, Kid went to some hatch, and went through, trying to reach the ship's bridge. Modi followed shortly after, and I was left alone with the Drow. I blinded them with my armor flash, which caused them to drop their weapons. However, they drew these wicked looking blades, and I knew I was in trouble....

[To be continued....]

It's been awhile since I've done a journal entry. It's taken me awhile to repair my armor after the battles with the Moevian merchant raiders. On top of that, I had to help Carter Manning finish his Manta suit. He's told me that his father is doing some illegal drilling underwater, and he's concerned that its going to damage the environment. I've agreed to help him go down to the site, and take out the drills. I don't know if anyone else on the team would help. Well, I know Modi would, but I can't say what the others would think. Or what CHESS will think either.

Most of the team was away on another mission when a breaking news story from Japan showed a half dozen Jellymen coming out of the ocean carrying a large gurney with a giant egg on it. I was sent with Magnum, and they let Captain Warlock out of incarceration to assist since he's been cooperating. I wasn't happy when I learned of his apparent betrayal on his last mission, but I've come to respect him for his past efforts with the team.

We flew to Japan, where it turns out that even though my armor looks like one of their anime mechs, Magnum is much more popular than I am! He had to convince the Japanese authorities to let us assist after the man on the comm didn't recognize me!

After a quick discussion with the authorities on scene (and having the local press in our faces), Magnum flies towards the egg, and slices it open with his blades. This gets the Jellymen moving, and they start to attack him. The egg cracks open, and this creature starts expanding. It lets out some kind of gas, and the civilians on the beach starting suffering ill effects. My armor protected me, and Warlock tried to use his TK to shield the people. Magnum was fighting the creature and the Jellymen, and I tried to assist him with the Lightning gun I had taken from the armory (we all took one, as the Jellymen are susceptible to electrical attacks).

I was able to destroy one of the Jellymen, and the rest started to attack me after Magnum flew too high for them to reach. He took them out with some phosphorus grenades, so I flew up and blinded the creature, as it had been tearing up Magnum pretty good. His attacks didn't look like it was doing much damage, so I fire some laser blasts into it's mouth. That just pissed it off, and it went to snap at me.

Magnum put a magnetic field around my armor to protect me, and threw some knockout grenades into it's mouth. It started to go down, so I backed off. I caught a brief telepathic flash from Warlock that salt was the cure for the gas the creature emitted. The creature went out, which kind of shocked me, seeing as how it was shrugging off Magnum's attacks.

Warlock informed us that the creature had come from Island Zero, and was supposed to be part of "the test" we learned about when we met The Sheppard. As it was stolen, he was angry, but told Warlock it was no longer his concern.

As the JDF moved in to assist the civilians injured by the gas. Magnum started to drag the creature into the ocean by it's tail. It woke up, and ran deeper into the ocean. Magnum let it go, as it was no longer a threat. He went to get stitched up, while I coordinated with the JDF on securing and helping the injured.

While we were both distracted, Warlock took off. When I learned this, this sudden rage came over me. I started to plan to carve him up with my lasers, and stick his organs into jars. He made a fool of both Magnum and myself, and he would pay! Then, I'd seek out the Blue Blood, and show him that I was smarter than the rest of the Octagon! I'd show all these fools that I was one of the smartest men on the planet!

As I started to formulate my revenge on Warlock, an echo of his last telepathic transmission "The cure is Salt" surfaced, and I came to my senses. I started to feel sick to my stomach. I had been told that my brain functions had entered into superhuman state, and I obviously suffered a bout of Metapsychosis. I almost threw up in armor at that point, disgusted at the thoughts that had come over me.

So this is what the Moevians feared about metahumans? This wasn't good. Somehow, Warlock's mental powers had helped me overcome succumbing to the Humaru state. As pissed as I was that he took off like a criminal, it seems I owed him one. First chance I get, I need a full physical at Black Mesa. That was a close call. Had I given in to those dark urges, I have no doubt that Magnum would have carved me to pieces.

More than ever, I'm afraid. Afraid of what I could become, but worse, of what my more powerful team mates could become. If one of them ever turns like that, how in God's name will I be able to stop them? I'm going to have to make more improvements on my armor, and just to be safe, I need to build a fail safe into it. Since I can't trust the team (being susceptible to this like I am), I'll give it to Carter. If I ever turn, he can shut my armor down so I don't kill anyone.

I feel really tired now. Bad enough that we have an alien race trying to wipe us out. Now I have to worry about turning on my own team mates. How much worse can things get?

While trapped under Magnum, the gas being returned, and changed back to human form. Not wanting to take any chances, I nailed him with 2 laser blasts, taking him out.

Annihilator kept ranting and raving about how he was claiming Earth in the name of the Moevian empire, and how we were weak, etc, etc. He was obviously delusional, and most likely had succumbed to metapsychosis. Magnum came too, and sprung to his feet, facing off with Annihilator. Fantasia used her powers to lift me off the ground, but kept me restrained. She struck me, but I didn't feel it. I blinded her again, while Magnum unleashed a torrent of attacks on Annihilator. His metal spheres kept hitting his force field, barely penetrating. His blades though, cut through; He slashed him good, and before he burst into a puddle of blood inside his own force field, he said "Not again...".

Fantasia fled, and I chased her, even though my armor was at about 20% power. I Fired a series of laser blasts at her, hitting her three times. She was still getting away. Magnum attempted to throw a fuel tanker truck at her, but misjudged his aim, and it struck the J-Train platform exploding. He was knocked out again, and the explosion caused a lot of damage. I saw a J Train coming, and debated what to do. I considered flying into it, hoping my momentum would stop it, but realized if I couldn't lift Magnum, I wouldn't do squat to the train. I flew towards Magnum, and slapped him hard with my gauntlet, waking him up. I told him he had to save the train, and he used his magnetic powers to guide if over the damaged track, so that it could continue on.

After that. we called in emergency services to help the injured, and remove the dead. Vespa and the gas dude were taken into custody. Magnum and I were treated for our wounds, and we went back to Black Mesa to file our reports. I expect we're in even more trouble than we were after Japan.

However, when we got back to Black Mesa, we didn't get called in for an ass chewing. We did our debrief, and that was it. I went to bed, because the next day, I was in the lab repairing my armor. Took me two days to get it back to full capacity.

After fighting this gaseous villain (who I found out calls himself Sublime), I decided I needed to do something about opponents who can't be affected normally. He's the third villain I've encountered who could ignore physical attacks while out of phase (Death Ray being the first, and Red Devil being the second). Since I have all the specs for the Spectral Analyzer and Ectoplasmic cannon that Quidnunc designed. Using his specs and my knowledge of Dimensional Physics, I designed and built a Phase Analyzer for my armor. Now I can detect the frequency of items, so if they're out of phase, I'll know.

Once that was done, I started work on a Phase Compensator, to allow me to modulate my suit's light blasts to affect insubstantial beings. I've got it calibrated just right; now to run a diagnostic on it. Power's on...looks good...oh crap....

[to be continued...]

OOC: I rolled a 00 on my inventing roll, so now Glare got phased into another dimension. Without his armor. This should be good!

Paul wrote on Mar 18^th, 2012 at 9:40pm:


That was pretty funny. That's two missions in a row where we caused a lot of mayhem!

Sounds like it's time to roll up a new character.  At least you went up and not down!

Quote:


Sounds like you guys saw Magnum naked as well.