On To England
Socks decided to get smarter as he entered Veteran, boosting
his Smarts to d6.
As the team sacked the Drone factory, they were stunned to
discover Eagle McGee strapped into machinery, caught in mid-transformation when
they attacked.
Eagle was in deep, deep pain…and the team moved quickly to
free him from the machinery.
Back at the village, the team had left Talos in the hands of
a Russian scientist named Pietro, who was trying to revert the V’Sori
programming with no luck. Reluctantly,
the team loaded up Talos on the plan, though they foolishly neglected to try to
recruit Pietro.
Flux fired up the plane and they took to the skies. All across Europe and Asia
they saw the same thing: devastation.
Insulated inside Star
City
As they headed toward England , Dr. Destruction contacted
them with information regarding an informant, Laslo Locke, who had turned up
missing. Destruction stressed REPEATEDLY
that he needed Locke ALIVE. His last
known address was a flat in London …so the team
headed toward London . McGee helpfully told them to find a field
outside of London
to set down, which Flux did.
On the way down, Socks quietly apologized to McGee for
having captured him some time back.
McGee looked quite confused, and Socks replied with “I didn’t always
look this way.”
As the team got ready to head to London , McGee asked Socks to prop him up,
which he did, and McGee pulled a gun on Talos, saying he would make sure Talos
stayed there.
As Buster Squad headed into London and advanced on their destination,
they saw smoke and flames rising in the sky.
Sure enough, their destination was ablaze, and EMS
was failing horribly at putting it down.
Flux took control of the flames, making an opening into the building,
and the team went inside. Smoke
immediately threatened to overwhelm Socks, and Kale moved quickly, soaking all
of them so they could use their wet clothes to cover their faces. People were running out of the building as
Buster Squad moved in, and Socks used his senses to seek out trapped folks.
Inside the building, Kale could sense the mystical energy
permeating the fire, and his eyes began to glow. Socks freed a trapped man, grabbing burning
debris with his bare hands and ripping it free while Mindstorm transported the
man to the outside. Flux made a large
earth slide for a Mom and three kids to use to escape a third story window…and
this whole time, Kale’s eyes grew brighter.
A couple of floors up, they saw a flaming beast marching
through the building! The team moved in
to attack, with Mindstorm trying to bind it, Flux trying to control it, Socks
trying to hit it with a potted plant (and igniting the plant) and Kale
ineffectually assaulting it.
Kale saw the beast and recognized it for what it was: A fire
elemental summoned by Atlantean magic!
The team kept dodging gouts of flame, and Kale blasted it with a gout of
water but overloaded himself again.
Socks charged for an external wall to try to get water into
the building, when Flux reached deep inside the building’s pipes and burst
them, sending water everywhere!
Mindstorm was able to use Force constructs to channel and focus this
water, hosing the Fire Elemental down and ultimately destroying it!
With the Elemental down, the team moved steadily through the
building, rounding up survivors and finding Locke laid out with Atlantean tomes
surrounding him. Kale, annoyed at the
obvious carelessness with magic, rousted him up and the team headed downstairs
with their informant and survivors.
As they came to the entrance, Mindstorm was blasted stepping
through the door, but shrugged off the shot, staring out at Drones, Fins and a
V’Sori Warlord!
Socks screamed for the innocents to get cover, as he lunged
into the crowd hacking and slashing! The
Warlord moved in on the building, shrugging off a lighting bolt from Mindstorm,
and ordered his men to advance.
A Fin charged Kale, Flux and Mindstorm, scratching Mindstorm
before Flux incinerated him!
Socks killed anything that got close, while the Warlord kept
hammering Flux, Kale and Mindstorm with mental assaults. The remaining Fins rushed to bring Socks
down, but failed.
The Warlord, ego growing as Flux, Kale and Mindstorm were
acting more and more defensive, gloated louder and louder: Until Mindstorm
completely fried him! The resistance
broke apart shortly thereafter, with Mindstorm and Flux moving to help Socks
clean up the crowd!
From the surrounding area the team was stunned at the noise:
Thunderous applause. Since the invasion,
England
has seen little hope…and they just saw it again, at the hands of these brightly
clothed beings!
As the team uncomfortably left the scene, coordinates came
over their commlinks. The team headed to
the coordinates to find a large, dilapidated manor…inside: Dr. Destruction!
Destruction immediately took Lazlo, making Lazlo very
nervous! Destruction told the team to
remain in England ,
as a courier was arriving with something very important. He also told them that he had Eagle McGee,
and may have found valuable insight with the Hyper-Drone process because of
it. At Mindstorm’s prodding, he said he
would look into reprogramming Talos.
Destruction then headed out, indicating he had a meeting with a 1,000 year
old Pharaoh.
Squatting at the manor, Socks caught wind of an approaching
figure…a lone form making his way closer.
As he did, Kale and Flux sensed that he was Atlantean, and Socks went
out to meet him.
The man revealed that his name was Remar, and he was seeking
the team’s aid after watching them save the people in the burning
building. Remar’s daughter, a
half-Atlantean, half-Protean named Lucinda, was being held in a V’Sori
Conversion Camp to be turned into a Drone!
Mindstorm was suspicious, but Kale – being an Atlantean loyalist –
argued for him. Mindstorm was
apprehensive, since Destruction left them under orders to lay low…but then he
looked back at their success lately since “laying low”. Mindstorm relented, on the idea that they
could at least take out a camp…but wanted Remar fighting alongside him. Kale clashed with Mindstorm again, saying
Remar was clearly a civilian, and would only be a liability in the fight. Mindstorm reluctantly relented, and Remar led
the team toward the camp.
As they approached the camp, Flux reached out
telepathically, and oddly became immediately in tune with Lucinda! Kale began working independently, latching
onto the “mind” of a Drone, walking around inside its head, getting the layout
of the camp. Then he teleported into the
camp and shapeshifted into a V’Sori to gain access to the prisoners! When Mindstorm finally got him to answer,
Kale asked for a distraction, so Socks, Flux and Mindstorm moved in to attack!
Not the brightest move, as Mindstorm faced off with a King
Crab tank. The Crab blasted him…but
Mindstorm shrugged it off! Socks was
trying to burrow up underneath the tank, but was having trouble penetrating the
density of it.
Flux moved in, blasting flames all around with minimal
effect.
The V’Sori inside the crab heard Socks trying to tear
through and unleashed mental assaults at him with little effect either. Mindstorm taking the blast from the Crab
allowed him to momentarily frighten the Crab’s crew, and a strange mechanical
malfunction (an Adventure deck card) caused the tank to shut down!
The Fins and one of the V’Sori evacuated the tank, while
Socks tore into the tank and took the other V’Sori down.
Drones firing into the air kept hitting Mindstorm, starting
to batter him around as the camp’s Warlord arrived! He ordered his men to diverge on the crab,
and with one well-placed shot left Mindstorm wounded badly! Mindstorm ordered a pull-out as yet another
V’Sori arrived on the scene, and shot straight into the air…while Socks popped
out of the tank and took down three of the Fins after one of the Drones
accidentally shot the fourth.
Socks and the V’Sori on the tank battled it out, with Socks
wearing him down until a stray shot ended him as well. Flux unleashed a twister on some Drones and
the new V’Sori…who was really Kale in disguise!
As Kale and the girl were whipped to the ground, his
disguise dropped and she began to glow, bursting with energy!
Lucinda’s energy erupted and she blasted Kale, while the
Warlord – now sensing the Atlantean presence – advanced on him with glee!
Her power kept erupting in random directions all around her,
as Kale tried to shake off the effects of her power.
Sensing the Warlord approaching, Kale cast a quick spell and
hunkered down in pain! The Warlord unleashed
a burst on him…but it was a trap! Kale
looped the power around, giving the Warlord psychic feedback and blowing his
head up! Then he cast a spell knocking
Lucinda unconscious, before drawing on a massive well of power to teleport
clear out of the camp!
Mindstorm unleashed some bolts to cover the escape as the
team bailed out on the remains of the camp.
Outside of the camp, they reunited with Remar, who was
delighted to see his daughter again.
Kale and Mindstorm discussed the girl and her out of control powers, and
agreed that Destruction was their best bet…they talked to Remar, and then
Destruction, arranging for Remar and Lucinda to join Destruction so he could
help control her powers.
The courier arrived a day later, with the tube they liberated
from Hydra’s base! It had a note,
explaining the directions, and ordering them to use the tube to teleport to
Atlantis, find the Crown of Atlantis, and bring it to Destruction! Socks, without hesitation, entered the tube
and pressed the button…
Notes: Not nearly as
epic and awesome as last week’s, this one was dialed down a bit. The original plan was for the team to help an
Omega Hitman whose original backup team had been controlled by War-Master
F’arak’s Solo aide Rom, and lead into the team having the chance to kill F’arak
and two Shocklords. As it is, we get
“filler” adventures instead.
The team, Socks especially, are acting way more like heroes
now…Bully’s death seems to have had a huge effect on Socks.
Next session: Into Atlantis!
We picked right up with Socks teleporting into
Atlantis. Kale quickly followed. Flux and Mindstorm joined them, and three
were overwhelmed at their first real look at Atlantis, while Kale was
overwhelmed at returning home.
The medallion Mindstorm purchased for Kale back at the
Farmer’s Market began to glow. Kale
relayed an old bedtime story…about a “Lost Legion” of Atlantean warriors who
had gone into an eternal slumber…supposedly to be awoken in a time of great
need with the Crown of Atlantis. Kale
guided the team through the religious district…to the Temple
of the Four Seas
Socks looked around at the remnants of Fin armor and became
suspicious…he warned the group to be on their toes.
As they forced their way into the Temple , a swarm of beetles attacked
them! This swarm ran around Kale, who
darted deeper into the temple with a reckless abandon. Flux, Socks and Mindstorm looked confused at
the attacking swarm, and a little worried as it darted past Mindstorm’s
attempts to blast it.
Suddenly, Kale was shot down where he stood, laser blasts
ripping through him! As he fell to his
knees, he projected an image of the medallion to Flux and Mindstorm, as they
were shocked to see a patrol of eight Fins entering the Temple as well!
Socks was less surprised, and rushed on to meet them. The beetle swarm followed him, as the Fins
looked eager to tear him apart. Flux and
Mindstorm moved in on Kale, Mindstorm blasting a Fin that got too close. Flux tried to blast a Fin with a fiery burst
and it jumped away…but opened itself up the beetle swarm, which eagerly
devoured him!
Flux bent down to Kale in hopes of trying to aid him…but
grabbed the amulet first and found himself compelled to follow its
urgings! The Fins got attacked by the
swarm as well, to the delight of the Buster Squad.
Flux ran into a chamber in the back of the Temple and looked
around the walls…seeing strange pictographs that depicted two races: one using
magic, one using technology, waging a civil war until the tech users departed
for the heavens…Flux couldn’t be mistaken:
The V’Sori and the Atlanteans were far more linked than anyone
imagined! Then, he saw the Crown of
Atlantis…and lustfully reached for it, preparing to put it on! Just then, a crazed moan came from within the
chamber…
Socks took a brutal slash from a Fin, as Mindstorm headed to
the chamber to aid Flux.
A mad Atlantean priest emerged from the Temple , calling Flux a genetic
abomination! Flux unleashed a fiery
field that failed to harm the Atlantean, who unleashed a sonic blast that missed. Flux used the Fear ability from his Flame of
Atlantis armor, but the mad Atlantean would not be phased…and he tapped into a
wellspring of power that would make Kale feel tiny…and in the middle of his
attack, Flux saw Leviathan! When the
surge of energy subsided, the Priest was sitting on the floor gibbering!
Mindstorm rushed in, seeing Flux, the Crown and the insane
Priest, and ordered Flux to grab the crown and go!
Socks tore through the remaining Fins and the beetles, but
was frustrated when his claws had no effect!
He heard a Fin crying out for back-up, as Mindstorm and Flux emerged and
helped him squash the remaining warriors.
Socks stopped, dropped and rolled on the beetle swarm…when
eight more Fins arrived! Buster Squad
tried to steel themselves, Socks hurt bad by Fins and beetles…when four MORE
Fins arrived! One of the eight new Fins
seemed surprised about even more back-up…when the biggest, meanest Fin to walk
the planet tore his face off! Sugrot had
arrived, and ordered his men to make sure that “Socks and his minions” were
victorious!
The battle between the Renegade Fin and the V’Sori loyalists
was short and ugly. Sugrot, inflicting
massive damage in a short amount of time, offered an olive branch to the
remaining Fins: Join Sugrot and live,
remain with the V’Sori and die.
Sugrot gained new recruits.
Mindstorm gave Kale the Crown of Atlantis as the swarm moved
in to kill him…but Kale teleported away from its grasp.
Socks and Flux tore away to the teleport tube, and Kale
waited for Mindstorm to pass before entering himself.
Back in London ,
Destruction was waiting for the Crown!
He eagerly congratulated the Buster Squad on yet another job well done,
and asked for The Crown! Kale looked at
him long and hard…and hesitated greatly…before relenting.
Destruction told the Buster Squad that he would provide more
orders soon…then quickly departed with Crown in tow.
Sometime later, in an undisclosed location…The Lost Legion
stirred…called back to life by the wielder of the Crown of Atlantis…Dr.
Destruction!
Notes: Short session,
Plot Point 6 with no real embellishments.
Sugrot crashed the show after Socks played Reinforcements when the
second Fin patrol showed up. Since the
group insisted on the NPC Kale to carry the medallion, I made sure to wipe him
out so that a PC would have to enter the chamber and gain the Crown of
Atlantis. Mindstorm gained Common Bond
going into this session, and spent bennies like crazy helping his team. Flux boosted Healing and (I believe)
Streetwise. Socks, at the end, took
Combat Reflexes, because he’s had a lot of trouble becoming unshaken lately.
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