Ghost answers Power Chord, "Something does seem a bit 'off' around here.  The locals seem to be kind of clueless and out of it, and I haven't seen any normal wildlife, even birds.  I did spot a research team from ECU and hear some strange noises at night, but haven't figured out what caused them yet."

Ghost turns to Machinist , "I only saw them briefly, earlier today, and it was in town near their van, which was parked along the side of the road.  They seemed alright; they were setting up some of that fancy equipment of theirs."

"Agreed, let's start there."

Thunderbolt - , hears Machinist's - ,  accusation and raises an eyebrow... not discounting his conflicting information. 

Thunderbolt - , floats over to Machinist - , maintaining his flight altitude and unfolding his arms ready for action - taking a defensive position 10'ft in front of and above the gadgeteer ready to deflect any potential attack directed at Machinist - ,  but not taking his eyes off Ghost - .

Thunderbolt - , speaks but does not turn his gaze away Ghost - ,while he addresses Skyhawk - , "Well Skyhawk... does that mismatch your facts?  Is this a misunderstanding or a deliberate deception?"

Thunderbolt - , Addressing Ghost - , "Are you certain of your facts or were you generalizing?  What exactly did you see, where and when...?"

Ghost looks straight back at Machinist , then over to Thunderbolt

, "Whoah! Hold on...what do you mean?  I told you exactly what I know and what I saw...there were these four people, one older dude, two guys, and a girl, and they were setting up electronic equipment.  They looked like they were taking some sort of readings.  They were right where I told you they were, in town, next to their van, which was parked along the side of the road."

Thunderbolt - , replies after listening to Ghost's - , sincerity - "Ok, this may be an issue of timing, perhaps Ghost saw the ECU students and professor before Skyhawk did... "

Glancing Skyhawk's - , direction Thunderbolt - , asks calmly,
"Skyhawk, do you remember about what time you spotted the ECU students?  Don't say what time you saw them.. just yes or no do you recall about what time?"

Wrong Answer!!

Machinist fires his Force Field Projector at the Ghost.

Seeing the beam of kinetic energy fired off Rampart quickly tries to interpose himself between the two before the paranoid gadgeteer can get off another shot.

. "Whoa, hold on there. The kid hasn't made an aggressive move. Do you see anyone attacking anyone around here beside you. Put that thing down and give the kid a chance."

looks to and .

So the newcomers are teaming up. Smells more like a trap as each of them speaks.

shows up and his only endorsement is from a man I don't trust at all.

Now    and    just show up to "help" us.

What about you?      

C'mon its now your turn to tell us to trust that this stranger is telling the truth while it is IMPOSSIBLE for him to beat Skyhawk to the ECU site while the students were still there but then never notice that they later disappeared!

Its okay Diesel, I can tell that Thunderbolt has been manipulating you. Thunderbolt used you to be the delay while Ghost was kidnapping the ECU students.

Let me guess, you haven't heard from Thunderbolt for weeks then all of a sudden he calls you telling you to show up at BSI HQ.

Never told you why either, I bet.

Am I right?

Thunderbolt - is... shocked at the seemingly paranoid delusional tirade of Machinist - coupled with Rampart's - rudeness he is done arguing with the two.

"I may indeed speak a lot its because I believe dialogue is the best way to resolve misunderstandings and differences of opinion where a peaceful resolution is possible instead of talking with one's fists or resorting to - no matter how politely worded or subtly couched, veiled threats.  I've spoken with calm and reason but it seems Machinist is beyond such."

Thunderbolt - lands tired of the silliness. 

{Never argue with a madman... it makes you the fool...}

He walked away from the two over to Power Chord - , "Its your call Power Chord if you want trust Ghost or not... but at least with us we can watch him If... and I do mean if he is up to no good but I honestly doubt that.  But Machinist... ah .. he's your teammate.  Is he always like this?"

"How is it you feel you know this character?  Could he be some kind of doppelganger?"


  "Power Chord ... are you ready to reciprocate the level of trust you are asking for?"

"You may not trust Mr. Smith and I can't blame anyone for that but Agent Woo also has vouched for my bonafides."

"Could Ghost be a doppleganger? Yes, but the same could be said of Skyhawk after being out of contact for so long." Looking at the recently arrived hero. "No offense son, just making a point."

"You can't ask this Ghost to reveal his secrets unless you're willing to do the same. Don't let one man's fears define our actions here today."

Turning back to the Machinist, Rampart settles to the ground and walks over to him, so close that the barrel of the energy projector is dead in his chest. leaning over the barrel. Closer so his face is inches away from the tool-clad hero and whispers, "You were right. I'm from 1987. Six months ago I was a flying F-16s. My jet gets hit by some super-powered terrorist  ... and now I'm stuck playing hero, because the Guardians are missing and the President asked for our help."

"Give the kid a chance or pull the trigger 'Mac' ."

The Cougar wrote on Oct 8^th, 2012 at 9:44am:


"Hmm, you're clever but not necessarily smart. Thunderbolt has not 'manipulated' me, but I don't think anything I say would convince you, so I won't bother trying. Now I might suggest that you try to piece together your timeline a little bit better before accusing people of certain things. What I won't stand for is watching someone just lash without warning. Do you really think that he is that much of a threat that you need to attack him in such a cowardly fashion?"

Fair enough. Diesel holds up his hands and walks away. Facing the other direction he is still listening intently but is now scanning the area for anything else out of the ordinary.

Ghost speaks, but quietly, "Uhhh...guys, I'm really not here to create any problems or to cause a fight.  I'd just like to help, because I think there's something strange going on in this neck of the woods.  Mr....is it Rampart,...thanks so much for standing up for me.  I really do appreciate it!  What can I do or say that will allow the rest of you to believe me?  I could take you to the location of where I saw the students, if you'd like?"

Skyhawk flies above the group and towards the rear.

Ghost takes a deep breath and seems to be relieved as he addresses Rampart (privately, to Rampart only) , "For some reason I feel much more at ease with you; I don't know what it is, but I get a sense of deja' vu every time you speak.  I'd be honored for you to join me!" 

To everyone: "I'll take you to where I saw them!"

With that Ghost turns and floats away, at a pace that's easy for everyone to follow...

Skyhawk lands next to Power Chord and says "Has there been a change in leadership that I am not aware of? The new guy is directing me to fly toward the front. I don't know this guy, so do you want me to follow him or you?"

GM to Skyhawk: As you all begin to move off, you get a garbled message from Achilles.

"....zzzz, approach...zzz, possible..zzz"

GM to T-Bolt: You feel a slight change in the atmospheric conditions around you, as the amount of static electricity increases.

GM to the group: You all hear a low level whine, which seems to be coming from multiple directions, as well as bright flashes of light, and then you see them.



Large mechanical constructs, some sort of robots, which seem to have appeared out of nowhere, are suddenly all around you, roughly a dozen shapes, and they're rapidly advancing on you location.

Actions?