Sunday, June 16, 2019

Crusade: To the Rescue - Issue 55


Ned and Pete had been friends from kindergarten and had taken the same bus journey to school every day. Stan, the elderly grey haired bus driver, had driven this route for so long he’d even driven it when their parents went to school! The bus laboriously crawled along the inevitable traffic build up across the bridge caused by bad weather.

Pete was fascinated by the storm. It felt...odd in ways he couldn’t explain. His attention was drawn to the river flowing rapidly under the bridge. The rain distorted his view as it battered the windows smudged with handprints. The background noise of his classmates was lost in the staccato of the heavy rain falling on the bus roof. Suddenly a new noise punctuated the rhythmic rainfall. A movement, accompanied by an unfamiliar but almost deafening engine roar announced the passing of the Crusader Hovercraft as it swept past the bus and over the river.

Pete nudged Ned who was engaged in another flirtatious conversation with one of their prettier classmates. “Look!” he exclaimed, “It's the Crusaders...I think they are going to...yes look...there’s a car caught up in the flood on the river road.”

Pete, Ned and now most of the bus watched as the hovercraft kept an even speed over the car that was flailing in the rising flood. A figure leapt out of the vehicle, his metallic mask glinting as the lightning flashed overhead. “It's StrikeForce” announced Ned, a self proclaimed expert on the City’s premier superhero team. “Hang on, someone or something else is leaping out.”

To their amazement a gorilla leapt out of the passenger side of the craft onto the road. What was even more startling was that the gorilla started to grow. The ape was surrounded by a green energy field as it doubled in size, doubled again and again. Before their stunned eyes a monstrously proportioned primate stood over the river road…”I...I...don’t believe it, It’s King Kong!” proclaimed Ned.

Then the world stopped...for a frightening moment...and then immediately was flung into fast forward.

The combination of rain and wind suddenly sent the bus sideways, causing it to smash into the bridge wall. The wall gave way, concrete rubble cascading into the river below. That’s when the screaming started.
Inside the Crusader Hovercraft:

StrikeForce had spotted the family adrift in the flash flood, the current washing them away. StrikeForce and Dr. Wildman flew towards the mini-van being swept away by the flood waters. When they arrived they both could see the frightened faces of the woman and her children pressed up against the windows.

With some expert piloting skills he began to maneuver the Hovercraft over the stricken vehicle. Activating the autopilot he opened the pilots hatch and prepared to leap out.

Dr Wildman watched as the cybernetic crusader went to work. "OK" he mused to himself; "Perhaps it's time to give a field test to my new spell." Judging the swells and speed of the current Dr Wildman leapt from the autopilot - ed aircraft and invoked the incantations of his newly developed 'King Sized' spell attempting to turn into a 30' gorilla!

As the waters continued to rise the Cyborg Crusader tapped on the windshield of the van. Hoping to calm the mother and her two children, he said "Hang tight ma'am, I'll have the three of you out of there soon."

The Cyborg Crusader looked at the mother and her two children. "Please move to the back of the vehicle, I'm going to have to break open your windshield to pull you out."  The Young mother moved her children to the back of the van. Placing herself between her children and the front of the van, she turned her back to protect them against any possible flying glass. Seeing them moved into place, StrikeForce used his staff to punch a hole through the glass. Breaking the staff into its two pieces, he placed the sections throughout the hole and reassemble them. Using the staff, which was laying flat against the glass, he pulled out the windshield.

"Ma'am, let me start moving your children and you to the hovercraft."

Seeing his teammate transform into a 30' gorilla, The Cyborg Crusader thought "Well, that's new." Replying to his companion he said "I would say be careful Doc., but fear not danger, twas beauty that killed the beast."



Confident that StrikeForce had this under control, Dr Wildman used his survival skills to anticipate any other life threatening incidents. Especially the epic sized ones, buildings collapsing, buses skidding off bridges etc.

Looking several blocks away from where he stood, Dr Wildman saw a bus skidding on an over pass bridge. The combination of rain and wind causing it to smash into the bridge wall, the wall gave way as it slowed the bus. Passengers screamed as the bus slide through the opening.

To Pete he couldn’t tell if it was the bus sliding through the breach in the wall or the sight of a colossal gorilla leaping and climbing towards the stricken vehicle that was causing his classmates to scream the most.

The Skink took out his comm. phone from his pouch, and listened to StrikeForce's signal.

"Copy that. This is Skink down here at the mall with CAST. Its chaos down here... Cars all over the place... People freaking out... We're gonna do our best to wrangle it back to some kinda order... Gotta go... Keeping channel open... Skink out..."

He dove into the nearest restroom and got his costume on in one of the stalls...With Skink speed and up a wall he gets to the mall entrance, and clung above the main door, yelling...

"Everybody relax! Its gonna be ok! Just stay in the Mall where it’s safer!!!"

Canon and Rapidfire arrived next. They stood next to Skink.



Rapidfire said, “We need to get the crowds into the designated storm shelters. I see too many are recording video on their phones instead of moving.”

Canon said, “So Sis, how should be handle this? I can reinforce the windows or provide cover. Skink could help me barricade the windows or he could help you with getting those Youtubers to move?”

“Skink what do you want to do, any ideas?”

Adamas will head into the storm, using his heightened senses to find those in need.

In the distant he saw a Gulfsteam jet blown off course by the violent winds. There were 3 people on board. It was starting a rapid descent and there wasn’t a landing field nearby. It was going to crash.

Black Orchid and Demolisher made it to the CHESS office. The Black Orchid introduced herself. She doesn't seem winded at all and immediately composed herself.

"Hello, I'm The Black Orchid. These are my credentials", she showed the official, and these are my colleagues Manta-Man and... Demolisher, correct?" After they approved her entrance, she immediately started with her slightly accelerated, activated voice, indicating her mind was almost moving too fast for her ability to speak. "I need access to all of the weather data - local, government, private over the past 24 hrs in a 250 mile radius from here. I'll also need unrestricted access to CHESS supercomputer 427B for performing data analytics. I am currently working with Manta-Man from the Crusaders here to help coordinate rescue efforts. I am also willing to liaise with FISH or other hero organizations if need be. Manta-Man, Demolisher, you two can go back and help with rescue efforts or you can stay here if you wish."

Demolisher wanted to help with rescue and recovery efforts.  “I’m not the best with numbers and stuff, but give me something to lift or break and I'm your man! ".  He's still getting used to the new city and the people in it, everything seemed off here, but it was really nice that he could use his powers to help people.  He's pretty sure magic must be involved here somehow, hopefully Black Orchid and all these smart people can figure out what happened and what he needs to smash to fix it.

Manta-Man was watching the CHESS monitors. They were focused on the city streets because of the storm. Manta-Man pointed to the screens. “Demolisher, on this screen there has been a building that has crashed on a parking garage entrance. The drivers are trapped inside and the water is flooring the first level. That is where we need to go”

Manta-Man headed to the exit. “Demolisher are you coming?”

The Black Orchid immediately set to work, but she had to admit she was mildly distracted. The dinner with Paul, Jessica and Adamas was actually more enjoyable than she anticipated, not having allowed herself such a luxury in a long time. She was shocked back to her previous mindset however with the knowledge of the discovery that one of the scientists from her lab where the explosion occurred may not have been killed after all. The relaxation of her resolve only to boomerang back to the reality of her previous thinking was not what she anticipated at all. At first the news left her speechless and Annie finished the dinner not quite as comfortably as she started it. Later, she had hoped to immediately jump in and start working on finding Dr. Holdway, the missing scientist, but again fate conspired to pull her in a different direction from her intentions. While waiting for The Enforcer to get in contact with her, the strange storm appeared appeared out of the blue. The Black Orchid now shook her head, cleared her thoughts and immediately started typing, "Now where did this storm start...?"

{GM Note: Please let me know how Black Orchid plans to answer this question and what skills she will use}
<Turns and Actions due July 1st>

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Tom,

Great issue. No problem. Real life takes priority.

Jamey
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Chris,

Welcome to the game. Great to have you.

Jamey
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Hi Chris, welcome to the game and Demolisher - welcome to the team!

Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Welcome Chris, look forward to campaigning with you!

Jon
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Tom,

OOC: Can StrikeForce bring the hovercraft low over the van and engage the autopilot, so that he can jump down onto the van. Then he will try to leap back into the craft with the family.

Jamey
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Yes he can attempt it. It will require Agility Save or two

Tom
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Then he will give it a try. Thanks Tom.

Jamey
--------------------------------------------------------------------
StrikeForce had spotted the family adrift in the flash flood, the current washing them away. With some expert piloting skills he began to maneuver the Hovercraft over the stricken vehicle. Activating the autopilot he opened the pilots hatch and prepared to leap out.

Dr Wildman watched as the cybernetic crusader went to work. "OK" he mused to himself; "Perhaps it's time to give a field test to my new spell." Judging the swells and speed of the current Dr Wildman leaps from the autopilot - ed aircraft and invoking the incantations of his newly developed 'King Sized' spell attempts to turn into a 30' gorilla!

Steve
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Wonderful, what is Dr Wildman going to do. Help StrikeForce or look for others in need of help?

Tom
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Confident that StrikeForce has this under control, Dr W will use his survival skills to anticipate any other life threatening incidents. Especially the epic sized ones, buildings collapsing, buses skidding off bridges etc.

Steve
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Looking several blocks away from where he stood, Dr Wildman saw a bus skidding on an over pass bridge. The combination of rain and wind causing it to smash into the bridge wall. The wall gave way as it slowed the bus. Passenger screamed as the bus slide through the opening.

Tom
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 IC: Ned and Pete had been friends from kindergarten and had taken the same bus journey to school every day. Stan, the elderly grey haired bus driver, had driven this route for so long he’d even driven it when their parents went to school! The bus laboriously crawled along the inevitable traffic build up across the bridge caused by bad weather.

Pete was fascinated by the storm. It felt...odd in ways he couldn’t explain. His attention was drawn to the river flowing rapidly under the bridge. The rain distorted his view as it battered the windows smudged with handprints. The background noise of his classmates was lost in the staccato of the heavy rain falling on the bus roof. Suddenly a new noise punctuated the rhythmic rainfall. A movement ,accompanied by an unfamiliar but almost deafening engine roar announced the passing of the Crusader Hovercraft as it swept past the bus and over the river.


Pete nudged Ned who was engaged in another flirtatious conversation with one of their prettier classmates. “Look!” he exclaimed, “It's the Crusaders...I think they are going to...yes look...there’s a car caught up in the flood on the river road.”

Pete, Ned and now most of the bus watched as the hovercraft kept an even speed over the car that was flailing in the rising flood. A figure leapt out of the vehicle, his metallic mask glinting as the lightning flashed overhead. “It's StrikeForce” announced Ned, a self proclaimed expert on the City’s premier superhero team. “Hang on, someone or something else is leaping out.”

To their amazement a gorilla leapt out of the passenger side of the craft onto the road. What was even more startling was that the gorilla started to grow. The ape was surrounded by a green energy field as it doubled in size, doubled again and again. Before their stunned eyes a monstrously proportioned primate stood over the river road…”I...I...don’t believe it, It’s King Kong!” proclaimed Ned.

Then the world stopped...for a frightening moment...and then immediately was flung into fast forward.

The combination of rain and wind suddenly sent the bus sideways, causing it to smash into the bridge wall. The wall gave way, concrete rubble cascading into the river below. That’s when the screaming started. To Pete he couldn’t tell if it was the bus sliding through the breach in the wall or the sight of a colossal gorilla leaping and climbing towards the stricken vehicle. 

OOC: Dr Wildman will use his ape like skills to climb and bound his way to the bus. Depending on the time it takes to get there he will either attempt to grab it from the back and pull it back on the bridge or he will rappel along the side of the bridge and with one arm attempt to stop it's forward momentum and push it back.

Steve
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Skink took out his comm phone from his pouch, and listened to StrikeForce's signal..

"Copy that. This is Skink down here at the mall with CAST.. its chaos down here... Cars all over the place.. People freaking out... We're gonna do our best to wrangle it back to some kinda order... Gotta go.. Keeping channel open... Skink out..."

He dove into the nearest restroom and got his costume on in one of the stalls...With Skink speed and up a wall he gets to the mall entrance, and clung above the main door, yelling..

"Everybody relax! Its gonna be ok! Just stay in the Mall where it’s safer!!!"

Chuck
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Ooc: Is Demolisher a Frankenstein??? StrikeForce's new suit and a 30 gorilla Doc are so cool!

Chuck
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 No, his origin will be revealed soon. The Frankenstein monsters are on team within FISH. Sorta like Hellboy's team within the BPRD.

Tom
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Adamas will head into the storm, using his heightened senses to find those in need.

Jon
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 As the waters continued to rise the Cyborg Crusader tapped on the windshield of the van. Hoping to calm the mother and her two children, he says " Hang tight ma'am,  I'll have the three of you out of there soon. "

OOC: Tom, is the water still low enough that they can crawl out one of the vans Windows, or does StrikeForce have to   kick in the windshield?  Whichever one it is will alter my response.

Jamey
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 He will have to break open a window

Tom
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Cyborg Crusader looks a the mother and her two children. " Please move to the back of the vehicle, I'm going to have to break open your windshield to pull you out."  The Young mother moves her children to the back of the van. Placing herself between her children and the front of the van, she turned her back to protect them against any possible flying glass. Seeing them moved into place, StrikeForce uses his staff to punch a hole through the glass. Breaking the staff into its two pieces, he places the sections throughout the hole and reassemble them. Using the staff, which is laying flat against the glass, he pulls out the windshield.
"Ma'am, let me start moving your children and you to the hovercraft."

OOC: StrikeForce will jump back and forth transporting the family to safety.

Jamey
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Seeing his teammate transform into a 30' gorilla, The Cyborg Crusader thinks "Well, that's new." Replying to his companion he says " I would say be careful Doc., but fear not danger, twas beauty that killed the beast."

Jamey
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Hi Tom,

Just about to start picking up some of the MT threads. A few questions:

How long has Avery not been the Sorcerer Supreme, and who currently hold that mantle then?
How old is Donnah?
What abilities, spells, artifacts does she have, learned or wields?
In broad brushstrokes between conversations with Adamas and Clinton what is her 'origin story' for want of a better term?

Cheers
Steve
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 How long has Avery not been the Sorcerer Supreme, This has occurred very recently. Dr. Wildman knows that during the events of the Domain invasion Dr Avery was still Sorcerer Supreme so it has to occurred during the time that Dr. Wildman was working on the Dr. Velo chemical theft case.

and who currently hold that mantle then? Dr. Wildman doesn't know because Dr Avery wouldn't say. All the response given was: "He will reveal himself when it is time."

How old is Donnah? Mid to late 20's.

What abilities, spells, artifacts does she have, learned or wields? Dr. Wildman doesn't know other than what Dr. Avery told him. (OOC: I want to reveal this during game play, if that is okay? Magic is secretive, right?)

In broad brushstrokes between conversations with Adamas and Clinton what is her 'origin story' for want of a better term? Donnah was kidnapped and taken to the Domain. She aged 5 years while Dr Avery went to rescue her (think how Colossus sister aged when she was in the Demon Dimension on New Mutants). She came back and took care of her grandfather. During the events of the Quest was kidnapped by Occult and taken to the Domain again. She was turned into an Air Elemental. She was freed by Guardians from the Domain and the spell that turned her into an Air Elemental. Now she is the new Dr Arcane.

Tom
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 Thanks Tom, that's helpful and absolutely go for the big reveal!

Just in terms of timeline what is the gap between the defeat of Dr Velo, our Me Time stuff and this current plot line? Also what time of year are we in with this current plot line?

Do let me know if you need any artwork being done, I'm playing with some manipulation stuff at the moment but can also dust off the pencil if needed.

Cheers
Steve
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 I think about 6 months from the start of investigating Dr. Velo in England until Dr. Wildman jumped from the hovercraft.

Early Spring, late April or early May.

Tom
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 I assume Black Orchid makes it to CHESS. It sounds like they have to run through the storm to get there, which I imagine takes a bit of time. Once they get there, The Black Orchid will introduce herself. She doesn't seem winded at all and immediately composes herself (Willpower and Heightened Endurance will do that for a hero!)
"Hello, I'm The Black Orchid. These are my credentials", she shows the official, :and these are my colleagues Manta Man and... Demolisher, correct?" Once they approve her entrance, she will immediately start with her slightly accelerated, activated voice, indicating her mind is almost moving too fast for her ability to speak. "I need access to all of the weather data - local, government, private over the past 24 hrs in a 250 mile radius from here. I'll also need unrestricted access to CHESS supercomputer 427B for performing data analytics. I am currently working with MantaMan from the Crusaders here to help coordinate rescue efforts. I am also willing to liaise with FISH or other hero organizations if need be. MantaMan, Demolisher, you two can go back and help with rescue efforts or you can stay here if you wish."

The Black Orchid immediately set to work, but she had to admit she was mildly distracted. The dinner with Paul, Jessica and Adamas was actually more enjoyable than she anticipated, not having allowed herself such a luxury in a long time. She was shocked back to her previous mindset however with the knowledge of the discovery that one of the scientists from her lab where the explosion occurred may not have been killed after all. The relaxation of her resolve only to boomerang back to the reality of her previous thinking was not what she anticipated at all. At first the news left her speechless and Annie finished the dinner not quite as comfortably as she started it. Later, she had hoped to immediately jump in and start working on finding Dr. Holdway, the missing scientist, but again fate conspired to pull her in a different direction from her intentions. While waiting for The Enforcer to get in contact with her, the strange storm appeared appeared out of the blue. The Black Orchid now shook her head, cleared her thoughts and immediately started typing, "Now where did this storm start...?"

Marc
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Hi all thanks.
    Demolisher will help with rescue and recovery efforts.  “I’m not the best with numbers and stuff, but give me something to lift or break and I'm your man! ".  He's still getting used to the new city and the people in it, everything seems off here, but it is really nice that he can use his powers to help people.  He's pretty sure magic must be involved here somehow, hopefully Black Orchid and all these smart people can figure out what happened and what he needs to smash to fix it.

Chris

---------------------------------------------------------------------